Bible Commentary (1871–1879 Edition) (continued)
Tlie Sunship of Believers. KOMAXS VIII. Their Future Juheritance.
apostle is now comiii?; to. 17. And if chi?.dreM, then heirs (' heirs al.so') ; heirs of Uoil—of our Father's kiiigdom. and joijit-Jiicir \vit)> (JhrisJ—as the has Its whole foundation in Ihe atoning death, so it has
Its living spring in the indwelling of the Spiiit of C'lirist
(r. 2-1). (S.) 'The bent of the thoughts, aire<;tions, and
' Firstbona lintoug ni Hiiy brethren"' {v. 2!)/, and as " Heir of all things." if *<> He ISkat we suffer ('prr viued we be sufl'cri iig with Him') tiiiat we stiay l»« also j;! oi'itieii toc Otrr (witll Him). This necessity of coniorml iy to Clirist iu suli'i-ring in order to participation in His glory, is taught alike by Christ Himself and by His apostles (John 1'2. 21-2ii; Matthev/ 16. 21, 2.5; '2 Timothy 2. 12). IS. For I t-ecltoaj that the sufferings of this j>r« »<'ini tliue arc iiol -worf fiy to be coinjjiiirfd ivatli tlje j,'!oi: y which sliall be revealed iu MS (J. d., 'True, we must suffer with Clirist, if we would partake of His glory; but what of tliat? For if siuii sufferings are set over against tlie coming glory, they sink into insignificance.' For, &c.— ' The apospursuits, is tlie only decisive test of charaoter {i\ 5).' IHonGK.l (4.) No human n fiiiement of the c»n!nl mind
Will make It sjiiiilual, oi' compensate lor the al>.si iu;e of spirituality.. "Flesh'' and "spirif' are esseiitiaUy and
opposed ; norcan llu" canuil mind, a*-, such, be brought into real subjeeiiou to the law of God (v. o-l). Hence (5.) the estrangement of God and tlie sinner is mutual. For as tlie sinner's state of mind is "enmity against God" (v. 7), so iti thi.s stale he " cannot please God"
(v.S). (0.) Since the Holy Ghost i.s, in tlie same l)reatli, called indisi'.riminately "the Spirit of God," "tlie Spirit of Christ," and "Clirist" Himself (as an indwellifig iile in believers), the linsei Uial Uniljj a.nii yet Personal di.sUnctiuxis of tlie Father, the Son, and the HoIyGhosl.in the one adorable Godhead must be believed, us the only consistent explanation of sueli language (r. O-U). (7.) The consciousness of spiritual lile in our renewed souls is a glorious assurance of resurrection life in the body also, in virtue of the same quickening Spirit whose inliabitation we already enjoy {v. 11). (S.) Whatever pi-o)essions of spiritual life men may make, it remains eternally (nie tle, tired with tlie tliougbtof the luture glory of the saints, pours forth Ihi.s splendid passage, in which he represents the whole creation groaning under its present degradation, and looking and longing for the revelation of this glory as the end atid consummation of its existence.' [HoDtJK.] the earite:3t cxpect Httion (cf. Phili|)piaiis 1. 20) of tlie ere.-afctre (father, 'the creation') waileth finthe iiiiiuifestaU'Oit ('is waiting for tlie revelation') of the soils nf God i. e., "for the redeuiption of their bodies" from the grave (v. 23), which will reveal their sonship, now hidden (cf. Luke 20. 3() ; Revelation 21.7). For tlie creature ('the creation') was made subject to vanity, not willingly i. e., through no natural principle of dicay. The a|)ostle, personifying creation, represents it as only submitting to the vanity with which it was smitten, on man"s account, in oljedience to that superior power which had mysleriou.sly linked its destinies with man's. And so he adds—biat by reason of 'Itim who hath subjec{<-d tjie s.T,me (' who subjected it') iti hope; because (or ' in hope that') the creature itself kJso (' even the creation itself ') shall be delivered frou« t3ie bondage of corrmytioii (its Ijondage to the princiiile of decay) Into the glorious liberty (ralher, 'the liberty of the glory") of tJie childrejj of God— i. e., the creation itself shall, In a glorious sense, bo delivered into that freedom from debility and decay in which the children of God, when raised up iu glory, shall expatiate: into this freedom from corruptibility the creation itself shall, in a glorious sense, be delivered. fSo Calvin, Eeza, Benoei., THOLVCK, OLSHAUSEN, I-)i5 WtSTTE, MEYEK, PillLIPPI, HonGB, Ais'OHD, &.O.] If for man's sake alone the earth was cursed, it cannot surprise us that it should share in his recovery. And if so, to represent it as sympatliizing with man's miseries, and as looking forward to his complete redemption as the period of its own emancipation from its prtsent sin-blighted condition, is a beautiful thought, and in harmony with the general teaching of Scripture ou the su'oject. (See on 2 Peter 3. 13.) 'Z3. And not only [they], bnt ourselves also (or 'not only [so], but even we ourselves' i. e., besides the inanimate creation), whicJi liave tlie first-fruits of the Spirit—or, ' the Spirit as the lirst-fruits' of our full redemption (cf. 2 Corinthians 1. '22), moulding the heart to a heavenly frame and attempering it to its future element, even we ourselves—though we have so much of heaven already within us. groan within ourselves—under this " body of sin and death," and under the manifold " vanity and vexation of spirit'' that are written upon every object and every pursuit and every enjoyment under the sun. waiting for the (manifestation of our) adoption [to wit], the redemption of onr body—from the grave : ' not (be
(iliat " if we live alter the tlesli we shall die," and only "if we through the .Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body we shall live" (v. 13, aiiil cf. Galalians 6. 7, H; Ephesiaiis 5. ti; Hiilippians 3. IS, 19; 1 John ;i. 7, 8).
KecONn: The Soit-sh ipof iSclU'vcrs— Tfieir/vtiirc JiiJierUtmce — I'/ic Iniercession of Ilia /Spirit for Uwin (v. 1-1-27 j. I't. Foias maisy os are led by the Si»i«it ol'ttod, tiiey, ttc. (' these are sons of God"). Hitherto the apostle has spoken of the Spirit simply as a power through which believers mortify Bin: now he speaks of Him as a gracious, loving Giudc, whose " leading'"—enjoyed by all in whom is the .Spirit ot God s dear Son—shows that they also are ".sons of God." 15. For, Ac—'For ye received not (at the time of your conversion) tlie spirit of bondage,' i. e., 'The spirit ye received was not a spirit of bondage.' again [gendering] ito fear—a.s under tlie law which " worketh wratli'' q. d., 'Such was your condition before ye believed, living in legal bondage, haunted with incessant forebodings under a eeuse of unpardoned sin. But it was not to perpetuate that wretched state that ye receiveil the Spirit.' bsit ye liave receive*! ('ye received') tlie spirit of aiio{)tft»ji, wHiere-
' wherein') "ivc cry, Abba, Fadier—The word "cry" is emphatic, expi'essiug the spontaneousncss, the strength, and the exuberance of the filial emotions. In Galatians 4. 6 this cry is said to proceed from ihe Spiril in
(rather, us, drawing forth the filial exclamation in our hearts: Here, it is said to proceed from our ou ti hearts under the vitaliing energy of the Spirit, as the very element of the new life in believers (cf. Alatlhew 10. li), 20; and see on v,
1). " Abba'" is the .Syio-Chaldaie word for " Father ;" and the Greek word for that is added, not surely to tell the reader that both mean the same thing, but for the same reason whi<-h drew both words from the lips of Christ Himself during his agony in the garden (.Mark 11. 3()). He, doubtless, loved to utter his Father's name in both the accustomed forms; beginning with His cherished mother-tongue, and adding that of the learned. In this view the use of both words herelws a charming simplicity and warmth. 1«. The Spirit Itsclf—It should be 'HimBelf (see on f. 20). bearctU witness with oiir sjiliit, that we are the i.hilclreu Care children') ut Had—The testimony of our own spirit is borne in that cry of contciou.H Honsliip, "Abba, Father;" but we are not therein alone; for the Holy Ghost within us, yea, e^'en iu tliat very crj' which it is His to draw Ibrth, sets His own distinct seal to ours; and thus, "iu the mouth of two witnesses" the thing is established. Tlie apostle had before called us "noim of God," referring to our adrq>- it observed) the deliverance of ourselves from tlio body, but the redeniption of the body itself from tlie grave. [Hengel.
I m. For we are saved by hope—rather, ' For in hope we are saved ;' i. e., it is more a salvation iu hope Ih.an as yet in actual possession, but hope that is seen U not hope—for the very meaning of hope is, the expectation that something now future will become present, for what a innn sceth, why doth he yet hope fori—tha lion: here the word changes to "children," referring to our new birth. The one expr<!sses the ditjiiUy to Wnlch we are admitted; the other the new li/e wliich we leceivt. The latter is mine suila!)le here; iiecause A son hy Gditjition might not be heir of the properly, woercas a sou by birth certainly is, and tbi;i is what the hit tor ending when the oilier comes. ^5. But if we hope for that we see not, [then do] we with patience wait for It—i. e., then, patient waiting for it is our fitting atti-
The InlcrccHsion of the Spirit. ROMANS Viri. The Foi ilnouledge of Ood.
frequently tasted, then, and just for that rea.son. Is It that they "groan within themselve.s" for full redemption (v.
lude. 26, 37. LlkewJse also tUe Spirit, &c.—or, ' But after the like manner doth the Spirit also help,' &c. our lufirmities—rather (according to the true reading), 'our iu-
23). For thus they reason: If such be the drops, what will the ocean be? If thus "to see through a glass darkly" be so very sweet, what will it be to "see face to flrinity;' not merely the one infirmity here specitied, but the general iceakness of the spiritual life in its present state, of which one example is here given, for we know not what we should pray for as we onght—It is not the proper matter of prayer that believers are at so much loss about, for the fullest directions are given them on this head; but to ask for the right things "as they ought" is the difficulty. This arises partly from the dimness of our spiritual vision in the present veiled state, while we have face?" If when "my Beloved stands behind our wall, looking forth at the windows, showing Himself through the lattice" (Canticles 2. 9)—that thin veil which parts the seen from the unseen—if He is even thus to me " Fairer than the children of men," what shall He be when He stands confessed btfore my uuda7.z.led vision, the Onlybegotten of the Father in my own nature, and I shall be like Him, for I shall see Him as He i.s7 (0.) "The patience of hope " (1 Thessalonians 1.8) is the fitting attitude for those who with the joyful con.sciousness that they are already " saved " (2 Timothy 1. 9; Titus 3. 5), have yet the painful consciousness that they are saved buti?i part: or, " that being justified by his grace, they are made to " walk by faith, not by siglit" (see on 1 Corinthians 13.
9; and on 2 Corinthians 5. 7), and the large admixture of the ideas and feelings which spring from the fleeting objects of sense that there is in the very best views and affections of our renewed nature; partly also from the necessary imperfection of all human language as a veliicle for expressing the subtle spiritual feelings of the heart. In these circumstances, how can it be but that much uncertainty should surround all our spiritual exercises, and that in our nearest approaches and in the freest outpourings of our hearts to our Father in heaven, doubts sliouid spring up witliln us wliether our frame of mind in such exercises is altogetlier befitting and well pleasing to God? Nor do these anxieties subside, but rather deepen, with the depth and ripeness of our spiritual experience. But the Spirit itself—rather, 'Himself.' (See end of v.
(in the present slate) heirs according to the hope (only) of eternal life," Titus ;!. 7 {v. 24, 25). (7.) As prayer is the breath of the spiritual life, and the believer's only effectual relief under tlie "infirmity" which attaches to his whole condition here below, how cheering is it to be assuied that the blessed Spirit, cognizant of it all, comes in aid of it all; and in particular, that when believers, unable to articulate their case before God, can at times do nothing but lie "groaning" belore the Lord, these inarticulate groanings are the Spirit o own vehicle for convej'ing into " the ears of the Lord of Sabaoth " their whole case ; aud come up before tlie Hearer of prayer as the Spirit's own intercession in tlieir behalf, and that they are recognized by Him that sitteth on the Tluone, as embodying only wliat His own "will" determined belore to bestow upon them (i'. 26, 27)! (8.) What a vi.ew do these two verses (v.
27)—maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered (i. e., wliicli cannot be expressed in articulate language)—Sublime and affecting ideas, for which we are indebted to tliis passage alone! g. d., 'As we struggle to express in articulate language the desires of our hearts, and find that our deepest emotions are the most iue.xpressibie, we "groan" under this felt inability. But not in vain are these groanings. For "the Spirit Himself" is in them, giving to tlie emotions whicli Him-
26, 27) give of the relations subsisting lielween the Divine Persons in the economj' of redemption, and the harmony of their respective operations iu the case of eacn of the redeemed self has kindled the only language of whicii they are capal)le ; so that though on our part they are the fruit of impotence to utter what we feel, they are at the same time tlie intercession of the Spirit Himself in onr behalf.' And (rather, ' But,' inarticulate tliougli these groanings be) he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what Is the mind of the Spirit, because he (tlie Spirit) maketh intercession for the saints according to [the will of] God—As the Searclier of hearts, He watclies the surging emotions of tliem in prayer, and knows perfect Ij' wliat the Spirit means by the groanings which He draws forth within us, because that blessed Intercessor pleads by thtm only fiuwhat God Himself designs to bestow. Notc{\.) Are believers "led by the Spirit of God" (r; 14)? How careful tlien should they be not to "grieve the Holy
Third: Triumphant Summary of the whole Argument {v.
28-39). 28. And—or, ' Moreover,' or 'Now;' noting a transition to a new particular, we know, &c.—The ordt r in the original is more striking: " We know that to them that love God (cf. 1 Corinthians 2.9; Ephesians t». 21
James 1. 12; 2. 5) all things work together lor good [even] to them who ^e the called (rather, ' who are called ') according to his (eternal) purpose." Glorious assurance! And this, it seems, was a " liousehold word," a " known " thing, among believers. This working of all things for good is done quite naturally to "them that love God;" because such souls, persuaded that He who gave His own Son for them cannot but mean them well in all His procedure, learn thu.s to take in good part whatever He sends them, however tr.ving to flesh and blood : and to them who are,'jpirit of God" (Ephesians 4. .SO) ! Cf. Psalm 32.8, 9: " I will . . . gifiu/e thee with mine e.ve. Be not (tlien) as the horse, or as the mule," &c. (2.) "The spirit of bondage," to which many Protestants are "all their lifetime sul)- tlie called, acconling to " Ilis purpose," all things do in the stime intelligible way "work togetlier for good;" for, even when "He hath Ilis way in the wliirlwind," t!ie.y see " His chariot paved with love " (Canticles 3. 10). And knowing tliat it is in pursuance of an eternal "purj Mte" of love that they have been "called into tlie tellowship of His Son Jesus Christ " (1 Corinthians 1. 9), tliey naturally say witliin llieniselves, 'It cannot be llial He "of Wliom, and through Wliom, and to Wlioiii are all things," should sutler that purpose to be thwarted by anything reall.y adverse to us, or tliat He should not make all things, dark as well as liglit, crookeil as well as sliaiglit, toco-operate to the lurtlieraiice and (inal eoinpletion of His higli dejeet," and the ' doubtsome faitli' which the Fopisli Church systematically inculcates, are both rebuked here, being in direct and painful contrast to tliat "spirit of adoption," and tliat witness of tlie Spirit, along wit h our own spirit, to the fact of our sonsliip, which it is here said tlie children of God, as such, enjoy (v. 15, Id). (.3.) As suffering with Christ is the ordained preparation for participating in this glory, so tlie insignillcance of the one as com)iared with the other cannot fail to ligliten the sense of it, however bitter and protracted (c. 17, IS).
sign.' 'M. For (as touching this "calling according to his purpose ") ^vhom he did foreknow he also did predestinate (foreordain)—In what sense are we to take tlie wort! "foreknow" lure? 'Thosewho He foreknew would repent and l)elieve,' say Pelagians of every age aud every hue. But this is to tlirust into the te.vt what is contrary
(4.) It cannot but swell the heart of every intelligent Christian to think that if external nature has be(-n mysteriously alfected for evil by the fall of man, it only awaits his completed recovery, at the resurrection, to experience a corresponding emancipation from its blighted condition into undecaying lite and unlading oeauty (t>. l!)-2:!). (5.) It is not when believers, tlirougli Binful "quenching of the Spirit," have the fewest and fain test glimpses of heaven, that tliey sigh most fervently to he there; but, on tlie contrar.y, when through the unobstructed working of the Spirit in their hearts, " the firstfruits" of thu glory to be revealed are most largely and to llie wliole spirit, and oven letter, of llie apostle's teaching (see ch. 9. 11; 2 Timothy 1. 9). In ch. H. 2, and I'salin
1. (), God's " knowledge " of His people cannot be restricted to a mere Ibresiglit of future events, or accjuaintance with what Is passing here below. Does "whom He did foreknow," then, mean 'whom He foreordaiuod?' Scarcely;
The CaUiiij vj' I'lC PieclLStinaled. EOMANS VIII. Chrisls Intercession Jor liS.
apostle can mean to convey nothing less than this, that in "not sparing His own Son, but delivering Him up," or surrendering Him, God exercised, in His Paternal character, a mysterious act of 8el/-sacrifice,\w'ia\ch, though Involving none of thapain and none of the loss which are inseparable from the very idea of self-sacrifice on our part, was not less real, but, on the contrary, as far transcended any such acts of ours as His nature is above the creature's. But this is inconceivable if Christ be not God's "own (or proper) Son," partaker of His very nature, as really as Isaac was of his father Abraham's. In .that sense, certainly, the Jews charged our Lord with making Himself "equal with God" (see on John 5. 18), which he in reply forthwith proceeded, not to disown, but to illustrate and confirm. Understand Christ's Sonship thus, and the language of Scripture regarding it is intelligibleand harmonious; but take it tobean artificial relationship, ascribed to Him in virtue either of His miraculous birth, or His resurrection from the dead, or the grandeur of His works, or all of these together—and the passages which speak of it neither explain of themselves nor harmonize with eacli other, delivered liim up—not to death merely (as many take it), for th.at is too narrow an idea here, but 'snrren<lered Him' in the most comprehensive sense; cf. John .S. 16, "God so loved the world that He gave His onlj -begotten .Son." for us all i.e., for all believers alike; as nearly every good interjjreter admits must be the meaning here, how shall he not how can we conceive that He should not. with him also —rather, 'also with Him.' (The word "also" is often so placed in our version as to obscure the sense; see on Hebrews 12.1.) freely give us all things!—all other gifts being not only immeasurably /e*« lluui this Gift of gifts, but virtually included in it. 33, 34. Who shall lay anything to tlie eliarge of (or, ' bring any charge against') God's elect I—the first place in this Epistle where believers are styled "the elect." In what sense this Is meant will appear in next chapter, yea rather, that is risen again—to makegood the purposes ol His death. Here, as in some other cases, the apostle delightfully corrects himself (see Galatians4. 9; and on ch. 1. 12); not meaning that the resurrection of Christ was of more saving value than His death, but that having "put away sin by the sacrifice of himself "—which though precious tons was to Him of unminglcd bitterness— it was incomparably more delightful to think that He was again alive, an6. living to see to the et Tieacy of His death in. our behalf, who is even (' also') at the right hand of God—The right hand of the king was anciently the seat of honour (cf. 1 Samuel 20. 2.5; 1 Kings 2. 19; Psalm -15. 9), and denoted participation in the royal power and glory (Matthew 20. 21). The classical writings contain similar allusions. Accordingly Christ's sitting at the right hand of God—predicted in Psalm 110. 1, and historically referred to in Mark 16. 19; Acts 2. 33 ; 7. 56; Ephesians 1. 20; Colossians 3. 1 ; 1 Peter 3.
Decausc both foreknowledge' and ' foreordination' are here mentioned, and the one as the cause of the other. It is difllcuU indeed for our limited minds to distinguish them as states of the Divine Mind towards men; especially since i'\ Acts 2. 23 "'he counsel" is put be/ore "the fori kuowledj > of God,'' while in 1 Peter 1. 2 "election "
Is 8'iid to be"" according to the foreknowledge of God." But probably God's foreknowledge of His own people means H"8 peculiar, gracious, complacency in them, while His "predestinating" or "foreordaining" them signifies His fixed purpose, flowi \g from this, to "save tliein and call them with an holy ailing" (2 Timothy 1. 9). to be couformed to tlie linage of hlg Son i. e., to be His sons after the pattern, model, or image of His Sonship in our nature, tliat he might be the first-bont among many brethren—" The First-born," the Son by nature; His "many brethren," sons by adoption : He, in the Humanity of the Only-begotten of the Father, bearing our sins on the accursed tree; they in that of mere men Teady to perish by reason of sin, but redeemed by His blood from condemnation and wrath, and transformed into His likeliess : He "the First-born from the dead;" tliey "that sleep in Jesus," to be in due time "brouglit with Him:" "The First-born," nov.' " crowned with glory and honour ;" His " many brethren," " when He shall appear, to be like Him, for tliey sliall see Him as He is." 30. Moreover And," or ' Xow ;' explanatory of the foregoing verse q d., ' In " predestinating us to be conformed to the image of His Sou" in final glory, He settled all the successive Bteps of it. Tlius'—Whom he dl«l predestinate, tliem l»e also called—The word "called" (as Hodge and others truly observe) is never in the Epistles of the New Testament applied to those who have only the outward invitation of tlie Gospel (as in Matthew 20. 16; 22. H). It always means ' inlfrnalln, effectualli/, savingli; called.' It denotes the first great step in personal salvation, and answei'S to "conversion." Only the word conversion expresses the change of r/iaracter which then takes place, whereas this " calling " expresses the Divine authorship of the change, and t!ie sovereign power by which we are summoned, Matthew-like, Zacfheus-like, out of our old, wretched, perishing condition, iiitoa new, safe, blessed life, and wltom lie
(tlius) called, them he also jiistlfled (brought into the definite slate of reconciliation already so fully described), and whom he jiislified, them he also glorified—(brought to final glory, v. 17, IS). Noble climax, and so rliytlimically expressed ! And .all this is viewed as past; because, starting Irom the past decree of "predestination to be conformed to the imageof God's Son" of which the other steps are but the successive unfold ings—all is beheld as one entire, eternally completed salvation. 31. Wlint shall we then gay to these things!—7. d., ' We can no fartlier go, think, wish.' [15engei-.| Tliis whole passage, to r. 81, and even to the end of the chapter, strikes all thoughtful Interpreters an<l readers, as transcending almost every thing in language, while Olshausen notices the ' profound and colossal' character of the thought. If God [be] for us, who [can be] againgt us 1 If God be resolved and C7igaged to bring us through, all owr enemies must he His
22; Revelation 3. 21—signifies the glory of the exalted Sou of man, and the power in the government of the world in which He participates. Hence it is called "sitting on the right hand of Power" (Matthew 26. 61), and "sitting on the right hand of the Majesty on high" (Hebrews 1. 3). [PhilIPPI.] who also maketh intercession for us—using all His boundless interest with God in our behalf. This is the top of the climax. 'His &'Ssion at God's right hand denotes His power to .save us ; His Intercession, His tvill to do and " Who would set the briers and thorns against Him In battle? He would go through them. He would burn them together" (Isaiah 27. i). What strong consolation is here! Nay, but the great Pledge of all has already been given; for, lie—rather, ' He surely.' (It is a pity to lose the emphatic p.article of the original.) that sjiared not—'withheld not,' 'kept not hack.' This expressive phrase, as well as the whole thought, is suggested by Genesis 22. 12, where .lehovah's touching commendation of Abraham's conduct regarding his son Isaac seems desired to turnisli something like a glimpse into the spirit ot His own act in surrendering His own Son. "Take now (said the Lord to AVjraham) thy son, thine only, ivhom thou it.' [Bengel.] But how are we to conceive of this Intercession? Not certainly as of one pleading 'on bended knees and with outstretched arms,' to use the expressive language of Cai-vin. But yet, neither is it merely a figurative intimation that the power of Christ's redemption is continually oieralive [Tholuck], or merely to show the fervour and vehemence of His love for us. [Chkysostom.] It cannot betaken to nrean less than this, that the glorified Redeemer, conscious of His claims, expfei-ii\y signifies His will that the (ifficacy of His death should be made good to the ultermost, and signifies It iu some Kucii royal style as we linti Him employing in thai wonderful Intercessory I'rayer which He spoke as front wilhiH the veil (see on John 17. 11, 12; : " i'ather, I wil.L that lovest, ami . . . offer him for a liurnl oll'ering" (Genesis 22.
2;; and only when Abraham had all but performed that lo Hlest act of self-sacrifice, the Lord int(?r|ioseil, saying, "Now I know that thou I'eurest God, seeing thou ha.st SOT WITHIIKI.U THY SON, THINE ONLY SON, from me." In Vbe light of this incident, then, and of this language our