pel indeed, they are enemies to it for your sakes-their rejection of it has proved beneficial to you-but as regards the election-as regards their being the chosen people of God-they are still beloved for their fathers' sakes.

the letter of the passage-in which the Almighty promises, or covenants, when he forgives the sins of his redeemed people turning to him, to impart to them, at the same time, the sanctifying grace of his good Spirit, which should write his law in their hearts; a like covenant is promised by Jer. xxxi. 31 (in Sept. xxxviii. 33), which, perhaps, was blended with the text of Isaiah, in the remembrance of the apostle (see Heb. viii. 8, &c.; x. 16).

Verse 29." The gifts and calling of God are without repentance-not liable to change" (Numb. xxiii. 19; Deut. vii. 9; Jas. i. 17); they are without repentance, indeed, on God's part, but may be forfeited by apostacy on our part, as they were by the Jews, who have so long been cast off, though in good time to be called again; meanwhile, many single persons perish; there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus; God will look to that, and it shall never fail, but, then, they must fulfil the appended duty, and not walk after the flesh, but after the spirit.

Verses 30, 31.-The Jews, by rejecting the Gospel, occasioned the teachers of it to address themselves more particularly to the Gentiles (Acts xiii. 46); but when they shall witness the glorious effects of God's grace, in the holiness and happiness which it shall produce among the Gentiles, who yield themselves to its influence, then shall they turn to the Lord, who will have mercy upon them too; to obtain mercy is another expression for obtaining remission of their sins, through the blood of the atonement.

Verse 32.-" God hath shut up all in disobedience, that he might have mercy upon all." "If sin abounds, grace shall much more abound, and God hath concluded all under sin, not with purpose to destroy us, but that he might have mercy

29 For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance —are not liable to change.

30 For as ye in times past obeyed not God, but have now obtained mercy through the disobedience of these,

31 Even so have these also

upon all, that light may break forth from the deepest enclosures of darkness, and mercy may rejoice upon the recessions of justice, and grace may triumph upon the ruins of sin, and God may be glorified in the miracles of our conversion, and the wonders of our preservation, and the glories of our being saved."-Taylor. (See chap. i. 18, &c.; iii. 9, &c.; Gal. iii. 22, 23.) The apostle lays a marked emphasis on the word all, to sum up, as it were, his argument, that the Gospel "is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth" (chap. i. 16); or (as he concludes a like argument in his Epistle to the Galatians), that under the Gospel "there is neither Jew nor Greek, neither bond nor free, neither male nor female, for we are all one in Christ Jesus" (Gal. iii. 28). "We know how solemn and dreadful imprecations were pronounced against all who did not continue in all things written in the law to do them, so that the remission tendered by Moses was such as hardly could exempt any man from obligation to, and fear of punishment; indeed, to prevent utter despair, and a consequent total neglect of duty, God was pleased by his prophets, occasionally, to intimate something of further grace reserved in case of sincere repentance; but these discoveries were preparatory to the Gospel, and as dawnings to that bright day of grace, which did, by Christ, spread its cheering light over the world; whereby is fully and clearly manifested to us, how God, in free mercy and pity to us (all our works being unworthy of any acceptance, all our sacrifices unfit in the least part to satisfy for our offences), was pleased, himself, to provide an obedience worthy of his acceptance, and thoroughly well-pleasing to him; to provide a sacrifice in nature so pure, in value so precious, as might be perfectly satisfactory for our offences; in regard to which obedience God is become reconciled, and opens his arms of grace to mankind;

now been disobedient, that through the mercy bestowed on you they also may obtain

mercy.

32 For God hath shut up all in disobedience-hath proved all men, Gentiles and Jews alike, to have been disobedient-that he might have mercy upon all.

33 O the depth of the riches, and the wisdom, and the knowledge of God! how unsearch

able are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

34 For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?

35 Or who hath first given unto him, and it shall be repaid him again?

36 For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things; to him be glory for ever. Amen.

in respect to which sacrifice he tenders remission to all men, that, upon his terms (most equal and easy terms), are willing to embrace it. This is the great doctrine peculiar to the Gospel, from which, especially, it hath its name, from whence it is styled the Gospel of grace; this is the good tidings of great joy to all people, which the angel first preached at our Saviour's birth-which the apostles were ordained to preach, and testify to all nations, as the main point of the Christian religion, that, in our Saviour's name, repentance and remission of sins should be preached unto all nations-that God had exalted him to his right hand, as a Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance unto Israel, and remission of sins-to give repentance, that is (μeTavolaσ TоTOV), room for repentance, in order to mercy- to make it acceptable and available for the remission of sins."-Barrow. (See chap. iii. 23, &c.)

Verses 33 to 36.-"None, neither man nor angel, could know the mind, could unlock the breast of God, or search out the counsels of his will; but, out of the infinite riches of his compassion, he has been pleased himself to unbosom his secrets, and most clearly to manifest the way into the holiest of all, to bring life and immortality to light, to send his Son, who lay in his bosom from all eternity, to teach us his will and disclose his mind to us. When we look unto the earth, behold darkness and dimness of anguish (to use the words of Isaiah), but when we look towards heaven, behold light breaking forth upon us like the eyelids of the morning, and spreading its wings over the horizon of

mankind, who were lying in darkness and the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. But, besides this outward revelation of God's will, there is also an inward impression of it upon the minds and spirits of men, which is in a more especial manner attributed to God; we can see divine things only in a divine light; God only can so shine out of himself upon our glassy understandings, as to beget in them a picture of himself, and turn the soul, like wax or clay, to the seal of his own light and love. Men may teach the grammar and the rhetoric, but God teaches the divinity; he alone it is that acquaints the soul with the truths of revelation."-Smith. The apostle has now come back to the point from which he set out, namely, that the Gospel is the mighty instrument framed by divine wisdom and love to effect the salvation of every one that believeth, whether Jew or Gentile (chap. i. 16); and cold must be the heart that, having followed the course of his high argument, does not feel the admirable propriety and beauty of the sublime burst of grateful adoration with which he closes his survey of God's gracious dealings with this fallen world. It is not without reason that Origen alleges the mystery of the triune God to be shadowed in this noble apostrophe-from him as their great author do all things proceed-through him, their gracious preserver, and his wise providence, are they upheld in being (1 Cor. viii. 6); and to his absolute perfection, whose all-pervading Spirit searcheth all things, do all things yield the homage of their praise, for whose pleasure they are, and were created (Eph. iv. 4-6).

Verse 1.-St. Paul now, according to his custom at the close of each of his epistles, proceeds to inculcate that holiness of life and conversation which the Gospel produces wherever it is honestly received, and by which it is so gloriously distinguished from every system of human origin. He begins with an appeal to the finest feelings of the heart, to our sense of boundless mercies bestowed on us, mercies on which he had largely and feelingly dilated, in order to call forth a return on our part, the only suitable return we can make to our gracious Lord, the dedication of our bodies and souls to his service-our bodies as well as our souls, for he is Lord of both, and it is meet that the triumph of grace should be displayed in that part of our nature where the power of sin was most predominant; and this dedication of ourselves we must make not alone by solemn outward acts of religious homage, but still more by inward purity of heart, and a virtuous conversation, that so our sacrifice, unlike the flesh and blood of slain victims, may be a living, pure, and ever-fragrant offering, well-pleasing to God, and such as it best becomes rational creatures to offer (1 Cor. vi. 19, 20). "Men are apt," says Smith, "to make too broad a distinction between the duties of religion and the every-day business of life; it is true that our conversation in this world cannot well be always alike; there will be various and unequal degrees of sanctity in the life, even of the best man, but yet a good man should always find himself on holy ground, and never be carried so far into the affairs of this life, as to be without the call and compass of religion. He should always think that wherever he is, God is there, before whom his conversation should be pure; religion is not merely intended to solemnise our looks, or tune our tongues, and make our

be ye transformed by the renewing of your minds, that ye may prove by experience what is the will of God, that which is good and well-pleasing to him, and perfect.

3 For I say, through the grace that has been given to me as an apostle, to every man

outward demeanour more decorous; its main business is to reform and purify our hearts, and to cast out all the illicit actions and motives thereof." "There is," says Hooker, " an inward reasonable, and there is a solemn outward serviceable worship belonging unto God; of the former kind, are all manner, virtuous duties, that each man in reason and conscience to Godward oweth;" the best temples we can dedicate to God are our sanctified souls and bodies.

Verse 2.-"And be not conformed to the manners of this world." The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit; that we may be able rightly to appreciate and truly to relish that holiness with which God will have his servants adorned, that which is good and wellpleasing and perfect in his sight, we must be transformed-renewed in the spirit of our minds a new principle of life must be infused into our souls, and one of its first effects will be a lowly estimation of ourselves-a sober and modest humility-the opposite of that proud spirit which rules in the natural mind, which troubles the world, and which produced disorders in the church, even in the time of the apostle. As the aid of God's sanctifying Spirit is to be obtained by the diligent use of prayer, and of the other means of grace, the apostle speaks of the work of sanctification as depending in some measure on ourselves (Ezek. xviii. 31; xxxvi. 26, 27; Eph. iv. 23, 24; v. 8-10; Col. iii. 10; 1 Thess. iv. 3; Tit. iii. 5; John vii. 17).

Verse 3.-In the infancy of the church, a special faith appears to have been borne in upon the minds of individuals, as an intimation of their call to particular duties in the congregation, and a necessary qualification for the proper discharge thereof; thus, one had the faith which qualified him to prophesy, or expound the ancient

that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.

4 For as we have many members in one body, and all

Scriptures; another, that which enabled him to speak in an unknown tongue; another, that which fitted him to teach as a catechist, or to exhort as a preacher, or to disclose the secrets of mens' hearts; and, to prevent disorder in the church, the apostle directs that none should aspire to duties or offices exceeding the measure of his faith, nor, in the discharge of his proper office overstep the limits of the gift which God's grace had bestowed on him; and to give weight to his advice, he prefaces it with the remark, that he himself, though an apostle, spoke only in accordance with the grace and commission given to him (chap. xi. 13; xv. 15; 1 Cor. xii. and xiv.; Eph. iv. 7).

Verses 4, 5.-The apostle proceeds to show, by a very beautiful illustration, how essential it is to the well-being of all, that each should be content duly to discharge his own duties. "They," says Hooker, "who belong to the mystical body of our Saviour Christ, though in number as the stars of heaven, and divided successively by reason of their mortal condition into many generations, are, notwithstanding, coupled every one to Christ, their head, and all to every particular person among themselves, inasmuch as the same spirit which anointed the blessed soul of our Saviour Christ, doth so unite and actuate his whole race, as if he and they were so many limbs compacted into one body, by being quickened all with one and the same soul. His church, and every member thereof, is in Christ by original derivation" (as the branches are in the vine out of which they grow); "and he, personally, in them, by mystical incorporation wrought through the gift of the Holy Ghost, which they that are his receive from him, together with the complete measure, though by steps and degrees of all such divine grace as doth sanctify and save throughout, till the day of their

those members have not the same office;

5 So we, the many the multitude of believers collectively -are one body in Christ, and individually members of each other.

6 Having then gifts differing

final exaltation to a state of fellowship in glory with him, whose partakers they are now in all those things that tend to glory." And as every member of the natural body has its proper functions to perform, not merely for its own benefit, but for the well-being of the whole body, so has every member of Christ's mystical body his special duties to discharge, in strict subordination to the great head, with due regard to the rights of his brethren, and the well-being of the whole (see 1 Cor. xii. 12, &c.; xiv. 26, &c.; Eph. iv. 11, &c.; John xv. 1, &c.). "This text," says Bishop Butler, "relates to the decent management of those extraordinary gifts which were in the church in the apostolic times, but are now totally ceased; and, although it be equally true of Christians under all circumstances that they are one body in Christ, actuated by the same spirit and knit together by peculiar sympathies, and the consideration of it is a strong additional motive to the discharge of the several duties and offices of a Christian, yet this must have been felt with much greater force by those who, in consequence of the many trials they went through for the sake of their religion, were led to keep always in view the relation they stood in to their Saviour, who had undergone the same, and to those who, from the idolatries of all around them, and the ill-treatment they endured, were taught to consider themselves as not of the world in which they lived, but as a distinct society, with laws and ends and principles of life and action, quite contrary to those with which the world at that time professed to be influenced; hence the relation of Christian brotherhood was, by those of that time, considered as nearer than that of affinity and blood, and they almost literally esteemed themselves as members one of another."

Verses 6 to 8.-In these verses the apostle specifies some of the graces, gifts,

M

according to the grace that has been given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of our faith;

7 Or ministry, let us be earnest in the discharge of our ministry, or he that teacheth, in teaching;

8 Or he that exhorteth, in exhortation; let him that giveth of his substance, give with singleness of heart-without osten

and abilities, which Christ had bestowed for the benefit of his members, knit into one body; by which graces, not poured out equally upon all, but variously sorted and given as the faith (verse 3) of the recipient might qualify him to receive them, while all collectively furnished forth the whole body of the church, each member individually conferred help and benefit upon the rest. The prophets were men who, having learned the Gospel, were endowed, according to their faith, with a special gift of expounding the mysteries, more or less darkly shadowed in the ancient Scriptures, of foreshowing things to come, or of disclosing the secrets of mens' hearts for the edification and consolation of the church. The ministry, which the apostle places next to prophecy, was, probably, that of the evangelist, not meaning thereby the writer of a Gospel, but the most eminent among the presbyters who were employed by the apostles in ecclesiastical affairs, and sent to preach Christ, and deliver the Gospel to those who as yet had not heard the doctrine of faith.

Such were Ananias, Apollos, and Timothy. The teachers next mentioned were presbyters also, but inferior in ability to the evangelists, and having a less extensive charge; he that exhorted probably derived his ability for the office from experience, and acquired knowledge without the aid of personal inspiration. After instructing the ministers of the word, the apostle next teaches those who ministered to the bodily wants of their brethren how they should perform their duties. Let him that bestoweth his goods to relieve the distressed, perform that duty in singleness of heart, not moved by a spirit of ostentatious vanity, but by sincere love to

tation-let him who superintendeth, do it with diligence; let him that sheweth mercythat ministers to the sick or to the helpless-do it with cheerfulness.

9 Let your love be without dissimulation: abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good;

10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love;

his brethren, and gratitude to God; let him that is intrusted with the management and distribution of the church funds, perform his duty with earnest diligence; let him that is appointed to minister to the sick or to the prisoners, discharge his duty with a cheerful and cordial tenderness; all that we do to the honour of God must be done with gladness, cordially and cheerfully, else it comes not from the spirit of sons, but from the spirit of bondage, or rather from the spirit of the world; he offereth a blemished sacrifice who offereth grudgingly, for God loveth a cheerful giver; moreover, while moroseness mars the beauty and the good effect of a beneficent act, a cheerful and tender benignity of manner carries double balm to the heart of the afflicted (2 Cor. ix. 7). The intelligent reader will not fail to observe, that while the apostle instructs the brethren at Rome in the becoming exercise of the offices and gifts and graces bestowed on them, he makes no mention of the gift of healing, of the gift of tongues, or of any such miraculous power, neither does he allude in any way to the exercise of such gifts; the inference is inevitable, that none such had been imparted to them, and, therefore, that up to the period at which this epistle was written, they had not been, visited by any of the apostles, who alone were privileged to impart such powers, and who invariably did impart them to the churches they visited (1 Cor. xii. 8-11; see Appendix).

Verse 9-Relates to universal benevolence; let your charity be sincere, abhor malice and the evil which springs from it, cleave to what is benignant and good (1 Pet. i. 22; 1 John iii. 18).