The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 250

auf!icient to show the terrible possili_!ity of ~i~g altogether fleshly, ch{)l)!!ling evil dehb~rately n~ good. As ~en long 1mmll1'e<1; ~ pnson may lo~ all desire for liberty, deeming the hght of day pamful and fellowship irksome, so does 1t kill all the rati0nal lon~ings and stifle the highest faculties of the soul to be continually in bondacre to the 0 bodily appetites. III. THE NEOEBBARY BLESSEDNESS OF THE OTHER STATE. To be in Christ is to be a new creation, where the thrill of young life fills the being with joyous hope of yet better things to come. There are new desires, new resolves made, new occupations entered upon, The boy that refuses to tell a lie may BUfi'er, yet is glad within• and the victor over temptation knows what it is for the angels to minister to him. There is a happy consciousness that we are on the right path, that there is harmony between us and our Maker. The reality of life is manifested by its fruits, against which there is no law, no sentence of death. This life is accompanied by the tranquil satisfaction of peace, the panacea for daily irritations. Not the deceitful calm of opiate slumber, nor the stagnation of a festering pool; but a flowing stream, gliding by smiling orchards and productive industries. He has "life and peace" whose "conversation is in heaven," for such is not swayed by the customs of the holl1', nor ruffled by the accidents of the day. Take from the Christian what you please, you cannot rob him of this holy serenity. Not death can strip him of his comfort; he has "a house not made with hands," his honour stands not in the breath of man, his treasure is not dug out of the bowels of the earth. He receives "a kingdom which cannot be moved." He lives when all the world is dead, is happy when all the fountains of earthly pleasure are dried up. -:-S, R. A. Ver. 10.-..A.n indwelling Saviour. Awe-struck must Israel have been when the cloud of the Lord rested upon the tabernacle, the sign of the interest of Jehovah in his people and of his intention to dwell amongst them. And when the dedication of the temple of Solomon was completed, and the glory of the Lord filled the house, the near- ness and condescension of their God caused the Israelites to bow with their faces to the ground, and to praise the Lord, saying, "For he is good: his mercy endureth for ever." It was much when the angelic messengers appeared to patriarchs and prophets, brighten- ing their homes for a space. But how vast the honour conferred upon the humblest Christian when the Son of God fulfils his promise by not only visiting him, but taking up his abode in his heart I The visit of a sovereign invests the meanest domicile with interest. Look with wonder, therefore, on the man with whom the Deity is a constant Guest. I. THE INTIMACY OF THE UNION. Jesus employed the figure of a vine to set it forth. He used the same way of speaking as with reference to the uni1m between his Fa.ther and himself. " At that day ye sho.11 know that I am in the Father, and ye in me, nnd I in you." Paul, alluding to his conversion, snid, "It plensed God to reveal his Son in me." The heart of man is pictured in Scripture as a house at which the Saviour ltnocks for admission. Thus is the question answered, that God will "dwell with man upon the earth." Ohrist is said to abide in w when his words are retained in the memory nod acted upon in the life, becoming a source of inspiration for high and holy thoughts and deeds. "If ye nbide in me, and my words abide in yon,n etc. Chri.sl bestows upon his people the gift of his Spirit, to be his Representative, the living, pre- sent Comforter. "Hereby know we that he abideth in us, by his Spirit which he hath given us." To aspire to such a relntionship we had never dared of ourselves; the con- ception is manifestly Divine. II. SOME EFFECTS OF THE 1INDWELLING OP CHRIST. 1. It is flOt intfflckcl to null{fy all the natural results upon the body of the/all of ,nan. "The body is dead because of sin." The reception of Obrist by faith, nnd the consequent obedience to his teachings, doos Indeed tond to produce such temperateness, industry, and contentment as uro most fitted to presurve the corporcnl frame in pure nnd wholesome condition and to prolong lte existence. Novcrtheless, the gospol does not nvert the operatiou of physic:\l law~ and longovlty is not the Ohristhm's chief nim. The youthful may })!\SS awny l'l)cl\uso of Inheriting n weak constitution, nnd their early docet\So is not to bo reg,udt>d :'8 mystorious, o.nd as I\ scourge from God's hl\lld to the sorrowing relatives. EHry dc,\th dooe speak to us of tho evil of sin in the rRce. 'l'ho forcible wrenching asnuder of soul Me THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS. [OB. nu.1---ao.