羅馬書講道集 第 28 章

Now I say that Christ Jesus was made a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers.

Again he discourses concerning the tender care of Christ, still keeping to the same head of argument, and showing how much He did on our behalf, and how He pleased not Himself.

And together with this he also establishes that point: that those from among the Gentiles are debtors to God for greater things.

But if they are debtors for greater things, it would be just for them to bear with the weak ones from among the Jews.

For since he had sharply rebuked those others, lest this should exalt these, he again represses their arrogance, showing that to the former the good things were given from the promise made to the fathers, but to those from among the Gentiles, from mercy and lovingkindness alone;

wherefore also he said, 'And that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy.'

But that what is said may become clearer, hear again the very words, that you may learn what it means that Christ was made a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made to the fathers.

What, then, is that which is spoken? A promise had been made to Abraham, saying:

'To thee will I give the land, and to thy seed'; and, 'In thy seed shall all the nations be blessed.'

But afterward all those of Abraham's seed became liable to punishment.

For the Law, being transgressed, wrought wrath for them, and thenceforth deprived them of that promise made to the fathers.

The Son, therefore, being come, cooperated with the Father, so as to make those promises come true and be brought to fulfillment.

For having fulfilled the whole Law, in which circumcision also was included, and thereby and through the cross having freed us from the curse upon transgression, He did not suffer the promise to fall to the ground.

When, therefore, he says 'a minister of the circumcision,' this is what he means: that having come and fulfilled the whole Law, and been circumcised, and become the seed of Abraham, He loosed the curse, stilled the wrath of God, and thenceforth made fit those who were to receive the promise, once they had been delivered from having given offense.

Therefore, lest those who are being censured should say, 'How then was Christ circumcised, and kept the whole Law?' he turns the very thing round to the contrary.

For not that the Law might remain did He do this, he says, but that He might abolish it, and deliver you from the curse that lay upon you, and set you wholly free from its dominion.

For since you had transgressed the Law, on this account He fulfilled it — not that you might fulfill it, but that He might confirm to you the promises made to the fathers, which the Law had caused to fall to the ground, by showing you to have given offense and to be unworthy of the inheritance;

so that you too were saved by grace.

Do not, then, be seditious, nor contentiously cling out of season to the Law, which would even have cast you out from the promise, had not Christ suffered so much on your behalf.

And He suffered these things, not because you were worthy of salvation, but —

Then, lest this should puff up the one from among the Gentiles, he says:

'And that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy.'

And what he says is of this sort:

The Jews at least had promises, even if they were unworthy;

but you had not even this, but were saved from lovingkindness alone.

And yet indeed, even to them no advantage would have accrued from the promise, had not Christ come;

but nevertheless, in order to temper them and check them from rising up against the weak, he makes mention of the promises;

but concerning these he says that they were saved by mercy alone;

wherefore they would most of all be justly bound to glorify God.

And glory to God is this: to be joined together, to be made one, to praise Him with one accord, to bear with the weaker, not to overlook the member that is being torn away.

Then he adduces testimonies also, in which he shows that those from among the Jews must be joined to those from among the Gentiles, saying thus:

'Therefore I will confess to Thee among the Gentiles, O Lord, and will sing praise to Thy name;'

and, 'Rejoice, ye Gentiles, with His people;'

and, 'Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles; laud Him, all ye peoples;'

and, 'There shall be the root of Jesse, and He that riseth up to rule over the Gentiles.'

And all these things he brought forward, showing that they must be made one and glorify God, at once both repressing the one from among the Jews, lest he be exalted against the other, since all the prophets call these Gentiles, and also persuading the one from among the Gentiles to be moderate, by showing him to be a debtor for greater grace.

Then again he closes the discourse with a prayer, saying:

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope, by the power of the Holy Spirit.

That is: may you be delivered from despondency toward one another, and may you never be cast down by temptations.

And this will come to pass when you abound in hope.

For this is the cause of all good things.

And this will come from the Holy Spirit.

Yet not simply from the Spirit, but only if we also contribute our own part.

For this reason he says, 'in believing.'

For thus you are able to be filled with joy, if you believe, if you hope.

But he did not say, 'If you hope,' but 'If you abound in hope,' so that you might not only find consolation in hardships, but also possess joy through the superabundance of faith and hope.

In this way, too, you will draw down the Spirit.

And thus, when He is present, you will preserve all good things.

For just as nourishment sustains our life, and life in turn regulates that nourishment,

so also, if we have good works, we shall have the Spirit;

and if we have the Spirit, we shall likewise have good works.

Just as, on the contrary, if we have no works, the Spirit flies away.

But if we are made desolate of the Spirit, we shall also go lame in our works;

for when He departs, the unclean spirit comes.

For what of it, if it does not choke us as it did that man? Yet in another way it strangles us through wicked deeds.

We have need, therefore, of the harp of David, that we may chant over the soul the divine songs, both these and those that come from good deeds;

lest, doing only the one, even while hearing the song, we war by our deeds against the one who chants these things, just as that man did then;

and the remedy become a judgment for us, and the madness grow more savage.

For before hearing, the wicked demon is afraid, lest, having heard, we set ourselves aright;

but when, even after hearing, we remain the same, this too takes away his fear.

Let us therefore sing the song that comes from deeds, that we may cast out sin, which is harsher than a demon.

For a demon does not altogether rob us of heaven; indeed there are times when it even works together with the vigilant;

but sin altogether casts us out.

For this is a voluntary demon, and a self-chosen madness;

and therefore it has none to pity or to pardon it.

Let us therefore chant over the soul that is thus disposed, both from the other Scriptures and from the blessed David;

and let the mouth sing psalms, and let the mind be instructed.

Neither is this itself a small thing;

for if we train the tongue to sing psalms, the soul will be ashamed to will the contrary while the tongue is singing.

And not only shall we reap this good, but also that we ourselves shall come to know many things.

For indeed it discourses to you concerning things present and things to come, and concerning things seen, and concerning the invisible creation.

And if you wish to learn about heaven, whether it remains such as it is or is changed, it will answer you plainly and say: 'The heavens shall grow old as a garment, and as a mantle you shall roll them up, O God, and they shall be changed.'

And if you wish to hear about its form, you shall hear again:

'Who stretches out the heaven like a curtain of skin.'

And if one should wish to know more about its heights, it will tell you again:

'Who lays the beams of His upper chambers in the waters.'

And it does not stop even here, but discourses to you also concerning breadth and height, showing these to be of equal measure:

'For as far,' it says, 'as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our iniquities from us.'

'As high as the heaven is above the earth, so mighty is the Lord's mercy over those who fear Him.'

And if you should inquire into the foundations of the earth, not even these will be hidden from you, but you shall hear Him singing and saying: 'For He founded it upon the seas.'

And if you desire to learn about earthquakes, whence they come, it will deliver you from all perplexity, saying thus:

'Who looks upon the earth, and makes it tremble.'

And if you seek the use of the night, you shall know this too, learning it from Him: 'In it all the beasts of the forest go about.'

And for what the mountains are useful, He answers you:

'The high mountains are for the deer.'

And why the rocks, He tells you:

'The rock is a refuge for the conies and the hares.'

Why the unfruitful trees? Learn:

'There the sparrows make their nests.'

Why are there springs in the wilderness? 'By them the birds of the heaven shall dwell, and the beasts of the field.'

Why wine? Not that you should merely drink, since the nature of water would have sufficed, but that you might also be gladdened and take delight;

'For wine gladdens the heart of man.'

And having learned this, you shall also know how far one ought to make use of wine.

Whence are the birds nourished, and the wild beasts? You shall hear Him saying:

'These all wait upon You, to give them their food in due season.'

And if you should say, Why the cattle? He answers you that these too are for your sake:

'For He,' it says, 'causes grass to spring up for the cattle, and green herb for the service of men.'

What need have you of the moon? Hear Him saying:

'He made the moon for seasons.'

And that He made all things generated, both the things seen and the things unseen, this too He plainly taught, saying:

'He spoke, and they came to be;

He commanded, and they were created.'

And that there shall be a loosing of death, this too He teaches you, saying:

'God shall redeem my soul from the hand of Hades, when He receives me.'

Whence has our body come to be? This too He tells:

And where does it depart again? 'It shall return to its dust.'

Why are all these things? For your sake.

For thou hast crowned him with glory and honour, and hast set him over the works of thy hands.

Have we men anything in common with the angels? This too he declares, singing thus:

Thou madest him a little lower than the angels.

Concerning the love of God:

Like as a father pitieth his sons, so the Lord pitied them that fear him.

Concerning those things that shall receive us hereafter, and that untroubled abode:

Return, saith he, O my soul, unto thy rest.

Why is the heaven so great? This too it will tell thee, that The heavens declare the glory of God.

Why did night and day come to be? Not merely that they might give light and give rest, but that they might also instruct.

For there is no speech nor language where their voices are not heard.

How does the sea lie round about the earth? The deep as a garment is the covering thereof;

for so the Hebrew has it.

And taking a beginning from what has been said, ye shall come to know all the rest also — the things concerning Christ, the things concerning the resurrection, the things concerning the life to come, the things concerning rest, the things concerning punishment, the things concerning the precepts of morals, and all the things concerning the doctrines; and ye shall find the book filled full of ten thousand good things.

Even if thou fall into temptations, thou shalt receive much consolation from hence;

and if into sins, thou shalt find ten thousand remedies laid up here;

if into poverty, if into affliction, thou shalt behold many havens;

and if thou be righteous, thou shalt reap much security from thence;

if thou be a sinner, much consolation.

For if thou be righteous and yet suffer dreadful things, thou shalt hear him saying, that For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

All these things are come upon us, yet have we not forgotten thee.

And if thy good deeds lift thee up, thou shalt hear him saying:

Enter not into judgment with thy servant, for in thy sight shall no man living be justified.

And if thou be a sinner and hast despaired of thyself, thou shalt hear him continually chanting:

To-day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.

And if thou have a diadem upon thy head and art high-minded, thou shalt learn that A king is not saved by much power, neither shall a giant be saved by the greatness of his strength.

If thou be rich and held in honour, again thou shalt hear him singing:

Woe unto them that trust in their own power, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches.

And that, As for man, his days are as grass; as a flower of the field, so shall he flourish.

And, His glory shall not descend after him.

and thou shalt count nothing among the things upon earth to be great.

For that which is more splendid than all things — glory and dominion — when it is thus paltry, what else among the things upon earth could be worthy of account? But art thou fallen into despondency? Hear him saying, Why art thou cast down, O my soul, and why dost thou disquiet me? Hope in God, for I will confess unto him.

But dost thou see men prospering beyond their desert? Say, Fret not thyself because of evildoers, for they shall soon be dried up like grass, and shall soon wither like the green herb.

Dost thou see both righteous men and sinners being chastised? Hear that the cause is not the same;

For many, saith he, are the scourges of the sinner.

But concerning the righteous he said not, The scourges, but, Many are the afflictions of the righteous, and out of them all the Lord shall deliver them;

and again, The death of sinners is evil;

and, Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.

These things say continually; be instructed from hence;

for each of these sayings holds a boundless ocean of meanings.

For we have but run over them simply;

but if ye be willing to search into what has been said with exactness, ye shall behold the great wealth thereof.

But meanwhile, even from what has been said, it is possible to be cleansed from the passions that beset us.

For when it suffers thee neither to envy, nor to be grieved and despondent unseasonably, nor to account either wealth or affliction or poverty as anything, nor even to reckon life itself to be anything — it delivers thee from all the passions.

For these things let us give thanks to God, and let us handle the treasure, that through the patience and comfort of the Scriptures we might have hope, and might enjoy the good things to come;

which may it be granted us all to attain, by the grace and love toward man, and so forth.