614. An Expofition upon Chap. 15 Churches, till he hadfihifhtd what he DIA Lb*UE V. Vertes 22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29. Therefore alp' bave been let oft to come sotto you, but new feeing'l have no more place in thefe quarters, and al fo have been defirous manyyears agoe to come unto you when I titan talle my journey into Spain, I will come to feeyou,&c. T I M O T H E U si WHat is contained in all thefe verjet ? // S i L.The hope and promife of Paul, coming to the Romans, which he fetteth forth by the moving caufe, (to wit) the vacancy of his bufneffe in thefe parts where he was. Secondly, by the tervécy of his delire which he had a long time to fee them, in verfs 22.23. then by the circumfiance of time when he would come, (to wit) u hen he had vi- fited Spain,verfe v4. Thirdly, by naming the hindering caufe which with -held him that he came not prefently, namely the miniftration ofalmes, according to the trufl put in him by the Church of Macedonia) fent to the poor Saints at Jerufálem, partly to expreffe the good will of che Grecian, which fent it, and partly to recompenfea debt,as verts 25, 26,27,28.Laftly by the finali coule ofhis coming,which was their greater edifica- tion in the faith of the Gofpell,verfe 29. T i M.What be the dolirines which we may learn between the 22. verfe and the 30? S i L. From the 22. verfe we may learn,that the ways ofnsan are not in his , own hand; for God difpofeth what man purpofeth . Therefore as Paul could not come to Rome when himfelf defired, fo I neither (hall we do what we will, but what God is pleafed to have done: upon whom therefore we muff depend for Cucceffe, and reff in it with contentment though it be contrary to our delires and hopes; not taking on, murmuring,feek- ing unlawful! ways to compatie our purpofes,as if we were Lords ofour own acct ions. T i M.What learn we out of the z3.verfe? S i t.We learn that Paul removed not from the places where he begun to plant came for, being herein the pattern of a faithfull Steward, who is found to dif- charge the whole trufl till the time that he mull render an account of his Stew - ardfhip. Again, out of this verfe I colle&, that the Ro naiu were called to the faith and profeffon of Chrift, not long after the afcenfionofChrifl:for the 20 year after it, did Paul write this Epiflle,but he had a delire of feeing the Romans, many years before he wrote unto them, therefore many years before they were converted ; not by Peter as Bellarmine affirmes, of whole being at Rome all the learned do doubt, nor by Peter and Paul joyntly, as othersthink,but rather by the preaching of Barnabas the Apotlle, as Clement re- porteth. T i m.What do yeobferve in the 24 verfe? S I L. Whereas Paul writes that he trufieth to fee them in his journey into Spain,we gather that this journey was not dire &ly by fpeciall impulfion and motion of the Spirit, (as fometimes it was done, Art. 16. ) but by humane purpofe ; therefore he faith [I traff,] and indeed we read not in facred writ that ever he came at Spain': for this place which only mentioned his mind herein, giveth us no light ofa certain judgment. He fpeaks only of a purpofe, not of a performance : Paul doubtleffe meant it, yet with reverence to Gods will, which fo over- ruleth the events ofinens inten- tions,as in a fpecial manner he governed the Apo(tles in their adminifiration. Secondly, we learn, that for future things which be contingent, we are to depend upon Gods good will and pro- vidence, without all rafh and peremp- tory prefumption. We are obliged not only in the judgement and purpofe of . our foul,to refer all to his mot} wile and jufl difpofition, but to lignifie the fame with the words of our mouth, laying, I truft to do this or that, I trufe to have fuch a thing, &c. Thirdly, it is a good fruit of love and reverence, which we owe unto the Miniffers ofChriff.(which are true and faithfull) to be their com- panions of their jcurney, to let them forwards
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy OTcyMjk=