M! en heir {'If God." 1 Now, this designation of Abrnl,am to the heirshlp or the world ~ at the nme ti~ as the reckonincr to him of righteousness. The Law BfierwL\rds given to his J)C\'lterity b11,d nothing to do with this inheritance. It oame solely through Mtb. It. WRs the gift of Di'l"'ine grace signalizing the patriarch's truet in God all faithful Promiser. Hence the patriarch was oalled the "fath!lr of tnany nations," because he felt assurl'd that God, who raiseth the dood and quickeneth them, cot1ld give him through bis sl'Cd the inheritance of the wor-ld. In the universal tliumph of righteousness, the believing descendants of Abraham, whether Jew or Gentile, should "Inherit the earth." m. ABRARA.X BECEITED A SEED THROUGH FAITH. (Vers. 18-25.) Now, the inheritance centroo itself, 1111 the history shows us, in a "seed of promise," and for years this was unlikely. Abraham is ninety and nine, and Sarah ninety, before the promised lleed is gi'l"'en. For a quarter of a century it seemed hopeless; but the JIStriarch hoped against hope, and eventually the God who can raise the dead granted to Sara.b's deed womb a li'"ing son of pr-omise. Here was the strength of the patriarch's faith in hoping in spite of all appearances. We have thus set before us in Abraham's Ol98, Ill! recei'l"'ed through faith alone, righteonsness, inheritance, and a seed of promise, Bat the apostle at once reminds us that all this is written for us also, to whom the Ame right.eousness and the same inheritance shall be secured if we exercise the same mth. And the analogy he traces out in the closing verses is very striking. Jesus, the Seed of Abraham, lay for a season in Joseph's tomb. Ho was to all appearances bopelesaly dead. But God raised him from the dead, just as he had brought Isaac 6om the dead womb of Sarah. In the God who can thus "call those thini::s which he not as though they were" we ought to believe. Let us believe in the Father who raised Christ from the dead; and then we can rejoice in the two great facts, that J esile was delivered because of onr offences unto death, and then raised out of death as 'tlie sign of our justificstion. Christ's resurrection is thus seen to be the sign and pledge of onr personal justification. May we enter into all these privileges through the ell:en:ise of faith !-R. M. E.
EXPOSITION. CHAPTER V. " we have peace" comes in natuin.Uy as an initiatory statement of what is e.fteriai:cls Vm-. 1-21.--(6) The ruults of CM ret1ela- carried out. This being the case, it ie a tw. of Ou righf.eott.mea of God, a, ajfeding question whether an exception me.y not be (s)Dae ~ and 'lwpea of belieDers; allowed in this case to the usually sound rule of bowing to decided preponderance of (b) the po6itum of mankind before God. authority with respect to readings. . That • Vem.1-11.--(a) .Aa f.o CM CDn8CWUB1tea1 of lxwµ,•v we.a an early and widely accepted iru!ir:i.rlual belie-oen. reading there can be no doubt; bu~ .still. it may not have been the original .oqe, the Ver. 1.-Therefore, being j'IIBl:ified by faith, other appearing more probable. Scrivener we have peace with God through our Lord is of opinion that .. the itacism or "! for o, BO J'ems Christ. Instead of the txoµ,,v of the fomiliu.r to all collators of Greek 'inanu• 'fextmi B.eceptos, an overwhelming pre- scripts, crept into some very early oopy, pondemnce of e.othority, including oncie.ls, from whioh it was propage.ted among our versions, e.nd Fe.then, 8Upports fxu,µ,a ("let most venerable codices, .even those from u, have"). If t.his be tLe true reeding, the which the earliest versions were mo.de." ~pression most be intended as hortatory, Ver. 2.-Through whom also we have meaning, e.ppe.rently, "Let m appreciate and (rather, ha:oe luzd-/trx~1«1µ,,11-roferring to rea1iu om Jl€8Ce with God wLich we have the past time of conversion and baptism, but in being josti.fied by faith." Bot hortatioo with the idea of continue.nee expressed by here does not app(:ar in keeping with what the perfect) the (or, owr) aoce■s b7 faith (the follows, in Yhich the remits of our being words, "by le.ith," which are not required, justified by faith are dt:ecril..oed in terms are e.beent from many manuscripts) into thia ~learly eorrespon&ng with the idea of our grace wherein we 1tand,e.nd rejoioe (properly, l,aving ptsoo with God.. The paasage u a gl.ory, Hauxt1,µ,,9t1., the BBme word as in thll w,,ole lll Dot hortatory, bot deacriptive, and followiDg verse, and most usually 10 ronckrod
' Gird!cato111,'1 ' Old 'featament Synonym•,' pp. 259, 200. dit. vi 1-21.J THE E'rISTtE OF PAUL Tt, 'l'HE P.OMANS. 12:3
eleewh11re, tbpugh 1ometimes by" boast." Our rather <fod's love to us than oors to G"'l. ito.nelators seem in this verse to ho.ve de- What f Ilow1 in explanation req aires thia 0