The Pulpit Commentary — Romans — Section 451

II. Trm PRAYER. "Fill yon with all joy and peace in believing." We ma;y lawfvJJ,y &eelc, n~t onlJ'. to obey the precepts, but to en/oy the corn,(orts of the Jospel. '!'rue, tbe gosp~l ideal 1s bleeseclneee rather than happm_ess; yet ,_ts intent ie to bring present sercmty and gladness, not to leave us all our life trembling in doubt. It is a remedy for present ills, e. foretaste of coming bliss. Peace and joy are virtues• there is no mer!t attached to disquiet 9:nd mournfulness.. Faith is the gr01liTl,f], o f ~ and joy, or the rnstrument through which God commurucates these blessings. " In believing" is put for the whole of Ohristian conduct. Expect peacP and joy whilst you hold fast to the message which imparted glad tranquillity at the first, whilst you remember the obligations and partake of the privileges of the gospel. Without faith, joy and peace can no more enter the soul than hunger and thirst can be relieved without eating and drinking. Faith grows by exercise, mounts aloft on experience like the vine on the trellis. It is not honourable to be for ever questioning the credibility of Christ. Faith knocks at the door and gains admittance into the mansion of light and song; unbelief examines the door, and questions the resources of the palace. When our right to our inheritance is challenged, we may examine again the title-deeds; but it is not in the law courts that we learn to prize our possessions. The payer of the text teaches not to rest content with meagre supplies. How exuberant the apostle's language ! " Fill you with all peace," etc. There is joy of every kind arising from service and co=union- joy intellectual e.nd emotional; joy in onr own advance and in the widening bounds of the kingdom of Christ. We are too apt to sink to a certain level of monotony. Our course is circular, too seldom spiral reaching upwards. III. THE END IN VIEW, " That ye may abound in hope." Here again see the spiritual vehemence of the apostle. He knew that every Gentile believer cherished hope; but be would have this hope to abound in every season, under every circum- stance. Some Christians, like birds in an eclipse of the snn, are sure that the she.des betoken night. Now, the Christian who is rich in peace and joy cannot help reasoning from the present to the future; his ecstasy tints every cloud with roseate hues. He i3 youthful in spirit, Ii ves in e. " ... boyhood of wonder and hope, Present promise and wealth of the future beyond the eye's scope.n Hope is imprinted on his countenance, radiates from every action. Advancing age brings him nearer the westering sun; there is a rich ripeness of harvest glory. Two old men, alike in everything else but in the possession of this buoyant expectancy, are really wide as the poles asunder. The one laments that he has seen the best of his days; the other has something better than the best to prepare for. Christian hope is set on an excellent object, rests on e. stable foundation, works a purifying, elevating gladness. The hope desired for the Romans was a collective hope, to be fostered as a common solace and strength. Only by dwelling in harmony could it produce its proper fruits. There should be no panic amongst the followers of Christ-hence the impor- tance of the prayer, IV. TnE 0ONDITION EXPRESSED, "Through the power of the Holy Ghost..a The human condition was" believing;" the Divine is the energy of the Spirit. And since he dwells in believers, his aid may surely be reckoned on. This hope, therefore, is neither painted in water nor written in dust. It is not made so much dependent on our reasonings or struggles as on that life from God which is the answer to all man's pleas and excuses. Ha says, "I am weak, I cannot.'' God says, " I will pour my Spirit upon you." How vast the difference between the dull, timid disciples and the same when "fillell with the Spirit "-enthnsiastio, vigorous, ready to preach e.nd to take joyfully the spoiling of their persons and property I Let our cry be, "Come, Hol:Jli, Spirit, come I" Breathe about our wintry chills, scatter our darkness, raise our plane of thought nnd feeling 1-S. R. A. Ver, 27.-Debts pleasurably paid. The ties formed by the reception of the gospel exhibited the expulsive power of a new affection to cast out uational jealousies and antipathies. Macedonia.us and Achaians united in solicitude for their destitute ft1llow- beliovan1 in Jerusalem and in an aotive endeavour to send them rslief. Stronger than the bonds of kinship and race were the new feelings of attraction to each oth& through their relationship to the one Saviour. IIOIIANS, 2G  TR'E EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS. [orr. xv. 1--88,