Verse 23. And that he might make known. That he might manifest or display. The apostle had shown (Romans 9:22) that the dealings of God towards the wicked were not liable to the objection made in Romans 9:19. In this verse he proceeds to show that the objection could not lie against his dealings with the other class of men--the righteous. If his dealings towards neither were liable to the objection, then he has met the whole case, and the Divine government is vindicated. This he proves by showing that for God to show the riches of his glory towards those whom he has prepared for it cannot be regarded as unjust.
The riches of his glory. This is a form of expression common among the Hebrews, meaning the same as his rich or his abundant glory. The same expression occurs in Ephesians 1:18.
On the vessels of mercy. Men towards whom his mercy was to be displayed, (Romans 9:22) that is, on those towards whom he has purposed to display his mercy.
Mercy. Favour, or pity shown to the miserable. Grace is favour to the undeserving; mercy, favour to those in distress. This distinction is not, however, always strictly observed by the sacred writers.
Which he had afore prepared. We are here brought to a remarkable difference between God's mode of dealing with them and with the wicked. Here it is expressly affirmed that God himself had prepared them for glory. In regard to the wicked, it is simply affirmed that they were fitted for destruction, without affirming anything of the agency by which it was done. That God prepares his people for glory--commences and continues the work of their redemption-- is abundantly taught in the Scriptures, 1 Thessalonians 5:9, "God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ." 2 Timothy 1:9, "Who hath saved us and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began." See also Ephesians 1:4,5,11; Romans 8:28,29,30;; Acts 13:48; John 1:13. As the renewing of the heart and the sanctifying of the soul is an act of goodness, it is worthy of God, and of course no objection could lie against it. No man could complain of a course of dealings designed to make men better; and as this is the sole design of the electing love of God, his dealings with this class of men are easily vindicated. No Christian can complain that God has chosen him, renewed him, and made him pure and happy. And as this was an important part of the plan of God, it is easily defended from the objection in Romans 9:19.
Unto glory. To happiness; and especially to the happiness of heaven. Hebrews 2:10, "It became him, in bringing many sons unto glory," etc. Romans 5:2, "We rejoice in hope of the glory of God." 2 Corinthians 4:17, "Our light affliction worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 2 Thessalonians 2:14; 2 Timothy 2:10; 1 Peter 5:4. This eternal state is called "glory," because it blends together everything that constitutes honour, dignity, purity, love, and happiness. All these significations are in various places attached to this word, and all mingle in the eternal state of the righteous. We may remark here,
(1.) that this word "glory" is not used in the Scriptures to denote any external national privileges; or to describe any external call of the gospel. No such instance is to be found. Of course the apostle here, by vessels of mercy, meant individuals destined to eternal life, and not nations externally called to the gospel. No instance can be found where God speaks of nations called to external privileges, and speaks of them as "prepared unto glory."
(2.) As this word refers to the future state of individuals, it shows what is meant by the word "destruction" in Romans 9:22. That term stands contrasted with glory; and describes, therefore, the future condition of individual wicked men. This is also its uniform meaning in the New Testament. On this vindication of the apostle we may observe,
(1.) that all men will be treated as they ought to be treated. Men will be dealt with according to their characters at the end of life.
(2.) If men will suffer no injustice, then this is the same as saying that they will be treated justly; But what is this? That the wicked shall be treated as they deserve. What they deserve God has told us in the Scriptures: "These shall go away into everlasting punishment."
(3.) God has a right to bestow his blessings as he chooses. Where all are undeserving, where none have any claim, he may confer his favours on whom he pleases.
(4.) He actually does deal with men in this way. The apostle takes this for granted. He does not deny it, He most evidently believes it, and labours to show that it is right to do so. If he did not believe it, and meant to teach it, he would have said so. It would have met the objection at once, and saved all argument. He reasons as if he did believe it; and this settles the question that the doctrine is true.
{w} "riches of his glory" Ephesians 1:18
{x} "which he had afore" 1 Thessalonians 5:9
Verse 24. Even us, etc. See Romans 1:16; 2:10; 3:29,30. To prove that the Gentiles might be called as well as the Jews, was a leading design of the epistle.
Us. Christians, selected from both Jews and Gentiles. This proves that he did not refer to nations primarily, but to individuals chosen out of nations. Two things are established here.
(1.) That the grace of God was not confined to the Jewish people, as they supposed, so that it could be conferred on no others.
(2.) That God was not bound to confer grace on all the descendants of Abraham, as he bestowed it on those selected from the mass, according to his own will, and not of necessity on the mass itself.
Verse 25. As he saith also. The doctrine which he had established he proceeds now to confirm by quotations from the writings of Jews, that he might remove every objection. The doctrine was,
(1.) that God intended to call his people from the Gentiles as well as the Jews.
(2.) That he was bound by no promise and no principle of obligation to bestow salvation on all the Jews.
(3.) That therefore it was right for him to reject any or all of the Jews, if he chose, and cut them off from their privileges as a people, and from salvation.
In Osee. This is the Greek form of writing the Hebrew word Hosea. It means in the book of Hosea, as in David means in the book of David, or by David, Hebrews 4:7. The passage is found in Hosea 2:23. This quotation is not made according to the letter, but the sense of the prophet is preserved. The meaning is the same in Hosea and in this place, that God would bring those into a covenant relation to himself, who were before deemed outcasts and strangers. Thus he supports his main position that God would choose his people from among the Gentiles as well as the Jews, or would exercise towards both his right as a sovereign, bestowing or withholding his blessings as he pleases.
{y} "Osee" Hosea 2:23
Verse 26. And it shall come to pass. It shall happen, or take place. This is a continuation of the quotation from the prophet Hosea, (Romans 1:10) designed to confirm the doctrine which he was establishing. Both these quotations have the same design, and are introduced for the same end. In Hosea they did not refer to the calling Of the Gentiles, but to the recalling the rejected Jews. God says, after the Jews had been rejected and scattered for their idolatry; after they had forfeited his favour, and been cast off as if they were not his people, he would recall them, and bestow them again the appellation of sons. The apostle does not quote this as having original reference to the Gentiles, but for the following purposes:--
(1.) If God formerly purposed to recall to himself a people whom he had rejected; if he bestowed favours on his own people after they had forfeited his favour, and ceased to be entitled to the name of "his people " then the same thing was not to be regarded as absurd if he dealt in a similar manner with the Gentiles, also a part of his original great family--the family of man--but long since rejected and deemed strangers.
(2.) The dealings of God towards the Jews in the time of Hosea settled a general principle of government. His treatment of them in this manner was a part of his great plan of governing the world. On the same plan he now admitted the Gentiles to favour. And as this general principle was established; as the history of the Jews themselves was a precedent in the case, it ought not to be objected in the time of Paul that the same principle should be carried out to meet the case also of the Gentiles.
In the place. The place where they may be scattered, or where they may dwell. Or rather, perhaps, in those nations which were not regarded as the people of God, there shall be a people to whom this shall apply.
Where it was said unto them. Where the proper appellation of the people was, that they were not the people of God; where they were idolatrous, sinful, aliens, strangers; so that they had none of the marks of the children of God.
Ye are not my people. People in covenant with God; under his protection, as their Sovereign, and keeping his laws.
There shall they be called. That is, there they shall be. The verb to call, in the Hebrew writings, means often the same as to be. It denotes that this shall be the appellation which properly expresses their character. It is a figure perhaps almost peculiar to the Hebrews; and it gives additional interest to the case. Instead of saying coldly and abstractedly, "they are such," it introduces also the idea that such is the favourable judgment of God in the case. See Matthew 5:9, "Peacemakers--shall be called the children of God." See Barnes "Matthew 5:9"; also Romans 9:19; Matthew 21:13, "My house shall be called the house of prayer." Mark 11:17; Luke 1:32; 35; 76; Isaiah 56:7.
The children of, etc. Greek, Sons. See Barnes "Matthew 1:1".
Living God. Called living God in opposition to dead idols. See Barnes "Matthew 16:16" also Matthew 26:63; John 6:69; Acts 14:15; 1 Thessalonians 1:9, "Turn from idols to serve the living and true God " Jeremiah 10:10. This is a most honourable and distinguished appellation. No higher favour can be conferred on mortals than to be the sons of the living God, members of his family, entitled to his protection, and secure of his watch and care. This was an object of the highest desire with the saints of old. See Psalms 42:2; 84:2, "My soul thirsteth for God, the living God;" "My heart and my flesh cry out for the living God."
{z} "it shall come" Hosea 1:10
Verse 27,28. Esias. The Greek way of writing the word Isaiah.
Crieth. Isaiah 10:22,23. Exclaims, or speaks aloud or openly. Comp. John 1:15. Isaiah brings forth the doctrine fully, and without any concealment or disguise. This doctrine related to the rejection of the Jews; a far more difficult point to establish than was that of the calling of the Gentiles. It was needful, therefore to fortify it by some explicit passage of the Scriptures.
Concerning Israel. Concerning the Jews. It is probable that Isaiah had reference primarily to the Jews of his own time; to that wicked generation that God was about to punish, by sending them captive into other lands. The case was one, however, which settled a general principle of the Jewish government; and therefore it was applicable to the case before the apostle. If the thing for which he was contending--that the Jews might be rejected---existed in the time of Isaiah, and was settled then as a precedent, it might exist also in his time and under the gospel.
As the sand of the sea. This expression is used to denote an indefinite or an innumerable multitude. It often occurs in the sacred writings. In the infancy of society, before the art of numbering was carried to a great extent, men were obliged to express themselves very much in this manner. Genesis 22:17, "I will multiply thy seed--as the sand which is upon the sea-shore;" Genesis 32:12.- Isaiah doubtless had reference to this promise: "Though all that was promised to Abraham shall be fulfilled, and his seed shall be as numerous as God declared, yet a remnant only," etc. The apostle thus shows that his doctrine does not conflict at all with the utmost expectation of the Jews drawn from the promises of God. See a similar use of the term sand in Judges 7:12; 1 Samuel 13:5; 2 Samuel 17:11, etc. In the same manner great numbers were denoted by the stars of heaven, Genesis 22:17; 15:5.
A remnant shall be saved. Meaning a remnant only. This implies that great multitudes of them would be cast off, and be not saved. If only a remnant was to be saved, many must be lost; and this was just the point which the apostle was endeavouring to establish. The word remnant means that which is left, particularly what may remain after a battle or a great calamity, 2 Kings 19:31; 10:11; Judges 5:13 Isaiah 14:22. In this place, however, it means a small part or portion. Out of the great multitude there shall be so few left as to make it proper to say that it was a mere remnant. This implies, of course, that the great mass should be cast away or rejected. And this was the use which the apostle intended to make of it. Comp. the Wisdom of Sirach xliv. 17, "Noah--was left unto the earth as a remnant when the flood came."
Shall be saved. Shall be preserved, or kept from destruction. As Isaiah had reference to the captivity of Babylon, this means that only a remnant should return to their native land. The great mass should be rejected and cast off. This was the case with the ten tribes, and also with many others who chose to remain in the land of their captivity. The use which the apostle makes of it is this: In the history of the Jews, by the testimony of Isaiah, a large part of the Jews of that time were rejected, and cast off from being the peculiar people of God. It is clear, therefore, that God has brought himself under no obligation to save all the descendants of Abraham. This case settles the principle. If God did it then, it was equally consistent for him to do it in the time of Paul, under the gospel. The conclusion, therefore, to which the apostle came, that it was the intention of God to reject and cast off the Jews as a people, was in strict accordance with their own history and the prophecies. It was still true that a remnant was to be saved, while the great mass of the people was rejected. The apostle is not to be understood here as affirming that the passage in Isaiah had reference to the gospel, but only that it settled one great principle of the Divine administration in regard to the Jews, and that their rejection under the gospel was strictly in accordance with that principle.
{a} "Esias also crieth" Isaiah 10:22,23
Verse 28. He will finish the work. This is taken from the Septuagint translation of Isaiah 10:23. The Hebrew is, "The Lord God of hosts shall make a consumption, even determined, in the midst of all the land." Or, as it may be rendered, "Destruction is decreed which shall make justice overflow; yea, destruction is verily determined on; the Lord Jehovah will execute it in the midst of all the land." (Stuart.) The Septuagint and the apostle adhere to the sense of the passage, but do not follow the words. The phrase, will finish the work, means, he will bring the thing to an end, or will accomplish it. It is an expression applicable to a firm purpose to accomplish an object. It refers here to his threat of cutting off the people; and means that he will fulfil it.
Cut it short. This word here means to execute it speedily. The destruction shall not be delayed.
In righteousness. So as to manifest his own justice. The work, though apparently severe, yet shall be a just expression of God's abhorrence of the sins of the people.
Because a short work. The word here rendered "short" means, properly, that which is determined on or decreed. This is the sense of the Hebrew; and the phrase here denotes the purpose which was determined on in relation to the Jews.
Upon the earth. Upon the land of Israel. See Barnes "Matthew 5:5"; See Barnes "Matthew 4:8". The design for which the apostle introduces this passage is to show that God of old destroyed many of the Jews for their sin; and that, therefore, the doctrine of the apostle was no new thing, that the Jews might be excluded from the peculiar privileges of the children of God.
{1} "the work" or, "the account"
{a} "because a short work" Isaiah 28:22
Verse 29. And as Esaias said. Isaiah 1:9.
Before. The apostle had just cited one prediction from the tenth chapter of Isaiah. He now says that Isaiah had affirmed the same thing in a previous part of his prophecy.
Except the Lord of Sabaoth. In Isaiah, the Lord of Hosts. The word Sabaoth is the Hebrew word rendered hosts. It properly denotes armies or military hosts organized for war. Hence it denotes the hosts of heaven, and means
(1.) the angels, who are represented as marshalled or arranged into military orders, Ephesians 1:21; 3:10; 6:12; Colossians 1:16; 2:15; Jude 1:6 1 Kings 22:19, "I saw the Lord sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him" Psalms 103:21; 148:2.
(2.) The stars, Jeremiah 33:22, "As the host of heaven cannot be numbered," etc.; Isaiah 40:26; Deuteronomy 4:19, etc. God is called the Lord of hosts, as being at the head of all these armies; their King and their Commander. It is a phrase properly expressive of his majesty and power, and is appropriately introduced here, as the act of saving "the seed" was a signal act of power in the midst of great surrounding wickedness.
Had left. Had preserved, or kept from destruction. Here their preservation is ascribed to God, and it is affirmed that if God had not interposed, the whole nation would have been cut off. This fully establishes the doctrine of the apostle, that God might cast off the Jews, and extend the blessings to the Gentiles.
A seed. The Hebrew in Isaiah means one surviving or escaping, corresponding with the word remnant. The word seed commonly means, in the Scriptures, descendants, posterity. In this place it means a part, a small portion; a remnant, like the small portion of the harvest which is reserved for sowing.
We had been as Sodoma. The nation was so wicked, that unless God had preserved a small number who were pious from the general corruption of the people, they would have been swept off by judgment, like Sodom and Gomorrah. We are told that ten righteous men would have saved Sodom, Genesis 18:32. Among the Israelites, in a time of great general depravity, a small number of holy men were found who preserved the nation. The design of the apostle here was the same as in the previous verses--to show that it was settled in the Jewish history that God might cast off the people, and reject them from enjoying the peculiar privileges of his friends. It is true that in Isaiah he has reference to the temporal punishment of the Jews. But it settles a great principle, for which Paul was contending, that God might cast off the nation consistently with his promises and his plans.--We may learn here,
(1.) that the existence of religion among a people is owing to the love of God. "Except the Lord had left us," etc.
(2.) It is owing to his mercy that any men are kept from sin, and any nation from destruction.
(3.) We see the value of religion and of pious men in a nation. Ten such would have saved Sodom; and a few such saved Judea. Comp. Matthew 5:13,14.
(4.) God has a right to withdraw his mercies from any other people, however exalted their privileges, and leave them to ruin; and we should not be high-minded, but fear, Romans 10:20.
{c} "Except the Lord" Isaiah 1:9; Lamentations 3:22
{d} "we had been as" Genesis 19:24,25; Isaiah 13:19
Verse 30. What shall we say then? What conclusion shall we draw from the previous train of remarks? To what results have we come by the passages adduced from the Old Testament? This question is asked prepatory to his summing up the argument; and he had so stated the argument that the conclusion which he was about to draw was inevitable.
The Gentiles. That many of the Gentiles; or that the way was open for them, and many of them had actually embraced the righteousness of faith. This epistle was written as late as the year 57, (see Introduction,) and at that time multitudes of heathens had embraced the Christian religion.
Which followed not after righteousness. The apostle does not mean that none of the pagans had any solicitude about right and wrong, or that there were no anxious inquiries among them; but he intends particularly to place them in contrast with the Jew. They had not made it their main object to justify themselves; they were not filled with prejudice and pride as the Jews were, who supposed that they had complied with the law, and who felt no need of any other justification; they were sinners, and they felt it, and had no such mighty obstacle in a system of self-righteousness to overcome as the Jew had. Still it was true that they were excessively wicked, and that the prevailing characteristic among them was that they did not follow after righteousness. See Romans 1:1 and following. The word "followed" here often denotes to pursue with intense energy, as a hunter pursues his game, or a man pursues a flying enemy. The Jews had sought righteousness in that way; the Gentiles had not. The word righteousness here means the same as justification. The Gentiles, which sought not justification, have obtained justification.
Have attained to righteousness, have become justified. This was a matter of fact; and this was what the prophet had predicted. The apostle does not say that the sins of the Gentiles, or their indifference to the subject, was any reason why God justified them, or that men would be as safe in sin as in attempting to seek for salvation. He establishes the doctrine, indeed, that God is a sovereign; but still it is implied that the gospel had not the peculiar obstacle to contend with among the Gentiles that it had among the Jews. There was less pride, obstinacy, self-confidence; and men were more easily brought to see that they were sinners, and to feel their need of a Saviour. Though God dispenses his favours as a sovereign, and though all are opposed by nature to the gospel, yet it is always true that the gospel finds more obstacles among some men than among others. This was a most cutting and humbling doctrine to the pride of a Jew; and it is no wonder, therefore, that the apostle guarded it as he did.
Which is of faith. Justification by faith in Christ. See Barnes "Romans 1:17,31".
{e} "the Gentiles" Romans 10:20
{f} "the righteousness which is of faith" Romans 1:17; Philippians 3:9
Verse 31. But Israel. The Jews. The apostle does not mean to affirm that none of the Jews had obtained mercy, but that as a people, or acting according to the prevalent principles of the nation to work out their own righteousness, they had not obtained it.
Which followed after the law of righteousness. The phrase, "the law of righteousness," means the law of justice, or the just law. That law demands perfect purity; and even its external observance demanded holiness. The Jews supposed that they rendered such obedience to that law as to constitute a meritorious ground of justification. This they had followed after; that is, pursued zealously and unremittingly. The reason why they did not obtain justification in that way is fully stated in chapters 1-3., where it is shown that the law demands perfect compliance with its precepts; and that Jews, as well as Gentiles, had altogether failed in rendering such compliance.
Hath not attained to the law of righteousness. They have not come to yield true obedience to the law, even though imperfect; not such obedience as to give evidence that they have been justified. We may remark here,
(1.) that no conclusion could have been more humbling to a Jew than this. It constituted the whole of the prevalent religion, and was the object of their incessant toils.
(2.) As they made the experiment fully, and failed; as they had the best advantages for it, and did not succeed, but reared only a miserable and delusive system of self-righteousness, (Philippians 3:4-9); it follows, that all similar experiments must fail, and that none now can be justified by the law.
(3.) Thousands fail in the same attempt. They seek to justify themselves before God. They attempt to weave a righteousness of their own. The moral man does this. The immoral man attempts it as much as the moral man, and is as confident in his own righteousness. The troubled sinner does this; and this it is which keeps him so long from the cross of Christ. All this must be renounced; and man must come as a poor, lost, ruined sinner, and throw himself upon the mere mercy of God in Christ for justification and life.
{g} "which followed after the law" Romans 10:2; 11:7
Verse 32. Wherefore? Why. The apostle proceeds to state the reason why so uniform and remarkable a result happened.
They sought it not by faith, etc. They depended on their own righteousness, and not on the mercy of God to be obtained by faith.
By the works of the law. By complying with all the demands of the law, so that they might merit salvation. Their attempted obedience included their prayers, fastings, sacrifices, etc., as well as compliance with the demands of the moral law. It may be asked here, perhaps, how the Jews could know any better than this? How should they know anything about justification by faith. To this I answer,
(1.) that the doctrine was stated in the Old Testament. See Habakkuk 2:4. Comp. Romans 1:17. Psalms 32; Psalms 130; Psalms 14. Comp. Romans 3; Job 9:2.
(2.) The sacrifices had reference to a future state of things, and were doubtless so understood. See the epistle to the Hebrews.
(3.) The principle of justification, and of living by faith, had been fully brought out in the lives and experience of the saints Of old. See Romans 4; Hebrews 11.
They stumbled. They fell; or failed; or this was the cause why they did not obtain it.
At that stumbling-stone. To wit, at that which he specifies in the following verse. A stumbling-stone is a stone or impediment in the path, over which men may fall. Here it means that obstacle which prevented their attaining the righteousness of faith; and which was the occasion of their fall, rejection, and ruin. That was the rejection and the crucifixion of their own Messiah; their unwillingness to be saved by him; their contempt of him and his message. For this God withheld from them the blessings of justification, and was about to cast them off as a people. This also the apostle proceeds to prove was foretold by the prophets.
Verse 33. As it is written. See Isaiah 8:14; 28:16. The quotation here is made up of both these passages, and contains the substance of both. Comp. also Psalms 118:22; 1 Peter 2:6.
Behold I lay in Sion. Mount Zion was the hill or eminence in Jerusalem, over against Mount Moriah, on which the temple was built. On this was the palace of David, and this was the residence of the court, 1 Chronicles 11:5-8. Hence the whole city was often called by that name, Psalms 48:12; 69:35; 87:2. Hence also it came to signify the capital, the glory of the people of God, the place of solemnities; and hence also the church itself, Psalms 2:6; 51:18; 102:13; 137:3; Isaiah 1:27; 52:1 Isaiah 59:20; etc. In this place it means the church. God will place or establish in the midst of that church.
A stumbling-stone and rock of offence. Something over which men shall fall. See Barnes "Matthew 5:29". This is, by Paul, referred to the Messiah. He is called rock of stumbling, not because it was the design of sending him that men should fall, but because such would be the result. The application of the term rock to the Messiah is derived from the custom of building, as he is the cornerstone or the immovable foundation on which the church is to be built. It is not on human merits, but by the righteousness of the Saviour, that the church is to be reared. See 1 Peter 2:6, "I lay in Sion a chief corner-stone." Psalms 118:22, "The stone which the builders rejected is become the head stone of the corner." Ephesians 2:20, "Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner-stone." This rock, designed as a corner-stone to the church, became, by the wickedness of the Jews, the block over which they fall into ruin, 1 Peter 2:8.
Shall not be ashamed. This is taken substantially from the Septuagint translation of Isaiah 28:16, though with some variation. The Hebrew is, "shall not make haste," as it is in our English version. This is the literal meaning of the Hebrew word; but it means also to be afraid, as one who makes haste often is; to be agitated with fear or fright; and hence it has a signification nearly similar to that of shame. It expresses the substance of the same thing, Viz., failure of obtaining expected success and happiness. The meaning here is, that the man who believes shall not be agitated, or thrown into commotion, by fear of want of success; shall not be disappointed in his hopes; and: of course, he shall never be ashamed that he became a Christian. They who do not believe in Christ shall be agitated, fall, and sink into eternal shame and contempt, Daniel 12:2. They who do believe shall be confident; shall not be deceived, but shall obtain the object of their desires. It is clear that Paul regarded the passage in Isaiah as referring to the Messiah. The same also is the case with the other sacred writers who have quoted it, 1 Peter 2:5-8. See also Matthew 21:42; Luke 20:17,18; 2:34. The ancient Targum of Jonathan translates the passage, Isaiah 28:16, "Lo, I will place in Zion a king, a king strong, mighty, and terrible;" referring doubtless to the Messiah. Other Jewish writings also show that this interpretation was formerly given by the Jews to the passage in Isaiah.
In View of this argument of the apostle we may remark,
(1.) that God is a Sovereign, and has a right to dispose of men as he pleases.
(2) The doctrine of election was manifest in the case of the Jews as an established principle of the Divine government, and is therefore true,
(3.) It argues great want of proper feeling to be opposed to this doctrine. It is saying, in other words, that we have not confidence in God; or that we do not believe that he is qualified to direct the affairs of his own universe as well as we.
(4.) The doctrine of election is a doctrine which is not arbitrary; but which will yet be seen to be wise, just, and good. It is the source of all the blessings that any mortals enjoy; and, in the case before us, it can be seen to be benevolent as well as just. It is better that God should cast off a part of the small nation of the Jews, and extend these blessings to the Gentiles, than that they should always have been confined to Jews. The world is better for it, and more good has come out of it.
(5.) The fact, that the gospel has been extended to all nations, is proof that it is from heaven. To a Jew there was no motive to attempt to break down all the existing institutions of his nation, and make the blessings of religion common to all nations, unless he knew that the gospel system was true. Yet the apostles were Jews; educated with all the prejudices of the Jewish people.
(6.) The interests of Christians are safe. They shall not be ashamed or disappointed, God will keep them, and bring them to his kingdom.
(7.) Men still are offended at the cross of Christ. They contemn and despise him. He is to them as a root out of dry ground, and they reject him, and fall into ruin. This is the cause why sinners perish; and this only. Thus as the ancient Jews brought ruin on themselves and their country, so do sinners bring condemnation and woe on their souls. And as the ancient despisers and crucifiers of the Lord Jesus perished, so will all those who work iniquity and despise him now.
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