ter the
redemption of the body which Paul here takes it for granted are
the experience of all Christians? There is no more startling
condemnation of the average Christianity of our times than the calm
certainty with which through all this epistle the Apostle takes it
for granted that the experience of the Roman Christians will
universally endorse his statements. Look for a moment at what these
statements are. Listen to the briefest summary of them: 'We cry,
Abba, Father'; 'We are children of God'; 'We suffer with Him that we
may be glorified with Him'; 'Glory shall be revealed to usward'; 'We
have the first-fruits of the Spirit'; 'We ourselves groan within
ourselves'; 'By hope were we saved'; 'We hope for that which we see
not'; 'Then do we with patience wait for it'; 'We know that to them
that love God all things work together for good'; 'In all these
things we are more than conquerors'; 'Neither death nor life... nor
any other creature shall be able to separate us from the love of
God.' He believed that in these rapturous and triumphant words he was
gathering together the experience of every Roman Christian, and would
evoke from their lips a confident 'Amen.' Where are the communities
to-day in whose hearing these words could be reiterated with the like
assurance? How few among us there are who know anything of these
'groanings which cannot be uttered!' How few among us there are whose
spirits are stretching out eager desires towards the land of
perpetual summer, like migratory birds in northern latitudes when the
autumn days are shortening and the temperature is falling!

But, however we must feel that our poor experience falls far short of
the ideal in our text, an ideal which was to some extent realised in
the early Christian Church, we must beware of taking the
imperfections of our experience as any evidence of the unreality of
our Christianity. They are a proof that we have limited and impeded
the operation of the Spirit within us. They teach us that He will not
intercede 'with groanings which cannot be uttered' unless we let Him
speak through our voices. Therefore, if we find that in our own
consciousness there is little to correspond to those unuttered
groanings, we should take the warning: 'Quench not the Spirit.'
'Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God in whom ye were sealed unto the
day of redemption.'

IV. The unuttered longings are sure to be answered.

He that searcheth the heart knows the meaning of the S