of our chief aims, the spiritual advancement of those of our brethren who are still deficient in Christian knowledge, let us gratify them by accommodating ourselves to their habits and feelings, whenever we can do so without compromising the truth of the gospel, in order that, winning them by our kindness, we may promote their real benefit, and build them up higher and higher in the faith of Christ.

In this, as in all things, our Saviour is our perfect model. As followers of him, the great Self-denier, we must not please ourselves, for even he pleased not himself. Coming, not to be ministered unto, but to minister, he had respect, throughout the whole of his blessed work, not to his own pleasure or comfort, but to the advantage of his weak and sinful brethren. For this he toiled on through innumerable sufferings to the ignominious death of the cross. So continual were the insults which he submitted, for our sake, to receive from men, that he might truly say of himself, in the words of the psalmist, The reproaches of those, who reproached thee, have fallen upon me. And we ought to be ready, at the call of Christian duty, to take these words into our own lips also.

come to know how strong thou art. Please him. And he does not barely say, Please, but for his good; and not barely for his good, lest the advanced person should say, See, I am drawing him to his good! but he adds, to edification.'-Chrysost.

This love towards the weak manifested itself in the highest degree and most perfect purity in the Saviour, who left all his glory to enter into the deepest ignominy for man. 'Christ,' says the apostle,

What, though they were

'made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men. And, being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.' Phil. ii. 7, 8.

The passage is quoted with accuracy from Ps. lxix. 9, according to the version of the LXX. It is used here by the apostle in the way of accommodation.

written by David, in other times and in other circumstances, to express his own sufferings in the cause of God? They were fulfilled in Christ, and they must again be fulfilled in ourselves. Ancient, indeed, is the lesson that God's servants must not please themselves, but rather suffer reproach, but it must not be thrown aside as valueless on account of its antiquity. For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our instruction, that, through the patience and the comfort of the Scriptures, we might have hope. Yes, my brethren, our ancient records of God's dealings with his servants, though under another dispensation, may

This clause of explanation was evidently inserted by the apostle in order to meet a tacit objection, that the words which he had just quoted did not immediately refer either to Christ or to Christians, but only to the psalmist himself. Paul means to assert that, even in those passages which do not directly point to the Messiah, the follower of Christ may find much instruction.

f See iv. 23, 24, of this epistle, where it was declared by the apostle that the history of faithful Abraham was written for the instruction of Christians. Just as he there considered the record of that great patriarch's life, not as some thing past and useless, but as the living history of the believers of every age, so here, according to the same principle of Scriptural quotation, he directs Christians to regard all the various histories of God's servants, which are contained in the Old Testament, as calculated to be of eminent service to them during their own course through life, which, however in many respects it may differ from that of their pious Jewish predecessors, will always

strongly resemble it, in requiring patience and needing comfort.

'The reason,' says Olshausen, 'why the apostle here gives especial prominence to the ideas of patience and comfort, is because the relation to the weak members of the church of God itself has in it something especially trying, and for this the believer requires, above everything, consolation and strength to endure. The Christian does not make any claims on the world, since he knows that in it the Spirit of God is not; but so much the more does the believer, in the beginning of his life of faith, make claims on the church. Every neophyte is a born Donatist; he requires that the church should be the perfected kingdom of heaven! The continual striving with the weaknesses of the brethren is the most difficult self-denial for the faithful; even as in the Saviour's life, it was one of the most trying necessities that he had unceasingly to contend with the perversities and weaknesses of his disciples.' See Matt. xv. 16; xvi. 23; xvii. 17— 20; and xxvi. 40.

well serve to cheer us even on our Christian path. For, finding in their pages that it was always the will of God, that they who serve him should exercise themselves in painful self-denial, and be sustained in that exercise by his strong support, we shall return with fresh patience and new comfort to the difficult task of abstaining from our own pleasure for the good of others, and shall press forward on that course, which we shall then feel more surely than ever to be the right one, with a confident expectation of the glorious end of all our trials and difficulties.

Now, may our God, who is the only source of this patience and comfort, give you likemindedness towards each other, according to Christ Jesus! May the Spirit of your Saviour so dwell and reign in your hearts, that, whatever may be your differences of opinion on any such matters as those which I have mentioned, you may still be all alike in mutual affection and good will, humble imitators of him who rejects from his love no man on account of the feebleness and imperfection of his faith! And then (noble consequence of that fraternal concord!) you will all, with one mind and with one mouth, glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed harmony of diverse Christian hearts! Acceptable offering of praise to him, who sent his Son to be the centre of loving unity for our selfish and disunited spirits!

Brethren, I have no higher argument for you than the example of Christ, and with it, therefore, I must conclude my exhortation. Weak and imperfect as you were in faith when you came to him for salva

tion, yet he received you. Wherefore receive ye one another, even as Christ also received you, to the glory of God. Yes: God will be glorified by you in proportion as you follow Christ's example in showing kindness to your brethren.

8 Now I say, that Jesus Christ became a minister of circumcision, on account of the truth of God, in order to confirm the promises made to the fathers: 9 and I say also, that the Gentiles have to glorify God on account of his mercy; as it is written, For this cause will I celebrate thy praise among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name. 10 And again the Scripture saith Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with his people. "And again : Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles, and laud him, all ye people. 12 And again Isaiah saith: There shall be the offspring of Jesse, even he who shall rise to rule over the Gentiles; on him shall the Gentiles place their hope.

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Now, may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope through the power of the Holy Spirit !

It seems to have occurred to the apostle, while he was setting forth the kindness of Christ in receiving to his favour the Roman Christians, without respect to their differences, that the highest manifestation of the Saviour's desire that, in his church, there might be union between discordant minds, was to be found in the fact, that the one Christian body was composed indiscriminately of Jews and Gentiles. Before the advent of the Messiah, so wide was the separation of prejudices between them, so opposed were they to each other in almost all their modes of thought, that the binding of them together in one religious society

was justly considered one of the most marvellous triumphs of the gospel. It was on the wonderful theme of the breaking down of the ancient partition-wall, as we have often seen in this epistle, that Paul loved to dilate: and, now that his subject has again naturally suggested it to his mind, he once more magnifies the all-comprehending love of him, who died that Jew and Gentile might meet together in one common salvation.

Christ, I have said, received you, brethren. But who were ye? Truly, once ye were little likely ever to be joined together in the peaceful harmony of one society of love. For ye were Jews and Gentiles. Let me call this to your recollection, for the thought of it will surely encourage you in the course of mutual Christian charity. Let me remind you that Jesus Christ became a minister of circumcision, on account of the truth of God, in order to confirm the promises made to the fathers. Jehovah pledged his word to the old Jewish patriarchs, that he would send a Deliverer to their descendants. Christ, therefore, when the full time was come, appeared amongst his own, a minister of the gospel to circumcised Jews, fulfilling in himself that true engagement which had been made, centuries before, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob. But was this the sole object of our Saviour's appearing? Let me remind you also, that the Gentiles have to glorify God on account of his mercy: for to them has the glorious gospel been as freely preached as to the Jews. And, though it is true that the ancient promise was made originally and directly to Jewish fathers, and that the gospel, which accomplished it, was first offered