LECTURE LXXI. ROMANS XVI. 21-27. "Timotheus my work-fellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you. I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord. Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus, the chamberlain of the city, saluteth you, and Quartus a brother. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen. Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, (according to the revelation of the mystery, which was kept secret since the world began, but now is made manifest, and by the scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God, made known to all nations for the obedience of faith;) to God only wise, be glory through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen." On THESE verses may be regarded as a kind of postscript to the Epistle, which appeared to close in the customary style at the twentieth verse. Even of these verses there is a portion, respecting the collocation of which in the Epistle eminent critics have conceived a misarrangement has crept in. the authority of various ancient versions and manuscripts their more proper place has been thought to be the close of the fourteenth chapter. I refer to verses twenty-fifth to the twenty-seventh. It is not a matter of great moment in which connexion the words are inserted. It is their place only, not their genuineness that is questioned.* The doxology itself is quite in Paul's style; and the instruction to be derived from it is as profitable in this connexion, as a close *The genuineness also of the doxology has been questioned, but on insufficient grounds. Its genuineness Alford justly regards as "placed beyond all reasonable doubt."-ED. to the whole Epistle, as in the other, where it would be the close only of one particular branch of it. He first of all subjoins some additional salutations; or rather having sent his own salutations to various individuals, he fulfils the request of those who were with him by expressing their good wishes as well as his own for the church * -verse 21. "Timotheus my work-fellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you." Timotheus is first introduced to our notice in the history as 66 a certain disciple" whom Paul met with on his visit to Derbe and Lystra.* From that time he became one of the most constant attendants on the Apostle, and one of the most assiduous and highly-esteemed of his "fellow-workmen," as he here denominates him. When he was not with Paul, he was left by him at different stations, to follow up the work he had begun, and superintend in those places the interests of the Gospel and of the churches:—and the two Epistles to Timothy are addressed to him while engaged at Ephesus in the duties of such superintendence. He was with the Apostle at Corinth when this letter to Rome was despatched. Jason and Sosipater are also spoken of in the history; the former in the account given of the tumults at Thessalonica,† from which it appears that he had come prominently and intrepidly forward in the face of danger. The latter is simply mentioned. § The very place to which he belonged -Berea, gives us a favourable impression of his character, from the account we have of the reception there given to the Gospel.|| Lucius was either Lucius of Cyrene, of whom mention is made in the opening of the thirteenth chapter of the Acts, or another of the same name who is not mentioned elsewhere. Some suppose Luke to be meant,— -a Roman termination being given to his name. The sole reason for this is † Acts xvii. Verses 5-9. * Acts xvi. 1-3. § Acts xx. 4. [The identity of the two persons is strongly questioned by Alford; but he does not give any reason, unless it be the mention of the name of the father of Sopater.-ED.] || Acts xvii. 11, 12. ¶ Would it not be Lucanus in that case?-ED. our knowing that Luke was a companion of Paul's journeyings and labours, as apparent from other Epistles, and from the style of some parts of the Acts.* It is necessarily but conjecture, and not worth more than a simple mention. Verse 22. "I Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salute you in the Lord." Tertius is conjectured to have been the same as Silas the former being as nearly as possible a translation of the latter name into Latin.t This too is of course uncertain; and founded in part on the fact of Silas also being Paul's companion in travel. Whosoever he was, he acted as Paul's amanuensis; the Apostle writing in Greek, and finding the formation of the letters not familiar to his hand, or being subject to some infirmity in writing. It seems to have been his practice to use an amanuensis; and to add with his own hand his salutation, or, as we should express it, his signature. ‡ And when he acted otherwise, and wrote the entire Epistle himself, he speaks of it as an extraordinary thing-" Ye see how large a letter I have written unto you with mine own hand."§ Tertius appears to have availed himself of a pause in the Apostle's dictation, to insert his own affectionate salutation. || He salutes them "in the Lord;" that is, as his brethren in Christ; united as members of God's spiritual family in Him. Paul's using an amanuensis is a fact that, like some others, shows most clearly the principle that God does not needlessly employ miracle. He could have enabled his servant to write a known language with ease and rapidity, as well as to speak with fluency and correctness such as were unknown. But no miraculous aid, it appears, is imparted to supply this *Acts xvi. 10-12. † So F. Burmann and Lightfoot; from the mere resemblance of the consonants in the Hebrew word ww, three, and the consonants in the name Silas. Silas, however, is much more likely another form of Silvanus. See Kitto's Bib. Cycl.-ED. 2 Thess. iii. 17. Gal. vi. 11. [The Greek, however, is anλínois vęáμμaon, lit. with what sort of letters; and many regard it as an apology for the bad writing with which he probably closed the letter.-ED.] "Tholuck notices this irregularity as a corroboration of the genuineness of the chapter."-ED. deficiency: and the case forms rather a curious contrast to that of certain modern pretenders, who tell us of their writing in unknown languages by a supernatural impulse carrying their hand along, independently of any volition or effort of theirs, with the rapidity of lightning!* This outstrips the Apostie quite. Yet I feel as if I had degraded him and his inspiration and supernatural gifts by so much as mentioning the two cases together. To dwell upon it would be insufferable. If, as may be supposed, Tertius added his own name at what he thought the end, that Paul might subjoin the salutation,-it appears that other names suggested themselves to the Apostle's mind-verse 23. "Gaius mine host, and of the whole church, saluteth you. Erastus, the chamberlain of the city, saluteth you, and Quartus a brother.”—There are two persons of the name of Gaius; one mentioned Acts xix. 29, and xx. 4; the other, 1 Cor. i. 14. As the Epistle to the Romans was written from Corinth, the latter appears to be the benevolent and hospitable individual here named. He was probably-we may say certainly-a man of some worldly substance; and he showed that he knew the proper use of it. He kept, in a manner, an open house, for all who at any time stood in need of his hospitable entertainment. This was the way in which his kindly and generous disposition discovered itself. Let not the example be passed by without due notice, and, in all cases in which there is ability and opportunity, imitation. The conduct of Gaius or Caius is an exemplification of a principle. We should beware of allowing a penurious disposition to shut our door against brethren, and especially strangers, of which last Paul says" Be not forgetful to entertain strangers; for thereby some have entertained angels unawares." And, although there is a great diversity in the peculiar situations of individuals and families, rendering the duty in question much less convenient to some than to others, yet we should take care that we do not avail our * Allusion manifestly to some of the followers of Irving.--ED. † Chap. xii. 13; 1 Pet. iv. 9. Heb. xiii. 2. selves too far of the excuse of inconvenience-to which we ought on all occasions, when it is really required, cheerfully to put ourselves. From the character and the name, this is in all probability the same Gaius to whom John addresses his third Epistle. It is a lovely pattern as there described for imitation:"The elder unto the well beloved Gaius, whom I love in the truth. Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy soul prospereth. For I rejoiced greatly when the brethren came and testified of the truth that is in thee, even as thou walkest in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth. Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers; which have borne witness of thy charity before the church; whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well: because that for his name's sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellow-helpers to the truth."* "Erastus, the chamberlain of the city, saluteth you, and Quartus a brother." There is an Erastus of whom we read in Acts xix. 22, 2 Tim. iv. 20. From his abiding at Corinth, we might be led to consider him as the person here mentioned as "chamberlain"-steward or treasurer of the city. There is, however, an obvious difficulty in this supposition. How could he accompany Paul, and minister to him and with him, and yet hold this public office in the city of Corinth? To remove the difficulty, some imagine him to have retained the title after he had retired from it; which, as you are aware, is not an unusual practice with ourselves. Others conceive that he might accompany Paul only for a time, and then, as the passage quoted expresses it, “abide in Corinth." The only other supposition is, that they were two different persons of the same name. The point is not worth further discussion. We should end about where we began respecting it, and be little the wiser, could we settle *3 John 1-8. |