THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE

TO THE

ROMAN S.

3 Or, to the obedience of faith.
7 Hab. 2. 4. Gal. 3. 11. Heb. 10. 38.

the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without ex

cuse:

9

21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was "darkened.

22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

23 And changed the glory of the uncor ruptible "God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did 9 Or, that they may be. 10 Ephes. 4. 19.

change the natural use into that which is against nature:

27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

28 And even as they did not like "to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to 13a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

11 Psa!. 106, 20. 12 Or, to acknowledge. 14 Or, unsociable. 15 Or, consent with them.

13 Or, a mind void of judgment.

ROMANS. In the last chapter of the preceding book, we have seen with what kind attention the Christians at Rome travelled from thirty to fifty miles from that city, to meet the captive apostle, as soon as they heard of his approach. It illustrates this to recollect that they had received this epistle from him before then-before they ever saw him; and we cannot but suppose, that they anticipated with joy the advantages of personal communication with the eminent saint, by whose epistle they had been so strengthened and instructed. That the epistle was written before St. Paul had ever visited Rome, appears from verse 8. Concerning the first foundation of the important church in the imperial city, the Scripture affords us no information. The apostle writes this epistle, in which he says that the faith of the church at Rome was most conspicuous-was "spoken of throughout the whole world ;" and on his subsequent visit to Rome, as recorded in the last chapter of the Acts, the church to which he had written received, for at least "two whole years," the benefit of his instructions. These are the only direct facts concerning the church at Rome which are recorded. It is introduced to our notice as already existing, without any intimation respecting its origin. The old opinion, that St. Peter was its founder, will not bear examination, and is not now generally entertained; and that Paul himself did not visit Rome till its church had attained a flourishing condition, is rendered certain by this epistle. It is therefore most reasonable to conclude, that those "strangers of Rome, Jews, and proselytes," who heard Peter preach, and were converted at Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost (Acts ii. 10), on their return home, made known to others that which they had been taught, and were the first instruments in establishing the faith of Christ at Rome. No doubt this faith was first propagated among the Jews, and then, by their means, among the Gentiles, according to the general rule which obtained in the establishment of the Christian churches in other places. At Rome, where the Jews were numerous, their synagogues were much frequented by the Romans, particularly by women; in a great degree from curiosity concerning forms of worship so singular to them as were those of the Jewish religion. Now it was in the synagogues, doubtless, that the new doctrines were discussed between the converted and unconverted Jews: and it is not difficult to conceive that many of the heathen profited by what they heard, and were made willing to receive a doctrine which they could not but feel more suited to their wants, and less repulsive from ceremonial requirements than simple Judaism; although even that, notwithstanding the heaviness of its yoke, had obtained many converts from among the heathen. Doubtless there were also many others who received the truth of Christ from the more direct instruction of the Jewish converts. At all events, it is most certain from this epistle, that, the church at Rome consisted of both Jews and Gentiles before it had been visited by the great apostle of the Gentiles, or, so far as we know, by any other apostle. (Acts xviii. 2.)

We have seen (Acts xviii. 2), that the Jews were banished from Rome by the Emperor Claudius; and in this extrusion, the Jewish members of the Christian church were doubtless comprehended. Two of them, Aquila and Priscilla, went to Corinth about the time of St. Paul's first visit to that city. With them the apostle resided; and assuredly obtained full information from them and other banished converts, concerning the history and condition of the Christian church at Rome before its dispersion. This doubtless gave the apostle that desire to visit Rome which he repeatedly expresses. (Acts xix. 21; Rom. i. 8-13; xv. 23–30; xvi. 1.) At one time he formed a definite plan for the purpose. In the first of the texts just referred to, we read, that when Paul was at Ephesus, preparatory to his second journey into Greece, he "purposed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, saying, After I have been there, I must also see Rome." We learn from the history that he went accordingly through Macedonia, and tarried three months in Greece (Acts xx. 1, 2) before he commenced his return to Jerusalem with con

tributions for the poor brethren there. It must have been in this three months that this epistle was written; for in exact accordance with the above facts, he says (ch. xv. 24, &c.) "Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come to you, for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat filled with your company. But now I go to Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. For it has pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make a contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.....When therefore I have performed this....I will come by you into Spain." The period in which this epistle was written is thus histores fixed by one of those undesigned coincidences, between the Acts and the Epistles, of which Paley has made such sansfactory use in his Hora Pauline.' The chronological date is, however, somewhat disputed: the different opinions range between the years 55 and 59; but the weight of authority and evidence seems to fix most strongly upon the year 58. Although the fifth, or perhaps the sixth, of St. Paul's epistles in the order of time, it is placed first in the collection, either because of the pre-eminence of Rome, as the mistress of the world, or because it is the longest and most comprehensive of the epistles-or perhaps both reasons co-operated in giving it the place it holds, at the head of this important division of the Sacred Writings.

Verse 1. "A servant.”—The word douλos means properly a bond-servant or slave-that is, one bound for life to the service of his master.

8. "The whole world."-The phrase is probably used here in the popular sense, the Roman empire. Yet it is very likely that the Christian religion-although perhaps not the fame of the church at Rome-had ere this extended, in some directions, beyond the limits of the Roman empire. The Ethiopian eunuch will not be forgotten.

30. "Inventors of evil things."-Bloomfield interprets this to mean, "persons who not only practise all known vices. but seek out and invent more." After illustrating this sense by citations, he adds, "Hence we may clearly see the force of the word, especially when we consider the manners of that most corrupt age, when Tiberius, like Sardanapains of old, offered a reward to whoever would invent a new pleasure (i. e. lust), and we know that there were persons why professionally applied themselves to such discoveries."Recens. Synop.' in loc.

31. "Without natural affection.”—It is very possible that the apostle here alludes to the atrocious practice of exposing infant children, to perish from cold, famine, or beasts of prey, unless any passer-by chose to take them up. This practice prevailed during many ages at Rome, as indeed it did in Greece and other heathen countries; and was not only a custom, but a lawful one. Indeed, until the father, or, in his absence, a friend for him, lifted the new-lom infant from the ground and placed it in his bosom, it remained undecided whether it was to be exposed or preserved. That this should at the very first become a question, and a matter of doubt, does most strikingly illustrate the charge of the apostle.

"Implacable, unmerciful."--No one needs an interpreter of this, who has turned with horror and sickening disgust. from the accounts of the amusements in which the Roman people most delighted, and which consisted in seeing cap tives and others brought forth to slaughter each other in the theatre, or to engage in mortal combat with wild beasts. Indeed such fights between couples of men, ending in bloodshed and death, were sometimes provided by the wealthy to amuse the guests at their entertainments. The learned Rosinus in his Antiquitatum Romanarum' (Amstel. 1655. has exhibited his ideas of this last part of the subject by an engraving, the details in which are corroborated by his citations. In this a party of Romans are reclining at table with garlands on their heads, while, for their amusement, the remainder of the banqueting hall is occupied by four pairs of men, engaged, simultaneously, in mortal fight, with sword and shield. One of the men is represented as being just run through the throat by the sword of his adversary, and he is falling towards the table with his blood streaming from the wound.

CHAPTER II.

5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God;

1 They that sin, though they condemn it in others,
cannot excuse themselves, 6 and much less escape
the judgment of God, 9 whether they be Jews or
Gentiles. 14 The Gentiles cannot escape, 17 nor
yet the Jews, 25 whom their circumcision shalling to his deeds:
not profit, if they keep not the law.

THEREFORE thou art inexcusable, O man,
whosoever thou art that judgest: 'for where-
in thou judgest another, thou condemnest
thyself; for thou that judgest doest the
same things.

2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things.

3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God?

4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance?

1 Matt. 7. 2.

James 5. 3.
Deut. 10. 17. 2 Chron. 19. 7.

6 Who will render to every man accord

7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life:

8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath,

9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil, of the Jew first, and also of the 'Gentile;

10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and also to the "Gentile:

11 For there is no respect of persons with God.

12 For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as

3 Psal. 62. 12. Matt. 16. 27. Revel. 22. 12. 4 Gr. Greek.
Gr. Greek.
Job 34. 19. Acts 10. 34. Gal. 2. 6. Ephes. 6. 9. Coloss. 3. 25. 1 Pet. 1. 17.

many as have sinned in the law shall be | preachest a man should not steal, dost thou judged by the law; steal?

7 Matt. 7. 21. James 1. 22. 8 Or, the conscience witnessing with them.
11 Isa. 52. 5. Ezek. 36. 20, 23.

Verse 19. "A light." &c.-It is very possible that St. Paul here alludes to some of the high-sounding titles which the Jews were in the habit of conferring upon their eminent Rabbins-such as, "The Lamp of Light;-the Holy Lamp ;the Lamp of Israel," &c. It was very common to call the learned doctor who presided over a school or university, "the light of the world ;" and it has always been usual among the Jews, when lauding any of their doctors, to call him "a great Light."

21. “Thou therefore,” &c.—The idea here expressed was familiar to the Jews themselves, in such expressions as the following:-" Beautiful are the words which come from the mouths of those that do according to them" (Beresh. Rabba,' 303). "He that teaches men that which he himself does not, is like a blind man who has a lamp in his hand, and enlightens others, while he himself walks in darkness.” ( ́Sepher. Hamaalot,' p. 87). There seem to be many other allusions in this chapter to terms applied by the Jews to each other and to the Gentiles.