CRITICAL NOTES
Romans 15:8.—A minister of the circumcision—that is, of the Jewish nation. Christ, the Gentile Saviour, was and is the minister of the Jew. We are all brethren; one class must not despise the other.
Romans 15:10.—-Both Jews and Gentiles to rejoice together in God’s salvation.
Romans 15:12.—Christ is here compared to a standard around which the nations should assemble. Jacob’s prediction is to be thus fulfilled.
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Romans 15:8-12
Praise follows prayer.—The late Matthew Arnold strives to get rid of the words “predestination,” “justification,” “sanctification,” as having any of the meaning attached to them by theologians, which they suppose is derived from St. Paul himself. Matthew Arnold teaches us to follow the eternal law of the moral order, which is righteousness. St. Paul seems thus only to be following in the steps of the ancient moral philosophers, tinctured with a little Jewish thought. We find Paul hard to be understood; but we find his latest interpreter harder to understand. St. Paul and Protestantism will not make men in “harmony with the eternal order and at peace with God”; while the epistles of St. Paul have done vastly more for the production of righteousness among men than any books which have been written. But if Matthew Arnold is to be our guide, we must reject St. Paul, for we read: “A Jew himself, he, Paul, uses the Jewish Scriptures in a Jew’s arbitrary and uncritical fashion, as if they had a talismanic character, as if for a doctrine, however true in itself, their confirmation was still necessary, and as if their confirmation was to be got from their words alone, however detached from the sense of their context, and however violently allegorised or otherwise molested.” The man who quotes uncritically is to be rejected on intellectual grounds. If St. Paul have one point pre-eminent, it is that he possesses and uses the critical faculty. To wrest is to turn from truth; and the man who wrested the Jewish Scriptures is to be rejected on moral grounds. But we are not aware of any such wresting; the four quotations made in this paragraph do not appear to us to be either used uncritically or wrested from their context. The aptness of St. Paul’s quotations is self-evident, and is itself a refutation of a mere Judaistic or Oriental use of passages. It is an easy but not quite fair way of getting rid of a difficulty by using the words “Hebraise,” “Orientalise.” There is, however, no need to use long and unusual words in reading these four quotations. Whether we read the texts in Hebrew, in Greek, or in our English translation, they all bear the construction put upon them by St. Paul. And we think as much may be said for all the other quotations. The sense of harmony with the universal order, the desire for and the possession of righteousness, are to come, not from psychology, not from philosophy, not from either deductive or inductive methods, but from faith in that Root of Jesse in whom the Gentiles shall trust. Here is foretold universal harmony with the eternal law of divine order. Jews and Gentiles shall blend in one song of praise to the King of righteousness. The Weak and the strong shall be of one mind and one mouth when they are inspired by love to the Incarnation of righteousness. Notice in this paragraph:—
I. A twofold purpose of Christ’s mission.—To vindicate God’s faithfulness and to manifest God’s mercy. Jesus Christ was the minister of the circumcision; made under the law; a Jew confirming unto the Jews the faithfulness of God; by His life conforming to the law in its spiritual and essential aspect; by His death redeeming those who were under the curse of the law. Christian ministers are sometimes taunted with propagating the worship of a dead Jew. We are not abashed by the aspersion. It is said that a living dog is better than a dead lion; but the dead Lion of the tribe of Judah has brought forth more sweetness for the refreshment of the race than any of the living assailants of Christianity from the time of its establishment to the present hour.
“In the cross of Christ I glory,
Towering o’er the wrecks of time;
All the light of sacred story
Gathers round its head sublime.”
It is wonderful what the Minister of the circumcision, by His earthly life, by His sacrificial death, and by His mediatorial reign, has accomplished. There is vastly more to come; for Jews shall extol God’s faithfulness, and Gentiles from all quarters shall rejoice in God’s mercy. The cross of Christ shall tower over the wrecks of human theories. Christ, by His cross, by His divine efficacy, shall reign over the Gentiles all over the round globe of the earth.
II. A blessed result of Christ’s mission.—The establishment of a kingdom amongst the Gentiles which is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost. A Root of Jesse shall rise to reign. God begins at the root; God’s root forces are strong and ever developing. Out of the Root of Jesse has sprung the wide spreading tree of Christianity. The Root of Jesse did not look like a regnant power when He was crucified between two thieves. The Root appeared to be killed when it was trying to send itself above the ground. But the Root gathered to itself power from the strokes of the adversaries. Jesus reigns from His sepulchre. Other men cease to reign when death hurls down the sceptre. Jesus began to reign in fuller measure when death touched the physical form. He shall rise to reign. He is rising through all time. His utmost elevation will not be reached till in Him the Gentiles trust. He is rising, though some say He is falling. He is rising, though men say that the kingdom of Christianity is a failure. In Him shall the Gentiles trust. His kingdom is founded on trust. Holy confidence is the foundation of His divine sovereignty.
III. The united song of praise inspired by Christ’s mission.—“Sing,” “rejoice,” “praise,” “laud,” are the words employed to set forth the exuberant nature of the feelings of those who feel and seek to glorify God for His mercy. One mind of gratitude and one mouth of praise shall be characteristic of the ransomed Gentile world. A grateful mind must be the motive force of a praising mouth. The spiritual revelation of divine mercy to the inmost soul works gratitude, and this expresses itself in hymns of praise. The singing of the grateful chorister may not to critical human ears be so correct as the singing of some who are prompted by the prospect of remuneration, but the former touches the heart of true men and blends with the upper harmonies. Let us open our souls to the incoming streams of divine mercy. Let gratitude attend the spirit, and then we shall sing with lip and with life; our daily steps will beat divine music; our days will march to heavenly harmonies; our very nights will be cheered with spirit songs. Angels will hear the strains and join to swell the melody; earth and heaven will unite, and the sound will be as the sweet notes of many skilful harpers harping with their harps.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Romans 15:8-12
Rejoice in the Lord, a privilege and a command.—There is in man by nature such an inordinate portion of self-love, that his regards are almost exclusively confined to those who coincide with him in sentiment and contribute to his comfort. The smallest difference of opinion in things either political or religious shall be sufficient to produce, not only indifference, but in many alienation and aversion. We do not much wonder at a want of mutual affection between the Jews and Gentiles, because they imbibed from their very infancy the most inveterate prejudices against each other, and had all their principles and habits as opposite as can be conceived. But, unhappily for the Christian Church, the same disposition to despise or condemn each other remained amongst them after they were incorporated in one body and united under one head, the Lord Jesus Christ. To counteract this unhallowed temper, and to promote a cordial union amongst all the members of Christ’s mystical body, was the incessant labour of St. Paul. In the whole of the preceding context he insists on this subject, recommending mutual forbearance and affection from the example of Christ, who showed the same regard both to Jews and Gentiles, both to strong and weak. The ministry of our blessed Lord had respect, primarily, to the Jews. Jesus was Himself born a Jew, and He submitted to circumcision, which was the initiatory rite whereby the Jews were received into covenant with God. When He entered upon His ministerial office, He addressed Himself exclusively to those of the circumcision; when solicited to confer His blessings on a Syrophenician woman, He refused, saying that He was “sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel,” and that “He could not take the children’s bread and cast it unto dogs,” though, for the encouragement of all future suppliants, of whatever nation or character, He afterwards granted her request. In all this the Lord Jesus consulted “the truth of God, and confirmed the promises made to the fathers”; which, though they comprehended all the spiritual seed of Abraham, had doubtless respect to those in the first place who should also be found among His lineal descendants. Ultimately, to the Gentiles also in the very promises made to Abraham, the Gentile nations were expressly included. But, to confirm this truth, St. Paul brings passages out of all the different parts of the Old Testament, “the law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms,” to prove his point. These testimonies unequivocally prove that, however Jesus, for the accomplishing of the promises, ministered to the circumcision chiefly, yet He did not confine His regards to them, but ordained that all, of whatever nation, should equally be admitted to His covenant and be made partakers of His salvation. To whomsoever our Lord communicated His salvation, it was His invariable purpose that they who partook of it should “glorify God for His mercy.” The manner in which this is to be done may be gathered from the passages that are cited. The duty of every member of Christ’s Church is to submit to Him—Christ is “risen to reign over the Gentiles.” Now, where there is government, there must be subjection; and consequently all who would belong to Christ must “take His yoke upon them.” Their submission too must be willing and unreserved. To trust in Him—Christ comes, not only as a Lord, but as a Saviour, through whom we are to find deliverance from the wrath to come. Now it is said that “in Him shall the Gentiles trust.” Our duty towards Him is to believe that He is equal to the task which He has undertaken, that in Him there is a fulness of wisdom to instruct the ignorant, of righteousness to justify the guilty, and of grace to sanctify the polluted. Rejoice in Him—to “rejoice in the Lord alway” is not merely permitted as a privilege, but commanded as a duty. We dishonour Him when we do not rejoice in Him; we evidently show that we have a low apprehension of His excellency, and of the benefits which He confers. What they are doing in the Church above, that we should be doing in the Church below. Our obligations are the same, and so should also our occupations be. Are the glorified saints incessantly admiring and adoring Him who is the author of all their happiness? We also should ever be contemplating the incomprehensible wonders of His love, and rejoicing in Him with joy unspeakable and glorified. Walk in His steps—this is the particular scope of the text, the intent for which all these quotations are introduced. Our blessed Saviour has shown a gracious and merciful regard for all the human race; nor has He permitted any diversity in their habits or conduct to exclude them from His kingdom, provided they repent and obey His gospel. Now our hearts should be enlarged after His example. We should not suffer little circumstantial differences to alienate us from each other. While we claim a right to follow our own judgment, we should cheerfully concede the same liberty to others. A difference of conduct may be proper for different persons, or for the same persons under different circumstances. This is evident from Paul refusing to suffer Titus to receive circumcision, when he had already administered that rite to Timothy; as also from his performing at Jerusalem the vows of a Nazarite, after he had for twenty years renounced the authority of the ceremonial law. It is therefore by no means necessary that we all conform precisely to the same rule in indifferent matters; but it is necessary that we cultivate charity, and maintain “the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” If we be not perfectly agreed in sentiment respecting things that are non-essentials, we must at least agree in this, to leave every one to the exercise of his own judgment: the weak must not judge the strong, nor the strong despise the weak, but all follow after “the things which make for peace, and things wherewith one may edify another.”—Simeon.
ILLUSTRATIONS TO CHAPTER 15
Romans 15:11. The cheer of praise.—Much of our work for Christ is too barren of all joy and enthusiasm, and we need the cheer of praise. The English ploughboy sings as he drives his team; the Scotch Highlander sings as he labours in glen or moor; the fisherman of Naples sings as he rows; and the vintager of Sicily has his evening hymn. When Napoleon came to a pass in the Alps where the rocks seemed impassable for the ammunition waggons, he bade the leader of the bands strike up an inspiring march, and over the rocks on a wave of enthusiasm went the heavy waggons. Earthly battle-fields have resounded with praises from bleeding Christian soldiers, and pain has been forgotten as the lips of the dying have sung, “When I can read my title clear,” and “How sweet the name of Jesus sounds.” Martin Luther has well said, “The devil cannot sing”; and we know that David’s harp drove the evil spirit out of King Saul.