TEXT. 24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the jews only, but also of the gentiles. 25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved. 26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children of the living God. PARAPHRASE. his glory*, on those whom, being objects of his 24 mercy, he had before prepared to glory? Even us christians, whom he hath also called, not only of 25 the jews, but also of the gentiles; As he hath declared in Osee; "I will call them my people, who were not my people; and her beloved, who was 26" not beloved. And it shall come to pass, that in the "place, where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people; there shall they be called the children 66 66 NOTES. against the grammar and sense of the place, by his own authority adds," showed mercy," where the sacred scripture is silent, and says no such thing, by which we may make it say any thing. If a verb were to be inserted here, it is evident, it must, some way or other, answer to " endured," in the foregoing verse: but such an one will not be easy to be found, that will suit here. And, indeed, there is no need of it, for, "and" being left out, the sense, suitably to St. Paul's argument here, runs plainly and smoothly thus: "What have you jews, "to complain of, for God's rejecting you, from being any longer his people? *" and giving you up, to be over-run and subjected by the gentiles? and his tak"ing them in, to be his people in your room? he has as much power over the "nations of the earth, to make some of them mighty and flourishing, and others "mean and weak, as a potter has over his clay, to make what sort of vessels he "pleases, of any part of it. This you cannot deny. God might, from the "beginning, have made you a small, neglected people: but he did not. He "made you, the posterity of Jacob, a greater and mightier people, than the "posterity of his elder brother Esau, and made you also his own people, plentifully provided for, in the land of promise. Nay, when your frequent revolts "and repeated provocations had made you fit for destruction, he with long"suffering forbore you, that now, under the gospel, executing his wrath on you, he might manifest his glory, on us, whom he hath called to be his people, "consisting of a small remnant of jews, and of converts out of the gentiles, "whom he had prepared for this glory, as he had foretold by the prophets "Hosea and Isaiah." This is plainly St. Paul's meaning, that God dealt, as is described, ver. 22, with the jews, that he might manifest his glory on the gentiles; for so he declares over and over again, chap. xi. ver. 11, 12, 15, 19, 20, 28, 30. "Make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy." St. Paul in a parallel place, Col. i. has so fully explained these words, that he that will read ver. 27, of that chapter, with the context there, can be in no manner of doubt what St. Paul means here. TEXT. 27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. 28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness : because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. 29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabbaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodome, and been made like unto Gomorrah. 30 What shall we say then? That the gentiles, which followed not after righteousness have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. 31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. 66 PARAPHRASE. 27" of the living God." Isaiah crieth also, concerning Israel, "Though the number of the children of Israel "be as the sand of the sea, yet it is but * a remnant 28 that shall be saved. For the Lord, finishing and con"tracting the account in righteousness, shall make a 29 short, or small remainder † in the earth." And, as Isaiah said before, "Unless the Lord of hosts "had left us a seed ‡, we had been as Sodom, and "been made like unto Gomorrah; we had utterly 30 been extirpated. What then remains to be said, but this? That the gentiles who sought not after righteousness, have obtained the righteousness, which is by faith, and thereby are become the people of 31 God; But the children of Israel, who followed the law, which contained the rule of righteousness, have not attained to that law, whereby righteousness is to be attained, i. e. have not received the gospel §, NOTES. 27"But a remnant." There needs no more but to read the text, to see this to be the meaning. 28 + Aóyou σurlesμnμévov wonσu; "Shall make a contracted, or little ac"count, or overplus," a metaphor, taken from an account, wherein the matter is so ordered, that the overplus, or remainder, standing still upon the account, is very little. 29 "A seed," Isaiah i. 9. The words are, "a very small remnant." 31 See chap. x. 3, and xi. 6, 7. The apostle's design in this and the following chapter, is to show the reason, why the jews were cast off from being the people of God, and the gentiles admitted. From whence it follows, that by attaining to righteousness, and to the law of righteousness," here, is meant 66 TEXT. 32 Wherefore? Because they sought it, not by faith, but (as it were) by the works of the law: for they stumbled at that stumbling-stone. 33 As it is written, Behold I lay in Sion a stumbling-stone, and rock of offence: and whosoever believeth on him, shall not be ashamed. X. 1 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. PARAPHRASE. 32 and so are not the people of God. How came they to miss it? Because they sought not to attain it by faith; but as if it were to be obtained by the works of the law. A crucified Messiah was a stumblingblock to them *; and at that they stumbled, As it 33 is written, "Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling"stone, and a rock of offence: and whosoever be"lieveth in him shall not be ashamed." X. 1 Brethren, my hearty desire and prayer to God for 2 Israel is, that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they are zealous †, and as they think for God and his law; but their zeal is not guided by 3 true knowledge; For they, being ignorant of the righteousness that is of God, viz. That righteousness which he graciously bestows and accepts of; and going about to establish a righteousness of their own, which they seek for, in their own perform NOTES. not attaining to the righteousness, which puts particular persons into the state of justification and salvation; but the acceptance of that law, the profession of that religion, wherein that righteousness is exhibited; which profession of that, which is now the only true religion, and owning ourselves under that law, which is now solely the law of God, puts any collective body of men into the state of being the people of God. For every one of the jews and gentiles, that "attained to the law of righteousness, or to righteousness," in the sense St. Paul speaks here, i. e. became a professor of the christian religion, did not attain to eternal alvation. In the same sense must chap. x. 3, and xi. 7, 8, be understood. 32* See 1 Cor. i. 23. 2 + This their zeal for God, see described, Acts xxi. 27-31, and xxii. 3. TEXT. 4 For Christ is the end of the law, for righteousness, to every one that believeth. 5 For Moses describeth the righteousness, which is of the law, That the man, which doth these 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 PARAPHRASE. ances; have not brought themselves to submit to the law of the gospel, wherein the righteousness of God, 4 i. e. righteousness by faith is offered. For the end of the law was to bring men to Christ, that, by believing in him, every one, that did so, might be justi5 fied by faith; For Moses describeth the righteousness, that was to be had by the law, thus: "That the man, "which doth the things required in the law, shall 6 have life thereby." But the righteousness, which is of faith, speaketh after this manner: " Say not in "thine heart, Who shall ascend into heaven;" that is, to bring down the Messiah from thence, whom we 7 expect personally here on earth to deliver us? "Or "who shall descend into the deep?" i. e. to bring up Christ again from the dead, to be our Saviour? you mistake the deliverance, you expect by the Messiah, there needs not the fetching him from the other 8 world, to be present with you: The deliverance, by him, is a deliverance from sin, that you may be made righteous by faith in him, and that speaks thus: "The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in "thy heart; " that is, the word of faith, or the doc9 trine of the gospel, which we preach †, viz. If thou 4 See Gal, iii. 24. NOTES. 8+ St. Paul had told them, ver. 4, that the end of the law was to bring them to life, by faith in Christ, that they might be justified, and so be saved. To convince them of this, he brings three verses out of the book of the law itself, TEXT. shalt believe in thine heart, that God hath 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. PARAPHRASE. shalt confess with "thy mouth," i. e. openly own Jesus the Lord, i. e. Jesus to be the Messiah, thy Lord, and shalt believe in thy heart, that God hath raised him from the dead †, otherwise he cannot be believed to be the Messiah; thou shalt be saved. 10 It was not for nothing that Moses, in the place NOTES. declaring that the way to life was by hearkening to that word, which was ready, in the mouth and in their heart, and that, therefore, they had no reason to reject Jesus the Christ, because he died and was now removed into heaven, and was remote from them; their very law proposed life to them, by something nigh them, that might lead them to their deliverer: by words and doctrines, that might be always at hand, in their mouths and in their hearts, and so lead them to Christ, i. e. to that faith in him, which the apostle preached to them: I submit to the attentive reader, whether this be not the meaning of this place. 9 The expectation of the jews was, that the Messiah, who was promised them, was to be their deliverer, and so far were they in the right. But that, which they expected to be delivered from, at his appearing, was the power and deminion of strangers. When our Saviour came, their reckoning was up; and the miracles, which Jesus did, concurred to persuade them, that it was he: but his obscure birth, and mean appearance, suited not with that power and splendour, they had fancied to themselves he should come in. This, with his denouncing to them the ruin of their temple and state at hand, set the rulers against him, and held the body of the jews in suspense till his crucifixion, and that gave a full turn of their minds from him. They had figured him a mighty prince, at the head of their nation, setting them free from all foreign power, and themselves at ease, and happy under his glorious reigu. But when at the passover the whole people were witnesses of his death, they gave up all thought of deliverance by him. He was gone, they saw him no more, and it was past doubt, a dead man could not be the Messiah, or deliverer, even of those who believed him. It is against these prejudices, that what St. Paul says, in this and the three preceding verses, seems directed, wherein he teaches them, that there was no need to fetch the Messiah out of heaven, or out of the grave, and bring him personally among them. For the deliverance he was to work for them, the salvation by him, was salvation from sin, and condemnation for taat: and that was to be had, by barely believing and owning him to be the Messiah, their King, and that he was raised from the dead; by this they would be saved, without his personal presence amongst them. + "Raised him from the dead." The doctrine of the Lord Jesus being raised from the dead, is certainly one of the most fundamental articles of the christian religion but yet there seems another reason why St. Paul here annexes salvation to the belief of it, which may be found ver. 7, where he teaches, that it was not necessary for their salvation, that they should have Christ out of his grave, personally present amongst them; and here he gives them the reason, because, if they did but own him for their Lord, and believe that he was raised, that sufficed, they should be saved. |