that our apostle went to Rome in a manner very different from that which he had anticipated when he wrote this epistle. But when we consider how the circumstance of his having been sent thither as an appellant to Cæsar, contributed to the advancement of the Gospel; and when we consider, moreover, how elevated is the language, how sublime the character, and how triumphant the spirit of those epistles which he wrote, during his imprisonment at Rome, to the churches at Ephesus, Philippi, and Colosse, we are constrained to acknowledge that, though "bonds and afflictions waited for him,"1 he abundantly realized the hope, which he now so confidently entertained, viz. that when he came to the Christians at Rome, he should come to them in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ!

St. Paul was fully aware that his approaching journey to Jerusalem would be attended with great danger and difficulty, through the enmity of the unbelieving, and the strong prejudices of the believing Jews against him. He proceeds, therefore, carnestly to commend himself to the prayers of the Roman converts. Now I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to God for me; that I may be delivered from them that do not believe in Judea; and that my service which I have for Jerusalem may

1 Acts xx. 23.

X

be accepted of the saints; that I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, and may with you be refreshed.2

The language which the apostle employs in these verses, strongly illustrates the importance of intercessory prayer. For, not content with simply requesting the prayers of the Christians at Rome, he beseeches them, in the most solemn manner, for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that they strive together with him in their prayers to God for him. * Join your utmost strength and fervency with mine, this seems to be the exact import of the original word; 3 and, in like manner, in his epistle to the Colossians, he speaks of intercessory prayer as a kind of wrestling with God, describing Epaphras as always “labouring, or striving 5 fervently for them in prayers, that they might stand perfect and complete in all the will of God." True indeed it is, that some of the prayers which the apostle so affectionately bespeaks, did for a time seem to be forgotten. He was for a while delivered into the hands of those in Judea, who believed not. But this dispensation, which might have been regarded as an invincible obstacle to his design, proved the very occasion of bringing him to Rome, and, as we have 6 powerfully promoted the success of his

seen,

2 Ver. 30-32.

4 Col. iv. 12.

*See Note 82.

4 ἀγωνιζόμενος.

3 συναγωνίσασθαί. Sect. ii. pp. 16, 17.

ministry there. It is plain, therefore, that, in the passage before us, Christians are taught to "labour" and to "strive fervently in their prayers' for others, as well as for themselves; while, at the same time, they are solemnly reminded that, instead of rashly concluding that God hath rejected their prayers, only because they do not see them answered in the way most conformable to their own wishes, they should learn to adore Him, who works the most important ends by methods which are to us unsearchable and past finding out!

St. Paul, having commended himself to the prayers of the Roman converts, now pours forth another prayer in their behalf, saying, Now the God of peace be with you all. Amen. In other words: It is my earnest prayer for you all, that you may dwell together in that spirit of unity and godly love which I have been endeavouring to inculcate, looking to that God of peace, who, through the blood of his well-beloved Son, has reconciled you to himself, and, in him, one to another! And may the God of peace, may he, who has graciously given us this blessed peace with himself, and who has cemented our hearts together in the Christian bonds of peace and mutual love, be with you all. Amen!

The chapter which we have been reviewing, places God before us, as the God of patience and consolation, the God of hope, and the God of peace;

7 Ver.33.

and I would now observe, in conclusion, that, in the titles which our apostle has thus successively applied to the Most High, he appears to describe the steps by which the believer enters into peace! From the God of patience and consolation, the believer derives that grace which enables him so to partake of the " sufferings of Christ," that he may partake also of the "consolation. Under an experimental sense of the power and sweetness of this consolation, the believer learns, under all the trials and afflictions of life, to approach his God, as the God of hope. And, in proportion as the believer abounds in hope through the power of the Holy Ghost, he finds his heart more and more disengaged from the things of this world; so that, amidst all the conflicting interests and the sinful passions of men, he is enabled still to follow after the things which make for peace, and thus to enjoy many a foretaste of that perfect peace, which remaineth for the people of God!

Yes, brethren, it is with an abiding peace within his heart, that the Christian pilgrim goes on his way in patience, and in hope; proving to others, as well as to himself, that he has been admitted to share in that legacy of peace, which the Saviour has bequeathed to all who seek and love him! 9 It is a peace, of which he feels well persuaded, that nothing shall ever deprive him; and it was under a sweet experience of its power,

that a venerable Christian officer lately declared, when drawing near to the gates of death, that, though his severe bodily sufferings "sometimes interrupted his quiet, they did not disturb his peace!" 10

SECTION XLVIII.

CHAP. XVI. ver. 1-16.

SALUTATIONS TO MANY BY NAME.

At the commencement of this epistle St. Paul saluted the Roman converts generally, saying, "To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." 1 And now, as he draws near to the conclusion, after commending Phebe to the brethren, he beseeches them, in the verses which form the subject of the present section, to salute several persons whom he specifies by name. The passage may seem to be little more than a mere catalogue of names; but, as Doddridge remarks, it is not without its moral and religious instruction. We see in it the good heart' of the 1 Chap. i. 7.

10 Lord Gambier.