Romans 8:39

height depth Vastness of intervening space. The Lord who loved us is "above all Heavens" as to His bodily presence: but His love reaches thence to our "depth" below, and holds us fast.

any other creature A phrase meant to be absolutely inclusive of everything except the Uncreated One. And it is the Uncreated who loved us! The previous phrases had logicallyincluded "all creatures;" but St Paul would fain preclude even the least definable causes of apprehension.

shall be able At any possible future time.

the love of God, which is in, &c. A deeply instructive equivalent for "the love of Christ," Romans 8:35. The "love of Christ" is the Divine Love felt for us by the Eternal Son. And this, because He is the Eternal Son, is also the Divine expression of the love felt for us by the Eternal Father, who "sent His Son to be the Propitiation for our sins," and, in giving His Son, gave His Son's love to be our bliss and light.

This closing passage of ch. 8, taken as the climax of the whole previous part of the Epistle, is a remarkable illustration of the vital connexion between revealed Truth and sacred Love. It is out of the dogmatic statements and discussions of the previous passages that this utterance of adoring love and confidence comes forth.

Here closes the more strictly dogmatic part of the Epistle. But the next three Chapter s, though less purely dogmatic, are, incidentally, full of definitions of truth. Not till ch. 12 comes in the "practical" part of the Epistle, in the ordinary sense of that word.