admittedly weut unpunished. Now, "~trnnge I\B it may "~\lear," to quote from n thoughtful wri_ter, "this very imperfection [iu the OKecution ol Justice] seems to be thu 111rongest possible proof that, in the nAxt world, vengeance will be fulfilled to the utmost. For observe, if we found t.hat every man in this life received just what he de..oen·ed, and e\"ery evil work always brought swift punishment along with it, what should we naturally conclude? 'l'here is no future punishment in store: I see nothiu~ wanting; every man has already received the due reward of his works; everything js already complete, and, therefore, there is nothing to be done in the next world. Or if, on the other hand, there were no punishment visited upon sin at all in the world, we might be inclined to say, • Tush I God hath forgotten;' he never interferes amongst us; we have no proof of his hatred of sin, or of his determination to punish it; he is gone away far from us, and has left us to follow our own wills and imaginations. So that if sentence were either perfe,dly executed upon earth, or not executed at all, we might have some reason for saying that there was a chanCR. of none in a future world. But now it is imperfectly executed; just so mw;h done, as to say, • You are watched,...! my eye is upon you; I neither slumber nor sleep; and my vengeance slumb.ereth not.' And yet, at the same time, there is so little done, that a man has to look into eternity for the accomplishment." 1 If God, by passing over ante-Christian sin, provided a chief argument for a world &nd judgment to come. then we can see how he could ;'ustly pass by the &in when he had promised in the Law and the prophets a propitiation. It is a difficulty with some to see exactly how "Christ tasted death for every man," even for those who will not accept of pardon. But the respite, more or less lengthy, which all sinners enjoy before the execntion of deserved vengeance upon them, is owing to Christ',a propitiation. God can justly stay his hand, since the atoning sacrifice has been secured. In view of the promised propitiation, in ante-Christian times God's righteous- ness was vindicated in passing by the sins of men and postponing their punishment. God's justice was provided for, while he indulged his forbearance and passed over the ~~~m~ • lL JUSTIFICATION WAS ALSO EXTENDED TO FA.ITB IN THE PROPITIATION OF CHRIST. Not only does Christ's propitiation justify the Divine forbearance (ver. 25), as WO have just seen., but it also jnstifies the pardon and acceptance of the believer. By tr1Jsting in the propitiation of Christ, we find ourselves justified from all things, from which we could not be jnstified by the Law of Moses. The state of the case, as Paul here puts it, .is this. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile as far as condemnation is con- cerned. We are all condemned, for we all sinned (ijp,cip-rov is the aorist; and refers to a prel'ions act, and this was, doubtless, man's fall in Eden), and were destitute of God's glory. But we come to see in Jesus Christ a divinely appointed and promised "Jll'Opitiation,, (~pw11), not surely a mere "mercy-seat," but an "atoning sacri- fice," in whose shed blood we can trnst (5,m. -rijs ..,/,,.-r,r.,s l11 -rti czlrroi) cz1p,cz-r,) ; and on the ground of the satisfaction thus rendered to Divine justice by a Divine Red&emer, God can be jnst, and at the same time justify the believer in Jesus. "Perhaps," says Shedd, in his • Critical and Doctrinal Commentary,' "the force of the middle voice should be insistoo upon: 'God set forth for himself.' ~he atonement of '?~rist is a self-~ati~~ faction for the Triune God. It meets the requirements of that D1vme nature which 18 equally in each Person. • God bath reconciled us to himself (iczv-rfi,)' (2 Cor. v. 18, l~ ; CoL i. 20). Jn the work of vicarious ato~ement, the Godh~ad is both s~bject ap_4 object, e.ctive and passive. God holds the claims, and God satisfies the claims; he 1s displea.sed, and he propitiates the displeasure; he demands the at9nement, and he _pro- vides the atonement." .And here we should be very clear about .the perfectly gratuitou, character of our jll.6tification. We are justified "freely" (5~p•o.11) by way of gift, as a matt.er of pure grace, our only possible relation to it being gratitude for a. free gif~. 'J'o tMlllt in oar propitiation, or. rather in our Propitiator, is ~o more a men~ ~hall: 1t it is for a beggar to hold out blll hand for alms. We do Christ the greatest 1nJust1c0, v,e deny him hia rights, so long u we refuse to trust him., Our pardon and acceptance II! believers, there/ore, are granted for the sake of Jeslll Christ. . Ill. No BO.ASTI!'iG C.A.N BE :su1LT ol!I' THE LAW OF J'AITH. (Vere. 27-81.) Gro.tui- tolu jWltificatioo, the apoetle proceeds next to tilw\Y, excludes all boasting. Ae we have ,een, wi: have 110 merit Lefore the Law, but stand condemued. W c escape condemne.tion • Wolfe'•,, Remains,' 0th edit., pp. 325, 328. qu, 1V, 1-26.] 'l'HE El'IBT~E, OF PATJL 'ro TllE RO;\,[ANS. 10,
.\iY a _gratuitous justification extended to u~ on the groun,l of our Redeemer's merit.~. pur faith in this lovlng, self-sacrificing Redeemer is only giving him hi, due/ All whr, a,ooopt of justification, therefore, on these terms are excluded by this " law of faith " from boasting. We realize that we must make our boast only in the Lord. He is the sole ground of our confidence. The" deeds of the Law" do not enter into the questir,n of our justification ; good works come in the Christian life as the ef!ut of our pardon and acceotance; we are "created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God bath before oidained that we should walk in them" (l<}ph. ii. 10). Jew and Gentile have alike, therefore, to accept of justification as God's free gift through the propitiation of Christ, nnd as grateful penitents to set about proving our gratitude through suitable iood works, 'l'he Law 1e thus established, first, through the atoning sacrifice of Jesus; and, secondly, through the new obedience of the grateful and lowly minded believer. \the magnificent plan of salvation, eo far from proving any illegality, is entirely in the interests oflaw and order. 1 What it secures is a mighty multitude of meek and lowly i;nen, each one of whom feels laid under everlasting obligation through the gratnitons pardon and acceptance he ha.s received through Christ, and bound in consequence to do Bll he can to prove how grateful he is. May we all belong to this self-emptied and lowly minded company 1-R. M. E.