him a knowledge of his just exposure to the wrath of God. Conscience can never be entirely extirpated, v. 32." Of this truth we have proofs every day. Even where a man's avowed wicked principles are entirely opposed to a pure conscience, the case is not altered. Herod was a Sadducee, a gross infidel, denying angel and spirit, mocking the doctrine of the resurrection. With these principles he beheads John Baptist. This bloody crime goads him, makes him a coward, and his infidelity is no protection. When Jesus became a public person and his miracles were noised abroad, some of the people said he was Elias and some that he was one of the old prophets; but Herod in the teeth of his Sadduceeism said, I can tell you who he is-it is John whom I beheaded. If these things be so, it is in vain for the wicked to avoid a fearful looking for of judgment for doing those things which they know to be worthy of death. 30. The scope of the whole section under consideration is to show that salvation by the deeds of the law is impossible, and that if men are to be saved at all, there must be some method of justification altogether different from that, to which the human heart is so much wedded. Stuart: "It is clear that the Gentiles need a Saviour; it is equally clear that they need gratuitous justification, and that they must perish without such a provision for them." The necessity for a revelation of the gospel scheme for the Gentiles was urgent. They were living without God's image, without communion with him, without his favor, without holiness, without saving knowledge, with wrong beliefs, with wrong feelings, with wickedness in their hearts and breaking out in their lives. This matter should deeply affect the hearts of us sinners of the Gentiles, the descendants of those, whose characters are here depicted. We still carry about us some of the rags of heathenism, as in the names of the days of the week. This may remind us of the hole of the pit, whence we have been digged, and should make us greatly glory in the cross of Christ, in the glorious gospel of the blessed God. CHAPTER II. VERSES 1-11. AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF THE TRUTH DOES NOT PROVE MEN TO BE WITHOUT SIN. THEREFORE thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. 2 But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. 3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 4 Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and longsuffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? 5 But, after thy hardness and impenitent heart, treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God; 6 Who will render to every man according to his deeds: 7 To them who by patient continuance in well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, eternal life: 8 But unto them that are contentious, and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, indignation and wrath, 9 Tribulation and anguish, upon every soul of man that doeth evil; of the Jew first, and also of the Gentile; 10 But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that worketh good; to the Jew first, and also to the Gentile : 11 For there is no respect of persons with God. AUL, having shown the atrocious guilt of the Gentiles, and PAUL the justice of their exposure to the Divine displeasure, now turns to the Jews, and by skilful approaches and logical arguments proves that they also were liable to wrath, and could not be justified by the works of the law. He begins by saying, 1. Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things. The apostle does not here name the Jews, but leads on his readers to acknowledge that such immorality and impiety as he had de scribed were worthy of death, and then makes his appeal to men, as such; see also v. 3. It is not till he reaches v. 9 that he even names the Jews. The division of the sacred books into chapters, however advantageous in some respects, often breaks the connection. The first verse of this chapter and the last verse of chapter I. are closely connected. In that Paul first says that they which do such things are worthy of death. He then says that they which have pleasure in so vile wrong-doers are still more vile. In this verse he asserts the increased criminalty of those, who have the rule of right before them, and condemn those immoralities and impieties of which he had given a list, and yet practise the same sins. Other explanations of the connection indicated by wherefore have been given. But this seems most satisfactory. By saying such a man is inexcusable, he uses a figure of speech in which he says less than he intends to be understood. The meaning is he is wholly indefensible because he sins against clear light. Inexcusable, in chapter 1: 20 rendered without excuse. In pronouncing on the case of others, one passes sentence on himself as did David before Nathan. Judge and condemn: the first of these verbs is often rendered judge, condemn, sometimes sue at the law, go to law, determine, think, esteem. The second is always rendered condemn or damn. There is a striking resemblance between these two verbs. This is sufficiently preserved in the authorized version, also in the Syriac and Vulgate and often in more, modern versions. On this verse Whitby has shown by ample quotations from Josephus that the very sins of the heathen were practised by the Jews. The Jewish historian says that his countrymen committed all kinds of wickedness, omitting none which ever came to the memory of man, esteeming the worst evils to be good. 2. But we are sure that the judgment of God is according to truth against them which commit such things. But here has the sense of and or further. We are sure, literally, we know, we understand, we are aware. The principles of God's moral government over the world were not concealed from mankind. Fudgment, so rendered in many places, also damnation and condemnation. Here it means a condemning sentence, because it is against wrong-doers. This judgment is according to truth, i. e. it is righteous and proceeds from the exalted nature of God. It is not capricious. The Lord does not condemn in one man that which he commends in another. He does not look upon appearances, professions and plausibilities. What he loathes in a Greek he abhors in a Jew. We know thus much from the nature of God, from the course of his providence, from the convictions of our own consciences, and from the clear declarations of holy scripture. By truth Locke understands not only that which is right and just; but truth according to divine predictions and threats. But truth is often synonymous with righteousness, and well nigh invariably supposes it. 3. And thinkest thou this, O man, that judgest them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? The doctrine of this verse is quite the same as that of the first. The rendering of Wiclif is striking: But gessist thou man, that demest hem that dose such thingis, and thou doist these thingis: that thou shalt escape the dome of god? The word rendered judgment here is the same as in v. 2, and is cognate to the word judgest found thrice in v. 1. If men with all their blindness and errors still see how righteous it is in God to punish iniquity, much more does God see the enormity of sin and the righteousness of retribution. And if God never errs, how can he fail to punish those vices and sins which men justly and commonly condemn in each other? It is not charged that every Jew practised all the sins of the heathen, especially in the eyes of man, but that the Jewish people, who rejected the gospel did these things at least in their hearts, so as to be involved in a like condemnation. Tholuck: "Knowledge without corresponding disposition is of no avail." The ground of Paul's strong appeal in this verse is not history, public rumor or any labored argument which he had submitted, but the conscience of every man. 4. Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? Peshito: Or wilt thou abuse the riches of his benevolence, and his long suffering, and the opportunity, which he giveth thee? And dost thou not know that the benevolence of God should bring thee to repentance? Wiclif: Where [whether] dispisist thou the richessis of his goodnesse, and the paciens and the long abidinge? knowist thou not that the benygnnyte of god ledith thee to forthinkynge? Despisest, contemnest, thinkest lightly of, a word rendered with absolute uniformity in the New Testament. That the wicked contemn God is alike taught in the Old Testament, Ps. 10: 13; 107:11. Goodness, also rendered good, Rom. 3: 12; kindness, 2 Cor. 6: 6 and elsewhere; gentleness, Gal. 5: 22. Haldane: Goodness is the best translation of the word. Forbearance, found also in Rom. 3: 25. It here means God's delay to punish when he is highly provoked. Macknight: "Forbearance is that disposition in God, by which he restrains. himself from instantly punishing sinners." Long suffering, commonly so rendered, also patience. It denotes the quiet and protracted endurance of God under insults and wrongs. In all these perfections God has and manifests riches, a word rendered with entire uniformity. The amount of the first clause is that in order to continue in sin men must contemn an unspeakable amount of divine kindness. In the second clause the word rendered goodness is elsewhere uniformly an adjective, good, kind, gracious, but here used as a noun and well translated. Here we are taught that the appropriate effect of God's forbearance and kindness would be to work in us a thorough change of mind and behaviour. If God is good even to the unkind and the unthankful, surely the door of entrance to the divine favor is open to the penitent. The word repentance is that used to designate repentance unto life, and not mere regret without a change of heart. Wicked men pervert every thing. Until renewed by grace nothing moves men aright. They do not know, or acknowledge that a due consideration of the divine kindness ought to change their whole course. 5. But, after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God. Peshito: But, because of the hardness of thy unrepenting heart, thou art treasuring up a store of wrath against the day of wrath, and against the revelation of the righteous judgment of God. Hardness, Cranmer and Genevan have stubburnesse; Stuart, obstinacy; found here only, but the cognate adjective is rendered hard in Matt. 25: 24; John 6: 60; Jude 15, &c. Impenitent, that is without true repentance; Cranmer and Genevan: a heart that cannot repent. The other words of the verse are translated with a literal exactitude that cannot be surpassed. No more fearful thought has ever reached the human mind than is found in this verse. On wrath see above on Rom. 1 18. Proverbs 10: 2 shews that the word treasure is not always used in a good sense. The day of wrath is a phrase found elsewhere, Rev. 6: 17. Compare Zeph. I 15. Clarke: "The treasure of wrath in this verse is opposed to the riches of goodness in the preceding." All this evil on the wicked is to be expected from the character of God, 6. Who will render to every man according to his deeds. A man's works are all those things, which evince his character. The doctrine here laid down is abundantly declared in Scripture. Joh 34: 11; Ps. 62 : 14; Pr. 24 : 12; Jer. 17: 10; 32: 19; Matt. 16: 27; 1 Cor. 3:8; 2 Cor. 5: 10; Rev. 2:23; 20: 12; 22: 12. These places teach the truth directly. Other passages as clearly declare it in other words. Render, elsewhere perform, yield, restore, pay, give, reward, recompense. It fully conveys the idea of retribution. The context shows that the every has special reference to Jew and Gentile, but those distinctions embrace the whole human |