Description of the wicked state A. D. 60. A. D. 60. 26 For this cause God gave them up unto A. M. 464. ble man, and to birds, and four-8 more than the Creator, who is A. M. 4064. footed beasts, and creeping things. blessed for ever. Amen. 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies tween themselves: be when they called, or suffered themselves to be called, wise men.-Grotius. It evidently refers to their assuming the philosophic character, and to the pride they took in the title of wise men, or lovers of wisdom. They became fools-Degrading, in the lowest and most infamous manner, the reason which they so arrogantly pretended to improve, and almost to engross. Thus the apostle finely ridicules that ostentation of wisdom which the Greek philosophers made, by taking to themselves the name of wise men. And his irony was the more pungent, in that it was put into a writing addressed to the Romans, who were great admirers of the Greeks. And changed, &c.—As if he had said, As their folly and wickedness were evident in a variety of other vices, in which these heathen philosophers joined with the vulgar, so particularly in the early and almost universal prevalence of idolatry among them; for they changed the glory-The unutterable glory, of the incorruptible and immortal God-(the word ap0aproç| means both) all the majestic splendours, in which he shines forth through earth and heaven, into an image, made by their own hands, like to corruptible and mortal man-Which, how elegantly soever it might be formed, was an abominable and insufferable degradation of the infinitely perfect and eternal Godhead, had their folly proceeded no further. But, not content with this, they set up as emblems of Deity and objects of worship, brute creatures and their images, birds, four-footed beasts, and creeping things-Even such vile reptiles as beetles, and various kinds of serpents, which creep on the dust. The learned Egyptians in particular, as is well known, worshipped dogs, snakes, nay, and even vegetables. We may observe here, 1st, That the word corruptible, applied to man, signifies not only his being liable to dissolution, but to moral pollution; and the term incorruptible, applied to God, signifies that he is not liable to either. 2d, "The great evil of the heathen idolatry consisted in their setting up the images of men and beasts in their temples as representations of the Deity, by which the vulgar were led to believe that God was of the same form, nature, and qualities with the animals represented by these images. And the persons who thus changed the glory of God were not the common people among the Greeks, but the legislators, magistrates, priests, and philosophers; for they were the persons who framed the public religion in all the vile affections. For even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust heathen countries; who established it by their laws, and recommended it by their example."-Macknight. Verses 24, 25. Wherefore God gave them upAs a punishment of this most unreasonable and scandalous idolatry, God withdrew his restraining grace from them as he did from the antediluvians, Gen. vi. 3; the consequence of which was, that their lusts excited them to commit every sort of uncleanness. The truth is, a contempt of religion is the source of all wickedness. And ungodliness and uncleanness particularly are frequently united, 1 Thess. iv. 5, as are the knowledge of God and purity. Observe, reader, one punishment of sin is from the very nature of it, as verse 27; another, as here, is from vindictive justice. Who changed the truth of God-Those true conceptions which they had of him by nature; into a lie-False opinions of him, and the worship of idols. And they represented his true essence, his incorruptible and immortal nature, by images of men and brute creatures, which are fitly called a lie, as being most false representations of the Deity, who does not resemble them in any respect whatever. Hence idols are called lying vanities, Psa. xxxi. 6. And every image of an idol is termed a teacher of lies, Hab. ii. 18. And worshipped and served the creature-And not only God's creatures, but their own creatures, the images which their own hands had made. The former expression, eσebaodnoav, signifies inward veneration, reverence, esteem, and such like qualities felt in the mind. The latter word, eyarpevσav, denotes the paying outward worship and service to beings thought to be gods. The heathen gave both to their idols, reverencing and respecting them inwardly, and performing various acts of outward worship to them, in token thereof. More than the Creator, who is blessed for ever-Who is eternally glorious, and to whom alone all honour and praise everlastingly belong. Amen-It is an undoubted truth, and to him let it be ascribed accordingly. Verses 26, 27. For this cause-To punish them for their inexcusable neglect, or contempt rather, of the ever-blessed God; and for all their idolatries and impieties; God gave them up unto vile affections-Abandoned them to the most infamous passions, to which the heathen Romans were enslaved to the last degree, and none more than the emperors themselves. For even their women-From whoi the strictest modesty might reasonably be expected; unnatural sins of the Gentile world. A. D. 60. to 10 a reprobate mind, to do those A. M. 4064. 10 Or, a mind void of judgment. Eph. v. 4. tory which is given of Josiah's endeavours to destroy idolatry, there is direct evidence of it, 2 Kings xxiii. 7. That the Greek philosophers of the greatest reputation were guilty not only of fornication, but even of sodomy, is affirmed by ancient authors of good reputation. With the latter crime, Tertullian and Nazianzen have charged Socrates himself, in passages of their writings quoted by Estius. The same charge Athenæus, a heathen writer, hath brought against him, Deipnosophist, lib. xiii.; not to speak of Lucian, who, in many passages of his did change the natural use of their bodies into that which is against nature-Prostituting and abusing them in the most abominable manner. Likewise also the men burned in their lust one toward another—“How just the apostle's reflections are, || and how pertinently he has placed this most abominable abuse of human nature at the head of the vices into which the heathen world were fallen, will be seen, if we observe that Cicero, the greatest philosopher in Rome, a little before the gospel was preached, in his book concerning the nature of the gods, (where may be found a thousand idle senti-writings, hath directly accused him of that vice. ments upon that subject,) introduces, without any When, therefore, the statesmen, the philosophers, mark of disapprobation, Cotta, a man of the first and the priests, notwithstanding they enjoyed the rank and genius, freely and familiarly owning, to light of nature, improved by science, thus avowedly other Romans of the same quality, this worse than addicted themselves to the most abominable unbeastly vice, as practised by himself; and quoting cleannesses; nay, when the gods whom they worthe authority of ancient philosophers in vindication shipped were supposed by them to be guilty of the of it. See lib. i. sec. 28. Nay, and do we not even same enormities; when their temples were brothels, find the most elegant and correct, both of the Greek their pictures invitations to sin, their sacred groves and Latin poets, avowing this vice, and even cele- || places of prostitution, and their sacrifices a horrid brating the objects of their abominable affection? mixture of superstition and cruelty; there was cerIndeed, it is well known that this most detestable tainly the greatest need of the gospel revelation, to vice was long and generally practised, by all sorts make mankind sensible of their brutality, and to of men, philosophers and others. Whence we may bring them to a more holy practice. That some, conclude that the apostle has done justice to the professing Christianity, are guilty of the crimes of Gentile world in the other instances of their corrup- which we have been speaking, is true. But it is tion."-Dodd. Receiving in themselves that recom- || equally true, that their religion does not, like the pense of their error-Their idolatry; which was religion of the heathen, encourage them in their meet-Being punished with that unnatural lust, crimes; but deters them, by denouncing, in the most which was as horrible a dishonour to their bodies direct terms, the heaviest wrath of God against all as their idolatry was to God, and with various bodily who are guilty of them. Besides, the gospel, by its infirmities, disorders, and sufferings consequent on divine light, hath led the nations to correct their civil such abominable practices, rendering their lives laws; so that in every Christian country these enormost miserable on earth, and bringing them to an mities are prohibited, and when discovered are pununtimely grave, and an eternal hell. The reader ished with the greatest severity. The gospel, therewill observe," the apostle is not speaking simply of fore, hath made us far more knowing, and, I may the Greeks committing the uncleanness which he add, more virtuous, than the most enlightened and mentions, but of their lawgivers authorizing these most polished of the heathen nations were formerly." vices by their public institutions of religion, by their || Macknight. avowed doctrine, and by their own practice. With respect to fornication, the heathen actually made it a part of the worship of their deities. At Corinth,|| for example, as Strabo informs us, lib. viii. p. 581, there was a temple of Venus, where more than a thousand courtesans (the gift of pious persons of both sexes) prostituted themselves in honour of the goddess; and that thus the city was crowded, and became wealthy. In the court of the temple of Venus, at Cnidus, there were tents placed under the trees for the same lewd purposes. Lucian., Dial. Amores. With respect to sodomy, it is not so commonly known that it was practised by the heathen as a part of their religious worship; yet, in the his Verses 28-31. And as they did not like— 8K εdokipaoav, they did not approve, to retain God in their knowledge-Or rather, as exeiv Ev Eпlyvwσel more properly signifies, to retain him with acknowledgment. For it is proved above that they were not wholly without the knowledge of God in the world: but they did not acknowledge him as they ought; did not use or improve the knowledge they had of him to the purposes for which it had been vouchsafed. Or, as Dr. Macknight interprets it, They "did not approve of holding God as the object of the people's acknowledgment and worship, but approved of the worship of false gods and of images, as more proper for the vulgar; and on that account substi 31 Without understanding, covenant-break- the same, but 12 have pleasure in them that ers, 11 Or, unsociable. a Chap. ii. 2.- Chap. vi. 21. 12 Or, consent with them. Hos. vii. 3; Psa. 1. 18. that of killing their aged and helpless parents, now common among the American heathen. Implacable -Persons who, being once offended, will never be reconciled. The original word acordes, from σñovón, a libation, "is used to signify irreconcilable, because, when the heathen made their solemn cove|| nants, by which they bound themselves to lay aside their enmities, they ratified them by a sacrifice, on which they poured a libation, after drinking a part of it themselves." Unmerciful-Unfeeling, unforgiving, or pursuing their schemes of cruelty and revenge, whenever they got any new opportunity of doing it. tuted idolatry in place of the pure, spiritual worship promises, oaths, and engagements. It is well known, of the one true God, and established it by law." || the Romans, as a nation, from the very beginning Therefore God gave them over to a reprobate mind of their commonwealth, never made any scruple of —adokiμov vev, an undiscerning, or injudicious mind;|| vacating altogether the most solemn engagement, a mind not perceiving or approving what is good, if they did not like it, though made by their supreme either in principle or practice; a mind void of all magistrate, in the name of the whole people. They proper knowledge and relish of what is excellent, only gave up the general who had made it, and then treated of verse 32. Men of this stamp are said, supposed themselves to be at full liberty! Without Ephesians iv. 19, to be añŋλynkotes, without feeling.|| natural affection-The custom of exposing their To do things not convenient-Even the vilest abom- own new-born children to perish by cold, hunger, inations, treated of verses 29-31. Being filled with or wild beasts, which so generally prevailed in the all unrighteousness—Or injustice. This stands in || heathen world, particularly among the Greeks and the first place, unmercifulness in the last. Forni- || Romans, was an amazing instance of this; as is also cation includes here every species of uncleanness; wickedness—ovпpia, a word which implies a disposition to injure others by craft. Hence the devil is called o novпpos, the wicked one, by way of eminence; covetousness—П12ɛoveğia, an inordinate desire to have|| more than God sees proper for us, which, the apostle says, is idolatry, Col. iii. 5; maliciousness-KaKia, a disposition to injure others from ill-will to them, or which delights in hurting another, even without any advantage to one's self; full of envy-Grieving at another's welfare, or rejoicing at his hurt; debateEpidos, strife, contention, quarrelling; deceit-Or|| guile, fraud; malignity-Kakondelas, a bad disposition, or evil habit; a disposition, according to Aris- Verse 32. Who, knowing the judgment—Aikaιwpa, totle, to take every thing in the worst sense; but, the righteousness, or righteous judgment, or apaccording to Estius, the word denotes asperity of pointment; of God—And because God's law is foundmanners, rudeness; whisperers-Such as secretly ed in righteousness, and is the rule thereof to us, defame others; backbiters-Karaλahoç, revilers, such the word is often used in Scripture to denote an oras openly speak against others in their absence; dinance, statute, or particular law, Numb. xxvii. 11; haters of God-Especially considered as holy and xxxi. 21; and in the plural, the appointments, or just, as a lawgiver and judge; persons under the institutions of God moral, or ceremonial, Luke i. 6; power of that carnal mind which is enmity against Rom. ii. 26; Heb. ix. 1; even those which were him; enemies in their minds, says the apostle, by purely ceremonial, Heb. ix. 10. Here the word sigwicked works; deniers of his providence, or ac- nifies the law of God written on men's hearts, called cusers of his justice in their adversities; despite- || by philosophers the law of nature, and by civilians, ful-Ybpıças, violent, or overbearing in their beha- || the law of nations. For the Greeks could know no viour to each other; or persons who commit inju- other law of God, being destitute of revelation; that ries with violence, or who oppress others by force;|| they which commit such things are worthy of death proud-Persons who value themselves above their -God hath written on the hearts of men not only just worth; or who are elated on account of their his law, but the sanction of his law. For the fear fortune, or station, or office, or endowments, natu- of punishment is inseparable from the consciousness ral or acquired; boasters-A2ašovaç, persons who of guilt. Further, that the heathen knew that the assume to themselves the reputation of qualities persons guilty of the crimes mentioned here by the which they do not possess; inventors of evil things apostle merited death, is evident from the laws -Of new pleasures, new ways of gain, new arts of which they enacted for punishing such persons with hurting, particularly in war; disobedient to parents || death. Not only do the same-Allow themselves in -Either natural or political, not willingly subject to the practice of these sins; but have pleasure in them lawful authority; a sin here ranked with the greatest that do them-Approve, encourage, and patronise crimes. Without understanding-Who act like men them in others, and even take pleasure in their com void of reason; covenant-breakers-False to their | mitting them. This is the highest degree of wick || || From what the apostle had advanced in the preceding chapter, to prove the ignorant and abandoned heathen to be inexcusable in their wickedness, he in this chapter, (1,) Justly infers that the crimes of those who had such knowledge of the truth as to condemn the vices of others, were yet more inexcusable, and therefore that the Jews could no more be justified by the law of Moses, than the Gentiles by the law of nature, 1–16. (2,) By detecting the sins of the Jews, he manifests that their external privileges, as God's peculiar people, could not procure for them the divine favour, or render them acceptable in his sight, 17-29. A. M. 4064. A. D. 60. THEREFORE thou art inex-est another, thou condemnest thyself; A. M. 4064. cusable, O man, whosoever thou|| for thou that judgest, doest the same art, that judgest: for wherein thou judg- things. NOTES ON CHAPTER II. A. D. 60. execrable persons, I believe either the earth would have swallowed them up, or a deluge would have swept away their city; or fire from heaven would have consumed it, as it did Sodom, for it brought forth a generation of men far more wicked than they who suffered such things. It was sport to them to force women: and they exercised and required unnatural lusts, and filled the whole city with impurities. They committed all kinds of wickedness, omitting none which ever came into the mind of man; esteeming the worst of evils to be good, and meeting with that reward of their iniquity which was proper, and a judgment worthy of God." The apostle, Mr. Locke thinks, represents the Jews as inexcusable in judging the Gentiles, especially because the latter, with all the darkness that was on their minds, were not guilty of such a folly as to Verse 1. Therefore, &c.-The apostle, having shown that the Gentiles could not entertain the least hope of salvation, according to the tenor of the law of nature, which they violated, proceeds next to consider whether the law of Moses gave the Jews any better hope; an inquiry which he manages with great address. For, well knowing that on reading|| his description of the manners of the Greeks, the Jews would pronounce them worthy of damnation, he suddenly turns his discourse to the Jews, by telling them that they who passed such a judgment on the Gentiles were equally, yea, more guilty themselves, in that, with the advantage of the greater | light of divine revelation, they were guilty of crimes as great as those he had charged on the Gentiles; and that therefore, by condemning the Gentiles, they || virtually condemned themselves. Thou art inex-judge those who were not more faulty than themcusable, O man-Seeing that knowledge without practice only increases guilt; whosoever thou art, that judgest―That censurest and condemnest; for wherein thou judgest another—Greek, Tov ETεpov, the other-Namely, the heathen, and pronouncest them worthy of condemnation and wrath; thou condemnest thyself—As deserving the same: for thou that judgest doest the same things. According to Josephus, quoted here by Dr. Whitby, the Jews of that age were notoriously guilty of most of the crimes imputed to the Greeks and Romans in the preceding chapter. "There was not," observes he, "a nation under heaven more wicked than they were. What have you done," says he, addressing them, "of all the good things required by our lawgiver? What have you not done of all those things which he pronounced accursed? So that," adds he, "had the Romans delayed to come against these selves, but lived on friendly terms with them, with- They that sin, though they condemn A. D. 60. A. D. 60. A. M. 4064. 2 But we are sure that the judg-goodness, and goodness, and forbearance, and A. M. 4064. ment of God is according to truth,|| long-suffering; not knowing that against them which commit such things. the goodness of God leadeth thee to repent 3 And thinkest thou this, O man, that judg-ance? est them which do such things, and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment of God? 5 But after thy hardness and impenitent heart & treasurest up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath, and revelation of the right 4 Or despisest thou the riches of his eous judgment of God; с Chap. ix. 23; Eph. i. 7; ii. 4, 7.-d Chap. iii. 25. e Ex. xxxiv. 6. Isa. xxx. 18; 2 Pet iii. 9, 15.- Deut. xxxii. 34; their sins. Forbearance (Greek, avoxn) is that disposition in God by which he forbears to punish sin immediately upon its being committed; long-suffering-Or slowness to anger, signifies his deferring for a long time to punish; and here it seems chiefly to intend his patiently bearing long the ill use which the Jews made of the privileges they enjoyed as his church and people, and of the various blessings he had conferred upon them. reason of that stubbornness and obstinacy in sin which thou hast contracted; treasurest up wrathAlthough thou thinkest thou art treasuring up all good things; unto thyself—Not to him whom thou judgest: that is, Thou provokest God more and more to aggravate thy punishment. In our language, a treasure signifies a collection of things useful or precious. But the Hebrews gave that appellation to a heap, or an abundance of any thing, whether good or bad. Hence, Prov. x. 2, we read of treasures of wickedness. Reader! think what a treasure of good or evil, of felicity or misery, a man may lay up for himself in this short day of life! Against the day of wrath-The day of retribution, when God will fully execute wrath on impenitent sinners. Wrath is here, as often elsewhere, put for punishment, the effect of wrath. The apostle calls the day of retri Verses 2-4. But we are sure-Greek, oidaμev, we know; though men may judge partially and perversely, yet God will judge uprightly; that the judgment of God-The sentence that he will pronounce upon persons, whether Jews or Gentiles, is according to truth-According to the true state of every man's case; or according to the true character of persons, and the true quality of the actions and dispositions; (verses 5-11;) against them who commit such things-However they may behave toward Verses 5-7. But after thy hardness-Greek, κаTa their fellow-creatures. Dr. Macknight, who under- || Tηv σkλпporηra, according to thy obduracy, or insensistands the expression, according to truth, as signi- bility of mind; and impenitent-Aμeravonтov, inconfying, "according to the true meaning of God's co-siderate, unreflecting, and unrelenting heart, by venant with the fathers of the Jewish nation,” observes, "By this declaration, the apostle reprobates the erroneous opinion confidently maintained by the Jews, who, fancying that by their natural descent from Abraham, they were entitled to the promises made to his seed, firmly believed that no Jew would be damned." And thinkest thou this, &c.-Canst thou then, by the sentence which thou passest upon others, think to evade that which goeth forth against thyself? Or despisest thou-Dost thou go further still, and, from hoping to escape his wrath, dost thou proceed to abuse his love? The riches-Or the abundance; of his goodness, forbearance, and long-suffering-Exercised for such a length of time toward thee, who not only hast sinned, but dost sin, and wilt sin. The word, karaopovew, here rendered despise, also signifies to think against, to think wrong, || or misconstrue; and the clause may be fitly trans-bution the day of wrath, to make the wicked sensilated, Dost thou misconstrue, or form a wrong opinion of, the goodness of God? God's goodness, of which the Jews formed a wrong opinion, or which || they despised, consisted chiefly in his having made them his church and people, in his having frequently, in an extraordinary manner, protected them against or delivered them from their enemies, conferred upon them innumerable blessings, temporal and spiritual, especially the latter, having from time to time raised up among them divinely-inspired prophets, to reveal his will to them, to instruct, warn, caution, and exhort them, and having intrusted with them his holy oracles. From these marks of the divine favour they vainly inferred that God would punish no descendant of Abraham for his sins in a future state. But in this they grievously erred, for the goodness of God, together with his other attributes here mentioned, was not intended to make sinning safe to the Jews, but to lead them to repentance for ble that as men greatly enraged do not suffer their enemies to escape, so God, highly displeased with the wicked, will assuredly punish them in the severest manner at length. Probably the apostle had in view, 1st, The awful vengeance which the divine wrath was about to bring on the Jews in the destruction of their city and temple, the depopulation of their country, and the dissolution of their commonwealth, which, 1 Thess. ii. 16, he calls, wrath coming upon them to the uttermost. 2d, It appears, however, by what follows, that he spoke principally of the day of final judgment; and revelation of the righteous judgment of God-When God will make manifest to all the world the justice of his proceedings, both toward the righteous and the wicked. Bengelius reads, wrath, and revelation, and righteous judg||ment: just opposite to the three gracious attributes above mentioned; wrath opposed to goodness; revelation, when God will bring to light the hidden |