o.leo in the Exposition, Further, in eh. iii. 22, where the idea, here con- cisely expressed, is taken up and carried out, 8,a ,,,{crTftb'i ( coITesponding to lK .,,.{uTfw.,; here) seems intended to be connect.ed with fli ,,,&vra,;, etc., fol- lowing, and perhaps also with 7rEcpavlpWTa.t preceding, which corresponds to d1roKaAV'IT'l'ETat in the verse before us. If so, the phrases, il~ 'lrWTEW'> and 8,a ,,,{crnwi;, do not qnalify the essential meaning of 8uca,ocrvV'11 ®Eoii, but rather express only how it is now revealed or ma.nifested to man. The intended meaning of 8ucato<TVV'I] ®Eou is thus rather to be got at, in the pa11eage before us, from the obvious reference of vers. 16 and 17 to Ps. xviii., of which ver. 2 in the LXX. is, 'Eyv~ptcrE Kvpto<; TO cr~p,ov afrroii, bavrlov TWV, Wvwv &.1TvcaAvt{IE '1'1J" o,KatocrvV'7v afrroii; where we observe the same verb, &.7roKaAmnv, the same parallelism between II salvation" and "his righteousness," and the same inclusion of the Gentile world with Israel as objects of the revelation. Now, in the psalm, God's own righteousness is undoubtedly meant; and so surely in our text, in the absence of any insuperable objectiona to so under- standing the expression. And not only from the reference to the psalm in this particular passage, but from the very fact of the conatant use of the same phrase in a known senae in the Old Testament, we should expect St. Paul to use it in the same sense, with which he would be so familiar, and which his readers also, whom he so continua.lly refers to the Old Testament, would understand. It is maintained in this Commentary (with all due deference to the distinguished ancients and moderna who have held other- wise) that not only in this opening passage, but throughout the Epistle, 8,,catocrvV'7 ®Eoii does mean God's own eternal righteousness, and that even in passages where a. righteousness that is of faith is spoken of ft.S communi- cated to man, the essential idea beyond is still that of God's own righteou~ ness including believers in itself. For a better understanding of the subject, let us first see how God's righteousness is regarded in the Old Testament with reference to man. The Hebrew word rendered in the LXX. by 8,,ca,ocrvV'1 denotes moral excellence in perfection-the realization of whatever the mind conceives, and the conscience approves, of what is right and good. It is indeed some- times used for such moral excellence as man is capable of; but this only in n. secondary or comparative sense; for the Old Testament is as emphatic as the New against any perfect righteousness in man. As Hooker says, " The Scripture, ascribing to the persons of men righteousness in regard to their manifold virtues, may not be construed as though it did thereby clear them from all faults." Absolute righteousness is ascribed to God a.lone; and, in contrast with the unrighteousness prevailing in the world, hie righteousness is a. constant theme of psalmists and prophets. We find them at times perplexed in view of the unrighteousness prevalent and often dominant in the world, as being inconsistent with their ideal of what should be under the sway of the righteous God, But they still believed in the supremacy of righteousness; their innate moral sense, no less than their received religion, assured them that there must be a reality answering to 1.ii INTRODUCTION TO
their ideal; and they found this reality in their belief in God. And thus their undying fa.ith in the Divine righteousness sustains them in spite of a.II appearanoes; and they look forward to God's eventual vindication of his own righteousness, even on this ea.rth below, under a" King of righteous- ness" to come. But the righteousness of the Messiah'e kingdom is still to be God's own. manifested in the world and reconciling it to him-flooding it (u it were) with its own glory. "My righteo11Sness is near; my salva- tion is gone forth, a.nd mine al'IIlS shall judge the people ; the isles shall 'Wll.it upon roe, and on mine arm shall they trust. Lift up your eyes to the heavens, and look upon the earth beneath: for the heavens shall vanish aW&y 1ike smoke, a.nd the earth shall wa.x old like a garment, and they that dwell therein shall die in like manner: but my salvation shall be for ever, and roy righteousness shall not be abolished. . . . My righteousness shall be for ever, and my salvation from generation to generation" (Isa. li 5-8). Now, St. Panl ever views the gospel as being the true fulfilment, as of the Old Testament genera.Uy, so of all those inspired prophetic yearnings ; and, when he says here that in it the righteo11Sness of God is revealed, hie langna.ge must surely bear the sense of that of the ancient prophets. In the gospel he perceived God's own eternal righteousness as last vindicated, a.nd in Christ ma.nifest.ed t.o mankind; vindicated with regard to the past, during which God might seem to have been indifferent to human sin ( cf. eh. iii. 25), and manifested now for the reconciliation of all to God, and the "salvation for ever" of all. (It may be observed, in this connection, that the coromon idea. of Christ's personal righteousness being imputed to believers is not scriptural. It is, of course, scriptural to say that in the Person of Christ the Divine righteousness was humanly manifested; he was peculia.rly b &Kaios; but we find nowhere in the New Testament the phrase, "the righteonsness of Christ," but always "the righteousness of God.") But, further, we find such expressions as Ao-yltETaL ~ 7r{rrnr; a~Tov ds BtKato- crwqv (eh. iv. 5); T~. OLKCUOCTW1Ji rijs 7r{UTEws (eh. iv. 11); T~s BwpEas -njs OUCD.I.OCT'IM/i (eh. v. 17); 'H be 7r{UTEws OLKat.oC1W1J (eh. x. 6); T~v EK ®Eov OU<at.001MJ l'ITl rij 'lrUTTEL (Phil. iii 9). In these modes of speech a righteous- ness attributed to man himself, derived to him through Christ from God, is certainly denoted; and thus comes in the idea. of man's wn,puted righteous- ness. But it is submitted that such conceptions do not interfere with the essentia.l meaning of 0Eov 8uuuocn,,,-q, when used as a. phrase by itself; and a.Iso that all along God's own inherent righteousness is still in view 88 the SOlll'C8 of the justification of man ; the idea being that roan, by faith and through Christ, is embraced by, a.n.d made partaker in, the eternal righteonsneas of God. Thua the main contention of St. Paul as against the Jews of his day is pregn&ntly expressed by "God's rightcousnesA," opposed t.o II mine own righteousneas," or" the righteousness of the Law." It was that man, being what h.e is, c&DDOt possibly raise himself to the ideal of tho Divine righteo11S• THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO 1'HE ROMANS. xiii