Saviour has been provided, and we are now only required to believe,' &c The whole passage is evidently rhetorical and ornate. The simple and obvious design is, as stated above, to declare that the gospel method of salvation demanded nothing but faith and confession.
(8) But what saith it ? The, word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart, that is, the word of faith which we preach. As the expressions to be hidden, to be far off, imply that the thing to which they refer is inaccessible oi difficult, so to be near, to be in the mouth and in the heart, mean to be accessible, easy, and familiar. They are frequently thus used ; see Josh. 1:8, " This law shall not depart out of thy mouth," i. e. it shall be constantly familiar to thee; Ex. 13: 9, *' That the law may be in thy mouth ;" Ps. 37 : 31. 40 : 8. The mean- ing of this passage then is, ' The gospel, instead of directing us to ascend into heaven or to go down to the abyss, tells us the thing required is simple and easy. Believe with thy heart, and thou shalt be saved.' The word is nigh thee, i. e. the doctrine or truth contemplated, and by impli- cation, what that doctrine demands. Paul, therefore, represents the gos- pel as speaking of itself. The method of justification by faith says, ' The word is near thee, in thy mouth, i. e. the word or doctrine of faith is thus easy and familiar.' This is Paul's own explanation. The ex- pression word of faith may mean the word or doctrine concerning faith, or the word to which faith is due, which should be believed. In either ease it is the gospel or doctrine of justification which is here intended.
(9) That if thou shalt confess luith thy mouth the Lord Jesus, &c. The connexion of this verse with the preceding may be explained by making the last clause of v. 8 a parenthesis, and connecting this imme- diately with the first clause. ' It says, the word is nigh thee ; it says, that if thou shalt confess and believe, thou shalt be saved.' According to this view, this verse is still a part of what the gospel is represented as saying. Perhaps, however, it is better to consider this verse as Paul's own language, and an explanation of the "word of faith" just spoken of. * The thing is near and easy, to wit, the word of faith which we preach, that if thou shalt confess,' &c. The two requisites for salvation men- tioned in this verse are confession and faith. They are mentioned in their natural order ; as confession is the fruit and external evidence of faith. So in 2 Pet. 1 : 10, calling is placed before election, because the former is the evidence of the latter. The thing to be confessed is that Jesus Christ is Lord. That is, we must openly recognise his authority to the full extent in which he is Lord ; acknowledge that he is exalted above all principality and powers, that angels are made subject to him, that all power in heaven and earth is committed unto him ; and of course that he is our Lord. This confession, therefore, includes in it an ac- knowledgment of Christ's universal sovereignty, and a sincere recogni- tion of his authority over us. The necessity of a public confession of Christ unto salvation is frequently asserted in the Scriptures. Matt. 10 : 32, " Whosoever, therefore, shall confess me before men, him will I con