The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 300

and what i~ it~ messa~ to men? 1. It is a meSSAge which gently repro&cl1es those who complain of the difficulty of understanding and realizing the will of God. How especiBlly does this apply to Christianity I We hnve not to soar to heaven, or to plunge into the abyss; for Christ, the Son of God, h88 condescended to come down from the celestial heights that he might dwell among us; he has risen from the d01td ronquering sin and death for us, and leading us in the way to God. Thus the Lord has deigned to make the truth of God intelligible, and the grace of God real and near. 2. But the Divine righteousness, speaking, assures us of the nearness of the Word of life t-0 the hearers of the gospel, personally and individually. How could the word which quickeneth be nearer, more accessible? It is "in the mouth, and ln the heart," of every Christia.n. Pause t-0 think how true this is. Your English Bible is in your l1ands; the gospel is preached at your own doors ; the creeds, the pmyers, the tbanks- pnngs, are framed and uttered in your own familiar speech; the name of Jesus is a household word; the simplest can understand the message of the gospel, the terms of life eternal ; the child, the unlearned, the feeble, the aged, appreciate the truth as it is in Jesus; Christianity gains many a convert from among the poor, the vicious, the very heathen. All this is a testimony to the Divine adaptation of the gospel to human nature; it meets our deepest wants and supplies them, it creates its own witness by its own success. ill Tm: TEB.llS IT PROPOUNDS. They are two. 1. Faith-as this whole Epistle tells, and tells again and yet again. The righteousness is of faith; "with the heart man believeth." A provision which attests the infinite wisdom of him who made it. The condition is one which can be fulfilled by men of every rank and age and culture; yet it is one profoundly affecting the moral and spiritual nature. It is profitable to man and honouring to God. 2. Oonfessioo-a condition, doubtless, very different in the apostles' days from our own, but, as the Lord teaches us, ever indispensable. Men have not the right t.o say in what way confession shall be made. But it must not be withheld. IV. Tim BLESSINGS IT 8'ECUBE8. These also are two. 1. Righteousness-the new, Divine, Christian righteonsness, that which is the gift of God ; a righteousness which is by gni.oe, but which is real, genuine, and eternal. 2. Salvation-by which we are t,o miderst.and the final and ccmplete enjoyment of what the gospel brings and promises. The end of yOlll' faith is the lllllvation of your souls. It is not only deliverance from sin and danger; it is the participation in the Divine nature, and in the eternal life . .AmicATION. Let the hearer of the gospel think, not merely of the mysteries which belong to religion., but of the simplicity of what is most essential for him to believe. You have not to climb a lofty tree in order to pluck the fruit; the bough hangs low, and yoo. have but to reach out your hand. You have not to climb the mountain crag, and cross the dangerous bog, in order t,o come at the water of life; the stream flows by your Bide, and you have but to stoop and drink. Vera. 11-13.-.Lordahip tind riihea. This passage exhibits the identity of the old covenant and the new. Pan! quotes from the prophecies of Isaiah and Joel, in such a manner as to show, not only that he acknowledged the inspired authority of those writers, but also that he regarded words of promise uttered in the former dispensation as valid in the later. The language quoted harmonizes with the widest conceptions of the Divine benevolence, and must have been adduced with especial satisfaction by one so broad in his sympathies as was the large-hearted apostle of the Gentiles. L THE LoBDSHIP .um WEALTH OF CHRIST. In speaking of the blessings of salvation, it wa.e very natural that Paul should be led to refer to the glory of the Saviour, in order that it might be unde!'Btood how vast wa~ hie power alike to deliver and to Jl"Ot.ecl his people, and to confer upon them pnceless favours. 1. As Lora of all, Christ is Po88e880r of all power in heaven and in earth. He is of right Ruler of all; and the application of this la11guage, referring to Jehovah, to the Son of man, is proof that be wa11 regarded by St. Paul as Bon of God. To Christians, however, It is delightful t.c, reflect upon Christ's authority, exercised over them, benignnntly on his po.rt, and gratefully and practically ackn?wledged and ~ubmitted to ~~ themeelve_e. A r?bel and e. Joye.I subject think very differently of th~1r sovereign. Io \1B Jesus 1B the Km~, l,eca.uae he is the Prciphet and the Pri<:st, who Las come to us with the voic, of Gou, on. x. 1-21.] THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS.