power which gave efficacy to the one expedient, gives efficacy to the other; and in such a way too, as to invest that method of salvation which looks meanness and foolishness to the natural eye-to invest it with the solemn venerable imposing character of God's asserted majesty, of God's proclaimed and vindicated righteousness. And here let us remark the whole import of the term salvation. The power of God in the achievement of it was put forth in something more than in bowing down the Divinity upon our world, and there causing it to sustain the burden of the world's atonement-in something more than the conflicts of the garden or the agonies of the cross-in something more than the resurrection of the crucified Saviour from His tomb-in something more than the consequent expunging of every believer's name from the book of condemnation, and the inscribing of it in the book of life. There is a power put forth on the person of believers. There is the working of a mighty power to usward who believe. There is the achievement of a spiritual resurrection upon every one of them. By the sprinkling of the blood of Christ, the power of which is applied to every soul that has faith, there is a cleansing of that soul from its moral and spiritual leprosy. And hence a connection between two things, which to the world's eye looks incomprehensible -a connection between faith, which it might be feared would have led to indolent security on the one hand, and a most thorough substantial pervad eye ing reformation of heart and conduct on the other. The expedient does not appear a likely one to the of nature. But the power of God stamps an efficacy upon it; and He has multiplied in all ages of the church the living examples of marked and illustrious virtue in the person of believers; and has held them forth to the world as trophies of the power of the gospel; and has put to silence the gainsayers; and afforded matter of glory to the friends of the truth; and upheld them in the principle and purpose not to be ashamed of it. We conclude with that awful denunciation of the Saviour. "He who is ashamed of me before this evil and adulterous generation-of him will I be ashamed before my holy angels." In the last clause "the just shall live by faith" —we are apt to conceive of justice as a personal and inherent attribute. In the original, the term for just has the same root with the term for righteousness-and this strengthens our impression of the true meaning here, which is, that they who are righteous with the righteousness of God, mentioned in the same verse, and who in virtue of being so have a title and a security for life, hold that life by faith. F 66 LECTURE IV. ROMANS i, 18-24. "For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifest in them: for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are elearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse; because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping things. Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves." THE word translated here to hold,' signifies not merely to hold, but to hold fast. Now this may be done for the purpose of keeping in secure possession that which you wish to retain. And so this is the word in that place where they who receive the word are said to "keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience;" and where the Corinthians. are praised by Paul because they observed "to remember him in all things, and to keep the ordinances which he had delivered them;"† and where he tells them, that they are saved if they "keep *Luke viii, 15. + 1 Cor. xi, 2. "* in memory, that which he had preached unto them;"* and where he bids the Thessalonians “hold fast that which is good ;"+ and where he informs the Hebrews, that Christ dwelleth in them, if they "hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end;"‡ and also that we are made partakers of Christ, if "we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast unto the end;"§ and finally, where he encourages them to "hold fast the profession of their faith without wavering." It is not in the sense of the word in any || of these passages that we are to understand it here. They who hold the truth in unrighteousness, do not hold it for the sake of keeping it in possession, as an article which they valued; and therefore were desirous of retaining in safe and cherished custody. Or one may hold fast for the purpose of confining or keeping down, so as to impede and repress that which is thus confined, from the putting forth of its energies. And accordingly this is the very word which Paul uses, when he says to the Thessalonians, "And now ye know what withholdeth that he might be revealed in his time. For the mystery of iniquity doth already work; only he who now letteth will let until he be taken out of the way."* "** He alludes to something that so confined Antichrist, as to keep him back-so that he came not out into full and immediate manifesta * 1 Cor. xv, 2. § Heb. iii, 14. + 1 Thes. v, 21. Heb. iii, 6. ** 1 Thes. ii, 6, 7. tion. It is in this second sense that men hold the truth in unrighteousness. They have the truth -they are in possession of it. But they keep it down. They chain it, as it were, in the prisonhold of their own corruptions. They throw the troublesome adviser into a dungeon-just like a man who has a conscience to inform him of what is right, but who stifles its voice, and brings it under bondage to the domineering ascendancy of passion and selfishness and all the lawless appetites of his nature. Thus it is with men who restrain the truth, or suppress the truth in unrighteousness. V. 19. "That which is knowable of God, is manifest among them." V. 20. "For ever since the creation of the world, that great manifestation of God's power and Godhead, these invisible things of Him are clearly seen." V. 21. "In their reasonings." ness. The following then is the paraphrase of this passage. For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who stifle the truth in unrighteousBecause that which might be known of God is manifest among them-for God hath shown it to them. For the invisible things respecting Him, even His eternal power and Godhead, are clearly seen-being discernible from the things that are made, so as to render them inexcusable. Because when they did know God, they did not do Him glory as to God, neither were they thank |