Verse 18. Therefore hath he mercy, etc. This is a conclusion stated by the apostle as the result of all the argument.
Whom he will he hardeneth. This is not stated in what the Scripture said to Pharaoh, but is a conclusion to which the apostle had arrived, in view of the case of Pharaoh. The word hardeneth means only to harden in the manner specified in the case of Pharaoh. It does not mean to exert a positive influence, but to leave a sinner to his own course, and to place him in circumstances where the character will be more and more developed. See Barnes "John 12:40". It implies, however, an act of sovereignty on the part of God in thus leaving him to his chosen Course, and in not putting forth that influence by which he could be saved from death. Why this is, the apostle does not state. We should, however, not dispute a fact everywhere prevalent; and should have sufficient confidence in God to believe that it is in accordance with infinite wisdom and rectitude.
Verse 19. Thou wilt say then unto me. The apostle here refers to an objection that might be made to his argument. If the position which he had been endeavouring to establish were true; if God had a purpose in all his dealings with men: if all the revolutions among men happened according to his decree, so that he was not disappointed, or his plan frustrated; and if his own glory was secured in all this, why could he blame men?
Why doth he yet find fault? Why does he blame men, since their conduct is in accordance with his purpose, and since he bestows mercy according to his sovereign will? This objection has been made by sinners in all ages. It is the standing objection against the doctrines of grace. The objection is founded,
(1.) on the difficulty of reconciling the purposes of God with the free agency of man.
(2.) It assumes, what cannot be proved, that a plan or purpose of God must destroy the freedom of man.
(3.) It is said that if the plan of God is accomplished, then that which is best to be done is done, and, of course, man cannot be blamed. These objections are met by the apostle in the following argument.
Who hath resisted his will? That is, who has successfully opposed his will, or frustrated his plan? The word translated resist is commonly used to denote the resistance offered by soldiers or armed men. Thus, Ephesians 5:13, "Take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand (resist, or successfully oppose) in the evil day." See Luke 21:15, "I will give you a mouth and wisdom which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay or resist." See also Acts 6:10; 13:8, "But Elymas-- withstood them," etc. The same Greek word, Romans 13:2; Galatians 2:11. This does not mean that no one has offered resistance or opposition to God, but that no one had done it successfully. God had accomplished his purposes in spite of their opposition. This was an established point in the sacred writings, and one of the admitted doctrines of the Jews. To establish it had even been a part of the apostle's design; and the difficulty now was to see how, this being admitted, men could be held chargeable with crime. That it was the doctrine of the Scriptures, see 2 Chronicles 20:6, "In thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? Daniel 4:35, "He doeth according to his will in the army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth; and none can stay his hand, or say unto him, What doest thou?" See also the case of Joseph and his brethren, Genesis 1:20, "As for you, ye thought evil against me; but God meant it unto good."
{r} "who hath resisted his will" 2 Chronicles 20:6; Daniel 4:35
Verse 20. Nay but, O man, etc. To this objection the apostle replies in two ways; first, by asserting the sovereignty of God, and affirming that he had a right to do it, (Romans 9:20,21) and, secondly, by showing that he did it according to the principles of justice and mercy, or that it was involved of necessity in his dispensing justice and mercy to mankind, Romans 9:22-24.
Who art thou, etc. Paul here strongly reproves the impiety and wickedness of arraigning God. This impiety appears,
(1.) because man is a creature of God, and it is improper that he should arraign his Maker.
(2.) He is unqualified to understand the subject. "Who art thou ?" What qualifications has a creature of a day,--a being just in the infancy of his existence; of so limited faculties; so perverse, blinded, and interested as man--to sit in judgment on the doings of the Infinite Mind? Who gave him the authority, or invested him with the prerogatives of a judge over his Maker's doings?
(3.) Even if man were qualified to investigate those subjects, what right has he to reply against God, to arraign him, or to follow out a train of argument tending to involve his Creator in shame and disgrace? Nowhere is there to be found a more cutting or humbling reply to the pride of man than this. And on no subject was it more needed. The experience of every age has shown that this has been a prominent topic of objection against the government of God; and that there has been no point in the Christian theology to which the human heart has been so ready to make objections as to the doctrine of the sovereignty of God.
Repliest against God. Margin, "Answerest again; or, disputest with God." The passage conveys the idea of answering again; or of arguing to the dishonour of God. It implies, that when God declares his will, man should be still. God has his own plans of infinite wisdom, and it is not ours to reply against him, or to arraign him of injustice, when we cannot see the reason of his doings.
Shall the thing formed, etc. This sentiment is found in Isaiah 29:16. See also Isaiah 45:9. It was peculiarly proper to adduce this to a Jew. The objection is one which is supposed to be made by a Jew, and it was proper to reply to him by a quotation from his own Scriptures. Any being has a right to fashion his work according to his own views of what is best; and as this right is not denied to men, we ought not to blame the infinitely wise God for acting in a similar way. They who have received every blessing they enjoy from him, ought not to blame him for not making them different.
{1} "repliest" or, "answerest again" or, "disputest with God."
{s} "shall the thing formed" Isaiah 29:16.
Verse 21. Hath not the potter, etc. This same sovereign right of God the apostle proceeds to urge from another illustration, and another passage from the Old Testament, Isaiah 64:8, "But now, O Lord, thou art our Father; we are the clay, and thou our potter; and we all are the work of thy hand." This passage is preceded in Isaiah by one declaring the depravity of man. Isaiah 64:6, "We are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away." As they were polluted with sin, as they had transgressed the law of God, and had no claim and no merit, God might bestow his favours as he pleased, and mould them as the potter did the clay. He would do no injury to those who were left, and who had no claim to his mercy, if he bestowed favours on others, any more than the potter would do injustice to one part of the mass, if he put it to an ignoble use, and moulded another part into a vessel of honour. This is still the condition of sinful men. God does no injustice to a man if he leaves him to take his own course to ruin, and makes another, equally undeserving, the recipient of his mercy, he violated none of my rights by not conferring on me the talents of Newton or of Bacon; or by not placing me in circumstances like those of Peter and Paul. Where all are undeserving, the utmost that can be demanded is, that he should not treat them with injustice. And this is secured even in the case of the lost. No man will suffer more than he deserves; nor will any man go to perdition feeling that he has a claim to better treatment than he receives. The same sentiment is found in Jeremiah 18:6, "O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as this potter? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel. At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation," etc. The passage in Isaiah proves that God has the right of a sovereign over guilty individuals; that in Jeremiah, that he has the same right over nations: thus meeting the whole case as it was in the mind of the apostle. These passages, however, assert only the right of God to do it, without affirming anything about the manner in which it is done, In fact, God bestows his favours in a mode very different from that in which a potter moulds his clay. God does not create holiness by a mere act of power, but he produces it in a manner consistent with the moral agency of men; and bestows his favours not to compel men, but to incline them to be willing to receive them. Psalms 110:3, "Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy power." It should be further remarked, that the argument of the apostle here does not refer to the original creation of men, as if God had then made them one for honour and another for dishonour, he refers to man as fallen and lost. His argument is this: "Man is in ruins; he is fallen; he has no claim on God; all deserve to die. On this mass, where none have any claim, he may bestow life on whom he pleases, without injury to others; he may exercise the right of a sovereign to pardon whom he pleases; or of a potter to mould any part of the useless mass to purposes of utility and beauty."
Potter. One whose occupation it is to make earthen vessels.
Power. This word denotes here not merely physical power, but authority, right. See Matthew 7:29, translated "authority;" Matthew 21:23; 2 Thessalonians 3:9; Mark 2:10; Luke 5:24, "The Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins," etc.
Lump. Mass. It denotes anything that is reduced to a fine consistency, and mixed, and made soft by water; either clay, as in this place, or the mass produced of grain pounded and mixed with water. Romans 11:16, "If the first-fruit be holy, the lump is also holy." 1 Corinthians 5:6, "Know ye not that a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?"
One vessel. A cup, or other utensil, made of clay.
Unto honour. Fitted to an honourable use, or designed for a more useful and refined purpose.
Unto dishonour. To a meaner service, or more common use. This is a common mode of expression among the Hebrews. The lump here denotes the mass of men, sinners, having no claim on God. The potter illustrates God's right over that mass, to dispose of it as seems good in his sight. The doctrine of the passage is, that men have no right to complain if God bestows his blessings where and when he chooses.
Verses 22,23. What if God, etc. If God does what the apostle supposes, what then? Is it not right? This is the second point in the answer to the objection in Romans 9:19. The answer has respect to the two classes of men which actually exist on the earth--the righteous and the wicked. And the question is, whether in regard to these two classes God does In Fact do wrong? If he does not, then the doctrine of the apostle is established, and the objection is not valid. It is assumed here, as it must be, that the world is in fact divided into two classes--saints and sinners. The apostle considers the case of sinners in Romans 9:22.
Willing. Being disposed; having an inclination to. It denotes an inclination of mind towards the thing proposed. If the thing itself was right; if it was proper to "show his wrath," then it was proper to be WILLING to do it. If it is right to do a thing, it is right to purpose or intend to do it.
His wrath, (\~thn orghn\~) This word occurs thirty-five times in the New Testament. Its meaning is derived from the idea of earnestly desiring or reaching for an object, and properly denotes, in its general sense, a vehement desire of attaining anything. Hence it comes to denote an earnest desire of revenge, or of inflicting suffering on those who have injured us, Ephesians 4:31, "Let all bitterness and wrath," etc.; Colossians 3:8; 1 Timothy 2:8. Hence it denotes indignation in general, which is not joined with a desire of revenge, Mark 3:5, "He looked round about on them with anger." It also denotes punishment for sin--the anger or displeasure of God against transgression. See Barnes "Romans 1:18"; See Barnes "Romans 1:"; See Barnes "Luke 21:23", etc. In this place it is evidently used to denote severe displeasure against sin. As sin is an evil of so great magnitude, it is right for God to be willing to evince his displeasure against it; and just in proportion to the extent of the evil. This displeasure, or wrath, it is proper that God should always be willing to show; nay, it would not be right for him not to show it, for that would be the same thing as to be indifferent to it, or to approve it. In this place, however, it is not affirmed,
(1.) that God has any pleasure in sin, or its punishment; nor
(2.) that he exerted any agency to compel man to sin. It affirms only that God is willing to show his hatred of incorrigible and long-continued wickedness when it actually exists.
To make his power known. This language is the same as that which was used in relation to Pharaoh, Romans 9:17; Exodus 9:16. But it is not probable that the apostle intended to confine it to the Egyptians only. In the following verse he speaks of "the vessels of mercy prepared unto glory;" which cannot be supposed to be language adapted to the temporal deliverance of the Jews. The case of Pharaoh was one instance, or illustration, of the general principle on which God would deal with men. His government is conducted on great and uniform principles; and the case of Pharaoh was a development of the great laws on which he governs the universe.
Endured. Bore with; was patient, or forbearing, Revelation 2:3, "And hast borne, and hast patience," etc. 1 Corinthians 13:7, "Charity (love) beareth all things." Luke 18:7
"Shall not God avenge his own elect, though he bear long with them?"
With much long-suffering. With much patience. He suffered them to live, while they deserved to die. God bears with all sinners with much patience; he spares them amid all their provocations, to give them opportunity of repentance; and though they are fitted for destruction, yet he prolongs their lives, and offers them pardon, and loads them with benefits. This fact is a complete vindication of the government of God from the aspersions of all his enemies.
Vessels of wrath. The word vessel means a cup, etc., made of earth. As the human body is frail, easily broken and destroyed, it comes to signify also the body. 2 Corinthians 4:7: "We have this treasure in earthen vessels." 1 Thessalonians 4:4, "That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour" that every one should keep his body from the indulgence of unlawful passions. Comp. Romans 9:3. Hence also it means the man himself. Acts 9:15, "He is a chosen vessel unto me," etc. Comp. Isaiah 13:3. In this place there is, doubtless, allusion to what he had just said of clay in the hands of the potter. The phrase "vessels of wrath" denotes wicked men against whom it is fit or proper that wrath should be shown; as Judas is called "the son of perdition." See Barnes "John 17:12". This does not mean that men by their very creation, or their physical nature, are thus denominated; but men who, from long continuance in iniquity, deserve to experience wrath; as Judas was not called "son of perdition" by any arbitrary appointment, or as an original designation, but because, in consequence of his avarice and treason, this was the name which in fact actually described him, or fitted his case.
Fitted, (\~kathrtismena\~). This word properly means to restore; to place in order; to render complete; to supply a defect; to fit to, or adapt to, or prepare for. See Matthew 4:21, "Were mending theft nets." Galatians 6:1, "Restore such an one," etc. In this place it is a participle, and means those who are fitted for or adapted to destruction--those whose characters are such as to deserve destruction, or as to make destruction proper. See the same use of the word in Hebrews 11:3, "Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed"---beautifully fitted up in proper proportions, one part adapted to another--" by the word of God." Hebrews 10:5, "A body hast thou prepared for me;" fitted, or adapted to me. Comp. Psalms 68:10; 74:16. In this place there is not the semblance of a declaration that God had PREPARED them, or FITTED them for destruction. It is a simple declaration that they were IN FACT fitted for it, without making an affirmation about the manner in which they became so. A reader of the English Bible may, perhaps, sometimes draw the impression that God had fitted them for this. But this is not affirmed; and there is an evident design in not affirming it, and a distinction made between them and the vessels of mercy which ought to be regarded. In relation to the latter it is expressly affirmed that God fitted or prepared them for glory. See Romans 9:23, "Which HE had afore prepared unto glory." The same distinction is remarkably striking in the account of the last judgment in Matthew 25:34-41. To the righteous, Christ will say, "Come, ye blessed of my rather, inherit the kingdom prepared FOR YOU," etc. To the wicked, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared FOR THE DEVIL AND HIS ANGELS;" not said to have been originally prepared for them. It is clear, therefore, that God intends to keep the great truth in view, that he prepares his people by direct agency for heaven; but that he exerts no such agency in preparing the wicked for destruction.
For destruction, (\~eiv apwleian\~). This word occurs in the New Testament no less than twenty times. Matthew 7:13, "Which leadeth to destruction." John 17:12, "Son of perdition." Acts 8:20, "Thy money perish with thee;" Greek, be for destruction with thee; Acts 25:16. Philippians 1:28, "Token of perdition;" Philippians 3:19, "Whose end is destruction:" 2 Thessalonians 2:3, "The son of perdition." 1 Timothy 6:9, "Which drown men in destruction and perdition." Hebrews 10:39, "Who draw back unto perdition." See also 2 Peter 2:1,3; 3:7,16, etc. In these places it is clear that the reference is to the future punishment of wicked men, and in no instance to national calamities. No such use of the word is to be found in the New Testament; and this is further clear from the contrast with the word "glory" in the next verse. We may remark here, that if men are fitted or prepared for destruction; if future torment is adapted to them, and they to it; if it is fit that they should be subjected to it; then God will do what is fit or right to be done, and, unless they repent, they must perish. Nor would it be right for God to take them to heaven as they are; to a place for which they are not fitted, and which is not adapted to their feelings, their character, or their conduct.
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