his fleshly body and bringing that into subjection, which, by his own confession, bringeth him into captivity? Can he who does not what he would in his mind and conscience do, but what he hates; not 'the good which he would, but the evil which he would not' do; can he, I say, rejoice in the testimony of his conscience? Can he honestly declare 'he knows nothing by himself, for which his conscience can condemn him?'

"2. How oft doth the apostle propose himself for a pattern to the churches unto whom he writes, requiring them to be followers of 'him, as he was also of Christ,' 1 Cor. xi, 1. And again, 'What things you have learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, these do, and the God of love and peace shall be with you,' Phil. iv, 8. That is, be you 'carnal, sold under sin,' living in the commission of the things you hate, and your mind condemns, and doing what you judge to be evil, and yielding yourselves 'captive to the law of sin which is in your members,' and then 'the God of love and peace shall be with you.' This sure, is an absurd, if not blasphemous exhortation, and yet, according to this exposition, it must be suitable to the mind of the apostle.

"3. With what indignation doth he reject the accusations of them who looked upon him, as 'walking after the flesh,' and how severely doth he threaten them, how peremptorily doth he reject their scandalous imputation! declaring that though he walk in the flesh, yet did he not walk according to the flesh,' 2 Cor. x, 2, 3; and yet if he were 'carnal, sold under sin;' if with the flesh he served the law of sin; if the law of the fleshly members 'warred against the law of his mind, and brought him into captivity to the law of sin he doth here in effect confess what there he

peremptorily denies, and with such indignation doth reject.

"4. This exposition of the seventh chapter makes it entirely to confute the chapter which immediately goes before, and that which follows after; and it gives an invincible strength to the objections he endeavours to answer in the sixth chapter. The first objection there begins by way of inquiry, 'What do we say then, Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?' His second, by way of inquiry, 'Shall we sin because we are not under the law, but under grace?' ver. 15. 'God forbid,' saith he, that it should be thus with any Christian; and yet, according to this exposition, it was thus with himself, one of the best of Christians; for sure, he must continue in sin, who was still 'sold under sin,' still serving the law of sin with his flesh;' still doing that evil he allowed not, the evil which he hated, and would not do; and who was still brought into captivity to the law of sin which was in his members.'

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Again, in his answer to these inquiries, he shows the Christian could not continue in, or live any longer in it, because he was 'dead to sin,' his 'old man was crucified with Christ, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth he might not serve sin,' ver. 2, 6. And because being dead to, he was 'freed from sin,' ver. 7, he was made free from sin,' and 'became the servant of righteousness.' But can he that is sold under sin,' and 'brought into captivity to the law of sin, which is in his members,' be at the same time 'dead to sin,' and 'free from sin? Can he who 'with his flesh serves the law of sin,' be said to cease from sin, and not henceforth to serve sin?" not 'to obey it in the lusts thereof,' ver. 12, not 'to yield his members instruments of sin unto unrighteousness,' ver. 13. Surely there is as clear an opposition between

the Christian represented in the sixth chapter, as free from sin, and in the seventh, as miserably enslaved to the law of sin and death which was in his members, as between light and darkness.

"Again, he saith expressly, chap. viii, 2, 'The law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.' Whereas the person mentioned in the seventh is sold under sin,' is 'brought into captivity to the law of sin,' and crieth out under his bondage, 'O miserable man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?' he, therefore, cannot be the person freed by the Spirit from the law of sin and death. In fine, this exposition of the close of this chapter contradicts the beginning of it; for there the apostle saith of himself, and all his Christian brethren, that this was only their state under the law from which they are delivered, 'that they might bring forth fruit unto God,' and 'serve him in newness of spirit.' For what else can be the meaning of these words, verses 5, 6, 'For when we were in the flesh, the motions of sin which were by the law did work in our members to bring forth fruit unto death; but now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held, that we should serve God in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter? So that they who make the apostle say of himself, that 'he was brought into captivity to the law of sin which was in his members,' and to cry out, 'O wretched man that I am, who shall deliver me from the body of this death?' that is, this body of sin which worketh death; make him also to confess, that 'the motions of sin did still work in his members, to bring forth fruit unto death,' and therefore that he was still in the flesh."*

The argument will be resumed in the next lecture. * Paraphrase and Commentary, vol. ii, pp. 37–39.

LECTURE XIV.

OBJECTIONS AGAINST THE DOCTRINE-CONTINUED.

"How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein ?”— Rom. vi, 2.

In the present lecture I shall conclude the argument upon the seventh of Romans with several authorities for the exposition we give of it. In the extract from Dr. Whitby, in the preceding lecture, reference is made. to the discussion of this passage by the celebrated James Arminius. In his Works, published at Frankfort, 1635, we have a dissertation of eighty-eight quarto pages upon the subject. The following are the propositions which he maintains:

"I. I will show that the apostle, in this place, speaks not of himself as he then was, nor of a person under grace, but takes on himself the character of a person placed under the law.

"II. I will prove that this opinion has never been condemned in the church as heretical, but has always had some advocates among the doctors of the church.

"III. I will show that no heresy, either Pelagian, or of any other kind, can be derived from this view, but that it is most clearly opposed to Pelagianism, and plainly and designedly refutes his first fallacy, (πρωτονψευδος.)

"I might finish the discussion after having unfolded these three points, confining myself within the bounds of a necessary defence of my view, unless it might seem to some wise and suitable to confute with similar arguments the contrary opinion as it is explained especially at the present time. This I will do under two

other heads, subjoined to the former three, which shall be analogous, and, as it were, parallel to the last two.

"IV. Therefore I will prove that the sense which some of our modern doctors give to the apostle in this place was approved by none of the ancient doctors of the church, not even by Augustine, but was always repudiated and refuted by him and some others.

"V. And, finally, I will show that this opinion, as set forth by many at the present day, is injurious to grace, and adverse to good morals."

Under the second proposition the learned author gives us the views of the ancient fathers. He thus proceeds :

"Now we come to the second division of our proposition, which it seems proper to discuss, for this purpose, that it may be clear to all that the opinion which I defend is not of late origin, or formed in my own brain, or borrowed from any heretic: but that it is very ancient, and that it was approved by a large part of the doctors of the primitive church: while by those who interpreted the passage differently, it was not rejected. to such an extent that they deemed it worthy to be sealed with the mark of heresy.

"Irenæus (book iii, ch. 22) thus cites this passage: 'On account of this, therefore, he is the seal of our salvation, who being born of a virgin, is Emanuel, the Lord himself: since it was the Lord who saved them, as they could not be saved through themselves. And on account of this, Paul, declaring the weakness of man, says, "I know that in my flesh there dwelleth no good thing;" signifying that the excellency of salvation is not of us, but of God. And again: "O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" Then he introduces the Deliverer, "the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ."'