Bible Commentaries
Romans 8

Verse 1

[This chapter describes, as Meyer says, "the happy condition of a man in Christ," and is, as Tholuck observes, "the climax of this Epistle."] There is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.

Verse 2

For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus made me free from the law of sin and of death. [From all that I have written, it is a just conclusion that, under Christ, we are so fully justified from sin that those who are in him shall stand uncondemned at the last judgment, since there is now no ground for their condemnation. For the gospel, or law, given by the Holy Spirit, who is the spirit of life, has made me free from law (whether given by Moses or otherwise) which produces sin and death. Laws which can not be obeyed result in sin, and sin ends in death.]

Verse 3

For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:

Verse 4

that the ordinance of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. [For what the law could not possibly do (viz.: condemn sin in the flesh, so as to destroy it and free us from it), because the flesh through which it operated was too weak, God, by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, did; that is to say, he condemned sin in the flesh, that justification from the law might be accomplished in us who walk not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. Though the law was designed to condemn and banish sin, and was in itself a perfect means of deliverance from sin and death to those who kept it, it was really, because of the sinful weakness of the human race, to which it was given, no means of deliverance at all, but a source of complete and perfect condemnation. Hence, some other deliverance became necessary. God provided this other means of salvation by sending his Son to die for man, and man’s sin. That he might do this, God sent his Son to become a fleshly human being, to be incarnate in the same kind of flesh as that belonging to the rest of sinful mankind, thus fully sharing their nature. He sent him in this manner for the purpose of dying, to remove all the sin of the flesh he bore thus representatively, no matter by whom committed. Jesus, by his sinless life, lived in the flesh, as the Son of man, resisted, conquered, condemned, sentenced, and destroyed the power of sin in the flesh. Thus God sent his Son as a conqueror of sin, and as an offering for sin, that the ordinance of the law, which we fail to fulfill, might, by him who bore our flesh, and was our federal head and representative, be fulfilled in us who walk not according to the outward, fleshly nature, which lusts to do wrong, but after the inward, spiritual nature, which desires to do right.]

Verse 5

For they that are after the flesh mind the things of the flesh; but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. [For they that live carnal lives indulge the lustful, evil desires of the flesh; but they that live after the Spirit set their minds on those heavenly things of the present and future which are revealed to man by the Spirit. Those who daily strive to lead the latter life may hopefully look to God to forgive their shortcoming and temporary failure.]

Verse 6

For the mind of the flesh is death; but the mind of the Spirit is life and peace [Those who give themselves up to carnality, so that their minds take that general view of the affairs of life, shall reap death; but those who cultivate the thoughts and ideals of the Spirit, so that His mind governs the view of life, shall find great peace in their present lives, and hereafter life everlasting]:

Verse 7

because the mind of the flesh is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can it be:

Verse 8

and they that are in the flesh cannot please God.

Verse 9

But ye are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. But if any man hath not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.

Verse 10

And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the spirit is life because of righteousness. [That the fleshly mind leads to death is obvious, for the mind of the flesh is opposed to the God of life, since it is not only not subject to him, but can not become subject to him: so they that cherish it can not please him. The mind of man must be changed from carnal to spiritual, and he must cease to serve the flesh before he can serve God. But ye Roman Christians are not carnally, but spiritually minded, if indeed ye are truly regenerate, so that the Spirit of God dwells in you. If ye have not the Holy Spirit who proceeds from Christ, ye are not regenerate, ye are not his. And though Christ dwells in you (representatively by means of his Spirit), your body is doomed to natural death (and hence is to be accounted as already dead) because of (Adam’s) sin; yet your spirit lives because it is justified and accounted righteous (by reason of Christ ).]

Verse 11

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwelleth in you, he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall give life also to your mortal bodies through his Spirit that dwelleth in you. [Moreover, if the Spirit of the Father (i. e., the Holy Spirit) who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, then he that raised up Christ Jesus from the dead shall also make alive your mortal bodies through his Holy Spirit that dwelleth in you; i. e., if God employs the same agency, we may expect the same results, and hence we may look for him to raise us from the dead by the indwelling Holy Spirit, just as he raised Christ from the dead by that same indwelling Spirit.]

Verse 12

So then, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh:

Verse 13

for if ye live after the flesh, ye must die; but if by the Spirit ye put to death the deeds of the body, ye shall live. [So then, brethren, because of the relation which we sustain to Christ, and because of the opposite effects of living fleshly and spiritual lives, we, though free from the law, are under no obligation to be lawless, and to live after the flesh: for if ye so live ye must pay the penalty of such a course by dying; but if, by the exercise of your will, and the aid of the Holy Spirit, ye put an end to the sinful practices of your fleshly nature, ye shall live. The testimony of Christian experience is that the aid of the Holy Spirit, though real and effectual, is not so obtrusive as to enable the one aided to take sensible notice of it. To all appearance and sensation the victory over flesh is entirely the Christian’s own, and he recognizes the aid of the Spirit, not because his burdens are sensibly lightened, but because of the fact that in his efforts to do right he now succeeds where lately he failed. The success, moreover, though habitual, is not invariable, for invariable victory over temptation breeds self-consciousness and self-righteousness, and other sins perhaps more dangerous than the ordinary lusts of the flesh.]

Verse 14

For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. [To mortify the flesh is to be led of the Spirit, and to be led of the Spirit is to be a son of God; for, though all in the church claim this sonship, the claim is only demonstrated to be genuine in the case of those who are led of the Spirit. The Spirit leads both externally and internally. Externally, the Spirit supplies the gospel truth as set forth in the New Testament, and the rules and precepts therein found are for the instruction and guidance of God’s children. Internally, the Spirit aids by ministering strength and comfort to the disciple in his effort to conform to the revealed truth and will of God.]

Verse 15

For ye received not the spirit of bondage again unto fear; but ye received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. [That ye are the sons of God is apparent, as I say, because of the Spirit which leads and animates you, and which changes your own spirit. For, in your unsaved, unregenerate state you had a spirit of bondage, leading you to fear God, and his wrath; but when ye were baptized, and became regenerate, ye received a different spirit; viz.: the spirit of adoption or sonship, which dispels fear, and causes you, with confident gladness, to approach and address God as your Abba (which is, being interpreted, Father).]

Verse 16

The Spirit himself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are children of God:

Verse 17

and if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified with him. [In interpreting this passage we should remember that Paul is speaking to those already converted. Hence, in these and in the preceding verses, he is not telling them how to become children of God, but how to continue such. Now, it is true that the Spirit lays down the terms by which we may become Christians, and if we obey these terms, then both the Holy Spirit and our own spirits testify that we are sons of God. But since Paul is not addressing converts, such an interpretation would be wide of his thought, which is this: If the Holy Spirit indeed leads us in a conflict with sin and a steady effort towards righteousness, and if we submit to be thus led, then the Holy Spirit unites with our spirit to testify that we are God’s children. The testimony is, of course, self-directed. i. e., the testimony is for the purpose of assuring and confirming our own faith. If we are led, we know it, and so our own spirit testifies to us. If we are led, in the godly, spiritual path, it can be none other than the Holy Spirit who leads; and so, in the very act of leading, the Spirit testifies to us. And, lastly, if we are led, and if we follow, this union of our spirit and God’s Spirit in joint action proves us children of God; for our co-operation with God in this paternal government of his shows us accepted of him as his children. But we can not be children in this one respect of government without being children also in the other respect of heirship. We are, therefore, God’s heirs, joint-heirs with his only begotten Son, provided that we are truly led of the Spirit as he was, which we may readily test, for the Spirit led him through suffering to glory, and should lead us by the same pathway, if we are to enjoy somewhat of the same glory.]

Verse 18

For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed to us-ward.

Verse 19

For the earnest expectation of the creation waiteth for the revealing of the sons of God. [Though the life in the spirit may involve us in sufferings, yet we are encouraged to bear them; for the sufferings are merely for the present time, and are insignificant when compared with the glory toward which they lead, which shall be revealed in us, and upon us, at the time of our resurrection. And this glory must indeed be as large as we imagine, for even creation itself waits in eager expectancy for this coming day, when the redeemed in Christ shall be revealed and manifested before all to be indeed the children of God. There is much argument as to what Paul means by "creation." From the context, we take it that he means the earth and all the life upon it except humanity.]

Verse 20

For the creation was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, but by reason of him who subjected it, in hope

Verse 21

that the creation itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory of the children of God.

Verse 22

For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now. [And creation thus waits; for at and by reason of the fall of man, it became subject to frailty; i. e., it also fell from its original design and purpose, and became abortive, diminutive, imperfect, and subject to premature decay. And this it did not do of its own accord, but because the will of God ordered that it should be thus altered (Genesis 3:17-18); not leaving it, however, without hope that it also should so far share in the redemption of the sons of God as not only to be delivered from the bondage of being corruptible, to which God subjected it, but also to be transferred to the liberty which results from or accompanies the revelation or glorification of the sons of God. And this hopeful waiting is evident, for we Christians know that God designs to make all things new (2 Peter 3:13; Revelation 21:1; Revelation 21:5), and also that the whole creation so shares man’s deterioration and degradation that with him it groans, and has, as it were, the pains of childbirth, even to this hour. The figure of childbirth is appropriate, since nature wishes to reproduce herself in a new, fresh and better form, corresponding to that which she had before the fall of man.]

Verse 23

And not only so, but ourselves also, who have the first-fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for our adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body. [And not only do we recognize this vast, unuttered longing of nature, but we find similar groanings even within ourselves, though occupying a much more privileged and advantageous position than nature, having, in the firstfruits of the Spirit, an earnest or inspiring foretaste of the good things to come, and yet, despite our advantage, so exceedingly desirable is the glory yet to be revealed, that even we ourselves groan within ourselves because of those parts wherein we are nearest akin to the material creation, waiting for the time to come when we shall be openly revealed as the adopted children of God, by those changes which culminate in that transformation brought about by the resurrection--when our mortal, corruptible, weak, dishonored, natural body shall be transfigured into the immortal, incorruptible, powerful, glorified, spiritual body, thus accomplishing the redemption of the body.]

Verse 24

For in hope were we saved: but hope that is seen is not hope: for who hopeth for that which he seeth?

Verse 25

But if we hope for that which we see not, then do we with patience wait for it. [We groan, I say, waiting for this future blessing. For when we were converted and saved from the world, we were not so saved that all salvation includes was bestowed upon us; but we were saved unto a salvation which even yet exists largely in hope. If it were otherwise, we would now see the things which we still hope for. But when hope is attained it ceases to be hope, for hope applies only to the unattained, not to the attained. But if our full salvation is not yet seen or attained, then should we patiently wait for its attainment, which will be accomplished when we are at last revealed as God’s children.]

Verse 26

And in like manner the Spirit also helpeth our infirmity: for we know not how to pray as we ought; but the Spirit himself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered [And not only are we encouraged by the sympathetic groaning of creation, and our well-grounded hopes to wait patiently for deliverance and glorification, but we are also in like manner aided in doing so by the ministration of the Holy Spirit, who helps us in our weakness, especially in obtaining the strength, patience, etc., necessary to enable us to endure faithfully until the hour of our deliverance arrives. And we require such help, for, left to ourselves, we would fail to ask for these things which we need, and would spend our time and strength asking for those things which we do not need; for we are not wise enough to pray for the things which, considering our real, present weakness, we ought to pray for. But the Spirit knows these needful things, and he affords a remedy for our weakness by himself interceding for us, not praying independently, or apart from us, but moving and exalting us in our prayer, and stirring within us sighings, longings, aspirations and soulful yearnings for those things which are our real needs, but which are so poorly understood by us that we can not adequately express them in words];

Verse 27

and he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. [Though we, in our ignorance, do not know how to express these inward groanings, or yearnings, and though the Holy Spirit, in his operations within us, can not so lead or train us as to make us able to give them articulate utterance, yet God, who searcheth the heart, or that inner man where the Spirit dwells, knows what it is that the Spirit has in mind; i. e., what the Spirit is prompting us to desire, because the Spirit pleads for the saints according to the will of God, asking those things which accord with the plans, purposes and desires of God. "In short," says Beet, "our own yearnings, resulting as they do from the presence of the Spirit, are themselves a pledge of their own realization." The remainder of the chapter gives the third ground of encouragement, which is briefly this: the Christian has nothing to fear (outside of himself), for nothing can defeat the plan or purpose which God cherishes toward him, and nothing can separate him from the love of God.]

Verse 28

And we know that to them that love God all things work together for good, even to them that are called according to his purpose. [In addition to the encouragements already mentioned, there is this: We know (partly by experience, but primarily by revelation) that all these present ills, hardships, adversities, afflictions, etc., are so overruled of God as to be made to combine to produce the permanent and eternal advantage and welfare of those who love God, even, I say, to those who love God, or who may otherwise be described as those that are called according to his purpose. "All things" evidently refers to all that class of events which threaten to result in evil. The phrase evidently is not to be pressed, for it can hardly include sin or any other thing which injures the soul. The apostle himself, in verses Romans 8:35-39; fully describes what he means by "all things." "The love of believers for God," says Lange, "is not the ground of their confidence, but the sign and security that they were first loved of God." The gospel reveals God’s purpose to redeem, justify and glorify those who believe in Jesus. Those who accept this gospel through belief in Jesus are truly called of God according to the purpose for which he extended the call. Paul does not regard unbelievers as thus called, as the context shows, for the other descriptive clause which he here applies to the "called" (viz.: "those who love God") would not be applicable to unbelievers. Therefore the two clauses taken together show that Paul is simply speaking of Christians, or those who have heard the gospel, and have accepted it, and have been saved by it. All such know assuredly that God will direct the events of life so that they shall result in good to those called according to his purpose; for his purpose is of such import, such magnitude, such eternal fixedness and perennial vitality, etc., as to be a guarantee that God will permit no temporal accidentals to thwart it.]

Verse 29

For whom he foreknew, he also foreordained to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren:

Verse 30

and whom he foreordained, them he also called: and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified. [The keyword which opens the hidden meaning of these two verses is the word purpose, found in verse 28. Before man was created God foresaw his fall, and designed the gospel for his redemption; this fact is well attested by Scripture (Romans 16:25-26; 1 Corinthians 2:7; Ephesians 1:8; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:25-26). In those times eternal, man, the gospel, justification, etc., existed only in the purpose of God; and it is of these times and conditions that the apostle speaks, showing how God foreknew that a certain class yet to be born would accept of a salvation yet to be provided through the terms of a gospel yet to be made actual. As to this class he foreordained, or fore-decreed, that they should, after the resurrection, bear the image or likeness of his Son, that the Son might have the pre-eminence of being the firstborn (from the dead) among many brethren. And this class, whom in his purpose he thus foreordained, them likewise in his purpose he also called justified and glorified by successive steps, not actually, but in his purpose. Thus the apostle is speaking not of actual decrees, calls, justifications, etc., on the part of God, but of such as existing only in divine contemplation and purpose. So, also, he is not speaking of actual, called, etc., persons, but imaginary, ideal persons, who existed as yet only as a class in the councils or purposes of the Almighty; and Paul’s design is not to show the foreordination of any individuals, but to substantiate the assurance of verse 28, by emphasizing the far-reaching purposes of God, which will not suffer afflictions, hardships, or any of the trivialities of time, to frustrate him in working out his eternal plans. That he is not speaking of actualities is shown by the last term in his sequence, viz.: "glorified." Since the apostle is speaking of what transpired in the councils of the Almighty prior to the creation of man, he properly uses the past tense: "glorified;" but if he were speaking of actuality, he would be compelled to use the future tense, to accord with conditions as stated in verse 18, where he clearly recognizes the glorification of man as a future event for which he waits. Thus it is apparent that the foreordination set forth in these two verses is purely hypothetical.]

Verse 31

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? [What conclusion, then, are we warranted in drawing from this definite and eternal purpose of God? If he be thus for us, are we not right in saying that all things shall work together for our good, for what is there that can work otherwise in successful opposition to God?]

Verse 32

He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things? [This verse is an answer, and more than an answer, to the question just asked. In it the negative and positive sides of God’s actions are suggested, but not fully developed. The full thought may be thus expressed: To bring for his redeemed good out of all things may entail many sacrifices on the part of God--sacrifices which he might well regret to make on account of love for the thing sacrificed, and others which he might well withhold for lack of love towards the parties for whom the sacrifice is made. But what God has already done in accomplishing his eternal purpose is a guarantee that he will continue to do whatever more may be required. If he spared not his own Son, he will not halt at making any other sacrifice; neither value nor preciousness can cause him to withhold what we need. Again, our unworthiness and insignificance form no obstacle to the outpouring of his most marvelous gifts; for if God delivered up his own Son for us (while we were yet sinners), will he not now even more willingly and freely, to the gift of his Son, add all other gifts which lead to or consummate our glorification? In short, nothing but our own act of apostasy can cause us to fail of our inheritance.]

Verse 33

Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth;

Verse 34

who is he that condemneth? It is Christ Jesus that died, yea rather, that was raised from the dead, who is at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. ["But, Paul," says some doubting heart, "surely there are ten thousand things which will come to light to do us harm in the all-revealing hour of the judgment. It can not be that all these things shall then work us good." The apostle replies that these things will, at that time, certainly work us no evil, for in that august hour when all of all nations shall be called to give account before the throne of Christ the Judge, who is it that shall lay any charge against those whom the Father has chosen because of their faith in Christ and obedience to him? How could any one presume to attempt any such thing? or what difference would it make if he did attempt it? for it is the Father himself who speaks to the contrary, declaring that the sins of those who believe on Jesus are forgiven, and that they are justified in Jesus. Thus Christians shall be safe during the hearing; but when the hearing is closed, and the fate of each rests in the hands of the Judge, then shall they be equally safe as to the final sentence. Who shall condemn them? There is but one who has the power to do this, and that one is the Judge; and the Judge is none other than Christ Jesus, who died to expiate our sins, lest they should condemn us; who was raised for our justification; who was enthroned at the right hand of God to rule for our sakes, and to judge us; and who even now pleads as our intercessor against our condemnation. Surely the past and present attitudes of Christ towards us guarantee his future conduct, and confirm us in the confidence that he, the unchangeable, will acquit us in that hour, and save us from the condemnation against which he has made such ample preparation and provision. So far as the Father is concerned, the cause of man is settled and sealed, for he has committed judgment to the Son. Whatever contingency there is, lies, therefore, in the bosom of the Son. He has made the sacrifice, and accomplished the work necessary to acquit man at the judgment; but as his decree and sentence are not yet spoken, it is, of course, contingent. Will he change his mind, and condemn man? The apostle answers this question by asking another.]

Verse 35

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? [The thought of Romans 8:28; which has not been out of the apostle’s mind since he introduced it, here comes once more squarely to the front. Shall any of the hardships of our present life so work evil as to cause Christ to change his present feeling toward us, or his future purpose to justify us? Can we who know his love ask such a question? Can anything in the whole catalogue of hardships work such results? Though in our day the sufferings may vary somewhat from the items given by the apostle, yet they raise the same doubts--produce in us the same effects. It is natural to man to look upon the sufferings of the Christian life as a contradiction to the scheme of grace. According to our earthly conceptions, a journey which is to end in glorification should continually rise toward it, so that pleasures, joys, honors, etc., should increase daily. When, instead of such a program, we meet with tribulation, anguish, nakedness, etc., it looks to us as if God were leading us the wrong way--the way that would end in degradation and death, rather than glorification and life. The answer to such thoughts is found in this argument of the apostle. God makes any road lead to good and glorification, and especially those roads which seem to run in the opposite direction; so that we may regard those things which appear to argue his hatred and neglect as, on the contrary, the strongest evidences of his love and care. And this, adds the apostle, is no new truth, for it has been the experience of God’s people in the past, as the Scripture testifies.]

Verse 36

Even as it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter. [Psalms 44:22 . This Psalm is supposed to have been written during the Babylonish captivity, and that it is a correct description of the state of the Jew in that day, we may readily conceive from details given in Daniel and Esther. But the Psalm was also prophetic. As the Jew suffered because of the peculiar religion which God had bestowed upon him, so also did the Christian; and in both cases the enemies of the revealed religions looked upon the worshipers as people who were to be killed as a matter of course, without compunction or pity, just as sheep are slain for sacrifice or for the market.]

Verse 37

Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. [But though we be in tribulation, and be slain like sheep, yet in all these things we not only gain the conquest, so that we survive them, but we come out more than victors, for we are crowned over them with immortality and eternal life. But this victory is achieved not of ourselves, but because of the love of Christ, who, by his death, won for us these better things. The phrase "more than conquerors" is a single word in the Greek, and means, literally, "over-conquerors." Some see in this a peculiar kind of victory. "This is a new order of victory," says Chrysostom, "to conquer by means of our adversaries." "The adversaries," says Chillingsworth, "are not only overcome and disarmed, but they are brought over to our faction; they war on our side." If such a meaning may be properly put upon this word, then the idea here is beautifully harmonious and consonant with the thought expressed in verse 28, which shows that God indeed causes things which seem to be inimical to serve our interests and further our blessedness.]

Verse 38

For I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers,

Verse 39

nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. [From the various grounds of assurance which he has enumerated in this chapter, Paul gives it as his own personal, final conviction that (apart from the disciple’s own will) nothing can separate him from God’s love as displayed in the gift of Christ to die for man’s redemption, and to reign for man’s glorification. To illustrate the wide range of possible antagonism which may arise to oppose man’s glorification, he submits a wonderful list of things having such inherent vastness and grandeur that they can not be defined without diminution and loss. If we should attempt to explain him, we would say that neither terrestrial existence, with its phases of life and death; nor celestial existence, reaching from angels to unknown altitudes of rulership; nor time, present or future; nor any other imaginable power; nor space, heavenward or hellward; nor any other form of creation, visible or invisible, known or unknown, can effect a separation between God and those objects of his love whom he has redeemed in Christ. As to the whole passage, the words of Erasmus are a characteristic comment. "Cicero," says he, "never said anything more eloquent." It is far more easy for us all to grasp the rhetorical and superficial beauty of this marvelous passage, which soars to the extreme altitude of divine inspiration, than to appreciate, even in the slightest or most remote degree, the excellencies of the sublime and eternal verities which it seeks to bring home to our consciences. The love of God is so little comprehended by our sinful and finite natures, that expositions of it are to us as descriptions of color are to the blind, or as explanations of melody and harmony are to the deaf. We, as they, admire the verbiage and the skill of him who has dazed our understanding, and are hardly conscious how far we fall short of truly following the conceptions which the writer sought to convey to our spirits.]

NOTE.--At this point Romans 8:39 the work on Romans was discontinued on the 16th of July, 1908. Since then (in October, 1911) Bro. McGarvey went to his rest and reward. Now, June 15, 1914, I resume work alone, and shall miss him. He was to me a considerate editor, a genial companion, a most thoughtful and faithful friend. Soon after the work was discontinued I received from him a much-prized letter, containing these words. "You have written a commentary which will compare favorably with any."

Encouraged in part by so frank a commendation from so competent an authority, I did not destroy my analysis of the Book of Romans; but (though it is very similar to that found in the Introduction) I filed it away, believing that if his judgment were correct, the merits of the work would some day call for its completion. Now, after five years and eleven months, the analysis comes forth from its dusty pigeon-hole and the work is resumed; but he is not here to rejoice with me. How inspiring the thought that he is where the pleasures unknown abound, and where such joy as I would share with him are as dust and weightless motes upon the balances! CINCINNATI, O., June 15, 1914. PHILIP Y. PENDLETON