serve sin and he proves it by an Allegoricall argument drawn from the Servants of Men who are freed by death from their Masters Service And from that that they which are free from the Service of men do not as though they were their Servants still yield them any further Service Ver. 8. Now if we be dead with Christ we believe that we shall also live with him I said ver 6. that the Apostle prevented an Objection there and so he undertook to declare that he knew well enough what he said when he said If we have been planted together with him in the likeness of his death we shall also in the likeness of his Resurrection ver 5. But hitherto he hath declared only that he knew that they which were Planted together with Christ in the likeness of his death that is that they which were crucified or dead to sin with Christ were therefore so planted or so dead that they should serve sin no more He hath not as yet declared that he knew that they which were so planted and so dead should rise or spring up to a new life for it is not enough to shew that a man doth good to shew that he abstains from evil I said moreover that the Apostle spoke somewhat incongruously if we did look not to the sence but to the manner of his Speaking in the sixt verse Therefore the Apostle doth here correct as it were what he said there when he saith But if we be dead with Christ we believe that we shall also live with him And also makes that out to the ful which he undertook 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 c. But if we be dead with Christ we believe that we shall also live with him q. d. But that I may correct my speech and speak more congruously and bring up that to the full which I undertook If we be dead with Christ we believe that we shall also live with him If we be dead with Christ i. e. If we be dead to sin as Christ was dead to this natural life The preposition With is a note of similitude here also We believe that we shall also live with him i. e. We believe or are perswaded that we shall also live the life of grace to God or to Righteousness as Christ now liveth a life of Glory to the glory of God With him i. e. As he doth Ver. 9. Knowing this that Christ being raised from the dead c. Whereas the Apostle said in the former verse If we be dead with Christ we believe that we shall also live with him that is that we shall live the life of grace and of righteousness as he liveth the life of Glory Some man may say but how canst thou say Paul that we shall live with Christ For art thou sure that Christ is now alive That thou canst not be for though Christ was raised from the dead yet he may be now dead again for many which were raised from the dead dyed again after they were raised This doubt or this objection the Apostle here prevents saying Knowing this that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more c. q d. I say we shall also live with him for we know this that Christ is now alive For Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more death hath no more dominion over him Knowing this that Christ being raised from c. This he might know being informed thereof by the Spirit of God which knoweth all things and cannot lie but Christ appeared to Paul alive after a glorious manner 1 Cor. 15 8. By which he might certainly know that Christ was now living Death hath no more dominion over him i. e. Death neither hath nor shall have any more dominion over him A Syllepsis as before He speaks of death as of a Person by a Prosopopoeia Death had dominion over Christ after a certain manner when it severed his Soul from his Body upon the Cross and brought him down to the grave But Christ soon cast off this dominion of death and hath so far conquered death as that death shall never have any power of him again Nay death never had had any dominion over him at all had not he himself willingly for mans redemption submitted himself thereto V. 10. He died unto sin i. e. He died to or for this end that he migh abolish and destroy sin in us The word Sin is of the Dative Case and therefore to die to sin is as much as Mori propter peccatum vel ad peccatum in nobis mortificandum abolendum i. e. To die for sin or to die that he might mortifie and abolish sin in us For this efficacy or vertue hath Lamed with a Dative Case with the Hebrews whose Idiotismes Paul often useth Note that Christ and we are both said to die to sin but not both after one and the same manner for we are said to die to sin because we cease to yield to the motions of sin which are in us and after this manner Christ is not said to die to sin for there is no sin in Christ nor did he ever yield to any such motions thereby to be said to have ceased from yielding to the motions of sin but Christ is said to die to sin because he died to put away sin and abolish that sin which is in us and after this manner we cannot be said to die to sin for none can put away sin or abolish sin by his death but he that is both without sin himself and is a Person infinite Once i. e. Once and but once For such was the worth and value of Christs death as that he needed not to die more than once for the abolishing of sin Heb. 9. ver 25 26. But in that he liveth i. e. But in that he is raised again from death to life He liveth unto God i. e. He liveth and that an immortal life to the glory of God who hath exalted him to that life and is thereby glorified in that he hath so exalted him He liveth i. e. He liveth an immortal life Synechdoche Integri Vnto God i. e. Unto Gods glory Ver. 11. Likewise reckon ye also your selves to be dead indeed unto sin q. d. Being therefore ye hear that Christ was dead but is raised from the dead and being raised liveth and shall live for ever And being that Christ by his death and resurrection and life is a Type and Figure to teach us what we should do and should be Now as Christ was dead but was raised again and liveth a life immortal So likewise reckon ye your selves to be dead indeed unto sin but yet alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord and so alive as always to continue in that life To be dead indeed unto sin What it is to be dead unto sin See verse 2. Alive unto God To live or to be alive unto God is so to live as that we please God and observe and do his will Through
wedlock when he saith That we may bring forth fruit unto God The sence therefore of these words is q. d That being married to him that is raised up from the dead we should by the seed of his grace conceive and bring forth fruit unto him who also is God Note that the Apostle changeth the person here from the third to the first which he doth for modesty sake that he may comprehend himself in this his speech The fruit or children here spoken of or meant are good works Vnto God That is unto Christ who was raised from the dead who though he was true man yet was he true God also Wives bring forth children to their own husbands not to others by God therefore is meant Christ here Note that the Apostle proves here that the believing Jews were delivered not only from the imperfection of the Law but also from the obligation of it to wit as it was given by Moses though it had been sufficient for his purpose to shew that they were delivered from the Imperfection of the Law only Ver. 5. When we were in the flesh That is When we were Carnal or in a Carnal estate addicted to the profits and pleasures of this life c. There were few under the Law which were spiritual and minded spiritual things but they were for the most part carnal and minded carnal things And they which were spiritual and minded spiritual things were not so nor did they so by the sole power of the Law so that being that all which were under the law that is under the imperfection of the Law and which had no help but what the Law afforded were Carnal and minded Carnal things The Apostle takes those which were in the flesh while he speaks of the Jews which were under the Law And those which were under the Law that is which were under the Imperfection of the Law for the same For the deliverance from this estate which he here speaks of he calls the Deliverance from the Law ver 6. The motions of Sins i. e. The motions of sins which we felt in our selves provoking moving or enticing us to commit sin or produce sin or to follow them Note that this Genitive of sins is Genitivus Causae And that Sins raise motions in us sub ratione causae finalis while we apprehend them as some pleasant or profitable things Which were by the Law That is which were occasioned by the law Supple as by our husband For he speaks of the law still in allusion to an husband as he did before These motions are said to have been by the law because sin being refrained and curbd in by the Law doth the more she is refrained and curbd in the more break out and shew her self in these her motions in sinful men and so will do in sinful men till grace be poured into their hearts whereby they restrein sin and hold her in Nitimur in vetitum semper cupimusque negata This is the manner of sinful nature and such as are accustomed to sin always to endeavour for that which is forbidden and to desire that which is most denied The law doth in a manner speak only to the outward ear and that is not of power alone to turn the hearts of carnal men from their carnal ways yea it makes them the worse by her speaking to them But yet the fault is not in the Law but in them The Law is only the occasion of evil motions not the true Genuine natural cause thereof And that which is good yea very good may be the occasion of that which is evil yea very evil Did work in our members That is q. d. did play their part in our members where they were not idle but very active In our members i. e. In the members of our Body See Notes Chap. 6. ver 13. To bring forth fruit unto death q. d. So that we did bring forth fruit or children and such fruit or children as death did delight and take pleasure in By death he meaneth eternal death and he speaks of it here as of a Person by a Prosopopoeia The fruit or children here spoken of or meant are evil works or actual Sins which are therefore pleasing unto death and such as death delights in because they make them which commit them food for her For as the temporal death feeds upon the bodies of some in the Grave Psal 49.14 So doth eternal death feed upon the souls of others in Hell Note that the particle To signifieth here not the intent only but the event also A question may be here asked why the Apostle did not say to bring forth fruit unto the Law as he said ver 4. That we should bring forth fruit unto God that is to Christ when as he is treating here of the opposition between the Law and Christ Answ Because Sins may not be said to be the fruit of the Law because they are both forbidden and punished by the law But they may be said to be the fruit of death because they make men children of death as the Hebrews speak that is worthy of death Thus some But yet I conceive under correction that by death the Law may be here meant which is called the ministration of death and the ministration of condemnation 2 Cor. 3. ver 7. 9. And therefore may be called death by a Metonymie And it is no absurdity to give the effects which are attributed to death to the Law when we give them and attribute them to the Law not as to the cause but only as to the occasion thereof For it is written ver 10 And the Commandment which was ordained to life I found to be unto death And thus the Antithesis here in hand will well hold out The Apostle seemeth to mention this and to shew how it was with them while they were under the Law in the flesh That now being they were delivered from the Law and from the flesh they might be more careful and more diligent to do those things which were pleasing to God in newness of Spirit abandoning the oldness of the Letter V. 6. But now we are delivered from the law that being dead wherein we held i. e. But now as the Wife is loosed from her Husband if he be dead ver 2. so are we who were as a Wife to the Law delivered from the law which is or was our husband by the death of the Law The Law is to be taken here as it was Chap. 6.14 and Chap. 7. ver 1 viz. For the whole Law of Moses as it was given by Moses and so precisely given without the grace of the Gospel And in this sence to be delivered from the Law and to be delivered from the flesh will signifie both one and the same thing That being dead wherein we were held i. e. The Law under which we were held bound as a Wife under her Husband so long as he liveth being dead By the death of the Law he
Jesus Christ our Lord This he saith because it is by the merits of Jesus Christ and his efficacy that we are brought from the death of sin to the life of God The Apostle as you see makes an exhortatory conclusion here by which he applieth to his present purpose what he said of the death and life of Christ Ver. 12. Let not sin reign therefore in your mortall Body He speaks of sin here as of a Mistress a Lady or Queen by a Prosopopoeia Sin is then said to reign in us when she stirs up naughty motions in us sutable to our own corruptness and we follow them and obey them as commands by consenting to them and putting them in execution This corollary or conclusion which the Apostle here useth may be gathered either in particular from the foregoing verse or in general from what he hath said from the third verse hitherto In your mâ—rtal Body i. e. The Body is to be taken here by a Synechdoche for the whole man for sin where she reigneth reigneth not only in the body but also in the soul and her works are not wrought only in the body but also in the powers and faculâ—ies of the soul for her works are not only Adultery Fornication Vncleanness Lasciviousness and the like but also Emulation Wrath Strife Seditions Heresies Gal. 5. ver 19 20. The sence therefore of these words Let not sin reign in your mortal body is this Let not sin reign in you while you are in this mortal life He saith Let not sin reign in your body using a Synechdoche here because the effects of sin are most seen in the body and he adds the Epithite Mortal to admonish us of the evil which sin brings for it was sin which made our bodâ—es mortal and subject to death which had it not been for sin had not died As also to put us in mind of our mortality here that we might not defer the seeking of that immortality which shall be hereafter as also to put us upon the watch because lust which War against the soul are prone to rise in our bodies while we are here in this mortal life clothed with these mortal bodies of ours That ye should obey it in the lusts thereof i. e. Note that the word Thereof is to be referred not to the word sin but to the word body as will easily appear by the Greek where the word Sin and the word Body are of divers Genders Sin of the Foeminine and Body of the Neuter The same lusts are called the lusts of sin and the lusts of the body And they are called the lusts of sin because sin stirs them up or because they proceed from sin as from the first mover And the lusts of the body because they are stirred up and received in the body To obey sin in her lusts or in the lusts of the body is all one with obeying sin or obeying the lusts of sin As it is all one to obey a King in his commands or to obey a King or to obey a Kings commands By lusts understand here motions to evil as to Adultery Murder Theft Drunkeness and the like proceeding from sin while she tempts us to these and the like evils These we are said to obey when we assent to them and readily fulfill them Ver. 13. Neither yield your members as instruments of unrighteousness q. d Neither yield ye the members of your bodies to be as instruments of sin for her to work unrighteousness or wickedness thereby He speaks of Sin as of a Person or Lady by a Prosopopoeia Your members By the members are here meant the members of the body which are ordained as instruments of the body to work or act by And by a Synechdoche the faculties or vertues of the soul too which are as the instruments by which the soul performeth her operations Sin will if she can make use of all the instruments of man for her work and will be ready to command them and call for them all to serve her if we will be ready to obey and yield them up to her Service He expresseth the members of the body here because he mentioned the body before ver 12. But as the body was taken there by a Synechdoche for the soul also yea for the whole man so must the members of the body be taken here as I said by a Senechdoche for the faculties of the soul too that is for the Instruments of the whole man Of unrighteousness Vnrighteousness is to be taken here generally as cap. 1.18 for all or any manner of wickedness or wicked actions The Genitive case therefore of unrighteousness is Genitivus effecti Vnto sin i. e. Unto sin as to your Queen or Mistress for her to dispose of them Yield yourselves unto God To wit as obedient Servants or Subjects to be ruled and commanded by him and him only As those that are alive from the dead i. e. As behoveth or becometh those which are alive from the dead It was God which raised us from death to life it behoveth therefore and becometh us being that we are quickened by him to live to him For therefore did he quicken us that henceforth we should not live to ourselves or sin but to him that quickeneth us See 2 Cor. 5.15 As alive from the dead By the dead are here meant such as are dead in sin And what these are and how these differ from those which are dead to sin See Notes ver 2. By the living or those which are alive are here meant such as live the life of righteousness that is such as are enabled by God to work righteousness and walk uprightly And your Members What is meant by our Members I said a little before Of Righteousness Righteousness is to be taken here for all manner of holiness or good and holy actions and it is of equal latitude with unrighteousness mentioned a little before to which it is opposed This Genitive of Righteousness is Genitivus Effecti as the former Genitive of Vnrighteousness was Vnto God To wit as to your King to whom ye must yield obdience in all things what he calls for Ver. 14. For sin shall not have dominion over you i. e. For sin though she hath had dominion over you heretofore when ye were not as yet under grace and drew you by her power to give the consent of your wills to her motions and with the members of your body to fulfil her lusts so that ye yielded not your selves and your members as Instruments unto God yet now she shall not have such dominion over you Then sin is said to have dominion over us when she can by her power and strong motions and lusts draw us to consent to those her motions and with our members and faculties to fulfil those her lusts so that we yield our selves to her and not to God He speaks of sin as of a Queen or Lady or Mistress by a Prosopopaeia The Apostle having exhorted those
enemy to God For he is not subject to the Law of God neither indeed can he be so long as he is such and doth so 8. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God 8. So then I grant you that say nay but we cannot but walk after our sensual or carnal appetite and affections I grant you I say that they which are carnal cannot please God nor can they do otherwise then walk after their sensual or carnal appetite and affections 9 But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his 9. But ye are not carnal but Spiritual in that the Spirit of God by which ye are Regenerate dwelleth in you for if any man hath not the spirit of Regeneration which Christ hath purchased for us he is none of Christs 10. And if Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin but the spirit is life because of righteousness 10. And now being that the spirit of Regeneration which Christ hath purchased is in you your body indeed is subject to death and shall one day die by reason of original sin or the sin of Adam which was derived to you But yet your souls shall live and never see death by reason of that Spirit of Regeneration which is also called the Spirit of Righteousness with which ye are endued 11. But if the spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his spirit that dwelleth in you 11. But yet that you may know that your bodies shall not so die as their bodies do which are Carnal being that the Spirit of Regeneration is in you God the Father who raised up Jesus from the dead shall after death quicken and enliven your mortal bodies with an everlasting life by reason of that Spirit of his which dwelleth in you 12 Therefore brethren we are debtors not to the flesh to live after the flesh 12. Therefore Brethren being it is so we ought not if we have any love at all to our selves to be servants to our sensual or carnal appetite or affections to follow their motions But we ought to be servants to the Spirit that Spirit of Regeneration which is in us and to follow her inclinations 13. For if ye live after the flâ—sh ye shalt die but if ye through the spirit do mortifie the deeds of the body ye shall live 13. For if we live after our sensual and carnal appetite and affections and follow them we shall die eternally But if we through the power which we have by the Spirit of Regeneration which is in us do mortifie and destroy the deeds to which our sensual and carnal Appetite which is in our body tempt us to we shall live an everlasting life 14. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God they are the sons of God 14. For as many as are lead by the Spirit of Regeneration which God hath given us and follow her motions so many are the Sons of God and by consequence heirs of life everlasting 15. For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear but ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby we cry Abba Father 15. I say so many are the sons of God for they which have received the Spirit of Regeneration have not received a servile spirit whereby they should like slaves and servants fear and be afraid to approach and come neer to God such a spirit as we Jews had at the giving of the Law in Mount Sinai But we have received a filial and Son-like spirit whereby we are bold to approach to God and to speak confidently to him and to call him as Sons Abba Father 16. The spirit it self beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children of God 16. The spirit â—t self by begetting in us a filial affection and Son like disposition towards God beareth witness to our souls that we are the children of God 17. And if children then heirs heirs of God and joynt-heirs with Christ if so be that we suffer with him that we may be also glorified together 17. And if we are the children of God then are we heirs even the heirs of God and coheirs with Christ of everlasting Glory And this inheritance of everlasting Glory shall we inherit with Christ if that we suffer as Christ did And indeed let us suffer as Christ did that we may be also glorified together with Christ 18. For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us 18. For that now I may arm you against sufferings I have weighed as it were in a ballance our sufferings on the one side and our rewards on the other and have cast up as it were the sum of both of them and I reckon or conclude that the sufferings of this present life are so small in comparison of the reward as that they are not worthy to be compared with the Glory that shall be openly given and bestowed upon us hereafter who suffer for Christ sake 19. For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God 19. I say that shall be openly given and bestowed upon us hereafter and I speak of it as a thing which shall most certainly be For the Creature whose expectation shall not be frustrate doth with earnest expectation wait for the manifestation of this Glory in the Sons of God 20. For the creature was made subject to vanity not willingly but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope 20. I say that it doth with earnest expectation wait for this for the Creature when it was made subject to vanity was not made subject thereunto willingly but only in obedience to God who would and did subject the same to vanity with hope notwithstanding in the creature that it should one day be delivered from that vanity 21. Because the creature it self also shall be delivered from the bondage of curruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God 21. I say with hope notwithstanding in the creature that it should be one day delivered from that vanity for which is the ground of this its hope the irrational creature it self also as well as man shall be delivered from this bondage of corruption and vanity when the glorious liberty of the Sons of God whereby they shall be totally freed from their miseries and be estated in glory shall appear 22. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travelleth in pain together untill now 22. For we know that the whole company of the Creatures from the time that man fell untill now groan and travil as it were a woman which is in pain and would fain be delivered desiring to be
That they cannot please God for that vâ—z That they walk after the Flesh or that viz. That they cannot but walk after the Flesh by putting the Consequent for the Antecedent This phrase therefore viz. They cannot please God is the same for sence with that viz. Who walk after the Flesh And it is occasioned from a tacite objection arising from the first verse though the Corollary or Conclusion which the Apostle draws here is drawn from that which went immediately before Ver. 9 But ye are not in the Flesh i. e. But ye which are in Christ Jesus ye I say are not carnall that ye should say yea but we cannot but walk after the Flesh But in the Spirit i. e. But ye are spiritual so that ye may renounce the Flesh and walk after the Spirit If so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you i. e. Being that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you to wit by those gifts and graces which he hath given you The conjunction If is not dubitantis but affirmantis not a note of doubting but of affirming and for this reason doth he affirm without doubting that the Spirit of God dwelleth in them because he takes them to be such as were truly in Christ Jesus ver 1. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his This seemeth to to be an Argument to proue that these Romans had the Spirit of Christ in them upon this supposition that they were in Christ Jesus for saith he If any one hath not the Spirit of Christ he is none of his but if he be his that is if he be Christs as ye are he hath the spirit of Christ in him He that hath not the Spirit of Christ is not Christs that is is not in Christ as a living member in the body or as a fruitfull or living branch in the vine and therefore shall be cast out or cut off at length The Spirit of Christ That which he called The Spirit of God immediately before he calleth the Spirit of Christ here because it is given and conferred of God through the merits of Christ who also himself is true God He is none of his i. e. None of his true and living members Or true and living branches Ver. 10. And if Christ be in you the body is dead because of sin but the spirit is life because of Righteousness i. e. And if the Spirit of Christ be in you your body indeed is mortall and shall die by reason of the sin of Adam But your soul shall live and never see death because of the Spirit of God and of Christ that is because of the Spirit of Righteousness which dwelleth in it The Apostle doth here shew the blessed fruit which they shall enjoy which have the Spirit of God and of Christ viz. That they shall not come into condemnation as he is said ver 1. And he doth withall answer an Objection which might arise from those words ver 6. To be spiritually minded is life For being that the Apostle said there That to be spiritually minded is life a man might object and say but how is it life to be spiritually minded when as they that have the Spirit of God and of Christ and so are spiritually minded die as well as they which are in the Flesh and so are carnally minded To this the Apostle answereth here that they that have the Spirit of God and of Christ and so are spiritually minded die indeed the death of the body as they do which cre carnally minded and that because of Original sin or the sin of Adam but they do not die the death of the soul as the carnal minded men do because of that Spirit of God and of Christ which dwelleth in them If Christ be in you c. By Christ is here to be understood the Spirit of Christ as he called it ver 10. and that per Metonymiam efficientis And the Apostle would rather say Christ here than the Spirit of Christ to avoid confusion of termes for soon after by the Spirit he means the Soul of man The body is dead That is the Body indeed is subject to death and shall one day die He saith the body is dead because it is not only such as may die but such as tendeth continually to death and shall at length certainly die Because of sin By sin here understand the sin of Adam or Original sin for death entred into the world by Adam 's sin and so death passed upon all men for that all have sinned through him Chap. 5.12 And in Adam all die saith the Apostle again 1 Cor. 15.22 But the Spirit is life i. e. But the Soul shall live and never see death The Spirit By the Spirit understand here the Soul that better part of man which is a Spirit Is life That is liveth and shall live for ever The Apostle when he saith Is life for liveth useth a Metonymie of the Adjunct Because of righteousness i e. Because of the Spirit of God and of Christ which is in it By Righteousness is here to be understood The Spirit of life as he called it ver 2. and which he called the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ ver 9. And which he called Christ in a few words before and this Spirit he calleth Righteousness Per Metonymiam Effecti because it inclines to Righteousness and worketh Righteousness in us That Soul which is endued with the Spirit of God or with the Spirit of Righteousness call it which you please while it is in this life so soon as it is parted from the body is carried into the presence of Christ there to enjoy him who is life and to live after its manner Ver. 11. But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you i. e. But yet if the Spirit of God dwelleth in you q. d. But though the bâ—dy is dead because of sin yet if the Spirit of God dwelleth in you c. He meaneth by this spirit that which he called righteousness ver 10. and the Spirit of Christ vers 9. and the Spirit of life ver 2. By him which raised up Jesus from the dead he meaneth God whom he describes by this Act because he is to say That he will quicken your mortal bodies Of which that That God raised up Jesus from the dead was a pattern and a pledge and shewed that God was able yea and willing to do it He that raised up Christ from the dead That is God Shall also quicken your mortal bodies That is Shall also raise up your mortal bodies after death at the last Day as he raised up Christ from death when he had been dead By his spirit that dwelleth in you That is because of his spirit or by reason of his spirit which dwelleth in you By reason of his spirit are our bodies become Temples of the Holy Ghost 1 Cor. chap 6.19 And therefore our bodies shall be
use of others Note that what the Apostle says here he says by the Judgement of Charity not out of any certain or infallible knowledge The Apostle is here very favourable to these Romans which being weak in faith did abstain from meats which were forbidden by the Law of Moses and did observe those days as holy which the Law of Moses commanded to be kept holy and makes an Apologie for them Yet he is very angry with the Galatians for observing Moses Law as may appear by divers passages of the fourth and fifth Chapters of the Epistle written to them A question therefore may be asked why the Apostle should be so favourable to the Romans in this and so sharp to the Galatians Answ They of which the Apostle speaks here were such as were Jews living at Rome and converted from Judaism to Christianity who therefore were brought up under the Law of Moses and accustomed to those things which were commanded and forbidden therein respectively for which cause the Apostle thought it fit to deal gently with them least by harsh and sharp dealing they should forsake the Gospel of Christ and his faith rather than be suddenly brought off from those observances to which they had been accustomed all their days And for that also that he would shew such reverence to the Law of Moses as that it being dead it should be buried as it were with honour But the Galatians to which he wrote were such as were Gentiles and had been all their life-time brought up in Gentilism never in Judaism Therefore he would never suffer the Law of Moses to be imposed upon them but when they seemed to be willing to receive it when false Apostles would have imposed it upon them he rebukes them sharply for it lest if he should seem to tollerate it or wink at it in them it might be thought that the keeping of Moses Law was necessary to Justification to which faith onely is required Yet though the Apostle dealt thus gently and favourably with these Romans that is with these Jews of Rome here and would not have them to be received to doubtful disputations concerning their opinions yet he did suffer them but for a time and did by little and little instruct them in the truth and perswade them concerning the abrogation of the Law of Moses by Christ as he had opportunity That therefore these weak Jews of Rome did observe days and abstain from meats according to the Law of Moses and not according to the liberty or freedom which was purchased by Christ It was not a thing commendable in them for it did proceed from their weakness in the faith ver 1. but was a fault in them rather yet such a fault as the Apostle would excuse and have others which were strong in the faith to excuse also interpreting what they did to the better part and looking charitably to that which was good or might be good in it Ver. 7. For none of us liveth to himself i. e. For none of us which are Christians doth that which he doth while he liveth for his own profit or for his own glory Of us i. e. Of us Christians Liveth i. e. Doth any thing in his life-time To himself i. e. For himself that is for his own profit or for his own glory Vnderstand chiefly or principally or in comparison of what he doth for the glory of God And no man dieth to himself i. e. And no man which is a Christian doth if he dieth by his death seek profit or glory to himself understand chiefly and Principally here too The Apostle speaks here in the person of a good and faithful Christian such as we must take every one to be in Charity while we have evidence to the contrary And what he saith he saith out of his Charity And by what he saith here he would confirm and prove what he said before to wit that both the weak and strong Christian did what they did there to the honour of God the Lord. Ver. 8. For whether we live we live unto the Lord i. e. For whether we live we do what we do all our life-time to the Glory of the Lord that the Lord may be thereby glorified We i. e. We Christians Whether we live we live c. These two words Live and Live are not to be taken here after the same manner or in the same sence but are so to be distinguished and taken as we have shewed a little before Vnto the Lord i. e. Unto the Honour and Glory of the Lord. See verse 6. And whether we die we die unto the Lord i. e. And whether we die we do by our death glorifie the Lord. Whether we live therefâ—re or die we are the Lords This is the conclusion which the Apostle aimed at and gathers from the sixth verse inclusive hitherto And now having proved that all both strong and weak are the Lords he leaves us as a thing most evident to us to conclude and judge that it is not fit for us either to despise or to judge those which are his Servants Ver. 9. For to this end Christ both died and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living Between this and the former verse Understand these or the like words And this is but meet and just viz. for us to be his servants q. d. And this is but meet and just for us to be his servants For to this end Christ both lived and rose and revived that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living c. He saith that Christ died for this end that he might be Lord both of the dead and the living because Christ gave his blood as a price of our redemption to redeem us out of the hands of the Devil that we might be his Servants and a peculiar treasure to him whether we live or whether we die And he is said to rise again and to revive after his death that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living not that he did redeem us by his resurrection or that his Resurrection was the price or part of the price of our Redemption but because by his Resurrection he shewed that he had paid the full price of our Redemption and by that he came to take possession as it were of that which he purchased or redeemed by his death Neither could he have been Lord of us as he was the man Christ Jesus if he had not risen again For he was not man after death till by his Resurrection his body and soul were reunited which had been severed by his death Christ when he redeemed us to be his Servants he did it that we should be his Servants not onely for term of this life which term civil services among men cannot exceed but also that we should be his Servants for the life to come yea for ever and ever And therefore is he said here to die and rise and revive that he
Gospel which is preached by the Servants of God is a powerful instrument for the Salvation of such as believe And they which believe do attain to Salvation by the Gospel The Gospel is called the Power of God not because there is any natural or physical power in the words of the Gospel But because God sheweth his power in those that believe the Gospel in saving them that is in delivering them from all evil both of Sin and Punishment and in bringing them at last to everlasting joy and happiness And well may this be called the Power of God for what created power can save us from our sins who hath power enough to deliver us out of the Claws of the Devil to whom we were captive at his will 2 Tim. 2.26 who hath power to keep us safe from him that goeth about a roaring Lion seeking whom he way devour who hath power to free us from the miseries of this mortall body who can raise us up from the dead after death who hath power to change these vile bodies of ours into glorious bodies and this corruptible of ours into incorruptible who hath power to carry us up into heaven there to enjoy bliss for evermore but God who is Omnipotent and able to subdue all things to himself and to do whatsoever he pleaseth in Heaven and in Earth The Gospel therefore is called the Power of God Metonymically that is to say because the power of God is so joyned with it as that God will so shew his power in saving them that believe it as that he will bring them to everlasting Salvation They therefore which interpret the power of God to Salvation of a powerful instrument to save men must not take it for a Physical instrument but for a Moral instrument as I may so call it that is for such a thing with which God will so go along with his power as that he will save them which believe the Gospel even because they believe it We know that the Power of God did go along in the Primitive times with the preaching of the Gospel in that God did bear the preachers of it witness both with Signs and Wonders and with divers Miracles and gifts of the Holy-ghost according to his own will Heb. 2.4 But this is not the power here spoken of but that which we have already mentioned for signs are not for those which believe but for those which believe not 1 Cor. 14.22 but the Power of God in this place is for them which believe Vnto Salvation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e. For Salvation or for this end that it may bring men unto Salvation 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is here a Note of the final cause or of the end The Schools use to distinguish of a double Salvation the one Inchoate the other Consummate Salvation Inchoate consisteth in Remission of sins or Justification c. and may be had in this life In this sence the Apostle saith By Grace ye are saved through faith Ephes 2.8 And again Not by works of Righteousness which we have done but according to his mercy he saved us Titus 3.5 But Salvation Consummate is only to be had in the life to come and consists in Eternal life Now some understand this place only of Salvation Inchoate not Consummate But it is better to take it for our full and whole Salvation To every one that believeth i e. To every one that believeth the Gospel As a Medicine doth not profit how good soever it be except it be taken down So doth not the Gospel profit though it be the Power of God unto Salvation except it be believed and embraced To the Jew first and also to the Greek i. e. To the Jew first and then to the Greek And also is put here for Then or Afterwards The like manner of speech we read the 2 Cor. 8.5 They first gave their own selves to the Lord and unto us i. e. They did first give themselves to the Lord and then to us his Ministers Note that by the Greek is here meant all the Gentiles per Synedochen Species and to is the Greek to be taken so often as he is opposed to the Jew and therefore is the Greek put for all the Gentiles the rather than any other Nation because the Greek tongue was at this time from the time of Alexander the Great most generally used amongst all Nations as also because the Greeks were now of a long time more known to the Jews than any other People were by the Jew therefore and the Greek all the People of the World are here meant There is a Praerogative here given to the Jew above the Gentile which Praerogative consisteth in this that the Gospel was preached and to be preached to the Jew before it was preached or to be preached to the Gentile Acts 13.46 And in that that the Gospel did appertain to the Jew which believed more peculiarly than it did to the Gentile by reason of particular promises thereof made to them But it doth not consist in this that the believing Jew did or should obtain more exuberance of grace or greater salvation than the believing Gentile should Ver. 17. For therein is the Righteousness of God revealed For therein is Justification effectually revealed and thereby performed and wrought That which is here rendred Righteousness is in the Greek 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which cometh from the verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 justificare to justifie So that Righteousness may be and is to be taken here for justification and justification signifieth with our Apostle remission of sins or absolution from sins and it is a tearm borrowed from the Law courts and is opposed to condemnation That which is called Righteousness or Justification is also called Redemption Chap. 3.24 Ephes 1.7 c. And it is called Salvation Math. 1.21 c. And both by a metaphor taken from Prisoners or Captives or Slaves which were under hard imprisonment or bondage or slavery and were as men appointed unto death but are delivered and redeemed with a price or saved by might out of that miserable condition and a condition no better than theirs were we in while we were under sin So that the Remission of our sins may be called as Righteousness or justification so Redemtion and Salvation too And note now that Salvation and Righteousness are often put for one and the same thing as Psal 98.2 The Lord hath made known his Salvation his Righteousness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the Heathen and Isaiah 56.1 My Salvation is near to come and my Righteousness to be revealed And Isaih 61.10 He hath clothed me with the garments of Salvation He hath covered me with the robe of Righteousness which I observe that it might seem strange to none that besides the derivation of the Greek word Righteousness should be put or taken for justification or redemption and Salvation from sins The Righteousness of God He calls it the Righteousness of God
any man of years was justified without saith Nor ever any man was justified without the merits of Christ And that whosoever is justified now under the Gospel by faith must have an Explicit and particular faith of Jesus Christ yet before the Gospel a General faith was sufficient to justification For as the Gospel was but rudely drawn to them which lived before Christ So was the faith required of them but rude as I may say and general and such as if they did believe the general promises of God made to them and relie upon them and live or resolve to live as those that did expect the performance of those promises their faith should for Christs sake which was to come be counted to them for Righteousness Ver. 23. Now it was not written for his sake alone that it was counted to him c. Now this that the faith or belief of Abraham was imputed or counted rather to him for Righteousness was written indeed for Abraham's sake Gen. 15.6 But it was not written for Abraham's sake alone that it was imputed or counted to him for Righteousness but for our sakes also c. That which is written Gen. 15.6 That Abraham believed in the Lord and he counted it to him for Righteousness was written for Abraham's sake that Abraham might be praised and had in repute amongst men for this his faith and accounted by them worthy to be the Father of many Nations But yet it was not written for his sake alone or for this end only that he might be praised and had in repute among men and accounted by them worthy to be the Father of many Nations But it was written for our sakes also to assure us that if we believe the Gospel as firmly as Abraham believed what God promised him we shall be justified by our faith as Abraham was by his Ver. 24. But for us also i. e. But for our sakes also To whom it shall be imputed i. e. To whom that that we believe shall be imputed or counted for Righteousness If we believe on him i. e. If we rely on him and trust on him for the performance of his promises made to us Whom he means by Him he sheweth in the next words If we truly believe the promises of God we cannot but trust in God and rely on him for performance of those his promises Wherefore as I have observed before by reason of the near connexion of these two one with the other To rely on God and trust in him or believe in him is often put Per Metonymiam Consequentis for to believe him and his promises Him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead By this Periphrasis he meaneth God for God is said to have raised up Jesus having loosed the pains of death Acts 2.24 He describeth God here by this That he raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead because it containeth a notable Argument to induce us to believe in God as Saint Peter teacheth 1 Pet. 1.21 And because this that he raised up Christ from the dead is as it were a Compendium of our faith For he that believeth this believeth that Jesus is the Christ and that he is the Saviour of the world who dyed and rose again for our Salvation and that he shall be our Judge at the last day Acts 17.31 c. Again he describeth God by this That he raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead in this place because he would allude to that which Abraham believed here who though he saw both his own Body now dead and the deadness of Sarah's Womb v. 19. yet he believed that God could raise them both from that death or deadness Ver. 25. Who was delivered To wit to death Jesus Christ was delivered to death by God the Father Rom. 8.32 The Apostle had rather say who was delivered to wit to death than who dyed because the Expiation of our sins did depend upon the good pleasure of God who would this way be appeased for the sins of Man For our offences i. e. For the Expiation and taking away of our sins Metonymia Objecti And rose again To wit from the dead For our Justification i. e. For the Remission of our sins This is as if he should have said who both dyed through the appointment of God and rose again for our justification or for the remission of our sins The Apostle therefore expresseth one and the same thing here by two several phrases the like to which he did Chap. 3. verse 30. Christ dyed that he might as a Surety for us pay the debt which was due from us for our sins to wit death and so deliver us from those our sins hence Christ is said to redeem us from the Curse of the Law being made a Curse for us Gal. 3.13 But yet the death of Christ and his undergoing the Curse of the Law for us would have availed us nothing if that Christ had alwayes lyen under death and alwayes lyen under the Curse of the Law as being overcome and conquered and kept Captive thereby For to be detained alwayes a Prisoner in that Prison from whence there is no coming forth before the payment of the uttermost farthing Mat. 5.26 is to be always under execution and to evacuate and null the Plea of the full payment of our debt for which our Surety stood engaged for us Therefore it was necessary that Christ that he might redeem us fully and pay our full debt should not only dye for us but also rise again and upon this ground doth our Apostle rightly conclude that if Christ be not raised our faith is vain we are yet in our sins 1 Cor. 15.17 And hence it is that he saith Rom 8.34 It is Christ that dyed yea rather that is risen again And not only for this reason may Christ be said to rise again for our justification but also for that That he when he arose from the dead he arose that he might ascend into Heaven there to appear in the presence of God for us Heb. 9.24 Where he is at the right hand of God and maketh intercession for us Rom. 8.38 CHAP. V. 1. THerefore being justified by saith we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ 1. I have shewed you hitherto that we are not justified by works but by faith And now that I have shewed you that we are justified by faith let me shew you how many and great benefits do accrue to us by this justification Therefore being justified by faith the wrath of God is appeased towards us and God is at peace with us for our Lord Jesus Christs sake 2. By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand and rejoyce in hope of the glory of God 2. By whom also we have access by faith into this grace and favour of Justification wherein we stand And we have hope of the glory of God to wit that we shall one day enjoy it and be
a new life or a new kind of life That he cals newness of life or a new life or a new kind of life here which consisteth in other gates manners than they formerly used while they were yet unregenerate and without Christ Note that this word walk is frequently in Scripture taken as a word of morality by which is Metaphorically signified the life and conversation of a Man and his manner of living who practiseth or exerciseth act after act or deed after deed taking thereby as it were step after step one step after another And it is a word of an indifferent signification taken sometimes in a good sence as here sometimes in a bad as John 12.35 c. Because we should not only rise to a new life but also continue therein the Apostle had rather say even so we also should walk in newness of life than even so also we should rise to a new life For walking presupposeth rising but rising doth not inferre walking Ver. 5. For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death we shall be also in the likeness of his Resurrection The Apostle prevents or answers a tacâ—te Objection here For whereas he said ver 4 Therefore we are buried with him by Baptism into death that like as Christ was raised from the dead to the glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of life A man may object and say whereas thou sayest Paul That we are buried with him by baptism into death that like as Christ was raised from the dead even so we also should walk in newness of life thou inferrest more from the premises than the premises will allow thee for though thou maist infer from these premises viz. we are buried with him by baptism into death that we are therefore so buried that we may not live unto sin yet thou canst not infer from thence that we are therefore buried with him in baptism into death that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father even so we also should walk in newness of life To this objection I say the Apostle here answers or this objection the Apostle here prevents saying for if we are planted together in the likeness of his death we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection q. d. For I may infer from those words viz. We are buried with him by baptism into death that like as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father we should also walk in newness of life as well as that That we should not live unto sin For one of those do infer the other so that if we shall not live unto sin we shall live unto newness of life If we have been planted together with him in the likeness of his death c. q. d. If we have been planted in the waters of baptism like as Christ was planted in the earth at his burial so that we be thereby truly and actually dead to sin as Christ was dead to this natural life We shall truly actually and undoubtedly spring up to a new life as Christ did at his resurrection to a life of glory Observe that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 him or with him that is with Christ is to be here understood which is expressed both in the Syriac and Arabique Translations Observe also that what the Apostle meant by being buried ver 4. He meaneth by being Planted here But changeth the word buried into a more emphatical word planted the more to set out the efficacy of baptism which here he speaks of And in both these words he alludes to the burial of Christ when he was laid in the Sepulchre As Christ therefore when he was laid in the Sepulchre under the ground was said to be buried so were they said to be buried who were in baptism so dipped as that they were under the waters But because Christ was not to continue under the earth when he was buried Christ may better be said to be planted in the earth than buried For things which are buried in the earth may never rise up again But things which are planted or sown in the earth do naturally rise and spring up again after their Plantation And for this reason doth Saint Paul liken the bodies of men which are to have a resurrection when they are buried to grain which is sown or planted in the earth which is not quickned except it die 1 Cor. 5.36 And for this reason doth our Saviour himself in allusion to his death and burial and rising again liken himself to a Corn of wheat which falleth into the ground and dieth John 12.24 As Christ therefore when he was laid into the ground being he was to rise again might better be said to be planted than to be buried So they which were baptised being that they were dipped into the waters and therewith covered but not there to lie but to be lifted out or rise out of the waters again with which they were covered may be said to be Sown or Planted in those waters better than buried Especially when they are so dipped or covered with the waters of baptism as that by the Grace of God the inward operation of his Spirit going along with the outward work of the Sacrament they are therein mortified to sin For such as are mortified in baptism to sin will rise from the death of sin or from sin to which they are dead to a new life viz. a life of righteousness As they rise out of the waters again in which they are as it were buried or planted which are baptised And as Christ rose out of the earth in which he was planted or buried Together Supple with him that is like to him that is like to Christ Note that the Preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 with is here a note of Similitude as I said before In the likeness of his death That is so that we die as he died we to sin as he to this natural life As the Grain which is sowed or planted in the earth is not quickned except it dieth 1 Cor. 15.36 So they which are planted in the waters of baptism do not rise or spring up to a new life or life of righteousness except they first die to sin But if they first dy to sin then they do undoubtedly rise and spring up to a new life or life of righteousness as the corn or grain riseth sprouteth and springeth up and as they which are buried in the waters rise out of them again We shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection The words with their Supplement for they are defective had been better rendred thus We truly shall also spring up together with him in the likeness of his resurrection The sence of which words is this We truly shall also spring up as he did we to a new life of righteousness as he sprang up to a life of glory and so be like to him in
his resurrection Note therefore that the first words of this verse in the Original are these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Supple 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The latter words which are the words we have now in hand are these 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 which words are defective and must be made up out of the first words thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 The whole verse supplied and made up runs thus 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Which we interpret thus For if we have been planted together with him in the likeness or to the likeness of his death truly we shall also spring up with him in the likeness or to the likeness of his resurrection Where note that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is twice here used but in different significations for in the first place it signifieth planted with In the second place it signifieth springing up with Of the signification of the word as it is used in the first place I presume there will be no doubt But some perhaps may doubt of the signification which is given to it in the second place Know therefore that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifieth as well to spring up with as to be planted with for Saint Luke useth the participle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 in this sence Luke 8.7 where we read 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 That is And other fell among thorns and the thorns springing up with it choked it But some may Object and say that 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is a word of a Passive form but I have given it a Neuter or Middle signification I answer such words though they are of a Passive form yet may they be of a Neuter and Middle signification as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Chap. 2. ver 5. and the Participle 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Luke 8.7 is of a Passive form but not of a Passive but Middle signification Note that in these words We shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection there is a tacite allusion to the lifting up or rising up of those out of the waters which were dipped over head and ears and so buried as it were or as he here sayes planted therein at their baptism by which as Christs rising from the dead was figured so our rising from the death of sin to a new course of life was represented and professed Ver 6. Knowing that our old man is crucified with him The Apostle prevents an Objection here for whereas he said verse 5. That if we be planted together with Christ in the likeness of his death we shall spring up with him in the likeness of his resurrection A man might object and say Paul thou speakest here thou knowest not what for do you know what you say when you say that If ye be planted with Christ in the likeness of his dâ—ath ye shall spring up with him in the likeness of his resurrection This Objection I say the Apostle here prevents when he saith Knowing that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed c. q d. And when I say If we are planted together with him in the likeness of his death we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection I know well enough what I say for I know that our old man is crucified with him that the body of sin might be destroyed c. Knowing this that our old man is crucified i. e. Knowing this that our former kind of life is mortified or left Or rather Knowing that our old nature or custom of living is abolished He spoke of this which he calls here Our old man as of a Person by a Prosopopoeia If we should look to the order or series of speech the Apostles speech is somewhat incongruous for he should rather have said here We are crucified to the old man than have said Our old man is crucified For he said verse 5. If we have been planted together in the likeness of his death And in the seventh verse he saith He that is dead is freed from sin And verse 8. If we be dead with Christ c. to which these words should be conform But as I have observed the Apostle looks more to the sence than to the form or manner of his speech as he doth Chap. 7.4 and in many other places For which reason it may be it is that he saith of himself Though I be rude in speech yet not in knowledg 2 Cor. 11.6 Our old man is crucified He alludes here to the death by which Christ dyed and therefore saith is crucified whereas otherwise he would have said is mortified or the like It is by Baptism that our old man is said here to be crucified or mortified which is when the party Baptized is so disposed as he ought to be and when God accompani th the outward work of baptism with the inward opperation of his Spirit and grace With him i. e. With Christ that is like as Christ was crucified The preposition with is used here also as a Note of Similitude That the body of sin might be destroyed By the Body of sin may be meant those many sins in which unregenerate men were wont to live before their Regeneration by Baptism as covetousness drunkenness fornication c. which he may call a Body as a Flock a People a City an Army a Legion is called a Body of which body every particular sin is a member See Coloss 3.5 That henceforth we should not serve sin i. e. That we should from this time forward serve sin no more nor be any more at sins beck or command or that Sin should not any more have such power over us as to make us her slaves and Servants to do what she would have us to do as she had before He speaks of sin here as of a Queen Lady or Mistress He is said to serve sin which obeys the motions and lusts of sin which are as it were her commands that is who when sin stirreth up any motion in him to evill presently gives his ascent to it and puts it in execution Ver. 7. For he that is dead is freed from sin For he that is dead to sin is freed from her so that she hath no power over him He speaks not here of a natural death but as he did before of a morall or spirituall death to wit a death to sin And when he saith that he that is dead is freed from sin he alludes to a Servant or a Slave which by his death is freed from the Law or bonds of his Master so that his Master hath now no power over him For such is the condition of the dead as that they are civily subject to no humane power at all Note here that for a man to be dead to sin is the same in the Apostles phrase as for sin or the old man to be crucified in him And the Apostle useth them promiscuously He proveth here that the Old man is crucified in us that we should not
said of the law and notwithstanding what perverse men would draw from thence the whole law is holy and that commandment of the law to wit Thou shalt not covet is holy and just and good holy in that it forbids that which is injurious to God just in that it forbids that which is injurious to our neighbours and good in that it forbids that which is injurious to and unbeseeming our own selves 13. Was then that which is good made death unto me God forbid But sin that it might appear sin working dâ—ath in me by that which is good that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful 13. Was then the law or was then that commandment of the law which is holy and just and good made to me a genuine cause or author of the spiritual death by which I died to innocency and of that by which I am become guilty of eternal death God forbid But sin was the cause thereof so that sin did appear to be sin indeed in that that it wrought in me a death to innocency and a guilt of everlasting death by the commandment which is good So that sin by the abuse of the commandment became and shewed her self to be what she was indeed exceeding sinful 14. For we know that the law is spiritual but I am carnal sold under sin 14. Far be it therefore from us to think that the law is the cause of our sins for we know that the law is spiritual commanding spiritual things and ordering to a spiritual life and is approved of God who is a pure spirit But I being under the law am at my best estate carnal and as very a slave to sin as he which is sold in a Market is a slave to him which bought him 15. For that which I do I allow not for what I would that do I not but what I hate that do I. 15. For that you may know that I am as very a slave to sin as he which is sold in a Market is a slave to him that bought him that which I do I like not nor do I approve of it For whereas I would do that which the law commands I do it not but what I hate and would not do because the law forbids it that do I. 16. If then I do that which I would not I consent unto the law that it is good 16. And now if I thus do that which I would not I consent to the law that it is good and spiritual for my will and the law concur in the same things 17. Now then it is no more I that do it but sin that dwelleth in me 17. And now also if it be so that I do that which I would not it is not I that do it as I am instructed by the law but sin which dwelleth in me 18 For I know that in me that is in my flesh dwelleth no good thing For to will is present with me but how to perform that which is good I find not 18. For I know by experience that there dwelleth no spiritual good in me that is in my flesh to quell sin For to will that good which I speak of is present with me and that I can do after a weak manner But yet how to perform that good which I would I find not so predominant is sin in me 19. For the good that I would I do not but the evil which I would not that I do 19. For as I said before the good that I would do because the law commands it I do not but the evil which I would not do because the law forbids it that do I. 20. Now if I do that I would not it is no more I that do it but sin that dwelleth in me 20. Now then I say again if I do that which I would not it is not I that do it as I am instructed by the law but it is sin that dwelleth and reigneth in me which doth it 21. I finde then a law that when I would do good evil is present with me 21. Yea I find by Experience not only that no such spiritual good as I speak of dwelleth in me But I find a law that is I find that when I would do good evil is present with me thwarting that my will to do good 22. For I delight in the law of God after the inward-man 22. For I delight in the Law of God after a weak manner according to the dictates of that Inward man to wit my mind 23. But I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members 23. But I find evil affections in my body as another law warring against the law or dictates in my mind and overcoming me and taking me as a Prisoner and bringing me Captive to sin which dwelleth and ruleth in me 24. O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death 24. O wretched and miserable man as I am who shall deliver me from this Company of deadly enemies which do thus war against me and make me a Captive to sin 25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I my self serve the law of God but with the flesh the law of sin 25. I Paul that I may speak this in my own person as I am a Servant of Christ thank God that he hath delivered me from these deadly Enemies by Christ Jesus So then that I may bring up what I have said from the fourteenth verse hitherto to a conclusion and speak in the person of one which is under the Law but hath attained to the highest degree of goodness in that estate as I spake before I my self though I am carnal and sold under sin I serve the law of God with my mind in that I approve of with my mind what the law commands and do propound her commands to my will to be followed by her and so I proclaim and acknowledge that the law is spiritual but yet with my flesh that is with the other faculties and powers of my soul I serve sin And thereby acknowledge and proclaim my self to be carnal and as very a slave to sin as he which is sold in a Market is a slave to him which bought him which was the Position which I laid down ver 14. CHAP. VII Ver. 1. Know ye not brethren for I speak to them which know the law how that the law c. The Apostle said Chap. 6. ver 14. ye are not under the law but under Grace And he spoke that as I said particularly to the believing Jews for many Jews lived at Rome as will appear Act. 28. Now because the Jews though they believed were zealous of the Law Act. 21.20 and therefore might doubt of what S. Paul said Chap. 6.14 of their not being under the law but under grace He shews here tha the Jew might lawfully take
Law is inforce and not abrogated they do despise the Law and betake themselves to some new form of religion and are married as it were to that they become Spirituall whores and adulteresses She shall be called an Adulteress i. e. She shall be an Adulteress and may justly be caled an Adulteress and suffer punishment as an Adulteress The Hebrews use the words To be called oftentimes for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 To be as Isaiah 1.26 Thou shalt be called the City of Righteosness for Thou shalt be a City of Righteousness And Isaiah 9.6 His name shall be called wonderful c. For He shall be wonderful She is free from that Law i. e. She is free from that power or dominion which her husband had over her by that Law to wit the Law of Marriage or she is free from the bond by which she was bound to her husband by that Law See ver 2. Ver. 4. Wherefore my Brethren q. d. Wherefore my Brethren Supple that ye may not be accounted as spiritual whores or adulteresses by being married to another husband because ye were once under the Law and married as it were to that as to an husband c. Note that the Apostle speaks here peculiarly to the Jews as I observed ver 1. Ye also are become dead to the Law q. d. Ye also are become dead to the Law as well as the Gentiles are thereto dead This particle Also speaks that some other were dead to the Law as well as the Jews and they are the Gentiles And indeed the Gentiles were dead to the Law yea rather they were never alive to it or the Law to them I speak as the Apostle here doth of the Law of Moses or of the Law as it was given by Moses for they were never alive to the Law nor the Law to them to whom the Law was never given Now the Law of Moses was never given to the Gentiles by Moses for it is written Psal 147.19 He shewed his Word unto Jacob his Statutes and his Judgements unto Israel He hath not dealt so with any Nation and as for his judgements they have not known them The Law that was given by Moses was given to those which God brought out of the Land of Egypt out of the house of bondage Exod. 20.2 And by those the Israelites are only meant And Hear O Israel the Lord our God is one Lord and thou shalt love the Lord with all thine heart c. saith he Deut. 6. ver 4. By the Law is here meant the whole Law of Moses which was abrogated or expired by the death of Christ and thereby ceased to be in force as our Ap stle sheweth here in this verse Note here that this phrase ye are become dead to the law is the same with that The Law is become dead to you For these kinds of figurative phrases are Reciprâ—cal So our Old man is crucified is the same with this We are crucified to the old man so for us to be dead to sin is the same with for sin to be dead to us c. Note also that by order of speech the Apostle should rather have said The Law is become dead to you than to have said ye are become dead to the Law But being the sence is the same he had rather say as he doth than offend the Jews which were zealous of the Law by saying The Law is dead to you which nevertheless he saith covertly ver 6. By the body of Christ By the body of Christ crucified That is by the death of Christ which he suffered in his body upon the Cross As the Apostle saith here We are become dead to the Law by the body of Christ So he saith Ephes 2.15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity where both his body and his flâ—sh must be understood as crucified on the Cross That ye should be married to another even to him that is raised from the dead i. e. That not only ye may but also that ye should be lawfully married to another even Christ The Church is the Spouse of Christ 2 Cor. 10.2 Ephes 5.29 In ordinary marriages if the husband be dead the wife is so at liberty as that she may marry again if she will or not marry if she please and if she be pleased to marry she may marry whom she will But in the marriage between a man and the Law if the Law be dead the man is inded freed from the Law but yet he is not left at liberty to marry or not to marry but he must marry And yet he must not marry whom he will but he must marry Christ so that in this similitude as it is commonly there is some dissimilitude not to be urged If we are married to Christ then must we be under his rule and dominion and willingly submit ourselves to be governed by him and his word as the wife doth to the husband Even to him who is raised from the dead By him that is raised from the dead is meant Christ And well doth he describe Christ by this here because he mentioned Christs death immediately before when he said Ye also are become dead to the Law by the body of Christ For if he had not shewed that Christ who was dead had been raised again from the dead he might have left a doubt how any could be married to Christ when he was dead being that the Law of Marriage is void by the death of the husband ver 2. He describes him also by this to teach us that we should imitate Christ in his Resurrection that is as Christ was raised from the dead so we should rise to a new kind of life But being that many more besides Christ were raised from the dead as he which revived at the touch of Elisha's bones 2 Kings 13.21 and the Shunamites child 2 Kings 4.25 and Lazarus John 11.43 The widdow of Naims son Luke 7.15 and many of the Saints whose bodies arose Matth. 27.52 How can this that he was raised from the dead be the proper Character of Christ Answ Though many were raised from the dead yet where they not so raised from the dead as not to die again as Christ was raised For it is conceived by some that there was none of all those that were raised from the dead but died again except only Christ Jesus yet if we grant that some were so raised as that they died not again as many conceive of those who were raised at our Saviours Resurrection Matth. 27.52 yet was there a difference between their resurrection and the Resurrection of Christ For Christ was raised by his own power John 2.19 but they were raised up by the power of another even of Christ That we should bring forth fruit unto God The end of marriage is the procreation of children which are called in Scripture The fruit of the womb Psal 127.3 And are the fruit of the marriage-bed The Apostle therefore continueth his Allegory of marriage or
in his will as we may gather from those words ver 15. What I would do not And from those words ver 18. To will is present with me In the Law of God By the Law of God he means the Law which was given by Moses and yet perhaps his delight might be not the whole Law but only in some particular commands thereof when he saith I delight in the Law of God after the inward man c. After the inward man The Greek is 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 i. e according to the inward man where the preposition 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 signifies a conformity to a thing as 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Xenoph. Non facium secundum Regis literas i. e. They will not do according to the Kings Letters or as the Kings Letters direct them or would have them to do Note that the inward man or the mind that is not the subject here of this delight here spoken of but the will rather or the reasonable appetite is the subject thereof for the mind is not properly said to rejoyce or delight in any thing but the mind propoundeth the Law of God to the will as a thing delectable and perswadeth her to delight in it and to practise it and the Will doth take some small delight in it or in somethings which it commands and would practice them according to what the mind propounds to her perswades her to do but her willingness is imperfect and in efficacious By the inward man he means the mind as appeareth ver 25. which be calls a Man per Senechdochen integri and the inward man because the mind and the operations thereof are remote from the senses of other men so that they cannot perceive them in themselvs Note that whereas the Apostle doth elsewhere make mention of the old man and the new man these are not the same with the outward man and the inward man here for the old man and the new man are so called per Metonymiam subjecti by reason of the diverse qualities in man But the outward man and the inward man are so called per Senechdochen by reason of the parts of a man Ver. 23. But I see another Law in my members i. e. But I find or perceive another mover or actor in my body I see That is I find or perceive by experience He speaks here after the manner of the Hebrews which call all sensations and perceptions by the name of seeing Another Law What he means here by a Law in a general sence see Notes ver 21. In particular he calls the motions of the carnal appetite which some call also concupiscence a Law here In my members i. e. In my body Synechdoche Warring against the Law of my mind i. e. Warring against my mind which is as a Law Or warring against the dictates of my mind which are as a Law See Notes ver 21. His carnal appetite and concupiscence or his carnal affections are said to war against his mind or the dictates of his mind by a Metaphor taken from wars because the carnal affections and desires which flow from his carnal appetite or concupiscence are contrary to the dictates of his mind for they incite to that which is contrary to the Law of Moses but the dictates of the mind speak well of the Law and say it should be kept And bringing me into captivity to the Law of sin i. e. And overcoming me and taking me as it were a Prisoner and making me a Captive and delivering me up as a slave to sin He persists in his Metaphor taken from the wars where they which are overcome by them which serve the Conqueror in his wars are delivered up to the Conqueror to be made Servants and Slaves at his will To the Law of sin i. e. To sin which is as a Law or to the motions of sin which are as a Law Why sin or the motions of sin are said here to be a Law See Notes ver 21. When the mind or understanding of such a man as the Apostle here personates propounds to his will the Law of God as a thing delectable and to be kept as a thing honest and good and useth motives and perswasions thereunto the will doth sometimes incline to it and produce an act of delight and willingness that way But then the carnal appetite or concupiscence or carnal affections arise in him with their pretences of some apparent good and tempteth the will from that real good which the mind propounded to her to follow them And they being stronger than the mind the Will and the whole man is carried after them and so become guilty of a new sin and are made daily more and more prone to sin than they were before And this is that which the Apostle here sayes under the Metaphor of warring and taking Captive Which is in my members i. e. Which is or which dwelleth in me or in my body Synechdoche Ver. 24. O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from the body of this death Better as it is rendred in the margin of our Bibles Who shall deliver me from this body of death That is who shall deliver me from these my deadly enemies Viz. From my carnal affections and from Sin c. He whom Saint Paul personates cries out here in the sense of his sins and the torture of his conscience which is tortured therewith For the wicked'st men that are do sometimes feel the torture and horrour of their conscience for their sins when they seriously think of the Law of God and their own doings It will be no wonder that a man under the Law should cry out O wretched man that I am who shall deliver me from this body of death When that young mâ—n in the Gospel who was under the Law For we cannot say That he was under grace said unto Christ Good Master What good thing shall I do that I may have â—ternal life Mat. 19. v. 16. From this body of dâ—ath That is from this deadly body that is â—â—om these my deadly enemies which will destroy me and bring me to everlasting death at last He calls his deadly Enemies to wit sin and her lusts and dâ—sires And the Flesh and his carnal affections A Body by a Metaphor drawn from Wars which Metaphor he holds hitherto for an Army is ordinarily called a Body and a Company of Horsemen or Foot-men are called a Body of Horse and Foot And by the like kind of Metaphor particular Sins are called the Body of sin Chap. 6. ver 6. Our Apostle calls sins also the Body of Sins Coloss 2.11 though by another Metaphor Of death That is deadly 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 of death for 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 or 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 Deadly where a Substantive of the Genitive case is put after the Hebrew manner for an Adjective Ver. 25. I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord For what he thanks God is not here expressed for there
thought worthy of the honour of a glorious and happy resurrection at the last Day because they were Temples of the Holy Ghost in this life The spirit is called the Earnest to wit of our resurrection 2 Cor. 5.5 That which he saith here in this verse is a Comfort against that which he said ver 10. viz. The body is dead because of sin And an Explication of that which he said ver 6. To be spiritually minded is life Though death seize upon the bodies of the faithful and regenerate yet it shall not alwayes keep their bodies under her power as death Eternal shall the bodies of those which are carnally minded For at the last Day Christ shall raise up their bodies to a life of glory of which the spirit of God and of Christ which is in them is a sure pledge and earnest Ver. 12. Therefore Brethren we are debtors not to the Flesh to live after the Flesh Supple But to the spirit to live after the spirit Note that these words But to the spirit to live after the spirit are here to be understood and the Apostle leaves them to us to understand out of those opposite words viz. Not to the Flesh to live after the Flesh He takes Flesh here for our sensual or carnal appetite or affections And the spirit which he here leaveth to be understood must we take for that spirit which he called the spirit of life and the spirit of God and of Christ and righteousness a little before of both which he speaks as of Persons yea Mistresses by a Prosopopoeia That which the Apostle here gathers he gathers especially from the sixth verse To be carnally minded is death but to be spiritually minded is life and peace as will appear by what he saith ver 13. where he doth repeat as it were and amplifie what he there said The Apostle in this Corrollary or Conclusion doth dehort the Romans from following the Flesh and exhort them to follow the spirit and sheweth them that they ought so to do And this he doth so often as occasion serves that Novices in Christianity may not take to themselves a liberty to sin and that those which are enemies to Christianity might not have any cause to asperse Christians with so foul a thing as this is viz. That they taught or held that they might walk securely after the Flesh We are debtors not to the Flesh to live after the Flesh Supple but to the spirit to live after the spirit q. d. We ought in wisdom and in love to our selves not to live after the Flesh but to live after the spirit The word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 rendred here Debtors is not to be taken here for Debtors in the strict sence of the words but more loosely for such as are any way bound whether in gratitude or in wisdom or in love to themselves to do any thing so that they which ought or whom it behoveth to do any thing upon any account may be called 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 that is Debtors in the Apostles sence here The verb 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 from whence 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 cometh hath such a kind of signification with it and Euripides useth the Foeminine 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 after the same manner But note that though I say that the word 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 is not to be taken here in the strict sence of the word I say it not because we are not bound in the strictest sence to forsake the Flesh and follow the spirit but because that that is all which can be gathered from what Saint Paul hath here said Wherefore what Saint Paul saith here is as if he should say Wherefore being that to be carnally minded is death and to be spiritually minded is life and peace If ye be wise and have any love to your own selves ye ought not to live after the Flesh but after the spirit To live after the Flesh To live after the Flesh is to live after the will of the Flesh that is to embrace and follow the motions of the Flesh that is of our sensual or carnal appetite and affections Ver. 13. Ye shall die Supple Eternally Note the Enallage of the Person here how he changeth the first into the second Person If ye through the spirit do mortifie the deeds of the body i. e. If ye through the spirit that is in you and which doth enable you to mortifie the deeds of the body I say if ye through that spirit do mortifie the deeds of the body according to that that the spirit shall enable you thereunto Do mortifie the deeds of the body By the deeds of the body are not here to be understood all those actions which are exercised by the body for Chap. 6. ver 13. He would have us to yield our members as instruments of Righteousness unto God but such deeds are to be understood by the deeds of the body here which he calls the works of the flesh Galat. chap. 5. ver 19. We are then said to mortifie the deeds of the body by the spirit when by the help of the spirit and the power thereof we do not consent to but resist the evil motions of the body or of the flesh that is of our carnal affections when they incite us to evil deeds which the more we resist the more shall we find their strength to die in us and the less power shall they have over us Ye shall live i. e. Ye shall live a life happy and eternal and that not only in your souls which shall never die but also in your bodies which though they die yet shall be raised up to an immortal life at the last Day Ver. 14. For as many as are led by the spirit of God they are the sons of God The Apostle proveth here what he said ver 13. viz. That if they through the spirit do mortifie the deeds of the body they shall live For they which through the spirit do mortifie the deeds of the body are such as are led by the spirit of God and they which are led by the spirit of God they are the sons of God by Adoption and they which are the sons of God by doption are the Heirs of God ver 17. Heirs to the inheritance of Eternal life As many as are led by the spirit of God i e. As many as follow the leading of the spirit of God This is the same spirit which he spoke of before ver 2. He speaks of this spirit as of a Person by a Prosopopoeia And men are said to be led by the spirit of God when they follow the motions and inclinations thereof As many as are led by the spirit of God do give no consent to the motions of the flesh but they resist them and walk another way for the motions and inclinations of the Flesh and of the Spirit are contrary one to the other As many therefore as are led by the spirit of God so