The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 255

is. "'I\e ltX>k through eyes of flesh, and our vision is limited. We dislike a burden and all ~nffering. Like Paul, we have "thrice besought the Lord" to remove what ls de.signed for beneficial discipline. Like sufferers under the surgeon's knife, we long for pre8ent e&.c"<e rather than the removal of the real oouse of disorder. Amid the whirl of life "bound t-0 its wheel," we are liable to "mistake its end;" would fain arrest the machinery ere the olay is sufficiently impressed to make a "vessel meet for the °M:BSt.er's use." II. THE DIVINE PROVISION. Help is affordecl us by the Spirit of God. The 'IJ6f'Y ,ense of di..osansfaction is a sign of the indweUing Spirit. The world wonders at the lamenta- tion S-O frequent in religious biography. nut to be quite content argues deadness of soul. To deem one's self perfectly wise is a sure token of self-deceit. The Spirit breaks up the deeps -0f an undisturbed monotony. The Emperor Augustus desired to see the wonderful conch on which a man slept serenely in spite of his heavy indebtedness. The groaniFig of the <Jhristian is an a.doa= upon that of the natural creation. It is not merely bewailing and murmuring ; it is for spiritual reasons, He is ma.de aware of his Divine sonship, and bas to reooi::.cile his confidence in the Father with his present irksome bondage. Creation longs for development; the Christian feels his sinfulness and sighs for sal,ation. His groaning proves a longing for infinitude; that he was made for God. and nothing less can satisfy. Like the hart chased by pursuers, till big tears are rolling from the eyes &nd the moisture is black upon its sides, so the Christian "thirsts for the living God." For him, to cease to aspire is to die, as the cessation of activity in extreme cold means a fatal rest. The unwilling bondage is an "incipient liberty." This groaning is an intercession of the Spirit, an utterance too big /or 'IDOrd.s, a powerful, pka with Gt>d. We have the advocacy of Christ without us, and the int.ercession of the Holy Spirit within. "I will send you another .Advocate." Such an advocacy assures us of good. The Spirit is " the Firstfruits," and the golden harvest shall surely follow to the gamer. These yearnings are the earnest of the fulfilment of our largest hopes, a pledge that the Father does not mean us always to rem.a.in down-trodden and stained and imperfect in knowledge. How great the encouragement to pray! Even though we are uncertain what exactly we want, our vague aspirations are not useless. We are lifted higher by them. Prayer is God's law, though how it acts on God we cannot tell We know that in the human sphere a father exerts his power of loving aid when his child cries in trouble. And God reads the mind of his own Spirit, urging us to pour out our hearts before his throne of grace. We may pray, then, even though we realize our inability to express our needs. We ca.n interpret the dumb animal's pleading look, or the babe's expression of suffering; we project our spirit to them, and by sympathy understand their wants. And our broken utterances, or the stereotyped phrases of the Liturgy, a.re multiplied by the Spirit into a mighty intercession on our behalf. Though we fear lest we ask amiss, God will understand aright, nor grant an injurious boon. The direction of the Spirit's longing stimulated within us is ever in accordance with the judgment of the All-wise, -S. R. .A. Ver. 32.-A wnsol,a,tory argu=t. This is one of the most wonderful chapters in all Scripture, for the height to which it soars and the brea.dth of its conceptions. It is rich in doctrine, in promise, and in consolation. Having climbed, as it were, the mount of God, the apostle reaches the summit, stands bathed in the very light of God, L A GLOBIOUB AND SOLEMN TRUTH COMMEMORATED. "God spared not his own Son.• God has known what it is to be bereaved by the departure and death of his best- beloved. No need now to dwell upon those sufferings of Christ at the crucifixion-the baptism of horror, darkness, and blood in which the Sun of Righteousness set for two days. The God who in his tender mercy steps in and spares offenders to.ken in arms aga.iruit him, the~ seemed deaf to t!ie cries ?f his only begotten Son. He mu~t drink the bitter cup to its dregs. Hagar m the w1lderneee turned away that she might not aee her child die. She 1,rayed, and Tuhmael lived. Yet God beheld hie Son prostrnte in the garden, and yet yielded him ~p for us all. \\'.hat can give such viev.:s of. the t:r.c,rn.,ity c,f sin as the sacrifice of Cbn.st I When hard iran laws tempt us to_ d1sbch?ve the ooIDpaseion of our Maker, we are rea.BSured by the spectacle of t~e suffe~mg Chnst. 'l'here ill no lack of wisdom, power, or love, however stern the necessity which compels 011. vm. 1-39.J THE EPIB'l'LE OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS. 253