words will hardly allow. 2. It may be rendered agreeably to my gospel, in such a manner as my gospel requires; or, 3. Through, i. e. by means of the gospel. The second interpretation is perhaps the best. And the preaching of Jesus Christ. This may mean either Christ's preaching; or the preaching concerning Christ;' either interpretation gives a good sense, the gospel being both a proclamation by Christ, and concerning Christ. The apostle dwells upon this idea, and is led into a description and commendation of the gospel. According to the revelation of the mystery. These words may be considered as co-ordinate with the preceding clause; the sense then is, Who is able to establish you agreeably to (or through) my gospel, agreeably to (through) the revelation of the mystery,' &c. It is, however, more common and natural to consider this clause as subordinate and descriptive. The gospel is a revelation of the mystery which had been hid for ages.' The word mystery, according to the common scriptural sense of the term, does not mean something obscure or incomprehensible, but simply something previously unknown, and undiscoverable by human reason, and which, if known at all, must be known by a revelation from God; see ch. 11: 25. According to this passage, Paul speaks of the gospel as something "which had been kept secret since the world began ;" i. e. hidden from eternity in the divine Mind. It is not a system of human philosophy, or the result of human investigation, but it is a revelation of the purpose of God. Paul often presents the idea that the plan of redemption was formed from eternity, and is such as no eye could discover, and no heart conceive, 1 Cor. 2: 7-9. Col. 1: 26.

(26) But is now made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets; that is, this gospel or mystery, hidden from eternity, is now revealed; not now for the first time, indeed, since there are so many intimations of it in the prophecies of the Old Testament.' It is evident that the apostle adds the words and by the scriptures of the prophets to avoid having it supposed that he overlooked the fact that the plan of redemption was taught in the Old Testament; compare ch. 1: 2. 3: 21. According to the command of the everlasting God, that is, this gospel is now made manifest by command of God. Paul probably uses the expression everlasting God, because he had just before said that the gospel was hid from eternity. It is now revealed by that eternal Being in whose mind the wonderful plan was formed, and by whom alone it could be revealed.' Made known to all nations for the obedience of faith. 'Made known among all nations.' For the obedience of faith, i. e. that they should become obedient to the faith; see ch. 1: 5. This gospel, so long concealed, or but partially revealed in the ancient prophets, is now, by the command of God, to be made known among all nations. (27) To the only wise God be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen. There is an ambiguity in the original which is not retained in our version. To the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever.' The construction adopted by our translators is perhaps

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the one most generally approved. To him that is able to establish you, to the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, be glory.' In this case the relative to whom, in v. 27, is pleonastic. Others explain the passage thus, To the only wise God, made known through Jesus Christ, to whom (i. e. Christ) be glory for ever.' The former construction appears the more natural. As Paul often calls the gospel the "wisdom of God" in contrast with the wisdom of men, he here, when speaking of the plan of redemption as the product of the divine Mind, and intended for all nations, addresses his praises to its author as the ONLY WISE GOD, as that Being whose wisdom is so wonderfully displayed in the gospel, and in all his other works, that he alone can be considered truly wise.

REMARKS.

1. It is the duty of Christians to receive kindly their brethren, and to aid them in every way within their power, and to do this from religious motives, and in a religious manner; as becometh saints, vs. 1, 2.

2. The social relations in which Christians stand to each other as relatives, countrymen, friends, should not be allowed to give character to their feelings and conduct, to the exclusion of the more important relation which they bear to Christ. It is as friends, helpers, fellow labourers in the Lord, that they are to be recognised; they are to be received in the Lord; our common connexion with Christ is ever to be borne in mind, and made to modify all our feelings and conduct, vs. 3-12.

2. From the beginning females have taken an active and important part in the promotion of religion. They seem more than others to have contributed to Christ of their substance; they were his most faithful attendants, last at the cross, and first at the sepulchre;' Phebe was a servant of the church, a succourer of Paul and of many others; Tryphena, Tryphosa, and Persis laboured much in the Lord, vs. 1, 2, 3, 6, 12. 4. It does not follow, because a custom prevailed in the early churches, and received the sanction of the apostles, that we are obliged to follow it. These customs often arose out of local circumstances and previous habits, or were merely conventional modes of expressing certain feelings, and were never intended to be made universally obligatory. As it was common in the east (and is so, to a great extent, at present, not only there, but on the continent of Europe) to express affection and confidence by 'the kiss of peace,' Paul exhorts the Roman Christians to salute one another with a holy kiss; i. e. to manifest their Christian love to each other according to the mode to which they were accustomed. The exercise and manifestation of the feeling, but not the mode of its expression, are obligatory on us. This is but one example; there are many other things connected with the manner of conducting public worship, and with the administration of baptism and the Lord's supper, common in the apostolic churches, which have gone out of use. Christianity is a living principle, and was never intended to be confined to one unvarying set of forms, v. 16.

5. It is the duty of Christians to be constantly watchful over the peace and purity of the church, and not to allow those who cause divisions and scandals, by departing from the true doctrines, to pursue their course unnoticed. With all such we should break off every connexion which either sanctions their opinions and conduct, or gives them facilities for affecting evil, v. 17.

6. False teachers have ever abounded in the church. All the apostles were called upon earnestly to oppose them. Witness the epistles of Paul, John, Peter, and James. No one of the apostolical epistles is silent upon this subject. Good men may indeed hold erroneous doctrines; but the false teachers, the promoters of heresy and divisions, as a class, are characterized by Paul as not influenced by a desire to serve Christ, but as selfish in their aims, and plausible, flattering, and deceitful in their conduct, v. 18.

7. Christians should unite the harmlessness of the dove with the wisdom of the serpent. They should be careful neither to cause divisions or scandals themselves, nor allow others to deceive and beguile them into evil, v. 19.

8. However much the church may be distracted and troubled, error and its advocates cannot finally prevail. Satan is a conquered enemy with a lengthened chain; God will ultimately bruise him under the feet of his people, v. 20.

9. The stability which the church and every Christian should maintain is a steadfastness, not in forms or matters of human authority, but in the gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ. God alone is able thus to make his people stand; and, therefore, we should look to him and depend upon him for our own preservation, and the preservation of the church; and ascribe to him, and not to ourselves, all glory and thanks, vs. 25, 27.

10. The gospel is a mystery, i. e. a system of truth beyond the power of the human mind to discover, which God has revealed for our faith and obedience. It was formed from eternity in the divine Mind, revealed by the prophets and apostles, and the preaching of Jesus Christ; and is by the command of God to be made known to all nations, vs. 25, 26.

11. God alone is wise. He charges his angels with folly; and the wisdom of men is foolishness with him. To God, therefore, the profoundest reverence and the most implicit submission are due. Men should not presume to call in question what he has revealed, or consider themselves competent to sit in judgment on the truth of his declarations, or the wisdom of his plans. To GOD ONLY WISE, BE GLORY THROUGH JESUS CHRIST FOR EVER. ΑΜΕΝ.

The subscriptions to this and the other epistles were not added by the sacred writers, but appended by some later and unknown persons. This is evident, 1. Because it cannot be supposed that the apostles would thus formally state (as in this case) what those to whom their letters were addressed must have already

known. The Romans had no need to be informed that this epistle was sent by Phebe, if she actually delivered it to them. 2. They are frequently incorrect, and at times contradict the statements made in the epistles to which they are appended. Thus the subscription to the first Epistle to the Corinthians states that it was written from Philippi, whereas Paul, ch. 16: 8, speaks of himself as being in Ephesus when he was writing. 3. They are either left out entirely by the oldest and best manuscripts and versions, or appear in very different forms. In the present case many MSS. have no subscription at all; others simply, "To the Romans;" others, "To the Romans, written from Corinth;" others, "Written to the Romans from Corinth by Phebe;" &c. &c. These subscriptions, therefore, are of no other authority than as evidence of the opinion which prevailed, to a certain extent, at an early date as to the origin of the epistles to which they are attached. Unless confirmed from other sources they cannot be relied upon.

THE END.