The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 402

Dut tho "Thou sh11lt not commit adultery" sounda in our eara a spoken law of Gr,d: tho rights of sru;~ed rel~tio~shif must b_e .C?nserv00; 3. The right of property. "Thon ehalt not stee.l. An mstmctive e.cq u1s1t1veness m man; he lords it over the world. 'l'his o.oquisitiv~ness sanctioned by God: "have ~ominion." Same acquisitiveness, perverted from its proper use, may lee.cl us to acquire that to which we have no riuht 0 to "steal" the property of our brother. But the "'fhou shalt not steal" sounds id our ears: God utters his sanction of the Ba.Credness of property. 4. Fwndo,rMntal tlJ all these main rights of man is the right to be secwre from. even the unlawful de.1ire of a brother. "Thou shalt not covet." For "out of the heart proceed," etc. (Matt. xv. 19). So to covet another's life, or wife, or property, even in the first faint be~nning of desire, is to allow the lust from which all evil flows; and, as agaill.'!t "si; in its beginning," the "Thou shalt not covet," of God is uttered with solemn emphasis as the last commandment. II. LovE. The last commandment? Nay, for Christ has said," A. new command- ment I give unto you, That ye love one another." We have seen how this is the bond of the new brotherhood in Christ ; it is set forth here as the Christian's own safeguard of the rights of man. As a man amongst men you must respect the rights of men, i.e. you must fulfil the law; as a Christian amongst men you must love them for the Lord's sake, and so you assure your respect for all their rights, for "love is the fulfil- ment of the:Law." Need this be proved? Law says sternly," No ill to one's neighbour;" love says, "Give all good." .Ah! here is a yet Diviner impulse, and covering a broader ground. .And the Christian will be content with nothing less than this Diviner impulse and broe.der ground. But if there be the higher impulse, the lower shall be secure; if there be the wider range, the narrower shall be covered. Yes; love men, and you will work no ilL The importance of justice amoogst men demands that, as good citizens, we see to it that justice is everywhere advanced; hence onr parliaments, our courts. Bnt that justice may be advanced, to say nothing of yet higher ends, let us, as Christians, cherish this principle which constitutes the second great commandment, "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."-T. F. L. Vers. 11-14.-The day breaketh ! ".And this "-the work of progressive sanctifi- cation, in all-its aspects and relations-this surely claims our strong attention now, when the day of God is nigh unto dawning I For, visibly to us, the she.dows pass and the morning breaks. It is the night-watch still, but the day is at hand. We have here to consider-the nearness of the day of God; our full awaking. L THE DAY OF Gon. In and through all the declarations of the Scriptures there miogles this warniog note-the day of God will come I Men seem t-0 have their day, and 1work their will; God will have his day, and will work his will. We must not narrow the meaniog of this presentment of the Scriptures: whenever God interferes amid the doings of men to show forth his power, his day has come. In our individual life-histories, in the histories of nations, as well as in the larger history of the race, God has come, does come, many times and in many ways. For mercy? Yes; to deliver those who trust in him anci seek to work his will. .And for judgment: for "whereso- ever the carcase is, there will the eagles be gathered together.~ But amid these many manifestations of God's power, there are some which stand out conspicuously, like the mountain-peaks among the lower hills. Such was the advent of the Christ, looming large before the vision of Old Testament seers. Such is the second e.dvent of the Christ, looming large to the view of the apostles and to us. For mercy and for judg- ment was the former; for mercy and for judgment shall be the latter. To the Christian believer, for full salvation I Oh, what a hope is this! It has glowed before us as we have traced God's purposes deolared in foregoing chapters; Paul would have it bum as our beacon-light, ever brighter and more nearl .A beacon-light? Nay, rather it is the do.wn of the new day, when the shining of God's full-orbed love shall scatter for ever all the lingering shades of night. II. Oun FULL AWAKING. But what shall be our attitude in view of such a day- break? Wo must surely be watchers for the morning, childrt'n of light! The very r1•<'011orntiou of those to whom ho writes was truly nu awnkiug out of 11-k'<:'p; but therll mi~ht be need HLill for a more thoroush urousnl and rlla,liu,,~s. Nay, is tlwre uot, iu (00 THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO 'l'HE ROMANS. [oa, xm.1-14,