recognised as the children of God, i. e. for the time when our vile bodies shall be fashioned like unto the glorious body of the Son of God.' This is the period towards which all eyes and all hearts have been directed among those who have had the first-fruits of the Spirit since the fall of Adam ; and for which the whole creation groaneth and is in travail even until now.
The principal arguments in favour of the interpretation just given of this interesting passage, are the following :
The word rendered creature means the act of founding or creating Rom. 1 : 20; and then that which is created, Rom. 1 : 25. Col. 1 : 15, The expression the whole creation may, according to the context, mean the rational or irrational creation. That in this case it refers to the latter may be argued, 1. Because it cannot be said of mankind generally, or of the rational creation, that they are waiting with earnest desire for the manifestation of the sons of God; that they were made subject to their present state of corruption not of their own accord, but by God ; and that they are to be made partakers of the glorious liberty of the sons of God. 2. All this can be said, in strict accordance with the Scriptures, of the external world. The Scriptures frequently speak of the whole creation as a sentient being, rejoicing in God's favour, trembling at his anger, speaking abroad his praise, &c., as Paul here represents it as longing for the great consummation of all things. Again, it is agreeable to Scrip- ture to speak of the earth as cursed for man's sake, as made subject to vanity not on its own account, but by the act of God in punishment of the sins of men. Finally, it is according to the word of God to repre- sent the creation as participating in the blessings and glories of the Mes- siah's reign. Isa. 35 : 1. 29 : 17. 32 : 15, 16. 2 Pet. 3 : 7—13. Heb. 12 : 26, 27. 3. This interpretation is suitable to the design of the apos- tle. Paul's object is not to confirm the certainty of a future state, but to produce a strong impression of its glorious character. Nothing could be better adapted to this object than the grand and beautiful figure of the whole creation waiting and longing for the glorious revelation of the Son of God, and the consummation of his kingdom.
(24, 25) The apostle, intending to show that the present afflictions of believers are not inconsistent with their being the children of God, and are therefore no ground of discouragement, refers not only to their compa- ^rative insignificance, but also to the necessity which there is, from the I nature of the case, for these sufferings. ' Salvation, in its fulness, is not a present good, but a matter of hope, and of course future ; and if future, it follows that we must wait for it in patient and joyful expectation.' While, therefore, waiting for salvation is necessary from the nature of the case, the nature of the blessing waited for, converts expectation int» desire, and enables us patiently to endure all present evils.