HOMILY V.] HOMILIES ON EPHESIANS. Ye, saith he, who were thus called by the Jews. But why when he is about to show that the benefit bestowed upon them consisted in this, in having fellowship with Israel, does he disparage the Israelitish prerogative ? He does not disparage it. In essential points heenhances it, but only in these points, in which they had no fellowship, he disparages it. For further on he says, Ye axe fellow-citizens of the saints and of the household of God." Mark, how far he is from disparaging it. These points, saith he, are indifferent. Never think, saith he, that because ye happen not to be circumcised, and are now in uncircumcision, that there is any difference in this. No, the real trouble was this, the being "without Christ," the being "aliens from the commonwealth of Israel." Whereas this circumcision is not " the commonwealth." Again, the being strangers from the covenants of promise, the having no hope to come, the being without God in this world, all these were parts of their condition. He was speaking of heavenly things ; he speaks also of those which are upon earth ; since the Jews had a great opinion of these. Thus also Christ in comfort ing His disciples, after saying, " Blessed are they that have been persecuted for righteous ness sake, for theirs is the kingdomof heaven," adds the lesser point of consolation, "for so," saith He, " persecuted they the prophets which were before you." (Matt, v: 10-12.) For this, compared with the greatness of the other, is far less, yet in regard to the being nigh, and believing, it is great and sufficient, and has much force. This then was the sharing in the com monwealth. His word is not, "separated," but " alienated from the commonwealth." "His word is not, " ye took no interest in," but, " ye had not so much as any part in, and were strangers." The expressions are most emphatic, and indicate the separation to be very wide. Because the Israelites themselves were without this commonwealth, not however as aliens, but as indifferent to it, and they fell from the cove nants, not however as strangers, but as unwor thy. But what were the covenants of the prom ise? " "To thee and to thy seed," saith He, "will I give this land," (Gen. xvii: 8.) and whatever else He promised. " Having no hope." he adds, "and without God." Though gods indeed they worshipped, but they were no gods : "for an idol is not any thing." (i Cor. x : 19.) Ver. 13 15. "But now, 1 in Christ Jesus, ye that once were far off, are made nigh in the blood of Christ. For He is our peace, who made both one, and brake down the middle wall 1 [ " This too is what they should remember, but the Apostle con tinues the contrast in an independent sentence." Riddle, in Pop ular Commentary. G. A.] of partition, having abolished in His flesh the enmity." Is this then the great privilege, it may be said, that we are admitted into the commonwealth of the Jews? What art thou saying? " He hath summed up all things that are in heaven, and that are in earth," and now dost thou tell us about Israelites? Yes, he would say. Those higher privileges we must apprehend by faith ; these, by the things themselves. "But now," saith he, in Christ Jesus, ye that once were far off, are made nigh," in reference to the com monwealth. For the "far off," and the " nigh," are matters of will and choice only. "For He 2 is our peace, Who made both one." What is this, "both one?" He does not mean this, that He hath raised us to that high descent of theirs, but that he hath raised both us and them to a yet higher. Only that the blessing to us is greater, because to these it had been promised, and they were nearer than we; to us it had not been promised, and we were farther off than they. Therefore it is that he says, " And that the Gentiles might glorify God for His mercy." (Rom. xv: 9.) The promise indeed He gave to the Israelites, but they were unworthy; to us He gave no promise, nay, we were even strangers, we had nothing in common with them; yet hath He made us one, not by knitting us to them, but by knitting both them and us together into one. I will give you an illustration. Let us suppose there to be two statues, the one of silver, the other of lead, and then that both shall be melted down, and that the two shall come out gold. Behold, thus hath He made the two one. Or put the case again in another way. Let the two be, one a slave, the other an adopted son : and let both offend Him, the one as a disinherited child, the other as a fugitive, and one who never knew a father. Then let both be made heirs, both trueborn sons. Behold, they are exalted to one and the same dignity, the two are become one, the one coming from a longer, the other from a nearer distance, and the slave becoming more noble than he was before he offended. "And brake down," he proceeds, "the mid dle wall of partition." What the middle wall of partition is, he inter prets by saying, "the enmity having abolished in His flesh, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances." Some indeed affirm that he means the wall of the Jews against the Greeks, because it did not allow the Jews to hold intercourse with the Greeks. To me, how ever, this does not seem to be the meaning, but a [ "The emphatic prononn is used, aurbt. But He is not put in opposition to ourselves having made the peace, but as Bengel says, Not merely is He peacemaker, for at the cost of HimselfHe procured peace. "Meyer. G. A.]