The Pulpit Commentary — Titus — Section 51

goes to the root of the matter e.t once when he ee.ys, 'Put them in mind,' etc." We he.ve here duty in e. threefold relation-in relation to civil government, in relation t.o genera.I society, e.nd in relation to more.I self. Here is duty- I. IN RELATION TO OIV[L GOVERNMENT. .. Put them in mind to be subject [in subjectionJ to principalities [rulers~ <lnd powers [authorities], to obey magistrates [to be obedient]. It is here implied, and fully taught elsewhere (Rom. xiii. 1-7), that civil government is of Divine appoiniment. "There is no power but of God," Rays Pe.ul. That the principle of civil government is Divine is not only revealed but implied in the very constitution of society. 1. Man's social tendencies indica,te it. Some men a.re royal in their instincts and powers, and are evidently made to rule. Others a.re servile, cringing in tendency, feeble in faculty, and made to obey. There is e. vast gradation of instinct e.nd power in human society, and it is an eternal principle in God's government that the lesser shall serve the greater. 2. Man's social exigencies indicate it. Every community, to be kept in order, must have a recognized head-one who she.II be allowed to rule, either by his own will or the organized will of the whole. Hence man, in his most savage state, has some recognized chief. The principle of civil government is, therefore, manifestly of Divine appointment. We may rest assured that, civil government being of Divine appointment, it is for good and good only. Indeed, we learn that Paul's idea of a civil ruler is that he is a" minister of God to thee for guod." But what is good? .The answer in which all will agree is thiit- obedience to the Divine will. What is the stand.lrd of virtue? Not the decree of an autocrat, not public sentiment, even when organized into constitutional law; but the will of God. "Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye." The civil government, therefore, that does not harmonize with his will, as revealed by Christ the i11fallible Logos, is not the government of which Paul speaks. Taking Christ as the Revl'aler of God's will, we may infer that the infringe- ment of human rights is not in accordance with the will of God, and therefore not good. Also that the promotion of injustice, impurity, and error is not according to the will of God, and therefore not good. The Bible never teaches, nor does moral philosophy, that we are bound to obey laws that are not righteous, to honour persons that are not honourworthy. If we are commanded to honour the king, the precept implies that the king's character is worthy of his office. Some kings it is religious to despise and loathe. If we are commanded to honour our parents, the language implies that our parents are honourworthy. Some parents display attributes of character suited to awaken the utmost hatred and contempt. In like manner we are commanded to be subject to the higher powers, and the injunction implies that what these higher powers enact is right. The obligation of obedience is ever dependent upon the righteousness of the command. II. IN REI,ATION TO GENERAL SOCIETY. There are three duties here indicated which every man owes to his fellows. 1. Usefulness. "Be ready to every good work.'' The law of universal benevolence which we see in nature, our own instincts and faculties, as well as the written Word, teach us that man wo.s made to serve his brother; the grand end of each is to promote the happiness of others. No man fulfils his mission or realizes his destiny who is not an altruist, who is not ev.er actuated by regard fot the happiness of others. Altruism is God's social law and is binding on every one : disregard to it is the source of all social disorders and miseries. "The soul of the truly benevolent man does not seem to reside much in its own body. Its life, to a great extent, is a mere reflex of the lives of others. It migrates into their bodies, and, identifying its existence with their existence, finds its own happiness in increasing and prolonging their pleasures, in ext-inguishing or solacing their pains." 2. Charitableness. "To speak evil of no man." "This,'' says a modern author, "imports more than to speak evil in the ordinary sense: it is to act the part of a reviler or slanderer ; and when used of conduct from one man towards another, always betokens the exercise of a very bitter and malignant spirit. Titus was to charge the Christians or Crete to give no exhibition towards any one of such a spirit, nor to show a quarrelsome disposition, but, on the contrary, to cultivate a mil,l, placable, and gentle temper." There 11ro evils of some sort or other attaching to all men, and in some men they are of the most hideous and heinous character. 'l'o ignore them, if possible, would be wrong; to feel them ia natural to the pure, and to denounce them is right. But to apeak 'llf them _56 THE EPISTLE TO TITUS. [oe. m. 1-16.