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The righteousness]

CHAP. X

ROMANS.

BRETHREN, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

2 For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge.

3 For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God.

4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.

5 For Moses describeth the righte

[of the law ousness which is of the law, That the man which doeth those things shall live by them.

6 But the righteousness which is of faith speaketh on this wise, Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above :)

7 Or, Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again from the dead.)

8 But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;

9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath

EXPOSITION-Chap. IX. Continued.

If God for a season spare wicked persons, who, by filling up the measure of their iniquities, have fitted themselves for destruction, that he may deduce greater good for those who, by his grace, are prepared for glory, viz. for the believing Gentiles, as well as for the remuant of believers among the Jews,-have the repudiated Jews any reason to complain? May not a sovereign, without injustice, delay the execution of a criminal, if such delay appear to him likely to be beneficial to his obedient subjects, and calculated to subserve some important purpose for the welfare of his kingdom in general? God had thus acted in the case of Pharaoh, and He was about to do the same in the case of the Jews. The apostle then shows that the calling of the Gentiles in general, and the rejection of many of the Jews for their unbelief, had been plainly predicted by the prophets, so that any objections which the Jews might raise against the equity of the divine proceedings, in these respects, would at once be futile and antiscriptural."

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Some learned men, indeed, wish to confine all that is here said to the dealings of Providence with nations only, on which Mr. Scott remarks-"It is wonderful that the great Mr. Locke should confidently assert, that the apostle here speaks of men nationally, and not personally, in reference to their eternal state; when the rejection of the Jewish nation, with the reservation of a remnant, according to the election of grace,' was the apostle's main subject, to illustrate which all the other examples are introduced. This remnant consisted of a small number of individuals, not of a nation; and the Gentile converts were individuals out of their several nations, forming, with the Jewish converts, the Christian Church: and not whole nations, or one whole nation chosen, as a collective body, to succeed to the external advantages, which the nation of Israel had forfeited: and surely the vessels of mercy before prepared unto glory,' which the apostle next mentions, must have been chosen, not to external advantages, but to eternal life."

NOTES.

CHAP. X. Ver. 4. The end.-Doddr. "scope and design." Beza thinks Christ is so called, because by his death he hath procured that justification for sinners through faith, which the law proposed to bestow through works. Mackn. "the end or purpose for which the law was given, namely (by its types, &c.), to lead the Jews to believe in Christ." Ver. 5. Moses describeth.-See Levit, xviii. 5. Ver. 6. Who shall ascend.-See Deut. xxx, 11-14, and Exposition.

Ver. 7. Into the deep.-(Greek abyss.) Dr. Campbell refers it to hades, the world of spirits. Bishop

Lowth thinks that Moses here alludes to a custom of the Egyptians, who buried their dead on the other side of a lake, in what they called " the isles of the blessed." Lect. ix.

Ver 8. The word is nigh thee." Things obscure, or difficult to be obtained (says Mr. Cox, were represented by the Jews as being far off; whereas such as were plain, or easily attainable, were said to be nigh."

Ver. 9. The Lord Jesus.-Doddr. "Jesus the Lord."

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raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.

10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.

11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.

12 For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him.

13 For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher ?

15 And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace, and

[contrasted.

bring glad tidings of good things!

16 But they have not all obeyed the Gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

18 But I say, Have they not heard? Yes verily, their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world.

19 But I say, Did not Israel know? First Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you.

20 But Esaias is very bold, and saith, I was found of them that sought me not; I was made manifest unto them that asked not after me.

21 But to Israel he saith, All day long I have stretched forth my hands unto a disobedient and gainsaying people. (Q)

CHAP. X.

EXPOSITION.

(Q) Ver. 1-21. Paul farther distinguishes between the law and the gospel, and shows that the call of the Gentiles had been foretold. It has been said that the doctrine of predestination has a tendency to harden the heart against feelings of tenderness for our fellow sinners; and to render persons indifferent to their salvation, under the suspicion of their not being elected. But with God's secret will we have really no * concern: "the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children for ever," and our only concern with them is, to believe and to obey them: "to do all the words" of God's blessed book. (See Deut. xxix. 29, and Expos.) Among those precepts, some of the first and most important are, to believe in the Lord Jesus Christ ourselves, and to recommend faith in him and obedience to his will, so far as our means extend, to all our fellow sinners. And without attempting any invidious comparison, it cannot be denied that many

predestinarians rank among the most zealous and active propagators of the Gospel. St. Paul himself, who had written more in the support of this truth than all the other writers of the New Testament, was certainly not exceeded by any of them in the zeal with which he sought the conversion of both Jews and Gentiles; and "his heart's desire and prayer to God" for both was, "that they might be saved."

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But it is to the former class that the apostle chiefly addresses himself in this and the following chapters, bearing them record "that they had a zeal for God," that is, for their religion; but it was "not according to knowledge. They were ignorant even of the great and important doctrine of justification, and being ignorant of God's righteousness, that is, the righteousness which he had provided in his Son, they went about seeking to establish their own righteousness; whereas he assures them that "Christ is the end of the law;" as in him was exhibited the

NOTES.

Ver. 11. Shall not be ashamed.-See chap. ix. 33. Ver. 12. Lord over all.-Doddr. "Lord of all." So the Greek. Compare cb. x. 36.

Ver. 13. Whosoever shall call.-See Joel ii. 32; and Compare Acts ii. 21.

Ver. 18. Their sound, &c.-See Psalm xix. 4.
Ver. 19. Moses saith.--Deut. xxxii. 21.

Ver. 20. Esaias.-See Isa. lxv. 1, 2.Is very bold-i, e, open and plain in his predictions. Com pare 2 Cor. iii, 12,

Israel not]

I

CHAP. XI.

ROMANS.

SAY then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.

2 God hath not cast away his people which he foreknew. Wot ye not what the Scripture saith of Elias? how he maketh intercession to God against Israel, saying,

3 Lord, they have killed thy prophets, and digged down thine altars; and I am left alone, and they seek my life.

4 But what saith the answer of God unto him? I have reserved to myself

[ finally rejected,

seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the image of Baal.

5 Even so then at this present time also there is a remnant according to the election of grace.

6 And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.

7 What then? Israel hath not ob tained that which he seeketh for; but the election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded,

8 (According as it is written, God hath given them the spirit of slumber, eyes that they should not see, and

EXPOSITION-Chap. X. Continued,

perfection of the moral law, and the fulfilment of the ceremonial.

In what follows, the apostle refers to the farewell discourse of Moses to the Israelites, in which he speaks of the taws which he had delivered, as not so high that they must be again fetched from heaven, as at Sinai; nor so foreign and obscure that the deep must be fathomed for them; but as brought near, that is, rendered easy and familiar to them: so God had "brought near his righteousness for their salvation." (Isa. xlvi. 13.) After exhibiting it in the types and figures of the law at a distance, he had now, in the Gospel, applied it home to their hearts and consciences, saying, "If thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." Kuowledge is, however, necessary previous to faith; it is necessary, therefore, that the Gospel should be preached to both Jews and Gentiles; and those who feel their need of it, and its suitableness to their necessities, will bail it with a hearty welcome, aud say, with the Prophet Isaiah (ch. lii. 7), "How beautiful are the feet of them that publish it!" But this is not the case with all. Many will reject and despise the messengers of mercy, as the prophet himself foresaw,

when he exclaimed, "Who hath believed our report?" &c. (See Isaiah liii, 1, and Expos.)

From the preceding premises the apostle draws this general inference, that "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God," that word, that is, the Gospel, must therefore be universally promulgated, like the sunbeams which shine from east to west, and from one extremity of the world to the other: and has not this been accomplished? Even at the time when the apostle wrote, he and his colleagues had been employed nearly thirty years in preaching; and churches had been founded not only in Jerusalem and Judea, but at Rome, Corinth, Ephesus, and in most parts of the Roman empire; so that, in his Epistle to the Colossians, not long after this, he tells them, as he does the Romans here, that it had spread into all the world (Col. i. 6), meaning (of course) so far as it was then known.

Nor were the Jews themselves unap prized of this, since it was foretold by Moses and the prophets in several passages here referred to; though it must be con fessed that they showed the greatest obstinacy in refusing to believe or to understand it, even such of them as had been converted to Christianity.

NOTES.

CHAP. XI. Ver. 2. Which he foreknew. See Exposition of chap. viii. 28-30.-Wot ye noti. e. Know ye not-what the Scripture saith of Elias?-i. e. of Elijah ?- How he maketh intercession-i. e. pleadeth, or complaineth. See Note on chap. viii. 27.Against Israel. See 1 Kings xix. 14—18.

Ver. 7. Israel hath not obtained-i. e. the nation at large hath not obtained salvation. See chap is 31, 22-Were blinded. Marg. "hardened," namely, by unbelief.

Ver. 8. According as it is written.-Isa. xxix. 10, Compare John xii. 40, and Note.

But to be restored with]

CHAP. XI.

ears that they should not hear;) unto this day.

9 And David saith, Let their table be made a snare, and a trap, and a stumbling-block, and a recompence unto them:

10 Let their eyes be darkened, that they may not see, and bow down their back alway.

11 I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

[the fulness of the Gentiles. 12 Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?

13 For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:

14 If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.

15 For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead? (R)

CHAP. XI.

EXPOSITION.

(R) Ver. 1-15. The Jew's not finally cast off by God; but a remnant of them shall be saved, together with the Gentiles.Mr. Locke gives us the subject of this interesting chapter in the few following lines-St. Paul, in this chapter, goes on to show the future state of the Jews and Gentiles, as to Christianity, viz. that though the Jews were, for their unbelief, rejected, and the Gentiles taken in their room to be the people of God, yet there was a few of the Jews that believed in Christ, and so a small remnant' of them continued to be God's people, being incorporated with the converted Gentiles into the Christian Church. But when the fulness of the Gentiles is come in (see ver. 25, 26), the whole nation of them [as this ingenious commentator thinks] shall be converted to the Gospel, and again be restored to be the people of God."

Some have, indeed, supposed that what is said by St. Paul, both here and elsewhere, of the conversion of the Jews, might relate to those converted in the first propagation of the Gospel; but it is au important observation of Dr. W. Harris, that this Epistle was written, as above remarked, about thirty years after that event. Aud supposing it to have reference to some future time, no event has since occurred which can reasonably be considered as its fulfilment.

But let us examine St. Paul's own statement.-That God had finally and totally rejected his beloved nation, is a proposition of which the apostle refuses for a moment to admit the thought-" God forbid!" In former instances, indeed, when Israel fell into idolatry, they were sent into captivity and bondage for a certain time, but restored on their repentance: now they have rejected the Messiah, such a crime cannot be less severely punished, hut demands far heavier judgments. Then they were sent to Egypt or to Babylon; now they shall be scattered over the face of the whole earth: still, however, while on earth, they are not beyond the reach of mercy. In the first place we see, as in former instances of apostacy from God, even now (that is, in the apostolic age) there is a considerable "remnant" saved, "according to the election" of grace, as had formerly been the case in the Babylonish captivity. (Isa. x. 21, 22.) And, at a future period, when "the fulness of the Gentiles shall be brought in," then the body of the Jews, as a nation, shall be converted also, and thus "all Israel shall be saved."

The strain of the apostle's reasoning in this chapter is, by Dr. Macknight, thus elucidated :-"Our Lord having declared to the chief priests and elders, .... that the kingdom of God was to be taken from them and given unto the Gentiles (Matt.

NOTES.

Ver. 9. And David saith.-See Ps. Ixix. 22, 23; and compare Acts i. 20.

Ver. 11. That they should.-The terms "utterly," or "irrecoverably," or " for ever," are by commentators in general here understood, or supplied: and the sense evidently requires this; for verse 15 speaks of their being raised up again, and, of course, their fall could not be final.

Ver. 12. The riches of the world-i. e. the defection of the Jews enriched other nations, by making the Gentile Church the depository of divine truth, and of Christian privileges.- -The diminishing.Marg. " decay, or loss."

Ver. 13. The apostle of the Gentiles-i. e. expressly deputed to preach the gospel to them. See Acts ix. 15, &c.

Israel's final restoration]

ROMANS.

16 ¶ For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

17 And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

18 Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

19 Thou wilt say then, the branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.

20 Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear: 21 For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

22 Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, good. ness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

{ predicted by the prophets: 23 And they also, if they abide not in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.

24 For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olivetree?

25 For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in.

26 And so all Israel shall be saved: as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob:

27 For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their sins.

28 As concerning the Gospel, they are enemies for your sakes: but as

EXPOSITION-Chap. XI. Continued.

xxi. 43; xxii. 7, &c.), we cannot think the Christian preachers would conceal these things from their unbelieving brethren. Stephen seems to have spoken of them, Acts v. 13, and St. Paul often. .... Wherefore that the foreknowledge of the evils which were coming on their brethren might not affect the Jewish Christians too much, the apostle, in this chapter, comforted them that they were not to be total .. [nor] final, but for a limited time only, to make way for the entering of the Gentiles into the church, by whose reception the Jews at last will be provoked to emulate them, and will receive the Gospel. (ver. 11-16.)"

Dr. Macknight here evidently considers the conversion of the Gentiles, when that shall be accomplished in its full extent, as a powerful means of converting the Jews; on the other hand, many consider the conversion of the Jewish nation to Christianity

as a no less effective instrument for the conversion of the Gentiles. The controversy is needless and unprofitable. It is highly probable these events may be, in a great measure, coincident. When it shall please God to "pour out his Spirit from on high," the infidelity of both must yield to the invincible efficacy of his grace. When the Jews shall witness the conversion of the Gentile nations among whom they reside, especially the Hindoos, the Chinese, and the Mahometans, it must naturally lead them to reflections on their own infidelity, and may be the means of bringing them to Christ; at the same time there can be no doubt but that the conversion of the Jews, in a body, to Christianity, must, with the divine blessing, have a like influence on the heathen, nominal Christians, and avowed infidels. (See Expos. of Ezek. xxxvi. latter part.)

NOTES-Chap. XI. Con.

Ver. 16. If the firstfruit be holy.-This may refer to the early Patriarchs and believing Hebrews. For the allusion, see Num. xv. 20, 21. Abraham was the root of the Jewish nation.

Ver. 17. Among them.-Marg, " for them."

Ver. 25. The fulness of the Gentiles—i. e. the general conversion of the heathen.

Ver. 26. As it is written.-Isa. lix. 20. The quo tation here is from the lxx.

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