are well pleafed with thofe who practife THEM. 3

and encourage those who practife them; which is a demonstration that their wickednefs is not to be cured by their own natural powers.

mentioned, especially in the celebration of the feftivals of their gods.

impenitent heart, will make thy punishment greater in the day of wrath, and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

ver. 5.

Having mentioned the general judgment, the apostle, for the inftruction of the Jews, and of all, who like them, expect falvation, because they are favoured with revelation, difcourfed at large concerning future retributions. And firft of all, he fhewed them from the natural character of God, that rewards and punishments will be difpenfed at the judgment to every man, not according to the outward privileges and advantages which he enjoyed in this life, nor according to the flattering opinion which he entertains of himself, but according to his works, ver. 6.More particularly, to them who, by perfeverance in well-doing, earnestly feek glory, honour and immortality, God will render eternal life, ver. 7.-But them who obey unrighteousness, he will punish with indignation and wrath, ver. 8.-Left, however, the Jews might have imagined from the apostle's mentioning eternal life, (ver. 7.) that he spake of the members of the visible church of God only, and that no others are to have eternal life, he repeated his account of the judgment in fuch terms as to make his readers fenfible, that he is fpeaking of men of all nations and religions. Affliction and anguifh fhall come upon every foul of man who worketh evil, of the Few first, and also of the Greek, ver. 9.-But glory, honour, and peace fhall be to every one who worketh good, to the few first, and also to the Greek, ver. 10. For as Jew and Greek is a divifion which comprehends all mankind, there can be no doubt of the apoftle's intention to declare, on the one hand, that every impenitent finner, and among the reft the impenitent members of God's vifible church, fhall affuredly be punished; and on the other, that all who have wrought good, whether they be Jews, or heathens, or Chriftians, shall have glory, honour, and peace, that is eternal life, rendered to them: Becaufe with God there is no refpect of perfons, ver. 11. Р

VOL. I.

His

His account of the judgment, the apostle introduced in this place with great propriety, not only for the reason already mentioned, but left the heathen philofophers and Jewish scribes, from his teaching that no man can be faved, either by the law of nature, or by the law of Mofes, might have fufpected it to be his opinion, that all are to be condemned who have not the gofpel-revelation; and that fuch good works as Jews and heathens perform, who are out of the Chriftian church, will be of no, ufe to them at the laft. For by declaring that glory and peace fhall come not only upon fuch Jews, but upon fuch Greeks, as have wrought good, he hath taught that falvation is not confined to them who have enjoyed revelation; that in all nations here are men who fear God, and work righteoufnefs; and that at the judgment, fuch fhall have the benefit of the method of falvation eftablished at the fall, and revealed in the gospel, extended to them, though it was not discovered to them during their lifetime

on earth.

Moreover, because the Jews really held the uncharitable opinion, falfely imputed to the apoftle, configning to damnation all who had not the Mofaic revelation, the apoftle affured them, that the revealed law of God, is not the rule by which the heathens are to be judged: As many as have finned without law, Shall perish without law; without being judged by any revealed law. So that in punishing them, God will confider thofe hinderances of their virtues, and thofe alleviations of their fins, which refulted from the imperfection of the difpenfation under which they were placed, and will make proper allowances. Whereas all who have finned under a revealed law, fhall be judged by that law: the aggravations of their fins, refulting from the advantages they enjoyed, will be taken into the account, and punished, ver. 12.-And with refpect to men's being faved, because they have enjoyed an external revelation, the apoftle exprefsly declared, that not the bearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law fhall be justified, ver. 13.-He therefore concluded, that when the Gentiles, who have not a revealed law, do, by the guidance of natural reason, the works enjoined by that law, these men furnish a law to themfelves, by which they must direct themfelves, ver. 14.-and fhew that there is a law of God written in their hearts, to which their reafon and confcience bear witnefs, ver. 15.which if they obey fincerely, they fhall obtain eternal life, in the day when God will judge the hidden things of men, namely, their inward difpofitions, by Jefus Chrift, according to the gofpel which Paul every where preached, ver. 16.

Here let it be observed, Firft, That by making the doing of law, ver. 13. as far as our imperfection will admit, neceffary to juf

tification,

1

tification, the apoftle hath guarded his readers against mifinterpreting the doctrine he was about to deliver, chap. iii. 28. That by faith man is juftified, without works of law. For if he had not exprefsly declared, that the doing of law to a certain degree is neceffary, even when men are juftified freely through Chrift, it might have been objected, that he made void their obligation to do good works, altogether.-Farther, by declaring, at the conclufion of his account of the judgment, that in punishing the wicked, and rewarding the righteous, both among the Jews and Greeks, God will proceed according to his gofpel, the apoftle hath taught us two things of great importance. The firft is, That in judging men, God will not proceed according to the tenor, either of the law of nature, or of the law of Mofes, by inquiring after an obedience abfolutely perfect; because according to that method of judgment, no one could be acquitted. But he will judge their hidden things, their inward frame of mind, according to the gospel; that is, he will examine, whether in the prefent life men have been guided by a fincere defire to know and to do his will, in whatever manner it was manifefted to them. And in whomfoever fuch a faith is found, he will count it for righteousness, and reward it, whether the perfon who poffeffed it were a Gentile, a Jew, or a Christian. The second thing taught in this declaration is, that wicked men, of all nations, fhall be punished according to the demerit of their fins, while the righteous fhall be rewarded, not on account of the merit of their good works, but through the mere favour of God, who, for the fake of Chrift, will accept their spirit of faith, as if it were a perfect righteousness. For these being the doctrines which Paul every where preached, they are his gospel, according to which men are to be judged.

In the next place, to fhew the unbelieving Jews the vanity of placing their hope of falvation on God's having chosen them for his people, and on his having given them the law, the apoftle inquired what efficacy the law of Mofes, with their other privi leges as the people of God, had had in leading the men of rank and learning among the Jews to a right practice. Now, that he might not seem to undervalue their privileges as Jews, he enumerated them particularly: Behold, thou art called a few, and refteft in the law, &c. ver. 17.-20.-Then asked the doctors and fcribes, how it came to pass that, notwithstanding they had the exprefs image of knowledge and truth in the law, and had fet themselves up as guides of the blind Gentiles, they had not fo inftructed themselves, as to refrain from breaking the law in the many flagrant inftances which he mentioned, ver. 20.-23.At the same time, that he might not charge the Jews with those grofs immoralities without foundation, he quoted paffages from

their own fcriptures, which declare, that the name of God was blafphemed among the Gentiles through the wickedness of the Jewish rulers and fcribes, ver. 24.-Wherefore, feeing not the hearers of the law, but the doers of it, shall be justified, the men of rank and learning among the Jews, being fo wicked, had not the leaft ground to expect falvation through the law, but were under a neceflity of fecking juftification through faith and the Gentiles were under no obligation to be guided, in the interpretation of the revelations of God, (see ver. 19.) by persons whofe practice was fo contrary to the precepts of revelation.

In the third place, becaufe the Jews expected falvation, on account of their being the children of Abraham, and members of God's covenant, and gloried in their circumcifion, as the sign of that covenant, and of their descent from Abraham, the apoftle told them, that their circumcifion, though a proof of their descent from Abraham, and of their relation to God as his people, would not profit them, if they were breakers of the law but in that cafe, they would be in no better a condition than the uncircumcifed Gentiles, ver. 25.- Whereas, if the Gentiles are found to have performed the good actions enjoined by the law of God given to the Jews, their uncircumcifion will be no obftacle to their falvation, ver. 26.-Confequently, they will put the Jews to fhame, by obtaining that juftification which fhall be denied to the Jews, ver. 27.-For he is not a few, or fon of Abraham, and heir of the promifes, who is fo by descent and profeffion only, ver. 28.; but he is a fon of Abraham, and an heir of the promises, in their highest meaning, whatever his pedigree or profeffion of religion may be, who is Abraham's fon in the temper of his mind: and true circumcifion is that of the heart, which is made by cutting off evil affections, according to the spirit, and not according to the letter of the law of circumcifion. And where that circumcifion was found, though fuch a perfon might not receive praife from the Jews, as one of the people of God, he fhall affuredly receive it from God at the judgment, who will own him as one of his people, by conferring upon him the bleffings promised to Abraham, and to his feed, ver. 29.

Reader, Behold and admire the benignity and impartiality of the divine government, as fet forth in the gospel. At the judgment, God will render to every man according to his works, without showing more favour to those who have enjoyed revelation, than to those who, in the exercise of his fovereignty, have been denied that favour. In other words, the enjoyment of revelation will not be imputed to any man for merit, nor the want of it be confidered as a fault: but in judging men, God moft righteous, will confider the advantages and difadvantages

which refult from the nature of the difpenfation, under which they lived, and will pafs fentence upon them accordingly. And therefore if, at the judgment, fome who have not enjoyed revelation, are found to have feared God, and wrought righteoufnefs notwithstanding the disadvantages they laboured under, he will not deny them those rewards, which perfons in more happy circumstances have reafon to expect, from his mercy in Chrift.

To this liberal doctrine, it hath been objected,

E

1. That no works being good, but fuch as proceed from faith, none of the heathens will be found at the judgment to have wrought good, as they had no opportunity to believe the revelations of God: confequently the apoftle's doctrine, that, glory, honour, and peace, fhall be to every one who worketh good, is not to be understood of the heathens, but must be limited to fuch Jews and Greeks as have enjoyed the benefit of an exter

nal revelation.

But the answer is, Faith does not confift in the belief of particular doctrines, (fee Rom. iii. 28. note 1.) far lefs in the belief of doctrines which men never had an opportunity of knowing, but in fuch an earnest defire to know and do the will of God, as leads them confcientioufly to ufe fuch means as they have, for gaining the knowledge of his will, and for doing it when found. Of this kind was Abraham's faith. (See Rom.

iv.

3. note 1.) And inasmuch as the influences of the Spirit of God are not confined to them who enjoy revelation, but are promised in the gracious covenant made with mankind at the fall, to all who are fincere, a` heathen by thefe influences may attain the faith juft now defcribed, and thereby may please God. For faith is more a work of the heart, than of the understanding. So our apoftle teaches, Rom. x. 10. With the heart, we believe unto righteousness. So that although the perfons to whom revelation is denied, may not have the fame objects of belief with those who enjoy revelation, they may have the fame Spirit of faith, as it is termed, 2 Cor. iv. 13. Of this Abraham, Rahab, the centurion whofe fon Chrift healed, the Ethiopian eunuch, and Cornelius, are examples; for in uncircumcifion, they exercised fuch faith as was acceptable to God. And therefore Peter did not fcruple to say, Acts x. 33. Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of perfons, but in every nation, he that feareth God and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. And Pet. i. 17. The Father, without refpect of perfons, judgeth according to every man's work.

That the pious heathens, fhould have their faith counted to them for righteousness at the judgment, notwithstanding it may

P 3

have