The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 384

he hRS 't>een endowed. There is a basis for sympathy in our physical nature. Tho appearance of one man acts and reacts on his companions. The mirthful induces merriment in the company, and the entrance of a gloomy countenance damps the spirit~ of e. whole party. Infants are quickly affected by the attitude of those nen.r them; and the lower animals are prone to frisk and leap when their masters are glad, and to be depressed by their melancholy. To shut one's self up in solitude, to take no notice of the circumstances of others, is therefore to sin against the laws of our being. IL JESUS CHRIST BAS PROVIDED FOR TBESlll SOCIAL INSTINCTS IN THE ESTABLISH• KID-"T OF ms CHURCH. He has instituted a community of believers, united for mutual connsel and support. One by one we resort to the Saviour for individual teaching and healing, but "those that are being saved" are" added to the Church," and the visibility of the fact assists in that redemption from selfishness which is the essence of sin. "Bea.r ye one another's burdens" is the recognition of our unity. The limb which shares not in the thrill of pain or plea.sure is on the way to a.trophy, disunion, death. Love and service t.o the Head of the body bind the members together o.s an organism, and love ministers to trouble and enhances joy. Such sympathy cannot, however, be restrict.eel t.o the members of the Church. Family ties lead to efforts for the salvo.iion of outsiders, and a desire for the glory of the Lord and the enlarging usefulness of his kingdom prompts to imitation of his beneficence who co.me to lighten our woes and to augment our gladness. ill. 0UB DEVELOPKJD."T ID,"TQ PERFECl'ION DEllllANDS THE OULTIVATION OF SYMPATHY. It was not "good" for Ad.am to be alone. A high pitch of civilization cannot be reached or maintained in isolation. Left to ourselves, we grow careless of refinement or progress. To shut ourselves up like flowers thai close their petals at the rude blast, t.o crawl inside our shell, and, closing the aperture, to dwell simply on our own satis- factions a.nd uneasinesses, is the pleading of mistaken self-love that overreaches itself and m.isse.s the pure happiness of sharing others' delights and of doing good. Spiritual growth is not attainable any more than physical strength by a life within-doors. Avoid the heat and the icy wind, and health suffers by too-great confinement. What lessoD..& may be learnt from the successes and misfortunes of our neighbours I Their loi may be Oll?II eoon; it were well to be wise betimes. To look on others is to gaze ai a minor that reflects our own image. IV. THE F1JLFILllEliT OF THIS PRECEPT WOULD llllATEBIALLY LIGHTEN THE WBETCHl!lD- BBSS OF ~ WORLD, The savageness of unrestricted competition vanishes where a dne regard is paid io t.he happiness or suffering of our companions. Nothing like a visit from the employer to the homes of his servants, or a sight by the speculator of the misery his UI1just gains have entailed, to abate the fierceness of greed and to remedy grievaru:es and wrongs. The world sorely needs brotherly kindness. Then would men and nations realize that what elevates one raises all, what depresses one truly enriches none. We may note that obedience to the latter clause of the text is perhaps more needful than compliance with the former. The distressed require help, the prosperous can do without it. But any separation of the two duties weakens both. It is not always easy to congratulate a fortunate compeer, any more than to assist the unlucky. No doubt we like t.o buk in the sunshine, and to withdraw from gloom. But the "elder brother" refused to join in the household felicitations, and the .Levite and the Pharisee "'paased by" the wounded traveller. Guard against the mere indulgence of passive sympathy. The rejoicing and mourning of the text imply an active sympathy, and action forms habits of good will and benevolence as Butler has described.. Copy the Redeemer. No ascetic or misanthrope was he, who multiplied the innocent 1?aiety of the marriage feast, and mingled hie tears with those of the weeping Bister1 of La.zaruL Even a hearty grasp of the band adds to joy, and & moistened eye comforts tboae that mourn. The poorest in point of worldly goods may be rich in God-like sympathy. Many a man has been saved from utter despair by the knowledge that another was interested in his welfare.-S. R. A.. Ver, 21.- Yid<Yry that b'leuu both the conqueror ancl the CIJ'fl,querecl. No chapter in the Bible is richer and more benign than this in practical exhortation. It breathes the Bpiri.t of the aennon on the mount, and the apostolic teaching has the advantage tiJr. xu.1-21.] THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE RO1fANS. 383