The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 338

and pm'E' 11nd beneficent it may beoomr, and by his sROrifioo opened the kingdom of be11ven to all believen. Woll may we rc'joice in his work I Our High Prloat before the throne AAnct:ilies all who come 't-0 God through him. At the jubilee fuetivltiea tho Queen of Hawaii claimed preoedenoo as a sovereign, and, her oredentiiue being authenti- cated, her claim was grant-ed ; so may we, 1\8 the brethren of Christ, lift up our bonds being made "kings and priests unt-0 God." It ie our connootion with him that ennobles our condition. m SoM:E PRAC7l'ICAL APPLIOATIO~'S TO COIIDUOT AND PROPERTY, To consecrate the hea-rl t-0 G-Oti co-,; all the l(fe, AAnct-ifics all the issues which flow from it. Hero is the differe_nce between religion and morality; here ie the reason why some of the eharacters of Scnpture are called" saints," in spite of infirmities and lapses. The setting apart of Sunday as the Lord's day hallows all the week. We are then what we are not able to be at other times, free from secular engagements and absorbed in devotion. And like a gvden well watered in the early morn, the busy life retains its vigour and freshness thro~h the heated hours which follow. The dediaition of youth ia a, co1uiecration of the a,lter-life.. Youth is like the morning of the day, and should be watered betimes ..-ith the dews of prayer. Prayer should be the foundation-stone of each enterprise. "When first thy eyes unvei~ give thy soul leave to do the like; give God thy first ilioughts then, so shalt thon walk with him all day, and in him sleep." The devotion qf a tit"f.£ or gift blesses all the increase. The beauty of recurring seasons may fail to arouse because of the very regularity of their succession. Nature's constant stream of blessings may lull the soul into forgetfulness of the Giver. Hence the rites prescribed t.o Israel "The altar unlocks the reaping gate." The first grains feed the altar, the :first sickle cuts an offering for God. The common household routine of baking is transfigured by the appropriation of a part of the dough to religious uses. And this, not as a burden, a hateful tax, but a task of love. Not instead of hearty devotion, but as an outward emblem of gratitude. The followers of Christ are to bless the world. They are "begotten through the Word of truth t.o be a kind of fi.rstfruits of God's creatures." 'Ihey are as salt t.o preserve, 88 light to illumine. All brought into contact with them should be the better bece.use they were called with a holy calling. CoNCLtmIOK. The topic reminds us of our cert.a.in resurrection to heavenly activity and glory. Christ was the Firstfruits of them that sleep. Sad to us the interval when we see our friends no more ; death's icy hand ha.a grasped them, and the worms do their work. Yet as Christ rose, eo shall the seed spring up, we know not how. Death's seeming triumph is a defeat. They shall be changed and glorified; the crumbling dust shall shine brighter than the noonday eun.-S. R. A. V ers. 20, 2L-Spiritual pride rebuked. The pride of man is a bladder easily i..nfl.ated, and the apostle performed a salutary service when he showed how readily it might be pricked. The throwing open to the Gentile world. with additional advantages, of the religio1111 privileges formerly confined t.o the Jews, begot in many converts an undue elation. Christianity inspires men with such expansive hopes that there is a danger of overweening vanity and presumption leading to a neglect of the conditions under which alone these hopes can be realized. The mercy of God may be illegiti- mately strained; the consciousness of spiritual freedom has often degenerated into licence of behaviour, and the "goodness" of God has made men unmindful of his "severity." Hence the useful ce.ution of the text. Distinguish, however, between "fear" and" dread." Beverentia.l, humble fear is quite compatible with gladness of soul and with unwavering trust in the promise of a free and full salvation. Let us adduce con.Jiiderations that j1111tify the caution of these verses. L WE HAVE .All' DlP.ABTIAL Go» TO DEAL WITH. An arbitrary capricious monarch may select favouritea, and dispense his gifts without regard to the moral worth of the recipient& Gentiles receiving an account of the river of Divine love abandoning its previo1111 channel and inundating with a flood of blessing the surrounding parched landl:i, might be lapped into a falee security, as if this blessing once granted could not &.gaiIJ be withheld, no matter what the Ille made of the fertilizing influences vouchenfod. 'l'Li.8 would be to overlook the fact that it was for reuon• the Jew1 were ■tripped of tL.bir exclusive advaIJtageas, and that the ea.me reaBOnB of abu11e and lngratltude might ar.1111e the 11torf w be repeated in the Ca.Be CJf Chrilltie.ns, boastful of their position of OH, x1. l-3G.] THE EPIS'l'LE OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS. 337