i^ 5:i 5:1^ i:^. .^^^ i:^.

"=^2OF THK

AT

PRINCETON,
x>

::v ^%.

T I c* :v o

N.

J.

!"

SAMUEL AGNE\V,
OF

I
I
il

Case,
^^^''^f^

H n. A

Division..
Sect,,

fiooh'

^c^

I)K

1.

PHI A, PA.

^^.|;

i^^/^^f

THE

EPISTLE OF PAUL
TO THE

ROMANS
ANALYSED,
FROM A

DEVELOPEMENT OF THOSE CIRCUMSTANCES

IN THE

ROMAN CHURCH,
BY WHICH

IT

WAS OCCASIONED.

BY JOHN^JONES,

There
shall not

K<

nothing covered that shall not be revealed

is

be known.

Toy 'Kv^iou

T*)v

XXI

xya'TTioTos v^^uv

(flixv,

sy^x-^iv

v(*.ir

vois vs^i Tovruv,

T^i^Kovaiv,
Ttsixv.

vifx.uv

fjLax^oOviAtxv,

crwrfiPioi'V

a^EA^oy IlxvXos, xarx

us Kxt

ev o<j $<

iii.

and hid, that

iv <Kxarxts

vysiaGs' >cx9us

mv xvtm Msktxv

rxis sttito^xis KxKuv

JvuvojjTa rtvx,

ev

rm

i^ixv xvtujv xttcu-

15, 16.

HALIFAX:
PRINTED BY HOLDEN AND DOWSON;
rOR

J.

JOIiJSSON, No. 72, ST. PAUL'S

1801,

<ro-

xv-

0/ a//.a9sis' y.xi xf-n^ix-Toi

us KXi rxs Xoinixs yx(pxs, ir^os

2 Pet.

Matt. x. 26.

CHUKGH-YARD, LONDO.V.

PREFACE.

T
M.

HIS

of two

small Volume vco' ^^

/^^'^

intended to be continucUiou

other Volumes which the author has already laid before the

But he has

public.

since thought

pendent of that Work.

prefix to this Analysis

For

this

it

adviseable to render

reason

of the Epistle

to the

it

But

ceding volumes.
necessity

it

inde-

Jtomans a brief view

of the principal circumstances which occasioned

HCf however^ deemed

it

became necessary to

its

publication,

expedient to refer occasionally to the prat*

the reader is

exempted from the absolute

ofpurchasing than^ though he would find,

some satisfaction in consulting

the passages to

it is

hopedf

which references

are made.

In quoting

the

words of

the Apostle,

the Analyser someti7nes

gives an entirely new translation^ though more generally he has

adopted the version of the

scholar

and

Patriot,

late illustrious

and ever memorable,

Gilbert Wakefield.

That version^

howeveTf he has taken the liberty to change,- wherever the original

Mj in

his opinion, mistaken, or inadequately expressed.

In explaining
Aas made
fnentators.

little

this obscure Epistle, the author, it will be secny

or no vse of the labours of other critics and

Tliis

omission requires an apology

inconsistent with that humble, teachable,

titil

as

and candid

it

conii-

may seem

spirit (essen-

to the enquirer after religious truthj, which is ever prone to

PREFACE.
look around for the assistance of others^
its

own

ply

His

exertions.

to lay before the public the result

and

this

This

end could not

l^y

learned men.

the previously

ability

of profiting by them.

than to promote

Passages, in ancient authors, how-

of facts, ought alivays

ever, containing the evidences

;

<-rUir,

uninformed have not the means nor the

and

ivith fidelity

of the

The truly learned seldom need such refe-

of the reader.

rences,

duced

is sini'

of loading the page with citations and references often

serves to display rather the learning

the benefit

on

if he stopped to cite useless authorities, to approve,

or to controvert, the explanations already given

Tlie practice

relying

of his ovjn enquiries.

he wished to 'do with all possible brevity

he ansivered,

and dreads

should be observed,

object, it

and

to be

pro-

in all that is requisite to this purpose the

Jn

present writer, he trusts, is not materially deficient.

inf^ the evangelical records,

it

examiri'

has been his habit to enquire, as

though no other person had ever enquired before him, and with
the

same freedom and independence he now communicates his

thoughts to the world.

The attempts that hate

tures appear to

hitherto been

him very

defective.

divines to elucidate obscure terms

ges, collected from Greek

and in part successful.

were not

guided by

the rules

to explain the Scrip-

The

of classical

efforts

and phrases by parallel passa-

and Roman
But

made

authors, are connncndable^

the writers

of the

New

of classic composition.

in ivhich they xvere placed alone contains the causes

culiar phraseologies.

The new views which

to their understandings,

and

>

the

new

Testament

The situation
of

their pe-

the gospel unfolded

direction

it

impressed on

their conduct, obliged them often to corhicct peculiar significations

with their terms, and to

form them

in combinations unexampled.

PREFACE.
Besides

Apostles

this, the

had no

opportunities nor inclination to

They were men engaged in

study the sources of attic elegance.

the pursuit of

an important end,

to the

accomplishment of ivhich

every mo7nerU of their time, and every faculty of their minds were

The

devoted.

letters, xvhich tliey respectively addressed to the

Churches, contain not abstract or speculative matters, hut respect

They

matta's of practical importance and actual occurrence.

were called forth

l>y

the peculiar

and

local circumstances

several societies to which they were sent.

those circumstances,

dezelopement of

Tlie

and a comparative

vieiv

of the

of them

ivith

Apostolic imtings, must consequently be the only rational

effectual

way of

ing wl utever

elucidating whatever

ivhich the labours

directed.

and

It is

iinportant

is

obscure,

This

doubtful in tfiem.

is

is the

the

and

and

ascertain'

main

object, to

of

this writer in analysing the epistles will be

an

object,

it

will

be allowed, new, arduous

and, if executed in a manner adequate to

its

merits the execution will, on one hand, establish the genuineness

and truth of the

the falsehood

divine

lustre

Apostolic writings,

and demonstrate* on the

of those creeds of human

of

inveittion, by

the Gospel has been tarnished,

cious influence counteracted.

and

other,

which the
its

effica-

TH

CHRISTIAN RELIGION
INTRODUCED INTO

ROME.
L.N

the following attempt to analyse the Epistles

of Paul, and those of the other Apostles,

them, what they really are,

I shall

consider

as letters, and, like all

positions of this kind, turning entirely

upon the pecu-

circumstances of the individual people to

liar

they were addressed.

sent, I

The

object, then,

propose to accomplish,

is,

com-

which

whom
at pre-

in the first place,

to

give a brief developement of the leading events which

distinguished the Roman Church, and of the opinions and
practices of those

who took

the lead in

it

and secondly,

to examine, in relation to the facts thus developed, the

language of Paul in the celebrated but obscure Epistle

which he wrote

to that society.

remarkable phenomenon in the history of the

It is a

Christian religion, that no account has been transmitted to posterity by

was

first

what means, and

at

what time

introduced into the metropolis of the empire

and how

wfis laid the foundation of a church,

in all ages

made

so conspicuous, though

it
;

which

melancholy

a figure amoijg the other churches of Christendom.

And

this

writer,
still

phdiomenon seems

much respected

more

to have led a

for his learning

and

modern

talents,

ness of the letter which our Apostle sent to the

converts.

VOL.

and

so for his integrity, to question the genuine-

III.

Roman

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

a
If

we

duly

reflect

upon the unrivalled wisdom and

beiievolence which were displayed in the character of

our Lord

if

we

properly consider the stupendous

works which he performed, and

his

open and public

manner of performing them, we may well infer that

in no place however distant, that indeed had any intercourse with Judea, could he long remain unobserv-

The

ed and unknown.

glad tidings which he pro-

claimed as the Messenger of heaven, the wonders

which he exhibited

in attestation of his claims,

and the

conformity of those claims with the expectation of

mankind, must, without delay, have excited universal

attention, and proved the means of conveying his fame

Rome, betwixt which and Judea was

not only to

maintained a constant and direct communication, but

to the remotest regions of the

we may thus
racter

fairly infer

from

and miracles of Jesus,

Roman

empire.

reflection
is

upon the cha-

attested to a

extent by the authentic historians of

thew informs us, that, when he began

What

his life.

certain

Mat-

to heal diseases,

fame went throughout all Syria, Chap. iv. 24

and Luke adds, that it spread over the whole surround-

his

ing region, iv. 14.

The above
lical records,

inference, corroborated by the evange-

cannot but dispose us to regard as by no

means improbable the substance of the following narrative written by a person, who professed to have
been in Rome at the time when the fame of Christ
had reached that

and

city.

*'

In the midst of these thoughts

difficulties, a certain report

commencing with the

spring season, under the reign of Tiberius Caesar, irh.

sensibly prevailed in every place, and pervaded the

world

as

being truly the message of God, apd unable

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

retain

to

silence and

in

Every where

id

secrecy the Divine Will.

grew greater and stronger saying, that

a certain man in Judea, making his first appearance in
the spring, announced to the Jews the kingdom of the
it

God, of which he affirmed every one that led a

life might partake
and in order to prove
that he proclaimed this blessing by divine inspiration,
he wrought many surprising signs and wonders by his
eternal

virtuous

command alone, having received this power from God,

For he caused the deaf to hear, and the blind to see ;
the lame he [enabled to walk, and the cripple to stand
erect

he healed every disease, and banislied

all

demons.

Scaly lepers recovered their sound state by only looking upon him

at

Even

a distance.

were brought to him, he raised

to life

the dead,
;

which

and there was

nothing which he was not able to do. And, as the time

advanced, the report of him was confirmed by rauhtitudes that

had come from that country

was no longer

a report, but a real fact.

were now held in

quiring
be,
i.

who

And

so that

it

meetings

different places for the sake of en-

the person, that had thus appeared, might

and what he intended

to

proclaim." Clem.

Hom.

4.

Now the

snread of the fame of Jesus in the capital, as

here related, and the reception of his religion by multitudes of Jews and of Gentiles, together with the com-

motions necessarily excited by the dispute respecting

him, were,

it is

contended, the circumstances ,which

occasioned the banishment of the Jewish and Egyptian

nations from Italy by order of the Government.

The

testimonies of Josephus, Philo, Suetonius, and Tacitus,

I will

here

first

produce

and then endeavour

to prove

IV

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

the truth of

tliis

The account which

assertion.

phus gives of their expulsion

*'

Jew

is

as follows

Jose-

Rome), who, having

resided there (in

been accused of transgressing the laws, fled from his

country to avoid the punishment which threatened

residence

Rome, he

at

hira.

During

In every respect he was a wicked man.

professed to unfold the

his

wisdom

of the Mosaic laws, in conjunction with three other

With

men, who in every view resembled himself.

woman of

these associated Fulvia, a

a convert to the

come

rank, that had be-

Jewish religion, and

whom

they

prevailed upon to send, for the temple of Jerusalem,

These they received

of purple and gold.

presents

and appropriated to their

at first in

their motive

when informed

own

use

making the

which indeed was

request.

Tiberius,

of this by Saturninus, the husband of

the unjustly accused Fulvia,

to be expelled from the city.

commanded all the Jews

The men to the number

of four thousand, were forced into the army, by order

of the Senate, and sent to the island of Sardinia

but

the greater part of them, determined to preserve their

These
laws inviolate, refused to serve as soldiers.
were put to death. And thus, because of the wickedness of four men,
city.

*Hv
vo[/,iiJv

avj)^ lov^Mios, (pvyxs

KXt

Ss TOTE
vofA-uiv

the

Jews were driven from

the

EV

r-Mv

Pw/xr)

TE

Muvcrtus,

n/jtoioTPO.TTo-Js.

x-ai voixtiJLOis

pay

vpvaiov

|3&vTES,

eirt

sts

7]

axrvtyo^ix ri 'nx^x^xaias

as rx itxvTx. xxi

[/.sv

i^nysiaOxt

0-0(^1x1

rx

-rrxi/Tx

'n^oavof/](TX[/.cvos ri r^iis a)id^xs its

s']Ti(poir-/iaxa-xv 4>oyX/3^av rriv sv

'Ti^oaBKnXvdvixv

to

y^^itxs rots

Kxi TO "Wf WTO*

Tjr a-vroo,

xvrois, novnqos oe

S/a/Tw/xEvoj nT^otTBitoitiTo

rovron

vxiKuv,
V.XI

//.ev

csii rifj.u^^ixs rrjs ett

rois lov^xiKOts, 7rsi&ov<n 'noqtpv-

ev Is^oaojKvi/.ois
oiy.iiots

x^tuf^xri yv-

n^ov dixTTsi^-^xaBxi. KXt Kx-

ayxXu{/.xaiv

aiTfiku iTT^xaarsro. h(

xvtx

'ttoiowtxi,

Ti^s^ioSj

<p

ottioj'ni/.xiyii

ot^s^

yti^

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

The
the

following

same event

is

the narrative of Tacitus respecting

"In

the same year was brouglit before

the Senate, a motion for abolishing the Egyptian and

Jewish

rites

and

that slavish race,

who were

thousand of

that four

infected with that super-

should be conveyed into the island of Sardi-

stition,

have their robberies restrained

nia, there to
if

was decreed

it

where,

they perished through the severity of the climate,

would not be

the loss

should leave

Italy,

great

and that the

rest of

them

unless within an appointed time

they should have relinquished their profane rites."*

With

in the m.ain, the relation given

this accords,

" Foreign

by Suetonius.

the Egyptian and the

rites,

who

Jewish, Tiberius suppressed, and compelled those

were fettered with

distributed, under the pretence of

that nation,

a severe climate

their

The Jewish youths he

sacred vestments and utensils.

provinces of

burn

superstition to

that

a military oath, into

while the remainder of

with others oi similar professioii, he re-

moved from

the

city

under the penalty of perpetual

slavery, unless they had obeyed. "t

irsos

avTov OiXos

yuvtumot, x.s^vjei

ajv

^tjtgov^vivos ttti

wav to

lovoccmcv

^ovX^iacs avv^ evuTK'n-'^ti t^s

Pwjutjs otTreXx'j&yiva.i. o;

Trjy

de

iiVxToi Tir^xuKryf^iXiovs avQ^wjswv e^ uT4.v T^atroXoyriaaiiirts stte/x-

^av Hi ^at^ooj
jtv0"9a/,
(roc^!v

oioc

mv

vnaov. itXei^ovs dt iy.oXa.axv /xn QcXovrxs $'pxt-

(pvXaKVv ruv 'tkxt^iojv

* Actum

si

oicx.

kmkixv

Ant. Jud. Lib.xviii. Cap.

libertini generis,

in insulam Sardinlam veherentur, coerccndis

gravitate cceli interiissent, vile

certam ante diem, profanos

damnum

ritus exuissent.

caeteri

An.

t Externas ceremonias ^gyptios Judaicosque

aciis qui supcrstitione

et

Italia, nisi

85.

ritus

ca tenebantur, religiosas vestes

,5.

ea supcrstitione

illic latrociniis,

ccderent
ii.

ria-~

3,

Factunlque

et de Sacris yEgyptiis Judaicisque pellendis.

patrum consultum, ut quatuor millia

infecta,

y.xi oi /j.sv

vo^jiuv.

oiv^^Mv O.x-jv.oiiro t>jj ttoXcUs.

compescuit, co^

cum

instrument*

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

Vl

The

incident

here

passed over in silence

*

but

it is

thus noticed by Philo.

though prejudiced against the Jews,

nations,

All

Dion Cassius has

recorded,

have been careful not to abolish the Jewish

rites

and the same caution was preserved in the reign o

Tiberius

though indeed the Jews in

have been

Italy

For

distressed by the machinations of Sejanus.

his death the

emperor became, and

that immediately,

sensible that the accusations, alleged against the

who was

eager to devour a nation that alone,

er chiefly would, he knew, be likely to oppose

And

pious designs and measures.

not to molest in their several

im-

to the constituted

the

cities

men of

that na-

(who were very few),

tion, excepting the guilty alone

to suppress

his

he (Tiberius) sent orders

authorities in every place,

and not

Jews

were lying calumnies, the mere inventions of

in Italy,

Sejanus

after

any of their

institutions, but,

on

the contrary, to regard as a trust committed to their

care, both the people themselves, as possessing peace-

whish

able dispositions, and their laws,

them with

stability of character."*

omni coraburere

Judiorum juventutem,

proviiicias gravioris ccell distribuit

sectantes urbe

Tot

yccfi

mv

0/

nravTat^ov ttxitts,

tvXxpws itypv

rtqoaoi.-^a.(T6xt.

tyvu yx^, (vOcui

[t'XTx

servitutis, nisi

kxi

i^Ti

cyvcu,

obtemper-

2))4ayo'j

^vo'si

oiikuvto nrqas lov-

nvos ruv

lo'JSaciy.uf

Ti^f^iou ixsvroi rov avrov t^ottov, moci'

(jutx tv

w>c)xoTwv r*)v Pw/xniw

kxi

itti KacQaci^i<rti

TO* rnv svlraXix Tfix^XTUvn&tvTuv iviKX

T Twy

per speciem sacramenti, in

reliquos gentis ejusdem, et similia

summovit, jub poena pprpetuae

^<xio'Js Qvx. Ev/xEvwj,

ya^Lbiv

In vitaTiberii. 36.

assent.

like oil brace

I,y)ixv!>s io-ivtu^it rrtv fTr/Sscr/v.

ex;vo'J ri'kivrviy,

Iot/^a/a.'v,

hrt

rx nxTriyoevStv-

il/Eyotir ntrxv o</3oAa/,

to i^ws avx^xcrxt Oe^ovtoj. otrto

ri

'n'KxC'

^ovoy n ixxKi^a

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

The

Vii

thing necessary to be remarked,

first

is,

that the

narratives of the above historians refer to one

and the

Had

same event.

the Jewish and the Egyptian riies

been suppressed, and those nations expelled from

at

two

of these writers would have intimated

intimation

you

tions,

tive

Besides

this,

if

you compare

their rela-

will instantly perceive that they are descrip-

facts, the

of

But no such

it.

given either by Josephus, or Tacitus, or

is

Suetonius.

Italy,

some one

different times in the reign of Tiberius,

The

their peculiarity.

of which

identity

distress of the

proved by

is

Jews

in Italy,

tvhich Philo takes notice of, must therefore be tht

temporary suppression of their

expulsion from Rome, as

And

other authors.

even

is

institutions,

and their

recorded by the three

this writer

could not with

propriety have alluded to the molestation of his coun-

trymen, on one occasion,

different times,

being

if

they had been molested at

and on different occasions*

settled, let

This point

us take a general view of the time, in

which the expulsion of the Jews took place.

From Josephus we may

infer that

it

occurred about

the period of our Lord's crucifixion, and previously

to the

With

Judea.

alto To
ttit

E9vot;y,

us

this

oik

inference Philo

mi

nrairxs m^a^iX'Tris

(A010VS Tovs otirtovs (oXiyot Ss

XXa

KOLt

(^jffiis,

the government of

removal of Pilote from

xat

jo-v)

V01/.HXX

us a^i^{tT

ry)s

flourished in

tWElsAe^a;^,

Ktw<rixi Ss /itn^Er rttif

irx^xnurct^rinyiv x*'i, revsrs

who

irgoff

it,

atXA.'

tSwr,

awJ^ar us ti^nrnxovs vxs

ivr^itatf

vol.

ii.

p. jSj'


mi

Vlii

CHRISTIAN RELIGION

those days concurs; since by ascribing the distress of the

Jews

to the influence of Sejanus, he brings

down

it

to

the time in which that minister had reached the zenith

of his power, and which was soon followed by the forfeiture of his

The

life.

conspiracy of Sejanus was

detected, and he himself put to death at the end of the

seventeenth, or in the beginning of the eighteenth

year of Tiberius

upon the Jews

two sooner, i.
our Lord.^

and the

in Italy,

distress

which he brought

might have happened a year or

e. a

year or two after the crucifixion of

From

the place which Tacitus has assign-

we might

ed to the narrative in his Annals,

infer in-

deed, that the disturbance herei spoken of, happened

so early as the death of Germanicus,

which occurred

But

the eighteenth year of our Lord's age.

if

any

gard be due to the authority of Phllo and Josephus,

inference can by no means be admitted
presently see, that the

Roman

andVe

that the

shall

affair.

these remarks, I proceed to prove,

men molested

tions of

this

historian had an adequate

motive to ntisrepresent the true date of the

Having premised

in

re-

in

consequence of the accusa-

Sejanns, and in behalf of

whom,

after

his

death, Tiberius issued an edict to the pra;fects of the

provinces, were principally Jewish converts to the

Christian religion.
in

The
bins
*

The

proofs which

adduce

I shall

support of this proposition, are the

following

testimonies of TertuUian, of Orosius, and Euse-

Passages
I

and

in the Apostolic writings,

follow the chronology of Dr. Priestley,

who has

concluded, from

very probable reasons, that our Saviour was crucified in the

of the very year in which

Harmony,
this subject,

p.

45.

inVol.

Some
ii.

his ministry

farther light,

commenced.
I

presume,

of the Developemcnt, p

in the

143,

latter

end

See his Greek

is

thrown upon

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

Antiquities of Josephus
Cassius, and Seneca

IX

Inferences drawn from Dion

Subjects

with the expulsion in question

of dispute connected

And,

lastly, passa-

ges in the writings oi certain Jews.

I.

Tertullian, Eusebius, and Orosius plainly suppose

that the

could

men, v.'hom Philo

call

calls

^ews, and

whom

by no other name, since the Christian

v/as

he
not

yet in existence, were the professors of Christianity.

here subjoin their words on the subject, adopting

" Tiberius," asserts

Dr. Lardner.

the version of

Tertullian, " in whose time the Christian religion had

having received from Palestine,

its rise,

account of such things

as

in

Syria, an

manifested our Saviour's

divinity, proposed to the Senate, and giving his

vote as

among

in his favour, that he should

first

the

The Senate

Gods.

had himself declined

that

emperor persisted in

his

refused, because he

honour.

own

own

be placed

Nevertheless, the

opinion

and ordered

any accused the Christians, they should be punished." Apol. Cap. 5, or Lard. Vol. vii. p, 232.
that, if

Eusebius, treading in the footsteps of Tertullian,

writes to this effect

"

When

the wonderful resurrec-

tion of our Saviour and his ascension to heaven were

in the

mouths of

all

men,

it

being an ancient custom

for the governors of provinces to write to the emperor,

and give him an account of new and remarkable occurrences, that he might not be ignorant of any thing
our

Saviour's

throughout
it,

all

as likewise

and

that

resurrection

being

much

Palestine, Pilate informed the

talked

of

empeiorof

of his miracles, which he had heard of

being raised up after he had been put to death.

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

he was already believed by many to be a God.

Aiid

Tiberius referred the matter to the Se-

said, that

it is

nate; but that they refused their consent, under a

pretence, that

had not been approved of by them

it

there being an ancient law that no one should

among

fied

nate

the

Romans, without an order

be

dei-

the Se-

of

but indeed because the saving and divine doc-

trine of the Gospel needed not to be confirmed by hu-

However,

and authority.

man judgment

Tiberius

persisted in his former sentiment, and allowed not

thing to be

done

any

was prejudicial to the doctrine oi

that

Christ." His. Eccles. Lib.

ii.

Cap.

2.

Orofilus following, in one respect, the authority of

Tertttllian,

and

in

another, the narrative of

Senate, that Christ should be

own

vote in his favour.

di<Tnation that

for

them

it

made

The

had not been,

God, with

his

moved with

in-

was usual, proposed

as

to determine respecting the reception of his

Christians,
;

Senate

religion, rejected his deification

city

Philo,

" Tiberius proposed to the

writes to this purpose.

by an

and decreed that

edict, should

tlie

be banished from the

especially as Seja,nus, the Praefect of Tiberius,

most obstinately resisted the reception of his faith."

Aput. Lard. Vol.

Now, Do
persons,

vii. p.

not these passages clearly relate to the very

whom

instigation of

Philo represents as

first

molested

at

the

Sejanus, and afterwards protected by

the emperor Tiberius

fore,

24^.

The

authors

understood that the suffereis

of them, there-

were the followers

of Jesus.

IL In suoport of this opinion,

cond place, passages from

the

adduce, in the seApostolic writing?.

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

xi

of the chief accusations, wlach Sejanus alleged

One

against the Jews, seems to

have been

were enemies to the

and

State,

that they entertained

the wish of raising to universal empire

own

their

converts,

among

the mistaken notion,

its

Supposing

it

nature, and boundless in

Jewish believers in

which the

the Jew.s, cherished respecting

the Messiah's kingdom.

poral in

a person of

This charge was unhappily too

nation.

much countenanced by
first

that they

this,

Rome

were led

would be temextent, the

its

to give anu

undue

opposition to the measares of the existing government.

Their error and misconduct in

the

demanded

respect

this

admonition of Apostolic authority

and

if

Ti-

berius, after having discovered that the representations

of Sejanus, weie, in the main, but the aspersions of a

malignant adversary, dispatched,

as

Philo

attests, to

the

governors, an edict to protect, in their respective provinces, those of the Jews

who were

peaceable and vir-

tuous, but to punish the guilty few

and

those Jews, as Tertullian and others after

stood,

were

expect

that, in the

in reality Christians,
letters

to the converts, to

we might reasonably

nothing to

that, if

fear,

all

means recom-

pay becoming obedience and

deference to the magistrates, and

remind them,

at, the

same time

innocent and obedient they had

but on the contrary had to hope pro-

from the

tection and praise,

civil

powers, while signal

punishment awaited the refractory and the

And

in this expectation

Hear,

in the

tians

in

powers

farther,

addressed to some of the

Churches, the Apostles should by

mend

if

him under-

first

we

place, the

Rome; "

in authority

shall not

evil doer.

be disappointed.

words of Paul

to the

Let every soul submit

for as there

is

Chris-

itself to

no power but from

Xn

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

God,

these powers are appointed by

God. M^hosoever,

therefore, setteth itself against the

God

the appointment of

power,

bring punishment upon themselves.

are not a terror

it

what

God's minister

is

to be afraid of their

DO EVIL, BE AFRAID

xiii. i

you

life

men

for

because this power carrieth

4.

Jews

" Beloved,

and pilgrims,

fleshly lusts that

y/herein

thou

the following exhortation addressed by

Gentile countries.

course of

it

for

the Apostle Peter, to the

journers

if

it
is the minister of God
upon every one that do-

executing punishment

ETH EVIL." Rom.

But

for thy good.

not the sword in vain

Head next

power

and thou wilt be praised by

right,

is

For these rulers

to the good, but to evil doers.

Dost thou wish then not

Do

opposeth

and such opposers will

war

were dispersed in

that
I

exhort you,

against the soul

blameless

among

the

works which,

after

may

glorify

having your

Gentiles, that,

(before they yet enquire)

as evil doers, they

as so-

keep yourselves from those

God

speak against
for the

good

a day of enquiry, they have seen

with their eyes. Submit yourselves, therefore, to every

man for the Lord's sake to the king

to governors as commissioned
as supreme;
BY him, for the punishment OF EVIL DOERS
and the praise of them that do WELL."

appointment of

Pet,

ii.

11

15.

The Jewish

like

the Egyptian Gnostics, practised

the arts of magic, and indulged in

vice,

which disgraced

Christians, but their nature as

tgre, the guilty

few

all

those excesses of

not only their

whom

men.

profession as

They were

thcre-

the magistrates had in charge

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

w punish.
tor

them

And

in the

xiii

these magistrates, instead of praying

meek

of Christian benevolence,

spirit

they in return opposed, cursed and

Hence

vilified.

Paul, having, in the beginning of his

first epistle to Timothy, noticed the Gnostic teachers, presently gives him

this

advice

"

Now,

then,

plications, prayers,

made

men

for all

we may

that

and

for kings

first

of

ii.

all,

that sup-

be

thanksgivings,
all

in

lead a quiet and peaceable

neration and respect."

he thus,

advise

intercessions,

high stations,
life in all

ve-

In the preceding chapter

i.

conceive, partly alludes to the edict of Ti-

which was levelled not against the righteous

" No law lieth against righbut the guilty.
berius,

teous MEN,

but against lawless and ungovernable,

ungodly and sinful men, unholy and impure

mur-

derers of fathers, and murderers of mothers, murderers

of others, whoremongers,
slavers

of mankind,

whatever

else

that glorious

am
,

is

We meet

of unnatural

deceivers,

lusts,

en-

and

false swearers,

contrary to the wholesome doctrine of

Gospel ot the Holy God, with which

entrusted."

Galatians.

men

Tim.

i.

12.

with a similar allusion in his epistle to the

" Now the works of the flesh are manifest
.

they are adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, image-worship, magic, enmities, strifes, rivalries,

mur-

passions, quarrels, separations, sects, envyings,

ders,

drunkenness, revellings, and such like

cerning which

you

I tell

you before hand,

heretofore, that the doers of such

inherit the
rit is

ness,

kingdom of God.

love, joy, peace,

faith,

But the

as

con-

indeed

things shall
fruit

told

not

of the spi-

long suffering, kindness, good-

against such
NO LAW." Gal. V.

meekness, temperance

THINGS as THS THERE

16

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

Xiv

jg

The

34.

no law existed in forc

which is peace, love, &g.

assertion, that

against the fruit of the Spirit,

implies that a

\di\v

did exist against those

who were

guilty of adultery, magic, murder, and of the other

above-mentioned crimes. The language of Paul in

this

and the preceding paragraph accords precisely with

who,

that of Philo,

in explicit terms, asserts

that the

imperial edict was intended to pfotect such of the

Jews

were peaceable and virtuous, and to punish

as

The

only the wicked.'

wicked, meant, were such

as disturbed the public peace, and practised the arts of

among the devotees of which

marric,

the Gnostic teach-

without exception, claimed a distinguished rank.

ers,

A-ccording to the author of the Recognitions, the guilty

whom

the governors of the* provinces had orders to

punish were Simon Magus and his associates, who,

we

shall presently sec.

ticism.

He

were the

first

teachers of

Gnos-

Tl>e following are the words of that writer.

puts them in the

in Acts,

Chap.

leficent

men

city of

Rome

mouth of Cornelius mentioned

CiEsar hath ordered that

'

x.

and throughout the provinces

number have already been

a great

therefore divulge, by the

am come

to

by Cajsar

with

others

thus confirmed by

magos, aut

of these
I

will

of friend^, that I
;

that I

was

for this purpose, in order that he also

his

* See Recog. Lib.

original

medium

destroyed.

take this magician (Simon)

sent

where the

ma-

should be sought out and punished in the

is

x. 55, or

quoted.

Dion

alio quovis

might be punished." *

associates
Vol.

The

Cassius

modo

ii.

p. 248, of the

assertion of this

Omnes

Developemcnt,

unknown author is

alios, tarn astrologos,

divinantes, peregrinos necavit

quam
Gives,

quotquot etiamnum neglecto priore edicto, quo prohibitus fuerat usus

harum artium omnibus, qui in urbe essent, tractare hujusmodi res dcfcrrentur, extorres egit. Lib. Ivii. 16.

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

This paragraph, be

it

xv

remarked, like the above passages

of the Apostles Paul and Peter, refers clearly to the

edict of Tiberius mentioned

them,

derives

its

by Philo

and hence,

true explanation.

these references be admitted,

If,

like

therefore,

follows, that not only

it

Tertullian and other ecclesiastical writers after him,

unknown

but that the Apostles themselves, and the

author of the Clementine Homilies, understood the Jews,

molested, and afterwards protected by the em-

at first

peror, to be converts to the Christian religion.

But

to this

may be

it

of such an edict,

if

objected, that the operation

ever issued, must have expired

with the imperial author

and, therefore, could not be

alluded to in writings published under a succeeding

To

prince.

objection

this

question was by

be repealed,

its

its

answer, that the edict in

nature such as could not formally

declared object being to protect the

and to punish only the guilty

peaceable,

and

as it

could not be repealed, the magistrates were bound to

act
that

upon
it

its

authority under the succeeding emperors

continued to produce, with other salutary pro-

visions, as Philo informs us, the happiest effects for

two years

after the death

of Tiberius

madness of Caligula violated

that,

when

the

in the indiscriminate

it

persecution of the Jews, Claudius, at the solicitation

of Agrippa, virtually restored

by sending
vinces

and

while this

to

its

that the apostolic epistles

last

original

were published,

edict of Claudius,

to

which

recorded by the Jewish historian, and

follows.

under

us,

*'

force,

edict yet operated in favour of the

The

ish nation.
is

it

a similar edict to the governors of the pro-

I,

i'n

therefore, think

all

it

proper

i&

Jew-

allude,

in part as

that the

Jews

the world, should without opposition

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

XVI

retain their paternal customs

and upon that people, X

my clemency

enjoin to use, with more moderation, this

in their behalf, and not bring into contempt the super-,

laws.

other nations, but

of

stitions

It is

my

adhere to their

wish that the governors of

own

cities,

of

colonics, and municipal towns, both within and with-

out Italy

by
it

that, also

men

Princes and

their ministers transcribe

power should

mandate, and have

this

so posted up, as to be easily read

in

from the ground."*

few remarks are necessary to place the cause and

the design of this edict in

The

true light.'

its

resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the progress

of his religion, divided the Jewish nation into two

parties.

The support given

to his claims

enemies, excited

part of

Rome and

Judea, but even in

expressly

Christ, and

it

was to

his

commotions, not only in

violent

The commotions which were

Suetonius

on the

and the opposition made to them by

his friends,

in all the provinces.

raised in the metropolis,

to

ascribes

the

instigation

allay the contentions,

the same cause prevailed in

Egypt and

of

which from

in other parts

of the empire, that Claudius issued this and a preceding edict related by Josephus.

* KaXuis

ovv a%jv

xxt lov^tztov^ rovs

ev 'jrxvri

tw tp

viiJicus k.o&i/,!o

r iia,rei e^i Kvs'ntx.uXvTus (pvXxtrcritv, ots text xvrots *)du vvv nrx^ayyE^Xw /xoy TxvTv) rn tpiXxv'^^WTrtx sirniKi^B^ov y^^yt<T^at, y.xi [j.yi
C)vXxa<rnv' royro

{a-ov

to S/aray/** rovs a^yovrxs ruv nioXiuvy kxi

TiuXojyiiuv y.xi (jLOvvty-iviMv,

xxi ^vvx^xs

Sftx

Twv

^VOV T E^E'V, OVK iXxTTOV

Xwj

ruv

iv r-n

i^iuv Trpa-^vjrwv

ava;yv(i'c0v' '^Jvxrai.

l5/X.f WV

IrxKix

>cxi

ty.ros,

tyy^X'^xaSxi

^xuiXfis te

(iovXoixxi,

bx./.bi~

T^lXX-OVTa, o9sV i^ tTHTfiOOV Jta-

Jud. Ant. Lib. xJk. Cap. 5,

3.

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

The Saviour of the world commissioned
to go and preach the Gospel to

human

spite of danger,

announced

dom,

his Apostles

This

nations.

all

commission, perilous and impracticable

appear to

xvii

as

it

might

views, they faithfully executed, in

labour, pain and persecution.

to all the Gentiles a

new and

celestial

They
king-

which they might partake,

without distinction, if they renounced their vices, abandoned the profane rites and execrable divinities to
which they had hitherto been devoted, and worshipped
the only true God, the Holy and Benevolent Creator
in the privileges of

of the universe.
tolic teachers

Against the

made

efforts,

which the Apos-

Pagan

to destroy the

religion, the

following clause of the above edict seems to have

been principally levelled : " Upon that people I enjoin
to use with

more moderation

this

my

clemency, and

not to bring into contempt the superstitions of other

own

nations, but adhere to their

The

laws."

supporters of Paganism, exasperated by an at-

tempt, which, by exposing their fraud and mysteries,

threatened to deprive them of the rewards of iniquity,

opposed the preachers of t^e new

faith

lence, and sought in return to strip

with double vio-

them and the na-

tion to which they belonged, of the privileges

they had hitherto enjoyed

the Roman government.

in

which

peace and -security under

This disposition in the de-

fenders of the Gentile superstitions, directed indiscri-

minately against the Jews,

it

was the chief object of

* See some observations of Dr. Lardner upon

dius,

Vol.

i.

p. 179, i8o.

It

this edict

of Clau-

seems to have escaped him, that

any beneficial influence on the Jewish Christians and their cause.

VOL.

III.

it

had

XVm

THE CHRISTIAN RELIQION

*'

this edict to repress.

think

it

proper that the Jews

Tinder us, in all the world, should without opposition

retain their paternal customs.''-

From

this statement,

if just,

follows that, while

It

the Jews, without any regard to their difference of re-

were included in the Claudian

ligious sentiments,
edict, those

among them, who supported the

Jesus,

were principally concerned

nefited

by

But

let

its

claims of

and mostly be-

operation.

We

us return again to the edict of Tiberius.

meet not only with allusions to

ings, but also with
it

in,

it

in the Apostolic writ-

one singular instance of the benefit

conferred upon the Christians and their cause. Insti-

gated by his minister, the emperor molested the Jewish

believers in the imperial city.

This molestation served

as a signal to those of their enemies, in distant parts,

who

had hitherto been restrained from persecuting them by

Accordingly we thus read:

the fear of punishment.

'

And at

that time there

Church, which was

at

was

a great persecution of the

Jerusalem

and they were

scattered abroad throughout the regions of

Samaria, except the Apostles." Acts.

The emperor however,

all

Judea and

viii. i.

finding the accusations of

Sejanus to be the effects of ambition and malice, be-

came, immediately

whom

the people

patched to

all

he had

We might,

and

dis-

therefore, expect that the

which thus broke out

should suddenly be
trhurch,

lately banished,

the governors of the provinces an edict

in their behalf.

persecution,

after his execution, the friend of

suspended, and

which was thrown

to the

in all

its

that the

fury,

infant

ground by the vi-


INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

xix

lence of the storm, should again appear augmenting

foundations, erecting

its

flecting to

peace.

its

scattered pillars, and re-

our views the sunshine of tranquillity and

And we

find our expectation realised

by the
" Then had the churches rest
Judea, and Galilee, and Samaria, and

following narrative.

throughout

were

all

edified

and walking in the

Acts

and
"

fear of the Lord,

in the comfort of the holy spirit,

were multiplied

ix. 3J.

Philo assures us. Vol. ii. 546, that, in consequence

of this edict and of other provisions which the emperor

made

to secure the public tranquillity,

and happiness" reigned in

profound peace

parts of the empire.

all

It

followed therefore, that the churches in Judea, Galilee,

and Samaria must have shared in the general

city

and harmony, and reaped, from the wise measures

feli-

of the emperor, the advantages here stated by the sacred

writer.*
* Dr. Lardner supposed (Vol. i, ^1^ 98.) that the Jews lost sight
of their hatred towards the Christians, by the dark distress which was
spread around

them by

Caligula, in attempting to put his statue in the

And this he

temple of Jerusalem.

which the churches enjoyed.

In addition to what

171.

is

The

g^ssigns as

matter

said above

the cause of the repose

examined, Vol.

is

166

i.

and in the place referred to upon

the subject, I will shew that the repose in question took place
years before the

sage in Acts

mad

27, 28.

xi.

" And

Jerusalem unto Antioch.

Agabus, and

signified

by the

And

In these

spirit that there

the days of Claudius Caesar."

to

Now,

following

is

some
a pas-

came prophets from

up one of them named

days

there stood

through the whole habitable, country

come

The

attempt of that Tyrant.

should be a great famine

Which

also

came

to pass in

the assertion that the famine did

pass in the days of Claudius, manifestly implies, that the pre-

diction of

it

was

not in his days, but in the days of his predecessor,

in the last year of Caligula, the very year

vhich Laidner

when occurred

ascribes the rest of the churches.

your eye back from the coming of Agabus

B 2

Now

to Antioch,

i.

e.

the event, to
if

you carry

till

you coire

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

XX

The edictof

Tiberius, be

it

here

by

the

way remark-

by which we may ascertain

the true date of the martyrdom of Stephen, of the conversion of Paul, and the repose of the churches. Philo,
ed, furnishes a criterion,

whose language

very emphatic,

is

rius issued his edict

which

Sejanus,

attests that

Tibe-

immediately after the execution of

assigned to the latter end of the

is

The above
which appear to have succeedshort intervals must have happened,

seventeenth year of that emperor's reign.

three events, therefore,

ed each other after

so early as the thirty-third of our Lord's age, that

within four years after the

nistry.

Hence

it is

commencement of

his,

is,

mi-

demonstrable, that the period of

his preaching did not continue as long as is generally

supposed, but that

it

comes much nearer the time con-

tended for by Dr. Priestley. See his Greek Harmony,

Hence too, most events in the history of the
p. 4c.
Apostles seem to have occurred, in proportion, more
early than the periods to
where the

to the place

which they

cessation of persecution

the interval will appear to comprise

mean time
and

six

are refeiTed
is

stays there,

till

all that dwelt in

Chap,

related,

or seven years.

the Apostle "Pcttr visits all quarters, ix.

32

by ecix.

31,

For in

tlie

goes to Lydda,

Lydda and Saron saw him, and

he tarries many days in Joppa, 43,

whence he returns to Jerusalem, and apparently makes some stay there
may measure the above interbefore Agabus yet leaves that city.

turned

to the

After

Lord, 45,

this

We

On the suspension of per-

val also by the history of the Apostle Paul.

secution he goes to Tarsus, establishes the Gospel in Cilicia and in

Syria.
city,

He

Chap.

then returns to Antioch, and spends a whole year in that

ix.

26, before

movements according
his Eccl. His.

the

last

Vol.

i.

to
p.

Agabus comes down from Jerusalem. These

Tillemont occupies a period of six years, See
165.

If then,

we

take 6 from 40, which was

of Caligula, and the year in which he attempted to erect his

statue in the temple of Jerusalem, there remains

rvhich the churches ceased to be persecuted

34

for the year in

consequently the effect

preceded the cause, which Lardner assigned, by six years.

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

XXI

clesiasticardironologers.* This in particular

with respect to the Epistles of Paul, the

is

latest

the case

of which

seems to me, not to have exceeded the year 53. And,

we meet with in these epistles to

indeed, the allusions

the impartial and equitable conduct of the civil rulers,

imply that they were published when those rulers yet

conformed to the
III.

edicts

above noticed.

That the Jewish people molested

the professors of the Gospel

in

Rome, were

a fact, which receives,

is

some corroboration from two

ges of Seneca and Dion Cassius.
in the third place,

In

epistle 108, the

my

youth had

At

that

fallen

time the

agitated

rites

former writes.

" The season of

in the reign of

Tiberius Caesar.

of a foreign superstition became

and amidst

passa-

its

subjects lay a controversy

about abstaining from certain animals. "t

*
it is

cannot help illustrating

well known, expelled the

sius thinks that this event

reign.

Some modem

this assertion

Jews and

justified.

it

to the first year

this

Oro-

emperor's

two or three years later. In this,

Dion Cassius and Suetonius, who

it

alone have recorded this matter, give

actually referring

Claudius,

from Rome.

occurred in the ninth year of

writers date

however, they are not

by one instance.

Christians

it

much

of Claudius.

earlier date, the

Let us then

former

fix

upon

a middle period, and say that the event happened in the seventh year of

This was

in the year

or in the beginning of

the next,

that

emperor.

47 of our Lord. In the same year,

then came to pass, an incident
.

which Luke has thus recorded: " And (Paul) found a certain Jew
named Aquila, recently come from Pontus [mqoa-ipMrws, nuperrime, very
lately), because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from
Rome." Acts xviii. 2. But the arrival of our Apostle in this place
happened

in

53 according

later than the

to

our

ecclesiastical writers, that

is,

six years

event actually took place.

+ InTiberii Cssaris prihcipatum Juventee tempus inciderat : alienigenarum sacra movebantur ; sed inter argumenta superstitionis ponebatui
t^uorundam animalium abstinentia.

a 3

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

XXII

Critics agree, that, by the foreign superstition oJ

which Seneca here speaks, he intends the Jewish religion, and that the controversy about the use of animal food broke out at the time in which Tiberius

May

banished the Jews from Italy.

fairly inferred, that

not then be

it

originated in the introduction of

it

the Gospel into the metropolis

we

since

on good authority (See Acts xv.

20.

and

are assured

p.

143 of this

Analysis) that a dispute of this kind arose

and

in

Vol.

i.

every other place where

p.

The

179

was

first

Rome,

at

preached.

190.

latter

his life of

it

of the above mentioned authors has in

Claudius a passage to the following

" The Jews who a second time flocked to the

such numbers,

as

rendered

exclude them

difficult to

it

effect.

city in

without disturbance, the emperor did not indeed expel

but he

their

commanded such

of

them

as

conformed

in

conduct to their paternal law, not to assemble

and he dissolved the

which returned under

societies

Caius."*

The term

societies {irai^etati)

Tian, denotes the assemblies

here used by this histo-

of Jewish and Egyptian

converts, in opposition to the other

tioned,

Of

whose conduct conformed

this position

very same word

to their paternal law.

the following fact

is

Jews above menis

a proof.

The

applied by Pliny, though a latin

)
uiv, TCI ^ ^ Trxr^iu!
rccs

TE

vo(j.u /3/w

%^w/w.Evoff skeXeuo-e

irxiptixs tua'ioi.y^iKTct.s

Claudii6.

The

given by Suetonius

difference
is

vtto

between

rov

this

reconciled in Vol.

i.

(j.in

crvvx^^ot^iaQcei,

Txiov ^aXvat,

In Vita

paragraph and the account

p. 203.

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

xxiii

writer, to designate the societies of Christians ;* a cir-

cumstance which shews

that

was not casually em-

it

ployed on a particular occasion, but chosen as the

name, which had

for

some time been appropriated

to

the congregations of believers.

These

have returned,

societies are said to

or, as the

clause might be rendered, to have restored themselves

under Caius. If then they returned under Caius (Cathey must have consisted partly of those Jews
and Egyptians, who had been banished in the precedligula),

ing,

i.

See Vol.

the reign of Tiberius.

e,

i.

204.

p. 191

IV. Some subjects of dispute connected with the

expulsion of the Jews and Egyptians, afford additional

proof of the position that they were the disciples of

Jesus.

The Pagans,

believing in the existence of an inferior

race of Gods, called demons, which were said to appear sometimes in the shape of men, and
to enter into and dwell in
as soon as

human

at

other times

bodies, concluded,

they became thoroughly convinced of

Jiis

Lord was one of

those beings. This notion,which however absurd, was
miracles and resurrection, that our

obviously dictated by the genius of paganism, even

his

to

enemies tenaciously embraced.

it,

we

the sanctions of his religion

* Secundum mandata
vetaeram.

and applied

196.

They had recourse

shall presently see, in order to undermine

How

this

tua, writes

and in opposition to

he to Trajan,

HETyERiAs

name was borrowed from the Egyptian

to the societies of Christians,

is

it,

esse

assemblies

explained in Vol.

i.

p.

193

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

XXIV
I

have already shewn, the Apostles strenuously main-

demon

tained that the Christ, instead of being a

ing in Jesus, was the

man

had endued with miraculous powers,

raised from the dead.

In

of this assertion

illusjtration

The philosopher Ame-

accept the following instances.

a disciple of Plotinus, and a friend of the bitterest

lius,

enemy of our

faith,

declares

in explicit terms, that

our Lord was a divine being clothed

The

who

historian Suetonius,

in

human

(Chrestus)

many

years from the person of Jesus, to

in existence, instigating the

But the following

and rebellion.

by

the evangelist Luke,

When

attention.

demon

and he evidently supposes him. though

separated for
still

flesh.*

flourished soon after the

days of the Apostles, gives him the name of a

be

resid-

whom God
and whom he

Jesus himself,

is

Jews

to

tumult

instance, recorded

particularly

worthy of our

the Apostle Paul preached the re-

surrection of Jesus to the Athenian philosophers,

some

of them inferred that the preacher was the

forth

the publisher of a

of a strange God, or
Acts xvii. 18.
* See Vol.

The

ed.

ii.

p.

474, where his

of

this

is,

Judaeos assidue tumultuantes

The

ex urbe expulit.

obvious intimation

passage that Christ was at this time in being, impelling the Jew's

to be incessantly tumultuous, has led

ent person
historian

death.

new demon.\ See

own words are quoted and explain-

language of Suetonius

IMPU LSORE Chresto,

setter

is

some men

meant from our Saviour

had no knowledge of

Both suppositions

to suppose that a differ-

and others, that the

his having

Roman

been long since put to

are equally absurd and remote

from the

truth.

+ SeeVol.il.

p. 516-

519,

the statement there given,

consult

it,

my

where

reader,

this passage is explained.

if

By

he will take the trouble to

will perhaps find himself instructed.

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

Now let
death,

XXV

us suppose the report of our Lord's miracles,

and insurrection, to be conveyed

to the

metro-

and there become the subject of general credit.

Whom might we expect that the learned and inquisi-

polis,

tive of that city thought

him

to be

And

in

what man*-

may we suppose that they spoke of his death ?

From his miraculous endowments, and from his supe-

ner

which was deemed the leading

the character of a God, they drew, it is na-

riority to corruption,

feature in

same inference which the Athe-

tural to imagine, the

nian philosophers understood to be inculcated by the

Apostle

namely, that he was a strange god, or a ntw

And the

ianon.

representation given of his death,

might farther conjecture, was

had expired

in Judea.

that a great

demon

What we might thus

expect

we

lately
to

be

dictated by the Pagan superstition, corresponds in the

case of the wise

an Egyptian
port to

Tiberiii;,;

that a

lately died.

"was

author,

of

Rome with

Thaumas

the fact.

Plutarch informs us, brought a re-

pilot,

Rome,

Pan, had

men

demon, whom he called the great

" This report," continues the same

propagated throughout'^eme

Cajsar sent for

credit td the report.

Thaumas

so that

and thus he gavQ

In consequence of this, Tiberi-

us made enquiries and sought information respecting

this

But the

Pan.

Philologers,

who

in'great

numbers

surrounded him, conjectured that he was the son of

Mercury and Penelope.

nesses present

who had

And

Philip had

some wit-

heard these things from the

aged .^milianus."*
*

Oia. Je

^oi.<j9rivxr

gos*

ovTu

moKKui xvQ^uTruv woc^ovruv, Tctyv rov Xoyov

jtasj

rov ocvj^xv yevstrOai

^s vi^ivo'xt

tw Xoyu

fv Pui/.y) <rx-

(/.iTOiTTtfjiTTTOv vtto Tij3t^iov K.a.io'oc-

Tov T</3f/ov, u?i ^ix'7Tvv0an<T9aci x

^ntity Tiiqi rou Tlyoi' tiKx^dv ^i rovs (fiKoXoyovs av^vovs orras, Toy

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

XKVl

Now

Thaumas

the coincidence of this story, \yhich

brought from the

east,

with the time and place of

and especially

Christ's death,

its

con-espondence with

the representation, which the genius of

would give of

heathenism

person sustaining, the character, and

dying in the circumstances of Jesus, render

apprehension, impossible that the

it,

my

in

demon here intend-

ed could be any other than the Saviour of the world,

who

about that time had suffered on the cross. But

what must remove the doubt of every candid reader,
the consideration, that the rhetorician jE?nilianuSt

2S

fiom whom Philip received the story, is known to

have been a convert to the new faith.* A Christian,
speaking of a demon or god that had just expired, could

mean no other than the founder of

the Christian reli-

gion**.

This paragraph of Plutarch furnishes the reader with

three very singular and

We

from

learn

very important particulars.

it, first, that Tiberius

believed the

death of Jesus to be the death of some supernatural

being.

As he thought him

to be a

God,

there can be

no improbability in the fact, attested by Tertullianand

other ecclesiastical writers, that he gave his suffrage
for his deification

i^

T.eiJ^ov

ruiv

KXi

'O

U'ovtho'iTris yeysvinixsvat.

TTX^vruv

syiovs,

Defec. Orac. p. 419.

latcdin Vol.

by the Senate.

i.

p.

AiiJ.iXitxvov

The

We learn, secondly,
//".ev

ovv 4>;A;7r7rof si^s xact

rov ys^ovros xx.y>y.oorxs.

passage

is

quoted more

at large,

Plut.

and

Dc

trans-

247253.

See Lardner, Vol. vii p. 461, in which place is quoted the paraWarburton drew this just conclusion. The conversion-

graph, whence

of that rhetorician to the Christian religion, is probably the circumstance intended when, in the first book of his Mctamm-phosis, ApuleiuS
represents

him as changed by magic

into

a ram.

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

that the emperor

made

respecting him.

If so,

enquiries
it is

XXVU

and sought ivformatxon

surely natural to conclude,

among

that he sought this Information,

other sources,

from an authority which was most competent to

who was

rator, therefore,

in-

His Procu-

form, and the least likely to deceive him.

a spectator, and an actor in

the tragedy of our Lord's death, must have been soli-

send the emperor an

cited to

account,

official

if I

so say, of the actions and suflering of Jesus.

thus

may
And

also rendered probable an attestation of Jusiin

is

and of TertuUian,* That

Martyr,

in

the Archives,

of

the state lay deposited an authentic statement^ sent by Pilate

himself to the emperor, of the miracles and resurrec-

tion 'of the innocent person

We are informed,

whom

he

had

sentenced to die.

thirdly, that the philologers,

i.

e.

the Egyptian, Chaldean, and Persian devotees of as* These two reputable writers,
tively addressed to the

Roman

which they respec-

in the apologies

people, assert, with the fullest confi-

dence, the existence of such documents sent by Pilate to the emperor.

And It appears to me
open a manner,

Incredible, that they should in so confident

refer the emperors, the Senate,

and people of

and

Rome

to state-papers in their d^vn possession, unless they were fully assured

Dr, Lardner, Vol.

that such papers existed.

"

It

was customary for governors of provinces

an account of remarkable transactions

sided.

So thought the learned Euseblus,

letters to Trajan, still extant, are a

Memoirs of Alexandria,

as

we have
it,

sent to Caligula,

observes.

p. 235,

the places

in

proof of

ii,

to send to the

emperor

where they pre-

seen.

And

Pliny's

Philb speaks of the acts or

which the emperor read

with more eagerness and satisfaction than any thing else."

What

was

thus customary to be done by the governors of the provinces in ordinary

cases,

could not have been omitted by the governor of Judea, in a case

so extraordinary as that of Jesus Christ.

been very

and of

sensible,

his

emperor

that the

fame of

Besides, Pilate must have

his miracles,

of his condemnation,

having risen from the dead, would soon reach the ear of the

and

he should be

that,

if

he neglected to conform to the usual practice,

summoned

to

do

it

by an imperial mandate.

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

XXVUl

trology and magic)

who surrounded

great numbers, concurred with

him

the emperor in
in opinion that

Jesus was a supernatural being, and represented him

as being

Pan the son of Mercury and Penelope.

him Pan,

called

versal empire,

(all) in allusion,

which the expected Messiah,

supposed, would assume

They

perhaps to the uniit

was

while, under the description

Son of Mercury and Penelope," they inculcated

his

divine message to mankind, and the extraordinary virtues of his character; the former being

Messenger of Jupiter, and the

latter

deemed the

a rare

example

of chastity and purity.

The

following

is

a paragraph translated

from Tacitus.

Quintilianus brought before the Fathers a motion

respecting a book of the Sibyl, which Caninius Gallus

had demanded to be received among the other books

of the same prophetess. After a division had been

made upon

the subject, Caesar sent a letter, in

which

he reflected with moderation on the tribune, as being

But
a youth unacquainted with the ancient custom.

he severely censured Gallus

because, a veteran in

the study of ceremonies, he without adequate authority, and before he had taken the opinion of his Colleague,

brought before a thin Senate a prophetic

poem, which had not been, as was

examined by the ch^ef priests, &c.'*
* Relatum
Sibyllae,

antiqui

and

inde ad Patres a Quintiliano tribuno plebei de libro

quern Caninius Gallus recipi inter ca;teros ejusdem

et ea de re senatus

facto,

usual, read

misit litteras

consultum postulaverat

Quo

vatis,

per discessionem

m^dice triburtum increpans,

Csesar,

moris ob juventam

Gallo exprobrabat, quod

cseremoniarum vetus, incerto auctore, ante sententiam

ignarum

sclentiae

collegii,

et

nor>,

ut assolct, lecto per nr.agistros aestimatoque oanplne, apud infrequen-

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

The

xxix

which Tacitus has here recorded,

incident,

is

Dion Cassius " And a certain oracle

if of the Sibyl, which did not indeed refer to the age

thus related by
as

of the

but was sung

city,

the people

at this

time, greatly agitated

After thnce three hundred years,

But Tiberius reprobated these

will destroy the Ro?fianS'

verses of the Sibyl

and he examined

war

civil

the books

all

containing predictions, and some he rejected a$ of no

value, but others of

Now,

propose by probable arguments to shew,

that the predictions,

of the

Roman

tem senatnm
mine

them he approved."*

which,

if

we

follow the authority

historian,t Tiberius, after the death of

Simul commonefecit, quia multa vana sub no-

egisset.

celebri vulgabantur,

Augustum, qaem

sanxisse

quoque decretum

2 majoribus

An.

lium, &c.

tAtyt

'Zi^vXXziov,

aXKus

T^tyttoo'iuv itt^trBX\o(A.tvuv

PufAXiws

B(A.^vXos oXst <^xarts,

Tayra te rx

ov Ti^i^ios

x^ix

iiin

mxvruv,

"Lv&xqira

us \i\^y\ ovt

x-ffCK^iv!,

+ According

rx^f

sv}c^tvE.

x^^otrj^i).

^/EiSjcXr,
xot/

this

v.xi

rx

/Si*-

//.iv

us

ovS't-

Ivii.

18.

to Tacitus this eKamlnation of the Sibylline book, oc-

But Dion connects

with a prodigy, that foreboded the death of Germanicus

But

tx

In VitaTiberii,- Lib.

curred somewhat before the death of Tiberius.

lier.

quod

bello capito-

jmev ov^tv ru) Tr,s 'rroy^eue

Ttxvrx rx \KXvriix rivx e^ovrx i'^terKt-^xro,

>.ix

vas

sociali

yaf on,

T^is Se

'O

exustum

liceret

vi. I2-

* Aoywv T Ti us axi

j.'.r

erat post

diem ad

intra

prstorem urbanum deferrentur, neque habere privatim

evidently an error, or what

is

misrepresentation.

This

historian,

it is

is

many

years

more probable, a

it

ear-.

wilful

well known, often connects ia

the same detail occurrences which, in point of fact, were separated by

long intervals.
annotator.
illo narrari,

The

following

is

a caution given the reader

Sspe hoc oportet lectorem Diouis

quae

minime codera tempore

vlcc

by an

obtervare, junctim ab

code m anno gesta $u:.

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

XXX

Sejanus, examined and prohibited from being received

among

'

weie

those of the Sibyl,

at least in

part the for-

some Christian converts

geries of

in Rome'; and that the

by the Greek writer was either entirely

oracle specified

previously extant, appropriated by the

forged, or

if

same men,

to corroborate

prevalent

From

among the
Tacitus,

an erroneous sentiment then

Christians.

it is

manifest,

the emperor not

tliat

only prevented the reception of the above oracles

among

those already ascribed to the Sibyl, but prohi-

bited th& use of

find

them by private

was actually in force

some of the primitive

The passage

against the oracles

some of

those

in part

ii.

This remark

p. 859.

be pointed out,

as

" From an

pronounced against

Now,

is

applicable to

if this

many

writer un-

cases that

well as to the incident under consideration. If

amine the context,

Rome felt on

is

the books of Hystaspes, or of the

who peruse

Sibyl, qr of the prophets."*

Vol.

forged by

the Jewish pro-

as follows

is

demons death

instigation of the

that a prohibition

Christians, whether imputed to

the Sibyl, to Hystaspes, or

phets.

Now we

individuals.

from a passage of Justin Martyr,

it

might

we

ex-

which the people of

will appear that the alarm,

account of the above oracle must have been on an occa-

sion different from that

which was excited by the prodigies preceding

the death of Germanicus, though the two events bear such resemblance
to each other as to be associated in the
tion to succeed each other on the page.

memory, and from

that associa-

It is observable, farther,

that

Tacitus seems to have in his mind the very oracle which Dion mentions
Hence he speaks
in givin^ the above account of the Sibylline book.

of the city being burned by

$-ao-<s in

of Efx^v^oy

the

civil

Greek

conflagration of the capltol, to

war

sociali hello,

oracle

though

which
it

is

a translation

be certain, that the

^hich he alludes, was not occasioned by

civil war.

The

passage

daemonum

more

at large,

is as

follows

Opera autem malorum

mortis supplicium adversus librorum Hystaspis, aut Sibylte,

aut Prophetarum lectores constitutum

ut per timorem homines abster-

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

derstood that the forged prophecies,

XX\i

which he

tc

had wholly, or in part, been brought before

alludes,

condemned and prohibited by

the Senate, and there

Tiberius himself, could he with any propriety produce

any of them

in

an Apology, which he addressed to that

assembly in subsequent times

pected.

This

is

Accordingly not a single verse

Apology

in his greater

not to be exis

to be

found

while the Sibylline and other

spurious verses are pouz'ed forth very abundantly in his

Exkoriation to ike Greeks.

That the oracle, specified by Dion Cassius, was

either forged by some Christian converts in Rome ;
or, if previously extant, appropriated

by the same men,

to corroborate an erroneous sentiment prevalent

the

first

Christians,

a fact

is

which appears

bable from the following consideration.

well

known,

set

posed

guilt, to the

which from

act,

credited, had
is

easily

it

aud exposed them, for

most cruel

its

not

to be pro-

Nero,

is

their sup-

This horrible

tortures.

enormity would have been

come from

accounted

it

to the city, charged the Chris-

fire

tians as the authors,

among

little

a respectable adversary,

on the supposition that the

for,

The

oracle in question was a Christian forgery.

converts, in general, regarded

Rome

as the

first

grand seat

of that power of darkness, which oppo'sed the king-

dom of
~

light

in the end,

be

and believing

that all

the proud mistress of the world

fate,

which the holy

autem servos eos detineaat

ijequiverunt.

Apo!.

* This opinion
torious

is

i.

concluded that

would undergo the

city so signally experienced.*

reant quo minus scrlpta ea legentes rerum

Sibi

such power would^

utterly destroyed, fondly

bonarum notltiam

percipiant

quod quiilem ad effectum perducerc

Cap. 59,

alluded to in the PInlopatris o\ Luctan.

arms of Trajan in the

The vic-

east furnished the vit of that writer wiili

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

XXXU
This

which

the sentiment

is

consideration inculcates
that

the

under

oracle

nor could Nero be ignorant

such a notion was cherished by perhaps the ma-

Rome, and that by some of

them aprophecy, inculcating the conflagrationof the ca-

jority of the Christians in

was forged and circulated under the high autho-

pital,

The

rity of the Sibyl.

tyrant naturally availed himself

of these circumstances, as affording a

fair

opportunity

of indulging in security the most unparalleled malice,

The

cruelty, and revenge.

city

he

set

on

in va-

fire

rious quarters, and pointed to the Christians as the

The

perpetrators of the horrid deed.

knew, would appear

specting

And

approaching conflagration were notorious.

its

what

accusation, he

plausible, as their sentiments re-

very remarkable,

is

we

are assured,

on the

authority of Dion Cassius, that he sung this very oracle

on the occasion^ as

though he held out to the enraged

populace, that this was an act by which they endea-

voured to
a

fair

fulfil their

own

opportunity for exposing

that not only

element of

Rome,

it

prediction.

to ridicule

and contempt.

A belief,

but the whole empire would be destroyed by the

was transmitted through many ages in the Christian

fire,

Lactantius with great elegance and animation describes the

Church.

approaching dissolution, and refers to the books of the Sibyls and of

ram

esse

same event.

as predicting the

Hystaspes

Roraam

loquuntur.

Sibyllze

Hystaspes quoque

tamen aperte

interitu-

admirabile somnium,

memoriam posteris tradidit,

Romanum." Lib. vii. Cap.
probable, among other predic

sub intcrpretatione vaticinantis pueri ad

sublatum
15.

iri

ex orbe impejrium nomenque

This charming writer

tions, to that oracle

+ In addition
fabricated,
still exists,

name of

was

refers,

it is

which Dion Cassius has recorded.

to the above proof that the oracle in question, if not

in use

among

the

first

Christians, be

it

remarked, that

it

though somewhat changed, among those which under the

the Sibyl, were produced in after days, as predictive of the

destruction of Rome.

In

its

present state

it is

as follows

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

V. There remain

my

of

lastly to

be considered, in support

one or two passages which occur

proposition,

in the writings of certain

Before

XXxiij

produce

Jews.

these,

is

it

necessary to explain

the circumstances which brought upon

the Jewish

nation the hatred of Sejanus. That wicked man, elated

with the influence which he acquired over Tiberius,

and the ascendency which on that account he obtained in the Senate, became inspired with the vain hope
of dethroning the emperor, and usurping the reins of

government.

As

this elevation,

he procured the erection of his statues

in places of resort,

a step preparatory to his arriving at

and in temples, to which the idola-

trous populace and the cringing nobles of

And,

invited to pay religious homage.

Rome were
in order

to

habituate the subjects of the empire to associate his

name and

character with the

Supreme Power, he caused

image to wave, together with that of the emperor, in

his

the front of the

Roman

legions.

The Jews

in

Rome,'

apprehensive of his ambition, and cherishing a deep

rooted aversion to every species of idolatry, instead of

bowing
ed

at

is

the

in prostrate adulation before his images, spurn-

them with contempt and

indignation.

And

this

circumstance which Philo appears to have in

nXr)^WO-(S \'JK0i2xVT0CS, OTV

Moi^x,

(jixCp(j.evy],

OV(T^O^0i "n^v

(70/

teov oyvo/>ia rnKvic-jjaxax,

&c.

'E^a.i y.a.t Pu.'[j.x ^v/jir,.

Rome,
this

in

Dion

Greek, consists of
alludes,

when he

refer to the then age

Rome

it

letters wliich

denote the number 948.

says of the above prediction, that

of the

city.

At

III.

To

did not

the completion of that period,

seems -was to become Rtime, meaning

VOL.

it

desolated.

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

XXXlV

View, when he says, that the Jewish people

opposed his

impious

designs

and measures.

able opposition, of course, filled the vile

with resentment

in

Italy

The

laud-

conspirator

and in order to be revenged, he had

recourse to the arts of falsehood and misrepresentation.

The

crimes of which, says Josephus, four

men only

were guilty, he extended indiscriminately to the whole

nation
and stigmatised them as enemies to the person
;

and government of Gaesar.

representations
sion of the

The

Tiberius gave credit to his

and the consequence was the expul-

Jews and Egyptians from

Italy.

scene however takes a sudden change.

The

views of the traitor are unfolded to the emperor

and,

at

the

moment he

The

throne, he was hurled into the Tiber.

jealous
the

whom
V\

mind of Tiberius was not

destruction of

fancied himself ascending to the

the

cruel and

to be satiated with

Every Senator,

conspirator.

fear or interest had rendered obsequious to him,

hile yet a favourite, shared in his fate

friendship of Sejanus was a crime in

and, since the

all,

excepting in

which could be expiated only

with death, the aversion which the Jews shewed to his

the emperor

himself,

person, and the opposition they

could not

fail

to restore

them

made

to

his measures^

to the imperial favour.

Accordingly the tyrant suddenly became the friend

of the people,

cuted

whom

little

before he hated and perse-

ana, in order to protect

lence, and to repair in

them from further

some measure the

injustice

vio-

done

them, he published an edict for their protection.

The Jews were

the only people in

Rome, who, while

yet in the zenith of his power, had the courage to resist

the measures of Sejanus

and the resistance mus^

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

have reflected

XXXV

upon them the highest honour, and

placed in an enviable light their

To

love of freedom.

independence and

deprive the Jewish people of

the credit due to them in this respect, Tacitus,

was

their bitterest

marks,

is

enemy, and who,

banishment from Italy

when

his

He -connects
which was

and their

to a period in the reign of

minister had no political

the event with the death of Germanicus,

in the eighteenth year of

which induced the Roman

to that particular time,

ton

Tibe-

existence.

our Lord's age,

and the third of the government of Tiberius,

cause,

re-

loquacious of falsehoods beyond any other

historian, refers the suppression of their rites

rius,

who

as Tertullian

is

The

historian to ascribe

easily pointed out.

it

Whis-

has remarked, that Tacitus had carefully perus-

ed the works of Josephus, and

that in his narrative

of the Jews he has followed the authority of their great

historian, excepting
sacrifice the

malice.
just

of

it.

when

his

prejudices led

faith of history to the fictions of

The remark

appears to

me

and the following circumstance

is

him

to

Pagan

unquestionably
a corroboration

Josephus, having obliquely noticed the mur-

der of Germanicus by Piso, successively relates the

tumults which happened in Judea, between Pilate and

the people, his testimony concerning Christ, the seduction of Paulina in Rome, and the expulsion of the
Jews from Italy. And this is precisely the order in
which Tacitus has narrated the same events. Having

mentioned the death of Germanicus, and the honour

paid to his

memory, he adds (An. Lib.

ii.

84.) that

same year the Senate passed a decree, to restrain

the impurities of certain women of quality, and to ex-

in the

C a

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

XXXVl

The

Jews.

pel the

brief and transient

manner, in

which Josephus touches upon the affairs of the Romans, led him to pass over without noticing the long
period of time, which intervened

from the death of

the above mentioned Prince to the commotions in

Judea

nor was the exact date of a foreign incident,

collater-ally noticed, to

be expected from a person

professedly wrote a history of the Jews.

however, follows

his footsteps,

mean

his authority as a

and

who

Tacitus,

avails himself ot

to mislead his readers.

Beit

here remarked, that into an error, similar to what Tacitus has

fallen

committed trom design, Dion Cassius has

from carelessness or indifference

cords in the

first

since he re-

year of the reign of Claudius, an

expulsion of the Jews, which undoubtedly happened

many

years later, and

taken place so

which some suppose

even

late

as the twelfth

See Dion Cassius. Lib.

emperor.

to

have

year of that

Ivii. 16.

In the tenth century flourished a Jew,*

who assum-

ed the name of Josephus, and imposed upon the world

his

own

productions

as

the

genuine works of the

The motives which prompted him

Jewish historian.

to this bold and gross imposition,

discern.

He

well

knew

it

is

not difficult to

that the celebrated historian

of the Jews, was in reality a historian of the Jewish

Christians

that,

he supported the
Antiquities,

and

under the paternal name of Judaism,

infant religion of Jesus

in his

in the dispute which, on the

faith,

that in his

answer to Apion, he takes a part

first

diffusion of the

new

broke out between the Jews and the Pagans

* The

age, cliaractcr,

Br. Lardner

and writings of this impostor are considered by

in Vol. vii. p.

162

i8j.

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

that in Ins
first

XXXVU

Jewish JVars, he gives a character of the

converts, in which he opposes his testimony to the

various calumnies laid to their charge by their enemies

that he relates the destruction of Jerusalem, as the ful-

filment of a prediction of that event, and exculpates

Jesus and his followers from being the authors of that

by tracing the causes of the war

catastrophe,
internal

and external

lopement, p. loi

and

in

ii.

of the Deve-

107.

These things Josippon

knew

See Vol.

foes.

to their

(for that

was

his

name)

tvell

consequence he published the original

works of Josephus, modified conformably

to his

own

purposes, and stripped of the passages in fa-

sinister

vour of Christ and

with others of a contrary

his cause,

complexion inserted

in the

The

room.*

following

* The statement, given above, of the object which Josippon had

view, will account for the following observation of Gagnier:

Jewish writers, whether commentators, or

ii>

"All

historians, or philologers,

continually alledge the work, of Josippon, and quote authorities and tes-

timonies from

it,

as

an authentic and fundamental book.

As

for the

Greek Josephus, they have little regard for him, or rather none at all >
but declaim against him as a lying historian, full of falsehoods and flatteries.

But

divine."

their

Apud

Josippon they extol and magnify

Lard. Vol.

p. 163.

vii.

and almost

as true,

I will justify the truth

of

remark by a paragraph taken from Isaac Abrabaniely a Jewish

commentator upon Daniel. " When Josephus writes, we do not rethis

ceive his testimony, because he has

he saw something unusual

perverted them

in the

many

things misrepresented.

When

words of the prophets, he changed and

nor did he give houour to the words of the prophets,

whereby he ought to

praise

God,

word of God

and firmly adhere

to

the truth.

we give credit to
his words ?" See the Epistle of Christopher Arnold, No. xiii. annexed to
the second volume of Josephus' works, Haver. Edition. From this exBut he despised

tract,

as a

it is

the

why

then should

evident, that the rabbins of former times considered Josephus

convert to the Christian religion.

C 3

For by

the truth

they under.

XXXVIU

CHRISTIAN RELIGION

rtiZ

paragraph, which appears to have been substituted for

the testimony borne to our Lord,

is

worthy of our

Caesar:

And

him reigned Tiberius

after

commander of

the

Army

And

Cassar.

And he

Tiberius was a wicked and impious man.

Pilate

at-

sacred Augustus

In those days died the

tention.

*'

sent

who

to Jerusalem,

brought there with his forces an image in the likeness

And

of Tiberius Caesar.
image.

The people

entering with

into

it

he demanded to bring in the

him from

rose up and prev'^ented

the

city

because,

the

said

man shall not come into the

And Pilate, commander of the army,

people to him, an image of

city of holiness.

And

was highly incensed with the people of Judea.

many of the men

perish
fell

of the city of Jerusalem he caused to

by the sword

and many also of his

prostrate in dead bodies

on the ground

own
:

soldiers

because in

many

the days of Tiberius Caesar, were perpetrated

not in Judea only

impious crimes,

even in Rome,

stood the Jewish religion in opposition to the Gospel.

authors of the Mw-^nc speak,

when they

countrymen from Judaism.

slighted,

and

all

who

erit defectus."

" The wisdom of the masters

will strive to avoid transgression will be

and great will be the

falling

away from

On the contrary,

tian in contradistinction to the

Thus

the truth

Jewish

religion.

will be

contemned,

Veritatis

the Christian writers

ly the end of his commentaries on the

the.

allude to the Apostacy of their

magnus

meant the Chris-

ThusTheodoret, near-

book of Daniel,

attests that

Jose-

phus, though he did not proclaim his belief in Christ, was unable to
conceal the truth
characterises

him

tv ocXnQsiixv K^iimtv

as

a^iovpi'^s (/.x^rvs

comment upon
to Jesus

a witness of
rris

vs^t

ovx.

xvi^oixsvos'

Chrysostom

the divine truth msst deserving ofcredity

Zbov

<!cXY>Qctacs.

Josephus published a

the above mentioned prophet, and he pointed,

as the object in

whom

they were accomplished.

To

it

seems,

this

pub-

two commentators, Theodoret and Abrabaniel, probably

refer, when they assert, the one, that Josephus was unable to conceal,
Ihe other, that he apostatized from the truth.

lication the

INTRODUCED INTO ROME,

many impious

the city of royalty,

xxxix

crimes were per-

petrated."

Now the word [iiahalutK]

which

have rendered zw/>z'-

tus crimes, signifies properly follies

and hence

it

was

sometimes used to denote the senseless and impure practices of idolatry

and fornication, two names often syno-

nimousin the Jewish writings, because of the impurities

which always accompanied the Pagan rites. As the wriemploys the term

ter

Tiberius,

it is

connection with the effigy of

in

which he represents

clear that the crimes

as perpetrated about this time in Judea, were of the

And we

latter kind.

tion he had

can easily discern what founda-

The

charge.

this

he was inhabited by an angel

together with the other disciples,

from the dead, had

risen

people in general,

account ior our Lord's miracles, supposed

in order to

that

for

at

and even Thomas

when they saw him
:

the time recourse to the

supposition, that he was a superior being of this de-

The Jewish

scription.

the same hypothesis

heretics steadfastly adhered to

and not only believed him to be

a divine being, but, in imitation of the Pagans,

feasted in

honour of

by a solemn

who

their gods, celebrated his divinity

This practice, and the sensuali-

festival.*

* The stupendous works which our Lord performed, disposed the

majority of the Jews around him, to consider him as a superior being.

The common
dead

i.

people supposed he was one of the prophets risen from the

e. that

he was animated by one of their

to the rank of an angel,

body.

Mark

by

its

has recorded an incident (See Vol.

which may be inferred

that, in the

ii.

p.

447

454.

ii.

p.

461.} from

who were with him,

celestial spirit within the man Jesus,

and not Jesus himself, constituted the Christ.

recourse to the same notion,

long since

opinion of some

while yet engaged in his ministry, a

dead, Vol.

souls, raised

separation from a corrupt and mortal

when

they

Of this

first

Even

the disciples

had

saw him risen from the

general disposition to regard hii

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

xl
ties

with which

ous

crimes that

was attended, constituted the impi-

it

Josippon had in view

and long before

him, similar insinuations were thrown out by the authors of the Mishna,

who

speak of their synagogues as

turned into brothel houses, the land of Judea as laid

waste, and the

Lard Vol.

wisdom of the rabbins held

vii. p.

in contempt.

144.

But^farther, the author asserts that crimes, similar to

those in Judea, were perpetrated also in

sertion

we have

already seen,

When

foundation.

is

Rome. The

as-

not without some

the miracles and resurrection of

Christ were believed, beyond doubt, in the imperial

city,

even the philologers around the person of the

Prince inculcated that he was a demon or god descended from heaven

consecrate him

and Tiberius himself proposed to

by an

act of the Senate, as

tutelar divinities of the empire.

we

analysis too

Roman church
that

upon

From

shall perceive, that

regarded him

altars,

one

of

the

the subsequent

multitudes in the

in the same light, and

erected by Pagan superstition, they

offered incense to his praise.

In the above passage, moreover,

it is

insinuated that

the attempt of Pilate to profane the holy

of images,

introduction

by the

city,

originated in the

impious

crimes said to have been perpetrated in Judea and in

This insinuation,

Rome.
truth.

The

as ati angel,

maintain,

is

founded in

sycophants of power prompted Tiberius

demon, or an

inferior god,

the Saviour was very sensible.

In order therefore to correct so absurd and dangerous a notion, he usually designated himself

human race,

that,

by terms, which signify that he was one of the

though endowed with divine power and wisdom, he

possessed only the nature and constitution of man. See Vol.

41-

ii,

p.

34-^

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

assume divine honours

to

Jesus. See Vol.

good sense
bable that,

i.

in opposition to the deified

And

p. 177.

at

the

Pilate to deposit within

lem the

effigies

is

attested

he em-

walls of Jerusa-

ihe

of himself and his

by the true Josephus

not impro-

it is

Sejanus,

instigation of

powered
fact

though he had the

dechne the competition,

to

xli

favourite.

and

is

it

The

observ-

able that, after briefly mentioning another tumult be-

tween Pilate and the people, he has inserted

mony

concerning Christ

tion, the close relation

which subsisted between the

illustrious subject of his attestation

narrative

elation,

his testi-

holding out, by that inser-

and the foregoing

which, though well

known

to

every reader in early times, has entirely been overlooked by modern

critics.

In a tract of the Talmud,

we meet

with the following

passage fabricated by rabbinicdl malice

"

When king

Jannaeus slew the rabbins, R.Joshua, son of Perachiah,

Therefore

Je-

sus having left his master, devoted himself to the

ma-

and Jesus

gical
arts,

arts

fled to

in

Alexandria in Egypt

Egypt.

When

and hid them within

his

he had acquired these

skin,

he returned to

Judea."*

Here our Lord is represented as fleeing, ^vhen grown

to manhood, into Egypt, in company with his Preceptor Perachiah, meaning John the Baptist. See Vol.

up

The cause of his flight was the anger ot

king Jannaeus, who had put some of the rabbins to
death.
The origin of this fiction is now discernible.

ii.

p. 312.

* See Vol.
large
P-

ii. p. 311 319,

where the passage is quoted more at
from Wagenseil's Refutation o^Toldcs Jaihu, or Lard. VoL vii.

149-

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

Xfii

By

Jann^eus

ot his

who

Intended Sejanus,

is

power governed

who

ence over Tiberius, and

in the

whole empire by

the

caused

many

summit

his influ-

of the

Jews

to be destroyed, and the rest to be banished from Italy.

This explanation must be true, because no other person,

invested with regal authority, persecuted that people
in the time of our Saviour,

the two names points

iiesides, the similarity

of

directly to the minister of Tibe-

rius.*
* The part wFisch

Pilate, as related In tPi four Gospels,

condemnation of our Lord,

took in the

ascribed in a Jewish Tract (Toldos Jes-

is

chu), containing a malicious account of his birth and his actions, to a

O'uecn, said to

be the wife oi Jannaus.

must have been in

&tate,

This circuvnstance

represents

him

as the wife

may have

given

of Jannxm,

who

absolute controul of the minister

government of Ju-

to the

to the

rise

i.e. as an old

as

On his conduct,
"

ino the chief priests

affirm that this
c^'cs,

man

And

who
is

the

urged his death),

?

things

the wise

said.

for

most

Let

Have

certainly he

is

it

him with my own

And

risen,'

to

the wise

Queen

But

the

men

an-

to utter such

Queen

said to

again allege before

mc

gather, that the governor,

of the disciples

before the chief priests, and

was' not actually

men (mcan-

and ascension, examined the matter, and

CTave credit to the representation

the truth of

founded the follow-

is

not seen

an enchanter.

we may

yet

can ye presume to

my sight, nor ever

ApudWagen. p. ii.

Jesus'^s resurrection

to crucifixion,

released as a person

not enter the mind of the

the following paragraph

hearing of

of truth,

though te

how

said,

God

men. Depart from

such accusations."

From

it

Pilate,

turning to the wise

performing miracles like a son of

swered and

to be

in this respect,

Queen

an enchanter

I shall here pro-

reflect the fair features

pronounced him innocent, and wished him

falsely accused.

which

they corroborate an important

though delineated in the dark colours of falsehood.

pacify the Jews he abandoned the meek sufferer

ing representaJion

fiction,

woman under the

appointed him.

duce a few passages from that Tract,

conclusion already insisted upon, and

of the

under the influence oi Sejanus,

mean of appointing him

who perhaps was the

dea.

Pilate, like other ofBcers

a great degree

go and

that

he maintained

demanded of them,

find out the

body.

if

Jesus

" About the

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

The

'^

Rome, who

persons in

we

system, as

shall

xliii

fabricated the Gnostic

presently see, were principally

natives of Egypt, and,

Egyptian philolo-

like all the

On the expulsion
of the Jews and Egyptians from Italy, some of these
gers, devoted to the arts of magic.

magicians,

natural to suppose, retired to Alexan-

it is

Of

dria.

these favourable circumstances the rabbins

middle of the night the disciples came to the sepulchre, and there

down

bitterly

away

the

wept over him.

body and hid

the disciples again

Judas said to them,

it

came

in his

Judas, seeing these things,

own

Why do

ye weep

while he was yet

if declared

of himself

t-hese things

wise

men

man,

alive,

the

the following

is

c'-iy,

they were weeping,

not, the impious

is

band ex-

ascended to heaven

this saying. Since he will receive

Queen

you

as

for

he foretold of himself, and interpreted as

me

Of

Selah.

and she summons before her the

them, What have you done to that

informed

of Israel, and says to

whom

and

Search and see the buried man.

And when they examined and found him

claimed. He is not in the sepulchre, but
this,

On

garden.

to the sepulchre,

sitting

conreyed

asserted to be an enchanter and a seducer of the peo-

They answered, we have buried him conformably to our law.

Then commands she, bring the body here before me. They depart,
and seek it in the sepulchre, but could not find it. They agaij^retum
to the Queen, and say, we know not who hath stolen him from the seThe Queen answering, says. He is a son' of God, and
pulchre.
hath ascended to his father in heaven. The wise men reply, Admit not
ple

and the wise

such thoughts into your mind, he was truly a magician
men gave proof to their testimonies that he was the natural son of an
:

unclean

woman.

innocent

Then

rejoined the

Queen, why should

Bring the body here before me, and

with you.

but

if

not,

none of you

ar>swer in these words,

jhis business.

Give us

shall

be

that

tim.e,

left

T will

thus

trifle

pronounce you

unpunished.

we may know

They

all

the event of

And she allows them the space of three days : and the
men departed from the Queen, mourning with a sorrow-

wise and godly

ful heart,

and ignorant what could be done."

discovers to

In the mean time Judas

" Then assemble

men of Israel, and the body, fastened to the tail of a
dragged before the Queen and they say, Behold the man,
them the body concealed

in his garden.

together the wise

horse,

they

whom

thou hast affirmed, tlwt he has a^cepded to heaven.

And

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

xliv

availed themselves, as affording a specious

for miracles, the reality of

counting

way

oi ac-

which none

in

For one of the fugitive de-

those ages dared to deny.

votees w^ho pretended to teach his religion, they substi-

tuted the holy founder

and they would lead the rea-

der to conclude, that the benevolent Jesus was of the

same class with Cerinthus and Simon Magus, who,

having studied the science of magic in Egypt, return-

own

ed to their

How

practice.

how

and

country,

there reduced

to

it

general must have been the belief,

the evidence of the mighty

irresistible

works

ascribed to our Lord, that his enemies, in order to explain

them away, were compelled

to fabricate a fiction

so inadequate, a falsehood so flagrant and notorious.

have now finished the evidences, which

Queen saw him,

when

the

what

to reply, p. 19. 20.

The folly

and malice of

Nevertheless, the
records,
lin<^

are in

it

knew not

this representaion

apparent.

momentous

is

sufficiently

facts, related at the close

clearly recognised; and they

of the evangelical

hence receive the

If the truth of

every information upon the subject,

have had recourse to such a

the above extracts,

it

fiction, in

order to undermine them.

that he maintained

that

in opposition

of

priests,

and that the testimony which he had borne to

it

From
strict

it

to the chief

covered them

This view of the governor's conduct not only

with grief and confusion.

accords with the fact attested by Justin and Tcrtullian,

10 his sovereign

the

he became hence

satisfied

truth

effect,

would never

appears manifest, that Pilate had instituted a

enquiry into the fact of our Lord's resurrection

its

unwil-:

them had not been

too notorious and too well attested to be contradicted with

who had

had to

she was suffused with shame, and

testimony of malignant enemies.

fabricators,

that Pilate sent

an account of the miracles and resurrection of Jesusi

but implies the truth of their attestation.

and ascended into heaven

Pilate,

it

Perceiving that he was risen

seems, concluded that he was a son

cf God; meaning, according to the interpretation of a heathen, that be

was a divine king. TSberlus, having received indubitable assurance of
thai e\ent,

dicw from

it,

we have

seen, a similar conclusion.

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

produce

xK'

in support ot the proposition that the

Jews, of

whose banishment the above historians give an account,

were
but

These

chiefly converts to the Christian religion.

evidences,
if

it is

hoped, are upon the whole satisfactory,

any doubt remain upon the subject, the follow-

ing Analysis will remove

it.

proceed to the inferen-

which may be drawn from the above enquiry.

ces

First,

Josephus,

sufferers in general,

who

asserts the

innocence of the

and ascribes their hardships

wickedness of four leading

men

to the

and also Philo, who

not only defends them from the accusations of Sejanus,

but passes a high encomium upon their character,

are,

Ch^i'stian Apologists. And this prepares us to regard them as performing the same honourable office, which most assu-

in this instance proved to be

redly they do perform, in other parts of their immortal

writings.

Secondly, Josephus being a Christian, and a Christoo in the latter part of his

tian

life,

by no means

dis-

guised, can no longer be denied to have been the author

of the paragraph respecting

Antiquities.

from

The

place of

superficial views

now manifestly
passage.
The author

bance in

new

Rome

faith,

and

critics

to the
it.

as betraying the

spu-

proclaims the authenticity of

well

was owing

pretended to teach

in his

which

insertion,

have urged

riousness,

the

Jesus Christ

its

knew

the distur-

that

to the introduction of the

wickedness of four

To

the narrative of

men
tin's,

that

he

wisely prefixed a concise, but just and compreherjsive,

description

of the

illustrious

founder;

manifesting

thereby to his readers, generally disposed to consider

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

>lvi

him

as a

devotee of magic, that Jesus sustained a cha-

racter very opposite to those magicians,

pretending to be teachers

who, though

of his religion,

were yet

every respect.

Vv'icked in

Thirdly,

It is

hence proved beyond contiadiction,

Rome soon after the

Of the manner in which those

that Christian societies existed in

resurrection of Jesus.

were iormed,

societies

of

tlie

gation

a statement

Clementine Homilies
irr.piies that that

rumour

\^as

is

given by the writer

and the preceding investi-

statement

is

correct and true.

introduced into the city, that a

man

in

A
Ju-

dea was delegated to reveal the Will of God; and that in

.

support of his delegation he had received power to heal

of diseases among the people.
This rumour
more and more, till by the concurrent testimonies of persons coming from that country, and by official
all

manner

prevailed

documents which the governor himself,

had sent

rection of the innocent sufferer,

ror,

it

was established

after the resur-

into a real fact.

to the

empe-

The Jews

the metropolis, regarding the prophet of Nazareth,

with the prejudiced eyes of his countrymen,

honoured him on account of

with the admiration due to

dis-

mean appearance, but

his

who

in

not

Divine Messenger so

distinguished for power, wisdom, and benevolence,

as

the

expected

must not be forgotten

that,

being yet

submitted in general to his claims

Messiah.

But

it

tminstructed by the Apostles in the nature and object

of the Christian doctrine, they continued to retain, with

fond hope and tenacious confidence, those ideas of it

which Jewish prejudices had taught them to entertain.
And hence the first church of Christians, in the capital
of the empire, differed

little

from

synagogue oT Jews.


INTRODUCED INTO ROME.
The Jew and

Fourthly,

Josephus stigmatises

as

xlvii

whom

his three associates,

wicked

every respect, were

in

pretended teachers of the Gospel, which our historian,

and even our Lord and

his Apostles,

considered as the

philosophy of the religion of Moses, brought fully to

Jight,
its

men
tle

removed from

grosser parts.

its

corruptions, and purified from

And we

shall presently

see those

addressed, under this character, by the great Apos-

of the Gentiles,

who exposes

their false pretensions,

and holds them up to the converts

in

Rome,

as

ene-

mies of the Gospel which they affected to preach.

Their sentiments and vices

will,

appear to

in truth,

comprehend the chief circumstances, which

Roman

forth the Epistle addressed to the

called

church.

All the early Christian writers agree that the person,

who

first

corrupted the Christian Doctrine, was Simon

Magus, whose age and character

Acts of the Apostles, Chap.
ascribed to Clement of

Rome, he

John
where the passage is quoted)
a disciple of

the Baptist
;

life

In the Homilies
said to

and

have been

ii.

p.

292,

this assertion

throws

four Gospels.

Dur-

time of our Lord, he practised magic in

Alexandria, where he taught,

rintkus, a

is

(see Vol.

much light upon some parts of the

ing the

are ascertained in the

viii.

Jew

among other

whom, a though pretended

disciples, CV-

convert, the

From
we have sotne reason to believe (Vol. ii. p. 246
250.) Simon withdrew to Rome, accompanied perhaps
by that disciple; and it appears to me not improbable,
that this last is the very Jew whom Josephus reprobates
beloved disciple

stiled the first

born of Satan.

thence,

as^the chief author of the disturbance in that city.

This

supposftion accounts for a fact, which will appear ccr-

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

xlviii

tain

from the Analysis

tics,

whom

namely, that thejewish here-

Roman

church, were

the reason

which induced

Paul opposes in the

It discloses, too,

Cerinihians.

the Jewish historian to subjoin to his narrative of the

In

Rome,

impostor.

That

tumult

the persecution

may

paragraph respecting the Samaritan

this

last

had

which broke out

also be inSerred

connection with

soiric

in

the metropolis,

from the writer of the Acts, who

has led his readers to associate that persecution with

name

the

The

oi

Simon Magas.

three persons connected

new

teaching the

in

whom

faith,

Josephus stigmatises

the

Jew

priests of Isis,

concerned

as

The Egyptian and

tion of Paulina.

whom

with the wicked

were the

in the seduc-

other philologers,

emperor consulted respecting Christ, and

who pronounced him

to be Pan, the son of

Mercury

and Penelope, must have been in name not only converts to the

The

Christian doctrine,

but teachers of

it.

pretended conversion of the Egyptian priests ac-

counts for the conversion of the Egyptians, and for

their being expelled

from Italy

in conjunction with the

Those impostors of course imported

the Egyptian superstition, with its impure rites, into
Jewish believers.

the

Church of Christ
and

that superstition

its

and hence we may expect,

that

attendant impurities should be

noticed by our Apostle in his Epistle to the Romans.

Simon and

his

foljowers in contradistinction to the

Catholic believers, whose meekness of

wisdom

pre-

cluded the boast ot superior knowledge, arrogated the

proud name of Gnostics.

Of

the opinions,

which

they incorporated with the Christian religion, a well

attested

account

is

given by

many

of the fathers.

These

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

pinions are specified in Vol.

250

p.

ii.

they will be detailed as occasion

ilix

calls for

270,
them

and

in the

sequel.

The

Gnostics were in reality Jewish and Gen-

first

Epicureans.^

tile

They accordingly denied

the exist-

ence of a God, of a providence, and of a future

They maintained

that there existed

state.

no foundation,

in

the nature and circumstances of man, for any distinction

Entertaining these pro-

between virtue and vice.

phane and pernicious sentiments, they abandoned themselves to the pursuit of pleasure,

only rule of conduct, and

the true end of

These

however

gross^ as the

to the attainment of

it,

as

life.

profligate

and incorrigible men, observing the

tendency of the new

faith,

to

reform and enlighten

mankind, and thus to preclude the gains of dishonesty

perceiving too, that an open resistance, however vio* The

real sentiments

Recognitions ascribed to
is

of Simon and his associates are stated in the

Clement of Rome.

In the dispute which he

represented as holding with Peter, he openly maintains that the soul

dies with the body, and that the

These

body remains dead

tenets the impostors disguised,

Christian religion.

See Vol.

ii.

when they

for ever. Lib.

The

255, 256.

iii.

41.

affected to teach the

circumstance of the

first

Gnostic teachers being really Epicureans, furnished the adversa-

ries

of the Gospel with an opportunity for stigmatizing the followers of

Jesus Christ,

though they were the followers of Epicurus.

as

Plutarch, and
representation.

Maximus Tyrius have been

See Vol.

the same artifice.

ii.

271

282.

The

R. Lipmannus, who

Lucian,

guilty of this insidious mis-

rabbins had recourse to

flourished about

the end

of

the fourteenth century, opens his Carmen Memoriale, in the following

manner.

Ecquid respondebo Epicureo,

(i.

e. Christiano) qui

adventat

ad perdendum et destruendum legem sacrosanctam fidelium,

Dei unitatem cum superbiloquentia impugnat

Satanae. p. 107.

VOL.

IJI.

I)

atque

Wagen. Ignea Tela

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

was

lent,

ineffectual to restrain

its

progress, planned a

which under the appearance of friend-

subtle system,

ship for the illustrious founder, was calculated

first

to

corrupt the truth, and then to counteract the efficacy of

Their

his religion.

object was to destroy, the fun-

first

damental belief of a Supreme Creator, and of an overruling Providence.

In order to answer this end, they

trod in the footsteps of Epicurus.

Instead of openly

maintaining that the works of nature have no

gent author, they represented

this author,

in

intelli-

opposi-

an inferior divinity, evil in

tion to the Apostles, as

his nature, malevolent in his temper, delighting in the

and

misery not in the happiness of his creatures,

binding them to the obedience of unnecessary and ar-

Above

bitrary laws.

creator they represented a

the

being of supreme power, wisdom, and goodness,

who

led a life of impenetrable and indolent security, uncon-

cerned for human

and

affairs,

known

to

none but them-

selves.

To

ceivers,

Paul opposes the Benevolent Father of the

Universe

this

unknown God, held forth by the de-

and we

representations,

debted for the

perceive that to the malicious

shall

which they gave of him, we

many

are in-

beautiful and amiable descriptions

of the Divine Character and Benignity, with which the

Apostolic epistles abound.

The true gospel

declares that

its

founder

is the

son of

God, and that the object of his mission was under the
divine

wisdom

to reveal,

to accomplish, a Plan

from
and

sin

and death, and

felicity.

that Christ

and under the divine power

which might rescue mankind

raise

In opposition to

them

to everlasting glory

this,

the deceivers taught

was not the son of the Creator, but a

God

superior to him; and that the end of his mission was not

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

to co-operate with the designs of the Creator, but to

human

destroy his works, and to deliver the

race from

the bondage of his arbitrary laws. See Vol.

ii.

418. Iren. p. 95. Theod. Hser. Fab. Lib.

2.

The

impostors, having proceeded thus

means

in the next place,

to

p. 301,

contrived,

far,

undermine the great doc-

and of a righteous retribution,

trine of a future state

which the gospel brought

perceived, proved

i.

to light

and which, they

power

a divinely efficacious

forming the vices oi men. In order to answer

in re-

this

end,

they had recourse to methods which differed according

to their different views and

The

situations.

Gentile

Gnostics inculcated that salvation was to be attained

not by good works, but by grace.

This was the doc-

Simon, who,

trine of the heresiarch

Theodoret

as

in-

forms us, taught that the prophets were the ministers

of (evil) angels. " Therefore he encouraged those, who
believed in him, not to attend to them, nor dread the
threatenings of the laws, but to practise without restraint

whatever they wished.

For

it is

not

works, but by grace they can attain salvation."

sequence of

this

l?y

good

In con-

encouragement, his followers, adds

the same author, abandoned themselves to the most

On

abominable indulgences.*

Jewish Gnostics adhered to those

* Toyy

vo/^wv

ov

Ty

yup

Axi yt-ocyyixyixis

lxyivavuiJ!.!voi,

yeyivYiaQai. rovs ^e

rovTov

(/.not

us

(p^irrny ruv

av

e^iXria-ojaiv.

Ttv^ta-Oact

rrts a-corn-

us tXtvOi^ovs

xyaQuv txKKa dta yrx^iros

eta,s' ov te /(jx^iv oi rris

and ceremonies

nrqocTtysiv tKcivois,

ixyi

otiTiiy^xs, (xiXct 'nr^a,rrtiv

^"* ir^et^iuy

tjhvrnoix.

ayytXwv vfrov^yovs

^ Tfotp-nTa.f: ruiv

uvTov 'Ki'^ivovrxs cKtXtvai

the other hand, the

rices

ottrt^

<Tv^A.f^oqioi,s nractratv

ToX(ji.uy otaBXymtv,

s^^uvto TTXvro^wjrxis, t^uriKX rivx kxi ayuyt[j,x

xoct

rat,

xKKix,

Hasr. Fab. Lib.

i.

hex

rijs yorirtixs icix

1.

'Jis

St/ mi T/ovTfr

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

lii

which they had been edu-

in habits of predilection for

cated,

and which they dignified with the

of the law,

and not to an

mission of Jesus,

God

as the

works

ground of acceptance with

while the Gentile and the Jewish concurred in

representing such a belief as

By

ill

founded.

the works of the law, then,

we

Paul so often mentions,

is

title

efficacious belief in the divine

generally supposed,

which the Apostle

are to understand, not as

virtuous actions or moral duties,

but those ceremonial performances, or ritual observances^

upon which

certain Jewish zealots

the Pharisees insisted, as the

from the school of

medium

of salvation, in

opposition to an influential belief, called faith, in a

future

life,

confirmed by the resurrection of Jesus.

This distinction
to

of great importance to be attended

and the intelligent reader

see

is

it

1.

justified

will doubtless be glad to

by adequate proofs.

That what the Judaizing teachers of the Gospel'

called the works of the law, or the righteousness of the

law, and what the Apostle Paul in conformity to

so

calls,

meant merely

ihe works of

rites

morality,

is

them

and ceremonies, and not

manifest,

first,

because

those very men, while they boasted in their privileges

and practices

as

Jews, denied the obligations of virand reforma-

tue, resisted the necessity of repentance

tion,

reduced immorality into a system, and even glori-

ed in the commission of the most criminal deeds. The

following passage, in which Theodoret speaks of the
Carpocrutians, answers precisely to

Cennthus and Nicolaus

*'

the followers of

These men use magic, and

employ the names of demons

and to such

a pitch of

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

madness are they advanced,
lewdness, but reduce

that they conceal not their

to a regular

it

liii

system.

For, says

Carpocrates, some things are deemed evil, and others

good, from opinion, and not from truth.

While

am

on

over the

le-

this subject, I shall not pass in silence

which they give

gislative sanctions

They admit

to their impurities.

the transmigrations (of the soul), but not

upon the principle on which it was taught by Pythagoras.

For he said, that souls which have sinned are sent into
But these

bodies to be duly punished and purified.

embodied

say, that the cause of their being

opposite to that assigned by Pythagoras.

souls, affirm they, are

practise

all

those souls,

For human

sent into bodies, in

manner of
which fulfil

impurities

directly

is

order to
therefore,

that,

on being once im-

this end,

mersed in a body, do not need a second immersion

but that those, which have sinned in a small degree,

must be sent twice,

have completed
i.

or oftentimes, until they

of baseness." Hser. Fab. Lib.

Improbable and shocking

5.

tion,

thrice,

all sorts

it

justified

is

as

is

this representa-

by what the Apostles themselves

have indirectly said of the Judaizing teachers.

very men,

who

justification with

to the

Romans,

God, Paul holds

as guilty of stealing, adultery

see the evil practices, to

fully enumerated.

20, 21.

forth in his Epistle

and

sa-

Consult the following passages, and you will

crilege.

more

The

pleaded the works of the law in their

Tim.

i.

10. Tit.

which they were devoted,

Cor.
i.

vi. 9. lo.

lo

15.

Gal. v. 19,

The

Apostles

Jude and John have drawn their character in

Is it then to be
colours equally black and odious.
supposed that men, who in principle confounded the
Peter,

distinctions of virtue

and vice, and

in

practice aban-

TKE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

liv

ddned themselves, without compunction and without

restraint, to

every species of immorality

and who,

as

the Apostle Paul writes of them, gloried in their shame,

i.

boasted in those evil deeds, which ought to have

e.

covered them with confusion and remorse

supposed, that persons of this description,

is

it

to be

when they

preached the works of the law, meant by that phrase,

the

moral virtues 9 The supposition

By the works

even absurd.

is

inadmissible and

of the law, thereiore, in

which. they boasted, must be understood the

rites

and

ceremonies of the law, of which they were tenacious,

and which

them

their vices disposed

to substitute for

the exercise of true piety, benevolence, and temper-

ance.

That the works of

2.

may

of the law,

rites

lowing consideration.
tion to those impostors,

law

as the

way to be

of circumcision

"the

law signified merely the

be gathered from the

also

The Apostle
who preached

as the leading article

his adversaries

the general principles of virtue.

3.

iii.

as

Moses, and not upon

See Rom.

iv.

9.

17.

'The question, which

Pharisaical

of those works

that the dispute be-

turned upon some in-

stitutions peculiar to the law of

Gal.

the works of the

saved, sometimes specifies the rite

and hence shews from the context,

tween him and

fol-

Paul, in opposi-

teachers

related in Acts

'!/as

agitated

between the

of the gospel and the Apostles,

xv.

12,

farther

demonstrates,

by the works of the law was intended simply the

performance of those rites which were comprehended

that

in the Levitical Code.

The former

latter, that the Gentiles, in

insisted against the

order to be saved, ought to

INIRODUCED INTO ROME.

submit to the ceremony of circumcision

Iv

and of

this

submission, and not of moral virtue, they speak as being

the

mezn oi Aeeping the

4.

The

term, vrhich the Apostle Paul opposes to

the phrase works of the

certain

ver. 5.

/azv,

laiv,

precise signification.

its

moreover, to

serves,

as-

In the controversy

which he had with the Zealots respecting the

salva-

tion of the Gentiles, he maintained that they are to be

saved not by works, but by favour, that

is,

by the favour

of a kind exemption from burdcnsoine ceremonies.

this reason, the evil doers,

For

whose doctrine the Apostles

controverted, were sometimes stiled TraTris-EyKorej- lixr^v

through the works of the law

sqycjv vofxou behevers

while

in contradistinction to them, the catholic converts are

described as
the

wsTTifsyxoTss- i rajr j^a^iToj believers

See Vol.

favour.

ii.

through

Rom.

p. -505, 522. See also

zi. 6.

5.

In the

last

place,

from one particular

in the writings of Paul,

utmost

and

clearness

we may

passacre

perceive with the

certainty

the

true

nature

of those works, in which the false brethren made

their

own

righteousness to consist, and which they

pleaded as the ground of their confidence with God>

In

his letter to the Philippians

ware of those dogs

beware of

beware of

their biting you.

eumcision,

who pay

he thus writes
their

" Be-

wicked practices

For we are the true

a religious service to

God

in

cir-

the

mind, and boast in Christ Jesus, and have no confi-

dence

in the flesh.

Though indeed

confidence in the flesh

for,

if

have room for

any one may presume

to have confidence in the flesh, I

still

more

was

circumcised on the eighth day, oftheraceof Israel,

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

Ivi

Hebrew from Hebrews

of the tribe of Benjamin, a

with respect to the law, a Pharisee

my

zeal, a

persecutor of the Church

with respect to

according to the

But these things

righteousness of the law, blameless.

which were

gain, I count but loss in respect to Christ-

Nay

indeed

count

things but loss,

all

in

respect of

the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus

Lord." Phil.

iii.

Here we

9.

my

see enumerated those

which the deceivers confided, and on

which they founded their hope of salvation. From the
possession of them they held themselves righteous in the

privileges in

eye of the law

while

in

a moral view they resembled

dogs, which were prompted by fury to bite men, and by

hunger to devour the grossest

Rev.

xxii.

See 2 Peter

filth.

ii.

22.

15.

In opposition to those

which, under the pompous

rites

works of the law," the Jews performed, and to

the supposed privileges which they possessed above
title

*'

other nations, the Apostolic teachers inculcated,

medium

as

the

of Salvation, the principle oi faith in Jesus

meaning by the term, not the inefficaciousbelief of any

set

of doctrines,

much

less the belief

of those creeds,

which the wickedness of men hath blended with the

word of God, hnt the exercise of refined piety and benevolence, arising
illustrated

The

jrom a firm

and confirmed by

truth of this assertion

is

ges that might be produced

belief in a

future

state,

the resurrection of Christ.

attested

by various passa-

and, indeed the uniform

tenor of the Apostolic writings confirms and illustrates

it.

It

may be

useful, before

we proceed

nation of those writings, to establish

the above distinction,
^

by noticing

striking passages in the

New

to the

exami-

the justice of

few of the more

Testament, which de-

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

IvU

monstrate that a virtuous conduct and a holy

tute the only foundation,

consti-

life

on which we can erect the

hope of divine pardon and acceptance.

i.The Saviour, foreseeing

that certain

men, pretend-

ing to be his followers, would discard the obligations

of virtue, and

on external

insist

rites,

ledge, distinguished privileges,

superior

know-

certain spiritual seed

implanted in them, or some secret bias

of nature in

wisdom worthy

their behalf, inculcated with a

of the

teacher of divine truth, and of the messenger of hea-

known only by

ven, that his disciples are

of righteousness. Mat.

men now

vii.

15

will be

do, (and not

acknowledged

Mat. xvi. 27

as his brethren,

merely profess), the will of

Father, Mat. xii.

his

all

his

Heavenly

life,

to the exclu-

other claims, will entitle the professors of

Gospel to the approbation of

Mat. XXV. 34

46

when they bring

their

that

but such as

that the exercise of the social

50;

principle in the various relations of

sion of

which

that the works,

perform, constitute the standard by which

they ^lall hereafter be judged,

none

the fruits

that

God

good

forth

is

fruit

Divine Master reward them

their

final

judge,

then only glorified

and then only will

as his disciples,

when

they are distinguished by brotherly love. See Vol.

ii,

P-7' 57^ 58. 409' 4^0. 543' 544-

To

2.

the ritual observances, insisted

Pharisaical teachers,

and

the

Apostles

they

upon by thS

opposed faith in

the time explained to

Jesus

mean

a rule of conduct, a principle in the

God

that

Acts XV.
faith,

this faith,

at

hand of

reformed the manners, and purified the heart.

9.

And

it

is

worthy of observation,

which they urged in opposition

to

that the

what

the-

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION"

Iviii

Zealots stiled the works of the law,

is,

in the

Aposie-

lie decree sent to the churches, described solely

effects

and represented

as

coiisistiivg

by

its

altogether in

abstaining Lorn Pagan impurities, and in keeping the

golden rule of doing to others what, in a change of

circumstances, they wished others should do to them
ver. 29.

Paul, admonishing the Philippians to be on their

3.

guard against the

false pretensions

of their deceivers,

holds forth, in opposition to the righteousness of the

law which they pleaded, the righteousness which

J^aiih in Christ,
iii.

and of

9.

this

is

by

power of his resurrection, Phil,

power and this righteousness, he prethe

following beautiful

subjoins the

sently
*'

and

delineation

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, what-

soever things are venerable,

whatsoever things arc

just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are

whatsoever things are of good report,

lovely,

be any virtue,
things

it

there be any praise, reason

the things,

if

there

on these

which ye learned, and received and

heard, and saw in me, practise those things." iv. 8

As though he had
upon Jewish
turned Jrom
.which

said

tales.;

'^

9.

Meditr.tc and dispute not

and commandinents of men who have

the truth. Tit.

i.

^14^

nor n^^on fables

afford disputations rather than improvement in

godliness,

Tim.

i.

here describe to you

5,
;

but upon

such things,

as I

and imitate those virtues which

vou have witnessed in my behaviour, and not those

vices which are exhibited in the character of your
deceivers."

4.

If,

from the law of association of

ideas, as ex-

plained by those immortal sons of science and virtue,

INTRODUCED INTO ROME,

Hartley and

we

Priestley,

analyse

llK

phrases,

certain

wlijch occur in the epistles, the authors will

in contradistinction to the pretensions

and

of the Zealots,

primary end which the Gospel had

as the

appear

been in the habit of inculcating good works,

to have

only way of rect)mmending

as the

An

friendship of their Maker.

in

view,

men

to the

instance illustrative

of my meaning is contained in the following passage.

" The favour (the Gospel) of God, which bringeth
salvation to

men, hath appeared unto us

all

teaching

us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts, and to live

and piously in

chastely, and righteously,

this present

world; gladly entertaining the happy expectation of

God and

the glorious appearance of the Great

Saviour Jesus Christ,

who gave

from iniquity, and

liver us

of our

himself for us, to de-

to purify for himself a pe-

culiar people, zealous (not of some fancied privileges, or

of certain

rites)

The

^.

stress

on

They

zvorks. Tit.

yet represent

From

its

it

it

its

subordinate to bene-

due

effect

its

to

promote

whole value.

if

a firm belief in

on

their

temper and

so far as to speak of that very faith,

which they preached,

in terms

almost of contempt, when

having any value

in

it

of degradation, and

became considered by some

itself,

cultivation of superior virtue.

17

i^.

will eventually prove of no avail to them.

They go even

ii.

as

assured their brethren, that

the Gospel had not

as

tendency and efficacy

derives, according to them,

it

conduct,

ii

ii.

Apostolic teachers, though they lay great

faith,

volence.

charity

of good

or detached from the

Sec

Cor.

xiii.

Jam.

26

6. Finally,

peated

and

the Apostle Paul declares in solemn, re-

unequivocal

language,

that

the

works

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

Ix
/

which men perform, and not the principles they

to believe, or the privileges in

the standard, by

day of
1

12.

It
tile

which they

final retribution.

Cor. V. 10.

Rom

ii.

7.

has been asserted above, that the Jewish and

new

life,

mean,

and

iii.

form

be tried in the great

shall

See in particular

John

affect

pride,

Gen-

Gnostics concurred in representing the hope of

taught by the founder and the

ers of Christianity,
I

which they

as

ill

this principle they

which they opposed

The Gospel of

made

preach-

They held

founded.

a principle calculated to

first

undermine

that

forth,

hope

the basis of the Gospel

to the Apostolic

Gospel.

the impostors the Apostle Paul thus

notices in express terms

"

wonder," writes he to

the Galatians, " that ye have so soon transferred yourselves

from Christ who called you with favour, to

ANOTHER Gospel;
but (the fiction) of
(bi

Tagaff(TovTs ^p(,ar,

which indeed

men who throw you

see Vol.

ii.

subvert the Gospel of Christ."

no Gospel,

is

into confusion,

and wish

p. ^og),
i.

Here

6, 7.

to

the ve-

nerable author declares in unequivocal language, that

the deceivers inculcated, under the

name

of the

Gospel

of Christ, a fiction, of which the object was to under-

mine

The fundamental

it.

articles,

contained in their

pretended Gospel, were the following, that Christ did

not actually submit to death

that the

mission was not to deliver m.en from sin

not the son of the Creator of the world

design of his
;

that

he was

that he acted

not in unison with his Will; and that the glory was

due

to

Supreme God which they

affected to reveal.

Against these impudent ilotions the several clauses of

" Favour
the verse, preceding the above, are levelled
:

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

Ixi

be unto you, and peace from God our Father, and our
Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself (to die) on account of our

sins, that

he might (by revealing the fu-

ture rewards of virtue) deliver us from the wickedness

God and

of the present world, according to the will of

our Father

The

To him

be the glory for ever and ever."

impostors, being Epicureans, maintained tbat

the soul, as

it

was not a principle

body, perished with

Hence they concluded

come,

in

nished.

on

it

distinct

from the

dissolution by death.

its

that there

could be no

life to

which virtue should be rewarded and vice pu-

The

conclusion, however plausible, the Apos-

by erecting the hope of a future

tolic teachers obviated,

state, not, as

had hitherto been usually done, upon the

supposed immortal nature of the human soul, but upon

the future resurrection of the dead, proclaimed by the

founder of their religion, and illustrated by

resurrection.
clear terms,

own

his

This animating assurance, expressed in

and established, not tipon opinion, but

upon a matter of

the anti-apostolic teachers en-

fact,

deavoured to subvert by the following argument

" The Christ, who appeared risen from the dead, was
a divine, immortal being :* his resurrection therefore,
* Sometimes they maintained

man Jesus, See Vol. ii.

497. While they affected

the

that

260

to

embrace the former, the

has the following pointed allusion,

" No man

Godcalleth Jc^us accursed"

Cor.

xii. 2.

To

"

If any

man

he writes

this

him be anathema (excommunicated),"

" If any one among you pretend

to

To

474, 496,
they

this fact

at

the

Paul

spirit

of

he also refers, when

love not the Lord Jesus

ofthe

Christ, let
said

latter

speaking by the

at the close

dwelling in

465,' 466, 473,

same time cursed, blasphemed, or excommunicated.

letter

God

Christ was a

264,

p.

As though

embrace the Christ

he had
as a di-

vine being resident in Jesus, and yet excommunicate Jesus himself, let
that person, and not Jesus, be

John

excommunicated." On the same subject

" Who is the lyar, but he

has recorded ihese remarkable words

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION

ixii

can be no solid pledge of the resurrection of be-

men

ings, such as

corruptible and

From

death."

wrought of materials

are,

that are

by nature to the stroke of

subject

this statement

appears, then; that the

it

doctrine of the Messiah's divinity, which the advocates

of the trinitarian faith urge

as essential to

the Christi-

an religion, constitutes the very article which the

tliat

denieth Jesus to be the Christ ? this

the Father and the son,"

Supreme, and Christ

At

to

who

the antichrist,

denieth

Epis. ii.22.

other times, the impostors taught that Christ personated the nnan

human

being. Vol.

God
ii.

in the

By

into the world.

this

John

we know

human body)

is

of

God

the

but every

who

" Many

spirit

came in

that Jesus Christ

which alloweth

mere form, without the substance

Those,

267.

thus stigmatised by the Apostle

ical

13

denieth the Father to be Benevolent and

e.

be the son of the Universal Father,

Jesus, and that he was a

of a

i.

bit-

spirit

came

antichrist, of

whose coming ye have heard."

in the flesh,

is

false teachers are

of

God

every

the flesh,

God

not of

Jesus Christ

held this opinion, are

which
and

(i.

come
spirit

had a

e.

allo-*cth not that

this is that spirit

Epis.

iv. 1

of

Agree-

4.

ably to the following Epicurean maxim, Tangi, nisi corpus, nulla patcst
res,

when he

they maintained that our Lord

without a

rose

from the dead,

body, was incapable of being touched or handled.

real

as being

To

this

notion the same Apostle plainly alludes in the beginning of this epistle
'

Th,!i,

which was

in the beginning,

which we have beholden with our

that,

Because they taught that Christ was a

and therefore,

sight only, they

first

lifg

man in

in

"

e. to the

appearance, and not la

phantom, could be an object of

Ao)iriract

Doceta, or, as the

our language, Seemers. This appropriate term

given them by the Apostle Paul, as

lowing passage
(i.

like a spectre or

were called 'Ot Aoyiovvrts or

term might be rendered

them

and

concerning the Logos of

we unto you."

reality,

was

heari;,

which we have inspected,

eyes,

OUR HAN us have HANDLED

declare

which we have

went up

to

we may

learn

Jerusalem by revelation

from the

fol-

and gave to

Chrisrian Society at large) a general account of the

among the Gentiles, but to the Seemers

T0I2 AOKOTSi AN exact and minute detail of it,
gospel which

to

shew them

phantom."

preach

that I run not, nor

Gal.

ii.

a.

have run [us xevov at a vain thing)

at a

INTRODUCED INTO ROME.

terest

enemies of

his Apostles,

it

Ixiii

used, in opposition to Christ and

undermining the hope of

for

future

and rendering ineffectual the motives, hence

state

af-

forded, to the eradication of vice and the practice of

The method,

virtue.

which the Apostles had

to

re-

course for exposing the above subterfuge of the deceivers,

tian

a matter of

is

supreme importance to the Chris-

Cause, and well deserves the attention of every

brethren,

against their false

that Jesus ts the Christ;

meaning, that the

man Jesus, and

clares,

preached. This the Apostle Paul de-

on one occasion,

Gospel

upon

not a divinity within him, was the Sa-

whom they

viour

They

insisted,

rational enquirer.

his

to

be the foundation of the true

and the doctrines which the impostors erected

supposed divinity, he represents

thing else than zuood, hay,

stubble,

as

be consumed by the purifying ordeal of

1

Cor.

ii. 1 1.

being no-

which one day

truth.

shall

See

In (he fifteenth chapter of this epistle, the

author directly meets the above argument of the deceivers

and he refutes

it

by repeatedly holding forth

the humanity oi the Saviour

as

he was merely a

human

inculcating hence that,

being, as he possessed only

the nature and constitution of man, his resurrection

was a proof and a pattern of the resurrection of mankind.

That

this

is

true

tween the Apostles and

which

their

false

will receive the fullest proof

view whith
For

statement of the dispute be-

this

brethren,

I shall

a fact

from the analytical

propose to take of the Apostolic

reason

is

letters.

here add nothing farther in con-

THE CHRISTIAN RELIGION, &C.

Ixlv

but conclude with observing, that the

firmation of

it,

association

of the Jew,

with the priests of

Isis,

whom

Josephus mentions,

in teaching the

marks the progress of Paul's ideas

he addressed

to the

Roman

into three general branches.

prehends

his

deavoured
rites,

new

in the epistle

which

converts, and divides

The

first

who

en-

Gospel the Jewish

of chapter four

to the close

it

of these com-

reasonings against those Jews,

to incorporate with the

and extends

faith,

the

second the arguments, which he advances in opposition

to those Egyptians
superstition,

chapter;

who blended

with

it

the Egyptian

aud which terminates with

the.

eleventh

the third, extending thence to the end,

is

merely preceptive, and occupied in enumerating jmd

recommending those

virtues

and

duties,

which, as

Christians, they were under peculiar obligations

cultivate and to practise.

to

THE

EPISTLE

TO THE ROMANS
ANALYSED.
>-^(!>=

AUL

Roman

converts

with reminding them that he was an Apostle.*

This he

JL

begins his Epistle to the

more deeply

does, in order to impress

which he was going to

deliver,

the sentiments

and to bear down by

the weight of his authority the false notions of his op-

He, however, modestly insinuates

ponents.

that

he

did not possess that dignity as a matter of right, but had

received

whom

as a

it

favour from Jesus Christ.

" From

received the favour of an Apostleship, that

the Gentiles might believe in hfs name." ver. 6.

persons

who

first

taught the Gnostic heresy, so far

from acknowledging

their subordination to

pretended to be equal,
* The

only called of
unto

this

who opposed

God

the Apostle Paul, rejected

vilifiers

to be an Apostle,

he maintains that he was not

but also separated or pre-ordained

divine Gospel; see Acts ix. 14. also Gal.

dicates himself in

more

direct

manner from

without the authority of God.

vol..

power

authority of his apostolic commission, he here indirectly

In opposition to his

asserts.

our Lord,

not superior, to him in

and seem even to have denied that he was called to be an

The

Apostle.

if

Pharisaical teachers,

his authority,

all

The

III.

i.

where he vin-

the cliargc of acting

ROMANS

EPISTLE TO THE

But our author, though

and wisdom.
an Apostle,

called

I.

be

to

out with declaring himself a Servatit

sets

of Jesus Christ

and he insinuates

and not

lieve in his name,

missioned teacher,

Magus and

[Chap.

as the

that all should be-

name of any self-com-

in the

medium of salvation. SimoUr

we have seen, claimed

his first followers,

honourable character, in opposition to the Son of

this

God,* Vol.

ii.

402

p.

and though the Apostles were

very particular in holding forth their subordination to

Jesus, yet the

first

converts, for a while, erroneously

regarded them as principals in the

See also

p. 470, 471.

The Gospel,
if

indeed

and

it

as

Cor.

which had no other object

to that Gospel of

men

men,

as

it

its

is

might be

of the novelty of

stiled,

The enemies

its

its

Paul here

oppose or

rival

has frequent allusions to those

God

in his

as

their sole

alone, as the

Who those impostors

him.
iii.

Cap.

men who, though

where he maintains

that there

we should come

were,

wc

Ignatius in his epistles

2.

lowers of Christ, pretended to be equal to him.

alone, as to one temple,

him
name

the Father, to the exclusion of all those

have already seen from Irensus, Lib.

vii. viii. ix.

Christianity,

his disciples to regard

medium of addressing

affected to

of

doctrines and the recentness of

* Our Lord commanded

only true

to

divine origin, on account

Master, and to present their petitions to

is

classed

among

the fol-

See Epist ad Trail.

but one Christ, that to

that he proceeded

the Father, and not from Sige, and that they regarded

Master.

view than to
In reference

designed to raise them to a participation

on one hand, argued against

Cap.

in

authors.

which contains an information the most joyful

of the divine nature.

him

ii.

which he preached, a Gospel of God ; that is,

which originated with God, and not with

mankind, and

who

Vol,

faith.

deserved that name, consisted of falsehoods

fictions,

calls that

new

12.

preached by the anti-apostolic teachers,

gratify the selfish passions of

a Gospel,

i.

him

from

as their solr

Chap.
its

ANALYSED.

I.]

appearance, while the Gnostics, on the other, reject-

ed those predictions of the Jewish prophets, which

proved the divine mission of Jesus.

Against these op-

posite extremes of error, the language of our Apostle

seems

to

have been levelled, when he declares that the

Gospel had before been proclaimed by the inspired pen-

men:

Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,

*'

be an Apostle,

separated for

the

called to

Gospel of God,

which he had aforetime proclaimed by his prophets. '*

He subjoins, however, that it was proclaimed in the holy
Scriptures, that

in the

is,

Jewish Scriptures

by the pagan
dit. +

The

proceeded not from divine inspi-

were the forgeries of men unworthy of cre-

ration, but

gel,

oracles,

intimating

coming Messiah, delivered

that those predictions oi the

deceivers maintained, that Christ was an

M.on, or God, and not a

human

An-

being, and that

consequently he could not have derived his extraction

from David. In opposition

represents

him

as

to these notions, the writer

being the Son of God, and

* The ancient commentators understood the Apostle

words,

us

ETTEiS'/j

)cas(vov

is

explains his

S(|3XXov to Kv^vyfjiac, dsiKwariv xvro

TE^ov ov nxi EXArjvwv, nxi

ev '7r^o(p'nrxts 'n^o^ixjq<x.(poi>.i)iov.

the original author of this remark. See his

having

as levelling his

Thus Theophylact

language againsr these objections.

as

'n^eo'l^'j-

Chrysostom

comment in loco. Theo" Paul, first of all,

doret explains the paragraph in a similar manner.

" shews the antiquity of the Gospel,

" it as new."
+ Theodoret seems to have
place.
tti^i

His comment

Ky^/of

/AEV ais y.xi

is

TT^o^^Tio'Ewv

T'j^y

itxXxixv

fully

as follows,

TO

lest

comprehended our author

YlKn^-ns

^E u.yixi$

'^itxv ot^s

any of the unwise should reject

yx^

fi

nixXxix

ovvt wn'Kus TiOttya

in thi

S;a9jKi9 ta'v

xKKx

it^urov

y^x(pyiv etrx nxax't xvoa^tvuv

rr,v

The Old Testament abounds with predictions respecting the

Lord: nor has he annexed HOLY in a vain sense ; for, Jir^t, he knew the

aWorqtxv.

Old Scripture

to

be divine^ excluding, moreover, all

foreign.

other writings ks

EPISTLE TO THE

sprung from

that patriarch,

who was

Christ our Lord,

cording to the flesh." ver.

The

ROMANS

[Chap.

I,

' Concerning his Son Jesus

of the seed of David ac3.

power with which our Lord was endued,

purposes for which he wrought his

divine

the benevolent

miracles, together with the testimony of

declaring him
in the

at his

God

himself,

baptism to be his beloved son, prove

estimation of sober, reason,

the justice of his

But what confirmed it with

and removed all doubt that he is

claims to that character.

greater certainty,

still

the Messenger of Heaven, was his resurrection from the

dead. This fact, though the grand basis of the christian

faith, the

truth of

Gnostic impostors denied. Paul here urges the

it;

and

his

words imply

that,

Jesus being raised

by the divine power, and not by virtue of

was

his

own,

God but a Son of

to be a son of God in power, by his

what they maintained, a

not,

God " Confirmed *

;

resurrection from the dead, according to the spirit of holiness." 4.

He rose,

the Holy Spirit

life,

according to the spirit of holiness, or

because the Holy Spirit restored him to

and enabled

work miracles

his Apostles to

in cor-

roboration of his having really risen from the grave and

ascended to heaven.

By the

See Vol.

ii.

p. 446, 464, 465.

phrase spirit of holiness, our author means

himself,

who

is

He

pure and spiritual Being.

God

uses the

abstract ior the concrete, seemingly to place in a stronger

light the holiness of
*

The

Jehovah, and thus to guard the

original of conjinned'is o^ia^svros,

which Chrysostom explains,

by 7rooE;^0EyToj, a.'nopxvOivTos, and Theophylact

a'0EVToy, n^iStvros, for

then,

adds the

latter, og'oj sf/v

after

him, by/Ss/Sau-

x^o-zf.

The Apostle

seems, asserts that the resurrection of Jesus by a solid, and as

it

it

were, a judicial evidence, confirmed the predictions of the prophets, and

places

he

is

on

the

a sure foundation the inference

Son of God.

drawn from

his mirat les, that

Chap.

ANALYSED.

I.]

converts against the impious sentiments of those, who,

through ignorance or depravity, blasphemed him

and impure. Between such men

as these,

as evil

and the virtu-

ous professors of Christianity, he thus distinguishes in

the following salutation

"

To all that

Rome,

are in

be-

loved of God, and called holy men, to you be favour

God our Father, and our Lord Jesus

Which may be paraphrased in this manner

and peace from

Christ." 6.

" All among you, whether Jews or Gentiles, who, instead of vilifying

Being

All

God as

a wicked, love

confequence holiness or moral purity,

those that answer this description,
gift

him

good

as a

who, professing the gofpel, culcivate

of eternal

announce the

Iree

peace with God, and the privilege

life,

of addressing him

in

to

salute;

as

your Father."

Paul next assures the converts, that though he was

not personally

known

their conversion, as to

thanksgiving to

them by

this,

God

make

it

the subject oi his daily

through Jesus Christ

the

that

them, yet he so rejoiced in

to

Supreme Being,

teaching

so

from

far

meriting the unamiable reprefentation given of him by

some, was entitled

to their gratitude

Jesus Christ was the only

that

we should have

way

andpraife *

tha^

of addressing him, and

the welfare of others so

much

at

be thankful to the Great Giver for what" In the first place, I give
ever good befals them.

heart, as to

thanks to God, through Jefus Christ, on account of

* The

deceivers, representing the Creator of the world as heing evil,

consistently

enough maintained

titude and supplication.

says of them,

Hence

Evy(^oc^t'^iois

x.xi

from thanksgiving and from

charges them, in

thankful to

GoA,

common
ver.

21.

that

he was not an object deserving of gra-

Ignatius, in his epistle to the Smyrnaans,

v^oahv^ris ais^yoiirxi.

prayer.

For

this reason,

They abstain
Paul presently

with the Pagan philosophers, with being a-

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

you

all."

The

thatiksgiving,

is

which thus

cause,

[Chap.

called

I.

forth his

worthy of our notice. The introduc-

Rome,

tion of Christianity into

Jews and Egyptians, without

the conversion of the

the interference df the

Apostles, together with the subsequent dispersion of

new converts, were events so remarkable as to become necelfarily a matter of notoriety and conversation
Accordingly our Auin every quarter of the globe.
thor subjoins, that your faith is proclaimed
the

WORLD,

IN ALL THE

opposition to those,

vances

as the

who

After this he insinuates, in

on ceremonial obser-

rested

means of pleasing God,

Gospel revealed by
ker

8-

his

in the Spirit, that is,

that

from the

Son, he learnt to serve

his

Ma-

in the exercise of moral virtue,

in the cultivation of rational piety and benevolence.

" To
the

whom my mind

payeth

Gospel of his Son."

The

superiority

its

religious service in

9.

which Rome, being the metropolis

of a vast empire, and the residence of a splendid court,

sustained over other cities; the extraordinary events
there produced

by the prevalence of Christianity, and

the calamities brought upon

its

professors by the wick-

edness of a few leading individuals,

stances

which demanded,

if

were circum-

possible, the immediate

presence of our great Apostle.

His long delay, oc-

casioned by his engagements in the East, furnished his

opponents with a specious handle for accusing him

of being unconcerned for the interest of the

Roman

converts, and deterred from visiting that city

by the

fear of

shame or

ot persecution.

This impression, our

Apostle must have been very anxious to efface, and he

alTerts, in the
all

most solemn manner, that he cherished

times, a heart-felt

at

remembrance of them before

Chap.

ANALYSED.

I.]

God, and wished for an opportunity of coming to see

them " For God is my witness, how I make mention
of you without ceasing in my prayers
requesting that
:

may, by some means,

at

length, through the will of

God, enjoy an opportunity of coming

10.

He

to

had an earnest desire, adds he, to

converts in

Rome,

you,"

9,

visit the

not indeed that he might derive

any honour or advantage from them, but

to share

with

them the miraculous gifts imparted to him, and thus

confirm them in the faith and practice of the Gospel.
Being anxious to do away the false accusa11, 12.
tion that he refrained from going thither from a want

of concern for their welfare, or from a dread of persecution, he repeats the purpose

which he frequently

formed of coming to sow among them the seeds of the

Gospel. " And I wish you to know, brethren, that
I

have been hindered hitherto, when

posed to come unto you, that

among you, also,

While he apprised
successful

among

his

readers that he had been very

in disseminating

other

Gentiles,"

Christianity

conferring obligations,

debtor than the creditor of those

and for

this

fruit

as

Gentiles, he wished them to confider

receiving than

had often pur-

might reap some

who

reason he was ready, as

among

13.

the

him

as rather

as

more the

received the faith,

much

as

it

lay in

him, to preach the Gospel to them in Rome.

In no place were fortune, birth, and learning, held
in

such high estimation, or the want of them deemed

so disgraceful, as in that opulent and corrupt metropolis

hence the tide of reproach and contempt, which

overwhelmed the
illiterate

first

followers of a poor, obscure, and

Master, rolled no where so high as on the

banks of the Tyber.

To

the

more aggravated

trials

and

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

ignominy, which awaited our author

which were perhaps alleged by

[Chap.

at

I.

Rome, and

his adversaries as the

cause of his delay in going thither, he next alludes

" For
it is

am

not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ

power of God unto

believeth, to the

For therein

is

faith to faith

faith

against

who

for the

Jew

as

it is

and also to the Greek.

first,

written,

God

is

God

revealed from

the just shall live

by

revealed from heaven

ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,

all

hold the truth in unrighteousness," 16

The

for

salvation to every one that

the righteousness of

wrath of

19.

Apostle intending, in opposition to the Phari-

on

saical teachers, to insist

ground work

faith as the

of salvation, very properly shews what idea he annexed

Accordingly he informs the new con-

to that term.
verts,

that the Gospel of Christ, when become the sub-

that is, a divine

is a power of God,
or extraordinarily efHcacious principle, regenerating

ject of faith,

the dispositions, and reforming the lives of those

thus saving

them from the debasing

embrace

it

ence of

sin in this world,

quences in that which

those men,

who were

and from

is

penal conse-

its

come.

to

who
influ-

In reference to

unwilling indiscriminately to

extend to the Gentiles, the privileges of the Gospel,

unless they conformed to the letter of the Mosaic law,

he intimates that every Greek,

as well as

Jew, who che-

rished a practical faith in the Gospel, might share in

its

blessings:

" Because

it

is

a divine

salvation of every one that believeth

first,

and also to the Greek."

power

it,

for the

to the

Jew

In support of the as-

sertion, that an efficacious belief in the divine mission

of Christ, and not the observance of ceremonies, was

the

way

to be saved,

he quotes one of those prophets

Chap.
that

ANALYSED.

I.]

were rejected by the Jewish Gnostics, Hab.

" As

it is zvritten,

* The

apostle,

it

4.

By

will soon appear, has a reference in this place to

who,

those of the Jewish converts,

in

common

with other Gnostics, re-

This reference will enable us to

jected the inspiration of the prophets.

ascertain the precise

ii.

shall live by faith :" *

the just

meaning of the obscure

Thertin

clause,

the right-

is

of God revealedfrom faith tofaith. It may be paraphrased thus

" The scheme of redemption was at first partly revealed in the prophetic

eousness,

writings,

and afterwards more fully revealed

Conse-

the Gospel.

in

quently the former being a proper object of our

faith,

should lead us to

the exercise of a firm and rational faith in Jesus, who, conformably to the
prediction of the prophets, brought

milar to this

From faith
conducted

to faith

For

it is

ft

to believe the

The

fov

A/K.a:/o<rj;vi

BIS

xvnj

ev

vjxyyiKtoy

samefaith which

of our Apostle,
pleaded for

is

as the

God is

appointment,

from one end

the author, and

is

Cap.

ii.

The words
who
may easily

to the Gospel.

Judaizing zealots,

means of justification,

" The righteousness

in the way of his own

which he accepts

revealed from faith

be

zx Ttirsus sis Trifiv,

Strom. Lib.

admit of the interpretation given them hy Locke.

of which

to

revealedfrom faith to faith, being

perfeRcdfrom prophecy

and ceremonies

and by them

following are the words of the

if considered in reference to those

rites

Tro^oyyiQyivxi.

iris'iv

prophets,

Tsrs>iSi!t)fj.sv/iv,
is

Si-

As/ yx^ iririvaxt rois

xixoy.siXvjrrsrxi

Theforgiveness of God

to light."

Clement of Alex-

rvv rou ivxyytXiov

to the belief of the Gospel.

TMV CK TT^o^uTEiaf

the

and immortality

thus explains the words

^i lytcivuv sis

y.xt

6. p. 444-

life

the interpretation of Theodoret, and

The former

andria.

j;qo!priris,

latter,

is

to

faith

i.e.

As

to the other, founded in faith."

to be all through,

they refer the origin

of the Christian faith to the Jewish prophets, and thus

assert,

in opposi-

tion to those M'ho rejected them, their divine inspiration, and the pro-

priety of extending thence our belief to the Gospel, they well accord

when he

with the explanation of Taylor,

has provided in the Gospel,

our part,
still

byway

is

from faith

signifying the advances that

grand principle of our religion," which

ment, Strom. Lib.

heard
*'

Non est

prophetce

i.

p.

644.

who objected

we may

of,

Pars. Quar.

" The

salvation,

is

God

or wholly of faith on

we ought

first faith

to

make

to a

in this

the interpretation also of Cle-

Lastly, as our author had an eye to those

to the

Gospel

as

being new, and

thus paraphrase the words with

figmentum inauditum

jam diu

of progress and improvement, from the

higher degree

unbelievers,

says

to faith,

haec fides

till

then un-

Mr. Wakefield:

quam inculcamus.

i-igcs et

earn virtutem discipulis suis praclegerunt," Syl. Crit.

Sec. 185.

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

10

which he

[Chap.

who

intimates, that those only shall be saved,

who

sgek salvation by faith, and

in

I.

consequence are

just, holy, and virtuous, and not those

who

adhere to

forms and ceremonies, while they neglect the great

The Jew, with

principles of justice and purity.

Egyptian associates, who,

wicked

in

as

Josephus informs

us,

his

were

every respect, denied that there existed, in the

nature of things, any grounds for a distinction between

virtue and vice, and consequently that there

prietv in

ai

is

proving and rewarding the one, or

any pro-

censur-

ing and punishing the other. In contradiction, seemingly, to this

dangerous doctrine, the Apostle holds up the

author of nature, as extendingthrough the

velation, his forgiving

mediumof re-

mercy towards the

denouncing severe punishment against

The

unrighteous men, ver. 17, 18.

and

righteous,

all

ungodly and^

persons above men-

tioned, while they affected to believe and to teach the

Christian doctrine, proved the unhappy means of retard-

ing

its

They corrupted

progress.

Christianity, and thus precluded

while their vices

It is

This ieature

worthy of remark,

the wicked men,

whom he

ings, very descriptive

divine influence,

oi Jesus indiscriminately

followers.*

to his

it^

foundation of those calumnies

laid the

which the enemies

the native purity of

in the character of

Apostle very sagaciously direcicd

that the

had

extended

in view,

to a passage in the

Jewish writ,

of the flagrant vices which distinguished them.

The Jew and his associates were

addicted to wine, prided in their superi-

or wisdom, appropriated to themselves things that did not belong to

them, acknowledged the existence, and worshipped the images of

or divinities.

Josephus too assures

try to avoid the

punishment due

us,

that the former left his

to his guilt.

Read now

own

inferi-

coun-

a part of the

passage which our author brought to the recollection of that man.

hold

Ihe by

his soul,
his faith

which
:

Yea

is

lifted up,

also,

is

because he transgresseth by wine, he

proud man, neither keepeth

at

" Be-

not upright in him, but the just shall

home, who enlargeth

is

his desire as hell,

Chap.

ANALYSED.

I.]

men

those

developed the pertinence and justice of the

following verse

And severe punishment

"

ced from heaven, against

men

14

all

who hinder the truth

Those

edness.*

is

denoun-

ungodly and unrighteous

philologers,

by their wickis

it

true,

might not

have been acquainted with those oracles of God, contained in the Jewish scriptures, which teach us that

Jehovah ruleth

in the heavens, that

he

is

the righteous

Lord loving righteousness; yet they were inexcusable,

as the volume of nature, in which are written in legible
was open to the

characters the divine perfections,

and

and cannot be

as death,

is

and heapeth unto hiin

which

is

not his

and

all

how

satisfied,

but gathereth unto

Woe
4

people.

long

5, 6.

image, that the maker thereof hath grSven

teachers of

him dumb

upon

the

spoiled

profiteth the graven

the molten image and

misconduct of those few brought great

that the

Jews and Egyptians

rise

up suddenly

and thou

thee,

What
it ;

maker of

in

spect, the language of the prophet

they not

many

shalt be

nations,

To

Rome.

was singularly appropriate

that shall bite thee,

for booties

all

mind

at

ing before

and

Paul appears, from the pertinence of

this

the spur of the

them

vex

Because thou hast

city,

to have been so well versed in the

his purpose. Instead of

shall

the remnant of the people shall spoil thee

of all that dwell therein."

his

" Shall

and awake that

unto them

distress

their guilt in this re-

because of men's blood, for the violence of the land, of the

citation,

nations,

his work trusteth therein, or make

The crimes of which the impostors were guilty
jealousy of the government ; and we are informed by the

that the

lies,

historian,

all

all

that increaseth that

idols," ver. 18.

awakened the
Jewish

him

him

to

Jewish Scriptures,

moment, on whatever

as to fix

passage best suited

provoking the anger of those bad men, by hold-

a picture of their vices,

drawn with

his

own

hand,

he gently and imperceptibly presents them with a mirror, in which they

might

clearly discern the peculiar features of their character.

* Epiphanius,
words of Paul,

it

as

should be observed, rightly enough considers these

referring to the

first

Gnostic teachers, whose

false-

hoods and vices had brought disgrace on the Christian name, and by
that

means retarded

its

progress in the world.

-to the followers of Basilides.

colaus.

Hicr. xxv. p. 81.

See

how he applies them

Hasr. xxiv. p. 71, and to those of Ni-

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

12

Pagan

as

and

latter in

of the

This

well as to the Jew.

next asserts

in order to

[Chap.

I.

what our author

is

moderate the undue pride

supposing that the disciples of Moses

alone had any knowledge of the true God,

and to

point out the unjustifiable perversion of the former in

not making a proper use of that information which his

" Because tha'
reason gave him, the Apostle subjoins
;

which may be known of God,

for

God liath

displayed

it

is

ty,*

become

visible

for the invisible

power and

properties of him, even his eternal

are

among them,

manifest

unto them

divini-

from the structure of the

world, being discerned (by the understanding) in the

things that are made, so that they are without excuse,"

20: which simply means

iq,

" The existence

this;

and attributes of the Deity, though undiscernible to

sense, are recognised

by reason

* The power which Jehovah

people from Egypt, however

of

its

displayed, in delivering his chosen

signal,

was yet transient ; and the belief

having been really exerted died away,

Paul was

a^e of Moses.

those events, but

allusion,

who

I conceive,

now

and

in the formation

addressing

in respect to

men who were

many, with the

acquainted with

probably affected to disbelieve their truth.

to that miraculous interposition of

was no longer visible, he

power of

asserts that the

ed in the heavens, is eternal, and incapable, as

The term '^io?, God, from which,
disputed.

God,

In

whicli

the Creator, manifest-

in the other case,

Seot^s-, divinity,

of being
is

taken,

implies in itself the idea of goodness, being synonimous with ot.yx^os,

which

is

a contraction of ayavSaoj (Vol.

Philo tosaysome where,

ofgoodness. The term

is

ii.

This analogy led

p. 189.)

hzos aycyMoryiros cti

ovoij.x,

.Sforrs, divinity, thus here used

God

who

very appropriate, as his object was to inculcate on men,

vilified

God,

that

\\vi

goodness

is

visible

from

his

works.

see the force of Cyril's reasoning, Catech'vi. p. 52.

of the Gnostics.
yxt
e< o

(J1.1XV Kocyiriv

'Erokfxvcrcx,))
;

it)

oyjc ocyocGvi, Ti

xixXitrai ^eorrts

si

&c.

^Eorm,

name

hated and

Hence we may

when he

nTniv ovroi Sfo S'EOTijTay,

ttoMws a^Xi-\' iocs

is the

by the Apostle,

(/.ixv

thus says
Myxb-nv,

'jracvrus xoci xya,9z.

Chap,
.in

ANALYSED.

I.]

11

angements of the universe.."*

This reflection of

the Deity from his works, Paul expresses under the

figure of a mirror

which

eye, and thus

reflects to the

the image of an object that

renders visible,

The wicked Jew, who though

unseen.

convert adhered to the

rites

itself

is

nominal

of the law, united with the

Egyptian philologers in preaching, or rather in perverting, the

new

Now

religion.

circumstance will ac-

this

count for the abrupt transition which may be here discerned in the ideas of our author.

After

assertingr, in

opposition to some Judaizing zealots, that faith was

the means of salvation, and that the Gentiles as well as

Jews were included

the

to certain

in

its

scheme, he passes over

men, notorious for their vices, who had no

knowledge of God but from the

who

new

united with their

By

latry.

an easy association, he was hence led to

who

animadvert on those Egyptian philosophers

who

founded, and on those

the pagan superstition
+

" Because that when they knew

book De Mundo, speaks of the author of the world

Aristotle, in his

what

is

A clause of

ruv e^yxv ^eu^nrxt,

fAi*QS x^Bu^inros, a.'n' avruiv

tion.

Read

Very

similar to the above

tco'/iXuv

vout

Maclaurin's

much corrupted

but

(pxt)io[j!.tov,

see tits

the

read

and

whole

ix.

ruv

i^yujv

convey

rx

this

o\}/<

This passage

is

Quar. Sec.

twv
very

changed into

simple meaning.

TAou wilt
hint'

him (by thy understanding) displaying himself

The

passage

is

Wakefield, but his emendations appear to

Pars.

6.

some propose,

(pxivoi^evx be

(supreme intelligent God) from his works, which are not (like

in the air, heaven, earth.

tira,

Se x<J!o

'Stihu* for a^r/Xwy, or, as

farther,

if,

will

yevo-

Glasgow Edi-

the following passage of Athenagoras in

xtqo;, xt^^^os, yr,s.

if you

self) invisible, perceiving

.

is

Oxford Edition, Toy

p. 43.

resem-

('^eos)

Account of Newton's Discoveries, Chap.

<pon)ioij.ivx,

insert the negative ovyi

To

much

this

here said by our Apostle, riaan Svnrrj (pvaii

his Legation, p. 23.

first

in after ages supported,

in a stile unusually grand and beautiful.

bles

and

light of nature,

belief the practice of ido-

18,5.

differently

mc

mended by Mr.

too violent.

Silva Cri-

ROMANS

EPISTLE TO THE

J4

God, they

glorified

him not

as

[Chap.

God, neither were thank-

but became vain in their imaginations, and their

ful,

foolish heart

was darkened.

be wise, they became fools

Professing themselves to
;

and changed the glory of

the incorruptible God, into an image

and to

corruptible man,

and

birds,

beasts and creeping things," 21

men

made
to

like to

four-footed

24.

This passage implies, or rather

the

I.

while

asserts, that,

here mentioned were convinced, there existed

a supreme intelligent Being,

who created

things and

all

alone justly claimed their homage, gratitude and praise,

yet, in defiance of their conviction,

and in direct oppo-

sition to their better judgment, they transferred to idols,

form

in the

of created things, that religious reverence

which they knew

cation

is

unfold

due to

to be

God

This impli-

alone.

well deserving oi our attention. In order to

its

justice,

it is

In vol.

the subject.

necessary to deviate a
ii.

p. 120.

it is

little

from

affirmed that the

fabulous accounts transmitted to posterity, respecting

the calamities inflicted upon Egypt by
quarrels with

Isis

Typho

and Osiris, are founded

in his

in those

plagues which Jehovah brought on that country by his

servant Moses.

of which
searches,
if

In support of

hope fully

my

some evidence has already been

admitted to be just,

it

the truth

this assertion,

to demonstrate in

future re~

offered

Egyptian theology was fabricated in opposition

system of Moses.

and

will obviously follow that the

This conclusion

I shall

to the

here at-

tempt to confirm by a passage or two from Sanchoniathan.

This writer, a Phoenician supposed

rished about the times of the Trojan

a history of the theology of that people.

of his works

now

lost,

is

to

have flou-

War, composed

A fragment

happily preserved by Eusebi-

Chap.

ANALYSED.

I.]

ig

From

US in his Evangelical Preparation.

matter of this ancient production,

ed

we may

the stile and

properly examin-

if

infer that the account of the creation, given

by the Phoenician and Egyptian philologers, was not

only levelled against the Mosaic history,* but was copied from the Jewish records, and perverted in a manner the most likely to bring those records into neglect

and

discredit.

the following passage as a spe-

I select

" With

cimen of the whole.

and

called Hypsistus,

them were born Epigseus,

Uranus.

From him

was one Eliun

these,

woman named

whom

Of

Beruth.

they after^vards called

the firmament above us received

* The account which the Phoenician theologists give of the world,

and the creation of man, appears

to

me evidently

levelled against the

no other object in view than to undermine

as follows, " The theology of the Phceni-

history of Moses, and to have

the truth of it.

It is in part

cians (relates Sanchoniathon) supposes the principle of all thino^s to be

air,

dark and windy, or the breath of dark

chaos.

mixed with them,

principle of

From
llus,

all

their

things

became enamoured of
union was called desire.

but

and a turbid gloomy

air,

When the wind

own principles, and

This was the creating

its

did not recognise the thing created by

it

the union of wind and creation, proceeded Mol/i,

call

From

this

(mud) and others the putrifaction of watery mixture.

and the production of

proceeded every seed of creation

it.

which some

all

things.

There were some animals, which had no sensation, but out of which
were produced intelligent beings These intelligent beings awoke at a

clap of thunder

alarmed

at

the sound they began to move, male and

female, both on land and in the sea,"

This narrative

is

could not have been serious.

some resemblance
to

to

what

The
is

me

sufficiently to

historian.

prove that

beginning,

said in the

with other references which

this,

Prjcpar. "Evan. Lib.

so ridieulous, that the authors of

it

His grand object was

it

first

it,

i.

Cap. lo.

whoever they were,

must be allowed, bears

xerses of Genesis

and

it

has to the history of Moses, seems

is

levelled against the system of that

to inculcate,

that all things have

been

created by a divine Intelligence, distinct from the works of nature.

Tlie design of those physiologists, on the contrary, was to

tion of men

on the

cause of all things.

senseless properties of matter, as the sole

fix

the atten-

and

priiftary

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

l6
its

This person had also a

name.

parents, called Gf, from

[Chap.

of the same

sister

whom, on account

beauty, the earth was so called.

I,

of her great

Hypsistus, the father,

being destroyed by wild beasts, was deified, and his

him

children offered

Atlas.

dus, pierced

by jealousy
beheaded

Ilus,

Kronus, Betulus,

Kronus having

a son called Sadi-

him with

his

own
at

own

his

to deprive

came shocked

married his

father,

his

Ge, and by her begat

sister

Dagon, and

Uranus having

religious honours.

assumed the government of

him of

daughter,

sword, being prompted

life

manner he

in like

Gods

so that all the

Uranus

his disposition.

be-

after this,

being in banishment, sent his daughter Astarte with

Rhea and Dione, to take off Kronus by stratagem but Kronus seized them, and, though his own
sisters, made them his wives.
On knowing this,
Uranus dispatched against him Himarmene and Hora.
But these again Kronus appropriated and detained in
Kronus had by Astarte seven daughters,
his family.
her

sisters
;

called Titanides, and

of

whom

by Rhea, seven sons, the youngest

was consecrated

narrowly examine this

susceptible

of the

at his

Now if you

birth."*

fictitious narrative,

it

will appear

Eliun

following interpretation.

seems to be a corruption of Elohim, the Hebrew name

of God.

Kara rovrws

XtyoiJ.m
yeios

ri

B*)^oii9,

vxTui

di

xxi

was

ytverat rts EXiovv Ktx.KovixEvos

o< x.a<

so'X^'ov,

xaTwKoyy in^t

o/' VTrsfl^oXiov

rovru a^EA^jj

TO xaXXoy aw'

rovTuv

to this, he

avms,

nccrin^ 6 T-v^^s-or

yj^ocs xaii

sjt

Bvaixs

tuv
(pna-iv,

rov kxXXovs

iT^oiifriyi.Evu.'v,

also called

'T-vl/zj-or,

e^

'Bv(o'kov,

A'jTo^Swv, ov v^t^ov enxXtcrixv Ov^ccvov.

t-Trff fii^a-s

oitx

Conformably

(^v

OJs

//yjft-

y.xi QriXtix

yivvxrixi

E'JTi-

aw' ayroy k/ to

ovoiJ.x^ziy of^avov.
ri

atxi

ysv-

cxX^9>j r*i, y.xt

etcxXcaacv rvv c/xwvy/AOV

yw- '0

^e

m avfxlooXns ^n^iuv n'KvjryiToi.s xipis^uQvi,

oi 'rrcxiSis

tnXiaxv. irx^xXot^u)!

rov mxr^os x^yvjv, xyirxt ir^os ya/y.ov

r-/iv

^s q

Ov^xvos

x^O.(^yiv T^v, y.xt

ct>

t*)

vontTxi

Chap.

ANALYSED.

I.]

Most High. This

systus {y-^isos) the

been

which means

(eartli)

Moses "has recorded. The Most

as

that,

have

last is said to

parent of Uranus, (heaven) and Ge,

th.e

High

I7

created heaven and earth.

Again, Uranus

is re-

presented to having married his sister Ge, and by her to

have begotten Kronus, Betulus,

is,

and Dagon

IIus,

that

by the united influences of the sun and of the earth,

were

Time,

generated time, stone, mire, corn.

at first

according to the ancient philosophers,* had no exis-

Kronus having

tence before the heavens were formed.

son, and married his sister Astarte

slain his

whatever time brings forth

signifies, that

Tfcttliacs,

XacvTx.

IXav

K^ovov,

y.a.i

K^ovos

oe ijon

avTov

5< vTrovoixs

vofAivoSf Efff j)(7e.

wf mocvTxs

t<Ty(riKcoi,

also des-

is

os t^i

erirov

At-

xxt

2S'<^oy, t^ico ocvrov ffiS^^w S/j^f*jcrTo,

koci

rns v}/y^r, awro^ei^ rov mxt^os

usx'JTus Kxt ^vyxr^os i^/ar

Tjy

(pvyn irvyyrxvu}/,

yf

XE^aX^v aWETE/Asy,

^iovs rris K.^ovqv yvuixris.

fx.nts'n'K'io^^xi

oyros O'jqxvos

Aaywn

xas/ B'nrii'Kov,

e^wv

(Moon)

j^j>ovov ^t it^oi-

^vyxrt^x xvrov irxpSeyov

fy.iG

ere^uv

MVTYis aSsAipwy ^vo, Pixs x.xi A;wnf, ooXui rov K^ovov xnXciv vTSomtf/.'

K^ovoy Kov^i^ixs yxf/itrxs a^tX^xi ovaxs

itw xi KXi iXuv

(Txro. yvovs ^s

'P.^xv

[Jit6

Ov^xvps iViT^xTtvn ttxrx Toy

ETE^wy

(T'jf^fjiX^uv,

K^oyw

lavru Kxrtayiv.
TiTxyi^ES

yi

yEwraTof /Aa

tTTTX, in

Cap. 10.

p.

* This was
vi

yivtasi cc^tc^uOn, Prsepar.

ivra

'T^aiots

Evan. Lib.

1.

avroj ysyov^v

xo<T(ji,ou

vovixsvou xfunais

oux.

xivnaecos

av yevoiro,

VOL. Ill

fi

/w-st

vt

ej-iv

avrov.

ETTcion

b p(,govof, 'Trqorsqx

aXXa avayxajov

a(^a auvifacaQai' avxyaxiov a

KOfffAOV yeyovivxit

Xovor ovx nv V^o

opinion of Philo.

the

aw

^la^nixx rns rov

f]

tycvovro enro A^a^rvis ^vyartqt!

makiv ru avru yivovrai caro Peas

r-n

xa<

KXI rxvrxs i^oiY.ucoaaiA,tyoi K^ovor, Ttx^

36,37.

xO(T/xoy aKka.

pQv

A^TEjW./^f, xa/

etto/*)-

Kf ovou E//xffAEV!y

x.xi

avrriv

yx^

rou xift

C^s-

rov y^^povov ian7^iKx rov

vewTcgov Exejvov, Vol.

i.

p. 6.

^PISTLE TO THE ROMANS

l8
troyed by

and that the moon, while

it,

marks out the present, serves by

measure the

its

Astarte and Dione,

seven days and nights which, as Moses

ceeded each other

was

sanctified

his labour

motion

its

and daugh-

mean

those

relates,

suc-

The last of these

Deity, having now rested tVoni
is what we are to understand by

at the creation.

by the

And

I.

revolutions to

Finally, the seven sons

past.

Time had by

ters,

[Chap.

this

the last or youngest s6n being consecrated at his birth.

Let us

now see what

light the

above passage, thus

in-

They
"
are," says he,
without excuse, because that, when
they knew God, they glorified him not as God." In

terpreted, throws

respect to the

on the words of our Apostle.

first

evidently just.

authors of idolatry, the assertion

They were

effect

facts, w^hich

they

knew

and the truth of which they could not with

deny.

They knew God,

not only from his works,

but also from the records of his servant Moses

such was

is

inexcusable, inasmuch as

they wantonly turned into fable

to be true,

*'

and yet

their depravity, that they wilfully ridiculed

and blasphemed him.

ly accounted for.

Their hatred of Jehovah

The

calamities,

is

easi-

which he inflicted on

him as a
shocking manner, in which

the Egyptians, naturally led them to consider

malevolent Being.

Of the

they vilified the Creator of the world,

men in

the above paragrapb,

we have

a speci-

" The Most High, being

destroyed by wild beasts, was deified by his children,

who performed in honour of him oblations and sacrifices." The malicious spirit which dictated this representation,

did not die

away with the

original authors in

Egypt, but was kept alive and perpetuated by those

rites,

which the magicians

instituted after the departure

ANALYSED,

Chap.

I.]

of the

Israelites.

Even

I9

in the times of ouf Lord, the

envy and malice, which the Egyptians cherished against the Jews, induced them to hate and vilify the God
of their fathers, and oppose to him a Being pretended
to be superior in

power and goodness.

ed was their aversion of him

could not extirpate

So

far

was

it

from the breasts of

from being the case,

this

So deeply root-

that the Christian doctrine

its

professors.

that the Egyptians-

Gnostics imported into the Church of Christ the most

To the

unworthy notions of God.

blasphemous man-

ner in which they arraigned his perfections, the lan-

guage of Paul,

in this

pointedly opposed.
into a

lie,

"

and other places,

Who

is

directly

changed the truth of

and

God

and worshipped and served the creature

more than the Creator, who is to be blessed for every*

which means, *' God ought not to be blasphemed and
hated, but praised and loved."
Those who, when they
knew God,, refused to glorify him and to be thankful,
our Apostle represents in verse 30

From

haters of God.

these he distinguishes the faithful disciples

by

of God, 7. The Jewish legisrelating the creation and fall of man, holds u|^

saluting
lator,

as

them

as beloved

the serpent to eternal execration, ^s the primary cause

which deprived the human race of

paradisiacal felicity.

This imputation, and the aversion which on that account

it

excited in the founders of the Jewish nation,

seem to have induced the Pagan

advocates.

priests to

Representing that animal

as the

divine wisdom, they enjoined the worship of

sition to that

of Jehovah.

as the Egyptians,

become
it

in oppo-

That the Phoenicians

adored the serpent,

B 2

is

its

symbol of

as well

a fact attested


EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

20

[Chap.

I,

by Sanchoniathon,* who enumerates the peculiar qualities which entitle it to that honour.
To the folly
and baseness of the Pagans,

in transferring to a reptile

the properties and prerogative of Godj Paul thus ob-

viously adverts
incorruptible

"

God

Who
into an

changed the glory of the

image made

like to

creep-

ing things.'' 23.

As

which the Pagans worshipped,

the divinities,

were mere abstract

ideas or physical operations^ invested

and the qualities of

"With the figures of living beings,

moral agents, they are properly and significantly said

Jewish writings to be

in the

* Tmv ^tv

(jyy

Toy ApocxovTor

o TocavraSf kxi

^et yToy xv^n

Lib.

Whoever

p, 40.

i.

vanities

and

Kxt ruv o^fa'v

<pu(Tni

terms

ocvtos- i^e^sia-fTtv

Praep.

Evan.

what the Phoenician

wiitei

<t>oiV(Xj jca/

attentively reads

lies,\

Aiyvirnoi.

has added in the sequel concerning the serpent, must I think, conclude
that

it

Be

account which

the

levelled against

is

gives of that animal.

the Jewish lawgiver

here observed, that the

it

first

deification of

the serpent originated not with the Phtcnicians, but with the Egyptians

since Taautus, said to have

Hence

it is

firs*

deified

to be inferred that the theology

from the same source. This being

77^o?i,

it,

belonged to the

latter.

of these two people flowed

one of the

earliest

and most

renowned of the Egyptian Magi.

+ "
*'

What it

one may see

and went

is

to

become vain

in these words,

after the Heathen,

xoorshipped all the host

And accordingly the

is

called

by

in the Scripture language," says

Locke,

And they followed vanity and became vain,

and

inade to themselves molten images,

ofheavm, and served Baal, 2 Kings

and

xvii. 15, i6-

forsaking of idolatry, and the worship of false gods

St. Paul,

turning

from

vanity to the living Cod, Acts xiv.

me

add the following instance from Jeremiah xvi. 19. " The
Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say.
15.

Let

Surely our Fathers have inherited

is

no

idols.

profit."

For

lies

Some of the ancient

shalt not take the

lies,

and vanity the

vanity,

and things wherein there

LXX.

have ^iv^v cwuXx, lying

Christians consider the

name of the Lord thy God

10 transfer to an idol, or a false

commandment,

in vain^ as if

it

Thoit

enjoined not

and vain god, the name of the true God,

Chap.

ANALYSED.

I.]

had no correspondence among

that they

which imply,

no foundation

real objects,

21

no existence but

in truth,

in the imagination of vain and lying

Conform-

men.

ably to this representation, the authors of idolatry are

here accused of changing the truth of God into

Whatever

ideas the

first

a LiEt

connected with the

idolaters

fabulous representations of their gods, and of nature,

their systems became, in process of time,

necessarily

involved in endless uncertainties, obscurity, and confusion.

The

which constituted

internal signification,

their philosophy, while

it

served to exercise the inge-

nuity of the learned, and to display their superiority

who were

over the vulgar,

literal

proved the

sense,

With

TertuI, p. 98, &c.

taught to acquiesce in the

prolific parent of pride

and

the violation of this precept Paul here

when he says, "They changed the truth of God

They exchanged the true God for a lying god, the

charges the idolaters,

into a lie," that

is.

nbstract being used, as

The

great Poet,

latry,

when

customary with our author, for the

is

concrete.

speaking of the fallen angels as the authors of ido-

thus alludes to this passage of Paul

Nor had they yet among the sons of Eve

Got them new names, till wandering o'er the earth,
Through God's high suff 'ranee for the trial of man,

^yfalsities and

Of mankind

the greatest part

lies,

they corrupted to forsake

God their Creator,

Glory of him

that

and the

invisible

made them

Oft to the image of a

to transform

brute, adorned

With gay religions full of pomp

And Devils to adore for Deities.
Vor/alsitics,

Milton either wrote, or ought

because this epithet

racterise the
itfea

and gold,

heathen

is

usually joined with

idols,

and

lies

B.

I,

364, 373.

to have written vanities

in the

btcdiuss Jahities

and

lies

con^'cy the

same

without a iiadow of distinction, and are therefore tautologous.

B 3

Scripture to cha-

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

22

no

vanity,

less

[Chap.

Hence

than of vice and impiety.

justice of Paul's remark, "

They became vain

I.

the

in their

reasonings, and their foolish heart was darkened." 21.*

The circumstance

polytheism being opposed to

oi

the Jewish theology, furnishes a sure clue to ascertain

the design which

its authors had in its fabrication.

This was to lead men from the knowledge and imita-

tion of the true

God, and by consequence

to preclude

the cultivation of those divine, social, and personal vir-

which

tues,

his

law enjoins

and, on the other hand, to

give a free scope to the opposite vices therein prohiIn order to

bited. +

* That

make

sure of this base end, the

the heathen philosophy had a tendency to produce pride,

vanity, and even impiety, might fairly be inferred fi^om

But

this is directly asserted

sophers,

who on

this

by the wisest and

concerning the nature of

called by the Sophists,

all

things

celestial bodies are regulated.

tet, roiocvroe,

The

1J.

life,

examining

how

He even demonstrated

(/.u^xtyovrocs ntiBiiy-wiy.

m^ort^ov

Taf6'

mouth of

who

that those,

(p^ovrt^cy-

Xen. Mmor, Lib. Cap.

the Athenian Sage, verify in his

aa^us

i.

own case what

Eyw

in general.

ws y sixavru xxi rois aXXois t^oxovy^

n'ni'^ocii.nv,

TVS ctki-^sus cvToj

cr^oS^ce.

srvpku^r.v, o^fE wTriuoc^oi xxt

What

TT^orov w/a^jv h^bvxi, Euseb. Praep. Evan. p. 26.

tantius with great elegance says of the

with theabove language of Paul.

Superstitionibus vanis pertinaciterin-

Tcligionibus quas prave asserunt benemeriti

iter

quam de

rectum, devios sequuntur amfractus

per praecipitium labantur

Lac-

Pagan philosophers, well agrees

harentes, obdurant se contra manifestam veritatem,

habeant

it

inevitable laws the

words, which Plato in bis Dialogue concerning the Soul

puts into the

vTf avrris

Socrates

the universe, as

become foolish," AkKa, xott rovs

Paul affirms to be true respecting the Philosophers

y.xi

"

"discourse, as most others do,

came into being, and by what

deliberate about such things,

txs

very naturci

account abstained from the study of it.

did not," writes the historian of his

is

its

best of all the pagan philo-

lucem relinquunt, ut

non

tarn

se male,

planum

de suis

qui

cum

dcserunt, ut

in tenebris casci ac debi-

iesjaceant, p. 6.

+ Euscbius

were

asserts,

with no less confidence than truth, that

led to worship false gods

from the love of

pleasure^

men

at first

which they

Chap.

ANALYSED.

I.]

QQ

authors of idolatry held up to the people as objects of

among men and animals which

divine honour, those

were most distinguished by violence, cruelty,

Nor was

rapine.*
made

God
in

the great end of life, and to which they therefore sacrificed as to a

and that

all

consequence of

in

this,

they became necessarily involved

kinds of wretchedness and depravity.

the following
TTix-^a

jToiyn)

T^wttj

ovv

S'

to ttuvtuv

in part arc-

yotos,

ws av Sta*

Xe aicry^^'j) y.xt

(/.x'k'Kov

Chap.

Prjep. Evan. Lib. vii.

In proof that the object of the

300.

His own words

xv^qui'it'jjv

Kxi ^xM'TrxTXTif) 'H^ovi) Qcu,

axoXass"*) ^xiy-ovi xasTasSsS'ovA&'y^Evovf,

p.

and

lust

order to familiarize

In

this all.

first

idolaters

morals of mankind, and thus to turn the public depravity to their

interests,

other supposition.

The

ancient Phenician

women were

This

fact

is

thus attested by Athanasius

4>o<v<xf trxXxi tr^ottixSil^ovTo, ocTtx^yoiAitxi rots

rY)v

Toy (TUfAxros xvruv [Ji.ia9x^vixv vo[Ai^ov(Txi

tra

xxi

Hence

Gentesfol. 21.

to idolatry, was

Octavius

asks,

tis tvixmir/.v

made

it

happened

Ubi autem magis

flagrans libido defuBgitur

ed by Tertulllan, p. 15.
Pagan temples,

ers.

prostat

a sacerdotibus,

Min.

is

aXXce, xxi

/X0V3V,

a fact recorded by
is

some of

a question

(cciov y.^QKo^ii'Kov,

rxvrx

the heathen writ-

Cap 44.

the Egyptians.

ht (^uoc

criXyiyyii'

xi^ove^uv

y^iq<Txiuv

(/.i)t

x.xt

xXurx

'ne^irrufA.xruy

vxyTotxis, kxi

a7,oyxKXi
tii

f/(,(T,

TuvfA.iv

-Ujf jj/AS^a

^tuv

Ti{x.xf,

Xeovrx, tvv^^cnv dz rov eyX'

^e (XT/vov xxi tv

ovft-ovon

attest-

which Juvenal puts

Aiyvvrixv

t(3tv.

Kaei

lowdvv

Xf8<y tX"^"^^' "*' '"''s'

to&oXx rt xxi xvO^uttoi^o^x, kxi

ofwvT$- yiiivu^ivx )cxi r^otpns

ttithti'^x,

voaois

xxKov.

is

kind were practised

See also Suetonius in Tiberio,

ij.ti/.V7ia^9at

.**

in ipsis lupananbus

^n^ix rx xy^iurxrx na^xynoy^xcrtv

ti e-^XTOV T4JV y.xrM

Hence too

adulteria meditantur

this

* Philo thus speaks of the animals adored by

1TX Atyuvrtois ov^e

3'eovi

Con-

inter aras et delu-

The same thing

Fel. p. 237.

quam

quam

That enormities of

fsmma templo

with great indignation.

yx

vo^vhx tov

that every temple, consecrated

tractantur lenocinia,

n^uXois

xyeiv xvr-nv ^ix rovruiv.

Frequentius denique in aedituorum cellulis,

Quo non

t*

^sois Ixvraiv

the theatre of the grossest impurities.

bra conducuntur stupra,

in all the

t>)

)ce(

them-

to their

is,

rwaivAs yovv

Ts

i\xir)cccrOxi,

taught, that the

prostitute

and give their gains to them, that

selves before aheir idols,

iavruv

own

accept the following fact, which admits of no solution on any

most acceptable way of worshipping the Gods was to

priests.

ii.

was to corrupt the

Qxvxru ru xxrx

3-*iuJ 7ro>.?.x>iis ^ix^Oii^a-jLiyx v^ocr^viove-tv,

ot

vi^t^ot

<f!va-tv,

x\?,x %xi

Tavr/A!fa h*

ROMANS

EPISTLE TO THE

their deluded followers

[Chap.

I.

with moral turpitude, they

blended with the narratives, which they gave of their

and with the

divinities,

which they

rites

offered them,

ideas so impure, and practices so impious, as could not

extinguish, in the initiated, every virtuous prin-

fail to

The Pagan

ciple and every moral feeling

after

superstition,

had been imported into Greece, and thence

it

transmitted into

Rome,

retained the same perni-

still

During the most splen-

cious character and tendency.

did periods of Grecian and

Roman

refinement,

it

con-

tinued, under the plea of being necessary to govern the

people, " to be the grand engine of political tyranny

and popular delusion, and to bar

access to the en-

all

trance of truth and freedom, purity and simplicity."

for

this reason, the introduction oi idolatry is repre-

sented, in the Jewish writings,* as the sole fountain

x^i

acriBiXiTiTa,

ro

Seiov,

<

o< ^.oyty.ot

rx aXoyx'

kxi

(jvyycvuxv i^ovris ir^os

TiK /xvjSe v ^-nqcTi ri(Ti a-vyx^tSorsf oi

vTrfixox nxi dovXx,

respect to the tnen,

De Vita Contem.

and passions the most impure.

Vol.

ii.

p. 193.

Kence
'O

aiTtv^xiyr' xv ytvtcrQxt.

by dispositions the most

/xEy/s-ov

likeness to

* " The

cruel,

xv

sr/j Tty.(A.r,giov

tj

01/.Q101

ett^ttoX-

"jton

rxi

The greatest proof of t/ie prevailing im-

piety of 7nen in acknozvkdging such Gods

cate

With

they were

the above noble author with jus-

al^ovaxs xartliitxs av^^uiruv, ^tovs voi^i^ovrui), ois

<pv(Tiis

x.xi ^eo-tto-

p. 472.

ii.

whom the heaithens deified and worshipped,

distinguished by crimes the most atrocious,

tice remarks,

x^yatns

Vol.

that they

is,

would ever depre-

them in tempers and character.

devising of idols," says the author of

Wisdom " was the be-

ginning of fornication, and the invention of them the corruption of life,"

Chap.
gan

xiv. 12. read the

vices, says

whole chapter.

very justly to Cascilius

29 x.

plina descendunt. p.

Deos

Octavius, speaking of the Pa-

Hec

de vestrorum deorum

colitis incest os;

disci-

merito igitur incestum

penes vos saspc deprehenditur, semper admittitur, p. 305.

Permit

me

here to remark, that the author of the Recognitions ascribes the origin of
idolatry to the

same cause which

is

pointed out above

base passions of those in early times,

lawof Moses, Lib.

iv.

13.

who opposed and

namely, to the
corrupted the

ANALYSED.

Chap.

I.]

of

those immoralities, which like a foul

all

Our

overwhelmed mankind.

2$
torrent

author traces the vices

of the heathen world to the same source

a long catalogue of those impurities,

and he gives

which

it

had en-

God gave them

up to vile affections for even their women did change
the natural use into that which is against nature.
And
tailed

on

its

For this cause

*'

votaries.
;

likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the

women, burned

which

men

which is unseemly, and receivthemselves that recompence of their error,

ing in

tain

one toward another,

in their lust

with men working

And even

meet.

is

God

(.o

they did not like to re-

as

God

knowledge,

in their

a reprobate mind,

venient

that

gave them over to

do those things which are not con-

Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud,

boasters, inventers of evil things, disobedient to jarents, without understanding, covenant breakers, with-

out natural affection, implacable unmerciful." 26

From Josephus we
stigmatises as

wicked

the priests of

Isis.

case with other

Gnostic system.

knowing

learn that the

whom

Jew,

he

in every respect, associated with

This,

Jews

may be presumed, was

Rome, that favoured

it

at

Though

the will of

31.

God

the

the

they had better means of

than their associates, they did

not act worthy of that knowledge, but disgraced themselves with the

To

same crimes.

persons of this de-

scription our Apostle appears to refer,

finishes the

above picture

"

Who

teous judgment of God, that they

when he

knowing

thus

the righ-

who do such

things

are deserving of death, not only

also conspire
* The

clause,

with those that

Ov

ij.ovov

rois TT^xTaovdiY, implies

awx

commit them, but

commit the same things.*

'nonvjiv,

thv those men

a.\\x

y.zt

in the Christian

(Twiv^onovcTif

church,

whom

CHAP.

Pai^I

II.

ROMANS

EPISTLE TO THE

S6

next apostrophises one of these

" Therefore thou

lowing manner.

man, whosoever thou

art

art that judgest

[Chap,

men

in the fol-

inexcusable,
for

The

same things."

wherein thou

judgest another, thou condemnest thyself,

that judgest doest the

II.

for thou

Pharisaical

teachers, even after their conversion to Christianity,

were weaker wicked enough to imagine,

that because

they performed thelites of the law, and descended from

Abraham, they should not incur the judgment

God,

though they practised those things which they con-

demned
exposes
forms,

This pernicious notion our Apostle

in others.
;

is

and he

which God

asserts that the judgment,

not regulated by any external consideration,

but by the moral qualities of the character, and

is

there-

fore strictly conformable to truth or justice; so that

none even of

chosen people

his

escape his anger,

shall

they commit those things which he ^disapproves in

if

of

God

is

But

*'

the Gentiles,

And thinkest

such things.

tise

judgment

sure that the

%ve are

according to truth* against them

thou

this,

who

prac-

Oman,

that

judgest them which do such things and doest the same,

Paul here addressed, had a connection with some of the Pagan philoso-

whose manners they imitated, and whose conduct they defended

phers,

and applauded.

To

the sentence

ers of

them, Paul may

death

human

refer

which Tiberius passed upon the lead-

when he

says,

that they were deserving

of

and he insinuates that they stood condemned, not only before a

tribunal, but

* Michaelis,

by the righteous judgment of

in his introduction to the

130. has shewn that the clause

ject of much dispute,

Rabbinical schools.

is

xar

was regulated by

it is

himself.

Vol.

i.

p.

which has been the sub-

i Talmvdical expression frequently used in the

is

not sufficient

In order to ascertain the precise meaning, which

the Apostle annexed to the word,

which

a\-n%sta.v,

This, though admitted to be true,

to explain the phrase.

error against

God

New Testament,

levelled.

it is

necessary to consider what was the

And this was, that the j iidgment of God

a regard to the external circumstances,

or outward ap-

pearance of the persons judged, and not to their inward and moral quali-

ANALYSED.

Chap. II.}

27
?"

God

that thou shalt escape the judgment of

9, 3.

The

character which the heretics gave of God, was that of a

hard man, reaping where he hath not sown, and gathering where he hath not strawed, see Vol.

ii.

p, 49.

In

opposition to this malicious representation, Paul here

describes

him

to this

Jew, under the

rick in goodness, liberally

figure of a

Master

giving of his goods to his

servants, and exercising patience

and long-suffering

towards them, in order that they mi^ht have time and

" Or despisest

opportunity to improve their talents.

thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance, and

knowing

long-suffering, not

that the

goodness of God

And

leadeth thee to repentance ?" 4.

here he insinu-

though they received the Gos-.

name, they were at heart unbelievers, as its

ates to the zealots, that

pel in

divine influence did not soften their tempers and lead

them

to repentance.

On this account,

so far from ob-

more abundantly heaped up

" But after thy
for themselves the wrath of God.
hardness and impenitent heart, treasurest up unto thy-

taining the favour, they

wrath unto the day of wrath, and revelation of the

righteous judgment of God." ^.
In the next place,

self

Truth in

fications.

this place, therefore, is

or the principle of virtue.

same term
it

in the

to

aSima

Hence

See the learned Hammond,

iniquity.

same manner, and

by Kara Sf/av

strict equity

who

explains

instances oSikov //.a/Awva the unjust

mon, as opposed to the true riches.

-^vipov according to

the judgments of men,

synonimous with

in verse 8, the writer opposes the

which

mam-

Theodoret explains x-ar aXr^suxv

divine decision, in opposition to

are often partial and corrupt.

This leads

Hie to observe, that this ingenious commentator, with Chrysostom and

others, conjectures, with

was a
ticc.

ruler,

The

probability, that the

language of Paul then came

gently reminded
decisions,

much

and of course concerned

him of the

in

Jew

here addressed

the administration of jas-

home

to his

own bosom, and

contrast there subsisted between his judicial

and those of God.

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

our author lays down before

[Chap.

11.

his readers the standard,

agreeably to which the Supreme Judge will, in the day

of

trial,

The

dispense rewards and punishments to

men

which they perform, and not what his opponents maintained, some supposed privileges as the
actions

children oi Abraham, or their observance of the cere-

monial law, constituted

this criterion,

der to every

man according ^c

which God

will

Who will

"

ren-

This reward,

his deeds."

bestow, he states to be eternal

and those only he represents

as entitled to

it,

life;

who

do

who do good occasionally, or

shrink from the performance of it when attended by
any evil, but who are uniform in the practice of it, and
^re. patient under whatever inconveniencies it may en" To them, who by patient continutail upon them.

good, not indeed those

ance

honour and incor-

in well doing, seek for glory,

ruption, eternal

Observe here,

life."

that the

views

of the rational Christian are directed to a glory and

honour

Of

ihdidiXQ incorruptible.

minds the converts,

our Apostle

this

them

in order to guard

capital error of the false teachers,

re-

against a

who, expecting to

share in the privileges of a temporal dominion under

the Messiah, sought for a glory and honour that were

by

their

own

nature liable to corruption.

The impostors

rejected the true Gospel, as being in

Its

divine purity by no means adapted to gratify their sinister

views;

they therefore blended with

congenial to their wishes.

to propagate,

And

it

these they endeavoured

notby calm persuasion, not by

and sober appeal

but by violence,

falsehoods,

peaceable

to the understanding, of their hearers,

strife

and clamour.

Upon

these fea-

tures in their character, the Apostle here touches

on account of

their

guilt

and,

in these respects, classes

Chap.

ANALYSED.

II.]

them with those workers of

on

evil,

displeasure will in the end heavily

them

that are contentious,*

29

whom

the divine

" But unto

fall.

and do not obey the truth,

(do not live in obedience to the true Gospel) but obey

unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, tribulation and

man

anguish upon every soul of

Jew

and

first,

that,

doeth

evil, of the

The

also of the Gentile." 8, 9.

writer,

being anxious to impress upon the minds of his readers a

conviction that
takes

God

is

a benevolent Being,

and

in rewarding the virtuous

more pleasure

that

he

than in

punishing the guilty, repeats in substance what he had

" But glory
in a preceding verse

^ilready asserted

honour and peace

the

Jew

to

every

and also

first

that

worketh good,

to

For there

no

to the Gentile.

respect of persons with

The

man

God."

10,

is

n.

author having alleged that the Almighty will

reward or punish the Pagan

as well as the

Jew, pro-

ceeds, in order to justify th^ divine administration, to

remark, that though the former had not, like the

knowledge of
of

right

God revealed

destitute of a

in his law, nevertheless they

Moral Sense

hatred of vice, which

were inscribed,

as

latter,

and wrong in conduct, from the will

it

it

were not

since that love of virtue and

was the object of the law to work,

were, by the hand of nature, on

the tablets of their hearts, and approved and disapprov-

" For

ed by the voice of conscience."

as

many as have

sinned without the Jaw, shall also without the law be

destroyed

And as many

as

have sinned under the law,

* By Tois | s^eOiiics the author means i^iriy.ois, men, who though

pretended converts, violently and clamorously opposed the true Gospel.

He

thus describes the same persons, Phil.

Xf/foy v.ctra.'yytK'Kovcnv Iv^ a-ytus.

Christ tvitk pure views.

i.

16. 'O, /aev e s^t^smcs tov

These contentious men do not preach

EPISTLE TO THE

be judged by the law.

shall

ROMANS

[Chap.

II,

For not the hearers of the

law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall

For when the Gentiles, which

be justified with him.

have not the law, do by nature the things contained

these, having not the law, are a law

the law,

themselves

Which shew the work

in their hearts

in

unto

of the law written

their conscience also bearing witness,

and their thoughts the mean while accusing or excusing

one another." 12
that nature

The Gnostic

16.

teachers* denied

and reason dictated any distinction between

virtue and vice, and that the injunctions

Mosaic law imposed on the desires of

which the

men had any

foundation excepting in the arbitrary decrees of a

The fundamental

levolent Being.

which they thus endeavoured

to give a free scope to their

ma-

principles of virtue,

to undermine, in order

own

passions, and to rescue

deluded followers from the restraints of con-

their

science, are here enforced in emphatic language

He

great Apostle.

by

oui'

adds, that the dictates of natural con-

science and unaided reason will be sanctioned on a day

of

final retribution

when God

day,

revealed in the Gospel.

shall

*'

In that

judge the secrets of men by Jesus

* Est quidam sermo apud Graecorum phllosophos yehemens valde,qui

in vita

elicit

lum ;

hominum,

re ipsa

hfcc aut mala dicunt autbona,

telerius observes

rhonios,

quorum insaniam

seen, Vol.

ii.

Recog. Lib,

On

x. 5.

p. 49, 253.

On

Carpocrates,

is

by Agelllus,

vns ^oyiA-o,' ovk. $< tro^yna. ovSo/, Tio^v-ns Soy/xa.

it

rightly,

means

timent of a harlot
harlot.

this,

That

That pleasure

that fornication

is

is

vi^ovn

is

this

was

Which,

is

grounded

nXos,

the chief good,

no crime,

et Pyr-

what we have already

this pernicious doctrine,

related

Co-

these v?ords

secuti sunt postea Gnostici.

Magus and

apophthegm of Hieioclcs,

stand

neque nil'

esse aliquid,

Archelaum, Cyrenaicos, Theodorum aOcov

the opinion of Simon

that

bonum

nequc

sed quae videntur hominibus, usu et consuetudine praesentis vitas,

if I
is

iro^-

under-

the sen-

the sentiment of a

ANALYSED.

Chap. II.]
Christ."

The

3I

Christian law excels

all

human

laws

chiefly in this, that while the latter recognize only such

actions as are visible, accurately defined and attested,

the former takes cognizance also of those works that

The

are done in secret, and even meditated in the heart.

immoral

anti-apostolic teachers,

as they were, felt se

power of
Here they were admonished that,

cure, if they eluded the vigilance, or baffled the

the civil Magistrate.

however they might by

nishment, they

shall

their secrecy escape

because he will judge the

As

human pu-

not escape the punishment of God,

secrets

of men.

they denied the obligations of virtue, and reject-

ed the doctrine of a future judgment, they taught a

Gospel

quite

different

from that oi Jesus Christ,

He

preached by the Apostle Paul.

up

his Gospel,

on

this occasion,

ingly to that of the impostors

men by
MY Gospel."

the secrets of

The

"

therefore holds

in opposition

seem-

When God will judge

Jesus Christ,

according to

principles of morality, founded in the nature

and circumstances of man, are more clearly taught,

and more powerfully enforced in the law of Moses.

Of this Paul reminds the judaizing Zealot,

who, though

a boaster of his Jewish privileges, joined with

that derided the

thou

and

commandments of God

men

" Behold

Jew, and reposest in the law,

God, and approvest the things more ex-

callest thyself a

gloriest in

cellent, (than those taught

by unaided reason) having

The Jewish no

learned thera from the law." 17, 18.

less

than the Egyptian Gnostics prided in their su-

perior knowledge, and arrogated to themselves lofty

titles

while they described, in terms expressive of ig-

norance and meanness, the humble and sincere follow-

ROMANS

EPISTLE TO THE

3*

Our

crs of Jesus.

continues

Jew on

his

address in that

his

II,

Apostle, in order more clearly to

the wicked

condemn

[Chap.

own

stile

principles, thus

of arrogance and

boasting which he appears to have used respecting

himself and his brethren

"Thoutakest upon thyself to

be a guide of the blind, a light to them that are in darkness, an instructor of the ignorant, a teacher of babes.

By

'

the blind, them that are in darkness, the ignorant

and

we

babes,

are then to understand the

Apostolic converts,

and

who

in general

body of the

were poor, obscure,

For these the deceivers proposed them-

illiterate.

selves to be guides and a light, to be instructors

and

But though the Jew, here accosted, pretend-

teachers.

ed to be superior to others, and qualified to teach them

the exc. llent things of the law, yet he neglected to

teach himself in

tlie

most important points of

it.

He

violated the plainest principles of chastity and decency,

was guilty of

and defrauding the temple of

stealing,

Jerusalem of the rich presents given by Paulina, though

perhaps he affected to abhor the Pagan idols, and endeavoured, and that in
to throw

them down

at

many instances with success,

Rome. These characteristic

crimes Paul brings to his charge, and thus convicts

were from

own mouth.

" Dost thou,

him

as

who

teachest another, neglect to teach thyself

thou,

it

who

his

preachest against stealing,

steal

Dost

thyself?

Dost thou, who forbiddest adultery, commit adultery ?

Dost thou abhor idols, and yet profanely rob the temple?" 21, 22.

The conduct of these men in seducing Paulina, bore

much resemblance to that of David in respect to the
wife of Uriah. The object, which both parties had in
view, was the same.

It

was effected in each instance,

ANALYSED.

Chap. II.]

by

arttul

33

The deed, which Da-

and clandestine means.

vid committed, gave great occasion, to the enemies of the

Lord to blaspheme. The consequence of the deed, in

the commission of which the wicked Jew concurred,
was very

This crime, with the others, of

similar.

which he and

were

his associates

andaccusing indiscriminately

furnished the

guilty,

Gentiles with a pretext for vilifying the

who

all,

God

of Israel,

believed in Je-

of similar enormities. These striking coincidences

sus,

brought to the mind of Paul the story of David, while

now

With

addressing that man.

him

ness he leads
guilt,

by directing

great skill and gentle-

upon, and confess his

to reflect

his attention to

one

own

was crimi-

that

same way, and whose crime produced the

same bad~ effects. " Dost thou glory in the law, and by

nal in the

the transgression of the law dishonour

name of God
Gentiles,

evil

is

They

written."

it is

a-^

Nathan addressed

God

For the

spoken of through you among the

words of

are the

Royal Offender, on the occaSee II Sam. xii. 14.

Paul

to the

sion above alluded to.

then thus continues his address to the judaizing Zealots

'

For truly circumcision

form the law

circumcision

thy
If,

but

is

of use,

thou per-

if

if

thou be a transgressor of the law,

is

no better than uncircumcision.

therefore, the uncircumcised

man keep

the righte-

ous precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be

regarded

circumcision

as

to uncircumcision,

who

he

And

fulfil

will not he that

the law,

hast a written rule of circumcision,

gressest the law

wardly

is

neither

in the flesh

that

if

For he
is

but he

not a

is

Jew who

circumcision which

is

born

and yet trans-

Jew who

is

one out-

which

is

outward

that circumcision
is

is

condemn thee,

is

one inwardly

and

a circumcision of the heart

in the figurative, not in the literal sense

whose

praise

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

34

not from men, but from God." 25

is

and
is

rational

[Chap.

29.

meaning, which our author

The

liere

III.

plain

enforces,

opposed to an opinion maintained by the Pharisaical

teachers, that the rite of circumcision with otLer forms

the law, constituted the grounds of acceptance with

ftf

God

and that consequently no Gentile, though a con-

vert to the Gospel,

any
he

is

and

not a

if

a share in

title to

Jew who

he continued uncircumcised, had

its

is

The

blessings.

assertion, that

so only in outward appearance

that circumcision, if literally practised, inftead oi

being considered as a symbol of reformation in

no advantage, led our author

heart, confers

the

put in

to

mouth of his opponents the following objectionsWhat, then, is the advantage of the Jews ? and what

the

CHAP.

III."

To

the benefit of circumcision I"

these he replies,

Much every way, and chiefly, because the oracles of

his
God were confirmed unto them by proof." 1, 2.

**

"J

reply contains two propositions

of

God w^re communicated

to the

one, that the oracles

Jews;

tiic

oiher, that

the truth or divinity of those oracles was confirmed

The

by adequate proof.

object

which Paul had

forcing these propositions will be seen,

back to Vol.
lologers,

I.

preceding

the

which

p. 272,

where

chapter,

forged

they ascribed to the

The

Christ.

it is

among whom ranked

fhewn

addressed in
predictions,

Sii>yi,

respecting Jesus

forgery inftigated Tiberius to examine

* Justin Martyr, in

<ieath.
;*(jva;y

evil

The

some of which,
This necessa-

Apology, connects the Sibyriine

his greater

6tAtlt6 with the prophetic writings

by

that the phi-

certain

are told, he caused to be burned*.

jjelled

in en-

you look

men

the

into the merits of the Sibylline oraclds,

we

if

and

asserts that certain

men, im-

demons, prohibited the use of them under the penalty of

following are his

Sav^TOf uiv9n

ycxrot

own words; Kt

^e

tv ^ixvXwv

rut rt S<^vXXjs v run wf o<p^T

Sasi/3/3-

Chap.
rily

ANALYSED.

III.

gaVe

rise to

and important question,

curious

35

which has often been agitated, whether the pretended

prophets of the heathens were in reality ever inspired

by the Spirit of

God

respecting the expected Messiah>

or any other subject of his revealed will

To

this

ques-

tion the Great Apostle of the Gentiles refers, and he

virtually decides

it

to the Jews,) the oracles of

To them (that is,

"

in the negative.

God were

entrusted," or,

them the oracles of God were confirme4 by proof."

Which, it appears to me, is to this purpose " Though
**

to

among

the learned

the heathens, and even

some pre-

tended believers in the Gospel, deny the Jewish writr

of divine interposition, yet the

ings to be the effect

oracles of

Moses and the predictions of the prophets

most assuredly proceeded from the inspiration of God,

who

iritriisted

them

to the

Jewish nation,

as a sacred

stamped with evidences of au-

deposit of his Will,

which demand the assent of every candid enBut no such trust has ever been committed to

thenticity

quirer.

any of the Pagan teachers.

Those prophecies there-

fore, ascribed to the Sibyl, respecting the

Xovs xvxyivojcry.ovTuv, Chap.

adopted on

this

lix.

Messiah, or

He refers no doubt to the measures

And this reference is a clear proof

occasion by Tiberius.

of Justin's knowledge, that the

first

specimen of the Christian oracles,

ascribed to the Sibyl, was the fabrication of the Gnostic

Rome.

It also serves

ing between the

Apology and

his

addressed to the

Emperor and

Senate,

truth,

must have

teachers in

to account for a remarkable difference subsist-

restrained

Exhortation to the Greeks.

common

him from citing

In a book

decency, if no regard to

oracles, the

forgery of which,

few years before had been publicly detected, and the authors signally

punished,

But he

felt

no such

restraints in addressing a people,

general must have been strangers to those facts.

Martyr

cites

none of the Sibylline oracles

kqks; whereas,

in either

in his address to the Greeks,

other forged verses, in great abundance.

e 2

who

in

Accordingly, Justin

of the two Apo*

h? pours them

forth,

with

ROMANS

EPIStLE TO THE

36

[Chap.

111.

the future destination of mankind, are the oracles not

of God, but of men,

as they

bear those evident marks

which render them unworthy of

of imposture

an

honest and rational belief."

The

reason,

by which the impostors

affected to justi-

fy themselves in fabricating false oracles, seems to lave

been

this,

that the Gentile unbelievers

would not ac-

knowledge the sacred penmen of Judea

The

divinely inspired.

"

proceeds to expose.

to

have been

invalidity of this excuse, Paul

For what,

some were not

if

convinced, shall their unbelief destroy the credibility

Which is as though he had said " Admitof God ?
'

ting that some men, through prejudice and ignorance,

discredit the true oracles, does that justify you in iramiiig false ones, better

are the promises of

adapted to their conception

God

Or

contained in the Jewish scripor unworthy of credit, be-

tures rendered ineffectual,

cause they are, and will be for a time, disbelieved by

false and wicked men ?" These queries he answers,

" By no means
of God, or

rather

a liar" 4; that

is,

who

ought rather than

He

let

God

" Every

puts what

God

to

be true, and every

man who
is

false

into

His mouth,

be charged with falsehood."

then gives him a very good reason,

not tell

man

denies the truth

why

he should

a falsehood, even under the specious pretext of

promoting the

" That thou mightest be

truth.

justifi-

ed in thy words, and prevail when thou art called to an

account." * The oracles, which those deceivers had
* The

guilt

which David incurred respecting the wife of Uriah, he

li. 4. Against tkee the only one have 1 sinned, and

thus confesses, Ps.

done this evil in thy sight.

The man whom

committed a similar crime

the Apostle

now

addresses

and the similarity seems to have been the

circumstance, which by association directed the writer to the above passage of the Psalmist.

His advice

to the impostors

is

to confess the truth)

Chap.

ANALYSED.

III.]

37

fabricated concerning Christ, and the veil under

affected to

they

his birth,

by representing him

ceived, contributed at
to

which

conceal the meanness and obscurity of

first,

promote the Gospel

as

Rome

in

supernaturally con-

we may reasonably suppose,

and in the provinces.

plausible end, thus answered by their falsehoods,

The

the authors, naturally enough, produced in apology for

Accordingly the Apostle represents the

he is addressing, as replying. " If the

their guilt.

person,
truth

whom

of

God

by ray falsehood unto

condemned as a sinner?"

his

withstanding

they

this

God) prevailed

true Gospel of

(the

then

Their conduct, not-

7.

was

plea,

why am

glory,

highly criminal

and

received the punifhment due to their

signally

crimes; some of them being put to death, whilst the

>

could not

their

at

sufferings,

their virtuous opponents

to consider, and exhibit,

fail

God's anger

of

The

were banished from the country.

rest

which they thus underwent,

guilt.

as a sure sign

Paul

with

much

address leads the apologising impostor to notice the

penalty,
light.

which he and his associates incurred, in this

" But what shall we say, If our unrighteous-

recommend

ness

of God)is not

the righteousness of

God unjust

God,

for inflicting

(the

punishment?" 5.

That our author might not be misunderstood

punishment which he had
and

to avoid the use of

those very words,

thors.

Hence

properly interpreted, criminated their base au-

meaning of Paul when he

justified by thy words, that

true,

as to the

in view, he inserts the clause,

words characterised by duplicity and fraud ; since

when

the

Gospel

is,

Thou shah

thou shalt be acquitted; but

says,

T/iat thou migktcst be

be tried by thy

if false,

condemned.

own words if
The Apostle
:

assert, what Jesus himself declared to those Pharisees,

who, he foresaw, would favour the Gnostic impostuie ; namely, that

here seems to

they would be tried and condemned, upon no other principles

own. See Vol.

ii.

p.

538.

th;in tbf-ir

EPISTLE TO THE 9.OMANS

3?
jr

v9fii>z:ov Xeyci',

injiicud byJ

That

I /peak

in rcfpect to (the

punishment

man, namely Tiberins,

a,

lawful to

it is

[Chap. JIL

faisehpod for promoting truth,

tell

or more generally, to do evil that good

a principle interwoven with

all

may come, was

the systems of policy

which obtained in the heathen world. The

delivered his doctrines in words of studied ambi-

arid religion

priest

guity, to

which he attached

from the popular

sought to

legislator

and the magistrate

govern the people by inculcating the doctrine

of a future

Even

a signification very different

The

sense.

state,

which in

their hearts they disbelieved.

who

the philosopher,

boasted in the love and in-

vestigation of truth, had his hottric and Exoteric writings, or

books penned with such

artful duplicity, as to

contain an internal meaning opposite to their obvious

and

literal

And

interpretation.

it

may be

asserted,

without fear of contradiction, that no individual aniong

the Pagans, however distinguiflied in other respects,
rose so high in moral refinement as to express his dis-

maxim

approbation of a
able.

From

so dangerous and dishonour-

the school of

Gnostics * imported
* Hence Tertullian

says

it

titude the

witli justice

oF the

false teachers,

careful, as to conceal

meaning of the doctrines which they preached

quam

cccultare

quod

the

first

with other corrupt lessons into

was nothing of which they were ^o

curant

human wisdom,

praedicant,

p.

250.

that there

from the mul:

Nihil magis

The Pagan

priests

guarded their mysteries or internal doctrines with equal care from the
popular eye.

Their maxim was

that of

Porphyry,

or that of the Latin poet,

Odi profanum

Some of the Pagan

volgus et arceo.

writers had the frankness to confess, that they taught

falsehoods to the people; and they attempted to justify this under the

Chap.

ANALYSED.

III.]

Church of

the

39

and attempted to justify

Christ,

adoption by the useful purposes which

it

its

answered.

represents the impostor before him, as

The Apostle

proposing a question in his defence upon the above

" Is not God unjust for inflicting punishTo which he returns an answer truly glorious,

principle,

ment ?"

and highly characteristic of a religion originating in

for then
wisdom of heaven. " By no means

the

how

which

this

is

world?" The purport of

" Since the Almighty condemns the arts

God judge

fhall

of deception, which

the

men

of the world use in support

of their systems, he will necessarily condemn the same

may

in you, whatever

be your pretext for employing

them.

To

suppose that he will punish fraud and du-

plicity

in

one case, and not in another,

plausible

may

be their object,

inconsistent with the equity of

character, and

He does

however

dishonourable to the

is

God.

not, he cannot approve in the supporters of the

Gospel, what he condemns in the world." The Apostle

next subjoins, " Say not, (as some maliciously affirm
that

we

say)

we should do

evil that

good may come."

8.

Paul, with the virtuous followers of Jesus in general,

could not but approve of the sentence, which Tiberius pronounced on the seducers of Paulina, and oi the
edict
plea of
that

it

Scaevola, the

ittility.

was expedient

Varro before him,

there are

people to
to

deem

to punish those

which he published

many
know

true.

acted upon

this

as

and

The

PontifF,

we are informed by
many

though

things,

Augustin,

boldly maintained

to deceive the state in matters of religion

things which,
;

Roman

who by

has

and

declared thac

true, are not expedient for the

though

false, it is

yet useful for

them

heathen philosophers readily adopted, and openly

pernicious principle.

For

their guilt in thus

humouring,

instead of correcting, the prejudices and false notions of the people, the\
are severely reprehended

by some of the

later fathers.

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

similar behaviour

To

provinces.
thor thus

[Chap,

111,

disturbed the public peace in the

the equity of these measures, our au-

bears his unequivocal

CONDEMNATION

their

testimony,

JUST.

IS

His Jewish readers, Paul was well aware, would be

shocked and offended

at

expressing his approbation of

measures, the severity of which had been heavily

by

their

own

nation

many of the Egyptians

ships,

felt^

and though they might allow that

deserved their

fate,

yet the hard-

which thejews underwent, they must have deem-

ed unjust.
represents

In order to justify his approbation, he

them thus

are belter than

they." " Allowing

who have been

priests,

who were

"

retorting,

What

then

that the

We

Egyptian

put to death, and the magicians

banished, underwent a just punishment, this

we Jews have

does not justify the sufferings to which

been exposed,

as

we are

free

privileges above others."

to be urged

from

their vices,

and enjoy

This objection, supposed

by the judaizing teachers, Paul

silences by

reminding them, that he had already shewn the Jews, no

less

than the Gentiles, to be guilty of the grossest im-

" By no means (are we better than others)

we have brought the charge of guilt against all>

itioralities.

lor

both Jews and Gentiles."

ter of this Epistle,

and

He

refers to the

first

chap-

where he charges the wicked Jew

which debased the

his associates with all the vices

Pagan

idolaters.

That they might the more deeply

feel

the justice of this accusation, he places before the eyes

of those

men

passages in the prophetic writings, which

were most descriptive of their vices, and which from

their appropriation, might appear to have a prospective

view

to themselves

righteous (neither

"As

Jew

it is

written

there

nor Gentile) no not one

is

none

there

Chap.
is

ANALYSED.

Ill,]

none that hath understanding, there

ligently

they are altogether

that doeth good,

sepulchre

the

Their throat

no not one.

is

under their
and

straitness

way

fear of

that di.

cursing and bitterness

;

none

lips,

their

their

mouth

before their eyes." lo

full

is

of

are swift to shed

feet

ways, and

distress are in their

of peace have they not known.

God

an open

is

they have deceived with their tongues

poison of asps

blood

is

They have all turned aside

become unprofitable there is none

seeketh God.

There

is

no

19.

These passages are selected by the Apostle,

which the Zealots

as des-

criptive of

the character

and not,

some erroneously suppose, of what man-

as

Of

kind in general then were.

or Egyptians,

who

first

those,

sustained,

whether Jews

taught the Gnostic system,

might be said with truth, none was righteous,

all

it

were

Though some of them might pretend to

unfold the wisdom of the Mosaic law, they were with-

unprofitable.

Being worshippers of the serpent,

out understanding.

and making
ed with

it

the object of their imitation, they deceiv-

their tongues,

their lips.

and had the poison of asps under

As they were exposed, on one hand, by the

faithful believer,

and punished on the other, by the

Roman government,
and bitterness.

their

Finally,

mouth

"was full of cursing

Being actuated by

a sangui-

nary and vindictive temper, they swiftly directed their

feet to the

shedding of blood-; and

as

they vilified the

Creator of the world, the fear of him was not before

r

their eyes.*

* If we duly examine

these citations, in connection with the

whom they were immediately

applied,

we

with the pertinence of their application, and with the

and candour of the writer.

The

men

to

cannot avoid being strack

skill,

meekness

Gnostics pretended to have found out


ROMANS

EPISTLE TO THE

4*

Lest the Jewish converts should

[Chap.

themselves,

flatter

was more appropriate

that this description

III.

to their

Gen-

brethren than to themselves, the Apostle informs

tile

2 Supreme
tension,

God

Their object, however, by

hitherto unkno-wn.

was to undermine the

this pre-

and to obliterate the reverence

belief,

which were generally cherished by the Jews,

for the Creator of

at least,

the world, and artfully to introduce and establish the atheistic notions of

Epicurus, whose foUc'crs in reality they were, see Vol.

This feature induced the Apostle

58.
xiv

where

not in

God

seek,

much

it is
;

said,

that,

ihatmenof this

p.

ii.

252

to direct their attention to Psal,

description in their hearts beheved

being workers of abomination, they did not really

less reveal,

the

unknown Deity

that, as

they were corrupt

and debased by impurities, they were without understanding

hend him. Our Apostle next quotes

compre-

to

a passage descriptive of them, as the

authors of falsehoods, which they propagated with cpcn mouth, without

disguise,

shame, or compunction

of the serpent,

as the advocates

whose venom they had imbibed (Vol.

p.

ii.

539

;)

men

as

putting

on

the appearance of friendship and gentleness, in order to deceive and de-

vour; see also pages 545, 546. This is taken from Psalm the fifth.
is one thing in this place to be observed, which reflects great

There

honour on the temper and

feelings of the

The

Apostle Paul.

Psalmist

having said of his enemies, (meaning probably those in the court of

Saul,)

" There

is

no

faithfulness in their

very wickedness, their throat

is

mouth,

God;

their tongue," then adds, Destroy thou them,

own

counsels

.*

cast the.m out

Now

this last verse

let

and who,

in

Being, Vol.

them fall by their

for

was very character-

from the law of Moses,

consequence, blasphemed Jehovah as an inferior and evii

ii.

p- 353,

356, yet our amiable author declined to cite

that it breathes a spirit repugnant both

His reason doubtless was,

to the temper of Christianity, and to the character of

is

is

with

flatter

of the Jewish Gnostics, who, educated in the Egyptian school,

apostatised, both in principle and in conduct,

it.

inward part

in the multitude of their transgressions,

they have rebelled against thee.

istic

their

an open sepulchre, they

its

founder.

This

one of those latent instances, which prove when unfolded, that the

by feelings the most oppowould have influenced him, had he

great Apostle of the Gentiles was actuated

site to those,

which

necessarily

been either an enthusiast or an impostor.

Finally, In order to describe

the turbulent and vexatious temper, which

marked the

deceivers,

ther with the misery and destruction which they brought

upon

toge-

their de-

laded, but innocent followers, the Apostle borrows the language of

Chap.

them, that
'

10

ANALYSED.

III.]

43

included the Jews as well as the Gentiles.

it

Now we know
them who

words of the law are spoken

that the

mouth

are under the law, so that every

must be stopped, and all

judgment of God," 19.

world be subject

the

The

to the

anti-apostolic teachers,

though grossly immoral, yet supposed

that,

because

they ranked among the chosen people of God, and

kept the

own

rites of the law, or, to use their

language,

performed the works of the law, they should obtain

salvation.
in direct

This dangerous notion Paul next refutes

" By the works of the

and decisive terms.

law no man will be accepted in

law

the

is

knowledge of

his sight

in Christ, without

inculcates faith

by the

for

In opposition to

sin."

it,

he

ceremonial obser-

vances, as the means of acceptance with God.

But now the righteousness of God without the

law is manifest unto all, * being attested by the law
*'

Isaiah,

where he

which Paul here

the Baptist.
tion,

"

ascribes similar qualities to

Before

lix. 7, 8.

displays,

When

Who art

men of his own time, Chap.

permit ine to

I close this note,

illustrate the address

by an example taken from the

the Priests

thou, that

history of John

and the Levites put to him the ques-

we may

give an answer to

them

that sent

He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, make

STRAIT THE WAY O'F THE LORD, AS SAID THE PROPHET
IsAiAS."
Now the men, to whom this reply was made, ranked

us

among

the Pharisaical teachers,

verted that very

way which

whose

remarks.

And thcy^

luhicJi

were

was, that ihcy per-

And

this is

what

abruptness he

were of the Pharisees, John, Chap.

sent,

23, 24.

The

clause

to be superfluous.

an interpolation.

us

Tsu.trtx.s,

For

But

it

or

appears to

that the righteousness of

God

nrxvrus,

ett*

is

thought by some

Mr. Wakefield deems one of them

this reason,

me

to 9r(pv^a'Ta/ in the preceding verse

is,

it

when with apparent

the Evangelist meant to convey,

i.

characteristic

they professed to teach.

is

that
:

s.-s-

Travratr has a reference

and the meaning of the writer

displayed unto

(^!f,

and extended

EPISTLE TO THE

44

and the prophets,

which

by

is,

upon

in Jesus Christ,

no distinction,

is

[Chap.

even the righteousness

faith

lieve (for there

ROMANS

for all

God,

oi"

all

III.

that be-

have sinned

and come short of the glory of God), being freely acquitted by his favour, through that purificatiop which
in Christ Jesus

is

whom God

hath set forth a mercy-

through faith in his blood, to display his righte-

seat

ousness for the remission ot sins that are past, for the

through extraordinary forbearance,*

display,

righteousness in the present time, so that he

and the

just,

21

him

justifier of

is

of his

himself

that believeth in Jesus."

27.
This passage must appear to every reader very ob-

1 trust, render
to

it is

But a few observations

and involved.

scure

it

plain

and simple.

be observed, that our author

In the
stiles

first

will,

place,

the terms of

salvation,

proposed in the Gospel, in opposition to

those

and ceremonies urged by the

rites

false teachers,

of God :\ which implies that the Almighty, having promised eternal life to his servants of

the righteousness

now

old,

displayed his justice in the fulfilment of

* The clause
forbearance.

sv uvo-^-n

vSo

it,

rov Ssov, I have rendered through extraordivary

Mr. Wakefield

traordinaiy power, Chap.

16.

i.

renders owxixis ^lov a divi?!e or

e.\-

This idiom of the Hebrew tongue

is

by a variety of examples in Wilson's Grammar, p. 102.

The persons described in Genesis, Chap. vi. 2. as so7is of God, mean

illustrated

j)mhMy giants,

or men distinguished by longevity and other corporeal

qualities.

Our

author, in Chap.

i.

17. calls the Gospel, or the

don and immortality which

it

unfolds, by the

refers

to the prophetic writings as containing

blessings.
titia

Dei

Hence Ambrose,
est, quia,

in his

quod promisit,

nation given also by Locke.

comment on
dedit.

hope of par-

same name.
the

He

there

promise of these

the place, writes, Jus-

Similar to this

is

the expla-

Chap.

by

ANALYSED.

III.]

the mission of his

45

Son Jesus Christ.

the meaning of our author

may

be inferred from the

declaration, that the righteousness of

law and the prophets, that

the

the

That this was

God

is attested hy

the Gospel of

God,
mercy of God therein contained, being predicted

the Jewish Scriptures,

thence alleged in

The Gnostic

its

is

is,

or
in

confirmed by the testimony

support.

on

teachers enjoined

their

disciples

schemes of purification numerous and various,

as were
which they were composed.* Those
consisted of some species of ablution

the individuals of
purifications

or baptism, or in the use of some mystic phrases, or

in the belief of a religious creed opposed to the
tolic faith,

see Vol.

p.

ii.

564.

One

Apos-

article of this

creed was, that the divinity dwelling in Jesus, and

not Jesus himself, constituted the Christ.

This was a
undermining the great doctrines
of the Saviour's death and subsequent resurrection, as

mere subtertuge
the basis of a

for

new

life to

mankind, and

ing the disgrace of acknowledging

The

also for avoid-

a crucified

Lord.

Apostolic teachers too, enjoined the necessity of

But they meant merely that expurgation

character from vicious habits, that ablution of

purification.

of the

the heart from

all

former impurities, which the new

views and sublime motives, unfolded

were calculated
*

ravr-ns

0<Toi

They are

to effect.*

r-ns

yvui/.-ns

in the

Gospel,

This truly rational

/xv^xyw/oi,

purifi-

Toaxvrcci ccnoXvr^ua-its.

the words of Irenccus. p. 88.

+ The term

xTroX-jr^ucris,

which

in

our translation

is

rendered Re-

demption, signifies, in a literal sense, the washing of the body, in a

taphorical,

the purifying of the mind.

Hence

it

me-

was applied to denote

a deliverance from the penal consequences, or the bondage, of sin by re-

pentance and reformation.

The term came

in vogue,

though

in

3.

very

ROMANS

EPISTLE TO THE

\6

Roman

cation Paul here inculcates on the

in contradistinction to that practised
different signification,

Paul always uses

it

among the Jewish

which debased the impostors.

me

to produce a

the cleansing of the

it,

their supposed prerogatives,

u-hom ye are
which

last

" Know

from those impuri-

who

Cor. Chap,

permit

this assertion,

Speaking of those

he thus writes,

in Christ Jesus

term

In proof of

few examples.

converts,

b reference to ^\hom

Gnostics,

heart, in consequence of a practical faith in Jesus,

ties

boasted in

29. "

i,

Of

righteousness, holiness, and purification

happily explained by a parallel word in Chap.

is

III.

by their deceivers.

and he generally means by

[Chap.

ye not, that the unjust shall not inherit the kingdom of

11.

vi.

God ?

l)o not deceive yourselves: neither fornicators, nor worshippers of

images, nor adulterers, nor impure abusers of themselves, nor thieves,

nor extortioners, nor drunkards, nor

rit

the

And

kingdom of God.

HAVE WASHEN

V o tj R SE L V ft

are inade righteous, by the

Here you

of our God."
ness

and

by the

made

name of

blood or

this,

He

*'

whom we

then

inserts

The ^wma/of

Again, Ephes. Chap.

?s the

washing away of sin

i.

is

it

signify deliverance

cause of

and

as sin,

xxi. 28.

Rom.

evil.

viii. 2-3.

The
sins.

is

He

cation,

which

it

7roAvT^t'cr;j

in the estimation of a
it is

it,

the

theft

washing

uses the tern^

But,

clause.

iv.

came hence

its

to

Jew, was tht

often applied to denote eOTawa-

Instances,

Ephes.

to

the

7.

means of being delivered from

where

it is

3b. Heb.

xi.

thus used, occur,

The term,
The meaning,

35.

have observed, came in vogue among the Gnostics.

which some of them annexed

i.

purification

same explanatory

effect,

natural and moral,

from any Species of

patioii

Luke

all evil,

the

the only

domineering influence, or penal

waS

a clause in explanation of M'hat he

our sins."

figuratively speaking,

14. and annexes to

Col.

ye are

have the purification, through his

away, or, wiihout a figure, the setting aside of

again,.

holy,

therefore,

pure fountain of di-

iniquities, in the

all

by the blood of Jesus,

attained

Jesus, and by the Spirit

purification of the true Christian,

" In

writes,

death'''

Lord

the

vine truth opened by Jesus Christ.

meant by

But ye

will observe the three terms, purification, holi-

the washing of himself from

same Apostle

shall inhe-

but yc are becomc holy, but ye

s,

ye have washen yourselves, ye are become

The

righteous.

nor rapacious,

in the first instance, are paralleled, in the second,

righteousness,

three verbs,

revilers,

such were some of you.

bears a close affinity to the signifi-

has in the writings of the Apostle Paul, namely, re-

pentance and reformation.

Now

the grounds of these were the

views displayed by the death and resurrection of Jesus.

respecting the character and government of

God,

new

Such views

attd the final

desti-

ANALYSED.

Chap. III.]

47

" Being pardoned freely, through his favour, by that

Here he
purification which is in Christ Jesus," 24.
leads

them

to inler, that the purification

by the Apostolic authority, consisted

man
tues

Jesus

as the Christ,

and

in

recommended
embracing the

in cultivating those vir-

which he prescribed and exemplified. Observe, the

Apostle, in order to direct his language the more point-

who separated between Jesus and

makes the iormer prominent and emphatic
by putting it the last. For the same reason, in verse
edly against those,

the Christ,

36, he mentions Jesus alone, as the object of faith to

who

that believer

260

p.

is

accepted with God.

See Vol.

ii.

264.

The

impostors, having denied the humanity of the

Saviour, denied in consequence the reality of his suffer-

ing and restoration again to

To

life.

the former of

these events, our author next invites the attention of

The

his readers.

righteousness and mercy of

God

represents as set forth by faith in his blood, that

his death.*

By which

he

Holy

Spirit effused

wisdom

this

in the

person of

through him on the Apostles.

Hence, seemingly, the Gnostics employed the term

intelligence,

in

signifies that the crucifixion

nation of mankind, emanated from the divine

Jesus, or from the

is,

he

to signify IVisdatn,

or the Holy Spirit, called also the Saperiour Mother.

And

they considered as the foundation ol purijication, or deliverance. See

Iren. p. 88. note 3.

* The Apostle
cause

it is

Christ, as being a
blood,

uses the term blood in preference to that of death, be-

more comprehensive.

(John

i.

God

in the

Epis. iv. 2.)

The Egyptian

The contrary

he really shed his blood on the cross.

real

we

fcs/i

and

of this our author inculcates,

and he insinuates, that he not only possessed

of the blood of Jesus,

Gnostics denied that

mere form of a man, had any

flesh

Wherever

and blood, but that

therefore Paul speaks

are to understand him, as maintaining the

humanity and suffering of the Messiah,

in opposition to those

im

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

48

[Chap. III.

of Jesus, being an event previously requisite to his

should be

resurrection,

regarded as the only

foundation of a rational faith in that future

when

retribution, which,

solid

of

state

rectify the

realized, shall

present disorders under the divine government, and if

anticipated, iurnish motives the most powerful to re-

The

pentance and reformation.

enough

naturally

insisted

anti-apostolic teachers

on the cruel and ignominious

which Jesus submitted, and which, accorddeclaration, was enjoined upon him by

death, to

own

ing to his

command, (John, Chap,

his Father's

by them

to the

To

Creator.

argument, Paul exhibits

preclude

under the figure of a

thro..e,

in

specious

this

on the cross

his expiration

however unjust and disgraceful

is

x. iS.xiv. 31.) as

proof of that cruelty and injustice, ascribed

a striking

mercy^ and dispensing the hope

seated, arrayed in

of immortality and the pardon of their sins to

believers

"Whom God

CY-SEAT,* through
posters

who

nation, Vol.
self,

true

A Mer-

been observed, that the Saviour him-

anticipating the fictions of the deceivers, appointed the bread and

the wine, at his

Vol.

his death.

last
ii.

supper, to be the visible symbols of his body and

p. 428.

* See Taylors excellent note on

which our

I>5-5/ov,

presently adds

"

Nor

can

as
I

God was

mercy of
it

it is

mercy and goodness were

which he held with

services, prayers,
as seated

upon

shews that

done

in all

He

other places.

it

was

to denote, that

then

it

(of

from thence the

dispensed to the people, and that he took his stand-

were, upon that, in

intercourse

where he

conceive what the end and use of

the mercy-scat) could be, unless

ing, as

this place,

render propitiation, ought to have

translators

been translated mercy-seat,

that

be

set forth to

notions. See Acts xxi. 28. with the explaIt has

p. 558.

hath

all

faith in his death."

rejected these
ii.

men,

the sight of

on which the Almighty

his transactions with

all

his

them, to shew

Throne, the ground and

the children of Israel

and devotions were to have respect to

Throne of Mercy.

basis

and that
that,

of that

all their

or to God,

ANALYSED.

Chap. III.]

The

suffering of the Messiah

49

was not only foretold

by the prophets, but also presignified by certain rites

and iacrifices instituted by Moses. This circumstance
amongst others induced the men, who denied the reality of that event, to reject the

and refer them to a

tion, Paul

law and the prophets,

from the author of

different

In reference, seemingly, to this false no-

the Gospel.

Ark

God

mentions the Mercy-seat or cover of the

of the covenant, which was the appointed symbol

of the divine clemency, as bearing a symbolical and

prophetic reference to the death of Jesus

an event that

exhibits, in the clearest light, the tender regard

and

compassion which God cherishes towards his human

" Whom God hath set forth a Mercy-seat
offspring.
faith in his death, to display his righteousness

through

for the remission of sins that are past, for the display,

through extraordinary forbearance, of

his righteous-

Which may

be thus para-

ness in the present time."

phrased

" The Almighty appointed

Mercy-seat to be erected as

was merciful and ready

ple.

in

former ages a

demonstration, that he

to forgive the sins of his peo-

This being a type or figure of

that

human

compassion,

which he had displayed towards

the

gift of his Son, received

and complete significa-

tion in his death

its

real

on the cross

surest foundation for the

race in the

which", having laid the

hope of

a future life, affords

the most striking manifestation of the benevolence of

God. Those,

and assent

suffered,

drawn,
a

new

therefore,

in

who

believe that Christ really

to the fair inference thence to

be

connection with his resurrection, respecting

state of existence,

and act under the influence

o this belief, shall, in the present time, receive the

VOL.

III.

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

30
pardon of

their sins, in the

same manner

were pardoned, when with

old

[Chap.

III.

Jews of

as the

faith they

influential

looked to the symbol of the divine benignity upon

the

Ark

of the covenant."

The Gnostic

teachers represented the

God

of the

Jews as being evil and unjust. Of the arguments by

which they endeavoured to substantiate this charge, and
of the reply that was made by the sincere believers, the
author of the spurious work, entitled The Recognitions,
presents us with a statement, which,

throws

much

prove that the Creator

in order to

two things: one,

unjust, asserts

who

on one part of the above obscure

light

Simon,

passage.

attended to,

if

"Many

that

act well, perish in misery, while they,

is

of those,

who

act

im-

piously, finish a long life in happiness;"* the other,

no future

of retribution

"

for

When

that there

is

men die,
The first

the soul perishes equally with the body."

state

of these, Peter his illustrious opponent ad-

vances no

than Simon, and hence argues for the

less

necessity of a future retribution, in order to vindicate

Now, Paul

the righteousness of God.

the converse

Rome, supported

the church of
* Et Simon

ait

hoc utique

bene agcntes male percunt

cumbeatitudine vitam

justitia Voluptate

nem

Deum

lentes, et

cum omni

sepultura

pro

et

si

Simul

facit,

quia multi

mortui fuerint, etiani anima

et

Audi,

inquit,

omnem vitam suam

blasphemantes, et

honorabilem sepulturam

justitia et

justitije

est

sobrietate

alii

vero

in in-

Deum

Ubi

digni.

quae vel

si

pie et juste, proeraia consequatur.

fi-

co-

vitam suam in parsimonia

observantia in desertis interiere,

quidem haberentur

anima immortalis non

vcl

quod nos incredulos

rursum impie agentes longi temporis

ducentes, in lectulis suis defuncti sunt, consecuti

vitas inter suos,

conservantes,

finiunt.

est

et

who, in

the Samaritan system.

Peter thus addresses his opponeiit

pariter extinguetur.

nonnulli homines

on just

insists

of this proposition against those,

est

ita

ut ne

ergo justitia Dei,

si

impie egerit, pcenas in futuro,

Recog. Lib.

iii.

40.

Chap.

ANALYSED.

III.]

God, having

set forth

faith in his death,

is

hence

tifier

Jesus Christ as a Mercy-seat by

and thus displayed

by him

said

Qx

to be

.^zj

righteousness,

himself just and the jus-

*'

By which we

of him that believeth in Jesus."

are to understand, that the death of Christ, connected

with his subsequent resurrection from the dead,

established the certainty of a future state,

the
tial
t

Supreme Being

more adequate

ibution of rewards and punishments, proves

just,

which

will vindicate his apparently par-

administration of justice by a

be merciful,

havmg

in

dis-

him

to

and giod, and the dispenser of mer-

cy, justice, and goodness to the true believer

and

therefore removes those plausible objections urged by

government and moral

the bla'^phemers against his

at-

tributes.*
* This conclusion of the Apostle throws much
pect of his death and
forter will

John xvi,

resurrection.

come and convince

upon you,

by confirming your testimony

will,

ascension, and by that

convince the world that

virtues and vices of

he had said

means

God is righteous

my

to

that he

principle of

used

in the

resurrection and

is

not indifferent to the

notices them, will

more complete ad-

is

employed

in the

most comprehensive

and denotes mercy, benignity, goodness,

mere

*'

Except your

kingdom of heaven," Mat.

his righteousness,

and

v. 20.
all

*'

it is

righteousness ex-

ceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye

kingdom of God and

as well as the

Instances often occur where

justice or equity.

same extensive acceptation,

enter into the

go

term righteousness, here used by our Lord,

and in the text by the Apostle,

signification,

Spirit

now

hereafter reward the one and punish the other by a

The

The com-

because

establishing the certainty of a future state,

mankind, but, while he

ministration of justice.

'*

9.

" The effusion of the Holy

As

if

8,

in the near pros-

the world of righteousness

to the Father."

upon

light, I conceive,

an otherwise obscure language, which Jesus once used

shall in

But seek ye

no case
first

the

these things shall (over and

The adjective righteous,

vi. 33.
very frequently applied to qualify a character that is

above) be added unto you," Mat.

(^ocaioj) also

is

completely virtuous.
Fetcr employs

it

See Prov.

on one occasion

iv.

18.

Mat.

xiil.

43.

The

Apostle

to express the broad and perfect virtue

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

52

Among the many

[Chap.

III.

odious qualities which characteris-

ed the Gnostic teachers, one of the most conspicuous

was

Their aspiring temper prompted

spiritual pride.

them

to exult in the iancied privileges

joyed

in their

which they en-

scrupulous adherence to the

God exclusively

law, and in the favour of

of the

rites

confined to

themselves. Paul, in the next place, indirectly accuses

them of undue arrogance

way

in these respects

and by

of inference from the preceding reasoning, shews

they had mistaken the only just ground of confidence

towards God, which was a practical

tianDoctrine. " Where thenis your
excluded.

By what

By the law

of works

of Christ himself, Acts

law (may

No; by

The

14.

iii,

punishment they maintained

be good.

that, if

Chns-

boasting

It is

then be admitted) ?*

We

the law of faith.

Gnostic teachers, indeed, made a

between justice and goodness

distinction

it

iaith in the

mistaking the proper end of

God

was

strictly just,

he could not

however they were opposed by the Catholic writers.

Clement Alexandrinus and Theodoret have written distinct chapters
on this subject. Pasd. Lib. i. Cap. 8. Hzer. Fab. Com. Lib. v. 16.
In

this

Cicero, though he considers justice as consisting in not injuring the

persons and properties of

beyond

all

men in

the other virtues.

the social tate, ascribes to

De Off. Lib. i. 7. From

Men received the appellation of good.

maximus.

qua

in

Justitia,

virtutis

a lustre

it

splendor est

the exercise of this, he tells us,

It

was

for this reason, perhaps,

name given them by

that candidates for offices in the state, had this

their

Omnes candidatos bonos viros dicimus Seneca, Epis. 7. The

young ruler, who in common with the Jews supposed the office of the

clients.

Messiah

to be

of a temporal nature, must liave necessarily regarded

And

Jesus as a candidate of this kind.

reason for stlling

him good. Mat.

*The clause May it

ed.

Some such

complete.

then be admitted

expression

is

Instances are to be

this,

7,
lut)

we

read

went

"

which

And

is

maybe, was

is

his chief

not in the original but impli-

obviously necessary to

met with

context requires the insertion of a phrase

opposite to that

it

xix. 16.

before asserted.

make

in all authors,

the sense

where the

conveying a signification

Thus,

in

Genesis viii.

he sent forth a raven which (did not

for:h to and fro, until the waters dried

return

up from offthe earth."

ANALYSED.

Chap.

III.]

infer,

therefore, that

man

lowing

effect

by

justified

is

30,

the works of the law," qj

which

" Pride not yourselves

53
without

faith

to the fol-

is

in ritual works,

because, so far from being adequate to produce re-

pentance and reformation, they co-exist with the grossest

vices

the character of

in

most effectual mean

clause

Did

is

end

this

a firm be-

is

however expressed

left it to

this

writer, as

be supplied by the reader.

circumcision, but the observance of God's

It

and from thence adopt-

in the Septuagint version,

ed in Geddes's Translation. Again, " Circumcision

is

nothing, and un-

commandment,"

Cor. vi

ed.

of value, or some such expression, must be suppliAccept, moreover, the following example from Virgil Geor.

Lib.

i.

440.

Et

quas

19.

Here

For

The

not in the original text.

not return is

being very manifestly implied,

The

their votaries.

answer

the divine mission of Jesus Chrift.

lief in

The

to

alone

is

Solem

It is plain,

mane

certissima signa sequuntur,

refert,

et quie surgentibus astris.

that a verb opposite in sense to rtfert (such as aufert)

be supplied in the

last clause

produce one instance more

before surgentibus

Permit

must

me

to

the following are the words of Orestes, ad-

Gods on his

dressing the paternal

astris.

return

home

to

avenge the death of

his &ther,

Soph. HKiii. yi, 72.

The verb

xi:orst>^virs, in the

which requires the

cation.

And

first,

is

not applicable to the second line,

insertion of another verb, bearing an opposite

which has crept mto the context in which the above

AEATKOT'

E%9fo<f, us

The common reading

of the

figure,

but

is

is

ot'^qov,

^b'^o^kotx,

were easy to

lines stand.

Xx^/.-^'ift tri.

which not only obscures

scarcely susceptible of any meaning.

to a star, after setting, again appearing

t

sio-nifi-

here I cannot refrain from correcting a very glaring error,

illustrate

it

by

above the horizon

parallel cases.

D3

the beauty

1 he
is

allusion

beautiful,

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

54

we

reason

infallibly conclude, that this

is

[Chap.

III.

the true

way

The

of securing the Divine approbation."

Pharisees

vainly supposed, that what constituted them the Chil-

Abraham and

dren of

was the

rite

the favourite people of

God,

of circumcision enjoined on that Patriarch,

in token of the covenant

To

made with him.

error the preacher of righteousness alludes

this

and he sug-

gests the necessity of a change both in sentiments and in

cond;uct,to prevent their being cut off the stem of Abra-

ham, and others 'being engrafted

The

q, lo.

prevalence of

it,

in their room,

among

those

Mat.

whom

iii.

Je-

demanded, on one occasion in the course

sus addressed,

of his ministry, his particular animadversion, in which

he assures them, that acting

formed a

as

Abraham had done alone

claim to the privilege of being his seed,

jiist

God for their father, John chap.

The Apostle Paul in this place enforces the same
and of having

viii.

les-

Having shewn that the rite of circumcision did

not recommend them to God, he insinuates that all.
son.

Gentiles as well as Jews, have a share in his favour, if

" Is he the God

they receive and obey the Gospel.

of the Jews only

Nay, he

tiles ?

God

is

Is

he not also the

God of

One who will acquit by means of

the

Gen-

Inasmuch

of the Gentiles also:

is

as

faith, the cir-

cumcised and the uncircumcised that believe."* 29, 30.

* The verse

The

zr/yEwr.

in the original

phrase tx 'm<;ius

with ttc^to/auv

as well

should thus be punctuated.

is

as

The

it

is

to express the

article before "jr/rtwy,

Hebrew and

who were

in the last clause,

not bel.ev-

denotes Jhith

the means of salvation, in opposition to the works of the

insisted

with

The

upon by

S;Ka(a'(7f(.

the.Heretics.

In

to be taken with xx.^e^v'ria.v, as well

and the use of

Gentile believer, in contradistinction to those

ers.

EirtiTtiq

In construction

it

is

law

to be connected

Observe, the Apostle here maintains the unity of God.

Gnostics taught that the

God

of Israel was different from

Him

ANALYSED.

Chap. IV.]

55

Seeing the necessity of ceremonial works thus su- CHAP. IV

perseded by the principle of faith, the Zealots were
ready to ask of what advantage did circumcision prove
first

for boasting in

the score of works, inasmuch as righteousness

was imputed

him by

to

trusting in the promise, 1

that the blessedness, celebrated

as

was

it

question, iht Apostle

to this

Abraham had no reason

maintains that

God on

reply

In

enjoined.

whom

Abraham, upon

the Patriarch

to

by the Royal Psalmist*

belonging to those whose sins are forgiven, extends

no

uncircumcised than the circumcised be-

less to the

liever, since

was pronounced upon Abraham, while

it

he was yet in a

state

of unclrcumxision, 6

1 1

that

he

received circumcision not as the condition of forgiveness, but as a sign that

he was forgiven, and

same forgiveness would be conferred upon

that the

every person exercising

state

who

that

as a seal

faith in the

uncircumcised

he hence became the father of

all

imparted the blessings of the Gospel to mankind.

contrary asserts, that the

God who

saves the Gentile

true bePaul on the

and the Jew

is

One.
* The words of David, quoted by our Apostle, are the following.
they, whose iniquities have been forgiven, and whose sins
Happy the man, unto whom the Lord will not impute
blotted out

" Happy

sin."

Now our author understood these verses

of that

man unto whom God imputed

without works.
plied in them.

whence they
to certain

works

as

But
If,

it

as declaring the happiness

righteousness independent of, or

does not appear that such a declaration

however, you turn to the

are taken,

it

will appear to have

men who, though

thirty

is

im-

second Psalm,

been composed in reference

guilty in their hearts, rested in ceremonial

the means of being accepted of

God.

The

Apostle, under-

standing this to be the general object which the royal author had in

view, very properly cites his authority,

sition to the Zealots,

ternal performances,

tance^

when now

maintaining, in oppo-

that a practical faith in the Gospel, and not ex-

opened the sure and

solid

way

to the divine accep-

ROMANS

EPISTLE TO'THE

56
lievers,

and that those who practised

cision,

as well as they

who

[Chap. IV.

tlie rite

of circum-

did not practise

inhe-

it,

through him as their father and pattern, the privi-

rited,

lege ol divine pardon,

II

The promulgation

12.

of

the law took place a long time after the promise was

made

Abraham,

to

world.

upon which

tion

he should be the heir of the

that

could not, therefore, have been the condi-

It

mean by which

promise was

that

settled,

should be fulfilled

it

and

under the law, those who practised and rested

nor the
those

if

in cere-

monial observances, urged an exclusive claim

to the

inheritance, they necessarily subverted the very basis

upon which

the true

an influential faith

would

also

perform

ham should

to

title

it

was founded, namely,

He who gave the promise

" For the promise that Abra-

that
it.

be heir of the world, was not made to him

through the

or his race

medium of

through the righteousness of

mise

is

from

all

those under

Therefore, the pro-

faith (that the fulfilment

not a debt but a favour

if

but

rendered ineffec-

is

and the promise destroyed.

tual

to

For

faith.

the law are the (true) heirs, fa;th

the law,

might be deemed

see verse 4.) and be realized

the race of Abraham, not those under the law

only, but those also

ther to us
trusted.

all,

in

who

the sight

Who raiseth

imitate his faith

of

tliat

the dead to

God

life,

things that are not as though they

Observe

who

in

is fa-

whom

he

and calleth the

were." 14

17.

here, that the writer speaks (f those nations

^vhich were alienated from

God by

their sins, as being

dead\ and their restoration to his favour by the purifyin o- influence of faith,
to a

new

life.

The

he represents as their resurrection

object of the writer, in using such

strong and figurative language, was to prepare his readeis,

for believing

the future renovation of

mankind

ANALYSED.

Chap. IV.]

57

after death

by pointing

logous to

which, though improbable, was yet accora-

it,

their attention to an event ana-

phshed by the Almighty.

me,

to

at

appears

the objection drawn, against the promise

had elapsed before

by insinuating,
"

it

made

Jewish Patriarch, from the length of time which

to the

rity

Paul also glances,

its

consummation

that all things,

and he removes

however remote

it

in futu-

with respect to man, are really present with God;

Who calleth

the things that are not, as though they

the clause might be rendered, "

were,"

or, as

calleth

those nations his

The

own.'

25. See also

Our

expression
1

Cor.

i.

own which

is

Who

aie not (yet) his

thus modified in chap.

xii.

28.

author in the next place, with the view of con-

firming the faith of the

Roman

converts in the great

doctrine of a future resurrection from the dead, holds

up

for their

the faithful

up of

Isaac

encouragement and imitation the father of

and he leads them

to infer that the raising

by the Almighty, conformably

to his pro-

mise, from parents, that, figuratively speaking, were al-

ready dead, presignified, and by that means rendered

however contrary

credible

the resurrection of Jesus

when

to antecedent probability,

" For Abraham,

many

time

nations according to that declaration.

will thy race be.

not in

faith,

And

being weak (in body though)

he (notwithstanding) regarded neither

own body now become

his

at a

there was no hope, trusted in-the hope of being

father to

Thus

dead,

he being an hun-

dred years old, nor the deadness of Sarah's womb.

He

mistrustednot the promise of God through unbelief,

but (while his bodily strength was decaying) he grew

mighty

in faith, ascribing the merit to

to himself),
is

being assured that what

able also to perform.

And

God, (and not

God promised he

therefore righteousness

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

^8

But

imputed to him.

v/as

was not written on his

this

account only, but on ours

[Chap. V.

whom

also, to

the same

righteousness will be imputed for believing in

Him

Who

deli-

Lord from the dead

that raised Jesus our

I'ered him.self

up

our

for

On this passage,

tal."

have only

Roman

Apostle invites the

that raised Jesus, that

and rose

sins

our acquit-

to notice, that the

Him

converts to believe in
in the

is,

for

God

of Js:ael, and

not in any other, supposed to be greater and more perfect

in

whom

Jesus

the adversaries of the true Gos-

though they affected

pel,

This Jesus he

in him, rejected.

which he

remarked,

his precepts

so

stiles

is

ac-

obeyed by the Apostles,

by the believers

finally, that

By

our Lord :

that his divine authority

intimates,

knowledged and
and ought to be

embrace the Christ with-

to

in

Be

Rome.

it

the Saviour voluntarily sub-

mitting to an ignominious death and rising again for

the salvation of mankind,

gure of an advocate,
I

persons arraigned

at

who

described under the

is

fi-

freely offers his service to

the bar of justice, and after rising

to plead their cause procures their acquittal.*

The Apostle, having demonstrated that

CHAP.

V. and not ceremonial

ing

men from

sin

two following
* The following
is it

is

at the right

We

its

penal

faith in Jesus,

mean of

effects,

verse presents us with the

?

deliver-

proceeds in the

same

Christ hath died, or rather

hand of

God

meet with a similar

" The ungodly

the

is

chapters to describe the fruits of that

that condenineth

Who
34.

and

works,

"Who

allusion.
risen in

and pleadeth for us ?"

figure at the

shall not stand in the

gregation of the righteous."

is

end of the

our behalf.

Rom.
first

vi

i i

Psalm

judgment, nor sirmers in the con-

By which

is

intimated that the

Judge, whoknoweth the thoughts, will not

Supreme

suffer the sinful to stand

in the day of trial and varnish their guilt with lying eloquence.

up

ANALYSED.

Chap, v.]

which he inculcates

faith

mistake

nature, he

its

principle, prompting
for the glorious

and

lest his

represents

its

59

it

as

reader should

an efficacious

possessors joyfully to submit,

reward placed before them, to the

severest afflictions, rescuing

them from the dominion

of

them

vice,

God,

and' consecrating

to

the service

of

to the cultivation of extraordinary virtue and

holiness.
*'

with

Being therefore acquitted by faith, we have peace

God through our Lord Jesus Christ through
:

whom we
this

have also introduction by means of

favour in

which we stand

" Being saved by the

hope of the gloiy of God.'

reforming influence of

all

it

By means of a
him and not of rites, we are intro-

the true believers.

well founded belief in

duced-, as

we are in friendship with

man Jesus who is the Christ

faith,

the Almighty through the

and the Lord of

faith to

and we exult in the

were, to the immediate presence of the Dei-

ty, raised to the privilege

of ranking among the disciples

of his Son, and oi enjoying, as his Apostles, those supernatural

endowments, which enable us

to maintain

ground against every adversary, and, even

of

trial

rious

and hardship, to exult

our

in seasons

in the prospect of a glo-

recompence from God."

The Gnostic teachers

refused to suffer persecution for supporting the interests

of the

Gospel which they had espoused, though

the duty of submitting to pain and every other personal

inconvenience was unequivocally enjoined by the precept and illustrated by the example of Christ himself:

And in order to preclude the suspicion

of cowardice and

insincerity, they derided, as foolish, those

who magna-

nimously complied with the injunction of their Master,

and arraigned them

as the

worshippers of a Being that

Go

ROMANS

EPISTLE TO THE

[Chap. V.

delighted in the sufferings of his votaries.*

Our

author,

in allusion seemingly to such false representiitions, pro-

ceeds to justify the faithful believer for sustaining persecution in the cause of Christianity

them glorying

and he represents

in their distresses, in as

much

as they ge-

nerated those dispositions and habits of mind, which laid

the surest foundation for the hope of reward.

hope of the glory of God.

we exult in our

only

but

so,

we

that affliction

exult also in these afflictions

produceth patience

and proof, hope."

knowing

and patience, proof

The recompence

3.

And
And not
'

to

which they

looked forward, Paul has already declared (Chap.

ii.

7.}

to be an incorruptible glory and honour, obtained after

a resurrection from the dead proved and illustrated

Ad

tantam temeritatem progress! sunt quidam, ut ctiam martyres

spernant, et vituperent eos qui propter

When

Iren. p. 247.

tur.

by

Domini confessionem occidun-

hand of persecution

the

set fire to the

crawled forth,

like serpents,

church of Christ, the impostors,

as

from

bush in flames, and darted their poisonous stings even into those innoThis is the impressive
cent sufferers who were scorched by the heat.

which they

imao-e under

Quum

iritur fides aestuat,

are
ct

in

one place described by Tertullian.

Ecclesia exuritur de figura rubri, tunc

Gnostici erumpunt, tunc Valentiniani proserpunt, tunc omnes martyrorefragatores ebuUiunt, callentes et ipsi offendere, figere, occidere.

rum

p. 487.

Every one, who

AObi

p.

a-jQivTviv,

571,

The

$ova

Tov S<a ^xvixTov oi/.oXoyna-vrix.

author of Political Justice,

spectable sanction of

" martyrs
140.

Simon Magus and his

are suicides

This

assertion

rhilosophical writer.
it

a burden

A martyr,

which he

is

by the very

however
In

is

vet prefers to be deprived of

faith assured

propriety a

a person
it

I,

seems, has the very re-

when he

says that

of the term," Vol.

swa'^'i? is

who,

I.

p.

one who, feeling

rather

attain.

own

existence.

rejoicing in the gift of

life,

than lose a reward, which his

him was better and more valuable than

out that preference he could not

IcivTCiv

Clem. Alex. Vol,

followers,

signification

his faith,

avrov

paradoxical and very unworthy of a

is

strict

it

^e' bivxi

not able to bear, puts an end to his

on the contrary,

up

suffered death rather than give

was according to them guilty of suicide.

life, a,nd

which with-

ANALYSED.

Chap. v.]

6l

Theanti-apostollc teachers,

the resurrection of Jesus.

as they denied the truth of these doctrines, insisted that

an expectation which had such a reward for

ject, so

would end

shame and disappointment.

in

the contrary

asserts

'

And

holy

spirit that is

The enemies

given us."

God

of the

specious for blaspheming

upon

The

Master.*

Immo

faciat,

ensured

realiza-

its

of Israel had no pretext so

Him,

as the injunction laid

^A'ith a

specimen of

dementia, say they, pro

occidet, qui

si is

ventilans,

me salvum

Deo

their reasonin?^

mori.

debebit

Et

quis

p, 488.

on

this

me

sal-

Incutiat,

hmmcidam

horrebo plane spurcum blasphemiae flatum de haeretico

In the Dialogue between Megethius a heretic and the

ore fcetentem.
catholic

for

5.

writes he again at the bottom of page 492, adhuc scorpius

Deum

into our hearts by a

Apostle here, and in other passages of

* Tertullian furnishes us

vum

spiritual

worshippers to suffer in the cause of their

his

subject.

writer

hope will not disappoint us

this

God hath been poured

the love of

ob-

to the Apostles, as evidence of

God which

benevolence in

tion

The

and he appeals to the

endowments imparted
that

its

from being thus triumphantly realized,

far

Adamantius, the former argues, that the Christian Church

exposed to hatred and persecution, proved the Creator of the v/orld to

be a cruel Being, and pointed to another superiour Divinity, whom the
disciples of Christ claimed as their patron.

mur

persecutionlbus, et odio

hominum

Ex

eo quod crebrisjacta-

laboramus, nonne luce clarius

estnos in alterius Dei potestate esse ac ditione, et a jurisdictione Dei

creationis alienos

Origen's

Works, Pars Secun.

a-guments and representations, like these,

v.-hich

p. 963.
Against
were made by the first

Gnostic teachers, as well by their followers in after da)

of Paul

him

is

often directed

and whenever the

to speak of the sufferings to

submitted, he

is

train

which Jesus and

s,

the languac^e

of his ideas occasions

his faithful followers

sure to paint the character of their

common

Father in

the most amiable and engaging colours. Accept, in addition to that in the
the following example as one of many that might be produced,
" Favour be unto you and peace from God our Father and our Lord

text,

Jtsus Christ.

Blessed be the

God and

father of our Lord Jesus Christ

ROMANS

EPISTLE TO THE

$2

when speaking

his writings,

[Chap. V.

of the sacrifices to which

the faithful followers of Jesus submitted, takes great

pains to vindicate the Divine Being from the imputation of caprice and cruelty, by shewing the good end
to be obtained

by such

and expressing

trials,

in the

human race, mahis own Son to die

strongest terms His love towards the

nifested especially in the gift ct

even

for them,

when

time

at a

they had rendered them-

him by their wickedness. The love

poured
out into our hearts by a holy
been
hath
God
of
selves odious to

For whilst we were yet with-

given us.

spirit that is

out strength,* Christ died

The

God

Father of mercies and

in eveiy affliction, so that

of

an appointed time for the

all

comfort

giveth us comfort

are comforted

we,* ourselves

for as the sufferings of Christ are abundant in us, so doth

our comfort

abound through

also

amiable picture

He

creatures.

s.

He

He

the father of mercies, a

might hence flow to

God

we be

if

Cor.

God

i.

He

afflicted,

afflicted, in

God of all comfort. He

If Christ suffered,

his followers.

And

if

it

If the Apostles

were

is

here stiled the Father

blasphemers strenuously denied.

Son
sent

416

cjf

common

it

Observe,

comfort.

whom
was orfinally,

of our Lord Jesus Christ. This

According to them Christ was not

the Creator, but of a higher and

him

afflicted,

the converts, in their turn, were visited

dained they should share in one

God

consoles

was that conso-

with persecutions, by being thus partakers in mutual sorrows,

that

is

an

the author of

is

however

turned their affliction to the salvation of those

thev had converted.

it

What

7.

merits the blessings (not the curses) of his

his children under their sufierings.

the love of

stands to the believers,

father.

is

here drawn of Almighty

is

favour and peace.

the relation of

For

Christ.

for your encouragement and salvation

lation

who

are able to comfort others in all their

by that comfort wherewith

affliction,

by God

we

at

to destroy the works of the

more

Divinity

perfect

God of Israel.

See Vol.

ii.

the

the

who

p- 391,

419.

* The
ed.

The

clause ovrwy
original,

ceived in this manner.

r)lj.a}v

-niJ-ui

as it

aaOtvcjv seems to

came from

me

to have been misplac-

the hand of the author, ran, I con-

'H ayxir^ tod ^lov iKuzyi'Toii

tv

ovruv aadivuv, ^ix mvivi/.aros xyio'j rov doosvTos

Xgifoi

axrx

-AXi^ot vTitq xa-i^wv xirtQavt,

The

love

ruts xa^^ixis

-nixtv

crt

yx^

of God is profusely

ANALYSED.

Chap. V.J

Now

ungodly.

g-t

scarcely will any one die for a righte-

ous man, (though indeed, some possibly

die for a good

man) but God displayetk

that Christ died for us, while

may

venture to

his love for us, in

we were

yet sinners." 6,

He then

draws the inevitable inference, that since

the universal Father gave his Son for the benefit of man7, 8.

kind while yet enemies to him,

now become

they are

friends

by

reforming

them from

the death of Jesus, save

was the consequence of

He will of course,

their

former offences, and en-

have been

now made

Much more

"

raised,

new

life to

righteous by his blood, shall

v/ere enemies,

shedin our hearts, while

zoe

we were

reconciled to

were yet weak, by a holy spirit given

Christ died, at an appointed time,

for

When,

in the

the

first

Holy

meant.

chiefly

number, he writes

Spirit

is

Forif

God by
For

to us.

Now

us being yet ungodly.

reason for thinking that Paul thus arranged his words

whom

we
we

then, after

be saved through him from (the coming) wrath.

when we

in

wrath which

that

able them to partake in the glory of that

which he was

after

faith

niy

the followin-j-.

in our hearts, the Apostles

upon

had descended on the day of pentccost, were

Until that time they were weak, that

though

is,

the disciples of Christ, they neither sufficiently understood the nature

his Gospel, nor

exposed them.
or, as

it is

had strength enough to sustain those

But when he

trials

to

which

of
it

adds, Christ diedfor vs being yet ungodly^

asserted in the subsequent clause,

while_ roe

were yet sihners,

he principally had in view the Jewish and Gentile believers, converted

The attributive ao-^EVi-'v,
to the faith after the death of their Master.
then, meaning those

who

already believed but

their belief, cannot coalesce in the

which

signified

men

in their sinful or

who were

same member with

unconverted

state.

not strong in
ocfj-a^rcoKuv,

Besides

it

con-

veys,

when

tion,

and accords with a form of speech very usual with the Apoilolic

inserted in the preceding sentence, a very pertinent significa-

Thus

writers.

Saul, having

now

received the

have increased the more in strength, Acts

strength

which the

It hel^eth

ix.

Holy

22.

Spirit,

is

said

to

In allusion to that

Spirit imparted, the author of this Epistle declares

our weaknesses,

viii.

26.

EPISTLE TO THE

64

ROMANS

[Chap. V,

how much more after

we be saved by his life." 9, 10.

the death of his Son,

ation shall

Every inquirer however

reconcili-

sceptical would,

in the

present improved state of philosophy, believe in the

future resurrection of mankind,

if

he previously ad-

mitted the fact attested, in the Evangelical records,

that Christ rose

from the dead.

But

was an infe-

this

rence which, in former times, when the laws of the na-

little

God were

and the moral attributes of

world,

tural

understood, would not by any means be granted.

This consideration seems to have induced the Apostle,

when arguing that the

faithful believers shall be raised to

gloiy conformably to the glorious resurrection of their

Master, to leave this ground, and to illustrate the conclusion by an argument less solid

indeed, but better

adapted to impress his Jewish readers.

An opinion,

de-

rived from antiquity and perpetuated by tradition, prevailed

among

that nation, that the race of

man would

have been immortal on the earth, if the primogenitors

had preserved their Paradisaical innocence. From this
piece of Jewish mythology, as

it

might

the ingenuity of our author thus reasons

through one

through

much

sin

as all

man

sin

came

into the

be called,

" So then,

as

world, and death

and thus death came upon

have sinned.

fitly

all

men,

in as

For sin was ever in the

world before the law, though, while the law had no

But death from Adam
exi.'^tence, it was not imputed.

Moses reigned even over them that had not sinned

after the likeness of Adam's transgression who is a patBut the kindiiess was
tern of him that was to come.
to

not like the sin, (for

much more

if,

by the

sin of

One, the many

died,

hath the favour of God, and the free gift

in the favour of

one man Jesus Christ, abounded unto

ANALYSED.

Chap, v.]

6^5

many) but the kindness (through Christ)

the

say) like the case of the one tnat sinned

sin oi

one ended

after

many

condemnation

in

who abundantly

Which

18.

" The transgression of

words.

brought

life into

On

in

and

introduced death
all

like

him

Jesus Christ

mankind share ia

as

by participating after
with the

so they shall unite

sin,

fewer

stated in

the contrary,

the world

the fate of the former,

ample

Adam

have died because

all

have transgressed.

will

one Jesus Christ."

may be thus

reasoning

into the world, and

death

it

receive the gracious favour of

acquittal, reign in life through that

12

For

much more

reigned through the sin of one man,

they,

(1

the

for

but the kindness

forgiveness.

offences, in

not

is

his

ex-

latter in

the enjoyment of that glory, honour, and immortality

established

by

his death

and resurrection.

'*

There

is,

* It would contribute much to the elucidation of our author's ideas, if

we divested them of the sensible images under which they are conveyed.
The introduction of Sin by means of one man, and of death by means
ef Sin,

is

described in figures suggested by the garden, in which the per-

The

son referred to was placed.

it

were, the door of Paradise.

transgression of

Through

this,

Adam

threw open, as

which

Sin,

like a beast

prey roved around seekmg admission, entered into the garden.

followed soon after in the same way, and seized as
vidual that was

not because

become

one,

subject to

its

Parent Sin.

his posterity.

All met

this fate,

sed after the example of the

not follow

this

example

intended to except

man,
ret,

fls/jcE'

y.xt

yxq

became

iiri

iv

it is

says,

see

as themselves

parent.

every indf-

Jew

how

far

to the death

of

have transgres-

there were

who

" Through

sinners." ig.

did

the disobedience of one

Ajc^/jSwj, observes

rris y^oc^tros

Theodo-

OOLLOI

ro

oaivois vj^'itkoijliv tivocs ic^nrrovs ruv (^BiCpvuv

us Toy A^sX, KXi rov

Toy MeX^iare^cy^, xai rovs irxT^ix^y^xs, nxi

AU,

all,

our

these illustrious few that the Apostle

too Aa/x xa/ aw/

ec^r7i(ji,xTuv yeyrivriijiiyovsy

i*Xxy.^xvrxs.

we

Adam as accessary

inasmuch

common

and

when he

the many

tvTxv9cc kxi

own

Death came upon

but because all have sinned. Hence

author considered the transgression of

its

of

Death

Kvw;i^, x.xt rov

(/.cv

tcx^j.^

Nue, xa^

rot rovs sv vo^j^u ^i~

indeed, in some degree have sinned

and therefore

ROMANS

EPISTLE TO THE

66

[Chap. V.

however, in the argument of our author a force and

propriety which can be

perceived only by consider-

ing his words in reference to the false teachers

The

he opposed.
attention on

train of his ideas

the Serpent, the reputed

and author of man

moral

they arraigned

now

God

whom

fixed his

parent of evil,

declension.

opposed by the Gnostics to the

This was

of Israel,

whom

an inferior, weak and malevolent Be-

as

In order to shew the converts, that the Serpent

ing.

was not

that all

good and powerful Divinity which

advocates supposed

and

had

in a

manner

it

Paul, with

to be,

insensible, holds

cause of sin and death

it

much

its

address

out as the

first

and that he might vindicate

the Creator, he contrasts with these effects of the Serpent, the consequences of the Divine love displayed

The

in the fiee gift of his Son.

over heightens by observing

contrast he more-

that, to

whatever extent

the contagions' influence of the seducer had spread

self,

the benevolence of

God

will,

it-

through the medium

much greater and more

The writer
diffusive degree, to the human race.
throughout the whole of his argument, uses many ap-

of Jesus Christ, abound, in

parently superfluous words.

For instance, instead of

simply saying Tke favour of God by Jesus Christ, he

thus loads the sentence, Thefavour of God and hisfree
all

have died.

perfection of

But

human

their sins,

pose them to the charge of

which

the

many incurred by

descendants,

we

primogenitor.

He sinned,

being defects arising from the im-

nature, did not in the eyes of a merciful

guilt,

Judge ex-

or bring upon them the condemnation

imitating the example of

Adam. The early

are told, sinned not after the likeness of the sin of their

The

dissimilitude,

however, consisted only in

command was given him not to sin ;

The former therefore was criminal,
his own knowledge.
The latter were
since they knew no better.

though an express

this.

but

they had no such prohibition.

be-

cause he offended against

nor

guilty,

though erjoneous;

'

ANALYSED.

Chap, v.]

6^

favour of the One man Jesus Christ. The

is to be found in the reference

gift in the

cause of this superfluity

which his language

(x;!zi>)

carries to the talse teachers.

was with them a current term

but

it

Favour
signified

the divinity immediately descended from Bythos their

Our author, on

supreme God.

converts to understand

the contrary, gives the

favour he meant

that the

was

that, which consisted in the divine mission of Je-

sus.

" Thefavour of God in thefavour of Jejus Christ.

favour, moreover, of which the impostors boasted,

The

was not a
they

gift

from God, but sef-possessed

stiled their x*'^

to their arrogance

see Iren. p

more prominent

o-f

In opposition

31.)

Paul characterises

in this respect,

the Apostolic favour as the gilt

[ioiOKrr.ros as

God

and to render

the idea that the Gospel proceeded from

the unmerited kindness, he annexes another term descriptive of

as the gratuitous

it

The

donation of God.

impostors distinguished between Jesus and the Christ

resident in him.
as

While they anathematised

a mean man, they embraced the

God.

The

the former

latter as a glorious

absurd distinction led our Apostle on

this

occasion to assert the humanity and the unity of the

C,

" In the favour of

Saviour.

HRISI.

His long and

'

the one man Jesus

>>

The law

intricate

argument he thus concludes.

abounded

entered, and sin

but where sin

abounded, favour did much more abound;

sin reioriied in death, so also favour

righteousness
Christ -bur

indeed

Favour

i'>i

unto eternal

life,

Lord," 20, 21.

the preceding ones,

In

that as

might reign through

by means of Jesus
this

Law,

paragraph, and.
Sin,

Death and

or the Christian Dispensation are personified,

K

?.

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

68.

and represented under the

The door
of Adam,

[Chap. V.

of moral agents.

figure

of Paradise being thrown open by the hand

Sin, like a wild beast from without, entered

the garden, usurped dominion over

him and

all

offspring.

The Law

fate of the sufferers,

and the

too, seeing this usurpation

comes

in

and apprises the human

Having

race of their guilty and enslaved state.

formed, without liberating them, the

to strengthen the interests of Sin

the true spirit of despotism,

his

own

progeny, and consigned them over to death his

Law

in-

served only

and Death vho,

watched with more

in

vigi-

lance and oppressed with greater cruelty, their subjects

now struggling

The New

to break their chains.

Dis-

pensation, delegated for the purpose of subverting the

throne of the tyrants, receives however fresh accession,

of benignant lustre from the aggravated

calamities

which the unhappy captives were thus plunged.

in

Mercy, through the instrumentality of Jesus Christ,

passes upon them, when arraigned at the bar of Justice,
the sentence of pardon, rules over
ness,

them

and rewards them with eternal

in righteous-

life.

Such

is

the

representation which the author gives of the nature and

The

tendency of the Christian Doctrine.

allegory

continued throughout the following chapters

must consider the language in this

can comprehend the meaning, much
ties

light,

and

bei'fore

less feel

is

we
we

he beau-

of our author.

The

assertion that,

where Sin abounded, Favour did

more abound, however

just in

was

liable to a gross abuse.

sor

would make

it

in guilt, while the

to charge

its

a philosophic;

sense,

The unreformed (profes-

a pretext to justify his perseVerance

enemy of

the Gospel

illustrious teacher

would

^e

ready

with sanctioni ng evil

)

ANALYSED.

Chap. VI.]

means of promoting good.

the

as

69

Aware of

these

consequences, he anticipates them by thus putting the

question

"

What

we say then ? Shall we conmay abound ? By no means CHAP.

shall

tinue in Sin that favour

how

shall

therein

we,
i, 2.

who have died to Sin, any longer live

The Apostolic converts, in order to
that they rejected the creed of the

world

testify to the

deceivers, acknowledged at their baptism the humani-

and death of the Messiah, and the obligations they

ty

were under

obey the precepts of the Gospel, and

Founder

like the

On

to

to die, if necessary, in

known

this consideration, well

its

support.

to the persons here

addressed, depend the propriety and force of the fol-

"

lowing language.

Do

ye not

Christ

us as were baptised unto

ed unto his death? 3. See Vol.

The
tolic

Church *

Christian

as

all oe,

having

mind

xa.A

me

mind.

The

letter to the Colossians,

18.

i.

By virtue

wishes

them

10.

He

ii.

by

to

he

ii.

p. 493, 494.

ii.

of a human body of

may

glorify

calls Christ the

of the nutriment and

grow up

that

he and his followers should

46. the believers are represented

this Epistle prays that,

author of

with one mouth, they

God, Chap. xv.

with one

In his

6.

head of the body of the Churchy

vitality

flowing from this head, he

to the full stature of Christian

then presently adds

many of

represented in the Apos-

is

In Acts

Johnxvii. 21.

that as

Jesus, were baptis-

writings, under the figure

* Our Lord, on one occasion, prays

be

know

manhood. Col.

" Let no one deprive you of the prize

a voluntary humility, and a worship of the Angels, intruding into

what he hath not

seen, puffed

not keeping

head, from

to the

up without cause by his fleshly mind, and

which the whole body, supplied and nou-

rished through the connecting joints, thriveth with the increase of

18, 19.

The impostors, from

God."

the affectation of superior knowledge re-

fused to acknowledge their subordination to Jesus Christ, or in the

language of this nervous writer, " Being puffed up without cause did
T\o\.

3.

Finally, in his Epistle to the

keep to the head.

he thus writes

" For

as the

body

E3

is

C/nMzai

one, and hath

xii.

12,

many member jj

VI.

EPISTLE TO THE ROMAN3

70

{Chap. VI.

which Christ was the head. Agreeably to this represenmember, on account of the union and sym-

tation every

pathy subsisting between

the paits of the corporeal

all

frame, shared in the qucdities and in the f^te of their

common

All aied

chief.

his resurrection.

Now this

his death,

and rose again in

simple and expressive figure

enabled our author to paint in remarkable colours that

New

divine influence, which the

to produce in the

As

lives

Faith was calculated

and conduct of

its

votaries.

Christ underwent crucifixion, so with him

with which each believer

crucified that body of sin,

was invested

unconverted

in his

was

As

state.

Christ rose

from the dead, received from his Father a new and celestial body free from the grossness and pollution of
corruptible matter, so his faithful

of a firm belief in that

their former vices,

celestial lustre

we

fore

raised

the Father, so
if

of virtue.

are buried wich

Ciinstwas

For

we

7.

from

iiody,

newness of

life.

we should
:

(spring up also in the

knowingthis, that uar old

we no

tb.e

sinful

body

longer be slaves to sin."

Those, who lived under the dominion of

all

all

body

in

hath been crucified with him, that

were doomed

but

walk

that as

power) of

planted together with him in the

should be destroyed and

Baptism there-

his death,

(the glorious

also should

we have been

this

him unto

likeness) of his resurrection

" By

by the glory

likeness of his death,

man

to lay aside

and assume a new character, un-

with the contagion of Sin and adorned with

stained

the

ioilowers, by virtue

were required

fact,

sin,

to die, death being the tribute exacted

his subjects as

these

members of

so too

is

Christ.

this

due to

his authority.

This

one body, which are many, are but one

For we 'were

all

baptised in one Spirit into one

whether Jews or Greeks, whether Slaves or Freemen} and

received nouri&hment from one Spirit."

all

ANALYSED.

Chap. VI.]

by participating

tribute the believer in Jesus

now

death had

7I
in his

Being thus emancipated from

paid.

bound

the bondage, he was no longer

or required to

engage in the service, or administer to the wishes^ of

On

inexorable tyrant.

that

the contrary,

employ

interest as well as his dutv to

it

was

his

members and

his

Holy and Immortal Being,

had rescued him, and under whose

talents in the cause of that

whose

interposition

banners he had
free

from

are

persuaded

now

enlisted

He

"

that

sin.

dead

is

we have died with

But
that we should also live
if

is set

Christ,
v,'ith

we

him

knowing that Christ, being raised from the dead, dieth

death hath no more dominion over him.
no more
For when he died unto sin, he died once for all but
now he liveth, he liveth unto God. Likewise reckon
;

ye also yourselves
unto

God

to

be dead indeed unto Sin, but alive

through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Let not

Sin therefore reign in your dead bodies, so as to obey

its

lusts

neither give

up your members unto Sin

instruments of unrighteousness

for

but give yourselves

being dead, and your

mem-

bers also for instruments of righteousness, unto

God.

up unto God,

as alive after

Sin must not have dominion over you

for

ye are not

under the Law, but under Favour. What then ? shall

we Sin, because we are not under the Law, but under

Favour

By nb

whomsoever ye

means.

Do

ye not perceive that to

yield obedience, ye are his slaves

whom

ye obey, either of Sin unto death, or of obedience

the Gospel) unto deliverance." 7

The

(to

17.

which the impostors incorporated

with the Gospel, and the enormities to which the
converts had in consequence been betrayed, must have
falsehoods,

induced the Apostles tp dispatch

to the

Roman church

iriSTLE TO THE ROMANS

78

[Chap.

an authentic statement of the Christian Faith

ing the fundamental doctrines
reformation which
is

it

was

what they seem to have done

was

describ-

taught, and the moral

it

object to produce.

its

VL

that the majority, at 'east,

This

and the happy event

abandoned

their false

guides, received the true Gospel and were reformed.

" But thanks be unto God, that ye were slaves of Sin,

but are become obedient from the heart unto a form of
doctrine unto which ye were transferred
or more
'

conformably

to the figure of the original,

irom the heart

have been
sent

that

"

Ye obeyed

mould of doctrine into which ye

Into the formulary of faith,

cast.

by Apostolic authority, the

Roman

it

seems,

converts, like

fused metal, were poured.

This gave thtm a new and

better form, and impressed

them with

The

enormities

which the

brought scandal upon the

crimes of

by any means
as

The

however, were not

les,

its

undiscviminating enemies.

the circumstance

v/hicu our

This

is

author had in

view when he penned the following singular

**

practised,

name.

to be ascribed to the Apstolic doctrine,

was done by

perhaps

deceivers

Christian

pretended vota

its

a fairer image.

assertion.

be unto God that ye were the servants oj

As though he had said " I exceedingly rejoice,

But thanks

Sin."

that in

your

late

misconduct you were influenced by

tliat

con:vequently the offences which

you have committed

are in justice to be assigned to

false views,

and

the wickedness of your guides and your

own mistaken

notions, and not to the Gospel

the real cause.

" But ye obeyed from

itself, as

the heart,

Ye have embraced

the Christian Faith, as defined by us, with sincere conviction of

its

divine origin, and yielded a cordial and

wnfeignpd obedience to

its

precepts

so that ye are not

ANALYSED.

Chap. VI.]

who merely

like the deceivers

73

profess to embrace

it,

in order the more effectually to answer their sinister

purposes."

The Gospel which

the impostors taught, so far from

being instrumental in reforming the vices of its profes-

was but a scheme artfully contrived to

sors,

secrecy and security, the impure desires of

Denying,

tors.

gratify, in
its

fabrica-

they did, that the principles of

as

morality had any foundation in reason, and maintain-

commandments of

ing, that the

Law

the Mosaic

pro-

ceeded from the caprice of a malevolent Being, they

reduced licentiousness into a system ;* which, while

* As the Gnostic teachers denied

obligation to

all

become

virtuous,

and made the impulse of their senses the only rule of conduct,
to be expected that they should regard

with compunction, or attempt to throw over them a

So

far

them,

was

from being the case

this

by Theodoret

if.xXv'TTTeiy ovx. )is^o(Aivot

Hjer. Fab. Lib.

hut

i.

aAA

LAW.

human

sanctionsof divine and

and

NOMON
And

laws,

and

it

their

na^fija-T

ra

Some

not knowing what the object

This, howc.er,

is

sis ocyoiAiocv, in

legal

the forme

the

institutions;

XKoXxo'tav

lewdness

to their rejecting the just

becoming

consequence

in

ANOMIA,

v/as

case,

as

zh

i?

an iriterpolation.

each bears a distinct and

denoting a lawless system opposed to

that

latter,

licentiousness and intemper-

Epiphanius, and Theodoret, that

Irenaeus,

xvofA,itxf.

which our author had in

ance which naturally resulted from their loose principles.

mony given by

is

avy-

'notov[j.iiiot.

to conceal their

the second clause,

by no means the

pertinent signification
all

th

^ovXat

/m.e>.j v/xft)v

view, suppose that

is

thing

Se aso-sXye/av

that the Apostle refers in the following clause,

profligate,

critics,

T'/jji

They have not the patience

5.

make intemperance their

licentious

Tuv

in the following words.

of secrecy.

The same

they gloried in their shame.

(Phil.iii. 19.)

attested

veil

not

flagrant,

Apostle Paul says of

as the

that,

it is

hoyever

their vices,

it

1 he
tlie

testi-

Gnostics

rejected the obligations of virtue, and maintained that the distinction,

jtiade

between

it

and vice,

the arbitrary decrees of

words

I shall

founded not
is

Providence

in nature

signally confirmed

here give a translation.

that author thus writes

yidence, and

is

men,

Speaking

" This system

itself.

It

ol'

and reason, but in

by Plotinus ; of whose
the Gpostic doctrine,

arraigns the

Lord pf Pro-

tluows dishonour wppji

all

sub-

possessed the form, aimed

all

ROMANS

EPISTLE TO THE

74

human and

law

divine.

at

[Chap. VI.

destroying the sanctions of

To

conduct under the

their

influence of this pernicious system, the Apo^ile,

ceive alludes in the following sentence

your members servants

tem, so that

and

"

con-

Ye yielded

to a lawless sys-

ye are become licentious." But the Chris-

tian Doctrine,

embraced

them to abandon

virtue, the

had hithertofore shewn

induced

in its native purity,

their vicious practices,

under the banners of

new

to impurity

same

and to display,

which they

zeal

in the service of Sin.

converts, having their eyes

The

19.

now opened by

the

Apostolic teachers, must have reflected with shame on

those immoralities in which they had formerly indulged,

and which had entailed not only disgrace on the Chris-

upon many among

tian name, but expulsion and death

To

themselves.

this

circumstance the following ques-

" What

tion seems to bear a pointed reference.

had ve from those things

fruit

of which ye are

at that time,

lunary laws, and upon virtue which has been found out from the remot*

and holds even temperance

est age,

(in this world)

It also subverts

in ridicule

appears (to them) in

sobriety,

its

own

so that nothing here

nature to be honourable.

and that righteousness which

is

essential to

discipline,

and by means of

which in general man becomes good." En. Lib. ix. p.

Early Opinions, Vol. i. p. 217; where the original

2 13. or Priestley's

morals, which

opinion that

is

attained

all difference

by precept and

duct, proceeded principally

gel,

is

between virtuous and vicious

from the law given

(see Iren. p. 95.) is frequently

to

Moses by an
where

asserted, that the distinction subsisted previously to the

;

evil

The
con-

An-

combated by our Great Apostle

He particularly refers to it in the following instance,

the law

inserted.
qualities in

is

it

virtually

promulgation of

and that the law only confirmed the dictates of reason, by point-

ing out the criminality and the dangerous consequences of Sin

for Sin

WAS EVtR IN THE WoRLU BEFORE THE LaW, THOUGH,

WHILE THE Law had no existence, it was not imputed;

Chap.

V. 13.

ANALYSED.

Chap. VI.]

now

He

75

ashamed, for the end oi those things

death." 21.

is

then bears his testimony to their reformation, and

life winch awaits the
" But now ye have been made free

places before them that eternal

servants of

God.

from the service of Sin, and are become servants to

God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end
everlasting

For the wages of Sin

life.

God
Christ our Lord." 22,
the gracious

The

of

gift

death, but

is

23.

women

deceivers, in order to Induce those

who were under

rank and property,

their sentiments,

abandon

to

Jesus

eternal life in

is

of

the influence of

their families,

and to

themselves with their effects to the seducers,

attach

declaimed against the lawfulness of the rnarriage-state;*

We meet in

2 Tim.

iii.

a picture of these

7,

"

strong colours by the hand of our Apostle.

*'

are

those

laden with
says,

sake
tors

who

men drawn

away with

in

kind," adds he,

creep into families, and lead captive

led

sins,

Of this

silly

women,

In his letter to Titus, he

divers lust."

They overturn whole families, teaching what they ought not, for the
of dishonourable gains. Chap. ii. 11. In reference to these imposhe enjoins upon Titus to teach " the young women to be orderly,

lovers of their husbands, lovers of their children, chaste, pure, keepers

at home, good, submitting themselves to their husbands, that the doctrine

be not

evil

spoken of," Chap.

Chap.

xiii.

he declares

they taught the unlawfulness of

effectually to gratify their

inferred

no

character,

others.

less

own

sufficient to establish the truth

lusts

and avarice,

is

and

is

lawful he

in

Hebrews,

which may be

them transmitted by

of this

"

to their lewdness.

upon the

he

which have sinned

said, that souls

principle

it

and

After asserting that they

of things, but in

over the legislative sanction

They admit

the soul,) but not

their

Irenaeus

Theodoret would alone be

fact.

shall not pass

That

order the more

a fact

evil to consist not in the real nature

opinion, he subjoins

which ihey give

vii

from the description given by the Apostles of

following paragraph from

made good and

Cor.

this institution, in

than from the accounts of

The

honourable in every respect.

to be

it

That marriage

4.

ii.

decides in opposition to the deceivers,

the transmigrations (of

was taught by Pythagoras.

For

are sent into bodies, jo be dulv

EPISTLE TO THE

7^

ROMANS

[Chap. VII.

And when

the Gospel was first preached in Rome,

many ladies of fortune arjd quality appear to have become the victims of their treachery. In the iiumber of
these were Vistilia and Hippia, who left their lawful
husbands and joined the intriguers when expelled from

the Metropolis.

become,
restrain

by the enaction of

i)

rection of

CHAP.

VII,

So prevalent, indeed, was the

that the governme-nt interposed,

it is

evil

and sought to

The

a severe law.

cor-

the principal object of our author in the

"

Know ye

followmg paragraph

am speaking

acquainted with the law,) that the

to

men

law hath power over

he liveth

but

tlie

husband

woman is bound

For the married

if

husband
is

free

is

is

So then she

but

he liveth

as

husband while
at liberty

from

deemed

will be

death of this husband, she

at the

from that law, so

as to

she take another husband,'

be no adulteress, though

Here our

4.

after asserting the criminality oi

marriedother

long

she take another husband, while this

if

alive

as

to her

the husband die, she

the law ot her husband.

an adulteress,

not, brethren, (for I

moralist,

women who

those

men while their own husbands were

alive,

maintains, in opposition to the impostors, the legality of

punished and purified.
bodied

But

these say, that the cause of their heing

directly opposite to that assigned

is

by Pythagoras.

souls, affirm they, are sent into bodies, in order to practise all

lewdness

that therefore those souls,

immersed

in a body,

vhich have sinned

even oftentimes

do not need

a second

in a small degree,

until they

immersion

all sorts

manner pf

end on being once

;

but that those,

thrice, or

of baseness."

Haer.

scarcely credit the truth of this representa-

were we not furnished by the Apostle Peter with an account of

tion,

them,

still

more shocking and odious, 2 Epis. Chap.

endeavoured

to support their opinion

by the authority of our Lord himself.

he foresaw
it.

fulfil this

must be sent twice,

have completed

We could

Fab. Lib. i.5.

which

em-

For human

ii,

p,

233, 234.

The

deceivers

This was a circumstance which

and he furnished the historian of his

See Vol.

ii.

of the unlawfulness of marriage,

life

with a fact to refute

ANALYSED.

Chap. VII.]

marriage, and that even a

widow might

'.

again enter into

that state, without incurring the guilt of adultery.

The above
against

passage, being intended in a

immoral professors

certain

Church, furnished the

fertile

in

literal

sense

Roman

the

and prompt imagination

of our Apostle, with an allegory respecting the law of

Moses and
like

the people under

manner,

through the

who was

my brethren,

body of

its

" In

jurisdiction.

ye also are dead to the

I^w

Christ, so as to belong to another,

from the dead, that we might bring

God. For when we were in the flesh,
of Sin (made manifest) by the Law, work-

raised

forth fruit unto

the affections

ed in our members to bring forth fruit unto death.

now we have been

were bound, so

released from that

In this paragraph the

in

newness of

Spirit,

7.

Law

whom

figure of a husband,
cility

(God)

as to serve

not in the old letter." ^

But

Law by which we

described under the

is

age or some natural imbe-

had disqualified from being the father of a fami-

ly.

The spouse

Her

affections are alienated

husband

united to

him

is

by the impotence of the

progeny

is

illicit

seduc-

in conse-

conceived and brought up for death.

thus be paraphrased

formed an

the Jewish nation.

being desirous to have children, she

ed by the solicitations of Sin.

quence

is

It

may

" While married to the Law, you

connection with Sin.

your lawful husband, who had

Seduced from

ability neither to pre-

vent the disgrace, nor to remedy the consequence of

your

infidelity,

to death.

you brought

The Almighty

forth offspring obnoxious

seeing you thus prostituted,

and being desirous that you should bring up children^

for himself, enjoying his favour, and partaking of his

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

/S

own immortal

nature, sent his

Son with power

ply the defect and inability of the

were, in his

[Chap. VII.

Law.

to sup-

Dying,

you are separated from your

fleath,

mer weak husband

and rising again

tion he has espoused

ou

to bring

Which

immortal family."

it

for-

in his resurrec-

to himself, in order to

your adultery with Sin, and

as

up

remedy

a divine

and

allegorical representation,

" The reliis to this effect.

we Jews hitherto professed, did not furnish
al: the information we wanted respecting God and a
life to come.
The motives it administered, therefore,

reduced to simple terms

gion, which

were not adequate

to

produce virtue

But

our bad passions.

its

check

in us, or to

defects, in this respect, are

supplied by the Gospel, which by

its

superior advan-

tages, supersedes the necessity ot adhering to the letter

of

tiie

law.

It is,

should take place

spondent to what

whom we

are

is

now

therefore necessary, that a change

in

our tempers and conduct, corre-

undergone by the body of him, to

As Christ

united.

evil inclinations be

deadened

may we

new

"

enter on a

What

shall

we

as

died, so

may our

he rose again to

life,

so

of piety and benevolence."

life

say then

Is

the law sin

God

for-

Nay 1 had not known sin but by the law for I

hdd not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shall
not covet.
But S)n taking occasion by the commandnient, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence.

bid.

For Without the law sin was dead. For I was alive
without the law once ;" but when the commandment
came, sin revived and

which was ordained

And

died.

to life,

the

commandment

found to be unto death.

For Sin, taking occasion fiomthe commandment, deceived

me and by it slew me. Wherefore the Law is

commandment holy and just and good.

holy, and the

'

ANALYSED.

Chap. VII.]

Was

then that which

God

forbid.

But

good made death unto me

is

Sin, that

me by

ing death in

it

might appear

which

that

^'Q

good, that sin by the

is

commandment might become exceeding

The

sinful." 7-- 14.

Apostle, speaking of the inability of the law to

restrain the evil inclinations of those

was led by

ed,

whom

it

govern-

a natural transition to repel the charge

of severity and unreasonableness alleged against

the impostors.
affords us a

by

specimen of

by

" Covetous-

their reasoning.

the Creator of the world

human

therefore ridi-

it is

culous in him to restrain them by the

Thou

it

passage from Clemens Alcxandrinus

ness and concupiscence are implanted in the

breast

work-

sin,

commandment

shall not covet the goods, nor the wife oj thy neigh-

bour, especially as such a restraint

is

not imposed upon

the desires of other animals."* This argument, and the

inference drawn from

from an

evil being,

by observing

known
* This

it

from being Sin, makes

and the pernicious con-

that the law, so far

to us the sinful nature

is

law was evil and came

that the

Paul answers in the above pai-ai^raph^

the substance of the nrgument which Epiphanes used in a

book composed concerning

rigkteettsness.

ment, are the ioUowing:

V.v9iy

His own words, cited by Cle-

us yiXoiov

ti^yiyi.orosro-j)>o[j.oOirov ^ny.ix,

to'jTo ecKOv^sov, Ovx. iiriOvfjiyia^is, tr^os to ysXsioTe^ov n'ntiv,

irXyjiTio)!'

Kvro! ya^

ctus, Tavrnv apti^eta-Qxi xcXsvst,

Alex. Strom,

iv. p.

us

t>)v e7Ti9viA.txv ^ovs,

5 14.

/jlv^svos

Theodoret,

ir.

crvvi^ovcrcc-i

avrvv

his

rx

iic<pihwf ^coov.

comment upon

furnishes us with another specimen of the

manner
" Those," writes

in

raigned the Creator of the world.

he,

indolence (meaning the Gnostic

monks of Egypt) and

painful toils of virtue, blame the

Lord God

for

Tuv

Tr>o

r'ns yEvf-

Clem.

this place,

which they

" who

ar-

live in

are averse to the

having given (Adam) the

commandment For if, say th-^y, he knew not v/hat would come to
how can he be God who is ignorant of the things to come. But
if, while he foresaw the transgression, he bid down the commandment,
:

pass,

he

is

himself the causa of its violation."

EPISTLE TO THE

So

sequences of Sin, and that

sin that hath

Much,

wrought

indeed,

is

ROMANS

it

[Chap. VII.

was not our Maker, but

manner of concupiscence.
our author to be admired tor his
in

iis

all

address on this occasion. In a happy union of sound

phihjsopliy and glowing imagery, he defends the law

and

heavenly Author from the imputation of sin and

its

death

and by a

train of reasoning,

founded on the ac-

count which Moses gives of the seduction of our

Part-nts

by the Serpent, he traces these

divinity

"

gin.

which the deceivers

And

the

Lord planted

out of the ground

tree that

The

is

a garden

whom

eastward in

he had formed.

made the Lord God

to

grow every

pleasant to the sight, and good for food

tree of life also in the midst of the garden,

the tree of knowledge of good and evil.

And

the

and

Lord

commanded the man saying. Of every tree of

But of the tree of
garden thou may est freely eat

Goi^
the

first

very

idolized, as their real ori-

Eden, and there be put the man

And

evils to the

knowledge of good and

thou shalt not eat of

evil

it

for in the day that thou eatest thereof, thou shalt surely

die,"

Gen.

li.

18.

Now

had not

ment been given, Adam might have

of

this tree

any moral
first

and gratified

Hence

guilt.

his desire,

command-

desired the fruit

without incurring

the Apostle, personating our

parents, says of himself, "

unawfulness of

this

had not known the

unless the law had said, Thou

desire,

shalt not desire.

When
God

the Serpent saw the

commandment which

gave Adam, he immediately sought to tempt him

to the violation of

it.

In order to effect his purpose,

he watched an opportunity of coming into the garden, and thus accosted

Eve

in

an unguarded hour;

;,

ANALYSED.

Chap. VII.]
" Hath

God

indeed said, ye shall not eat of every tree

of the garden

And

We may eat of

pent,

81

woman

the

said unto the Ser-

the fruit of the trees of the gar-

den, but of the fruit of the tree which

the garden,

God

Ye

hath said,

in the midst of

is

shall not eat of

lest

it

ye

And the Serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not

for God doth know, that in the day ye eat
surely die
die.

opened

thereof, then your eyes shall be

be

Gods knowing good and

as

In reference, seemingly, to

"Sin

(another

name of

manner of

all

And when

*'

and

for food,

me by

and he did eat."

her,

account, our Apostle subjoins,

became

me thereby." He
* They made a

then draws

distinction

wasjW

the sentiments of the Gnostics,

ISla^x-iovtrcoVf

xxi Mxviy(xiuv

mx'Kxixv ^ix^xXXovruv,
fVTTtl (TXpuS,

Theodoret

Romans,
xi

XXI

T55V

lo-j^xio'js

VOL.

III.

ri^it

in

is

holy,

The God
The Apostle,
commandment were /io/y,

hut not good.

in this place

l^ov, writes

it

here observed,

opposed

his language to

Theophylact, pxve^ure^x
y.xi

y.xi 'Zi[jt,'j))iixvui,

rx fo/xara
S^ToXriV

in the general analj-sis,

thus speaks

inopposi-

the law

ancient Christian writers, be

were very sensible that our author

es

this inference,

Wherefore

the contrary, affirms that the law and the

The

unto her hus-

between justice and goodness.

of die Law, according to them,

and good.

also

Conformably to this
" The commandment

tion to the deceivers,* "

on

eyes, and a

to the

me for Sin having taken an opme by the commandment, and slew

fatal to

portunity, seduced

just,

was good

that the tree

and did eat and gave

fruit thereof,

band with

life

j.

be desired to make one wise, she took of the

tree to

of

Paul adds

reason of the com-

was pleasant

it

shall
1

desire."

woman saw

the

that

this paragraph,

iii.

the Serpent) having gotten an

opportunity, produced in

raandment

and ye

Chap.

evil,"

svi(p^x^jv.

XJIXV, KXt

'Trxvruv

xyiov

^tiCXIXV,

yx^
KXt

ruv
voi/.o'j

tjv
xj-

Xyx^riV

which he gives of the Epistle to the

reference

to the

Xinv ayTc^ofMvov!

above passage.
ry

vo//.of,

zxi

Ette/otj

rovs

rci

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

82

and the commandment holy, and

Divested of

allusion

its

to

[Chap. VII.
and good."

just,

the narrative of Moses,

" Reis briefly this

upon immoral desires.however just and proper,
to render those desires more strong and importuBut the guilt of this is not to be imputed to the

the substance of Paul's argument

straint
is

apt

nate.

prohibition, but to the stubborn nature of sinful habits,

become

'which

violent

and clamorous when deprived

of their accustomed indulgences.'*

The

thread of our author's subject led

him next

to

describe the force of bad habits, the imperious ascen-

dency they exercise over the mind, even when opposed by the dictates of the judgment, and to point out the
gift

God

of

through our Lord Jesus Christ

we know

that

the law

in his

own

person

is

spiritual,

but

am

" For

carnal, a

Here Paul speaks of

slave sold to sin." 14.

and

the Patriarch Joseph,

only

as the

jnean of emancipating us from their bondage.

the

Jews

in allusion, as I conceive, to

who was

sold into Egypt,

the

land of slavery, he represents them under the absolute

dominion of Sin, treating them with

all

the indignity

and oppression which their forefathers had literally exA slave

perienced from Pharaoh and his officers.
in antient times, and even in modern days when the
ripour of despotism

is

much

softened by the prevalence

of humanity, was not, when commanded to do any

thing, informed

what might be

Master only issued

'!slccpy.iu)ios y-OLi

his orders,

its

design.

The

BatAEvT^voy voaovvras', x<

(/.cvroi

nxt Mccvi^xiovs Xixv

rovro'j axryiyo^ovvrodf KCiSacvi^ a^i^os tis ^-^ccrnyas irocvToOsv

Xe/'/./o'v

y.vKXov[A.svos,

f*!0"/v'

ovrcc$

lov^aiuy

T3y

brutal

without condescending

vno

tto-

nxi rovrovs /3XAe< kxkbivovs, kxi to r^oitaiov

^itos aTTofoXoj kxi

tuv xi^stikuv to r^^oy,

(paXxyytx S/ rvs ^itas natt'Kvai ^a^iros.

kxi

to-'v

ANALYSED.

Chap. VII.]

which he had

to explain the object

To

cution.

83
in

view

in the exe-

circumstance Jesus refers, in thus

" Henceforth I call you not
disciples

this

addressing his

knoweth not
As though he

servants, for the servant (S ^avXos slave)

what
had

his

Lord doeth
"

said,

A slave

;"

is

Johnxv.

15.

not informed what his Master in-

work which he is commanded

tends by the

Similar to this

the situation of a

is

He

the bondage of evil habits.

to perform."

man who

is

under

stops not to consult

consequence of

his understanding, in respect to the

complying with the impulse of desire, but obeys

as

it,

a slave does an imperious task-master, without direct-

ing his attention beyond the object desired

master, whose will though odious, he

execute, rather than his own.

do

gests

'

do not perform what

for I

but what

a task-

compelled to

do not know what

my own

will sug-

do."* 15.

I hate that I

* Every person who

is

has duly attended to the operations of his

own

mind, or observed them in others, must be sensible that a man of confirmed habits, be they good or bad,

of those

and

habits;

that, so far

governed solely by the influence

is

from consulting his understanding

point of conduct, he often acts in direct opposition to what he

be

its

And

dictates.

cal Justice, Vol.

my opinion,

i.

yet

Mr. Godwin,

p. 62, could

in his celebrated

it is

governed.

each

work

to

Politi-

pen the following paragraph which, in

betrays a childish inattention to the

laws by which

in

knows

" From

this

human mind, and to

view of the subject we

the

shall

how little the fact of the variableness and inhuman conduct is incompatible with the principle here de-

easily be led to perceive,

constancy of
livered,

that the voluntary actions of

opinipns.

The

committing the

first

in all cases originate in their

the subject,

mind of

the drunkard in

act of intoxication, that in so doing he complies

with the most cogent and

upon

men

persuasion that exists in the

may

irresistible reasons

capable of being assigned

be exceedingly temporary

liut it is

the clear and

unequivocal persuasion of /lis mind, at the moment that he determines upon

the action.

The

thoughts of the murderer will frequently be in a state

cf the most tempestuous

fluctuation

F 2

he

may make and unmake

hi?i

di-

ROMANS

EPISTLE TO THE

84

The Apostle, having through

government of

habits, lost the

now become

his

the ascendency of evil

conduct, and being

his

comply with the

obh'gcd, like a vassal, to

Sin

[Chap. VII.

dictates of

arbitrary Lord, infers that the

which apprised him of the approaching

law,

tyrant,

and warned him against the danger of being led by him

must have been good

into captivity,

and that the

cri-

minality of his actions attached not to himself but to the

despot

who had

ence.

" But

the

if I

power of commanding

my own

do what

good. And it is no
who act thus, but Sin that resides withWhich allowing for the latitude of

gest, I assent to the law that

longer
in

then,

I,

me."

16, 17.

obedi-

his

will does not sug-

is

it

" The

the figure, conveys this simple signification:

natural disapprobation I feel for

vice,

proves the ex-

of that divine law which forbids it ; and the

of indulging vicious propensities, rests with those circumstances in our education which have generated them.^

cellence

guilt

abolical purpose fifty times in an

ways by

terror

solution is formed,

and when

hour

mind may be

his

and fury, malignity and remorse.

it is

formed upon

the suggestions

he ultimately works up his

mind

to the

torn a thousand

But whenever hhrc'

of the rationalfaculty ;

perpetration, he

then

is

most strongly impressed with the superior recommendations of the conduct

pursues."

This representation, indeed,

drunkard or the murderer,

nounce

it

to

be so.

palpably

is

if interrogated

Even

false.

and ingenuous, would pro-

They would acknowledge

that the conduct,

they respectively pursued, had no recommendations from reason

at the

moment of indulgence,

their habitual sense of right

which
;

that,

they were conscious of acting contrary to

and wrong

that they

by the impulse of appetite and of revenge

passions for gratification, the

lie

the

were actuated only

that in the

clamour of the

voice of conscience was drowned, and

the judgment, pointing to the pernicious consequences, overawed.

* This

assertion,

ferently expressed

implied in the language of our Apostle,

by Dr. Paley

passive under our habits, where,

guilt of vice, or

it is

"

If

we

asked,

is

are in

is

thus dif-

so great a degree

the exercise of virtue, the

any use of moral and religious knowledge

I answer,

ANALYSED

Chap. VII.]

The

tenets,

85

which the Eastern philosophers held

specting matter and the nature of the soul,

re-

are well

known to learned men. The lormer which composed

human and all other bodies, was thought to be the

the

work of an

inferior evil Being,

and the source of

moral

latter

natural and

evil

from the Deity

as a ray

while the

all

emanated

of light from the sun, and pos-

sessed the same immortal nature, the same pure desires

with

its

When

great Original.

separated from the pa-

rent divinity, and confined in the body,

captivity and

which

it

sought to break loose, and to return upwards

To these

to^the fountain of life.

some of

led a life of

it

from the infection of

imprisonment,

tenets,

maintained by

the Gnostics,* our author next alludes, and

in the forming

and

contracting of these habits."

ral Philosophy. Vol.

i.

The Principles of Ma-

p. 43.

* Simon Magus who, as it

suited his purpose, supported or denied the

sentiments of the philosophers, adopts their language in the follow-

Magnus sane labor est agnoscere eum hoiPiini in came

Omnibus enim tenebris tetrius, et omni luto gravins est corpus

ing paragraph.
posito.

hoc quo circumdatur anima, Recog. Lib.

maintained that

human nature

duction of an evil Being, was

as consisting
itself evil

58.

ii.

The

Marcionites

of corrupt matter, the pro.

and corrupt, a doctrine which

prevalent to this day atnongst the votaries of the orthodox faith.

Mx^Kiuvos

tcTTo
/xv*jv

(p'jtTtv y.xv.rtv

EX T?

AviiAiov^yov, Strom. Lib.

mogenes entertained

the

iii.

Kxaris,

IXifii

Vol.

ii.

p.

%xi rov

515.

^inatiov yivi-

1 he

He however

same sentiments.

is

'Oi

heretic

Her-

supposed that

matter, instead of being the production of an inferior Being, was coeternal with the
as

Supreme Good Divinity.

Speaking of

alicujus rei factum,

was

the opinion of

Maximus

Tyrius,

The

iTxQos; See his last Dissertation.

who

calls

Ex vitio

goddess /$M, according to Plu-

His

zeal, for this

nature evil, but, though intermediate and the

This

natural evil r-ns v\r;s

divinity led

him, in opposition to the Gnostic philosophers, to represent

own

ex materia esse sine dubio. Tertui. p. 234.

tarch, constituted the Material Principle.

Ijj its

which,

evil,

such could not have proceeded from pure goodness, he says

it

not as

common rcccp.

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

[Chap. Vll.

from them copies a convenient figure

to express the

86

stubbornness of confirmed bad habits, their contrariety

to the principle of reason, and to the inclination of the

mind while yet uncorrupted by evil gratifications.

" For I know in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no
good thing

the desire indeed

plete performance of

the good, which

evil

which

prove,

dwelleth in

me

The

but keep doing the

if

For

find not.

do what

disap-

thus myself, but Sin which

act

find therefore this condition that

when my mind wisheth

me." j8

with me, but the com-

good

But

disapprove.

is

is

wish, I do not

no longer

what

to

do good,

evil

is

close to

21.

soul or, as the Apostle stiles

the inzoard

it,

man

jJroceeding from the Deity, accords with his law and

seeks to obey

it ;

but tkejlesh or carnal habits are inclin-

ed to the law of Sin.

the two principles of

These opposite inclinations in

which man

is

posed, give rise to hostilities in the

to those wars, which the

and

evil

wage

dominions
himself,

thought to be com-

human frame similar

two supposed authors of good

against each other from their respective

the one wishing to bring

and to

raise

ments to higher degrees of glory and

endeavouring
ter,

them down

to chain

(the corrupt nature of

evil habits, just as a dead

worms) and by
tacle

that

mankind nearer

them by successive improvefelicity

to a

the other

system of mat-

which generates

lusts

and

body does putrefaction and

means holding them

in

eternal

of the good and the bad principle, to be yet inclined to the former,

A/^i^o'v (^iv

ixvns,

De

ov<rx

%w^as kc

Iside Sec.

liii.

v'k-n

p. 133.

^svava-cc ^c

rean, and believed the materiality of the

venient

(p'jj-ts.

v^os to BiXriov c^

human soul, adopted when con-

the language of the eastern sages.

fATos Jf xx>j

ocsi

Cclsus, though he was an Epicu-

"^iJ^v

Orig. Con. Cel. p. eo2.

{/.sv

s^yov

Seo-j, cr&.-


ANALYSED.

Chap. VI.]

bondage

to Sin

of God, after the inw^|r

law

" For

and death.

man

mind, and bringing

me

delight in the law

but perceive another

my members, nuking war

in

87

my
my

against the law of

into captivity to the law in

Wretched man that I am, who will deliver

me from this deadly body ? The favour of God through
members.

Jesus Christ our Lord." 22

A reader
much

less

less his

little

is

25.

able to understand the meaning,

can he relish the beauties of his author, un-

imagination be capable of tracing out those sen-

sible objects

whence the

This observation holds in

writer has copied his allusions.

all

compositions characterised
in

none more

obscurity,

which has

by sublimity, boldness, and energy, but

than in the writings of Paul.

The

ever been

proceeds chiefly from an

felt in his letters,

inattention to the sources of his

A variety of

ideas

and images.

instances might be selected to justify the

The

truth 01 this remark.

pi eceding paragraph fur-

example where

nishes one striking

it is

Re-

verified.

present then to yourselves Sin, Misery, and Death,

and whatever

else is

bad in human nature, arrayed on

one hand under the banners of the

combating

all

that

is

the other, under the

evil principle,

rational, virtuous

command

and

and divine on

of the Good.

Represent

Supreme Being standing with the Saviour at

upon the battlements of heaven, and looking on

farther, the
his side

the conflict below.

Imagine

that,

on seeing the

battle

terminating in favour of the adversary, and mankind,

led

away

into captivity

prize of victory,

Son with power

He

by the triumphant foe

as the

instantly dispatches his beloved

sufficient to defeat the fatal victor,

to rescue the prisoners

that this

and

divine Messenger

appears, overthrows the hitherto victorious enemy,

li_

88

ROMANS

EPISTLE TO THE

[Chap. VII.

berates the captives,

and sets them at liberty to return

from the kingdom of darkness, and ascend in triumph
to their Father in the heaven.*

and you

which

will,

it

as

things,

the imagination of our divine penman.

filled

He saw,

Imagine these

appears to me, have the very allusions

were, before his eyes the awful

it

cofiflict

and perceiving himself led away by the unrelenting foe

into everlasting bondage, he exclaims in the language

of despair, "

Who

me from

can deliver

But no sooner did he put

death ?"t

body of

this

the question than

* The emancipation of the mind from contagious

matter,

ascent

its

towards the Supreme Being, the arduousness of the way, the obstructions that press

God

drawing

it is

'Otw

o^xVf

titi

s'xa-it'

XI

fji-tyuv

i^iycnro

rov iran^x,

ocK^ov sv^xifxovKxs

in

its

pro-

ts'Ci)

is

n-oct

not unlike this of our

'noifimv

ruv av/AWxv-

ot'osv

yaf avure^M

TT^Oih-riXvQ'jis,

rts TO T7IS ^v^vis oiM(^x Tiiyxs (p0a)tE, (Aovvv tyj^sixSw

iji.tv

"TF^xyovs (po^x,

TloWx

Se

^sov, TT^oj ov

xxt

the steep declivity, the energy of

and prevailing over the obstacles

founded on the philosophy of the times,

Apostle.

Tuv

downward along

sublimely described by Philo in the following passage, v/hich

gress, are

as

it

to himself

it

yaf xvxvrsis o^ot x/AaT^o kxi ^^x^tixi, i

nxru

^ta^oijuevx,

wv

os

Kxrx

xa6p^ov rx^/tix KXt qx^ti,

lyo'oc^x to tj^Xeov

a-v^i^ov

ov'Ssy o(peXos,

Tcuy

xvrov ^vvx-

'hvyxTun^x

it^os ixvtoix

oTv

atvaxf E/xacray rriv i^^v^vv o ^sos, oXkv)

ix.

tTriaTTxa-xno.

+ Tts

/XE

^vcrcrxt sx Toy cuij^xxos rov

me/rom

liver (oi rescue)

Our

the body

SayaTOf rovfov, WJio will

of this death,

that

is,

this

dc"

moral death.

author alludes to the philosophic notion, that the body

as

is,

it

vere, the grave of the soul, and that the emancipation of the soul from
the contagious influence of the body constitutes
writes Plaio (in Cratulo, p. 400.)
fj.x)

rns

^vy(ris,

us

2*?/w,a

T6/>i./>tj v

ru

zV?

vvv

sivxi (aru-

Clemens Alex-

vx^oyri.

andrinus has words deserving of notice, Mx^rv^coyrxi as kxi

^coXoyot T x/

(/.ayriis,

ffwi^avurxi, xxOxTTi^

ev

us oix riyxs

01

n^u^ixs -^v^x tw

axy^xri ri^xiirxi,

Thus

resurrection.

nyis (pxat to xvro

Strom,

iii.

ttxXxioi
<Tui/.xri

518.

p.

This writer understood, that the Apostle alludes on this occasion to

for he presently adds, " The Soul of the
the above philosophic notion
:

Philosopher greatly

with
jng,

itself

Who

And

shall

vilifies

with

this

the body, and flees from

somewhat accords

ddivcr mefrom

the body

it,

and seeks

the divine Apostle

of this death See Vol

.

ii.

to be

say-

p 51
.

7.

ANALYSED,

Chap. VII.]
he discovered

8^

his deliverance effected,

reply was going

to

specify

but the gratitude, which he

his

and by way of

gracious deliverer;

for the primary author

felt

of his emancipation, arrested his tongue and extorted

from

it

instantaneous accents of joy and thanksgiving,

Thank God

fc-" I

As though he had

my

ty for

the

man

through
"

said,

deliverance

Jesus, and the

Jesus Christ our Lord."

give thanks to the Almigh-

it is

accomplished by Christ

Lord of

the Apostles."

The

whole representation reduced into simple language,

" The principles of reason
teaches this joyful lesson.
and conscience, aided and sanctioned

as

they are

the law of Moses, are unable to furnish motives

by

suffi-

cient to withstand those temptations, to restrain those

propensities, to eradicate those inveterate habits, which,

resulting from the nature and constitution of man, ex.pose

him

condemnation and

new

unfolded

to

death

but the pros-

in the

Gospel, and estab-

by his death and resurrection,

affords motives ade-

pect of a
lished

to

life,

quate to the accomplishment of these desirable ends,"

The

Epistles of Paul being controversial, written, I

mean, with the view of exploding those

which the
Christian

false

notions,

anti-apostolic teachers introduced into the

Church

way of

the only

ascertaining the

precise meaning of our author, in any disputed passage,

is

to consider those of their tenets, to

and which

it is

his object to

which he

undermine.

alludes,

The Judaiz-

^ng teachers then rested in the rites of the law, to the

neglect of moral duties as the means of pleasing

The

God.

Egyptianizing zealots, on the contrary, accused the

law of caprice and unreasonableness; maintained,

rnan
right

is

thai

corrupt by nature, that he has no natural sense ol

and wrong, that matter

is

essentially corrupt, thts

EPISTLE' TO THE ROMAN'S

e)0

[Chap. VII.

source of corruption and death to mankind, and the

Now

production of an evil and inferior divinity.

which our Apostle

these are the points,

preceding obscure chapter.

macy

on account of

ces,

brought against

by

it

he inculcates,

legiti-

observan-

by

is

the law from the charges

his adversaries

we work what

allows that

ritual

their inefficacy, are superseded

He next defends

the Gospel.

it,

After asserting the

he inculcates that

oi marriage,

refutes in the

is

and though he

yet the practice of

evil,

human

not inherent in the

frame,

or an effect natural to, and necessarily springing from

but proceeds from a foreign cause,

it,

from Sin, who un-

fortunately having gotten admission into the body, as

into a house, after

it

had been constructed by the band

of the Great Architect, there compels the passions,

and reason

itself,

" But

and tyrannic injunctions.

I

am

not inclined,

obedience to

to act in

no longer

which dwelleth in me."

" is no fault of the flesh
;

in

it is

to whatever

is

it

is

not the fault of

flesh is not,

on

if

to

is

wish

is

the lesson

bers,

says,

The good /
which I do not

law of the Lord

but perceive another law in

making war

which
" The

indeed with me," 18.

delight in the

inward man

heart

not, as the false teach-

practise not, but practise the evil

xvish, 19.
tlie

is

depraved;

human

wickedness, but inclined

honourable and good,

do good)

tlie

Sin dwell in

that account,

our author repeatedly inculcates when he

desire (to

Sin

says Theophylact,

overruled by tyranny." That the

ers inculcated, disposed

which

that, to

for if a thief get possession of

original and pure state,

its

do

So, in the present instance,

our members,
for

arbitrary

act thus myself, but

"This,"

a palace, and dwell therein,

mansion.

if

its

against the

law of

my

God after
my mem-

mind, and

ANALYSED.

Chap. VIII.]
bringing

By

23.

gl

into captivity to the law of my members.'*

me

the law of yny mind, he means, the approba-

tion of virtue and the disapprobation of vice planted

nature, or generated by the circumstances of

human

Or more

breast.

life, in

by
the

generally he signifies by

it

the moral law of nature coeval with man, and written

by the Maker on the

tablet of his

The

heart.

exist-

ence of this law, which the impostors denied, and the

harmony of

its

dictates with

gated by Moses, our

in the law

light

another
of

''

7fiy

la\v (the

of

law promul-

the divine

"

author enforces in saying;

God

after the inner

man

I
I

desee

law of Sin) making war with the law

mind ; I accord with the law

as

being good,

auix-

The Apostle then draws the following conclusion,

There is now therefore no condemnation to them

that are

in

Christ Jesus,

to

them

that

this

conclusion

is

walk not

Observe how

after the flesh, but after the Spirit."

intended to shut out the false teachers

Though they embrace the Christ,

man Jesus and, notwithstanding their
moiession, they stiW zval/ied after the Jlesk. The true believers, on the contrary, received the man Jesus as their

and

their followers.

they rejected the

Saviour, and

which he

cultivated those virtues

dis-

played in his conduct, and which he has prescribed in

To

his spiritual or divine law.

are thus in

positions

Christ Jesus, whose

conform

The

belong.

which

is

in

behaviour and dis-

God, the hope of immor-

Apostle, personating the body ot

the faithful disciples, adds

life,

who

to his holy injunctions, the forgive-

ness of past sins, peace with

tality,

those, therefore,

" For the spiritual law of

Christ Jesus,

from the law of Sin and death."

hath

made me

Which

is

free

to this ef-

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

tf2

[Chap.Vlil,

" That refined system of morality, sancLioned by

feet,

the well grounded hope of

anew

through the re_

life,

surrection of Jesus, has delivered us from the influence

of sinful habits, and saved us from that moral death

which is the penal

The

effect of

Sin."

Christian law, inasmuch as

penetrates the in-

it

ermost recesses, reaches even the heart, and condemns

or acquits those under

outward

them
and

its

jurisdiction, not

from

their

but from the motives which gave

actions,

birth, far surpasses all other laws in excellence

efficacy.

Of

its

superiority in these respects, our

author proceeds to remind the impostors,

who

meditat-

ed the most atrocious deeds, and executed them whenever secrecy rendered the execution secure and prac" For what the Law could not do, in that it
ticable.

was weak through the

Son

God

flesh,

having sent his

sinning with the Flesh."

The

are personified.

own

condemned Sin of

in the likeness of Sinful Flesh,

Here again Sin and Flesh

3.

latter

receives the former into

her apartments. They, however, conduct their assignations with such secrecy, that the

mate husband
guilt,

the

Law,

or the legiti-

of Flesh, though convinced of

their

had no means sufficient to arraign and punish

The Law, we

offenders.

are

told,

was weak

By which M'e are to understand, that,

through thejiesh.

through the imperfection of human discernment,

it

could not recognize crimes that were only intended or

tneditated in the heart,

nor punish, for want of clear

and positive evidence, such things

secret.

This,

neither the

human law could

inability, the

effect.

Law

as

of

were done in
Moses nor any

But, in order to supply

its

Omniscient Creator, seeing Sin making

a private appointment with Flesh, invests his

own Sou

ANALYSED.

Chap. VIII.]

93

with the dress and similitude of the former, and dispatches

him

very place where, under the covert

to the

of darkness, the

latter

had agreed to meet him.

The Son

arrives, at the place appointed.

Flesh

God

of

drops

and stands before her in the

his feigned appearance,

figure of her real husband.

Thus he

detects their guilt,

exposes the odious character of Sin, and brings the

partner of his crimes to merited punishment.
the paragraph of

simple meaning

its

The

*'

Divest

and you have

personification,

this

Christian law, far surpassing

other laws in extent and efficacy, pi'onounces a per-

all

son criminal, though his crimes

and though committed only

may

human discernment,

its

the reach

upon their

characters

decides

it

Extending

men beyond

cognizance into the bosoms of

of

be unseen by man,

in design.

from the motives and designs of

and thus

their hearts,

which pass undetected and

detects and punishes sins

unpunished by other laws."

The

Apostles appear, on some occasions, to speak

of the law of Moses and the predictions of the Prophets under the figure

of that great

whose advent and death they were

sider the Jewish system, I mean,

human
rit."

beings having*^ body

The

and

personage, in

fulfilled

though

as

a soul, '^JiesO"

they conit were a

and " spi-

figurative language, the symbolical

the external

rites,

maxims,

the promises and threatenings, (all

of which in their primary application were of a temporal

nature,) constituted the former

internal signification,

and the extension of

its

annexed to

its

while the moral

outward forms,

sanctions, metaphorically inter-

preted to a future state of being, analogous to the present,

compose the

latter.

Hence we may

see the pro-

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

94

priety and origin of the phrases

walk after thejlesk,

to

^r?

[Chap.

^g in

VIIL

the Jlesh, to

mind the things ofthejiesh, which

They

here and elsewheie occur.

signify the interpret-

ing of the Jewish Dispensation in a

literal

sense, the

indulging of carnal habits and desires, and the adhering to those external

rites

of

tlie

which the depra*

law,

vity of the Judaizing Zealots disposed

tute for the cultivation of virtue and

the contrary, to be in the Spirit, to

to viind the things

spiritual

to substi-

On

holiness.

walk after the Spirit

mean

of the Spirit,

them

the adoption of a

and metaphorical interpretation, together with

a reformation of manners and purity of heart, corres-

ponding

in refinement to

that

interpretation.

Sadducees or Jewish Epicureans,

Cerinthians,

who expected

a temporal kingdom,
literal

The

together with the

in the reign of the

Messiah

affixing to the sacred writings a

acceptation, maintained oi course that the

Mo-

system gives no intimation of a future spiritual

state, and that its sanctions terminate on this side of

saic

the grave.

To

this false representation, the

language

i hey
of Christ and his followers stands opposed.
must, indeed, have allowed, that the precept of the

law, and the declarations of the prophets, referred in

a primary sense to the present state of existence ; but

they insisted that those precepts and declarations have a

tralatitious reference to a future spiritual world; and
this

that

spiritual world,

of

which

the

tains, like vital sparks, latent intimations,

law con-

(just as the

corporeal frame comprehends, though invisible to sense,

the

spirit that

animates

it,)

it

was the object of the

Christian lawgiver to develope, and to establish by fresh

displays of heavenly

own

wisdom, and by the miracle of

resurrection, the

life

his

and immortality, which he

brought to light in the Gospel, being no more than the

ANALYSED.

Chap. VIII.]

95

Jewish system, purified of its external gross forms, ex-

panded into

and carried

light

These general remarks

comprehend

to
'

to

consummation.

its

conceive, enable us

will, I

the full force of the following verses.

That the righteousness of the law might be

who walk not

in us,

for they

who

the flesh

spirit is life

thus paraphrased

in the vi^ws,

flesh is death,

but that

and peace." 4 7. Which may be

" That the principle of a future re-

and exemplified

faithful disciples,

who

in the character, of those

take the law to consist in a

gurative or spiritual, and not in a

For those, who adhere

things of this carnal

the

mind

mind only

the

which

chiefly the things

ments of those, who support the

;

fi-

or carnal sense.

whereas they, that adopt the

future spiritual

not beyond death

literal

to the literal sense,

life

figurative interpretation,
to

the things of

the things of the

spirit,

inveloped in the law, might be unfolded

tribution,

belong

mind

are after the flesh, do

but they after the

For the sentiment of the

spirit.

of the

fulfilled

after the flesh but after the spirit

life

since the senti-

ritual system,

while those of the

extend

spiritual,

look

forward to immortality and friendship with God."

The

Zealots boasted in

God, or prided

in being the

favourites of heaven; and, though they contended for

the ordinances of the law, refused obedience to

it

as

system calculated to produce piety and benevolence.

To

these circumstances our author seems to refer in

" The sentiments of the flesh

God for they do not submit themof God nor indeed can they so

the following verse,

are at enmity with
selves to the law

that they of the flesh cannot please

God."

7, 8.

The

Gnostics, Irenasus informs us, thoug zealous for external rites,

and devoted to impure pleasures, arrogated

ROMANS

EPISTLE TO THE

9^

[Chap. VIII,

to themselves the title of spiritual, while they stigmatised the catholic believers as

perhaps to this fact that Paul alludes, -when

It is

iial.

being ofthejlesk or car-

thus addressed himself to the sincere Christians in

I;e

Roman Church

the

of the

you."

inasmuch

spirit,

Though

But ye

*'

are not of the flesh, but

as the spirit of

God

dwelleth in

diametrically opposite to Christ in dis-

positions and character, they nevertheless affected

rank among

make

pretension probably led our author to

declaration

" But,

any one hath not the

if

down

this

Tas

^E iay(Vi>ivias to

cm^ixcc

Xtyovat <y7ovcva/ tv Xomuv' ^/o

rov

tiiio

XXI

A'/j/jt^oM^yow,

(jlv)

nvai rotavTxs.

fA.ivov

(2x<TiXeii,

p.

S'/o

y.ai

Ay(^oi[jt.iij6

nrkztov

then

tlie

favour of

-^v^xs

uiAtivovs

rut a-XKuv

st^oros Ti\t xiriecy, ockKx

false claims

mxq

7)ya.'Tt%a^xt

aiirov XoyiCp-

" t)o ye reign as kings without us

we

y.ai te^ei^,

of the Impostors to be thus

and Kings, our author

Priests,

(in the true sense of the term,) that

The

Tyis

xxi tn ir^o^yirxs iraaatv ocvrovs,

To the

33.

ranked with Prophets,

iv, 8.

of

Spirit

admirable criterion, to ascertain whe-

Ireneeus gives ihls account of their superior claims to

God.

this fine

He

Christ, he doth not belong to Christ," 9.

lays

to

The

and most favoured disciples.*

his first

also

Cor.

wish indeed ye did

reigrt

alludes,

might reign with you."

Apostles, because they were poor, unlettered, and obscure, and be-

cause they endeavoured to repress the false aspiring views of the

converts, were represented.

It

the cause of poverty, ignorance, and obscurity to those

them.
selves,

new

seems, by the anti-apostolic teachers, as

In reference to those high

titles,

who

followed

which they arrogated

them-

to

and those terms of reproach with which they stigmatised the

ful disciples, the Apostle adopts the language

Apostles) are Jbols for Christ's sake, but ye are wise in Christ

weak, hut ye are strong : ye are honourable, but

Sec Tertul. p. 250, 281, 487. Iren. p. 32,

at

we

the top

faith-

We (the

which follows, *

we

zts despised."
:

where

it

are

10.

appears

that they called the Catholic believers, insipientes, columbae, simplices, in-

Jantes, pueri,

iiifirmi,

crx^ynKoi,

-^v^t-Mi, and the like

and,

contrarv, applied to themselves the epithets opposite to these.

p. 32, of this Analysis.

the impostors, Vol.

ii.

Our Lord
p. 12,

on the
See also

has often referred to this temper cf

331.

"

ANALYSED.

Chap. VIII.]
were in

ther they

is

is life

is

dead because of

If

you be

which

and which

evil,

Which

really his followers,

your former bad passions will be so subdued,

the body,

is

If

and

sin,

because of righteousness," ii.

purport**

to this

reality the disciples of Jesus^

Christ be in you, the body

the spirit

97

as

though

supposed to be the source of moral

is

become mortal or obnoxious to

death in consequence of having sinned, had actually

died, and the spirit will

though

become

so pure and holy, as

had already been disengaged from the cor-

it

rupt influence of the

spirituality

flesh,

and raised to that

state

of

and enlargement which hereafter awaits the

virtuous." This short sentence, be

it

remarked, carries

an allusion to the following tenets in the popular philo*

sophy of the times, that

human

to the

the body,

Soul

is

sin

which composes

the origin of those vices

which debase the

that the vital principle

was the cause of death

that the matter,

race

poreal frame

is

from the cor-

distinct

and, lastly, that the disengagement of

the soul from the body, so as to rise to a

sphere of enjoyment,
called

its

The
Jesus

new

life

or resurrection. See Vol.

next point insisted upon

more exalted

what philosophers

constitutes

and he inculcates

is

p. 517,

ii.

the resurrection of

that all those,

who

are

animated to virtue and holiness by the Divine

will hereafter, like him, receive a

Almighty.

**

Now,

if

up Christ from the dead,

bodies

you^"

III.

from the

who raised
you. He, who raised

will also give life to

through his

ij.

VOL.

life

the spirit of him,

Jesus from the dead, dwelleth in

mortal

new

now

Spirit,

spirit

your

that dwelleth

in

ROMANS

EPISTLE TO THE

$8

The
ritual,

[Chap. VIII.

impostors pretended that themselves, being spihad the privilege oi'indulging in every immoral

impure

practice, in every

believers

desire, while the Apostolic

were under the necessity,

as being carnal, of

exercising self-denial and submitting to the painful toils

To

of virtue.*

impudent pretension,

this

it

appears to

me, Paul, speaking of the true disciples, refers in the

next verse, "
are not then, brethren, debtors to

We

the flesh, to live after the flesh

ye will die; but

flesh,

body by the

for if ye live after the

oi Israel according to the false teachers,

being cruel and

was an object of

evil,

to his creatures.

iove,

ye mortify the deeds of the

ye will live." 12.

spirit,

The God

if

terror,

not of

The malevolence which

ren-

dered him thus odious and terrible, they urged, ap-

peared from the unmerited sufferings imposed even

upon his own worshippers.

In opposition to

presentation, the writer again places before the

this re-

Roman

converts the most engaging picture of the Almighty.

Those who return

adopts for his

to

own

Him

from the slavery of Sin, he

sons, exercises towards

them an

af-

fection the most endearing, and makes them fellowheirs with the
'

As many

are sons of

first

born in

as are directed

God.

his

by the

heavenly kingdom.
Spirit of

God, these

For ye have not received the

spirit

of bondage again unto fear; but ye have received the

spirit

of adoption, whereby

The

Apostle,

the

Hebrew name

*
w/xiV

it is

Ircnaeus gives
/1/.EV,

avxyM-XKxv

o:/J

the

\vj^i-x.ovs

rriv

we

cry

Abba Father."

observable, joins with the

of father.

The

A/a touto

following account of them.

ovo(/.cic(^ov<Tiv,

xxi ex

Greek

reason appears

xo(7/x.oy

eivsci

cyx^xTsixi nxi ya9ny trqal^ir ccvrots

Ktyovffiv,

Se wfiv/^ar;-

Chap. VIII.]
to

be

Abba

this.

to speak,

is

ANALYSED.

99

which an

infant, unable yet

a term

capable of articulating, just as in our

is

when

language a child can say Papa,

his

power

to

Roman

converts, that they were yet but babes in

the Gospel, and that the

even in
with

Supreme Being regards them,

of virtue and knowledge,

this infantine state

complacency, which swells the bo-

that fond

all

som and
when he

By

image our amiable Apostle insinuates

this delightful

to the

scarcely in

it is

enunciate other significant sounds.

illumines the countenance of a tender parent,

hears his babe uttering, in broken accents, the

endeared name of father.*

In proof of the assertion,

Almighty, exercising paternal affection, regards

that the

them as

his

own

ny of the Holy

offspring, Paul appeals to the testimoSpirit,

which enabled the Apostles

to

perform miracles and to speak with unknown tongues.

" The Spirit itself confirraeth our spirit (our spiritual

we

doctrine,) that

sons of

God,

it

are sons of

God,"

Being then

16.

follows by the rights of sonship, that

they are entitled to inherit the divine kingdom, in com-

munion with his

first

born

but he insinuates that in or-

der to share in the glory of Christ's exaltation,

*

it

was

A remark of Clemens Alexandrinus on the following words utter-

ed by our Lord, / thank

thee,

thou hast hid these things

from

them unto babes,

Luke

x. 21,

Father, Lord of heaven

the wise
is

?.of a.<no)iLxK'jit

a(pxs

rovs ruv
vyo-JfA-tvot

Wt^iv^^xivoixBvof,

The teacher

6. p. 117.

ev iio(T(AU

koci

calls

NrTr/oyy /*?

as coin-

^/Jao-xa-

STri^oxran ayaXX/s^/ASvoy

avvT^xvKii^uv rois

iirt'niots,

Pasd. Lib.

usfthe Catholic believers)

betterJitted for salvation than the wise

selves wise

<ro^wv iTriTri^siortfovs sis aMTveitnf

Ttrvtp'svrxf

oiovoi

earth, that

hast revealed

worthy of being here noticed,

ciding precisely with the above observation

01 aoi^oi

and

and prudent, and

babes,

Lisp i>iG

WITH THE
G

y.xi

Cap.

as being

of this zvorld; who deeming them-

are swollen with pride; and he (Jesus) cries exulting

lighted as if

1.

BABES.

and

de-

EPISTLE TO THE

XOO

ROMANS

[Chap. VIII.

necessary to imitate him in suffering for the cause which

he espoused. " But

if

and joint-heirs of Christ,

to be glorified with

God

children then heirs, heirs of

him

if

we
*

also,

him

suffer with

He

j/.

so as

then silences

the blasphemers by observing that the hardships, which

the followers of Jesus are required to undergo, will

compensated by a glorious reward, in

hereafter be

comparison of which their present momentary

"

deserve no consideration.

And

sufferings of the present state as of

with respect to the glory that

trials

look upon the

no consequence,

shall

be displayed in

us." 18.

A belief derived from the prophets, prevailed not only

among

the Jews, but

great Pi-ince

the sun in

among

other nations,* that some

would soon appear

who,

in the East,

like

meridian, ascending the throne of uni-

its

versal empire,

would by

the lustre of his benign coun-

tenance disperse the shades of superstition and error,

loosen the chains of slavery and oppression, and raise
the

human

race to freedom, virtue and happiness.

In

consequence partly of this expectation, the Christian

Doctrine, on

its first

promulgation in Rome, was em-

braced by multitudes of Jews, Eg)'ptian3 and Greeks.

* This

is

attested

The words of

by the

Roman

historians Tacitus

the former are the following

antiquis sacerdotum Uteris conlineri, eo ipso

ret

and Suetonius.

Pluribus persuasio inerat,

tempore

fore,

ut valesce-

The

Oriens, profectique Judaea return potirentur. His. Lib. v. 13.

narrative of the latter

is

much

the same. Percrebuerat Oriente toto, an-

tiqua et constans opinio, ut eo tempore Juda:a profecti rerum potirentur

Id de imperatore

tuit,

Romano quantum

Judaei ad se trahentes rebcllaruut

more

evcntu postea prasdictum pa-

Suet. Vespas. Cap. 4.

decisive proof of the prevalence of this opinion

Virgil,
acles,

is

still

the Pollio of

where the poet has, through the medium of the Sibylline orcopied not only some sentiments from the Jewish prophets, but

also traces of their language.

ANALYSED.

Chap. VIII.]

The

dispute which

it

occasioned threw the city into

The emperor,

confusion.

101

mistaking for a while the

claims of the Messiah and the nature of his religion,

was

filled

with alarm

and in order to check

however

gress he adopted every method,

cruel;,

Upon

policy could suggest or power execute.

pro-

which

the con-

Such of the

verts he exercised unusual severities.

Jewish youth

its

were capable of bearing arms, the

as

senate pressed into the military service, punished with

death those

who had

the magnanimity to refuse enlist-

and banished the

ing,

whose climates was

stitution.

Nor was

this all

appearance of

first

rest into islands,

the severity of

likely to prove fatal to their con-

That he might suppress the

sedition and keep

the people,

anxious to throw off the yoke of slavery, in subjection to his controul, Tiberius augmented the military

camp

forces in Italy, formed a

praetorian

those

guards,

and

at

Rome, confined

the

extended to the provinces

which he exercised with

salutary precautions

great vigilance in the capital.*

* These momentous

They are

attested in a

have been in
in that city.
negotiis

facts

are developed in

Vol.

i.

p.

manner by a man, who

surprising

139

157.

professes to

Rome when the fame of Jesus Christ was first announced

He writes to this effect Cum in talibus cogitationibus et
;

ego versarer

sub imperio Tiberii Caesaris fama

qusdam sen-

sim, a verna tempestate initio sumpto, passimque crevit, et revera bonus

Dei nuncius mundum

valens.

Ubique

in Judaja, principio

Dei voluntatem

peragravit,

igitur

amplior et major

sumpto a vemo tempore,

annunciat, quo fruiturum esse ex

illis

dicit

datam ducet: quo autem credatur ipsum

silere et tegere

fiebat referens,

Dei regnum Judsis

eman-

seterni

eum

non

quod quidam

qui vitam rectam

divinitatis

plenum

hasc loqni

ac inspirare, multa mirabilia signa et prodigia edit sola jussione, quasi

qui a

Deo

acceperit potestatem

surdos

enim facit

audire, ccecos videre,

pedibus debiles ambulare, claudos recta inccdere

depellit,

omnem Daemonem fugat

omnem morbum

sed et leprosi scabri, eo eminus tan-

G 3

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

162

[Chap. VIII.

in the following passages

These events are recognised

of the Apostle Paul, which from their hitherto impenetrable obscurity have baffled
satisfactorily to

cism

the efforts of criti-

all

"

explain.

The

creation with

heart-felt desire, expects the appearance of the sons of

God
own

(for the creation

subject to vanity, not of

is

accord, but because ot

that the creation itself also shall be delivered

tum

viso, sanati abeunt,

from cor-

moriui vero oblati suscitantur, nihilque

est

Atque quo plus temporis prsteribat eo major

facere nequeat.

its

the subjector) in hope,

quod

firmior-

que per complures advenientes existebat non amplius, inquam, fama sed

Jam vero

rei Veritas.

rationis causa

Horn.
In

i.

quisnam

et ccetus

per loca fiebant consultationis et delibe-

est qui apparuisset, et

quid vellet dicere, Clem.

Cap. 6.

this curious

paragraph then

it

asserted, that in the reign

is

berius a divine messenger appeared in the land of Judea

in every country,

of him prevailed
^orld

that

it

of Ti-

that the

fame

and soon overspread the whole

reached the capital of the empire

as a

vague rumour, but

was established into a matter of fact by very many who thence arrived in
(he city, and that assemblies of people were held in order to enquire
was, and what might be the object of his mission

who 'Jesus

these which exactly accord with the

the writings of Josephus, Tacitus, Suetonius,

tuUian, Seneca,

Dion

assertions

Philo, Orosius,

and Plutarch.

Cassius,

have been inferred from

facts that

Ter-

This and other in-

which might be adduced, shew that the book ascribed to

Clement of Rome, though undoubtedly spurious, is in many respects

stances,

more deserving of credit than

generally allowed.

is

I shall here only

observe, that the author appears, from the representation which he gives

of Christ, not to have believed

gccd

7iiasenger

performed

of God, and says

signs

He

in his divinity.

stiles

him only

the

that in proof of his divine mission

and wonders, having received power from

God

to

he

do

An

orthodox writer would not

by any means have thus expressed himself.

TertuUian inculcates, that

them,7ra

'^iov

nXv^us

c^ov<ritx,.

the miracles of Jesus proved the reality of his divinity

sents Tiberius,

when convinced

that

and he repre-

they were really performed, as

drawing the same inference. Tiberius ergo, cujus tempore nomen Christianum

in

veritatem

seculum
istiiis

sufTragii sui,

intravit,

annunciata

sibi

ex Syria Palaestina, quae

divinitatis rcvebrant, detulitad

Apol. Cap.

v.

senatum

illic

cum prerogativa

ANALYSED.

Chap. VIII.]

1Q3

ruptible slavery into the glorious freedom of the chil-

dren of God." 19

22.

asserted, that the

Here

it

is

implied, or rather

creation, the civilised part of

man-

kind, earnestly expected the sons of God, or in other

words, the Messiah and

appearance

hope of partaking
his

happy

subjects, to

make

their

cherished this expectation

in the blessings

ift

and privileges of

government, but were prevented from attaining

this heart- felt desire

isting
*'

/lis

that they

Power.

The

vain,

by the

Subjector, that

The paragraph may thus

nations of the world, subjugated

false,

i^,,

the ex-

be paraphrased.
at

present to a

and debasing system of superstition and

despotism, cherish in their hearts, though they dare

not shew

it

words and actions, the fond hope

in their

of being emancipated under the auspices of the expected Prince, and of sharing with his
blessings of his

kingdom."

The

the creation cherished, and of

speaks, was founded

own

expectation which

which the Apostle here

upon the erroneous notions uni-

versally prevalent in early times, that

Redeemer would be

subjects the

the looked-for

a king,

literally

and

that

his

second appearance to establish a boundless and everlasting

kingdom, on the earth, was

tions our author in

to rectify.

the

at

hand. These no-

succeeding verses proceeds

But a judicious regard

to"

the prejudices

of his readers obliged him to touch them, like painful

wounds, with a tender hand.

whole creation groaneth and

And

For

'*

in

is

we know that the

labour until now.

we who have receiveven we (I say) groan

not only (the creation), but

ed the

first fruits

of the Spirit,

within ourselves, expecting our adoption to be a deli-

veranceof the body.

'

Which

is

to this effect:

"Not

only do the Jews and Gentiles indulge the mistaken

expectation of a corporeal emancipation, of anearrhly

EPISTLE TO THE

14

ROMANS

deliverance under the Messiah

selves, to

whom the Holy

in order to lead

cated

but the Apostles them-

Spirit has

them

[Cliap.VllI.

been Communi-

into the truth- into

knowledge of the true nature of

that

redemption which

Christ confers upon his faithful followers

even

the

Apostles, I say, have indulged the same fond but mis-

taken idea."

Having made this remark, he intimates

by Jesus, does not respect

that the salvation conferred

the present, but the future world, and

hope

"

not of sense.

not hope

when

is

an object of

We are saved by hope

the thing hoped for

is

seen

but

how

for

it is

can 9 man hope for what he already seeth. Since we

hope for what we do jiot see, let us wait with pati.

ence.'* 34, 2^,

**

for

And this spirit likewise helpeth our infirmities

we know not, as we ought, what to pray for but
:

the Spirit intercedeth for us with secret groans.

he who
of the

searcheth the heart

spirit, that

it

knoweth what

maketh intercession

is

the

And
mind

for the Saints

according to (the views of) God." 26, 27.

In

this

most obscure passage, the Apostle describes

himself and his fellow Christians as weighed

the various calamities to

down by

which they were exposed by

their profession, under the figure

with labour and tortured by cruelty

of slaves fatigued
:

slaves,

whom,

though oppressed, the unfeeling master, suffers not

to complain nor even to groan aloud.
Thus situated,
they send, in order to be redressed, a petition to their

common

Father, requesting

fect their deliverance.

the Holy Spirit,

whose

him

to interpose and ef-

This petition

is

office, like those

termediate angels employed between

entrusted to

supposed in-

God

and men,

ANALYSED.

Chap. VIII.]

105

was now to convey and spread before the throne oi

Mercy

The

the prayers of the afflicted.

ceiving that the

Spirit, per-

such requests as

contains

petition

accorded wit^ the counsels of heaven,

little

and

aside,

in

a manner more conformable

vine

Wisdom,

holy

suflferers.

lays

intercedes for the deliverance of the

The

paragraph, divested of

phor, and of the allusion

it

its

Jews and pagans,

conveys the following simple signification.

Pagans supposed there existed

Gods and men,

"

Th^

*'

supports us under

Spirit, imparted to us the Apostles,

the

meta-

bears to the notion of in-

tercessory angels,* maintained by the

* The

it

Di-

to the

a middle order of beings between

interpreters of the wills of the

Gods

to

men, and

ministering to their wants, carr)'ing the prayers and supplications of

down thence in return oracles and all

They arc the words of Plato, quoted by

mortals to heaven, and bringing

the other blessings of

De Iside,

Plutarch,

deemed

mediatorial.

life.'"

Those demons from

Sec. 26.

their office

were

In the number of these the Gnostics ranked the

Saviour, and for this reason stiled

him

C/irestus.

Paul has a pointed

reference to this notion in the following verse, where he

asserts the

mediatorship of Jesus to the exclusion of other demons, and affirms

him

to be

between

To

no other than a man

God

and man,

Demons

the office of

presenting the prayers of

when speaking of the

desires,

" There

is

one God, and one Mediator

the man Christ Jesus."

men

God, Peter
" They serve the

before

impostors.

and despise government, are bold,

to speak evil of dlgniie<:

Tim.

As though

the

5,

also thus alludes,

with unclean

flesh

self-willed,

and not afraid

whereas angels, greater in might and power,

bring not a railing jiidgmciU o^aimt them before the Lord." 2 Peter
11.

ii.

or angels employed, as was supposed, in

writer

had

said,

" 'The

deceivers-,

ii.

10,

agreeably to

the edict of the emperor, being punished by the praefccts of the provinces
for the vices of

return

which they

are guilty,

speak evil of those prsefects in

and through the medium of those intermediate demons,

existence of which they affect to believe, offer

tions against

them.

up

to

God their

But such imprecations, those angels

being unfit to be presented to the throne of Mercy."

in the

impreca-

lay aside, as

Which,

divested of

the allusion, only means that the prayers of the unrighteous offered, like

so

many

indictments to heaven, will not be heard.

EPISTLE TO THE

106

our
in

trials,

ROMANS

[Chap. VIII,

and has rectified those mistaken ideas which,

common

we

others,

^yith

chciishcd respecting the

character of the Messiah, and the nature of his king-

dom

while yet uninstructed by the Spirit,

not what to pray for.

such prayers

dom

But we

now

are

we knew

taught to offer

conformable to the Divine Wis-

as are

and though the prejudice of our hearers in

fa-

vour of temporal advantages, prevents us from expressing in plain terms the spiritual nature of those blessings

which we

God, who knoweth our

ask, yet

hearts,

and

heareth our most secret wishes and aspirations, understandeth

the true import of those supplications pre-

sented to

him

The

in behalf

Apostle in the next place, holds up the Deity as

an object of Love

who

of the faithful."

arraigned

and he removes the cavils of those

Him, by observing

of his servants, so

far

lence, are but instruments in his

their final
to(Tether

good

for

"

And we know

good

to

that the afflictions

from being proofs of malevo-

them

hand to work out

work
God," 28. The
allegory, which he uses in
which he compares manthat all things

that love

writer after this, resumes the

the seventh chapter, and in

kind under the influence of inveterate habits to children torn by tyranny from their homes, and sold into
slavery in a distant land

tender father,

who

redeem them from

would

whom
ly,

faithfully

and the Supreme Being

sends to invite them

their degraded state.

remember those

Now

to a

and

a father

unhappy children

cruelty or fraud had forced away from his fami-

and easily recognize them when,

somed, they revisited their native

Universal Father
his

to return

human

is

offspring.

after

soil.

being ran-

And

this the

here represented as doing towards

Having

a previous

knowledge of

ANALYSED.

Chap.'VlII.]

them he recognizes such

turn

home from

107

on

as are ransomecl,

their re-

While they

the captivity of Sin.

were yet in remote bondage and unacquainted with his

kind design, he resolves to redeem them and bring them

As soon

back again to his household.

as they

appear he

the meagre

causes them to lay aside the sordid dress,

looks which they were compelled to wear in their state of

slavery, and invests

them with

all

those ornaments and

which one beloved child who, remaining at

home while his brethren were gone astray, had enjoyed
privileges

in the immediate presence of his affectionate Parent.

V And we know that all things work together for good to

them that love God, to them that are called (invited to
For whom he forer'eturn) according to his purpose.
knew, he

also fore ordained to

conform

of his Son, that this Son might be the

many

brethren.

also called

doned

ed," 28

and

And whom

he fore-ordained, those he

31.

The purport

affairs

of which

may

be stated in

The providence

of

God

of mankind, his wisdom has previ-

ously ordained whatever comes to pass

ev'en the suf-

ferings of his faithful servants are his .decrees,

no

image

born of

first

and whom he called, those he also parwhom he pardoned, those he also glorifi-

the following propositions

governs the

to the

though

indications of malevolence in him, since they are

adapted to promote their ultimate happiness

his benignity, that

such

is

he not only receives every return-

ing penitent into favour, but has, without any merit or

effort

tion

so far

on the

part of

mankind, effected their emancipa-

and the scheme by which he emancipated them,

from being the result of sudden and capricious
was from the beginning preconcerted by his

partiality,

wisdom, and made the object

to

which

all

the dispen-

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

108

sations of his providence directly tend

all

[Chap. VIII.
:

And,

finally,

those persons, however obscure and afflicted at pre-

sent, if they resemble Christ in the lustre of his

moral

character, shall share hereafter in the glory of his per-

son, and in the privileges of his kingdom.

The converts in Rome, misled by mistaken views of

the new faith, and actuated by a deep hatred of tyranny, and an ardent love of liberty, opposed, we have
seen (Vol, i. p. 157
161) the abuses of the Roman

Government, which was rendered very oppressive by

the wicked administration of Sejanus.
tion,

however

that minister.

whom

he

at

just, brought

upon

The

opposi-

thera the hatred of

In order to be revenged upon a people,

once hated and feared, he presented to

the Senate various heavy charges against them.

The

crimes, of which a few comparatively were guilty,

he extended to the whole body of the Jewish and

Egyptian converts

and he employed with success

his influence with Tiberius to

The

punished.

opposition

have them disgraced and

made

to the followers

of

Jesus by the government, and the accusations laid to

their charge, are facts to which our author adverts in

What then shall we say to these

God be for us who can be against us ?
SHALL any bring ACCUSATION AGAINST THE
CHOSEN OF God ? God acquitteth them. Doth

the following verse

things

*'

if

ANY CONDEMN THEM?

he

is

risen

Christ hath died, or rather

and, standing at the right hand of God,

pleadeth in our behalf," 31

35,

Tiberius, in order to separate the converts from their

allegiance

to the

new

Prince, under whose banners

they had lately enlisted, banished some into remote


ANALYSED.

Chap. VIII.]
islands

while those

who were

109

of suitable age, he

On

forced into the military service.

these measures

when he triumphshall
separate us
antly put the question, Who
FROM THE LOVE OF Christ. He then enumerates

the Apostle mUst have had his eye

the several hardships which they underwent in conse-

quence of those measures, and expresses

his confi-

dence that the love of their Master will enable them to

triumph over

" Shall tribulation, or

their difficulties.

oppression, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness,

or danger, or thes word

are

Nay,

in all these things

more than conquerors through him

The Jewish youths, who

at the

The

refused entering into the

instigation of the Senate,

we

that loved us."

army

were put to death.

greatest part determined, attests Josephus, to pre-

serve their laws inviolate, submitted to this fate rather than

Cap.

become

p.

iii.

879.

soldiers.

Jud. Antiq. Lib.

On

circumstance turns the

this

xviii.

propriety of the following words, which the Apostle

has selected from Ps. xliv. 22. "

for thy sake we

are KILLED ALL THE DAY LONG :" Which means,
** We are destroyed, not because we are guilty
of any,
crimes, but because of the attachment we shew to the
Almighty, and to the cause in which we are engaged

We are not secretly assassinated by night,

but butcher-

ed, like flocks of sheep, in the face of day

merciless treatment

we

are exposed

and

to this

from morning to

evening."

While

the undisguised enemies of the Gospel,

on

ne hand, used open violence to withdraw the true

believers from the faith
other,

answer

its

pretended friends on the

employed opposite but more

this end.

effectual

In opposition to the

man

means to
Jesus, the

endeared Lord of the Apostles, they preached a Christ

no

ROMANS

EPISTLE TO THE

[Chap. Vlll.

descended from heaven, invested with pozifersdindprin-^

cipalities,

and accompanied with ^w^^/j) they affected,

moreover, to reveal an unknown divinity superior to

the

God

whom
Bathos.
By

of Israel,

Byikos,^ or

they called by the

such

fictions,

name of
ene-

these

mies of the truth sought to undermine the Christian

The

cause.

Apostle next directs his attention to them,

as uniting with the advocates oi

despotism and super-

stition in their

endeavours to separate the true believers

from Christ.

" For

am persuaded that

norhfe, nor angels, nor

neither death,

nor powers, nor

principalities,

things present, nor things to come, nor/zf?^^/,

(Hyp-

soma), nor depth, (Bathos), nor any other Being, will

be able to separate us from the love of

God

in Christ

Jesus our Lord." 38, 39.

* The

deceivers called their

Supreme God Bythos,

the Excerpta of Clemens Alexartdrlnus he

(px<n, [xfim^ ovcrx

is

tuv irxvTuv WfopAnjStvToiv

Iren. p. 7.

stiled Bathos.
i/iro

rov BxOovs.

This

Bythos, they represented as higher than the Creator of the world,

XoTEPov T/

y.a.t

p.iitpv

iTi'nofny.oros 'htov.

here gives

it

the

rov Tov ov^xtov kxi

In reference to

name of

'^%t

rx

Gnostic notions, and that the names used in

this place are

the Gnostic school, will appear very clear, if

we

endlesi genealogies

(1

Tim.

i.

3.)

xvtois

to

the

copied from

duly attend to the ac-

counts given by Irenaeus and Epiphanius on this subject.

and

tv

tivj/o?-

the Apostle

That he adverts

hcighth.

v\'u.'i*.x

x.xt irizvrcc

this representation,

In

(jiyrj

Thefables

which they invented, had no

other object than to seduce the converts from the Creator of the world.

The

primary links in that chain of

Aoyos, ^povno'is,
p. 69.

lf

'Lo<pix,

fictitious

Avvx(j.ts,

beings were BvQos,

tiovs,

A^^ai, AyysXoi. See Epiphan.

then, this succession was fabricated in order to separate the

from the true God, the words of our author were very pertinent and significant, when he says : " I am persuaded, that neither
believers

ANGELS, nor PRiNCiPALiriES, nor powers, nor Hyp soma,

nor Bathos, nor any other being can separate us from the love of
God."


ANALYSED

Chap. IX.]

111

chief pretence, which the Gnostics luid for at-

The

tempting to alienate the affection of

people from

his

the benevolent Creator of the universe, was the male-

volence imputed to him, and the sufferings of his vo-

These

taries.

sufferings

plausibility, as a decisive

proof of

and indeed in

this occasion,

our

they alleged, not without

all

his cruelty.

On

other places, where

illustrious teacher notices the persecution of the

Christians, he impresses his hearers in the strongest

terms with the benevolence of their maligned Father.

*'

If

God be
own

not his

for us,

who

is

against us

He, who spared

Son, but gave him up for us

he not also with him freely give us

all

all

how

will

things ?" 32

we are more than conquerors

THROUGH HIM THAT LOVED US." 37. " For I
am persuaded, that neither death nor life will be able
to separate us from the love of God in Christ
'

In

all

these things,

Jesus our Lord." Sec above, pages 61, 62.

The calamities, which their profession entailed on the

new converts, and the ignominy attached to the name
of Jesus, were the chief circumstances that deterred the

Jewish nation more generally irom embracing him as

Our Apostle, having his ideas now fixed
the Messiah.
on these causes, passes over to the

effect

and,

i^i

language highly characteristic of the goodness and tenderness of his heart, expresses his deep-felt sorrow for
the perverseness of his countrymen in rejecting their

Saviour.

*'

speak the truth in Christ,

conscience also bearing

that I
I

me testimony

my

I lie not,

in the holy spirit,

have great grief and continual sorrow of heart (for

too once gloried in being an anathema from Christ)

on account of
the flesh."

my

14.

brethren,

my kinsmen

The conduct

according to

of Paul, in extend-

CHAP IX

EPreXLE TO THE ROMANS

It2

[Chap. IX.

ing to the Gentile converts those privileges which the

Jews had
hath

hitherto enjoyed under the

Mosaic Dispensa-

and in defending that liberty with which Christ

tion,

made them

free against the

Judaizing Zealots, brought

of being an
ferring

enemy

upon

to his own

when he

says

the accusation

countrymen, and of con-

which belonged only

others the rights

the chosen people of

encroachments of the

upon him

God.

to

This charge he repels,

1 have great grief and continual sorrow on

account of my brethren^ )ny kins}nen according to thejlesh^*

The

assertion that, so far

from entertaining any

vievvs towards them, he indulges the

hostile

most tender re-

gard for their interests, our author introduces in a

very solemn manner.

speak the truth in

Christ, fny

conscience also hearing fne testimony in the Holy Spirit.

speak in Christ or in,the Holy Spitit,

in

tiie

name of

Is

To

to assert a. thing

a legislator, the sanctions of whose

law extend to the inward thoughts.

insinuates that, in this

and

all

By this

phrase he

other declarations, he

avoids the equivocation and duplicity of

language

practised by the Gentile and Gnostic teachers

that

he

ever speaks the truth with the utmost sincerity and

fairness,

and annexes to

his

words the very sense which

they obviously convey.

So infatuated and depraved were the Jewish unbelievers, that they not

them,

\i\xt

only refused Christ to reign over

anathematised ov cursed\i\m, and even glo-

ried in so doing.

The

Apostle, having himself been

once guilty of the same temerity, mentions this circumstance as a reason for not being severe in condemning them, but, on the contrary, for exercising towards

them sorrow and compassion

It is

worthy of notice.

ANALYSED.

Chap. IX.]

113

that the writer employs, seemingly, the very words,

which
of
'

the refractory used, in order to soften the glare

by mixing with

their guilt

myself

ma from
From

the shades of his

own,

Christ, or gloriedin anathematising Christ,'*

the days of

cherished towards

This unfortunate

now become

Moses the Jews and Egyptians had

each other the bitterest enmity.
indulged even after they were

Spirit,

converts to the Gospel, disposed the

lat-

triumph in the severe treatment, which the for-

ter to

mer

it

well as they) gloried in being an anathe-

(as

in those times generally experienced

mans, and in the

longed to them

as the

from the Ro-

of those privileges which be-

loss

chosen people of God.

This cir-

cumstance induced our author to defend the Jewish

nation against their Egyptian false brethren.

He

dingly asserts the reality of those prerogatives,

distinguished

them from other nations

ises the Israelites as the

"

propriated.

WHOSE

whom they

my

4.

who

brethren,

were ap-

are Israel-

was the adoption of sons, and the glory,

and the covenants, and the religious

promises."

which

and character-

have great grief and continual sorrow

of heart on account of
ites

people to

accor-

The high

and the

service,

estimation in which

Abraham

and Joseph were generally held for their acknowledged

wisdom, virtue, and antiquity, might have induced
the Egyptianizing Christians to

among

deny

that they

the founders of the Jewish nation

ranked

represent-

ing the former a Chaldean, the latter an Egyptian.

They, too, denied

God, had a

and that the

Israel,

whom

VOL.

III.

that the Christ,

human body born

in

being an jon or
the line of David,

Supreme Divinity was

the

God

of

they blasphemed as an inferior evil Be-

E?ISTLE TO THE ROMANS

114

{Chap. IX.

Against these errors the Apostle continues the

img.

Whose are the

defence of his countrymen.

ta-

AND OF WHOM IS ChrIST, ACCORDING

to the flesh, whose* is the god over allf
Blessed for ever more. Amen. 5.
THRS,

render the text conformably to the conjecture of Schlichtingiu^,

who

foro uv

That

S^OJ.

considerations

and

TtavTuv Ssof, has proposed to read wv o

iitt

this is the true reading is

This

i.

or of

Him who

is

ments of the men

over

is

a phrase which

appUed

Christian, uniformly

all.

whom

God

all

ancient writers, Jewish

as descriptive

of the Supreme God,

See Wetstein on the place.

came from

of Israel, and denied that he

is

God

assert, in

belonged to

was an object not of blasphemy but of

m^e. Amen.

3.

Had

would have cited

fathers

senti-

God over all. What could

praise

the original stood, as

this clause in

it

opposition to such

Jewish people, and

tlie

sertions contained in the text thus corrected, M^Acse

ever

The

They blasphemed

hand.

his

the

have been more proper and necessary than to

a doctrine, that the Most High
that he

2.

the Apostle had before him, prove this to be

the reading which originally

the

Trxvrxv

7r<

demonstrable from the following

is

and these are

as-

Cod over allikssed

now

the early-

does,

proof of the divinity of Christ

but neither Justin, I believe, nor Irenaeus, nor Tertullian, has quoted

with

this

passage in the

New Testament,

which was capable with the

least

colour

of justice of being perverted to the support of that doctrine.

omission, then,
state

is

a fair presumption, that the original in

not the true reading.

is

thodox

critics

became so

4. Finally, the

remarks of the learned Taylor. " Christ

is

its

into

God

over

all,

as

',

tiles

he

is

more nearly

wv, that

Hear the
he is by the

Father appointed Lord, King, and Governor of all. But what

his character, in wlilch

That
present

most judicious of the or-

sensible of the inversion of ut

they have abandoned the latter as foreign and impertinent.

of

it

view, though they have seized with violence and avidity every

this part

related to believing

Gen-

than to Infidel Jews, has to do with privileges belonging to the

latter,

me

doth not seem to

very clear.

Much

less

can

conceive,

why

the Apostle in this particular enumeration of Jewish privileges, should

not mention their relation to God, as their God,

larly gloried

(Chap.

ii.

17.),

glories, being the

first

and which he

not to insert

fails

ans, (Chap. V.

1 1 .)

m which they particu-

and which was indeed the glory of

and grand

when he

is

article in

among the

tj-.e

all

their

covenant with Abraham,

singular privileges of Christi-

shewing that the subjects of their glory-

ing were not inferior to those of

tlje

^tws. Hovr could he overlsjok the

ANALYSED

Chap. IX.]

The

I15

writer thus continues his animadversions in re-

ference to

Egyptianizing teachers.

tiie

any means the word of God hath

failed

terity of Israel are not true Israelites

offspring children of promise

Abraham's

all

but, saiththe Scripture,

the posterity of Isaac shall be the children: that

children of the flesh are not God's children

is,

the

but the

For

children of promise are counted his children.

was the word of promise

by

that

for all the pos-

nor

Not

'

this

according to this time will

And not only so, but

Rebecca likewise, who had conceiv-

come, and Sarah shall have a son.

it

was thus with

ed twins by our father Isaac.

when

For, before their birth,

they had done nothing either good or evil, that

God's purpose of choice (not from works but from the

will of

him who

calleth)

might remain

to her, the elder will serve the

Jacob have

we

say then

no means

01

TTxriqis

he

Or what

this list ?

Thus

if

uv for wv

it

was

as

it is

Kxt(^

a)v

Xf/foy to
Ajji-ni.

Whose are the

Christ, Whose
is

I will

shew mercy

thus, 'fin

(Tu^kx, flv

In English thus,

and of

God

over

all

iirt

Wh o

whom

difficulty.

n vioOscrix

as

k, i^v

nTxvruv Sfoy
e

is

the adop-

concerning the

blessed for ever

Amen.

the grand privilege will be inserted to advantage, and stand at the

top of a lofty climax, rising from the fathers, to Christ, to God.

have indeed no copy to justify

tions

un-

What shall
God ? By

This will remove every

enough

kxtx

fathers,

the

said

written

there should be a transposition of a

text will run naturally

&c.

flesh is

unto Moses

saith

uXo7r)Tos lis rovs xiuvxs.

tion,

there unrighteousness with

Is

single letter in the text

For then the

loved, but Esau have I hated.

for

main Article in

younger

seem

posed.

to

As

make

it

there are

this reading.

But the

probable the article (0) might be very early trans-

no accents

in the ancient

Manuscript a transcriber

might take {m) the Genitive Plural for the Participle of

the article (0)

precede.

We

foresaid considera-

which follows ought, agreeably

to the

//.',

and then

Greek idiom, to

This might occasion the transposition." Taylcfs Note on

'

flacc,

the

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Il6

whom

unto

I please,

wish

then, to

ceive mercy from God.

my power

might shew

nothing, but to re-

is

all

he chooseth," 6

and that

So

the earth.

he hath mercy where he chooseth

^s^here

unt

saith

have raised thee up,

in thee

name might be declared through

So

I please.

For the Scripture

Pharaoh: For this very purpose

that I

whom

and pity to

nothing, to run

is

[Chap. IX,

my
that

and hardeneth

25.

In order fully to comprehend the meaning of

this

difficult

and memorable passage,

call the

circumstances which the writer had before hi^

He

eyes.

who

is

arguing,

we have

necessary to re-

seen, with certain

men,

supported the superstition of the Egyptians, in

opposition to the Jewish system

reveal and worship a

whom

God

it is

made

to

who pretended to
God of Israel,
Being. They insist-

superior to the

they blasphemed as an evil

ed too,
first

it is

probable, on the nullity of the promise

Abraham, and afterwards repeated

and Jacob, and

in proof of this pointed to the

and dispersed condition of

his descendants.

to Isaac

degraded

Now

the

Apostle, in order to obviate the hasty conclusion thus

drawn from the

of

his

those

and consequent degradation

infidelity

countrymen, represents the promise as made to

who were

not in a

the seed of

literal, sense.

*'

Abraham in a

Not

that,

metaphorical,

by any means, the

word of God hath

by no means been

nullified in the present unbelief

the Jews)

the posterity of Israel are not true

Israelites

promise.

for

nor

failed,

all
all

But,

flesh are

of

Abraham's offspring children of

saith the

of Isaac shall be the

of the

(the divine declaration hath

The

Scripture,

children

that

not God's children

dren of the promise are counted

is,
;

posterity

the children

but the chil-

his children," 6, 7, 8.

ANAI.YSEB.

Chap. IX.]

The

circumstance, he next insinuates, of the promise

being unfulfilled, so

was

whose

far

state,

birth the promise

this is the

word

come, and

from proving

by the veiy

presignified

and superannuated

I17

when
was

of promise.

Sarah^-sjiall

late

its

invalidity,

period of Sarah's

life

she bore the child in

' For

in part realized.

According

have a son."

to

tms time will

Esau and Jacob

were pronounced by the divine oracle, while yet un(Gen. XXV. 23.) to be the represdntatives of

born,

two great nations, namely, of the

As

Egyptians.

relation to

Now,

God.

and the

Israelites,

two former had one

however envious of each

latter,

same

the

father, so the

other, sustained the

in order to allay the ani-

mosities of the Jewish and Egyptian converts, and to

awaken

in their

bosoms the sentiments of brotherly

the great teacher admonishes

Jove,

scent from a

ceived

Parent, "

common

BY ONE."

them of

their de-

Rebecca also had con-

The meekness and

address of our

Apostle present us with a similar instance in Acts xvii.

27, where he reminds the philosophers of Athens,

who

partook of the general hatred against the Jews, that

human

the

Esau the elder brother

came

all

race were the offspring of the same father,

forfeited his birth-right,

tation, considered in reference to the

and be-

This represen-

a servant to Jacob the younger.

people

who
when the

whom they

typified, signifies that the Egyptians,

flourished

power and opulence

Israelites la-

boured

in a

at

a time

lit

poor and enslaved condition, woujd sink

in obscurity and oppression

while the peopli^,

whom

they held in slavery, should rise to prosperity and emi-

nence under the auspices of Jehovah.

ten

Jacob have

loved, but Esau have

*'

As

it is

hated."

writ-

That

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

Itl
is

to say

I have
that,

'

The

whom

nation

[Chap. IX.

the former represents,

crowned with prosperity and happiness

denoted by the

latter, I

The circumstance

and misery."

while

have depressed in bondage

of the two nations

having been thus pre-ordained by providence, and

presignified in the fate of their respective representatives before they

were yet

in existence,

was well adap-

ted to preclude the Egyptians, on one han

1,

from boast-

ing in their superior antiquity, and the Jews, on the

other, from triumphing in their subsequent ascendency

And

over their unfeeling oppressors.

was the

this

laudable object which Paul had in the following verse.

'

For, before their birth,

when

they had done no-

thing either good or evil, that God's purpose of choice

(not from works but from the will of

might remain

him

that calleth)

was said unto her, the elder

it

shall

serve the younger."

The

gyptianizing teachers, though they might not

admit the justice of

to deduce

from

it

this representation,

would not

fail

an additional argument for that capri-

ciousness, and injustice,

which they ascribed

to the

God of Israel. The Apostle anticipates the impious inference by putting the question, " What shall we say
then. Is there unrighteousness with God ?
By no
means

for he saith unto

Moses,

I will

whom I will have mercy and I will

on whom I will have compassion,"
;

have mercy on

have compassion
14, 1^.

By

this

Paul inculcates, in opposition to the blasphemers, that

mercy and compassion are the leading features in the

God
human

character of

towards his

andthat he exercises these attributes

offspring,

not indeed according to

the narrow and partial views of any one individual or

nation,

however wise and powerful, but according

to

ANALYSED.

Chap. IX.J

own

the dictates of his

He

love.

ViWfi

unerring wisdom and boundless

then ascribes the reward proposed in the

Gospel to the benignity of God, and not to any qualifications in the candidates

The prize
feom hrm who has
vour

gives

*'

it

Being

in

the will to run, but from

God who

not from him

is

This right of the Supreme

16.

on whomsoever he pleased,

to confer favour

and delicacy,

skill

example taken from the Mosaic

once calculated

to

by an

illustrates

which was

history,

at

humble the pride of the Egyptian

impostors, and to evince the superiority of the

God

of

over the fancied Supreme Divinity which they

Israel

affected to worship.

Pharaoh
that I

his fa-

runs, nor

mercy,"

Paul with great

which might merit

who

then

For

this

might shew

' For the Scripture

very purpose have

my power

in thee,

might be declared throughout

all

salth

unto

raised thee up,

and that

the earth

my name
so that he

hath mercy where he chooseth, and hardeneth where

he chooseth."

Observe

that,

while the writer so re-

peatedly represents the Almighty as exercising mercy

he instances

his severity

only in hardening the heart of

Pharaoh, and not in destroying him

ful to state

the design

ihe Egyptian monarch.

And he

which God had

but

care-

This treatment did not pro-

ceed from cruelty, capriciousness, or

the sufferer

is

in thus treating

ill-will

towards

from a regard to the advantages,

mankind would derive hence in becoming

acquainted with the name and character of Jehovah.
' That I might shew my
power in thee, and that my

which

all

name might be

The
and

declared throughout

all

the earth."

assertion, that the Creator acts as

that

it

pleaseth him,

none can counteract the execution of

furnished the blasphemers

with

his will,

another objection.

EPISTLE TO THE

18

Why.doth he

<

still

ROMANS

find fault ?

[Chap. IX.

Who hath opposed his

will ?' These questions, being put with an insolence that

criminated the Divine conduct, and put too by

who were

by

disqualified

their ignorance

men

and depravi-

from enquiring with candor and meekness into the

ties

Reasonableness of God's

dealings with mankind, the

Apostle, instead of answering, repels by holding up the

uncontroulable right which the Deity has to dispose of,

as

it

pleaseth him, the creatures of his hands.

man, but who

shall the

work

make me

thus

God ?

thou that disputest with

art

Why

workman,

say to the

didst thou

Hath not the potter such power over

make

the clay, as to

" Nay,

out of the same

lump one

vessel

for honoii^rable uses, and another for dishonourable ?"

20, 21.

The promptitude and

fertility

of our Apostle's

imagination are here worthy of notice.

was now

for

saic history,

led

some time fixed upon

which represents the

i.

Israelites as

wrought

Hence he

work

in morter

exhibits the

and their destruction in

for menial purposes,

Red

to

Mo-

compel-

Egyphumble image of earthen wares

14.

tian oppressors in the

the

that part of the

by the task-masters of Pharaoh

and brick, Exod,

His attention

Sea, under an allusion to the same vessels

dashed on the ground and broken to pieces,

after the

purposes for wnich they were made had been answered

while the

Israelites,

whom

the

Almighty delivered

out of Egypt, he likens to utensils richly decorated and

" What if God, wishfor honourable uses.

wrought

ing to display his anger and to

produced

in

much patience

for destruction

make known

and (chose) to exhibit

rious (ornaments)

upon

his

power,

vessels of anger, fitted only

his rich

vessels of mercy,

and glo-

which he had

before prepared for glory, (for glorious purposes ?)"22,

23.

Which

question amounts to this effect

"

What

ANALYSED.

Chap. IX.]

121

though the Sovereign Disposer of

all

things punished

with exemplary severity, a people, towards

exercised great forbearance,
disqualified for the

ship

and

honour of

on the contrary, what

whom

whom he had

their vices

and friend-

his patronage
if

had

by a splendid display

of power he rescued the Jewish nation from bondage,

and conferred upon them the most honourable

dis-

tinctions as his chosen people, Ought he, on these at-

counts to be charged
ality

To

?"

with cruelty,

and

caprice

parti-

prevent, however, the injurious conclusion,

that he regarded with partial fondness the descendants

f Abraham to the exclusion of

other nations, the

writer immediately subjoins, that the Gentiles as well

as the

Jews

are invited, and indeed pre-ordained t

participate in the blessings of the Gospel

and

im-

this

portant point he corroborates by the authority of the

not only from

Gentiles also.
that

my

he also called, even

us,

the

where

'

my

people which was not

it

was

said unto them.

Ye

people

And,

not beloved.

are not

Isaiah crieth out concerning Israel

my

short account will the

as Isaiah foretold

us a race,

But

though the numsea, that

For a complete and

Lord make upon the

earth.

And

Unless the Lord of hosts had

left

we should have become as Sodom, and have

keen like Gomorrah," 24

The

people

God.

ber of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the

will be preserved.

and her

in the place

there will they be called sons of the living

remnant only

call

who was

beloved

Whom

among the Jews, but from among

As he salth too in Hosea I will

Jewish teachers

29.

Gentiles, immoral as they previously had been,

received the faith on the sole condition of repentance

and amendment

whereas the Jews sought to establisb

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

133

own

their

righteousness,

[Chap. X.

or their exemption from the

penalty of Sin and claim to the divine acceptance,

ceremonial works andnot the cultivation of virtue.

cordingly our author adds

What shall we say then ?

who did not pursue rightc-

Truly, that the Gentiles

'

usness

overtook righteousness,

which

of faith

Gif

is

who pursued

but that Israel,

Because they sought

works of the law

it is

ble
it

even righteousness
a law

righteousness, did not reach a law of righteousness.

And why
as

by
Ac-

at,

shall

written

and to

Behold

not by faith, but by

it

for they stumbled against that stone,

I lay in

strike against,

Sion a stone to stum,

and none who trusteth in

be disappointed," 31, 32, 33.

Anxious

to repel the charge

that

he entertained

wishes unfriendly to his countrymen, Paul again expresses his heart-felt desire for their salvation,

candidly acknowledges

and

the opposition they

that, in

to the Gospel, they were actuated by a zeal that

was laudable, though not tempered by knowledge :
*'
Brethren, the desire of my heart, and my prayer to

made

CHAP. X.

God
and

in behalf of Israel,
I

indeed for their salvation

is

bear them testimony, that they have a zeal for

yeligion, but not according tp

knowledge,"

1, 2.

which induced the Jews

principal reason,

One

to reject

the Messiahship of Jesus, was the circumstance that

the Apostles extended to other nations the blessings of
his Gospel, and substituted the cultivation of

piety and universal benevolence in the

as the

monial oblations,

God.

To

this

cere-

means of acceptance with

cause of their perverseness our Apostle

adverts in the following verses

fiy, that

genuine

room of

they have

ing to knov/ledge

"

bear them testimo-

a zeal for religion, but not accordfor not

knowing

the righteousness

ANALYSED.

Chap. X.]

123

of God, and seeking to establish their

own

righteous,

ness, they have not subjected themselves to the righte.

ousness of God.

For Christ

is

the end of the law so as

The

to justify every one believing in him," 3, 4.

teousness

of God means the Gospel, being the

God, and containing terms of

the

free gift of

salvation conformable to

wisdom and goodness of God. See Chap,

22.

where

it

is

righ-'

described by

17,

i.

the same phrase.

iii.

scheme of redemption, which required the eradication

of every vicious habit, and the mortification of every

impure

desire, the

refused

to

Jewish people in general,

accept,

but

obstinately

seems,

it

rested,

the

as

grounds of justification, on external forms more fa

Paul here

vourable to their corrupt propensities.

Christ

THE EN D

of the law

which Christ taught,

is

under the

language contained in the law, and

its

main

object, perfection,

Of this

tion.

of figurative

veil
is

what constitutes
or consumma^

developement,

the Jewish zealots, confining their atten*

tion to the literal sense, were ignorant

norance in

stile?

meaning that the Doctrine

this

and their ig-

respect induced our Apostle to say that

they had zeal, but not according to knowledge.

Paul

indeed allows with great candor, that the ritual obser-

vances instituted by Moses might be rested upon, as a

solid

ground of

justification, if those rites answered!

their intended end, viz. if they preserved their votaries

from the immoralities of

their Gentile neighbours,

generated in theni purity of heart and manners.

Moses writeth of the

man who doeth

The
ings

justification

by

these things shall live

*'

and

Now

the law, that the

by them,"

j.

great lawgiver of the Jews, foretelling^the bless-

which would await

that nation, if they refrained

from the vices they had imbibed from intercourse with

EPlSTtE TO THE ROMANS

124

the Pagans, and turn to the

adds

all

their hearts,

not in heaven, that thou .shouldest say,

It is

^o up
hear

for us to heaven,

it

and do

Who

thou shouldest say.

and bring

word

to us, that

it

and bring

Neither

it ?

is

shall

we may

[Chap. X.

command

not hidden from thee, neither

this day, it is

the

Lord with

" This commandment which

is it

Who shall
we may

to us, that

it

beyond the

it

thee

far off.

sea, that

go over the sea for

hear

it

and do

it ?

us,

But

very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth and in

is

thy heart, that thou mayest do

Deut, xxx. ii

it,"

15.

This passage our author quotes in the following maner. " But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh

that

is,

to bring Christ

Or,

Who

up

Christ again from the dead.

The word
heart

shall

is

that

6, 7, 8.

Who shall

Say not in thine heart.

this wise,

into heaven

ascend

down from above

descend into the deep

that

is,

But what

to bring

saith

it ?

nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy

the

is,

word

ot faith

which we preach,"

Christ and his Apostles,

it

has already bee

remarked, appear to have considered the language of

Moses, while

it

carried an immediate reference to the

own

circumstances of the Jewish nation in his

tion to those

Hence Paul

who

rejected the Gospel in after ages.

interprets the reformation, enjoined

Jewish lawgiver,

as

virtue,

mean

produced by a

faith in the

The commandment he
Christ,

and the word

Christian Doctrine.

by the

ultimately signifying that righte-

cusness, justification, or the cultivation

Jesus.

times,

a secondary metaphorical applica-

as susceptible of

The

of

universal

divine mission of

also

to be the

understands

to

same with the

interpretation,

which the

Apostolic teachers put upon the law of Moses, justified the writer in these substitutions.

But

his

chief

reason for sp doing, was appartntly to render the lacK

ANALYSED.

Chap. X.]

12^

guage of the Jewish lawgiver more appropriate to the

and character of the Zealots.

situation

Accordinjr to

them, the law and the prophets proceeded from two

Gods, and consequently had no connection

different

This notion Paul undermines, hy

with each other.

representing the Gospel as forming the internal and

part of the

vital

the

Mosaic System; and Christ

which

or end in

ol?jeci

all its

mises ultimately terminated.

as the

ordinances and pro-

The

deceivers taught,

supernatural being, descended on Jesus

that the

and flew up

into

They

heaven no more to return.

also maintained, that

at

from him when apprehended,

his baptism, separated

the

not raised from the dead.

body of the man Jesus was

In reference

and dangerous notions, our author,

it

to

these false

appears to me,

thus interprets the words of the Jewish lawgiver

*

Say not

in thine

heart.

bring

Who

down

shall

ascend into hea-

Christ from above

ven, that

is,

Who shall

descend into the deep, to bring up Christ

to

again from the dead."

miny,

which

or.

In order to avoid the igno-

in those days attached to the Christian

profession, and the trials, to

which the true believers

in consequence submitted, the Gnostics scrupled not

While they affected to
to deny Christ before men.

believe in his divine mission, and to worship

divine being
as their

him

as a

they neither submitted to his authority

Lord, nor acknowledged him to be the same

with Jesus of Nazareth.

These notions unfold the

" The word is

propriety of the following clauses.

nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart

is,

the

word of

faith

confess with thy

from thy

which we preach.

For,

if

that

thou

mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe

God raised him from the dead,

heart, that

thou shalt be saved/'

8, 9.

Observe, the Apostle

ejc-

ROMANS

EPISTLE TO THE

126

from

horts the converts to heXiQVQ

man

with the heart a

[Chap.X.

their hearts.^--*''

believeth unto righteousness, and

with the mouth he confesseth unto salvation," lo.

though he had said

For

" The

fruits

As

of righteousness which

render us acceptable to God, are produced only in him

who

new

looks forward to a

tion of Jesus

conviction of

governed by
ance of

its

its

through the resurrec-

life

who embraces

the Gospel from a sincere

and with a firm resolution to be

truth,

precepts

and he alone, who in

temporal considerations openly confesses

all

which await the

Christ, will be saved from the evils

children ot disobedience."

daizing Zealots,

God

In opposition to the Ju-

who maintained

that

God was

not the

of the Gentiles as well as of the Jews, (see above

p. 54.) Paul adds

" For the Scripture

saith.

ever believeth in him shall not be ashamed

is

defi-

Whosofor there

no difference between the Jew and the Greek

the same Lord over

him." n,

is

all that call

for

upon

12.

What justice
following

all,

rich unto

and propriety must there appear in the

quotation,

when

it

is

recollected that, in

consequence of the wide dispersion of the Jewish and

Egyptian converts from Rome, the light of the gospel,
like that of the sun in the firmament,

every quarter of the globe.

heard? Yes verily

" But

was conveyed to
say have they not

their VOICE WENT FORTH INAND THEIR WORDS INTO

TO ALL THE EARTH,

THE EXTREMITIES OF THE WORLD.'"*

* The

subject, to

which these words

xbt. 4, shews that the passage

is

arc applied

18.
by the Psalmist

cited not as a prophecy^ but as a perti-

nent coincidence with the matter in question.

T^is

is

an obscr\'ation

ANALYSED.

Chap. XI.]

IBf

After Intimating, that the reception of the Gospel by

the Gentiles, and even by z foolish nation (meaning the

who, on account of

Ecryptlans,

among

rational

was but the fulfilment of ancient prophecies,

iieings)

verses 19, 20,

rence,

and

their superstition

vics, scarcely deserved to he ranked

which

Paul hastens to preclude an

21,

infe-'

a Gentile convert, not sufficiently influ-

enced by the meek

posed to draw

spirit

of his religion, might be dis-

namely, that Jehovah had

now aban-

doned forever his hitherto peculiar and chosen people

God rejected his own people ? By no CHAP- XL

means for I also am an Israelite, of Abraham's seed,
of the tribe of Benjamin. God had not rejected his
own people whom he hath known so long. What ?
**

I say, then,

hath

fRade by Theodoret.

Tovro

KVTiijv tt^ytfAivoy tzBukzi/,

wc

shall

" The heavens

all

them hath he

sent a tabernacle for the sun,

Now the sun is the most common

Christian writers describe the Saviour.

first

which

^Their line

of celestial

the passage

The

is

is

a bridegroom

is

man

truth,

the Jewish converts,

ia

ancient

latter,

when he

spread over the moral the

fruits

us,

(see

quoted,) illumined the British

it

com-

As, therefore,the former diffuses

and the peaceful

Christian religion,

all

to

of

J,one

to run a race."

image, under which

human hope,

Sun of righteousness, Gildas informs

us.

and genial influence over the natural world, so the

rose above the horizon of

light

it

the earth, and their words to the end of the world

ing out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong

light

rrr^n^rmus mi^t

declare the glory

the firmament sheweth his handy-work.

out through

6,

01s

perhaps discover the association which brought

the recollection of our author.

God, and

ov^

u^iji.ott(i Ivvxixcvo)/ rois ijaqovjiv

If w^ attend to the context in which the original verse

Tr^xyfAMViv.
stands,

^s "tt^o^v^ov ot<

aAX' wr

of righteousness.

isles

Ihc

277, where
in the days of Tiberi-

Vol.

i.

p.

has there been shewn, was imported by

some of whom we may

infer

from Tacitus and

Suetonius were banished thither by that emperor.

It reflected, too, the

The

figure struck the bold

same divine lustre upon other

invagination of our Apostle

distant lands.

and he imperceptibly suggests to

the beaiuy and propriety of tLe compaf ison.

his retdets

EPISTLE TO tHE

12^

ROMANS

[Chap. Xl.

know ye not what die Scripture saith concerning Elias ?

how he appeareth before God with respect to Israel
saying. Lord, they have killed thy teachers,

do^vn thine altars

seeking

my

life."

am

so that I only

left,

which

here delineated

is

The Apos-

in the conduct of our illustrious teacher.

tles, like their

are

Observe the beautiful lesson

5.

of forbearance and patience,

their

and digged

and they

Divine Master, were cruelly treated by

countrymen, who, not content with persecuting,

sought by various ways to extirpate, this band of holy

men.

And

in

what language does the writer speak of a

treatment so unfeeling and unmerited

direct terms, place
its

atrocity in just

indeed

at

it

Does

he,

in

before his readers, and describe

though odious colours

He

hints

the hardships to which the virtuous followers

of Jesus were exposed from their brethren.

leading their

own

tors of his

But by

attention from the unrelenting persecutimes, and fixing

it

on the

enemies

like

of truth and virtue in more ancient days, he endeavours, instead of aggravating, to soften as

who

distant shades, the guilt of those

blood.

At

among

his

own

was conscious, concerting means

existence

and

ferer makes,

is

all

in

the complaint

the divine answer to

thousand men,

Accordingly

at

thirsted for his

to

this

nations were, he

deprive

him of

which the meek

the language of Elias,

SEEKING MY LIFE.

were with

which he penned

the very time in

paragraph, ruffians

it

suf-

They are

" But what," he goes on, "

him

who have

left

is

myself seven

not bended a knee to Baal.

this present

nant chosen out by favour

have

time also, there

and

if

is

a rem-

by favour, not then


ANALYSED.

Chap. XI.]

from works

As on

otherwise this were no longer a favour.

the contrary,

favour

if

from works,

How

are.

then

he hath not attained

ed, but the rest

and

What

spirit

Israel

as

ing unable to check

its

the

new

God

of stupefaction, eyes without

first

g.

enemies of the Gospel, be-

progress by open violence, had

They ranked in
mask

recourse to hypocrisy and treachery.

number of

attain-

written,

is

it

ears that hear not, unto this day." 4

Numbers among the

the

seeking

is

few have

the chosen

were blinded

hath given them a

sight,

were not then a

it

otherwise these works would be no longer

what they
for,

129

converts; and under the

of pretended friendship, endeavoured to entangle the

simple and unsuspecting in snares secretly laid for

One

them.*
* This

trait in

of the modes of entrapping the believer,

among

the character of those

mask of pretended

the

followers and his cause, was anticipated by our

tions his disciples against
sees

which

is

be revealed

Jews who, under

the

friendship, concealed dispositions hostile to his

" Beware ye of

it.

HY pocRIsY

for there

is

and he thus cau-

nothing covered that shall not

neither hid that shall not be

explanation of this verse given in Vol.

Lord

the leaven of the Phari-

known." Luke

ii.

p.

To

545.

See the

xii. 2.

the snares laid

to entrap the Apostles, their Master probably alluded in the admonition,

" Are not two sparrows

fall

sold for a farthing

and one of them

on the ground without your Father," Mat.

seems to be, that they should not

fall

In

this light the

by Origen, who accordingly explains on

the phrase in the net.

shall

Philo, speaking of those

not

His meaning

29."

into those nets laid to catch

without the notice of their Heavenly Father.

are understood

x.

among

the

them

words

ground by

the Jews,

who

concealed their enmity against the followers of Jesus under the veil of
affected friendship, uses the fallowing language
lA.t)iov

nxt KiXvTTyiKos

aXsKTov

sTs^ov ai^os K(Xx.ix;

TnTviotV(TCivTei,

vvoK^KTEt
vovTEy,

iis

I3x^vy.r)vi

aviaTAiy

VOL.

III.

0/

S's

to

'noc^oi.v.iyLitfi-

navy(Yi ^ixKocKovvrss, in^sij.xiori^xs

yiQos ^/)cvy/L.EVo;,

yfvo/AEvo*

i/.sQx^[AO(7(X[jievoi,

jrin^txv

(puvas

xyvwv to(3o\uv r^oirov ir^ocro'xi'

KctKuv ainoi, kxtoc ifoXiis

I

fAvr,[/.iix

r-ns

EPISTLE TO THE

23

was to

him

invite

ROMANS

to an entertainment,

[Chap.

XL

where he might

be tempted through intoxication to violate the laws of

sobriety and decency, and thus to furnish the adversa-

ry with crimes, which were eagerly seized and im-

puted without discrimination to

all

and in an appropriate language bor-

rowed from David, he expresses

ceivers might

fall

"

The

last

be so darkened

Let their table

bend down

their

back

al-

verse continues the allusion

contained in the preceding.

their eyes

saith

Let their eyes be darkened

so as not to see, and do thou

9, 10.

laid

and a stumbling block, and

net,

ways."*

which they

recompence which they

And David

and a

become
recompence unto them.
a snare,

wish that the de-

his

into the very snares

for the innocent, this being a

justly deserved.

This

our Apostle here ob-

diabolical conduct, I conceive,

liquely notices

the faithful.

It is to this effect

as not to see the nets

" Let

which

they spread, and in consequence become themselves

and let some weight, falling upon
entangled in them
:

their

back, keep them down, and thus prevent them

from being disengaged."

The Jewish

people,

by rejecting

their Messiah,

had

actually brought themselves into a state of degradation

Phil. Vol.

oiK-nrous.lTviJL(po^oi.s.
is

given in Vol.

ii.

* If you look
perceive, that

p.

to

it is

Psalm

for destroying them.

enced from
vated.

But

p.

A translation of this passage

459,

Ixix,

whence

this citation is taken,

chiefly occupied in

thrown upon the Psalmist by

God

ii.

546.

his enemies,

The

his enemies, were, I

hardships,

doubt not,

and in offering up prayers to

which the Apostle experiless

merited and more aggra-

the mild spirit of his religion, and the attractive

his forgiving Lord, prevented

petitions dictated

him from joining with

by malice and revenge.

you will

enumerating the reproaches

example of

the royal author in

XL]

Chap.

ANALYSED.

and punishment similar

to

what

131

above represented.

is

Their apostacy and subsequent disgrace occasioned an

undue exultation in many of the Gentile converts,

when they saw the privileges, in which their enemies
had hitherto boasted,

upon themselves.

now

For

away and

taken

this reason

conteri'ed

our author emplovs

the remainder of this chapter, in checking that rising

spirit

of pride and triumph which characterised the

Gnostic teachers, and

in placing before their eyes

certain reasons for cherishing

Jews even

sion towards the

meekness and compasand

in their present fallen

suffering condition.

intimates that they shall not always

Paul

1. First,

remain in their present degraded

raised, at

some future

once occupied
their apostacy

Gentiles.

people of

as the favourite

its

which they

God and
;

that

ordained for the advantage of the

is

16.

Abraham*, descending from

2.

for

1 1

but be again

state,

period, to the rank

a nation

renowned

antiquity and skill in astronomy, was highly

venerated not only by the Jews but by other nations.

In similar veneration was held the Patriarch Joseph.

The

people of Egypt, indeed, appear so

* The honour, generally connected with the

Abraham descended, will appear upon reflection
stance

which induced Philo, who wrote

odium was cherished

tors

by the ancient

against the

title

iv.

Min.

Fel. p. 253), and

See Spencer

De

is

nation from

whom

to be

the circum-.

country where the greatest

his ances-

That Joseph received divine ho-

a fact attested by Julius Firmicus (annexed

by Augustin

De

Civit. Dei, Lib. xviii. cap.

Legibus Hebrasorum, Lib.

where these with other

have

Jewish name, to distinguish

of Chaldeans.

nours from the Egyptians,

to

in a

to

.far

authorities arc

deification.
I

iii.

produced

cap.
in

viii.

Sec.

ii.

proof of his

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

132

carried their respect for his

divine honours

memory

[Chap. XI.
as

to offer

him

Of

the

under the image of Apis.

estimation in which these Jewish Patriarchs were held,

Paul here reminds the Gentile converts, of

whom,

probable, the Egyptians formed the majority

is

he grounds upon

weighty in

it

an argument, though by no means

well adapted to influence a people

itself,

" If the

actuated by local prejudices.

holy, so

is

the

it

and

lump

the branches." 16.

and

if

first fruits

be

the root be holy, so are

Which may

thus be paraphrased

" If you regard with peculiar esteem the founders of

the Jewish nation, if
as

it

you consider them consecrated,

were, by the special favour of heaven, you should

cherish in

some degree a

similar sentiment towards their

descendants in modern days.

3.

Paul farther dissuades the Gentile converts from

exulting in their present elevation, because the privileo-es

with which they were invested, they did not in-

herit as their right, but

had received them through the

medium

"And

Iiave

of the Jews.

been broken

off;

grafted on them, and

become

not the root

4,

olive, hast

been

a partaker of the root

boast not over these

Though thou boast over them, thou

branches.

bear=.

but the root thee." 17, 18.

Finally, in order to

christian

some of the branches

and thou, a wild

and fatness of the olive tree

est

if

check the ungenerous and un-

triumph of the Gentile believers over the

fall

of the Jews, the Apostle insinuates that they too were

li-

able to be cut off in a similar manner, if they did not exercise a firm faith in the Gospel,

and produce

conduct the happy fruits of

it.

"

The branches were broken

off,

that I

on.

Well

Thou

iri

their

wilt say then,

might be grafted

they were broken off for their want of

Chap.
faith,

XL]

ANALYSED.

and by thy

minded, bat

if God spared

For,

afraid.

vere under that kindness

cut off;

as

they too

will be grafted

again.
olive,

For,

on

if

God

but kindness to thee,

net high-

not the natural

Behold

he spare not thee.

lest

therefore the kindness and severity of

that fell severity

Be

thou standest.

faith

branches, (beware)

133

if

to those

thou perse-

otherwise thou also wilt be

thy persevere net in unbelief,

for God is able to graft ihem on
if

thou wert cut out of thy natural wild

and hast been grafted against thy nature into a

good olive

how much more may these

own olive ? "19

branches be grafted in their

A copious

natural

25.

source of that pride, which distinguished

the Gnostic teachers, was their affected superior know*

In oppo-

ledge or better acquaintance with mystene^.

sition to their arrogance in this respect, Paul holds out

which they had been

more worthy of their attention

the figure of the olive-tree into

engrafted, as a mystery

than any other

since

it

had for

its

object the restrain-

ing of that self-conceit, that insolent temper which dis-

posed them to glory in the misfortunes of their adver" For I wish you to understand, brethren,
saries.

THIS MYSTERY,

lest

ye be wise in your

that blindness hath befallen part

of

own

conceits,

Israel, until

the

come in and then all Israel

will be saved, as it is written
The deliverer will come
out of Sion,* and turn away ungodliness from Jacob."

fulness of the Gentiles be

* The writer in

citing this passage differs a little both

text and the Septuagint version.

come

INTO Zion;

the latter,

The former

reads,

from the Hebrew

The Redeemer shall

on account ^52'c, (evexev 2/iiv).

out of Sign. His rea-

Instead of these our author has substituted

son for so doing was, perhaps, the following

The

false teachers

main-

tained virtually that the Christ, as not being a descendant of David, did

not

come out of

Sion.

This falsehood the Apostle meets

and he on-

134

EPISTLE TO THE

25, 26.

He

then adds.

**

ROMANS
So then

[Chap. XI.
Gospel,

as to the

the Israelites are disliked for your sakes

but, as to the

chosen of God, are beloved for their fathers' sakes,"

From

28.

representation, our Apostle was well

this

aware, the impostors would be likely to draw an argu-

ment in support oi the capriciousness and inclemency,

which they were eager to ascribe to the God of Israel.

The

unjust inference Paul anticipates

tains that both the

and he main-

Jews and the Gentiles, though suc-

cessively disobedient, shall ultimately be included in

mercy which

that

poses to

it

the darling attribute of an all-

is

alludes,

xiv.

rise

from among the Jews,

puts the following question to those in the Corinthe Egyptian festivals with the Eucharist,

Did the Logos of God comeforth Jrom you P 1 Cor.

Some among the first converts in Egypt traced his pedi36.
The bishops of that country worshipped
to an Egyptian origin.

(See Vol.

gree

when he

Church who blended

thian

i.

p. 195-)

Serapis, supposing

Though

him

to

be the same with Christ. Vol.

Tiberius could not succeed in securing for

him

i.

The

places.

Rome

Gnostics ranked his effigy with those of Py-

To

thagoras, Plato and Aristotle, Iren. p. 102.

honour

269.

p.

the honours of

the Pantheon, statues in testimony of his divinity were erected in

and other

his

To

of his prediction.

spirit,

the supposition that the Saviour did not

Paul

by deviating somewhat

the authority of a Jewish prophet,

from the language, though not from the

a statue erected to

in the metropolis, Juvenal, I conceive, thus alludes,

Inter quas ausus habere.

Nescio quis

titulos

^gyptius

Cujus ad effigiem non tantum mejere

fas est,

Lib.
It

was natural in a writer,

through the

The

tius.

medium

who might know

hung over

intended,
it

author,

i.

That the founder of

may however

be doubted by

130.

nothing of Jesus but

stile

him ^gyp-

and the contempt

his extraction,

Vk'hich the Satirist felt for his character,

deem

Sat.

of Egyptian representations, to

obscurity which

phrase Nescio quis.

I.

are pointedly expressed

Christianity

my

is

readers.

by the

the person here

But they must

a corroborating circumstance that, in the subsequent lines, the

it is

well known, alludes to the sufferings of his followers.

Chap.

XL]

ANALYSED.

wise and benevolent Being,

God

of

MERCY

gifts

For

and call'.g

as ye, in

times

even so have these

through their unbelief;

now

may

upon all,"

mercy. For God hath

that he may have mercy

obtain

under unbelief,

alike

all

mercy shewn

not believed, that through die

to you, they also

shut

For the

are without repentance.

have not believed God, yet have now obtained

past,

also

135

29, 33.

He then

exclaims in a strain cf glow-

ing eloquence and holy indignation,

O the depth*

*'

of the riches,

both of the wisdom and knowledge

how

unsearchable are his judgments and his

of

God

ways past finding out." 33.

* The

original

term of depth

is

to

me, employs the word

In allusion to

in this place

this,

the Gnostics

Paul,

it

appears

and he insinuates that the trea-

of wisdom and knowledge, which they ascribed to theirgod, really

sures

exist in the Creator

use the

of folly, $v9os rns

abyss

The

p. g6.

terms no

less

Thus

Epiphanius

In another place he

appropriate and forcible

them

0x9tx tov

in Thyatira

nor kriow the depths of Satan, as they

nent, to characterise those

stiles it iSfflos- S'vao^-

men who plunged

" They, who

and snare of many hurtful

Tim.

vi. 9.

lusts

But

it

'Zaracvcx.

who

call it."

/3uS;^<y, in

iepth of ignorance and ruin,

an

doc-

calls their

writer of the Revelation describes their fictions in

author uses the corresponding verb

destraction,"

which the

Irenaeus describes their tenets

avonxs. p. 3.

say unto you and the rest of

trine,

early catholic writers frequently

in ridicule of the absurd notion

trine |3y9or ^ixvaT&'St?!;, p. 85.

fx.tacs,

The

of the world.

word ^aSoj or /3y9oj,

Gnostics affixed to that term.

trial

remark*

will

name which

j39oy, a

applied to their supreme divinity.

you

This,

which

" And

hold not that doc-

Rev.

ii,

Our

2^.

manner equally

perti-

their followers in the

same

desire riches, fall into the

sink vien deep in ruin

and

was more usual with the Apostle

Paul to undermine the notion of the Gnostic divinity, by connecting

those ideas which

its

votaries affixed to the term with the true

and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

roc Qct^ti

TO'.'

the love of

%iov,

God

in

to

comply with our

ii.

10. and Ephes.

that this great

requests,

iii.

18. he

holds forth
uvj/or,

sub-

Being has power beyond any othe r

and therefore

See above p. xi.

God

calls his deep counsels,

Christ under the names of 39oy and

joining immediately,

surprajje.

Cor.

Thus he

that

he alone

is

entitled to


EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

13^
is

[Chap. XI.

obviously levelled against those false teachers,

had the impiety

The words

who

blaspheme the Supreme Being.

to

intimate that the measures of his providence,

which they arraigned, were beyond

their faculties to

explore or their wisdom to comprehend.

The

who introduced

first,

these injurious sentiments

of Jehovah into the Church of Christ, was the impostor

of Samaria.
ers

is

men

So appropriate

to

Simon and

his follow-

the description which one of the inspired pen-

Judea had given of certain false prophets, who

would delude the people, that the Apostle directs their
oi

attention to the context

skill to

recognise in

character.

Samaria

*'

And

it

and he leads them with great

an accurate picture of their

have seen

people Israel to

err.

in lies, they

doers, that

Thus

saith

say

strengthen

tlie

mouth of

the Lord.

unto them that despise me.

Ye

hands of evil

shall

have peace

The Lord

that

No

evil shall

come upon you.

hath

and they say unto every

walketh after the imagination of his

one

own
They

they speak a vision of their

and not out of

still

said,

also the

none doth return from his wickedness.

the Lord of hosts, Hearken not unto

make you vain

heart,

they commit adultery and

of the prophets that prophesy unto you

the words

they

my

and caused

have seen also in the prophets

of Jerusalem a filthy thing

walk

folly in the prophets of

they prophesied in Baal

own

own

heart.

For who hath stood

in

the counsel of the Lord, and hath perceived and heard

Who

word and heard it ?"

The last verse of which is thus
19.
Jer. xxiii. 13
" Who hath known the mind
Apostle
our
by
cited
his

word

hath marked his

of the Lord, or

The

writer

who

hath been his counsellor." 34.

concludes with asserting that

all

things

ANALYSED.

Chap. XII.]

proceed from God, that by his energies

conducted, and in him

minate

known God of Simon Magus

divinity, our praise

by him, and

and not to the un-

or any other pretended

ever due.

are

all

things

*'

For from him, and

to

whom be

Apostle, having

cial

converts the cultivation of

and

enjoin

on the

the divine,

so-

which, in opposition to the

faith

His moral precepts

Zealots, he. had been enforcing.

are various, concise and forcible

unrivalled beauty and propriety,

but what gives them

is

the

circumstance

against which they were directed, were

that the vices,

practised

all

genuine and indispen-

personal virtues, as the

sible effects of that

cially

glory

length finished the argumen-

at

tative part of his subject, proceeds to

Roman

things are

Amen."

for ever.

The

him

to

is

all

things will ultimately ter-

all

and, therefore, to him,

37

by numbers

in the

Roman Church,

and espe-

by the Gnostic teachers.

In the

first

by an

affection-

God which

the anti-

place, Paul endeavours,

ate appeal to that attribute of

apostolic instructors called in question, to withdraw

from unmeaning and useless ceremo-

their attention
nies,

and

to fix

upon purity of mind and body,

it

as the

only ceremony which was rational in itself and accept" I beseech you therefore, brethren, ^tt _, ,,.able to the Deity
CHAP. XU,
by these compassionate kmdnesses, to present your bo:

.1

dies for a living sacrifice, holy, well pleasing unto

God ;

which ye owe."

1. 2.

that religious service of reason

He

next cautions them

principles with

the philosophy, and

their behaviour to the

which

all

against blending their Christian

accommodating

manners, of the age

the believers

errors to

were necessarily prone, and

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

138
into

hy

which they

their

age,

false

v/ere

still

guides.

*'

more

[Chap.

XlL

likely to be betrayed

And conform

not to this

but put on a different form (consisting) in the

renovation

of your mind, that ye

experience) what
fect will ot

is

that good,

God."

Observe the important

implied in this sentence.

Gospel required of

may know (from

and acceptable, and per-

its

particulars

inculcates that the true

It

votaries a change, not merely of

the outward behaviour but also of the mind; that the

will of

which

God, very

differently

the deceivers gave of

able and PERFECT,

3iS

commanded

tional faculties
virtue,

that

from the representation

it,

is,

was good, accept-

good

were

ripe or

and such

in itself,

the approbation of a person

whose

ra-

matured in knov^ledge and

though not indeed of him, whose understanding

was yet unenlightened, whose heart was

still

debased

by the impurities of sin.

His next admonition

levelled against that'pride^

is

r undue estimation of their

own

qualifications,

which

being derived from the Gnostics too generally infected

the

Roman

converts

and

in order the

more

effectually

to suppress the arrogance of vain, though self-delegated

them of the divine commission

under which he spoke and acted. " For by the authority which hath been given unto me, I charge every
teachers, he reminds

one among you not

to

think

more highly than he ought

to think, but to think with sober-mindedness according

as
as

God hath distributed to each a measure

we have many members in one body,

members have not

many,

are

the same office

faith.

but

so we,

all

For

these

though

but one body in Christ; and each of us

severally fellow-members thereof.

ferent gifts

of

And

as

we have dif-

according to the favpur shewn to us,

if

to

ANALYSED.

Chap. XII.]
explain the Scriptures,
if a ministry,

let

him

be agreeable to

it

him

let

it

let

the

him that exhorteth to his

bestow

that bestoweth,

that ruleth, rule with diligence

mercy, shew

39

tiie iaith

us attend to this ministry

let

teacher attend to his teaching

exhortation

him

liberally

that

sheweth

Let your love be

with chearfulness.

without dissimulation; abhor evil, cleave to goodness.

Let your affection for each other be the affection oi a

brother." 3

The
all

10.

impostors,

nicious things

if

them

active, led

be active in

at

per-

trifling or in

be fervent in the indulgence of sen-

to

they led their followers to be

to

sual desires, or in the

performance of external

rites,

and not in the cultivation of those virtues, to which

the

doctrine adopted by the Apostles was

spiritual

subservient

and

own

to be servants of their

bellies,

and not of him whom, though acknowledged to be the

Christ, they rejected as their Lord.

these features in their character,

it

In reference to
appears to me, the

" Be active in

following admonitions are delivered.

what

of importance, fervid in the spirit (in the

is

spiritual doctrine),

Serve the Loud." Afterthishe

exhorts them to rejoice not in any fancied privileges of

their

own, but

Gospel

the faith
cise

in the

hope placed before them by the

patiently to submit to affliction

to practise charity

meekness towards

ly treat

them

those,

others

vmanimity and humility

;

and

who

to exer-

curse and injurious-

to sympathise with the distresses

with the joys of

revenge

on account of

and hospitality

finally to

able in the sight of

to
to

cherish

and

sentiments of

abstain from vanity and

pursue things that are honour-

all

men

that

laudable by universal approbation.

are sanctioned as

12

18.

He

then

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

140
svibjoins,
all

men.

way

" As much

as lieth in

[Chap. XIII.

you, be

peace with

at

Beloved, avenge not yourselves, but give

to the wrathiul

longeth unto

me

for

I will

it is

written

Vengeance be-

There-

repay, saith the Lord.

enemy behungiy, give him food if he

for by doing this, thou
be thirsty, give him drink
upon
his lead.
coals
ot
fire
Be not
mayest heap
fore

if

thine

overcome cy

evil,

but overcome

evil

with good."

1821.

The erroneous

notions,

which the

first

converts enter-

tained respecting the nature of the Messiah

as they
affairs

kingdom,

were hence led improperly to interfere in the

of the government, were the principal,

only, source of the calamities that befel the

Egyptians in

Rome.

(Vol.

i.

p.

1^7

161.)

Apostle exhorts them

fire,

not the

Jews and
Theene-

by way of

mies, on whose heads the sufferers sought,

revenge, to heap coals of

if

whom

and towards

the

return good for evil, were

to

probably their persecutors, or those

who concurred

with the Senate in effecting their punishment and expulsion.

The

train

of our author's ideas, therefore,

led him in the next place to lay before the Church, some

wise and salutary admonitions, respecting the conduct

which each individual should pursue with regard to

" Let every soul submit
the Roman government.
.HAP. XIII.

itself to

powers

in authority

for as there

no power

is

but from God, these powers are appointed by God.

Whosoever,

therefore,

setteth

himself

power, opposeth the appointment of

opposers will

bring punishment

The mistaken views

which can unfold the true

state,

the

and such

upon themselves.

of the refractory,

measures adopted by the

against

God

and the

'

late

form the only clue

intent of the preceding pa-

ANALYSED.

Chap. XIII.]
ragraph.

words

It

may be

141

paraphrased in the following

" Conceiving the kingdom of the Messiah

alone to be of divine appointment, you oppose the esthe public peace, and

tablished government, disturb

But the sup-

Interrupt the administration of justice.

position is as
to

mistaken

as it is pernicious,

whatever hands entrusted,

is

All power,

communicated by the

Disposer of human events for the purpose of doing

good

and

end

this

it

eventually accomplish.

under

shall,

And

his

providence,

though pride, ambition

and avarice, may abuse the authority invested in them

for the attainment of their respective objects, yet this

very abuse Infinite

Wisdom

will

overrule,

and in

the end render subservient to the introduction and esta-

blishment of that glorious liberty which awaits the

children of God.

Resist not, therefore,

or any other unlawful means, those

of justice

by violence

bear the sword

but rather submit 10 their decisions, as in

decisions of an all-wise and good Provi-

effect the

dence."

who

Such

is

the signification of a passage pervert-

ed by policy and priestcraft into an engine which, for

many

irresistibly

ages,

held

mankind

in

oppression,

ignorance and superstition.

The

governors of the provinces, conformably to the

imperial edict, protected the virtuous and peaceful believer, but

punished with rigour those impostors who

disturbed the public tranquillity, or were otherwise

guilty of fraud and plunder.

This equitable conduct

of the government contributed greatly to the security

and edification of the yet infant church, (Vol.

166

170.J

and forms the

basis

on which

is

i.

p.

ground-

ed the following just tribute of praise to the civil magistrates.

*'

These

rulers

are

not a terror

to the

ROMANS

EPISILE TO THE

14a

[Chap. XIII.

GOOD, but TO EVIL DOERS. Dost thou wlsh

to be afraid of their power

thou wilt be praised by

But,

thy good.

it

Do

for

what

it is

is

then not

and

right,

God's minister

for

thou do

evil, be afraid;
power carrieth not the sword in vain

because this

if

:.

for it is the minister of God executing punishment

upon every one that doeth evil.* 3 4.

Wherefore," adds our author, "

*'

necessary that

is

it

ye submit yourselves not only because of punishment,

but even for conscience

* This
tlie

is

And

sake.

reason pay ye tribute also

for they

not the only place in which Paul,

attend

while they

or those

\\Hho

by the pre-

unmolested the peaceable,

left

and virtuous among the followers of Jesus.

tJiians,

to

conceive, alludes to

edict of Tiberius, and to the equitable conduct pursued

fects in punishing the guilty,

same

for the

who

Speaking of the Cerin-

supported ritual observances and practised carnal

things, in opposition to the Apostolic teachers,

who

adopted the me-

taphorical interpretation of the law and inculcated faith in Jesus as the

mediumof moral

he thus addresses the Galatians

purification,

the works of the flesh are manifest

They are

"Now

adultery, fornication, un-

cleanness, lasciviousness, image-worship, magic, enmities, strifes, rival-

envyings, murders, drun-

ries, passions, quarrels, separations, divisions,

kenness,

revellings,

and such like

concerning which I

you be-

tell

forehand, as indeed I told you heretofore, that the doers of such things
shall not inherit the

those

who embrace

kingdom of God.

But

the spiritual doctrine)

is

fering, kindness, goodness, faith, meekness,

SUCH THINGS AS THESE THERE

To the
to

temperance:

NO LAW,

Against

Gal. V. 18

24.

same edict our author had perhaps an eye, when he thus writes

Timothy

law

IS

the fruit of the Spirit (of

love, joy, peace, long-suf-

i.

9. concerning those

lieth against a

ungodly and

sinful

good man, but

who

taught other doctrines

against lawless

"No

and ungovernable,

men, unholy and impure, murderers of

fathers

and

murderers of mothers, murderers of others, whoremongers , men of unnatural lusts, enslavers of mankind, deceivers, false-swearers, and what-

ever else

is

contrary to the

wholesome doctrine of

of the holy God, with which

am

cognitions asserts, in direct terms,

entrusted."

that such a

that glorious gospel

The author of the

the emperor against the maleficent devotees of magic.

47, 248, where the passage

is

quoted.

Re

law was promulgated by

See Vol.

That Tiberius did

ii.

p.

dispatch

an

ANALYSED.

Chap. XIII.]
this

God.

business, are public servants of

therefore, to
is

143

due

all

their dues

tribute to

tribute

whom custom reverenceto whom

honour to whom honour," 5, 6, 7.

custom to

Render,

whom

reverence;

The men, whose

ill-behaviour excited the attentioa

and provoked the resentment of the government, were

(we have already seen, Anal. p. 32.) guilty of adulteiy,
of stealing, and of other similar

and conse-

atrocities,

quently entire strangers to that love of their neighbour,

which

it is

the grand end of the Christian

Law

to pro-

duce, and which being produced, the main object of

it is

answered.

Our Apostle, having informed the

how to act with respect to the

verts in general

civil

among them whose miscon-

adverts to those

rulers,

con-

duct had betrayed them into error, and in reference to

the crimes laid to their charge delivers the following
beautiful admonition

"

Owe

no man any thing but

mutual love; for he, who loveth

fully performed the law

neighbour, hath

his

For these commandments.

not commit adultery.

Thou shalt do no
Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false
testimony. Thou shalt not covet, and every other
commandment is comprehended in this precept. Thou
He who loveth,
shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

Thou

shalt

murder,

worketh no

ill

his

to

neighbour

love, therefore,

is

the fulfilling of the law." 8. 9, 10.

The

impostors,

it

has been shewn, (Vol.

i.

p. 196,

gl2.) frequented nocturnal festivals, at which,

edict of this kind to the provinces,

whereby he commanded

spective governors to protect the virtuous professors of the

and to punish only the guihy,

Tertullian, Apol.

cap. 5

is

attested

by Philo Vol.

by Orosius, Lib.

Eusebius Ecdes. His. Lib. ii. cap, s.

vii.

after

their re-

new

faith,
;

by

cap. 4, and also

by

ii.

p.

569

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

144

[Chap. Xlll.

earing and drinking to excess, they abandoned them-

under the covert of darkness, to licentious in-

selves,

dulgences with those

women

and fortune,

of rank

whose ignorance or depravity rendered them

The

prey of imposture.

the easy

peculiar garments

which

they wore on those occasions, with other instruments

and

Suetonius expressly in-

utensils of superstition,

forms

us,

were

burnt

all

command

at the

These singular and horrid

peror.*

here recognizes

and

features,

as the shades of

were now drawing

tion and vice

of the

em-

our author

Pagan supersti-

to a close,

and the

knowledge and virtue was already

dawning on the world, he exhorts the believers to avoid
light of Christian

the dark assemblies of their deceivers, and the deeds

which

in secret they

performed

and deportment suitable

liglit

hold their meet-

to

ings not in the night but in the day

to those

to

assume a dress

who walked

and instead of associating with

in the

revellers,

de-

bauchees, and such nightly marauders, to follow the

Lord Jesus and clothe themselves with the innocence

^

and purity of his character

that

it is

ance

is

is far

now

spent, the day

when we
is at

hand

* The following
Judaicosque

t It

are his

ritus

is

for our deliver-

The

night

us lay aside, there-

own words

Extemas ceremonias, -^gyp-

vestes cum

instrumento omni

Tib, cap. 36.

usual with
<h.t

and drunkards, not with

compescuit, coactis, qui superstitione ea tene-

religiosas

COMBURERE.

nhstract Sqx

let

believed.

Let us go about decently, (in a decent

dress) not with revellerst

bantur,

first

works of darkness, and put upon us the gar-

ments of light.

tlos

" Considering the season,

time to arise from sleep

nearer than

fore, the

all writers,

prosaic as well as poetical, to use the

concnte^ or to call the person,

which

is

the subject, of

ANALYSED.

Chap. XIII.]

I45

fornicators and the wanton, not with the litigious

and

the malicious, but clothe yourselves with the Lord

Jesus Christ," 11,12,13. The men here alluded to,

planned in the light of day those projects of sensual gra-

and revenge, which the hours of darkness en-

tification

The Apostle

abled tkem to accomplish.

his Christian readers not to follow their

tify

Do

"

respect,

your

From

upon

enjoins

example

in this

not preconcert carnal schemes to gra-

lusts."

of Seneca, (see Vol.

a passage

i.

p. 181.)

it

upon the introduction of the

has been inferred that,

Christian doctrine into

Rome,

a dispute arose respect-

ing the lawfulness of eating the flesh of certain animals.

discourse by the

name

Give place

writes JoT tottov tjj o^yyj,

Again

Thus
to the

in the subsequent chapter, ver. 10.

who

loves) worketh his neighbour no evil.

uses

(De

officiis

This mode of speech

oihlslezdingqi/alit}'.

frequently adopted by the Apostle Paul.

he

(i. e.

y.xi acSiyctec amO^u'Treov

i.

ver.

and Chap.

<^o^os xajtwv t^ycov, a terror

was that the Magistrate,

is

angry.

e. the
(i.

e. the

8.)

xiii.

man

w. Ignatius in
" Not only I, but

/5e?/!"f

them,

heresy," Cap. vi.

On

impious and unjust

men

he characterises the

of evil works,

who

i.

is

19, he

xii.

you

the benevolent Jesus) exhorts

from the foreign plant which

principle Paul calls (Chap.

it

anger,

says, the love

Lib.i. Sec. 14.) beneficientia for

the benevolence of Jesus,

Chap.

Cicero, in a similar manner,

his Epistle to the Trallians prettily says to

abstain

in

i,

e.

ec(Tc(2ei

oi evil workers.

To

to

same

civil ruler as

administered justice which

of government, was often called rsXor.

the

is

Hence
the end

thk use of the term

when he stiles Christ, who is the Supreme lawgiver in the Christian Church, riMs vojaov the end of thelaio, Rom. x.
Conformably to this practice we are, I conceive, to take revel4.
Paul, perhaps, alludes

lings,

drunkenness,

Accordingly

&c.

Clem. Alexan. Vol.

gives a

as

the abstract of revellers, drunkards,

have thus rendered the text.

i.

p. 628,

good explanation

of,

and Tertul.

and the

latter

passage of our Apostle.

VOL.

III.

See,

p. 327.

makes

if

you

&c.

please,

%vhere the former

a fine allusion to this


EPISTLE TO THE

1^6

CHAF.XIV.

ROMANS

[Chap.

XIV^

This dispute called forth the animadversion of our

" Kindly receive the weak in faith,
great Apostle.
not unto doubts and reasonings.

not to eat any thing

For one scrupleth

but another that

Having noticed

only herbs," 1,2.

member

controversy, he invites the

weak

is

that

had the free-

dom from

prejudice, and enlargement of

any thing

clean,

and him

from that furious

mutual candor,

which disposed them

to pass

to

eat.

to abstain

that censorious

temper,

upon each other

the sen-

bigotry,

tence of condemnation.

mind

had not such freedom

that

to practise

and enlargement,

eateth

subject of

this

This

liberal

admonition, he

enforces by reminding the contending parties, that they

were the subjects of one and the same Master that they
were invested with no authority that qualified them to
;

pronounce upon

their respective merits, but

were

alike

responsible for whatever they did, and whatever they

did not, to a

common

Lord. 3

13.

Every man, observes he, is to be governed by his

own conscience and though the generous spirit of the
:

Gospel regards nothing in

for use, yet the person

itself

who

unholy, nothing unfit

indulges this freedom in

which give pain and offence to a less enlightened

brother, cannot be influenced by the principle of
cases,

Christian benevolence.

each other any more

**

Therefore

let

us not judge

but do yc rather determine

this,

not to put a stumbling block or a hinderance before your

I know, and am satisfied that under the
Lord Jesus no meat is of itself unholy but to him
who thinketh any meat unholy, to him it is unholy.

brother.

Now

if

thy brother be

made uneasy by thy meat, thou

no longer walkest according

to love."

13

16,

ANALYSED.

Chap. XIV.]

I47

Those of the Jewish converts, who embraced the

sentiments of Cerinthus^ eat without scruple of every
species of flesh, and even joined with the * Pagans in

those festivals which they celebrated in honour of their

gods. In this they acted consistently with the views entertained
siah

by them respecting the kingdom of the Mes-

for the happiness they expected to enjoy therein,

consisted not in the refined pleasures of knowledge, vir-

tue and benevolence, but in eating, drinking^ and other

sensual indulgences. This gross and pernicious mistake

the Apostle here rectifies.

him

whom

for

"Destroy not with thy meat

Let not, then, our privi-

Christ died.

For thj kingdom of

lege be an occasion of reproach.
Godis not meat and drink, but righteousness, andpeace, and

who serves Christ in these

God and approved by men,"

joy in a holy viind.\ For he,

things,

15

is

well pleasing to

The

19.

Cerinthians, I have observed, partook

of those feasts which the heathens consecrated to their

divinities, or of those sacrifices which they offered to

This appears to have been the latitude in the

use of food, which gave so much offence to the catho-

idols.

or to use their

own

from them) caused

their

lic believers,

copied

it

* The

fathers are

testimony

unanimous

words of

Irenaeus, p. 30.

stum-

and their

tt^uKo^vrot,

we

Paul,

shall

animadverts on the practice of the Gnostics in this respect, in his

first letter

to the Corinthians.

t The propriety of
you consult
Fab. Lib.
it is

to

in their testimony to this fact,

corroborated by the writings of the Apostles

is

x^iec(pous ta-Qiovat are the

see,

language, (for Paul

weak brother

viii.

these words will be felt wiui peculiar force, if

a passage of Theodoret concerning the Cerinthians.

ii.

4.

It is

quoted at large in Vol.

shewn, that the Jews with

John Chap.

See Chap,

viii.

whom

ii.

our Lord discoursed,

were the followers of Cerinthus.

p. 369, 370.
as

Haer.

There
recorded

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

liS
bk.

And

them

to abstain

this

[Chap. XlV.

the reason why the Apostle calls upon

from offending, by such indiscriminate

is

and suspicious indulgence, the tender consciences of

" So then let us strive
the more scrupulous converts
:

lor peace,

and for the improvement of each other.

workmanship of God because

Pull not to pieces the

of meat.

All things indeed are pure

for that

man who maketh

eateth.

It is

but

it

bad

is

others stumble by what he

better neither to eat flesh nor drink wine,

nor to do any thing

else at

which thy brother stum-

bleth," 19, 20, 22.

But

have a conviction, might

reply the licentious, that

can thus eat and drink

In answer to

out incurring guilt.

this the

^vith-

Apostle ob-

man might safely do any thing, the pracwhich in his own estimation was not criminal

serves, that a
tice of

but

if

ought

God

deemed otherwise by the

less

he

enlightened,

and the practice to

" Hast thou faith? have it to
Happy is he who
presence of God.

to confine the conviction

and to himself

thyself in the

condemneth not himself for his own practices." 22.

That man alone, adds our liberal author, is guilty of
sin,

who

gratifies

But he who doubteth

his conscience."
if

he

eat,

whatever
ness)

is

because
is

himself contrary to the dictates of

it is

is

condemned,

not done with conviction

done without

a conviction (of

lawful-

more

free in

sin," 23.

Paul, in the next place, reminds the

their sentiments, that they

were under obligation

bear with the infirmities of their weaker brethren

the object of
(Tood

all

in itself,

fication

for

its

and

their desires

to

that

should be whatever

is

and whatever tends to mutual edi-

this obligation

known examp'e

of Christ,

he enforces by the well

who

in all instances sought

ANALYSED.

Chap. XV.]

^49

own.

the gratification of others in preference to his

*

We therefore,

firmities

who

are able, ought to bear the in-

of the weak,

and not

to please ourselves.

Let each of us then please his neighbour in what

good

mutual improvement.

for

manner, did not consider

For Christ,

own

like

in

gratification, but as

written, the reproaches of them, that revile thee,

it is

fell

his

is

on me."*

The Jewish, no

less

than the Egyptian Gnostics, re-

jected their sacred writings, and those parts of them in

particular,

ferings

which were interpreted

as

predicting the suf-

and death of the Messiah, and enjoining upon his

followers the necessity of a

meek submission

to pain,

reproaches, and hardship, in the promotion of his cause.

The

writer, having quoted a very pertinent passage

from those writings, takes

this

occasion to correct so

dangerous an error, and to hold them forth to public

view

as written for their

moral edification, or

ing to the disciples of him,

accomplished,

in

whose death they were

examples ot persevering virtue, and

of consolatory hope.

assurances

as afford-

" For whatsoever

things were aforetime written, were written

*

It has

been observed that the inhabitants

ideas of Christ

JO believe in

Rome

him and
in

to teach his religion.

men who had no

their

Vol.

ii.

p. 96,

his

in

was

re^

Here then

vilified

through

Of this circumstance our

Apostle

which the holy

the misconduct of his false disciples.

Thii

odium and

pretended followers but too well merited.

was a memorable instance

97.

previous knowledge of our Lord.

necessarily attached to his character all the

proach which

formed

from the character of those impostors, who pretended

was very natural

Hence they

of,

for our

Jesus

with great address and delicacy reminds them in the following words,

quotedfrom

Ps. Ixix.

The reproachfs of them,

REVILE THEE, FELL Oy ME.

tk.\t

CHAP. XV

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

1,5*

instruction

that

[Chap.

through the (encouragement

XV.

to) per-

severance, and through the consolation (afforded) from

the Scriptures,

we may

retain the hope," that

To

object of our hcJpe. 4,

is,

the

our benevolent author

this

subjoins the following fervent prayer in behalf of the

church

"

Now

God

the

perseverance and of this

may

of this (encouragement to)

consolation,

grant that ye

cherish the same sentiments towards each other,

according to Christ Jesus

with one mouth ye

may

our Lord Jesus Christ."

so that with

one mind and

God and Father of

The haeretical teachers

glorify the
5,

6.

maintained, that the Scriptures proceeded from a subordinate evil angel, and not from the

In opposition to
the

God

this,

of those

Supreme God.

Paul holds forth the Deity as

Scriptures

and he invests them

with those qualities of forbearance and consolation

which are

tiie

characteristics of a benevolent Beings

Again, they insisted that the author of the law or the

Creator of the \yorId, was different from the

God and

Father of Christ, and that he was an object deserving of

blasphemy not of

praise.

To these

notions the prayer of

That with one mind

AND ONE MOUTH YE MAY GLORIFY THE GoD
AND Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. The

our author stands opposed.

clause according to Christ Jesus

is

levelled against the

distinction which they made betweenChrist and the man

and hence we see what were the fundamental
Jesus
:

points, respecting

which he wished

to maintain unanimity of sentiment.

that the author of the

Roman Church
They were these,

the

Jewish dispensation was no other

than the author of the Gospel

that he

it

from motives of benevolence commissioned

was,
his

who

Son

to

save mankind, and therefore merits their praises and not

Chap.

ANALYSED.

XV.]

their maledictions

and

151

who

that he

finally,

really ex-

pired on the cross, and rose from the dead as the pledge

of the resurrection of all his virtuous followers to

anew

and better existence, was himself the Messiah.

The

followers of Cerinthus, of

Zealots at

Rome

whom the

appear to have chiefly

were tenacious of the

Judaizing
consisted,

of circumcision, and un-

rite

willing to extend the blessings of the Gospel to the

Gentiles, unless they previously submitted to

These he exhorts

ration.

now

circumcision which was

mit to a more real

its

ope-

to relax in their zeal for a

superseded, and to sub-

and divine circumcision, namely,

a circumcision of the heart, of which Jesus Christ was

the minister, and which was ^he

mean of

promise made to the fathers.

Wherefore kindly

*'

realizing the
re-

ceive one another, as Christ also received you, to the

glory of

God

one another)

(receive

mean

in that

real* and divine circumcision of which Jesus Christ

* The

clause in the original

is

rendered

is

thus,

that Jesas Christ became

ifly

for the truth of God,

e. minister for

i.

for that circumcision

as follows,

which

Ivia-ovf

Which

X^iro*
literally

a minister of circttmcisisn

the true circumcision of God, or

and divine.

true, real,

is

Ajya>

lvt (xXviGnxs ^sov.

^ixicovov yiyiy^a-daci rnqtrof/.-ios

The word a\n-

Qsix means not only truth in opposition xofolsehood, but also the reality
in opposition to

1 hus

its

type or shadow.

the circumcision of the

See Vol.

ii.

p.

206, 207, 208.

body was deemed by our Apostle,

but the shadow or symbol of the circumcision of the heart.

reason, the latter

same manner

is

Be

it

as

this

called u'kn^iix, the true or real ciraimcision, in the

as Christ

is

stiled

(John

Mosaic law, in contradistinction

presignified.

For

i.

17.) the truth or reality ofvhe

to its external

here remarked that Philo,

forms by which he was

who wrote and

acted as

the great ally of the Apostles, adopted the metaphorical signification

annexed by them

to the

term circumcision

which he composed on the

subject,

and

that, in a short treatise

he represents the circumcision

of the body as symbolical of the circumcision of the heart,

His own

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

1^2

became the
the

The

prophets were authorised

to predict the conversion of the Gentiles

amendment, and

dition of

XV.

the promises unto

minister, to confirm

fathers." 7, 8.

[Chap.

on the con-

reception by the Di-

tlieir

vine mercy, without submitting to those ordinances

which had separated them from the Israelites. " Of

which Jesus Christ became the minister to confirm the
promises unto the fathers

God

to glorify

for his

this cause I will

and that the Gentiles were

mercy

as

Lord

And

ye people.

all

all

And

on

Having

ye Gentiles

who

whom the Gentiles

Out

hope.' 8

finished his admonitions to the

God oi

this

hope

believing, that ye

you with

fill

may abound

all

13.

Roman

con-

"

May

joy and peace in

in the (Christian) hope,

through the power of the holy Spirit," 13.

freedom with which he spoke

of

up to rule the

riseth

\v\\l

And

and praise

verts, he delivers this petition in their behalf.

the

For

again, the Scrip-

again, Isaiah saith

Jesse will be the root, and he,

Gentiles

Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people.

again, Sing unto the

him

written

is

acknowledge thee among the Gentiles,

and sing praise unto thy name.

ture sai^h

it

For the

sentiments, and his

his

delay in coming to see them, he makes the follow-

V'ords

ill

iKToiJLTjs

part are,
set

Eyw

^s crvi^'^oKov Yiyovuxi

-/.xTxyoriTova-i

T!y

renders the circumcision of the

t-/>v

The

oixvoixv.

body a proper

And

my-

irt^iro^Yiv

ri^oyuv

"

ing beautiful and interesting apology.

circumstance M'hicli

figure to typify that of the

heart, he describes to be, tv wfof x.x^^ta.v b(/.oionirx rov "Trs^iT/xuSsn-

ros

(jLiP'-jvs.

This interpretation, he

tain divine interpreters of the

tells us,

he had received from cer-

Mosaic law, (meaning the

of the Gospel) of whose persons and doctrine he yet,

had no knowledge but from report.

Tayra

[a.sv

it

ovv sis

Ttpxs, Qi^^xio'KoyoviJLiyx ttx^x htaTiiatois avc^xo'tv,

ou

mx^i^yxs

^iri^fAfinvaxi/.

Vol. n. p. 211.

first

preachers

seems probable,
ti,)<.oxs

o<

v>~9i yi/xi-

vx Muasws

Chap. XV.]
self also

am

ANALYSED.

J53

my

brethren, that ye

persuaded of you,

are even of yourselves full of goodness, filled with all

Ne-

knowledge, able even to admonish one another.

vertheless, brethren,

by way of reminding

you,

have written to you rather freely upon some points,

me by God,

through the authority given to

me

a public servant

in

making

of Jesus Christ unto the Gentile?,

God

a ministering priest of this gospel of

that this

oblation ot the Gentiles

may be

by

have therefore cause of boast-

holiness of spirit.

acceptable, sanctified

ing in Christ Jesus towards God.

For

I will

only

piesume to speak of what Christ hath done by

conviction of

tor the

the

Gentiles

me

by word and

deed, by mighty signs and wonders, by a powerful

display of God's Spirit.

about even to Illyrium,

reached,

lest

another

told of

him

from Jerusalem round

been to publish

Not where the name of Christ had already

should build upon the foundation of

but, as

it is

written.

They who have

not been

and they who have not heard

Therefore, though I have often

shall see

understand.

shall

that

have fully preached the Gos-

So ambitious have

pel of Christ.

the Gospel

So
I

been hindered from coming to you, yet now, as I have

no farther scope * in these parts, and have been deOr

The

as

might be rendered, / have no more room

it

these parts.

in

Apostle describes his success in propagating Christianity in those

countries, under the figure of an architect occupying the ground ali

around with buildings

like

one grand

edifice,

and he intimates that the Gospel of Christ,

overspread the whole land from Jerusalem and

around about even to Illyrium.

new

foundation, he was enabled

And here

be

of going to
said

it

remarked

this latter

by some learned

There being no more room

at

length to visit

that the intentipn,

country, affords,

men

Rome

to lay a

and Spain.

which Paul now expresses

notwithstanding what has been

to the contrary,

(sec Lard.

Vol.

vi. p.

294) a

strong presumptive inference that he actually did go and there preach

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

1^4

coming

to

you whenever

sirous of
to

The conveying

you these many

go

[Chap.

XV.

years, I will

come

to Spain." i^

24.

of the Gospel to that remote and bar-

barous country would, he was well aware, be attended

much

with

difficulty,

danger and expence.

to render this design practicable,

some persons

in the

it

In order

was expedient

Roman Church,

that

acquainted with

those parts, and respected for their property and virtue,

should accompany him thither

should be made

among

and

that a contribution

the believers towards defraying

And with a view to sti*

to
contribute
by pecuniary assismulate the rich
tance to the support of their poorer brethren, and to the
the expences of his journey.

progress of the Gospel, he delicately sets before them

the example of the other Gentile churches,

*'

I will

to see
you whenever I go
you on my passage, and to be conducted by you thither, when I have been furnished in part by you. But
now am I going to Jerusalem on a service to the saints

come

to Spain.

to

For I hope

for Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make

the Gospel. This inference

is

much corroborated by the feet, that it was

many years after the composition of

actually promulgated in Spain not

this epistle, as appears

ro, for his

from a monumental inscription dedicated

attempt to extirpate the teachers of a new

moreover, confirmed by the express testimony of Clement of

who

to

superstition.

in his epistle to the Corinthians (chap, v.) writes, that

NeIt is,

Rome,

Paul taught

the whole world righteousness even as far as the limits of the west,
{{.Tit

ri^[/.x T-ns ^vcTius)

This

fact is also attested

bv Cyril Catcch. xvii

many

which could only mean Spain and Portugal.

by Theodoret
by Jerom

in his

Commentary on

Ps. cxvi

in his Ecclesiastical writers,

and by

others.

* This observation has not escaped the discernment of Origen, who

comment on the place says, Subtiliter et verecunde dum laudat

in his

Corinthios, hortatur Romanos.

Facilius

enim devotas mentes ad bene"

faciendum exemplis quam sermonibiis invitaatur.

Chap.

ANALYSED.

XV.]

1^5

And

a contribution for the poor Saints in Jerusalem.

it is

well they have so pleased

Jews

debtors to those

shared their spiritual

nister unto
I

because

which he

29.

iriight

When,

gifts.

this business,

fruit of their liberality, I

Spain." 23

the Gentiles have

if

they ought in return to mi-

gifts,

them these carnal

have finished

for they are indeed

and

set

will pass

therefore,

the seal to this

through you to

In compensation for the

favours

receive from them, he expresses his

come to them in full posendowments which had

confidence, that he should

session of those miraculous

hitherto sanctioned his preaching.

Roman

endeavours to interest the

by joining him

behalf,

And

he further

converts in his

prayer to God,

in

might be defended against those who sought

him, and

his

services prove

and mistaken brethren.

when

to

you,

" And

shall

blessings of the Gospel of Christ.

brethren

of the

God

to destroy

acceptable to his preju-

diced

come

he

that

know

come with

that

the full

Now I beseech you,

by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love

together with me by prayers to

spirit, to strive

in

my

behalf, that 1

may be

delivered from the

unbelievers in Judea, and that this service of mine for

Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints ;* that

* Even those of the Jews,
faith,

still

the Apostles had converted to the

adhered to the external forms of the law with a fond con-

viction of their perpetuity.

beral

whom

They

were, therefore, inflamed with

prejudices against our Apostle,

when

illi-

they found that he invited

the Gentiles to share in the blessings of the Gospel, without urging the
necessity of submitting to the rites of Moses, as the chief

taining the divine favour.

Now

mean of ob-

the principal motive which, perhaps

induced our Apostle to engage in the service above alluded

assuage the unreasonable preposessions of his countrymen.

well acquainted with the

man mind,

not to

know

spirit

to,

was

He was

to

too

of his religion, and the laws of the hu-

that the

most sure way to disarm the bigotry

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

156

may come

to

you with joy by the

Amen." 29

all.

The

among

re-

33.

Apostle, in the

acquaintance

God, and

will of

Now the God of peace be with

fresh myself with you.

you

[Chap. XVI.

place, salutes those of his

last

But these

the believers.

tions are not to be regarded

merely

saluta-

as expressions of

attachment to the persons specified, but also recom-

mendations of them, on account of their superior puri-

and in conduct,

ty in principle

tation of the converts

in the

and imi-

Thus he

intimates

general.

recommendation of Pkabc,

ever poor,

worthy

if

women how-

that

honest, industrious, and useful, -are

among them,

ot reception

who

rank and fortune

CHAP. XVI, "

in

to the notice

more

than those ladies of

led a debased and useless

life,

recommend unto you Phcebe our sister, a servant

of the Church at Cenchrca
that you may receive her
in the Lord, in a manner worthy of the saints, and
assist her in whatsoever business she may want your
help."' 1, 2.
Thus also in his salutation of Priscilla
I

and Aquila, he
imitate those

upon

calls

who by

the

church

their sufferings

to esteem

and to

and labours con-

tributed to the welfare of their brethren, and to the

promotion of their

common

" Salute

cause.

Priscilla

and Aquila, m.y fellow labourers in Christ Jesus,

have

laid

down

and conciliate the good

personal favours.

my

their necks for

will of his adversaries

There

existed

life

was

unto

to confer

some danger, however,

who

whom

upon them

lest

a contri-

bution offered by a person so obnoxious, should be rejected even bv

those

among

the believers that stood in need of relief.

Hence

it

was

a matter of gicat solicitude with our benevolent Apostle, that his service should be acceptable to them.
ret,

those

ayu-'itoc,

who

f/.t)

to yuaroi

viKitavi

received (the ccntrihitiov),

their went.

Tovs

tiyrpiAivo'js,

Tnv y^^eixv,
lest

i.

e.

writes

Theodo-

He struggled with

thdr hatred shovld prevail ever

ANALYSED.

Chap. XVI.]
not only

give thanks, but

Knowing

Gentiles." 3, 4.

the churches of the

all

that they did not, like the

distinguish between

teachers,

false

Christ, but preached the faith in

tion in their

purity, he

full

and hence

in-

communication of religious instruc-

own

house, was a practice laudable in

and worthy of being imitated by others

self,

and the

Jesus

its

salutes the little society in their family

timates that the

l^J

it-

" Salute

likewise the church in their hous."

Though

the impostors professed Christ, they neither

In allusion to

acted nor suffered in his cause.

circumstance, which furnished the best

this

criterion to

distinguish the false from the true professor, our author

whom

characterises those,
Christ,

by an

* The Apostle Paul appears

who had

new

even in the face of danger,

toil

their personal exertions in the propagation of the

His conduct

faith.

disposed to disclaim all connection with

not the magnanimity,

and want, to employ

and ac-

" Salute Priscilla and Aquila,

tivity in his service.*

those,

he salutes as brethren in

epithet expressive of their zeal

in respect to

stance of this disposition.

That

John Mark is a remarkable inhim in his first jour-

disciple attended

ney to preach the Gospel. But his timidity prevented him from taking
conspicuous and active part in

this

new and

perilous engagement.

He

was, therefore, content with following his illustrious leader, adminis-

him

tering to his personal w;uits, or assisting

of his duty. See Acts

to persevere, but,

xiii.

5.

in the subordinate parts

In this however he had not the courage

when be now became sensible of the

trials

which await-

ed them, and of the dangers by which they were surrounded, forsakes

his master

and returns to Jerusalem.

His desertion excited the indig-

nation of our magnanimous Apostle, and he disdains to take with him,

a second time, a
ger,

man who had abandoned

work

for the

promotion of

right not to take with

phylia,

39.

his post in the season

of dan-

and who, from the suggestions Oi fear and pusillanimity, declined ta

and

who

their

common

him one, who had

cause.

apostatised

did not co-operate with

them

" Paul thought it

from them in Pam-

in the work. ^'

This was the ground of the dispute betv/een him and

Acts xv.

his friend

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

J5^

my fellow

labourers in Christ

my

XVI.

[Cllap.

Jesu^^Salute Androni-

my fellow prisoner'^,
among
the
Apostles,
and professed Christ
who are of note
Salute Urbanus my fellow labourer in Christ
before me
cus and Junia,

kirtsmen and

Salute Apelles
cerity of whose
opposition,

the approved in Christy'

was

faith

i.

e* the sin-

In

sufferings.

the deceivers

to

finally,

by

tried

who

rejected

Christ as their Lord, he sends his salutation to those

among

the

Roman

converts,

who

ner acknowledged him under

in an eminent degree
his

example:

lute

'

Herodian

obeyed

in

an eminent man-

his precepts

who

and

that character,

and followed

Salute the family of Aristobulus; sa-

my

kinsman

salute those of the family

the Lord.

of Narcissus, that are in

Salute Try-

phena and Tryphosa, who are labouring in the Lord.

Salute the beloved Persis,

IN THE Lord.

Lord."

lo

Having

finished these salutations he adds,

mark them

kiss.

that are

Now
making

trine

which ye have learned

men

and by

Salute

these divisions and

the doc-

and avoid them.

are not servants of our

but of iheirown belly

beseech you, bre-

laying these stumbling-blocks, contrary to

such

much
the

hath laboured

14.

each other with a holy

thren,

who

Salute Rufus, the chosen in

fine

Lord Jesus

For

Christ,

words, and by

fair

For

speeches, are deceiving the hearts of the simple.

I rejoice
your obedience is come abroad unto all
therefore in you on this account, and wish you to be
wise unto goodness, and uncorrupt concerning evil :
:

and the God of peace

and companion Barnabas
a temporary

irritation,

different route.

will quickly trample Satan

which

dispute, however, was

under

no more

tlian

the only effect of which was that they took a

'

ANALYSED.

Chap. XVI,]

55

The favour of our Lord Jesus

21.
with you. Amen." 16

your

Christ be

feet.

The

early Christians in token of their

mutual love,

adopted the custom of saluting each other upon parting

from

This custom well accorded

assemblies.*

their

with the principles of the Gnostics,

practised

it

who seem to have

their nocturnal festivals

in

under the pretext of expressing their

as

spirit

afFordinrr.

of Christian

benevolence, an opportunity for gratifying their im-

So prevalent was

pure desires.

Rome,

in

that

it

this practice

attracted the attention of the

become
emperor

who, about the time in which he expelled the Christians,

published an edict to prohibit

it.f

This custom our

author was here naturally led to notice

the abuses, of which
delivers

the

it

following

ANOTHER WITH

;
and against
was made the instrument, he

admonition

Salute one

HOLY KISS: As

though he had

Let your salutation of each other be the expression of pure and spiritual benevolence, and not the
'

said,

dictate of gross

and carnal desires."

* Thiscujtom was not

practised

They
"f-

by the Catholic

are the

peculiar to the Gnostics, but was generallf

believers,

^iXvuxti aXhriXovs

ccaTtx^a^i^ot,

words of Justin Martyr. See Hammond on the place.

Ouotidiana oscula prohibuit edicto Suet. Tib. 34.

Their prac-

of thus saluting each other, though prevalent in other places, prev^ailed mostly in their religious banquets ; and this is the reason why
tice

Suetonius connects the narrative of

Itdi.

our

afuthor,

another with a holy

Lord Jesus but

affirm,
it

tliat

it

with soUennibus

after delivering the

kiss,

their

ccenis.

This also

above admonition to salute one

to remark that the deceivers served not the

own

bellies,

do not, however mean to

the custom originated with the Christians in

was practised by them alone.

The

prevalence of

vtiy strongjnd descriptive terms by Martial, Lib.

it

xi.

Rome,
is

98.

or that

ridiculed in

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

l6o

The train

of the Apostle's Ideas being

those deceivers,

who by

divisions in the

bosom of

[Chap. XVI.

now

upon

fixed

their falsehoods occasioned

the church, and thus fur-

nished the adversary with pretences for vilifying the

Christians and their cause, adverts to

lowing manner

who make

"

in the

and bring offences contrary

divisions

doctrine which ye have learned."

been observed

them

fol-

beseech you, brethren, mark those

It

to the

has frequently

though they acknowledged the

that,

Christ in the person of Jesus, they did not submit to

the

Lord, or confess their obligation to

latter as their

obey

and imitate

his precepts

example

his

and in

truth the festivals instituted to celebrate his divinity,

thev frequented irom motives of sensuality.

facts are plainly implied in

These

the succeeding sentence.

For such men are not servants of our

Lord Jesus Christ, but or their own
belly.*
Representing the Christ

for the benefit of

from heaven
his official

n?ivae.

of

* The

p. 3

the
1 .

benignity of his character,

those

by

name of

Irenaeus,

Lord.

benevolent

who

supposed

spirits

aito^t^oa^ixi Xeyovai. kxi

avrov ^eXouc-i, p. g. In

ovof/.cc^eiv

^ovXevovrs^

0/ /xev

rx

(tx^kikcc rots

XtuQ^x rxs

men

in his letter to the Philippians

The

this place-

ax^y.iKOis^

"Bi^xax-oiJ^evxs

^i^xyrif TafTwv yvvxixxi ^ix(p9ei^ov(7i, &c.

of the same

Lord Jesm,

very words which Paul employs in

<ra^;'-oy v'Soya.is

and

writes that they were unwilling to give

Ov^i Ku^/ov

this writer uses the

O/ ^E Txis

T'/)v

mankind, they changed

assertion of our Apostle, that they did not serve the

is attested also

him

good demon descended

o{ Chris tus into Chrestus, an epithet

expressive of the
descriptive

as a

lit

xvtuv

Apostle speaking

(Chap.

iii.

19) has these

By which he meant
very remarkable words, Whose God is their belly.
that those festivals, in which they pretended to Celebrate the divinity of
their Christ,

sense their

were

God

in reality

was truly

frequented to gratify their

their belly.

lusts.

In

thiS

ANALYSED.

Chap. XVI.]

God in

be employed under

to

See Vol.

race.

i.

the service of the

Accordingly

p. 263, 264.

pears to have been the

l6'l

human

by which the enemies and

title

the friends of Christianity in Gentile countries at

distinguished

The

illustrious founder.*

its

ap-

this

first

deceivers,

moreover, composed certain oracles which they

of course they called

the dictates of divine

plied to express
*

To this name of

^Oa-ov T

Apol.

f/,sv.

Christians ^^nrixvoi

To

Kxiov.

ovo^mto! y^^ori^orxroi virx^^O'

r,jji.'jjv

and then he adds, to

writes (Apolog. Cap.

concerning the Christian name

iii.)

tate vel benignitate

compositum, Oditur itaque

nomen

Eusebius

it

innocuum.

'TTxyrtiA.os

refers to the

Lactantius ascribes the change to

cere,

Lib.

same

iv.

Cap.

alteration in the

Lib. v. Cap.

i.

Qui

cum immutata

name, calculated

Suavi-

ignorance of the Greeks

tL'^

ignorance, or rather with duplicity

De

interpretation in stiiing

Chrestum solent di-

litera

But Lactantius himself

7.

hominibus innocim

in

xxi sv^o^os 'rr^os-nyj^tx. Hist. Eccles

propter ignorantium errorem,

calls the

os ^^n<rov (AicreiaOxi ov oi~

TertuUian also alludes, when he thus

signification

this

inspiration.

In the next page he for the same reason

p. 6.

i.

usually ap-

Christ signifying ^g-oo^/ or kind, Justin thus alludes^

Toy xiXTijyo^ou/^svoy

E)t

name

?.oyta (logia], a

as-

These

cribed to the Sibyl in respect to Jesus Christ.

is

to be charged

with

for he could not but know, that an

to screen the person intended

from un-

merited odium, or to express his character as a superior being, must

at least the

have originated with the real or

His enemies, however, often applied

tonius thus stiles

book

him

in the life

to

pretended friends of Christ.

the

name

ed in heaven, and receiving for answer

Koct v i9vs(Ti.

Vol.

of the Evangelist John,

vinity of Christ, calls
finally,

among
ii.

"All nations

are there recorded,

nayras,

he supposes to have

him X^vt^os

first

Idjxvms. See Vol.

Aristides, the sophist, in a passage

III.

Triephon,

ti

rvypt ye

Julian the Apostate, in derision

p. 773.

whom

the Gentiles."

followers of Jesus (See Lard. Vol.

VOL.

Lucian, in a

who proWhether the affairs of the Scythians were record-

since Chrestus exists even

Xfnroy

thus altered. Sue-

of Claudius, Cap. 25.

entitled Philopatria, represents Critias asking

fessed to be a Christian,

And,

him

viii.

i.

known

taught the di.

p.

269

273.

to refer to the

p. 85.), stigmatises

them

as

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

l62

See Vol.

p. 272.

i.

simple supper,

be

Lord appointed

in

and

p.

[Chap.

XVl.

34 of this Analysis.

The

remarked, which our

farther

it

commemoration of

suffering

his

and death, the impostors perverted into a heathen

which they

affected to solemnize in

This they

his divinity.

which

indicates the

feast,

remembrance

stiled zuXoyia [eulogy), a

honour due

him

to

as a

ot

name

supernatu-

being, in opposition to that obloquy, defamation

ral

and contempt

[{i'Kaa(p%(j.ix,

Kxra^x, avaSspt-a) with which

him

his adversaries assailed

and

son of the Carpen-

as the

Now

and a native of Nazareth.

ter

these peculiar

characteristic features in the Gnostic

system the

and he guards the con-

Apostle Paul here recognises

verts against them, as being

means only of deceiving

" For such

the simple-minded.

men

are not servants

of our Lord Jesus Christ, but of their

own

belly

And

by their Chrestus, oracles, and honorary FEAST* THEY DECEIVE THE HEARTS
* The
a-i

rocs

original

iM^icts

thus,

is

todi

A<a

rtjr j^^'/jfoXoy/aj

Now

xxxkuv.

comjjosed of %fros' and Xoy/a

and,

kzi zvXoyia; i^ocnxrui-

the term /^^n^o'Koyta.

what

is

evidently

is

remarkable, the Apostle

himself appears to have coined the term, and neither he has employed
in any other place, nor

however,
tics

any other writer

after

The word

him.

used by the fathers in the very sense which the

is

annexed to

it.

of Suicerus; See his Lexicon.

The

first

They are

Sacra Cana vacatur ivhoyix.

it

iv'Koyio.^

Gnos-

the words

Apostle Paul, maintaining, in op-

position to the deceivers, that the simple feast instituted by our

Lord was

intended to be commemorative of the blood and of the body, that

of

is,

the mortal part, or of the death of Christ, and not of his being a divine or

immortal Being, employs the term in a signification nearly allied to

A/0, o^bX^oi
V!or-/i^'ov TYis

X^ifov

tr'

Xf (cof

iTi

that cvp

(J1.0V

xyxffnTOi, (pwyers xiro

EYAOriAX
To a^Tov

i.

e.

ov

Wherefore,

r-ns

this.

iioajXaXxr^ixs-'^ro

nXoyovij.tv, ov^i Kotyuvta Toy xifj.xros rov

xXft'/^Ev,

my

ovy^i tLOivwvix

beloved brethren, Jlee

ofpraise which we praise,

is it

not

rov

ero:[j.xros

from

rev

idolatry'

a partaking ofthe

Blood

cf


ANALYSED.

Chap. XVI."j

OF THE SIMPLE;
unto

to be wise

the

God

your obedience

(for

you

rejoice therefore in

all.

163

come abroad

is

but

wish you

unto goodness and harmless unto

but

evil)

of peace will quickly bruise Satan under your

feet."

The

object which they pretended to have before

them, in thus adopting the pernicious

maxim

of telling

falsehood to promote the truth, was to deceive Satan,

phrase which, divested of

its

simply means, the leading

symbolical signification,

men

into

a belief of the

Gospel, in consequence of evading by

repre-

false

sentations those unreasonable objections,

which the

mistaken notions and the evil principles of the world

threw in the way of

able, that if

we

its

Now

progress.

pass over the

words

it is

observ-

in the parenthesis,

and consider the subsequent in connection with the

preceding part of the sentence,

this will

appear to be

'

the pretence for their specious impostures,

by

their Chrestus, oracles,

and honorary

deceive the hearts of the simple

but the

feast,

And
they

God of peace

under your feet." As though

" These men propagate their falsehoods

will quickly bruise Satan

he had said

under the pretext of deceiving Satan

Christ ?

The loaf which we breaks

Christ ?

Our

not

Lord Jesus

as

to avoid,

a partaking of

the^ony of

example of the impostors

in consider-

one of the demons or gods, and accordingly cele-

brated his festival, as commemorative of

suflFering,

but in reality

Apostle, you will observe, intimates to his Corinthian

friends, that if they followed the

ing the

is it

him

in this view,

and not of his

they were guilty oi idolatry. This idolatry he calls upon

by regarding the cup and the bread

were regarded by the Apostles

r^iikit divinity,

namely,

as

in the light in

them

which they

symbolical of the deaths not

of the person celebrated, See Vol,

ii.

p.

428.


PISTLE TO THE ROMANS [Chap.

164

XVL

they deceive only those who, unlike themselves, possess

And

innocent and guileless hearts.

as to Satan,

the great adversary that retards the Gpspel, the Al-

mighty, instead of injposing upon hjm by

lies,

or op-

posing him with violence and contention, will speedi-

him under your feet and this he will do

by means consistent with gentleness, peace and truth."
ly bruise

Our Lord wishing

to prevent

from

his Apostles

adopting the conduct pursued by the Gnostic teachers

system (see Vol.

in the propagation of their

30),

among many

ed to them the iollowing

and harmless

as the

ii.

p. 21

other excellent directions, deliver-

"

Be ye

wise as the serpent,

This maxim, though dic-

dove."

tated in opposition to them, the deceivers perverted in-

to a justilication of their
it

thus,

and omifting the

own
last

falsehoods
clause

wisdom

or Satan employed his

"

As

to deceive

interpreting
the Serpent

the mother

may you, after his example, employ

mean to deceive the Serpent, and thus defeat
him with his own weapons."* In order to rectify this

of mankind, so
the same

wicked perversion of

Divine Master's precept,

" I wish you to be

his

Paul thus writes to his brethren,

wise unto goodness, but unto evil to be harmless."

" My desire is, that the end you have in view should
*

Ths perversion

the Apostle Paul seeips to have had in view,

when

'

I fear

bedctated the following sentence

lest,

as the

Serpent dece'ved

in respect to the deceivers.

Eve by

his craftiness,

be corrupted from the simplicity which

The

people

in reference to

those Egyptian impostors,

whom
who

in

your mind should

Christ."

2 Cor. x'.

2.

he here speaks were the Ophitx, or

taught that Christ was the same with

the Serpent. Sec Epiphanlus, p. 274.

The

Nicodemus, and the above maxim gven

ed

is

language of Jesus addressed to

to his disciples,

to wrest into a confirmation of thi? doctrine.

they attempt-


ANALYSED.

Chap. XVI.]

165

ever be laudable, and that you should pursue

thods consistent with truth and virtue.
that

you possess no wisdom

vert

it

fore,

than that you per-

at all,

In

to sinister purposes.

shew yourselves

all

destitute of sagacity and skill

all

is

there-

evil,

but in whatever

which

the prudence,

that

though you were entirely

as

tuous and praise-worthy display

and

by me-

it

were better

It

it is

the

all

is

vir-

knowledge

man

possible for

to

acquire."

circumstance in this place presents

men

leads us to the

itself,

as the authors of the doctrine inculcating the

lous birth of our Lord.

tempted to justify

which

here stigmatised by the Apostle,

this

The

miracu-

by which they

plea,

at-

and other ialsehoods propagated

respecting him, was to deceive the devil.

Now

is

it

remarkable, that this very plea has been adopted by

the supporters of that doctrine in after ages.

When

the objector to the truth of the tale asked, " If

Mary

did really conceive, while she was yet a virgin and

unknown

how came

to Joseph,

she at that very time

to be espoused to him, and by that

self to

an unjust suspicion?"

" She was espoused

deceived,

as

is

would be

therefore, that the

Joseph espoused her

This argument which was

ever a virgin."

borrowed, not

supposed from Ignatius,* but from

* Quare non de simplice virgine, sed de desponsata concipitur

Ut

partus ejus cclaretur Dlabolo

de uxore gencratum.

the Devil.

that a "viigin

with child, observed the virgins

who was

usual reply was

in order to deceive

For the Devil, having heard

deceiver might be

means expose her-

The

They

dum

are the
I-

earn putat

non de

virgine, sed

words of Jerom. quoted from Ori-

the

ROMANS

EPISTLE TO THE

i66
first

inventors of the story, contemptible as

had something like meaning in

is,

For divested of

tion.

the devil

its

its

original applica-

figure, the phrase to deceive

which

difficulties

it

evil,

opposed to

But the mystic or

Gospel.

prevalence of the

now

it

meant the defeating of the principle of

by removing those
the

[Chap. XVI.

internal signification, being in process of time lost,

and the

one only retained, the expression dege-

literal

nerated into rank nonsense and absurdity.

The

sentiments which

fabricated in

Simon and

Rome, were,

in

had

his associates

consequence of their ex-

pulsion disseminated over the provinces, and imported

as

we

shall see hereafter, into the

churches established

by

the Great Apostle of the Gentiles.

effect

had

in

some degree taken place before he penned

this

epistle

and

his

apprehension of

it,

This

while

now

writing

him to warn the Roman Church against

the danger of giving them any farther countenance, and

the context, led

who borrowed

gen,
sians,

Cap.

tolic

man,

Ignatius,

xix.

the idea

in the

is

from the

epistle

But every one of the

judgment of the

who received his

of Ignatius to the Magne-

epistles ascribed to that

best critics

far

by any honest man

truth to have been their disciple.

The

been copied not only by Origen, but by

reply given to the above question,

mentaries on Matthew, p. 8.

p.

26

is

No candid

without feeling the

It

could not,

with

that professed

plea of deceiving Satan, has

all

Ths

the fathers after him.

that of

Theophylact

in

his

com-

Specimens of their reasoning on

produced by Dr. Priestley

55.

For the Apostles

from disseminating such a falsehood.

therefore, have been supported

subject are

Apos-

interpolated-

doctrines from the Apostles, could not have

countenanced that of the miraculous conception.

were very

much

in

Im Early

Opinions,

and the

difficulties

and embarrassment, which the doctrine

liveliest pleasure in perceiving that the tale

of the word of God,>

iv.

person can peruse the passages there adduced,

of the miraculous birth of Jesus has entailed upon the Christian

gion

this

Vol.

reli-

forms no part

ANALYSED,

Chap. XVI.]

by

thus,

167

example, encouraging the reception of

their

" Avoid them

those sentiments into other churches.

for such

men

are not the servants of our

Christ, but of their

own

belly

Lord Jesus

and by theifChrestus,

oracles and honorary feast, they deceive the hearts of the

For your obedience

simple.

UNTO ALL."

men from the

those

come abroad

is

As though he had

written

church, and disclaim

with them as your brethren in Christ

all

"Expel

connection

for their doc-

under the specious appearance

trines being designed,

of friendship tor the Christian cause, to bring

disgrace, are every

the

where propagated

it

unhappy instruments of seducing many well mean-

ing persons from the truth, and from that purity of

rals

into

and they prove

which

distinguishes

its

genuine professors."
"

venerable author thus concludes his epistle.

unto him
this

in a

who

is

able

to

establish

moThe

Now

you according

to

Gospel of Jesus Christ by me proclaimed, wheremystery hath been revealed, which hath been kept

secret

from the ages of

old, but

is

now made

plain

by

the Scriptures of the Prophets, and published to

all

the Gentiles, according to an appointment of the everlasting

God,

for their

obedience to the

faith

to

God

only wise be the glory through Jesus Christ for ever.

Amen."
This conclusion, you will observe, contains a summary view of the true Gospel, in contradistinction to
that which the deceivers taught.
1. He recommends
the believers to the

God

of Israel, who, having

to establish them, and possessing

all

wisdom,

power

is

the proper object of their religious veneration. "

unto him

who

only wise, be the glory for ever.

to

God

alone

Now

hath power to enable you to stand firm

Amen."

ROMANS

EPISTLE TO THE

l68

He

2.

intimates that the pretended

the Gnostics

homage,

is

so iar

[Chap.

Supreme God of

from deserving

their religious

even Jesus Christ however justly revered,

that

]oved and obeyed as the messenger of heaven,

means

to be

viewed

as

is

by no

an object of solemn praise, but

medium through whom

the

as

XVI.

all

praise should be

ascribed to the only Almighty and Omniscient Jehovah.

"To

God

for ever.

3.

through Jesus Christ

only wise,

Amen."

In this conclusion, as in the beginning, Paul holds

own Gospel in opposition

which the anti-apostolic teachers incul-

forth to their attention, his

to the doctrine

cated

and

his

prayer

is,

that neither the specious arts

of these pretended friends, nor the violence of their

open enemies, might

He

them from the

divert

insinuates, moreover, that

belief of

it.

Gospel was con-

his

formable to the preaching of his Lord and Master Jesus Christ.

" Unto him who hath the power to enable

to stand firm according to my Gospel, a^d

THE PREACHING OF JeSUS ChRIST."

you

4.

In vindication of the law and the prophets, which

the Gnostics

rejected, Paul

farther declares that the

doctrine which Jesus Christ proclaimed, was founded

on

which he unfold-

a mystic or internal signification,

ed or revealed, but

unobserved in

who
ing to

hath

my

according

those

power
to ike

to enable

Gospel and

been kept secret*

which from ancient times lay

" Unto him
sacred oracles.

you

to the

to stand firm accord-

preaching of Jesus Christ,

developement of a mystery, which hath

from

the ages

of

old,

but

is nozo clearly

disclosed through the prophetic Scriptures.

K.aT

a;7ro)taAti\]^/y

//.vs'yi^tov

yr^^ovois unoviots ai.(ri'yni/.iiio'j

cording to thtrtvdaiicn of the myitery which

was

'

Ac-

^ihhuifrojnthe

ANALYSED.

Chap. XVI.]

Our

Finally,

5.

author leads the converts to con-

clude that the Almighty, so

from

tar

from confining

a single people, included the

rental regard to

human

169

within his providential care

race

eternity decreed the nations should

that

his pa-

whole
he had

become obe-

dient to the faith, and thus participate with the

the privileges of his children

in

who, though

hitherto

unknown

and

that

Jews

this

God

to the Gentiles, existed

from eternal ages, (and not the Samaritan unknown

God) was now made known to them by the Gospel

" But now clearly disclosed through the prophetic

ACCORDING to the appointment of

THE everlasting God, made (at length) known

scriptures,

Gentiles unto an obedience to the faith."

to all the

-<--<-(S>->-e->efc

conclude with a few inferences, which the

shall

view now taken of

By

who

him,

which

this

have proceeded

celebrated epistle suggests.

admits the solidity of the ground on

in the explanation of

it,

the

justice and importance of these inferences will readily

They

be acknowledged.

will,

however, receive abun-

dant confirmation from the analytic review, which

intend hereafter to

For

reason

this

The

ges of old.

no where

thor has copied

its

it.

xvruv,

of the remaining epistles.

purpose here to give only a brief and

term Tiaiynixtva-j

else occurs,

Tr,s 'TT^acyyis

had

take

is

very peculiar; and the use of

it

excepting in the Gnostic School, whence our au-

Irenasus thus writes respecting their

bi (rs<riyyi(jisyoi

kxi

(avi

Aom, Atiovss
The word

yivucrKoiJi.e>oi.

origin in 2/y*?, (silence) or the fictitious divinity,

which the

deceivers represent as being v/iih Bjt/ios from eternal ages: at these

^ons, our Apostle seems here

eternal ages,

or

the phrase

^^ovon

sons of destruction,

Ephes.

ii,

2.

cciuviois.

The

Paul elsewhere

evil Spirit
calls the

togi ince by the use of

which worked

/Eon of

tfiis

in these

world. See

ROMANS

EPISTLE TO THE

fJQ

simple Statement of them, deferring their farther justi-

and enlargement, until

fication

arrive at the conclu-

sion of the whole.

the

First, then,

Gospel which the Apostle Paul

preached, comprehended chiefly the three following

humanity, the real suffering, and

RESURRECTION of the Christ. On ihs. Jirst of

articles, the

the

these he insisted as essential to salvation, because

it

followed, contrary to the position of his opponents, that

if the

Christ was in reality a

human being, and

the same

wiih Jesus of Nazareth, he must have actually suffered:

On the

second, because the death of Christ

was previ-

ously requisite to establish the certainty of his resurrection

On

the third, because his resurrection

dead constitutes the only

solid

from the

foundation on which

can be erected the hope of the future resurrection of

mankind, and consequently forms the only conside-

by exhibiting the prospect of

ration which,

new life,

and the sublimity of a future judgment, furnishes adequate motives to the eradication of vice and the cultivation of virtue.

The

Secondly,

was

that Jesus
ly

born

human

that

doctrines, therefore,

a supernatural being,

which teach

and supernatural-

he descended from heaven to rescue the

race from the sentence of eternal death, by pay-

ing to the Almighty an infinite satisfaction for their

sins

that all

mankind were doomed

to endless misery,

for the venial offence of their progenitors

transgression of

hope but

Adam, they

their innocence,

that in the

forfeited not only their

and became depraved even

before they incurred guilt, and criminal in being en-

dued with

life

that while a select

happy few, contra-


ANALYSED.

I71

ry to their original inclinations, have been arbitrarily

fore-ordained to everlasting felicity, the bulk of

are left for no guilt of their
live in eternal torments

ence called grace, or

own to perish,

and

some

that

faith in certain

men

or rather to

spiritual influ-

incomprehensible

propositions, and not the cultivation of virtue, qualifies

men

for the

kingdom of God

these doctrines,

originated in the Jewish and Pagan superstitions,

which
which

have since been incoxporated with the religion of Jesus

during the dark ages, and are believed

as sacred truths

by the majority of Christians even in these times

these, I say, so far from being comprehended in the
Apostolic doctrine, are contradicted in
are but branches,

grown indeed

transplanted into

different

soils,

it

since they

in different

forms and

of that very system

which the Apostles themselves opposed.

The

notion that Christ was apre-existent super-an-

body of Jesus this notion

which was revived by Arius towards the beginning of
the fourth century, and which is now embraced by

gelic spirit dwelling in the

many good and

otherwise intelligent

men

called after

him Arians is evidently the same with that which

Simon Magus and Cerinthus first introduced into the
Christian church

namely, that the Christ was an

god, or angel which descended into

t]ie

man

Jesus

Christ was not the son of the Creator, but of a

with

and

at his

The impostors maintained,

birth or at his baptism.

superior to him

yo?i,

that he

came, not

that

God

to co-operate

Jehovah, but to rescue mankind from subjec-

tion to his controul, and from the influence of his arbi-

trary

commandments.

The

assertions

of our Lord

himself levelled against these opinions, that he was the

son of the Universal Father, that he came from him.

EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS

172

and acted with

his authority

and assistance, and there-

fore in point of design was one with him, laid a foundation for the second article in the trinitarian faith, that

which,

for the notion

in

that Christ, instead of being greater than

first

him

is,

process of time, was adopted,

God,

as the

vouchers of his divinity supposed, was equal to

and instead of being different from the Universal

Father as the offspring of a superior divinity, was

essence with

same in substance or
See Vol.

From

ii.

416

p. 391,

him

as his

own

the-

Son.

419.

the supposition that the Creator was a malevo-

lent Being,

it

followed of course that he wished not the

happiness of his moral offspring, nor consented to their

deliverance from the sentence of eternal death, unless

an ample compensation were made

Hence

the

Universe,

the

ior their acquittal.

dishonourable to the Father of

idea, so

that

he required the

equal to himself as the only means

death

of one

of reconciling

him to his children. In opposition to the malevolence

which those enemies of the true Gospel imputed to
God, and upon which, in after times, was founded the
doctrine of Christ's atonement, the Apostle in this and
in

all

his other epistles represents

him

as the

benevolent

Parent of mankind, exercising mercy towards the Gentiles as

ner
half

well as

3S to
;

Jews

loving the world in such a man-

give his most beloved Son to die in their be-

forgiving the most abandoned their sins, and pro-

claiming salvation

10

all

without distinction on the

simple terms of repentance and reformation.

The

Creator of the world being, according to the de-

ceivers, malevolent

and depraved,

vious consequence, that his

it

followed as an ob-

human

offspring naturally

ANALYSED,

I73

Hence

partook of his malevolence and depravity.

pernicious tenet that

which,

as

it

tution of the

ever

wicked by nature

human mind, an

Hence,

which properly interpreted

complete reformation of manners,

that

the

habits, or 3

construed to

the effects of sin

tive innocence

Jews through successive generations,

and

that the forfeiture of his primi-

by the founder of our race, had entailed

upon

all

his

progeny. This mythological no-

tion flowed with the current of Jewish and

Pagan su-

perstitions into the sanctuary of the Christian

and upon the sandy sediment

after

in

days

it

there

Church

That

founded the Calvinistic doctrine of

for the transgression of

a few favourite persons are predestined to

abandoned

to everlasting misery,

is

human

elect

in

being

God, while the other

doomed to perish in ignorance

or chosen people of

nations of the earth were

and

be

race

also a doctrine

borrowed from the Jews, who vainly gloried

the

upon

Adam.

eternally happy, while the majority of the

are

was

deposited,

Original Sin, and of eternal death pronounced

mankind

mean

Spirit.

and even natural and moral death, w^ere

disease,

these evils

rege-

a tho-

derived from whatever source, was trans-

amon^

all

is

too,

signifies

change effected by the Holy

a supernatural

A notion,

what-

irresistible bias to

rough eradication of bad dispositions and

mitted

the

tenet,

furnishes at once a powerful incentive,

and a specious apology for crimes.

neration,

supposes, in the original frame and consti-

evil,

is

man

is

vice.

In opposition to the Judaizing Zealots,

who adhered

mean of securing
meanPaul ^rciiched faith in Jesus

to ceremonial observances, as the

the divine favour,

ZPISTLE TO THE

J74

ROMANS

ing by the term the exercise of refined piety and benevolence, arising from a firm belief in a future life,
illustrated

and confirmed by the resurrection of Christ.

In process of time, however,

it

was forgotten or over-

looked, that the Apostle msisted on faith, in preference

to ritual- works, merely because

cious principle of conduct

word became
ment

it

was

more

effica-

and from this oversight the

to signify an implicit assent of the

to creeds of

human

judg-

Hence, to the

invention.

dis-

honour of the Christian doctrine, faith thus applied,

has been

made instrumental

to

exclude

all

claim to the

favour of God, resulting from the practice of virtue,

and blindly urged for ages

which

as the

a Christian could erect the

Thirdly,

only solid ground on

hope of

The frequency with which

salvation.

the Apostles

mention the blood of Christ, the strong language in

which they describe his

which they connect with

death,
it,

and the great

PROPRIETY

to the Gnostic teachers,

reality of his

body, ot

his suffering,

quent resurrection; and

tual the

ture

efficacy

owe their origin

who thereby

who

and of

and

denied the
his

subse-

rendered ineffec-

powerful influence, which the belief of a fu-

state, thi'ough the

medium of those facts, produced

who embraced them.

in the lives and tempers of those

Fourthly,

From the decomposition of

this epistle,

we

recop^nize at the bottom the existence of the facts, con-

tained in the
ly, the

first

volume of the Developcment

introduction of the Christian doctrine into

the conversion of the

name-

Rome,

Jews and Egyptians, the forma-

tion and prevalence of the Gnostic system, the crimes

of the impostors, the opposition they made to the go-

vernment, the accusations brought against ihe Christi-

ANALYSED.

J75

&c. &c.

To

these, frequent and clear allusions are discernible.

The

and

ans,

their expulsion

epistle indeed

rives

city,

founded upon them, and hence

is

it

de-

beauty, propriety, and explanation.

its

Fifthly,

The views which

cherished, and

monstrate that
views,

from the

i.

e.

the Zealots and impostors

which the Apostle Paul opposed, dehe was himself governed by no such

was neither actuated by

upon

a desire of wilfully imposing

the doctrinal points

a blind zeal,

nor by

For

his followers.

which he maintained

against his op-

ponents, the intrepid behaviour with which he sustained

false

shame, labour and pain in support of the Gospel,

and the high virtues, which by his example

his preaching he
it

recommended

as well as

to the converts,

render

impossible that he had the weakness to be himself

The

deceived, or the wickedness to deceive others.

contrast, in

which we here behold our great and vene-

rable Apostle,

is

indeed forcible and captivating;

as

serves to place in their true and native light, his

ral

and intellectual qualifications.

tures which,
his

viewed

The

an inflexible adherence,

mo-

leading fea-

in this point of observation,

character, are divine

it

mark

wisdom, unbiased integrity

spite of scorn, reproach,

in

and persecution, to those principles which he knew to

be true

the times

a noble superiority to the false philosophy of

;

an utter contempt of such knowledge

as did

not conduce to virtue; and, finally, a holy disdain of

the pernicious

maxim,

that

it

was lawful

to propagate

falsehood, under the pretence of promoting truth, and

to

blend with the pure word of God, which he Avas

commissioned to teach, the

fictions of

specious and flattering to his cause.

men, however

Though

taught

EPISTLE TO THE

jyS

ROMANS

in the school of the Pharisees, that rites

nies

formed

insists

upon

he

now

their abolition as inadequate to effect the

ends of virtue
the belief of a

and recommends to general reception

new

reformation.
suasion, that

through the death of Jesus, as

life

the only efficacious

tutelar

and ceremo-,

of true religion,

essential parts

mean of producing repentance and

Though he once indulged

Jehovah was

God of Israel,

he

the fond per-

in a peculiar

now

manner the

represents him, in oppo-

sition to the Zealots, as the Father of the

whole human

race, exercising his parental regard to all the tribes of

men,
the

descendants of Abraham. i\gainst

as well as to the

Jews he maintained

in the blessings of the

works
its

Gentiles might share

Gospel without submitting to the

of the law, and

moral precepts.

that the

on the

sole condition of

obeying

Against the Gentile converts, on

the contrary, he asserted the former privileges of the

Jews, and urged the duty of respecting and pitying

them

in their present state of degradation

To the

Christian Church, he

sion of those persons,

or pretended wisdom,
fession of the

new

and apostacy.

recommends the expul,

however distinguished by rank

who

faith

sought under the

fair

pro-

only to gratify their love of

power, of riches, or of pleasure.

In a bold and indig-

nant language he arraigns the impostors that affected

to be the instructors of others, while they neglected to
t.each

themselves

artifices,

And though he openly

rejects their

exposes their

falsehoods, and humbles their

pride, he on no occasion

treats

them with unnecessary

asperity, but endeavours rather to conciliate their fa-

ANALYSED.

^n

vour than incur their resentment.

ate with

own

his

hand,

Averse

to deline-

character of the false

the

teachers, he selects, with great skill

and delicacy, pas-

sages from the prophetic writings which, like mirrors,

reflected their true

Such

deceive.
appears,

is

image

to those

the light in

whom

when we contemplate him,

this epistle,

they sought to

which the Apo^tle Paul

in the course of

opposing zealots and impostors.

The com-

parison between him and his false brethren cannot

fail

Wc

to heighten the native lustre of his character.

behold him exerting his great and unclouded faculties

in the cause of

mankind

and assuming, in opposition

to enthusiasm, superstition
at

once mild,

enthusiasm,

dignified,

superstition,

thus counteracted, invest

tional splendour

and imposture, an attitude

and commanding

And

the

and imposture, which he

him

in

return with

addi-

and, like the dark clouds of the

morning, exhibit him to the distant beholder, adorned

in all the glories which the newly risen Sun of righteousness had spread over the moral horizon.
Sixthly,

No

reader,

who

has perused the remain-

ing writings, which Celsus, Porphyry, and Julian in

ancient times, and which Voltaire, Paine, and others
in

modern

religion,

days, have published against the Christian

needs to

be informed,

objections urged against

from the

articles

its

that the principal

divine original, are drawn

of the orthodox

faith.

The

doctrines

of the divinity and miraculous birth of Christ, of the

atonement which he

is

said to

have paid for the sins

of mankind, and the necessity of believing implicitly opinions unsupported

VOL.

Ill,

by reason

these with others

EPISTLE TO THE

1^"%

of the same stamp, which, as

it

ROMANS

has been justly observed,

have concealed the Ahnighty from the views of men,

and thrown the luminous orb of reason into shades,
supply the most formidable weapons, by which the

enemies of the Gospel have attempted to demolish the

fair edifice

of the Christian hope

and erect a temple

consecrated to infidelity, into which,

lum, mankind might

flee

from the

But

moral virtue.

science and the obligations of

from the view, which

an asy-

as into

restraints of con-

have taken of

this epistle,

it

appears, and, from the view which I propose to take

of the other

epistles, the

that these doctrines,

dox

more

satisfactorily will appear,

however

essential to the ortho-

form no part of the religion which was

believer,

taught by Christ and his Apostles. They, therefore, together with the conclusion erected upon them, tumble
to the grounds

Seventhly,

The manner which

the Gospel prevailed

in Rome, and the wonderful consequences which followed its introduction and prevalence in that city^
afford a

new and

additional evidence for the reality of

Christ's miracles. Immediately after his public appear-

ance

his

fame spread abroad, and,

could carry

it,

as

soon

time

as

reached the metropolis of the empire,

some thousands of miles distant from the theatre of his

mission. At first it was vaguely rumoured, that a person
appeared in Judea, proclaiming the kingdomof the eternal

God, and Ileal ing,

in proof of his delegation, all

ner of diseases among the people.

But

continually gained strength and credit;

by multitudes

that arrived

from

till,

tention was

now

man-

rumour

confirmed

that country,

length universally regarded as a real fact.

excited

this

it

was

General

meetings Were held

to

at

at-

en-

ANALYSED.
^uire

who

the messenger was, and what might be the

purport of his message.

to

him

The Jews

their promised Messiah

as

379

in that city looked

up

the Egyptians;, not-

withstanding their national prejudices, could not deny^

his divine

commission, and submitting to his claims,

fondly traced his pedigree to the supreme god of their

The ardour

country.

and the violence of

of zeal,

commotions

dispute, excited in the city tumultuous

which, concurring with the crimes of imposture and the

misrepresentations of malice, occasioned the expul-

The philologers around

sion oi the contending parties.

pronounced the object of

the person of the Prince,

descended from

their curiosity to be ^ celestial being

heaven for the benefit of mankind; and

himself proposed to rank
nities of

How

Rome,

him among

we

are

the.

emperor

the tutelar divi-

account for conse-

to

quences so remote, and for events so stupendous?

is

incumbent upon

Infidelity to return

answer to the question.

recommended
rior

to

come

Jesus Christ did not

the attention of

mankind by supe-

He was

eloquence and learning.

It

a satisfactory

not arrayed with

the splendour of wealth, nor supported by the authority of

Considered in a personal and political

power.

view, he sustained a character the reYers,e of

ture.

He

was the son of an obscure

this pic-

carpenter,,

who

of course earned his bread by his daily labours.

appears

to,

have been

to lay hi5 head.

school of

So

his poverty, that

far

from being educated in the

human wisdom, he

men, when they discovered

The contempt,

in

Such
he had nowhere

astonished his countrythat

he was able to read.

which was held the place of his

had entailed ignominy upon

his

name

birth,

and so morti-

fying was the reflection of his having died the death of a

EPISTLE TO THE

i8o.

slave and a malefactor

up the

a while, gave

deemer of
for

even his

that

I repeat, are

consequences so remote, for

produced by
ficant

a person,

disciples, for

we to account

effects so

stupendous,

humanly considered,

In nothing can

we

so insigni-

discern the adequate cause

Upon

bpt in the reality of his miracles.

the supposi-

actually wrought the things ascribed to

tion, that he

him

own

hope of his being the Re-

flattering

How then,

Israel.

ROMANS

in the evangelical records, these consequences and

effects, so

from being surprising or improbable,

far

were matters of course.

The scheme, moreover, which the bitterest

Eighthly,

enemies of the Gospel, on

ned for counteracting

sumptive argument
which the founder
sus Christ,
the

by

of

line

his

its

its first

effects,

promulgation, planaffords a strong pre-

for the truth of the

is

said

to

mighty works

have performed.

marked more
which reason Tiad

discoveries,

distinction,

Je-

clearly
faintly

drawn between- virtue and vice, and which the system of Epicurus now prevalent, not only in Pagan
countries, but even in Judea, had a tendency to obli-

By new and more powerful

terate.

invited

mankind

latter.

to

sanctions he also

pursue the former and to avoid the

These sanctions he grounded on the sublime

doctrine of a future retribution, which he was delegated

to teach

cated by

and the truth of

many

his delegation,

public miracles, and particularly by the

miracle of his resurrection.

disciples,

who

he authenti-

at first

Simon Magus and

his

joined the declared adversaries

of the Christian cause, perceiving the efforts of open

violence to be ineffectual, concerted a plan admirably

adapted, under the

mask of

friendship, to

undermine a

ANALYSED.

l8l

by enlightening and reforming mankind, threatened to defeat the views of priestcraft, amBorrowing two false maxims
bition and sensuality.
from the Epicurean school, in which they had been edu-

religion which,

no true criterion

cated, (namely, that the senses furnish

of the reality of facts, and that the gods, though uninte-

sometimes appeared

rested in the affairs,

in the

form

of men) they maintained, in countries where Jesus was

not personally known, and where therefore any false-

hood concerning him might be propagated with the

danger of being refuted, that the Christ was not a

less

human

being, but a

ness of a

God, or

human being

demon,

whereas

in

in the

mere

like-

Judea, Samaria, and

other adjacent regions, where his person, actions, and

the circumstances of his death were actually
to the inhabitants, and

remained fresh in their

demon was

they taught that this

ries,

the

man

.his

apprehension and death.

known
memo-

incorporated with

Jesus during his ministry, but forsook him on

Hence

it

followed, that

as Christ was not in reality a man, he did not in reality

suffer death

he did not in

and

as he did not in reality suffer death,

reality rise

from the dead

and

as

he did

not in reality rise from the dead, there could be no resurrection of the dead.

Thus

which the Saviour brought

the life and immortality,

to light in his Gospel,

again veiled in impenetrable darkness to those

braced
the

this artful

new

faith

system

and the sanctions, by which

enforced the cultivation of

virtue, deprived entirely of their force.

upon

the lives of the impostors, the

trine, in

which they

influence.
fold degree,

On

were

who emsuperior

Accordingly,
Christian doc-

affected to believe, had

no moral

the contrary, they became, in a two-

more the children of

hell than they

were

EPISTLE TO THE

1.82

before.

Now the deceivers,

have recourse to a
self,

so

it is

fiction so

ROMANS

contended, would never

wild and chimerical in

it-

common sense, so
all who knew the person,

remote from the dictates of

opposite to the conviction of

heard the discourses, and witnessed the actions of Jesus

to this fiction,

it is

contended, they never would have

had recourse, in order to preclude the consequenceobviously and irresistibly drawn from his miracles,

could with the

least plausibility

the edifi.ce of the Christian faith

known

they must have

solid, the edifice itself

nor can

they

if

have denied

effect

These miracles formed the foundation on

their reality.

which was erected

est attack

and

it

that,

if

aixi

the foundation were not

would have

fallen

be supposed,

by the

slight-

wicked and

that a

able adversary would, in his attempt to take the citadel

ot our hope,

have endeavoured to undermine

its fortifi-

cations by absurd and impracticable wiles, had he not,

from experience and observation, found them to be

impregnable to an open and direct assault. Be theo
but satisfied of the existence and object of the antichri&
tian system

what the

above described, and you must allow

folly

and wickedness of men designed

the grave of the Christian religion, the

power of God has converted

performed by
Ninthly,
epistles

its

to

be

wisdom and

into a monumsnt,

are inscribed, in legible characters, the

that,

on which

mighty works

illustrious founder.

The Apostle

Paul, in as

much

as in all his

he opposes the Gnostic teachers,

was un-

avoidably led, on some occasions, to use their term.s,

to

borrow

Sometimes
were

false

their images,
too,

when he

and to copy their allusions.

contradicts sentiments that

and unphilosophical, he, under terms and


ANALY,SED.
.

j83

imager thus borrowed, conveyed to his readers sentianents, analogous indeed to those

which he

refuted, but

same time true and philosophical. This circumstance furnished the very men, whom he proscribe^,
at the

with a plausible pretence for asserting,

his authority

in places where
was predominant, and where he was not

personally present, that Paul himself, in his

<:asionally

Chap. xvi.

confirmed their doctrines.

oc-

letters,

Irensus (Lib.

i.

recorded many specimens

xvii, xviii.) has

of the manner in which they perverted the language of

Christ, of his Apostles, and of the prophets, into a

which they taught.

justification of the tenets

testimony to this fact

by

is

this

his

" Wherefore, beloved, under

the Apostle Peter,

him

And

thus remarkably corroborated

expectation, endeavour earnestly to be found

in peace without spot or blemish

this patience of

our Lord to be Salvation unto you

our beloved brother Paul

also,

given him, wrote unto you

speaking in them upon

as

according to the wisdom

as

by

and account

indeed in

this subject,

all his letters,

which hath some

which things the

FOOLISH AND IXNSTABLE WREST, AS ALSO THE
OTHER Scriptures, to their own destruc-

things hard to be understood,

tion."

2 Pet.

iii.

14

x-].

Now what

the impostors did

through the wickedness and depravity of their hearts,

has,

from a cause

less guilty

indeed, but by no means

honourable, been done by the supporters of orthodoxy

in every age. In imitation of those

who

first

corrupted

the Christian religion, they actually appeal to the Great

Apostle of the Gentiles, in the defence of their corrupt principles

led

against

has in every

though

them

his

language

directly level-

is

though the blaze of

quarter set them

on

fire,

his

eloquence

as constituting

'

184

EPISTLE TO THE

the wood, bay, stubble

ROMANS ANALYSED.

which the deceivers

another foundation than the

his olivine authority exorcised

man Jesus
them

jnany demons, from the greater

Finally,

The

plan,

upon

for a while, as so

body of Christians.

upon which

analysed, furnishes, I conceive,

ments in proof of

built

and though

this epistle has been

two very strong arguIt

its authenticity..

derives

its

expla-

nation from circumstances and events which happened

in the earliest age of the Christian
tains sentiments

the Gnostics,

Church

and

it

con-

which could have come, neither from

nor from the fathers,

other except an Apostolic teacher.

nor from any

ADVERTISEMENT,

LATELY PUBLISHED, BY THE SAME AUTHOR,

and

Mt\ JOHNSON, No.

sold

72, St. Paul's Church-yard, London,

TWO VOLUMES,

by

ENTITLED,

DEVELOPEMENT
OF

REMARKABLE EVENTS,
CALCULATED TO RESTORE THE

CHRISTIAN RELIGION TO ITS ORIGINAL PURITY,

and

to repel the

OBJECTIONS OF UNBELIEVERS.

TKINTED ^Y HOLDEN AND DOWSOy, HALIFAX.

BS2665

.J77

The Epistle of Paul

to the

Romans

Princeton Theological Semlnary-Speer Library

1012 00067 4921