change in spirit, in heart, and in mind, and in outward life of Paul was; what that conflict with himself, with Satan, and with all his circumstances, while he was in the body; what the moral education of his soul by Christ; what his state from the time of his decease till the time of Christ's raising his body in glory-if, I say, any one can, however inadequately, run through these things, he will see the magnitude of the subject; and how, too, eternal life in heavenly glory being that for which Paul was called-there is, evidently, great propriety in the life being spoken of, in its fullest future display ("We shall live together with Him"), and not according to its present in-dwelling in us. In us it is a fountain of living waters, springing up to everlasting life, most surely. It and its true eternal character are known to us now, and they are the basis of our actions and of an entirely new life; but the eternal life is to be looked at in its future bright and unhindered display in heaven, if the real privilege of its possession is to be

seen.

The truth of God acts upon us, through faith, and by the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But this liberty in the Spirit is a most real and true thing, and is, in one sense, higher than affection and understanding, for it is divine-the Spirit of God witnessing with our (renewed) spirits. But redemption is not merely divine, as to its source, and divine in itself as God's remedy, but is meant for man;-man is to be redeemed; and, therefore, God gives not only His Spirit and spiritual instincts, but He also both divinely forms affections in our hearts, as men, to Himself and His son, and also gives us an understanding that we may know and be able to comprehend and understand the why and the wherefore of the truth, and His ways with us.

The testimony of the Spirit Himself, the spiritual instincts, the trained affections of the heart, the detailed knowledge of the understanding, can often be separated the one from the other. But as they are all found

b For instance, in Rom. viii. we get the Spirit of God dwelling in-possessed of-a man (ver. 9-11), guiding and leading persons (ver. 14); witnessing (ver. 16), hereafter to quicken mortal

necessarily in the common salvation of each soul and in the Church, they cannot always be nicely distinguished the one from the other by us, who are the subjects of that salvation. We shall see this, and the amazing scope, too (its breadth and width), of the salvation which our God has made ours in Christ, if we turn to Rom. v. Being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ" (ver. 1).

[Not only is the Lord the one who is peace, in whom alone there is peace, but we HAVE peace; He is OUR Lord].

"By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God (ver. 2).

[What an immeasurably blessed position and prospect! Yet the Spirit, the new nature, the heart and the mind here also, each and all, have their place].

Then "not only so, but we glory in tribulations also; knowing that tribulation worketh patience. And patience, experience; and experience, hope. And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us" (Rom. v. 3-5).

Observe it, not only peace within (ver. 1), and a standing place of grace (ver. 2), where we can rejoice, and hope for the glory of God-but here we get two other things marked; 1st, power of voluntary hearty concurrence with God in His training of ourselves, though by sorrow and patience; and, 2ndly, God's love shed abroad in the heart, as ointment, by the Holy Ghost given to us. What a blessed people we are!

Next we have that which shows what God saw of our state, and what He did. Oh, how unlike the law of

bodies (ver. 11); so we have the spiritual instinct of the spirit of adoption, which cries Abba (ver. 15), our spirit (ver. 16); so we have the heart, with its affections, the love of God shed abroad in it (named in chap. v. 5), but found here as in ver. 18, 19, 39, and also the "we know," as in ver. 22, 26, 28. "WE KNOW is so distinctive of the religion of Christ, that it might pass as the motto of a divinely taught heavenly man: only this knowledge is divine and heavenly.

Moses! "When we were without strength-ungodlyChrist died for us" (ver. 6).

The law said to us, as creatures, Do the will of God, and live in it; or be cursed, "but God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (ver. 8).

And, then, see what follows-this divine arguing out of things-the blood stayed all the claims of justice against us the death of Christ was in substitution for us-but, if saving us from the wrath to come, it has reconciled us, there is yet more for us; we shall be saved by His life." Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, being reconciled we shall be saved by His life" (vers. 9, 10).

This (as ver. 11 shews us) sets us free to rejoice in God Himself. Not only to rejoice in hope of his glory (as ver. 2), nor to glory in tribulation (as ver. 3), but in God Himself. For the believer is brought unto God to find his joy in Himself. "And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement" (ver. 11).

Then (and mark it well) Paul contrasts the two Adams and their works and fruits.

ADAM THE FIRST.

By him sin entered the world; -and death by sin;-a death which passed over all, for all were sinners.

The offence of one, led by judgment unto a condemnation, reigning over all, which, alas, harmonized with the sinnership of all.

HIM THAT WAS TO COME.

By Him came God's grace, and the free gift of grace, even through Jesus Christ.

Righteousness led, by free grace unto a justification of life which was toward all, but upon them that believe; and abounded unto them that believed, that so grace might reign through righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord.

It is wondrous how the Saviour and the RedeemerGod does, in this portion, show how He has stooped to measure out a blessing in contrast with all the ruin of creature-work as introduced by man.

And, notice here, that, the blessing is (not merely

justification unto life, but is) grace reigning, through righteousness, unto ETERNAL life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Now, if we are to see what that is, in its full meaning, we must get past the present enjoyment of it in this our time state, into that time and state in which the eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord, will be shown and seen in its own proper sphere and scenes hereafter. Thus we see a "why" and a "wherefore" of its being said, in our text, not "Now if we be dead together with Christ, we know that we do also live together with Him," but "Now if we be dead with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him."

We have thus far looked at the antecedents of the chapter in which our verse is; and we have seen, on the one hand, tiny man, in the least of all his littleness when in sin; and, on the other hand, God in all the greatness of His patience and long-suffering, and in the grandeur of His mercy. Man was shown out as in progress on the earth, Gentile and Jew (chaps. i., ii., iii.), and, after that, man, as a head, originating the ruin in which his family had been found (chap. v.); and God was seen first in His greatness as Creator, and as the long-suffering God in patience, and then in all that greater greatness, immeasurable, in which He displayed Himself when acting against, and in contrast to, the ruin which man had brought in. His counsel, His plans, His ways, confess Him always and everywhere to be God alone; not one requirement of His own infinite glory has been forgotten; and so fully is it all poured forth in the gift of His Son, and the presence of the Spirit, that the allpervading testimony of grace and mercy leaves every soul without excuse; they can only be lost through neglect of the mercy. God has not only done a work by which to glorify Himself in the salvation of them that believe, but it is a work which leaves man, guilty unbelieving man, more condemned than even did

e In which, with all its blessedness, it is necessarily attended with, yea, leads us into combat and conflict, according to what we and our circumstances are; as much, and as surely, as it leads us into joy, and rejoicing according to what God and His plans, ways, and counsels as to us are.

the broken law. For who will not say that the guilty condemned culprit is without excuse, self-condemned, and condemnable by every one, the culprit who, having forfeited life to violated law, despises the free forgiveness and mercy of a sin-pardoning God.d

Toward the close of the portion already considered— man having been uncovered in all his pitiful state, and God's estimate of what was needed, if he was to be blessed after a divine fashion--we get the grand thought presented to us of "Grace reigning through righteousness, unto eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord."

There are, so to speak, five chapters upon this subject. 1st. Chap. vi., in which the connection of a poor sinner with the Christ, by God, but through faith in the sinner, is shown-and shown in the various parts of the subject; 2ndly (chap. vii.) certain things which to man might seem insuperable difficulties in the making good of some parts of the plan are explained; 3rdly (chap.viii.), the entire and realized association of the believer thus and now with God;-all difficulties notwithstanding, no condemnation can reach to that which is in Christ, and no separation from God. 4thly. The connection of this, tasted now only in individual experience, perhaps, with the drift of all the dealings of God upon earth, through all his dispensations which wend onward till mercy fills the heavenlies and fills the earthlies (chap. ix.-xi); and, 5thly (chap. xi.), to the end of the epistle, the entire association in walk and character now, of God's people with Christ-earth-rejected and heaven-honoured.

Their present experience may be, as His was, from the earth-and the taste of it may reach them in blows and sorrows, which only draw forth His sympathies [for blessed be God, He is safely housed, and personally is above all the billows and waves of the wicked world we

a What a wide expanse does divine grace throw open to us; how contrasted with the narrow limits of the law! And how different the atmosphere and climate of the two! And yet man prefers "law" to "gospel;" and not only does man, as man, do so, but how many of God's dear children prefer turning back to law and its prison-house and spirit of bondage again, to following on into the full liberty of that grace and Father's heart of love, and spirit of sonship and liberty which leads to obedience.