The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 264

cry/"' follomng (<-f. l Oor. xii. S), which, of und(lr the like strong emotion, "Yet now, lle>l'l?t'8, ronld not be on oath, if thou wilt forgive t1,eir sin-; and if not, Veni. 2. 8.-The.t I have great hee.vineas blot me, I puy thee, out of the book whioh ud oontinU&l eorrow in my heart. He doe11 thou hast written" (Exod. xxxii. 82), Dengel not 1.111y what for, leaving it w appear in remarks well," Ex summa fide (oap, 8) nuno what follows. The broken sentenoe is eigni• summum ostendit amorem, ex amore diviuo ficant of emotion. l'or I could wish that I ecoensum. Res non potero.t fieri, qun.m myaelf were aoounecl from Christ for my optare.t : eed votum ere.t pium et solidum, brethren, my kinsmen aooording to the :8.eah. quamlibet oum to.cite. oonditione, si fieri None of the ways that have been suggested posset." Also, " De monsure. amorie in Mose for evading the obnous meaning of this et Paulo non fe.oile est existime.re, Eum RSl!E'rtion &1"8 tenable. One such way is to enim modulus ratiooino.tionum nostre.rum take the imperfect Tri,xoµ.T/" as expressing non eapit; eicut heroum bellioorum animos what he onoe wished, Yi£ before his con- non oapit parvulus." version; l!O that the meaning would be, •· My interest in my own people is such that, St. Paul proceeds, in the spirit of a in my zeal for them, I onc-0 myself desired to patriotic Jew, which he ever retained, to be entirely apart from Christ ; I myself said, enumerate the peculiar privileges of the 'A,,o8,µ..a. 'b1a-ouv (1 Cor. xii. 3), and perse- chosen people, their possession of which cuted his followers." Neither the natural force of the imperfect here (as to which cf. rendered their present failure to realize their Acts xxv. 22 ; Gal. iv. 20), nor that of purpose so peouliarly disappointing and lwci.8,µ.a ,Iva.., nor the cont.ext, allow this distressing. subterfage. Another way is to understand ud.B,µ.a ,r.,.., as implying only devotion t.o Vers. 4, '5.-Who (of.,-wu, with its usual temporal destruction, i.e. t.o a violent death. sense of quippe qui) are Iara.elites ; whose In Le-.. xx:vii every animal devoted t.o the is the adoption, and the glory, and the cove- Lord (in the LXX. lw&.i,µ..a.) is snrely t.o be nants, and the giving of the Law, and the put to death; and this has been conceived service of God, and the promises ; whose are as all that is implied here. So Jerome, the fathers, and from whom is Christ as con- • Qnmst. 9, ad Alge.a.,' and Hilary, 'Ad Ps. cerning the :II.ash, who is over all, God blessed 8.' But how then about a.rli XpUT'Tou? The for ever, Amen. Here" the adoption "(vlo- words l,,oJ/,µ..a. nnd lw&.iTtµ..a., from ...,,..,.[9-qµ.,, 9,a-fo) means the selection of Israel to be both denote primarily what is offered or set God's :peculiar people (cf. Exod. iv. 22, apart ; the latter being applied to things " Israel is my son, even my firstbom ; " devoted to God's honour and service ( cf. Dent. xiv. 1, "Ye a.re the children of the Luke =i. 5), the latter always in the New Lord your God ; " Hos. xi. l, "When Israel Testament used to denote rejection or dever was a child, I loved him, and called my son tion to evil It occurs in Acts x:riii 14; l out of Egypt;" also Exod. xix. 5. Cf. o.lso Cor. xii. 3 ; xvi 22 ; Gii.L i 8, 9. It cer- .,-l1ev11 .,-oi, 0,aii in ver. 8 below). It is, of tainly means here separation from the com- course, a different idea from that of the munion of Christ, in the same sen~e as spiritual vlo8,ula. of believers (at present as 1ea..,..,pyf,8sTE ,..,,.11 ..-oii Xp1a-Tou (Gal v. 4). in eh. viii. 15, or t.o come as in eh. viii. 23), Even if the expression tlvd.B,µ..a. ,I.,,., be under- though it migl.it be typical of it. " The et.ood as meaning in itself excommunication glory" U1 06E11) seems best expl11ined by re- only (as =diJ•µ..a. ea-..-u, in ecclesiastical usage), ference to 2 Cor. iii. 7-18, where tl.te visible the addition of drli ..-oii XpUT'Toii evidently glory, said to have rested on the mercy-seo.t implies more than mere separation from and to have illuminated for a time the fe.oe outward Church communion. The apostle of Moaes, is regarded as expressing the glory, can hardlv mean otherwise than that he in a higher sense, of the old dispensation, would forfeit his own commODion with which, however, was destined to fode o.wo.y Christ on behalf of (v,r~p) his coODtrymen, in the greater glory of the revelation of God if so they as a nation could be bronght t.o in Christ. The word may be thus taken to BCCP.pt the gospel. This certainly was a denote, not simply the Shechinah, or the etrong thing to say, end it may seem t.o ns glory on Mount Sinai, but rather what wo.s to imply an i.mfll!BBibility, if we compare it, signified by these manifesto.tions. It WOB for instance, with eh. nil. 38, " I em per- probably a recognized term in use with 11ne.ded," etc. But we need not understand reference t.o the giving of the Law. "The a pe.saing expression of feeling, however covenaut.s" (Ill l11c8ij1e1u), and "the pro- real, as a deliberate utterance, 'fhe imper- mises" (a.I ,1T1zyy,11.C111), both in the plum), fect T/VXOP.T/" i.mplie11 only that the fact bad include those made with and given to Abra- J)8.8S0d through his mind in the intensity of hnm and the other patriarchs, as well o.s the hiti desire for the salvation of his brethren. Mosaic ones. Tho former word is wrongly lt corrll8p0Jldl with the 111,yi.Dg of Muses taken by some as denoting the tablea of the on. rx. 1-33.] TIIE EPISTLE OF PAUL 'l'(!> 'rBE RmIANS. 2133