^^1 Of Pf^/fe:.,
NOV 11 1967 ,
BS2665
.C313
1849
Calvin,
Jean
1509-
1564.
Comment
aries
on the
Epis
tie
of
Paul the Apostle to
the
Romans
/
ICJO
THE
SEVENTH ANNUAL REPORT
C|)e Cal'ttin ^otitti^.
INSTITUTED IN MAY MDCCCXLIII
FOR THE PUBLICATION OF THE TRANSLATIONS OF THE WORKS OF
JOHN CALVIN.
" The VKNERiBi.E Calvik."— " I hold the memory of Calvin in high veneration ; his works
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tors I most frequently consult."— Bishop Horslev.
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FOB, THE VEAR ms C C CXX.XX.
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THE
SEVENTH ANNUAL KEPORT
FOR THE YEAR 1849.
THE NEW TRANSLATIONS OF CALVIN'S WORKS.
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6 NEW TRANSLATIONS OF CALVIN's WORKS.
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COMMENTARIES
THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE
THE ROMANS.
THE CALVIN TRANSLATION SOCIETY,
INSTITUTED IX MAT M.DCCC.XLIII.
FOE THE PUBLICATION OF TRANSLATIONS OF THE WORKS OF
JOHN CALVIN.
acting anU ©Ut'tonal Srrrftarp, l^obm ^ittafnt, jF.S.^.Sr.
0fBtf, 9, iaortJjumbnlanU Stvfft, ©Dmburgt).
COMMENTARIES
EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE
THE ROMANS.
BY JOHN CALVIN.
TRANSLATED AND EDITED
BY THE REV. JOHN OWEN,
VICAK OF THllUSSINGTON, LEICESTERSHIllE.
EDINBURGH:
PRINTED FOR THE CALVIN TRANSLATION SOCIETY.
M.DCCC.XLIX.
" IT IS INDEED STRANGE THAT THEY MAKE SO MT'CH STIR ABOUT PREDESTINA-
TION : LET THEM ONLY CONSULT THEIR OWN LUTHER ON THE ' BONDAGE OF THE
WILL.' WHAT DO BUCER, CALVIN, AND MARTYR TEACH WHICH LUTUER HAS NOT
TAUGHT IN THAT LITTLE BQOKt"—A rchbishop GrUldal.
i&ntextH flt Stationers' l^all]
" WHICH OF YOU ALL AT THIS DAY IS ABLE TO ANSWER CALVIN's INSTITUTIONS?
IN THE MATTER OF PREDESTINATION, HE IS IN NONE OTHER OPINION THAN
ALL THE DOCTORS OF THE CHURCH BE." ArchdeaCOU PhUjJOt.
KDINBUROH: PRINTE1> BY T. CONSTABLE, PRINTER TO HEU MAJESTY.
TRANSLATOR'S PREFACE.
On no portion of the New Testament have so many Com-
mentaries been written as on the Epistle to the Romans.
We have indeed no separate Comment extant by any of the
Fatliers on this Epistle ; though it has been explained, to-
gether with other parts of Scripture, by Origen in the third
century ; by Jerome, Chrysostom, and in part by Augustine,
in the fourth ; by Theodoret in the fifth ; by (Ucumenius in
the tenth ; and by Theophylact in the eleventh century.
But since the Reformation, many separate Expositions have
been published, beside a learned Introduction by Luther,
and Notes or Scholia by Zuingle and Melancthon.
The first complete Commentary, as it appears, was written
by Bullinger ; the second by Bucer, a Professor of Theology
at Cambridge for a short time in the reign of Edward the
Sixth ; and the next in order of time was this Work by
Calvin, composed at Strasburg in the year 1539. The
fourth was by Peter Martyr ; and this was translated into
English in the year 1568. Another was afterwards publish-
ed by Rodolph Gualter, Minister at Zurich.
Early in the next century the learned Parens^ delivered
lectures on this Epistle, as Professor of Theology in the Uni-
versity of Heidelberg — a work of great learning and of great
merits, though written in a style too scholastic to suit the
taste of the present day. His special object was to rebut
the arguments and expose the sophistries of Popish writers,
^ His original name was Wangler, but he Grecised it, as Erasmus had
done, and as others did in that age.
VI TRANSLATOR S PREFACE.
particularly those of Bellarmine, the acutest, the subtlest,
and the most learned of all the Jesuits of his own age, and
perhaps of any in after ages. There is hardly a subject in
any measure connected with the contents of this Ej)istle
which Parens does not discuss : at the end of every chapter
a number of questions are stated and answered, especially
such as refer to the disputes between Papists and Protest-
ants. He also controverts the perversions of Socinianism.
The next work that requires particular notice is that oiTur-
rettin, a Professor of Theology in the University of Greneva.
It was published about the commencement of the last cen-
tury ; the author died in the year 1737. The doctrine of
Calvin had somewhat degenerated in his time, though his
work on the whole takes the side of orthodoxy. It yet
shows a leaning to those views, which commonly issue in
sentiments subversive of the essentials of true Christianity.
The first Commentary published in this country, composed
in English, was by Elnathan Parr, B.D., Rector of Palgrave
in Suffolk. He was, as it ajjpears, the personal friend of Sir
Nathaniel Bacon, an elder brother of Lord Bacon. He de-
dicated his work to Sir Nathaniel, and sj)eaks of him as
having been a hearer of Avhat he published when delivered
from the pulpit.^ His style is that of his age, and appears
quaint now ; but his thoughts are often very striking and
truly excellent, and his sentiments are wholly in accordance
with those of the Reformers.
Since that time until this century, no work of any note
has appeared separately on this Epistle. But within the
last thirty years sevei-al Commentaries have been published.
Besides- those of Flatt and Tholuck in Germany, three at
least have appeai'ed in this country, and three in America.
The authors in America are Moses Stuart, M.A., Professor of
Sacred Literature at Andover, in Massachusetts, the Rev.
Albert Bai^nes, and Charles Hodge, Professor of Biblical
Literature at Princeton. Those in this country are the Rev.
J^ Fry, Rector of Desford, Leicestershire, Robert Haldane,
1 This work must have been published before the year 1615, for his
patron died in that year. Tlie copy seen by the writer is the third edition,
and was pubHshed in 1633.
TRANSLATOR S PREFACE. Vll
Esq., and Dr. Chalmers. The doctrine held by Calvin is
essentially maintained in all these works, and in most of
them in its fullest extent.
Of our American brethren, the most learned and the most
versed in criticisms is Professor Stuart ; the fullest and the
minutest expositor is the Rev. A. Barnes ; and the aoutest
and the most concise commentator is Professor Hodge. The
two first seem, in some instances, like Turrettin, to deviate
somewhat from what may be considered strict orthodoxy, at
least in their mode of explaining some subjects : the last is
liable to no charge of this kind.
Respecting our own countrymen, there is a more perfect
unanimity, though they belonged to different Churches.
The Lectures of the Rev. J. Fry are those of a strict Predes-
tinarian, and yet replete with remarks, both experimental
and practical. The layman, R. Haldane, Esq., has- display-
ed very high qualifications as an expositor; he is strictly
and even stiflSy orthodox, and can brook no deviation from
what he regards as the truth. Of Dr. Chalmers' Lectures,
comprised in four volumes, 12mo, it is difficult to pronounce
an opinion. They are the productions of a philosopher, and
one of the highest grade, who, at the same time, possessed
the heart and the experience of an humble Christian. He
expatiates over the whole field of truth with the eye of' an
eagle, and with the docility of a child, without ever over-
leaping the boundaries of revelation. He was evidently a
man by himself, taller by his shoulders than most men,
either in this- or in any other age, having a mind as sound
as it was vigorous, an imagination as sober as it was crea-
tive, and a capacity to illustrate and to amplify quite un-
equalled.
All these works have their peculiar excellencies, adapted
to difierent tastes and capacities, and no doubt they have
their defects; The same must be said of Calvin's work.
But as a concise and lucid Commentator he certainly excels.
He is not so much an expounder of words, as of principles.
He carries on an unbroken chain of reasoning throughout,
in a brief and clear manner. Having well considered the
main drift of a passage, he sets before us what it contains,
viil TRANSLATOR S PREFACE.
by a brief statement or by a clear process of reasoning ; and •
often by a single sentence he throws light on a whole pas-
sage : and though his mind possessed more vigour of intel-
lect and sound good sense, than what is called imagination ;
yet there are some fine thou^-lits occasionally occurring,
beautifully expressed, to which that faculty must have given
birth. There is also a noble grandeur and dignity in his
sentiments, rarely to be found in other writers.
Professor Stuart has justly characterized this Work by
saying, that it contains " fundamental investigation of the
logic and course of thought contained in the Epistle ;"
and that it embraces " very little verbal criticism. Many a
difficulty is solved without any appearance of effort, or any
show of learning. Calvin" he adds, " is by far the most
distinguished of all the Commentators of his times."
It was mainly to supply the defect named above, the want
of verbal criticism, that Notes have been added in the present
Edition. They are also designed to furnish the reader with
such expositions as have been suggested by posterior critics
and commentators. And as we are generally desirous of
knowing the names of authors, they have been for the most
part given. Much light is thrown on a passage by convey-
ing the full meaning of the original. This has been done
partly by giving such different versions as seemed most en-
titled to approbation, and partly by referring to other pas-
sages where such words occur : so that a common reader,
unacquainted with the original, may, to a certain extent,
have the advantage of one well versed in the Greek lan-
guage.
Variety of meanings given to words, and also to passages,
has been deemed by some to lessen the certainty of truth,
but without any solid reason ; for this variety, as found in
the works of all sound and judicious critics, seldom or ever
affects any thing important, either in doctrine, experience,
or practice, and tends often to expand the meaning and to
render it clearer and more prominent. There has been in-
deed sometimes a pruriency in this respect, an unholy ambi-
tion for novelty, a desire for new discoveries, an indulgence
of mere curiosity, which have been very injurious. Much of
TRANSLATOR S PREFACE. IX
this sort of mania prevailed among some of tlie German
divines in the hxst century, as Woljius clearly shows in his
works, in which he notices and disproves many vagaries
assuming the name of critical expositions ; and much of a
similar kind of spirit seems to prevail still in that country.
It is a mania for criticism, for its own sake, without any
concern or solicitude for the truth : and ingenious criticism
has often been resorted to by the oppugners of vital Christi-
anity as means for supporting heterodox ical sentiments. But
there is a palpable difference between men of this character,
the mere gladiators of criticism, and those who embrace the
truth, and whose object it is faithfully to explain it in con-
sistency with the general tenor of what is revealed, and who
have what is indispensably necessary for such a work, a
spiritual experience, which often affords better assistance
than any critical acumen that can ever be possessed. The
man who has seen a thing has a much better idea of it than
the man who has only heard it described.
Attempts have been made by various authors to show and
prove, that the style of the Epistles, especially those of
Paul, is consonant with tliat of classical writers. Blackwall
laboured much to do this in this country, as well as many
German divines, particularly in the last century. In com-
mon with some of the Fathers, they thought to recommend
in this way the Apostolic Writings to the attention of liter-
ary men. But it was a labour not wisely undertaken, as it
must have necessarily proved abortive : for though some
phrases may be classical, yet the general style is what might
have been naturally expected from the writers, brought up,
as they had all been, in the Jewish religion, and accustomed,
as they had been, to the writings of the Old Testament.
Hence their style throughout is Hebraistic ; and the mean-
ing of many of the Greek words which they use is not to be
sought from the Classics, but from the Greek Translation of
the ancient Scriptures, and sometimes from the Hebrew
itself, of which that is a translation.^
' " The writers of the New Testament, or rather (with reverence be it
spoken!) the Holy Spirit, whose penmen they were, wisely chose, in ex-
X TRANSLATOK S PREFACE.
Mucli evil and no good must result from a claim that
cannot be supported : nor is it at all necessary to make such
a claim. It has been long ago repudiated, and rej^udiated
by Paul himself. Writers have often ascribed to Paul what
he himself distinctly and entirely disclaimed, and never
attempted to attain or to practise, and that on principle,
" Lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect."
It was not by " excellency of speech'' that he courted the
attention of the classical and refined Grecians, that he re-
commended the gospel to them ; it was not by the tinsel of
mere eloquence that lie succeeded in his preaching, nor by
the elegance and beauty of his diction ; but by something
much higher, much greater, much more powerful and effi-
cient. We ought to follow his example, and stand on his
high ground, and not to descend to that which is no better
than a quagmire. It is a hapjjy thing, and no doubt so
designed by God, that the shell should not be made of fine
materials, lest men's minds should be attracted by it and
neglect the kernel. God might, if he chose, have easily
endued his Apostles Avith eloquence more than human, and
enabled them to write with elegance more than Grecian ;
but He did not do so, and Paul expressly gives us the rea-
son, " that our faith should not stand in the wisdom of
men, but in the power of God."
It is generally agreed, that the Epistle to the Romans
was written at Corinth, and about the end of the year 57,
or at the beginning of the year 58, and that it is the fifth
Epistle in order of time ; the two Epistles to the Thessalo-
nians, the Epistle to the Galatians, and the first to the
Corinthians, having been j^revioush'" written. Then followed
the second Epistle to the Cori^ithiaris, the Epistles to the
pressing evangelical notions, to employ such Greek terms as Lad been long
before used for the same purposes by the Greek Translators of the New
Testament : and thus the Septuagint version, however imperfect and
faulty in many particulars, became in this respect, not to the first age of
the Church only, but also to all succeeding generations, the connecting
link between the languages of the Old and New Testament, and Mill be
regarded in this view as long as soimd judgment and real learning shall
continue among men." — Parkhurst.
TRANSLATOR S PREFACE. XI
Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, and the He-
brews, the first to Timothy, the Epistle to Titus, and the
second to Timothy.
The common date assigned to Paul's conversion is a.d. So.
He wrote his first Epistle, that is, the first to the Thessa-
lonians, in 52, seventeen years after his conversion. His
second Epistle to Timothy, his last, was written from Rome
in do. So that he wrote his fourteen Epistles during these
thirteen years. The whole extent of liis ministry seems to
have been about thirty years ; for it is not supposed that he
long- outlived the date of his second Epistle to Timothy.
Tradition says, that he was beheaded at Rome, June 29,
A.D. 66.
Paul's first coming to Rome was in the spring of the year
61. He continued there as a prisoner for two years.^ When
he was released, most w-riters are of the opinion, that he re-
turned early in 63 to Judea, in company with Timothy, and
left Titus at Crete ; that he visited the Churches in Asia
Minor, then the Churches in Macedonia ; that he wintered at
Nicopolis, a city of Epirus, in 6'i ; that afterwards he pro-
ceeded to Crete and also to Corinth ; and that early in 65
he again visited Rome, was taken prisoner, and beheaded in
the following year.^ This account clearly shows that he
did not accomijlish his purpose of visiting Spain, as tradition
has recorded.
The first introduction of the Gospel into Rome is in-
volved in< uncertainty. The probability is, that some of
the " strangers of Rome," present at the day of Pentecost,
were converted, and at their return promoted the spread of
the Gospel. Paul mentions two, " Andronicus and Junia,"
as having professed the faith before him, and as having been
noted among the Apostles. He makes mention, too, of an-
other eminent Christian, " Rufus," whose father, as it is
supposed, carried our Saviour's cross^ Mark xv. 21. It is not
improbable, that these w^ere afterwards assisted by such as
1 It was while a prisoner at this time at Rome that he wrote his Epistles
to the Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, Philemon, and the Hebrews
also, as it is generally supposed.
* See Home's Introduction, vol. iv. part ii. ch. iii. sect. 1.
Xll TRANSLATOR S PREFACE.
had been converted under the ministry of Paul ; for he
speaks of some of those whom he salutes at Rome as being
"beloved," and as having been his " fellow-workei's."
What some of the Fathers have related was in the first
instance a tradition, as there was nothing recorded on the
subject before the latter part of the second century, except
what has been ascribed to Dionysius of Corinth, preserved
by Eusebius. Irenceus and Tertullian were the first retail-
ers of the tradition, that Peter, in conjunction with Paul,
was the founder of the Church at Rome. This tradition in-
creased considerably by the time of Jerome, who, in the
fourth century, says, that Peter had been bishop of Rome
for twenty-five years ! But this account is so clearly incon-
sistent with what we learn from the Acts of the Apostles
respecting Peter, that some of the most reasonable of the
Papists themselves have given it up as unworthy of credit.^
It ajipears next to a certainty that Peter was not at Rome
when Paul wrote Lis Epistle in 57 or -58, for he sends no
salutation to Peter: — And also that he had not been there
previous to that time ; for it is wholly unreasonable to sup-
pose, that, had he been there, Paul would have made no re-
ference to his labours. It further amounts almost to a cer-
tainty, that Peter was not at Rome when Paul was for two
years a prisoner there, from 61 to 63 ; for he makes no men-
tion of him in any way, not even in the four or five Epistles
which he wrote during that time : And that Peter was not
at Rome during Paul's last imprisonment in 65 and 66, is
evident from the second Epistle to Timothy ; for he makes
no mention of Peter, and what he says of Christians there,
that they " all forsook him," would have been highly dis-
creditable to Peter, if he was there. So that we have the
' Tlic inconsistencies of what the retailers of this tradition say, are quite
palpable. Irenceus alfirn:is, that " the Church at Rome was founded and
constituted (J'tmdata et constituta) by the two Apostles, Peter and Paul."
Epiphnmns says, that they were the first " Bishops" at Rome, as well as
Apostles, while Trcnams declares, that they both " deUvered the episcopal
oifice into the b.ands of Linus ;" and it is said in what are called the Apos-
tolical Constitutions, that " Linus was ordaiued bishop by Paul, and Cle-
ment after the death of Linus by Peter." — See Dr. Barrow on the Pope's
Supremacy, pp. 127-129.
TRANSLATOR S PREFACE. Xlll
strongo.-t reasons to conclude; tliat Peter liad no i)art in
forming and establishing a Clinrch in Rome during Paul's
life, whatever share in the work he might have had after-
wards.^ But the first tradition, or the first account, given
by Irenceus and Tertullian, refers only to a co-operation :
and yet this co-operation is wholly inconsistent with what
has been stated, the force of which no reasonable man can
resist.
The learned Parens proceeds in a different way to prove
that Peter was never at Rome. He shows from different
parts of the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistle to the
Galatians, that Peter was in Judea at the time when tradi-
tion declares that he was at Rome. Peter was in Judea
when Paul was converted. Acts ix. ; and three years after
this — that is, in the year 88, Gal. i. 18. He was in Judea in
the year 45, when he was imprisoned by Herod, Acts xii. ;
and in 4.9, fourteen years after Paul's conversion. Acts xv. ;
Gal. ii. 1-9. Had he been to Rome during this time, some
account of such a journey must surely have been given.
After this time we find that he was at Antioch, Gal. ii. 11.
If it be asked, where did he afterwards exercise his minis-
try ? Wliere more likely than among the Jews, as he had
hitherto most clearly done ; for he was the Ajjostle of the
Circumcision, and among those to whom he sent his Epis-
tles. The dating of the first at " Babylon," has led some to
conjecture that it was a figurative term for Rome ; but why
not for Jerusalem, or for Antioch ? for Christians were at
that time treated everywhere like captives or aliens, and
esjjecially in the land of Judea.
What then are we to say as to this tradition ? The same,
according to the just remark of Parens, as what we must
say of many other traditions of that age, that it is nothing
1 But this cannot be admitted, as the same informant, Tradition, tells
us, that Peter and Paul suffered martyrdom at the same time. The only
thing which Peter appears to have had to do in forming and founding a
Church at Rome, was to have been the instrument in the conversion, at
the day of Pentecost, of those who in all probability were the first who in-
troduced the Gospel into Rome : and it is probable that it was this circum-
stance which occasioned the tradition, that he had been the founder of that
Chin-ch. Less occasion has often produced tales of this liind.
XIV TRANSLATOR S PREFACE.
but a fable, which, like many others, would have passed
away, had it not been allied to a growing superstition.
With respect to what Eusehius says of the testimony of a
presbyter, named Gains, that about the beginning of the
third century he saw the graves of Peter and Paul at Rome,
it may be easily accounted for: it was the age of ]3ious
fraud, when the relics of saints could be found almost every-
where ; and, in the next century, the wood and the nails of
the Cross were discovered ! Those who can believe these
things, may have a credulity large enough to swallow up the
testimony of Caius}
The most probable account, then, of the commencement
of a Christian Church at Rome, is what has been already
stated. The condition of that Church, when Paul wrote to
it, we may in a great measure learn from the Epistle itself
It had a high character, viewed in a general way ; but there
were some defects and blemishes. Its faith had been widely
reported : there were at the same time some contentions and
divisions among its members, arising especially from the
prejudices of the Jewish believers. To remove the causes of
this dissension, was evidently one of the main objects of
Paul in this Epistle.
The ORDER AND ARRANGEMENT OF THE Epistle havo been
somewhat differently viewed by different authors. Parens
includes the whole in this brief summary — " The Jews and
^ Let it not be supposed, that by discrediting some things, we discredit
every thing said by the Fathers. They ought to be treated as all other
historians. What we find on examination to be unfounded, ought to be
so viewed : and what we have every reason to beUeve to be true, ought to
be so received. Even such a man as Dr. Lardner seemed unwilling to
reject this tale, from fear of lessening the credit of history ; evidently mis-
taking the ground on which history has a title to credit. The many author-
ities adduced respecting Peter being at Rome may be reduced almost to
two — Jrenoeus and Tertullian. They were the first to stamp as it were a
kind of authority on this report, and also on others to which no credit is
given even by those who would have the Fathers to have been almost in-
fallible.
The learned Dr. Copleston, the present Bishop of Landaff, in his
pamphlet on the Errors of Romanism, justly says, " It is even a matter of
serious doubt whether St. Peter was ever at Rome. There is no good
historical evidence of the fact ; and there is much probability against it."
—P. 87.
TRANSLATOR S PREFACE. XV
Gentiles are equally guilty ; tliey are equally justified freely
by faith in Christ, without works ; they are equally hound
to lead a holy life, to be humble, and to love one another,"
Stuart says, that the whole of what the Epistle contains may
be expressed in a single brief sentence — " Christ our justifi-
cation and sanctification."
In giving a more specific view of the contents of this
Epistle, the former author divides it into two parts — doc-
trinal, i.-xi. ; and hortative, xii.-xvi. : but the latter divides
it into three parts — doctrinal, i.-viii. ; answers to objections,
ix.-xi. ; and hoi^tatory, xii.-xvi. The analysis of Professor
Hodge, who takes the same view with Professor Stuart, is
the following : —
" The Epistle consists of three parts. The first, which in-
cludes the first eight chapters, is occupied in the discussion
of The Doctrine of Justification and its consequences. The
second, embracing chapters ix., x., xi., treats of The Calling
of the Gentiles, The Rejection and Future Conversion of the
Jews. The third consists of Practical Exhortations and
Salutations to the Christians at Rome."
A more particular analysis may be thus given : —
I. Address — A desire to visit Rome — a brief View of The
Gospel ; i. 1-18.
II. Justification, —
1. A proof of its necessity — the sin and guilt of both Gen-
tiles and Jews, i., from ver. 18 ; ii., iii., to ver. 21.
2. Its Nature and Character — Examples, Abraham and
David, iii., from ver. 21, iv.
3. Its Effects or Fruits — Peace and Fulness of Grace, v. ;
Death unto Sin and Eternal Life, vi. ; Immunity
from The Law and The Reigning Power of Sin, vii. ;
Holiness, The Spirit's help. Patience in Afflictions,
Perseverance, viii.
III. God's dealings vindicated, —
1. Election and Reprobation, ix.
2. Unbelief and Faith, x.
3. The Rejection of the Jews, The Adoption of the Gen-
tiles, The Restoration of the Jews, xi.
XVI TRANSLATOR S PREFACE.
IV. Christian duties, —
1. Devotedness to God, Proper Use of Gifts, Love, Doing
Good, xii.
2. Obedience to Authority, Love to all, Purity, xiii.
8. Forbearance towards Weak Brethren, xiv.
4. Help to the Weak, Unanimity, Christ the Saviour of
Jews and Gentiles, xv., to ver. 18.
V. Conclusion, —
1. Paul's Labours and Purpose to Visit R-ome, xv., from
ver. 18.
2. Salutations, Avoiding Disturbers, Promise of Victory,
Praise to God, xvi.
We have set before us in this Epistle especially two
things, which it behoves us all rightly to understand — the
righteousness of man and the righteousness of God — merit
and grace, or salvation by works and salvation by faith.
The light in which they are exhibited here is clearer and
brighter than what we find in any other portion of Scripture,
with the exception, perhaps, of the Epistle to the Galatians.
Hence the great value which has in every age been attached
to this Epistle by all really enlightened Christians ; and
hence also the strenuous efforts which have often been made
to darken and wrest its meaning by men, though acute and
learned, yet destitute of spiritual light. But let not the
simple Christian conclude from the contrariety that is often
found in the expositions on these tAvo points, that there is
no certainty in what is taught respecting them. There are
no contrary views given of them by spiritualh'--mindcd men.
Though on other subjects discussed here, such men have
had their differences, yet on these they have ever been
found unanimous: that salvation is from first to last by
grace, and not by works, has ever been the conviction of
really enlightened men in every age, however their opinions
may have varied in other respects.
It may seem very strange, when we consider the plain
and decisive language, especially of this Epistle, and the
clear and conclusive reasoning which it exhibits, that any
attempt should ever be made by a reasonable being, ac-
TRANSLATOR S PREFACE. XVll
knowledging the authority of Scripture, to pervert what it
plainly teaches, and to evade what it clearly proves. But a
right view of what human nature is, when unrenewed, as
exhibited in God's Word, and as proved by history and
made evident by observation, enables us fully to account for
what would otherwise remain an enigma. No truth is more
fully confirmed by facts (and it ought ever to be remem-
bered) than that " the natural man receiveth not the things
of the Sj^irit of God," and that he " cannot know them,
because they are spiritually discerned." This declaration
clearly accounts for the fact, that men of great learning
have often misunderstood many things in Scripture, and
such things as are plain enough even to the unlettered when
spiritually enlightened. The learned Scribes and Rabbins
were blind leaders of the blind, when even babes understood
the mysteries of the kingdom of God : and no better tlian
the Scribes are many learned men, professing Christianity,
in our day.
There is indeed a special reason why, on these points, un-
enlightened men should contrive means to evade the obvious
meaning of Scripture ; for they are such things as come in
constant contact with a principle, the strongest that belongs
to human nature in its fallen state. Other doctrines may
be held as speculations, and kept, as it were, at a distance ;
but when we come to merit and grace, to work and faith,
man's pride is touched ; and as long as he is under its pre-
vailing influence, he will be certain, in some way or another,
direct or evasive, to support merit in opposition to grace, or
works in opi^osition to faith. When the authority of tradi-
tion supplanted the authority of Scripture, the doctrine of
merit so prevailed, that the j)reposterous idea, that merits
were a saleable and a transferable commodity, gained ground
in the world. A notion of this kind is too gross and absurd
to be entertained by any who acknowledge God's Word as
the only umpire in religion ; and yet what is not essentially
different has often been maintained ; for to say that salva-
tion is partly by faith and partly by works, is really the same
thing, inasmuch as the principle of merit is thereby admit-
ted. Man naturally cleaves to his own righteousness ; all
B
XVlll TRANSLATOR S PREFACE.
those who are ignorant are self-righteous, and all the learned
who understand not the gospel ; and it is wonderful what
ingenious evasions and learned subtleties men will have re-
course to in order to resist the plain testimony of Scripture.
When they cannot maintain their ground as advocates of sal-
vation alone by merits, they will attempt to maintain it as
advocates of a system, which allows a part to grace and a
part to works — an amalgamation which Paul expressly re-
pudiates, Rom. xi, 6.
But it is remarkable how the innate disposition of man
has displayed itself in this respect. Conscious, as it were,
in some measure of moral imperfections, he has been striv-
ing for the most part to merit his salvation by ceremonial
works. This has been the case in all ages with heathens :
their sacrifices, austerities, and mechanical devotions were
their merits ; they were the works by which they expected
to obtain happiness. God favoured the people of Israel with
the rituals of religion, which were designed merely as aids
and means to attain and preserve true religion ; but they
converted them to another purpose, and, like the heathens,
regarded them as meritorious performances, and expected
God's acceptance for the very religious acts which they ex-
ercised : and in order to make up, as it were, a sufficient
quantity of merit, they made additions to those services
which God had appointed, as though to multiply acts of this
kind was to render their salvation more certain. The very
same evil crept early into the Christian Church, and still
continues to exist. The accumulation of ceremonies is of
itself a sufiicient proof, that salvation by faith was in a great
measure lost sight of: we want no other evidence ; it is
what has been ever done whenever the light of truth has
become dim and obscure. We see the same evil in the
present day. Outward privileges and outward acts of
worship are in efiect too often substituted for that grace
which changes the heart, and for that living faith which
unites us to the Saviour, which works by love and over-
comes the world. The very disposition to over-value ex-
ternal privileges and the mere performances of religious
duties, is an unequivocal evidence, that salvation by faith is
TRANSLATOR S PREFACE. XIX
not understood, or very imperfectly understood, and not really
embraced.
The only remedy, as means for this evil, is that which
we find employed by Paul in this Epistle. He begins by
showing what every man, Jew and Gentile, is by nature ; he
proves by the clearest evidence, that all have sinned and be-
come guilty before God. And having done this, he discloses
the way of salvation which God himself has planned and
revealed ; and he teaches us, that it is altogether by grace
and through faith that we can be saved, and not by works.
In order cordially to embrace this latter truth, it is neces-
sary to know the first, that we are sinners under condemna-
tion. It is impossible, according to the very constitution of
man's mind, that he should really and truly accede to the
one, without a real and deep knowledge of the other. The
whole need not a physician, but the sick. It is only he who
is really convinced of sin and who feels its guilt and its
burden intolerable, that ever will, or indeed ever can, really
lay hold on that free salvation which God has provided.
And when this free salvation is really known, all other
things compared Avith it will be deemed as nothing ; and
then all outward privileges will be viewed only as means,
and all outward acts of religion only as aids and helps ; and
then also all our works, however great and self-denying, will
be regarded in no way meritorious, but imperfect and defec-
tive, and acceptable only through the merits of our High
Priest at God's right hand.
It has not been deemed necessary to give in this Edition
any specimens of title-pages, &c., from former Editions, either
in Latin or in English ; as they are to be found in the Old
Translation already in the hands of the subscribers.
J. 0.
Thrussinqton, Avjgust 1849.
COMMENTARIES
THE EPISTLE OF PAUL THE APOSTLE
THE ROMANS.
J^£iiU--
THE EPISTLE DEDICATORY.
JOHN CALVIN
SIMON GRYNi:US/
A MAN -WORTHY OF ALL HONOUR.
I REMEMBER that when three years ago we had a friendly
converse as to the best mode of expounding Scripture, the
plan which especially pleased you, seemed also to me the
most entitled to approbation : we both thought that the
chief excellency of an expounder consists in lucid brevity.
And, indeed, since it is almost his only work to lay open
the mind of the writer whom he undertakes to explain, the
degree in which he leads away his readers from it, in that
degree he goes astray from his purpose, and in a manner
wanders from his own boundaries. Hence we expressed a
hope, that from the number of those who strive at this day
to advance the interest of theology by this kind of labour,
some one would be found, who would study plainness, and
endeavour to avoid the evil of tiring his readers with pro-
lixity. I know at the same time that this view is not taken
' The account given of Orynceus by Watkins in his Biographical Dic-
tionary, taken from Moreri, is the following : — " A learned German, born
at Veringen, in Hohenzollern, in 1493. He studied at Vienna, after which
he became Rector of the school at Baden, but was thrown into prison for
espousing the Lutheran doctrines. However, he recovered his liberty, and
went to Heidelberg, afterwards to Basil, and, in 1531, he visited England.
In 1536 he returned to Basil, and died there in 1540." It is somewhat
singidar, that in the same year, 1540, another learned man of the same
name, John James Orynceus, was born at Berne, and was educated at
Basil, and became distinguished for his learning. — Ed.
XXIV CALVIN S EPISTLE TO GRYN^EUS.
by all, and that those who judge otherwise have their rea-
sons ; but still I cannot be drawn away from the love of
what is compendious. But as there is such a variety, found
in the minds of men, that different things please different
persons, let every one in this case follow his own judgment,
provided that no one attempts to force others to adopt his
own rules. Thus it will be, that we who approve of brevity,
will not reject nor despise the labours of those who are more
copious and diffused in their explanations of Scripture, and
that they also in their turn will bear with us, though they
may think us too compressed and concise.
I indeed could not have restrained myself from attempt-
ing something to benefit the Church of God in this way. I
am, however, by no means confident that I have attained
what at that time seemed best to us ; nor did I hope to at-
tain it when I began ; but I have endeavoured so to regulate
my style, that I might appear to aim at that model. How
far I have succeeded, as it is not my part to determine, I
leave to be decided by you and by sucli as you ai'e.
That I have dared to make the trial, especially on this
Epistle of Paul, I indeed see, will subject me to the condem-
nation of many : for since men of so much learning have
already laboured in the explanation of it, it seems not pro-
bable that there is any room for others to produce any thing
better. And I confess, that though I promised to myself
some fruit from my labour, I was at first deterred by this
thought ; for I feared, lest I should incur the imputation of
presumption by applying my hand to a work which had
been executed by so many illustrious workmen. There are
extant on this Epistle many Commentaries by the ancients,
and many by modern writers : and truly they could have
never employed their labours in a better way ; for when any
I one understands this Epistle, he has a passage opened to him
' to the understanding of the whole Scripture.
Of the ancients who have, by their piety, learning, holi-
ness, and also by their age, gained so much authority, that
we ought to despise nothing of what they have adduced, I
will say nothing ; and with regard to those who live at this
day, it is of no benefit to mention them all by name : Of
CALVIN S EPISTLE TO GRYNyEUS. XXV
those who have spent most labour in tliis work, I will ex-
press my opinion.
Pliilipp Melancthon, who, by his singular learning and in-
dustry, and by that readiness in all kinds of knowledge, in
which he excels, has introduced more light than those who
had preceded him. But as it seems to have been his object
to examine only those things which are mainly worthy of
attention, he dwelt at large on these, and designedly passed
by many things which common minds find to be difficult.
Then follows Bullinger, who has justly attained no small
praise ; for with learning he has connected plainness, for
which he has been highly commended. In the last place
comes Bucer, who, by publishing his works, has given as it
were the finishing stroke. For in addition to his recondite
learning and enlarged knowledge of things, and to the
clearness of his mind, and much reading and many other
excellencies, in which he is hardly surpassed by any at this
day, equalled by few and excelled by still fewer — he pos-
sesses, as you know,'' this praise as his own — that no one in
our age has been with so much labour engaged in the work
of expounding Scripture.^
As then it would have been, I know, a proof of the most
presumptuous rivalry, to wish to contend with such men,
such a thing never entered my mind ; nor have I a desire
to take from them the least portion of their praise. Let
that favour and authority, which according to the confession
of all good men they have deserved, be continued to them.
This, however, I trust, will be allowed — that nothing has
been done by men so absolutely perfect, that there is no
room left for the industry of those who succeed them, either
to polish, or to adorn, or to illustrate. Of myself I venture
not to say any thing, except that I thought that my labour
1 There were at least two other Reformers who had written on the
Epistle to the Romans : but whether they were published at this time the
writer is not able to say. There is by Liithcr an Introduction to it, which
has been much praised, and has attained the name of the golden preface.
Peter Martyr wrote a large comment on this Epistle, which was translated
into English early in Queen Elizabeth's reign, in the year 1568. It is
rather remarkable that there was no comnieiiter among our English Re-
formers, while on the Continent there were a great many commentators.
—Ed.
XXVI CALVIN S EPISTLE TO GRYNiEITS.
would not be useless, and that I have undertaken it for
no other reason than to promote the j)ublic good of tlie
Church.
I farther hoped, that by adopting a different plan, I
should not expose myself to the invidious charge of rivalry,
of which I was afraid in the first instance. Philipp attained
his object by illustrating the principal points : being occu-
pied with these primary things, he passed by many things
which deserve attention ; and it was not his purpose to pre-
vent others to examine them. Bucer is too diffuse for men
in business to read, and too profound to be understood by
such as are simple and not cajDable of much application :
for whatever be the subject which he handles, so many
things are suggested to him through the incredible fecundity
of his mind, in which he excels, that he knows not when to
stop. Since then the first has not explained every passage,
and the other has handled every point more at large than it
can be read in a short time, my design has not even the
appearance of being an act of rivalship. I, however, hesitat-
ed for some time, whether it would be better to gather some
gleanings after these and others, by which I might assist
humbler minds — or to compose a regular comment, in which
I should necessarily have to repeat many things which have
been previously said by them all, or at least by some of
them. But as they often vary from one another, and thus
present a difficulty to simple readers, who hesitate as to
what opinion they ought to receive, I thought that it would
be no vain labour, if by pointing out the best explanation, I
relieved them from the trouble of forming a judgment, who
are not able to form a judgment for themselves ; and espe-
cially as I determined to treat things so briefly, that with-
out much loss of time, readers may peruse in my work what
y' ' is contained in other writings. In short, I have endeavoured
that no one may justly complain, that there are here many
things which are supei'fluous.
Of the usefulness of this work I will say nothing ; men,
not malignant, will, however, it may be, have reasons to
confess, that they have derived fi'om it more benefit than I
can with any modesty dare to promise. Now, that I some-
CALVIN S EPISTLE TO GRYNJ^US. XXVU
times dissent from others, or somewhat differ from tliem, it
is but right that I should be excused. Such veneration we
ought indeed to entertain for the Word of God, that we
ought not to pervert it in the least degree by varying ex-
positions ; for its majesty is diminished, I know not how
much, especially when not expounded with great discretion
and with great sobriety. And if it be deemed a great wick-
edness to contaminate any thing- that is dedicated to God,
he surely cannot be endured, who, with impure, or even ?
with unprepared hands, will handle that very thing, which V
of all things is the most sacred on earth. It is there-
fore an audacity, closely allied to a sacrilege, rashly to /
turn Scripture in any way we please, and to indulge our
fancies as in sport ; which has been done by many in former
times.
But we ever find, that even those who have not been
deficient in their zeal for piety, nor in reverence and sobriety
in handling the mysteries of God, have by no means agreed
among themselves on every point ; for God hath never
favoured his servants with so great a benefit, that they were
all endued with a full and perfect knowledge in every thing ; >
and, no doubt, for this end — that he might first keep them
humble ; and secondly, render them disposed to cultivate
brotherly intercourse. Since then what would otherwise be
very desirable cannot be expected in this life, that is, uni-
versal consent among us in the interpretation of all parts of
Scripture, we must endeavour, that, when we depart from
the sentiments of our predecessors, we may not be stimu-
lated by any humour for novelty, nor impelled by any lust
for defaming others, nor instigated by hatred, nor tickled
by any ambition, but constrained by necessity alone, and
by the motive of seeking to do good : and then, when
this is done in interpreting Scripture, less liberty will be
taken in the principles of religion, in which God would
have the minds of his people to be especially unanimous.
Readers will easily perceive that I had both these things in
view.
But as it becomes not me to decide or to pronounce any
thing respecting myself, I willingly allow you this ofiice ; to
xxviii Calvin's epistle to GRYNiEus.
whose judgment, since almost all in most things defer, I
ought in everything to defer, inasmuch as you are inti-
mately known to me by familiar intercourse ; which is wont
somewhat to diminish the esteem had for others, but does
not a little increase yours, as is well known among all the
learned. Farewell.
Strasburgh, I8th October 1539.
EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.
THE ARGUMENT.
With regard to the excellency of this Epistle, I know not
whether it Avould be well for me to dwell long on the sub-
ject ; for I fear, lest through my recommendations falling-
far short of what they ought to be, I should do nothing but
obscure its merits : besides, the Epistle itself, at its veiy
beginning, explains itself in a much better way than can be
done by any words which I can use. It will then be better
for me to pass on to the Argument, or the contents of the
Ejjistle ; and it will hence appear beyond all controversy,
that besides other excellencies, and those remarkable, this
can with truth be said of it, and it is what can never be suf-
ficiently appreciated — that when any one gains a knowledge
of this Epistle, he has an entrance opened to him to all the
most hidden treasures of Scripture.
The whole Epistle is so methodical, that even its very be-
ginning is framed according to the rules of art. As con-
trivance appears in many parts, which shall be noticed as
we proceed, so also especially in the way in which the main
argument is deduced : for having begun with the proof of
his Apostleship, he then comes to the Gospel with the view
of recommending it ; and as this necessarily draws with it
the subject of faith, he glides into that, being led by the
chain of words as by the hand : and thus he enters on the
main subject of the whole Epistle — justification by faith ; in
treating which he is engaged to the end of the fifth chapter.
The subject then of these chapters may he stated thus, —
that mans only righteousness is through the mercy of God in
XXX THE ARGUMENT.
Christ, which being offered hy the Gospel is apprehended by
faith.
But as men are asleep in their sins, and flatter and delude
themselves with a false notion about righteousness, so that
they think not tliat they need the righteousness of faith,
except they be cast down from all self-confidence, — and
further, as they are inebriated with the sweetness of lusts,
and sunk in deep self-security, so that they are not easily
roused to seek righteousness, except they are struck down
by the terror of divine judgment, — the Apostle proceeds to
do two things — to convince men of iniquity, and to shake off
the torpor of those whom he proves guilty.
He first condemns all mankind from the beginning of the
world for ingratitude, because they recognised not the work-
man in his extraordinary work : nay, when they were con-
strained to acknowledge him, they did not duly honour his
majesty, but in their vanity profaned and dishonoured it.
Thus all became guilty of impiety, a wickedness more de-
testable than any thing else. And that he might more
clearly show that all had departed from the Lord, he recounts
the filthy and horrible crimes of which men everywhere be-
came guilty : and this is a manifest proof, that they had
degenerated from God, since these sins are evidences of
divine wrath, which appear not except in the ungodly. And
as the Jews and some of the Gentiles, while they covered their
inward depravity by the veil of outward holiness, seemed
to be in no way chargeable with such crimes, and hence
thought themselves exempt from the common sentence of
condemnation, the Apostle directs his discourse against this
fictitious holiness ; and as this mask before men cannot be
taken away from saintlings, {sanctulis — petty saints,) he
summons them to the tribunal of God, whose eyes no latent
evils can escape. Having afterwards divided his subject, he
places apart both the Jews and the Gentiles before the tri-
bunal of God. He cuts off from the Gentiles the excuse
which they pleaded from ignorance, because conscience was
to them a law, and by this they were abundantly convicted
as guilty. He chiefly urges on the Jews that from which
they took their defence, even the written law ; and as they
THE ARGUMENT. XXXI
were proved to have transgressed it, they could not free
themselves from the charge of iniquity, and a sentence
against them had already been pronounced by the mouth of
God himself He at the same time obviates any objection
which might have been made by them — that the covenant
of God, which was the symbol of holiness, would have been
violated, if they were not to be distinguished from others.
Here he first shows, that they excelled not others by the
right of the covenant, for they had by their unfaithfulness
departed from it : and then, that he might not derogate from
the perpetuity of the divine promise, he concedes to them
some privilege as arising from the covenant ; but it pro-
ceeded from the mercy of God, and not from their merits.
So that with regard to their own qualifications they were on
a level with the Gentiles. He then proves by the authority
of Scripture, that both Jews and Gentiles were all sinners ;
and he also slightly refers to the use of the law.
Having wholly deprived all mankind of their confidence
in their own virtue and of their boast of righteousness, and
laid them prostrate by the severity of God's judgment, he
returns to what he had before laid down as his subject — that
we are justified by faith ; and he explains what faith is, and
how the righteousness of Christ is by it attained by us. To
these things he adds at the end of the third chapter a re-
markable conclusion, with the view of beating down the
fierceness of human pride, that it might not dare to raise up
itself against the grace of God : and lest the Jews should
confine so great a favour of God to their own nation, he also
by the way claims it in behalf of the Gentiles.
In i'he fourth chapter he reasons from example ; which he
adduces as being evident, and hence not liable to be cavilled
at ; and it is that of Abraham, who, being the father of the
faithful, ought to be deemed a pattern and a kind of univer-
sal example. Having then proved that he was justified by
faith, the Apostle teaches us that we ought to maintain no
other way of justification. And here he shows, that it fol-
lows from the rule of contraries, that the righteousness of
Avorks ceases to exist, since the righteousness of faith is in-
troduced. And he confirms this by the declaration of David,
XXXU THE ARGUMENT.
who, by making the blessedness of man to depend on the
mercy of Grod, takes it away from works, as they are in-
capable of making a man blessed. He then treats more fully
what he had before shortly referred to — that the Jews had
no reason to raise themselves above the Gentiles, as this
felicity is equally common to them both, since Scrij)ture de-
clares that Abraham obtained this righteousness in an un-
circumcised state : and here he takes the opportunity of
adding some remarks on the use of circumcision. He after-
wards subjoins, that the promise of salvation depends on
God's goodness alone : for were it to depend on the law, it
could not bring peace to consciences, which it ought to con-
firm, nor could it attain its own fulfilment. Hence, that it
may be sure and certain, we must, in embracing it, regard
the truth of God alone, and not ourselves, and follow the
example of Abraham, who, turning away from himself, had
regard only to the power of God. At the end of the chap-
ter, in order to make a more general application of the ad-
duced example, he introduces several comparisons.
In the fifth chapter, after having touched on the fruit and
efifects of the righteousness of faith, he is almost wholly
taken up with illustrations, in order to make the point
clearer. For, deducing an argument from one greater, he
shows how much we, who have been redeemed and recon-
ciled to God, ought to expect from his love ; which was so
abundantly poured forth towards us, when we were sinners
and lost, that he gave for us his only -begotten and beloved
Son. He afterwards makes comparisons between sin and
free righteousness, between Christ and Adam, between death
and life, between the law and grace : it hence apj)ears that
our evils, however vast they are, are swallowed up by the
infinite mercy of God.
He proceeds in the sixth chapter to mention the sanctifi-
cation which we obtain in Christ. It is indeed natural to
our flesh, as soon as it has had some slight knowledge of
grace, to indulge quietly in its own vices and lusts, as
though it had beoome free from all danger : but Paul, on ,
the contrary, contends here, that we cannot partake of the
righteousness of Christ, except we also lay hold on sanctifi-
THE ARGUMENT. XXXlll
cation. He reasons from baptism, by which we are initiated
into a participation of Clirist, (per quern in Christi partici-
pationem initiamur;) and in it we are buried together with
Christ, so that being dead in ourselves, we may through his
life be raised to a newness of life. It then follows, that
without regeneration no one can put on his righteousness.
He lience deduces exhortations as to purity and holiness of
life, which must necessarily appear in those who have been
removed from the kingdom of sin to the kingdom of right-
eousness, the sinful indulgence of the flesh, which seeks in
Christ a greater liberty in sinning, being cast aside. He
makes also a brief mention of the law as being abrogated ;
and in the abrogation of this the New Testament shines
forth eminently ; for together with the remission of sins, it
contains the promise of the Holy Spirit.
In the seventh chapter he enters on a full discussion on
the use of the law, which he had pointed out before as it
were by the finger, while he had another subject in hand :
he assigns a reason why we are loosed from the law, and
that is, because it serves only for condemnation. Lest, how-
ever, he should expose the law to reproach, he clears it in
the strongest terms from any imputation of this kind ; for
he shows that through our fault it is that the law, which was
given for life, turns to be an occasion of death. He also
explains how sin is by it increased. He then proceeds to
describe the contest between the Spirit and the flesh, which
the children of God find in themselves, as long as they are
surrounded by the prison of a mortal body ; for they carry
with them the relics of lust, by which they are continually
prevented from yielding full obedience to the law.
The eighth chapter contains abundance of consolations, in
order that the consciences of the faithful, having heard of
the disobedience Avhich he had before proved, or rather im-
perfect obedience, might not be terrified and dejected. But
that the ungodly might not hence flatter themselves, he first
testifies that this privilege belongs to none but to the re-
generated, in whom the Spirit of God lives and prevails. He
unfolds then tw^o things — that all who are planted by the
Spirit in the Lord Jesus Christ, are beyond the danger or
c
XXXIV THE ARGUMENT,
the chance of condemnation, however burdened they may
yet be with sins ; and, also, that all who remain in the flesh,
being without the sanctification of the Spirit, are by no
means partakers of this great benefit. He afterwards ex-
plains how great is the certainty of our confidence, since the
Spirit of God by his own testimony drives away all doubts
and fears. He further shows, for the purpose of anticipat-
ing objections, that the certainty of eternal life cannot be
intercepted or disturbed by present evils, to which we are
subject in this life ; but that, on the contrary, our salvation
is promoted by such trials, and that the value of it, when
compared with our present miseries, renders them as nothing.
He confirms this by the example of Christ, who, being the
first-begotten and holding the highest station in the family
of God, is the pattern to which we must all be conformed.
And, in the last place, as though all things were made
secure, he concludes in a most exulting strain, and boldly
triumphs over all the power and artifices of Satan.
But as most were much concerned on seeing the Jews, the
first guardians and heirs of the covenant, rejecting Christ,
for they hence concluded, that either the covenant was
transferred from the posterity of Abraham, who disregarded
the fulfilling of the covenant, or that he, who made no bet-
ter provision for the people of Israel, was not the promised
Redeemer — he meets this objection at the beginning of the
ninth chapter. Having then spoken of his love towards his
own nation, that he might not appear to speak from hatred,
and having also duly mentioned those privileges by which
they excelled others, he gently glides to the point he had in
view, that is, to remove the oifence, which arose from their
own blindness. And he divides the children of Abraham
into two classes, that he might show that not all who de-
scended from him according to the flesh, are to be counted
for seed and become partakers of the grace of the covenant ;
but that, on the contrary, aliens become his children, when
they possess his faith. He brings forward Jacob and Esau
as examples. He then refers us back here to the election of
God, on which the whole matter necessarily depends. Be-
sides, as election rests on the mercy of God alone, it is in
THE ARGUMENT, XXXV
vain to seek the cause of it in the worthiness of man. There
is, on the other hand, rejection (rejectio), the justice of which
is indubitable, and yet there is no higher cause for it than
the will of God. Near the end of the chapter, he sets forth
the calling of the Gentiles and the rejection of the Jews as
proved by the predictions of the Prophets.
Having again begun, in the tenth chapter, by testifying
his love towards the Jews, he declares that a vain confidence
in their own works was the cause of their ruin ; and lest
they should pretend the law, he obviates their objection,
and says, that we are even by the law itself led as it were
by the hand to the righteousness of faith. He adds that
this righteousness is through God's bountiful goodness offer-
ed indiscriminately to all nations, but that it is only appre-
hended by those, whom the Lord through sj^ecial favour
illuminates. And he states, that more from the Gentiles
than from the Jews would obtain this benefit, as predicted
both by Moses and by Isaiah ; the one having plainly pro-
phesied of the calling of the Gentiles, and the other of the
hardening of the Jews.
The question still remained, " Is there not a difference
between the seed of Abraham and other nations according
to the covenant of God ?" Proceeding to answer this ques-
tion, he first reminds us, that the work of God is not to be
limited to what is seen by our eyes, since the elect often
escape our observation ; for Elias was formerly mistaken,
when he thought that religion had become wholly extinct
among the Israelites, when there were still remaining seven
thousand ; and, further, that we must not be perplexed by
the number of unbelievers, who, as we see, hate the gospel.
He at length alleges, that the covenant of God continues
even to the posterity of Abraham according to the flesh, but
to those only whom the Lord by a free election hath pre-
destinated. He then turns to the Gentiles, and speaks to
them, lest they should become insolent on account of their
adoption, and exult over the Jews as having been rejected,
since they excel them in nothing, except in the free favour
of the Lord, which ought to make them the more humble ;
and that this has not wholly departed from the seed of
XXXVl THE ARGUMENT.
Abraham, for the Jews were at length to he provoked to
emulation hy the faith of the Gentiles, so that Grod would
gather all Israel to himself.
The three chapters which follow are admonitory, but they
are various in their contents. The twelfth chapter contains
general precepts on Christian life. The thirteenth, for the
most part, speaks of the authority of magistrates. We may
hence undoubtedly gather that there were then some unruly
persons, who thought Christian liberty could not exist without
overturning the civil power. But that Paul might not ap-
pear to impose on the Church any duties but those of love,
he declares that this obedience is included in what love re-
quires. He afterwards adds those precepts, which he had
before mentioned, for the guidance of our conduct. In the
next chapter he gives an exhortation, especially necessary in
that age : for as there were tliose who through obstinate
superstition insisted on the observance of Mosaic rites, and
could not endure the neglect of them without being most
grievously offended ; so there were others, who, being con-
vinced of their abrogation, and anxious to pull down super-
stition, designedly showed their contempt of such things.
Botli parties offended through being too intemperate ; for
the superstitious condemned the others as being despisers of
God's law ; and the latter in their turn unreasonably ridi-
culed the simplicity of the former. Therefore the Apostle
recommends to both a befitting moderation, deporting the
one from superciliousness and insult, and the other from ex-
cessive moroseness : and he also prescribes the best way of
exercising Christian liberty, by keej)ing within the boun-
daries of love and edification ; and he faithfully provides for
the weak, while he forbids them to do any thing in opposi-
tion to conscience.
The fifteenth chapter begins with a repetition of the
general argument, as a conclusion of the whole subject —
that the strong should use their strength in endeavours to
confirm the weak. And as there was a perpetual discord,
with regard to the Mosaic ceremonies, between the Jews
and the Gentiles, he allays all emulation between them by
removing the cause of contention ; for he shows, that the
THE ARGUMENT. XXXVU
salvation of Loth rested on the mercy of God alone ; on
which relying, they ought to lay aside all high thoughts of
themselves, and being thereby connected together in the
hope of the same inheritance, they ought mutually to em-
brace one another. And being anxious, in the last place,
to turn aside for the purpose of commending his own apos-
tleship, which secured no small authority to his doctrine, he
takes occasion to defend himself, and to deprecate presump-
tion in having assumed with so much confidence the office
of teacher among them. He further gives them some hope
of his coming to them, which he had mentioned at the be-
ginning, but had hitherto in vain looked for and tried to
effect ; and he states the reason which at that time hin-
dered him, and that was, because the churches of Macedonia
and Achaia had committed to him the care of conveying to
Jerusalem those alms which they had given to relieve the
wants of the faithful in that city.
The last chapter is almost entirely taken up with saluta-
tions, though scattered with some precepts worthy of all
attention ; and concludes with a remarkable prayer.
COMMENTARIES
EPISTLE OF ST. PAUL TO THE ROMANS.
CHAPTER I.
1. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
called to be an apostle, separated
unto the gospel of God,
2. (Which he had promised afore
by his prophets in the holy scrip-
tures,)
3. Concerning his Son Jesus Christ
our Lord, which was made of the
seed of David according to the flesh,
4. And declared to be the Son of
God with power, according to the
spirit of holiness, by the resurrection
from the dead :
5. By whom we have received
grace and apostleship, for obedience
to the faith among all nations for
his name ;
6. Among whom are ye also the
called of Jesus Christ :
7. To all that be in Rome, be-
loved of God, called to be saints:
Grace to you, and peace, from God
our Father, and the Lord Jesus
Christ.
1. Paulus, servus lesu Christi,
vocatus Apostolus, selectus in Evan-
gelium Dei,
2. Quod ante promiserat per Pro-
phetas suos in Scripturis Sanctis,
3. De Filio suo, qui factus est e
seniine David secundum carnem,
4. Declaratus Filius ]3ei in po-
tentia, per Spiritum sanctificationis,
ex resurrectione mortuorum, lesu
Christo Domino nostro :
5. Per quem accepimus gratiam
et Apostolatum, in obedientiam
fidei inter omnes gentes, pro nomine
ipsius ;
6. Inter quas estis etiam vos,
vocati lesu Christi :
7. Omnibus qui Romse estis,
dilectis Deo, vocatis Sanctis : gratia
vobis, et pax a Deo Patre nostro, et
Domino lesu Christo.
1. Paul, kc} — "With regard to the word Paul, as it is a
subject of no sucli moment as ought to detain us, and as
nothing can be said which has not been mentioned by other
> " The inscription of the Pauline Epistles," says Turrettin, " is accord-
ing to the manner of the ancients, both Greeks and Romans. They were
wont to prefix their name ; and to those to whom they wrote they added
their good wishes." We have an example in Acts xxiii. 26. — Ed.
40 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. I. 1 .
expounders, I should say nothing, were it not proper to
satisfy some at small expense without being tedious to
others ; for the subject shall be despatched in a very few
words.
They who think that the Apostle attained this name as
a trophy for having brought Sergius, the proconsul, to the
faith of Christ, are confuted by the testimony of Luke, who
shows that he was so called before that time. (Acts xiii. 7,
9.) Nor does it seem probable to me, that it was given him
when he was converted to Christ ; though this idea so pleased
Augustine, that he took occasion refinedly to philosophize
on the subject ; for he says, that from a proud Saul he was
made a very little (parvidum}) disciple of Christ. More pro-
bable is the opinion of Origen, who thought that he had two
names ; for it is not unlikely to be true, that his name,
Saul, derived from his kindred, w^as given him by his
parents to indicate his religion and his descent ; and that
his other name, Paul, was added, to show his right to Roman
citizenship ;^ they would not have this honour, then highly
valued, to be otherwise than made evident ; but they did
not so much value it as to withhold a j^roof of his Israelitic
descent. But he has commonly taken the name Paul in
his Epistles, and it may be for the following reasons : be-
cause in the churches to which he wrote, it was more known
and more common, more accej)table in the Roman empire,
and less known among his own nation. It was indeed his
duty to avoid the foolish suspicion and hatred under which
the name of a Jew then laboured among the Romans and in
their provinces, and to abstain from inflaming the rage of
his own countrymen, and to take care of himself
A servant of Jesus Christ, &c. — He signalizes himself with
these distinctions for the purpose of securing more authority
to his doctrine; and this he seeks to secure by two things —
' Thereby expressing the meaning of Pauhis, which in Latin is little.
" Paul," says the quaint Elnathan Parr, " signifies little, and indeed
not unfitly, for he is reported to have been low in stature, and to have
had a very small voice, which is thought to have been objected to him in
2 Cor. X. 10."— Ed.
* Most writers agree in this view, regarding Saul as his Hebrew name,
and Paul as his Roman name. — Ed.
CHAP. I. 1. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 41
first, by asserting his call to the Apostleship;^ and secondly,
by showing that his call was not unconnected with the
Church of Rome : for it was of great importance that he
should be deemed an Apostle through God's call, and that
he should be known as one destined for the Roman Church.
He therefore says, that he was a servant of Christ, and
called to the office of an Apostle, thereby intimating that
he had not presumptuously intruded into that office. He
then adds, that he was chosen, (selectum — selected,^) by which
he more fully confirms the fact, that he was not one of the
people, but a particular Apostle of the Lord. Consistently
with this, he had before proceeded from what was general
to what was particular, as the Apostleship was an especial
service ; for all who sustain the office of teaching are to be
deemed Christ's servants, but Apostles, in point of honour,
far exceed all others. But the choosing for the gospel, &c.,
which he afterwards mentions, expresses the end as well as
the use of the Apostleship ; for he intended briefly to show
for what purpose he Avas called to that function. By saying-
then that he was servant of Christ, he declared what he had
in common with other teachers ; by claiming to himself the
1 " A called Apostle — vocatus apostolus — xXr,Tos a-Tr'oirroXai -." our version
is. " called to be an Apostle." Most consider " called'' here in the sense
of chosen or elected, " a chosen Apostle." Professor Stuart observes, that
xXtjTos in the writings of Paul has always the meaning of efficient calling,
and signifies not only the invited, but the eftectually invited. He refers to
1 Cor. i. 1, 2 ; i. 24 ; Rom. i. G, 7 ; viii. 28 ; compared with Gal. i. 15 ;
Jude i. 1 ; Heb. iii. 1 ; Rom. xi. 29 : Eph. iv. 1.
He was an Apostle by a call, or as Beza renders it, " by the call of
God — ex Dei vocatione apostolus." The meaning is the same as what he
himself expresses it in Gal. i. 1. Turrettin renders it, " Apostolus voca-
tione divina — an Apostle by divine vocation." u
The difl'erence between " a called Apostle" and " called to be an Apos-
tle," is this, that the first conveys the idea that he obeyed the call, and
the other does not. — Ed.
s 'A<pa)^i(rfiivi)s, separated, set apart; " segregatus," Vulgate; " separa-
tus," Beza. " The Pharisees," says Leigh, " were termed aipw^iir/zsvoi,
we may English them Separatists : they separated tliemselves to the study
of the law, in which respect they might be called oapu^ia-fii^oi lU riv vof^ov,
separated to the law. In allusion to this, saith Drusius, the Apostle is
thought to have styled himself, Rom. i. 1, a(p&/j/er^£vav us iuayyixiov, separ-
ated unto the Gospel, when he was called from being a Pharisee to be a
preacher of the Gospel." Separated is the word adopted both by DocZ-
dridge and Macknight, as well as by our own version. — Ed.
42 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. I. 1.
title of an Apostle, he put himself before others ; but as no
authority is due to him who wilfully intrudes himself, he
reminds us, that he was appointed by God.
Then the meaning is, — that Paul Avas a servant of Christ,
not any kind of servant, but an Apostle, and that by the
call of God, and not by presumptuous intrusion : then fol-
lows a clearer explanation of the Apostolic office, — it was
ordained for the preaching of the Gospel. For I cannot
agree with those who refer this call of which he speaks to
the eternal election of God ; and who understand the separ-
ation, either that from his mother's womb, which he mentions
in Gal. i. 1 5, or that which Luke refers to, when Paul was
appointed for the Gentiles : but I consider that he simply
glories in having God as the author of his call, lest any one
should think that he had through his own rashness taken
this honour to himself^
We must here observe, that all are not fitted for the
ministry of the word ; for a special call is necessary : and
even those who seem particularly fitted ought to take heed
lest they thrust themselves in without a call. But as to the
character of the Apostolic and of the Episcopal call, we shall
consider it in another place. We must further observe, that
the office of an Apostle is the preaching of the gospel. It
hence appears what just objects of ridicule are those dumb
dogs, who render themselves consj)icuous only by their mitre
and their crook, and boast themselves to be the successors
of the Apostles !
The word, servant, imports nothing else but a minister,
for it refers to what is official.^ I mention this to remove
the mistake of those who too much refine on this expression,
and think that there is here to be understood a contrast
between the service of Moses and that of Christ.
* Some combine the four separations. " Set apart in the eternal
counsel of God, and from his mother's Avomb, Gal. i. 15, and by the spe-
cial commandment of the Holy Ghost, Acts xiii. 2, confirmed by the con-
stitution of the Church, Acts xiii. 3 ; Gal. ii. 9." — Parr. But the object
here seems to have been that stated by Calvin : nor is it just or prudent
to connect any other idea with the word except that which the context re-
quires ; for to do so only tends to create confusion. — Ed.
* Moses, Joshua, David, Nehemiah, &c., were, in a similar sense, called
servants; and also our Saviour. They were officially servants. — Ed.
CHAP. I. 8. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 43
8. WJtochhehad before promised, &c. — As the suspicion
of being new subtracts mucli from the authority of a doc-
trine, he confirms the faith of the gosj^el by antiquity ; as
though he said, " Christ came not on the earth unexpectedly,
nor did he introduce a doctrine of a new kind and not heard
of before, inasmuch as he, and his gospel too, had been pro-
mised and expected from the beginning of the world." But
as antiquity is often fabulous, he brings witnesses, and those
approved, even the Prophets of God, that he might remove
every suspicion. He in the third place adds, that their
testimonies were duly recorded, that is, in the Holy Scrip-
tures.
We may learn from this passage what the gospel is : he
teaches us, not that it was promulgated by the Prophets,
but only promised. If then the Prophets promised the
gospel, it follows, that it was revealed, when our Lord was
at length manifested in the flesh. They are then mistaken,
who confound the promises with the gospel, since the gosiDcl
is properly the appointed preaching of Christ as manifested,
in whom the promises themselves are exhibited.^
8. Concerning his own Son, &c. — This is a remarkable
passage, by which we are taught that the whole gospel is
included in Christ, so that if any removes one step from
Christ, he withdraws himself from the gospel. For since he
is the living and express image of the Father, it is no won-
der, that he alone is set before us as one to whom our whole
faith is to be directed and in whom it is to centre. It is
then a definition of the gospel, by which Paul expresses
what is summarily comprehended in it. I have rendered
the words which follow, Jesus Christ our Lord, in the same
case ; which seems to me to be most agreeable with the con-
text. We hence learn, that he who has made a due profi-
ciency in the knowledge of Christ, has acquired everj^ thing
which can be learned from the gospel ; and, on the other
^ The verb is -r^ot'myyi'iXee.rii, only here ; it comes from tvayyixxefi.xi,
■which, Schleusner says, means in the middle voice, to promise. " Which
he had before promised," is then the proper rendering, and not, " Which
he formerly pubhshed," as proposed by Professor Stuart. Both Doddridge
and Macknight have retained our version, with which that of Beza
agrees. — Ed.
44 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. I. 4.
hand, that they who seek to be wise without Christ, are not
only foolish, but even completely insane.
Who was made, &c. — Two things must be found in Christ,
in order that we may obtain salvation in him, even divinity
and humanity. His divinity possesses power, righteousness,
life, which by his humanit}'^ are conveyed to us. Hence the
Apostle has expressly mentioned both in the summary he
gives of the gospel, that Christ was manifested in the flesh —
and that in it he declared himself to be the Son of God. So
John says ; after having declared that the Word was made
flesh, he adds, that in that flesh there was a glory as of the
only-begotten Son of God. (John i. 14.) That he specially
notices the descent and lineage of Christ from his ancestor
David, is not superfluous ; for by this he calls back our at-
tention to the promise, that we may not doubt but that he
is the very person who had been formerly promised. So well
known was the promise made to David, that it appears to
have been a common thing among the Jews to call the Mes-
siah the Son of David. This then — that Christ did spring
from David — was said for the purpose of confirming our faith.
He adds, according to the flesh ; and he adds this, that
M^e may understand that he had something more excellent
than flesh, which he brought from heaven, and did not take
from David, even that which he afterwards mentions, the
glory of the divine nature. Paul does further by these
words not only declare that Christ had real flesh, but he
also clearly distinguishes his human from his divine nature ;
and thus he refutes the impious raving of Servetus, who
assigned flesh to Christ, composed of three uncreated ele-
ments.
4. Declared^ the Son of God, &c. : or, if you prefer, deter-
1 " Declaratus," o^Kr^ivmc. Some of the ancients, such as Origen, Chry-
sostom, Cyril, and others, have given to this verb the meaning of " proved
— lux^ivTo; ;" " demonstrated — cc^rotpaMSivro; ;" " exhibited — ocrolnx.Ciyro; ;"
&c. But it is said that the word has not this meaning in the New Testa-
ment, and that it means, limited, determined, decreed, constituted. Be-
sides here, it is found only in Luke xxii. 22 ; Acts ii. 23 ; x. 42 ; xi. 29 ;
xvii. 26 ; Heb. iv. 7. The word, determined, or constituted, if adopted
here, would amount to the same thing, that is, that Christ was visibly de-
termined or constituted the Son of God through the resurrection, or by
that event. It was that which fixed, settled, determined, and manifestly
CHAP. I. 4. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 45
mined (definitus) ; as though he had said, that the power,
by which he was raised from the dead, was sometliing- like a
decree, by which he was proclaimed the Son of God, accord-
ing to what is said in Ps. ii. 7, " I have this day begotten
thee:" for this begetting refers to what was made known.
Though some indeed find here three separate evidences of
the divinity of Christ — " power," understanding thereby
miracles — then the testimony of the Spirit — and, lastly, the
resurrection from the dead — I yet prefer to connect them
exhibited him as the Son of God, clothed and adorned with his own
power.
Professor Stuart has conjured a number of difficulties in connection
with this verse, for which there seems to be no solid reason. The phrase,
the Son of God, is so well known from the usage of Scripture, that there
is no difficulty connected with it: the full phrase is the only-begotten Son.
To say that Christ's resurrection was no evidence of his divine nature, as
Lazarus and others had been raised from the dead, appears indeed very
strange. Did Lazarus rise through his own power? Did Lazarus rise
again for our justification ? Was his resurrection an attestation of any
thing he had previously declared? The Rev. A. Barnes very justly says,
that the circumstances connected with Christ were those which rendered
his resm^rection a proof of his divinity.
Professor Hodue gives what he conceives to be the import of the two
verses in these words, " Jesus Christ was, as to his human nature, the
Son of David ; but he was clearly demonstrated to be, as to his divine
nature, the Son of God, by the resurrection from the dead." This view
is taken by many, such as Parens, Beza, Turrettin, &c. But the words,
'• according to the Spirit of Holiness" — xaTo. ■rviuf/.a. ayiaxrCv/i;, are taken dif-
ferently by others, as meaning the Holy Spirit. As the phrase is nowhere
else found, it may be taken in either sense. That the divine nature of
Christ is called Spirit, is evident. See 1 Cor. xv. 45 ; 2 Cor. iii. 17 ;
Heb. ix. 14; 1 Pet. iii. 18. Doddridge, Scott, and Chalmers, consider
the Holy Spirit to be intended. The last gives this paraphrase : — •' De-
clared, or determinately marked out to be the Son of God and with power.
The thing was demonstrated by an evidence, the exhibition of which re-
quired a putting forth of power, which Paul in another place represents as
a very great and strenuous exertion, ' According to the working of his
mighty power when he raised him from the dead.' — The Spirit of Holi-
ness, or the Holy Spirit. It was through the operation of the Holy Spirit
that the divine nature was infused into the human at the birth of Jesus
Christ ; and the very same agent, it is remarkable, was employed in the
work of the resurrection. ' Put to death in the flesh,' says Peter, ' and
quickened by the Spirit.' We have only to do with the facts of the case.
He was demonstrated to be the Son of God by the power of the Holy
Spirit having been put forth in raising him from the dead." As to the
genitive case after " resurrection," see a similar instance in Acts xvii.
32.
The idea deduced by Calvin, that he is called here " the Spirit of
Holiness," on account of the holiness he works in us, seems not well-founded,
though advanced by Theodoret and Augustine. — Ed.
46 COMMEIJTAKIKS ON THE CHAP. I. 5.
together, and to reduce these three things to one, in this
manner — that Christ was declared the Son of God by openly
exercising a real celestial power, tliat is, the power of the
Spirit, when he rose from the dead ; but that this power is
comprehended, when a conviction of it is imprinted on our
hearts by the same Spirit. The language of the Apostle
well agrees with this view ; for he says that he was declared
by power, because power, peculiar to God, shone forth in
him, and uncontestably proved him to be God ; and this was
indeed made evident by his resurrection. Paul says the
same thing in another place ; having stated, that by death
the weakness of the flesh appeared, he at the same time ex-
tols the power of the Spirit in his resurrection ; (2 Cor. xiii. 4.)
This glory, however, is not made known to us, until the
same Spirit imprints a conviction of it on our hearts. And
tliat Paul includes, together with the wonderful energy of
the Spirit, which Christ manifested by rising from the dead,
the testimony Avliich all the faithful feel in their hearts, is
even evident from this — that he expressly calls it the Spirit
of Holiness ; as though he had said, that the Spirit, as far
as it sanctifies, confirms and ratifies that evidence of its
power which it once exhibited. For the Scripture is wont
often to ascribe such titles to the Spirit, as tend to illustrate
our present subject. Thus He is called by our Lord the
Spirit of Truth, on account of the efiect which he mentions ;
(John xiv. 1 7.)
Besides, a divine power is said to have shone forth in the
resurrection of Christ for this reason — because he rose by
his own power, as he had often testified : " Destroy this
temple, and in three days I will raise it up again," (John ii.
19 ;) " No man taketh it from me," &c. ; (John x. 18.) For
he gained victory over death, (to which he yielded with re-
gard to the weakness of the flesh,) not by aid sought from
another, but by the celestial operation of his own Spirit.
5. Through whom we have received, &c. — Having complet-
ed his definition of the gosj)el, which he introduced for the
recommendation of his oflice, he now returns to speak of his
own call ; and it was a great point that this should be
proved to the Romans. By mentioning grace and apostle-
CHAP. I. 5. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 47
ship apart, he adopts a form of speech/ which must be un-
derstood as meaning, gratuitous apostleship or the favour of
the apostlesliip ; by which he means, that it was wholly
through divine favour, not through his own worthiness, that
he had been chosen for so high an office. For though it
has hardly any thing connected with it in the estimation of
the world, except dangers, labours, hatred, and disgrace ;
yet before God and his saints, it possesses a dignity of no
common or ordinary kind. It is therefore deservedly count-
ed a favour. If you prefer to say, " I have received grace
that I should be an Apostle," the sense would be the same.^
The expression, on account of his name, is rendered by
Ambrose, " in his name," as though it meant, that the
Apostle was appointed in the place of Christ to preach the
gospel, according to that passage, " We are ambassadors for
Christ," &c. (2 Cor. v. 20.) Their opinion, however, seems
better, who take name for knowledge ; for the gospel is
preached for this end — that we may believe on the name of
the Son of God. (John iii. 23.) And Paul is said to have
been a chosen vessel, to carry the name of Christ among
the Gentiles. (Acts ix. 15.) On account then of his name,
which means the same, as though he had said, that I might
make known what Christ is.^
' " Hypallage," a figure in grammar, by which a noun or an adjective is
put in a form or in a case different from that in which it ought grammati-
cally to be. — Ed.
^ If this view be taken, the best mode would be to render »«/, even,
" favour, even the apostleship." But, as Wo/Jius says, " both words would
perhaps be better rendered separately, and " grace" or favour be referred
to the conversion of the Apostle himself, and " apostleship" to his office.
See 1 Tim. i. 12-14 ; and Acts ix. 15 ; xiii. 2 ; xxii. 21. — Ed.
* He has taken this clause before that which follows, contrary to the order
of the text, because he viewed it as connected with the receiving of the
apostleship.
" Pro nomine ipsius," — v^rl^ toZ i^oi/.aro; alrcZ ; « ad nominis ejus gloriam
— to the glory of his name," Turrettin ; " for the purpose of magnifying his
name," Chalmers. Hodge observes, " Paid was an apostle that all nations
might be obedient, to the honour of Jesus Christ ; that is, so that his name
may be known." Some, as Tholuck, connect the words with " obedience
to the faith," as they render the phrase, and, in this sense, " that obedience
might be rendered to the faith among all nations for the sake of his name."
But it is better to connect the words with the receiving of the apostle-
ship: it was received for two purposes — that there might be the obedi-
ence of faith, and that the name of Christ might be magnified. — Ed.
48 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. I. 5.
For the obedience of faith, &c. — That is, we have received
a command, to preach the gospel among all nations, and this
gospel they obey by faith. By stating the design of his
calling, he again reminds the Romans of his office, as though
he said, " It is indeed my duty to discharge the office com-
mitted to me, which is to preach the word ; and it is your
duty to hear the word and willingly to obey it ; you will other-
wise make void the vocation which the Lord has bestowed
on me."
We hence learn, that they perversely resist the authority
of God and upset the whole of what he has ordained,
who irreverently and contemptuously reject the preaching
of the gospel ; the design of which is to constrain us to
obey God. We must also notice here what faith is ; the
name of obedience is given to it, and for this reason —
because the Lord calls us by his gospel ; we respond to
his call by faith ; as on the other hand, the chief act of dis-
obedience to God is unbelief, I prefer rendering the sentence,
" For the obedience of faith," rather than, " In order that
they may obey the faith ;" for the last is not strictly cor-
rect, except taken figuratively, though it be found once in
the Acts, vi. 7. Faith is properly that by which we obey
the gospel.^
Among all nations, &c. It was not enough for him
to have been appointed an Apostle, except his ministry
had reference to some who were to be taught : hence he
adds, that his apostleship extended to all nations. He
afterwards calls himself more distinctly the Apostle of
the Romans, when he says, that they were included in the
number of the nations, to whom he had been given as a
1 It might be rendered, " that there might be the obedience of faith,"
or, " in order to produce," or, " promote the obedience of faith." The
obedience is faith. The command is, " believe," and the obedience must
correspond with it. To obey the faith, as in Acts vi. 7, is a different form
of expression : the article is prefixed there, it is the faith, meaning the
gospel. — See 2 Thess. i. 8. Professor Stuart, and Haldane, agree in this
view. The latter refers to Rom. x. 3, where the Israelites are charged
for not submitting to God's righteousness ; and, in verse 16, it is said, that
they had not all obeyed the gospel, " for Esaias saith. Lord, who hath be-
lieved our report ?" Then to believe the gospel is in an especial manner
to obey it. — Ed.
CHAP. I. 7. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 49
minister. And further, the Apostles had in common the
command to preach the gospel to all the world ; and they
were not, as pastors and bishops, set over certain churches.
But Paul, in addition to the general undertaking of the
apostolic function, was constituted, by a special appointment,
to be a minister to proclaim the gospel among the Gentiles.
It is no objection to this, that he was forbidden to pass
through Macedonia and to preach the word in Mysia : for
this was done, not that there were limits prescribed to him,
but that he was for a time to go elsewhere ; for the harvest
was not as yet ripe there.
Ye are the called of Jesus Christ, &c. He assigns a reason
more neai'ly connected with them — because the Lord had
already exhibited in them an evidence by which he had
manifested that he had called them to a participation of the
gospel. It hence followed, that if they wished their own
calling to remain sure, they were not to reject the ministry
of Paul, who had been chosen by the same election of God.
I therefore take this clause, " the called of Jesus Christ," as
explanatory, as though the particle "even" were inserted;
for he means, that they were by calling made partakers of
Christ. For they who shall be heirs of eternal life, are
chosen by the celestial Father to be children in Christ ; and
when chosen, they are committed to his care and protection
as their shepherd.^
7. To all of you who are at Rome, &c. By this happy
arrangement he sets forth what there is in us worthy of com-
mendation ; he says, that first the Lord through his own
kindness made us the objects of his favour and love ; and
then that he has called us ; and thirdly, that he has called
us to holiness : but this high honour only then exists, when
we are not wanting to our call.
Here a rich truth presents itself to us, to which I shall
briefly refer, and leave it to be meditated upon by each in-
dividual : Paul does by no means ascribe the praise of our
1 '• Tlie called of Jesus Christ," i.e., the called who belong to Christ.
KXvro; means, not only those to whom the external call of the gospel has
been addressed, but those who have been also internally called." — Stuart.
The same author renders the words xXfirol; kyiots, m the next verse,
" chosen saints," or, " saints efifectually called." — Ed.
D
50 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. I. 7.
salvation to ourselves, but derives it altogether from the
fountain of GocVs free and paternal love towards us ; for he
makes this the first thing — God loves us : and what is the
cause of his love, except his own goodness alone ? On this
depends our calling, by which in his own time he seals his
adoption to those whom he had before freely chosen. We
also learn from this passage that none rightly connect them-
selves with the number of the faithful, except they feel
assured that the Lord is gracious, however unworthy and
wretched sinners they may be, and except they be stimulated
by his goodness and aspire to holiness, for he hath not called
us to uncleanness, but to holiness. (1 Thess. iv. 7.) As the
Greek can be rendered in the second person, I see no reason
for any change.
Grace to you and i^eace, &c. Nothing is more desirable
than to have God propitious to us, and this is signified by
cjrace ; and then to have prosperity and success in all things
flowing from him, and this is intimated by peace ; for how-
ever things may seem to smile on us, if God be angry, even
blessing itself is turned to a curse. Tlie very foundation
then of our felicity is the favour of God, by which we enjoy
true and solid prosperity, and by which also our salvation is
promoted even when we are in adversities.^ And then as
he prays to God for peace, we must understand, that what-
ever good comes to us, it is the fruit of divine benevolence.
Nor must we omit to notice, that he prays at the same time
to the Lord Jesus Christ for these blessings. Worthily in-
deed is this honour rendered to him, who is not only the
administrator and dispenser of his Father's bounty to us,
but also works all things in connection with him. It was,
however, the special object of the Apostle to show, that
throuo'h him all God's blessings come to us.^
^ " The ancient Greeks and Romans," says Turrettin, " wished to those
to whom they wrote, in the inscription of their epistles, health, joy, happi-
ness ; but Paul prays for far higher blessings, even i\\e favour of God, the
fountain of all good things, and peace, in which the Hebrews included all
blessings. " — Ed.
a « From God our Father, — if God, then able ; if our Father, then
willuig to enrich us with his gifts : and from our Lord Jesus Christ, —
from oiu- Lord, who has purchased them for us ; from Jesus, for without
CHAP. I. 8. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 51
There are those who prefer to regard the word 2^6a€e as
signifying- quietness of conscience ; and that this meaning
belongs to it sometimes, I do not deny : but since it is cer-
tain that tlie Apostle wished to give us here a summary of
God's blessings, the former meaning, which is adduced by
Bucer, is much the most suitable. Anxiously wishing then
to the godly what makes up real happiness, he betakes him-
self, as he did before, to the very fountain itself, even the
favour of God, which not only alone brings to us eternal fe-
licity, but is also the source of all blessings in this life.
8. First, I thank my God through 8. Primum quidem gratias ago
Jesus Christ for you all, that your Deo meo per lesum Christum super
faith is spoken of throughout the vobis omnibus, quia fides vestra
whole world. prsedicatur in imiverso mundo.
9. For God is my witness, whom 9. Testis enim mihi Dcus, quern
I serve with my spirit in the gospel colo in spiritu meo in Evangelio
of his Son, that without ceasing I Filii ipsius, ut continenter memo-
make mention of you always in my riam vestri faciam ;
sprayers ;
10. Making request (if by any 10. Semper in orationibus mcis,'
means now at length I might have rngans, si quomodo prosperum iter
a prosperous journey by the will of aliquando milii, obtingat per volun-
God) to come unto you. tatem Dei, veniendi ad vos.
11. For I long to see you, that I 11. Desidero enim videre, vos, ut
may impart unto you some spiritual aliquod impertiar vobis donum spiri-
gift, to the end ye may be estab- tuale ad vos confirmandos ;
lished ;
12. That is, that I may be com- 12. Hoc est, ad cohortationem
forted together with you, by the mutuo percipiendam in vobis per
mutual faith both of you and me. mutuam fideni, vestram atque meam.
8. I first^ indeed, &c. Here the beginning commences,
altogether adapted to the occasion, as he seasonably pre-
pares them for receiving instruction by reasons connected
with himself as well as with them. What he states respect-
ing them is, the celebrity of their faith ; for he intimates
that they being honoured with the public approbation of the
churches, could not reject an Apostle of the Lord, without
disappointing the good opinion entertained of them by all ;
these we cannot be saved ; from Christ, for he is anointed v>ith grace and
peace. John. i. 16." — Parr-.
» Margin, " in all my prayers."
* " It does not mean here the first in point of importance, but first in
the order of time." — Stuart. The same author thinks that /f" here has
its corresponding St in verse 13, Ou Sixu H iiia;, &c. — Ed.
52 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. I. 8.
and such a tiling would liave been extremely uncourteous
and in a manner bordering on perfidy. As then this tes-
timony justly induced the Apostle, by affording him an as-
surance of their obedience, to undertake, according to his
office, to teach and instruct the Romans ; so it held them
bound not to despise his authority. With regard to himself,
he disposes them to a teachable spirit by testifying his love
towards them : and there is nothing more effectual in gain-
ing credit to an adviser, than the impression that he is cor-
dially anxious to consult our wellbeing.
The first thing worthy of remark is, that he so commends
their faith,^ that he implies that it had been received from
God. We are here taught that faith is God's gift ; for
thanksgiving is an acknowledgment of a benefit. He who
gives thanks to God for faith, confesses that it comes from
him. And since we find that the Apostle ever begins his
congratulations with thanksgiving, let us know that we are
hereby reminded, that all our blessings are God's free gifts.
It is also needful to become accustomed to such forms of
speaking, that we may be led more fully to rouse ourselves
in the duty of acknowledging God as the giver of all our
blessings, and to stir up others to join us in the same
acknowledgment. If it be right to do this in little things,
how much more with regard to faith ; which is neither
a small nor an indiscriminate (promiscua) gift of God.
We have here besides an example, that thanks ought to be
given through Christ, according to the Apostle's command
in Heb. xiii. 15^ inasmuch as in his name we seek and
obtain mercy from the Father. — I observe in the last place,
that he calls him his God. This is the faithful's special
privilege, and on them alone God bestows this honour.
There is indeed implied in this a mutual relationship, which
is expressed in this promise, " I will be to them a God; they
shall be to me a peopla" (Jer. xxx. 22.) I prefer at the
same time to confine this to the character which Paul sus-
' " Faith is put here for the whole religion, and means the same as your
piety. Faith is one of the principal things of religion, one of its first re-
quirements, and hence it signifies religion itself." — Barnes. It is indeed
the principal thing, the very basis of religion. Heb. xi. 6. — Ed.
CHAP. I. 9. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 53
tained, as an attestation of his obedience to the end in the
work of preaching the gospel. So Hezekiah called God the
God of Isaiah, when he desired him to give him the testi-
mony of a true and faithful Prophet. (Is. xxxvii. 4.) So
also he is called in an especial manner the God of Daniel.
(Dan. vd. 20.)
Through the whole world. The eulogy of faithful men was
to Paul equal to that of the Avhole world, with regard to the
faith of the Romans ; for the unbelieving, who deemed it
detestable, could not have given an impartial or a correct
testimony respecting it. We then understood that it was
by the mouths of the faithful that the faith of the Romans
was proclaimed through the whole world ; and that they were
alone able to judge rightly of it, and to pronounce a correct
opinion. That this small and despised handful of men
were unknown as to their character to the ungodly, even at
Rome, was a circumstance he regarded as nothing ; for Paul
made no account of their judgment.
9. For God is my witness, &c. He j)roves his love by its
effects ; for had he not greatly loved them, he would not
have so anxiously commended them to the Lord, and espe-
cially he would not have so ardently desired to promote
their welfare by his own labours. His anxiety then and his
ardent desire were certain evidences of his love ; for had
they not sprung from it, they would never have existed.
And as he knew it to be necessary for establishing confidence
in his preaching, that the Romans should be fully persuaded
of his sincerity, he added an oath — a needful remedy,
whenever a declaration, which ought to be received as true
and indubitable, vacillates through uncertainty. For since
an oath is nothing else but an appeal to God as to the
truth of what we declare, most foolish is it to deny that the
Apostle used here an oath. He did not notwithstanding
transgress the prohibition of Christ.
It hence appears that it was not Christ's design (as the
superstitious Anabaptists dream) to abolish oaths altogether,
but on the contrary to call attention to the due observance
of the law ; and the law, allowing an oath, only condemns
perjury and needless swearing. If then we would use an
54 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. I. 9.
oatli aright, let us imitate the seriousness and the reverent
manner exhibited by the Apostles ; and that you may un-
derstand what it is, know that God is so called as a witness,
that he is also appealed to as an avenger, in case we deceive ;
which Paul expresses elsewhere in these words, " God is a
witness to my souL" (2 Cor. i. 23.)^
Whom I serve with my spirit, &c. It is usual with pro-
fane men, w-ho trifle with God, to pretend his name, no less
boldly than presumptuously ; but the Apostle here speaks
of his own piety, in order to gain credit ; and those, in whom
the fear of God and reverence for his name prevail, will
dread to swear falsely. At the same time, he sets his own
spirit in opposition to the outward mask of religion ; for as
many falsely pretend to be the worshippers of God, and out-
wardly appear to be so, he testifies that he, from the heart,
served God.^ It may be also that he alluded to the ancient
ceremonies, in wdiich alone the Jews thought the worship of
God consisted. He then intimates, that though he retained
not observance of these, he was yet a sincere worshipper of
God, according to what he says in Phil. iii. 3, " We are the
true circumcision, who in spirit serve God, and glory not in
the flesh." He then glories that he served God with sincere
devotion of heart, which is true religion and approved wor-
ship.
But it was expedient, as I have said, in order that his
oath might attain more credit, that Paul should declare his
piety towards God ; for perjury is a sport to the ungodly,
while the pious dread it more than a thousand deaths ; inas-
much as it cannot be, but that where there is a real fear of
God, there must be also a reverence for his name. It is then
the same thing, as though Paul had said, that he knew how
much sacredness and sincerity belonged to an oath, and that
* The passage in INIatt. v. 33-37, has been often wholly misunderstood.
That oaths in common conversation are alone prohibited, is quite evi-
dent from what the passage itself contains. In solemn oaths there was
no swearing by " heaven," or by " God's throne," or by " the earth," or
by " Jerusalem," or by " the head." Such forms were only used in con-
versation, as similar ones are still used : and these kinds of swearing are
alone condemned by our Saviom*. — Ed.
* " Sincere et vere — sincerely and truly," Woljius ; " not merely exter-
nally, but cordially," Hodge.
CHAP. 1. 9. EPISTLE TO THE EOMAKS. 55
he did not rashly appeal to God as a witness, as the profane
arc wont to do. And thus, by his own example, he teaches
us, that whenever we swear, we ought to give such evidence
of piety, that the name of God, which we use in our declara-
tions, may retain its sacredness. And further, he gives a
proof, even by his own ministry, that he worshipped not God
fcignedly ; for it was the fullest evidence, that he was a man
devoted to God's glory, when he denied himself, and hesi-
tated not to undergo all the hardships of reproach, poverty,
and hatred, and even the peril of death, in advancing the
kingdom of God.'^
Some take this clause, as though Paul intended to recom-
mend that worship which he said he rendered to God, on
this account, — because it corresponded with what the gospel
prescribes. It is indeed certain that spiritual worship is
enjoined on us in the gospel ; but the former interpretation
is far the most suitable, — that he devoted his service to God
in preaching the gospel. He, however, makes at the same
time a diifcrence between himself and hypocrites, who have
something else in view rather than to serve God ; for ambi-
tion, or some such thing, influences most men ; and it is far
from being the case, that all engage cordially and faithfully
in this office. The meaning is, that Paul performed sin-
cerely the office of teaching ; for what he says of his own
devotion he applies to this subject.
But we hence gather a profitable doctrine ; for it ought to
add no little encouragement to the ministers of the gospel,
when they hear that, in preaching the gospel, they render
an acceptable and a valuable service to God. What, indeed,
is there to prevent them from regarding it an excellent ser-
vice, when they know that their labour is pleasing to God,
and is approved by him ? Moreover, he calls it the gospel of
the Son of God ; for Christ is in it made known, who has
been appointed by the Father for this end, — that he, being
glorified, should also glorify the Father,
1 'iv Tu ilayyiX'ioj rev v'ioZ alrov, "by the prcacliing of the gospel, &c.,"
Stuart. " In predicando evangeho— in preaching the gospel," Bcza. _ " I
serve God, not in teaching legal rites, but a much more celestial doctrine,"
Grotius.
56 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. I. 10.
That continually, &c. He still further sets forth the
ardour of his love by his very constancy in praying for them.
It was, indeed, a strong evidence, when he poured forth no
prayers to the Lord without making mention of them. That
the meaning may be clearer, I render iravrore, " always ;" as
though it was said, " In all my prayers," or, " whenever I
address God in prayer, I join a mention of you."^ Now he
speaks not of every kind of calling on God, but of those
prayers to which the saints, being at liberty, and laying
aside all cares, apply their whole attention to the work ; for
he might have often expressed suddenly this or that wish,
when the Romans did not come into his mind ; but when-
ever he had previously intended, and, as it were, prepared
himself to offer up prayers to God, among others he remem-
bered them. He then speaks peculiarly of those prayers,
for which the saints deliberately prepare themselves ; as we
find to have been the case with our Lord himself, who, for
this purpose, sought retirement. He at the same time inti-
mates how frequently, or rather, how unceasingly he was
engaged in such prayers, since he says that he prayed con-
tinually.
10. Requesting, if hy any means, &c. As it is not pro-
bable that we from the heart study his benefit, whom we are
not ready to assist by our labours, he now adds, after having
said that he was anxious for their welfare, that he showed
by another proof his love to them, as before God, even by
requesting that he might be able to advance their interest.
That you may, therefore, perceive the full meaning, read the
words as though the word also were inserted, requesting
also, ifhy any means, &c. By saying, A prosperous journey
1 The order of the words, as arranged by Calvin, is better than that of
our version ; he connects " always in my prayers," or, " in all my prayers,"
with " requesting." The simpler rendering would be as follows : —
9. My witness indeed is God, whom I serve with my spirit in the
10. gospel of his Son, that I unceasingly make mention of you, always
requesting in my prayers, that by some means now at length I
may, through the will of God, have a free course to come to you.
" In the gospel," may either mean " according to the gospel," or, " in
preaching the gospel." Hodge prefers the first. The particle n clearly
means " that " in this connection. That it is used in this sense in the
New Testament there can be no doubt ; see Acts xxvi, 8, 23 ; Heb. vii. 15,
CHAP. I. 12. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 57
y
hy the luill of God, lie shows, not only that he looked to the
LorcVs favour for success in his journey, but that he deemed
his journey prosperous, if it was approved by the Lord.
According- to this model ought all our wishes to be formed.
11. Fo7- I greatly desire to see you. He might, indeed, y
while absent, have confirmed their faith by his doctrine /
but as advice is better taken from one present, he had a de-
sire to be with them. But he explains what his object was,
and shows that he wished to undertake the toil of a journey,
not for his own, but for their advantage. — Spiritual gifts^ he
calls those which he possessed, being either those of doctrine,
or of exhortation, or of prophecy, which he knew had come
to him through God's favour. He has here strikingly point-
ed out the use of gifts by the word, imparting : for differ-
ent gifts are distributed to each individual, that all may
in kindness mutually assist one another, and transfer to
others what each one possesses. See chap. xii. 3 ; and 1
Cor. xii. 11.
To confirm you, &c. He modifies what he had said of
imparting, lest he should seem to regard them such as were
yet to be instructed in the first elements of religion, as
though they were not hitherto rightly taught in Christ. He
then says, that he wished so to lend his aid to them, that
they who had for the most part made a proficiency, might
be further assisted : for a confirmation is what we all want,
until Christ be fully formed in us, (Eph. iv. 13.)
12. Being not satisfied with this modest statement, he
qualifies it, and shows, that he did not so occujiy the place
of a teacher, but that he wished to learn also from them ;
as though he said, " I desire so to confirm you according to
the measure of grace conferred on me, that your example
1 The words, n ^a^ifffia 'PTviufiariKov, some spiritual gift, or benefit, seem
to be of a general import. Some, such as Chalmers and Haldane, have
supposed that a miraculous power is intended, which the Apostles alone
conveyed, such as the power of speaking with tongues : but most Commen-
tators agree in the view here given. The phrase is not found in any other
place : x^-i^'t^"-^ iii the plural number, is used to designate miraculous
powers, 1 Cor. xii. 9 ; and to. Tyivftanxa mean the same, 1 Cor. xiv. 1. But
here, no doubt, the expression includes any gift or benefit, whether mira-
culous or ordinary, which the Apostle might have been made the means of
conveying. — Ed.
58 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. I. 12.
may also add courage (alacritatem — alacrity) to my faith,
and that we may thus mutually benefit one anotlier."
See to what degree of modesty his pious heart submitted
itself, so that he disdained not to seek confirmation from
unexperienced beginners : nor did he speak dissemblingly,
for there is no one so void of gifts in the Church of Christ,
who is not able to contribute something to our benefit : but
we are hindered by our envy and by our pride from gather-
ing such fruit from one another. Such is our high-minded-
ness, such is the inebriety produced by vain reputation, that
despising and disregarding others, every one thinks that he
possesses what is abundantly sufficient for himself I prefer
to read with Bucer, exhortation {exhortationem — encourage-
ment) rather than consolatim ; for it agrees better with the
former part.^
13. Now I would not liave you 13. Nolo vero vos ignorare, fra-
ignorant, brethren, that oftentimes tres, quod spepe proposui venire ad
I purposed to come unto you, (but vos, et impeditus sum hactenus, ut
1 The verb is o-j/^TajaxXx^iJva:/, which Grotius connects with imTo^u in
the preceding verse ; and adds, " He softens what he had said, by showing,
that he Avould not only bring some joy to them, but they also to him."
" Ut percipiara consolationem — that I may receive consolation," Piscator ;
— " Ut una recreemur — that we may be together refreshed," Castelio ;
"Adcommunem exhortationem percipiendam — in order to receive com-
mon exhortation," Beza; " Ut gaudium et voluptatem ex vobis percipiam
— that I may receive joy and pleasure from you ;" vel, " Ut mutuo solatio
invicem nos erigamus atque firmemus — that by nuitual comfort Ave may
console and strengthen one another," Schleiisner.
The verb with the prefix, <rvv, is only found here ; but the verb -ra^a-
x,a.Xiu frequently occurs, and its common meaning is, to beseech, to exhort,
to encourage, and by these means to comfort.
With regard to this passage. Professor Stuart says, " I have rendered
the word, comfort, only because I cannot find any EngUsh word which will
convey the full sense of the original."
" The word rendered to conifoi-t," says Professor Hodge, " means to in-
vite, to exhort, to instruct, to console, &c. Which of these senses is to be
preferred here, it is not easy to decide. Most probably the Apostle in-
tended to use the word in a wide sense, as expressing the idea, that he might
be excited, encom'aged, and comforted by his intercourse with his Chris-
tian brethren." — The two verses may be thus rendered: —
11. For I desire much to see you, that I may impart to you some spi-
12. ritual benefit, so that you may be strengthened: this also is ivJiatl
desire, to be encouraged together with you, through the faith wliich
is in both, even in you and in me.
Grotius observes, " Iv aXXriXon improprie dixit pro in utrisque, in me et
vobis. Dixit sic et Demosthenes, ra cr^os aXXnXoi;." — FA,
CHAP. I. 13. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 59
was let hitherto,) that I might have fructum aliquem haberem in vobis,
some fruit among you also, even as sicut et in reliquis gentibus.
among other Gentiles.
14. lam debtor both to the Greeks 14. Et Gr.-ecis et Barbaris et
and to tlie Barbarians, both to the sapientibus et stultis debitor sum.
wise and to the imwise.
15. 8o, as much as in me is, I am lo. Itaque quantum in me est,
ready to preach the gospel to you paratus sum vobis quoque qui Ro-
that are at Rome also. m?e estis Evangelizare.
13. / would not that you should he ignorant. What Le
has hitherto testified — that he continually requested of the
Lord that he might visit them, might have apjjeared a vain
thing, and could not have obtained credit, had he neglected
to seize the occasion when offered : he therefore says, that
the effort had not been wanting, but the opportunity ; for
he had been prevented from executing a purpose often
formed.
We hence learn that the Lord frequently upsets the pur-
poses of his saints, in order to humble them, and by such
humiliation to teach them to regard his Providence, that
they may rely on it ; though the saints, who design nothing
witliout the Lord's Avill, cannot be said, strictly speaking, to
be driven away from their purposes. It is indeed the pre-
sumption of impiety to pass by God, and without him to
determine on things to come, as though they were in our
own power ; and this is what James sharply reprehends in
chap. iv. 13.
But he says that he was hindered : you must take this in
no other sense, but that the Lord employed him in more
urgent concerns, which he could not have neglected without
loss to the Church. Thus the hinderances of the godly and
of the unbelieving differ : the latter perceive only that they
are hindered, when they are restrained by the strong hand
of the Lord, so as not to be able to move ; but the former
are satisfied Avith an hinderance that arises from some ap-
proved reason ; nor do they allow themselves to attempt any
thing beyond their duty, or contrary to edification.
That I might obtain some fruit, &c. He no doubt speaks
of that fruit, for the gathering of which the Lord sent his
Apostles, " I have chosen you, that ye may go and bring
forth fruit, and that your fruit may remain." (John xv. 16.)
60 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP, I. 14.
Though he gathered it not for himself, but for the Lord, he
yet calls it his own ; for the godly have nothing more as
their own than the work of promoting the glory of the
Lord, with which is connected all their happiness. And he
records what had haj^pened to him with respect to other
nations, that the Romans might entertain hope, that his
coming to them would not be unprofitable, which so many
nations had found to have been attended with so much
benefit.
14. 7 am a debtor both to the Greeks and to the Barbarians,
&c. Those whom he means by the Greeks and the Bar-
barians, he afterwards explains by adding, both to the wise
and to the foolish ; which words Erasmus has not rendered
amiss by " learned and unlearned," {eruditos et rudes,) but
I prefer to retain the very words of Paul. He then takes
an argument from his own office, and intimates that it
ought not to be ascribed to his arrogance, that he thouglit
himself in a manner capable of teaching the Romans, how-
ever much they excelled in learning and wisdom and in the
knowledge of things, inasmuch as it had pleased the Lord
to make him a debtor even to the wise.^
Two things are to be here considered — that the gospel is
by a heavenly mandate destined and ofl:ered to the wise, in
order that the Lord may subject to himself all the wisdom
of this world, and make all variety of talents, and every
kind of science, and the loftiness of all arts, to give way to
the simplicity of his doctrine ,' and what is more, they are
to be reduced to the same rank with the unlearned, and to
be made so meek, as to be able to bear those to be their
fellow-disciples under their master, Christ, whom they would
not have deigned before to take as their scholars ; and then,
that the unlearned are by no means to be driven away from
1 Chalmers paraphrases the text thus — " I am bound, or I am under
obligation, laid upon me by the duties of my oiRce, to preach both to
Greeks and Barbarians, both to the wise and the unwise."
In modern phraseology, the words may be rendered, " Both to the civi-
lized and to the uncivilized, both to the learned and to the unlearned, am
I a debtor." The two last terms are not exactly parallel to the two first,
as many unlearned were among the Greeks, or the civilized, as well as
among the Barbarians. — Ed.
CHAP. I. 16. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 61
this scliool, nor are they to flee away from it through ground-
less fear ; for if Paul was indebted to them, being a faithful
debtor, he had doubtless discharged what he owed ; and
thus they will find here what they will be capable of enjoy-
ing. All teachers have also a rule here which they are to
follow, and that is, modestly and kindly to accommodate
themselves to the capacities of the ignorant and unlearned.
Hence it will be, that they will be able, with more evenness
of mind, to bear with many absurdities and almost innumer-
able things that may disgust them, by which they might
otherwise be overcome. They are, however, to remember,
that they are not so indebted to the foolish, as that they are
to cherish their folly by immoderate indulgence.
15. / am therefore ready ^ &c. He concludes what he
had before said of his desire — that as he knew it to be his
duty to spread the gospel among them, in order to gather
fruit for the Lord, he was anxious to fulfil God's calling, as
far as he was allowed to do so by the Lord.
16. For I am not ashamed of the 16. Non enim pudet me Evan-
gospel of Christ : for it is the power gelii Christi, quandoquidem potentia
of God unto salvation to every one est Dei, in salutem omni credenti,
that believeth ; to the Jew first, and ludseo primum, deinde Graeco.
also to the Greek.
17. For therein is the righteous- 17. Nam justitia Dei in eo reve-
ness of God revealed from faith to latur ex fide in fidem, sicut scrip-
faith : as it is written, The just shall turn est, Justus ex fide sua vivet.
live by faith.
16. 7 am not indeed ashamed, &c. This is an anticipa-
tion of an objection ; for he declares beforehand, that he
cared not for the taunts of the ungodly ; and he thus pro-
vides a way for himself, by which he proceeds to pronounce
an eulogy on the value of the gospel, that it might not ap-
pear contemptible to the Romans. He indeed intimates
that it was contemi^tible in the eyes of the world ; and he
' TO xar ifi\ -jr^ofufiov, literally, " As to me there is readiness ;" or, accord-
ing to Stuart, " I'kere is a readiness so far as it respects me." But, " I
am ready," or, " I am prepared," conveys the meaning sufficiently, with-
out the other words, " As much as in me is." By saying that he was pre-
pared, he intimates that the event depended on another, even on God. —
Ed.
62 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. I. IG.
does this bj saying, that he was not ashamed of it. And
thus he prepares them for bearing the reproach of the cross
of Christ, lest they shoukl esteem the gospel of less value by
finding it exposed to the scoffs and reproaches of the un-
godly ; and, on the other hand, he shows how valuable it
was to the faithful. If, in the first place, the power of God
ought to be extolled by us, that power shines forth in the
gospel ; if, again, the goodness of God deserves to be sought
and loved by us, the gospel is a display of his goodness. It
ought then to be reverenced and honoured, since veneration
is due to God's power ; and as it avails to our salvation, it
ought to be loved by us.
But observe how much Paul ascribes to the ministry of
the word, when he testifies that God thereby puts forth his
power to save ; for he speaks not here of any secret revela-
tion, but of vocal preaching. It hence follows, that those as
it were wilfully despise the power of God, and drive away
from them his delivering hand, who withdraw themselves
from the hearing of the word.
At the same time, as he works not effectually in all, but
only where the Spirit, the inward Teacher, illuminates the
heart, he subjoins. To every one who helieveth. The gospel
is indeed offered to all for their salvation, but the power of
it appears not everywhere : and that it is the savour of
death to the ungodly, does not proceed from what it is, but
from their own wickedness. By setting forth but one sal-
vation he cuts off every other trust. When men withdraw
themselves from this one salvation, they find in the gosj)el
a sure proof of their own ruin. Since then the gospel in-
vites all to partake of salvation without any difference, it is
rightly called the doctrine of salvation : for Christ is there
oflcred, whose peculiar office is to save that which was lost ;
and those who refuse to be saved by him, shall find him a
Judge. But everywhere in Scripture the word salvation is
simply set in opposition to the word destruction : and hence
we must observe, when it is mentioned, what the subject of
the discourse is. Since then the gospel delivers from ruin
and the curse of endless death, its salvation is eternal life.^
' On tlie power of God, Parens observes, that tlie abstract, after tlie
CHAP. I. 17. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 63
First to the Jeiu and then to the Greek. Under the word
Greek, he inchides all the Gentiles, as it is evident from the
comparison that is made ; for the two clauses comprehend
all mankind. And it is probable that he chose especially
this nation to designate other nations, because, in the first
place, it was admitted, next to the Jews, into a participation
of the gospel covenant ; and, secondly, because the Greeks,
on account of their vicinity, and the celebrity of their lan-
guage, were more known to the Jews. It is then a mode of
speaking, a part being taken for the whole, by which he
connects the Gentiles universally with the Jews, as partici-
pators of the gospel : nor does he thrust the Jews from their
own eminence and dignity, since they were the first partak-
ers of God's promise and calling. He then reserves for them
their prerogative ; but he immediately joins the Gentiles,
though in the second jilace, as being partakers with them.
17. For^ the righteousness of God, &c. This is an explana-
tion and a confirmation of the preceding clause — that the
gospel is the power of God unto salvation. For if we seek
salvation, that is, life with God, righteousness must be first
sought, by Avhich being reconciled to him, we may, through
him being propitious to us, obtain that life which consists
only in his ftivour; for, in order to be loved by God, we
must first become righteous, since he regards unrighteous-
ness with hatred. He therefore intimates, that we cannot
obtain salvation otherwise than from the gospel, since no-
where else does God reveal to us his righteousness, which
Hebrew manner, is put for the concrete. Power means the instrnment
of God's power ; that is, the gospel is an instrument rendered efncacious
by divine power to convey salvation to believers : or, as Stuart says, " It
is powerful through the energy which he imparts, and so it is called his
power." Chalmers gives this paraphrase, " It is that, which however
judged and despised as a weak instrument by the men of this world — it is
that, to which he, by his own power, gives effect for the recovery of that
life which all men had forfeited and lost by sin."
" The gospel is a divine act, which continues to operate through all
ages of the world, and that not in the first place outwardly, but inwardly,
in the depths of the soid, and for eternal pvirposes." — Dr. Olshausen.
^ " The causative, ya.^, indicates a connexion with the preceding, that
the gospel is the poAver of God : the reason is, because by the gospel is
revealed the righteousness of God, that is, made known by it is a way of
righteousness and of obtaining Ufe before God, which neither the law, nor
phik)sophy, nor any other doctrine, was able to show." — Parens.
64- COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. I. ] 7.
alone delivers us from perdition. Now this righteousness,
which is the groundwork of our salvation, is revealed in the
gospel : hence the gospel is said to be the power of God
unto salvation. Thus he reasons from the cause to the
effect.
Notice further, how extraordinary and valuable a treasure
does God bestow on us through the gospel, even the com-
munication of his own righteousness. I take the righteous-
ness of God to mean, that which is approved before his
tribunal -^ as that, on the contrary, is usually called the
righteousness of men, which is by men counted and supposed
to be righteousness, though it be only vapour. Paul, how-
ever, I doubt not, alludes to the many prophecies in which
the Spirit makes known everywhere the righteousness of
1 " The righteousness of God," hKama-vvn hou, has been the occasion of
much toil to critics, but without reason : the very context is sufficient to
show its meaning, it being what the gospel reveals, and what the gospel
reveals is abundantly known from other passages. Whether we say, it is
the righteousness which is approved of God, as Calvin says, or provided
by God, or contrived by God, or imputed by God, the meaning does not
materially difiPer, and indeed aU these things, as it is evident from Scrip-
ture, are true respecting it.
There is more difficulty connected with the following words, Ix viffTicos
lis "riffTDi. The view which Calvin gives was adopted by some of the
Fathers, such as Theopliylact and Clemens Alexandrinus ; and it is that
of Melancthon, Beza, Scaliger, Locke, and many others. From Poole we
find that Chrysostom gave this exposition, " From the obscure and in-
choate faith of the Old Testament to the clear and fuU faith of the New ;"
and that Ambrose's exposition was the following, " From the faith or
fidelity of God who promises to the faith of him who believes." But in
all these views there is not that which comports with the context, nor is
the construction very intelligible — " revealed from faith," what can it
mean ? To render the passage intelligibly, £« ■riffTtus must be connected
with ^ix.tt.io<ruv>] (loZ, as suggested by Hammond, and followed by Doddridge
and Macknight. Then it would be, " The righteousness of God by faith,
or, which is by faith :" this is revealed in the gospel " to faith," that is,
in order that it may be believed ; which is often the force of th before a
noun ; as, th tv' avofiiav — in order to do wickedness ; or, us ayiafff/.cm — in
order to practise holiness, Rom vi. 19. Chalmers, Stuart, Barnes, and
Haldane take this view. The verse may be thus rendered, —
For the righteousness of God by faith is in it revealed in order to
be believed, as it is written, " The just shall by faith Hve."
The same truth is conveyed in chap. iii. 22 ; and similar plu-aseology is
found in Phil. iii. 9.
Barnes seems fully to express the import of the passage in these words,
" God's plan of justifying men is revealed in the gospel, which plan is by
faith, and the benefits of which plan shall be extended to all that have
faith or that believe." — Ed.
CHAP. I. 17. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 65
God in the future kingdom of Christ. Some explain it as
the righteousness which is freely given us by God : and I
indeed confess that the words will bear this sense ; for God
justifies us by the gospel, and thus saves us : yet the former
view seems to me more suitable, though it is not what I
make much of. Of greater moment is what some think,
that this righteousness does not only consist in the free re-
mission of sins, but also, in part, includes the grace of re-
generation. But I consider, that we are restored to life
because God freely reconciles us to himself, as we shall here-
after show in its proper place.
But instead of the expression he used before, " to every
one who believeth," he says now, from faith ; for righteous-
ness is offered by the gospel, and is received by faith. And
he adds, to faith : for as our faith makes progress, and as it
advances in knowledge, so the righteousness of God increases
in us at the same time, and the possession of it is in a
manner confirmed. Wlien at first we taste the gospel, we
indeed see God's smiling countenance turned towards us,
but at a distance : the more the knowledge of true religion
grows in us, by coming as it were nearer, we behold God's
favour more clearly and more familiarly. What some think,
that there is here an implied comparison between the Old
and New Testament, is more refined than well-founded ; for
Paul does not here compare the Fathers who lived under the
law with us, but points out the daily progress that is made
by every one of the faithful.
As it is written, &c. By the authority of the Prophet
Habakkuk he proves the righteousness of faith ; for he, pre-
dicting the overthrow of the proud, adds this — that the life
of the righteous consists in faith. Now we live not before
God, except through righteousness : it then follows, that
our righteousness is obtained by faith ; and the verb being
future, designates the real perpetuity of that life of which
he speaks ; as though he had said, — that it would not be
momentary, but continue for ever. For even the ungodly
swell with the false notion of having life ; but when they
say, " Peace and safety," a sudden destruction comes upon
them, (1 Thess. v. 3.) It is therefore a shadow, which en-
E
66 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. I. 1 7.
dures only for a moment. Faith alone is that which secures
the perpetuity of life ; and whence is this, except that it
leads us to God, and makes our life to depend on him ? For
Paul would not have aptly quoted this testimony had not
the meaning of the Prophet been, that we then only stand,
when by faith we recumb on God : and he has not certainly
ascribed life to the faith of the godly, but in as far as they,
having renounced the arrogance of the world, resign them-
selves to the protection of God alone/
He does not indeed professedly handle this subject ; and
hence he makes no mention of gratuitous justification : but
it is sufficiently evident from the nature of faith, that this
testimony is rightly applied to the present subject. Besides,
we necessarily gather from his reasoning, that there is a
mutual connection between faith and the gospel : for as the
just is said to live by faith, he concludes that this life is
received by the gospel.
We have now the principal point or the main hinge of the
first part of this Epistle, — that we are justified by faith
through the mercy of God alone. We have not this, indeed,
as yet distinctly expressed by Paul ; but from his own Avords
it will hereafter be made very clear — that the righteousness,
which is grounded on faith, depends entirely on the mercy
of God.
18. For the wrath of God is re- 18. Revelatur enim ira Dei e
vealed from heaven against all un- ccelo, super omnem impietatem et
godliness and unrighteousness of injustitiam hominum, veritatem Dei
men, who hold the truth in unright- injuste continentium :
eousness ;
19. Because that which may be 19. Quia quod cognoscitur de
known of God is manifest in them : Deo manifestum est in ipsis : Deus
for God hath shewed it unto them. enim illis manifestavit.
' Here is an instance in which Paul quotes the Old Testament, neither
exactly from the Hebrew nor the Septuagint. The Hebrew is, " The
just, — by his faith shall he live," iTTl'' in310S3 pHV : and the Septuagint
turns " his "' into "my," o ?£ Vixaios U -riffTiu; ^oZ Xwirai — " The just shall
by ray faith live ;" — " by my faith," that is, according to the tenor of the
passage, " by faith in me." The passage is quoted by him twice besides,
in Gal. iii. 11, and in Heb. x. 38, but exactly in the same words, without
the pronoun " his" or '"my." His object in this, as in some similar in-
stances, M'as to state the general truth contained in the passage, and not
to give a strictly verbal quotation. — Ed.
CHAP. T. 18. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 67
20. For the invisible things of him 20. Si quidem invisibilia ipsius,
from the creation of the world are ex creatione mundi operibus intel-
clearly seen, being understood by the leeta, conspiciuntiu", seterna qiioque
things that are made, even his eter- ejus potentia, et divinitas ; ut sint
nal power and Godhead ; so that inexcusabiles.
they are without excuse :
21. Because that, when they knew 21. Quoniam quum Deum cog-
God, they glorified him not as God, novissent, non tanquam Deo gloriam
neither were thankful ; but became dederunt, aut grati fuerunt ; exina-
vain in their imaginations, and their niti sunt in cogitationibus suis, et
foohsh heart was darkened. obtenebratumest stultumcoreorum.
22. Professing themselves to be 22. Quum se putarent sapientes,
wise, they became fools, stulti facti smit,
23. And changed the glory of the 28. Et mutaverunt gloriam incor-
uncorruptible God into an image ruptibilis Dei similitudine imaginis
made like to corruptible man, and corruptibilis hominis, et volucrum,
to birds, and four-footed beasts, and et quadrupedmn, et serpentum.
creeping things.
18. For^ revealed, &c. He reasons now by stating things
of a contrary nature, and proves that there is no righteous-
ness except what is conferred, or comes through the gospel ;
for he shows that without this all men are condemned : by
it alone there is salvation to be found. And he brings, as
the first jDroof of condemnation, the fact, — that though the
structure of the world, and the most beautiful arrangement
of the elements, ought to have induced man to glorify God,
yet no one discharged his proper duty : it hence appears
that all were guilty of sacrilege, and of wicked and abomin-
able ingfratitude.
^ The connection here is not deemed very clear. Stuart thinks that
this verse is connected, as the former one, with the 16th, and that it in-
cludes a reason why the Apostle was not ashamed of the gospel : and
Macknight seems to have been of the same opinion, for he renders ya^p,
besides. In this case the revelation of ^vrath from heaven is that which is
made by the gospel. This certainly gives a meaning to the words, " from
heaven," which is hardly done by any other view. That the gospel reveals
" wrath," as well as righteousness to be obtained by faith, is what is unde-
niable. Salvation to the believer, and condemnation to the unbeliever, is
its sum and substance. The objection made by Haldane is of no force, —
that the Apostle subsequently shows the sins of mankind as committed
against the light of natiu-e, and not against the gospel ; for he seems to
have brought forward the evidence from the light of nature, in order to
confirm the evidence from the light of revelation. The expression is,
" Revealed is the wrath of God," and not has been. See Acts xvii. 30, 31.
This is the view taken by Turrettin ; and Parens says, " There is no-
thing to prevent us from referring the revelation of wrath, as well as the
revelation of righteousness, to the gospel." — Ed.
68 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. I. 18.
To some it seems that tins is a main subject, and that
Paul forms his discourse for the purpose of enforcing repent-
ance ; but I think that the discussion of the subject begins
here, and that the principal jioint is stated in a former pro-
position ; for Paul's object was to teach us where salvation
is to be found. He has already declared that we cannot
obtain it excejit through the gospel : but as the flesh will
not willingly humble itself so far as to assign the praise of
salvation to the grace of God alone, Paul shows that the
whole world is deserving of eternal death. It hence follows,
that life is to be recovered in some other way, since we are
all lost in ourselves. But the words, being well considered,
will help us much to understand the meaning of the passage.
Some make a difference between impiety and unrighteous-
ness, and think, that by the former word is meant the pro-
fanation of God's worship, and by the latter, injustice towards
men ; but as the Apostle immediately refers this unright-
eousness to the neglect of true religion, we shall explain
both as referring to the same thing.^ And then, all the
impiety of men is to be taken, by a figure in language, as
meaning " the impiety of all men," or, the imj)iety of which
all men are guilty. But by these tw^o words one thing is
designated, and that is, ingratitude towards God ; for we
thereby offend in two ways : it is said to be daeSeca, impiety,
as it is a dishonouring of God ; it is dSiKta, unrighteousness,
because man, by transferring to himself what belongs to
God, unjustly deprives God of his glory. The word wrath,
according to the usage of Scripture, speaking after the man-
ner of men, means the vengeance of God ; for God, in pun-
ishing, has, according to our notion, the appearance of one
in Avrath. It imports, therefore, no such emotion in God,
but only has a reference to the perception and feeling of the
sinner who is punished. Then he says that it is revealed
from heaven ; though the expression, from heaven, is taken
by some in the sense of an adjective, as though he had said,
" the wrath of the celestial God ;" yet I think it more em-
1 It is true that the immediate subject is the neglect of religion ; but
then injustice towards men is afterwards introduced, and most critics take
it in this sense. — Ed.
CHAP. I. 19. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 69
phaticcal, when taken as having this import, " Wheresoever
a man may look around him, he will find no salvation ; for
the wrath of God is poured out on the whole world, to the
full extent of heaven.''
The truth of God means, the true knowledge of God ; and
to hold in that, is to suppress or to obscure it : hence they
are charged as guilty of robbery. — What we render unjustly,
is given literally by Paul, in unrighteousness, which means
the same thing in Hebrew : but we have regard to perspi-
cuity.^
19. Inasmuch as wliat may he known of God, ha. He thus
designates what it behoves us to know of God ; and he
means all that appertains to the setting forth of the glory
of the Lord, or, which is the same thing, whatever ought to
move and excite us to glorify God. And by this expression
he intimates, that God in his greatness can by no means be
fully comprehended by us, and that there are certain limits
within which men ought to confine themselves, inasmuch as
God accommodates to our small capacities what he testifies
of himself. Insane then are all they who seek to know of
themselves what God is : for the Spirit, the teacher of perfect
wisdom, does not in vain invite our attention to what may
he known, to yvcoarov ; and by what means this is known,
he immediately explains. And he said, in them rather than
to them, for the sake of greater emphasis : for though the
Apostle adojDts everywhere Hebrew phrases, and '2, heth, is
often redundant in that language, yet he seems here to have
^ This clause, -rZv 'rhv a.Xr,^uav iv a^ixla xanx'^'^'-'v, is differently rendered,
" Veritatem injuste detinentes — unjustly detaining the truth," Turrettin ;
*' Who stiffle the truth in unrighteousness," Chalmers ; " Who hinder the
truth by unrighteousness," Stuart ; " Who wickedly oppose the truth,"
Hodge ; " Who confine the truth by unrighteousness," Macknight.
" They mshed headlong," says Parens, " into impiety against God and
into injustice against one another, not through ignorance, but Icnowingly,
not through weakness, but wilfully and maliciously : and this the Apostle
expresses by a striking metaphor, taken from tyrants, who, against right
and justice, by open violence, oppress the innocent, bind them in chains,
and detain them in prison."
The sense given by Schleusner and some others, " Qui cum veri Dei
cognitione pravitatem vitfe conjimgunt — who connect M-ith a knowledge
of the true God a wicked hfe," seems not to comport with the context.
" The truth " means that respecting the being and power of God after-
wards specified. — Ed.
70 COMMENTAKIES ON THE CHAP. I. 20.
intended to indicate a manifestation, by which they might
be so closely pressed, that they could not evade ; for every one
of us undoubtedly finds it to be engraven on his own lieart.^
By saying, that Ood has made it manifest, he means, that
man was created to be a spectator of this formed world, and
that eyes were given him, that he might, by looking on so
beautiful a picture, be led up to the Author himself.
20. Since his invisible things,^ &c. God is in himself in-
visible ; but as his majesty shines forth in his works and in
his creatures everywhere, men ought in these to acknow-
ledge him, for they clearly set forth their Maker : and for
this reason the Apostle in his Epistle to the Hebrews says,
that this world is a mirror, or the representation of invisible
things. He docs not mention all the particulars which may
be thought to belong to God ; but he states, that we can
arrive at the knowledge of his eternal power and divinity f
for he who is the framer of all things, must necessarily be
W'ithout beginning and from himself When we arrive at
this point, the divinity becomes known to us, which cannot
exist except accompanied with all the attributes of a God,
since they are all included under that idea.
1 Some take «v avroTs, to mean among them, i.e., as Stuart says, " in
the midst of them, or before their eyes," that is, in the visible world ;
though many refer it 'vnth Calvin, to the moral sense, and that the expres-
sion is the same with " written in their hearts," in eh. ii. 15. — Ed.
* There is a passage quoted by Wolfius from Aristotle, in his book De
Mundo, which remarkably coincides with a part of this verse — " 5ra<r>j
StitiT^ (pvffii yivof/.ivos ahupnTos a.'s' avTui TaJv \fywv Sio^iirai o ho; God, UUSecn
by any mortal nature, is to be seen by the works themselves." — Ed.
' Divinitas, hioTti;, here only, and not ^sorfi; as in Col. i. 9. Eisner
and others make a difference betAveen these two words, and say, that the
former means the divinity or majesty of God, and the latter his nature or
being. There seems to be the idea of goodness conveyed in the word,
ii'ioTn; : for in the following verse there are two things laid to the charge of
the Gentiles which bear a reference to the two things said here — they did
not glorify him as God, and they were not thankful. He made himself
known by j^owvr as God, and by the beneficent exercise of that power, he
had laid a claim to the gratitude of his creatures. See Acts xiv. 15 ; and
xvii. 25, 27.
Venema, in his note on this passage, shows, that goodness was regarded
by many of the heathens as the primary attribute of Deity. Among
the Greeks, goodness — to ayafov, v,as the expression by which the Supreme
Being was distingiushed. And it appears evident from the context that
the Apostle included this idea especially in the word hioTYn. — Ed.
GIIAP. I. 21. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 71
So that they are inexcusable. It hence clearly appears
what the consequence is of having this evidence — that men
cannot allege any thing before God's tribunal for the pur-
pose of showing that they are not justly condemned. Yet
let this difference be remembered, that the manifestation of
God, by which he makes his glory known in his creation, is,
with regard to the light itself, sufficiently clear ; but that
on account of our blindness, it is not found to be sufficient.
We are not however so blind, that we can plead our ignorance
as an excuse for our perverseness. We conceive that there
is a Deity ; and then we conclude, that whoever he may be,
he ought to be worshipped : but our reason here fails, be-
cause it cannot ascertain who or what sort of being God is.
Hence the Apostle in Heb. xi. 3, ascribes to faith the light
by which man can gain real knowledge from the work of
creation, and not without reason ; for we are prevented by
our blindness, so that we reach not to the end in view ; we
yet see so far, that we cannot pretend any excuse. Both
these things are strikingly set forth by Paul in Actsxiv. 17,
when he says, that the Lord in past times left the nations
in their ignorance, and yet that he left them not without
witness (d/u,dpTvpov,) since he gave them rain and fertility
from heaven. But this knowledge of God, which avails only
to take away excuse, differs greatly from that which brings
salvation, which Christ mentions in John xvii. 3, and in
which we are to glory, as Jeremiah teaches us, ch. ix. 24.
21. For luhen they knew God, &c. He plainly testifies
here, that God has presented to the minds of all the means
of knowing him, having so manifested himself by his works,
that they must necessarily see what of themselves they seek
not to know — that there is some God ; for the world does
not by chance exist, nor could it have proceeded from itself.
But we must ever bear in mind the degree of knowledge in
which they continued ; and this appears from what follows.
They glorified him not as God. No idea can be formed of
God without including his eternity, power, wisdom, good-
ness, truth, righteousness, and mercy. His eternity appears
evident, because he is the maker of all things — his power,
because he holds all things in his hand and continues their
72 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. I. 21.
existence — his wisdom, because he has arranged things in
such an exquisite order — his goodness, for there is no other
cause than himself, why he created all things, and no other
reason, why he should be induced to preserve them — his
justice, because in his government he punishes the guilty
and defends the innocent — his mercy, because he bears with
so much forbearance the perversity of men — and his truth,
because he is unchangeable. He then who has a right
notion of God ought to give him the praise due to his eter-
nity, wisdom, goodness, and justice. Since men have not
recognised these attributes in God, but liave dreamt of him
as though he were an empty phantom, they are justly said
to have impiously robbed him of his own glory. Nor is it
without reason that he adds, that they were not thankful ;^
for there is no one who is not indebted to him for number-
less benefits : yea, even on this account alone, because he
has been pleased to reveal himself to us, he has abundantly
made us indebted to him. But they became vain^ &c. ; that
is, having forsaken the truth of God, they turned to the
^ The conjunctive, ?, is for oun, says Piscator : but it is a Hebraism, for
1 is sometimes used in Hebrew without the negative, which belongs to a
former clause. — Ed.
" The original words are, ly,a.raico^-^(rav in to7s "hiaXoyiffi^ols auTuiv, — " Vani
facti sunt in ratiocinationibus suis — they became vain in their reasonings,"
Pareus, Beza, Turrettin, and Doddridge ; " They became foohsh by their
own reasonings," Iltwknight.
" Whatever the right reason within," says Pareus, " or the frame of
the world without, might have suggested respecting God, they indulged in
pleasing speculations, specious reasonings, and in subtle and frivolous con-
clusions ; some denied the existence of a God, as Epicurus and Democri-
tus — others doubted, as Protagoras and Diagoras — others affirmed the
existence of many gods ; and these, as the Platonics, maintained that they
are not corporeal, while the Greeks and Romans held them to be so, who
worshipped dead men, impious, cruel, impure, and wicked. There Avere
also the Egyptians, who worshipped as gods, brute animals, oxen, geese,
birds, crocodiles, yea, what grew in their gardens, garlics and onions. A
very few, such as Plato and Aristotle, acknowledged one supreme Being ;
but even these deprived him of his providence. These, and the hke, were
the monstrous opinions which the Gentiles deduced from their reasonings.
They became vain, foolish, senseless."
" And darkened became their foolish heart," — ^ aamiTos ocItuv xa^^la ;
"cor eorum intelligentia carens — their heart void of understanding;"
" their unintelhgent heart," Doddridge. Perhaps " vmdiscerning heart"
would be the most suitable. See Math. xv. 16. Heart, after the manner
of the Hebrews, is to be taken here for the whole soul, especially the
mind. — Ed.
CHAP. I. 22. EPISTLE TO THE llOMANS. 73
vanity of tlicir own reason, all the acuteness of which is
fading and passes away like vapour. And thus their foolish
mind, being involved in darkness, could understand nothing
aright, but was carried away headlong, in various ways, into
errors and delusions. Their unrighteousness was this — they
quickly choked by their own depravity the seed of right
knowledge, before it grew up to ripeness.
22. While they tuere thinkmg, &c. It is commonly inferred
from this passage, that Paul alludes here to those philoso-
phers, who assumed to themselves in a peculiar manner the
reputation of wisdom ; and it is thought that the design of
his discourse is to show, that when the superiority of the
great is brought down to nothing, the common people would
have no reason to suppose that they had any thing worthy
of being commended : but they seem to me to have been
guided by too slender a reason ; for it was not peculiar to
the philosoi^hers to su2)pose themselves wise in the know-
ledge of God, but it was equally common to all nations, and
to all ranks of men. There were indeed none who sought
not to form some ideas of the majesty of God, and to make
him such a Ged as they could conceive him to be according
to their own reason. This presumption I hold is not learned
in the schools, but is innate, and comes with us, so to speak,
from the womb. It is indeed evident, that it is an evil
which has prevailed in all ages — that men have allowed
themselves every liberty in coining superstitions. The arro-
gance then which is condemned here is this — that men
sought to be of themselves wise, and to draw God down to a
level with their own low condition, when they ought humbly
to have given him his own glory. For Paul holds this jjrin-
ciple, that none, except through their own fault, are unac-
quainted with the worship due to God ; as though he said,
" As they have proudly exalted themselves, they have be-
come infatuated through the righteous judgment of God."
There is an obvious reason, which contravenes the interpre-
tation which I reject ; for the error of forming an image of
God did not originate with the philosophers ; but they, by
their consent, approved of it as received from others.^
^ Calvin is peculiar in his exposition of this verse. Most critics agree
74 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. I. 23.
23. And changed, &c. Having feigned siicli a God as
they could comprehend according to their carnal reason,
they were very far from acknowledging the true God : but
devised a fictitious and a new god, or rather a phantom. And
what he says is, that they changed the glory of God ; for as
though one substituted a strange child, so they departed
from the true God. Nor are they to be excused for this
pretence, that they believe that God dwells in heaven, and
that they count not the wood to be God, but his image ; for
it is a high indignity to God, to form so gross an idea of his
majesty as to dare to make an image of him. But from the
wickedness of such a presumption none were exempt, neither
priests, nor statesmen, nor philosophers, of whom the most
sound-minded, even Plato himself, sought to find out some
likeness of God.
The madness then here noticed, is, that all attempted to
make for themselves an image of God ; which was a certain
proof that their notions of God were gross and absurd.
And, first, they befouled the majesty of God by forming him
in the likeness of a corruptible man : for I prefer this ren-
dering to that of mortal man, which is adopted by Erasmus ;
for Paul sets not the immortality of God in opposition to the
mortality of man, but that glory, which is subject to no de-
fects, to the most wretched condition of man. And then,
being not satisfied with so great a crime, they descended
even to beasts and to those of the most filthy kind ; by
in thinking that those referred to here were those reputed learned among
all nations, as Beza says, " Such as the Druids of the Gauls, the sooth-
sayers of the Tuscans, the philosophers of the Greeks, the priests of the
Egyptians, the magi of the Persians, the gymnosophists of the Indians,
and the Rabbins of the Jews." He considers that the Apostle refers espe-
cially to such as these, though he speaks of all men as appearing to them-
selves very wise in their insane devices as to the worsliip of God. The
wiser they thought themselves, the more foolish they became. See Jer.
viii. 8, 9 r 1 Cor. i. 19-22.
" This is the greatest unhappiness of man, not only not to feel his
malady, but to extract matter of pride from what ought to be his shame.
What they deemed to be their wisdom was truly their folly."- — Haldane.
It is a just remark of Hodge, " That the higher the advancement of the
nations in refinement and philosophy, the greater, as a general rule, the
degradation and folly of their systems of religion." As a proof he men-
tions the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans, as compared with the
aborigines of America. — Ed.
CHAP. I. 24.
EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.
75
wliich tlioir stupidity appeared still more evident. You may-
see an account of these abominations in Lactantius, in Euse-
bius, and in Augustine in his book on the city of God.
24. Wherefore God also gave
them up to uncleanness, through
the hists of their own hearts, to dis-
honour their own bodies between
themselves :
25. Who changed the truth of
God into a lie, and worshipped and
served the creature more than the
Creator, who is blessed for ever.
Amen.
26. For this cause God gave them
up imto vile affections : for even their
women did change the natural use
into that which is against nature :
27. And likewise also the men,
leaving the natural use of the woman,
burned in their lust one toward an-
other : men with men working that
Avhich is unseemly, and receiving in
themselves that recompence of their
error which was meet.
28. And even as they did not like
to retain God m their knowledge,
God gave them over to a reprobate
mind, to do those things which are
not convenient ;
29. Being filled with all unright-
eousness, fornication, wickedness,
covetousness, maliciousness ; full of
envy, murder, debate, deceit, malig-
nity; whisperers,
30. Backbiters, haters of God,
despitefid, proud, boasters, inventors
of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31. Without understanding, co-
venant-breakers, Avithout natural af-
fection, implacable, unmerciful :
32. Who, knowing the judgment
of God, that they which commit such
things are worthy of death, not only
do the same, but have pleasure in
them that do them.
24. Propterea tradidit illos Deus
in cupiditates cordium suorum in
immunditiem, ut ignominia affice-
rent corpora sua in seipsis :
25. Qui transmutarunt veritatem
ejus in mendacium et coluerunt ac
venerati sunt creaturam supra Crea-
torem, qui est benedictus in secula :
Amen.
26. Propterea, inquam, tradidit
illos Deus in passiones ignominiosas :
ac enim femiufe ipsorum transmu-
tarunt naturalem usum in eum qui
est prajter naturam :
27. Similiter et viri quoque,
amisso naturali usu feniinje, exar-
serunt mutua libidine, alii in alios ;
masculi in masculis fceditatem per-
petrantes et quam decebat erro-
ris sui mercedem in seipsis reci-
pientes.
28. Et quemadmodum non pro-
baverunt Deum habere in notitia,
tradidit illos Deus in reprobam men-
tem, ad facienda quaj non dece-
rent;
29. Ut essent pleni omni injus-
titia, nequitia, libidine, avaritia,
malitia ; referti invidia, homicidio,
contentione, dolo, perversitate ; su-
surrones,
30. Obtrectatores, osores Dei, ma-
lefici, contumeliosi, fastuosi, reperto-
res malorum, parentibus immorigeri,
31. Intelligentise expertes, insocia-
biJes, affectu humanitatis carentes,
foedifragi, sine misericordiae sensu ;
32. Qui, quum Dei judicium cog-
noverint, quod qui talia agimt, digni
sunt morte, non tantum ea faciunt,
sed assentimitiu: facieutibus.
24. God therefore gave them up, &c. As impiety is a hid-
den evil, lest they should still find an evasion, he shows, by
a more palpable demonstration, that they cannot escape, but
76 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. I. 24*.
must be held fast hj a just condemnation, since such fruits
have followed this impiety as cannot be viewed otherwise
than manifest evidences of the Lord's wrath. As the Lord's
wrath is always just, it follows, that what has exposed them
to condemnation, must have preceded it. By these evi-
dences then he now proves the apostacy and defection of men:
for the Lord indeed does so punish those, who alienate them-
selves from his goodness, that he casts them headlong into
various courses which lead to perdition and ruin. And by
comparing the vices, of which they were guilty, with the
impiety, of which he had before accused them, he shows that
they suffered punishment through the just judgment of God :
for since nothing is dearer to us than our own honour, it is
extreme blindness, when we fear not to bring disgrace on
ourselves ; and it is the most suitable punishment for a re-
proach done to the Divine Majesty. This is the very thing
which he treats of to the end of the chapter ; but he handles
it in various ways, for the subject required ample illustra-
tion.
What then, in short, he proves to us is this, — that the in-
gratitude of men to God is incapable of being excused ; for
it is manifest, by unequivocal evidences, that the wrath of
God rages against them : they would have never rolled them-
selves in lusts so filthy, after the manner of beasts, had not
the majesty of God been provoked and incensed against
them. Since, then, the worst abominations abounded every-
where, he concludes that there existed among them evi-
dences of divine vengeance. Now, as this never rages with-
out reason, or unjustly, but ever keeps within the limits of
what is right, he intimates that it hence appears that per-
dition, not less certain than just, impended over all.
As to the manner in which God gives up or delivers men
to wickedness, it is by no means necessary in this place to
discuss a question so intricate, (longam — tedious.) It is in-
deed certain, that he not only permits men to fall into sin,
by allowing them to do so, and by conniving at them ; but
that he also, by his equitable judgment, so arranges things,
that they are led and carried into such madness by their
own lusts, as well as by the devil. He therefore adopts the
CHAP. I. 24. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 77
word, give up, according to the constant usage of Scripture ;
which word they forcibly wrest, who tliink that we are led
into sin only by the permission of God : for as Satan is the
minister of God's wrath, and as it were the executioner, so
he is armed against us, not through the connivance, but by
the command of his judge. God, however, is not on this ac-
count cruel, nor are we innocent, inasmuch as Paul plainly
shows, that we are not delivered up into his power, except
when we deserve such a punishment. Only we must make
this exception, that the cause of sin is not from God, the
roots of which ever abide in the sinner himself; for this
must be true, " Thine is perdition, 0 Israel ; in me only is
thy help." (Hos. xiii. 9.)^
By connecting the desires or lusts of man's heart with un-
cleanness, he indirectly intimates what sort of progeny our
heart generates, when left to itself The expression, among
themselves, is not without its force ; for it significantly ex-
^ On this subject Augustine, as quoted by Poole, uses a stronger lan-
guage than which we find here : — Tradidit non solum per patientiam etper-
missionem, sed per potentiam et quasi actionem ; non faciendo voluntates
malas, sed eis jam malis utendo ut voluerit ; mtdta et intra ipsos et extra
ipsos operando, a quibusillioccasionemcapiunt gravitis peccandi ; largiendo
illis admonitioius, jiagella, heneficia, &;c., quibus quoque eos scivit Deus ad
suam perniciem abusuros — " He delivered them up, not only by suffer-
ance and permission, but by power, and as it were by an efficient opera-
tion ; not by making evil their wills, but by using them, being already evil,
as he pleased ; by working many things both within and without them,
from which they take occasion to sin more grievously ; by giving them
warnings, scourges, benefits, &c., which God knew they would abuse to
their own destruction." — This is an awful view of God's proceedings to-
wards those who wilfully resist the truth, but no doubt a true one. Let
all who have the opportunity of knowing the truth tremble at the thought
of making light of it.
The preposition iv before desires or lusts, is used after the Hebrew man-
ner, in the sense of to or into ; for 1 beth, means in, and to, and also bt/ or
through; and such is the import of £v as frequently used by the Apostle.
It is so used in the preceding verse, — i" ofioia/fian — into the likeness, &c.
Then the verse would be, as Calvin in sense renders it, —
God also on this account delivered them up to the lusts of their own
hearts to work uncleanness, that they might dishonour their bodies
among themselves.
The import of us axtt^a^(r'iav, in order to uncleanness, is no doubt, to work
uncleanness; the Apostle frequently uses this kind of expression. Stuart
labours here unnecessarily to show, that God gave them up, being in their
lusts, &c., taking the clause as a description of those who were given up ;
but the plainest meaning is that which Calvin gives. — Ed.
78 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. I. 26.
presses how deep and indelible are the marks of infamy im-
printed on our bodies.
25. Who changed, &c. He repeats what he had said be-
fore, though in different words, in order to fix it deeper in
our minds. When the truth of God is turned to a lie, his
glory is obliterated. It is then but just, that they should be
besprinkled with every kind of infamy, who strive to take
away from God his honour, and also to reproach his name. —
And worsh{p2}ed, &c. That I might include two words in
one, I have given this rendering. He points out esj)ecially
the sin of idolatry ; for religious honour cannot be given to
a creature, without taking it away, in a disgraceful and
sacrilegious manner, from God : and vain is the excuse that
images are worshipped on God's account, since God acknow-
ledges no such worship, nor regards it as acceptable ; and the
true God is not then worshipped at all, but a fictitious God,
whom the flesh has devised for itself^ — What is added, Who
is blessed for ever, I explain as having been said for the pur-
pose of exposing idolaters to greater reproach, and in this
way, " He is one whom they ought alone to have honoured
and worshipped, and from whom it was not right to take
away any thing, no, not even the least."
26. Ood therefore gave them up, &c. After having intro-
duced as it were an intervening clause, he returns to what
he had before stated res23ecting the judgment of God : and
1 The words, " the truth of God," and " falsehood," or, a lie, are He-
braistic in their meaning, signifying " the true God," and " an idol." The
word, which means a lie, is often in Hebrew applied to any thing made to
be worshipped. See Is. xliv. 17s compared with 20 ; Jer. xiii. 25. Stuart
renders the sentence, " Who exchanged the true God for a false one."
Woljius objects to this view, and says, " I prefer to take d>.nhta.t toZ hoZ,
for the truth made known by God to tlie Gentiles, of which see ver. 18, and
the following verses : ihey changed i\\is into a lie, t.e., into those insane
and absurd notions, into which they were led by their 'hiaXoyKTi/.ols — reason-
ings, ver. 21." The expression — -^a^a tov xritravra, has been rendered by
Erasmus, " above the Creator ;" by Luther, " rather than the Creator ;"
by Beza, " to the neglect of the Creator — prseterito conditore ;" and by
Grotius, " in the place of the Creator." The two last are more consonant
with the general tenor of the context ; for the persons here spoken of, ac-
cording to the description given of them, did not worship God at all ;
■ra^a. is evidently used in the sense of exclusion and opposition, ■'ra^a. tov yo//,ov
— contrarv to the law, Acts xviii. 13; fraja (pi^riy — contrary to natiu-e,
ver. 26. See Gal. i. S.—Ed.
CHAP. I. 28. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 79
he brings, as tlie first example, the dreadful crime of un-
natural lust ; and it hence appears that they not only aban-
doned themselves to beastly lusts, but became degraded
beyond the beasts, since they reversed the whole order of
nature. He then enumerates a long catalogue of vices which
had existed in all ages, and then prevailed everywhere with-
out any restraint.
It is not to the purpose to say, that every one was not
laden with so great a mass of vices ; for in arraigning the
common baseness of men, it is proof enough if all to a man
are constrained to acknowledge some faults. So then we
must consider, that Paul here records those abominations
which had been common in all ages, and were at that time
especially prevalent everywhere ; for it is marvellous how
common then was that filthiness which even brute beasts
abhor; and some of these vices were even popular. And
he recites a catalogue of vices, in some of which the whole
race of man were involved ; for though all were not murder-
ers, or thieves, or adulterers, yet there were none who were
not found polluted by some vice or another. He calls those
disgraceful passions, which are shameful even in the estima-
tion of men, and redound to the dishonouring of God.
27. Such a reward for their error as was vieet. They
indeed deserved to be blinded, so as to forget themselves,
and not to see any thing befitting them, who, through their
own malignity, closed their eyes against the light offered
them by God, that they might not behold his glory : in
short, they who w^ere not ashamed to extinguish, as much
as they could, the glory of God, which alone gives us light,
deserved to become blind at noonday.
28. And as they chose not, &c. There is an evident com-
parison to be observed in these words, by which is strikingly
set forth the just relation between sin and punishment. As
they chose not to continue in the knowledge of God, which
alone guides our minds to true wisdom, the Lord gave them
a perverted mind, which can choose nothing that is right.^
' There is a correspondence between the words oIk lioxifiatrav — they did
not approve, or think worthy, and ahoxifiov — unapproved, or worthless,
which is connected with voZv, mind. The verb means to try or prove a
80 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. I. 28.
And by saying, that they chose not, {non probasse — apiDrovecl
not,) it is the same as though he had said, that they pursued
not after the knowledge of God with the attention they
ought to have done, but, on the contrary, turned away their
thoughts designedly from God. He then intimates, that
they, making a depraved choice, preferred their own vanities
to the true God ; and thus the error, by which they were
deceived, was voluntary.
To do those things which were not meet. As he had hither-
to referred only to one instance of abomination, which pre-
vailed indeed among many, but was not common to all, he
begins here to enumerate vices from which none could be
found free : for though every vice, as it has been said, did
not appear in each individual, yet all were guilty of some
vices, so that every one might separately be accused of mani-
fest depravity. As he calls them in the first instance not
meet, understand him as saying, that they were inconsistent
with every decision of reason, and alien to the duties of men :
for he mentions it as an evidence of a perverted mind, that
men addicted themselves, without any reflection, to those
vices, which common sense ought to have led them to re-
nounce.
But it is labour in vain so to connect these vices, as to
make them dependent one on another, since this was not
thing, as metal by fire, then to distinguish between what is genuine or
otherwise, and also to approve of what is good and valuable. To approve,
or think fit or worthy, seems to be the meaning here. Derived from tliis
verb is aloxifio;, which is applied to unapproved or adulterated money, —
to men unsound, not able to bear the test, not genuine as Christians, 2
Cor. xiii. 5, — to the earth that is unfit to produce fruits, Heb. vi. 8. The
nearest alliteration that can perhaps be presented is the following, " And
as they did not deem it worth while to acknowledge God, God delivered
them up to a worthless mind," that is, a mind unfit to discern between
right and wTong. Beza gives this meaning, " Mentem omnis judicii ex-
pertem — a mind void of all judgment." Locke's " unsearching mind," and
Mackniglit's " unapproving mind," and Doddridge's " undiscerning mind,"
do not exactly convey the right idea, though the last comes nearest to it.
It is an unattesting mind, not capable of bringing tilings to the test — S»x/-
(ii/o», not able to distinguish between things of the most obvious nature.
"To acknowledge God" is literally "to have God in recognition — rov
hev ^x^'^ " WiyMairu." Venemci says, that this is a purely Greek idiom,
and adduces passages from Herodotus and Xenophon ; from the first, the
following phrase, l> akoylri 'ix^ii — to have in contempt, i.e., to contemn or
despise. — Ed.
CHAP. T. 80. EPISTLE TO THE liOMANS. 81
Paul's design ; but he set them down as they occurred to
his mind. What each of them signifies, we shall very briefly
explain.
29. Understand by unrighteousness, the violation of jus-
tice among- men, by not rendering to each his due. I have
rendered Trovqpiav, according to the opinion of Ammonius,
wickedness ; for he teaches us that irovripov, the wicked, is
SpaariKov kukov, the doer of evil. The word (nequitia) then
means practised wickedness, or licentiousness in doing mis-
chief : but maliciousness (lyialitia) is that depravity and
obliquity of mind which leads us to do harm to our neigh-
bour.^ For the word, wopvetav, which Paul uses, I have put
lust, (libidineni.) I do not, however, object, if one prefers to
render it fornication ; but he means the inward passion as
well as the outward act. ^ The words avarice, envy, and
mw-der, have nothing doubtful in their meaning. Under
the word strife, (contentione,) ^ he includes quarrels, fightings,
and seditions. We have rendered KaKorjdelav, pervei^sity, {per-
versitatem ;Y which is a notorious and uncommon wicked-
ness ; that is, when a man, covered over, as it were, with
hardness, has become hardened in a corrupt course of life by
custom and evil habit.
80. The word deoarv^el^ means, no doubt, haters of God ;
for there is no reason to take it in a passive sense, (hated of
God,) since Paul here proves men to be guilty by manifest
vices. Those, then, are designated, who hate God, whose
justice they seem to resist by doing wrong. Whispere7's
(susurrones) and slanderer's {pbtrectatoresY are to be thus
distinguished ; the former, by secret accusations, break ofi"
1 The two words are rrowipia, and x.a.xia,. Doddridge renders them " mis-
chief and malignity." Parens says that kockIo, is vice, opposed to rn afiTn
— virtue. — Ed.
* " iiofnia, has an extended sense, comprehending all illicit intercourse,
whether fornication, adultery, incest, or any other venus illicita," — Stuart.
' Improperly rendered "debate" in our version — s'j'So;, "strife," by
Macknight, and " contention," by Doddridge. — Ed.
* In our version, " malignity ;" by Macknight, " bad disposition :" and
by Doddridge, " inveteracy of evil habits." Schleusner thinks that it
means here " malevolence." — Ed.
^ KccTccXaXov;, literally gainsayers, or those who speak against others, —
defamers, calumniators ; rendered "revilers," by Macknight. — Ed.
F
82 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP, I. 32.
the friendships of good men, inflame their minds with anger,
defame the innocent, and sow discords ; and the latter,
through an innate mahgnity, spare the reputation of no one,
and, as though they were instigated by the fury of evil-
speaking, they revile the deserving as well as the undeserv-
ing. We have translated uSpiara^, villanous, (maleficos ;) for
the Latin authors are wont to call notable injuries villanies,
such as plunders, thefts, burnings, and sorceries ; and these
were the vices which Paul meant to point out here.^ I have
rendered the word v'7repri(f)avov<;, used by Paul, insolent, (con-
tumeliosos ;) for this is the meaning of the Greek word : and
the reason for the word is this, — because such being raised,
as it were, on high, look down on those who are, as it were,
below them with contempt, and they cannot bear to look on
their equals. Haughty are they who swell with the empty
wind of overweeningness. Unsociable^ are those who, by
their iniquities, unloose the bands of society, or those in
whom there is no sincerity or constancy of faith, who may
be called truce-breakers.
31 . Without the feelings of humanity are they who have
put off tlie first affections of nature towards their own rela-
tions. As he mentions the want of mercy as an evidence of
human nature being depraved, Augustine, in arguing against
the Stoics, concludes, that mercy is a Christian virtue.
32. Who, knowing the judgment'^ of God, &c. Though this
passage is variously explained, yet the following appears to
^ The three words, iS^io-ras, tiTi^niiavov;, and aXaZ^ota;, seem to designate
three properties of a proud spirit — disdainful or insolent, haughty and
vainglorious. The vS^io-to.! are those Avho treat others petulantly, contu-
meliously, or insidtingly. '• Insolent," as given by Macl-night,is the most
suitable word. The l-Tn^'^ipdvos is one who sets himself to view above
otliers, the high and elevated, who exhibits himself as superior to others.
The a.>.aZ,u\i is the boaster, who assumes more than what belongs to him,
or promises more than what he can pertorm. These three forms of pride
are often seen in the world. — Ed.
"- Unsocialrilcs — atruv^irous. " Faithless," perhaps, would be the most
suitable word. " Who adhere not to compacts," is the explanation of
Ilesijchius.
To preserve the same negative according to Avhat is done in Glreek, we
may render the 31st verse as follows : —
31. Unintelligent, vmfaithfid, unnatural, unappeasable, unmercifiil. — Ed.
^ Qdvin has •' justitiam " here, though "judicium " is given in the text.
— Ed.
CHAP. ir. ]. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 83
mo the correctest interpretation, — that men left notliing
undone for the purpose of giving- unbridled liberty to their
sinful propensities ; for having taken away all distinction
between good and evil, they approved in themselves and in
others those things which they knew displeased God, and
would be condemned by his righteous judgment. For it is
the summit of all evils, when the sinner is so void of shame,
that he is pleased with his own vices, and will not bear them
to be rej)roved, and also cherishes them in others by his
consent and approbation. This desperate wickedness is thus
described in Scripture : " They boast when they do evil,"
(Prov. ii. 14.) " She has spread out her feet, and gloried in
her wickedness," (Ezek. xvi. 25.) For he who is ashamed is
as yet healable ; but when such an impudence is contracted
through a sinful habit, that vices, and not virtues, please us,
and are approved, there is no more any hope of reformation.
Such, then, is the interpretation I give ; for I see that the
Apostle meant here to condemn something more grievous
and more wicked than the very doing of vices : what that is
I know not, except we refer to that which is the summit of
all wickedness, — that is, when wretched men, having cast
away all shame, undertake the patronage of vices in opposi-
tion to the righteousness of God.
CHAPTER IL
1. Therefore thou art inexcusable, O 1. Propterea inexcusabilis es, O
man, whosoever thou art that judgest : homo, quicunque judicas : in quo
for wherein thou judgest another, thou enini judicas alteruin, teipsimi con-
condemnest thyself ; for thou that judg- demnas ; eadem enim facis dum
est doest the same things. judicas.
2. But we are sure that the judgment 2. Novimus au'cm quod judi-
of God is according to trvith against cium Dei est secundum veritatem
them which commit such things. in eos qui talia aguut.
This reproof is directed against hypocrites, who dazzle the
eyes of men by displays of outward sanctity, and even think
themselves to be accepted before God, as though they had
given him full satisfaction. Hence Paul, after having stated
the grosser vices, that he might prove that none are just
84 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. II. 1 .
before God, now attacks saintlings {sanctulos) of this kind,
who could not have been included in the first catalogue.
Now the inference is too simple and plain for any one to
wonder how the Apostle derived his argument ; for he makes
them inexcusable, because they themselves knew the judg-
ment of God, and yet transgressed the law ; as though he
said, " Though thou consentest not to the vices of others, and
seemest to be avow^edly even an enemy and a reprover of
vices ; yet as thou art not free from them, if thou really ex-
aminest thyself, thou canst not bring forward any defence."
For in what thou judgest another, &c. Besides the striking
resemblance there is between the two Greek verbs, Kpivetv
and KaraKpiveiv, (to judge and to condemn,) the enhancing
of their sin ought to be noticed ; for his mode of speaking is
the same, as though he said, " Thou art doubly deserving of
condemnation ; for thou art guilty of the same vices which
thou blamest and reprovest in others.'' It is, indeed, a well-
known saying, — that they who scrutinize the life of others
lay claim themselves to innocence, temperance, and all vir-
tues ; and that those are not worthy of any indulgence who
allow in themselves the same things which they undertake
to correct in others. For thou, judging, doest the same things:
so it is literally ; but the meaning is, " Though thou judgest,
thou yet doest the same things." And he says that they did
them, because they were not in a right state of mind ; for sin
properly belongs to the mind. They then condemned them-
selves on this account, — because, in reproving a thief, or an
adulterer, or a slanderer, they did not merely condemn the
persons, but those veiy vices which adhered to themselves.^
' It is confessed by most that the illative, S/o, at the beginning of the
verse, can hardly be accounted for. The inference from the preceding is
not very evident. It is, in my view, an instance of Hebraism ; and the
reference is not to what has preceded, but to what is to come. It is not
properly an illative, but it anticipates a reason afterwards given, conveyed
hy for, or, because. Its meaning will be seen in the following version : —
On this account, inexcusable art thou, O man, whosoever thou be who
condemnest another, because, in what thou condemnest another
thou condemnest thyself ; for thou Avho condemnest doest the same
things.
The verb, xj /va, has here the idea of condemning, or of passing judgment ;
Xo judge is not sufficiently distinct. — Ed.
CHAP. II. 2. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 85
2. But we know that the judgment of God, &c. The design
of Paul is to shake oiF from hypocrites their self-complacen-
cies, that they may not think that they can really gain any
thing, though they be applauded by the world, and though
they regard themselves guiltless ; for a far different trial
awaits them in heaven. But as he charges them with inward
impurity, which, being hid from the eyes of men, cannot be
proved and convicted by human testimonies, he summons
them to the tribunal of God, to whom darkness itself is not
hid, and by whose judgment the case of sinners, be they
willing or unwilling, must be determined.
Moreover, the truth of judgment will in two ways appear,
because God will punish sin without any respect of persons,
in whomsoever it will be found ; and he will not heed outward
appearances, nor be satisfied with any outward work, except
what has proceeded from real sincerity of heart. It hence
follows, that the mask of feigned sanctity will not prevent
him from visiting secret wickedness with judgment. It is,
no doubt, a Hebrew idiom ; for truth in Hebrew means often
the inward integrity of the heart, and thus stands opposed
not only to gross falsehood, but also to the outward apj^ear-
ance of good works. And then only are hypocrites awakened,
when they are told that God will take an account, not only
of their disguised righteousness, but also of their secret
motives and feelings. ^
3. And thinkest thou this, O man, 3. Existimas autem, O homo, qui
that judgest them which do such judicas eos qui talia faciunt, et
things, and doest the same, that thou eadem facis, quod ipse eflugies judi-
shalt escape the judgment of God ? cium Dei ?
4. Or despisest thou the riches of 4. An divitias bonitatis ipsius
his goodness, and forbearance, and tolerantijeque, ac lenitatis conteni-
long- suffering ;'' not knowing that nis ; ignorans quod bonitas Dei te
the goodness of God leadeth thee to ad poenitentiam deducit ?
repentance ?
» "According to tnith" — kocto. aXrihiav, means, according to the true
state of the case, -nithout any partiality, or according to what is just and
equitable ; so Grotius takes it. Its corresponding word in Hebrew, nOX,
is sometimes rendered ^ly.aioiruvti. It is found opposed to a'Smia in 1 Cor.
xiii. 6. The expression here may be deemed to be the same in meaning
with ^iKaioK^tf'ia, — righteous judgment, in verse 5. — Ed.
^ Lenitatis — //.ax^o^vfiias, tarditatis ad iram. " Long-suffering " expresses
86 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. II. 3.
5. But, after thy hardness and 5. Sed, juxta duritiam tuam, et
impenitent heart, treasurest up unto cor poenitere nescium, thesaurizas
thyself wrath against the day of tibi iram in diem irse et revelationis
wrath and revelation of the right- justi juclicii Dei;
eous judgment of God ;
G. Who will render to every man 6. Qui redditurus est unicuique
according to his deeds : secundam ipsius opera :
7. To them who, by patient con- 7. lis quidem, qui per boni operis
tinuance in well-doing, seek for glory, perseverantiam, gloriam et honorcui
and honour, and immortality, eternal et immortalitatem qua^runt, vitam
life ; jeternam :
8. But unto them that are con- 8. lis vero qui sunt contentiosi,
tentious, and do not obey the truth, ac veritati imniorigeri, injustitise
but obey unrighteousness, indigna- autem obtemperant, excandescentia,
tion and wrath, ira, tribulatio,
0. Tribidation and anguish, upon 9. Et anxietas in omnera animam
every soul of man that doeth evil, of hominis perpetrantis malum, ludiei
the Jew first, and also of the Gentile : primum simul et Grjeci :
10. But glory, honour, and peace, 10. At gloria et honor et pax
to every man that worketh good ; to omni operanti bonum, ludajo pri-
the Jew first, and also to the Gen- mum simul et Grseco.
tile.
3. And thinkest thou, 0 man, &c. As rhetoricians teach us,
that we ouglit not to proceed to give strong reproof before
the crime be i:)roved, Paul may seem to some to have acted
unwisely here for having- passed so severe a censure, when
he had not yet proved the accusation which he had brought
forward. But the fact is otherwise ; for he adduced not his
accusation before men, but appealed to the judgment of con-
science ; and thus he deemed that proved which he had in
view — that they could not deny their iniquity, if they ex-
amined themselves and submitted to the scrutiny of God's
tribunal. And it was not without urgent necessity, that he
with so much sharpness and severity rebuked their fictitious
sanctity ; for men of this class will with astonishing security
trust in themselves, except their vain confidence be forcibly
shaken from them. Let us then remember, that this is the
best mode of dealing with hypocrisy, in order to awaken it
from its inebriety, that is, to draw it forth to the light of
God's judgment.
the meaning very exactly. There is here a gradation — " goodness " — z?*"^-
TOTus, benevolence, kindness, bounty ; — " forbearance" — ave^^, withholding,
t.c, of wrath; — then " long-suftering," that is, bearing long with the sins
of men. '• Riches " mean abundance ; the same as though the expression
was, " the abounding goodness," &c. — Ed.
CHAP. II. i. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 87
That thou shalt escape, &c. Tliis argument is drawn from
the less ; for since our sins are subject to the judgment of
men, mucli more arc they to that of God, who is the only
true Judge of all. Men are indeed led by a divine instinct
to condemn evil deeds ; but this is only an obscure and
faint resemblance of the divine judgment. They are then
extremely besotted, who think that they can escape the
judgment of God, though they allow not others to escape
their own judgment. It is not without an emphatical mean-
ing that he repeats the word man ; it is for the purpose of
presenting a comparison between man and God.
4. Dost thou despise the riches ? &c. It does not seem to
me, as some think, that there is here an argument, conclu-
sive on two grounds, {dilemma,) but an anticipation of an
objection : for as hypocrites are commonly transported with
prosperity, as though they had merited the Lord's kindness
by their good deeds, and become thus more hardened in their
contempt of God, the Apostle anticipates their arrogance,
and proves, by an argument taken from a reason of an oppo-
site kind, that there is no ground for them to think that
God, on account of their outward prosperity, is propitious to
them, since the design of his benevolence is far different,
and that is, to convert sinners to himself. Where then the
fear of God does not rule, confidence, on account of pro-
speri^ty, is a contempt and a mockery of his great goodness.
It hence follows, that a heavier punishment will be inflicted
on those whom God has in this life favoured ; because, in
addition to their other wickedness, they have rejected the
fatherly invitation of God. And though all the gifts of God
are so many evidences of his paternal goodness, yet as he
often has a different object in view, the ungodly absurdlj^
congratulate themselves on their prosperity, as though they
were dear to him, while he kindly and bountifully supports
them.
Not knowing that the goodness of God, &c. For the Lord
by his kindness shows to us, that it is he to whom we ought
to turn, if we desire to secure our wellbeing, and at the
same time he strengthens our coniidence in expecting mercy.
If we use not God's bounty for this end, we abuse it. But
88 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. 11. 5.
yet it is not to be viewed always in the same liglit ; for
when the Lord deals favourably with his servants and gives
them earthly blessings, he makes known to them by sym-
bols of this kind his own benevolence, and trains them up at
the same time to seek the sura and substance of all good
things in himself alone : when he treats the transgressors of
his law with the same indulgence, his object is to soften by
his kindness their perverseness ; he yet does not testify that
he is already propitious to them, but, on the contrary, in-
vites them to repentance. But if any one brings this objec-
tion— that the Lord sings to the deaf as long as he docs not
touch inwardly their hearts ; we must answer — that no fault
can be found in this case except with our own depravity.
But I prefer rendering the word which Paul here uses, leads,
rather than invites, for it is more significant ; I do not,
however, take it in the sense of driving, but of leading as it
were by the hand.
5. But according to thy hardness, &c. When we become
hardened against the admonitions of the Lord, impenitence
follows ; and they who are not anxious about rei3entance
openly provoke the Lord.^
This is a remarkable passage : we may hence learn what
I have already referred to — that the ungodly not only ac-
cumulate for themselves daily a heavier weiglit of God's
judgments, as long as they live here, but that the gifts of God
also, which they continually enjoy, shall increase their con-
demnation ; for an account of them all will be required : and
it will then be found, that it will be justly imputed to them
as an extreme wickedness, that they had been made worse
through God's bounty, by which they ought surely to have
been improved. Let us then take heed, lest by unlawful use
of blessings we lay up for ourselves this cursed treasure.
For the day, &c. ; literally, in the day; but it is put for et?
Tj/jLepav, for the day. The ungodly gather now the indigna-
* AVhat follows in the text, according to Calvin, is this, " et cor poeni-
tere nescium — and a heart that knoweth not to repent ;" JcaJ «^£Tavo>jT«v
xa^llav; which Schleusner renders thus, " animus, qui omnem emenda-
tionem respuit — a mind which rejects evei'y improvement." It is an im-
penitable rather than '• an impenitent heart," that is, a heart incapable of
repenting. See Eph. iv. 19. — I^d.
CHAP. II. (). EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 8.9
tion of God against themselves, the stream of which shall
then be poured on their heads : they accumulate hidden
destruction, which then shall be drawn out from the treasures
of God. The day of the last judgment is called the day of
wrath, when a reference is made to the ungodly ; but it will
be a day of redemption to the faithful. And thus all other
visitations of God are ever described as dreadful and full of
terror to the ungodly ; and on the contrary, as pleasant and
joyful to the godly. Hence whenever the Scripture mentions
the approach of the Lord, it bids the godly to exult with
joy ; but when it turns to the reprobate, it proclaims nothing
but dread and terror. " A day of wrath," saith Zephaniah,
" shall be that day, a day of tribulation and distress, a day
of calamity and wretchedness, a day of darkness and of thick
darkness, a day of mist and of whirlwind." (Zeph. i. 15.)
You have a similar description in Joel ii. 2, &c. And Amos
exclaims, " Woe to you who desire the day of the Lord !
what will it be to you ? The day of the Lord will be dark-
ness, and not light." (Amos v. 18.) Farther, by adding the
word revelation, Paul intimates what this day of wrath is to
be, — that the Lord will then manifest his judgment : though
he gives daily some indications of it, he yet suspends and
holds back, till that day, the clear and full manifestation of
it ; for the books shall then be opened ; the sheep shall then
be separated from the goats, and the wheat shall be cleansed
from the tares.
6. Who will render to every one, &c. As he had to do
with blind saintlings, who thought that the wickedness of
their hearts was well covered, provided it was spread over
with some disguises, I know not what, of empty works, he
pointed out the true character of the righteousness of works,
even that which is of account before God ; and he did this,
lest they should feel confident that it was enough to pacify
him, if they brought words and trifles, or leaves on]}^ But
there is not so much difficulty in this verse, as it is commonly
thought. For the Lord, by visiting the wickedness of the
reprobate with just vengeance, will recompense them with
what they have deserved : and as he sanctifies those whom
he has previously resolved to glorify, he will also crown their
90 COiMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. II. 7.
good worlcs, but not on account of any merit : nor can this
be proved from this verse ; for though it declares what re-
ward good works arc to have, it does yet by no means
show wliat they are worth, or what price is due to them.
And it is an absurd inference, to deduce merit from reward.
7. To them indeed, who by j^&'^severance, &c. ; literally, pa-
tience ; by which word something more is expressed. For it
is perseverance, wlien one is not wearied in constantly doing
good ; but patience also is required in the saints, by whicli
they may continue firm, though oppressed with various trials.
For Satan suffers them not by a free course to come to the
Lord ; but he strives by numberless hinderances to impede
tbem, and to turn them aside from the right way. And
when he says, that the faithful, by continuing in good works,
seek glory and honou7\ he does not mean that they aspire
after any thing else but the favour of God, or that they strive
to attain any thing higher, or more excellent : but they can-
not seek him, without striving, at the same time, for the
blessedness of his kingdom, the description of which is con-
tained in the paraphrase given in these words. The mean-
ing then is, — that the Lord will give eternal life to those
who, by attention to good works, strive to attain immor-
tality.^
' It has appeared to some difficult to reconcile tliis laugiiage with the
free salvation which the gospel offers, and to obviate the conclusion which
many are disposed to draw from this passage — that salvation is by works
as rt'ell as by faith.
To this objection Parens answers, that the Apostle speaks here of sal-
vation by the works of the law, not indeed as a thing possible, which he
subsequently denies, but as a declaration of what it is, that he might there-
by show the necessity of a gratuitous salvation which is by faith only. And
this is the \'iew which j\Ir. Haldane takes.
But there is no need of having recourse to this hypothesis: for when-
ever JHC?(/nieHi is spoken of even in the New Testament, it is ever repre-
sented in the same w^ay, as being regulated in righteousness, according to
the works of every individual. See Acts xvii. 31 ; 2 Cor. v. 10 ; Col. iii.
24, 25; Rev. xx. 12; xxii. 12.
It will be & judgment, conducted according to the perfect rule of justice,
with no respect of persons, with no regard to individuals as such, whether
high or low, much or little favoured as to outward privileges, but according
to what their conduct has been, under the circumstances of their case.
The rule, if heathens, will be the law of nature ; if Jews, the law which
had been given them. Judgment, as to its character, will be still the same
to those under the gospel ; it will be according to what the gospel re-
quires.— Ed.
CHAP. II. 8. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 91
8. But to those tuho are contentious, &c. There is some
irregularity in tlie passage ; first, on account of its tenor be-
ing interrupted, for the thread of the discourse required, that
the second clause of the contrast should be thus connected, —
" The Lord will render to them, who by perseverance in
good works, seek glory, and honour, and immortality, eter-
nal life ; but to the contentious and the disobedient, eternal
death." Then the conclusion might be joined, — " That for
the former are prepared glory, and honour, and incorruption ;
and that for the latter are laid up wrath and misery.'' There
is another thing, — These words, indignation, wrath, tribula-
tion, and anguish, are joined to two clauses in the context.
However, the meaning of the jjassage is by no means ob-
scure ; and with this we must be satisfied in the Apostolic
writings. From other writings must eloquence be learnt :
here spiritual wisdom is to be sought, conveyed in a plain
and simple style.^
^ With regard to the construction of this passage, 6-10, it may be ob-
served, that it is formed according to the mode of Hebrew parallelism,
many instances of M'hich we meet with even in the prose writings of the
New Testament. None of the ancients, nor any of the moderns, before
the time of Bishop Loath, imderstood much of the pecuUar character of the
Hebrew style. All the anomalies, noticed by Calvin, instantly vanish,
when the passage is so arranged, as to exhibit the correspondence of its
different parts. It consists of two general portions ; the first includes
three verses, 6, 7, and 8 ; the other, the remaining three verses. The
same things are mainly included in both portions, only in the latter there
are some things additional, and explanatory, and the oriler is reversed: so
that the passage ends with what corresponds with its beginning. To see
the whole in a connected form, it is necessary to set it down in lines, in the
following manner : —
6. Who will render to each according to his works, —
7. To those indeed, who, by perseverance in well-doing,
Seek glory and honom* and immortality, —
Eternal life ;
8. But there shall be to them who are contentious.
And obey not the truth, but obey iniquity, —
Indignation and wrath :
Then follow the same things, the order being reversed, —
9. Distress and anguish shall be
On every soul of man that worketh evil, —
On the Jew first, and then on the Greek ;
10. But glory and honour and peace,
To every one who worketh good,—
To the Jew first and then to the Greek ;
11. For there is no respect of persons with God.
The idea in the last and the first line is essentially the same. This re-
92 COMMENTARIES UN THE CHAP. II. 8.
Contention is mentioned here for rebellion and stubborn-
ness ; for Paul was contending with hypocrites who, by their
gross and supine self-indulgence, trifled with God. By the
word truth, is simply meant the revealed will of God, which
alone is the light of truth : for it is what belongs to all the
ungodly, that they ever prefer to be in bondage to iniquity,
rather than to receive the yoke of God ; and whatever obe-
dience they may pretend, yet they never cease perversely to
clamour and struggle against God's word. For as they who
are openly wicked scoff at the truth, so hypocrites fear not
to set up in opposition to it their artificial modes of worship.
The Apostle further adds, that such disobedient persons obey
or serve iniquity ; for there is no middle course, which those
who are unwilling to be in subjection to the law of the Lord
can take, so as to be kept from falling immediately into the
service of sin. And it is the just reward of outrageous
licentiousness, that those become the bondslaves of sin who
cannot endure the service of God. Indignation and wrath,
so the character of the words induces me to render them ; for
Ou/jLCi in Greek means what the Latins call excandescentia —
indignation, as Cicero teaches us, (Tusc. 4,) even a sudden
burning of anger. As to the other words I follow Erasmus.
But observe, that of the four which are mentioned, the two
last are, as it were, the effects of the two first ; for they who
perceive that God is displeased and angry with them are
immediately filled with confusion.
We may add, that though he might have briefly described,
even in two words, the blessedness of the godly and also the
misery of the reprobate, he yet enlarges on both subjects,
and for this end — that he might more efi'ectually strike men
petition is for the sake of producing an impression. The character of the
righteous, in the first part, is, that by persevering in doing good they seek
glory, honour, and immortaUty ; and their reward is to be eternal life :
the character of the wicked is that of being contentious, disobedient to the
truth, and obedient to unrighteousness ; and their reward is to be indig-
nation and wrath. The character of the first, in the second part, is, that
they work good ; and of the other, that they work evil : and the reward
of the first is glory, honour, and peace ; and the reward of the other, dis-
tress and anguish ; which are the effects of indignation and wrath, as glory,
honour, and peace are the fruits or the constituent parts of eternal life.
It is to be observed that priority in happiness, as well as priority in misery,
is ascribed to the Jew. — Ed.
CHAP. II. 11. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 93
with the fear of God's wrath, and sharpen their desire for ob-
taining grace throngh Christ : for we never fear God's judg-
ment as we ought, except it be set as it were by a lively
description before our eyes ; nor do we really burn with de-
sire for future life, except when roused by strong incentives,
{multis flabellis incitati — incited by many fans.)
9. To the Jew first, &c. Ho simply places, I have no
doubt, the Jew in opposition to the Gentile; for those whom
he calls Greeks he will presently call Gentiles. But the
Jews take the precedence in this case, for they had, in pre-
ference to others, both the promises and the threatenings of
the law ; as though he had said, " This is the universal rule
of the divine judgment ; it shall begin with the Jews, and it
shall include the whole world."
1 1 . For there is no respect of per- 1 1 . Siquidem non est acceptio per-
sons with God. sonarum apud Deum.
12. For as many as have sinned 12. Quiciinque enim sine Lege
without law, shall also perish without peccaverunt sine Lege etiam peri-
law ; and as many as have sinned in bunt ; quicunque vero in Lege pec-
the law, shall be judged by the law, caverunt per Legem judicabuntur,
13. (For not the hearers of the 13. Non enim Legis auditores
law are just before God, but the justi sunt apud Deum, sed qui Legem
doers of the law shall be justified. faciunt justificabuntm-.
11. There is no respect of persons, &c. He has hitherto
generally arraigned all mortals as guilty; but now he begins
to bring home his accusation to the Jews and to the Gen-
tiles separately : and at the same time he teaches us, that it
is no objection that there is a diiference between them, but
that they are both without any distinction exposed to eter-
nal death. The Gentiles pretended ignorance as their de-
fence ; the Jews gloried in the honour of having the law :
from the former he takes away their subterfuge, and he de-
prives the latter of their false and empty boasting.
There is then a division of the whole human race into two
classes ; for God had separated the Jews from all the rest,
but the condition of all the Gentiles was the same. He now
teaches us, that this difference is no reason why both should
not be involved in the same guilt. But the word person is
taken in Scripture for all outward things, which are wont to
be regarded as possessing any value or esteem. When there-
94 COMMENTARIES ON THE CTIAP. II. 12.
fore thou readest, that God is no respecter of persons, un-
derstand that what he regards is purity of heart or inward
integrity ; and that he hath no respect for those things
which are wont to be highly valued by men, such as kin-
dred, country, dignity, wealth, and similar things ; so that
respect of persons is to be here taken for the distinction or
the diiference there is between one nation and another.^
But if any hence objects and says, " That then there is no
such thing as the gratuitous election of God ;" it may be
answered, That there is a twofold acceptation of men before
God ; the first, when he chooses and calls us from nothing,
through gratuitous goodness, as there is nothing in our na-
ture which can be approved by him ; the second, when
after having regenerated us, he confers on us his gifts, and
shows favour to the image of his Son which he recognises
in us,
12. Whosoever have sinned without law,^ &c. In the former
part of this section he assails the Gentiles ; though no Moses
was given tliem to publish and to ratify a law from the Lord,
he yet denies this omission to be a reason why they deserved
1 The word ^r^oa-cj^oXfi^pia., respect of persons, is f<iund in three other
places, Eph. vi. 9 ; Col. iii. 25 : and James ii. 1 ; and in these the refer-
ence is to conditions in life. In Acts x. 34, the word is in another form,
■x-^txruToXvi-Trrns, a respecter of persons, and as a verb in James ii. 9. llie
full phrase is ■r^'oiroi'jro)/ Xaf/.ia.vu, as fomid in Luke xx. 21, and Gal. ii. G.
It is a phrase peculiar to the Hebrew language, and means literally, to lift
up or regard faces, that is, persons, D''J2 XtJ'J. See Lev. xix. 15 ; Deut.
X. 17; 2 Chron. xix. 7.
An argument has been hence taken to oppose the doctrine of election ;
but this is to apply to a particular thing what belongs entirely and exclu-
sively to another. This belongs to the administration of justice, but elec-
tion is the exercise of mercy. Even Grotius admits, that God manifests
a difference in bestowing benefits, but not in exercising judgment. Indeed,
in the present instance, with regard to the subject handled by the Apostle,
there was a manifest difference ; the Gentile had only the law of nature,
but the Jew had a revealed law. Yet when brought to judgment there
was to be no respect of persons ; each was to be judged impartially ac-
cording to the circumstances of his condition. And further, election does
not proceed on the principle of showing respect of persons, that is, of
regarding men according to their privileges or outward circumstances, or
kindred or relation in life, or any thing in man ; but its sole and exclusive
ground or reason is the good pleasure of God. — Ed.
2 'Avofiu; commonly means unlawJulJy, wickedly, laivlessly ; but here,
as it is evident from the context, it signifies to he uithout laiv. The ad-
jective dvofio; is also used once in this sense in 1 Cor. ix. 21. — Ed.
CHAP. 11. 13. EPISTLE TO THE KOMANS. 95
not tlie just sentence of deatli for their sins ; as though he
liad said — that the knowledge of a written law was not ne-
cessary for the just condemnation of a sinner. See then what
kind of advocacy they undertake, who through misplaced
mercy, attempt, on the ground of ignorance, to exempt the
nations wlio have not the light of the gospel from the judg-
ment of God.
Whosoever have sinned under' the law, &c. As the Gen-
tiles, being led by the errors of their own reason, go headlong
into ruin, so the Jews possess a law by which they are con-
demned ;^ for this sentence has been long ago pronounced,
"■ Cursed are all they who continue not in all its precepts."
(Deut. xxvii. 26.) A worse condition then awaits the Jewish
sinners, since their condemnation is already pronounced in
their own law.
IS. For the hearers of the law, &c. This anticipates an
objection which the Jews might have adduced. As they
had heard that the law was tlie rule of righteousness, (Deut.
iv. ],) they gloried in the mere knowledge of it: to obviate
this mistake, he declares that the hearing of the law or any
knowledge of it is of no such consequence, that any one
should on that account lay claim to righteousness, but that
works must be produced, according to this saying, " He who
will do these shall live in them." The import then of this
verse is the following, — " That if righteousness be sought
from the law, the law must be fulfilled ; for the rigliteous-
ness of the law consists in the perfection of works." They
who pervert this passage for the purpose of building up jus-
tification by works, deserve most fully to be laughed at even
by children. It is therefore improper and beyond what is
needful, to introduce here a long discussion on the subject,
with the view of exposing so futile a sophistiy : for the
Apostle only urges here on the Jews what he had mentioned,
the decision of the law, — That by the law they could not be
justified, except they fulfilled the law, that if they trans-
' The word "condemned" would be better in the text than "judged ;"
it would then more plainly correspond with the former part, where the
word " perished" is used : and that it means "condemned" is evident, for
those who have '• sinned" are the persons referred to. — Ed.
96* COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. II. 14.
gressed it, a curse was instantly pronounced on them. Now
we do not deny but that perfect righteousness is prescribed
in the law : but as all are convicted of transgression, we say
that another righteousness must be sought. Still more, we
can prove from this passage that no one is justified by works ;
for if they alone are justified by the law who fulfil the law,
it follows that no one is justified ; for no one can be found
who can boast of having fulfilled the law.^
14. For when the Gentiles, which 14. Quum enim Gentes, quae
have not the law, do by nature the Legem non habent, natura quse Le-
things contained in the law, these, gis sunt faciant, ipsse, Legem non
having not the law, are a law unto habentes, sibi ipsae sunt Lex :
themselves :
15. Which shew the work of the 15. Quae ostendunt opus Legis
law written in their hearts, their scriptum in cordibus suis, simul at-
conscience also bearing witness, and testante ipsorum conscientia et co-
their thoughts the mean while ac- gitationibus inter se accusantibus
cusing or else excusing one an- aut etiam excusantibus,
other,
16. In the day Avhen God shall 16. In die qua judicabit Deus
judge the secrets of men by Jesus occulta hominum, secundum Evan-
Christ, according to my gospel. gelimn meum, per lesum Christum.
14. For when the Gentiles, &c. He now states what proves
the former clause ; for he did not think it enough to con-
demn us by mere assertion, and only to pronounce on us the
just judgment of God ; but he proceeds to prove this by rea-
sons, in order to excite us to a greater desire for Christ, and
to a greater love towards him. He indeed shows that ig-
norance is in vain pretended as an excuse by the Gentiles,
since they prove by their own deeds that they have some
rule of righteousness : for there is no nation so lost to every
thing human, that it does not keep within the limits of
some laws. Since then all nations, of themselves and with-
out a monitor, are disposed to make laws for themselves, it
is bej'ond all question evident that they have some notions
of justice and rectitude, which the Greeks call preconcep-
tions, TrpoXTjyjrefi, and which are implanted by nature in the
1 On the expression " hearers of the law," Stuart has these remarks, —
" The Apostle here speaks of «' ax.^oara.) toZ v'o[ji.i>v, because the Jews were
accustomed to hear the Scriptures read in public ; but many of them did
not individually possess copies of the sacred volume which they could read."
CHAP. II. 15. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 97
hearts of men. Tliey have then a Law, though they are
without law : for though they have not a written law, they
are yet by no means wholly destitute of the knowledge of
what is right and just ; as they could not otherwise dis-
tinguish between vice and virtue ; the first of which they
restrain by punishment, and the latter they commend, and
manifest their approbation of it by honouring it with rewards.
He sets nature in opposition to a written law, meaning that
the Gentiles had the natural light of righteousness, which
supplied the place of that law by which the Jews were in-
structed, so that they were a law to themselves.^
15. Who show the work of the law^ written, &c. ; that is,
they prove that there is imprinted on their hearts a discri-
mination and judgment by which they distinguish between
what is just and unjust, between what is honest and dis-
honest. He means not that it was so engraven on their
will, that they sought and diligently j^ursued it, but that they
were so mastered by the power of truth, that they could not
disapprove of it. For why did they institute religious rites,
except that they were convinced that God ought to be wor-
shipped ? Wh}'- were they ashamed of adultery and theft,
except that they deemed them evils ?
Without reason then is the power of the will deduced
from this passage, as though Paul had said, that thekeejiing
of the law is within our power ; for he speaks not of the
power to fulfil the law, but of the knowledge of it. Nor is
the word heart to be taken for the seat of the affections, but
^ As to the phrase, " these ai-e a law unto themselves," Venema ad-
duces classical examples, — " ""Sv to SiXmrTov <pa.i\iof/.ivov 'iffrui ffoi vifio; arru^a-
SaTo; — Whatever seems best, let it be to thee a perpetual law." — Epict.
in Ench., c. 75. " to fih o^So^ v'ofjt-o; Ut) Qa<ri\nx.o; — What is indeed right, i
a royal law." — Plato in Min., p. 317.
The heathens themselves acknowledged a law of nature. Turrettin
quotes a passage from a lost work of Cicero, retained by Lactantins, which
remarkably coincides with the language of Paul here. — Ed.
' By the work of the law, to 'i^yov toZ \,o[/.ou, is to be imderstood what the
law requires. The " work of God," in John vi. 29, is of the same import,
that is, the Avork which God requires or demands ; and the same word is
plural in the former verse, to. 'i^yn — " the works of God." So here, in
the former verse, it is to. toZ vo'^ou — " the things of the law," where we may
suppose jfya to be understood. The common expression, " the works of
the law,'' has the same meaning, that is, such works as the law prescribes
and requires. — Ed.
Q
98 COMMENTAKIES ON THE CHAP. II. 1 5.
only for the understanding, as it is found in Deut. xxix. 4,
" The Lord liath not given thee a heart to understand ;" and
in Luke xxiv. 25, '"' 0 foolish men, and slow in heart to be-
lieve."
Nor can we conclude from this passage, that there is in
men a full knowledge of the law, but that there are only
some seeds of what is right implanted in their nature, evi-
denced by such acts as these — All tlie Gentiles alike insti-
tuted religious rites, they made laws to punish adultery,
and theft, and murder, they commended good faith in bar-
gains and contracts. They have thus indeed proved, that
God ought to be worshipped, that adultery, and theft, and
murder are evils, that honesty is commendable. It is not
to our purpose to inquire what sort of God they imagined
him to be, or how many gods they devised ; it is enough to
know, that they thought that there is a God, and that
honour and worship are due to him. It matters not whether
they permitted the coveting of another man's wife, or of his
possessions, or of any thing which was his,— whether they
connived at wrath and hatred ; inasmuch as it was not right
for them to covet what they knew to be evil when done.
Their conscience at the same time attesting, &c. lie could
not have more forcibly urged them than by the testimony of
their own conscience, which is equal to a thousand witnesses.
By the consciousness of having done good, men sustain and
comfort themselves ; those who are conscious of having done
evil, are inwardly harassed and tormented. Hence came
these sayings of the heathens — " A good conscience is the
widest sphere ; but a bad one is the cruellest executioner,
and more fiercely torments the ungodly than any furies can
do." There is then a certain knowledge of the law by
nature, which says, " This is good and worthy of being-
desired ; that ought to be abhorred."
But observe how intelligently he defines conscience : he
says, that reasons come to our minds, by which we defend
what is rightly done, and that there are those which accuse
and reprove us for our vices ;^ and he refers this process of
1 Calvin seems to consider that the latter part of the verse is only an
expansion or an exposition of the preceding clause respecting " conscience :"
CHAP. II. 16. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 99
accusation and defence to the day of the Lord ; not that it
will then first commence, for it is now continually carried
on, but that it will then also be in operation ; and he says
this, that no one should disregard this process, as though it
were vain and evanescent. And he has pilt, in the day, in-
stead of, at the day, — a similar instance to what we have
already observed.
16. In which God shall judge the secrets of men} Most
suitable to the present occasion is this periphrastic definition
of judgment : it teaches those, who wilfully hide themselves
in the recesses of insensibility, that the most secret thoughts
and those now completely hid in the depths of their hearts,
shall then be brought forth to the light. So he speaks in
another place ; in order to show to the Corinthians what
little value belongs to human judgment, which regards only
the outward action, he bids them to wait until the Lord
came, who would bring to light the hidden things of dark-
biit it seems to contain a distinct idea. The testimony of conscience is
one thing, which is instantaneous, without reflection : and the thoughts or
the reasonings — Xoyiirf/.av, which alternately or mutually accuse or excuse,
seem to refer to a process carried on by the mind, by which the innate
voice of conscience is confirmed. This is the view taken by Stuart and
Barnes, and to which Hodge is inclined.
Another view of the latter clause is given by Doddridge, Macknight,
Haldane, and Chalmers. The last gives this paraphrase of the whole
verse, — " For they show that the matter of the law is written in their
hearts — both from their conscience testifying what is right and wrong in
their own conduct, and from their reasonings in which they either accuse
or vindicate one another."
But to regard the two clauses as referring to conscience and the inward
■workings of the mind, appears more consistent with the context. The
Gentiles are those spoken of: God gave them no outward law, but the law
of natiire which is inward. Hence in the following verse he speaks of
God as judging " the secrets of men," as the inward law will be the rule
of judgment to the Gentiles. — Ed.
1 In accordance with some of the fathers, Jerome, Chrysostom, Theo-
pJiylact, and others, Calvin connects this Avith the immediately preceding
verse: but almost all modern critics connect it with the 12th verse, and
consider what intervenes as parenthetic. This is according to our version.
In the 12th verse both the Gentile and the Jew are spoken of, and that
with reference to judgment. In this verse the time and the character of
that judgment are referred to, and its character especially as to the Gen-
tile, as his case is particularly delineated in the parenthesis. The Apostle
then, in what follows, turns to the Jew. " According to my gospel "
must be imderstood, not as though the gospel is to be the rule of judg-
ment to the Gentile, but as to the fact, that Christ is appointed to be the
Judge of all. See Acts xvii. 31. — Ed.
] 00 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. II. 1 6.
ness, and reveal the secrets of the heart. (1 Cor. iv. 5.)
When we hear this, let it come to our minds, that we are
warned that if we wish to be really approved by our Judge,
we must strive for sincerity of heart.
He adds, according to my gos-pel, intimating, that he an-
nounced a doctrine, to which the judgments of men, natur-
ally implanted in them, gave a response : and he calls it
his gospel, on account of the ministry ; for the authority for
setting forth the gosjDel resides in the true Grod alone ; and
it was only the dispensing of it that was committed to the
Apostles. It is indeed no matter of surprise, that the gospel
is in part called the messenger and the announcer of future
judgment : for if the fulfilment and completion of what it
promises be deferred to the full revelation of the heavenly
kingdom, it must necessarily be connected with the last judg-
ment : and further, Clirist cannot be preached without being
a resurrection to some, and a destruction to others ; and
both these things have a reference to the day of judgment.
The words, through Jesus Christ, I apply to the day of judg-
ment, though they are regarded otherwise by some ; and
the meaning is, — that the Lord will execute judgment by
Christ, for he is appointed by the Father to be the Judge of
the living and of the dead, — which the Apostles always
mention among the main articles of the gospel. Thus the
sentence will be full and complete, which would otherwise
be defective.
17. Behold, thou art called a Jew, 17. Ecce, tu ludfeus cognomi-
and restest in the law, and makest naris, et acquiescis in Lege, et glo-
thy boast of God, riaris in Deo,
18. And knowest his will, and 18. Et nosti voluntatem, et pro-
approvest the things that are more has eximia, institutus ex Lege ;
excellent, being instructed out of the
law;
19. And art confident that thou 19. Confidisque teipsum esse du-
thyself art a guide of the blind, a cem csecorum, lumen eorum qui
light of them which are in darkness, sunt in tenebris,
20. An instructer of the foolish, 20. Eruditorem insipientium, doc-
a teacher of babes, which hast the torem imperitorum, habentem for-
form of knowledge and of the truth mam cognitionis ac veritatis in
in the law. Lege :
21. Thou therefore which teachest 21. Qui igitur doces alteram,
another, teachest thou not thyself? teipsum non doces ; qui concionaris,
thou that preachest a man should non furandum, furaris ;
not steal, dost thou steal ?
CHAP. II. 1 7. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 101
22. Thou that sayest a man should 22. Qui dicis, non moechaiidum,
not commit adultery,, dost thou com- mtecharis ; qui detestaris idola, sa-
niit adultery ? thou that abhorrest crilegium perpetras ;
idols, dost thou commit sacrileg-e ?
23. Thou that makest thy boast 23. Qui de Lege gloriaris, Deum
of the law, through breaking the per Legis transgressionem deho-
law dishonourest thou God ? nestas :
24. For the name of God is bias- 24. Nomen enim Dei propter vos
phemed among the Gentiles through probro afficitur inter gentes, quem-
you, as it is written.' admodum scriptum est.
17. Behold, thou art named a Jew, &c. Some old copies
read el 8e, though indeed ; ■which, were it generallj received,
would meet my approbation ; hut as the greater part of the
manuscripts is opposed to it, and the sense is not unsuitable,
I retain the old reading, especially as it is only a small
diiFerence of one letter.^
Having now completed what he meant to say of the
Gentiles, he returns to the Jews ; and that he might, with
greater force, beat down their great vanity, he allows them
all those privileges, by which they were beyond measure
transported and inflated : and then he shows how insufficient
they were for the attainment of true glory, yea, how they
turned to their reproach. Under the name Jew he includes
all the privileges of the nation, which they vainly pretended
were derived from the law and the prophets ; and so he
comprehends all the Israelites, all of whom were then, with-
out any difference, called Jews.
But at what time this name first originated it is uncer-
tain, except that it arose, no doubt, after the dispersion.^
Josephus, in the eleventh book of his Antiquities, thinks
that it was taken from Judas Maccabseus, under whose aus-
pices the liberty and honour of the people, after having for
' These texts are referred to, Is. Hi. 5 ; Ezek. xxxvi. 20.
^ Griesbach has since found a majority of MSS. in favour of this read-
ing, and has adopted it. But the difficulty is to find a corresponding
clause. There is none, except what begins in verse 21; s/ Ss and oSv do not
■well respond, except v>'e render the first, though indeed, and the other,
yet, or nevertheless, somewhat in the sense of an adversative. It will
admit this meaning in some passages. See Matt. xii. 12 ; xxvi. 54 ;
Rom. X. 14.— ^f?.
^ This is not quite correct. They were called Jews even before the cap-
tivity, and during the captivity, but most commonly and regularly after it.
The word, Jews, first occurs in 2 Kings xvi. 6. See Esth. iv. 3 ; Jer.
xxxviii. 19; Dan. iii. 8; Ezra iv. 12; Neh. ii. \Q.—Ed.
102 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. II. 17.
some time fallen, and been almost buried, revived again.
Though I allow this opinion to be probable, yet, if there be
some to whom it is not satisfactory, I will offer them a con-
jecture of my own. It seems, indeed, very likely, that after
having been degraded and scattered through so many dis-
asters, they were not able to retain any certain distinction
as to their tribes ; for a census could not have been made
at that time, nor did there exist a regular government,
which was necessary to preserve an order of this kind ; and
they dwelt scattered and in disorder ; and having been worn
out by adversities, they were no doubt less attentive to the
records of their kindred. But though you may not grant
these things to me, yet it cannot be denied but that a danger
of this kind was connected with such disturbed state of
things. Whether, then, they meant to provide for the future,
or to remedy an evil already received, they all, I think,
assumed the name of that tribe, in which the purity of reli-
gion remained the longest, and which, by a peculiar privi-
lege, excelled all the rest, as from it the Redeemer was
expected to come ; for it was their refuge in all extremities,
to console themselves with the expectation of the Messiah.
However this may be, by the name of Jews they avowed
themselves to be tlie lieirs of the covenant which the Lord
had made with Abraham and his seed.
And restest in the law, and gloriest in God, &c. He means
not that they rested in attending to the law, as though they
applied their minds to the keeping of it ; but, on the con-
trary, he reproves them for not observing the end for which
the law had been given ; for they had no care for its observ-
ance, and were inflated on this account only, — because they
were persuaded that the oracles of God belonged to them.
In the same way they gloried in God, not as the Lord com-
mands by his Prophet, — to humble ourselves, and to seek our
glory in him alone, (Jer. ix. 24,) — but being without any
knowledge of God's goodness, they made him, of whom they
were inwardly destitute, peculiarly their own, and assumed
to be his people, for the purpose of vain ostentation before
men. This, then, was not the glorying of the heart, but the
boasting of the tongue.
CHAP. II. 20. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 103
18. And hiowest his will, and a^yprovest things excellent,
&c. He now concedes to them the knowledge of tlie divine
will, and the approval of things useful ; and this they had
attained from the doctrine of the law. But there is a two-
fold approval, — one of choice, when we embrace the good we
approve ; the other of judgment, by which indeed we dis-
tinguish good from evil, but by no means strive or desire to
follow it. TIius the Jews were so learned in the law that
they could pass judgment on the conduct of others, but were
not careful to regulate their life according to that judgment.
But as Paul reproves their hypocrisy, we may, on the other
hand, conclude, that excellent things are then only rightly
a])provcd (provided our judgment proceeds from sincerity)
when God is attended to ; for his will, as it is revealed in
the law, is here appointed as the guide and teacher of what
is to be justly approved.^
19. And helievest thyself, &c. More is still granted to
them ; as though they had not only what was sufficient for
themselves, but also that by which they could enrich others.
He grants, indeed, that they had such abundance of learning,
as that others might have been supplied.^
20. I take what follows, /?owi^ the form of knowledge, as a
^ There are two expositions of the words, Saat/^a^s/s ra. lia.(pi^'ovra., which
may be sustained according to what the words signify in other places.
The first word means to prove, or test, or examine, and also to approve;
and the second signifies things which differ, or things which are excellent.
" Thou provest, or, distinguishest things which diff'er," is the rendering of
Bez'i, Parens, Doddridge, and Stuart : " Thou approvest things excellent
or useful," is the rendering of Erasmus, Macknight, and others. The first
is the most suitable to the context, as knowledge, and not approval, is
evidently intended, as proved by the explanatory clause which follows, — •
" being instructed out of the law." — Ed.
^ Calvin has passed over here several clauses : they are so plain as to
require no remarks, except the two last. " The instructor of the unwise
— insipientium," a(p^ovav, of such as were foolish from not understanding
things rightly. " The teacher of the ignorant — imperitorum," ^ti-riiuv,
babes, that is, of such as were ignorant like babes. But these and the
foregoing titles, " the guide of the blind," and, " light to those in dark-
ness," were such as the Jewish doctors assumed, and are not to be con-
sidered as having any great difterence in their real meaning. There seems
to be no reason to suppose, with Doddridge and some others, that " the
blind, foohsh, ignorant," were the Gentiles, for the Jews did not assume
the office of teaching them. It is to be observed that Paul here takes the
case, not of the common people, but of the learned — the teachers.
104 COMMENTAEIES ON THE CHAP. II. 21.
reason for the preceding ; and it may be thus explained, —
" because thou hast the form of knowledge." For they pro-
fessed to be the teachers of others, because they seemed to
carry in their breasts all the secrets of the law. The word
jorm is put for model {exemplar — pattern) •} for Paul has
adopted fiopcfiwaLv and not tvttov : but he intended, I think,
to point out the conspicuous pomp of their teaching, and
what is commonly called display ; and it certainly appears
that they were destitute of that knowledge which they pre-
tended. But Paul, by indirectly ridiculing the perverted
use of the law, intimates, on the other hand, that right
knowledge must be sought from the law, in order that the
truth may have a solid basis.
21. Thou, who then teachest another, teachest not thyself,
&c.^ Though the excellencies {encomia — commendations)
* The same word occurs only in 2 Tim. iii. 5, " /^i^(pcij(riv sbrtSt'ia.; — the
form of godliness." It is taken here in a good sense, as meaning a sketch,
a delineation, an outline, a representation, or a smnmary. Chalmers ren-
ders the words thus, — "The whole summary of knowledge and truth which
is in the law." Some understand by knowledge what refers to morals or
outward conduct, and by trutli what is to be believed. Others regard them
as an instance of Hebrewism, two substantives being put, instead of a sub-
stantive and an adjective ; the phrase would then be, " true knowledge." —
Ed.
^ This clause, and those which follow, are commonly put in an interro-
gatory form, that is, as questions : but some, as Theophylact, Erasmus,
and Luther, have rendered the clauses in the form here adopted. There
is no difference in the meaning.
It is worthy of notice, that the Apostle, after the Hebrew manner, re-
verses the order as to the points he mentions ; he, as it were, retrogrades,
and begins to do so at this verse, the 21st. The passage may be thus ren-
dered,—
17. Seeing then, thou art named a Jew,
And reliest on the law, and gloriest in God,
18. And knowest his will.
And decernest things which differ, being taught by the law,
19. And art confident that thou art
A leader to the blind, a light to those in darkness,
.20. An instructor to the foolish, a teacher to babes.
Having the form of knowledge and of truth according to the law:
21. Yet thou, who teachest another, teachest not thyself.
Thou, who preachest, " Steal not," stealest,
22. Thou, who sayest, " Commit no adultery," committest adultery,
Thou who detestest idols, committest sacrilege,
23. Thou who gloriest in the law, by transgressing the law dishonourest
God;
For the name of God, as it is written, is through you blasphemed
by the Gentiles.
CHAP. II. 21. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 105
wliicli lie has hitherto stated respecting tlie Jews, were such
as might have justly adorned them, provided the higher or-
naments were not wanting ; yet as they included qualifica-
tions of a neutral kind, which may be possessed even by the
ungodly and corrupted by abuse, they are by no means suffi-
cient to constitute true glory. And hence Paul, not satis-
fied with merely reproving and taunting their arrogance in
trusting in these things alone, employs them for the purpose
of enhancing their disgraceful conduct ; for he exposes him-
self to no ordinary measure of reproach, who not only ren-
ders useless the gifts of God, which are otherwise valuable
and excellent, bvit by his wickedness vitiates and contami-
nates them. And a strange counsellor is he, who consults
not for his own good, and is wise only for the benefit of
others. He shows then that the praise which they aj)pro-
priated to themselves, turned out to their own disgrace.
Thou who preachest, steal not, &c. He seems to have al-
luded to a passage in Psalm 1. 16, where God says to the
wicked, " Why dost thou declare my statutes, and takest my
covenant in thy mouth ? And thou hatest reform, and hast
cast my words behind thee : when thou seest a thief, thou
joinest him, and with adulterers is thy portion."' And as
this reproof was suitable to the Jews in old time, who, rely-
ing on the mere knowledge of the law, lived in no way better
than if they had no law ; so we must take heed, lest it
should be turned against us at this day : and indeed it may
be well applied to many, who, boasting of some extraordi-
nary knowledge of the gospel, abandon themselves to every
kind of uncleanness, as though the gospel were not a rule of
life. That we may not then so heedlessly trifle with the
Lord, let us remember what sort of judgment impends over
such prattlers, (logodcedalis — word-artificers,) who make a
show of God's word by mere garrulity.
The 21st, and part of the 22d, refer to what is contained in the 19th
and the 20th ; and the latter part of the 22d to the 18th verse ; and the
23d to the 17th. The latter part of the 22d helps us to fix the meaning
of the latter part of the 18th ; the man who hated idols and committed
sacrilege proved that he did not exercise his boasted power of making a
proper distinction between right and wrong. Then the man who is said,
in verse 17, to rely on the law and glory in God, is charged, in the 23d
verse, with the sin of dishonouring God by transgressing the law. — Ed.
106" COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. II. 23.
22. Thou who abhorrest idols, &c. He fitlj compares sa-
crilege to idolatry, as it is a thing of the same kind ; for
sacrilege is simply a profanation of the Divine Majestj^, a
sin not unknown to heathen poets. On this account Ovid
(Metamor. 3,) calls Lycurgus sacrilegious for despising the
rites of Bacchus ; and in his Fasti he calls those sacrilegious
hands which violated the majesty of Venus. But as the
Gentiles ascribed the majesty of their gods to idols, they
only thought it a sacrilege when any one plundered what
was dedicated to their temples, in which, as i\\ej believed,
the whole of religion centred. So at this day, where super-
stition reigns, and not the word of God, they acknowledge
no other kind of sacrilege than the stealing of wliat belongs
to churches, as there is no God but in idols, no religion but
in pomp and magnificence.^
Now we are here warned, first, not to flatter ourselves
and to despise others, when we have performed only some
portions of the law, — and, secondly, not to glory in having
outward idolatry removed, while we care not to drive away
and to eradicate the impiety that lieth hid in our hearts.
23. Thou who gloriest in the law, &c. Though every trans-
gressor dishonours God, (for we are all born for this end — to
serve him in righteousness and holiness ;) yet he justly im-
putes in this respect a special fault to the Jews ; for as they
' " Sacrilege," mentioned here, is by some taken literally as meaning
the robbing of God as to the sacrifices he required, and the profanation of
sacred rites ; " many examples of which," says Turrettin, " are recorded by
the Prophets, and also by Joseplius, both before and during the last war."
But some extend its meaning to acts of hypocrisy and ungodliness, by
which God's honour was profaned, and the glory due to him was denied.
The highest sacrilege, no doubt, is to deprive God of that sincere ser-
vice and obedience which he justly requires. " They caused," says Pa-
rens, " the name and honour of God to be in various ways blasphemed
by their wicked hypocrisy ; and hence they were justly said by the Apostle
to be gviilty of sacrilege." He then adds, ''We must notice, that idolatry
is not opposed to sacrilege, but mentioned as a thing closely allied to it.
Indeed all idolatry is sacrilegious. How then can the Monks, Priests, and
Jesuits clear themselves from the charge of sacrilege? for they not only
do not detest idolatry, being in this respect much worse than these hypo-
crites, but also greedily seek, like them, sacred ofi'erings, and imder the
pretence of sanctity devour widows' houses, pillage the coflers of kings,
and, what is most heinous, sacrilegiously rob God of his due worship and
honour, and transfer them to saints." Yet the world is so blind as not
to see the real character of such men ! — Ed.
CHAP. II. 24. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. , 107
avowed God as their Lawgiver, and yet had no care to form
their life according to his rule, they clearly proved that the
majesty of their God was not so regarded by them, hut that
they easily despised him. In the same manner do they at
this day dishonour Christ, by transgressing the gospel, who
prattle idly about its doctrine, while yet they tread it under
foot by their unbridled and licentious mode of living.
24. For the name of God, &,c. I think this quotation is
taken from Ezek. xxxvi. 20, rather than from Isaiah lii. 5 ;
for in Isaiah there are no reproofs given to the people, but
that chapter in Ezekiel is full of reproofs. But some think
that it is a proof from the less to the greater, according to
this import, " Since the Prophet upbraided, not without
cause, the Jews of his time, that on account of their captiv-
ity, the glory and jjower of God were ridiculed among the
Gentiles, as though he could not have preserved the people,
whom he had taken under his protection, much more are ye
a disgrace and dishonour to God, whose religion, being judged
of by your wicked life, is blasphemed." This view I do not
reject, but I prefer a simpler one, such as tlie following, —
" We see that all the reproaches cast on the people of Israel
do fall on the name of God ; for as they are counted, and are
said to be the people of God, his name is as it were engraven
on their foreheads: it must hence be, that God, whose name
they assume, is in a manner defamed by men, through their
wicked conduct.'' It was then a monstrous thing, that they
who derived their glory from God should have disgraced his
holy name ; for it behoved them surely to requite him in a
different manner.^
^ On this remarkable passage Haldane has these very appropriate, just,
and striking observations, —
" The Apostle, in these verses, exhibits the most lively image of hypo-
crisy. Was there ever a more beautiful veil than that under which the
JcAV presents himself? He is a man of confession, of praise, of thanks-
giving— a man, whose trust is in the law, whose boast is of God, who
knows his will, v/ho approves of things that are excellent ; a man who calls
himself a conductor of the blind, a light of those who are in darkness, an
instructor of the ignorant, a teacher of babes ; a man who directs others,
who preaches against theft, against adultery, against idolatry, and to sura up
the whole, a man who glories in the commandments of the Lord. "Who
would not say that this is an angel arrayed in human form — a star de-
tached from the firmament, and brought nearer to enhghten the earth ?
108 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. II. 25.
25. For circumcision verily pro- 25. Nam circumcisio qiiidem pro-
fiteth, if thou keep the law : but if dest, si Legem observes ; quod si
thou be a breaker of the law, thy transgressor Legis fueris, circum-
circumcision is madeuncircumcision. cisio tua in prfeputium versa est.
26. Therefore, if the uncircuraci- 26. Si ergo prfeputium justitias
sion keep the righteousness of the Legis servaverit, nonne prseputium
law, shall not his uncircumcision be ejus pro circumcisione censebitur ?
counted for circumcision ?
27. And shall not uncircumcision 27. Et judicabit quod ex natura
■which is by nature, if it fulfil the est prajputium (si Legem servaverit)
law, judge thee, who by the letter te qui per literam et circumcisionem
and circumcision dost transgress the transgressor es Legis ?
law ?
28. For he is not a Jew which is 28. Non enim qui est in aperto
one outwardly ; neither is that cir- ludfeus est ; nee qua in aperto est
cumcision which is outward in the circumcisio in carne, ea est circum-
flesh : cisio :
29. But he is a Jew which is one 29. Sed qui est in occulto ludseus ;
inwardly : and circumcision is that et circumcisio cordis in spiritu non
of the heart, in the spirit, and not litera ; cujus laus non ex hominibus
in the letter ; whose praise is not of est sed ex Deo.
men, but of God.
25. Fo?^ circumcision indeed profits, &c. He dissipates by
anticipation what the Jews might have objected in opposition
to him in the defence of their own cause : for since circum-
cision was a symbol of the Lord's covenant, by which he had
chosen Abraham and his seed as his peculiar people, they
seemed not to have gloried in vain ; but as they neglected
what the sign signified, and regarded only the outward form,
he gives this answer — That they had no reason to lay claim
to any thing on account of the bare sign. The true charac-
ter of circumcision was a spiritual promise, which required
faith : the Jews neglected both, the promise as well as faith.
Then foolish was their confidence. Hence it is, that he omits
But observe what is concealed imder this mask. It is a man who is him-
self imtaught ; it is a tliief, an adidterer, a sacrilegious person ; in one
word, a wicked man, who continually dishonours God by the transgression
of his law. Is it possible to imagine a contrast more monstrous than be-
tween these fair appearances and this awful reality ?"
No, certainly ; but it is a contrast which still exists, with various mo-
difications, in many instances. — It ought to be observed, that when the
author calls the Jew " a man of confession, of praise, of thanksgiving," he
alludes to the import of the Avord, Jew, in Hebrew, which is derived from
a verb, which includes these ideas : and it is supposed by some, that there
is an allusion in the last words of this chapter, " whose praise," &c., to
what the name signifies. — Ed.
CHAP. II. 25. EPISTLK TO THE ROMANS. 10.9
to state here the main use of circumcision, and proceeds to
expose their gross error, as he does in liis Epistle to the
Galatians. And this ought to be carefully noticed ; for if
he were explaining the whole character and design of cir-
cumcision, it Avould have been inconsistent in him not to
have made mention of grace and free promise : but in both
instances he spoke according to what the subject he had in
hand required, and therefore he only discussed that part
which was controverted.
They thought that circumcision was of itself sufficient for
the purpose of obtaining righteousness. Hence, sj^eaking
according to such an opinion, he gives this reply — That if
tliis benefit be expected from circumcision, it is on this con-
dition, that he who is circumcised, must serve God wholly
and perfectly. Circumcision then requires perfection. The
same may be also said of our baptism : when any one confi-
dently relies on the water of baptism alone, and thinks that
he is justified, as though he had obtained holiness by that
ordinance itself, the end of baptism must be adduced as an
objection ; which is, that the Lord thereby calls us to holi-
ness of life : the grace and promise, which baptism testifies
(testificatur) and seals, (obsignat,) need not in this case to be
mentioned ; for our business is with those who, being satis-
fied with the empty shadow of baptism, care not for nor
consider what is material {solidum — substantial) in it. And
this very thing you may observe in Paul — that when he
speaks to the faithful of signs, apart fi'om controversy, . he
connects them with the efficacy and fulfilment of the pro-
mises which belong to them ; but when he contends with
the absurd and unskilful interpreters of signs, he omits all
mention of the proper and true character of signs, and
directs his whole discourse against their perverted inter-
pretation.
Now many, seeing that Paul brings forward circumcision
rather than any other part of the law, suppose that he takes
away justification only from ceremonies : but the matter is
far otherwise ; for it always happens, that those who dare
to set up their own merits against the righteousness of God,
glory more in outward observances than in real goodness ;
110 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. II. 26.
for no one, who is seriously touclied and moved by the fear
of God, will ever dare to raise up his eyes to heaven, since
the more he strives after true righteousness, the clearer he
sees how far he is from it. But as to the Pharisees, who
were satisfied with imitating holiness by an outward dis-
guise, it is no wonder that they so easily deluded themselves.
Hence Paul, after having left the Jews nothing, but this poor
subterfuge of being justified by circumcision, does now also
take fi-om them even this empty pretence.
26. If then the uncircumcision, &c. This is a very strong
argument. Every thing is below its end and subordinate to
it. Circumcision looks to the laAv, and must therefore be
inferior to it : it is then a greater thing to keep the law
than circumcision, which was for its sake instituted. It
hence follows, that the uncircumcised, provided he keeps the
law, far excels the Jew with his barren and unprofitable
circumcision, if he be a transgressor of the law : and though
he is by nature polluted, he shall yet be so sanctified by
keeping the law, that uncircumcision shall be imputed to
him for circumcision. The word uncircumcision, is to be
taken in its proper sense in the second clause ; but in the
first, figuratively, for the Gentiles, the thing for the per-
sons.
It must be added — that no one ought anxiously to inquii-e
what observers of the law are those of which Paul speaks
here, inasmuch no such can be found ; for he simply intend-
ed to lay down a supposed case — that if any Gentile could
be found who kept the law, his righteousness would be of
more value without circumcision, than the circumcision of
the Jew without righteousness. And hence I I'efer what
follows, And what is by nature uncircumcision shall judge
thee, &c., not to persons, but to the case that is supposed,
according to what is said of the Queen of the south, that
she shall come, &c., (Matt. xii. 42,) and of the men of Nine-
veh, that they shall rise up in judgment, &c., (Luke xi. 32.)
For the very words of Paul lead us to this view — " The Gen-
tile," he says, " being a keeper of the law, shall judge thee,
who art a transgressor, though he is uncircumcised, and thou
hast the literal circumcision."
CHAP. II. 28. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. Ill
27. By the letter and circumcision, &c. A construction^
which means a literal circumcision. He does not mean that
they violated the law, because they had the literal circum-
cision ; but because they continued, though they had the
outward rite, to neglect the spiritual worship of God, even
piety, justice, judgment, and truth, which are the chief mat-
ters of the lavv.^
28. For a Jew is not he, &c. The meaning is, that a real
Jew is not to be ascertained, either by natural descent, or
by profession, or by an external symbol; that the circum-
cision which constitutes a Jew, does not consist in an out-
ward sign only, but that both are inward. And what he
subjoins with regard to true circumcision, is taken from
various passages of Scripture, and even from its general
teaching ; for the people are everywhere commanded to cir-
cumcise their hearts, and it is what the Lord promises to do.
The fore-skin was cut off, not indeed as the small corruption
of one part, but as that of the whole nature. Circmncision
then signified the mortification of the whole flesh.
29. What he then adds, in the spirit, not in the letter, un-
derstand thus : He calls the outward rite, without piety, the
letter, and the spiritual design of this rite, the spirit ; for
^ Hypallage, substitution, a figiu-e of speech, by which a noun or an ad-
jective is put in a form different from its obvious import. — Ed.
^ The rendering of this clause is rather obscure, " who by the letter and
circumcision dost transgress the law." The preposition, ?'«, has no doubt
the meaning of bor o-y'v, as in some other passages, as in ch. iv. 11, 'S/
KK^oSvtrrias — in uncircumcisiou, and in ch. viii. 25, 2/ tJTofiovr,;. — in or with
patience. Then the version should be, " who, being with, or having, the
letter and circumcision, dost transgress the laAV." The " letter" means
the written law. That this is the meaning is evident from the context.
Both Qrotius and Macknight give the same construction. It is better to
take " letter," i.e., the law, and " circumcision" separate, than to amalga-
mate them by a rhetorical figure, as is done by Calvin and others. Hodge
justly says, that this is " more suited to the context, as nothing is said
here of spiritual circumcision."
The word y^a^^a, letter, has various meanings — 1. What is commonly
called letter, the character, Lidce xxiii. .38; — 2. What is written, a bond
or contract, Luke xvi. 6 ; — 3. In the plural, letters, epistles, Acts xxviii.
21 ; — 4. The written law, as here, and in the plural, the Old Testament
Scriptures, 2 Tim. iii. 15; — 5. What is conveyed by writing, learning,
John vii. 15 ; Acts xxvi. 24; — and, 6. The outv/ard performance of the
law, it being written, as opposed to what is spiritual or inward, as in the
last verse of this chapter, and in 2 Cor. iii. 6. — Ed.
112 COMMENTAEIES ON THE CHAP. III. 1.
tlie wliole importance of signs and rites depends on what is
designed ; when the end in view is not regarded, the letter
alone remains, which in itself is useless. And the reason for
this mode of speaking is this, — where the voice of God
sounds, all that he commands, except it be received by men
in sincerity of heart, will remain in the letter, that is, in the
dead writing ; but when it penetrates into the heart, it is
in a manner transformed into spirit. And there is an
allusion to the difference between the old and the new
covenant, which Jeremiah points out in ch. xxxi. 33 ; where
the Lord declares that his covenant would be firm and per-
manent when engraven on the inward parts. Paul had also
the same thing in view in another place, (2 Cor. iii. 6,) where
he compares the law with the gospel, and calls the former
" the letter," which is not only dead but killeth ; and the
latter he signalizes with the title of " spirit.'' But extremely
gross has been the folly of those who have deduced a double
meaning from the " letter," and allegories from the " spirit."
Whose ])raise is not from men, &c. As men fix their eyes
only on those things which are visible, he denies that we
ought to be satisfied with what is commendable in the esti-
mation of men, who are often deceived by outward splen-
dour ; but that we ought to be satisfied with the all-seeing
eyes of God, from which the deepest secrets of the heart are
not hid. He thus again summons hypocrites, who soothe
themselves with false opinions, to the tribunal of God.
CHAPTER III.
1. What advantage! then hath 1. Quffi igitur prserogativa Iiidsei,
the Jew ? or what profit is there of aut quae utilitas circumcisionis ?
circumcision ?
2. Much every way: chiefly, be- 2. Multa per oninem modum ; ac
cause that unto them were commit- primum quidem, quod illis credita
ted the oracles of God. simt oracula Dei.
1. Though Paul has clearly j)roved that bare circumcision
* " Prserogativa — prerogative," to vt^iira-ov, rendered " pre-eminence" by
Macknigkt ; "prsestantia — superiority" hy Beza and Parens ; and "advan-
tage" in our version, and by Doddridge and Stuart. — Ed.
CHAP. III. 2. KPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 113
brouglit nothing to the Jews, yet since he could not deny but
that there was some difference between the Gentiles and the
Jews, which by that s^^mbol was sealed to them b}' the Lord,
and since it was inconsistent to make a distinction, of which
God was the author, void and of no moment, it remained for
him to remove also this objection. It was indeed evident,
that it was a foolish glorying in which the Jews on this ac-
count indulged ; yet still a doubt remained as to the design
of circumcision ; for the Lord would not have appointed it
had not some benefit been intended. He therefore, by wa}'-
of an objection, asks, what it was that made the Jew supe-
rior to the Gentile ; and he subjoins a reason for this by
another question. What is the benefit of circumcision ? For
this separated the Jews from the common class of men ; it
was a partition-wall, as Paul calls ceremonies, which kept
parties asunder.
2. Much in every way, &c. ; that is, very much. He
begins here to give the sacrament its own praise ; but he
concedes not, that on this account the Jews ought to have
been proud ; for when he teaches that they were sealed by
the symbol of circumcision, by which they were counted the
children of God, he does not allow that they became suj^e-
rior to others through any merit or worthiness of their own,
but through the free mercv of God. If then regard be had
to them as men, he shows that they were on a level with
others ; but if the favours of God be taken to the account,
he admits that they possessed what made them more eminent
than other men.
First, indeed, because intrusted to them, &c. Some think
there is here an unfinished period, for he sets down what he
does not afterwards complete. But the word first seems not
to me to be a note of number, but means " chiefly" or espe-
cially,^ and is to be taken in this sense — " Though it were
but this one thing, that they have the oracles^ of God com-
^ The word -t^Zto)/ is thus used in other places. See Matt. vi. 33 ; Mark
vii. 27 ; 2 Peter i. 20. — Ed.
2 Aoyia, oracula, mean, in Greek authors, divine responses. Hesycliins
explains it by ^icr(pa,ra. — divine dictates. The word is used four times in
the New Testament. In Acts vii. 38, it means specifically the law of
Moses; here it includes the whole of the Old Testament ; in Heb. v. 12,
H
114 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. III. 3.
mitted to them, it might be deemed sufficient to prove their
superiority/' And it is worthy of being noticed, that the
advantage of circumcision is not made to consist in the
naked sign, but its value is derived from the word ; for Paul
asks here what benefit the sacrament conferred on the Jews,
and he answers, that God had deposited with them the trea-
sure of celestial wisdom. It hence follows, that, apart from
the word, no excellency remained. By oracles he means
the covenant which God revealed first to Abraham and to
his posterity, and afterwards sealed and unfolded by the law
and the Prophets.
Now the oracles were committed to them, for the purpose
of preserving them as long as it pleased the Lord to continue
his glory among them, and then of publishing them during
the time of their stewardship through the whole world : they
were first depositaries, and secondly dispensers. But if this
benefit was to be so highly esteemed when the Lord favoured
one nation only with the revelation of his word, we can never
sufficiently reprobate our ingratitude, who receive his word
with so much negligence or witli so much carelessness, not
to say disdain,
3. For -what if some did not be- 3. Quid enim si quidem fuerunt
lieve ? shall their unbelief make the increduli ? num incredulitas eorum
faith of God without effect ? fidem Dei faciei irritam ?
4. God forbid: yea, let God be 4. Ne ita sit; quin sit Deus ve-
true, but every man a liar ; as it is rax, omnis autem homo mendax ;
written, That thou mightest be jus- quemadmodum scriptum est, ut jus-
tified in thy sayings, and niightfst tificeris in sermonibus tuis, et vincas
overcome when thou art judged. quum judicaris.^
3. What indeed if some, &c. As before, -while regarding
the Jews as exulting in the naked sign, he allowed them
no not even a spark of glory ; so now, while considering the
nature of the sign, he testifies that its virtue {virtutem, effi-
cacy) is not destroyed, no, not even by their inconstancy.
and in 1 Peter iv. 11, it embraces the truths of the Gospel. The divine
character of the Scriptiu-es is by this word attested; they are the oracles
of God, his dictates, or communications from him. — Ed.
^ The references in the margin are the following : — Rom. ix. 6 ; 2 Tim.
ii. 13 ; John iii. 33 ; Ps. cxvi. 11 ; li. 4.
CHAP. III. 4. EPISTLE TO THE KOMANS. 115
As then he seemed before to have intimated that whatever
gra(3e there might have been in the sign of circumcision, it
had wholly vanished through the ingratitude of the Jews,
he now, anticipating an objection, again asks what opinion
was to be formed of it. There is here indeed a sort of reti-
cence, as he expresses less than what he intended to be under-
stood ; for he might have truly said that a great part of the
nation had renounced the covenant of God ; but as this
would liave been very grating to the ears of the Jews, he
mitigated its severity, and mentioned only some.
Shall their unbelief, &c. Karapyelv is properly to render
void and ineifectual ; a meaning most suitable to this pas-
sage. For Paul's inquiry is not so much whether the un-
belief of men neutralizes the truth of God, so that it should
not in itself remain firm and constant, but whether it hinders
its effect and fulfilment as to men. The meaning then is,
" Since most of the Jews are covenant-breakers, is God's
covenant so abrogated by their j^erfidiousness that it brings
forth no fruit among them ? To this he answers, that it can-
not be that the truth of God should lose its stability through
man's wickedness. Though then the greater part had nul-
lified and trodden under foot God's covenant, it yet retained
its eflicacy and manifested its power, not indeed as to all,
but with regard to a few of that nation : and it is then effi-
cacious, when the grace or the blessing of the Lord avails to
eternal salvation. But this cannot be, except when the pro-
mise is received by faith ; for it is in this way that a mutual
covenant is on both sides confirmed. He then means that
some ever remained in that nation, who by continuing to
believe in the promise, had not fallen away from the privi-
leges of the covenant.
4. But let God be true, &c. Whatever may be the opinion
of others, I regard this as an argument taken from the
necessary consequence of what is opposed to it, by which
Paul invalidates the preceding objection. For since these
two things stand together, yea, necessarily accord, that God
is true and that man is false, it follows that the truth of God
is not nullified by the falsehood of men ; for except he did
now set these two things in opposition, the one to the other,
116 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. III. 4.
lie would afterwards have in vain laboured to refute what
was absurd, and show how God is just, though he manifests
his justice by our unjustice. Hence the meaning is by no
means ambiguous, — tliat the faithfulness of God is so far
from being nullified by the perfidy and apostasy of men,
that it thereby becomes more evident. " God," he says, " is
true, not only because he is prepared to stand faithfully to his
promises, but because he also really fulfils whatever he de-
clares; for he so speaks, that his command becomes a reality.
On the other hand, man is false, not only because he often
violates his pledged faith, but because he naturally seeks
falsehood and shuns the truth."
The first clause contains the primary axiom of all Christian
philosophy; the latter is taken from Ps. cxvi. 11, Avhere
David confesses that there is nothing certain from man or
in man.
Now this is a remarkable passage, and contains a conso-
lation that is much needed ; for such is the perversity of
men in rejecting and despising God's word, that its truth
would be often doubted were not this to come to our minds,
that God's verity depends not on man's verity. But how
does this agi-ee with what has been said previously — that in
order to make the divine pi'omise effectual, fjiith, which re-
ceives it, is on the part of men necessary? for faith stands
opposed to falsehood. This seems, indeed, to be a difficult
question ; but it may with no great difficulty be answered,
and in this way — the Lord, notwithstanding the lies of men,
and though these are hinderances to his truth, does yet find
a way for it through a pathless track, that he may come
forth a conqueror, and that is, by correcting in his elect the
inbred unbelief of our nature, and by subjecting to his ser-
vice those who seem to be unconquerable. It must be added,
that the discourse here is concerning the corruption of na-
ture, and not the grace of God, which is the remedy for that
corruption.
That thou mightest he justified, &c. The sense is. So far is
it that the truth of God is destroyed by our falsehood and
unfaithfulness, that it thereby shines forth and appears more
evident, according to the testimony of David, who says, that
CHAP. III. 4. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 11 7
as he was a sinner, God was a just and righteous Judge in
whatever he determined respecting him, and tliat he would
overcome all the calumnies of the ungodly who murmured
against his righteousness. By the luoi^ds of God, David
means the judgments which he pronounces upon us ; for the
common application of these to promises is too strained :
and so the particle that, is not so much final, nor refers to a
far-fetched consequence, but implies an inference according
to this purport, " Against thee have I sinned ; justly then
dost thou punish me.'' And that Paul lias quoted this
passage according to the proper and real meaning of David,
is clear from the objection that is immediately added, " How
shall the righteousness of God remain perfect if our iniquity
illustrates it ?" For in vain, as I have already observed, and
unseasonably has Paul arrested the attention of his readers
with this difficulty, except David meant, that God, in his
wonderful providence, elicited from the sins of men a praise
to his own righteousness. The second clause in Hebrew is
this, " And that tliou mightest be pure in thy judgment ;"
which expression imports nothing else but that God in all
his judgments is worthy of praise, how much soever the un-
godly may clamour and strive by their complaints disgrace-
fully to efface his glory. But Paul has followed the Greek
version, which answered his purpose here even better. We
indeed know that the Apostles in quoting Scripture often
used a freer language than the original ; for they counted it
enough to quote what was suitable to their subject : hence
they made no great account of words.
The application then of this passage is the following :
Since all the sins of mortals must serve to illustrate the
glory of the Lord, and since he is especially glorified by his
truth, it follows, that even the falsehood of men serves to
confirm rather than to subvert his truth. Though the word
KpiveaOat, may be taken actively as well as passively, yet the
Greek translators, I have no doubt, rendered it passively,
contrary to the meaning of the Prophet.^
' Whenever there is a material agreement between the Greek and the
Hebrew, we ought not to make it otherwise. If the verb x^lnir^ai, as ad-
mitted by most critics, may be taken actively, and be thus made to agree
118 COMMENTAEIES ON THE CHAP. III. 5.
5. But if our unrighteousness com- 5. Quod si injustitia nostra Dei
mend the righteousness of God, what justitiam commendat, quid dice-
shall we say? Is God unrighteous mus ? num injustus est Deus qui
who taketh vengeance ? (I speak as infert iram ? Secundum hominem
a man) dico.
6. God forbid : for then how shall 6. Ne ita sit : nam quomodo ju-
God judge the world ? dicabit Deus mundum ?
7. For if the truth of God hath 7. Si enim Veritas Dei per meum
more abounded through my lie unto mendacium excelluit in ejus gloriam;
his glory ; why yet am I also judged quid etiamnum et ego velut peccator
as a sinner ? judicor ;
8. And not rather, (as we be slan- 8. Et non (quemadmodum expro-
derously reported, and as some affirm bratur nobis, et quemadmodum ai-
that we say,) Let us do evil, that unt quidam nos dicere) Faciamus
good may come ? whose damnation mala, ut veniant bona ? quorvmi ju-
is just. dicium justum est.
5. But if our umngkteousness, &c. Though this is a di-
gression from the main subject, it was yet necessary for the
Apostle to introduce it, lest he should seem to give to the
ill-disposed an occasion to speak evil, which he knew would
be readily laid hold on by them. For since they were watch-
ing for every opportunity to defame the gospel, they had, in
the testimony of David, what they might have taken for the
purpose of founding a calumny, — " If God seeks nothing
with the Hebrew, what reason can there be to take it in another sense ?
The only real difference is in one word, between v/x^Vjjs, " overcomest," and
n3Tn, " art clear :" but the meaning is the same, though the words are
different. To overcome in judgment, and to be clear in judgment, amounts
to the same thing. The parallelism of the Hebrew requires x^lvur^ai to be
a verb in the middle voice, and to have an active meaning. The two lines
in Hebrew, as it is often the case in Hebrew poetry, contain the same
sentiment in different words, the last line expressing it more definitely ; so
that to be " justified," and to be " cleared," convey the same idea ; and
also " in thy word," or saying — "I"l3"I2, and " in thy judgment" — "IDDK^^.
In many copies both these last words are in the plural number, so that the
first would be strictly what is here expressed, " in thy words," that is, the
words which thou hast declared ; and " in thy judgments," that is, those
which thou hast annoimced, would be fully rendered by " when thou
judgest."
Commentators, both ancient and modem, have differed on the meaning
of the verb in question. Parexis, Beza, Macknight, and Stuart, take it in
an active sense; while Erasmus, Orotius, Venema, and others, contend
for the passive meaning. Drusius, Hammond, and Doddridge render it,
" when thou contendest in judgment," or, " when thou art called to judg-
ment :" and such a meaning no doubt the verb has according to Matt. v.
40, and 1 Cor. vi. 1, 6. But in this case regard must be had especially
to the meaning which corresponds the nearest with the original Hebrew.
Some have maintained that " in thy judgment" — "IDQK'^, may be rendered
" in judging thee ;" but this would not only be uniisual and make the sen-
CHAP. III. 5. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. ]19
else, but to be glorified by men, why does he punish them,
when they oifcnd, since by offending they glorify him ?
Without cause then surely is he offended, if he derives the
reason of his displeasure from that by which he is glorified."
There is, indeed, no doubt, but that this was an ordinary,
and everywhere a common calumny, as it will presently ap-
pear. Hence Paul could not have covertly passed it by ;
but that no one should think that he expressed the senti-
ments of his own mind, he premises that he assumes the
person of the ungodly ; and at the same time, he sharply
touches, by a single expression, on human reason ; whose
work, as he intimates, is ever to bark against the wisdom of
God ; for he says not, " according to the ungodly,'' but " ac-
cording to man," or as man. And thus indeed it is, for all
the mysteries of God are paradoxes to the flesh : and at the
same time it possesses so much audacity, that it fears not to
oppose them, and insolently to assail what it cannot com-
prehend. We are hence reminded, that if we desire to be-
come capable of understanding them, we must especially
labour to become freed from our own reason, {propria sensu,)
and to give up ourselves, and unreservedly to submit to his
tence hardly intelligible, but also destroy the evident parallelism of the
two lines. The whole verse may be thus literally rendered from the
Hebrew, —
Against thee, against thee only have I sinned ;
And the evil before thine eyes have I done ;
So that thou art justified in thy words,
And clear in thy judgments.
The conjunction jVD^, admits of being rendered so that; see Ps. xxx. 12;
Is. xli. 20 ; Amos ii. 7 ; and aVws in many instances may be thus rendered ;
see Luke ii. 35 ; Philem. 6 ; 1 Pet. ii. 9. It is what Schleusner designates
ixSaTixMs, signifying the issue or the event.
Parens connects the passage differently. He considers the former part
of the verse parenthetic, or as specifying what is generally stated in the
previous verse, the third ; and with that verse he connects this passage :
so that the rendering of the two verses would be the following, —
3. For my transgression I acknowledge,
And my sin is before me continually, —
4. (Against thee, against thee only have I sinned,
And the evil before thine eyes have I done,)
That thou mightest be justified in thy saying,
And clear in thy judgment.
This is certainly more probable than what Vatablus and Houbigant pro-
pose, who connect the passage with the second verse, " Wash me thorough-
ly," &c. But the sense given by Calvin is the most satisfactory. — Ed.
120 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. III. 6*.
word. — The word wrath, taken here for judgment, refers
to punishment ; as though he said, " Is God unjust, who
punishes those sins which set forth his righteousness ?"
6. By no means, &c. In checking tliis blasphemy he gives
not a direct reply to the objection, but begins with express-
ing his abhorrence of it, lest the Christian religion should
even appear to include absurdities so great. And this is
more weighty than if he adopted a simple denial ; for he im-
plies, that this impious expression deserved to be regarded
with horror, and not to be heard. He presently subjoins
what may be called an indirect refutation ; for he does not
distinctly refute the calumny, but gives only this reply, —
that the objection was absurd. Moreover, he takes an argu-
ment from an office which belongs to God, by which he
proves it to be impossible, — God shall judge the world; he
cannot then be unjust.
This argument is not derived, so to speak, from the mere
power of God, but from his exercised power, which shines
forth in the whole arrangement and order of his works ; as
though he said, — " It is God's work to judge the world, that
is, to rectify it by his own righteousness, and to reduce to the
best order whatever there is in it out of order : he cannot
then determine any thing unjustly." And he seems to al-
lude to a passage recorded by Moses, in Gen. xviii..25, where
it is said, that when Abraham prayed God not to deliver
Sodom wholly to destruction, he spoke to this purpose, — " It
is not meet, that thou who art to judge the earth, shouldest
destroy the just with the ungodly : for this is not thy work,
nor can it be done by thee." A similar declaration is found
in Job xxxiv. 17, — ''Should he who hates judgment exer-
cise power ?" For though there are found among men un-
just judges, yet this happens, because they usurp authority
contrary to law and right, or because they are inconsiderately
raised to that eminence, or because they degenerate from
themselves. But there is nothing of this kind with regard
to God. Since, then, he is by nature judge, it must be that
he is just, for he cannot deny himself Paul then proves
fi'om what is impossible, that God is absurdly accused of un-
righteousness ; for to him peculiarly and naturally belongs
CHAP. III. 8. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 121
the work of justly governing the world. And though what
Paul teaches extends to the constant government of God,
yet I allow that it has a special reference to the last judg-
ment ; for then only a real restoration of just order will take
place. But if you wish for a direct refutation, by which pro-
fane things of this kind may be checked, take this, and
say, " That it comes not througli what unrighteousness is,
that God's righteousness becomes more illustrious, but that
our wickedness is so surpassed by God's goodness, that it is
turned to serve an end different from that to which it
tends."
7. If indeed^ the truth of God, &c. This objection, I have
no doubt, is adduced in the person of the ungodly ; for it is
a sort of an explanation of the former verse, and would have
been connected with it, had not the Apostle, moved with indig-
nation, broken off the sentence in the middle. The meaning
of the objection is, — " If by our unfaithfulness the truth of
God becomes more conspicuous, and in a manner confirmed,
and hence more glory redounds to him, it is by no means
just, that he, wlio serves to display God's glory, should be
punished as a sinner."^
8. And not, &c. This is an elliptical sentence, in which
a word is to be understood. It will be complete, if you read
it thus, — "and why is it not rather said, (as we are re-
proached, &c.) that we are to do evils, that good things may
' Or, " For if " — Si enim — il ya-^. The particle 7«g here gives no reason,
but is to be viewed as meaning then, or indeed, verily ; see Luke xii. 58 ;
John ix. 30; Acts xvi. 37; Phil. ii. 27. *S'< «ar< renders it, s^iY/, and says,
that it " points to a connection with ver. 5, and denotes a continuance of
the same theme." Mackniijht often renders it hy further, besides, and no
doubt rightly. — Ed.
^ It is remarkable how the Apostle changes his words from the third
verse to the end of this, while the same things are essentially meant. His
style is throughout Hebraistic. Stuart makes these just remarks, " 'aSikIo.
is here [ver. 5] the generic appellation of sin, for which a specific name,
uTiiTTia, was employed in ver. 3, and ■4^Bu<rf/.a, in ver. 7. In like manner the
}iKCii<itrvv>t, in ver. 5, which is a generic appellation, is expressed by a specific
one, tIo-tiv, in ver. 3, and by aXrihia, in ver. 7. The idea is substantially
the same, which is designated by these respectively corresponding appella-
tions. Fidelity, uprightness, integrity, are designated by a-/<rT;v, ?/xa;«(rt/n}»j
and a,Xrth.ia.\ while aT/frr/a, i:?/x/a, and ■^■■titfj-a.Ti, A^'&xgw^it unfait)\fulness,
want of uprightness, and false dealing. All of these terms have more or
less reference to the n''"i3, covenant or compact (so to speak) which existed
between God and his ancient people." — Ed.
122 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. III. 8.
come?" But the Apostle deigns not to answer tlie slander ;
which yet we may check by the most solid reason. The pre-
tence, indeed, is this, — " If God is by our iniquity glorified,
and if nothing can be done by man in this life more befit-
ting than to promote the glory of God, then let us sin to ad-
vance his glory I" Now the answer to this is evident, —
" That evil cannot of itself produce any thing but evil ; and
that God's glory is through our sin illustrated, is not the
work of man, but the -.work of God ; who, as a wonderful
worker, knows how to overcome our wickedness, and to con-
vert it to another end, so as to turn it contrary to what we
intend, to the j)romotion of his own glory." God has pre-
scribed to us the way, by which he would have himself to be
glorified by us, even by true piety, which consists in obe-
dience to his word. He who leaps over this boundary, strives
not to honour God, but to dishonour him. That it turns out
otherwise, is to be ascribed to the Providence of God, and
not to the wickedness of man ; through which it comes not,
that the majesty of God is not injured, nay, wholly over-
thrown.^
(As we are reproached,) &c. Since Paul speaks so reve-
rently of the secret judgments of God, it is a wonder that
his enemies should have fallen into such wantonness as to
calumniate him : but there has never been so much reverence
and seriousness displayed by God's servants as to be suffi-
cient to check impure and virulent tongues. It is not then
a new thing, that adversaries at this day load with so many
false accusations, and render odious our doctrine, which we
ourselves know to be the pure gospel of Christ, and all the
angels, as well as the faithful, are our witnesses. Nothing
can be imagined more monstrous than what we read here
was laid to the charge of Paul, to the end, that his preach-
• Orotius thinks, that in the beginning of this verse there is a transpo-
sition, and that on, after the parenthesis, ought to be construed before
f^h which precedes it, and that »« is for cur, why, — as in Mark ix. 11, and
28. The version would then be, " and why not, (as we are reproached,
and as some declare that we say,) Let us do evil that good may come ?"
This is the rendering of Luther. But Litnborch and Stuart consider xiyu-
fiiv to be understood after f^h ; and the latter takes f^ii, not as a negative,
but an interrogative, " and shall we say," &c. ? Amidst these varieties, the
main drift of the passage remains the same. — Ed.
CHAP. III. 9. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 123
ing might be rendered hateful to the inexperienced. Let us
then bear this evil, when the ungodly abuse the truth which
we preach by their calumnies : nor let us cease, on this
account, constantly to defend the genuine confession of it,
inasmuch as it has sufficient power to crusli and to dissipate
their falsehoods. Let us, at the same time, according to
the Apostle's example, oppose, as much as we can, all mali-
cious subtilties, {technis — crafts, wiles,) that the base and the
abandoned may not, without some check, speak evil of our
Creator.
Whose judgment is just. Some take this in an active
sense, as signifying that Paul so far assents to them, that
what they objected was absurd, in order that the doctrine of
the gospel might not be thought to be connected with such
paradoxes : but I approve more of the passive meaning ; for
it would not have been suitable simply to express an approval
of such a wickedness, which, on the contrary, deserved to be
severely condemned ; and this is what Paul seems to me to
have done. And their perverseness was, on two accounts,
to be condemned, — first, because this impiety had gained the
assent of their minds ; and secondly, because, in traducing
the gosj^el, they dared to draw from it their calumny.
9. What then ? are we better than 9. Quid ergo ? praeceUimus ?* Ne-
they ? No; in no wise : for we have quaquam : ante enim constituimus
before proved both Jews and Gen- tarn Judseos quam Graecos, omnes
tiles, that they are all under sin. sub peccato esse.
9. What then ? He returns from his digression to his
subject. For lest the Jews should object that they were de-
prived of their right, as he had mentioned those distinctions
of honour, for which they thought themselves superior to the
Gentiles, he now at length replies to the question — in what
^ " Prsecellimus ?" -r^eix'M^oi ; " Have we the advantage ?" Doddridge ;
" Do we excel ?" Macknight ; " Have we any preference ?" Stuart. It is
thus paraphrased by Theodoret, Ti' oSv xoltix"!^^'' ■^'-^Krirot — « What advan-
tage, then, have we?" " Prsecellimus" is the rendering of Erasmus, Pa-
rens, and Beza. Venema says, that this verb, in the active voice only,
has this meaning in Greek authors ; but the context can allow it no other
sense here. Wetstein indeed gives it a passive meaning, " an antecellimur
— are we surpassed ?" but it can hardly comport with the drift of the
passage. — Ed.
12-i COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. III. 9.
respect they excelled tlie Gentiles. And tliougli his answer
seems in appearance to militate against what he had said
before, (for he now strips those of all dignity to whom he
had attributed so much,) there is yet no discord ; for those
privileges in which he allowed them to be eminent, were
separate from themselves, and dependent on God's goodness,
and not on their own merit : but here he makes inquiry as
to their own worthiness, whether they could glory in any
respect in themselves. Plence the two answers he gives so
agree together, that the one follows from the other ; for
while he extols their privileges, by including them among
the free benefits of God, he shows that they had nothing of
their own. Hence, what he now answers might have been
easily inferred ; for since it was their chief superiority, that
God's oracles were deposited with them, and they had it not
through their own merit, there was nothing left for them, on
account of which they could glory before God. Now mark
the holy contrivance {sanctum, artificium') which he adopts ;
for when he ascribes pre-eminency to them, he speaks in the
third person ; but when he strips them of all things, he puts
himself among them, that he might avoid giving oifence.
For we have before brought a charge, &c. The Greek verb
which Paul adopts, alruiaOai, is properly a forensic term ; and
I have therefore preferred to render it, " "We have brought a
charge;"^ for an accuser in an action is said to charge a
crime, which he is prepared to substantiate by testimonies
and other proofs. Now the Apostle had summoned all man-
kind universally before the tribunal of God, that he might
include all under the same condemnation : and it is to no
purpose for any one to object, and say that the Apostle here
not only brings a charge, but more especially proves it ; for
a charge is not true except it depends on solid and strong
evidences, according to wdiat Cicero says, who, in a certain
place, distinguishes between a charge and a slander. We
' So do Orotius, Beza, and Stuart render the verb. Doddridge and
Mackmglit have preserved our common version. " We have before
charged," Chalmers. '•' Antea idoneis argmiientis demonstravimus — we
have before proved by sufficient arguments," Schleusner. It is charge
rather than conviction that the verb imports, though the latter idea is also
considered to be included. — Ed.
OHAP. III. 10. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 125
must add, that to be under sin means that wc are justly con-
demned as sinners before God, or that we are held under the
curse wliich is due to sin ; for as righteousness brings with
it absolution, so sin is followed by condemnation.
10. As it is written, There is none 10. Sicut scriptuni, Quod non est
righteous, no, not one : Justus quisquam, ne unus quideni ;
11. There is none that luidcr- 11. Non est intelligens, non est
standeth, there is none that seeketh qui reqnirat Deum ;
after God.
12. They are all gone out of the 12. Omnes dcclinarunt,sininlfacti
way, they are together become un- sunt inutiles ; non est qui exerceat
profitable : there is none that doeth benignitateni, ne ad unum quidem :
good, no, not one.
13. Their throat /s an open sepul- 13. Sepulchrum apertum guttnr
chre : with their tongues they have coruni ; linguis dolose egerunt : ve-
used deceit : the poison of asps is nenum aspidum sub labiis eorum :
under their lips :
14. Whose mouth is full of curs- 14. Quorum os execratione et
ing and bitterness : aniaridentia plenum :
15. Their feet arc swift to shed 15. Veloces pedes eonmi ad efiim-
blood : dendiun sanguinem ;
16. Destruction and misery are in 16. Contritio et calamitas in viis
their ways : eorum ;
17. And the way of peace have 17. Et viam pacis non noverunt:
they not known :
18. There is no fear of God be- 18. Non est timor Dei prse oculis
fore their eyes. eorum. ^
10. As it is tvritten, &c. He has hitherto used proofs or
arguments to convince men of their iniquity ; he now be-
gins to reason from authority ; and it is to Christians the
strongest kind of proof, when authority is derived from the
only true God. And hence let ecclesiastical teachers learn
what their office is ; for since Paul asserts here no truth but
what he confirms by the sure testimony of Scripture, much
less ought such n thing to be attempted by those, who have
no other commission but to preach the gospel, wliich they
have received through Paul and others.
There is none righteous, &c. The Apostle, who gives the
meaning rather than the entire words, seems, in the first
place, before he comes to particulars, to state generally the
substance of what the Prophet declares to be in man, and
^ The references given in the margin are these, — Ps. xiv. 1-3 ; liii. 3
V. 9 ; xiv. 3 ; ix. 7 ; Is. Ivi. 7 ; Prov. i. 16 ; Ps. xxxvi. 1.
126 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. III. 13.
that is — that none is righteous :^ he afterwards particularly
enumerates the eifects or fruits of this unrighteousness.
11. The first eifect is, that there is none that understands:
and then this ignorance is immediately proved, for they
seek not God ; for empty is the man in whom tliere is not
the knowledge of God, whatever other learning he may pos-
sess ; yea, the sciences and the arts, which in themselves are
good, are empty things, when they are without this ground-
work.
12. It is added,^ There is no one who doeth kindness. By
this we are to understand, that they had put off every feel-
ing of humanity. For as the best bond of mutual concord
among us is the knowledge of God, (as he is the common
Father of all, he wonderfully unites us, and without him
there is nothing but disunion,) so inhumanity commonly
follows where there is ignorance of God, as every one, when
he despises others, loves and seeks his own good.
13. It is further added, Their thi-oat is an open grave ;^
that is, a gulf to swallow up men. It is more than if he had
said, that they were devourers {avOpwirojid'yov'^ — men-eaters;)
^ Ps. xiv. 1. The Hebrew is, " There is none that doeth good;" and
the Septuagint, " There is none doing kindness, {x^^'^'^'ortiTa), there is
not even one, (oux £Vt;» %us ho;.)" So that the Apostle quotes the meaning,
not the words.
The eleventh Averse is from the same Psalm ; the Hebrew, with which the
Septuagint agree, except that there is the disjunctive *i between the parti-
ciples, is the following, — " Whether there is any one who understands, who
seeks after God." — Ed.
* This verse is literally the Septuagint, and as to meaning, a correct
version of the Hebrew. "All have gone out of the way — -jravn; \lix,\nav"
is in Hebrew "ID ?'ZT\, " the whole (or every one) has turned aside," or
revolted, or apostatized. Then, " they have become unprofitable" or
useless, is inpXJ, " they are become putrid," or corrupted, like putrified
fruit or meat, therefore useless, not fit for what they were designed — to
serve God and to promote their own and the good of others. Idolatry
was evidently this putrescence. — Ed.
^ This is from Ps. v. 9, that is, the first part, and is literally >the Septu-
agint, which correctly represents the Hebrew. The last clause is from
Ps. cxl. 3, and is according to the Septuagint, and the Hebrew, too, ex-
cept that " asps," or adders, is in the singular number. Stuart gives the
import of this figurative language different from Calvin : " As from the
sepulchre," he says, " issues forth an offensive and pestilential vapour ; so
from the mouths of slanderous persons issue noisome and pestilential
words. Their words are like poison, they utter the poisonous breath of
slander." — Ed.
CHAP. III. 18. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 127
for it is an intimation of extreme barbarity, when the throat
is said to be so great a gulf, that it is sufficient to swallow
down and devour men whole and entire. Their tongues are
deceitful, and, the poison of asps is under their lips, import
the same thing.
14. Then he says, that their mouth is full of cursing and
bitterness,^ — a vice of an opposite character to the former ;
but the meaning is, that they are in every way full of wick-
edness ; for if the}'' speak fair, they deceive and blend poison
with their flatteries ; but if they draw forth what they have
in their hearts, bitterness and cursing stream out.
16. Very striking is the sentence that is added from
Isaiah, Ruin and misery are in all their ways -^ for it is a
representation of ferociousness above measure barbarous,
which produces solitude and waste by destroying every thing
wherever it prevails : it is the same as the description which
Pliny gives of Domitian.
17. It follows. The way of peace they have not known:
they are so habituated to plunders, acts of violence and
wrong, to savageness and cruelty, that they know not how
to act kindly and courteously.
18. In the last clause^ he repeats again, in other words.
1 Ps. X. 7. Paul corrects the order of the words as found in the Sep-
tuagint, and gives the Hebrew more exactly ; but retains the word " bit-
terness," by which the Septuagint have rendered niDltD, which means de-
ceit, or rather, mischievous deceit. Some think that it ought to be n"l"l"lt3,
" bitterness ;" but there is no copy in its favour. — Ed.
* The 15th, 16th, and 17th verses are taken from Isaiah lix. 7, 8. Both
the Hebrew and the Septuagint are alike, but Paul has abbreviated them,
and changed two words in the Greek version, having put ol<7s for tccx"")',
and iyvMirav for o/Sao-/, and has followed that vf .-sion in leaving out " inno-
cent " before " blood." — Ed.
^ It is taken from Ps. xxx^^. 1, and verbatim from the Greek version,
and strictly in accordance with the Hebrew. It is evident from several of
these quotations, that Paul's object, as Calvin says, was to represent the
general meaning, and not to keep strictly to the expressions.
There is a difference of opinion as to the precise object of the Apostle ;
whether in these quotations he had regard to the Jews only, or to both
Jews and Gentiles. In the introduction, verse 9, he mentions both, and
in the conclusion, verse 19, he evidently refers to both, in these words,
" that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty
before God."
The most consistent view seems to be, that the passages quoted refer
both to Jews and Gentiles ; the last, more especially, to the Jews, while
128 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. III. 18.
what we have noticed at the beginning — that every wicked-
ness flows from a disregard of God : for as the principal part
of wisdom is the fear of God, when we depart from that,
there remains in us nothing right or pure. In short, as it is
a bridle to restrain our wickedness, so when it is wanting,
we feel at liberty to indulge every kind of licentiousness.
And that these testimonies may not seem to any one to
have been unfitly produced, let us consider each of them in
connection with the passages from which they have been
taken. David says in Ps, xiv. 1, that tliere was such per-
verseness iu men, that God, when looking on them all in
their different conditions, could not find a righteous man,
no, not one. It then follows, that this evil pervaded man-
kind universally ; for nothing is hid from the sight of God.
He speaks indeed at the end of the Psalm of the redemp-
tion of Israel : but we shall presently show how men become
holy, and how far they are exempt from this condition. In
the other Psalms he speaks of the treachery of his enemies,
while he was exhibiting in himself and in his descendants a
type of the kingdom of Christ : hence we have in his adver-
saries the representatives of all those, who being alienated
from Christ, are not led by his Spirit. Isaiah expressly
mentions Israel ; and therefore his charge applies with still
greater force against the Gentiles. What, then ? There is
no doubt but that the character of men is described in those
words, in order that we may see what man is when left to
himself; for Scripture testifies that all men are in this state,
who arc not regenerated by the grace of God. The condi-
tion of the saints would be nothing better, were not this de-
pravity corrected in them : and that they may still remem-
ber that they difier nothing from others by nature, they do
find in the relics of their flesh (by which they are always
encompassed) the seeds of those evils, which would con-
stantly produce fruits, were they not prevented by being
mortified ; and for this mortification they are indebted to
God's mercy and not to their own nature. We may add,
some of the preceding have a special reference to the Gentile world, par-
ticularly Ps. xiv., as it describes the character of the enemies of God and
his people, to whose liberation the Psalmist refers in the last verse. — Ed.
CHAP. III. 19. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 129
that tliougli all the vices here enumerated are not found
conspicuously in every individual, yet they may he justly
and truly ascribed to human nature, as we have already ob-
served on chap. i. 26.
19. Now we know, that what 19. Scimus autem quod quse-
things soever the law saith, it saith cunque Lex dicit, iis qui in Lege
to them Avho are under the law ; sunt loqviitur ; ut omne os obstrua-
that every mouth may be stopped, tur, et obnoxius fiat omnis mundus
and all the world may become guilty Deo.^
before God.
20. Therefore by the deeds of the 20. Quoniam ex operibus Legis
law there shall no flesh be justified non justificabitur omnis caro coram
in his sight : for by the law is the ipso ; per Legem enim agnitio pec-
knowledge of sin. cati.
19. Now we hioio, &c. Leaving the Gentiles, he dis-
tinctly addresses his words to the Jews ; for he had a much
more difficult work in subduing them, because they, though
no less destitute of true righteousness than the Gentiles, yet
covered themselves with the cloak of God's covenant, as
though it was a sufficient holiness to them to have been
separated from tlie rest of the world by the election of God.
And he indeed mentions those evasions, which he well under-
stood the Jews were ready to bring forward ; for whatever
was said in the law unfavourably of mankind, they usually
applied to the Gentiles, as though they were exempt from
the common condition of nien, and no doubt they would have
been so, had they not fallen from their own dignity. Hence,
that no false conceit as to their own worthiness should be a
hinderance to them, and that they might not confine to the
Gentiles alone what applied to them in common with others,
Paul here anticij)ates them, and shows, from what Scripture
declares, that they were not only blended with the multitude,
but that condemnation was peculiarly denounced on them.
And we indeed see the discretion of the Apostle in under-
1 Obnoxius Deo — u-^o^ikos ■ • ru ha ; " Obnoxius condemnationi Dei —
subject to the condemnation of God," Bez<x ; " Liable to pimishment before
God," Macknight ; " Stand convicted before God," Doddridge. The word
means to be " under sentence" or under condemnation, and thus " to God,"
i.e., before God. Tillotson gives this paraphrase, " Liable to the Divine
justice." It may be rendered " condemned before God." The meaning
is that the world is under condemnation. — Ed.
130 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. III. 20.
taking to refute these objections ; for to wliom but to the
Jews had the law been given, and to whose instruction but
tlieirs ought it to have served ? What then it states respect-
ing others is as it were accidental ; or as they say, irdpepyov,
an appendage ; but it applies its teaching mainly to its own
disciples.
Under the law. He says that the Jews were those to whom
the law was destined, it hence follows, that it especially re-
gards them ; and under the word law he includes also the
Prophets, and so the whole of the Old Testament. — That every
mouth may he stopped, &c. ; that is, that every evasion may
be cut off, and every occasion for excuse. It is a metaphor
taken from courts of law, where the accused, if he has any-
thing to plead as a lawful defence, demands leave to speak,
that he might clear himself from the things laid to his charge ;
but if he is convicted by his own conscience, he is silent, and
without saying a word waits for his condemnation, being
even already by his own silence condemned. Of the same
meaning is this saying in Job xl. 4, " I will lay my hand on
my mouth.'' He indeed says, that though he was not alto-
gether without some kind of excuse, he would yet cease to
justify himself, and submit to the sentence of God. The
next clause contains the exjilanation ; for his mouth is
stopped, who is so fast held by the sentence of condemnation,
that he can by no means escape. According to another
sense, to be silent before the Lord is to tremble at his ma-
jesty, and to stand mute, being astonished at his bright-
ness.^
20. Therefore hy the luorks of the law, &c. It is a matter
of doubt, even among the learned, what the works of the law
mean. Some extend them to the observance of the whole
law, while others confine them to the ceremonies alone.
^ To see the force and meaning of this verse, we must bear in mind that
the former part was said to prevent the Jews from evading the application
of the preceding testimonies ; and then the words " that every mouth,"
&c., and "that all the world," &c., were added, not so much to include
the Gentiles, as to include the Jews, who thought themselves exempted.
No doubt the Gentiles are included, but the special object of the Apostle
evidently seems to prevent the Jews from supposing that they were not
included. In no other way can the connection between the two parts of
the verse be understood. — Ed.
CHAP. III. 20. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 131
The addition of the word law induced Chrysostom, Origen,
and Jerome to assent to the latter opinion -^ for they thought
that there is a peculiar intimation in this appendage, that
the expression should not be understood as including all
works. But this difficulty may be very easily removed : for
seeing works are so far just before God as we seek by them
to render to him worship and obedience, in order expressly
to take away the power of justifying from all works, he has
mentioned those, if there be any, which can possibly justify ;
for the law hath promises, without which there would be no
value in our works before God. You hence see the reason
why Paul expressly mentioned the works of the law ; for it
is by the law that a reward is apportioned to works. Nor
was this unknown to the schoolmen, who held it as an ap-
proved and common maxim, that works have no intrinsic
worthiness, but become meritorious by covenant. And
though they were mistaken, inasmuch as they saw not that
works are ever polluted with vices, which deprive them of
any merit, yet this principle is still true, that the reward for
works depends on the free promise of the law. Wisely then
and rightly does Paul speak here ; for he speaks not of
mere works, but distinctly and expressly refers to the keep-
ing of the law, the subject which he is discussing.^
' The original is " ut in priorem opinionem concederent :" but the con-
text shows clearly that "priorem" is a misprint for " posteriorem." In
addition to the authors mentioned here may be added Ambrose, Thcodorct,
Pelagius, Erasmus, and Grotius. And yet, notwithstanding all those
authorities, the opinion referred to is wholly inconsistent with the reason-
ing of the Apostle here and throughout the whole Epistle. It has. indeed
been given up as untenable by modern authors of the same school, such as
Locke, Whitby, and Macknight.
To disprove this notion it is sufficient to notice the sins which the
Apostle had referred to ; they are not those against the ceremonial but the
moral law, and it is because the moral law is transgressed that it cannot
justify.
" If there be any law which man has perfectly kept, he may doubtless
be justified by it ; and surely no man can be justified by a law which con-
demns him for breaking it. Bvxt there is no law of God which any man
has kept ; therefore no law by the deeds of which a man can be justified.
The Gentile broke the law of his reason and conscience ; the Jew broke
the moral law ; and even the attempt to justify himself by observing the
ceremonial law, contradicted the very nature and intent of it." — Scott.
" The argument and the reasoning of the Apostle seem to require that
ll'i^yav vofiou should be rendered here literally, "by works of law," without
the article, as the word " law " seems here, according to the drift of the
132 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. III. 20.
As to those tilings which have been adduced by learned
men in defence of this opinion, they are weaker than they
might have been. They think that by mentioning circum-
cision, an example is propounded, which belonged to cere-
monies only: but why Paul mentioned circumcision, we
have alredy explained : for none swell more with confidence
in works than hypocrites, and we know that they glory only
in external masks ; and then circumcision, according to
their view, was a sort of initiation into the righteousness of
the law ; and hence it seemed to them a work of primary
excellence, and indeed the basis as it were of the righteous-
ness of works. — They also allege what is said in the Epistle
to the Galatians, Avliere Paul handles the same subject, and
refers to ceremonies only ; but that also is not sufficiently
strong to support what they wish to defend. It is certain that
Paul had a controversy w'itli those wdio inspired the people
with a false confidence in ceremonies ; that he might cut off"
this confidence, he did not confine himself to ceremonies,
nor did he speak specifically of what value they were ; but
he included the whole law, as it is evident from those pas-
sages which are derived from that source. Such also was
the character of the disputation held at Jerusalem by the
discii^les.
But we contend, not without reason, that Paul speaks
here of the whole law ; for we are abundantly supported by
the thread of reasoning which he has hitherto followed and
continues to follow, and there are many other passages which
will not allow us to think otherwise. It is therefore a truth,
which deserves to be remembered as the first in import-
ance,— that by keeping the law no one can attain righteous-
ness. He had before assigned the reason, and he will repeat
it presently again, and that is, that all, being to a man
guilty of transgression, are condemned for unrighteousness
by the law. And these two things — to be justified by
argument, to mean law in general, both natural and revealed ; and ?'«
t'l/^ou in the next clause must be regarded as having the same meaning ;
the law of nature as well as the written law, though not to the same ex-
tent, makes sin known. This is the view taken bj Parens, Doddridge,
Mackniglit, Stuart, and Haldane. — Ed.
CHAP. III. 20. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 133
works — and to be guilty of transgressions, (as we sliall show
more at large as we proceed,) are wholly inconsistent the one
with the- other. — The word fiesh, without some particular
specification, signifies men •} though it seems to convey a
meaning somewhat more general, as it is more expressive to
say, " All mortals,'' than to say, " All men," as you may
see in Gallius.
For by the law, &c. He reasons from what is of an oppo-
site character, — that righteousness is not brought to us by
the law, because it convinces us of sin and condemns us ;
for life and death proceed not from the same fountain.
And as he reasons from the contrary effect of the law, that
it cannot confer righteousness on us, let us know, that the
argument does not otherwise hold good, except we hold this
as an inseparable and unvarying circumstance, — that by
showing to man his sin, it cuts off the hope of salvation. It
is indeed by itself, as it teaches us what righteousness is,
the way to salvation : but our depravity and con-uption pre-
vent it from being in this respect of any advantage to us.
It is also necessary in the second place to add this, — that
whosoever is found to be a sinner, is dej)rived of righteous-
ness ; for to devise with the sophisters a half kind of righte-
ousness, so that works in part justify, is frivolous: but nothing
is in this respect gained, on account of man's corruption.
21. But now the righteousness of 21. Nunc autem sine Legejusti-
God Avithout the law^ is manifested, tia Dei manifesta est, testimonio
being witnessed by the law and the comprobata Legis et prophetarum ;
prophets ;
1 The expression h ou...vra(ra. irk^l — not all, that is, not any flesh, &c. ;
the word ^rSc-a, like ?3 in Hebrew, is used here in the sense of " any."
The Sentence bears a resemblance to what is contained in Fs. cxliii. 2,
" for justified before thee shall not aU living," or, not any one living,
TI 73... X?. The sentence here is literally, " Hence by works of law shall
not be justified any flesh before Him." — Ed.
^ Here again it is better, and indeed necessary for the Apostle's argu-
ment, to render x.'^^'s vof^ov, « without law," that is, without any law,
either natural or revealed. The same sentiment is found in Gal. iii. 21 —
" For if a law had been given, capable of giving life, truly righteous would
have been by law (sx v'of^ou.y The version of Macknigld seems just,
" But now a righteousness of God without law is discovered." But we
may retain the tense (^■jrtipa^iipura.i) " has been discovered," or manifested,
or made known. " A righteousness of God without law," is a similar
134 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. III. 21.
22. Even the righteousness of 22. Justitia, inquam, Dei per fi-
God which is by faith of Jesus Christ dem lesu Christi, in omnes et super
unto all and upon all them that be- onnies credentes ; non est sane dis-
lieve ; for there is no difference : tinctio :
21. But now luithout the law, &c. It is not certain for
what distinct reason he calls that the righteousness of God,
which we obtain by faith ; whether it be, because it can
alone stand before God, or because the Lord in his mercy
confers it on us. As both interpretations are suitable, we
contend for neither. This righteousness then, which God
communicates to man, and accepts alone, and owns as right-
eousness, has been revealed, he says, without the law, that is,
without the aid of the- law ; and the law is to be understood
as meaning works ; for it is not proper to refer this to its
teaching, which he immediately adduces as bearing witness
to the gratuitous righteousness of faith. Some confine it to
ceremonies ; but this view I shall presently sliow to be un-
sound and frigid. We ought then to know, that the merits
of works are excluded. We also see that he blends not
works with the mercy of God ; but having taken away and
wholly removed all confidence in works, he sets up mercy
alone.
It is not unknown to me, that Augustine gives a dififerent
explanation ; for he thinks that the righteousness of God is
the grace of regeneration ; and this grace he allows to be
free, because God renews us, when unworthy, by his Spirit ;
and from this he excludes the works of the law, that is,
those works, by which men of themselves endeavour, without
renovation, to render God indebted to them. {Deum prome-
reri — to oblige God.) I also wellknow, that some new
speculators proudly adduce this sentiment, as though it were
at this day revealed to them. But that the Apostle includes
all works without exception, even those which the Lord pro-
duces in his own people, is evident from the context.
For no doubt Abraham was regenerated and led by the
Spirit of God at the time when he denied that he was justi-
phrase to " the righteousness of God by faith," in ch. i. 17. — Then in the
following clause the " law" means not specifically the law of Moses, but the
Old Testament, excepting the Prophets. — Ed.
CHAP. III. 21. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 135
fied by works. Hence lie excluded from man's justification
not only works morally good, as they commonly call them,
and such as are done by the impulse of nature, but also all
those which even the faithful can perform.^ Again, since
this is a definition of the righteousness of faith, " Blessed are
they whose iniquities are forgiven," there is no question to
be made about this or tliat kind of work ; but the merit of
works beinff abolished, the remission of sins alone is set
down as the cause of righteousness.
They think that these two things well agree, — that man
is justified by faith through the grace of Christ, — and that
he is yet justified by the works, which proceed from spiritual
regeneration ; for God gratuitously renews us, and we also
receive his gift by faith. But Paul takes up a very different
principle, — that the consciences of men will never be tran-
quillized until they recumb on the mercy of God alone.
Hence, in another place, after having taught us that God is
in Christ justifying men, he expresses the manner, — " By
not imputing to them their sins." In like manner, in his
Epistle to the Galatians, he puts the law in opposition to
faith with regard to justification ; for the law promises life
to those who do what it commands, (Gal. iii. 12 ;) and it re-
quires not only the outward performance of works, but also
sincere love to God. It hence follows, that in tlie righteous-
ness of faith, no merit of works is allowed. It then appears
^ Professor Hodge very justly observes, " It never was the doctrine of
the Eefornmtion, or of the Lutheran and Calvinistic divines, that the
imputation of righteousness affected the moral character of those con-
cerned. It is true," he adds, "whom God justifies he also sanctifies;
but justification is not sanctification, and the imputation of righteousness is
not the infusion of righteousness." — Ed.
2 " The foundation of yom- trust before God, must be either your own
righteousness out and out, or the righteousness of Chi'ist out and out...
If you are to lean upon your own merit, lean upon it wholly — if you are
to lean upon Christ, lean upon him wholly. The two will not amalga-
mate together : and it is the attempt to do so, which keeps many a weary
and heavy-laden inquirer at a distance from rest, and at a distance from
the truth of the gospel. Maintain a clear and consistent postm-e. Stand
not before God with one foot upon a rock and the other upon a treacher-
ous quicksand... We call upon you not to lean so much as the Aveight of
one grain or scruple of your confidence upon your own doings — to leave
this ground entirely, and to come over entirely to the ground of a Re-
deemer's blood and a Redeemer's righteousness." — Dr. Chalmers.
13G COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. III. 21.
evident, that it is but a frivolous sopliistry to say, that we
are justified in Christ, because we are renewed by the
Spirit, inasmuch as we are the members of Christ, — that we
are justified by faith, because we are united by faith to the
body of Christ, — that we are justified freely, because God
finds nothing in us but sin.
But we are in Christ, because we are out of ourselves ; and
justified hj faith, because we must recumb on the mercy of
God alone, and on his gratuitous promises ; and freely, be-
cause God reconciles us to himself by burying our sins.
Nor can this indeed be confined to the commencement of
justification, as they dream ; for this definition — " Blessed
are they whose iniquities are forgiven" — was applicable to
David, after he had long exercised himself in the service of
God ; and Abraham, thirty years after his call, though a re-
markable example of holiness, had yet no works for Avhich he
could glory before God, and hence his faith in the promise
was imputed to him for righteousness ; and when Paul teaches
us that God justifies men by not imputing their sins, he
quotes a passage, which is daily repeated in the Church,
Still more, the conscience, by which we are disturbed on the
score of works, performs its office, not for one day only, but
continues to do so through life. It hence follows that we
cannot remain, even to death, in a justified state, excejit we
look to Christ only, in whom God has adopted us, and re-
gards us now as accepted. Hence also is their sophistry
confuted, who falsely accuse us of asserting, that according
to Scripture we are justified by faith only, while the exclu-
sive word onli/, is nowhere to be found in Scripture. But if
justification depends not either on the law, or on ourselves,
why should it not be ascribed to mercy alone ? and if it be
from mercy only, it is then by faith only.
The particle wow may be taken adversatively, and not with
reference to time ; as we often use now for hut} But if you
prefer to regard it as an adverb of time, I willingly admit it,
* " The words but now may be regarded merely as marking the transi-
tion from one paragraph to another, or as a designation of tense ; now, i.e.,
under the gospel dispensation. In favour of this view is the phrase, " to
declare at this tiine liis righteousness, verse 26." — Hodge.
CHAP. III. 21. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 137
SO that tliere may be no room to suspect an evasion ; yet the
abrogation of ceremonies alone is not to be understood ; for
it was only the design of the Apostle to illustrate by a com-
parison the grace by which we excel the fathers. Then the
meaning is, that by the preaching of the gospel, after the
appearance of Christ in the flesh, the righteousness of faith
was revealed. It does not, however, hence follow, that it
was hid before the coming of Christ ; for a twofold mani-
festation is to be here noticed : the first in the Old Testa-
ment, which was by the word and sacraments ; the other in
the New, which contains the completion of ceremonies and
promises, as exhibited in Christ himself: and we may add,
that by the gospel it has received a fuller brightness.
Being j^roved [or a2)2iroved] by the testimony^ &c. He
adds this, lest in the conferring of free righteousness the
gospel should seem to militate against the law. As then he
has denied that the righteousness of faith needs the aid of
the law, so now he asserts that it is confirmed by its testi-
mony. If then the law afibrds its testimony to gratuitous
righteousness, it is evident that the law was not given for
this end, to teach men how to obtain righteousness b}^ works.
Hence they pervert it, who turn it to answer any purpose of
this kind. And further, if you desire a proof of this truth,
examine in order the chief things taught by Moses, and you
will find that man, being cast from the kingdom of God, had
no other restoration from the beginning than that contained
in the evangelical promises through the blessed seed, by
whom, as it had been foretold, the serpent's head was to be
bruised, and through whom a blessing to the nations had
been promised : you will find in the commandments a de-
monstration of your iniqviity, and from the sacrifices and
oblations you may learn that satisfaction and cleansing are
to be obtained in Christ alone.^ When you come to the Pro-
' "Testimonio comprobata," &c., so Beza and Parens render fia^rv^ou-
(iivti ; « Being attested," Doddridge ; " Being testified," Macknight.
Scldeusner gives a paraphrase, " Being predicted and promised ;" and this
no doubt is the full meaning. — Ed.
^ Concurrent with what is said here is this striking and condensed pas-
sage from Scott, — " It has been witnessed by the law and the Prophets ;
the ceremonies typified it ; the very strictness of the moral law and its a\\ ful
188 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. III. 22.
phets you will find the clearest promises of gratuitous mercy.
On this subject see my Institutes.
22. Even the righteousness of God, &c.^ He shows in few
words what this justification is, even that which is found in
Christ and is apprehended by faith. At the same time, by
introducing again the name of God, he seems to make God
the founder, (autorem, the author,) and not only the approver
of the righteousness of which he speaks ; as though he had
said, that it flows from him alone, or that its origin is from
heaven, but that it is made manifest to us in Christ.
When therefore we discuss this subject, we ought to pro-
ceed in this way : First, the question respecting our justi-
fication is to be referred, not to the judgment of men, but to
the judgment of God, before whom nothing is counted right-
eousness, but perfect and absolute obedience to the law ;
which appears clear from its promises and threatenings : if
no one is found who has attained to such a perfect measure
of holiness, it follows that all are in themselves destitute of
righteousness. Secondly, it is necessary that Christ should
come to our aid ; who, being alone just, can render us just
b}' transferring to us his own righteousness. You now see
how the righteousness of faith is the righteousness of Christ.
When therefore we are justified, the eflficient cause is the
mercy of God, the meritorious is Christ, the instrumental is
tlie word in connection with faith.^ Hence faith is said to
justify, because it is the instrument by which w^e receive
Christ, in whom righteousness is conveyed to us. Having
curses, being compared witli the promises of mercy to sinners, implied it ;
the promises and predictions of the Messiah bore witness to it ; the faith
and hope of ancient believers recognised it ; and the whole Old Testament,
rightly understood, taught men to expect and depend on it." — Ed.
> The words which follow, lia, vlirTia; 'ina-od x^iffTou, " by or through the
faith of Jesus Christ," mean not the fiiith which is his, but the faith of
which he is the object. They ought to be rendered " through faith in
Jesus Christ." The genitive case has often this meaning: " E;^;£T£ ■^'io-tiv
esou^Have faith in (of) God," Mark xi. 22 ; " Ev ■riimi ^^ rti toZ v\ov rod
6boZ — I live by the faith of the Son of God ;" it should be in our language,
" I live by faith in the Son of God." This genitive case of the object is
an Hebraism, and is of fi-equent occurrence. — Ed.
^ The original is this, " Ut ergo justificemur, causa efficiens est miseri-
cordia Dei, Christus materia, verbum cum fide instrumentum — When there-
fore we are justified, the efficient cause is God's mercy, Christ is the ma-
terial, the word with faith is the instrument." — Ed,
CHAP. III. 23. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 139
been made partakers of Christ, we ourselves are not only
just, but our works also are counted just before God, and for
this reason, because whatever imperfections there may be in
them, are obliterated by the blood of Christ ; the promises,
which are conditional, are also by the same grace fulfilled
to us ; for God rewards our works as perfect, inasmuch as
their defects are covered by free pardon.
Unto all and upon all,^ &c. For the sake of amplifying,
he repeats the same thing in different forms ; it was, that
he might more fully express what we have already heard,
that faith alone is required, that the faithful are not dis-
tinguished by external marks, and that hence it matters not
whether they be Gentiles or Jews.
23. For all have sinned, and 23. Omnes enim peccaverunt, et
come short of the glory of God : destituuntur gloria Dei ;
24. Being justified freely by his 24. Justificati gratis ipsius gratia
grace, through the redemption that per redemptionem quae est in Christo
is in Christ Jesus ; lesu :
25. Whom God hath set forth to 25. Quem proposuit Deus propi-
he a propitiation throvigh faith in his tiatorium per fidem in sanguine
blood, to declare his righteousness ipsius, in demonstrationem justitise
for the remission of sins that are past, sute, propter remissionem delicto-
through the forbearance of God ; rum,
26. To declare, / srtj/, at this time 26. Quae prius extiterunt in to-
his righteousness ; that he might be lerantia Dei ; ad demonstrationem
just, and the justifler of him which justitise suae, in hoc tempore ; ut sit
believeth in Jesus. ipse Justus et justificans eum qui est
ex fide lesu.
There is indeed no diffei^ence, &c. He urges on all, with-
out exception, the necessity of seeking righteousness in
Christ ; as though he had said, " There is no other way of
attaining righteousness ; for some cannot be justified in this
1 Ei'f -ra'/rocg xai iTi 'prdcvra;. He makes a similar difference in his expres-
sions in verse 30. This righteousness, as some say, came to the Jews, as
it had been promised to them, and upon the Gentiles, as a gift with which
they were not acquainted, and it was conferred on them. But the posses-
sion was equal and belonged to all who believed, and to none else, whether
Jews or Gentiles.
Stuart connects these words with " manifested," or revealed, in verse 21.
It is manifested to all, and manifested ybr all; that is, for the real benefit
of all who believe ; in other words, it is offered to all, but becomes of real
advantage only to those who believe. But the simpler mode is to consider
the words which is, as in our version, to be understood. 'E^x'f^'^'"^ is the
word which Luther adopts. — Ed.
40 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. III. 24.
and others In that way; but all must alike be justified by
faith, because all are sinners, and therefore have nothing for
which they can glory before God.'' But he takes as granted
that every one, conscious of his sin, when he comes before the
tribunal of God, is confounded and lost under a sense of his
own shame; so that no sinner can bear the presence of God, as
we see an example in the case of Adam. He again brings
forward a reason taken from the opposite side ; and hence
we must notice what follows. Since we are all sinners, Paul
concludes, that we are deficient in, or destitute of, the praise
due to righteousness. There is then, according to what he
teaches, no righteousness but what is perfect and absolute.
Were there indeed such a thing as half righteousness, it
would yet be necessary to deprive the sinner entirely of all
glory : and hereby the figment of partial righteousness, as
they call it, is sufficiently confuted ; for if it were true that
we are justified in part by works, and in part by grace, this
argument of Paul would be of no force — that all are deprived
of the glory of God because they are sinners. It is then
certain, there is no righteousness where there is sin, until
Christ removes the curse ; and this very thing is what is
said in Gal. iii. 10, that all who are under the law are ex-
posed to the curse, and that we are delivered from it through
the kindness of Christ. The glory of God I take to mean
the approbation of God, as in John xii. 43, where it is said,
that " they loved the glory of men more than the glory of
God." And thus he summons us from the applause of a
human court to the tribunal of heaven.^
24. Being justified freely, &c. A participle is here put
for a verb according to the usage of the Greek language.
^ Beza gives another view, that the verb virrt^ouvTai, refers to those who
run a race, and reach not the goal, and lose the prize. The " glory of
God" is the happiness which he bestows ; (see ch. v. 2 ;) of this all man-
kind come short, however much some seemed to labour for it ; and it can
only be attained by faith. Parens, Locke, and Whitby give the same view.
Others consider it to be " the glory" due to God, — that all come short of
rendering him the service and honour which he justly demands and re-
quires. So Doddridge, Scott, and Chalmers. But Melancthon, Grotiiis,
and Macknight seemed to have agreed with Calvin in regarding " glory"
here as the praise or approbation that comes from God. The second view
seems the most appropriate, according to what is said in ch. i. 21, " they
glorified him not as God." — Ed.
CHAP. III. 24. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 141
The meaning is, — that since there remains nothing for men,
as to themselves, but to perish, being smitten by the just
judgment of God, they are to be justified freely through his
mercy ; for Christ comes to the aid of this misery, and com-
municates himself to believers, so that they find in him
alone all those things in which they are wanting. There is,
perhaps, no passage in the whole Scripture which illustrates
in a more striking manner the efficacy of his righteousness ;
for it shows that God's mercy is the efficient cause, that
Christ with his blood is the meritorious cause, that the for-
mal or instrumental cause is faith in the word, and that,
moreover, the final cause is the glory of the divine justice
and goodness.
With regard to the efficient cause, he says, that we are
justified freely, and further, by his grace ; and he thus re-
peats the word to show that the whole is from God, and
nothing from us. It might have been enough to oppose
grace to merits ; but lest we should imagine a half kind of
grace, he affirms more strongly what he means by a repeti-
tion, and claims for God's mercy alone the whole glory of our
righteousness, which the sophists divide into parts and muti-
late, that tliey may not be constrained to confess their own
poverty. — Through the i^edemption, &c. This is the material,
— Christ by his obedience satisfied the Father's justice, (ju-
dicium— judgment,) and by undertaking our cause he liber-
ated us from the tyranny of death, by which we were held
captive ; as on account of the sacrifice which he offered is
our guilt removed. Here again is fully confuted the gloss
of those who make righteousness a quality ; for if we are
counted righteous before God, because we are redeemed by
a price, we certainly derive from another what is not in us.
And Paul immediately explains more clearly what this re-
demption is, and what is its object, which is to reconcile us
to God ; for he calls Christ a propitiation, (or, if we prefer an
allusion to an ancient type,) a propitiatory. But what he
means is, that we are not otherwise just than through Christ
propitiating the Father for us. But it is necessary for us to
examine the words.^
' On this word /xao-TJig/ov, both Venema, in his Notes on the Comment of
142 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. III. 25.
25. Whom God hath set forth, &c. The Greek verb, irpori-
6evai, means sometimes to determine beforehand, and some-
times to set forth. If the first meaning be taken, Paul refers
to the gratuitous mercy of God, in having appointed Christ
as our Mediator, that he might appease the Father by the
sacrifice of his death : nor is it a small commendation of
God's grace that he, of his own good will, sought out a way
by which he might remove our curse. According to this
view, the passage fully harmonizes with that in John iii. 16,
" God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten
Son." Yet if we embrace this meaning, it w' ill remain still
true, that God hath set him forth in due time, whom he had
appointed as a Mediator. There seems to be an allusion in
the word, IXacrTriptov, as I have said, to the ancient propiti-
atory ; for he teaches us that the same thing was really ex-
hibited in Christ, which had been previously typified. As,
however, the other view cannot be disproved, should any
Stephamts cle Brals on this Epistle, and Professor Stuart, have long re-
marks. They both agree as to the meaning of the word as found in the
Septuagint and in Greek authors, but they disagree as to its iniport here.
It means uniformly in the Septuagint, the mercy-seat, mSD, and, as it
is in the form of an adjective, it has at least once, (Ex. xxv. 17,) s^r/Vs^a,
cover, added to it. But in the Classics it means a propitiatory sacrifice,
the word fu/u.a., a sacrifice, being understood ; but it is used by itself as
other words of similar termination are. It is foimd also in Josephus and
in Maccabees in this sense. It appears that Origen, Theodoret, and other
Fathers, and also Erasmus, Luther, and Locke, take the first meaning —
mercy-seat ; and that Grotius, Eisner, Turrettin, Bos, and Tholuck, take
the second meaning — a propitiatory sacrifice. Now as both meanings
are legitimate, which of them are we to take ? Venema and Stuart allude
to one thing which much favours the latter view, that is, the phrase Iv t»
al/j.a.Ti alTov ; and the latter says, that it would be incongruous to represent
Christ himself as the mercy-seat, and to represent him also as sprinkled
by his own blood ; but that it is appropriate to say that a propitiatory
sacrifice was made by his blood. The verb T^oihro, set forth, it is added,
seems to support the same view. To exhibit a mercy-seat is certainly
not suitable language in this connection.
Pareus renders it " placamentum — atonement," hoc est, " placatorem,"
that is, " atoner, or expiator." Bezas version is the same — :" placamen-
tum ;" Doddridge has " propitiation," and Macknight, " a propitiatory,"
and Schleusner, " expiatorem — expiator."
The word occurs in one other place with the neuter article, to 'iXairTr,^icv,
Heb. ix. 5 ; where it clearly means the mercy-seat. It is ever accompanied
with the article in the Septuagint, when by itself, see Lev. xvi. 2, 13-15;
but here it is Avithout the article, and may be viewed as an adjective de-
pendent on Sv, " whom," and rendered propitiator. Had the mercy-seat
been intended, it woidd have been to Ixacrrr.^Kiv. — Ed.
CHAP. III. 25. EPISTLE TO THE BOMANS. 143
prefer it, I shall not undertake to decide the question. What
Paul especially meant here is no doubt evident from his
words ; and it was this, — that God, without having- regard
to Christ, is always angry with us, — and that we are recon-
ciled to him when we are accepted through his righteousness.
God does not indeed hate in us his own workmanship, that
is, as we are formed men ; but he hates our uncleanness,
which has extinguished the light of his image. When the
washing of Christ cleanses this away, he then loves and em-
braces us as his own pure workmanship.
A propitiation through faith in his blood, &c. I prefer
thus literally to retain the language of Paul ; for it seems
indeed to me that he intended, by one single sentence, to
declare that God is j^ropitious to us as soon as we have our
trust resting on the blood of Christ ; for by faith we come
to the possession of this benefit. But by mentioning blood
only, he did not mean to exclude other things connected
with redemption, but, on the contrary, to include the whole
under one word : and he mentioned " blood," because by it
we are cleansed. Thus, by taking a part for the whole, he
points out the whole work of expiation. For, as he had said
before, that God is reconciled in Christ, so he now adds, that
this I'econciliation is obtained by faith, mentioning, at the
same time, what it is that faith ought mainly to regard in
Christ — his blood.
For {propter) the remission of sins ^ &c. The casual pre-
1 The words are, Sia tj?v ■^o.^ktiv. They seem connected, not with the first
clause, but with the one immediately preceding ; and ?'« may be rendered
here in; see a note on ch. ii. 26 ; or more properly, perhaps, on account
of. " For a proof of his own righteousness in passing by the sins," &c.,
Macknight ; " In order to declare his justification with respect to the re-
mission of sins," Stuart.
What is God's "righteousness" here has been variously explained.
Some regard it his righteousness in fulfilling his promises, as Beza ; others,
his righteousness in Christ to believers, mentioned in ch. i. 17, as Augus-
tine ; and others, his righteousness as the God of rectitude and justice, as
Chrysostom. Some, too, as Grotius, view it as meaning goodness or
mercy, regarding the word as having sometimes this sense.
It is the context that can help us to the right meaning. God exhibited
his Son as a propitiation, to set forth this righteousness; and this right-
eousness is connected with the remission of, or rather, as the word means,
the pretention of or connivance at sins committed under the old dispensa-
tion : and those sins were connived at through the forbearance of God, he
144 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. III. 25.
position imports as much as though he had said, " for the
sake of remission," or, " to this end, that he might blot out
sins." And this definition or explanation again confirms
what I have already often reminded you, — that men are
pronounced just, not because they are such in reality, but
by imputation : for he only uses various modes of expression,
that he might more clearly declare, that in this righteous-
ness there is no merit of ours ; for if Ave obtain it by the
remission of sins, we conclude that it is not from ourselves ;
and further, since remission itself is an act of God's bounty
alone, every merit falls to the ground.
It may, however, be asked, why he confines pardon to
preceding sins ? Though this passage is variously explained,
yet it seems to me probable that Paul had regard to the
legal expiations, which were indeed evidences of a future
satisfaction, but could by no means pacify God. There is a
similar passage in Heb. ix. 15, where it is said, that by Christ
a redemption was brought from sins, which remained under
the former Testament, You arq not, however, to understand
that no sins but those of former times were expiated by the
death of Christ — a delirious notion, which some fanatics
not executing the punishment they deserved ; and the piu"pose is stated to
be, — that God might be or appear _;ms<, while he is the justifier of those who
believe in Christ. Now, what can this righteousness be but his adminis-
trative justice ? As the law allowed no remission, and God did remit sins,
there appeared to be a stain on divine justice. The exhibition of Christ
as an atonement is what alone removes it. And there is a word in the
former verse, as Venema justly observes, which tends to confirm this view,
and that Avord is redemption, a^oXuT^ucri;, which is a deliverance obtained
by a ransom, or by a price, such as justice requires.
Both Doddridge and Scott regard the passage in this light ; and the
latter gives the following version of it, —
" Whom God hath before appointed to be a propitiation, through ftiith
in his blood, for a demonstration of his justice, on account of the
passing by of sins, that had been committed in former times,
through the forbearance of God ; / st«/, for a demonstration of his
justice, in this present time, in order that he might be just, and the
justifier of him that believeth in Jesus." — Nothing can be clearer
than this version.
The last words are rightly rendered, though not literally ; rov Ix Tla-nas
'ifitrov — " liim of the faith of Jesus," or, " him of faith in Jesus." Him of
faith is him who believes, as to7; ovk \k -ri^tTofirn — "them not of circum-
cision," means "them who are not circumcised," ch. iv. 12; and ■roli £|
i^ih'ias — " those of contention," signifies, " those who contend," or, are con-
tentious, ch. ii. 8. — Ed.
CHAP. III. 26. EPISTLE TO THE BOMANS. 145
liave drawn from a distorted view of this passage. For Paul
teaches us only this, — that until the death of Christ there
was no way of appeasing God, and that this was not done or
accomplished by the legal types : hence the reality was sus-
pended until the fulness of time came. We may further say,
tliat those tilings which involve us daily in guilt must be
regarded in the same light ; for there is but one true expi-
ation for all.
Some, in order to avoid what seems inconsistent, have
held that former sins are said to have been forgiven, lest
there should seem to be a liberty given to sin in future. It
is indeed true that no pardon is offered but for sins com-
mitted ; not that the benefit of redemi^tion fails or is lost,
when we afterwards fall, as Novatus and his sect dreamed,
but that it is the character of the dispensation of the gospel,
to set before him who will sin the judgment and wrath of
God, and before the sinner his mercy. But what I have
already stated is the real sense.
He adds, that this remission was through forbearance ;
and this I take simply to mean gentleness, which has stayed
the judgment of God, and suffered it not to burst forth to
our ruin, until he had at length received us into favour. But
there seems to be here also an implied anticipation of what
might be said ; that no one might object, and say that this
favour had only of late appeared. Paul teaches us, that it
was an evidence of forbearance.
26. For a demonstration,^ &c. The repetition of this clause
1 There is a different preposition used here, ^r^os, while ^U is found in
the preceding verse. The meaning seems to be the same ; for both pre-
positions are used to designate the design, end, or object of any thing.
This variety seems to have been usual with the Apostle ; similar instances
are found in ver. 22, as to lU and 1^;, and in ver. 80, as to 2» and §'«.
" By both," says WoJfius, " the final cause {causa finali^) is indicated."
Beza renders them both by the same preposition, ad, in Latin ; and Stuart
regards the two as equivalent. There is, perhaps, more refinement than
truth in what Parens says, — that u; intimates the proximate end — the
forgiveness of sins ; and w^o;, the final end — the glory of God in the exhi-
bition of his justice as well as of his mercy. There is, at the same time,
something in the passage which seems favom*able to this view. Two objects
are stated at the end of the passage, — that God might appear just, and be
also the justifier of such as believe. The last may refer to 'us, and the
former to wgos ; and this is consistent with the usual style of the Apostle ;
K
146 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. III. 26.
is empliatical ; and Paul designedly made it, as it was very-
needful ; for nothing is more difficult than to persuade man
that he ought to disclaim all things as his own, and to
ascribe them all to God. At the same time mention was
intentionally made twice of this demonstration, that the Jews
might open their eyes to behold it. — At this time, &c. What
had been ever at all times, he applies to the time when Christ
was revealed, and not without reason ; for what was formerly
known in an obscure manner under shadows, God openly
manifested in his Son. So the coming of Christ was the
time of his good pleasure, and the day of salvation. God
had indeed in all ages given some evidence of his righteous-
ness ;ebut it appeared far brighter when the sun of right-
eousness slione. Noticed, then, ought to be the comparison
between the Old and the New Testament ; for then only was
revealed the righteousness of God when Christ appeared.
That he might he just, &c. This is a definition of that
righteousness which he has declared was revealed when
Christ was given, and which, as he has taught us in the Jfirst
chapter, is made known in the gospel : and he affirms that
it consists of two parts — The first is, that God is just, not
indeed as one among many, but as one who contains within
himself all fulness of righteousness ; for complete and full
praise, such as is due, is not otherwise given to him, but
when he alone obtains the name and the honour of being
just, while the whole human race is condemned for injus-
tice : and then the other part refers to the comrawiication
of righteousness ; for God by no means keeps his riches
laid up in himself, but pours them forth upon men. Then
the righteousness of God shines in us, whenever he justifies
us by faith in Christ ; for in vain were Christ given us for
righteousness, unless there was the fruition of him by faith.
It hence follows, that all were unjust and lost in themselves,
until a remedy from heaven was off'ered to them.^
for, in imitation of the Prophets, where two things are mentioned in a
former clause, the order is reversed in the second. — Ed.
A parallel passage to this, including the two verses, 25 and 26, is
found in Heb. ix. 15 ; where a reference, as here, is made to the effect of
Christ's death as to the saints under the Old Testament. The same truth
is implied in other parts of Scripture, but not so expressly declared.
CHAP. III. 27. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 147
27. Where is boasting then ? It 27. Ubi ergo gloriatio?' exclusa
is excluded. By what law ? of works ? est. Per quam legem? operum ?
Nay : but by the law of faith. Nequaquam ; sed per legem tidei.
28. Therefore we conclude, that a 28. Constituimus ergo, fide justi-
man is justified by fiiith without the ficari hominem sine operibus Legis.
deeds of the law.
27. Where then is glorying ? The Apostle, after liaving,
with reasons abundantly strong, cast down men from their
confidence in works, now triumphs over their folly : and this
exulting conclusion was necessary ; for on this subject, to
teach us would not have been enough ; it was necessary that
the Holy Spirit should loudly thunder, in order to lay pro-
strate our loftiness. But he says that glorying is beyond all
doubt excluded, for we cannot adduce anything of our own,
which is worthy of being approved or commended by God.
If the material of glorj'ing be merit, whether you name that
of congruity or of condignity, by which man would conciliate
God, you see that both are here annihilated ; for he treats
not of the lessening or the modifying of merit, but Paul
leaves not a particle behind. Besides, since by faith glory-
ing in works is so taken away, that faith cannot be truly
preached, without wholly depriving man of all praise by
ascribing all to God's mercy — it follows, that we are assisted
by no works in obtaining righteousness.
Oficorhs ? In what sense does the Apostle deny here,
that our merits are excluded by the law, since he has before
proved that we are condemned by the law ? for if the law
delivers us over to death, what glorying can we obtain from
it ? Does it not on the contrary deprive us of all glorying
and cover us with shame ? He then indeed showed, that
our sin is laid open by what the law declares, for the keep-
ing of it is what we have all neglected : but he means here,
that were righteousness to be had by the law of works, our
Stuai^t makes here an important remark— that if the death of Christ be
regarded only as that of a martyr or as an example of constancy, how then
could its efficacy be referred to " sins that are past ?" In no other way
than as a vicarious death could it possibly have any effect on past sins, not
punished through God's forbearance. — Ed.
^ Gloriatio — x.a.vxwis — glorying — boasting or rejoicing. '•' The result of
the gospel plan of salvation is to prevent all self-approbation, self-gratula-
tion and exaltation on the part of the sinner." — Hodge.
148 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. III. 28.
glorying would not be excluded ; but as it is by faith alone,
there is nothing that we can claim for ourselves ; for faith
receives all from God, and brings nothing except an humble
confession of want.
This contrast between faith and works ought to be care-
fully noticed : works are here mentioned without any limi-
tation, even works universally. Then he neither speaks of
ceremonies only, nor sj)ecifically of any external work, but
includes all the merits of works which can possibly be im-
agined.
The name of law is here, with no strict correctness, given
to faith : but this by no means obscures the meaning of the
Apostle ; for what he understands is, that when we come to
the rule of faith, the whole glorying in works is laid pro-
strate ; as though he said — " The righteousness of works is
indeed commended by the law, but that of faith has its
own law, which leaves to works, whatever they may be, no
righteousness."^
28. We then conclude, &c. He now draws the main propo-
sition, as one that is incontrovertible, and adds an explana-
tion. Justification by faith is indeed made very clear, while
works are expressly excluded. Hence, in nothing do our
adversaries labour more in the present day than in attempts
to blend faith with the merits of works. They indeed allow
that man is justified by faith ; but not by faith alone ; yea,
they place the efficac}^ of justification in love, though in
words they ascribe it to faith. But Paul affirms in this pas-
sage that justification is so gratuitous, that he makes it
quite evident, that it can by no means be associated with
the merit of works. Why he names the works of the law, I
' Grotius explains " law" here by " vivendi regula — rule of living ;"
Beza, by " doetrina — doctrine or teaching," according to the import of the
word miD in Hebrew ; and Parens takes " the law of works," metonynii-
cally, for M'orks themselves, and " the law of faith," for faith itself; and
he quotes these words of Theophi/lact, " The Apostle calls faith a law,
because the word, law, was in high veneration among the Jews." He uses
the terra, law, in a similar manner in chap. viii. 2, " The law of the spirit
of life," &c. " He calls here the gospel ' the law of faith,' because faith is
the condition of the gospel covenant, as perfect obedience was the condition
of the covenant of nature and of that of Moses, (conditio foederis naturalis
et foederis Mos&ici.y '—Turrcttin.
CHAP. III. 29. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 149
liave already explained ; and I have also j^rovcd tliat it is
quite absurd to confine tliem to ceremonies. Frigid also is
the gloss, that works are to be taken for those which are
outward, and done without the Spirit of Christ. On the
contrary, the word laiu that is added, means the same as
though he called them meritorious ; for what is referred to
is the reward promised in the law.^
"What James says, that man is not justified by faith alone,
but also by works, does not at all militate against the pre-
ceding view. The reconciling of tlie two views depends
chiefly on the drift of the argument pursued by James. For
the question with him is not, how men attain righteousness
before God, but how they prove to others that they are jus-
tified ; for his object was to confute hypocrites, who vainly
boasted that they had faith. Gross then is the sophistry,
not to admit that the word, to justify, is taken in a different
sense by James, from that in which it is used by Paul ; for
they handle different subjects. The word, faith, is also no
doubt capable of various meanings. These two things must
be taken to the account, before a correct judgment can be
formed on the point. We may learn from the context, that
James meant no more than that man is not made or proved
to be just by a feigned or dead faith, and that he must prove
his righteousness by his works. See on this subject my In-
stitutes.
29. /s/ie the God of the Jews only? 29. Num ludseorum Deus tan-
is he not also of the Gentiles? Yes, turn? an non et Gentium? certe et
of the Gentiles also: Gentium.
30. Seeing it is one God- which shall 30. Quandoquidem unus Deus, qui
justify the circumcision by faith, and justificabit circumcisionem ex fide, et
uncircumcision through faith. prseputium per fidem.
29. Is he the God of the Jews only ? The second proposi-
tion is, that this righteousness belongs no more to the Jews
than to the Gentiles : and it was a great matter that this
^ The phrase, x'^S's t^yav v'ofiov, may be rendered, " without the works of
law," that is, either natural or revealed ; for Gentiles as "well as Jews are
here contemplated. — Ed.
- eJ"; 0 ^io; — nims Deus. Elf here means the same, see 1 Cor. iii. 8 ; or
if it be rendered one, it refers to God as being one in his purpose, and as to
the way of salvation. See Zech. xiv. 9. — Ed.
150 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. III. 30.
point should be urged, in order that a free passage might
be made for the kingdom of Christ through the whole world.
He does not then ask simply or expressly, whether God was
the Creator of the Gentiles, which was admitted without any
disj)ute ; but whether he designed to manifest himself as a
Saviour also to them. As he had put all mankind on a
level, and brought them to the same condition, if there be
any difference between them, it is from God, not from them-
selves, who have all things alike : but if it be true that God
designs to make all the nations of the earth partakers of his
mercy, then salvation, and righteousness, which is necessary
for salvation, must be extended to all. Hence under the
name, God, is conveyed an intimation of a mutual relation-
ship, which is often mentioned in Scripture, — " I shall be to
you a God, and you shall be to me a people." (Jer. xxx. 22.)
For the circumstance, that God, for a time, chose for him-
self a peculiar peoj^le, did not make void the origin of man-
kind, who were all formed after the image of God, and were
to be brought up in the world in the hope of a blessed eter-
nity.
SO. ^Yho shall justify^ &c. In saying that some are justi-
fied by faith, and some through faith, he seems to have in-
dulged himself in varying his language, while he expresses
the same thing, and for this end, — that he might, by the
way, touch on^the folly of the Jcavs, who imagined a diifer-
ence between themselves and the Gentiles, though on the
subject of justification there was no difi'erence whatever ;
for since men became partakers of this grace by faith only,
and since faith in all is the same, it is absurd to make a dis-
tinction in what is so much alike. I am hence led to think
that there is something ironical in the words, as though he
said, — " If any wishes to have a difierence made between the
Gentile and tlie Jew, let him take this, — that the one ob-
tains righteousness hy faith, and the other through faith."
But it may be, that some will j>refer this distinction, — that
1 The future is used for the present — "who justifies," after the manner
of the Hebrew language, though some consider that the day of judgment is
referred to ; but he seems to speak of a present act, or as Grotius says, of
a continued act, which the Hebrews expressed by the future tense. — IJd.
CHAP. III. 31. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 151
the Jews were justified by faith, because they were born the
heirs of grace, as the right of adoption was transmitted to
them from the Fathers, — and that the Gentiles were justi-
fied through faith, because the covenant to them was adven-
titious.
31. Do we then make void the law 31. Legem igitur irritam fadmus
tlirough faith ? God forbid : yea, we per fidem ? Ne ita sit : sed Legem
establish the law. stabilimus.
81. Do tve then make, &c. Wlien the Law is opposed to
faith, the flesh immediately suspects that there is some con-
trariety, as though the one were adverse to .the other : and
this false notion prevails, especially among those who are
imbued with wrong ideas as to the law, and leaving the
promises, seek nothing else through it but the righteousness
of works. And on this account, not only Paul, but our
Lord himself, was evil sj)oken of by the Jews, as though in
all his preaching he aimed at the abrogation of the law.
Hence it was that he made this protest, — " I came not to
undo, but to fulfil the law.'' (Matt. v. 1 7.)
And this suspicion regards the moral as well as the cere-
monial law ; for as the gospel has put an end to the Mosaic
ceremonies, it is supposed to have a tendency to destroy the
whole dispensation of Moses. And further, as it sweeps
away all the righteousness of works, it is believed to be op-
j)osed to all those testimonies of the law, by which the Lord
has declared, that he has thereby prescribed the way of
righteousness and salvation. I therefore take this defence
of Paul, not only as to ceremonies, nor as to the command-
ments which are called moral, but with regard to the wdiole
law universally.^
1 The law here, no doubt means, the law of which mention is made in the
preceding verses — the law by the works of which we cannot be justified —
the law that is in this respect opposed to faith. To refer us for its mean-
ing to verses 20 and 21, as is done by Stuart, "is wholly imwarrantable,"
and to say that it means the Old Testament ; for this is to separate it from
its immediate connection without any satisfactory reason. Besides, such
an interpretation obliterates an important doctrine, that faith does not
render void, or nullify the authority, the use and sanctions of the moral
law, but on the contrary, sustains and confirms them. Though it does
what the law does not, and cannot do, inasmuch as it saves the sinner whom
152 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. III. 31.
For the moral law is in reality coniirmed and established
through faith in Christ, inasmuch as it was given for this
end — to lead man to Christ by showing him his iniquity ;
and without this it cannot be fulfilled, and in vain will it
require what ought to be done ; nor can it do anything but
irritate lust more and more, and thus finally increase man's
condemnation ; but where there is a coming to Christ, there
is first found in him the jjerfect righteousness of the law,
which becomes ours by imputation, and then there is sanc-
tification, by which our hearts are prej)ared to keei? the law;
it is indeed imperfectly done, but there is an aiming at the
work. Similar is the case with ceremonies, which indeed
cease and vanish away when Christ comes, but they are in
reality confirmed by him ; for when they are viewed in them-
selves they are vain and shadowy images, and then only do
they attain anything real and solid, when their end is re-
garded. In this then consists their chief confirmation, when
they have obtained their accomplishment in Christ. Let us
then also bear in mind, so to dispense the gospel that by our
mode of teaching the law may be confirmed ; but let it be
sustained by no other strength than that of faith in Christ.
CHAPTER IV.
1. What shall we then say that 1. Quid ergo dicemus, invenisse
Abraham, oiir father as pertaining Abraham patrem nostrum secundum
to the flesh, hath found ? carnem ?
2. For if Abraham were justified 2. Si enim Abraham ex operibus
by works, he hath ivhereof to glory, justificatus est, habet quo glorietur,
but not before God. sed non apud Deum.
3. For what saith the scripture ? 3. Quid enim Scriptura dicit ?
Abraham believed God, and it was Credidit Abraham Deo, et imputa-
counted unto him for righteousness. i turn est illi in justitiam.
the law condemns ; it yet effects this without relaxing or dishonouring the
law, but in a way that renders it, if possible, more binding, and more
honourable, and more illustrious. It only renders the passage more intri-
cate to include the ceremonial law, (for that has more of faith than of law
in it,) to which no reference is made in the context : but there seems to be
no objection to include the law of conscience, as well as the written law;
for faith confirms both, and the word " law," is here without the article,
though this indeed of itself is not decisive. The moral law, then, as well
as the law of conscience, is what is here intended : for the authority of both
is confirmed and strengthened by faith. — Ed.
* This chapter, as Turrettin observes, divides itself into three parts.
CHAP. IV. 1. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 153
1. What then, ka. This is a confirmation by example;
and it is a very strong one, since all things are alike with
regard to the subject and the person ; for he was the father
of the faithful, to whom wc ought all to be conformed ; and
there is also but one way and not many ways by which
righteousness may be obtained by all. In many other things
one example would not be sufficient to make a common rule ;
but as in the person of Abraham there was exhibited a
mirror and pattern of righteousness, which belongs in com-
mon to the whole Church, rightly does Paul apply what has
been written of him alone to the whole body of the Church,
and at the same time he gives a check to the Jews, who had
nothing more plausible to glory in than that they were the
children of Abraham ; and they could not have dared to
claim to themselves more holiness than what they ascribed
to the holy patriarch. Since it is then evident that he was
justified freely, his posterity, who claimed a righteousness of
their own by the law, ought to have been made silent even
through shame.
According to the flesh, &c. Between this clause and the
word father there is put in Paul's text the verb evprjKevai,
in this order — " What shall we say that Abraham our father
has found according to the flesh V On this account, some
interpreters think that the question is' — " What has Abraham
obtained according to the flesh ?" If this exposition be aj)-
proved, the words according to the flesh mean naturally or
from himself It is, however, probable that they are to be
connected with the word father} Besides, as w^e are wont
to be more touched by domestic examples, the dignity of
their race, in which the Jews took too much pride, is here
The iirst from 1 to 12 inclusive; the second from 13 to 17 inclusive, in
which it is pi-oved that the promises made to Abraham did not depend on
the law ; and the tli'ird from 18 to the end, in which the faith of Abraham
is commended, and the Christian faith briefly referred to.
But Parens makes a different division : 1, Four proofs of justification
by faith, from 1 to 16 ; 2, The dispensation of Abraham, from 17 to 22 ;
3, The application of the subject, from 23 to 25. — Ed.
1 So did all the fathers according to Parens, and so does the Vulgate.
But later commentators have taken the words as they stand, and Avith good
reason, for otherwise the correspondence between this and the following
verse would not be apparent. Beza, Hammond, and Mackniyht take the
154 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IV. 2.
again expressly mentioned. But some regard this as spoken
in contempt, as tliey are elsewhere called the carnal children
of Abraham, being not so spiritually or in a legitimate sense.
But I think that it was expressed as a thing peculiar to the
Jews ; for it was a greater honour to be the children of
Abraham by nature and descent, than by mere adoption,
provided there was also faith. He then concedes to the Jews
a closer bond of union, but only for this end — that he might
more deeply impress them that they ought not to depart
from the example of their father.
2. For if Abraham, &c. This is an incomplete argument,^
which may be made in this form — " If Abraham was justified
by works, he might justly glory : but he had nothing for
which he could glory before God ; then he was not justified
by works." Thus the clause hut not before God, is the minor
proposition ; and to this must be added the conclusion which
I have stated, though it is not expressed by Paul. He calls
that glorying when we pretend to have anything of our own
to which a reward is supposed to be due at God's tribunal.
words in tlieir proper order ; and this is ■what is done by the S}Tiac and
Arabic versions.
Kara ffa^Kct is rendered by Grotius and Macknight, " by (per) the flesh."
Some understand by the word " flesh," circumcision, as Vatahlus ; others,
natural powers, as Grotius, But Be::a and Hammond think that it is the
same as what is meant "by works" in the next verse; and "flesh" evi-
dently has this meaning : it signifies often the performance of what the
law requires, the observance not only of ceremonial but also of moral duties.
See Gal. iii. 3 ; vi. 12 ; and especially Phil. iii. 3, 4 ; where Paul gives up
" all confidence in theses/;," and enumerates, among other things, his strict
conformity to the law.- — Ed.
1 Epicheirema ; in Greek l-rix^'^i/^a, an attempted but an imfinished
process of reasoning. It is not necessary to introduce this sort of syllogism,
it being not the character of Scripture nor of any other writing to discuss
matters in this form.
The word for " glorying " here, xa-jxri/^it, is different from that in ch.
iii. 27, icauxyii!''s, and means reason, gi-ound, or cause for glorying, and is
rendered by Grotius " unde laudem speret — whereby he may hope for
praise ;" and by Beza and Piscator " unde glorietur — whereby he may
glory." To complete the folloAving clause, most repeat the words ix^'
xavxnH-"' — " But he has no ground for glorying before God." Vatablus
gives another meaning, " But not with regard to God," that is, with regard
to what he has said in his word ; and this view is confirmed by what im-
mediately follows, " For what saith the Scripture ? " In this case there is
nothing understood. That -r^o? ^=ov is used in a similar manner, is evident
from other passages : ra, tt^o? ^jov — "things which pertain to God," i.e., to
God's work or service. See Heb. ii. 17 ; v. 1. — Ed.
CHAP. IV. 8. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 155
Since he takes tins away from ALraham, who of us can claim
for himself the least particle of merit ?
3. For what saith the Scripture ? This is a proof of the mi-
nor proposition, or of what he assumed, when he denied that
Abraham had any ground for gloiying : for if Abraham was
justified, because he embraced, by faith, the bountiful mercy
of God, it follows, that he had nothing to glory in ; for he
brought nothing of his own, except a confession of his misery,
which is a solicitation for mercy. He, indeed, takes it as
granted, that the righteousness of faith is the refuge, and,
as it were, the asylum of the sinner, who is destitute of
works. For if there be any righteousness by the law or by
works, it must be in men themselves ; but by faith they derive
from another what is wanting in themselves ; and hence the
righteousness of faith is rightly called imputative.
The passage, which is quoted, is taken from Gen. xv. 6 ;
in which the word believe is not to be confined to any par-
ticular expression, but it refers to the whole covenant of sal-
vation, and the grace of adoption, which Abraham appre-
hended by faith. There is, indeed, mentioned there the
promise of a future seed ; but it was grounded on gratuitous
adoption •} and it ought to be observed, that salvation with-
out the grace of God is not promised, nor God's grace with-
out salvation ; and again, that we are not called to the grace
of God nor to the hope of salvation, without having right-
eousness offered to us.
Taking this view, we cannot but see that those understand
not the principles of theology, who think that this testi-
mony recorded by Moses, is drawn aside from its obvious
meaning by Paul : for as there is a particular promise there
stated, they understand that he acted rightly and faithfully
in believing it, and was so far approved by God. But they
are in this mistaken ; first, because they have not considered
that believing extends to the whole context, and ought not
' The adoption is evidently included in the words, fonnd in the first verse
of this chapter, " I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward." What
follows is connected with this, and the promise of a numerous seed arose
from what Abraham said respecting an heir. His helievwg them had an
especial regard to the first promise, as the second, respecting his " seed,"
was only, as it were, an enlargement of the first, or an addition to it. — Ed.
156 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IV. 3.
to be confined to one clause. But the principal mistake is,
tliat tliey begin not with the testimony of Grod's favour.
But God gave this, to make Abraham more assured of his
adoption and paternal favour ; and included in this was
eternal salvation by Christ. Hence Abraham, by believing,
embraced nothing but the favour offered to him, being per-
suaded that it would not be void. Since this was imputed
to him for righteousness, it follows, that he was not other-
wise just, than as one trusting in God's goodness, and ven-
turing to hope for all things from him. Moses does not, in-
deed, tell us what men thought of him, but how he was ac-
counted before the tribunal of God. Abraham then laid hold
on the benignity of God offered to him in the promise,
through which he understood that righteousness was commu-
nicated to him. It is necessary, in order to form an opinion
of righteousness, to understand this relation between the
promise and faith ; for there is in this respect the same con-
nection between God and us, as there is, according to the
lawyers, between the giver and the person to whom any thing-
is given, {datorem et donatarium — the donor and the donee:)
for we can no otherwise attain righteousness, than as it is
brought to us, as it were, by the promise of the gospel ; and
we realize its possession by faith.^
How to reconcile what James says, which seems some-
^ The foregoing observations contain a hicid and a satisfactory view of
the character of Abraham's faith, perfectly consistent with what is said of
it by Paul in this chapter, and in the epistle to the Galatians. Some think
that the principle of faith was the only thing Avhich the Apostle had in
view in referring to Abraham's faith, and that he had no special regard to
the object of justifying faith, that is, Christ. But that Christ was, in a
measure, revealed to him, is evident from the accomit given in Genesis,
and from what Christ himself has said, — that Abraham saw his day and
rejoiced, John \\\\. 5Q. At the same time it Avas the promise of gratuitous
mercy, as Calvin intimates, that formed the most distinctive object of
Abraham's faith, the promise of a free acceptance, without any regard to
works. There are two things which the Apostle clearly intended to show,
— that imputation of righteousness is an act of gratuitous favour, — and
that it is alone by faith.
There is some difi'erence in the wording, though not in the meaning, of
the sentence from Gen. xv. 6. Paul gives it literally according to the
Septuagint. The word " Abraham," is put in ; instead of " Jehovah," it
is " God ;" the verb " count," is made passive, and a preposition is placed
before " righteousness." The Hebrew is this, — " And he believed on Je-
hovah, and he counted it to him righteousness." The " it," no doubt, refers
CHAP. IV. 4. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 157
what contrary to tliis view, I have ah-cady explained, and
intend to explain more fully, when I come, if the Lord will
permit, to expound that Epistle.
Only let us remember this, — that those to whom right-
eousness is imputed, are justified ; since these two things
are mentioned by Paul as being the same. We hence con-
clude, that the question is not, what men are in themselves,
but how God regards them ? not that purity of conscience
and integrity of life are to be separated from the gratuitous
favour of God ; but that when the reason is asked, why God
loves us and owns us as just, it is necessary that Christ
should come forth as one who clothes us with his own right-
eousness.
4. Now to him that worketh is 4. Ei qiiidem qiii operatur merces
the reward not reclvoned of grace, non miputatur secundum gratiam,
but of debt. sed secimdum debitum :
5. But to him that worketh not, 5. Ei vero qui non operatur, credit
but beheveth on him that justifieth autem in eum qui justificat impium,
the ungodly, his faith is counted for imputatur fides sua in justitiam.
righteousness.
4. To him indeed who works, &c. It is not he, whom he
calls a worker, who is given to good works, to which all the
children of God ought to attend, but the person who seeks
to merit something by his works : and in a similar way he
calls him no worker who depends not on the merit of what
he does. He would not, indeed, have the faithful to be idle ;
but he only forbids them to be mercenaries, so as to demand
any thing from God, as though it were justly their due.
to what is inchided in the word " believed." So Paul explains it in ver. 9,
where he expressly puts down cTiVr;,-, faith.
It has been said that this faith of Abraham was not faith in Christ, ac-
cording to what the context shows in Genesis. And it was not so specifi-
cally : nor does Paid represent it as such ; for this was not his object.
He states it throughout as faith in God ; it was believing the testimony of
God ; but that testimony embraced a promise respecting Christ ; so that
it included the Savioiu: within its compass. We must remember that
Paul's object is to estabhsh this truth, — that righteousness is attained by
faith and not by works ; and that for this end he adduces the examples
both of Abraham and David. It was not his design to point out specifi-
cally the object of justifying faith. We must keep this in view, in order to
imderstand the reasoning of the Apostle in this chapter : it is the power
and erticacy of faith, in opposition to all works, that he particularly dwells
upon; and the gracious promise of God was its object. — Ed.
158 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IV. 5.
We have before reminded you, tliat the question is not
here how we are to regulate our life, but how we are to be
saved : and he arg-ues from what is contrary, — that God con-
fers not righteousness on us because it is due, but bestows it
as a gift. And indeed I agree with Bucer, who proves that
the argument is not made to depend on one expression, but
on the whole passage, and formed in this manner, " If one
merits any thing by his work, what is merited is not freely
imputed to him, but rendered to him as his due. Faith is
counted for righteousness, not that it procures any merit for
us, but because it lays hold on the goodness of God : hence
righteousness is not due to us, but freely bestowed." For as
Christ of his own good-will justifies us through faith, Paul
always regards this as an evidence of our emptiness ; for what
do we believe, except that Christ is an expiation to recon-
cile us to God ? The same truth is found in other words in
Gal. iii. 11, Avhere it is said, "That no man is justified by
the law, it is evident, for the just shall by faith live : but the
law is not by faith ; but he who doeth these things shall live
in them." Inasmuch, then, as the law promises reward to
works, he hence concludes, that the righteousness of faith,
which is free, accords not with that which is operative : this
could not be were faith to justify by means of works. — We
ought carefully to observe these comparisons, by which every
merit is entirely done away.
5. But believes on him, &c. This is a very important sen-
tence, in which he expresses the substance and nature both
of faith and of righteousness. He indeed clearly shews that
faith brings us righteousness, not because it is a meritorious
act, but because it obtains for us the favour of God.^ Nor
does he declare only that God is the giver of righteousness,
^ Some have stumbled at this sentence, — " his faith is coimted for right-
eousness," and have misapplied it, as though faith were in itself the cause
of righteousness, and hence a meritorious act, and not the way and means
of attaining righteousness. Condensed sentences will not submit to the
rules of logic, but must be interpreted according to the context and ex-
planations elsewhere found. " His faith " means, no doubt, his faith in
the Promise, or in God who promises, or in him who, as is said in this
verse, "justifies the ungodly :" hence what is believed, or the object of
faith, is what is counted for righteousness. This accords with the decla-
rations,— that " man is justiiied by faith," ch. iii. 28, — and that " the
CHAP. IV. 6. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 159
but lie also arraigns us of unrighteousness, in order that the
bounty of God may come to aid our necessity : in short, no
one will seek the righteousness of faith except he who feels
that he is ungodly ; for this sentence is to be applied to
what is said in this passage, — that faith adorns us with the
righteousness of another, which it seeks as a gift from God.
And here again, God is said to justify us when he freely for-
gives sinners, and favours those, with whom he might justly
be angry, with his love, that is, when his mercy obliterates
our unrighteousness.
G. Even as David also describetli 6. Quemadmodum etiam David
tlie blessedness of the man, unto finit beatudinem hominis, cui Deus
■whom God imputeth righteousness imputat justitiam absque operibus,
without works,
7. >S'a_(/ni(/, Blessed are they whose 7. Beati quorum remissse sunt
iniquities are forgiven, and whose iniquitates, et quorum tecta srnit
sins are covered. peccata :
8. Blessed /s the man to whom the 8. Beatus vir, ciu non iniputavit
Lord will not impute sin. Dominus peccatum.
6. As David also defines, &c. We hence see the sheer
sophistry of those who limit the works of the law to cere-
monies ; for he now simply calls those works, without any-
thing added, which he had before called the works of the
law. Since no one can deny that a simple and unrestricted
mode of speaking, such as we find here, ought to be under-
stood of every work without any difference, the same view
must be held throughout the whole argument. There is
indeed nothing less reasonable than to remove from cere-
monies only the power of justifying, since Paul excludes all
works indefinitely. To the same purpose is the negative
clause, — that God justifies men by not imputing sin : and
by these words we are taught that righteousness, according
righteousness of God" is "by faith," ch. iii. 22. If by faith, then faith
itself is not that righteousness.
" Beware," says Chalmers, '• of having any such view of faith as will lead
you to annex to it the kind of merit, or of claim, or of glorying under the
gospel, which are annexed to works under the law. This, in fact, were
just animating with a legal spirit the whole phraseology and doctrine of
the gospel. It is God who justifies. He drew up the title-deed, and he
bestowed the title-deed. It is ours simply to lay hold of it... Any other
view of faith than that which excludes boasting must be altogether im-
scriptural." — Ed.
160 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IV. 6.
to Paul, is nothing else than the remission of sins ; and fur-
ther, that this remission is gratuitous, because it is imputed
without works, which the very name of remission indicates ;
for the creditor who is paid does not remit, but he who spon-
taneously cancels the debt through mere kindness. AAvay,
then, with those who teach us to redeem pardon for our sins
by satisfactions ; for Paul borrows an argument from this
pardon to prove the gratuitous gift of righteousness.^ How
then is it possible for them to agree with Paul ? They say,
" We must satisfy by works the justice of God, that we may
obtain the pardon of our sins :" but he, on the contrary,
reasons thus, — " The righteousness of faith is gratuitous, and
without works, because it depends on the remission of sins."
Vicious, no doubt, would be this reasoning, if any works
interposed in the remission of sins.
Dissipated also, in like manner, by the words of the Pro-
phet, are the puerile fancies of the schoolmen resjiecting half
remission. Their childish fiction is, — that though the fault
is remitted, the punishment is still retained by God. But
the Prophet not only declares that our sins are covered,
that is, removed from the presence of God ; but also adds,
that they are not imputed. How can it be consistent, that
God should punish those sins which he does not imj)ute ?
Safe then does this most glorious declaration remain to us —
" That he is justified by faith, who is cleared before God by
a gratuitous remission of his sins." We may also hence
learn, the unceasing perpetuity of gratuitous righteousness
^ Speaking of this righteousness, Parens says, " It is not ours, otherwise
God would not gratuitously impute it, but bestow it as a matter of right ;
nor is it a habit or quality, for it is without w^orks, and imputed to the
ungodly, who have habitually nothing but iniquities ; but it is a gratuitous
remission, a covering, a non-imputation of sins."
It is a striking proof of what the Apostle had in view here, that he stops
short and does not quote the whole verse from Ps. xxxii. 2. He leaves
out, " and in whose spirit there is no guile :" and why ? Evidently because
his subject is justification, and not sanctification. He has thus most clearly
marked the difl'erence between the two.
Sins may be said to be " forgiven " or remitted, because they are debts,
and " covered," because they are filthy and abominable in the sight of
God : and they are said to be " not imputed," oi- not put to one's account,
in order to convey an assurance, that they are wholly removed, and shall be
no more remembered. — Ed.
CHAP. IV. 8. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. IGl
through life : for when David, being wearied with tlie con-
tinual anguish of his own conscience, gave utterance to this
declaration, he no doubt spoke according to his own experi-
ence ; and he had now served God for many years. Ho
then had found by experience, after having made great
advances, that all are miserable when summoned before
God's tribunal ; and he made this avowal, that there is no
other way of obtaining blessedness, except the Lord receives
us into favour by not imputing our sins. Thus fully refuted
also is the romance of those who dream, that the righteous-
ness of faith is but initial, and that the faithful afterwards
retain by works the possession of that righteousness which
they had first attained by no merits.
It invalidates in no degree what Paul says, that works are
sometimes imjiuted for righteousness, and that other kinds
of blessedness are mentioned. It is said in Ps. cvi. 80, that
it was imputed to Phinehas, the Lord's priest, for righteous-
ness, because he took away reproach from Israel by inflict-
ing punishment on an adulterer and a harlot. It is true,
we learn from this passage, that he did a righteous deed ;
but we know that a person is not justified by one act. What
is indeed required is perfect obedience, and complete in all
its parts, according to the import of the promise, — " He
who shall do these things shall live in them." (Deut. iv. 1.)
How then Avas this judgment which he inflicted imputed to
him for righteousness ? He must no doubt have been pre-
viously justified by the grace of God: for they who are
already clothed in the righteousness of Christ, have God not
only propitious to them, but also to their works, the spots
and blemishes of which are covered by the purity of Christ,
lest they should come to judgment. As works, infected with
no defilements, are alone counted just, it is quite evident
that no human work whatever can please God, except through
a favour of this kind. But if the righteousness of faith is
the only reason why our works are counted just, you see
how absurd is the argument, — " That as righteousness is
ascribed to works, righteousness is not by faith only/' But
I set against them this invincible argument, that all works
L
162 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IV. 8.
are to be condemned as those of unrigliteousness, except a
man be justified solely by faith.
The like is said of blessedness : they are pronounced
blessed who fear the Lord, who walk in his ways, (Ps. cxxviii,
1,) who meditate on his law day and night, (Ps. i. 2 :) but
as no one doeth those things so perfectly as he ought, so as
fully to come up to God's command, all blessedness of this
kind is nothing worth, until we be made blessed by being
purified and cleansed through the remission of sins, and
thus cleansed, that Ave may become capable of enjoying that
blessedness which the Lord promises to his servants for atten-
tion to the law and to good works. Hence the righteous-
ness of works is the effect of the righteousness of God, and
the blessedness arising from works is the effect of the bless-
edness which proceeds from the remission of sins. Since
the cause ought not and cannot be destroyed by its own
effect, absurdly do they act, who strive to subvert the right-
eousness of faith by works.
But some one may say, " Why may we not maintain, on
the ground of these testimonies, that man is justified and
made blessed by works ? for the words of Scripture declare
that man is justified and made blessed by works as well as
by faith." Here indeed we must consider the order of
causes as well as the dispensation of God's grace : for inas-
much as whatever is declared, either of tlie righteousness of
works or of the blessedness arising from them, does not exist,
until this only true righteousness of faith has preceded, and
does alone discharge all its offices, this last must be built up
and established, in order that the other may, as a fruit from
a tree, grow from it and flourish.
9. Cometh this blessedness then 9. Bcatudo ergo ista in circum-
uponthe circumcision o«?j/,' or upon cisionem modo, an et in prseputium
1 This " only" is not in the original, but is supplied by most commenta-
tors : yet it is not necessary, nor makes the meaning consistent with what
folloAvs in ver. 10. The Kai in the next clause is omitted in many copies;
but if retained, it ivill not alter the sense. We may render this part of
the verse thus,
" Came then this blessedness on the cuxumcision, or even on the uncir-
cumcision ? "
Then in the tenth verse he answers in the negative, — that it was not
CHAP. IV. 9. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 1 03
the uncircumcision also ? for we say eompetit ? Dicimus enim quod im-
that faith was reckoned to Abraham putata fiiit Abrahfe fides in jiisti-
for righteousness. tiani.
10. How was it then reckoned ? 10. Quomodo igitur iniputata
when he was in circumcision, or in fuit ? in circumcisione quum esset,
imcircumcision ? Not in circumcision, an in prajputio? non in cu'cumci-
but in uncircumcision. sione, sed in praeputio.
As circumcision and uncircnmcision arc alone mentioned,
some unwisely conclude, that the only question is, that
righteousness is not attained by the ceremonies of the law.
But we ought to consider what sort of men were those with
whom Paul was reasoning ; for we know that hypocrites,
whilst they generally boast of meritorious works, do yet dis-
guise themselves in outward masks. The Jews also had a
peculiar way of their own, by which they departed, through
a gross abuse of the law, from true and genuine righteous-
ness. Paul had said, that no one is blessed but he whom
God reconciles to himself by a gratuitous pardon ; it hence
follows, that all are accursed, whose works come to judgment.
Now then this princijile is to be held, that men are justified,
not by their own worthiness, but by the mergy of God. But
still, this is not enough, except remission of sins precedes
all works, and of these the first was circumcision, which
initiated the Jewish people into the service of God. He
therefore proceeds to demonstrate this also.
We must ever bear in mind, that circumcision is here
mentioned as the initial work, so to speak, of the righteous-
ness of the law : for the Jews gloried not in it as the symbol
of God's favour, but as a meritorious observance of the law :
and on this account it was that they regarded themselves
better than others, as though they possessed a higher ex-
cellency before God. We now see that the dispute is not
about one rite, but that under one thing is included every
work of the law ; that is, every work to which reward can
be due. Circumcision then was especially mentioned, be-
cause it was the basis of the ris^hteousness of the law.
to Abraham while '" in circumcision," but while he was " in uncircumci-
sion." The reference is evidently to the first state of things, to the case
of Abraham himself. Abraham is supposed to have been justified by faith
abont fourteen years before he was circumcised. — Ed,
164 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IV. 11.
But Paul maintains the contrary, and thus reasons : " If
Abraham's righteousness was the remission of sins, (which
he safelj takes as granted,) and if Abraham attained this
before circumcision, it then follows that remission of sins is
not given for j^receding merits." You see that the argument
rests on the order of causes and effects ; for the cause is al-
ways before its effect ; and righteousness was possessed by
Abraham before he had circumcision.
11. And he received the sign of 11. Et signuni accepit circumci-
circumcision, a seal of the righteous- sionis, sigilhim justitije fidei quae
ness of the faith which he had yet fiierat in prseputio ; ut esset pater
being imcircumcised : that he might omnium credentium per prsepu-
be the father of all them that be- tium, quo ipsis quoque imputetur
lieve, though they be not circimi- justitia ;
cised ; that righteousness might be
imputed unto them also :
12. And the father of circumci- 12. Et pater circumcisionis, non
sion to them who are not of the cir- iis qui sunt ex circumcisione tantum,
cumcision only, but who also walk sed qui insistunt vestigiis lidei, quae
in the steps of that fiiith of om* fa- fuit in prseputio patris nostri Abra-
ther Abraham, which he had bemg hae.
yet micircumcised.
11. And he received the sign, &c. In order to anticipate
an objection, he shows that circumcision was not unprofitable
and superfluous, though it could not justify ; but it had an-
other very remarkable use, it had the oflUce of sealing, and
as it were of ratifying the righteousness of faith. And yet
he intimates at the same time, by stating what its object was,
that it was not the cause of righteousness, it indeed tended
to confirm the righteousness of faith, and that already ob-
tained in uncircumcision. He then derogates or takes away
nothing from it.
"We have indeed here a remarkable passage with regard
to the general benefits of sacraments. According to the
testimony of Paul, they are seals by which the promises of
God are in a manner imprinted on our hearts, {Dei promis-
siones cordibus nostris quodammodo imp7nmuntu7\) and the
certainty of grace confirmed (sancitur gratice certitudo.)
And though by themselves they profit nothing, yet God has
designed them to be the instruments {instrumenta) of his
grace ; and he effects by the secret grace of his Spirit, tliat
CHAP. IV. ] 1. EPISTLE TO THE HOMAN.S. 165
they should not be without benefit in the elect. And though
they are dead and unprofitable symbols to tlie reprobate,
they yet over retain their import and character {vim suani
et naturam :) for though our unbelief may deprive them of
their effect, yet it cannot weaken or extinguish the truth of
God. Hence it remains a fixed principle, that sacred sym-
bols are testimonies, by which God seals his grace on our
hearts.
As to the symbol of circumcision, this especially is to be
said, that a twofold grace was represented by it. God had
promised to Abraham a blessed seed, from whom salvation
was to be expected by the whole world. On this depended
the promise — " I will be to thee a God." (Gen. xvii. 7.)
Then a gratuitous reconciliation with God was included in
that symbol : and for this reason it was necessary that the
faithful should look forward to the promised seed. On the
other hand, God requires integrity and holiness of life ; he
indicated by the symbol how this could be attained, that
is, by cutting off in man whatever is born of the flesh, for
his whole nature had become vicious. He therefore reminded
Abraham by the external sign, that he was spiritually to cut
off the corruption of the flesh ; and to this Moses has also
alluded in Deut. x. 16. And to show that it was not the
work of man, but of God, he commanded tender infants to
be circumcised, who, on account of their age, could not have
performed such a command. Moses has indeed expressly
mentioned spiritual circumcision as the work of divine power,
as you will find in Deut. xxx. 6, where he says, " The Lord
will circumcise thine heart : " and the Prophets afterwards
declared the same thing much more clearly.
As there are two points in baptism now, so there were
formerly in circumcision ; for it was a symbol of a new life,
and also of the remission of sins. But the fact as to Abra-
ham himself, that righteousness preceded circumcision, is
not always the case in sacraments, as it is evident fi'om the
case of Isaac and his posterity: but God intended to give
such an instance once at the beginning, that no one might
ascribe salvation to external signs.^
^ The word " sign" in this passage, (rrifnTov, seevns not to mean an out-
166 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IV. 11.
That lie might he the father, &c. Mark how the circumci-
sion of Abraham confirms our faith with regard to gratui-
tous righteousness ; for it was the sealing of the righteousness
of faith, that righteousness might also be imputed to us
who believe. And thus Paul, by a remarkable dexterity,
makes to recoil on his opponents what they might have ad-
duced as an objection : for since the truth and import (veritas
et vis) of circumcision were found in an uncircumcised state,
there was no ground for the Jews to elevate themselves so
much above the Gentiles.
But as a doubt might arise, whether it behoves us, after
the example of Abraham, to confirm also the same right-
eousness by the sign of circumcision, how came the Apostle
to make this omission? Even because he thought that the
question was sufiiciently settled by the drift of his argu-
ment : for as this truth had been admitted, that circumci-
sion availed only to seal the grace of God, it follows, that it
is now of no benefit to us, who have a sign instituted in its
place by our Lord. As then there is no necessity now for
circumcision, where baptism is, he was not disposed to con-
tend unnecessarily for that respecting which there was no
doubt, that is, why the righteousness of faith was not sealed
to the Gentiles in the same way as it was to Abraham. To
believe in uncircumcision means, that the Gentiles, being satis-
fied with their own condition, did not introduce the seal of
circumcision : and so the proposition Sta, hy, is put for ev, in}
ward token of something inward, but a mark, circiuncision itself, which
was imprinted, as it were, as a mark in the flesh. So Machnight renders
it, " Tlie mark of circumcision." That circumcision was a sign or a sym-
bol of what was spiritual, is evident : but this is not what is taught here.
Circumcision is expressly called " a token," or a sign, in Gen. xvii. 11 ;
but it is said to have been " a token of the covenant," that is, a proof and
an evidence of it. The design of circumcision is expressed by the next
word, (T^^ayj'Sa— seal. This sometimes signified the instrimient, 1 Kings
xxi. 8 ; and sometimes the impression, Rev. v. 1 : and the impression
was used for various purposes, — to close up a document, to secure a thing,
and also -to confirm an agreement. It is taken here in the latter sense ;
circumcision was a " seal," a confinnation, an evidence, a proof, or a
pledge, " of the righteousness" obtained " by faith." We meet not with
any distinct statement of this kind in Genesis : it is what the Apostle had
gathered, and rightly gathered, from the account given us of what took
place between God and Abraham. — Ed.
^ See a similar instance in chap. ii. 27. — Ed.
CHAP. IV. lo. EPISTLE TO TIJE llOMANS. 167
12. To them who are not, &c. Tlie verb, are, is in this
place to be taken for, " are deemed to be :" for be touches
tlie carnal descendants of Abraham, who, having nothing but
outward circumcision, confidently gloried in it. The other
thing, which was the chief matter, they neglected ; for the
faith of Abraham, by which alone he obtained salvation,
they did not imitate. It hence ajipears, how carefully he
distinguished between faith and the sacrament ; not only
that no one might be satisfied with the one without the
other, as though it were sufficient for justifying ; but also
that faith alone might be set forth as accomplishing every-
thing : for while he allows the circumcised Jews to be justi-
fied, he expressly makes this exception — provided in true
faith they followed the example of Abraham ; for why does
he mention faith while in uncircumcision, except to show,
that it is alone sufficient, without the aid of anything else?
Let us then beware, lest any of us, by halving things, blend
together the two modes of justification.
What we have stated disproves also the scholastic dogma
respecting the difference between the sacraments of the Old
and those of the New Testament ; for they deny the power
of justifying to the former, and assign it to the latter. But
if Paul reasons correctly, when he argues that circumcision
does not justify, because Abraham was justified by faith, the
same reason holds good for us, while we deny that men are
justified by baptism, inasmuch as they are justified by the
same faith with that of Abraham.
13. For the promise, that he should be 13. Non enira per Legem
theheiroftheworldjWJtts not to Abraham, promissio Abrahse et semhii
or to his seed, through the law, but ejus data est, ut esset ha^res
through the righteousness of faith. mundi ; sed per justitiam tidei.
13. For the promise, &c. He now more clearly sets the
law and faith in opposition, the one to the other, which he
had before in some measure done ; and this ought to be
carefully observed : for if faith borrows nothing from the law
in order to justify, we hence understand, that it has respect
to nothing else but to the mercy of God. And further, the
romance of those who would have this to have been said of
168 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IV. 13.
ceremonies, maj be easily disproved ; for if works contri-
buted anything towards justification, it ought not to have
been said, through the written law, but rather, through the
law of nature. But Paul does not oppose spiritual holiness
of life to ceremonies, but faith and its righteousness. The
meaning then is, that heirship was promised to Abraham,
not because he deserved it by keeping the law, but because
he had obtained righteousness by faith. And doubtless (as
Paul will presently show) consciences can then only enjoy
solid peace, when they know that what is not justly due is
freely given theni.^
Hence also it follows, that this benefit, the reason for
which applies equally to both, belongs to the Gentiles no
less than to the Jews ; for if the salvation of men is based
on the goodness of God alone, they check and hinder its
course, as much as they can, who exclude from it the Gen-
tiles.
That he should he the heir of the world,^ &c. Since he now
* Critics have diiFered as to the disjunctive >), or, " or to his seed."
Some think it is put for ««i, and : but Parens thinks that it has a special
meaning, intended to anticipate an objection. The Jews might have said,
" If the case with Abraham is as stated, it is not so with his seed who re-
ceived the law." Yes, says Paul, there is no difierence, " The promise to
Abraham, or to his seed, to whom the law was actually given, was not by
the law."
Hammond renders the whole verse more literally than in our version, —
" The promise to Abraham or to his seed, that he should be the heir of
the world, was not by the law, but through the righteousness of faith." —
Ed.
^ There is in Genesis no expression conveyed in these words ; but the
probability is, that he intended to express in another form what he dis-
tinctly quotes in verse 17th, " I have made thee a father of many nations."
The word " father," in this case, has been commonly understood to
mean a leader, a pattern, a model, an exemplar, a forerunner, as Abraham
was the first believer justified by faith, of whom there is an express record.
But the idea seems to be somewhat different. He was a father as the first
23ossessor of an inheritance which was to descend to all his children. The
inheritance was given him by grace through faith ; it was to descend, as it
were, to all his lawful posterity, to all his legitimate seed, that is, to all who
possessed the like ftiith with himself. He is therefore called the father of
many nations, because many nations would become his legitimate heirs by
becoming believers ; and in the same sense must be regarded the expres-
sion here, " the heir of the world ;" he was the representative of all the
believing world, and made an heir of an inheritance which was to come to
the world in general, to the believing Jews and to the believing Gentiles.
He was the heir, the first possessor, of what was to descend to the world
CHAP. IV. 13. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 169
speaks of eternal salvation, the Aj^ostle seems to have some-
what unseasonably led his readers to the world ; but he in-
cludes generally under this word world, the restoration which
was expected through Christ. The chief thing was indeed the
restoration of life ; it was yet necessary that the fallen state
of the whole world should be repaired. The Apostle, in Heb.
i. 2, calls Christ the heir of all the good things of God ; for
the adoption which we obtain through his favour restores to
us the possession of the inheritance which we lost in Adam ;
and as under the type of the land of Canaan, not only the
hope of a heavenly life was exhibited to Abraham, but also
the full and complete blessing of God, the Apostle rightly
teaches us, that the dominion of the world was promised to
him. Some taste of this the godly have in the present life ;
for how much soever they may at times be oppressed with
want, yet as they partake with a peaceable conscience of
those things which God has created for their use, and as
they enjoy through his mercy and good-will his earthly
benefits no otherwise than as pledges and earnests of eternal
life, their poverty docs in no degree prevent them from ac-
knowledging heaven, and the earth, and the sea, as their
own possessions.
Though the ungodly swallow up the riches of the world,
they can yet call nothing as their own ; but they rather
snatch them as it were by stealth ; for they possess them
under the curse of God. It is indeed a great comfort to the
godly in their poverty, that though they fare slenderly, they
yet steal nothing of what belongs to another, but receive
their lawful allowance from the hand of their celestial
Father, until they enter on the full possession of their in-
heritance, when all creatures shall be made subservient to
their glory ; for both heaven and earth shall be renewed for
this end, — that according to their measure they may con-
tribute to render glorious the kingdom of God.
without any ditference. lie was the heir of the world in the same sense
as he was " the father of all who believe," as he is said to have been m
verse eleventh.
The inheritance was doubtless eternal life or the heavenly kingdom, the
country above, of which the land of Canaan was a type and a pledge. See
Heb. xi. 12, 13, 16.— ^c?.
170 COIVIMENTARIES ON TUB CHAP. IV. 14.
14. For if they which are of the law 14. Si enim ii qui sunt ex Lege
be heirs, faith is made void, and the hsredes sunt, exinanita est tides
promise made of none effect : et abolita est promissio :
15. Because the law worketh wrath: 15. Nam Lex iram efficit ; siqui-
for where no law is, tliere is no trans- dem ubi non est Lex, neque etiam
gression. transgressio.
14. For if tliey wJio are of the laiu, &c. He takes his
argument from what is impossible or absurd, that the favour
which Abraham obtained from God, was not promised to
him through any legal agreement, or through any regard to
works ; for if this condition had been interposed — that God
would favour those only with adoption who deserved, or who
performed the law, no one could have dared to feel confident
that it belonged to him : for who is there so conscious of so
much perfection that he can feel assured that the inherit-
ance is due to him through the righteousness of the law ?
Void then would faith be made ; for an impossible condition
would not only hold the minds of men in suspense and
anxiety, but fill them also with fear and trembling : and
thus the fulfilment of the promises would be rendered void ;
for they avail notliing but when received by faith. If our
adversaries had ears to hear this one reason, the contest
between us might easily be settled.
The Apostle assumes it as a thing indubitable, that the
promises would by no means be effectual except they were
received with full assurance of mind. But what would be
the case if the salvation of men was based on the keeping
of the law ? consciences would have no certainty, but would
be harassed with perpetual inquietude, and at length sink
in despair ; and the promise itself, the fulfilment of which
depended on what is impossible, would also vanish away
without producing any fruit. Away then with those who
teach the common people to seek salvation for themselves by
works, seeing that Paul declares expressly, that the promise
is abolished if we depend on works. But it is especially
necessary that this should be known, — that when there is a
reliance on works, faith is reduced to nothing. And hence
we also learn Avhat faith is, and what sort of righteousness
ought that of works to be, in which men may safely trust.
The Apostle teaches us, that faith perishes, except the
CHAP. IV. 15. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 171
soul rests on the goodness of God. Faith then is not a
naked knowledge either of God or of his truth ; nor is it a
simple persuasion that God is, that his word is the truth ;
but a sure knowledge of God's mercy, which is received from
the gospel, and brings peace of conscience Avith regard to
God, and rest to the mind. The sum of the matter then is
this, — that if salvation depends on the keeping of the law,
the soul can entertain no confidence respecting it, yea, that
all the promises offered to us by God will become void : we
must thus become wretched and lost, if we are sent back to
works to find out the cause or the certainty of salvation.
15. For the law causeth wrath, &c. This is a confirmation
of the last verse, derived from the contrary effect of the law;
for as the law generates nothing but vengeance, it cannot
bring grace. It can indeed show to the good and the per-
fect the Avay of life : but as it prescribes to the sinful and
corrupt what they ought to do, and supplies them with no
power for doing, it exhibits them as guilty before the tribu-
nal of God. For such is the viciousness of our nature, that
the more we arc taught what is right and just, the more
openly is our iniquity discovered, and especially our con-
tumacy, and thus a heavier judgment is incurred.
By turath, understand God's judgment, which meaning it
has everywhere. They who explain it of the wrath of the
sinner, excited by the law, inasmuch as he hates and exe-
crates the Lawgiver, whom he finds to be oj^posed to his
lusts, say what is ingenious, but not suitable to this passage;
for Paul meant no other thing, than that condemnation only
is what is brought on us all by the law, as it is evident from
the common use of the expression, and also from the reason
which he immediately adds.
Where there is no law, &c. This is the proof, by which
he confirms what he had said ; for it would have been diffi-
cult to see how God's wrath is kindled against us through
the law, unless it had been made more apparent. And the
reason is, that as the knowledge of God's justice is discov^ered
by the law, the less excuse we have, and hence the more
grievously we offend against God ; for they who despise the
known will of God, justly deserve to sustain a heavier punish-
172 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IV. 16.
ment, than tliose who oifend through ignorance. But the
Apostle speaks not of the mere transgression of what is
right, from which no man is exempt ; hut he calls that a
transgression, when man, having been taught what pleases
and displeases God, knowingly and wilfully passes over the
boundaries fixed by God's word ; or, in other words, trans-
gression here is not a mere act of sin, but a wilful determi-
nation to violate what is riglit.^ The particle, ov, where,
which I take as an adverb, some consider to be a relative,
of which; but the former reading is the most suitable, and
the most commonly received. Whichever reading you may
follow, the meaning will be the same, — that he who is not
instructed by the written law, when he sins, is not guilty of
so great a transgression, as he is who knowingly breaks and
transgresses the law of God.
16. Therefore ii is of faith, that i< 16. Propterea ex fide, ut secun-
might he by grace; to the end the dum gratiam, quo firma sit pro-
promise niiglit be sure to all the seed ; luissio uni verso semini non ei quod
not to that only which is of the law, est ex Lege solum, sed quod est
butto that also which is of the faith of ex fide Abrahse, qui est pater cm-
Abraham ; who is the father of us all, nium nostrum,
17. (As it is written, I have made 17. (Sicut scriptum est, Quod
thee a father of many nations,) before patrem multarum gentium posui
him whom he believed, even God, te,) coram Deo, cui credidit, qui vi-
who quickeneth the dead, andcalleth vificat mortuos et vocat ea quae non
those things which be not as though sunt tanquam sint.
they were.
16. It is therefore of faith, &c. This is the winding up of
the argument ; and you may summarily include the whole
1 It is better to take this sentence, " Where there is no law, there is no
transgression," according to its obvious meaning ; as it comports better
with the former clause. The reasoning seems to be this, — " The promise
is by faith, and not by the law ; for the law brings wrath or condemna-
tion: but where there is no law, there is no transgression to occasion
wrath." The same idea is essentially conveyed in ver. 16, where it is said,
that the promise is sure, because it is through faith and by grace. Had it
been by the law, there would have been transgression and wrath, and hence
the loss of the promise.
This verse is connected with the 13th rather than with the 14th. It con-
tains another reason, besides what the 14th gives, in confirmation of what is
said in the 13th. Hence Macknight renders r^g, in this verse, " farther,"
which renders the connection more evident. " Where no law is, there is
no transgression, and therefore no wrath or punishment ; but where law is,
there is transgression, wrath, and punishment." — Parens.
CHAP. IV. 16. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 17-3
of it in tins statement, — " If the heirship of salvation comes
to us by works, then faith in it vanishes, the promise of it
is abolished ; but it is necessary that both these should be
sure and certain ; hence it comes to us by faith, so that its
stability, being based on the goodness of God alone, may be
secured." See how the Apostle, regarding faith as a thing
firm and certain, considers hesitancy and doubt as unbelief,
by which faith is abolished, and the promise abrogated.
And yet this doubting is what the schoolmen call a moral
conjecture, and which, alas! they substitute for faith.
That it might he by grace, &c. Here, in the first place,
the Apostle shows, that nothing is set before faith but mere
grace ; and this, as they commonly say, is its object : for
were it to look on merits, absurdly would Paul infer, that
whatever it obtains for us is gratuitous. I will repeat this
again in other words, — " If grace be everything that we ob-
tain by faith, then every regard for works is laid in the dust."
But what next follows more fully removes all ambiguity, —
that the promise then only stands firm, when it recumbs on
grace : for by this expression Paul confirms this truth, that
as long as men depend on works, they are harassed with
doubts ; for they deprive themselves of what the promises
contain. Hence, also, we may easily learn, that grace is not
to be taken, as some imagine, for the gift of regeneration,
but for a gratuitous favour : for as regeneration is never per-
fect, it can never suffice to pacify souls, nor of itself can it
make the promise certain.
Not to that only which is of the law, &c. Though these words
mean in another place those who, being absurd zealots of
the law, bind themselves to its yoke, and boast of their con-
fidence in it, yet here they mean simply the Jewish nation,
to whom the law of the Lord had been delivered. For Paul
teaches us in another passage, that all who remain bound to
the dominion of the law, are subject to a curse ; it is then
certain that they are excluded from the participation of
grace. He does not then call them the servants of the law,
who, adhering to the righteousness of works, renounce Christ ;
but they were those Jews who had been brought up in the
law, and yet professed the name of Christ. But that the
174 COMMENTAEIES ON THE CHAP. IV. ] 6.
sentence may be made clearer, let it be worded thus, — " Not
to those only who are of the law, but to all who imitate the
faith of Abraham, though they had not the law before."
Who is the father of tis all, &c. The relative has the
meaning of a causative particle ; for he meant to prove, that
the Gentiles were become partakers of this grace, inasmuch
as by the same oracle, by which the heirship was conferred
on Abraham and his seed, were the Gentiles also constituted
his seed : for he is said to have been made the father, not of
one nation, but of many nations ; by which was presignified
the future extension of grace, then confined to Israel alone.
For except the promised blessing had been extended to
them, they could not have been counted as the offspring of
Abraham. The past tense of the verb, according to the
common usage of Scripture, denotes the certainty of the
Divine counsel ; for thougli nothing then was less apparent,
yet as God had thus decreed, he is riglitly said to have been
made the father of many nations. Let the testimony of
Moses be included in a parenthesis, that this clause, " Who
is the father of us all," may be connected with the other,
" before God," &c. : for it was necessary to explain also
what that relationship was, that the Jews might not glory
too much in their carnal descent. Hence he says, " He is
our father before God •" which means the same as though he
had said, " He is our spiritual father ;" for he had this
privilege, not from his own flesh, but from the promise of
God.^
1 It appears from Parens and Hammond, that some of the Fathers,
such as Ckrysostoin and Theophylact, regarded xarivavri in the sense of
ofieia;, like, and have rendered the passage, •' Hke God, in whom he be-
lieved ;" that is, that as God is not partial, but the Father of all, so Abra-
ham was. But this meaning is not consistent with the import of xarivavTi,
nor with the context. The preposition is found in four other places, Mark
xi. 2 ; xii. 41 ; xiii. 3 ; Luke xix. 30, and invariably means before, or, over
against. The Septuagint use it in Num. xxv. 4, in the sense of before, xutL
vavri Tou rixlov — " before the sun," not '•' against the smi," as in our version ;
for the word in Hebrew is ^J3, coram, in conspectu. The context also re-
quires this meaning : Abraham was a father of many nations before God,
or, in the view or estimation of God, and not in the view or estimation of
men, becau.se God, as it is said at the end of the verse, regards things
which are not, as though they were. Hence Abraham was already in
God's view, according to his purpose, the father of many nations.
The collocation of the words is said by Wolfius to be an instance of Alti-
CHAP. IV. 17. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. l75
17. Whom he believed, who quickens the dead, &c. In tliis
circuitous form is expressed the very substance of Abraham's
faith, that by his example an opening- might be made for the
Gentiles. lie had indeed to attain, in a wonderful way, the
promise which lie had heard from the Lord's mouth, since
there was then no token of it. A seed was promised to him
as though he was in vigour and strength ; but he was as it
were dead. It was hence necessary for him to raise up his
thoughts to the power of God, by which the dead are
quickened. It was therefore not strange that the Gentiles,
who vvere barren and dead, should be introduced into the
same society. He then who denies them to be capable of
grace, does wrong to Abraham, whose faith was sustained by
this thought, — that it matters not whether he was dead or
not who is called by the Lord ; to whom it is an easy thing,
even by a word, to raise the dead through his own power.
We have here also a type and a pattern of the call of us
all, by which our beginning is set before our eyes, not as to
our first birth, but as to the hope of future life, — that when
we are called by the Lord we emerge from nothing ; for
whatever we may seem to be we have not, no, not a spark
of anytliing good, which can render us fit for the kingdom of
God. That we may indeed on the other hand be in a suit-
able state to hear the call of God, we must be altogether
dead in ourselves. The character of the divine calling is,
that they who are dead are raised by the Lord, that they
who are nothing begin to be something through his power.
The word call ought not to be confined to preaching, but it
is to be taken, according to the usage of Scripture, for rais-
ing up ; and it is intended to set forth more fully the power
of God, who raises up, as it were l^y a nod only, whom he
wills.^
cism, the v,-ovA ^ioZ, being separated from its preposition : and oS is put
for f by the grammatical law of attraction ; and Siwii-t brings three simi-
lar instances of the relative being regulated by the case of its noun, though
preceding it in the sentence, Mark vi. 16 ; Acts xxi. 16 ; and Rom. vi. 17.
1 The idea of commanding to existence, or of effecting, is given by many
commentators to the word xakodyro; ; but this seems not necessary. The
simple notion of calling, naming, regarding, or representing, is more con-
sistent with the passage, and with the construction of the sentence : and
the various modes of rendering it, which critics have proposed, have arisen
176 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IV. 18.
18. Who against hope believed in 18. Qui prteter (yc/ suj^ra) speni
hope, that he might become the father super spe credidit, ut esset' pater
of many nations, according to that multarum gentium, secundum quod
■which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. dictum erat, Sic erit semen tuum.
18. Who against hojje, &c. If we thus read, the sense is,
that when there was no probable reason, yea, when all things
were against him, he yet continued to believe. And, doubt-
less, there is nothing more injurious to faith than to fasten
our minds to our eyes, that we may from what we see, seek
a reason for our hope. We ma}'' also read, " above hope,"
and perhaps more suitably ; as though he had said that by
his faith he far surpassed all that he could conceive ; for
except faith flies upward on celestial wings, so as to look
down on all the perceptions of the flesh as on things far be-
low, it will stick fast in the mud of the world. But Paul
uses the word hope twice in this verse : in the first in-
stance, he means a probable evidence for hoping, such as can
be derived from nature and carnal reason ; in the second,
he refers to faith given by God f for when he had no ground
from not taking the word in its most obvious meaning. The literal ver-
sion is, " and who calls things not existing as existing," — xai kccXovvtos rk
fA,yi ovTa us onra. The reference is evidently to the declaration, " I have
made thee the father of many nations." This had then no real existence ;
but God represents it as having an existence already. Far-fetched mean-
ings are sometimes adopted, when the plainest and the most obvious is
passed by. — Ed.
' " Ut esset :" this may indeed be rendered according to our version,
" that he might become ;" but the drift of the comment seems to favour the
other view, that he believed that he should be, and not that he believed in
order to be, or that he might be, the father of many nations its ro yivitrSai
kvTOM ; " that he should be," is the rendering oi Hammond, Doddridge, and
Stuart ; and it is indeed what is consistent with the drift of the passage,
and with what is recorded in Genesis. Wofjius says, that £<; here does not
si;.,nify the final cause, but the subject or the object of faith and hope ;
Abraham believed the promise, that he should be the father of many
nations. — Ed.
2 This is a striking instance of the latitude of meaning which some
words have in Scripture. Here hope, in the first instance, means the
ground, of hope ; and in the second, the object of hope. So faith, in verse
5, and in other places, must be considered as including its object, the gra-
cious promise of God ; for otherwise it will be a meritorious act, the very
thing which the Apostle throughout repudiates with regard to man's jus-
tification. Faith, as it lays hold on God's promise of free acceptance and
forgiveness, can alone, in the very nature of things, be imputed for right-
eousness : it is not indispensably necessary that the way, or mediiun, or
the meritorious cause of acceptance and forgiveness, should be clearly
CHAP. IV. 19. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. l77
for hoping ho yet in hope relied on the promise of God ; and
he thought it a sufficient reason for lioping, that the Lord
had promised, however incredible the thing was in itself.
According to what had been said, &c. So have I pre-
ferred to render it, that it may be applied to the time of
Abraham ; for Paul meant to say, that Abraham, when
many temptations were drawing him to despair, that he
might not fail, turned his thoughts to what had been pro-
mised to him, " Thy seed shall equal the stars of heaven and
the sands of the sea ;" but he designedly adduced this quo-
tation incomplete, in order to stimulate us to read the Scrip-
tures. The Apostles, indeed, at all times, in quoting the
Scriptures, took a scrujmlous care to rouse us to a more dili-
gent reading of them.
19. And being not weak in faith, 19. Ac fide minime debilitatus,
he considered not his own body now non consideravit suum ipsins cor-
dead, Avhen he was about an hundred pus jam eniortuum, centenarius
years ohl, neither yet the deadness quum fere esset, nee emortuam vul-
of Sarah's womb : vam Sarte :
20. He staggered not at the pro- 20. Nee vero in Dei promissi-
mise of God through unbelief ; but onem per incrediditatem disquisivit ;
was strong in faith, giving glory to sed roboratus est fide, tribuens glo-
God ; riam Deo ;
21. And being fully persuaded, 21. Ac certe persuasus, quod ubi
that what he had promised, he was quid promisit, possit etiam prae-
able also to perform. stare.
22. And therefore it was imputed 22. Ideo et imputatum illi est in
to him for righteousness. justitiam.
19. In faith, &c. If you prefer to omit one of the nega-
tives you may render it thus, " Being weak in faith, he
considered not his own body," &c. ; but this makes no sense.
He indeed shows now more fully what might have liindered,
yea, and wholly turned Abraham aside from receiving the
promise. A seed from Sarah was promised to him at a time
when he was not by nature fit for generating, nor Sarah for
conceiving. Whatever he could see as to himself was opposed
to the accomplishment of the promise. Hence, that he might
yield to the truth of God, he withdrew his mind from those
things which presented themselves to his own view, and as
known and distinctly seen ; the gracious presence of God is enough, so
that faith may become a justifying faith.
M
178 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IV. ] 9.
it were forgot himself. You are not however to think, that
lie had no regard whatever to his own body, now dead, since
Scripture testifies to the contrary; for he reasoned thus with
himself, " Shall a child he born to a man an hundred years
old ? and shall Sarah, who is ninety, hear a son ?" But as
he laid aside the consideration of all this, and resigned his
own judgment to the Lord, the Apostle says, that he con-
sidered not, &c. ; and truly it was a greater effort to with-
draw his thoughts from what of itself met his eyes, than if
such a thing came into his mind.
And that the body of Abraham was become through age
incapable of generating, at the time he received the Lord's
blessing, is quite evident from this passage, and also from
Gen. xvii. and xviii., so that the opinion of Augustine is by
no means to be admitted, who says somewhere, that the im-
pediment was in Sarah alone. Nor ought the absurdity of
the objection to influence us, by which he was induced to have
recourse to this solution ; for he thought it inconsistent to
suppose that Abraham in his hundredth year was incapable
of generating, as he had afterwards many children. But by
this very thing God rendered his power more visible, inas-
much as he, who was before like a dry and barren tree, was
so invigorated by the celestial blessing, that he not only
begot Isaac, but, as though he was restored to the vigour of
age, he had afterwards strength to beget others. But some
one may object and say, that it is not beyond the course of
nature that a man should beget children at that age. Though
I allow that such a thing is not a prodigy, it is yet very little
short of a miracle. And then, think with how many toils,
sorrows, wanderings, distresses, had that holy man been ex-
ercised all his life ; and it must be confessed, that he was
no more debilitated by age, than worn out and exhausted
by toils. And lastly, his body is not called barren simply
but comparatively ; for it was not probable that he, who
was unfit for begetting in the flower and vigour of age,
should begin only now when nature had decayed.
The exj)i-ession, being not weak in faith, take in this
sense — that he vacillated not, nor fluctuated, as we usually
do under diflicult circumstances. There is indeed a twofold
CHAP. IV. 20. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 1 79
weakness of faitli — one is that wliich, by succumbing to
trying adversities, occasions a falling away from the sup-
porting power of God — the other arises from imperfection,
but does not extinguish faith itself: for the mind is never
so illuminated, but that many relics of ignorance remain ;
the heart is never so strengthened, but that much doubting
cleaves to it. Hence with these vices of the flesh, ignorance
and doubt, the faithful have a continual conflict, and in this
conflict their faith is often dreadfully shaken and distressed,
but at length it comes forth victorious ; so that they may be
said to be strong even in weakness.
20. Nor did he through unbelief make an inquiry, &c.
Though I do not follow the old version, nor Erasmus, yet
my rendering is not given without reason. The Ajjostle
seems to have had this in view, — That Abraham did not try
to find out, by weighing the matter in the balance of unbe-
lief, whether the Lord was able to perform what he had pro-
mised. What is properly to inquire or to search into any-
thing, is to examine it through diffidence or mistrust, and to
be unwilling to admit what appears not credible, without
thoroughly sifting it.^ He indeed asked, how it could come
to pass, but that was the asking of one astonished; as the case
was with the Virgin Mary, when she inquired of the angel
how could that be which he had announced ; and there are
other similar instances. The saints then, when a message is
brought them respecting the works of God, the greatness of
which exceeds their comprehension, do indeed burst forth
into expressions of wonder ; but from this wonder they soon
pass on to lay hold on the power of God : on the contrary,
the wicked, when they examine a message, scoff" at and re-
ject it as a fable. Such, as you will find, was the case with
the Jews, when they asked Christ how he could give his
1 The verb is ^nx.^'Jn, wliich Calvin renders " disquisivit." The most
common meaning of the verb is to hesitate, to doubt : it has the sense of
exploring and examining, in the active voice, as in 1 Cor. xi. 31, but not in
the passive. — See Matt. xxi. 21 ; Mark xi. 23; Acts x. 20. The version
of Parens is, " non disceptavit — he disputed not," and also of Macknigkt.
But the fathers, and many moderns, such as Beza, Ilaminond, Stiiai-t,
and others, have rendered the sentence, " He doubted not." Phavorbms
says, as quoted by Poole, that liaK^'m<r6o^i, is to doubt, to hesitate, to dis-
pute, to distrust, {dijffidere.) — Ed.
180 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IV. 21.
flesh to be eaten. For this reason it was, that Abraham
Avas not reproved when he laughed and asked, liow could a
cliild be born to a man an hundred years old, and to a
woman of ninety ; for in his astonishment he fully admitted
the power of God's word. On the other hand, a similar
laughter and inquiry on the part of Sarah were not without
reproof, because she regarded not the promise as valid.
If these things be applied to our present subject, it will
be evident, that the justification of Abraham had no other
beginning than that of the Gentiles. Hence the Jews re-
proach their own father, if they exclaim against the call
of the Gentiles as a thing unreasonable. Let us also remem-
ber, that the condition of us all is the same with that of
Abraham. All things around us are in opposition to the
promises of God : He promises immortality ; we are sur-
rounded with mortality and corruption : He declares that
he counts us just ; we are covered with sins : He testifies
that he is propitious and kind to us ; outward judgments
threaten his wrath. What then is to be done ? We must
with closed eyes pass by ourselves and all things connected
with us, that nothing may hinder or jirevent us from believ-
ing that God is true.
But he was strengthened, &c. This is of the same import
with a former clause, when it is said, that he was not weak
in faith. It is the same as though he had said, that he
overcame unbelief by the constancy and firmness of faith.^
No one indeed comes forth a conqueror from this contest,
but he who borrows weapons and strength from the word of
God. From what he adds, giving glory to God, it must be
observed, that no greater honour can be given to God, than
by faith to seal his truth ; as, on the other hand, no greater
dishonour can be done to him, than to refuse his offered
favour, or to discredit his word. It is hence the chief thing
in honouring God, obediently to embrace his promises : and
true religion begins with faith.
21. Tliat what he had promised, &c. As all men acknow-
* " Doubt," says Parens, " has two arguments — ivill God do this? and
can God do this ? Faith lias also two arguments — God will do it, because
he has promised ; and he can do it, because he is omnipotent."
CHAP. IV. 21. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 181
ledge God's power, Paul seems to saj nothing- very extraor-
dinary of the faith of Abraham ; but experience proves, that
nothing is more uncommon, or more difficult, than to ascribe
to God's power the honour which it deserves. There is in-
deed no obstacle, however small and insignificant, by which
the flesh imagines the hand of God is restrained from work-
ing. Hence it is, tliat in the slightest trials, the promises
of God slide away from us. When there is no contest, it is
true, no one, as I have said, denies that God can do all
things ; but as soon as anything comes in the way to im-
pede the course of God's promise, we cast down God's power
from its eminence. Hence, that it may obtain from us its
right and its honour, when a contest comes, we ought to de-
termine thus, — That it is no less sufficient to overcome the
obstacles of the world, than the strong rays of the sun are
to dissipate the mists. We are indeed wont ever to excuse
ourselves, that we derogate nothing from God's power, when-
ever we hesitate respecting his promises, and we commonly
say, " The thought, that God promises more in his word
than he can perform, (which would be a falsehood and blas-
phemy against him,) is by no means the cause of our hesita-
tion ; but that it is the defect wdiich we feel in ourselves."
But we do not sufficiently exalt the power of God, unless we
think it to be gToater than our weakness. Faith then ought
not to regard our weakness, misery, and defects, but to fix
wholly its attention on the power of God alone ; for if it de-
pends on our righteousness or worthiness, it can never ascend
to the consideration of God's power. And it is a proof of
the unbelief, of which he had before spoken, when we mete
the Lord's power with our own measure. For faith does
not think that God can do all things, while it leaves him
sitting still, but when, on the contrary, it regards his
power in continual exercise, and applies it, especially, to
the accomplishment of his word : for the hand of God is
ever ready to execute whatever he has declared by his
mouth.
It seems strange to me, that Erasrmis approved of the re-
lative in the masculine gender ; for though the sense is not
changed, we may yet come nearer to the Greek words of
182 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IV. 23.
Paul. The verb, I know, is passive ;^ but the abruptness
may be lessened by a little change.
22. A7id it ivas therefore imputed,^ &e. It becomes now-
more clear, how and in what manner faith brought right-
eousness to Abraham ; and that was, because he, leaning on
God's word, rejected not the promised favour. And this
connection of faith with the word ought to be well under-
stood and carefully remembered ; for faith can bring us
nothing more than what it receives from the word. Hence
he does not become immediately just, who is imbued only
with a general and confused idea that God is true, except he
reposes on the promise of his favour.
23. Now,it was not written for his 23. Non est autem scriptum prop-
sake alone, that it was imputed to ter ipsura tantum, imputatum iuisse
him ; illi ;
24. But for us also, to whom it 24. Sed etiam propter nos, quibus
shall be imputed, if we believe on imputabitur credentibus in eum, qui
him that raised up Jesus owe Lord excitavit lesum Dominum nostrum
fi-ora the dead ; ex mortuis :
25. Who was delivered for our 25. Qui traditus fuit propter de-
offences, and was raised again for our licta nostra, et excitatus propter nos-
justification. tram justificationem.
2-!^. Now it was not luritten, &c. A proof from example is
not always valid, of which I have before reminded you ; lest
this should be questioned, Paul expressly affirms, that in the
person of Abraham was exhibited an example of a common
righteousness, which belongs equally to all.
We are, by this passage, reminded of the duty of seeking
profit from the examples recorded in Scripture. That his-
tory is the teacher of what life ought to be, is what heathens
1 Tlie verb is, i^JiVysXro;, used here, and perhaps in one other place,
Heb. xii. 26, in an active sense. It is usually found, in the sense of pro-
mising, in the middle voice, as in Mark xiv. 11 ; Acts vii. 5 ; Heb. vi. 13,
&c. It is an anomaly that is to be met with sometimes in Greek authors.
—Ed.
- As in a former instance in vei-se 3, there is no nominative case to this
verb : it is supplied by the sentence. This is the case not unfrequently in
languages, such as Greek and Hebrew, in which the person is included in
the verb itself. There is no nominative in the Welsh version, and there
seems to be no need of it, Amhyny y cyvrivwyd iddo yii gyviawnder.
" It is most true, as Paul says to the Romans, that by faith Abraham
was justified, and not by obedience : but it is just as true what he says to
the Hebrews, that it was by faith that Abraham obeyed." — Chalmer&.
CHAP. IV. 23. KPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 183
have with truth said ; but as it is handed down by them, no
one can derive from it sound instruction. Scripture alone
justly claims to itself an office of this kind. For in the first
place it prescribes general rules, by which we may test every
other history, so as to render it serviceable to us : and in the
second place, it clearly points out what things are to be fol-
lowed, and what things are to be avoided. But as to doc-
trine, which it especially teaches, it possesses this peculiarity,
— that it clearly reveals the providence of God, his justice
and goodness towards his own peojile, and his judgments on
the wicked.
What then is recorded of Abraham is by Paul denied to
have been written only for his sake ; for the subject is not what
belongs to the special call of one or of any particular person ;
but that way of obtaining righteousness is described, which
is ever the same with regard to all ; and it is what belonged
to the common father of the faithful, on whom the eyes of
all ought to be fixed.
If then we would make a right and proper use of sacred
histories, we must remember so to use them as to draw from
them sound doctrine. They instruct us, in some parts, how to
frame our life ; in others, how to strengthen faith ; and then,
how we are to be stirred up to serve the Lord. In forming our
life, the example of the saints may be useful ; and we may
learn from them sobriety, chastity, love, patience, moderation,
contempt of the world, and other virtues. What will serve to
confirm faith is the help which God ever gave them, the pro-
tection which brought comfort in adversities, and the pater-
nal care which he ever exercised over them. The judgments
of God, and the punishments inflicted on the wicked, will
also aid us, provided they fill us with that fear which imbues
the heart with reverence and devotion.
But by saying, not on his account only, he seems to inti-
mate, that it was written partly for his sake. Hence some
think, that what Abraham obtained by faith was commemo-
rated to his praise, because the Lord will have his servants
to be for ever remembered, according to what Solomon says,
that their name will be blessed. (Prov. x. 7.) But what if
you take the words, not on his account only, in a simpler
184 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IV. 25.
form, as tliougli it were some singular privilege, not fit to be
made an example of, but yet suitable to teach us, who must
be justified in the same manner ? This certainly would be
a more appropriate sense.
24. Who believe 07i him, &c. I have already reminded you
of the design of those periphrastic expressions : Paul intro-
duced them, that he might, according to what the passages
may require, describe in various ways the real character of
faith — of which tlie resurrection of Christ is not the smallest
part ; for it is the ground of our hope as to eternal life. Had
he said only, that we believe in God, it could not have been
so readily learnt how this could serve to obtain righteous-
ness ; but when Christ comes forth and presents to us in his
own resurrection a sure pledge of life, it then appears evident
from what fountain the imputation of righteousness flows.
25. Who was delivered for our offences,^ &c. He expands
and illustrates more ai> large the doctrine to which I have
just referred. It indeed greatly concerns us, not only to
have our minds directed to Christ, but also to have it dis-
tinctly made known how he attained salvation for us. And
^ It is S/a ra fa^x-rrcifiara ysf^av, " for OUf offeilCes," and §/« tjjv ^iKaiuffn
hf^iov, "for our justification." Tlie preposition S<a, has liere clearly two
meanings : the first signifies the reason Avhy ; and the second, the end for
which. How is this to be known ? By the character of the sentence,
and by what is taught elsewhere. For, to which Johnson attaches forty
meanings, is commonly understood here as having a difl^"t:rent sense ; and
this is sufficiently indicated by what is connected with it. But in case a
doubt arises, we have only to considt other passages in which the subject
is handled.
Take the fii'st instance — " for our offences." There are those who say
that "Bia, here means because of, or, on account of; and this, in order to
evade the idea of a propitiation. The preposition, no doubt, has this sense ;
but is this its sense here ? If the sentence itself be deemed insufficient to
determine the question, (though to a plain reader it is,) let us see what is
said elsewhere of Christ's death in connection with our sins or offences.
He himself said, that he came " to give his life a ransom (xJt^ov — a re-
deeming price) for many," Matt. xx. 2S. It is said, that he " gave him-
self a ransom (av7-;Xj/T^«i — a redeeming price for another) for all," 1 Tim.
ii. 6. It is expressly declared, that " Christ was once offered to bear the
sins of many," Heb. ix. 28. And more to the piu-pose still, if possible, is
the testimony of John, when he says that Christ " is the propitiation [ixaa--
t^'os — expiation) for our sins," 1 John ii. 2. Now, can it be that we can
give any other meaning to the text, than that God delivered his Son as a
sacrifice for our offences? This is the doctrine of Scripture throughout.
—Ed.
CHAP. IV. 25. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 185
thoug-li Scripture, wlicn it treats of our salvation, dwells
especially on the death of Christ, yet the Apostle now pro-
ceeds farther : for as his purpose was more explicitly to set
forth the cause of our salvation, he mentions its two parts ;
and says, first, that our sins were expiated by the death of
Christ, — and secondl}'-, that by his resurrection was obtained
our righteousness. But the meaning is, that when we pos-
sess the benefit of Christ's death and resurrection, there is
nothing- wanting to the completion of perfect righteousness.
By separating his death from his resurrection, he no doubt
accommodates what he says to our ignorance ; for it is also
true that righteousness has been obtained for us by that
obedience of Christ, which he exhibited in his death, as the
Apostle himself teaches us in the following chapter. But as
Christ, by rising from the dead, made known liow much he
had efiected by his death, this distinction is calculated to
teach us that our salvation was begun by the sacrifice, by
which our sins were expiated, and was at length completed
by his resurrection : for the beginning of righteousness is to
be reconciled to God, and its completion is to attain life by
having death abolished. Paul then means, that satisfaction
for our sins was given on the cross : for it was necessary, in
order that Christ might restore us to the Father's favour,
that our sins should be abolished by him ; which could not
have been done had he not on their account suffered the
punishment, which we were not equal to endure. Hence
Isaiah says, that the chastisement of our peace was upon
him. (Isa. liii. 5.) But he says that he was delivered, and
not, that he died ; for expiation depended on the eternal
goodwill of God, who purposed to be in this way pacified.
And was raised again for our justification. As it would
not have been enough for Christ to undergo the wrath and
judgment of God, and to endure the curse due to our sins,
without his coming forth a conqueror, and without being
received into celestial glory, that by his intercession he might
reconcile God to us, the efiicacy of justification is ascribed
to his resurrection, by which death was overcome ; not that
the sacrifice of the cross, by which we are reconciled to God,
contributes nothing towards our justification, but that the
186 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IV. 25.
completeness of his favour appears more clear by his coming
to life again.^
But I cannot assent to those who refer this second clause
to newness of life ; for of that the Apostle has not begun to
speak ; and further, it is certain that both clauses refer to
the same thing. For if justification means renovation, then
that he died for our sins must be taken in the same sense,
as signifying, that he acquired for us grace to mortify the
flesh ; Avhicli no one admits. Then, as he is said to have
died for our sins, because he delivered us from the evil of
death by suffering death as a punishment for our sins ; so he
is now said to have been raised for our justification, because
he fully restored life to us by his resurrection : for he was
first smitten by the hand of God, that in the person of the
sinner he might sustain the misery of sin ; and then he was
raised to life, that he might freely grant to his people right-
eousness and life.^ He therefore still speaks of imputative
justification ; and this will be confirmed by what immediately
follows in the next chapter.
CHAPTER V.
1. Therefore, being justified by 1. lustifieatus ergo ex fide, pacem
faith, we have peace with God, habenius apud Deum per Dominuni
through our Lord Jesus Christ : nostrum lesum Christum ;
1 Christ is said here to have been raised from the dead by God, as well
as deUvered into death. " However much the import of this," says Clud-
iners, " may have escaped the notice of an ordinary reader, it is pregnant
with meaning of the weightiest importance. You know that when the
prison door is opened to a criminal, and that by the very authority which
lodged him there, it evinces that the debt of his transgression has been
rendered, and that he stands acquitted of all its penalties. It was not for
his own, but for our offences that Jesus was delivered unto the death, and
that his body was consigned to the imprisonment of the grave. And when
an angel descended from heaven, and rolled back the great stone from the
door of the sepulchre, this speaks to us, that the justice of God is satisfied,
that the ransom of our iniquity has been paid, that Christ has rendered a
full discharge of all the debt for which he imdertook as the great surety
between God and the sinners who believe in him." — Ed.
* " Either therefore as the evidence of the acceptance of his sufferings as
our substitute, or as a necessary step towards securing the application of
their merit to our benefit, the resurrection of Christ was essential to our
justification. " — Professor Hodge.
CHAP. V. 1. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 187
2. By whom also we have access by 2. Per quem accessum habuimiis
faith into this grace wherein we stand, fide in gratiam istam in qua steti-
and rejoice in hope of the glory of mus, et gloriamur super spe gloriaj
God. Dei.
1, Being then justified, &c. The Apostle begins to illus-
trate by the effects, what he has hitherto said of the right-
eousness of faith : and hence the whole of this chapter is
taken up with amplifications, which are no less calculated to
ex^ilain tlian to confirm. He had said before, that faith is
abolished, if righteousness is sought by works ; and in this
case perj^etual inquietude would disturb miserable souls, as
they can find nothing substantial in themselves : but he
teaches us now, that they are rendered quiet and tranquil,
when we have obtained righteousness by faith, We have peace
ivith God ; and this is the peculiar fruit of the righteousness
of faith. When any one strives to seek tranquillity of con-
science by works, (which is the case with profane and igno-
rant men,) he labours for it in vain ; for either his heart is
asleep through his disregard or forgctfulness of God's judg-
ment, or else it is full of trembling and dread, until it re-
poses on Christ, who is alone our peace.
Then peace means tranquillity of conscience, which arises
from this, — that it feels itself to be reconciled to Grod. This
the Pharisee has not, who swells with false confidence in his
own works ; nor the stupid sinner, who is not disquieted,
because he is inebriated with the sw^eetness of vices : for
though neither of these seems to have a manifest disquie-
tude, as he is who is smitten with a consciousness of sin ; yet
as they do not really approach the tribunal of God, they have
no reconciliation with him ; for insensibility of conscience
is, as it were, a sort of retreating from God. Peace with
God is opposed to the dead security of the flesh, and for this
reason, — because the first thing is, that every one should
become awakened as to the account he must render of his
life ; and no one can stand boldly before God, but he who
relies on a gratuitous reconciliation ; for as long as he is
God, all must otherwise tremble and be confounded. And
this is the strongest of proofs, that our opponents do nothing
but prate to no purpose, when they ascribe righteousness to
188 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. V. 2.
works ; for tliis conclusion of Paul is derived from this fact, —
that miserable souls always tremble, except they repose on
the grace of Christ.
2. Through whom we have access^ &c. Our reconciliation
with God depends only on Christ ; for he only is the beloved
Son, and we are all by natvu-e the children of wrath. But
this favour is communicated to us by the gospel ; for the
gospel is the ministry of reconciliation, by the means of
which we are in a manner brought into the kingdom of God.
Rightly then does Paul set before our eyes in Christ a sure
pledge of God's favour, that he might more easily draw us
away from every confidence in works. And as he teaches
us by the word access, that salvation begins with Christ, he
excludes those preparations by which foolish men imagine
that they can anticipate God's mercy ; as though he said,
1 Calvin leaves out xa.), " also." Grieshacli retains it. The omission
is only in one MS., and in the Syriac and EtMojAc versions : it is rendered
vw» by Theodoret. But its meaning here seems not to be " also," but
" even" or " yea :" for this verse contains in part the same truth as the
former. The style of Paul is often very like that of the Prophets, that is,
the arrangement of his sentences is frequently on their model. In the
Prophets, and also in the Psalms, we find often two distichs and sometimes
two verses containing the same sentiment, only the latter distich states it
differently, and adds something to it. See, for example, Ps. xxxii. 1, 2.
Such is exactly the case here. " Justified by faith," and " tliis grace in
which we stand," are the same. " Through our Lord Jesus Christ," and
" through whom we have access," are identical in their import. The ad-
ditional idea in the second verse is the last clause. That Ave may see how
the whole corresponds with the Prophetic style, the two verses shall be
presented in lines : —
1. Having then been justified by faith.
We have peace with God,
Through our Lord Jesus Christ ;
2. Through -\\hom we have had, yea, the access by faith
To this grace, in which we stand,
And exidt in the hope of the glory of God.
The illative, then, is to be preferred to therefore, as it is an inference, not
from a particular verse or a clause, but from what the Apostle had been
teaching. By tlie phrase, " the glory of God," is meant the glory which
God bestows : it is, to use the words of Professor Stum-t, " genitivus
auctoris."
The word " access," -^^otra-yayriv, has two meanings, — introduction (ad-
ductio) — and access (accessio.) The verb -Tr^otrciyiiv, is used in 1 Pet. iii.
18, in the sense of introducing, leading or bringing to. So Christ, as
Wolfiiis remarks, may be considered to be here represented as the intro-
ducer and reconciler, through whom believers come to God and hold in-
tercourse with him. "Introduction" is the version of Macknight ; and
Doddridge has also adopted this idea. — Ed.
CHAP. V. 2. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 189
" Christ comes not to you, nor lielps you, on account of your
merits." lie afterwards immediately subjoins, that it is
through the continuance of the same favour that our salva-
tion becomes certain and sure ; by which he intimates, that
perseverance is not founded on our power and diligence, but
on Christ ; though at the same time by saying, that we stand,
he indicates that the gospel ought to strike deep roots into
the hearts of the godly, so that being strengthened by its
truth, they may stand firm against all the devices of Satan
and of the flesh. And by the word stand, he means, that
faith is not a changeable persuasion, only for one day ; but
that it is immutable, and that it sinks deep into the heart,
so that it endures through life. It is then not he, who by
a sudden imjjulse is led to believe, that has faith, and is to
be reckoned among the faithful ; but he who constantly, and,
so to speak, with a fii'm and fixed foot, abides in that station
aj)pointed to him by God, so as to cleave always to Christ.
And glory in the hope, &c. The reason that the hope of
a future life exists and dares to exult, is this, — because we
rest on Gods favour as on a sure foundation : for Paul's
meaning is, that though the ftiithful are now pilgrims on
the earth, they yet by hope scale the heavens, so that they
quietly enjoy in their own bosoms their future inheritance.
And hereby are subverted two of the most pestilent dogmas
of the sophists. What they do in the first place is, they bid
Christians to be satisfied with moral conjecture as to the
perception of God's favour towards them ; and secondly,
they teach that all are uncertain as to their final persever-
ance. But except there be at present a sure knowledge,
and a firm and undoubting persuasion as to the future, who
would dare to glory? The hope of the glory of God has
shone upon us through the gospel, which testifies that we
shall be participators of the Divine nature; for when we
shall see God face to face, we shall be like him. (2 Peter i.
4 ; 1 John iii. 2.)
3. And not only so, but we glory 3. Neque id niodo, sed gloriamur'
in tribulations also : knowing that etiam in afflictionibus ; scientes quod
tribulation Avorketh patience ; tribulatio patientiam efficiat ;
' Gloriamur — x.a.ux,i^fi.i6a. The same as in the preceding verse, and
190 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. V. 3.
4. And patience, experience ; and 4. Patientia verb probationem ;
experience, hope : probatio autem spem :
5. And hope maketb not ashamed ; 5. Porro spes non pudefacit,
because the love of God is shed quoniam dilectio Dei difiPusa est in
abroad in our hearts by the Holy cordibus nostris per Spiritum sauc-
Ghost, which is given unto us. turn, qui datus est nobis.
8. Not only so, &c. That no one might scoffingly object
and say, that Christians, with all their glorying, are yet
strangely harassed and distressed in this life, which condi-
tion is far from being a happy one, — he meets this objection,
and declares, not only that the godly are prevented by these
calamities from being blessed, but also that their glorying
is thereby promoted. To prove this he takes his argument
from the effects, and adopts a remarkable gradation, and at
last concludes, that all the sorrows we endure contribute to
our salvation and final good.
By saying that the saints glory in tribulations, he is not
to be understood, as though they dreaded not, nor avoided
adversities, or were not distressed with their bitterness
when they happened, (for there is no patience when there is
no feeling of bitterness ;) but as in their grief and sorrow
they are not without great consolation, because they regard
that whatever they bear is dispensed to them for good by
the hand of a most indulgent Father, they are justly said to
glory: for whenever salvation is promoted, there is not
wanting a reason for glorying.
We are then taught here what is the design of our tribu-
lations, if indeed we would prove ourselves to be the children
of God. They ought to habituate us to patience ; and if
they do not answer this end, the w^ork of the Lord is ren-
dered void and of none effect through our corruption : for
how does he prove that adversities do not hinder the glory-
ing of the faithful, except that by their patience in endur-
ing them, they feel the help of God, which nourishes and
confirms their hope ? They then who do not learn patience,
do not, it is certain, make good progress. Nor is it any
rendered " boast" by Macknight, and in the former verse by Doddridge,
and here, " glory." " Boast" is certainly not a proper word, for it is
commonly used in a bad sense. " Rejoice" is too feeble, for it means
exultation and triumph. — Ed.
CHAP. V. 4. EPISTLE TO THE KOMANS. 191
objection, that there are recorded in Scripture some com-
plaints full of despondency, which the saints had made : for
the Lord sometimes so depresses and straitens for a time
his people, that they can hardly breathe, and can hardly
remember any source of consolation ; but in a moment he
brings to life those whom lie had nearly sunk in the dark
ness of death. So that what Paul says is always accom
plished in them — " We are in every way oppressed, but not
made anxious ; we are in danger, but we are not in despair ;
we suffer persecution, but we are not forsaken ; we are cast
down, but we are not destroyed." (2 Cor. iv. 8.)
Tribulation produces (efficiat) patience, &c. This is not
the natural effect of tribulation ; for we see that a great
portion of mankind are thereby instigated to murmur against
God, and even to curse his name. But when that inward
meekness, which is infused by the Spirit of God, and the
consolation, which is conveyed by the sam.e Spirit, succeed
in the place of our stubbornness, then tribulations become
the means of generating patience ; yea, those tribulations,
which in the obstinate can produce nothing but indignation
and clamorous discontent.
4. Patience, probation, &c. James, adopting a similar
gradation, seems to follow a different order ; for he says,
that patience proceeds from probation : but the different
meaning of the word is what will reconcile both. Paul takes
probation for the experience which the faithful have of the
sure protection of God, when by relying on his aid they
overcome all difficulties, even when they experience, whilst
in patiently enduring they stand firm, how much avails the
power of the Lord, wdiich he has promised to be always pre-
sent with his people. James takes the same word for tri-
bulation itself, according to the common usage of Scripture ;
for by these God proves and tries his servants : and they
are often called trials.^
1 The word in James is S«x/^;iv, while here it is Sax/^Ji. The first means
a test, or the act of testing — trial ; and the second, the result of testing —
experience, and is rendered in onr version " proof," 2 Cor. ii. 9, — " expe-
riment," 2 Cor. ix. 13; — and in 2 Cor. viii. 2, " trial," which ought to be
experience. Beza says, that the first bears to the second a similar rela-
192 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. V. 5.
According tlien to the jjresent passage, we then only
make advances in jjatience as we ought, when we regard it
as having been continued to us by God's power, and thus
entertain hope as to the future, that God's favour, which has
ever succoured us in our necessities, will never be wanting
to us. Hence he subjoins, that from probation arises hope ;
for ungrateful we should be for benefits received, except the
recollection of them confirms our hope as to what is to come.
5. Hope maketh not ashamed, &c. ;^ that is, it regards
salvation as most certain. It hence appears, that the Lord
tries us by adversities for this end, — that our salvation may
thereby be gradually advanced. Those evils then cannot
render us miserable, which do in a manner promote our
happiness. And thus is proved what he had said, that the
godly have reasons for glorying in the midst of their afflic-
tions.
For the love of God, &c. I do not refer this only to the
last sentence, but to the whole of the preceding passage. I
therefore would say, — that by tribulations we are stimulated
to patience, and that patience finds an experiment of divine
help, by which we are more encouraged to entertain hope ;
for however we may be pressed and seem to be nearly con-
sumed, we do not yet cease to feel God's favour towards us,
which affords the richest consolation, and much more abun-
dant than when all things happen prosj^erously. For as
that happiness, which is so in appearance, is misery itself,
when God is adverse to and displeased with us ; so when he
tion as cause bears to effect : the one thing is testing or probation, and
the other is the experience that is thereby gained.
The word is rendered here, not very intelligibly, " approbation," both
by Macknight and Stuart ; but more correctly, " experience," by Beza
and Doddridge. — Ed.
' Chalmers observes, that there are two hopes mentioned in tliis pas-
sage,— the hope of faith in the second verse, and the hope of experience
in this. " The hope of the foiu-th verse," he says, " is distinct from and
posterior to the hope of the second : and it also appears to be derived
from another source. The first hope is hope in believing, a hope ivhich
hangs direct on the testimony of God... The second hope is grounded on
distinct considerations — not upon what the believer sees to be in the tes-
timony of God, but upon what he finds to be in himself. — It is the fruit
not of faith, but of experience ; and is gathered not from the word that is
■without, but from the feeling of what passes within." — Ed.
CHAP. V. 5. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 193
is pi'opitious, even calamities tliemselves will surely be turned
to a prosperous and a joyful issue. Seeing all tilings must
serve the will of the Creator, who, according to his paternal
fovour towards us, (as Paul declares in the eighth chapter,)
overrules all the trials of the cross for our salvation, this
knowledge of divine love towards us is instilled into our
hearts by the Spirit of God ; for the good things which God
has prepai'cd for his servants are hid from the ears and the
eyes and the minds of men, and the Si^irit alone is he who
can reveal them. And the word diffused, is very emphati-
cal ; for it means that the revelation of divine love towards
us is so abounding that it iills our hearts ; and being thus
spread througli every part of them, it not only mitigates
sorrow in adversities, but also, like a sweet seasoning, it
renders tribulations to be loved by us.^
He says further, that the Spirit is given, that is, bestowed
through the gratuitous goodness of God, and not conferred for
our merits ; according to what Augustine has well observed,
who, though he is mistaken in his view of the love of God,
1 " The love of God" in this passage may mean either the love of which
God is the object — love to God, or the love which he possesses — God's
love to us : the usus loquendi would admit either of these meanings ; and
hence commentators have differed on the point. The expression, r/iv
ayd<Tnv Tov QioZ, in Luke xii. 42, John v. 42, and in other places, means
" love to God ;" and h aya-vn tov ©sou, in 1 John iv. 9, signifies clearly the
love of God to us. The meaning then can alone be ascertained by the
context, and by the wording of the sentence. It stands connected with
christian graces, patience and hope ; and this favours the first view, that
it is love to God produced within by the Spirit. Then the verb, 'ikkix,"-
Tcti — is poured out or poured forth, seems more suitable to the idea of love
being communicated as a gift, or as a holy feeling within. It is fiuther
what prevents hope from being disappointed ; it is some good or enjoy-
ment that now strengthens and satisfies hope ; and to lo^'e God who first
loved us is to realize in a measure what hope expects ; and v.iien it is said
that it is diffused by the Spirit, we are reminded of what Paul says in
Gal. V. 22. that "love" is one of tlie fruits of the Spirit. But it may,
on the other hand, be alleged, that the verse stands connected with
what follows, as the next verse begins with " for," and that the subse-
quent context most clearly refers to the love of God to us; and this evi-
dently decides the question.
The first view, our love to God, has been adopted by Augustine, Mcde,
Doddridge, Scott, and Stuart ; and the other, God's love to us, by Chry-
sostom, Beza, Parens, Grotius, Hodge, and Chalmers, and also by
Schleusner, who gives this paraphrase, " Amor Dei abmide nobis decla-
ratus est — the love of God is abundantly declared to us." — Ed.
N
194 COMMENTAKIES ON THE CHAP. V. 6.
gives this explanation, — that we courageously bear adversi-
ties, and are thus confirmed in our hope, because we, having
been regenerated by the Spirit, do love God. It is indeed a
pious sentiment, but not what Paul means : for love is not
to be taken here in an active but a passive sense. And cer-
tain it is, that no other thing is taught by Paul than that
the true fountain of all love is, when the faithful are con-
vinced that they are loved by God, and that they are not
slightly touched with this conviction, but have their souls
thoroughly imbued with it.
6. For when we were yet without 6. Christus enim, quum adhuc
strength, in due time Christ thed for essemus infirmi secundum rationem
the ungodly. temporis, pro impiis mortuus est :
7. For scarcely for a righteous 7. Vix sane pro justo quis mori-
man will one die ; yet peradventure atur ; nam pro bono forsan ahquis
for a good man some would even etiam niori audeat.
dare to die.
8. But God commendeth his love 8. Confirmat autem erga nos cha-
toward us, in that, while we were yet ritatera Devis quod peccatores quum
sinners, Christ died for us. adhuc essemus, Christus pro nobis
mortuus est :
9. Jiluch more then, being now 9. Midto igitur magis, justificati
justified by his blood, we shall be nunc per sanguinem ejus, servabi-
saved from wrath tlirough him. miu- per ipsum ab ira.
6. For GJirist, &c. I ventured not in my version to allow
myself so much liberty as to give this rendering, " In the
time in which we were weak ;" and yet I prefer this sense.
An argument begins here, which is from the greater to the
less, and which he afterwards pursues more at large : and
though he has not woven the thread of his discourse so very
distinctly, yet its irregular structure does not disturb the
meaning. " If Christ,'' he says, " had mercy on the ungodly,
if he reconciled enemies to his Father, if he has done this
by the virtue of his death, much more easily will he save
them when justified, and keej? those restored to favour in
the possession of it, especially when the influence of his life
is added to the virtue of his death."^ The time of weakness
^ On the argument of this verse, and on what follows to the tenth verse.
Professor Stuart makes this remark, — " The passage before us seems to
be more direct, in respect to the perseverance of the saints, than almost
any other passage in the Scriptures which I can iind. The sentiment here
is not dependent on the form of a particular expression, (as it appears to
CHAP. V. 7. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 196
some consider to be that, when Christ first began to be mani-
fested to the world, and they think that those are called
weak, who were like children under the tuition of the law.
I apply the expression to every one of us, and I regard that
time to be meant, which precedes the reconciliation of each
one with God. For as we are all born the children of wrath,
so we are kept under that curse until we become jiartakers
of Christ. And he calls those weak, who have nothing in
themselves but what is sinful ; for he calls the same imme-
diately afterwards ungodly. And it is nothing new, that
weakness should be taken in this sense. He calls, in 1 Cor.
xii. 22, the covered parts of the body weak ; and, in 2 Cor.
X. 10, he designates his own bodily presence weak, because
it had no dignity. And this meaning will soon again occur.
When, therefore, we were weak, that is, when we were in no
way worthy or fit that God should look on us, at this very
time Christ died for the ungodly : for the beginning of reli-
gion is faith, from which they were all alienated, for whom
Christ died. And this also is true as to the ancient fathers,
who obtained righteousness before he died ; for they derived
this benefit from his future death.^
7. For a just man, &c. The meaning of the passage has
constrained me to render the particle 'yap as an afiirmative
or declarative rather than as a causative. The import of the
sentence is this, " Most rare, indeed, is such an example to
be found among men, that one dies for a just man, though
this may sometimes happen : but let this be granted, yet
for an ungodly man none will be found willing to die : this
be in some other passages) ; but it is fundamentally connected with the
very natiu'e of the argument." — Ed.
^ Others, as well as Calvin, such as Chrysostom and Erasmus, have
connected Kara xai^ov with the preceding, and not with the following words.
And Parens, who inclined to the same view, gives this explanation, — " He
distinguishes the former from the present state, as though he said, ' We
Avho are now justified by faith were formerly ungodly.' " Chrysostom refers
to the time of the law, and considers the weakness here to be that of man
under the law. This gives an emphatic meaning to " weak," which other-
wise it seems not to have, and is countenanced by what is said in ch. viii.
3, where the law is said to be weak, but weak on account of the weakness
of the flesh. At the same time it must be observed, that most commen-
tators, like Beza, connect these words, xara xatpov, with the death of Christ,
as having taken place " in due time,"' appointed by God, and pre-signiiied
by the prophets, according to what is said in Gal. iv. 4. — Ed.
196 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. V. S.
is what Christ has done."'^ Thus it is an illustration, derived
from a comparison ; for sucli an example of kindness, as
Christ has exhibited towards us, does not exist among men.
8. But God confirms, &c. The verb, crvvLcrrrjaL, has various
meanings ; that which is most suitable to this place is that
of confirming ; for it Avas not the Apostle's object to excite
our gratitude, but to strengthen the trust and confidence of
our souls. He then confirins, that is, exhibits his love to us
as most certain and complete, inasmuch as for the sake of
the ungodly he spared not Christ his own Son. In this, in-
deed, his love appears, that being not moved by love on our
part, he of his own good will first loved us, as John tells us.
(1 John iii. 16.) — Those are here called sinners, (as in many
other places,) who are wholly vicious and given up to sin,
according to what is said in John ix. 31, " God hears not sin-
ners," that is, men abandoned and altogether wicked. The
woman called " a sinner," was one of a shameful character.
(Luke vii. 87.) And this meaning appears more evident
from the contrast which immediately follows, — -for being now
justified through his blood : for since he sets the two in oppo-
1 Calvin has omitted what is said of the "good "' man : for whom, it is
said, one would perhaps even dare to die. The "just," 'Sixaiog, is he who
acts according to what justice requires, and according to what the Rabbins
say, " What is mine is mine, and what is thine is thine," "j?^ J?^) vE^ vE^ :
but the " good," iya^o;, is the kind, the benevolent, the beneficent, called
H£3 in Hebrew ; who is described by Cicero as one who does good to those
to whom he can, (vir bonus est is, qui prodest quibus potest.)
There is here an evident contrast between these Avords and those em-
ployed in verses 6 and 8, to designate the character of those for whom
Christ died. The just, ^ixaios, is the ojiposite of the " ungodly," aAQn;, who,
by not worshipping and honoiu-ing God, is guilty of injvistice of the highest
kind, and in this sense of being unjust it is found in ch. iv. 5, Mhere God
is said to "justify the ungodly," that is, him who is unjust by withholding
from God the homage which rightly belongs to him. Phavorinus giv^s
a.fif/.i'Tos, unlawful, imjust, as one of its meanings. — What forms a contrast
with " good " is sinner, a^a^ruxis , which often means wicked, mischievous,
one given to vice and the doing of evil. Suidas describes a-iAa^ruXo'i as those
who determine to live in transgression, o\ -ra-^a^ofiia. o-u^iji -Tr^oat^ovfuvoi ; and
Schleusner gives " scelestus — wicked," " flagitiosus — full of mischief," as
being sometimes its meaning.
But the description goes farther, for in ver. 10 the word " enemies,
'^X^e''" is introduced in order to complete the character of those for whom
Christ died. They were not only " ungodly," and therefore unjust towards
God, and " wicked," given to all evils : but also " enemies," entertaining
hatred to God, and carrying on war, as it were, against him. — Ed.
OHAP. V. 1
CIIAK V. 10. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 197
sition, the one to the other, and calls those justified who are
delivered from the guilt of sin, it necessarily follows that
those are sinners who, for their evil deeds, are condemned.^
The import of the whole is, — since Christ has attained
righteousness for sinners by his death, much more shall he
protect them, being now justified, from destruction. And in
the last clause he applies to his own doctrine the compari-
son between the less and the greater : for it would not have
been enough for salvation to have been once jirocured for
us, were not Christ to render it safe and secure to the end.
And this is what the Apostle now maintains ; so that we
ought not to fear, that Christ will cut off the current of his
favour while we are in the middle of our course : for inas-
much as he has reconciled us to the Father, our condition is
such, that he purjjoses more efficaciously to put forth and
daily to increase his favour towards us.
10. For if, when we were ene-- 10. Si enim quum inimici esse-
mies, we were reconciled to God by mus, reconciliati sumus Deo per
the death of his Son ; much more, mortem Filii ejus ; niulto magis,
being reconciled, we shall be saved reconciliati, servabiraur per vitam
by his life. ipsius.
This is an explanation of the former verse, amplified by
introducing a comparison between life and death. We were
enemies, he says, when Christ interposed for the purpose of
propitiating the Father : through this reconciliation we are
now friends ; since this was effected by his death ; much
more influential and efficacious will be his life." We hence
^ The meaning given to avvlaTnffi is not peculiar. It is used with an
accusative in two senses, — to recommend, to commend, to praise, as in
ch. xvi. 1 ; 2 Cor. iii. 1 ; v. 12; x. 12, 18 ; and also, to prove, to demon-
strate, to shew, to render manifest or certain, and thus to confirm, as in
ch. iii. 5; 2 Cor. vi. 4; vii. 11 ; Gal. ii. 18; Schleusner refers to this
passage as an instance of the latter meaning. That God proved, or
rendered manifest, or conspicuously shewed, his love, seems to be the most
suitable idea, as the proof or the evidence is stated in the words which
follow. The Syriac version gives the sense of shewing or proving. Va-
tabliis has " proves " or verifies ; Grotius, " renders conspicuous ;" Beza,
" commends," as our version and Macknight ; Doddridge, " recommends ;"
Hodge, "renders conspicuous." — Ed.
2 " By his life," the abstract for the concrete ; it means, " through him
being alive," being at God's right hand, having every power committed to
him, and making intercession for us, chap. viii. 34. " Because / live, ye
shall live also." John xiv. 19. — Ed.
198 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. -.11.
have ample proofs to strengthen our hearts with confidence
respecting our salvation. By saying that we were recon-
ciled to God by the death of Christ, he means, that it was
the sacrifice of expiation, by which God was pacified towards
the world, as I have showed in the fourth chapter.
But the Apostle seems here to be inconsistent with him-
self ; for if the death of Christ was a jjledge of the divine
love towards -us, it follows that we were already acceptable
to him ; but he says now, that we were enemies. To this I
answer, that as God hates sin, we are also hated by him as
far as we are sinners ; but as in his secret counsel he chooses
us into the body of Christ, he ceases to hate us : but re-
storation to favour is unknown to us, until we attain it by
faith. Hence with regard to us, we are always enemies,
until the death of Christ interposes in order to propitiate
God. And this twofold aspect of things ought to be no-
ticed ; for we do not know the gratuitous mercy of God
otherwise than as it appears from this — that he spared not
his only -begotten Son ; for he loved us at a time when there
was discord between him and us : nor can we sufficiently
understand the benefit brought to us by the death of Christ,
except this be the beginning of our reconciliation with God,
that we are persuaded that it is by the expiation that has
been made, that he, who was before justly angry with us, is
now propitious to us. Since then our recejjtion into favour
is ascribed to the death of Christ, the meaning is, that guilt
is thereby taken away, to Avhich we should be otherwise ex-
posed.
11. And not only so, but we also 11. Non solum autem, sed etiara
joy in God, through our Lord Jesus gloriamur in Deo per Dominum
Christ, by whom we have now re- lesum Christum, per quem nunc re-
ceived the atonement. conciliationem accepimus.
11. And not this only, &c. He now ascends into the
highest strain of glorying ; for when we glory that God is
ours, whatever blessings can be imagined or wished, ensue
and flow from this fountain ; for God is not only the chief
of all good things, but also possesses in himself the sum and
substance of all blessings ; and he becomes ours through
Christ. We then attain this by faith, — that nothing is
CHAP. V. 12. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 199
wanting to us as to happiness. Nor is it in vain that he so
often mentions reconciliation : it is, first, that we may be
taught to fix our eyes on tlie death of Christ, AA'henevcr we
speak of our salvation ; and, secondly, that we may know
that our trust must be fixed on nothing else, but on the ex-
piation made for our sins.
- 12. Wherefore, as by one man sin 12. Quamobrem sicut per nnum
entered into the world, and death honiinem peccatum in mundimi in-
by sin ; and so death passed upon all troiit, et per peccatum mors ; atque
men, for that all have sinned : ita in omnes homines mors perva-
gata est, quandoquidem omnes pec-
caverunt :
13. (For until the law sin was in 13. (Nam usque ad legem pecca-
the world : but sin is not imputed tmii erat in mundo ; peccatum autera
when there is no law. non imputatiu", qiunn non est lex :
14. Nevertheless death reigned 14. Sed regnavit mors ab Adam
from Adam to JMoses, even over usque ad Mosen, etiam in eos qui
them that had not sinned after the non peccaverunt ad similitudinem
similitude of Adam's transgression, praevericationis Adam, qui est figura
who is the tigm*e of him that was to futuri.
come.
12. Wherefore as, &c. He now begins to enlarge on the
same doctrine, by comparing with it what is of an opposite
character. For since Christ came to redeem us from the
calamity into which Adam had fallen, and had precipitated
all his posterity with him, we cannot see with so much clear-
ness what we have in Christ, as by having what we have
lost in Adam set before us, though all things on both sides
are not similar : hence Paul subjoins an excej)tion, which we
shall notice in its place ; and we shall also point out any
other difference that may occur. The incompleteness of the
sentence sometimes renders it obscure, as when the second
clause, which answers to the former, is not expressed. But
we shall endeavour to make both plain when we come to
those parts.^
' The beginning of this verse has occasioned a vast number of conjec-
tures, both as to the connection and as to the corresponding clause to the
first sentence. Most agree in the main with Calvin on these two points.
Hodge announces a similar view as to the connection in these words, —
" The idea of men being regarded and treated, not according to their own
merits, but the merit of another, is contrary to the common mode of think-
ing among men. The Apostle illustrates and enforces it by an appeal to the
great analogous fact in the history of the world."
As to the corresponding clause, that it is foimd in the 18th verse, there
200 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. V. 12.
Sin entered into the world, &c. Observe the order which
he keeps here ; for he says, that sin preceded, and that from
sin death followed. There are indeed some who contend,
that we are so lost through Adam's sin, as though we perish-
ed through no fault of our own, hut only, because he had
sinned for us. But Paul distinctly affirms, that sin extends
to all Avho suffer its punishment : and this he afterwards
more fully declares, wdien subsequently he assigns a reason
why all the posterity of Adam are subject to the dominion
of death ; and it is even this — because we have all, he says,
sinned. But to sin in this case, is to become corrupt and
vicious ; for the natural depravity which we bring from our
mother's womb, though it brings not forth immediately its
own ^uits, is yet sin before God, and deserves his vengeance :
and this is that sin which they call original. For as Adam
at his creation had received for us as well as for himself the
gifts of God's favour, so by falling away from the Lord, he
in himself corrupted, vitiated, depraved, and ruined our na-
ture ; for havino- been divested of God's likeness, he could
is a common consent, — Parens, Willet, Grotius, Doddridge, Scott, Stuart,
Chalmers, &c. i the intervening verses are viewed as parenthetic.
The phrase, S/a touto, and also ?'» and oZv, are sometimes nsed anticipa-
tively as well as retrospectively, as their corresponding particles are often in
Hebrew. See note on chap. ii. 1. That Paul uses ^la. touto in this way ap-
pears evident from chap. iv. 16 ; xiii. 6 ; 1 Cor. xi. 10. It anticipates here,
as I think, what is afterwards expressed by £<p' «?. as in chap. iv. 16, by 'Va,
in chap. xiii. 6, by ya?, and in 1 Cor. xi. 10, by S(a before angels. Then the
meaning of the verse would be conveyed by the following rendering, —
12. For tins reason — as through one man sin entered into the world,
and through sin death, even so death came on all men, because all
have sinned.
According to this view, the corresponding clause is in the verse itself.
The sentiment of the passage is this, — through one man sin entered and
death followed ; and death followed as to all mankind, because all had
sinned. Then, according to his usual manner, the Apostle takes up the
last subject, '• sin," issuing in the death of all ; and at the end of the 14th
verse he goes back to " the one man," Adam, who he says was a type of
another : and this sentence is made the text of what follows till the end of
the 19th verse. Having before referred to the state of things before the
" law," in the two remaining verses he refers to the bearing of the law on
his subject, and shows that there is in Christ an abundant provision for the
increase of sin occasioned by the law.
So abuTidant is grace that it is fully sufficient to remove original sin,
actual sins — its fruits, and the sins discovered by the law, and by its means
increased and enlianced. Hence superabimdance is ascribed to li.—Ed.
CHAP. V. 12. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 201
not have generated seed but what was like himself. Hence
we have all sinned ; for we are all imbued witli natural cor-
ruption, and so are become sinful and wicked. Frivolous
then was the gloss, by which formerly the Pelagians endea-
voured to elude the words of Paul, and held, that sin de-
scended by imitation from Adam to the whole liuman race ;
for Christ would in this case become only the exemplar and
not the cause of righteousness. Besides, we may easily
conclude, that Jie speaks not here of actual sin ; for if every
one for himself contracted guilt, why did Paul form a com-
parison between Adam and Christ? It then follows that
our innate and hereditary depravity is what is liere re-
ferred to.^
1 The particles W J, at the end of this verse, have beenvariously^ ren-
dered, without much' change in the meaning. " In quo— in which," i.e.,
sin, Augustine; "in quo — in whom," i.e., man, Chrysostom and Beza ;
" per quem— by or through whom," Grotius ; " propterea quod," vel,
" quia," vel, " quoniam— because," Luther, Parens, and RapheHus ; which
is the same with that of (Jalvin. See Matt. xxvi. 50 ; 2 Cor. v. 4; Phil,
iii. 12.
Wolfius quotes a singular passage from a Jewish Rabbi, Moses Tranensis,
« In the sin which the first man sinned, the whole world through him (or
in him, U) sinned ; for he was every man, or all mankind— DTX 73 HT ''3."
The idea is exactly the same with that of the Apostle.
" There are three things," says Fareus, " which are to be considered in
Adam's sin,— the sinful act, the penalty of the law, and the depravity of
nature; or in other words, the transgression of the command, the pmiish-
ment of death, and natural corruption, which was the loss of God's image,
and in its stead came deformity and disorder. From none of these his
posterity are free, but all these have descended to them ; there is a parti-
cipation of the transgression, an imputation of guilt, and the propagation
of natural depravity. There is a participation of the sin ; for all his pos-
terity were seminally in his loins, so that all sinned in his sin, as Levi
paid tithes in the loins of Abraham; and as children are a part of their
parents, so children are in a manner partakers of their parents' sin. There
is also an imputation of guilt ; for the first man so stood in favour, that
when he sinned, not only he, but also all his posterity fell with him, and
became with him subject to eternal death. And lastly, there is the fn-o-
pagation or the generation of a dreadful deformity of nature ; for such as
Adam became after the fall, such were the children he begat, being after
his own image, and not after the image of God. Gen. v. 1....A11 these
things, as to the first sin, apply to the parent and also to the children, with
only this difterence— that Adam sinning first transgressed, first contracted
guilt, and first depraved his nature,— and that all these things belong to his
posterity by participation, imputation, and propagation."
Both Stnart and Barnes stumble here; and though they denounce
theorizing, and advocate adherence to the language of Scripture, they
do yet theorize and attempt to evade the plain and obvious meaning
202 COMMENTAHIES ON THE CHAP. V. 13.
IS. For until the law, &c. This parenthesis anticipates
an objection : for as there seems to be no transgression with-
out the law, it might have been doubted whether there were
before the law any sin : that there was after the law ad-
mitted of no doubt. The question only refers to the time
preceding the law. To this then he gives this answer — that
though God had not as yet denounced judgment by a written
law, yet mankind were under a curse, and that from the
womb ; and hence that they who led a Avicked and vicious
life before the promulgation of the law, were by no means
exempt from the condemnation of sin ; for there had always
been some notion of a God, to whom honour was due, and
there had ever been some rule of righteousness. This view
is so plain and so clear, that of itself it disproves every op-
posite notion.
But sin is not imputed, &c. Without the law reproving us,
we in a manner sleep in our sins ; and though we are not
ignorant that we do evil, we yet suppress as much as we can
the knowledge of evil offered to us, at least we obliterate
it by quickly forgetting it. While the law reproves and
chides us, it awakens us as it were by its stimulating power,
that we may return to the consideration of God's judgment.
The Apostle then intimates that men continue in their per-
verseness when not roused by the law, and that when the
difference between good and evil is laid aside, they securely
and joyfully indulge themselves, as if there was no judgment
to come. But that before the law iniquities were by God
imputed to men is evident from the punishment of Cain,
from the deluge by which the whole world was destroyed,
from the fate of Sodom, and from the plagues inflicted on
Pharaoh and Abimelech on account of Abraham, and also
of this passage. But in trying to avoid one diflficulty, they make for
themselves another still greater. The penalty, or the imputation of guilt,
they admit : which is indeed undeniable, as facts, as well as Scripture,
most clearly prove : but the participation they deny, though words could
hardly be framed to express it more distinctly than the words of this verse ;
and thus, according to their view, a punishment is inflicted without a pre-
vious implication in an offence ; while the Scriptural account of the mat-
ter is, according to Avhat Calvin states, that " sin extends to all who sufler
its punishment," though he afterwards explains this in a way that is not
altogether consistent. — Ed.
CHAP. V. 13. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 203
from tlic plagues brought on the Egyptians. That men also
imputed sin to one another, is clear from the many com-
plaints and expostulations by which they charged one an-
other with iniquity, and also from the defences by which 1
they laboured to clear themselves from accusations of doing
wrong. There are indeed many examj)les which prove that
every man was of himself conscious of what was evil and of
what was good* but that for the most part they connived at
their own evil deeds, so that they imputed nothing as a sin
to themselves unless they were constrained. When there-
fore he denies that sin without the law is imputed, he speaks
comparatively ; for when men are not pricked by the goads
of the law, they become sunk in carelessness.^
But Paul wisely introduced this sentence, in order that
the Jews might hence more clearly learn how grievously
they offended, inasmuch as the law oj^enly condemned them ;
for if they were not exemjJted from punishment whom God
had never summoned as guilty before his tribunal, what
would become of the Jews to whom the law, like a herald,
had proclaimed their guilt, yea, on whom it denounced judg-
ment ? There may be also another reason adduced why he
expressly says, that sin reigned before the law, but was not
imputed, and that is, that we may know that the cause of
death proceeds not from the law, but is only made known
by it. Hence he declares, that all became miserably lost
^ This verse, as bearing on the argument, may be viewed rather differ-
ently. This and the following verse contain an explanation or an illustra-
tion of the last, the 12th. He states in this verse two things : a fact and
a general principle ; the fact is, that sin, the first sin in its evident effects,
(for he speaks throughout of no other sin, as to Adam, or as producing
death,) was in the world before the law of Moses was given; and the
general principle he avows is, that no sin is imputed where there is no
law. Having made this last admission, he proceeds in the 14th to say,
that "nevertheless," or notwithstanding, death, the eflect of sin, prevailed
in the world, and prevailed even as to those who did not actually/ or per-
sonally sin as Adam did. He takes no account of personal sins, for his
object was to show the effects of the first sin. And then he says, that in
this respect Adam was a kind of type, a figure, a representative of Christ
who was to come; and in the three verses Avhichfollow, the 15th, the 16th,
and 17th, he traces the similitude between the two, pointing out at the
same time the difference, which in every instance is in favour of the last
Adam. That ru^os signifies here likeness and not identity, is quite cer-
tain, whatever may be its common meaning, because its import is exem-
plified and illustrated in the verses which follow. — Ed.
204 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. V. 14,
immediately after tlie fall of Adam, though their destruction
was only made manifest by the law. If you translate the
adversative 8e, though, the text would ran better ; for the
j meaning is, that though men may indulge themselves, they
J cannot yet escape God's judgment, even when there is no
I law to reprove them.
Death reigned from Adatn, &c. He explains more clearly
that it availed men nothing that from Adam to the time
when the law was promulgated, they led a licentious and
careless life, while the diiFerence between good and evil was
wilfully rejected, and thus, without the warning of the law,
the remembrance of sin was buried ; yea, that this availed
them nothing, because sin did yet issue in their condemna-
tion. It hence appears, that death even then reigned ; for
• the blindness and obduracy of men could not stifle the judg-
ment of God.
14. Even over them, &c. Though this passage is com-
monly understood of infants, who being guilty of no actual
sin, die through original sin, I yet prefer to regard it as re-
ferring to all those who sinned without the law ; for this
verse is to be connected with the preceding clause, which
says, that those who were without the law did not impute
sin to themselves. Hence they sinned not after the simili-
tude of Adam's transgression ; for they had not, like him,
the will of God made known to them by a certain oracle :
for the Lord had forbidden Adam to touch the fruit of the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil ; but to them he
had given no command besides the testimony of conscience.
The Apostle then intended to imply, that it did not happen
, through the difference between Adam and his posterity
I that they were exempt from condemnation. Infants are at
the same time included in their number.
Who is a tyj^e of him ivho luas to come. This sentence is
put instead of a second clause ; for we see that one part
only of the comparison is expressed, the other is omitted —
an instance of what is called anacoluthon} You are then to
take the meaning as though it was said, " As by one man
1 ^AvaKoXavfov, not Consequent : a figure in grammar when a word or a
clause, required by a former one. is not put down. — Ed.
CHAP. V. 15. EPISTLE TO TUB ROMANS'. 205
sin entered into the whole worhl, and death through sin, so
by one man righteousness returned, and life through right-
eousness." But in saying that Adam bore a resemblance to
Christ, there is nothing incongruous ; for some likeness
often appears in things wholly contrary. As then we are
all lost through Adam's sin, so we are restored through
Christ's righteousness : hence he calls Adam not inaptly the
type of Christ. But observe, that Adam is not said to be
the type of sin, nor Christ the type of righteousness, as
though they led the way only by their example, but that
the one is contrasted with the other. Observe this, lest you
should foolishly go astray with Origen, and be involved in a
jjernicious error ; for he reasoned philosophically and pro-
fanely on the corruption of mankind, and not only dimi-
nished the grace of Christ, but nearly obliterated it altoge-
ther. The less excusable is Erasmus, who labours much in
palliating a notion so grossly delirious.
15. But not as the offence, so also 15. Sed non siciit delictum, ita et
is the free gift. For if through the doniuii ; nam si imius delicto > multi
offence of one many be dead ; much mortui sunt, multo magis gratia Dei
more the grace of God, and the gift et donum Dei in gratia, quae fuit
by grace, i('/aV/( is by one man, Jesus imius ' hommis Christi, in multos
Clu'ist, hath abounded unto many. abundavit.
lo. But not as the offence, &c. Now follows the rectify ing
or the completion of the comparison already introduced.
The Apostle does not, however, very minutely state the'
1 Delicto — fault, 'zra^a.Tra//.a. — stumbling, fall, transgression. Perhaps
the last would be the best word here. It is rendered sometimes in the
plural number "trespasses," Matt, xviii. 35; 2 Cor. v. 19; Eph. ii. 1.
Macknight renders it here " fall," but most " offence." The comparison
here is between the sin of one, which produced death, and the grace of
God through one, which brings the '• gift" of life ; and the difference,
" much more," seems to refer to the exuberance of grace by ^\ hich man is
to be raised to a higher state than that from which Adam fell. " A little
lower than the angels " was man in his first creation ; he is by exuberance
of grace to be raised to a state as high as that of angels, if not higher; or
we may take " much more" as intimating the greater power of grace to
recover than sin to destroy. Sin is the act of man, and issued in death ; but
grace is the act of God, and will therefore with greater certainty issue in
life.
" Adam's life after his fall was even as a slow dying, that reached its
completion in his physical death ; Christ's Xua-rolnins of mankind is also
gradual, the height of which is in the glorification of the body." — Olshamcn.
206 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. V. 15.
points of difference between Christ and Adam, but he ob-
viates errors into which we might otherwise easily fall, and
what is needful for an explanation we shall add. Though
he mentions oftentimes a difference, yet there are none of
these repetitions in which there is not a want of a corre-
sponding clause, or in which there is not at least an ellipsis.
Such instances are indeed defects in a discourse ; but they
are not prejudicial to the majesty of that celestial wisdom
which is taught us by the Apostle ; it has, on the contrary,
so happened through the providence of God, that the highest
mysteries have been delivered to us in the garb of an humble
style,^ in order that our faith may not depend on the potency
of human eloquence, but on the efficacious working of the
Spirit alone.
He does not indeed even now expressly supply the defi-
ciency of the former sentence, but simply teaches us, that
there is a greater measure of grace procured by Christ, than
of condemnation introduced by the first man. What some
think, that the Apostle carries on here a chain of reasoning,
I know not whether it will be deemed by all sufficiently
evident. It may indeed be justly inferred, that since the
fall of Adam had such an effect as to produce the ruin of
many, much more efficacious is the grace of God to the be-
nefit of many ; inasmuch as it is admitted, that Christ is
much more powerful to save, than Adam was to destroy.
But as they cannot be disproved, who wish to take the pas-
sage without this inference, I am willing that they should
* " Sub contemptibili verborum liumilitate." This sort of derogatory
language as to the style of Scripture, Calvin had evidently learnt from the
fathers. Chrysostom and Jerome did sometimes say most unwarrantable
things in this respect, and that in a great measure because they did not
understand the style of the New Testament, and in part with the view of
taking away, by an admission, the force of objections alleged by admirers
of Grecian and refined diction. The style of the New Testament is that
of the Old ; and hardly any of the fathers, except Origen and Jerome,
knew Hebrew, and the latter learnt it only in his old age, so that he could
have had no great insight into its peculiarities. One like Chiysostom,
brought up in the refinements of Grecian literature, was a very unfit judge
of the style of the New Testament, and hence it is that the criticisms of
the Greek fathers in general are comparatively of very little value.
The whole of this passage, 12-19, is constructed according to the model
of the Hebrew style ; and when rightly imderstood, it will appear to con-
tain none of those defects ascribed to it. — Ed.
ClIAP. V. 15. EPISTLE TO TUB ROMANS. 207
choose either of these views ; though what next follows can-
not be deemed an inference, yet it is of the same meaning.
It is hence probable, that Paul rectifies, or by way of ex-
ception modifies, what he had said of tbe likeness between
Christ and Adam.
But observe, that a larger number (plm^es) are not here
contrasted with many (multis,) for he speaks not of the num-
ber of men : but as the sin of Adam has destroyed many, he
draws this conclusion, — that the righteousness of Christ will
be no less efficacious to save many.-^
When he says, by the offence of one, &c., understand him
as meaning this, — that corruption has from him descended
to us : for we perish not through his fault, as though we
were blameless ; but as his sin is the cause of our sin, Paul
ascribes to him our ruin : our sin I call that which is im-
planted in us, and with which we are born.
The grace of God and the gift of God through grace, &c.
Grace is properly set in opposition to offence ; the gift which
j)roceeds from grace, to death. Hence grace means the free
goodness of God or gratuitous love, of which he has given us
a proof in Christ, that he might relieve our misery : and
gift is the fruit of this mercy, and hath come to us, even the
1 It is evident that " the many," ol ■roXXai, include those connected with
the two parties — the many descendants of Adam, and the many beUevers
in Christ. And " the many" was adopted to form a contrast with the
"one."
" The many" are termed "all" in ver. 18, and again, " the many," in
ver. 19. They are called "the many" and "all" alike with regard both
to Adam and to Christ. Some maintain that the terms are coextensive
in the two instances. That the whole race of man is meant in the one
instance, cannot be doubted : and is there any reason why the whole race
of man should not be included in the second ? Most clearly there is. The
Apostle speaks oiAdam and his posterity, and also of Christ and his people,
or those " who receive abundance of grace," or, " are made righteous ;"
and " the many " and the " all " are evidently those who belong to each se-
parately. In no other way can the words Avith any consistency be mider-
stood. All who fell in Adam do not certainly " receive abundance of
grace,'' and are not " made righteous." And it is not possible, as Profes-
sor Hodge observes, " so to eviscerate such declarations as these, as to
make them to contain nothing more than that the chance of salvation is
offered to all men." This is indeed contrary to evident facts. Nor can
they mean, that a way of acceptance has been opened, which is suitable to
all ; for though this is true, it yet cannot be the meaning here. Hence
" the many " and the " all," as to Adam, are all his descendants ; and " the
many" and the " all," as to Christ, are those who believe. — Ed.
208 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. V. 16.
reconciliation by wliicli we have obtained life and salvation,
righteousness, newness of life, and every other blessing. We
hence see how absurdly the schoolmen have defined grace,
who have taught that it is nothing else but a quality infused
into the hearts of men : for grace, properly speaking, is in
God ; and what is in us is the effect of grace. And he says,
that it is by one man ; for the Father has made him the
fountain out of whose fulness all must draw. And thus he
teaches us, that not even the least drop of life can be found
out of Christ, — that there is no other remedy for our povei'ty
and want, than what he conveys to us from his own abund-
ance.
16. And not as t« was by one that 16. Et non sicut per umim qui
sinned,' so is the gift : for the judg- peecaverat, ita donum ; judicium
ment was by one to condemnation, enim ox imo in condemationem, do-
but the free gift is of many offences num autem ex multis deUctis in jus-
imto justification. tificationem.
16. This is especially an explanation of what he had said
before, — that by one oifence guilt issued in the condemna-
tion of us all, but that grace, or rather tiie gratuitous gift,
is efficacious to our justification from many oftences. It is
indeed an expansion of what the last verse contains ; for
he had not hitherto expressed, how or in what respect Christ
excelled Adam. This difference being settled, it appears
evident, that their opinion is impious, who have taught that
we recover nothing else by Christ but a freedom from ori-
ginal sin, or the corruption derived from Adam. Observe
also, that these many ofiences, from which he affirms we are
freed through Christ, are not to be understood only of those
which ever}^ one must have committed before baptism, but
' Many copies have a^a^rsj^aros — sin ; but it is a i*eading deemed by
Griesbach of less authority than the received text, af^x^Txa-avros — sinning :
yet there being good MSS. in its favour, and several versions, especially
the Si/riae and the Vulgate, and the passage requiring it. this reading is
to be preferred. Then the rendering Avovdd be the following, —
And not as through one sin, is the free gift — (S«;^»^.a -.) for judgment
was indeed from one sin to condemnation, but the free favour ix^?"^-
fice.) is from many trespasses to justification.
It is the character of the Apostle's style to change his words, while the
same idea is often intended. The comparison here is between the one sin
which issued in condemnation, and the many trespasses or offences, from
which a justification is the favour obtained. — Ed.
CHAP. V. 1 7. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 20.9
also of those by which the saints contract daily new guilt ;
and on account of which they would be justly exposed to
condemnation, were they not continually relieved by this
grace.
He sets gift in opposition to judgment : by the latter
he means strict justice ; by the former, gratuitous pardon.
From strict justice comes condemnation ; from pardon, abso-
lution. Or, which is the same thing, were God to deal with
us according to justice, we should be all undone ; but he
justifies us freely in Christ.
17. For if by one man's offence 17. Si enini imiiis delicto mors
death reigned by one; much more they regnavit per imum; nnilto magis,
which receive abmidance of grace, qui exuberantiam gratiaj et donijus-
and of the gift of righteousness, shall titise acceperunt, in vita rcgnabunt
reign in Ufe by one, Jesus Christ.)' per unum lesum Clu-istum.)
17. For if for the offence of one, &c. He again subjoins a
general explanation, on which he dwells still further ; for it
was by no means his purpose to explain every part of the
subject, but to state the main points. He had before de-
clared, that the power of grace had surpassed that of sin :
and by this he consoles and strengthens the faithful, and, at
the same time, stimulates and encourages them to meditate
on the benignity of God. Indeed the design of so studious
a repetition was, — that the grace of God might be worthily
set forth, that men might be led from self-confidence to trust
in Christ, that having obtained his grace they might enjoy
full assurance ; and hence at length arises gratitude. The
sum of the whole is this — that Christ surpasses Adam ; the
sin of one is overcome by the righteousness of the other ; the
curse of one is effaced by the grace of the other ; from one,
^ This verse, according to the usual manner of the Apostle, whose style
is that of the Prophets, includes the two main ideas of the two preceding
verses, in another form, and in an inverted order, as it refers first to the one
o fence and then to the one man, in the first clause ; and the same order is
followed in the second ; " the exuberance of grace " is to cover the many
offences before mentioned, as opposed to the one offence, and to one man is
opposed one Christ Jesus.
The reading b rZ hi, though according to Griesbach, it is not, as to
MSS., of equal authority with the received text, is yet to be preferred ; for
Tov Ivos makes a tautology, and destroys the order wliich we find preserved
in the second clause.— Ed.^'
210 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. V. J 7.
deatli has proceeded, which is absorbed by the life which
the other bestows.
But the parts of this comparison do not correspond ; in-
stead of adding, " the gift of life shall more fully reign and
flourish through the exuberance of grace," he says, that " the
faithful shall reign ;" which amounts to the same thing ; for
the reign of the faithful is in life, and the reign of life is in
the faithful.
It may further be useful to notice here the difference be-
tween Christ and Adam, which the Apostle omitted, not
because he deemed it of no importance, but unconnected
Avith his present subject.
The first is, that by Adam's sin we are not condemned
through imputation alone, as though we were punished only
for the sin of another ; but we suffer his punishment, be-
cause we also ourselves are guilty ; for as our nature is vi-
tiated in him, it is regarded by God as having committed sin.
But through the righteousness of Christ we are restored in
a different way to salvation ; for it is not said to be accepted
for us, because it is in us, but because Ave possess Christ
himself with all his blessings, as given to us through the
bountiful kindness of the Father. Hence the gift of right-
eousness is not a quality Avith Avhicli God endows us, as
some absurdly explain it, but a gratuitous imputation of
righteousness ; for the Apostle plainly declares Avhat he un-
derstood by the word grace. The other difference is, that
the benefit of Christ does not come to all men, while Adam
has involved his Avhole race in condemnation ; and the rea-
son of this is indeed evident ; for as the curse we derive
from Adam is conveyed to us by nature, it is no wonder that
it includes the whole mass ; but that we may come to a par-
ticipation of the grace of Christ, we must be ingrafted in
him by faith. Hence, in order to partake of the miserable
inheritance of sin, it is enough for thee to be man, for it
dwells in flesh and blood ; but in order to enjoy the right-
eousness of Christ it is necessary for thee to be a believer ;
for a participation of him is attained only by faith. He
is communicated to infants in a peculiar way; for they have
by covenant the right of adoption, by which they pass over
CHAP. V. 18. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 211
unto a participation of Christ,^ Of the cliildren of the godly
I speak, to whom the promise of grace is addressed ; for
others are by no means exempted from the common lot.
18. Therefore, as by the oflFence of 18. Itaque quemadmodum, per
one judgment came upon all men to unius delictum, in omnes homines
condemnation ; even so by the right- in condemnatiouem ; sic et per
eousness of one the free gift came up- unius justificationem, in omnes
on all men unto justification of life. homines in justificationem vitse.
18. Therefore, &c. This is a defective sentence ; it will be
complete if the words condemnation and justification be read
in the nominative case ; as doubtless you must do in order
to complete the sense. We have here the general conclusion
from the preceding comparison ; for, omitting the mention
of the intervening explanation, he now completes the com-
l irison, " As by the offence of one we were made (constituti)
sinners ; so the righteousness of Christ is efficacious to jus-
tify us." He does not say the righteousness — ScKaioa-vprjv,
but the justification — ScKalco/jia,^ of Christ, in order to remind
us that he was not as an individual just for himself, but that
the righteousness with which he was endued reached ferther,
in order that, by conferring this gift, he might enrich tlie
faithful. He makes this favour common to all, because it is
propounded to all, and not because it is in reality extended
to all; for though Christ suffered for the sins of the whole
Avorld, and is offered through God's benignity indiscrimin-
ately to all, yet all do not receive him.^
' The original is, " Habent enim in foedere jus adoptionis, quo in Christi
communionera transeunt. " — JSd.
■ The meaning of this word is evident here ; for it stands in contrast
with ■rx^d'TTwfiix, — offence or transgression, in the former clause, and is
identical in sense with tiwaxoy, — obedience, in the next verse. It means
what is appointed and adjudged as right ; and hence it is rendered " or-
dinance," Luke i. 6 ; "judgment," Rom. i. 32 ; and, in verse 16 of this
chapter, "justification," when it stands opposed to xa.raK^if/.a. — condemna-
tion, and means absolution, acquittal, as the determination of the judge.
It signifies here, that what Clu"ist did was according to God's appoint-
ment ; it was something directly contrary to oftence or transgression ; and
Avhat it was is explained in the next verse by the word " obedience."
Wolfius says, that 'Sixa'iu/^a is the satisfaction of Christ, or his active and
passive obedience, verse 19, — that hxaioa-uvyi is the merit of Christ, obtained
by his death and applied to us by faith, chap. iii. 22, — and that hxaiaxri;
is' the act of justification wliich follows from the satisfaction of Christ,
apprehended by faith. — Ed.
* " Nam etsi passus est Christus pro peccatis totius mundi, atque omni-
212 COMMENTARIES ON TIIS CHAP. V. 19.
These two words, wliicli he had before used, judgment and
grace, may be also introduced here in this form, " As it was
through God's judgment that the sin of one issued in the
condemnation of many, so grace will be efficacious to the
justification of many." Justification of life is to be taken,
in my judgment, for remission, which restores life to us, as
though he called it life-giving.^ For whence comes the hope
of salvation, except that God is propitious to us ; and we
must be just, in order to be accepted. Then life proceeds
from justification.^
19. For as by one man's disobe- 19. Quemadmodum enim per dis-
dience many were made sinners ; so obedientiam unius hominis peccatores
by the obedience of one shall many constituti sunt midti ; sic et per obedi-
be made righteous. entiam unius justiconstituenturmulti.
This is no tautology, but a necessary explanation of the
former verse. For he shows that we are guilty through the
offence of one man, in such a manner as not to be ourselves
innocent. He had said before, that we are condemned ; but
that no one might claim for himself innocency, he also sub-
joined, that every one is condemned because he is a sinner.
And then, as he declares that we are made righteous through
the obedience of Christ, we hence conclude that Christ, in
satisfying .the Father, has provided a righteousness for us.
bus indiiFerenter Dei benignitate offertur; non tamen omnes apprehen-
duni/' It appears from tliis sentence that Calvin held general redemp-
tion.— £Jd.
' It is an Hebraistic form of speaking, genitivtis effectus. Its meaning
is, that it is a justification unto life, whose end is life, or, which issues in
life, that is, eternal life, according to its import in verse 17, when reigning
in life — Iv iiori, is spoken of; and the word " eternal," is added to it in the
last verse. This life commences with justification, and therefore this view
includes what Calvin says, though it extends farther. — Ed.
"^ In our version are introduced "judgment" and "free-gift," from verse
16 ; and it is what has been done by most interpreters. The words are
foimd here in no MSS. ; but there is another reading countenanced by four
MSS., as given by Oi-ieshach, and two of them ancient; the word for
offence is put in the nominative case, ro •xa^a.'rrufi.a, and the word for
righteousness the same, to '^iKaiuf/.a.. Then the reading wovdd be —
18. So then, as tln*ough one the transgression was, as to all men,
unto condemnation ; so also through one the righteousness is,
as to all men, unto justification of life.
This agrees better with the following verse, though the meaning is sub-
stantially the same with what is given in our version. — Ed.
CHAP. V. 20. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 213
It then follows, that righteousness is in Christ, and that it
is to be received by us as what peculiarly belongs to him.
He at the same time shows what sort of righteousness it is,
by calling it obedience. And here let us especially observe
what we must bring into God's presence, if we seek to be
justified by works, even obedience to the law, not to this or
to that part, but in every respect perfect ; for when a just
man falls, all his former righteousness will not be remem-
bered. We may also hence learn, how false are the schemes
which they take to pacify God, who of themselves devise
what they obtrude on him. For then only we truly worship
him when we follow what he has commanded us, and render
obedience to his word. Away then with those who confi-
aently lay claim to the righteousness of works, which cannot
otherwise exist than when there is a full and complete ob-
servance of the law ; and it is certain that this is nowhere
to be found. We also learn, that they are madly foolish
who vaunt before God of works invented by themselves,
which he regards as the filthiest things ; for obedience is
better than sacrifices.
20. Moreover, the law entered, 20. Lex vero intervenit, ut abun-
that the offence might abound i^ but daret delictum ; ubi vero abmidavit
where sin abounded, grace did much delictiun, superabundavit et gratia :
more abound :
21. That as sin hath reigned unto 21. Quo, sicut regnavit peccatum
death, even so might grace reign per mortem, sic et gratia regnet per
through righteousness unto eternal justitiaminvitanifeternamperlesimi
life by Jesus Christ our Lord. Christum Dominum nostrum.
20. But the law intervened, &c. This subject depends on
what he had said before, — that there was sin before the law
was published. This being the case, then follows immedi-
ately this question — For what purpose was the law given ?
It was therefore necessary to solve this difficulty ; but as a
longer digression was not suitable, he deferred the subject
1 nxsovairx, which means to grow more and more, to increase, to multi-
ply: it is a different verb from that in the last clause. "What he calls
" offence" or " fall"' in this member of the sentence, he calls " sin" in the
next. It is still " the fall" or " the sin" which caused it: for that is
the parent of every other sin. — Ed.
214 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. V. 20.
and handled it in another place : and now by the way he
only says, that the law entered/ that sin might abound ;
for he describes not here the whole office and use of the law,
but only touches on one part, which served his present pur-
pose. He indeed teaches us, that it was needful that men's
ruin should be more fully discovered to them, in order that
a passage might be opened for the favour of God. They
were indeed shipwrecked before the law was given ; as how-
ever they seemed to themselves to swim, while in their de-
struction, they were thrust down into the deep, that their
deliverance might appear more evident, when tliey thence
emerge beyond all human expectation. Nor was it unrea-
sonable, that the law should be partly introduced for this
end — that it might again condemn men already condemned;
for nothing is more reasonable than that men should,
through all means be brought, nay, forced, by being proved
guilty, to know their own evils.
That offence might abound, &c. It is well known how
some, following Augustine, usually explain this passage, —
that lust is irritated the more, while it is checked by the
restraints of the law ; for it is man's nature to strive for
what is forbidden. But I understand no other increase to
be intended here than that of knowledge and of obstinacy ;
for sin is set by the law before the eyes of man, that he may
be continually forced to sec that condemnation is prepared
for him. Thus sin disturbs the conscience, which, when cast
^ " Intercessisse legem — that the law came between," i.e., Adam and
Christ ; va.^ii(rriXhv, from 'ra^a, with, besides, or between, and u(ri^x''f^'^'i
to enter. It occurs elsewhere only in Gal. ii. 4, Avhere it is rendered,
" came in privily," as required by the context. But it cannot be so ren-
dered here. Schleusner says, that it simply means to enter, and that it is
so used by Philo. It is thus rendered by the Syriac and Arabic versions.
Erasmus has " obiter subiit, vel, irrepsit — came, or, crept in by the by ;"
Hammond has the same ; but Beza attaches the idea of besides to ^aja, —
" prajterea introiit — entered in besides," i.e., in addition to the disease
under which all men laboured, having been contaminated by that of the
first sin. " Intervenit — intervened," is the rendering- of Grotius ; that is,
the law intervened between the beginning of sin and the begiiuiing of new
righteousness. " The law," says Hodge, " was superinduced on a plan
already laid. It was not designed for the accomplishment of man's
salvation, that is, either for his justification or sanctification, but for the
accomplishment of a very subordinate part in the great scheme of mercy."
—Ed.
CHAP. V. 21. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 215
behind them, men forget. And farther, he who before only
passed over the bounds of justice, becomes now, when the
law is introduced, a despiser of God's authority, since the
will of God is made known to him, which he now wantonly
tramples under feet. It hence follows, that sin is increased
by the law, since now the authority of the lawgiver is de-
sj)ised and his majesty degraded.^
Orace has superabounded. After sin has held men sunk
in ruin, grace then comes to their help : for he teaches us,
that the abundance of grace becomes for this reason more
illustrious, — that while sin is overflowing, it pours itself
forth so exuberantly, that it not only overcomes the flood of
■^in, but wholly absorbs it.^ And we may hence learn, that
our condemnation is not set before us in the law, that we
may abide in it ; but that having fully known our misery,
we may be led to Christ, who is sent to be a j)hysician to
the sick, a deliverer to the captives, a comforter to the
afilicted, a defender to the oppressed. (Is. Ixi. 1.)
21. That as si7i has reigned, &c. As sin is said to be the
sting of death, and as death has no power over men, except
on account of sin ; so sin executes its power by death : it is
hence said to exercise thereby its dominion. In the last
clause the order of the words is deranged, but yet not
without reason. The simple contrast might have been thus
formed, — " That righteousness may reign through Christ."
But Paul was not content to oppose what is contrary to
what is contrary, but adds the word g7'ace, that he might
more deeply print this truth on the memory — that the whole
is to be ascribed, not to our merit, but to the kindness of
^ Chrysostom regarded "va here as denoting not the final cause, but the
event, and thought the meaning to be, that the law entered, so that the
effect or event was, that sin increased. Its rendering would then be, so
that: and this seems to be the meaning given to it by Calvin. The law
did not create sin, but made it known, and by discovering it, increased its
gmlt when persisted in, and by discovering it showed the necessity of a
Saviour.
* The superaboimding has a reference to the increasing of sin by means
of the law. Grace not only abounded so as to be sufficient to remedy the
first sin and the sins which followed it ; but it abounded still more, so as
to be an adequate provision for sin when increased by the law, through
the perverseness of human nature. — Ed.
216 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. V. 21.
God.^ He had previously said, that death reigned ; he now
ascribes reigning to sin ; but its end or eftect is death.
And he says, that it has reigned, in the past tense ; not
that it lias ceased to reign in those who are born only of
flesh, and he thus distinguishes between Adam and Christ,
and assigns to each his own time. Hence as soon as the
grace of Christ begins to prevail in any one, the reign of sin
and death ceases.^
1 The antithesis to " sin" is properly " righteousness ;" but, as Calvin
observes, " grace" is connected with it. To preserve the contrast, the
sentence might be rendered, " grace through righteousness ;" and then to
show the medium or channel through which this " grace through right-
eousness" is to reign so as to issue in " eternal life," it is added, " through
Jesus Christ our Lord." So that in this single sentence, we have the
origin, '•' grace," the means or the meritorious cause, " righteousness,"
the agent, or the procurer of it, " Jesus Christ," and the end, " eternal
life." Some take " grace" as antithetic to sin, and connect " righteous-
ness" ■^vith " eternal life," and render it " justification ;" but this does not
so well preserve the antithetic character of the clause. Those who ren-
der it " holiness" completely misunderstand the drift of the passage.
The first part is differently rendered : instead of " unto death," Ham-
mond renders it, like Calvin, " through death," and Orotius, " by {per)
death." The preposition is £» and not tU, and its conunon meaning is
" in," and it may be here translated, " in death ;" i.e., in a state of
death. The reign of sin was that of death and misery ; the reign of grace
tlu-ough Christ's righteousness is that of life and happiness, which is never
to end. — Ed.
* That the antitheses of this remarkable passage, from verse 12 to the
end, may be more clearly seen, it shall be presented in lines. The con-
trast in verses 12 and 20 will be found in the first and last Une and in the
second and the third ; and as to all the other verses, in the first and the
third line and in the second and the fourth, except the 13th and the 14th,
which are an explanation of the 12th. The 17th includes the two ideas of
the 15th and 16th, in an inverted order. The 18th and 19th contain the
summing up of the argument, —
12. For this reason, — as by one man sin entered into the world.
And death by sin.
Even so death came upon all men, —
Because all had sinned :
13. Sin indeed was until the law in the world,
But sin is not imputed when there is no law ;
14. Yet reign did death from Adam to Moses
Even over those who had not sinned
After the likeness of the transgression of Adam^
Who is the type of liim who was to come.
]15. But not as the transgression.
So also the free favour ;
For if through the transgression of oae
Many died.
CHAP VI. 1. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 217
CHAPTER VL
1. What shall we say tlien? Shall 1. Quid ergo dicemus ? manebi-
we continue in sin, that grace may mus in peccato, ut gratia abundet ?
abound ?
2. God forbid. How shall we, 2. Ne sit ita: qiu mortui sumus
that are dead to sin, hve any longer peccato, quomodo adhuc vivemus in
therein ? eo ?
1. What then shall rue say ? Throughout this chapter the
Apostle proves, that they who imagine that gratuitous right-
eousness is given us by him, apart from newness of life,
shamefully rend Christ asunder : nay, he goes further, and
refers to this objection, — that there seems in this case to be
an opportunity for the display of grace, if men continued
Much more has God's grace, and his free gift through the
grace of one man, Jesus Christ,
Abounded unto many :
16. And not as through one sin,
So the free gift ;
For judgment luas indeed
Through one sin to condemnation,
But the free favour
Is from many transgressions to justification : —
17. For if for one transgression.
Death reigned through one ;
Much more shall they? who receive abundance of grace
and of the gift of righteousness.
Reign in life through one, Jesus Clirist.
18. So then, as through one transgression,
Judgment was on all men to condemnation ;
So also through one righteousness,
The free favour is on all men to justification of life :
19. For as through the disobedience of one man,
Sinful were made many ;
So also through the obedience of one.
Righteous shall be made many.
20. But the law entered in.
That multiplied might be transgression ;
But where sin multiplied,
Superabounded has grace :
So that as sin reigned
Into death ;
So also grace shall reign through righteousness.
Into eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. — Ed.
21 S COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VI. 2,
fixed in sin. We indeed know that nothing is more natural
than that the flesh should indulge itself under any excuse,
and also that Satan should invent all kinds of slander, in
order to discredit the doctrine of grace ; which to him is by
no means difficult. For since everything that is announced
concerning Christ seems very paradoxical to human judg-
ment, it ought not to be deemed a new thing, that the flesh,
hearing of justification by faith, should so often strike, as it
were, against so many stumbling-stones. Let us, however,
go on in our course ; nor let Clirist be suppressed, because
he is to many a stone of oftence, and a rock of stumbling ;
for as he is for ruin to the ungodly, so he is to the godly for
a resurrection. We ought, at the same time, ever to obviate
unreasonable questions, lest the Christian faith should ap-
pear to contain anything absurd.
The Apostle now takes notice of that most common ob-
jection against the preaching of divine grace, which is this,
— " That if it be true, that the more bountifully and abun-
dantly will the grace of God aid us, the more completely we
are overwhelmed with the mass of sin ; then nothing is
better for us than to be sunk into the depth of sin, and often
to provoke God's wrath with new ofl'ences ; for then at length
we shall find more abounding grace ; than which nothing
better can be desired.'' The refutation of this we shall here-
after meet with.
2. By no means. To some the Apostle seems to have only
intended indignantly to reprove a madness so outrageous ;
but it appears from other places tliat he commonly used an
answer of this kind, even while carrying on a long argument ;
as indeed he does here, for he proceeds carefully to disprove
the propounded slander. He, however, first rejects it by an
indignant negative, in order to impress it on the minds of
his readers, that nothing can be more inconsistent than that
the grace of Christ, the repairer of our righteousness, should
nourish our vices.
Who have died to sin, he. An argument derived from
what is of an opposite character. " He who sins certainly
lives to sin ; we have died to sin through the grace of Christ ;
then it is false, that what abolishes sin gives vigour to it."
CHAP. VI. 2. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 219
The state of the case is really this, — that the faithful are
never reconciled to God without the gift of regeneration ;
nay, we are for this end justified, — that we may afterwards
serve God in holiness of life. Christ indeed does not cleanse
us by his blood, nor render God propitious to us by his ex-
piation, in any other way than by making us partakers of
his Spirit, who renews us to a holy life. It- would then be a
most strange inversion of the work of God were sin to gather
strength on account of the grace which is offered to us in
Christ ; for medicine is not a feeder of the disease, which it
destroys.^ We must further bear in mijid, what I have
already referred to — that Paul does not state here what God
finds us to be, when he calls us to an union with his Son,
but what it behoves us to be, after he has had mercy on us,
and has freely adopted us ; for by an adverb, denoting a
future time, he shows what kind of change ought to follow
rio'hteousness.
' This phrase, " died to sin," is evidently misapprehended by Haldane.
Having been offended, and justly so, by an unguarded and erroneous ex-
pression oi Stuart, derived from Chrysostom, and by the false rendering of
Mack-night, he went to another extreme, and maintained, that to die, or to
be dead to sin, means to be freed from its guilt, Mobile the whole context
proves, that it means deliverance from its power as a master, from the
servitude or bondage of sin. To live in it, does not mean to live under
its guilt, but in its service and under its ruling power ; and this is what
the Apostle represents as a contrast to being dead to sin. Not to " serve
sin," in ver. 6, is its true explanation. See also verses 11, 12, and 14.
The very argument requires this meaning. The question in the first
verse, — " Shall we continue in sin ?" does not surely mean — shall we con-
tinue in or under the guilt of sin ? but in its service, and in the practice
of it. It was the charge of practical licentiousness that the Apostle rebuts ;
and he employs an argument siutable to the purpose, " If we are dead to
sin, freed from it as oiu: master, liow absurd it is to suppose that we can
live any longer in its service ?" Then he shows in what follows how this
had been eflected. This is clearly the import of the passage, and so taken
by almost all commentators.
But it must be added, that Venema and Chalmers materially agree with
Haldane. The former says, that to " die to sin " is to give to sin what it
demands, and that is, death ; and that when this is given, it can require
nothing more. In this sense, he adds, Christ died to sin (ver. 10) ; and in
the same sense believers die to sin, being, as they are, imited to Christ,
his death being viewed as their death. However true this theology may
be, (and Chalmers shows this in his own inimitable manner,) it does not
seem to be taught here : though there may be something in one or two
expressions to favour it ; yet the whole tenor of the passage, and many of
the phrases, seem clearly to constrain us to adopt the other view. — Ed.
220 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VI. 4.
3. Know ye not, that so many of 3. Num ijjnoratis quod quicun-
us as were baptized into Jesus Christ que baptizati sunius in Cliristum, in
were baptized into his death ? mortem ejus baptizati sumus ?
4. Therefore we are buried with 4. Consepulti ergo sumus ei per
him by baptism into death : that Uke baptismum in mortem ; ut quemad-
as Christ was raised up from the dead modum suscitatus est Christus ex
by the glory of the Father, even so mortuis per gloriam Patris, sic et nos
we also should walk in newness of in novitate vitse ambulemus.
life.
8. Know ye not, &c. What lie intimated in the last verse
— that Christ destroys sin in his people, he proves here by
mentioning the effect of baptism, by which we are initiated
into his faith ; for it is beyond any question, that we put ou
Christ in baptism, and that we are baptized for this end —
that we may be one with him. But Paul takes up another
jirinciple — that we are then really united to the body of
Christ, when his death brings forth in us its fruit ; yea, he
teaches us, that this fellowship as to death is what is to be
mainly regarded in baptism ; for not washing alone is set
forth in it, but also the putting to death and the dying of
the old man. It is hence evident, that when we become
partakers of the grace of Christ, immediately the efficacy of
his death appears. But the benefit of this fellowship as to
the death of Christ is described in what follows.^
4. We have then been buried with him, &c. He now be-
gins to indicate the object of our having been baptized into
^ " Baptized into {lU) Christ," " baptized into {us) Moses," 1 Cor. x. 2,
" baptized into {ih) one body," 1 Cor. xii. 13, are all the same forms of
expression, and must mean, that by the rite of baptism a professed union
is made, and, in the two first instances, a submission to the authority exer-
cised is avowed. By " baptized into his death," we are to understand,
" baptized," in order to die with him, or to die as he died ; not that the
death is the same ; for it is a like death, as it is expressed in ver. 5, as the
resurrection is a like resurrection. His death was natural, oiu-s is spiritual ;
the same difl'erence holds as to the resurrection. It is the likeness that is
throughout to be regarded ; and this is the key to the whole passage. It
is true, that through the efficacy of Christ's death alone the death of liis
people takes place, and through the operation of his Spirit ; but to teach
this is not the design of the Apostle here ; his object seems to be merely
to show that a change takes place in every true Christian, symbolized by
baptism, and that this change bears a likeness to the death and resurrec-
tion of our Saviour. He speaks of baptism here not merely as a symbol,
but as including what it symboh'zes ; as he does in a similar passage.
Col. ii. 11, 12, where he refers to this change, first under the symbol of
circumcision, and then of baptism ; which clearly proves that the same
thing is signified by both. — Ed.
CHAP. VI. 4. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 221
the death of Christ, though he does not yet completely un-
fold it ; and the object is — that we, being dead to ourselves,
may become new creatures. He rightly makes a transition
from a fellowship in death to a fellowship in life ; for these
two things are connected together by an indissoluble knot —
that the old man is destroyed by the deatli of Christ, and
that his resui-rection brings righteousness, and renders us
new creatures. And surely, since Christ has been given to
us for life, to what purpose is it that we die with him except
that we may rise to a better life ? And hence for no other
reason does he slay what is mortal in us, but that he may
give us life again.
Let us know, that the Apostle does not simply exhort us
to imitate Christ, as though he had said that the death of
Christ is a pattern which all Christians are to follow ; for no
doubt he ascends higher, as he announces a doctrine, with
which he connects, as it is evident, an exhortation ; and his
doctrine is this — that the death of Christ is efficacious
to destroy and demolish the depravity of our flesh, and his
resurrection, to eff"ect the renovation of a better nature, and
that by baptism we are admitted into a participation of this
grace. This foundation being laid, Christians may very
suitably be exhorted to strive to respond to their calling.
Farther, it is not to the point to say, that this power is not
apparent in all the baptized ; for Paul, according to his usual
manner, where he speaks of the faithful, connects the reality
and the effect Avitli the outward sign ; for we know that
whatever the Lord offers by the visible symbol is confirmed
and ratified by their faith. In short, he teaches what is the
real character of baptism when rightly received. So he tes-
tifies to the Galatians, that all who have been baptized into
Christ, have put on Christ. (Gal. iii. 27.) Thus indeed
must we speak, as long as the institution of the Lord and
the faith of the godly unite together ; for we never have
naked and empty symbols, except when our ingratitude and
wickedness hinder the working of divine beneficence.^
1 That the mode of baptism, immersion, is intimated by " buried," has
been thought by most, by Ckrysostom, Augustine, Hammond, Parens,
Mede, Orotius, Doddridge, Clialmers, and others; while some, such as
Scott, Stuart, and Hodge, do not consider this as necessarily intended, the
222 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VI. 5.
By the glory of the Father, that is, by tliat illustrious
power by which he exhibited himself as really glorious, and
as it were manifested the greatness of his glory. Thus often
is the power of God, which was exercised in the resurrection
of Christ, set forth in Scripture in sublime terms, and not
without reason ; for it is of great importance, that by so
explicit a record of the ineffable power of God, not only faith
in the last resurrection, which far exceeds the perception of
the flesh, but also as to other benefits which we receive from
the resurrection of Christ, should be highly commended to us.^
5. For if we have been planted 5. Nam si insititii facti sumus
together in the likeness of his death, similitudini mortis ejus, nimirum
we shall be also in the likeness of his et resurrectionis particiiJes erinius :
resurrection :
6. Knowing this, that our old man 6. Illud scientes, quod vetus nos-
is crucified with him, that the body ter homo simul cum ipso crucifixus
of sin might be destroyed, that hence- est, ut aboleretur corpus peccati, ut
forth we should not serve sin. non ultra serviamus peccato.
5. For if we have been ingrafted, &c. He strengthens in
plainer words the argument he has already stated ; for the
similitude which he mentions leaves now nothing doubtful,
inasmuch as grafting designates not only a conformity of
example, but a secret union, by which we are joined to him ;
so that he, reviving us by his Spirit, transfers his own virtue
to us. Hence as the graft has the same life or death in
common with the tree into which it is ingrafted, so it is
word " buried " having been adopted to express more fully what is meant
by being " dead," and there being another word, " planted," used to con-
vey the same idea, which cannot be applied to the rite of baptism.
" Buried with him," means buried like him, or in like manner ; and so
" crucified with him," in verse 6, is the same : rw prefixed to verbs, has
clearly this meaning. See chap. viii. 17: Col. iii. 1 ; 2 Tim. ii. 11. " Into
death " is not to be connected with " planted," but with " baptism ;" it
was " a baptism into death," that is, which represented death, even death
imto sin. — Ed.
' Beza takes S;a, by, before " glory," in the sense of th, to, " to the glory
of the Father ;" but this is unusual. It seems to be a metonymy, the
effect for the cause : it was done by power which manifested and redounded
to the glory of God. The word " glory," So|a, is used for power in John
xi. 40. The Hebrew word, Tiy, strength, power, is sometimes rendered
§o|a by the Septuagint ; see Ps. Ixvii. 34, (in our version, Ixviii. 34 :) Is.
xii. 2; xlv. 24. God's favour is often expressly mentioned in connection
with the resurrection; See 1 Cor. vi, 14 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 4 ; Col. i. 11. — Ed.
CHAP. VI. 5. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 223
reasonable that we should be partakers of the life no less
than of the death of Christ ; for if we are ingrafted accord-
ing to the likeness of Christ's death, which was not without
a resurrection, then our death shall not be without a resur-
rection. But the words admit of a twofold explanation, —
either that we are ingrafted in Christ into the likeness of his
death, or, that we arc simply ingrafted in its likeness. ' The
first reading would require the Greek dative o/xoKo/jLart, to
be understood as pointing out the manner ; nor do I deny
but that it has a fuller meaning : but as the other harmonizes
more with simplicity of expression, I have preferred it ;
though it signifies but little, as both come to the same
meaning. Chrysostom thought that Paul used the expres-
sion, " likeness of death," for death, as he says in another
place, " being made in the likeness of men." But it seems
to me that there is something more significant in the ex-
pression ; for it not only serves to intimate a resurrection,
but it seems also to indicate this — that we die not like Christ
a natural death, but that there is a similarity between our
and his death ; for as he by death died in the flesh, wdiich
he had assumed from us, so we also die in ourselves, that
we may live in him. It is not then the same, but a similar
death ; for we are to notice the connection between the
death of our present life and spiritual renovation.
Ingrafted, &c. There is great force in this word, and it
clearly shows, that the Apostle does not exhort, but rather
teach us what benefit we derive from Christ ; for he requires
nothing from us, which is to be done by our attention and
diligence, but speaks of the grafting made by the hand of
God. But there is no reason why you should seek to apply
the metaphor or comparison in every particular ; for between
the grafting of trees, and this which is spiritual, a disparity
will soon meet us : in the former the graft draws its aliment
from the root, but retains its own nature in the fruit ; but
in the latter not only we derive the vigour and nourishment
of life from Christ, but we also pass from our OAvn to his
nature. The Apostle, however, meant to express nothing
else but the efiicacy of the death of Christ, which mani-
fests itself in putting to death our flesh, and also the efii-
224) COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VI. 6.
cacy of his resurrection, in renewing within us a spiritual
nature.^
6. That our old man, &c. The old man, as the Old Tes-
tament is so called with reference to the New ; for he be-
gins to be old, when he is by degrees destroj^ed by a com-
mencing regeneration. But what he means is the whole
nature which we bring from the womb, and which is so in-
capable of the kingdom of God, that it must so far die as
we are renewed to real life. This old man, he says, is fas-
tened to the cross of Christ, for by its power he is slain :
and he expressly referred to the cross, that he might more
distinctly show, that we cannot be otherwise put to death
than by partaking of his death. For I do not agree with
those who think that he used the word crucified, rather than
dead, because he still lives, and is in some respects vigorous.
It is indeed a correct sentiment, but not suitable to this
passage. The body of sin, which he afterwards mentions,
1 The word tru/uipuriit, is rendered insititii by Calvin, and the same by
Erasmus, Parens, and Hammond. The Vulgate has " complantati —
planted together ;" Beza, " cum eo plantati coakiimus — bemg planted with
him we grow together ;" Doddridge, " grow together ;" anci Macknight,
"planted together." The word properly means either to grow together,
or^^to be born together ; and <pi'to never means to graft. It is only found
here ; and it is apphed by the Septuagint, in Zech. xi. 2, to a forest grow-
ing together. The verb (rvy.(piui is once used in Luke viii. 7, and refers to
the thorns which sprang up with the corn. It occurs as a participle in the
same sense in the Wisdom of Solomon, xiii. 13. It appears from Wolfius
that the Avord is used by Greek authors in a sense not strictly literal, to
express congeniality, conjoining, union, as the sameness of disposition, or
the joining together of a dismembered hmb, or, as Grotius says, the union
©f friendship. It might be so taken here, and the verse might be thus
rendered, —
For if we have been united (or, connected) by a similarity to his
death, we shall certainly be also united hy a similarity to his resur-
rection.
The genitive case here may be regarded as that of the object, as the
love of God means sometimes love to God. Evidently the truth intended
to be conveyed is, that as the Cbristian's death to sin bears likeness to
Christ's death, so his rising to a spiritual life is certain to bear a similar
likeness to Christ's resiurrection. Then in the following verses this is more
fully explained.
" The Apostle," says Beza, " uses the future tense, ' we shall be,'
because we are not as yet wholly dead, or wholly risen, but are daily
emerging." But the future here, as Stuart remarks, may be considered
as expressing what is to follow the death previously mentioned, or as de-
signating an obligation, as in Matt. iv. 10; Luke iii. 10, 12, 14: or a
certainty as to the result. — Ed.
CHAP. VI. 7. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 225
does not mean flesh and bones, but the corrupted mass ; for
man, left to his own nature, is a mass made up of sin.^
He points out the end for which this destruction is effected,
when he says, so that we may no lonr/er serve sin. It hence
follows, that as long as we are children of Adam, and no-
thing more than men, we are so in bondage to sin, that w^e
can do nothing else but sin ; but that being grafted in
Christ, we are delivered from this miserable thraldom ; not
that we immediately cease entirely to sin, but that we be-
come at last victorious in the contest.
7. For he that is dead is freed 7. Qui enim mortuus est, justifi-
from sin. catus est a peccato.
8. Now, if we be dead with Christ, 8. Si vero mortui sumus cum
we believe that we shall also live Christo, credimus quod et vivemus
with him : cum eo :
9. Knowing that Christ, being rais- 9. Scientes quod Christus susci-
ed from the dead, dieth no more ; tatus ex mortuis, amplius non mori-
death hath no more dominion over tur, mors illi amplius non domina-
him. tur :
10. For in that he died, he died 10. Quod enim mortuus est, pec-
unto sin once : but in that he liveth, cato mortuus est semel : quod autem
he liveth unto God. vivit, vivit Deo.
11. Likewise reckon ye also your- 11. Sic et ipsi jestimate vosmet
selves to be dead indeed unto sin, but esse mortuos quidem peccato, viven-
alive unto God through Jesus Christ tes autem Deo in Christo lesu Do-
our Lord. mino nostro.
7. For he luho has died, &c. This is an argument derived
from what belongs to death or from its effect. For if deatb
destroys all the actions of life, we who have died to sin ouglit
to cease from those actions which it exercised during its
life. Take justified for freed or reclaimed from bondage ;
for as he is freed from the bond of a charge, who is absolved
1 It is thought by Parens and others, that " body " is here assigned to
" sin," in allusion to the crucifixion that is mentioned, as a body in that
case is fixed to the cross, and tliat it means the whole congeries, or, as Cal-
vin calls it, the whole mass of sins, such as pride, passion, lust, &c. But
the reason for using the word " body.'" is more probably this, because he
called innate sin, man — " the old man ;" and what properly belongs to man
is a body. The " body of sin " is a Hebraism, and signifies a sinful body.
It has no special reference to the material body, as Origen thought. The
" man " here is to be taken in a spiritual sense, as one who has a mind,
reason, and aflections : therefore the body which belongs to him must be
of the same character : it is the whole of what appertains to " tlie old man,"
as he is corrupt and sinful, the whole of what is earthly, wicked, and de-
praved in him. It is the sinful body of the old man. — Ed.
226 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VI. 8.
by the sentence of a judge ; so death, by freeing us from
this life, sets us free from all its functions.^
But though among men there is found no such example,
there is yet no reason why you should think, that what is
said here is a vain speculation, or despond in your minds,
because you find not yourselves to be of the number of those
who have wholly crucified the flesh ; for this work of God is
not comj)leted in the day in which it is begun in us ; but
it gradually goes on, and by daily advances is brought by
degrees to its end. So then take this as the sum of the
whole, — " If thou art a Christian, there must appear in thee
an evidence of a fellowship as to the death of Christ ; the
fruit of which is, that thy flesh is crucified together with all
its lusts ; but this fellowship is not to be considered as not
existing, because thou findest that the relics of the flesh still
live in thee ; but its increase ought to be diligently laboured
for, until thou arrivest at the goal." It is indeed well with
us, if our flesh is continually mortified ; nor is it a small at-
tainment, when the reigning power, being taken away from
it, is wielded by the Holy Spirit. There is another fellow-
ship as to the death of Christ, of which the Apostle often
speaks, as he does in 2 Cor.iv., that is, the bearing of the cross,
which is followed by a joint-participation also of eternal life.
8. But if we have died, &c. He repeats this for no other
end but that he might subjoin the explanation which fol-
lows, that Christ, having once risen, dies no more. And
* This verse has oeeasioiied various explanations. The most obvious
meaning of the first clause is, that to " die " here means to die with or in
a similar manner Avith Christ, for in the next verse, where the idea is re-
sumed, " with " or Hke " Christ," is expressly stated. The verb, liliKaiu-
•rcci, " is," or has been " justified," has been considered by the early and
most of the later commentators in the sense of hemg freed or delivered.
This is the view, among others, of Clirysostom, Basil, CEcumenhis, Beza^
Parens, Hammond, Grotins, Doddridge, and Macknight. But it must
be added, that it is a meaning of which there is no other clear instance in
the New Testament, though the verb occurs often. Scott, aware of this,
gives it its common meaning, "justified ;" and thoixgh he does not take the
view of Venema, Chalmers, and Haldane, as to the general import of the
former part of this chapter, he yet considers that to be " justified from
sin " here, is to be justified from its guilt and penalty. Nor is it irrele-
vant to the siibject in hand to refer to justification : for it is a very impor-
tant truth to declare, that to die to sin is an evidence of being justified
from its giult. — Ed.
CllAl'. VI. 10. EPISTLE 'i'U THE ROMANS. 227
hereby lie teaches us that newness of life is to be pursued by
Christians as long- as they live ; for since they ought to re-
I^resent in themselves an image of Christ, both by crucifying
the flesh and by a spiritual life, it is necessary that the
former should be done once for all, and that the latter should
be carried on continually : not that the flesh, as we have
already said, dies in us in a moment, but that we ought not
to retrograde in the work of crucifying it. For if we roll
again in our own filth, we deny Christ ; of whom we cannot
be the participators except through newness of life, inas-
much as he lives an incorruptible life.
9. Death no tnore rules over him, &c. He seems to imply
that death once ruled over Christ; and indeed when he gave
himself uj) to death for us, he in a manner surrendered and
subjected himself to its power ; it was however in such a
way that it was impossible that he should be kept bound by
its pangs, so as to succumb to or to be swallowed up by them.
He, therefore, by submitting to its dominion, as it were, for
a moment, destroyed it for ever. Yet, to speak more simply,
the dominion of death is to be referred to the state of death
voluntarily undergone, which the resurrection terminated.
The meaning is, that Christ, who now vivifies the faithful
by his Spirit, or breathes his own life into them by his secret
power from heaven, was freed from the dominion of death
when he arose, that by virtue of the same dominion he might
render free all his people.
10. He died once to sin, &c. What he had said — that we,
according to the example of Christ, are for ever freed from
the yoke of death, he now applies to his present purpose,
and that is this — that we are no more subject to the tyranny
of sin, and this he proves from the designed object of Christ's
death ; for he died that he might destroy sin.
But we must observe what is suitable to Christ in this
form of expression ; for he is not said to die to sin, so as to
cease from it, as the words must be taken when applied to
us, but that he underwent death on account of sin, that
having made himself dvriXvrpov, a ransom, he might anni-
hilate the power and dominion of sin.^ And he says that he
'■ This ditference may be gathered from the general tenor of the whole
228 COMMBNTAEIES ON THE CHAP. VI. 10.
died once, not only because he has by having obtained eternal
redemption by one offering, and by having made an expiation
for sin by his blood, sanctified the faithful for ever ; but
also in order that a mutual likeness may exist between us.
For though spiritual death makes continual advances in us,
we are yet said properly to die only once, that is, when
Christ, reconciling us by his blood to the Father, regenerates
us at the same time by the power of his Spirit.
But that he lives, &c. Whether you add with or in God,
it conies to the same meaning ; for he shows that Christ
lives a life subject to no mortality in the immortal and
incorruptible kingdom of God ; a type of which ought to
appear in the regeneration of the godly. We must here
remember the particle of likeness, so ; for he says not that
we shall now live in heaven, as Christ lives there ; but he
makes the new life, which after regeneration we live on
earth, similar to his celestial life. When he says that we
ought to die to sin, according to his examjjle, we are not to
suppose it to be the same kind of death ; for we die to sin,
when sin dies in us, but it was otherwise with Christ ; by
dying it was that he conquered sin. But he had just said
before, that we believe that we shall have life in common
with him, he fully shows by the word believing tliat he
speaks of the grace of Christ : for if he only reminded us of
a duty, his mode of speaking would have been this, " Since
we die with Christ, we ought also to live with him.'' But
the word believing denotes that he treats here of doctrine
Avhich is based on the promises ; as though he had said, that
the faithful ought to feel assured that they are through the
kindness of Christ dead as to the flesh, and that the same
Christ will preserve them in newness of life to the end.
passage : for his death and our death are said to have a likeness, and not
to be same. And farther, in mentioning our death in this connection, in
the next verse, he changes his phraseology; it is vix^oh; uvai and not
uTTo^dyiiv, which means those deprived of hfe — the lifeless. "The dead
(vix^ou;) in trespasses and sins," are those vrho have no spiritual life ; and
to be dead to sin is not to have life for sin, to be freed from its ruling
power. See verse IS.
It is usual with the Apostle to adopt the same form of words in different
senses, which can only be distinguished by the context or by other parts
of Scripture, as it has been noticed in a note on ch. iv. 25. — Ed.
CHAP. VI. 1 2. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 229
But the future time of tlie verb live, refers not to the last
resurrection, but simply denotes the continued course of a
new life, as long as we peregrinate on the earth.
11. So count ye also yourselves, &c. Now is added a de-
finition of that analogy to which I have referred. For
having stated that Christ once died to sin and lives for ever
to God, he now, applying both to us, reminds us how we now
die while living, that is, when we renounce sin. But he
omits not the other part, that is, how we are to live after
having by faith received the grace of Christ : for though the
mortifying of the flesh is only begun in us, yet the life of
sin is destroyed, so that afterwards spiritual newness, which
is divine, continues perpetually. For except Christ were to
slay sin in us at once to the end, his grace would by no
means be sure and durable.
The meaning, then, of the words may be thus expressed,
" Take this view of your case, — that as Christ once died for
the purpose of destroying sin, so you have once died, that
in future you may cease from sin ; yea, you must daily pro-
ceed with that work of mortifying, which is begun in you,
till sin be wholly destroyed : as Christ is raised to an incor-
ruptible life, so you are regenerated by the grace of God,
that you may lead a life of holiness and righteousness, inas-
much as the power of the Holy Spirit, by which ye have
been renewed, is eternal, and shall ever continue the same."
But I jirefer to retain the words of Paul, in Christ Jesus,
rather than to translate with Erasrtius, through Christ Jesus ;
for thus the grafting, which makes us one with Christ, ie
better expressed.
12. Let not sin therefore reign in 12. Ne ergo regnet peccatum in
your mortal body, that ye should mortali vestro corpore, ut iUi obedi-
obey it in the lusts thereof : atis in cupiditatibus suis :
13. Neither yield ye yom* members 13. Neque exhibeatis membra ves-
as instruments of unrighteousness tra arma injustitia; peccato ; sed ex-
unto sin : but yield yourselves unto hibeatis vosmetipsos Deo, tanquam
God, as those that are alive from the ex mortuis viventes, et membra ves-
dead, and yoiu* members as instru- tra arma justitias Deo.
ments of righteousness unto God.
12. Let not sin then, &c. He now begins with exhortation,
which naturally arises from the doctrine which he had de-
230 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VI. 1 2.
livered resj)ecting our fellowship with Christ. Though sin
dwells in us, it is inconsistent that it should be so vigorous
as to exercise its reigning power ; for the power of sanctifi-
cation ought to be superior to it, so that our life may testify
that we are really the members of Christ.
I have already reminded you that the word body is not
to be taken for flesh, and skin, and bones, but, so to speak,
for the whole of what man is.^ This may undoubtedly be
inferred from the passage ; for the other clause, which he
immediately subjoins respecting the members of the body,
includes the soul also : and thus in a disparaging manner
does Paul designate earthly man, for owing to the corruption
of our nature we aspire to nothing worthy of our original.
So also does God say in Gen. vi. 3 ; where he complains that
man was become flesh like the brute animals, and thus
allows him nothing but what is earthly. To the same pur-
pose is the declaration of Christ, " What is born of the flesh
is flesh." (John iii. 6.) But if any makes this objection —
that the case with the soul is diflFerent ; to this the ready
answer is — that in our present degenerate state our souls
are fixed to the earth, and so enslaved to our bodies, that
they have fallen from their own superiority. In a word, the
nature of man is said to be corporeal, because he is destitute
of celestial grace, and is only a sort of empty shadow or
image. We may add, that the body, by way of contempt, is
said by Paul to be mortal, and this to teach us, that the
whole nature of man tends to death and ruin. Still further,
li,e gives the name of sin to the original depravity which
dwells in our hearts, and which leads us to sin, and from
which indeed all evil deeds and abominations stream forth.
In the middle, between sin and us, he places lusts, as the
1 That is, as a corrupt being : literally it is " for the whole mass of
man." The "body" here may be the same with that of "the old man"
in ver. 6 ; and the word for " lusts," I'^n&ufilai;, is often applied to desig-
nate the desires of the mind as well as the lusts of the natural body. The
word, 9i>irw, " mortal," would in this case mean, doomed to die, having
been crucified ; it is a body in the process of dying. Innate sin is here
personified as a king, a ruler, and as having a body, he being " the old
man ;" and this body is represented as belonging to Christians — " your,"
as the old man is — " our old man."^ — Ed.
CHAP. VI. IS. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 231
former has the office of a king, while lusts arc its edicts and
commands.
13. Hor j^resent your memhers, &c. When once sin has
obtained dominion in our soul, all our faculties are continu-
ally ap2)lied to its service. He therefore describes here the
reign of sin by what follows it, that he might more clearly
show what must be done by us, if we would shake off its
yoke. But he borrows a similitude from the military office,
M'hen he calls our members weapons or arms (arma) / as
though he said, " As the soldier has ever his arms ready,
that he may use them whenever he is ordered by his general,
and as he never uses them but at his command ; so Chris-
tians ought to regard all their faculties to be the weapons of
the spiritual warfare : if then they employ any of their mem-
bers in the indulgence of depravity, they are in the service
of sin. But they have made the oath of soldiers to God and
to Christ, and by this they are held bound : it hence behoves
them to be far away from any intercourse with the camps of
sin." — Those may also here see by what right they proudly
lay claim to the Christian name, who have all their mem-
bers, as though they were the prostitutes of Satan, prepared
to commit every kind of abomination.
On the other hand, he now bids us to present ourselves
wholly to God, so that restraining our minds and hearts from
all wanderings into which the lusts of the flesh may draw
us, we may regard the will of God alone, being ready to re-
ceive his commands, and prepared to execute his orders ;
and that our members also may be devoted and consecrated
to his will, so that all the faculties both of our souls and of
our bodies may aspire after nothing but his glory. The rea-
son for this is also added — that the Lord, having destroyed
our former life, has not in vain created us for another, which
ought to be accompanied with suitable actions.
^ The idea of a king, a niler, or a tyrant, is preserved throughout. In-
nate sin is a ruler, carrying on a warfare, and therefore has weapons which
he exploys. In the preceding verse are mentioned the gratifications with
which he indulges his subjects — " lusts," here the weapons by which he
defends his kingdom, and carries on an offensive warfare, committing acts
of wickedness and wrong — " weapons of injustice, u'Sixiai." " He who sins,"
says an old author, " does wrong either to himself or to his neighbour, and
always to God." — Ed.
232 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VI. 14.
14. For sin shall not have domi- 14. Peccatum enim vobis non do-
nion over you i^ for ye are not under minabitur, non enim estis sub Lege,
the law, but under grace. sed sub gratia.
15. What then ? shall we sin, be- 15. Quid ergo ? peccabimus, quia
cause we are not vuider the law, but non sumus sub Lege, sed sub gratia ?
under grace ? God forbid. Absit :
16. Know ye not, that to whom ye 16. Nescitis quod cui exhibuistis
yield yourselves servants to obey, his vos servos in obedientiam, ejus servi
servants ye are to whom ye obey ; estis cui obeditis, sive peccati in mor-
whethcr of sin unto death, or of obe- tern, sive obedientiaj in justitiam ?
dience unto righteousness ?
17. But God be thanked, that ye 17. Gratia autem Deo, quod fuis-
were the servants of sin; but ye have tis sern peccati, obedistis vero ex
obeyed from the heart that form of animo typo doctrinse in quern tra-
doctrine which was delivered you. ducti estis :
18. Being then made free from sin, 18. Manumissi vero peccato, servi
ye became the servants of righteous- facti estis justitise.
ness.
14. For sin shall not rule over you, &c. It is not necessary
to continue long in repeating and confuting expositions,
Avluch have little or no appearance of truth. There is one
which has more probability in its favour than the rest, and
it is this — that by law we are to understand the letter of the
law, which cannot renovate the soul, and by grace, the
grace of the Spirit, by Avhich we are freed from depraved
lusts. But this I do not wholly approve of; for if we take
this meaning, what is the object of the question which im-
mediately follows, " Shall we sin because we are not under
the law V Certainly the Apostle would never have put this
question, had he not understood, that we are freed from the
strictness of the law, so that God no more deals with us
according to the high demands of justice. There is then no
doubt but that he meant here to indicate some freedom from
the veiy law of God. But laying aside controversy, I will
briefly explain my view.
It seems to me, that there is here especially a consolation
ofFered, by which the faithful are to be strengthened, lest
they should faint in their efforts after holiness, through a
1 " Vobis non dominabitur ;" ou xu^niini — shall not be a lord over you,
shall not have power or authority or control over you ; or, it may mean,
shall not domineer over you, so as to retain you, as it were by force, under
its power : and the reason given favours this idea ; for he says, " Ye are not
under law, but imder grace." Law is the strength of sin; and by law it
binds its subjects under its service. — Ed.
CHAP. VI. 14. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 233
consciousness of their own weakness. He had exhorted
them tp devote all their fixculties to the service of righteous-
ness ; but as they carry about them the relics of the flesh,
tliey cannot do otherwise than walk somewhat lamely.
Hence, lest being broken down by a consciousness of their
infirmity they should desjiond, he seasonably comes to their
aid, by interposing a consolation, derived from this circum-
stance— that their works are not now tested by the strict
rule of the law, but that God, remitting their impurity, does
kindly and mercifully accept them. The yoke of the law
cannot do otherwise than tear and bruise those who carry it.
It hence follows, that the faithful must flee to Christ, and
im^^lore him to be the defender of their freedom : and as
such he exhibits himself; for he underwent the bondage of
the law, to which he was himself no debtor, for this end —
that he might, as the Apostle says, redeem those who were
under the law. .*•
Hence, not to he under the law means, not only that we
are not under the letter which prescribes what involves us
in guilt, as we are not able to perform it, but also that we
are no longer subject to the law, as requiring perfect right-
eousness, and pronouncing death on all who deviate from it
in any part. In like manner, by the word grace, we are to
imderstand both parts of redemption — the remission of sins,
by which God imputes righteousness to us, — and the sanc-
tification of the Spirit, b}^ whom he forms us anew imto
good works. The adversative particle, [a\Xa, but,] I take
in the sense of alleging a reason, which is not unfrequently
the case; as though it was said — " We who are under grace,
are not therefore under the law.'"
The sense now is clear ; for the Apostle intended to com-
fort us, lest we should be wearied in our minds, while striv-
ing to do what is right, because we still find in ourselves
many imperfections. For how much soever we may be
harassed by the stings of sin, it cannot yet overcome us, for
we are enabled to conquer it by the Spirit of God ; and
then, being under grace, Ave are freed from the rigorous re-
quirements of the law. We must further understand, that
the Apostle assumes it as granted, that all who are without
234 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VI. 1 6.
the grace of God, being bound under the yoke of the law,
are under condemnation. And so we may on the other
hand conckide, that as long as they are under the law, they
are subject to the dominion of sin.'^
15. What then ? As the wisdom of the flesh is ever cla-
morous against the mysteries of God, it was necessary for
the Apostle to subjoin what might anticipate an objection :
for since the law is the rule of life, and has been given to
guide men, we think that when it is removed all discipline
immediately falls to the ground, that restraints are taken
away, in a word, that there remains no distinction or differ-
ence between good and evil. But we are much deceived if
we think, that the righteousness which God approves of in
liis law is abolished, when the law is abrogated ; for the abro-
gation is b}'' no means to be applied to the precepts which
teach the right way of living, as Christ confirms and sanc-
tions these and does not abrogate them ; but the right view
is, that nothing is taken away but the curse, to which all
men without grace are subject. But though Paul does not
distinctly express this, yet he indirectly intimates it.
] 6. By no means : know ye not 1 This is not a bare denial
as some think, as though he preferred to express his abhor-
rence of such a question rather than to disprove it : for a
confutation immediately follows, derived from a contrary
supposition, and to this purpose, " Between the yoke of
Cbrist and that of sin there is so much contrariety, that no
one can bear them both ; if we sin, we give ourselves up to
the service of sin ; but the faithful, on the contrary, have
been redeemed from the tyranny of sin, that they may serve
Christ : it is therefore impossible for them to remain bound
to sin." But it will be better to examine more closely the
course of reasoning, as pursued by Paul.
To whom we obey, &c. This relative may be taken in a
causative sense, as it often is ; as when one says, — there is
no kind of crime which a parricide will not do, who has not
' The word "law" here, is taken by Scott and others, indefinitely, as
meaning law as the ground of the covenant of Avorks, written or un-
written ; and the literal rendering is, " under law" — v-^i vofiov ; and it is
the same in the next verse, " under law." — Ed.
CHAP. VI. 17. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 235
hesitated to commit the greatest crime of all, and so bar-
barous as to be almost abhorred even by wild beasts. And
Paul adduces liis reason partly from the effects, and partly
from the nature of correlatives. For first, if they obey, he
concludes that they are servants, for obedience proves that
he, who thus brings one into subjection to himself, has the
power of commanding. This reason as to service is from
the effect, and from this the other arises. " If you be ser-
vants, then of course sin has the dominion."
Or of obedience, &c. The language is not strictly correct ;
for if he wished to have the clauses correspondent, he would
have said, " or of righteousness unto life." ^ But as the
change in the words does not prevent the understanding of
the subject, he preferred to express what righteousness is by
the word obedience ; in which however there is a metonymy'-,
for it is to be taken for the very commandments of God ;
and by mentioning this without addition, he intimated that
it is God alone, to whose authority consciences ought to be
subject. Obedience then, though the name of God is sup-
pressed, is yet to be referred to him, for it cannot be a
divided obedience.
17. But thanks be to God, &c. This is an application of
the similitude of the present subject. Though they were
only to be reminded that they were not now the servants of
J Beza's remark on this is, — that obedience is not the cause of life, as
sin is of death, but is the way to life : and hence the want of correspond-
ence in the two clauses. But others, such as Vcnema, Tnrretthi, and
Stuart, consider that the clauses really correspond. They take ih ^d-jarov
— " unto death," as signifying, unto condemnation ; and u; liKaioavvm,
they render " unto justification ;" and vTUKon, " obedience," is in their
view the obedience of faith. This construction might be admitted, were
it not for the last clause of ver. 18, where we have, " Ye became the
servants of righteousness," the same word, S/xa/oo-o'v?) ; except we consider
that also, as Venema does, as signifying tlie righteousness of faith, by a
sort of personification : and if so, we must attach the same meaning to
" righteousness," hxaioirvvij, in ver. 1 9, which issues in, or leads to hoUness ;
and also to " righteousness," ^ixama-uvfi, in ver. 20. As the Apostle per-
sonifies sin, he may also be supposed to personify righteousness, that is,
the righteousness of faith. In this case, we might as well retain the word
'•' righteousness" in this verse, and not justification, which it never strictly
means ; for the correspondence in the terms would be still essentially pre-
served, as with the righteousness of faith eternal life is inseparably con-
nected.— Ed.
236 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VI. 1 7.
siiij lie yet adds a thanksgiving ; first, tliat he might teach
them, that this Avas not -tlirough their ov;u merit, but
througli the special mercy of God ; and secondly, that by
this thanksgiving, they might learn how great was the kind-
ness of God, and that they might thereby be more stimu-
lated to hate sin. And he gives thanks, not as to that time
during which they were the servants of sin, but for the
liberation which followed, when they ceased to be what they
were before. But this implied comparison between their
former and present state is very emphatical ; for the Apos-
tle touches the calumniators of the grace of Christ, when he
shows, that without grace the whole race of man is held
captive under the dominion of sin ; but that the kingdom
of sin comes to an end, as soon as grace puts forth its
power. ^
We may hence learn, that we are not freed from the bond-
age of the law that we may sin ; for the law does not lose
its dominion, until the grace of God restores us to him, in
order to renew us in righteousness : and it is hence
impossible that we should be subject to sin, when the
grace of God reigns in us : for we have before stated,
that under this term grace, is included the sj^irit of re-
generation.
You have obeyed from the heart, &c. Paul compares here
the hidden power of the Spirit with the external letter of
the law, as though he had said, " Christ inwardly forms
our souls in a better w^ay, than when the law constrains
them by threatening and terrifying us." Thus is dissipated
the following calumny, " If Christ frees us from subjection
to the law, he brings liberty to sin.'' He does not indeed
allow his people unbridled freedom, that they might frisk
about without any restraint, like horses let loose in the
fields ; but he brings them to a regular course of life. —
Though Erasmus, following the old version, has chosen to
1 Oiir version of this verse conveys tlie idea, that the Apostle gave thanks
that they had been the servants of sin ; but »'' is often rendered for, as
in INlatt. v. 3, 4 ; Luke x. 13 ; and in Matt. vi. 5, followed by ?£ as
here, in ver. G. The rendering may be this, —
But thanks be to God ; for ye have been the servants of sin, but have
obeyed the form of doctrine, in which ye have been taught. — Ed.
CHAP. VI. 18. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 237
tmnslate it the " form" (formani) of doctrine, I have felt
constrained to retain type, the word which Paul uses : some
may perhaps prefer the word pattern.^ It seems indeed to
me to denote the formed image or impress of that righteous-
ness whicli Christ engraves on our hearts : and this corre-
sponds with the prescribed rule of the law, according to
which all our actions ought to be fi-amed, so that they
deviate not either to the right or to the left hand.
18. And having been made free from sin, &c. The mean-
ing is, " It is unreasonable that any one, after having been
made free, should continue in a state of bondage ; for he
ought to maintain the freedom which he has received : it is
not then befitting, that you should be brought again under
the dominion of sin, from which you have been set at liberty
by Christ." It is an argument derived from the efficient
cause ; another also follows, taken from the final cause,
" Ye have been liberated from the bondage of sin, that ye
might pass into the kingdom of righteousness ; it is hence
riglit that you should wholly turn away from sin, and turn
your minds wholly to righteousness, into the service of which
you have been transferred."
^ The version of Calvin is, " Obedistis vero et animo typo doctrinje in
quern traducti estis."
Tlie word tuVoj, is rendered in John xx. 25, print, that is, of the nails,
— in Actsvii. 43, in the -plnra], Jig^crcs, that is, images, — in Acts vii. 44,
fashion, that is, pattern or model, — in Heb. viii. 5, pattern, — in Acts
xxiii. 25, manner, that is, form, — in Rom. v. 14, /</Hre, that is, represen-
tative,— in Tit. ii. 7, pattern ; and in all other instances in which it
occurs, except in this place, it is rendered example, and in the plural,
examples, as afforded by the conduct of others, or by events : see 1 Cor.
X. 6, 11 : Pliil. iii. 17 ; 1 Thess. i. 7 ; 2 Thess. iii. 9 ;"l Tim. iv, 12 ; 1 Pet.
V. 3. The idea of mould, Avhich some give to it, is without an example
in the New Testament.
Our version is that of Castellio, in the meaning of which most critics
agree. Grotius gives this paraphrase, " Obedistis ad eum modum quern
doctrina eyangelii prtescribit — Ye became obedient to that rule wliich the
doctrine of the gospel prescribes," Wol/ius quotestrom lamblichus, in his
life of Fi/thatjoras, passages in which tutos is used for form, model, or
manner, — " rr,; •rat'hiuriais 0 rivos — the form of instruction ;" and " rtVo; Sj-
Sao-xaX/as — the fomi or manner of teaching."
The grammatical difliculty is best removed by Stuart, who considers
TuVav to be for tv^m^ the case being changed by the preceding pronoun,
no uncommon thing in Greek : the literal rendering would then be, —
" Ye have obeyed the form of doctrine, respecting whicli (or, in which,
see Mark v. 34) ye have been instructed.'' — Ed.
238 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VI. 19.
It must be observed, that no one can be a servant to
righteousness except he is first liberated by the power and
kindness of God from the tyranny of sin. So Christ himself
testifies, '•' If the Son shall free you, you shall be free in-
deed." (John viii. 36.) What are then our preparations by
the power of free will, since the commencement of what is
good proceeds from this manumission, which the grace of
God alone effects i
19. I speak after the manner of men, 19. Himianum dieo propter in-
because of the infirmity of your flesh : firmitatem carnis vestrte, quemad-
for as ye have yielded your members modumexhibuistis membra vestra
servants to uncleanness, and to iniquity serva immunditise et iniquitati in
vmto iniquity ; even so now yield your iniquitatem, sic et nunc exhibite
members servants to righteousness un- membra vestra serva justitiie in
to holiness. sanctificationem.
19. 7 S2)eak what is human, &c. He says that he speaks
after the manner of men, not as to the substance but as to
the manner. So Christ says, in Jolm iii. 12, that he an-
nounced earthly things, while yet he spoke of heavenly
mysteries, though not so magnificently as the dignity of the
things required, because he accommodated himself to the
capacities of a people ignorant and simple. And thus the
Apostle says, by way of preface, that he might more fully
show how gross and wicked is the calumny, when it is
imagined, that the freedom obtained by Christ gives liberty
to sin. He reminds the faithful at the same time, that
nothing is more unreasonable, nay, base and disgraceful,
than that the spiritual grace of Christ should have less in-
fluence over them than earthly freedom ; as though he had
said " I might, by comparing sin and righteousness, show
how much more ardently ye ought to be led to render obe-
dience to the latter, than to serve the former ; but from
reo-ard to your infirmity I omit this comparison : neverthe-
less, though I treat you with great indulgence, I may yet
surely make this just demand — that you should not at least
obey righteousness more coldly or negligently than you served
sin." It is a sort of reticence or silence, a withholding of
something when we wish more to be understood than what
we express. He does yet exhort them to render obedi-
0
HAP. VI. ID. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. '2oi)
ence to righteousness witli so much more dilig-eiice, as that
which they served is more worthy than sin, though he seems
not to require this in so many words.^
As ye have jyt'esented, &c. ; that is, " As ye were formerly
ready with all your faculties to serve sin, it is hence suffi-
ciently evident how wretchedly enslaved and bound did your
depravity hold ycu to itself: now then ye ought to be equally
prompt and ready to execute the commands of God ; let not
your activity in doing good be now less than it was formerly
in doing evil." He does not indeed observe the same order
in the antithesis, by adapting diiferent parts to each other,
as he does in ] Thess. iv. 7, where he sets uncleanness in
opposition to holiness ; but the meaning is still evident.
He mentions first two kinds — uncleanness and iniquity ;
the former of which is opposed to chastity and holiness, the
other refers to injuries hurtful to our neighbour. But he
repeats iniquity twice, and in a different sense : by the first
he means plunders, frauds, perjuries, and every kind of
wrong ; by the second, the universal corruption of life, as
though he had said, " Ye have prostituted your members so
as to perpetrate all wicked works, and thus the kingdom of
iniquity became strong in you."^ By righteousness I under-
stand the law or the rule of a holy life, the design of which
^ The phrase is taken differently : ' AmS^u'^ivov xiyu — « I speak what is
human," that is, what is proportionable to man's strength, says Chrysostoni
— what is done and known in common life, as in Gal. iii. 15, or, what is
moderate, says Hammond — what is level to man's miderstanding, says
Vatahlus. The first proposed by Hammond is the meaning most suitable
here ; for the Apostle had previously used reasons and arguments, and
sacred similitudes ; but he comes now to what is known in common life
among men, the connection between masters and servants, and he did this
in condescension to their weakness, which he calls the weakness of the flesh,
that is, the weakness of which flesh, the depravity of nature, was the cause ;
it was weakness arising from the flesh. — Ed.
2 The different clauses of this verse have been a knotty point to all
commentators. Probably the Apostle did not intend to keep up a regular
course of antithesis, the subject not admitting of this ; because the progress
of evil and the progress of its remedy may be difierent, and it seems to be
so in the present case. Sin is innate and inward, and its character, as
here represented, is vileness and iniquity, and it breaks out into acts of
iniquity : he does not repeat the other character, vileness ; but when he
comes to the contrast he mentions holiness, and docs not add what is anti-
thetic to iniquity. This is a striking instance of the elliptical style of the
Apostle. It is not neglect or carelessness, but no doubt an intentional
240 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VI. 20.
is sanctification, as the case is when the faithful devote
themselves to serve God in puiitj.
20. For when ye were the ser- 20. Quando enim servi fuistis
vants of sm, ye were free from peccati, liberi fuistis justitise.
righteousness.
21. What fruit had ye then in 21. Quern ergo fructum habuistis
those things whereof ye are now tunc in iis, de quibus nunc erubes-
ashamed ? for the end of those things citis ? siquidem finis eorum mors.
is death.
22. But now, being made free 22. Nunc vero manumissi a pec-
from sin, and become servants to cato, Deo autem in servitutem ad-
God, ye have your fruit unto hoh- dicti, habetis fructum vestrum in
ness, and the end everlasting hfe. sanctificationem, finem vero vitam
ffiternam.
23. For the wages of sin ts death ; 23. Stipendia enim peccati, mors ;
but the gift of God is eternal life donum vero Dei, vita jeterna, in
through Jesus Christ our Lord. Christo lesu Domino nostro.
20. For ivhen ye were, &c. He still repeats the difference,
Avhich he had before mentioned, between the yoke of right-
eousness and that of sin ; for these two things, sin and right-
eousness, are so contrary, that he who devotes himself to the
one, necessarily departs from the other. And he thus re-
presents both, that by viewing them apart we may see more
clearly what is to be expected from each ; for to set things
thus apart enables us to understand better their distinctive
character. He then sets sin on one side, and righteousness
omission ; it being the character of his mode of writing, which he had in
common with the ancient Prophets.
Then comes the word " righteousness," which I am disposed to think
is that which all along has been spoken of, the righteousness of faith ; this
is not innate, not inward, but which comes from without, and is appre-
hended by faith, by which sins are forgiven, and God's favour obtained ;
and they who become the servants of this are to cidtivate holiness both
inward and outward ; they ought to present all their members, that is, all
their faculties, to the service of this master, so that they may become holy
in all manner of conversation.
But if this idea of righteousness be disapproved of, we may still account
for the apparent irregularity in the construction of the passage. It
is an instance of an inverted order, many examples of which are found
even in this Epistle. He begins with " uncleanness," he ends with " holi-
ness," and then the intervening words which are in contrast correspond,
" iniquity " and " righteousness." Here is also an inversion in the mean-
ing: " uncleanness" is the principle, and "holiness" is tiie action; while
" iniquity " is the action, and '• righteousness " is the principle. If this
view is right, we have here a singular instance of the inverted parallelism,
both as to words and meaning. — Ed.
OIIAP. VI. 21. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 24 J
on the other ; and liaving stated this distinction, he after-
wards shows what results from each of them.
Let us then remember that the Apostle still reasons on
the i^rinciple of contraries, and in this manner, " While ye
were the servants of sin, ye were freed from righteousness ;
but now a change having taken place, it behoves you to serve
righteousness ; for you have been liberated from the yoke of
sin. He calls those free from righteousness who are held by
no bridle to obey righteousness. This is the liberty of the
flesh, which so frees us from obedience to God, that it makes
us slaves to the devil. Wretched then and accursed is this
liberty, which with unbridled or rather mad frenzy, leads us
exultingly to our destruction.
21. What fruit, then, &c. He could not more strikingly
express what he intended than by appealing to their con-
science, and by confessing shame as it were in their person.
Indeed the godly, as soon as they begin to be illuminated by
the Spirit of Christ and the preaching of the gospel, do freely
acknowledge their past life, which they have lived without
Christ, to have been worthy of condemnation ; and so far
are they from endeavouring to excuse it, that, on the con-
trary, they feel ashamed of themselves. Yea, further, they
call to mind the remembrance of their own disgrace, that
being thus ashamed, they may more truly and more readily
be humbled before God.
Nor is what he says insignificant. Of which ye are now
ashamed ; for he intimates that we are possessed with ex-
treme blind love for ourselves, when we are involved in the
darkness of our sins, and think not that there is so much
filth in us. The light of the Lord alone can open our eyes /
to behold the filthiness which lies hid in our flesh. He only
then is imbued with the principles of Christian philosophy,
who has well learnt to be really displeased with himself, /
and to be confounded with shame for his own wretch-
edness. He shows at last still more plainly from wliat
was to follow, how much they ought to have been ashamed,
that is, when they came to understand that they had
been standing on the veiy precipice of death, and had
been nigh destruction ; yea, that they would have already
Q
242 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VI. 23.
entered the gates of death, had they not been reclaimed by
God's mercy.
22. Ye have your fruit unto holiness, &c. As he had be-
fore mentioned a twofold end of sin, so he does now as to
righteousness. Sin in this life brings the torments of an
accusing conscience, and in the next eternal death. We now
gather the fruit of righteousness, even holiness ; we hope in
future to gain eternal life. These things, unless we are
beyond measure stupid, ought to generate in our minds a
hatred and horror of sin, and also a love and desire for
righteousness. Some render reXo?, "tribute" or reward, and
not " end," but not, as I think, according to the meaning of
the Apostle ; for though it is true that we bear the punish-
ment of death on account of sin, yet this word is not suitable
to the other clause, to which it is applied by Paul, inasmuch
as life cannot be said to be the tribute or reward of right-
eousness.
23. For the wages of sin, &c. There are those who think
that Paul, by comparing death to allowances of meat, (06-
soniis,) i^oints out in a disparaging manner the kind of
wretched reward that is allotted to sinners, as this word is
taken by the Grreeks sometimes for portions allowed to sol-
diers. But he seems rather indirectly to condemn the blind
appetites of those who are ruinously allured by the entice-
ments of sin, as the fish are by the hook. It will however
be more simple to render tlie word " wages," for surely death
is a sufficiently ample reward to the wicked. This verse is
a conclusion to the former, and as it were an epilogue to it.
He does not, however, in vain repeat the same thing again ;
but b}^ doubling the terror, he intended to render sin an
object of still greater hatred.
But the gift of God. They are mistaken who thus render
the sentence, " Eternal life is the gift of God," as though
eternal life were the subject, and the gift of God the predi-
cate ; for this does not preserve the contrast. But as he has
already taught us, that sin produces nothing but death ; so
now he subjoins, that this gift of God, even our justification
and sanctification, brings to us the haj^piness of eternal life.
Or, if you prefer, it may be thus stated, — " As the cause of
CHAP. VII. 1. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 243
death is sin, so rig-litcousness, which we obtain through
Christ, restores to lis eternal Jife."
It may however he hence inferred with certainty, that our
salvation is altogether through the grace and mere benefi-
cence of God. He might indeed have used other words —
that the wages of righteousness is eternal life ; and then the
two clauses Avould correspond : but he knew that it is
through God's gift Ave obtain it, and not through our own
merits ; and that it is not one or a single gift ; for being-
clothed with the righteousness of the Son, we are reconciled
to God, and we are by the power of the Spirit renewed unto
holiness. And he adds, in Christ Jesus, and for this reason,
that he might call us away from every conceit respecting
our own worthiness.
CPIAPTER VII.
1. Know ye not, brethren, (for I 1. Num ignoratis fratres (scienti-
speak to them that know the law,) bus enim Legem loquor) quod Lex
how that the law hath dominion over dominalur homini quamdiu vivit ?
a man as long as he liveth ?
2. For the woman which hath an 2. Nam viro subjecta mulier, vi-
husband is bound by the law to her venti viro alligata est per Legem ;
husband so long as he liveth ; but if quod si mortuus ftierit vir, soluta est
the Inisband be dead, she is loosed a Lege viri.
from the law of her husband.
3. 8o then if, while Jier husband 3. Proinde vivente marito, si al-
liveth, she be married to another teri viro conjmicta fuerit, adultera
man, she shall be called an adid- vocabitur : quod si mortuus fuerit
teress: but if her husband be dead, \ar, liberata est a Lege ne amphus
she is free from that law ; so that sit adultera si alteri impserit.
she is no adidteress, though she be
married to another man.
4. Wherefore, my brethren, ye 4. Ilaque fratres mei, vos quoque
also are become dead to the law by mortui estis Legi per corpus Christi,
the body of Christ ; that ye should ut posthac alterius sitis, ejus qui ex
be married to another, even to him mortuis suscitatus est, ut fructifi-
who is raised from the dead, that we cemus Deo.'
shoidd bring forth fruit imto God.
Though he had, in a brief manner, sufficiently explained
the question respecting the abrogation of the law ; yet as it
1 That is, the law by which she was bound to her husband, or, the law
by which he became her husband. It is an instance of the latitude iu
which the genitive case is used. — Ed.
244 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VII. 1.
was a difficult one, and might have given rise to many other
questions, he now shows more at large how the law, with re-
gard to us, is become abrogated; and then he sets forth
what good is thereby done to us : for while it holds us sepa-
rated from Christ and bound to itself, it can do nothing but
condemn us. And lest any one should on this account
blame the law itself, he takes up and confutes the objections
of the flesh, and handles, in a striking manner, the great
question respecting the use of the law.^
1. Knotu ye not, &c. Let the general proposition be, that
the law was given to men for no other end but to regulate
the present life, and that it belongs not to those who are
dead : to this he afterwards subjoins this truth — that we are
dead to it through the body of Christ. Some imderstand,
that the dominion of the law continues so long to bind us
as it remains in force. But as this view is rather obscure,
and does not harmonize so well with the proposition which
immediately follows, I prefer to follow those who regard
what is said as referring to the life of man, and not to the
law. The question has indeed a peculiar force, as it affirms
the certainty of what is spoken ; for it shows that it was not
a thing new or unknown to any of them, but acknowledged
equally by them all.
{For to those who know the law I speak.) This parenthesis
is to be taken in the same sense with the question, as though
he had said — that he knew that they were not so unskilful
in the law as to entertain any doubt on the subject. And
though both sentences might be understood of all laws, it is
yet better to take them as referring to the law of God, which
is the subject that is discussed. There are some who think
that he ascribes knowledge of the law to the Romans, be-
' The connection of the beginning of this chapter with the 14th verse of
the former chapter deserves to be noticed. He says there, that sin shall
not rule over us, because we are not under law, but under grace. Then
he asks, in verse 15, " Shall we sin, because we are not under law, but
under grace ?" This last subject, according to his usual mode, he takes up
frst, and discusses it till the end of the chapter : and then in this chapter
he reassumes the first subject — freedom from the law. This is a striking
instance of the Apostle's manner of writing, quite diflerent from what is
usual with us in the present day. He mentions two things ; he proceeds
with the last, and then goes back to the first. — Ed.
CHAP. VII. 2. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 245
cause the largest part of the world was under their power
and government ; but tliis is puerile : for he addressed in
part tlie Jews or other strangers, and in part common and
obscure individuals ; nay, he mainly regarded the Jews, with
whom he had to do respecting the abrogation of the law :
and lest they should think that he was dealing captiously
with them, he declares that he took up a common principle,
known to them all, of which they could by no means be
ignorant, who had from their childhood been brought up in
the teaching of the law.
2. For a woman subject to a man, &c. He brings a simili-
tude, by which he proves, that we are so loosed from the
law, that it does not any longer, properly and by its own
right, retain over us any authority : and though he could
have proved this by other reasons, yet as the example of
marriage Avas very suitable to illustrate the subject, he in-
troduced this comparison instead of evidence to prove his
point. But that no one may be puzzled, because the diifer-
ent parts of the comparison do not altogether correspond, we
are to be reminded, that the Apostle designedly intended,
by a little change, to avoid the invidiousness of a stronger
expression. He might have said, in order to make the com-
parison complete, " A woman after the death of her husband
is loosed from the bond of marriage : the law, which is in
the place of a husband to us, is to us dead ; then we are
freed from its power.'" But that he might not ofiend the
Jews by the asperity of his expressions, had he said that the
law was dead, he adopted a digression, and said, that we are
dead to the law.^ To some indeed he appears to reason from
^ This is a plausible reason, derived from Theodoret and Chrysostom ;
but hardly necessary. Commentators have felt much embarrassed in ap-
plying the illustration given here. The woman is freed by the death of
the husband ; but the believer is represented as freed by dying himself.
This does not correspond : and if we attend to what the Apostle says, we
shall see that he did not contemplate such a correspondence. Let us
notice how he introduces the illustration ; " the law," he says in the first
verse, '' rules, or exercises authority, over a man Avhile he lives ;" and then
let us observe the application in verse 4, where he speaks of oiur dying to
the law. The main design of the illustration then was, to show that there
is no freedom from a law but by death ; so that there is no necessity of a
correspondence in the other parts. As in the case of man and wife, death
destroys the bond of marriage ; so in the case of man and the law, that is,
246 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VII. 2.
tlie less to tlie greater : liowever, as I fear that this is too
strained, I approve more of the first meaning, which is sim-
pler. The whole argument then is formed in this manner,
" The woman is bound to her living husband by the law, so
that she cannot be the wife of anotlier ; but after the death
of her husband she is loosed from the bond of his law, so
tliat she is free to marrj^ whom she pleases."
Then follows the application, —
Tlie law was, as it were our husband, under whose yoke
we were kept until it became dead to us :
After the death of the law Christ received us, that is, he
joined us, when loosed from the law, to liimself :
Then being united to Christ risen from the dead, we
ought to cleave to him alone :
And as the life of Christ after the resurrection is eternal,
so hereafter there shall be no divorce.
But further, the word law is not mentioned here in every
part in the same sense : for in one place it means the bond
of marriage ; in another, the authority of a husband over his
wife ; and in another, the law of Moses : but we must re-
member, that Paul refers here only to that office of the law
which was peculiar to the dispensation of Moses ; for as far
as God has in the ten commandments taught what is just
and right, and given directions for guiding our life, no abro-
gation of the law is to be dreamt of; for the will of God must
stand the same forever. We ought carefully to remember
that this is not a release from the righteousness which is
taught in the law, but from its rigid requirements, and from
the curse which thence follows. The law, then, as a rule of
life, is not abrogated ; but what belongs to it as opposed to
the liberty obtained through Christ, that is, as it requires
absolute perfection : for as we render not this perfection, it
the law as the condition of life, there must be a death ; else there is no
freedom. Cut there is one thing more in the illustration, which the Apos-
tle adopts, the liberty to marry another, when death has given a release :
Tlie bond of connection being broken, a union with another is legitimate.
So far only is the example adduced to be applied — death puts an end to
the right and authority of law; and then the party released may justly
form another connection. It is the attempt to make all parts of the com-
parison to correspond that has occasioned all the difficulty. — Ed.
CHAP. VII. 4. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 247
binds us under the sentence of eternal death. But as it was
not his pur^jose to decide here the character of tlie bond of
marriage, lie was not anxious to mention the causes which
release a woman from her husband. It is therefore unrea-
sonable that anything- decisive on this point should be sought
here.
4. Through the body of Christ. Christ, by the glorious
victory of the cross, first triumphed over sin ; and that he
might do this, it was necessary that the handwriting, by
which we were held bound, should be cancelled. This hand-
writing was the law, which, while it continued in force,
rendered us bound to serve ^ sin ; and hence it is called the
power of sin. It was then by cancelling this handwriting
that we were delivered through the body of Christ — through
his body as fixed to the cross." But the Apostle goes farther,
and says, that the bond of the law was destroyed ; not that
Ave may live according to our own will, like a widow, who
lives as she pleases while single ; but that we may be now
bound to another husband ; nay, that we may pass from
hand to hand, as they say, that is, from the law to Christ.
He at the same time softens the asperity of the exj)ression,
by saying that Christ, in order to join us to his own body,
made us free from the yoke of the law. For though Christ
subjected himself for a time of his own accord to the law, it
is not yet right to say that the law ruled over him. More-
over, he conveys to his own members the liberty which he
himself possesses. It is then no wonder that he exempts
those from the yoke of the law, whom he unites by a sacred
bond to himself, that they may be one body in him.
Even his who has been raised, &c. We have already said,
that Christ is substituted for the law, lest any freedom should
be pretended without liirn, or lest any, being not yet dead
to the law, should dare to divorce himself from it. But he
adopts here a periplirastic sentence to denote the eternit}'
of that life which Christ attained by his resurrection, that
^ " Obperatos " — debtors bound to serve their creditors until payment is
made. — Ed.
^ Tliat his crucified body is intended, is clear from what follows ; for he
is spoken of as having " been raised from the dead." — Ed.
248 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VII. 5.
Christians miglit know that this connection is to be per-
petual. But of the spiritual marriage between Christ and
his Church he speaks more fully in Eph. vi.
That we may bring forth fruit to God. He ever annexes
the final cause, lest any should indulge the liberty of their
flesh and their own lusts, under the pretence that Christ has
delivered them from the bondage of the law ; for he has
offered us, together with himself, as a sacrifice to the Father,
and he regenerates us for this end — that by newness of life
we may bring forth fruit unto God : and we know that the
fruits which our heavenly Father requires from us are those
of holiness and righteousness. It is indeed no abatement to
our liberty that we serve God ; nay, if we desire to enjoy so
great a benefit as there is in Christ, it will not henceforth
be right in us to entertain any other thought but that of
promoting the glory of God ; for which purpose Christ has
connected us with himself We shall otherwise remain the
bond-slaves, not only of the law, but also of sin and of death.
5. For when we were in the flesh, 5. Quum enim essemus in came,
the motions of sins, which were by affectus peccatorum qui sunt per
the law, did work in our members Legem, in membris nostris opera-
to bring forth fruit unto death. bantur ad fructificandum morti :
G. But now we are delivered from 6. Nunc vero soluti sumus a Lege,
the law, that being dead wherein we mortvii ei in qua detinebamur ; ut
were held ; that we shoidd serve in serviamus in novitate spiritus, et non
newness of spirit, and not in the old- in vetustate hterse.
ness of the letter.
5. For when we were, &c. He shows still more clearly by
stating the contrary effect, how unreasonably the zealots of
the law acted, who would still detain the faithful under its
dominion ; for as long as the literal teaching of the law, un-
connected with the Sjiirit of Christ, rules and bears sway,
tlie wantonness of the flesh is not restrained, but, on the
contrary, breaks out and prevails. It hence follows, that the
kingdom of righteousness is not established, except when
Christ emancijmtes us from the law. Paul at the same time
reminds us of the works which it becomes us to do, Avhen set
free from the laAv. As long, then, as man is kept under the
yoke of the law, he can, as he is sinning continually, procure
nothing for himself but death. Since bondage to the law
CHAP. VII. 5. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 249
produces sin only, then freedom, its opposite, must tend to
righteousness ; if the former leads to death, then the latter
leads to life. But let us consider the very Avords of Paul.
In describing our condition during the time Ave were sub-
ject to the dominion of the law, he saj's, that we were in the
flesh. We hence understand, that all those who are under
the law attain nothing else but this — that their cars are
struck by its external sound without any fruit or effect,
while they are inwardly destitute of the Spirit of God. They
must therefore necessarily remain altogether sinful and per-
verse, until a better remedy succeeds to heal their diseases.
Observe also this usual phrase of Scripture, to he in the flesh ;
it means to be endued only with the gifts of nature, without
that jieculiar grace Avith Avhicli God favours his chosen people.
But if this state of life is altogether sinful, it is evident that
no part of our soul is naturally sound, and that the poAver of
free will is no other than the poAA^er of casting evil emotions
as darts into all the faculties of the soul.^
The emotions of sins, ^ which are through the law, &c. ; that
is, the laAv excited in us evil emotions, Avhich exerted their
1 To be " in the flesh" has tAvo meanings, — to be unreneAved, and in our
natural corrupt state, as Calvin says, see chap, viii, 8, — and to be subject
to external rites and ceremonies, as the Jews were, see Gal. iii. 3 ; Phil,
iii. 4. Its meaning here, according to Beza and Parens, is the first ; ac-
cording to Grotius and Hammond, the second ; and according to Turrettin
and Hodge, both are included, as the context, in their view, evidently
shows. — Ed.
2 " Afiectus peccatorum — affections of sins ;" tu -ra^rif^aTa, &c., — " cupi-
ditates — desires," or lusts, Grotius. The Avord is commonly taken pas-
sively, as signifying afflictions, sufl'erings ; ch. viii. 18 ; 2 Cor. i. 5 ; Col. i.
24 ; but here, and in Gal. v. 24, it evidently means excitements, commo-
tions, emotions, lusts or lustings. " Passion " in oiu* language admits of
tAvo similar meanings, — suflering, and an excited feeling, or an inAvard
commotion.
These " emotions" are said to be through the law, — " made known by
the law," says Chrysostom ; but " occasioned by the law," is more correct,
as it appears from ver. 8, or, " made to abound by the law," as in ch. v.
20. The law, instead of making men holy, made them, throvigh the per-
versity of human nature, to sin the more. " Emotions of sins " is an
Hebraism for " sinful emotions." — " The members" are those of the " old
man," and not those of the material body, though it is commonly thought
that they are the latter, and mentioned, because they are employed as the
instruments of sin : but there are many sins, and those of the Avorst kind,
Avhich are confined to the mind and heart. It is therefore more consistent
to regard them as the members of " the body of sin," ch. vi. 6. — Ed.
250 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VII. 6.
influence tlirougli all our faculties ; for tliere is no part
which is not subject to these depraved passions. What the
law does, in the absence of the inward teacher, the Spirit, is
increasingly to inflame our hearts, so that they boil up with
lusts. But observe here, that the law is connected with the
vicious nature of man, the perversity of which, and its lusts,
break forth with greater fury, the more they are checked by
the restraints of righteousness. He further adds, that as
long as the emotions of the flesh were under the dominion
of the law they brought forth fruit to death ; and he adds
this to show that the law by itself is destructive. It hence
follows, that they are infatuated, who so much desire this
bondage which issues in death.
6. But now we have been loosed fi-om the law, &c. He pur-
sues the argument derived from the opposite efi'ect of things,
— "If the restraint of the law availed so little to bridle the
flesh, that it became rather the exciter of sin ; then, that we
may cease from sin, we must necessarily be freed from the
law." Again, " If we are freed from the bondage of the law
for this end, that we may serve God ; then, perversely do
they act who hence take the libert}'' to indulge in sin ; and
falsely do they speak who teach, that by this means loose
reins are given to lusts." Observe, then, that we are then
freed from the law, when God emancipates us from its rigid
exactions and curse, and endues us with his Spirit, through
whom we walk in his ways.^
Having died to that, &c. This part contains a reason, or
rather, indicates the manner in which we are made free ; for
the law is so far abrogated with regard to us, that we are
not pressed down by its intolerable burden, and that its in-
exorable rigour does not overwhelm us with a curse." — In
1 That the moral, and not the ceremonial law, is meant here, is incon-
testably evident from what the Apostle adds in the following verses. He
quotes the moral law in the next verse: he calls this law, in ver. 10, the
commandment, t>?v Uroxh, which was unto hfe, see Matt. xix. 16 ; and he
says, that " by it " sin " slew " hiiii, which could not have been said of the
ceremonial law. — Ed.
2 Our common version is evidently incorrect as to this clause. _ The
pronoun a'vTu or Ixuvf, is to be supplied. There is an exactly similar
ellipsis in ch. vi. 21. Beza and several others, as well as our version,
have followed a reading, a.-rofcMovro;, which Grksbach disregards as of no
CHAP. VII. 7. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 251
newness of spirit ; He sets the spirit in opposition to the
letter ; for before our will is formed according to the will of
God by the Holy Spirit, we have in the law nothing but the
outward letter, which indeed bridles our external actions,
but does not in the least restrain tlie fury of our lusts. And
he ascribes newness to the Spirit, because it succeeds the old
man ; as the letter is called old, because it perishes through
the regeneration of the Spirit.
7. What shall we say then? Is 7. Quid ergo dicenms ? Lex pec-
the law sin ? God forbid. Nay, I catum est ? Absit : sed peccatum non
had not kno^v^l sin but by the law : cogno'\'i nisi per Legem : concupis-
for I had not known Inst, except the centiam enim non noveram, nisi Lex
law had said. Thou shalt not covet. ^ diceret, Non concupisces.
8. But sin, taking occasion by the 8. Occasione autem sumpta, pec-
commandment, wrought in me all catum per mandatunl effecit in me
manner of concupiscence. omnem coucupiscentiam.
7. What then shall tue say ? Since it has been said that
we must be freed from the law, in order that we may serve
God in newness of spirit, it seemed as though this evil be-
longed to the law, — that it leads us to sin. But as this
■would be above measure inconsistent, the Apostle rightly
undertook to disprove it. Now when he adds. Is the laiu sin?
what he means is, " Does it so produce sin that its guilt
ought to be imj)uted to the law ?" — But sin I kneiv not, except
authority ; and it is inconsistent with the usual phraseology of the Apostle.
See ver. 4, and Gal. ii. 19. — Ed.
^ Perhaps the sentence ought to have been rendered, For lust (con-
cupiscentiam) I had not known, except the law had said, " Thou shalt
not lust " (non concupisces.) Then the word " coveting" in the next verse
shoidd be " lust " (coucupiscentiam.) But " Thou shalt not covet," is the
commandment ; and to retain a similarity of idea, for the lack of a more
suitable word, it seems necessary to have coveting, as covetousness has not
the meaning here intended. There is the same correspondence in the
words in Greek as in Calvin's Latin. The noun is rendered first in our
version " lust," and then " concupiscence :" and the same is done by
Doddridge; the '-strong desire" of Mackni</Jd is by no means suitable ;
the " inordinate desire " of Stuart is better, though '• Thou shalt not lust,"
cannot be approved. By Im^ufiia, desire, is meant the inward propensity
that is sinful. 'It is called " sin" in the preceding clause; and, according
to the usual style of the Apostle, to show what sin was intended, it is called
here desire : it is then sin in the wish, in the inclination or disposition
within. And this very sinful desire the tenth commandment distinctly
forbids. — Ed.
252 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VII. 7.
through the law ; sin then dwells in us, and not in the law ;
for the cause of it is the depraved lust of our flesh, and we
come to know it by the knowledge of God's righteousness,
which is revealed to us in the law.^ You are not indeed to
understand, that no diiference whatever can be known be-
tween right and wrong without the law ; but that without
the law we are either too dull of apprehension to discern our
depravity, or that we are made wholly insensible through
self-flattery, according to what follows, —
For coveting I had not known, &c. This is then an expla-
nation of the former sentence, by which he proves that
ignorance of sin, of which he had spoken, consisted in this —
that he perceived not his own coveting. And he designedly
referred to this one kind of sin, in which hypocrisy espe-
cially prevails, which has ever connected with itself supine
self-indulgence and false assurance. For men are never so
destitute of judgment, but that they retain a distinction in
external' works ; nay, they are constrained even to condemn
wicked counsels and sinister purposes : and this they cannot
do, without ascribing to a right object its own praise. But
coveting is more hidden and lies deeper ; hence no account
is made of it, as long as men judge according to their per-
ceptions of what is outward. He does not indeed boast that
he was free from it ; but he so flattered himself, that he did
not think that this sin was lurking in his heart. For though
for a time he was deceived, and believed not that righteous-
ness would be violated by coveting, he yet, at length, un-
derstood that he was a sinner, when he saw that coveting,
from which no one is free, was prohibited by the law.
Augustine says, that Paul included in this expression the
whole law ; which, when rightly understood, is true : for
when Moses had stated the things from which we must ab-
stain, that we may not wrong our neighbour, he subjoined
this prohibition as to coveting, which must be referred to all
the things previously forbidden. There is no doubt but that
' It was the saying oi Ambrose, " Lex index peccati est, non genitrix —
the law is the discoverer, not the begetter of sin." " The law," says Parens,
" prohibits sin ; it is not then the cause of it : sin is made known by the
law ; it is not then by the laAV produced." — Ed.
CHAP. VII. 8. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 253
he had in the former precepts condemned all the evil de-
sires which our hearts conceive ; but there is much diffe-
rence between a deliberate purpose, and the desires by which
we are tempted. God then, in this last command, requires
so much integrity from us, that no vicious lust is to move us
to evil, even when no consent succeeds. Hence it was, that
I have said, that Paul here ascends higher than where the
understanding of men can carry them. But civil laws do
indeed declare, that intentions and not issues are to be
punished. Philosophers also, with greater refinement, place
vices as well as virtues in the soul. But God, by this pre-
cept, goes deeper and notices coveting, which is more hid-
den than the will ; and this is not deemed a vice. It was
pardoned not only by philosophers, but at this day the
Papists fiercely contend, that it is no sin in the regenerate.^
But Paul says, that he had found out his guilt from this
hidden disease : it hence follows, that all those who labour
under it, are by no means free from guilt, except God par-
dons their sin. We ought, at the same time, to remember
the difference between evil lustings or covetings which gain
consent, and the lusting which tempts and moves our hearts,
but stops in the midst of its course.
8. But an occasion being taken, &c. From sin, then, and
the corruption of the flesh, proceeds every evil ; the law is
only the occasion. And though he may seem to speak only
of that excitement, by which our lusting is instigated through
the law, so that it boils out with greater fury ; yet I refer
this chiefly to the knowledge the law conveys ; as though
he had said, " It has discovered to me every lust or coveting
which, being hid, seemed somehow to have no existence.''
' As an instance of the frivolous and puerile mode of reasoning adopted
by the Papists, the following may be adduced : quoting James i. 15, " When
lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin; and sin, when it is finished,
bringeth forth death," they reason thus : — " Lust is not simply a sin, for it
brings it forth ; and when it is sin, it is not mortal sin, for it afterwards
brings forth death." Taking advantage of a metaphor, they apply it
strictly and literally, without considering that the Apostle is only exhibit-
ing the rise, progress, and termination — of what ? of sin no doubt. The
like produces its like. If lust were not sinfid, it could not generate what
is sinful. Such childish and profane reasoning is an outrage both on com-
mon sense and on rehgion. — Ed.
25 -t COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VII. 8.
I do not yet deny, but that the flesli is more sliarply stimu-
lated to lusting by the law, and also by this means more
clearly shows itself; which may have been also the case with
Paul : but what I have said of the knowledge it brings,
seems to harmonize better with the context -^ for he imme-
diately subjoins —
For without the law sin ivas Sine Lege enini peccatum est
dead. ^ mortuum :
9. Fori was alive without the law 9. Ego autem vivebam sine Lege
once ; but when the commandment aliquando ;s adveniente autem man-
came, sin revived, and I died. dato, peccatum revixit,
10. And the commandment, which 10. Ego autem mortuus sum ; et
was ordained to life, I found to he deprehensum est a me mandatum
tmto death. quod erat in vitani, cedere in mortem.
11. For sin, talcing occasion by 11. Peccatum enim, occasione
the commandment, deceived me, and surapta per mandatum, abduxit me a
by it slew me. via et per illud occidit :
12. Wherefore the law is holy, 12. Itaque Lex quidem sancta,
and the commandment holy, and just, et mandatmn sanctum, et justum et
and good. bonum.
8. For without the law, &c. He expresses most clearly
the meaning of his former words ; for it is the same as though
he had said, that the knowledge of sin without the law is
buried. It is a general truth, which he presently applies to
his own case. I hence wonder what could have come into
the minds of interpreters to render the passage in the pre-
terimperfect tense, as though Paul was speaking of himself ;
for it is easy to see that his purpose was to begin with a
' Most commentators take the opposite view, — that the irritation of sin
occasioned by the law is more especially meant here. The two ideas, the
knowledge and the excitement, or the increase of sin by the law, are no
doubt referred to by the Apostle in these verses. — Ed.
- This clause is rightly separated from the former verse; for it clearly
announces what is illustrated in the following verses. " Without the law,"
means without the knowledge of the law. The law is known and not
known still. — Ed.
3 " Aliquando;" ^on — formerly, while he was a Pharisee, when he
thought himself blameless. Critics often make difficulties when there are
none. What is said here of being alive without the law, or when the law
is not known, and of the commandment supposed to be for life being found
to be unto death, is still exemplified in the character of men, and takes
place in the experience of all who are brought out of darkness, as Paul
Avas, unto marvellous light. Experience is often the best expositor.
To understand this passage, no more is necessary than to read A\'hat
Paul says of himself in Phil. iii. 4-9; and also in Gal. ii. 19. — Ed.
CHAP. VII. 9. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 255
general proposition, and then to explain tlie subject by his
own example.
9. For I tuas alive, &c. Tie means to intimate that there
had been a time when sin was dead to him or in him. But
he is not to be understood as though he had been without
law at any time, but this word / was alive has a peculiar
import ; for it was the absence of the law that was the rea-
son why he was alive ; tliat is, why he being inflated with a
conceit as to his own righteousness, claimed life to himself
while he was yet dead. That the sentence may be more
clear, state it thus, " When I was formerly without the law,
I was alive." But I have said that this expression is em-
phatic ; for by imagining himself great, he also laid claim
to life. The meaning then is this, " When I sinned, having
not the knowledge of the law, the sin, Avhich I did not ob-
serve, was so laid to sleep, that it seemed to be dead ; on the
other hand, as I seemed not to myself to be a sinner, I was
satisfied with myself, thinking that I had a life of mine own.''
But the death of sin is the life of man, and again the life of
sin is the death of man.
It may be here asked, what time was that when through
his ignorance of the law, or as he himself says, through the
absence of it, he confidently laid claim to life. It is indeed
certain, that he had been taught the doctrine of the law
from his childhood ; but it Avas the theology of the letter,
which does not humble its disciples, for as he says elsewhere,
the veil interposed so that the Jews could not see the light
of life in the law ; so also he himself, while he had his eyes
veiled, being destitute of the Spirit of Christ, was satisfied
with the outward mask of righteousness. Hence he repre-
sents the law as absent, though before his eyes, while it did
not really impress him with the consciousness of God's judg-
ment. Thus the eyes of hypocrites are covered with a veil,
that they see not how much that command requires, in
which we are forbidden to lust or covet.
But when the commandment came, &c. So now, on the
other hand, he sets forth the law as coming when it began
to be really understood. It then raised sin as it were from
the dead ; for it discovered to Paul how great depravity
256 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VII. 11.
abounded in the recesses of his heart, and at the same time
it slew him. We must ever remember that he speaks of that
inebriating confidence in which hypocrites settle, while they
flatter themselves, because they overlook their sins.
10. Was found by me, &c. Two things are stated here
• — that the commandment shows to us a way of life in the
righteousness of God, and that it was given in order that we
by keeping the law of the Lord might obtain eternal life,
except our corruption stood in the way. But as none of us
obey the law, but, on the contrary, are carried headlong on
our feet and hands into that kind of life from which it re-
calls us, it can bring us nothing but death. We must thus
distinguish between the character of the law and our own
wickedness. It hence follows, that it is incidental that the
law inflicts on us a deadly wound, as when an incurable
disease is more exasperated by a healing remedy. I indeed
allow that it is an inseparable incident, and hence the law,
as compared with the gospel, is called in another place the
ministration of death ; but still this remains unaltered, that
it is not in its own nature hurtful to us, but it is so because
our corruption provokes and draws upon us its curse.
11. Led me out of the way, &c. It is indeed true, that
while the will of God is hid from us, and no truth shines on
us, the life of men goes wholly astray and is full of errors ;
nay, we do nothing but wander from the right course, until
the law shows to us the way of living rightly : but as we
begin then only to perceive our erroneous course, when the
Lord loudly reproves us, Paul says rightly, that we are led
out of the way, when sin is made evident by the law. Hence
the verb, e^aTrarav, must be understood, not of the thing
itself, but of our knowledge ; that is, that it is made mani-
fest by the law how much we have departed from the right
course. It must then be necessarily rendered, led me out of
the way ; for hence sinners, who before went on heedlessly,
loathe and abominate themselves, when ihey perceive,
through the light which the law throws on the turpitude of
sin, that they had been hastening to death. But he again
introduces the word occasion, and for this purpose — that we
may know that the law of itself does not bring death, but
CHAP. VII. 13. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 257
that this happens through something else, and that this is
as it were adventitious.^
12. So then the law is indeed holy, &c. Some think that
the words law and commandment is a repetition of the same
thing ; with whom I agree f and I consider that there is a
peculiar force in the words, when he sa^^s, that the law itself
and whatever is commanded in the law, is holy, and there-
fore to be regarded with the highest reverence, — that it is
just, and cannot therefore be charged with anything wrong, —
that it is good, and hence pure and free from everything
that can do harm. He thus defends the law against evQV^
charge of blame, that no one should ascribe to it what is
contrary to goodness, justice, and holiness.
13. Was then that which is good 13. Quod ergo bonum est, mihi
made death unto me ? God forbid, in mortem cessit ? Absit: imo pee-
But sin, that it might appear sin, catum, ut appareat peccatum, per
working death in me by that which bonum operatiir mihi mortem : ut
is good ; that sin by the command- fiat super modum peccans peccatum
ment might become exceeding sinful, per mandatum.
13. Has then what is good, &c. He had hitherto defend-
ed the law^ from calumnies, but in such a manner, that it
1 This verse will be better understood if we consider it as in a manner
a repetition, in another form, of what the former verse contains, and this
is perfectly consistent with the usual manner of the Apostle. His object
seems to have been to prevent a misapprehension of what he had said, that
the commandment Avhich was for life proved to be imto death. He hence
says, that sin availed itself of the commandment, and by it deceived him,
that is, promised him life, and then by it killed him, that is, proved fatal
to him. There is a correspondence in meaning between the commandment
unto life and deceiving, and between death and killing. In verse 8, sin, as
a person, is said to take advantage of the commandment to work every
kind of sinful desires ; but it is said here to take this advantage to deceive
by promising life, and then to destroy, to expose, and subject him to death
and misery. — Ed.
" This is doubtless true ; and it is an example of what the Apostle's
manner of writinp; is, it being that of the ancient prophets. How various
are the words used in the 119th Psalm to designate the law or the reveal-
ed will of God? and two dift'erent words are often used in the same verse.
Ha^ang spoken of the law in connection with sin, the Apostle may be
supposed to have had the character of sin in view in characterizing the
law. Sin M'orks depraved desires and lusts ; the law is holy : sin deceives
and acts the traitor; the law is plain-dealing and just: sin leads to death
and misery ; the law is good and leads to happiness. The last contrast is
evident from what follows in the next verse, " Was that which is good
made death unto me?" — Ed.
258 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VII. 13.
still remained doubtful whether it was the cause of death ;
nay, the minds of men were on this point perplexed, — how
could it he that nothing hut death was gained from so sin-
gular a gift of God. To this objection then he now gives an
answer ; and he denies, that death proceeds from the law,
though death through its means is brought on us by sin.
And though this answer seems to militate in apj^earance
against what he had said before — that he had found the
commandment, which was given for life, to be unto death,
there is yet no contrariety. He had indeed said before, that
it is through our wickedness that the law is turned to our
destruction, and that contrary to its own character ; but
here he denies, that it is in such a sense the cause of death,
that death is to be imj)uted to it. In 2 Cor. iii. he treats
more fully of the law. He there calls it the ministration of
death ; but he so calls it according to what is commonly
done in a dispute, and represents, not the real character of
the law, but the false opinion of his ojjponents.^
But sin, &c. With no intention to offend others, I must
state it as my opinion, that this passage ought to be read as
I have rendered it, and the meaning is this, — " Sin is in a
manner regarded as just before it is discovered by the law ;
but when it is by the law made known, then it really ob-
tains its own name of sin ; and hence it appears the more
wicked, and, so to speak, the more sinful, because it turns
the goodness of the law, by perverting it, to our destruction ;
for that must be very pestiferous, which makes what is in
its own nature salutary to be hurtful to us.'' The import of
the whole is — that it was necessary for the atrocity of sin
to be discovered by the law ; for except sin had burst forth
into outrageous, or, as they say, into enormous excess, it
would not have been acknowledged as sin ; and the more
outrageous does its enormity appear, when it converts life
into death ; and thus every excuse is taken away from it.^
' This can hardly be admitted. The Apostle in Corinthians evidently
states a fact, as he often does, without going into an explanation ; and the
fact was, that the law proved to be the ministration of death : but it
proved to be so through the sin and wickedness of man. — Ed.
- Erasmus, Beza, Parens, Siuart, and others, make up the ellipsis by
putting in, " was made death to me," after " sin." But there is no need
CHAP. VII. 14. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 259
14. For we know that the law is 14. Scinuis eniiu quod Lex spiri-
spiritual ; but 1 am carnal, so]<l tualis est : ego auteni carnalis sum,
under sin. venditus sub peccato.
15. For that which I do I allow 15. Quod cnini operor, non intel-
not: for what I Avould, that do I ligo ; siquidem non quod yolo, hoc
not ; but what 1 hate, that do I. ago : sed quod odi, hoc facio.
in. If then I do that which I 10. 8i vero quod nolo, hoc facio,
would not, I consent imto the law conscntio Legi Dei quod sit bona,
that it is good.
17. Now then, it is no more I that 17. Nunc vero non jam illud
do it, but sin that dweileth in me. ojjcror ego, sed quod habitat in me
peccatum.
14. For we know that the law, &c. He now begins more
closely to compare the law with what man is, that it may be
more clearly understood whence the evil of death proceeds.
He then sets before us an example in a regenerate man, in
whom the remnants of the flesh are wholly contrary to the
law of the Lord, while the spirit would gladly obey it. But
first, as we have said, he makes only a comparison between
nature and the law. Since in human things there is no
greater discord than between spirit and flesh, the law being-
spiritual and man carnal, what agreement can there be be-
tween the natural man and the law? Even the same as
between darkness and light. But by calling the law spiritual,
he not only means, as some expound the passage, that it re-
quires the inward afl'ections of the heart ; but that, by way
of contrast, it has a contrary import to the word carnal}
These interpreters give this explanation, " The law is spiri-
tual, that is, it binds not only the feet and hands as to ex-
ternal works, but regards the feelings of the heart, and
requires the real fear of God."'
But here a contrast is evidently set forth between the
flesh and the spirit. And further, it is sufficiently clear from
of adding anything. The sentence throughout is thoroughly Hebraistic.
What is partially announced in the words, " that it might appear sin,"' or,
to be sin, &c., is more fully stated in the last clause: and the participle,
" working" — Ka.Ti^ya.Z,ofii\in, is used instead of a verb, the auxiliary verb
being luiderstood. See similar instances in chap. xiv. 9-13. Calvin's
version is no doubt the correct one. What follows the last /'v« more fully
explains what comes after the first. — Ed.
J This is evidently the case here. As carval means what is sinful and
corrupt, so sj)i'riiv(d imports what is holy, just, and good. As the works
of the tlesh are evil and depraved works, so the fruits of the kSpirit are good
and holy fruits. See Gal. v. 19, 22, and particularly John iii. 6. — Ud.
260 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VII. 14.
the context, and it has been in fact already shown, that
under the term flesh is included whatever men bring from
the womb ; and flesh is what men are called, as they are
born, and as long as they retain their natural character ; for
as they are corrupt, so they neither taste nor desire any-
thing but what is gross and earthly. Spirit, on the contrary,
is renewed nature, which God forms anew after his own
image. And this mode of speaking is adopted on this ac-
count— because the newness which is wrought in us is the
gift of the Spirit.
The j)erfection then of the doctrine of the law is opposed
here to the corrupt nature of man : hence the meaning is as
follows, " The law requires a celestial and an angelic right-
eousness, in which no spot is to appear, to whose clearness
nothing is to be wanting : but I am a carnal man, who can
do nothing but oppose it."^ But the exposition of Origen,
Avhich indeed has been approved by many before our time,
is not worthy of being refuted ; he says, that the law is
called spiritual by Paul, because the Scripture is not to be
un lerstood literally. What has this to do with the present
mbject ?
Sold under sin. By this clause he shows what flesh is in
* " He is ' carnal' in exact proportion to the degree in which he falls
short oi perfect conformity to the law of God." — Scott.
It has been usual with a certain class of divines, such as Hammond and
Bull, to hold that all the Fathers before Augustine viewed Paul here as
not speaking of himself. But tliis is plainly contradicted by what Avgus-
'ine declares himself in several parts of his writings. In his Retractations,
B. i. chap. 23, he refers to some authors of divine discourses (quibusdam
divinorum tractatorlbus eloquiorum) by whose authority he was induced to
change his opinion, and to regard Paul here as speaking of himself. He
alludes again in his work against Julian, an advocate of Pelagianisni, B. 6,
chap, xi., to this very change in his view, and ascribes it to the reading of
the works of those who were better and more intelligent than himself,
(meliorlbus et intelligentioribus cessi.) Then he refers to them by name,
and says, " Hence it was that I came to miderstand these tilings, as Hilary,
Gregory, Ambrose, and other holy and known doctors of the Church, un-
derstood them, who thought that the Apostle himself strenuously struggled
against carnal lusts, which he was unwilling to have, and yet had, and that
he bore witness as to this conflict in these words," (referring to this very
text,) — Hinc factum est, ut sic ista intelligerem, qtiemadmodum intellexit
HiLAiiius, Gbegorius, Ambrosius, et coeteri Ecclesioe sancti notique doc-
tores, qui et ipsum Apostolum adversus carnales concupiscentias, quas
habere nolebat, et tanien habebat, strenue conjlixisse, eundem,que conjlictum
suum, illis suis verbis contestatum fuisse senserunt. — Ed.
CHAP. VII. 15. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 261
itself; for man by nature is no less the slave of sin, than
those bondmen, bought with money, whom their masters ill
treat at their pleasure, as they do their oxen and their
asses. We are so entirely controlled by the power of sin,
that the whole mind, the whole heart, and all our actions
are under its influence. Compulsion I always except, for we
sin spontaneously, as it would be no sin, were it not volun-
tary. But we are so given up to sin, that we can do wil-
lingly nothing but sin ; for the corruption which bears rule
within us thus drives us onward. Hence this comparison
does not import, as they say, a forced service, but a volun-
tary obedience, which an inbred bondage inclines us to
render.
15. For what I do I knotv not, &c. He now comes to a
more particular case, that of a man already regenerated ;^
* It appears from this, that Calvin did not apply the foregoing words,
" I am carnal, sold under sin," in the same way : but they are evidently
connected together. They are indeed strong words, and some explain them
in such a way as to be wholly unsuitable to a renewed man ; but we ought
to take the explanation as given by the Apostle himself in what follows, for
he handles the subject to the end of the chapter.
Various fictions have been resorted to by critics on this point. The
Apostle has been supposed by some to speak of himself as under the law,
or as Stuart terms it, " in a law-state," and such is the scheme of Ham-
mond. Others have imagined, that he personates a Jew living during the
time between Abraham and the giving of the law ; and this was Locke's
idea. A third party have entertained the notion, that the Apostle, speak-
ing in his own person, represents, by a sort of fiction, as Vitringa and
some others have imagined, the effects of the law in Jews and proselytes,
as opposed to the effects of the gospel, as delineated in the next chapter.
And a fourth party maintain, that the Apostle describes a man in a tran-
sition-state, in whom God's Spirit works for his conversion, but who is as
yet doubtful which Avay to tiurn, to sin or to God.
All these conjectures have arisen, because the language is not taken in
its obvious meaning, and according to the Apostle's own explanation. As
soon as we depart from the plain meaning of the text and the context, we
open a door to endless conjectures and fictions. The Apostle says nothing
here of himself, but what every real Christian finds to be true. Is not a
Christian, yea, the best, in this world carnal, as well as spiritual ? Is he
not " sold imder sin ?" that is, subjected to a condition, in which he is con-
tinually annoyed, tempted, hindered, restrained, checked, and seduced by
the depravity and corruption of his nature ; and in which he is always kept
far below what he aims at, seeks and longs for. It was the saying of a
good man, lately gone to his rest, whose extended pilgrimage was ninety-
three years, that he must have been often swallowed up by despair, had it
not been for the seventh chapter of the Epistle to the Romans. The best
interpreter of many things in Scripture is spiritual experience ; without
262 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VII. 1 5.
in whom botli the things wliich he had in view appear more
clearly ; and these were, — the great discord there is between
the law of God and the natural man, — and how the law does
not of itself produce death. For since the carnal man rushes
into sin with the whole propensity of his mind, he seems to
sin with such a free choice, as though it were in his power
to govern himself; so that a most pernicious opinion has
prevailed almost among all men — that man, by his own na-
tural strength, without the aid of Divine grace, can choose
what he pleases. But though the w411 of a faithful man is
led to good b}^ the Spirit of Grod, yet in him the corruption
of nature appears conspicuously ; for it obstinately resists
and leads to what is contrary. Hence the case of a regene-
rated man is the most suitable ; for by this you may know
how much is the contniriety between our nature and the
righteousness of the law\ From this case, also, a j^roof as
to the other clause may more fitly be sought, than from the
mere consideration of human nature ; for the law, as it pro-
duces only death in a man wholly carnal, is in him more
easily impeached, for it is doubtful whence the evil ijroceeds.
In a regenerate man it brings forth salutary fruits ; and
hence it appears, that it is the flesh only that prevents it
from giving life : so far it is from producing death of itself
That the whole, then, of this reasoning may be more fully
and more distinctly understood, we must observe, that this
conflict, of which the Apostle speaks, does not exist in man
before he is renewed by the Spirit of God : for man, left to
his own nature, is wholly borne along by his lusts without
any resistance ; for though the ungodly are tormented by the
stings of conscience, and cannot take such delight in their
vices, but that they have some taste of bitterness ; yet yovi
cannot hence conclude, either that evil is hated, or that good
is loved by them ; only the Lord permits them to be thus
tormented, in order to show to them in a measure his judg-
it no right judgment can be formed. Hence it is that the learned often
stumble at what is quite plain and obvious to the illiterate when spiritually
enlightened. Critics sometimes tind great difficulties in what is fully un-
derstood by a simpler minded Christian, taught from above. " Wayfaring
men " are far better divines than any of the learned, who possess nothing
more than natural talents and natural acquirements. — Ed.
CHAP. VII. 15. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 263
mcnt ; but not to imbue them either with the love of right-
eousness or with tlic liatred of sin.
There is then this difference between them and the faith-
ful— that they are never so blinded and hardened, but that
when they arc reminded of their crimes, they condemn them
in their own conscience ; for knowledge is not so utterly
exting-uished in them, but that they still retain the differ-
ence between right and wrong ; and sometimes they are
shaken with such dread under a sense of their sin, that
they bear a kind of condemnation even in this life : never-
theless they approve of sin with all their heart, and hence
give themselves up to it without any feeling of genuine re-
pugnance ; for those stings of conscience, by which they are
harassed, proceed from opposition in the judgment, rather
than from any contrary inclination in the will. The godly,
on the other hand, in whom the regeneration of God is be-
gun, are so divided, that with the chief desire of the heart
they aspire to God, seek celestial righteousness, hate sin,
and yet they are drawn down to the earth by the relics of
their flesh : and thus, while pulled in two ways, they fight
against their own nature, and nature fights against them ;
and they condemn their sins, not only as being constrained
by the judgment of reason, but because they really in their
hearts abominate them, and on their account loathe them-
selves. This is the Christian conflict between the flesh and
the spirit, of which Paul speaks in Gal. v. 1 7.
It has therefore been justly said, that the carnal man runs
lieadlong into sin with the apj^robation and consent of the
whole soul ; but that a division then immediately begins for
the first time, when he is called by the Lord and renewed by
the Spirit. For regeneration only begins in this life ; the
relics of the flesh which remain, always follow their own cor-
rupt propensities, and thus carry on a contest against the
Spirit.
The inexperienced, who consider not the subject which the
Apostle handles, nor the plan which he pursues, imagine,
that the character of man by nature is here described ; and
indeed there is a similar description of human nature given
to us by the Philosophers : but Scripture philosophizes much
264 COMMENTARIES ON TTIE CHAP. VII. J 5.
deeper ; for it finds that notliing has remained in the heart
of man but corruption, since the time in which Adam lost
the image of God. So when the Sophisters wish to define
free-will, or to form an estimate of what the power of nature
can do, they fix on this passage. But Paul, as I have said
already, does not here set before us simply the natural man,
but in his own person describes what is the weakness of the
faithful, and how great it is. Augustine was for a time in-
volved in the common error; but after having more clearly
examined the passage, he not only retracted what he had
falsely taught, but in his first book to Boniface, he proves,
by many strong reasons, that what is said cannot be applied
to any but to the regenerate. And we shall now endeavour
to make our readers clearly to see that such is the case.
I hnoiu not. He means that he acknowledges not as his
own the works which he did through the weakness of the
flesh, for he hated them. And so Erasmus has not unsuit-
ably given this rendering, "I approve wot," (iion proho^^
We hence conclude, that the doctrine of the law is so con-
sentaneous to right judgment, that the faithful repudiate the
transgression of it as a thing wholly unreasonable. But as
Paul seems to allow that he teaches otherwise than what
the law prescribes, many interpreters have been led astray,
and have thought that he had assumed the person of another ;
hence has arisen the common error, that the character of an
unregenerate man is described throughout this portion of
the chapter. But Paul, under the idea of transgressing the
law, includes all the defects of the godly, which are not in-
consistent with the fear of God or with the endeavour of
acting uprightly. And he denies that he did what the law
demanded, for this reason, because he did not perfectly fulfil
it, but somewhat failed in his efibrt.
For not what 1 desire, &c. You must not understand that
it was always the case with him, that he could not do good ;
1 " Pii quod perpetrant non agnoscunt, uon approbant, non excusant, non
palliant ;" — " What the godly do [amiss,] they know not, approve not, ex-
cuse not, palliate not." — Parens.
The verb ymiia-Keo is used here in the sense of the Hebrew verb J^T*,
which is often so rendered by the Septuagint. See Ps. i. 6 ; Hos. viii. 4 ;
and Matt. vii. 2d.— Ed.
CHAP. VII. 16. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 265
but what lie complains of is only this — that he could not per-
form what he wished, so that he pursued not what, was good
with that alacrity which was meet, because he was held in
a manner bound, and that he also failed in what he wished
to do, because he halted through the weakness of the flesh.
Hence the pious mind performs not the good it desires to do,
because it proceeds not with due activity, and doeth the evil
which it would not ; for while it desires to stand, it falls, or
at least it staggers. But the expressions to will and not to
will must be aj^plied to the Spirit, which ought to hold the
first place in all the faithful. The flesh indeed has also its
own will, but Paul calls that the will which is the chief
desire of the heart ; and that which militates with it he re-
presents as being contrary to his will.
We may hence learn the truth of what we have stated —
that Paul speaks here of the faithful,^ in whom the grace of
the Spirit exists, which brings an agreement between the
mind and the righteousness of the law ; for no hatred of sin
is to be found in the flesh.
16. But if what I desire not, I do, I consent to the law,
&c. ; that is, " When my heart acquiesces in the law, and is
delighted with its righteousness, (which certainly is the case
when it hates the transgression of it,) it then perceives and
acknowledges the goodness of the law, so that we are fully
convinced, experience itself being our teacher, that no evil
ought to be imputed to the law ; nay, that it would be salu-
tary to men, were it to meet with upright and pure hearts."
But this consent is not to be understood to be the same
^ " As the Apostle was far more enlightened and humble than Christians
in general are, dovibtless this clog (indwelling sin) was more uneasy to him
than it is to them, though most of us find our lives at times greatly em-
bittered by it. So that this energetic language, which many imagine to
describe an unestablished beHever's experience, or even that of an imcon-
verted man, seems to have resulted from the extraordinary degree of St.
Paid's sanctification, and the depth of his self-abasement and hatred of sin ;
and the reason of our not readily imderstanding him seems to be, because
we are far beneath him in holiness, humility, acquaintance with the spiri-
tuality of God's law, and the evil of our own hearts, and in our degree of
abhorrence of moral evil." — Scott.
" What some mistake as the evidence of a spiritual decline on the part
of the Apostle, was in fact the evidence of his growth. It is the eff'usion of
a more qiuck and cultured sensibility than fell to the lot of ordinary men."
— Chalmers.
266 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VII. 17.
witli wliat we have heard exists in tlie ungodly, who have
expressed words of this kind, " I see better things and aj)-
prove of them ; I follow the Avorse." Again, " What is hurt-
ful I follow ; I shun what I believe would be profitable."
For these act under a constraint when they subscribe to the
righteousness of God, as their will is wholly alienated from
it, but the godly man consents to the law with the real and
most cheerful desire of his heart ; for he wishes nothing
more than to mount up to heaven.^
17. Now it is no more I who do it, &c. This is not the
pleading of one excusing himself, as though he was blame-
less, as the case is with many triflers who think that they
have a sufficient defence to cover all their wickedness, when
they cast the blame on the flesh ; but it is a declaration, by
which he shows how very far he dissented from his own
flesh in his spiritual feeling ; for the faithful are carried
along in their obedience to God with such fervour of spirit
that they deny the flesh.
This passage also clearly shows, that Paul speaks here of
none but of the godly, who have been already born again ;
for as long as man remains like himself, whatsoever he maj
be, he is justly deemed corrupt ; but Paul here denies that
he is wholly possessed by sin ; nay, he declares himself to be
exempt from its bondage, as though he had said, that sin
only dwelt in some part of his soul, while with an earnest
feeling of heart he strove for and aspired after the right-
eousness of God, and clearly proved that he had the law of
God engraven within him.^
18. For I know that in me (that IS. Novi enim quod non habitat^
is, in my flesh) dwclleth no good in me (hoc est, in carne mea) bonum :
thing : for to -will is present with me ; siquidem velle adest mihi, sed ut
but how to perform that wliich is perficiam bonum non reperio.
good I find not.
19. For the good that I would I 19. Non enim quod volo facio
1 "I consent — consentio — irvfj.ipr,f/.i, I say with, assent to, agree with,
confirm." — Ed.
- The last clause of tliis verse is worthy of notice, as the expression
" indwelUng sin" seems to have arisen from the words -h olxoua-a. h Ifioi —
" which dwells in me." Sin was in him as in a house or dwelling ; it was
an in-habiting sin, or that which is in-abiding or resident. — Ed.
' Non habitat .... bonum — oy* oIku .... ayafov. — Ed.
CTIAP. VII. 18. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 267
do not : but the evil which I would bonuni ; sed quod nolo malum, id
not, that I do. ago.
20. Now, if I do that I woidd not, 20. Si vero quod nolo ego id faeio,
it is no more I that do it, but sin non jam ego operor illud, sed quod
that dwelleth in me. habitat in me peccatum.
18. For I knoiv, &c. He says that no good by nature
dwelt in liim. Then in me, means the same as though he
liad said, " So far as it regards myself." In the first part
he indeed arraigns himself as being wholly depraved, for he
confesses that no good dwelt in him ; and then he subjoins
a modification, lest he should slight the grace of God which
also dwelt in him, but was no part of his flesh. And here
again he confirms the fact, that he did not sjjeak of men in
general, but of the faithful, who are divided into two parts
— the relics of the flesh, and grace. For why was the modi-
fication made, except some jjart was exempt from depravity,
and therefore not flesh ? Under the term flesh, he ever in-
cludes all that human nature is, everything in man, excej^t
the sanctification of the Spirit. In the same manner, by
the term sjnrit, which is commonly opposed to the flesh, he
means that part of the soul which the Spirit of God has so
re-formed, and purified from corruj)tion, that God's image
shines forth in it. Then both terms, flesh as well as spii'it,
belong to the soul ; but the latter to that part which is re-
newed, and the former to that which still retains its natural
character.^
To u'ill is present, &c. He does not mean that he had
nothing but an ineff'ectual desire, but his meiining is, that
the work really done did not correspond to his will ; for the
^ The Apostle here is his own interpreter ; he explains who the / is that
does what the other T disapproved, and who the I is that hates what the
other I does. He tells us here that it is not the same 1, though annoimced
at tirst as though it were the same. The one /, lie informs us here, was
his flesh, his innate sin or corruption, and the other /, he tells us in verse
22, was " the inner man," his new nature. The " inner man," as Calvin
will tell us presently, is not the soul as distinguished from the body, but
the renewed man as distinguished from the flesh. It is the same as the
" new man," as distinguished from " the old man." See Eph. iv. 22, 24 ;
Rom. vi. 6 ; 2 Cor. v. 17. But " the inward man," and " the outward man,"
in 2 Cor. iv. IG, are the soul and the body ; and " the inner man," in Eph.
iii. 1(5, the same expression as in verse 22, means the soul, as it is evident
from the context. The same is meant by " the hidden man of the heart,"
in 1 Peter iii. 4. — Ed.
268 COMMENTAKIES ON THE CHAP. VII. 1 9.
flesh hindered him from doing perfectly what he did. So
also understand what follows, The evil I desire not, that I do :
for the flesh not only impedes the faithful, so that they can-
not run swiftly, hut it sets also before them many obstacles
at which they stumble. Hence they do not, because they
accomplish not, what they would, with the alacrity that is
meet. This, to will, then, which he mentions, is the readi-
ness of faith, when the Holy Spirit so prepares the godly
that they are ready and strive to render obedience to Grod ;
but as their ability is not equal to what they wish, Paul
says, that he found not what he desired, even the accom-
plishment of the good he aimed at.
19. The same view is to be taken of the expression which
next follows, — that he did not the good which he desired ;
but, on the contrary, the evil which he desired not : for the
faithful, however rightly they may be influenced, are yet so
conscious of their own infirmity, that they can deem no work
proceeding from them as blameless. For as Paul does not
here treat of some of the faults of the godly, but delineates
in general the whole course of their life, we conclude that
their best works are always stained with some blots of sin,
so that no reward can be hoped, unless God pardons them.
He at last repeats the sentiment,' — that, as far as he was
endued with celestial light, he was a true witness and sub-
scriber to the righteousness of the law. It hence follows,
that had the pure integrity of our nature remained, the law
would not have brought death on us, and that it is not ad-
verse to the man who is endued with a sound and right mind
and abhors sin. But to restore health is the work of our
heavenly Physician.
21. I find then a law, that, when 21. Reperio igitur Legem volenti
I would do good, evil is present with mihi facere bonum quod mihi malum
me. insideat.^
22. For I delight in the law of 22. Consentio enim Legi Dei se-
God after the inward man : cmidum interiorem hominem.
23. But I see another law in my 23. Video autem alteram Legem
members warring against the law of in membris meis, repugnantem^ legi
^ " Insideat," — ^a^axurai ; the same verb in verse 18, is rendered adest
— is present. It means, to lie near, to be at hand. — Ed.
* " Repugnantem," — ayTia-T^artvofuvon, placing itself in battle array, fight-
CHAP. VII. 22. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 269
my mind, and bring;ing me into cap- mentis mea?, et captivum me red-
tivity to the law of sin wiiich is in dentem Icgi peccati, quae est in
my members. membris meis.
21. I find theyi, &c. Here Paul supposes a fourfold law.
The first is the law of God, which alone is properly so called,
which is the rule of righteousness, by which our life is rightly
formed. To this he joins the law of the mind, and by this
he means the prompt readiness of the faithful mind to render
obedience to the divine law, it being a certain conformity on
our part with the law of God. On the other hand, he sets
in opposition to this the law of unrighteousness ; and ac-
cording to a certain kind of similarity, he gives this name to
that dominion which iniquity exercises over a man not jei
regenerated, as well as over the flesh of a regenerated man ;
for the laws even of tyrants, however iniquitous tliey may
be, are called laws, though not properly. To correspond
with this law of sin he makes the law of the members, that
is, the lust which is in the members, on account of the con-
cord it has with iniquity.
As to the first clause, many interpreters take the word
law in its proper sense, and consider Kara or hia to be un-
derstood ; and so Erasmus renders it, " by the law ;'' as
though Paul had said, that he, by the law of God as his
teacher and guide, had found out that his sin was innate.
But without supplying anything, the sentence would run
better thus, " While the faithful strive after what is good,
they find in themselves a certain law which exercises a
tyrannical power ; for a vicious propensity, adverse to and
resisting the law of God, is implanted in their very marrow
and bones."
22. Fo7' I consent^ to the law of God, &c. Here then you
ing or waiTing against, taking the field or marching against an enemy.
Then follows " taking" an enemy " captive," a'ix,i^aXuir'it,o)iTa. There are
two sorts of captives, willing and unwilling. The latter is the case here ;
for the Apostle compares himself to captives of war, which are made so
by force. The same is meant as by the expression, " sold under sin," verse
14, — the constrained condition of being subject during life, to the annoy-
ances, to the tempting, seducing, and deadening power of innate corrup-
tion.—^r^.
^ " Consentio," avr/^oji-ai : it is not the same verb as in ver. 16 ; this
270 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VII. 22.
see what sort of division there is in pious souls, from which
arises that contest between the spirit and the flesh, which
Augustine in some place calls the Christian struggle (luctam
Chinstianam.) The law calls man to the rule of righteousness ;
iniquity, which is, as it were, the tyrannical lav/ of Satan, in-
stigates him to wickedness : the Spirit leads him to render
obedience to the divine law ; the flesh draws him back to
what is of an opposite character. Man, thus impelled by con-
traiy desires, is now in a manner a twofold being ; but as the
Spirit ought to possess the sovereignty, he deems and judges
himself to be especially on that side. Paul says, that he
was bound a captive by his flesh for this reason, because as
he was still tempted and incited by evil lusts ; he deemed
this a coercion with respect to the spiritual desire, which
was wholly opposed to thcm.^
signifies more tlian consent, for it includes gratification and delight. See
Ps. i. 2. The verb is found only here. Macknight's version, " I am
pleased with," is very feeble and inexpressive ; Stwirt's is better, " I take
pleasure in ;" but our common version is the best, " I delight in."
The 7«? here would be better rendered " indeed :" the Apostle makes
declaration as to his higher principle ; and then in the next verse he states
more fully what he had said in ver. 21. This exactly corresponds with
his usual mode in treating subjects. He first states a thing generally, and
afterwards more particularly, in more specific terms, and with something
additional. — Ed.
^ Some consider the conclusion of ver. 23, " to the law of sin which is
in my members," as a paraphrase for " to itself ;"' as the Apostle describes
it at the beginning as the law in his members : and the reason which may
be assigned for the repetition is twofold, — to preserve the distinction be-
tween it and " the law of the mind" in the preceding clause, — and to give
it a more distinctive character, by denominating it " the law of sin." We
in fact find a gradation in the way in which it is set forth: in ver. 21,
he calls it simply " a law ;" in this verse he first calls it " another law in
his members," and then, " the law of sin in his members."
The construction of ver. 21, is difl&cult. Parens quotes Chrysostom as
supposing ffvfi,(pn\iai fi-om ver. 16, to be understood after " law," so as to
give this rendering, " I find then that the law assents to me desiring to do
good," &c., that is, that the law of God was on his side, " though evil was
present with him.'" He then gives his own view, it being essentially that
of Augustine : he supposes on y.a\o;, from ver. 16, to be miderstood after
" law," and that on, in the last clause, is to be construed " though :" the
verse is then to be rendered thus, — " I find then the law, that it is good
to me desiring to do good, though evil is present with me." The verse
taken by itself may thus present a good meaning, but not one that har-
monizes with the context, or that forms a part of the Apostle's argument.
The only other construction that deserves notice is that of oiu- 0T\n ver-
sion, and of Calvin, and it is that alone -nhich corresponds with the con-
CHAP. VII. 22. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 271
But wc ought to notice carefully the meaning of the inner
man and of the members ; which many have not rightly
understood, and have therefore stumbled at this stone. The
inner man then is not simply the soul, but that spiritual
part which has been regenerated by God ; and the members
signify the other remaining part ; for as the soul is the
superior, and the body the inferior part of man, so the spirit
is superior to the flesh. Then as the sj)irit takes the place
of the soul in man, and the flesh, which is the corrupt and
polluted soul, that of the body, the former has the name of
the inner man, and the latter has the name of members.
The inner man has indeed a difierent meaning in 2 Cor. iv.
16 ; but the circumstances of this passage require the inter-
pretation which I have given : and it is called the inner by
way of excellency ; for it possesses the heart and the secret
feelings, while the desires of the flesh are vagrant, and are,
as it were, on the outside of man. Doubtless it is the same
thing as though one compared heaven to earth ; for Paul by
way of contempt designates whatever appears to be in man
by the term members, that he might clearly show that the
hidden renovation is concealed from and escapes our ob-
servation, except it be ajJi^rehended by faith.
Now since the law of the mind undoubtedly means a prin-
ciple rightly formed, it is evident that this passage is very
text. It has been adopted by Beza, Grotius, Venema, Turrettin, Dod-
dridge, and others.
This verse, and the tAvo Avhich follow, conclude the subject, and also
explain what he had been saying about willing and doing. He in fact
accoimts here for the paradoxical statements which he had made, by men-
tioning the operation and working of two laws, which were directly con-
trary to one another. It seems to be a mistake that he alludes to four
laws ; for the law of the mind and the law of God are the same, under
diU'erent names ; it is that of the mind, because it belongs to and resides in
the mind : and it is the law of God, because it comes from him, and is
implanted by his Spirit. To the other law he also gives two names, the
" law in his members," and the " law of sin. " This view is confirmed by
the last verse in the chapter, which contains a summary of the whole.
The latter part of ver. 23 is in character' with the Hebraistic style,
when the noim is stated instead of the pronoun : see Gen. ix. 16 ; Ps. 1.
23 ; and it is also agreeable to the same style to add the same sentiment
with something more specific appended to it. This part then might be
rendered thus,—" and making me captive to itself, even to the law of sin,
which is in my members."' — Ed.
272 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VII. 24.
absurdly applied to men not yet regenerated ; for siicli, as
Paul teaches us, are destitute of mind, inasmuch as their
soul has become degenerated from reason.
24. O irretched man that I am ! 24. Miser ego homo ! qiiis me
who shall deliver me from the body eripiet a corpore mortis hoc ?
of this death ?
25. I thank God, through Jesus 25. Gratias ago Deo per lesum
Christ our Lord. So then with the Christum Dominum nostrum : itaque
mind I myself serve the law of God, idem ego mente servio Legi Dei,
but with the flesh the law of sin. earne autem legi peccati.
24. Miserable, &c. He closes his argument with a vehe-
ment exclamation, by which he teaches us that we are not
only to struggle with our flesh, but also with continual
groaning to bewail within ourselves and before God our un-
hap23y condition. But he asks not by whom he was to be de-
livered, as one in doubt, like unbelievers, who understand
not that there is but one real deliverer: but it is the voice
of one panting and almost fainting, because he does not
find immediate help,^ as he longs for. And he mentions the
word rescue,^ in order that he might show, that for his liber-
ation no ordinary exercise of divine power was necessary.
By the body of death he means the whole mass of sin, or
those ingredients of which the whole man is composed ;
except that in him there remained only relics, by the captive
bonds of which he was held. The pronoun tovtov, this,
which I apply, as Erasmus does, to the body, may also be
fitly referred to death, and almost in the same sense ; for
Paul meant to teach us, that the eyes of God's children are
opened, so that through the law of God they wisely discern
the corruption of their nature and the death which from it
proceeds. But the word body means the same as the exter-
nal man and members; for Paul points out this as the origin
of evil, that man has departed from the law of his creation,
• TuXai-ru^o;, miser, serumnosus ; " it denotes," says Schleusner, " one
who is broken down and wearied with the most grievous toils." It is used
by the Septuagint for the word 1)11^', wasted, spoiled, desolated. See
Ps. cxxx\ii. 8; Is. xxxiii. 1. — Ed.
^ " Eripere" — pluck out, rescue, take away by force ; piktito,! — shall
draw, rescue or extricate ; it means a forcible act, effected by power. — Ed.
CHAP. VII. 25. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 273
and lias become tlms carnal and earthly. For thoiigli he
still excels brute beasts, yet his true excellency has departed
from him, and what remains in him is full of numberless
corruptions, so that his soul, being degenerated, may be
justly said to have passed into a body. So God says by
Moses, " No more shall my Spirit contend with man, for he
is even flesh," (Gen. vi. 8 ;) thus strijiping man of his spi-
ritual excellency, he compares him, by way of reproach, to
the brute creation.^
This passage is indeed remarkably fitted for the purpose
of beating down all the glory of the flesh ; for Paul teaches
us, that the most perfect, as long as they dwell in the flesh,
are exposed to misery, for they are subject to death ; nay,
when they thoroughly examine themselves, they find in their
own nature nothing but misery. And further, lest they
should indulge their torpor, Paul, by his own example,
stimulates them to anxious groanings, and bids them, as
long as they sojourn on earth, to desire death, as the only
true remedy to their evils ; and this is the right object in
desiring death. Despair does indeed drive the profane often
to such a wish ; but they strangely desire death, because they
are weary of the present life, and not because they loathe
their iniquity. But it must be added, that though the faith-
ful level at the true mark, they are not yet carried away by
an unbridled desire in wishing for death, but submit them-
selves to the will of God, to whom it behoves us both to live
and to die : hence they clamour not with displeasure against
God, but humbly deposit their anxieties in his bosom ; for
they do not so dwell on the thoughts of their misery, but
that being mindful of grace received, they blend their grief
with joy, as we find in what follows.
25. / thank God, &c. He then immediately subjoined this
thanksgiving, lest any should think that in his complaint
he perversely murmured against God ; for we know how easy
^ " This body of death" is an evident Hebraism, meaning " this deadly
or mortiferous body ;" which is not the material body, but the body of " the
old man," ver. 6 ; called the " body of sin," when its character is de-
scribed, and the " body of death," when the issue to which it leads is in-
tended : it conducts to death, condemnation, and misery. — Ed.
S
274 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VII. 25.
even in legitimate grief is the transition to discontent and
impatience. Thougli Paul then bewailed his lot, and sighed
for his departure, he yet confesses that he acquiesced in the
good pleasure of God ; for it does not become the saints,
while examining" tlieir own defects, to forget what they have
already received from God.^
But what is sufficient to bridle impatience and to cherish
resignation, is the thought, that they have been received
under the protection of God, that they may never perish,
and that they have already been favoured witli the first-fruits
of the Spirit, which make certain their hope of the eternal
inlieritanee. Thougli they enjoy not as yet the promised
glory of heaven, at the same time, being content with the
measure which they have obtained, they are never without
reasons for joy.
So I myself, &c. A short epilogue, in which he teaches
us, that the faithful never reach the goal of righteousness as
long as they dwell in the flesh, but that they are running
their course, until they put off the body. He again gives
the name of mind, not to the rational part of the soul which
philosophers extol, but to that which is illuminated by the
Sj)irit of God, so that it understands and wills aright : for
there is a mention made not of the understanding alone, but
connected with it is the earnest desire of the heart. How-
ever, by the exception he makes, he confesses, that he was
devoted to God in such a manner, that while creeping on
the earth he was defiled with many corruptions. This is a
suitable jDassage to disprove the most pernicious dogma of
^ There is a different reading for the first clause of this verse, x"-i'^ '^V
^£», " thanks to God," which, Griesbach says, is nearly equal to the received
text ; and there are a few copies which have ^ X'^S'^ xv^Uv, " the grace of
our Lord," &c. ; which presents a direct answer to the foregoing question :
but a considerable number more have h x"-i's "^"^ ^iov, " the grace of God,"
&c. ; which also gives an answer to the preceding question. But the safest
way, when there is no strong reason from the context, is to follow what
is mostly sanctioned by MSS. Taking then the received text, we shall
find a suitable answer to the foregoing question, if we consider the verb
used in the question to be here understood, a thing not unusual ; then the
version would be, " I thank God, who ivill deliver me through Jesus Christ
our Lord ;" not as Macknight renders the verb, " who delivers me ;'" for
the answer must be in the same tense with the question. — Ed.
CHAP. Vlir. 1. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 27o
tlic Purists, {C'atharoruni,) which some turbulent spirits at-
tempt to revive at the present day.^
CHAPTER VIII.
1. T/ierc /s therefore now no con- 1. Nulla igitur condemnatio est
demnation to them whicli are in iis qui sunt in Christo lesu, qui non
Christ Jesus, who walk not after the secundum carnem ambulant, sed se-
flesh, but after the Spirit." cundum Spiritum.
2. For the law of the Spirit of 2. Lex enim Spiritus vitfe in
life in Christ Jesus hath made me Christo lesu, liberum me reddidit a
free from the law of sin and death. lege peccati et mortis.
3. For what the laT\" could not do, 3. Quod enim impossibile erat
in that it was weak through the Legi, eo quod infirmabatur per car-
flesh, God sending his own Son in neni, misso Deus Filio suo in siniUi-
the likeness of sinful flesh, and for tudine carnis peccati, etiam de pec-
sin condemned sin in the flesh ; cato damnavit peccatum in came ;
4. That the righteousness of the 4. Ut justificatio Legis impleretur
law might be fulfilled in us, who in nobis qui non secundum carnem
walk not after the flesh, but after ambulamus, sed secundum Spiritum.
the Spirit.
1. There is then, &c. After having described the contest
Avhich the godly have perpetually with their own flesh, he
returns to the consolation, which was very needful for them,
and which he had before mentioned ; and it was this, — That
though they were still beset by sin, they were yet exempt
fi'om the power of death, and from every curse, provided they
lived not in the flesh but in the Spirit : for he joins together
these three things, — the imj)erfection under which the faith-
ful always labour, — the mercy of God in pardoning and for-
1 " Idem ego — the same I," or, " I the same :" auros ^y^- Beza renders
it the same — " idem ego," and makes this remark, " This was suitable to
what follows, by which one man seems to have been divided into two."
Others render it, " ipse ego — I myself," and say that Paul used this dic-
tion emphatically, that none might suspect that he spoke in the person of
another. See ch. ix. 3 ; 2 Cor. x. 1, 12, 13. The phrase imports this,
" It is I myself, and none else."
He terms his innate sin " the flesh." By the flesh, says Parens, " is
not meant physically the muscular substance, but theologically the de-
pra\4ty of nature, — not sensuality alone, but the unregenerated reason,
will, and affections." — Ed.
- This clause, "who walk not," &c., is regarded as spurious by Gries-
bach : a vast preponderance of authority as to MSS. is against it ; and its
proper place seems to be at the end of the fourth verse. It being placed
here does not, however, interfere with the meaning. — Ed.
276 COMMENTAKIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 2.
giving it, — and the regeneration of the Spirit ; and this
indeed in the last phace, that no one shoukl flatter himself
with a vain notion, as though he were freed from the curse,
while securely indulging in the meantime his own flesh. As
then the carnal man flatters himself in vain, when in no way
solicitous to reform his life, he promises to himself impunity
under the pretence of having this grace ; so the trembling
consciences of the godly have an invincible fortress, for they
know that while they abide in Christ they are beyond every
danger of condemnation. We shall now examine the words.
; ' After the Spirit. Those who walk after the Spirit are not
such as have wholly put off" all the emotions of the flesh, so
that their whole life is redolent with nothing but celes-
tial perfection ; but they are those who sedulously labour to
subdue and mortify the flesh, so that the love of true reli-
gion seems to reign in them. He declares that such walk
not after the flesh ; for wdierever the real fear of God is
vigorous, it takes aAvay from the flesh its sovereignty, though
it does not abolish all its corruptions.
2. For the law of the Sjnrit of life, &c. This is a confir-
mation of the former sentence ; and that it may be under-
stood, the meaning of the words- must be noticed. Using a
language not strictly correct, by the law of the Spirit he
designates the Sj)irit of God, who sprinkles our souls with
the blood of Christ, not only to cleanse us from the stain of
sin with respect to its guilt, but also to sanctify us that we
may be really purified. He adds that it is life-giving, (for
the genitive case, after the manner of the Hebrew, is to be
taken as an adjective,) it hence follows, that they who de-
tain man in the letter of the law, expose him to death. On
tlie other hand, he gives the name of the latu of sin and
death to the dominion of the flesh and to the tyranny of
death, which thence follows : the law of God is set as it
were in the middle, which by teaching righteousness cannot
confer it, but on the contrary binds us with the strongest
chains in bondage to sin and to death.
The meaning then is, — that the law of God condemns
men, and that this happens, because as long as they remain
under the bond of the law, they are oj)pressed with the
CHAP. VIII. 2. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 277
bondage of sin, aiid arc tlius exposed to death ; but that the
Spirit of Christ, while it abolishes the law of sin in us by
destroying the prevailing desires of the flesh, does at the
same time deliver us from the peril of death. If any one
objects and says, that then pardon, by which our transgres-
sions are buried, depends on regeneration ; to this it may be
easily answered, that the reason is not here assigned by
Paul, but that the manner only is specified, in which we are
delivered from guilt ; and Paul denies that we obtain de-
liverance by the external teaching of the law, but intimates
that when we are renewed by the Spirit of God, we are at
the same time justified by a gratuitous pardon, that the
curse of sin may no longer abide on us. The sentence then
has the same meaning, as though Paul had said, that the
grace of regeneration is never disjoined from the imputation
of righteousness.
I dare not, with some, take the law of sin and death for
the law of God, because it seems a harsh expression. For
though by increasing sin it generates death, yet Paul before
turned aside designedly from this invidious language. At
the same time I no more agree in opinion with those who
explain the law of sin as being the lust of the flesh, as though
Paul had said, that he had become the conqueror of it. But
it will appear very evident shortly, as 1 think, that he speaks
of a gratuitous absolution, which brings to us tranquillizing
poace with God. I prefer retaining the word law, rather
than with Erasmus to render it right or power : for Paul
did not without reason allude to the law of God.^
^ Calvin has, in his exposition of this verse, followed Ghrysostom, and
the same view has been taken by Beza, Grotius, Vitringa, Doddridge,
Scott, and Chalmers. But Parens, following Ambrose, has taken another
view, which Haldane has strongly advocated, and with considerable power
of reasoning, though, as some may perhaps think, unsuccessfully. The
exposition is this, — '• The law of the spirit of life" is the law of faith, or
the gospel, which is the ministration of the Spirit ; and " the spirit of life"
means either the life-giving spirit, or the spirit which conveys the life
which is in Christ Jesus. Then •' the law of sin and death" is the moral
law, so called because it discloses sin and denoimces death. It is said that
this \\QVi corresponds with the " no condemnation " in the first verse, and
with the word " law " in the verse which follows, which is no doubt the
moral law, and with the truth which th j verse exhibits. It is also added
that freedom or deliverance from the law of sin, \dewed as the power of
278 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 3.
3. For what was impossible fo?' the law, &c. Now follows
the polishing- or the adorning of his proof, that the Lord has
by his gratuitous mercy justified us in Christ ; the very thing
which it was impossible for the law to do. But as this is a
very remarkable sentence, let us examine every part of it.
That he treats here of free justification or of the pardon
by which God reconciles us to himself, we may infer from
the last clause, when he adds, who walk not according to the
flesh, but according to the Spirit. For if Paul intended to
teach us, that we are prepared by the spirit of regeneration
to overcome sin, why was this addition made ? But it was
yery proper for him, after having promised gratuitous re-
mission to the faithful, to confine this doctrine to those who
join penitence to faith, and turn not the mercy of God so as
to promote the licentiousness of the flesh. And then the
state of the case must be noticed ; for the Apostle teaches
us here how the grace of Christ absolves us from guilt.
Now as to the expression, to ahvvaTov, the imiDossibility of
the law, it is no doubt to be taken for defect or impotency ;
as though it had been said, that a remedy had been found
by God, by which that which was an impossibility to the law
is removed. The particle, Iv w, Erasmus has rendered " ea
parte qua — in that part in which ;" but as I think it to be
causal, I i)refer rendering it, " eo quod — because:" and
though perhaps such a phrase does not occur among- good
authors in the Greek language, yet as the Apostles every-
where adopt Hebrew modes of expression, this interpreta-
tion ought not to be deemed improper.^ No doubt intelli-
gent readers will allow, that the cause of defect is what is
sin, is inconsistent with the latter part of the former chapter ; and that
the law of faith, which through the Spirit conveys life, makes us free from
the moral law as the condition of life, is the uniform teaching of Paul.
" This freedom," says Parens, " is ascribed to God, to Christ, and to the
Gospel,— to God as the author, chap. vii. 25, — to Christ as the mediator,
— and to the Gospel as the instrument : and the manner of this deliver-
ance is more clearly explained in the ^erse which follows."
1 Calvin is not singular in this rendering. Fareus and Grotius give
" quia ('('/ quandoquidem — because or since ;" and the latter says, that
1» M is an Hebraism for £?>' ^ ; see chap. v. 12. Beza refers to Mark ii. 19,
and Lvike v. 34, as instances where it means ivhen or while, and says that
it is used in Greek to designate not only a certain time, but also a certain
state or condition. Piseator's rendering is " eo quod — because." — Ed.
CHAP. VIII. 3. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 279
lici'e expressed, as we shall shortly prove again. Now though
Erasmus supplies the principal verb, yet the text seems to
me to flow better without it. The copulative koI, and, has
led Erasmus astray, so as to insert the verb prcestitit — hath
performed ; but I think that it is used for the siike of em-
phasis ; except it may be, that some will approve of the
conjecture of a Grecian scholiast, who connects the clause
thus with tlie preceding words, " God sent his own Son in
the likeness of the flesh of sin and on account of sin," &c. I
have however followed what I have thought to be the real
meaning of Paul. I come now to the subject itself.^
Paul clearly declares tliat our sins were cxjiiated by the
death of Christ, because it was impossible for the law to
confer righteousness upon us. It hence follows, that more
is required by the law than what we can perform ; for if we
were capable of fulfilling the law there would have been no
^ The beginning of this verse, though the general import of it is evident,
does yet present some difficulties as to its construction. The clause, as
given by Calvin, is, " Quod enim impossibile erat legi,"- — to ya^ alu-/aTov
Tou v'oiJ!,ou. Parens supposes S'« understood, " For on account of" the im-
potency of the law," &c. Stuart agrees with Erasmus and Luther, and
supplies the verb " did," or accomplish, — " For what the laAv could not
accomplish... God... accorHjoZisAef/," &c. But the simpler construction
is, " For this," (that is, freedom from the power of sin and death, men-
tioned in the former verse,) " being impossible for the law," &c. It is
an instance of the nominative case absolute, which sometimes occurs in
Hebrew. The possessive case, as Grottus says, has often the meaning of
a dative after adjectives, as " malum hominis" is " mahrm homini — evil
to man." The to has sometimes the meaning of Tourti ; it is separated by
ya.^ from the adjective. Some say that it is for oti ya^, " Because it was
impossible for the law," &c. But changes of this kind are never satisfac-
tory. The rendering of the whole verse may be made thus, —
3. For this heiruj impossible for the law, because it was weak through
the flesh, God having sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful
flesh and on account of sin, has condemned sin in the flesh.
God sent his Son in that flesh which was polluted by sin, though his
Son's flesh, i.e. human nature, was sinless ; and he sent him on account of
that sin which reigned in human nature or flesh ; and for this end — to con-
demn, i.e., to doom to ruin, to adjudge to destruction, the sin which ruled
in the flesh, i.e., in human nature as fallen and corrupted. This seems to
be the meaning. Then in the following verse the design of this condemna-
tion of sin is stated — that the righteousness of the law, or what the law-
requires, might be done by us. \\ ithout freedom from the power of sin,
no service can be done to God. It is the destruction of the power of sin,
and not the removal of guilt, that is contemplated here throughout ; the
text of the whole passage is walking after the flesh and walking after the
Spirit. — Ed.
280 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 3.
need to seek a remedy elsewhere. It is therefore absurd to
measure human strength by the precepts of the law ; as
though God in requiring what is justly due, had regarded
what and how much we are able to do.
Because it was weak, &c. That no one might think that
the law^ was irreverently charged with weakness, or confine
it to ceremonies, Paul has distinctly expressed that this
defect was not owing to any fault in the law, but to the cor-
ruption of our flesh ; for it must be allowed that if any one
really satisfies the divine law, he will be deemed just before
God. He does not then deny that the law is sufficient to
justify us as to doctrine, inasmuch as it contains a perfect
rule of righteousness : but as our flesh does not attain that
righteousness, the whole power of the law fails and vanishes
away. Thus condemned is the error or rather tlie delirious
notion of those who imagine that the power of justifying
is only taken away from ceremonies ; for Paul, by laying
the blame expressly on us, clearly shows that he found no
fault with the doctrine of the law.
But further, understand the weakness of the law according
to the sense in which the Apostle usually takes the word
aaOeveia, weakness, not only as meaning a small imbecility
but impotency ; for he means that the law has no power
whatever to justify.^ You then see that we are wholly ex-
cluded from the righteousness of works, and must therefore
flee to Christ for righteousness, for in us there can be none,
and to know this is especially necessary ; for we shall never
be clothed with the righteousness of Christ except we first
know assuredly that we have no righteousness of our own.
The word flesh is to be taken still in the same sense, as
meaning ourselves. The corruption then of our nature ren-
ders the law of God in this respect useless to us ; for while
it shows the Avay of life, it docs not bring us back who are
running headlong into death.
God having sent his oivn Son, &c. He now points out the
way in which our heavenly Father has restored righteous-
^ The adjective -ro a.(Thy\s is applied to the commandment in Heb. vii.
18. " Impotent, inefficacious," are the terms used by Grotius ; " destitute
of strength," by Beza ; and " weak," by Erasmus. — Ed.
CHAP. VIII. o. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 281
iiess to lis by his Son, even by condemning sin in the very
flesh of Christ ; who by cancelling as it were the handwrit-
ing, abolished sin, Avhich held us bound before God ; for the
condemnation of sin made us free and brought us righteous-
ness, for sin being blotted out we are absolved, so that God
counts us as just. But he declares first that Clirist was sent,
in order to remind us that righteousness by no means dwells
in us, for it is to be souglit from him, and that men in vain
confide in their own merits, who become not just but at the
pleasure of another, or who borrow righteousness from that
expiation which Clirist accomplished in his own flesli. But
he says, that he came in the likeness of the flesh of sin ; for
though the flesh of Christ was polluted by no stains, yet it
seemed apparently to be sinful, inasmuch as it sustained the
punishment duo to our sins, and doubtless death exercised
all its power over it as though it Avas subject to itself And
as it behoved our High-priest to learn by his own experience
how to aid the weak, Christ underwent our infirmities, that
he might be more inclined to sympathy, and in this respect
also there appeared some resemblance of a sinful nature.
Even for sin, &c. I have already said that this is explained
by some as the cause or the end for which God sent his own
Son, that is, to give satisfaction for sin. Ghrysostom and
many after him understood it in a still harsher sense, even
that sin was condemned for sin, and for this reason, because
it assailed Christ unjustly and beyond what was right. I
indeed allow that though he was just and innocent, he 3''et
undenvent punishment for sinners, and that the price of
redemption was thus paid ; but I cannot be brought to think
that the word sin is put here in any other sense than that
of an expiatory sacrifice, which is called DK^5^, ashem-, in
Hebrew,^ and so the Greeks call a sacrifice to which a curse
^ The reference had better been made to DXtOn, a sin-offering, so called
because SLSH, sin, was imputed to what was offered, and it was accepted as
an atonement. See Lev. i. 4 ; iv. 3, 4, 15 ; xvi. 21. See also Ex. xxx. 10.
The SeptucKjint adopted the same manner, and rendered sin-offering in
many instances by dfta^Tia, sin ; and Paul has done the same in 2 Cor. v.
21 ; Heb. ix. 28. That "sin" should have two different meanings in the
same verse or in the same clause, is what is perfectly consonant to the
Apostle's manner of writing ; he seems to delight in this kind of contrast
in meaning while using the same words, depending on the context as to the
282 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VIIT. 3.
is annexed KciOapixa, catharma. The same thing is declared
by Paul in 2 Gov. v. 21, when he says, that " Christ, who
knew no sin, was made sin for us, that we might become the
righteousness of God in him." But the preposition irepl,
peri, is to be taken here in a causative sense, as tliough he
had said, " On account of that sacrifice, or through the
burden of sin being laid on Christ, sin was cast down from
its power, so tliat it does not bold us now subject to itself"
For using a metaphor, he says that it was condemned, like
those who fail in their cause ; for God no longer deals with
those as guilty who have obtained absolution through the
sacrifice of Christ. If we say that the kingdom of sin, in
which it held us, was demolished, the meaning would be the
same. And thus what was ours Christ took as his own, that
he might transfer his own to us ; for he took our curse, and
has freely granted us his blessing.
Paid adds here. In the flesh, and for this end, — that by
seeing sin conquered and abolished in our very nature, our
explanation. He uses the word hope both in this chapter and in chap. iv.
18, in this way. And this is not peculiar to Paid; it is what we observe
in all parts of Scripture, both in the New and in the Old Testament. A
striking instance of this, as to the word " life," -^vx'^, is fomid in Matt. xvi.
25, 26, in the last verse it is rendered improperly " soul."
Fully admitting all this, I still think that " sin" here is to be taken in
its common meaning, only personified. Beza connects -^t^' df^a^T'ias with
the preceding clause, " God having sent his own Son in the likeness of sin-
fid tlesh, and that for or on accovmt of sin, (idque pro peccato,)" &c., that
is, as he explains, for expiating or taking away sin. ''A sin-ofiering" may
indeed be its meaning, for the same expression is often used in this sense
in the Septuagint. See Lev. v. 7, 9, 11 ; Ps. xl. 6.
The sense of taking away strength, or depriving of power or authority,
or of destroying, or of abolishing, does not belong, says Schleusner, to the
verb nKTccK^'nuv, to condemn ; he renders it here " punished — punivit," that
is, God adjudged to sin the punishment due to it. Tlie meaning is made
to be the same as when it is said, that God " laid on him the iniquities of
us all."
By taking a view of the whole passage, from chap. vii. 24 to chap. viii.
5, for the whole of this is connected, and by noticing the phraseology, we
shall probably conclude that the power of sin and not its gnilt is the sub-
ject treated of. "Law" here is used for a ruling power, for that which,
exercises authority and ensures obedience. " The law of sin," is the ruling
power of sin j " the law of the Spirit of life," is the power of the Spirit the
author of life ; " the law of death," is the power Avhich death exercises.
Then "walking after the flesh" is to live in subjection to the flesh ; as
"walking after the Spirit" is to live in subjection to him. All these
things have a reference to the power- and not to the giiiJt of sin. The same
subject is continued from chap. ^iii. 5 to the 15th verse. — Ed.
CHAP. VIII. 4. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 283
confitlcnce niiglit Lc more certain : for it thus follows, that
our nature is really become a partaker of his victory ; and
this is what he presently declares.
4. That the justification of the laiu might he fulfilled, &c.
They who understand that the renewed, by the Spirit of
Christ, fulfil the law, introduce a gloss wholly alien to the
meaning of Paul ; for the faithful, while they sojourn in this
world, never make such a proficiency, as that the justifica-
tion of the law becomes in them full or complete. This then
must be applied to forgiveness ; for when the obedience of
Christ is accepted for us, the law is satisfied, so that we are
counted just. For the perfection which the law demands
was exhibited in our flesh, and for this reason — that its
rigour should no longer have the power to condemn us. But
as Christ communicates his righteousness to none but to
those whom he joins to himself by the bond of his Spirit, the
work of renewal is again mentioned, lest Christ should be
thought to be the minister of sin : for it is the inclination of
many so to apply whatever is taught respecting the paternal
kindness of God, as to encourage the lasciviousness of the
flesh ; and some malignantly slander this doctrine, as though
it extinguished the desire to live uprightly.^'
5. For they that are after the flesh 5. Qui enim secundum carnem
do mind the thiiii^s of the tlesh ; but sunt, ea qua; carnis sunt cogitant ;
they that are after the Spirit the qui vero secundum Spiritum, ea quae
things of the Spirit. sunt Spiritus.
1 Commentators are divided as to the meaning of this verse. This
and the second verse seem to bear a relation in sense to one another ; so
that if the second verse refers to justification, this also refers to it ; but if
freedom from the^wtt'erof sin and death be what is taught in the former
verse, the actual or personal fulfilment of the law must be what is intended
here. Some, such as Pareuf: and Vcnema, consider justification to bethe
subject of both verses ; and others, such as Scott and Doddridge, consider'
it to be sanctification. But Be:a, Chalmers, as well as (kdri)u somewhat
inconsistently, regard the second verse as spealdng of freedom from the
power or dominion of sin, and not from its guilt or condemnation, and this
verse as speaking of the imputed righteousness of Christ, and not of that
righteousness which believers are enabled to perform by the Spirit's aid
and inriuence. The verses seem so connected in the argument, that one
of these two ideas must be held throughout.
There is nothing decisive in the wording of this verse, though the cast of
the expressions seems more favourable to the idea entertained by Dod-
dridge and Scutt, and especially what follows in the context, where the
worli of the Spirit is exclusively spoken of. The word §;xa(V«, is better
284 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 5.
6. For to be carnally minded is 6. Cogitatio certe carnis, mors
death : but to be spiritually minded est ; cogitatio autem Spiritus, vita
is life and peace : et pax :
7. Because the carnal mind is en- 7. Quandoquidem cogitatio car-
mity against God : for it is not sub- nis, inimicitia est adversus Deum ;
ject tothe law of God, neither in- nam Legi Dei non subjicitur, nee
deed can be. enim potest.
8. So then they that are in the 8. Qui ergo in came sunt, Deo
flesh cannot please God. placere non possunt.
5. Fo7^ they ivko are after the flesh, &c. He introduces
this difference between the flesh and the Spirit, not only to
confirm, by an argument derived from what is of an opposite
cliaractcr, what he has before mentioned, — that the grace of
Christ belongs to none but to those who, having been rege-
nerated by the Spirit, strive after purity ; but also to relieve
the faithful with a seasonable consolation, lest being con-
scious of many infirmities, they should despair : for as he
had exempted none from the curse, but those who lead a
spiritual life, he might seem to cut off from all mortals the
hope of salvation ; for who in this world can be found adorned
with so much angelic purity so as to be wholly freed from
the flesh ? It was therefore necessary to define what it is to
he in the flesh, and to walk after the flesh. At first, indeed,
Paul does not define the distinction so very precisely ; but
yet we shall see as we jirocced, that his object is to afford
good hoj)e to the faithful, though they are bound to their
flesh ; only let them not give loose reins to its lusts, but
give themselves up to be guided by the Holy Spirit.
rendered " righteousness " than "justification ;" for " the righteousness of
the law " means the righteousness which the law requires ; and the words,
" might be fulfilled in us," may, with equal propriety as to the xisus loqueiv-
di, be rendered, " might be performed by us." The verb ■^Xn^iu has this
meaning in chap. xiii. 8, and in other places.
Viewed in this light the verse contains the same truth with what is ex-
pressed by " serving the law of God," in chap. vii. 25, and the same with
yielding our members as " instruments of righteousness inito God," in chap,
vi. 13. That this is to estabhsh a justification by the law, is obviated by
the consideration, that this righteousness is performed through the efficacy
of Christ's death, and through the reviving power of the Spirit, and not
tlu-ough the law, and that it is not a justifying righteousness before God,
for it is imperfect, and the law can acknowledge nothing as righteousness
but what is perfect. The sanctification now begun will be finally com-
pleted ; but it is all through grace : and the completion of this work will
be a complete conformity with the immutable law of God. — Ed.
CHAP. VIII. 6. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 285
By saying that carnal men care for, or think upon, the
things of the flesh, he shows that he did not count those as
carnal who aspire after celestial righteousness, but those
who wliolly devote themselves to the world. I have ren-
dered <ppovov(TLv by a word of large meaning, cogitant — think,
that readers may understand that those only are excluded
from being the children of God who, being given to the
allurements of the flesh, apply their minds and study to de-
praved lusts/ Now, in the second clause he encourages the
faithful to entertain good hope, provided they find that they
are raised up by the Spirit to the meditation of righteousness :
for wherever the Spirit reigns, it is an evidence of the saving
grace of God ; as the grace of God does not exist where the
Spirit being extinguished the reign of the flesh prevails.
But I will briefly repeat here what I have reminded you of
before, — That to be in the fiesh, or, after the Jiesh, is the same
thing as to be without the gift of regeneration :^ and such
are all they who continue, as they commonly say, in pure
naturals, (pwWs naturalihus)
6. The minding of the flesh, &c. Erasmus has rendered
it " afiection," {affectum;) the old translator, " prudence,"
(prudentiam.) But as it is certain that the to (ppovrj/xa of
Paul is the same with what Moses calls the imagination
[figmentum — devising) of the heart, (Gen. vi. 5;) and that!
under this word are included all the faculties of the soul —
reason, understanding, and affections, it seems to me that j
minding (cogitatio — thinking, imagining, caring) is a more '
1 The A'erb (f^eviiu, as Leigh justly says, includes the action of the mind,
will, and affections, but mostly in Scripture it expresses the action of the
Avill and affections. It means to understand, to desire, and to rehsh or de-
light in a thing. It is rendered here by Erasmus and Vatablus, " curant —
care for;" hy Beza, Parens, and the Vulgate, "sapmnt — relish or savour ;"
by Doddridge and Mack-night, " mind," as in our version ; and by Stuart,
" concern themselves with." It evidently means attention, regard, pursuit
and dehght, — the act of the will and affections, rather than that of the
mind.
" The verb," says Turretiin, " means not only to think of, to understand,
to attend to a thing ; but also to mind it, to value it, and to take great
delight in it." — Ed.
2 Jerome says, that to be in the flesh is to be in a married state! How
superstition perverts the mind ! and then the perverted mind perverts the
word of God. — Ed.
28G COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 7.
suitaLle word.^ And tliougli Paul uses the particle r^ap —
for, yet I doubt not but that is only a simple confirmative :
for there is here a kind of concession ; for after having
briefly defined what it is to be in the flesh, he now subjoins
the end that awaits all who are slaves to the flesh. Thus by
stating the contrar}^ effect, he proves, that they cannot be
partakers of the favour of Christ, who abide in the flesh, for
through the whole course of their life they proceed and has-
ten unto death.
This passage deserves special notice ; for we hence learn,
that we, while following the course of nature, rush headlong
into death ; for we, of ourselves, contrive nothing but Avhat
ends in ruin. But he immediately adds another clause, to
teach us, that if anything in us tends to life, it is what the
Spirit produces ; for no spark of life proceeds from our flesh.
The minding of the Spirit he calls life, for it is life-giving,
or leads to life ; and by peace he designates, after the man-
ner of the Hebrews, every kind of happiness ; for whatever
the Spirit of God works in us tends to our felicity. There
is, however, no reason why any one should on this account
attribute salvation to works ; for though God begins our
salvation, and at length completes it by renewing us after
his own image ; yet the only cause is his good pleasure,
whereby he makes us partakers of Christ.
7. Because the minding of the flesh^ &c. He subjoins a
^ It is difficult to find a word to express the idea here intended. It is
evident that to (p^myi^a. n-ris tra^xo; is the abstract of " minding the things of
the flesh," in the preceding verse. The mindedness, rather than the mind-
ing of the flesh, would be most correct. But the phrase is no doubt He-
braistic, the adjective is put as a noun in the genitive case, so that its right
version is, "The carnal mind;" and "mind" is to be taken in the wide
sense of the verb, as including the whole soul, understanding, will, and
affections. The phrase is thus given in the next verse in our version : and
it is the most correct rendering. The mind of the flesh is its thoughts,
desires, likings, and delight. This carnal mind is death, i.e., spiritual
death now, leading to that which is eternal : or death, as being under con-
demnation, and producing wretchedness and misery : it is also enmity to-
wards God, including in its very spirit hatred and antipathy to God. On
the other hand, "the spiritual mind" is "life," i.e., a di^^ne life, a living
principle of holiness, accompanied with " peace," which is true happiness ;
or life by justification, and "peace" with God as the fruit of it.
The word (p^ov^fj-a is only found in one other place, in verse 27th of this
chapter, — " the mind," wish, or desire " of the Spirit." — Ed.
2 The order which the Apostle observes ought to be noticed. He be-
CHAP. VIII. 7. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 287
proof of what lie had stated, — that nothing- proceeds from
the efforts of our flesh but death, because it contends as an
enemy against the will of God. Now the will of God is the
rule of righteousness ; it hence follows, tliat whatever is un-
just is contrary to it ; and what is unjust at the same time
brings death. But while God is adverse, and is offended, in
vain does any one expect life ; for his wrath must be neces-
sarily followed by death, which is the avenging of his wrath.
But let us observe here, that the will of man is in all
things opposed to the divine will ; for, as much as what is
crooked differs from what is straight, so much must be the
difference Ijetween us and God.
For to the law of God, &c. This is an explanation of the
former sentence ; and it shows how all the thinkings (^luedi-
tationes) of the flesh carry on war against the will of God ;
for his will cannot be assailed but where he has revealed it.
In the law God shows what pleases him : hence they who
wish really to find out how far they agree with God must
test all their purposes and practices by this rule. For
though nothing is done in tliis world, except by the secret
governing j^rovidence of God ; yet to say, under this pre-
text, that nothing is done but what he approves, (iiihil nisi
eo approhante fieri,) is intolerable blasphemy ; and on this
subject some fanatics are v/rangling at this day. The law
has set the difference between right and wrong plainly and
distinctly before our eyes, and to seek it in a deep labyrinth,
what sottishness is it ! The Lord has indeed, as I have said,
his hidden counsel, by which he regulates all things as he
pleases ; but as it is incomprehensible to us, let us know
that we are to refrain from too curious an investigation of
it. Let this in the mean time remain as a fixed principle, —
tliat nothing pleases him but righteousness, and also, that
no right estimate can be made of our works but by the law,
in which he has faithfully testified what he approves and
disapproves.
gins in ver. 5, or at the end of ver. 4, with two characters — the carnal
an<l the spiritual. He takes the carnal first, because it is the first as to
lis in order of time. And here he does not reverse the order, as he some-
times does, when the case admits it, but goes on first with the carnal man,
and then, in ver. 9 to 11, he describes the spiritual. — Ed.
288 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 8.
Not^ can he. Behold the power of free-will ! which the
Sophists cannot carry high enough. Doubtless, Paul affirms
here, in express words, what they oj)enly detest, — that it is
impossible for us to render our powers subject to the law.
They boast that the heart can turn to either side, provided
it be aided by the influence of the Spirit, and that a free
choice of good or evil is in our power, when the Spirit only
brings help ; but it is ours to choose or refuse. They also
imagine some good emotions, by which we become of our-
selves prepared. Paul, on the contrary, declares, that the
heart is full of hardness and indomitable contumacy, so that
it is never moved naturally to undertake the yoke of God ;
nor does he speak of this or of that faculty, but speaking
indefinitely, he throws into one bundle all the emotions
which arise within us.^ Far, then, from a Christian heart
be this heathen philosophy respecting the liberty of the will.
Let every one acknowledge himself to be the servant of sin,
as he is in reality, that he may be made free, being set at
liberty by the grace of Christ : to glory in any other liberty
is the highest folly.
8. The^ then who are in the flesh, &c. It is not without
reason that I have rendered the adversative 8e as an illative :
for the Apostle infers from what had been said, that those
who give themselves up to be guided by the lusts of the
1 Stuart attempts to evade this conclusion, but rather in an odd way.
The whole amount, as he seems to say, of what the Apostle declares, is that
this (p^ovrif^a txa^xi; itsclf is not subjcct, and cannot be, to the law of God ;
but whether the sinner who cherishes it " is actuated by other principles and
motives," the expression, he says, does not seem satisfactorily to determine.
Hence he stigmatizes with the name of " metaphysical reasoning " the
doctrine of man's moral inabihty, without divine grace, to turn to God — a
doctrine which Luther, Calvin, and our own Reformers equally maintained.
The Apostle does not only speak abstractedly, but he applies what he ad-
vances to individuals, and concludes by saying, " So then they that are in
the tlesh cannot please God." Who and what can bring them out of this
state ? The influence of " other principles and motives," or the grace of
God ? This is no metaphysical question, and the answer to it determines
the point. Our other American brother, Barnes, seems also to deprecate
this doctrine of moral inability, and makes distinctions to no purpose,
attempting to separate the carnal mind from him in whom it exists, as
though man could be in a neutral state, neither in the flesh nor in the
Spirit. " It is an expression," as our third American brother, Hodge,
justly observes, " applied to all unrenewed persons, as those who are not
in the flesh are in the Si^irit." — Ed.
CHAP. VIII. 9. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 289
flesli, are all of tliem abominable before God ; and lie lias
thus far confirmed this truth, — that all who walk not after
the Spirit are alienated from Christ, for they are without
any spiritual life.
9. But ye are not in the tiesh, but 9. Vos autem non estis in came,
in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit sed in Spiritu, siquidem Spiritus
of God dwell in jou. Now, if any Dei habitat in vobis : si quis vero
man have not the Spu'it of Christ, Spiritum Christi non habet, hie non
he is none of his. est ejus.
10. And if Christ he in you, the 10. Si vero Christus in vobis est,
body is dead because of sin ; but the corpus quidem mortvuim est propter
Spiiit is life because of righteous- peccatum, Spiritus autem vita est
ness. propter justitiam.
11. But if the Spirit of him that 11. Si inquam Spiritus ejus qui
raised up Jesus from the dead dwell suscitavit lesum ex mortuis, habitat
in you, he that raised up Christ from in vobis, qui suscitavit Christum ex
the dead shall also quicken your mortuis, vivificabit et mortalia cor-
mortal bodies by his Spirit that pora propter Spiritum suum in vobis
dwelleth in you. habitaiitem.
9. But ye, &c. He applies hypothetically a general truth
to those to whom he was writing ; not only that by directing
his discourse to them particularly he might more powerfully
aitect them, but also that they might with certainty gather
from the description already given, tliat they were of the
number of those, from whom Christ had taken away the
curse of the law. Yet, at the same time, by explaining
what the Spirit of God works in the elect, and what fruit
he brings forth, he encourages them to strive after newness
of life.
If indeed the Spirit of God, &c. This qualifying sentence
is htly subjoined, by which they were stirred up to examine
themselves more closely, lest they should profess the name
of Christ in vain. And it is the surest mark by which the
cliildren of God are distinguished from the children of the
world, when by the Spirit of God they are renewed unto
purity and holiness. It seems at the same time to have
been his purpose, not so much to detect hypocrisy, as to
suggest reasons for glorying against the absurd zealots of the
law, who esteem the dead letter of more importance than the
inward power of the Spirit, who gives life to the law.
But this passage shows, that what Paul has hitherto meant
by the Spirit, is not the mind or understanding (which is
T
290 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 9.
called the superior part of the soul by the advocates of free-
will) hut a celestial gift; for he shows that those are spiritual,
not such as obey reason through their own will, but such as
God rules by his Spirit. Nor are they yet said to be accord-
ing to the Spirit, because they are filled with God's Spirit,
(which is now the case with none,) but because they have
the Spirit dwelling in them, though they find some remains
of the flesh still remaining in them : at the same time it
cannot dwell in them without having the superiority ; for it
must be observed that man's state is known by the power
that bears rule in him.
But if any have not the Spirit of Christ, &c. He subjoins
this to show how necessary in Christians is the denial of the
flesh. The reign of the Spirit is the abolition of the flesh.
Those in whom the Spirit reigns not, belong not to Christ ;
then they are not Christians who serve the flesh ; for they
who separate Christ from his own Spirit make him like a
dead image or a carcase. And we must always bear in mind
what the Apostle has intimated, that gratuitous remission of
sins can never be separated from the Spirit of regeneration ;
for this would be as it were to rend Christ asunder.
If this be true, it is strange that we are accused of arro-
gance by the adversaries of the gospel, because we dare to
avow that the Spirit of Christ dwells in us : for we must
either deny Christ, or confess that we become Christians
through his Spirit. It is indeed dreadful to hear that men
have so departed from the word of the Lord, that they not
only vaunt that they are Christians without God's Spirit,
but also ridicule the faith of others : but such is the philo-
sophy of the Papists.
But let readers observe here, that the Spirit is, without
any distinction, called sometimes the Spirit of God the
Father, and sometimes the Spirit of Christ ; and thus called,
not only because his whole fulness was poured on Christ as
our Mediator and head, so that from him a portion might
descend on each of us, but also because he is equally the
Spirit of the Father and of the Son, who have one essence,
and the same eternal divinity. As, however, we have no
intercourse with God except through Christ, the Apostle
CHAP. Vni. 10. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 2.91
wisely descends to Christ from the Father, who seems to be
far off.
10. But if Christ he in us, &c. What he liad before said
of the Spirit he says now of Christ, in order that the mode
of Christ's dwelling- in us might be intimated ; for as by the
Spirit lie consecrates us as temples to himself, so by the same
he dwells in us. But what we have before referred to, he now
explains more fully — that the children of God are counted
spiritual, not on the ground of a full and complete perfec-
tion, but only on account of the newness of life that is begun
in them. And he anticipates here an occasion of doubt,
which might have otherwise disturbed us ; for thougb the
Spirit possesses a part of us, we yet see another part still
under the power of death. He then gives this answer — that
the power of quickening is in the Spirit of Christ, which
will be effectual in swallowing up our mortality. He hence
concludes that we must patiently wait until the relics of sin
be entirely abolished.
Readers have been already reminded, that by the word
Spirit they are not to understand the soul, but the Spirit of
regeneration ; and Paul calls the Spirit life, not only because
he lives and reigns in us, but also because he quickens us
by his power, until at length, having destroyed the mortal
flesh, he perfectly renews us. So, on the other hand, the
word body signifies that gross mass which is not yet purified
by the Spirit of God from earthly dregs, which delight in
nothing but what is gross ; for it would be otherwise absurd
to ascribe to the body the fault of sin : besides the soul is so
far from being life that it does not of itself live. The mean-
ing of Paul then is — that although sin adjudges us to death
as far as the corruption of our first nature remains in us, yet
that the Spirit of God is its conqueror : nor is it any hinder-
ance, that we are only favoured with the first-fruits, for even
one spark of the Spirit is the seed of life.^
1 There are mainly two explanations of this verse and the following,
with some shades of difference. The one is given he e : according to which
" the body," and " bodies," are taken tigiiratively ' .• nature corrupted by
sin ; the " body," as it is flesh, or corrupted, is " dead," is crucified, or
doomed to die " on account of sin ;" and this " body," or these " bodies,"
which are mortal, and especially so as to their corruption, are to be quick-
292 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHIP. VIII. 11.
11. If the Spirit, &c. This is a confirmation of the last
verse, derived from the efficient cause, and according to this
sense, — " Since by the power of God's Spirit Christ was
raised, and since the Spirit possesses eternal power, he will
also exert the same with regard to us." And he takes it as
granted, that in the person of Christ was exhibited a speci-
men of the power which belongs to the whole body of the
Church : and as he makes God the author of the resurrec-
tion, lie assigns to him a life-giving Spirit.
Who raised, &c. By this periphrasis he describes God;
which harmonizes better with his present object, than if he
had called him simply by liis own name. For the same
reason he assigns to the Father the glory of raising Christ ;
for it more clearly proved what he had in view, than if he
liad ascribed the act to Christ himself For it might have
been objected, " That Clirist was able by liis own power to
raise up liimself, and this is what no man can do." But
when he says, that God raised up Christ by his Spirit, and
tliat he also communicated his Spirit to us, there is notliing
tliat can be alleged to the contrary; so that he thus makes
ened, revived, and made subservient to the (vill of God. It appears that
this is essentially the vie^v taken by Chrysustom, and also by Erasmus,
Locke, Marckius, and by Stuart and Barms. It is said that vt»^ov and
BvyiTcc have the same meaning with " crucified " and " destroyed," in ch. vi. 6,
and "dead,"' in ch. vi. 7, 8, and "dead," in ch. vi. 11, and "mortal," in
ch. vi. 12. And as to the meaning of Z'^ovolfnTu, " shall quicken," reference
is made to Col. ii. 12, 13 ; Eph. i. 19, 20; ii. 5, (J. It is also added, that
the words " mortify the deeds of the body," in verse 13, confirm this view.
The other explanation, adopted by Augustine, and also by Parens,
Vitringa., Tnrrettin, Doddridge, Scott, Chalmers, Haldane, and Hodge,
is the following,-, — The " body," and '• bodies," are to be taken literally,
and the spirit, in the 10th verse, is the renewed man, or the renewed soul,
which has or possesses " life " through the righteousness of Christ, or is
made to enjoy life through the righteousness implanted by the Spirit. The
meaning then is this, " The body is dead through sin, is doomed to die
because of sin ; but the spirit is life through righteousness, the soul re-
newed has life through Christ's righteousness : but the dying body, now
tabernacled by the Spirit, shall also be quickened and made immortal
tlirough the mighty power of the divine Spirit." Thus salvation .shall be
complete when the " redemption of the body "' shall come. See verse 23.
While the two views are theologically correct, the latter is that which
is the most consonant with the usual phraseology of Scripture, though the
former seems the most suitable to the context. The subject evidently is
the work of the Spirit in mortifying sin, and in bestowing and sustain-
ing spiritual life. The inference in the next verse seems favourable to
this view. — Ed,
CHAP. VITI. 12. EI'ISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 293
sure to us the liope of resurrection. Nor is there anything
here that derogates from that dechiration in John, " 1 have
power to hiy down my life, and to take it up again." (John
X. ]8.) No douht Christ arose througli his own power; but
as ho is wont to attribute to the Father whatever Divine
power he possesses, so tlie Apostle has not improjieriy trans-
ferred to the Father what was especially done by Christ, as
the peculiar work of divinity.
By mortal bodies he understands all tliose things which
still remain in us, that are subject to death ; for his usual
practice is to give this name to the grosser part of us. We
hence conclude, that he speaks not of the last resurrection,
wliich shall be in a moment, but of the continued working
of the Spirit, by which he gradually mortifies the relics of
the flesh and renews in us a celestial life.
12. Therefore, brethren, we are 12. Itaque fratres, debitores su-
debtors, not to the flesh, to live after mus, non carni, ut secundum ear-
thc flesh. nem vivamus.
13. For if ye live after the flesh, 13. Si enim secundum carncm
ye shall die : but if ye through the vixeritis, nioriemini : si vero Spiri-
Spirit do mortify the deeds of the tu facta carnis^ mortificaveritis, vi-
body, ye shall live. vetis.
14. For as many as are led by the 14. Quicunque enim Spiritu Dei
Spirit of God, they are the sons of aguntur, ii lilii Dei sunt.
God.
12. So then, brethren, &c. This is the conclusion of what
has been previously said ; for if we are to renounce the flesh,
we ought not to consent to it ; and if the Spirit ought to
reign in us, it is inconsistent not to attend to his bidding.
Paul's sentence is liere defective, for he omits the other part
of the contrast,- — that we are debtors to the Spirit ; but the
meaning is in no way obscure.^ This conclusion has the
force of an exhortation ; for he is ever wont to draw exhor-
^ " Deeds of the bocly " is our version ; and the preponderance of autho-
rity, according to Gricshach, is in its favour, though he admits that the
other reading, r>is fa^xos, is nearly equal to it, and deserves farther inouiry.
—Ed.
2 He did not mention the other part, says Parens, " because it ivas so
evident." Besidts, what he had already stated, and what he proceeds to
state, are so many evidences of our obligations to live after the Spirit, that
it was unnecessary to make such an addition. — Ed.
294 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 14.
tations from his doctrine. So in another place, Eph. iv. SO,
he exhorts us " not to grieve the Spirit of God, by whom we
have been sealed to the day of redemption :" he does the
same in Gal. v. 25, "If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk
in the Spirit." And this is the case, when we renounce
carnal lusts, so as to devote ourselves, as those who are bound,
to the righteousness of God. Thus indeed we ought to rea-
son, not as some blasphemers are wont to do, who talk idly,
and say, — that we must do nothing, because we have no
power. But it is as it were to fight against God, when we
extinguish the grace offered to us, by contempt and negli-
gence.
13. For if ye will live after the flesh, &c. He adds a
threatening, in order more effectually to shake off their
torpor ; by which also they are fully confuted who boast of
justification by faith without the Spirit of Christ, though
they are more than sufficiently convicted by their own con-
science ; for there is no confidence in God, where there is no
love of righteousness. It is indeed true, that we are justified
in Christ through the mercy of God alone ; but it is equally
true and certain, that all who are justified are called by the
Lord, that they may live worthy of their vocation. Let then
the faithful learn to embrace him, not only for justification,
but also for sanctification, as he has been given to us for
both these purposes, lest they rend him asunder by their
mutilated faith.
But if ye by the Spirit, &c. He thus moderates his ad-
dress, that he might not deject tlie minds of the godly, who
are still conscious of much infirmity ; for however we may
as yet be exposed to sins, he nevertheless promises life to us,
provided we strive to mortify the flesh : for he does not
strictly require the destruction of the flesh, but only bids us
to make every exertion to subdue its lusts.
14. For whosoever are led by the Spirit of God, &c. This
is a confirmation of what has immediately preceded ; for he
teaches us, that those only are deemed the sons of God who
are ruled by his Spirit ; for by this mark God acknowledges
them as his own people. Thus the empty boasting of hypo-
crites is taken away, who without any reason assume the
CHAP. VIII. 15. EPISTLE TO THK ROMANS. 295
title ; and the faithful are thus encouraged with unlicsitat-
ing- confidence to expect salvation. The import of the whole
is this — " all those are the sons of God who are led'' by
God's Spirit ; all the sons of God are heirs of eternal life :
then all who are led by God's Spirit ought to feel assured of
eternal life." But the middle term or assumption is omitted,
for it was indubitable.
But it is right to observe, that the working of the Spirit
is various : for there is that which is universal, by which
all creatures are sustained and preserved ; there is that also
which is peculiar to men, and varying in its character : but
what he means here is sanctification, with which the Lord
favours none but his own elect, and by which he separates
them for sons to himself.
15. For ye have not received the 15. Et enim non accepistis spiri-
spirit of bondage again to fear : but turn servitutis iterum in terrorem :
ye have received the Spirit of adop- sed accepistis Spiritum adoptionis,
tion, whereby we cry, Abba, Father, per quem clamamus, Abba, Pater.
16. The Spirit itself beareth wit- 16. Ipse enim Spiritus simul tes-
ness with our spirit, that we are the tificatur spiritui nostro quod sumus
children of God : filii Dei :
17. And if children, then heirs; 17. Si vero filii, etiam hffiredes ;
heirs of God, and joint-heirs with h^redes quidem Dei, cohaeredes
Christ : if so be that we suifer with autem Christi : siquidem compati-
him, that we may be also glorified mur, ut et una glorificemur.
together.
18. For I reckon that the suffer- 18. Existimo certe non esse pares
ings of this present time are not afflictiones hujus temporis ad futu-
worthy to he compared with the glory ram gloriam qufe revelabitiu- erga
which shall be revealed in us. nos.
He now confirms the certainty of that confidence, in
which he has already bidden the faithful to rest secure ; and
he does this by mentioning the special effect produced by
the Spirit ; for he has not been given for the purpose of
harassing us with trembling or of tormenting us with anxiety ;
1 AyovTa/— are led or conducted : " A metaphor taken from the blind or
those in darkness, who know not how to proceed without a conductor. So
we have need to be led by the Spirit in the way of tiuth, for we are blind
and see no light. Or it is a metaphor taken from infants, who can hardly
walk without a guide : for the regenerated are like little children lately
born. Thus we are reminded of our misery and weakness ; and we ought
not to ascribe to ourselves either knowledge or strength apart from the
Spirit of God." — Farcus.
21;() COMMENTAlllES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 15.
but on the contrary, for tliis end — that liaving calmed everj
perturbation, and restoring- our minds to a tranquil state,
he may stir us up to call on God with confidence and free-
dom, lie does not then pursue only the argument which
he had before stated, but dwells more on another clause,
which he had connected with it, even the paternal mercy of
God, by which he forgives his people the infirmities of the
flesh and the sins which still remain in them. He teaches
us that our confidence in this respect is made certain by the
Spirit of adoption, who could not inspire us with confidence
in prayer without sealing to us a gratuitous pardon : and
that he might make this more evident, he mentions a
twofold .spirit ; he calls one the spirit of bondage, which we
receive from the law ; and the other, the spirit of adoption,
which j)roceeds from the gospel. The first, he says, was
given formerly to produce fear ; the other is given now to
afford assurance. By sucli a comparison of contrary things
the certainty of our salvation, which he intended to confirm,
is, as you see, made more evident.^ The same comparison is
used by the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, where he
says, that we have not come to Mount Sinai, where all things
were so terrible, that the people, being alarmed as it were by
an immediate apprehension of death, implored that the word
should be no more spoken to them, and Moses himself con-
fessed that he was terrified ; " but to Sion, the mount of the
Lord, and to his city, the heavenly Jerusalem, where Jesus
is, the Mediator of the iacw Testament," &c. (Heb. xii. 18.)
By the adverb again, we learn, that the law is here com-
^ By the Spirit, •rvsr^a, (without the article,) some, as Avgustine, Beza,
and others, understand the Holy Spirit, and so Calvin, for the most part,
seems to do. Then '• the Spirit of bondage" means the Spirit the effect
of uhose administration was bondage ; and " the Spirit of adoption"' must
signify the Spirit, the bestower of adoption. But we may take spirit
here, in both instances, as it is often taken, in the sense of disposition or
feeling ; according to the expression, " the spirit of meekness" — TvsJ^aT/
-TT^uoT-^Tos, 1 Cor. iv. 21, and " the spirit of fear" — -^vivy-a. luxla?, 2 Tim.
i. 7. The word for adoption, ulnSia-'ia^ may be rendered sonship, or affilia-
tion, or filiation, as Luther sometimes renders it : and as the spirit of
meekness means a meek spirit, so Ave may translate the two clauses here,
" a servile spirit," and " a fiHal spirit." At the same time it may be
better to take the " spirit" throughout as the divine Spirit, as in several
instances it must evidently be so taken.— /^W.
CHAP. VIII. 15. EPISTLE TO THE EOMANS. 297
pared with tlie gospel: for the Son of God by liis coming-
has brought to us this invaluable benefit, — that we arc no
longer bound by the servile condition of the Law. You are
not however to infer from this, either that no one before the
coming of Christ was endued with the spirit of adoption, or
tliat all who received the law were servants and not sons :
for he compares the ministration of the law with the dispen-
sation of the gospel rather than persons with persons. I in-
deed allow that the faithful are here reminded how much
more bountifully God now deals with them than he did
formerly with the fathers under the Old Testament ; he yet
regards the outward dispensation, in respect of which only
we excel them : for though the faith of Abraham, of Moses,
and of David, was superior to ours, yet as God kept them
apparently under a schoolmaster, they had not advanced
into that liberty which has been revealed to us.
But it must at the same time be noticed, that it was de-
signedly, on account of false apostles, that a contrast was
made between the literal disciples of the law, and the faith-
ful whom Christ, the heavenly Teacher, not only addresses
by words, but also teaches inwardly and effectually by his
Sj^irit.
And though the covenant of grace is included under the
law, it is yet far different from it ; for in setting up the
gospel in opposition to it, he regards nothing but what was
peculiar to the law^ itself, as it commands and forbids, and
restrains transgressors by the denunciation of death : and
thus he gives the law its own character, in which it diflers
from the gospel ; or this statement may be preferred by
some, — " He sets forth the kw only, as that by which God
covenants with us on the ground of works." So then persons
only must be regarded as to the Jewish people ; for wdien the
law was published, and also after it was published, the godly
were illuminated by the same Spirit of faith ; and thus the
hope of eternal life, of which the Spirit is the earnest and
seal, was sealed on their heails. The only difference is,
that the Spirit is more largely and abundantly ])Oured forth
in the kingdom of Christ. But if you regard only the dis-
pensation of the law, it will then appear, tliat salvation was
298 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 15.
first clearly revealed at that time, when Christ was mani-
fested in the flesh. All things under tlie Old Testament
were involved in great obscurity, Avhen compared with the
clear light of the gospel.
And then, if the law be viewed in itself, it can do nothing
but restrain those, devoted to its miserable bondage, by the
horror of death ; for it promises no good except under con-
dition, and denounces death on all transgressors. Hence, as
there is the spirit of bondage under the law, which opf>resses
the conscience with fear ; so under the gospel there is the
spirit of adoption, which exhilarates our souls by bearing a
testimony as to our salvation. But observe, that fear is
connected with bondage, as it cannot be otherwise, but that
the law will harass and torment souls with miserable dis-
quietness, as long as it exercises its dominion. There is
then no other remedy for quieting them, except God for-
gives us our sin and deals kindly with us as a father with
his children.
Through whom we cry, he. He has changed the person,
that he might describe the common privilege of all the
saints ; as though he had said, — " Ye have the spirit, through
whom you and all we, the rest of the faithful, cry,"&c. The
imitation of their language is very significant ; when he in-
troduces the word Father, in the person of the faithful.
The repetition of the name is for the sake of amplification;
for Paul intimates, that God's mercy was so published
through the whole world, that he was invoked, as Augustine
observes, indiscriminately in all languages.^ His object
then was to express the consent which existed among all
^ Wolfius gives a quotation from the Talmud, by which it appears that
" servants" or slaves, and " maids" or bondmaids, were not allowed among
the Jews to call their master Abba {'^2'^), nor their mistress Aima (KD''N),
these being names which children alone were permitted to use. And Sei-
dell says, that there is an evident allusion in this passage to that custom
among the Jews. Under the law the people of God were servants, but
vuider the gospel they are made children : and hence the privilege of calling
God Abba. Haldane, quoting Claude, gives the same explanation. The
repetition of the word is for the sake of emphasis, and is given as an ex-
pression of warm, ardent, and intense feeling. See an example of this in
our Saviour's prayer in the garden, Mark xiv. 36, and in what he said on
the cross. Matt, xxvii. 46. The idea mentioned by Calvin, derived from
the Fathers, seems not to be well founded. — Ed.
CHAP. VIII. 16. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 29.9
nations. It lienco follows, that tliere is now no diiference
between the Jew and the Greek, as they are united together.
Isaiah speaks differently when he declares, that the languape
of Canaan would be common to all, (Is. xix. IS ;) yet the
meaning is the same ; for he had no respect to the external
idiom, but to the harmony of heart in serving God, and to
the same undisguised zeal in professing his true and pure
worship. The word cry is set down for the purpose of ex-
pressing confidence ; as though he said, "We pray not doubt-
ingly, but we confidently raise up a loud voice to heaven."
The fjiithful also under the law did indeed call God their
Father, but not with such full confidence, as the vail kept
them at a distance from the sanctuary : but now, since an
entrance has been opened to us by the blood of Christ, we
may rejoice fully and openly that we are the children of
God ; hence arises this crying. In short, thus is fulfilled
the prophecy of Hosea, " I will say to them, My people are
ye : they in their turn will answer. Thou art our God."
(Hosea ii. 23.) For the more evident the promise is, the
greater the freedom in prayer.
16. The Spirit himself, &c. He does not simply say, that
God's Spirit is a witness to our spirit, but he adopts a com-
pound verb, which might be rendered " contest," (contesta-
tur,) were it not that contestation (contestatio) has a different
meaning in Latin. But Paul means, that the Spirit of God
gives us such a testimony, that when he is our guide and
teacher, our spirit is made assured of the adoption of God :
for our mind of its own self, without the preceding testimony
of the Spirit, could not convey to us this assurance. There
is also here an explanation of the former verse ; for when
the Spirit testifies to us, that we arc the children of God, he
at the same time pours into our hearts such confidence, that
we venture to call God our Father. And doubtless, since
the confidence of the heart alone opens our mouth, except
the Spirit testifies to our heart ]'es])ecting the paternal love
of God, our tongues would be dumb, so that thej could utter
no prayers. For we must ever hold fast this princij^le, —
that we do not rightly pray to God, unless we are surely
persuaded in our hearts, that he is our Father, M'hen we so
300 COMMENTARIES ON THE CFAP. VIII. 1 G.
call him with our lips. To this there is a corresponding-
part, — that our faith has no true evidence, except we call
upon God. It is not then without reason that Paul, bring-
ing us to this test, shows that it then only appears how truly
any one believes, wlien they who have embraced the promise
of grace, exercise themselves in prayers.^
But there is here a striking refutation of the vain notions
of the Sophists respecting moral conjecture, which is nothing
else but uncertainty and anxiety of mind ; nay, rather vacil-
lation and delusion.^ There is also an answer given here to
^ The words ahrl to Tvivfio,, seem to mean the divine Spirit. The refer-
ence is to "the Spirit of God"' in verse 14; " This self-same Spirit," or,
" He the Spirit;" for so a,bTos, or avTo, may be rendered, especially when
the article intervenes between it and its noun. See Luke xxiv. 15 ; John
xvi. 27.
Beza renders ffu^i/.r/.^Tu^i7 tm ■Trvivf/.an hf^Z«, " testifies together with our
spirit — una cum nostro spiritu," and the Vulgate " testifies to our Spirit," as
though the verb had not its compound ; and it is said to have only the sim-
pler meaning of testifying, though compounded, in chap. ix. 1 ; and in Rev.
xxii. 18, where it has a dative case after it as here. " I testify to every
man," &c. The soul appears to be here called " spirit," because the re-
newed soul is intended, or the soul having the spirit of adoption ; or it may
be an instance of the Apostle's mode of writing, who often puts the same
word twice in a sentence, but in a diflerent meaning. The Holy Spirit tes-
tifies to our spirit, say Oric/en and Theodoret, by producing obedience, love
and imitation of God, which are evidences of our adoption ; but Chrysostoin
and Ambrose say, by enabling us to cry Abba, Father, according to the
former verse. The latter seems to be the meaning adopted by Calvin.
It is said by Est'm.f, according to Povle, that the com])ound verb is never
used without the idea of a joint testimony being implied, and that in Rev.
xxii. 18, it is a testimony in conjunction with Christ. Then the import of
this text would be, that the Holy Spirit testifies, together with the spirit
of adoption, to our spirit, to our soul or renewed mind, that we are the
children of God. Thus a direct influence of the Spirit, in addition to that
Avhich is sanctifying and filial, seems to have been intended. See 2 Cor.
i. 22 ; Eph. i. 13, 14; 1 John ii. 20, 27.
Professor Hodge gives this paraphrase, — " Not only does our filial spirit
towards God prove that we are his children, but the Holy Spirit itself con-
veys to our souls the assurance of this delightful fact." This seems to be
the full and precise import of the passage. — Ed.
- " The [Roman] Catholic Church, with which all sects that proceed
from Pelagian principles agree, deters from the certainty of the state of
grace, and desires uncertainty towards God. Such uncertainty of hearts
is then a convenient means to keep men in the leading-strings of the
priesthood or ambitious founders of sects : for since they are not allowed
to have any certainty themselves res])ecting their relation to God, thej^
can only rest upon the jiulgments of their leadei's about it, who thus rule
souls with absolute dominion ; the true evangelic doctrine makes free from
such slavery to man " — Olshanseu.
There is no doubt much truth in these remarks ; but another reason
CHAP. Vlir. 17. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 301
their objection, for tlicy ask, " How can a man fully know
the will of God V This certainly is not within the reach of
man, but it is the testimony of GocFs Spirit ; and this sub-
ject he treats more at large in the First Epistle to tlic Corin-
thians, from which we may derive a fuller explanation of
this passage. Let this truth then stand sure, — that no one
can be called a son of God, who does not know himself to
be such ; and this is called knowledge by John, in order to
set forth its certainty. (1 John v. 19, 20.)
17. And if cliildren, &c. By an argument, taken from
what is annexed or what follows, he proves that our salva-
tion consists in having God as our Father. It is for children
that inheritance is appointed : since God then has adopted
us as his children, he has at the same time ordained an in-
lieritance for us. He then intimates what sort of inherit-
ance it is — that it is heavenly, and therefore incorruptible
and eternal, such as Christ possesses ; and his possession of
it takes away all uncertainty: and it is a comniendation of
the excellency of this inheritance, that we shall partake of
it in common with the only-begotten Son of God. It is
however the design of Paul, as it will presently appear more
fully, highly to extol this inheritance promised to us, that
we may be contented with it, and manfully despise the al-
lurements of the world, and patiently bear whatever troubles
may press on us in this life.
If so be that we suffer together, Sic. Various are the in-
terpretations of this passage, but I approve of the following
in preference to any other, " We are co-heirs with Christ,
provided, in entering on our inheritance, we follow him in
the same way in which he has gone before." And he thus
made mention of Christ, because he designed to jDass over
b\^ these steps to an encouraging strain, — " God's inherit-
ance is ours, because we have by his grace been adopted as
his chiklren ; and that it may not be doubtful, its possession
lias been already conferred on Christ, whose partners we arc
may be added : Those who know not themselves what assurance is, cannot
consistently teach the doctrine ; and real, genuine assurance, is an elevated
state, to which man, attached to merely natural principles, can never
ascend. — Ed.
o02 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VITI. 18.
become : but Christ came to it by the cross ; then we must
come to it in the same manner."^ Nor is that to be dreaded
which some fear, that Paul thus ascribes the cause of our
eternal glory to our labours ; for this mode of speaking is
not unusual in Scripture. He denotes the order, which the
Lord follows in dispensing salvation to us, rather than the
cause ; for he has already sufficiently defended the gratui-
tous mercy of God against the merits of works. When now
exliorting us to patience, he does not show whence salvation
proceeds, but how God governs his people.
18. / indeed judge, ^ &c. Though they take not altogether
an unsuitable view who understand this as a kind of modi-
fication ; yet I prefer to regard it in the light of an encour-
agement, for the purpose of anticipating an objection, accord-
ing to this import, — " It ought not indeed to be grievous to
us, if we must pass through various afflictions into celestial
glory, since these, when comjiared with the greatness of that
glory, are of the least moment." He has mentioned future
for eternal glory, intimating that the afflictions of the Avorld
are such as pass away quickly.
It is hence evident how ill understood has this passage
been by the Schoolmen ; for they have drawn from it their
frivolous distinction between congruity and condignity. The
' The particle s'/rs? is rendered the same as here by Ambrose and Bcza,
" si niodo — if in case that ;" but by Chrysostoni and Peter Martyr, in the
sense of l-jrulav, " quandoquidem — since," " since we suffer together, in
order that we may also be together glorified." The Vulgate has, •' si tamen
— if however." It may be suitably rendered " provided." — -Ed.
2 The particle ya^ caiuiot be causal here. It has its primary meaning,
trull), indeed, or verily, though it has commonly its secondary meaning,
for, because, therefore. The context is our guide ; when there is nothing
previously said, for which a reason is given, then it has only an affirmative
sense ; or as some tliink, it is to be viewed as a particle of transition, or as
signifying an addition, and may be rendered besides, further, moreover.
Perhaps this latter meaning would be suitable here. In the preceding
verse the Apostle says, for the encouragement of Christians, that their
conformity to Christ in suffering would terminate in conformity to him in
glory : and then, as an additional consideration, he states his full con^ac-
tion, that present sufferings are as nothing to the glory which they would
have to enjoy. The connection can hardly be otherwise seen, except in-
deed Ave consider something understood, as. " Not only so :" and then it
may be rendered for, as giving a reason for the qualifying negative. An
ellipsis of this kind is not without examples in Greek authors, as well as
in the New Testament. — Ed.
CHAP. viir. 1.9. epistle to the Romans. 303
Apostle indeed compares not the worthiness of the one with
that of the other, but only lightens the heaviness of the cross
by a comparison with tlie greatness of glory, in order to con-
firm the minds of the faithful in patience.
19. For the earnest expectation of 19. Siquidem intenta expectatio
the creature waiteth for the mani- creaturae, revelationem filiorum Dei
festation of the sons of God. expectat :
20. P'or the creature was made 20. Vanitati enim creatura sub-
subject to vanity, not willing;ly, but jecta est non volens, sed propter eum
by reason of him who hath subjected qui subjecit ipsam in spe ;
the same in hope ;
21. Because the creature itself also 21. Quoniam ipsa quoque creatura
shall be delivered from the bondage asseretur a servitute corruptionis in
of corruption into the glorious liberty libertatem glorise filiorum Dei.
of the children of God.
22. For we know that the whole 22. Novimus enim quod creatura
creation groaneth and travaileth in universa congemiscit, et ad hunc
pain together until now. diem partm-it.
19. For the intent expectation of the creation, &c. He
teaches us that there is an example of the patience, to which
he had exhorted us, even in mute creatures. For, to omit
various interpretations, I understand the passage to have
this meaning — that there is no element and no part of the
world which, being touclied, as it were, with a sense of its
present misery, does not intensely hope for a resurrection.
He indeed lays down two things, — that all are creatures in
distress, — and yet that they are sustained by hope. And it
hence also appears how immense is the value of eternal
glory, that it can excite and draw all things to desire it.
Further, the expression, expectation expects, or waits for,
though somewhat unusual, yet has a most suitable meaning ;
for he meant to intimate, that all creatures, seized with great
anxiety and held in suspense with great desire, look for that
day which shall openly exhibit the glory of the children of
God. The revelation of God's children shall be, when we
shall be like God, according to what John says, " For though
we know that Ave are now his sons, yet it appears not yet
what we shall be." (1 John iii. 2.) But I have retained the
words of Paul ; for bolder than what is meet is the version of
Erasmus, " Until the sons of God shall be manifest ;" nor
does it sufficiently express the meaning of the Apostle ; for
oOi COMMENTARIES ON TFIE CHAP. VIII. 20.
he means hot, that the sons of God shall be manifested in
the last day, but that it shall be then made known how de-
sirable and blessed their condition will be, when they shall
put off corruption and put on celestial glory. But he ascribes
hope to creatures void of reason for this end, — that the faith-
ful may open their eyes to behold the invisible life, though
as yet it lies hid under a mean garb.
20. For to vanity has the creation, &c. He shows the
object of expectation from what is of an opposite character ;
for as creatui-es, being now subject to corruption, cannot be
restored until the sons of God shall be wholly restored ;
hence they, longing for their renewal, look forward to the
manifestation of the celestial kingdom. He says, that they
have been subjected to vanity, and for this reason, because
they abide not in a constant and durable state, but being as
it were evanescent and unstable, they pass away swiftly ; for
no doubt he sets vanity in opposition to a perfect state.
Not willingly, &c. Since there is no reason in such crea-
tures, their will is to be taken no doubt for their natural
inclination, according to which the whole nature of things
tends to its own preservation and perfection : whatever then
is detained under corruption suffers violence, nature being
unwilling and repugnant. But he introduces all parts of the
world, by a sort of personification, as being endued with rea-
son ; and he does this in order to shame our stupidity, when
the uncertain fluctuation of this world, which we see, does
not raise our minds to higher things.
But on account of him, &c. He sets before us an example
of obedience in all created things, and adds, that it springs
from hope ; for hence comes the alacrity of the sun and
moon, and of all the stars in their constant courses, hence is
the sedulity of the earth's obedience in bringing forth fruits,
hence is the unwearied motion of the air, hence is the ])rompt
tendency to flow in water. God has given to everything its
charge ; and he has not only b}- a distinct order commanded
what he would to be done, but also implanted inwardly the
hope of renovation. For in the sad disorder which followed
the fall of Adam, the whole machinery of the world would
have instantly become deranged, and all its parts would have
CHAP. Viri. 21. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 305
failed had not some hidden strength supported them. It
would have been then wholly inconsistent that the earnest
of the Spirit should be less efficacious in the children of God
than hidden instinct in the lifeless parts of creation. How
much soever then created things do naturally incline another
way ; yet as it has pleased God to bring them under vanity,
they obey his order ; and as he has given them a hoj^e of a
better condition, with this they sustain themselves, deferring
their desire, until the incorruption promised to them shall
be revealed. He now, by a kind of personification, ascribes
hope to them, as he did will before.
21. Because the creation itself, &c. He shows how the
creation has in hope been made subject to vanity; that is, in-
asmuch as it shall some time be made free, accordino- to what
Isaiah testifies, and what Peter confirms still more clearly.
It is then indeed meet for us to consider what a dreadful
curse we have deserved, since all created things in themselves
blameless, both on earth and in the visible heaven, undergo
punishment for our sins ; for it has not happened through
their own fault, that they are liable to corruption. Thus the
condemnation of mankind is imprinted on the heavens, and
on the earth, and on all creatures. It hence also appears to
what excelling glory the sons of God shall be exalted ; for
all creatures shall be renewed in order to amplify it, and to
render it illustrious.
But he means not that all creatures shall be partakers of
the same glory with the sons of God ; but that they, accord-
ing to their nature, shall be participators of a better condi-
tion ; for God will restore to a perfect state the world, now
fallen, together with mankind. But what that perfection
will be, as to beasts as well as plants and metals, it is not
meet nor right in us to inquire more curiously; for the chief
effect of corruption is decay. Some subtle men, but hardly
sober-minded, inquire whether all kinds of animals will be
immortal ; but if reins be given to speculations where will
they at length lead us ? Let us then be content with this
simple doctrine, — that such will be the constitution and the
complete order of things, that nothing will be deformed or
fad i UP-,
806 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 22.
22. For we know, &c. He repeats the same sentiment,
that he might pass over to us, though what is now said has
the effect and the form of a conclusion ; for as creatures are
subject to corruption, not through their natural desire, but
through the appointment of God, and then, as they have a
hope of being hereafter freed from corruption, it hence fol-
lows, that they groan like a woman in travail until they shall
be delivered. But it is a most suitable similitude ; it shows
that the groaning of which he speaks will not be in vain and
without effect ; for it will at length bring forth a joyful and
blessed fruit. The meaning is, that creatures are not con-
tent in their present state, and yet that they are not so dis-
tressed that they pine away w^ithout a prospect of a remedy,
but that they are as it were in travail ; for a restoration to
a better state awaits them. By saying that they groan to-
gether, lie does not mean that they are united together by
mutual anxiety, but he joins them as companions to us.
The particle hitherto, or, to this day, serves to ^alleviate the
weariness of daily languor ; for if creatures have continued
for so many ages in their groaning, how inexcusable will our
softness or sloth be if we faint during the short course of a
shadowy life.^
' The various opinions which have been given on these verses are re-
ferred to at some length by Stuart ; and he enumerates not less than
eleven, but considers only two as entitled to special attention — the material
creation, animate and inanimate, as held here by Calvin, and the rational
creation, including mankind, with the exception of Christians, which he
himself maintains. In favour of the first he names Chrysostom, Theodoret,
Theophylact, CEcumenius, Jerome, Ambrose, Luther, Koppe, Doddridge,
[this is not correct,] Flatt, and Tholuck ; to whom may be added Scott,
Haldane, and Chalmers, though Scott, rather inconsistently with the words
of the text, if the material creation including animals be meant, regards
as a reverie their resurrection ; see verse 21.
After a minute discussion of various points, Stuart avows his preference
to the opinion, that the " creature " means mankind in general, as being
the least liable to objections ; and he mentions as its advocates Light foot,
Locke, Turrettin, Sender, RosenmiHler, and others. He might nave
added Augustine. Reference is made for the meaning of the word " crea-
ture" to Mark xvi. 15 ; Col. i. 23 ; and 1 Pet. ii. 13.
It appears from Wolfius, that the greater part of the Lutheran and
Reformed Divines have entertained the first opinion, that the " creature"
means the world, material and animal; to which hehimself mainly accedes;
and what he considers next to this, as the most tenable, is the notion, that
the " creature" means the faithful, that " the sons of God" are the blessed
CHAP. VIII. 23. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 30/
23. And not only they, but our- 23. Non solum auteni, sed ipsi
selvesalso, which have the tirst-fruits quoque qui primordia (Spiritus ha-
of the Spirit, even we ourselves beiiius ; nos inquani ipsi in nobis
groan within ourselves, waiting for ipsis gemimus, adoptionem expcc-
thc adoption, to wit, the redemption tantes, rcdeiiiptiouem corporis nos-
of our body. tri.
24. For we are saved by hope : 24. Spe enim salvi facti sumus ;
but hope that is seen is not hope : spes vero quae conspicitur, non est
for what a man seeth, why doth he spes : quod enim conspicit quis,
yet hope for ? qiiomodo etiam speret ?
25. But if we hope for that we 25. Si ergo non quod non conspi-
see not, thoi do we with patience cimus, speramus, per patientiam ex-
wait for it. pectamus.
23. And not only so, &c. There are those who think that
in heaven, and that the Apostles and apostolic men were those who enjoyed
" the first-fruits of the Spirit."
This last opinion relieves us from difficulties which press on all other
expositions ; and it may be extricated from objections which have been made
to it ; only the last sentence needs not be introduced. 'J'he whole passage,
from verse 18 to the end of verse 25, is in character with the usual style
of the Apostle. He finishes the first part with verse 22 ; and then in the
second part he announces the same thing in a dillerent form, in more ex-
plicit terms, and with some additions. The " waiting" in verse 19, has a
correspondent " waiting " in verse 23 ; and " the hope " in verse 20, has
another " hope " to correspond with it in verse 24 ; and correspondent too
is " the manifestation of the sons of God" in verse 19, and " the redemp-
tion of our body" in verse 23. To reiterate the same truth in a different
way Mas to make a deeper impression, and accordant with the Apostle's
manner of writing. He begins the second time, after verse 22, in which
is stated the condition of the whole world ; and it is in contrast with that
alone that the 23d verse is to be viewed, which restates and explains what
had been previously said ; so that •' the creature" are the " we ourselves ;"
and the Apostle proceeds with the subject to end of the 25th verse.
Iiistances of the same sort of arrangement are to be foimd in chap. ii.
17-24; xi. 33-36.
The 21st verse may be considered as an explanation only of the " hope,"
at the end of the 2Uth ; " For even it, the creature," though subjected to
vanity, " shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption ;" which means
the same as " this body of death," in chap. vii. 24.
The word xritr,;, means, 1, creation, the world, Mark x. 6; xiii. 19;
Rom. i. 20 ; 2 Peter iii. 4 :— 2, what is created— creature, what is formed
— a building, what is instituted — an ordinance, Rom. i. 25; viii. 39; Heb.
iv. 13; ix. 11; 1 Peter ii. 13: — 3, mankind, the world of men, Mark xvi.
15; Col. i. 23: — 4, the renewed man, or renewed nature — Christians, 2
Cor. V. 17 ; Gal. vi. 15. There are only two other ))laces where it is found,
and is rendered in our version " creation," Col. i. 15, and Rev. iii. 14.
It is objected to its application here to Christians, because where it has
this meaning, it is preceded by xai^h, new. The same objection stands
against applying it to mankind in general, for in these instances ■^«<r»( pre-
cedes it. Its meaning must be gathered from the whole passage, and we
must not stop at the end of verse 23, but include the two following verses.
—Ed.
308 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 23.
the Apostle intended here to exalt the dignity of our future
blessedness, and by this proof, because all things look for it
with ardent desire ; not only the irrational parts of creation,
but we also who have been regenerated by the Spirit of God.
This view is indeed capable of being defended, but there
seems to me to be a comparison here between the greater
and the less ; as though he said, " The excellency of our
glory is of such importance even to the very elements, which
are destitute of mind and reason, that they burn with a cer-
tain kind of desire for it ; how much more it behoves us,
who have been illuminated by the Spirit of God, to aspire
and strive with firmness of hope and with ardour of desire,
after the attainment of so great a benefit." And he requires
that there should be a feeling of two kinds in the faithful :
that being burdened with the sense of their present misery,
they are to groan ; and that notwithstanding they are to
wait patiently for their deliverance ; for he would have them
to be raised up with the expectation of their future blessed-
ness, and by an elevation of mind to overcome all their pre-
sent miseries, while they consider not what they are now,
but what they are to be.
Who have the heginnings, &c. Some render the word first-
fruits, [primitias,) and as meaning a rare and uncommon
excellency ; but of this view I by no means approve. To
avoid, therefore, any ambiguity, I have rendered the word
beginnings, {primordia, the elements,) for I do not ajjply
the expression, as they do, to the Apostles only, but to all
the faithful who in this world are besprinkled only with a
few drops by the Spirit ; and indeed when they make the
greatest proficiency, being endued with a considerable
measure of it, they are still far off from perfection. These,
then, in the view of the Apostle, are beginnings or first-
fruits, to which is opposed the complete ingathering ; for as
we are not yet endued with fidness, it is no wonder that we
feel disquietude. By repeating ourselves and adding in our-
selves, he renders the sentence more emphatical, and ex-
presses a more ardent desire, nor does he call it only a desire,
but groaning: for in groaning there is a deep feeling of
misery.
CHAP. Vlir. 24. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. S0.9
Waiting for the adoption, &c. Improperly indeed, but
not without the best reason, is adoption employed here to
designate the fruition of the inheritance to which we are
adopted ; for Paul means this, that the eternal decree of
God, by which he has chosen us to himself as sons before
the foundation of the world, of which he testifies to us in the
gospel, the assurance of which he seals on our hearts by his
Spirit, would be void, except the promised resurrection Avere
certain, which is its consummation.^ For to what end is
God our Father, exce^Dt he receives us after we have finished
our earthly pilgrimage into his celestial inheritance ? To
the same purpose is what he immediately subjoins, the re-
deniption of the body. For the price of our redemption was
in such a way paid by Clirist, that death should notwith-
standing hold us tied by its chains, yea, that we should
carry it within us ; it hence follows, that the sacrifice of the
death of Christ would be in vain and fruitless, except its
fruit appeared in our heavenly renovation.
24. For hy hope, kc. Paul strengthens his exhortation by
another argument ; for our salvation cannot be separated
from some kind of death, and this he proves by the nature
of hope. Since hope extends to things not yet obtained, and
represents to our minds the form of things hidden and far
remote, whatever is either openly seen or really possessed,
is not an object of hope. But Paul takes it as granted, and
what cannot be denied, that as long as we are in the world,
salvation is what is hoped for ; it hence follows, that it is
laid up with God far beyond what we can see. By saying,
that hope is not what is seen, he uses a concise expression,
but the meaning is not obscure ; for he means simply to
teach us, that since hope regards some future and not pre-
sent orood, it can never be connected with what we have in
possession. If then it be grievous to any to groan, they
necessarily subvert the order laid down by God, who does not
^ The impropriety, which Calvin notices, is according to the usual
phraseology of Scripture. What commences in this world and is completed
in the next is called by the same name. The word salvation is used m
this way as designating its commencement and its progress as well as its
completion. Besides, adoption here has a particular regard to the body,
as it is explained by the Avords which follow. — Ed.
310 COMMENTAEIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 25.
'call his people to victory before he exercises them in the
warfare of patience. But since it has pleased God to lay up
our salvation, as it were, in his closed bosom, it is expedient
for us to toil on earth, to be oppressed, to mourn, to be
afflicted, yea, to lie down as half-dead and to be like the
dead ; for tliey who seek a visible salvation reject it, as they
renounce hope which has been appointed by God as its
guardian/
25. If then luhat we see not, &c. This is an argument
derived from what the antecedent implies ; for patience ne-
cessarily follows hope. For when it is grievous to be with-
out the good you may desire, unless you sustain and comfort
yourselves with patience, you must necessarily faint through
despair. Hope then ever draws patience with it. Thus it
is a most apt conclusion — that whatever the gospel promises
respecting the glory of the resurrection, vanishes away, ex-
cept we spend our present life in patiently bearing the cross
and tribulations. For if life be invisible, we must have
death before our eyes : if glory be invisible, then our present
state is that of degradation. And hence if you wish to
include in a few words the meaning of the whole passage,
arrange Paul's arguments in this way, " To all the godly
there is salvation laid uj) in hope ; it is the character of
hope to look forward to future and absent benefits : then the
salvation of the faithful is not visible. Now hope is not
otherwise sustained than by patience ; then the salvation of
the faithful is not to be consummated except by patience."
It may be added, that we have here a remarkable pas-
sage, which shows, that patience is an inseparable companion
of faith ; and tlie reason of this is evident, for when we con-
sole ourselves with the hope of a better condition, the feeling
of our 2^1'esent miseries is softened and mitigated, so that
they are borne with less difficulty.^
1 When we are said to be saved by hope, the meaning is that we are not
full)' or perfectly saved now, and that this is what we hope for. " Eternal
salvation,'* says Grotius, " we have not yet, but we hope for it." There
is present salvation, but that which is perfect is future. The Scripture
speaks of salvation now, see Eph. ii. 8 ; Tit. iii. 4, 5 ; and of salvation as
future, see Mark xiii. 13; x. 9. — Ed.
^ " Patience," says Parens, " is needful for three reasons, — the good ex-
pected is absent, — there is delay, — and many ditBculties intervene." — Ed.
CHAP. VIII. 26. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 311
26. Likewise' the Spirit also help- 26. Similiter' vero Spiritus etiam
eth our infirmities : for we know not coopitulatur infirniitatibus nostris ;
what we should pvaj for as we non enim quid oraturi sumus quem-
ought ; but the Spirit itself maketh admodum oportet, novimus ; verum
intercession for us with groanings Spiritus ipse intercedit pro nobis
which cannot be uttered. gemitibus innarrabilibus.
27. And he that searcheth the 27. Quiver6scrutaturcorda,novit
hearts knoweth what is the mind of cogitationem Spiritu.s, quod secun-
the Spirit, because he maketh inter- dum Deuni intercedit pro Sanctis,
cession for the saints according to
the will of God.
26. Aiid likewise the Spirit, &c. That the faithful may
not make this objection — that they are so weak as not to be
able to bear so many and so heavy burdens, he brings before
them the aid of the Spirit, which is abundantly sufficient to
overcome all difficulties. There is then no reason for any
one to complain, that the bearing of the cross is beyond
their own strength, since we are sustained by a celestial
power. And there is great force in the Greek word avvav-
TiXafi^dveTai, which means that the Spirit takes on himself
a part of the burden, by which our weakness is oppressed ;
so that he not only helps and succours us, but lifts us up ;
as though he went under the burden with us.^ The word
infirmities, being in the plural number, is expressive of ex-
tremity. For as experience shows, that except we are sup-
ported by God's hands, we are soon overwhelmed by innu-
merable evils, Paul reminds us, that though we are in every
respect weak, and various infirmities threaten our fall, there
is yet sufficient protection in God's Spirit to preserve us
' The connection here is not very eddent 'nravrui — " similiter — in like
manner," by Calvin ; " itidera — likewise," by Pareus and Beca ; " prje-
terea — besides," by Orotius ; " moreover," by Doddridge. The word
usually means, in the same, or, the like manner : but the two last seem to
render it suitably to this place ; for what follows is mentioned in addition
to what had been stated respecting hope and patience. — Ed.
- Parens says, that this verb is taken metaphorically from assistance
afibrded to infants not able to support themselves, or to the sick, tottering
and hardly able to walk.
" Coopitulatur" is C'a/i'uj's Latin — "co-assist:" Beza's, "unasublevat —
lifts up together," that is, together with those who labovu* under infirmities.
The Vulgate has " adjuvat — helps," like our version. Schlensner says,
that it means to succour those whose strength is unequal to carry their bur-
den alone. It is found in one other place, Luke x. 40. It is given by the
SepHtagint in Ps. Ixxxix. 21. for J'DS — " to strengthen, to invigorate,"
and in Exod. xviii. 22, for "inx NK'J — " to bear with," that is, " a burden
■with thee," — the very idea that it seems to have here. — Ed.
312 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 26.
from falling, and to keep us from being overwhelmed by any
mass of evils. At the same time these supplies of the Spirit
more clearly prove to us, that it is b}^ God's ai^pointment
that we strive, by groanings and sighings, for our redemp-
tion.
For luhat we should pray for, &c. He had before spoken
of the testimony of the Spirit, by which we know that God
is our Father, and on which relying, we dare to call on him
as our Father. He now again refers to the second part,
invocation, and says, that we a^'^ taught by the same Spirit
how to pray, and what to ask in our prayers. And appro-
priately has he annexed prayers to the anxious desires of
the faithful ; for God does not afflict them with miseries,
that they may inwardly feed on hidden grief, but that they
may disburden themselves by prayer, and thus exercise their
faith.
At the same time I know, that there are various exposi-
tions of this jiassage / but Paul seems to me to have simply
meant this, — That we are blind in our addresses to God ; for
though we feel our evils, yet our minds are more disturbed
and confused than that they can rightly choose what is meet
and expedient. If any one makes this objection — that a
rule is prescribed to us in God's word ; to this I answer,
that our thoughts nevertheless continue oppressed with
darkness, until the Spirit guides them by his light.
But the Sjnrit himself inter-cedes,^ &c. Though really or
by the event it does not appear that our prayers have
1 The opinions of Chrysostom, Ambrose, and Origen, are given by
Parens ; and they are all different, and not much to the purpose. The
.view which Augustine gives is materially what is stated here. He gives a
causative sense to the verb in the next clause, " Interpellare nos facit — he
causes us to ask." — Ed.
^ " Iiitercedit — u-^ri^ivrvyx'''"-' — abundantly intercedes," for so u-ri^, pre-
fixed to verbs, is commonly rendered. This is the proper action of an
advocate, a name given to the Spirit by our Saviour, aXXov ^«faxX»Tov —
" another advocate," not " comforter," as in our version ; and Clirist is
called by the same name in 1 John ii. 1, and the same work, " interced-
ing," is ascribed to him, Heb. vii. 25. But we learn in John xiv, 16, that
the Spirit is an advocate with us — " that he may abide with you for ever ;"
and in 1 John ii. 1, that Christ is an advocate in heaven — " with the
Father." The same name and a similar kind of work are ascribed to
both. Some, as Doddridge, to avoid the blending the offices of the two,
have rendered the verb here by a different term, but not wisely. — Ed.
CHAP. VIII. 27. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 313
been heard by God, yet Paul concludes, that tlic presence
of the celestial favour does already shine forth in the
desire for prayer; for no one can of himself give birth to
devout and godly aspirations. The unbelieving do indeed
blab out their prayers, but they only trifle with God ; for
there is in them nothing sincere, or serious, or rightly
formed. Hence the manner of praying aright must be sug-
gested by the Spirit : and he calls those groanings unutter-
able, into which we break forth by the impulse of the Spirit,
for this reason — because they far exceed the capability of
our own minds.^ And the Spirit is said to intercede, not
because he really humbles himself to pray or to groan, but
because he stirs up in our hearts those desires which we
ouaht to entertain ; and he also affects our hearts in such
a way that these desires by their fervency penetrate into
heaven itself And Paul has thus spoken, that he might
more significantly ascribe the whole to the grace of the
Spirit. We are indeed bidden to knock ; but no one can of
himself premeditate even one syllable, except God by the
secret impulse of his Spirit knocks at our door, and thus
opens for himself our hearts.
27. But he who searches hearts, &c. This is a remarkable
reason for strengthening our confidence, that we are heard
by God when we pray through his Spirit, for he thoroughly
knows our desires, even as the thoughts of his own Spirit.
And here must be noticed the suitableness of the word to
know ; for it intimates that God regards not these emotions
of the Spirit as new and strange, or that he rejects them as
unreasonable, but that he allows them, and at the same time
kindly accepts them, as allowed and approved by him. As
' Or, " the comprehension of our mind^higenii nostri eaptum."
SchJeusner says, that the word a^aXrjTos, has been miproperly rendered in-
eflable or unutterable, and that the word to express such an idea is aax-
XuXyitos, (1 Pet. i. 8.) and that from the analogy of the Greek language
it must mean, " what is not uttered or spoken by the mouth ;" and he
gives ay-UnTov, " what is not moved." as an instance. Bos and Grotius
give the same meaning, " sine voce — without voice ;" and the latter says,
that this was expressly said, because the Jews entertained a notion that
there could be no prayer except it was expressed by the lips. It is how-
ever considered by most to have the meaning given here, "■ inutterable,"
or ineffable, or inexpressible. — Ed.
814 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 28.
then Paul had before testified, that God then aids us when
he draws us as it were into his own bosom, so now he adds
another consohition, that our prayers, of which he is the
director, shall by no means be disappointed. The reason
also is immediately added, because he thus conforms us to
his own will. It hence follows, that in vain can never be
what is agreeable to his will, by which all things are ruled.
Let us also hence learn, that what holds the first place in
prayer is consent with the will of the Lord, whom our wishes
do by no means hold under obligation. If then we would
have our prayers to be acceptable to God, we must pray
that he may regulate them according to his will.
28. And we know that all things 28. Novimus autem quod iis qui
work too'ether for good to them that diligunt Deimi omnia cooperantur in
love God. to them Mho are the called bonum, iis scilicet qui secundum pro-
according to his purpose. positum vocati sunt sancti.
29. For whom he did foreknow, 29. Quoniam quos prsecognovit
he also did predestinate to be con- etiam prsefinivit conformes imaginis
formed to the image of his Son. that Filii sui, ut sit ipse primogenitus
he might be the firstborn among inter multos fratres :
many brethren.
30. Moreover, whom he did pre- 30. Quos vero prsefiniAdt, eos et
destinate, them he also called ; and vocavit ; et quos vocavit, eos etiam
whom he called, them he also justi- justificavit ; et quos justificavit, eos
fied ; and whom he justified, them etiam glorificavit.
he also glorified.
28. And ive know, &c. He now draws this conclusion
from what had been said, that so far are the troubles of this
life from hindering our salvation, that, on tlie contrary, they
are helps to it. It is no objection that he sets down an
illative particle, for it is no new thing with him to make
somewhat an indiscriminate use of adverbs, and yet this
conclusion includes what anticipates an objection. For the
judgment of the fle.«h in this case exclaims, that it by no
means appears that God hears our prayers, since our afilic-
tions continue the same. Hence the Apostle anticipates
this and says, that though God does not immediately succour
his people, he yet does not forsake them, for by a wonderful
contrivance he turns those things which seem to be evils in
such a way as to promote their salvation. If any one pre-
fers to read this verse by itself, as though Paul proceeded
to a new argument in order to show that adversities which
CHAP. VIII. 25. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 315
assist our salvation, ought not to he borne as hard and
grievous things, I do not object. At the same time, the
design of Paul is not doubtful : " Though the elect and the
rojirobate are indiscriminately exposed to similar evils, there
is yet a great difference ; for God trains up the faithful by
afflictions, and thereby promotes their salvation."
But we must remember that Paul speaks here only of
adversities, as though he had said, " All things which
happen to the saints are so overruled by God, that what the
world regards as evil, the issue shows to be good." For
though what Avgustine says is true, that even the sins of
the saints are, through the guiding providence of God, so
far from doing harm to them, that, on the contrary, they
serve to advance their salvation ; yet this belongs not to this
passage, the subject of which is the cross.
It must also be observed, that he includes the whole of
true religion in the love of God, as on it depends the whole
practice of righteousness.
Even to them who according to his |jz/rpose, &c. This
clause seems to have been added as a moditication, lest any
one should think that the faithful, because they love God,
obtain by their own merit the advantage of deriving such
fruit from their adversities. We indeed know that when
salvation is the subject, men are disposed to begin Avith them-
selves, and to imagine certain preparations by which they
would anticipate the favour of God. Hence Paul teaches
us, that those whom he had spoken of as loving God, had
been previously chosen by him. For it is certain that the
order is thus pointed out, that we may know that it proceeds
from the gratuitous adoption of God, as from the first cause,
that all things happen to the saints for their salvation. Nay,
Paul shows that the ftiithful do not love God before they are
called by him, as in another place he reminds us that the
Galatians were known of God before they knew him. (Gal.
iv. 9.) It is indeed true what Paul intimates, that afflic-
tions avail not to advance the salvation of any but of those
who love God ; but that saying of John is equally true, that
then only he is begun to be loved by us, when he anticipates
us by his gratuitous love.
81 6 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 29.
But tlie calling of whicli Paul speaks here, has a wide
meaning, for it is not to be confined to the manifestation of
election, of which mention is presently made, but is to be
set simply in opposition to the course pursued by men ; as
though Paul had said, — " The faithful attain not religion by
their own eiforts, but are, on the contrary, led by the hand
of God, inasmuch as he has chosen them to be a peculiar
people to himself The word purpose distinctly excludes
whatever is imagined to be adduced mutually by men ; as
though Paul had denied, that the causes of our election are
to be sought anywhere else, except in the secret good plea-
sure of God ; which subject is more fully handled in the first
chapter to the Ephesians, and in the first of the Second
Epistle to Timothy ; Avhere also the contrast between this
purpose • and human righteousness is more distinctly set
forth.^ Paul, however, no doubt made here this express de-
claration,— that our salvation is based on the election of
God, in order that he might make a transition to that which
he immediately subjoined, namely, that by the same celestial
decree, the afflictions, whicli conform us to Christ, have been
appointed ; and he did this for the purpose of connecting, as
by a kind of necessary chain, our salvation with the bearing
of the cross.
29. For ivhom he has foreknown, &c. He then shows, by
the very order of election, that the afflictions of the faithful
1 Hammond has a long note on the expression, xccto. ■r^iha-tv, and quotes
Cijril of Jerusalem, Clemens of Alexandria, and Theophylact, as rendering
tlie words, " according to their purpose," that is, those who love God, — a
construction of itself strange, and wholly alien to the whole tenor of the
passage, and to the use of the word in most other instances. Paul has
never used the word, except in one instance, (2 Tim. iii. 10,) but with re-
ference to God's purpose or decree, — see ch. ix. 11 ; Eph. i. 11 ; iii. 11 ;
2 Tim. i. 9. It seems that Chrysosto-in, Origen, Theodoret, and other
Fathers, have given the same singularly strange explanation. But in
opposition to these, Poole mentions Ambrose, Augtistine, and even Jerome,
as regarding " the purpose " here as that of God : in which opinion almost
all modern Divines agree.
Grotius very justly observes, that xX^rt>), the called, according to the
language of Paul, mean those who obey the call, (qui vocanti obediimt,)
and refers to ch. i. 6 ; 1 Cor. i. 24 ; Eev. xvii. 14. And Stuart says that
the word has this meaning throughout the New Testament, except in two
instances. Matt. xx. 16, and xxii. 14, where it means, invited. He there-
fore considers it as equivalent to 'ixXncroi, cho-sen, elected, or true Chris-
tians.— Ed.
CHAP. VIII. 29. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 317
are nothing else than the manner by which they are con-
formed to tlie image of Christ ; and that this was necessary,
he had before declared. There is therefore no reason for us
to be grieved, or to think it hard and grievous, that we are
afflicted, unless we disapprove of the Lord's election, by
which we have been foreordained to life, and unless we are
unwilling to bear the image of the Son of God, by which we
are to be prepared for celestial glory.
But the foreknowledge of God, which Paul mentions, is
not a bare prescience, as some unwise persons absurdly
imagine, but the adoption by which he had always distin-
guished his children from the reprobate.^ In the same sense
Peter says, that the feithful had been elected to the sancti-
fication of the Spirit according to the foreknowledge of God.
Hence those, to whom I have alluded, foolishly draw this
' Much controversy has been about the meaning of the verb ■r^oi'yvai, in
this place. Many of the Fathers, such as Jerome, Chrysostom, and Theo-
duret, regarded it in the sense of simple prescience, as having reference to
those who would believe and obey the gospel. The verb is found only in
this place, and in the following passages, chap. xi. 2 ; Acts xxvi. 5 ; 1 Pet.
i. 20 ; and 2 Pet. iii. 17. In the second, and in the last pa.ssage, it signi-
fies merely a previous knowledge or acquaintance, and refers to men. In
1 Pet. i. 20, it is applied to Christ as having been " foreoi-dained," accord-
ing to our version, " before the foundation of the world." In this Epistle,
chap. xi. 2, it refers to God, — " God hath not cast away his people whom
he foreknew ;" and according to the context, it means the same as elected ;
for the Apostle speaks of what God did "according to the election of
grace," and not according to foreseen ftiith.
The noun derived from it is found in two places, Acts ii. 23, and 1 Pet.
i. 2. In the first it evidently means decree, foreordination, and in the
second, the same ; where it is said, that those addressed by the Apostle
were elected, " according to the foreknowledge of God, xara T^iyvMo-iv Btou,
through the sanctitication of the Spirit, unto obedience;" they were not
then elected, according to God's foreknowledge or foreordination, because
of their obedience. This entirely subverts the gloss put on the verb in
this passage.
The usual meaning given to the verb here is fore-approved, or chosen.
GrotiKs, Tiirrettin, and others, consider that yivaixxu has the same mean-
ing with the verb yT", in Hebrew, which is sometimes that of approving or
favouring, or regarding with love and approbation. So the compound verb
may be rendered here, " whom he fore-approved, or foreknew," as the
objects of his choice : and this idea is what alone comports with the rest of
the passage.
Stuart prefers another meaning, and that which it seems to have in
1 Pet. i. 20, " foreordained." He says that yivua-Kco means scmietimes to
will, to determine, to ordain, to decree, and brings examples from Joscphus,
I'hitarch, and Puhibhis. Then the compound verb would be here, " whom
he foreordained," or foredetermined. — Ed.
818 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 29.
inference, — That God has elected none but those whom he
foresaw would be worthy of his grace. Peter does not in-
deed flatter the faithful, as though every one had been
elected on account of his merit ; but by reminding them of
the eternal counsel of God, he wholly deprives them of all
worthiness. So Paul does in this passage, who repeats by
another word what he had said before of God's purpose. It
hence follows, that this knowledge is connected with God's
good pleasure ; for he foreknew nothing out of himself, in
adopting those whom he was pleased to adopt ; but only
marked out those whom he had purposed to elect.
The verb Trpoopi^eiv, which some translate, to predestinate,
is to be understood according to what this passage requires ;
for Paul only meant, that God had so determined that all
whom he has adopted should bear the image of Christ ; nor
has he simply said, that they were to be conformed to Christ,
but to the image of Christ, that he might teach us that there
is in Christ a living and conspicuous exemplar, which is ex-
hibited to God's children for imitation. The meaning then
is, that gratuitous adoption, in which our salvation consists,
is inseparable from the other decree, which determines that
we are to bear the cross ; for no one can be an heir of heaven
without being conformed to the image of the only-begotten
Son of God.
That he may be, or, that he might be, the first-born, &c. ;
for the Greek infinitive, elvai, may be rendered in these two
ways ; but I prefer the first rendering. But in mentioning
Christ's primogeniture, Paul meant only to express this, —
that since Christ possesses a pre-eminence among the chil-
dren of God, he is rightl}' given to us as a pattern, so that we
ought to refuse nothing which he has been pleased to under-
go. Hence, that the celestial Father may in every way bear
testimony to the authority and honour which he has con-
ferred on his own Son, he will have all those whom he adopts
to be the heirs of his kingdom, to be conformed to his ex-
ample. Though indeed the condition of the godly is appa-
rently various, as there is a difference between the members
of the same body, there is yet a connection between every
one and his own head. As then the first-born sustains the
CHAP. VIII. 30. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 319
name of tlie family, so Christ is placed in a state of pre-
eminence, not only that he might excel in honour among
the faithful, but also that he might include all under him-
self under the common name of brotherhood.
30. And whom he has foredetermined, (prsefinivit,) thein
has he also called, &c. That he might now by a clearer proof
show how true it is that a conformity with the humiliating
state of Christ is for our good, he adopts a graduating pro-
cess, by which he teaches us, that a participation of the
cross is so connected with our vocation, justification, and, in
short, with our future glory, that they can by no means be
separated.
But that readers may better understand the Apostle's
meaning, it may be well to repeat what I have already said,
— that the word foredetermine does not refer to election,
but to that purpose or decree of God by which he has
ordained that the cross is to be borne by his people ; and by
declaring that they are now called, he intimates, that God
had not kept concealed what he had determined respecting
them, but had made it known, that they might resignedly
and humbly submit to the condition allotted to them ; for
calling here is to be distinguished from secret election, as
being posterior to it. That none then may make this objec-
tion— that it appears to no one what lot God has appointed
for him, the Apostle says, that God by his calling bears an
evident testimony respecting his hidden purpose. But this
testimony is not only found in the outward preaching of the
gospel, but it has also the power of the Spirit connected with
it ; for the elect are there spoken of, whom God not only
addresses by the outward word, but whom he also inwardly
draws.
Justification may fitly be extended to the unremitted
continuance of God's favour, from the time of our calling to
the hour of death ; but as Paul uses this word throughout
the Epistle, for gratuitous imputation of righteousness, there
is no necessity for us to deviate from this meaning. What
Paul indeed had in view was to show that a more precious
compensation is offered to us, than what ought to allow us
to shun afflictions ; for what is more desirable than to be
320 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 30.
reconciled to God, so that our miseries may no longer be
tokens of a curse, nor lead us to ruin ?
He then immediately adds, that those who are now pressed
down by the cross shall be glorified ; so that their sorrows
and reproaches shall bring them no loss. Though glorifica-
tion is not yet exhibited except in our Head, yet as we in
a manner behold in him our inheritance of eternal life, his
glory brings to us such assurance respecting our own glory,
that our hope may be justly compared to a present possession.
We may add, that Paul, imitating the style of the Hebrew
language, adopts in these verbs the past instead of the pre-
sent tense.^ A continued act is no doubt what is meant,
according to this import, " Those whom God now, consist-
ently with his purpose, exercises under the cross, are called
and justified, that they may have a hope of salvation, so that
nothing of their glory decays during their humiliation ; for
though their present miseries deform it before the world, yet
before God and angels it always shines forth as perfect."
What Paul then means by this gradation is, That the afflic-
tions of the faithful, by which they are now humbled, are
intended for this end — that the faithful, having obtained
the glory of the celestial kingdom, may reach the glory of
Christ's resurrection, with whom they are now crucified.
31. What shall we then say to 31. Quid ergo dicemus ad haec?*
these things ? If God he for us, who Si Deus pro nobis, quis contra
can be against us ? nos ?
32. lie that spared not his own 32. Qui proprio Filio non peper-
Son, but delivered him up for lis all, cit, sed pro nobis omnibus tradidit,
how shall he not with him also freely quomodo non etiam cum eo donaret
give us all things ? nobis omnia ?
33. Who shall lay any thing to 33. Quis intentabit crimina' ad-
the charge of God's elect? It is God versus electos Dei: Deus est qui
that justifieth. justificat.
' Turrettin gives somewhat a different reason : " Paul speaks of these
things as past, because they are as already done in God"s decree, and in
order to show the certainty of their accomplishment."
^ " Ad hjEC," — -rfo; TaZra. Wvlfivs says, that it should be " de hi.s —
of these things;" and Heb. iv. 13, is quoted as an instance, " -^^os h'v V'" »
Xo^'os — of whom we speak." — Ed.
^ " Quis intentabit criniina — who shall charge crimes;" " rls lyKuXiirii
xa-To. XkXiktZ^ %ioZ — ^vho shall implead, or bring a charge against the elect
of God?" Pee Acts xix. 38.
Many, such as Auyustmc, Grothis, Locke, Doddridge, and Grieshach,
CHAP. VIII. 31. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 321
34. Who in he that condemncth ? 34. Quis ille qui condemuet ?
It is Christ that died, yea rather, Christus est qui mortuus est, quin
that is risen again, who is even at potius etiam suscitatus, qui et in
the right hand of God, who also dextera Patris est, qui et intercedit
maketh intercession for us. pro nobis.
31. What then, &c. The subject discussed having been
sufficiently proved, he now breaks out into exclamations, by
which he sets forth the magnanimity with which the faithful
ought to be furnished when adversities urge them to de-
spond. And he teaches us in these words that with the
paternal favour of God is connected that invincible courage
which overcomes all temptations. We indeed know, that
judgment is usually formed of the love or of the hatred of
God, in no other way than by a view of our present state ;
hence when things fall out untowardly, sorrow takes posses-
sion of our minds, and drives away all confidence and con-
solation. But Paul loudly exclaims, that a deeper principle
ought to be inquired after, and that they reason absurdly
who confine themselves to the sad spectacle of our present
warfare. I indeed allow, that the scourges of God are in
themselves justly deemed to be tokens of God's wrath ; but
as they are consecrated in Christ, Paul bids the saints to lay
hold, above all things, on the paternal love of God, that re-
lying on this shield they may boldly triumph over all evils ;
for this is a brazen wall to us, so that while God is propitious
to us we shall be safe against all dangers. He does not,
however, mean, that nothing shall oj)pose us ; but he pro-
mises a victory over all kinds of enemies.
If God be for us, &c. This is the chief and the only sup-
port which can sustain us in every temjitation. For excej)t
we have God propitious to us, though all things should
smile on us, yet no sure confidence can be attained: but,
have made the next clause also a question ; and also the clauses in the next
verse. Tliere is not much diiference in the sense, but the passage will
thus appear more striking, —
33. Who will lay a charge against God's elect? God the justifier?
34. Who is he who condemns ? Christ who died, or rather who rose
again, who is also at God's right hand, and who intercedes for us ?
What favours this construction is, that the Apostle proceeds in the same
strain. — Ed.
X
322 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 32.
on the other hand, his favour alone is a sufficient solace in
every sorrow, a protection sufficiently strong against all the
storms of adversities. And on this subject there are many
testimonies of Scripture, which show that when the saints
rely on the power of God alone, they dare to despise what-
ever is opposed to them in the world. " When I walk in
the midst of the shadow of death, I shall not fear evils, for
thou art with me." (Ps. xxiii. 4.) "In the Lord I trust:
what shall flesh do to me." (Ps. Ivi. 11.) " I shall not fear
the thousands of the peoi)le who beset me." (Ps. iii. 6.)
For there is no power either under or above the heavens,
which can resist the arm of God. Having liim then as our
defender, we need fear no harm whatever. Hence he alone
shows real confidence in God, who being content with his
protection, dreads nothing in such a way as to despond ; the
faithful are doubtless often shaken but are never utterly cast
down. In short, the Apostle's object was to show, that the
godly soul ought to rely on the inward testimony of the
Holy Spirit, and not to depend on outward things.
82. He who has not spared his own Son, &c. As it greatly
concerns us to be so thoroughly persuaded of the paternal
love of God, as to be able to retain our rejoicing on its ac-
count, Paul brings forward the price of our redemption in
order to prove that God favours us : and doubtless it is a
remarkable and clear evidence of inappreciable love, that the
Father refused not to bestow his Son for our salvation. And
so Paul draws an argument from the greater to the less,
that as he had nothing dearer, or more precious, or more
excellent than his Son, he will neglect nothing of what he
foresees will be profitable to us.^
This passage ought to remind us of what Christ brings to
us, and to awaken us to contemplate his riches ; for as he is
a pledge of God's infinite love towards us, so he has not been
1 Calvin renders x"?''^^'^'^' by " donaret ;" Capellus more fully, " gratis
donabit — will gratuitously give." Christ himself, and everything that
comes with or through him, is a favour freely bestowed, and not what we
merit. This shuts out, as Parens observes, everything as meritorious on
the part of man. All is grace. The "all things" include every thing
necessary for salvation — every grace now and eternal glory hereafter. — Ed.
CHAP. VIII. S3. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 323
sent to us void of blessings or empty, but filled with all
celestial treasures, so that they who possess him may not
want anything necessary for their perfect felicity. To de-
liver up means here to expose to death.
33. Who shall bring an accusation, &c. The first and
the chief consolation of the godly in adversities, is to be fully
persuaded of the paternal kindness of God ; for hence arises
the certainty of their salvation, and that calm quietness of
the soul through which it comes that adversities are sweet-
ened, or at least the bitterness of sorrow mitigated. Hardly
then a more suitable encouragement to patience could be ad-
duced than this, a conviction that God is propitious to us ;
and hence Paul makes this confidence the main ground of
that consolation, by which it behoves the faithful to be
strengthened against all evils. And as the salvation of man
is first assailed by accusation, and then subverted by con-
demnation, he in the first place averts the danger of accusa-
tion. There is indeed but one God, at whose tribunal we
must stand ; then there is no room for accusation when he
justifies us. The antithetic clauses seem not indeed to be
exactly arranged ; for the two parts which ought rather to
have been set in opposition to each other are these : " Who
shall accuse ? Christ is he who intercedes :" and then these
two might have been connected, " Who shall condemn ? God
is he who justifies ;" for God's absolution answers to con-
demnation, and Christ's intercession to accusation. But
Paul has not without reason made another arrangement, as
he was anxious to arm the children of God, as they say,
from head to foot, with that confidence which banishes all
anxieties and fears. He then more emphatically concludes,
that the children of God are not subject to an accusation,
because God justifies, than if he had said that Christ is our
advocate ; for he more fully expresses that the way to a trial
is more completely closed up when the judge himself pro-
nounces him wholly exempt from guilt, whom the accuser
would bring in as deserving of punishment. There is also a
similar reason for the second clause ; for he shows that the
faithful are very far from being involved in the danger of
condemnation, since Christ by expiating their sins has an-
324< COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 34.
ticipated the judg-meiit of God, and by his intercession not
only abolishes death, but also covers our sins in oblivion, so
tliat they come not to an account.
The drift of the wliole is, that we are not only freed from
terror by present remedies, but that God comes to our aid
beforehand, that he may better provide for our confidence.
But it must be here observed, as we have before reminded
you, that to be justified, according to Paul, is to be absolved
by the sentence of God, and to be counted just ; and it is
not difficult to prove this from the present passage, in whicli
he reasons by aifirming one thing which nullifies its opposite ;
for to absolve and to regard persons as guilty, are contrary
things. Hence God will allow no accusation against us, be-
cause he has absolved us from all sins. The devil no doubt
is an accuser of all the g'odly : the very law of God and
their own conscience convict them ; but all these prevail
nothing with the judge, who justifies them. Therefore no
adversary can shake or endanger our salvation.
Further, he so mentions the elect, as one who doubted not
but that he was of their number ; and he knew this, not by
special revelation, (as some sophists falsely imagine,) but by
a 23erception (sensu — feeling) common to all the godly. What
then is here said of the elect, every one of the godly, accord-
ing to the example of Paul, may apply to himself; for this
doctrine would have been not only frigid, but wholly lifeless,
had he buried election in the secret purpose of God. But
when we know, that there is here designedly set before us
what every one of the godly ought to appropriate to him-
self, there is no doubt but that we are all encouraged to ex-
amine our calling, so that we may become assured that we
are the children of God.
34. Who is he that condemns .^ &c. As no one by accusing
can prevail, when the judge absolves ; so there remains no
condemnation, when satisfaction is given to the laws, and
the penalty is already paid. Now Christ is he, who, having
once for all suffered the punishment due to us, thereby de-
clared that he undertook our cause, in order to deliver us :
he then who seeks hereafter to condemn us, must bring back
Christ himself to death again. But he has not only died,
CHAP. VIII. 34. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 825
but also came forth, by a resurrection, as the conqueror of
death, and triumphed over all its power.
He adds still more, — that he now sits at the nght hand
of the Father ; by which is meant, that he possesses domi-
nion over heaven and earth, and full power and rule over
all things, according to what is said in Eph. i. 20. He
teaches us also, that he thus sits, that he may be a perpe-
tual advocate and intercessor in securing our salvation. It
hence follows, that when any one seeks to condemn us, he
not only seeks to render void the death of Christ, but also
contends with that unequalled power with which the Father
has honoured him, and who with that power conferred on him
supreme authority. This so great an assurance, which dares
to triumph over the devil, death, sin, and the gates of hell,
ought to lodge deep in the hearts of all the godly ; for our
faith is nothing, except we feel assured that Christ is ours,
and that the Father is in him in'oj)itious to us. Nothing
then can be devised more pestilent and ruinous, than the
scholastic dogma respecting the uncertainty of salvation.
Who intercedes, &c. It was necessary expressly to add
this, lest the Divine majesty of Christ should terrify us.
Though, then, from his elevated throne he holds all things
in subjection under his feet, yet Paul represents him as a
Mediator ; whose presence it would be strange for us to
dread, since he not only kindly invites us to himself, but
also appears an intercessor for us before the Father. But
we must not measure this intercession by our carnal judg-
ment ; for we must not suppose that he humbly supplicates
the Father with bended knees and expanded hands ; but as
he appears continually, as one who died and rose again, and
as his death and resurrection stand in the place of eternal
intercession, and have the efficacy of a powerful prayer for
reconciling and rendering the Father propitious to us, he is
justly said to intercede for us.
35. Who shall separate us from .35. Quis nos dirimet' a dilectione ',
the love of Christ ? shall tribulation, Cliristi ? tribulatio, an angustia, an ' ^
1 " Dirimet — break us off," divide or part us ; x"?''^^' — set apart, sever, * »*
separate : t/;, " who," may be rendered, " what," as ''D in Hebrew. It is * t '
not put, it may be, in the neuter gender, because of the gender of the nouns • '
826 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 35.
or distress, or persecution, or famine, persequutio, an fames, an nuditas,
or nakedness, or peril, or sword? an periculum, an gladius ?
H6. As it is written, For tliy sake 36. Quemadmodum scriptum est,
we are killed all the day long ; we are Quod prt)pter te morimur quotidie,
accoimted as sheep for the slaughter, reputati sumus tanquam oves mac-
tationi destinatje :
37. Nay, in all these things we are 37. Sed in iis omnibus super-
more than conquerors, tlurough him vincimus per eum qui dilexit nos.
that loved us.
35. Who shall separate us, &c. The conviction of safety-
is now more widely extended, even to lower things ; for he
who is persuaded of God's kindness towards him, is able to
stand firm in the heaviest afflictions. These usually harass
men in no small degree, and for various reasons, — because
they interpret them as tokens of God's wrath, or think them-
selves to be forsaken by God, or see no end to them, or
neglect to meditate on a better life, or for other similar rea-
sons ; but when the mind is purged from such mistakes, it
becomes calm, and quietly rests. But the import of the
words is, — That whatever happens, we ought to stand firm
in this faith, — that God, who once in his love embraced us,
never ceases to care for us. For he does not simply say
that there is nothing which can tear God away from his love
to us ; but he means, that the knowledge and lively sense
of the love which he testifies to us is so vigorous in our
hearts, that it always shines in the darkness of afflictions:
for as clouds, though they obscure the clear brightness of
the sun, do not yet wholly deprive us of its light ; so God, in
adversities, sends forth through the darkness the rays of his
favour, lest temptations should overwhelm us with despair ;
nay, our faith, supported by God's promises as by wings,
makes its way upward to heaven through all the interven-
ing obstacles. It is indeed true, that adversities are tokens
of God's wrath, when viewed in themselves ; but when par-
don and reconciliation precede, we ought to be assured that
God, though he chastises us, yet never forgets his mercy : he
which follow. As the Hebrews use often the future for the potential mood,
so the case may be here — " What can separate us from the love of Christ ?
tribulation, or distress ?" &c. It ought also to be added, that the verb
" separate," is used to designate divorce or separation between man and his
wife. See Matt. xix. 6; 1 Cor. vii. 20, 11, 15.— Ed.
CHAP. VIII. 35. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 327
indeed thus reminds us of what we have deserved ; but he
no less testifies, that our salvation is an object of his care,
while he leads us to repentance.
But he calls it the love of Christ, and for this reason, —
because the Father has in a manner opened his compassions
to us in him. As then the love of God is not to be sought
out of Christ, Paul rightly directs to him our attention, so
that our faith may behold, in the rays of Christ's favour,
the serene countenance of the Father. The meaning is, —
that in no adversities ought our confidence to be shaken as
to this truth — that when Grod is propitious, nothing can be
adverse to us. Some take this love in a passive sense, for
that by whicli he is loved by us, as though Paul would have
us armed with invincible courage ;^ but this comment may
be easily disproved by the whole tenor of Paul's reasoning ;
and Paul himself M'ill presently remove all doubt by defining
more clearly what this love is.
Tribulation, or distress, or persecution .? &c. The pronoun
masculine which he used at the beginning of the verse, con-
tains a hidden power : for when he might have adopted the
neuter gender and said — " What shall separate us ?" &c., he
preferred ascribing personality to things without life, and
for this end, — that he might send forth with us into the
contest as many champions as there are of temptations to
try our faith.
* According to Poole, several of the Fathers entertained this opinion,
such as Origen, Chrysostom, T/ieodoret, and Ambrose : but even Hammond
and Grotiu's, great admirers of the Fathers, regard this love as that of
God or of Christ to us. Wolfius says, that all the Lutheran divines give
this exposition. It is indeed impossible rightly to view the whole passage
without seeing that this explanation is the true one. In verse 32, it is in-
contestably evident that God's love to us is what is spoken of: then in
verse 37, it is expressly said, " through him who loved us ;" and the last
verse seems sufficient to remove every possible doubt. The difficulty of
Barnes, in thinking it " not conceivable how afflictions should have any
tendency to alienate Christ's love from us," arises from a misconception :
for when we speak of not being separated from the love of Christ, the ob-
vious meaning is, that nothing can separate us from participating in the
effects of his love, that He, on accoimt of his love, will sustain us under
the greatest trials, and make " us more than conquerors." The substance
of what is here said, is contained in the last clause of verse 32, — " How
shall he not with him also freely give us all things ? " It was the assur-
ance of this truth that the Apostle obviously intended to convey. — Ed.
328 COMMENTARIES ON THP: CHAP. VIII. 36.
But these three things have this difference : tribulation
includes every kind of trouble or evil ; distress is an inward
feeling, when difficulties reduce us to such an extremity, so
that we know not wliat course to pursue. Such was the
anxiety of Abraham and of Lot, when one was constrained
to expose his wife to the danger of prostitution, and the
other, his daughters ; for being brought to straits and being
perplexed, they found no way of escape. Persecution pro-
perly denotes the tyrannical violence by which the children
of God were undeservedly harassed by the ungodl}^ Now
though Paul denies in 2 Cor. iv. 8, that tlie children of God
are reduced to straits, <TTevo')(jaipela-6ai, he does not yet dis-
agree with liimself; for he does not simply make them to
be exempt from anxious solicitude, hut he means that they
are delivered from it, as also the examples of Abraham and
Lot testify.
36. As it is written, &c. This testimony adds no small
weight to the subject ; for he intimates, that the dread of
death is so far from being a reason to us for falling away,
that it has been almost ever the lot of God's servants to have
death as it were present before their eyes. It is indeed pro-
bable, that in that Psalm the miserable oppression of the
people under the tyranny of Antiochus is described ; for it
is expressly said, that the worshippers of God were cruelly
treated, for no other reason hut through hatred to true reli-
gion. There is also added a remarkable protestation, that
they had not departed from the covenant of God ; wliich
Paul, I think, had especially in view. It is no objection
that the saints there complain of a calamity which then un-
usually pressed on them ; for since they show, that they
were oppressed with so many evils, having before testified
their innocence, an argument is hence fitly drawn, that it is
no new thing for the Lord to permit his saints to be unde-
servedly exjjosed to the cruelty of the ungodly. But this is
not done except for their good ; for the Scripture teaches
us, that it is alien to the righteousness of God to destroy the
just with the wicked, (Gen. xviii. 23) ; but that, on the con-
trary, it is meet for him to requite affliction to those who
afflict, and rest to those who are afflicted. (2 Thess. i. 6, 9.)
CHAP. VIII. o7. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 329
And then tliey affirm that they suffer for the Lord ; and
Christ pronounces them blessed who suffer for the sake of
righteousness. (Matt. v. 10.) By saying tliat they died daily,
they intimated that death was so suspended over them, that
their life differed but little from death.
37. We do more than conquer, &c. ; that is, we always
struo'o-le and emerge. I have retained the word used by
Paul/ though not commonly used by the Latins. It indeed
sometimes happens that the faithful seem to succumb and
to lie forlorn ; and thus the Lord not only tries, but also
humbles them. This issue is however given to them, — that
they obtain the victory.
That they might at the same time remember whence this
invincible power proceeds, he again repeats what he had
said before : for he not only teaches us that God, because
he loves us, supports us by his hand ; but he also confirms
the same truth by mentioning the love of Christ.'"^ And this
one sentence sufficiently proves, that the Apostle speaks not
here of the fervency of that love which we have towards
God, but of the paternal kindness of God and of Christ to-
wards us, the assurance of which, being thoroughly fixed in
our hearts, will always draw us from the gates of hell into
the light of life, and will sufficiently avail for our support,
1 " Supervincimus " — u^s^v/x^^sv; Beza's version is, " amplius quam
victores sumus ;" Macknhjht' s, " we do more than overcome;" Schleusner
gives this as one of his explanations, " plenissime vincimus — we most fully
overcome." Paul commonly uses i-rl^ in an enhansive sense ; so the ver-
sion may be, " we abundantly overcome," as though he said, " We have
strength given us which far exceeds the power of evils." Some say that
the faithful abundantly overcome, because they sustain no real loss, but like
silver in the furnace, they lose only their dross ; and not only so, but they
also carry, as it were from tlie field of battle, rich spoils — the fruits of holi-
ness and righteousness. Heb. xii. 10, 11. It is further said, that the
victory will be this, — that Christ, who has loved them, will raise them from
death and adorn them with that glory, with which all the evils of this life
are not worthy to be compared.
Beza says, " Not only we are not broken down by so many evils nor
despond, but we even glory in the cross." — Ed.
- " Per eum qui dilexit nos — ?<« tou aya'^rria-a.vros yif^a; — through him
who has loved vis." The aorist participle, says Wolfius, extends to
every time, " who has loved and loves and will love us." From the fact
that believers are overcome by no calamities, he draws the inference, that
God's love is constant and most effectual, so that he is present with the
distressed to give them courage, to strengthen their patience, and to mo-
derate their calamities. See 1 Pet. v. 10. — Ed.
330 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. VIII. 38.
38. For I am persuaded, that 38. Persuasus enim sum, quod ne-
neither death, nor life, nor angels, que mors, neque vita,i neque angeli,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor neque principatus, neque virtutes,
things present, nor things to come, neque prpesentia, neque futura,
39. Nor height, nor depth, nor 39. Neque altitudo, neque pro-
any other creature, shall be able to funditas, neque uUa alia creatura,
separate us from the love of God, poterit nos dirimere a charitate Dei,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. quae est in Christo lesu.
38. He is now carried away into hyperbolic expressions,
that he might confirm us more fully in those things which
are to be experienced. Whatever, he says, there is in life or
in death, which seems capable of tearing us away from God,
shall effect nothing ; nay, the very angels, were they to at-
tempt to overturn this foundation, shall do us no harm. It
is no objection, that angels are ministering spirits, appointed
for the salvation of the elect, (Heb. i. 14:) for Paul reasons
here on what is impossible, as he does in Gal. i. 8 ; and we
may hence observe, that all things ought to be deemed of no
worth, compared with the glory of God, since it is lawful to
dishonour even angels in vindicating his truth.^ Angels are
also meant by principalities and poivers,^ and they are so
called, because they are the primary instruments of the
Divine jjower: and these two words were added, that if the
word angels sounded too insignificant, something more
might be expressed. But you would, perhaps, prefer this
meaning, " Nor angels, and whatever powers tliere may be ;"
which is a mode of speaking that is used, when we refer to
things unknown to us, and exceeding our capacities.
Nor present things, nor future tilings, &c. Though he
' Neither death threatened by persecutors, nor life promised on recan-
tation.— Ed.
* Some of the Fathers, Jerome, Chrysostom,, &c., have taken the same
view, regarding the Apostle as speaking of good angels, as it were, hypo-
thetically, as in Gal. i. 8. But Grotius, and many others, consider evil
angels to be meant. Probably, angels, without any regard to what they
are, are intended. — Ed.
^ Grotius considers the Avords as being the abstract for the concrete,
Princes and Potentates; being called i^^x'^'^ as some think, as being the
first, the chief in authority, and 'hwafins. as having power. " By these
words," says Beza, " Paul is wont to designate the character of spirits, —
of the good in Eph. i. 21 ; Col. i. 16 ;— and of the bad in Eph. vi. 12 ; Col.
ii. 15." Hence the probability is, that the words designate different ranks
among angelic powers, without any reference to their character, whether
good or evil . — Ed.
CHAP. VIII. 38. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 331
speaks liyperbolically, yet he declares, that by no length of
time can it be effected, that we should be separated from the
Lord's favour: and it was needful to add this; for we have
not only to struggle with the sorrow which we feel from pre-
sent evils, but also with the fear and the anxiety with which
impending dangers may harass us.^ The meaning then is, —
that we ought not to fear, lest the continuance of evils, how-
ever long, should obliterate the faith of adoption.
This declaration is clearly against the schoolmen, who
idly talk and say, that no one is certain of final perseverance,
except through the gift of special revelation, which they
make to be very rare. By such a dogma the whole faith is
destroyed, which is certainly nothing, except it extends to
death and beyond death. But we, on the contrary, ought to
feel confident, that he who has begun in us a good work,
will carry it on until the day of the Lord Jesus.^
* " Neither the evils we now feel, nor those which may aAvait us," — Qro-
tius; rather, " Neither things which now exist, nor things which shall be."
—Ed.
2 The words, " neither height nor depth," are left unnoticed, v-^af^a,
^xSo;. The first, says Mede, means prosperity, and the latter, adversity.
Orotius regards what is meant as the height of honour, and the depth of
disgrace. " Neither heaven nor hell," say others ; "' neither heaven nor
earth," according to Schleusner. " Things in heaven and things on earth,"
is the explanation oiChrysostom. The first, v\Pufia, is only found here and
in 2 Cor. x. 5. Like DPD in Hebrew, it means what is high and elevated,
and may, like that, sometimes signify heaven : and (iti^o; is not earth, but
what is deeper ; it means a deep soil, Matt. xiii. 5, — the deep sea, Luke
v. 4, — and in the plural, things deep and inscrutable, 1 Cor. ii. 10 ; it may
therefore be very properly taken here for hell.
That the words are to be thus taken seems probable from the gradation
evident in the passage. In the first catalogue in verse 35, he mentions the
evils arising from this world, its trials and its persecutions, and those end-
ing in death. In the second, after repeating the utmost length to which
Avorldly persecutors can go, " death or life," he ascends the invisible world,
and mentions angels, then their combined powers, then the powers which
do and may exist, then both heaven and hell, and, that he might include
everything, except the uncreated God himself, he finishes with the words,
" nor any created thing."
The whole passage is sublime in an extraordinary degree. The contrast
is the grandest that can be conceived. Here is the Christian, all weakness
in himself, despised and trampled under foot by the world, triumphing
over all existing, and all possible, and even impossible evils and opposition,
having only this as his stay and support— that the God who has loved him,
will never cease to love, keep, and defend him ; yea, were everything
created, everything except God himself, leagued against him and attempt-
ing his ruin. — Ed.
332 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 1.
39. Which is in Christ, &e. That is, of whicli Christ is
the bond ; for he is the beloved Son, in whom the Father is
well pleased. If, then, we are through him united to God,
we may be assured of the immutable and unfailing kindness
of God towards us. He now speaks here more distinctly
than before, as he declares that the fountain of love is in the
Father, and affirms that it flows to us from Christ.
CHAPTER IX.
1. I say the truth in Christ, I lie 1. Veritatem dico in Christo, non
not, my conscience also bearing me mentior, testimonium simul niihi
■witness in the Holy Ghost, reddente mea conscientia cum Spiri-
tu sancto,
2. That I have great heaviness 2. Quod dolor sit mihi magnus, et
and continual sorrow in my heart. assiduus cruciatus cordi meo:
3. For I could wish that myself 3. Optarim enim ego ipse anathe-
"were accursed from Christ for my ma esse a Christo pro fratribus meis,
brethren, my kinsmen according to cognatis inquam meis secmidum car-
the flesh : nem ;
4. Who are Israelites ; to whom 4. Qui sunt Israelitfe, quorum est
pertaineth the adoption, and the adoptio, et gloria, et testamenta, et
glory, and the covenants, and the legislatio, et cultus, et promissiones ;
giving of the law, and the service of
God, and the promises ;
5. Whose are the fathers, and of 5. Quorum sunt Patres, et ex
whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ quibus est Christus secundum car-
came, who is over all, God blessed nem, qui est super omnia Deus bene-
for ever. Amen. dictus in secida. Amen.
In this chapter he begins to remove the oifences which
might have diverted the minds of men from Christ : for the
Jews, for whom he was appointed according to the covenant
of the law, not only rejected him, but regarded him with
contempt, and for the most part hated him. Hence one
of two things seemed to follow, — either that there was no
truth in the Divine jjromise, — or that Jesus, whom Paul
preached, was not the Lord's anointed, who had been espe-
cially promised to the Jews. This twofold knot Paul fully
unties in what follows. He, however, so handles this subject,
as to abstain from all bitterness against the Jews, that he
might not exasperate their minds ; and yet he concedes to
them nothing to the injury of the gospel ; for he allows to
them their privileges in such a way, as not to detract any-
CHAP. IX. 1. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 333
thing from Christ. But lie passes, as it were abruptly, to
the mention of this subject, so that there appears to be no
connection in the discourse.^ He, however, so enters on this
new subject, as though he had before referred to it. It so
happened in this way, — Having finished the doctrine he dis-
cussed, lie turned his attention to the Jews, and being as-
tonished at their unbelief as at something monstrous, he
burst forth into this sudden protestation, in the same way
as though it was a subject which he had previously handled;
for there was no one to whom this thought would not of it-
self immediately occur, — " If this be the doctrine of the law
and the Prophets, how comes it that the Jews so pertina-
ciously reject it V And further, it was everywhere known,
that all that he had hitherto spoken of the law of Moses,
and of the grace of Christ, was more disliked by the Jews,
than that the faith of the Gentiles should be assisted by their
consent. It was therefore necessary to remove this obstacle,
lest it should impede the course of the gospel.
1. The truth I say in Christ, &c. As it was an opinion
entertained by most that Paul was, as it were, a sworn
enemy to his own nation, and as it was suspected somewhat
even by the household of faith, as though he had taught
them to forsake Moses, he adopts a preface to prepare the
minds of his readers, before he proceeds to his subject, and
in this preface he frees himself from the false suspicion of
evil will towards the Jews. And as the matter was not un-
worthy of an oath, and as he perceived that his affirmation
would hardly be otherwise believed against a prejudice al-
ready entertained, he declares by an oath that he speaks the
^ The connection seems to be this : he had been speaking of the impos-
sibility of separating God's people from the protecting influence and pre-
serving power of his love ; he had clearly shown, that no divorce or separa-
tion can take place through any possible circumstances. Then the Jews
might say, " If this be true, then we are safe, we are still God's people."
Hence he proceeds to remove this objection, and in order to prepare their
mind to receive what he is going to say and to prove, he speaks first of his
deep concern for their welfare: and then he resumes the doctrine he
touched upon in verses 28, 29, and 3U of the former chapter, and illustrates
it by a reference to the past dealings of God with the Jews, and proves it
by passages from the ancient Prophets. He shows that God's people are
the called according to his purpose, and not all who wear the outward sym-
bol of his covenant. — Ed.
334 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 2.
truth. By this example and the like, (as I reminded you
in the first chapter,) we ought to learn that oaths are lawful,
that is, when they render that truth credible which is neces-
sary to be known, and which would not be otherwise believed.
The expression, In Christ, means "according to Christ.''^
By adding / He not, he signifies that he speaks without
fiction or disguise. My conscience testifying to me, &c. By
these words he calls his own conscience before the tribunal
of God, for he brings in the Spirit as a witness to his feeling.
He adduced the Spirit for this end, that he might more
fully testify that he was free and pure from an evil dispo-
sition, and that he pleaded the cause of Christ under the
guidance and direction of the Spirit of God. It often hap-
pens tliat a person, blinded by the passions of the flesh,
(though not purposing to deceive,) knowingly and wilfully
obscures the light of truth. But to swear by the name of
God, in a proper sense of the word, is to call him as a witness
for the purpose of confirming what is doubtful, and at the
same time to bind ourselves over to his judgment, in case
we say what is false.
2. That I have great sorrow, &c. He dexterously man-
ages so to cut short his sentence as not yet to express what
he was going to say ; for it was not as yet seasonable openly
to mention the destruction of the Jewish nation. It may
be added, that he thus intimates a greater measure of sorrow,
as imperfect sentences are for the most part full of pathos.
^ " Idem valet ac secundum Christum, — it is the same with According
to Christ ;" " Xtys/ Iv '^^iittm — I speak in Christ," that is, as a Christian ;
to be in Christ and to be a Christian is the same. This idea bears on the
import of the passage more than any other. It is as though he said,
" Though I am in Christ or a Christian, yet I tell you this as the truth or
the fact, and I have the testimony of conscience enlightened by the Spirit,
that I have great grief and unceasing sorrow on your account." The Jews
had the impression that the Apostle, having become the follower of Christ,
must have necessarily entertained hatred towards them, and must have
therefore felt no concern for them ; for this is really the case with all real
apostates, that is, with those who leave the truth for error, but not with
them who leave error for the truth. To obviate this impression seems to
have been the object here. How the idea of an oath comports with what
follows it is difficult to see. It is no argument to say that h here means
the same as in Matt. v. 34, where it follows the verb ''to swear." There
is a passage similar to this in Eph. iv. 17 ; but sv xv^ico there clearly signi-
fies "by the Lord's authority." We may add, that to swear by Christ
would have had no influence on the Jews. — Ed.
CHAP. IX. 3. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 335
But ho will })rescntly express the cause of his sorrow, after
having more fully testified his sincerity.
But the perdition of the Jews caused very great anguish
to Paul, though he knew that it happened through the
will and providence of God. We hence learn that the obe-
dience we render to God's providence does not prevent us
from grieving at the destruction of lost men, though we l<now
that they are thus doomed by the just judgment of God ;
for the same mind is capable of being influenced by these
two feelings : that when it looks to God it can willingly bear
the ruin of those whom he has decreed to destroy ; and that
when it turns its thoughts to men, it condoles with their
evils. They are then much deceived, who say that godly
men ought to have apathy and insensibility, {aTrddetav koI
dvaXyrjo-iav,) lest they should resist the decree of God.
8. For I could wish, &c. He could not have expressed a
greater ardour of love than by what he testifies here ; for
that is surely perfect love which refuses not to die for the
salvation of a friend. But there is another word added,
anathema, which proves that he speaks not only of temporal
but of eternal death ; and he explains its meaning when he
says, from Christ, for it signifies a separation. And what
is to be separated from Christ, but to be excluded from the
hope of salvation ? It was then a proof of the most ardent
love, that Paul hesitated not to wish for himself that con-
demnation which he saw impending over the Jews, in order
that he might deliver them. It is no objection that he knew
that his salvation was based on the election of God, which
could by no means fail ; for as those ardent feelings hurry
us on impetuously, so they see and regard nothing but the
object in view. So Paul did not connect God's election with
his wish, but the remembrance of that being passed by, he
was wholly intent on the salvation of the Jews.
Many indeed doubt whether this was a lawful desire ; but
this doubt may be thus removed : the settled boundary of
love is, that it proceeds as far as conscience permits ;^ if
» " Ut ad aras usque procedat." Amsworth gives a similar phrase and
explains its reason, " Usque ad aras amicus — As far as conscience permits,"
Gell., because in swearing they held the horns of the altar. — Ed.
336 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 8.
then we love in God and not without God's autliority, our
love can never be too much. And such was the love of Paul ;
for seeing- his own nation endued with so many of God's
benefits, he loved God's gifts in them, and them on account
of God's gifts ; and he deemed it a great evil that those
gifts should perish, hence it was that his mind being over-
whelmed, he burst forth into this extreme wish.^
' Most of those who take this view of the passage express the inipHed
condition more distinctly than is done here. They have regarded the
wish in this sense, " I could wish were it right or lawful." So thought
Chrysostom, Photius, Theophylact, Luther, Parens, Beza, Estim, Light-
foot, Witsius, Mede, Whitby,'a.nd others. The words of Photius are given
by Wolfius, " He says not, I wish to be separated, but I could wish, that
is were it possible — tiv^^of/.'/it «v, rovT^ 'kttiv, iI^uvo-tov yiv." IStuart wciA Hodge
adopt the same view. " It was a conditional wish," says Pareus, " like
that of Christ in Matt. xxvi. 39. Christ knew and Paid knew that it
could not be granted, and yet both expressed their strong desire." See
E.x. xxxii. 32.
Almost all critics agree that the Vulgate is wrong in rendering the
verb optabam — "I did wish," as though the Apostle referred to the time,
as Ambrose supposed, when he was a Pharisee; but this is wholly incon-
sistent with the tenor of the passage. Erasmus, Orotius, Beza, and most
others regard the verb as having an optative meaning ; av being under-
stood after it, as the case is with iSoyXs/^^v in Acts xxv. 22, and ^'^sXov in
Gal. iv. 20.
There are two other opinions which deserve notice. The first is, that
"anathema" here means excommunication, and that "from Christ" sig-
nifies from his Church, Christ the head being taken for his body the
Church, as in 1 Cor. xii. 12, and in Gal. iii. 27, according to the manner
of the Hebrews, as Grotius says, who called the wife by the name of the
husband. Is. iv. 1. This is the view taken by Hammond, Grotius, and
some of the Lutheran divines. But the word "anathema" has not in
Scripture this meaning, though in after-ages it had attained it both in the
Church and among the Rabbins. In the New Testament it occurs only
here and in Acts xxiii. 14 ; 1 Cor. xii. 3 : xvi. 22 ; and Gal. i. 8, 9 ; and
the verb avah/^aTiZa is found in Mark xiv. 71 ; Acts xxiii. 12, 14, 21 ; and
with xxTu prefixed in Matt. xxvi. 74. The corresponding word in Hebrew,
Din, rendered " anathema" by the Septuaghd, means two things : what
is separated for a holy purpose and wholly devoted to God, incapable of
being redeemed, Lev. xxvii. 28 ; and what is set apart and devoted to
death or destruction. Josh. vi. 17 ; Ezra x. 8. It never means excommu-
nication, but cutting off by death. Compare Ex. xxii. 20, and Deut. xiii.
1-11. It has hence been applied to designate a man that is execrable and
accursed, deserving death. So the Apostle uses it in 1 Cor. xvi. 22, and
Gal. i. 8, 9.
The other view is more in accordance with the meaning of the term.
It is thought that " anathema" means an ignominious death, and that of
one apparently separated from Christ ; or that he wished to be made " an
anathema" by Christ, or for the sake of Clirist, or after Christ, that is, his
example. The words a-jri too x^io-tov create all the difficiilty in this case.
This is the explanation given by Jerome, Locke, Limborch, Doddridge,
CHAP. IX. 3. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 337
Thus I consent not to tlie opinion of those who think that
Paul spoke these words from regard to God only, and not to
men ; nor do I agree with others, who say, that without any
thought of God, he was influenced only by love to men : but
I connect the love of men with a zeal for God's glory.
I have not, however, as yet explained that which is the
chief thing, — that the Jews are here regarded as they were
adorned with those singular tokens, by wliich they were dis-
tinguished from the rest of mankind. For God had by his
covenant so highly exalted them, that by their fall, the faith-
fulness and truth of God himself seemed also to fail in the
world : for that covenant would have thus become void, the
stability of which was promised to be perpetual, as long as
the sun and moon should shine in heaven. (Ps. Ixxii. 7.)
So that the abolition of this would have been more strange,
than the sad and ruinous confusion of the whole world. It
was not therefore a simple and exclusive regard for men : for
though it is better that one member should perish than the
whole body ; it was yet for this reason that Paul had such a
high regard for the Jews, because he viewed them as bearing
the character, and, as they commonly say, the quality of an
elect people ; and this will appear more evident, as we shall
soon see, from what follows.
The words, Tny kinsmen according to the fiesh, though they
contain nothing new, do yet serve much for amplification.
For first, lest any one should think that he willingly, or of
his own accord, sought cause of quarrel with the Jews, he
intimates, that he had not put oif the feeling of kindred, so
as not to be affected with the destruction of his own flesh.
And secondly, since it was necessary that the gospel, of
and Scott. The first meaning, however, as materially given by Calvin, is
the most obvious and natural.
Both Haldane and Chalmers follow the Vulgate, and put the clause in
a parenthesis, as expressing the Apostle's wish when unconverted ; but
there is altogether an incongruity in the terms he employs to express this
wish ; he siu-ely would not have said that he -wished to be separated from
Christ as an accursed thing, for that is the meaning of anathema ; for
while he was a Pharisee he deemed it a privilege and an honour even to
persecute Christ. And we cannot suppose that the Apostle would now
describe his former wish in terms unsuitable to what it really was, but as
he now regarded it. — Ed.
838 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 4.
which he was the preacher, should go forth from Sion, he
does not in vain pronounce an eulogy in so many words on
his own kindred. For the qualifying expression, according
to the flesh, is not in my view added for the sake of extenu-
ation, as in other places, but, on the contrary, for the sake of
expi'essing his faith : for though the Jews had disowned
Paul, he yet concealed not the fact, that he had sprung from
that nation, the election of whom was still strong in the root,
though the branches had withered. What Budceus says of the
word anathema, is inconsistent with the opinion of Chrysos-
toni, who makes dvd6efj,a and dvcidrj/xa, to be the same.
4. Who are Israelites, &c. Here the reason is now more
plainly given, why the destruction of that people caused him
so much anguish, that he was prepared to redeem them by
his own death, namely, because they were Israelites ; for the
relative pronoun is put here instead of a causative adverb.
In like manner this anxiety took hold on Moses, when he
desired that he should be blotted out of the book of life,
rather than that the holy and chosen race of Abraham should
be reduced to nothing. (Ex. xxxii. 32.) Then in addition
to his kind feeling, he mentions also other reasons, and tliose
of a higher kind, which made him to favour the Jews, even
because the Lord had, as it were, by a kind of privilege, so
raised them, that they were separated from the common
order of men : and these titles of dignity were testimonies
of love ; for we are not wont to speak thus favourably, but
of those whom we love. And though by their ingratitude
they rendered themselves unworthy to be esteemed on ac-
count of these gifts of God, yet Paul continued justly to
resjject them, that he might teach us that the ungodly can-
not so contaminate the good endowments of God, but that
they always deserve to be praised and admired : at the same
time, those who abuse them acquire thereby nothing but a
greater obloquy. But as we are not to act in such a manner
as to contemn, through a detestation of the ungodly, the
gifts of God in them ; so, on the other hand, we must use
prudence, lest by our kind esteem and regard for them we
make them proud, and especially lest our praises bear the
appearance of flattery. But let us imitate Paul, who eon-
CHAP. IX. 4. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 339
ceded to the Jews their privileges in such a manner, that lie
afterwards declared that they were all of no worth without
Christ. But it was not in vain that he mentioned this as
one of their praises, — that they were Israelites ; for Jacob
prayed for this as a groat favour, that they should be called
by his name. (Gen. xlviii. IG.)
Whose are the adoption, &c. The whole drift of Paul's
discourse is to this purpose, — that though the Jews by their
defection had produced an ungodly divorce between God
and themselves, yet the liglit of God's favour was not wholly
extingtiished, according to what he had also said in ch. iii. 3.
They had indeed become unbelievers and had broken his
covenant ; but still their perfidy had not rendered void the
faithfulness of God ; for he had not only reserved for him-
self some remnant seed from thie whole multitude, but had
as yet continued, according to their hereditary right, the
name of a Church among them.
But though they had already stripped tliemselves of these
ornaments, so that it availed them nothing to be called the
children of Abraham, yet as there was a danger, lest through
tlieir fault the majesty of the gospel should be depreciated
among the Gentiles, Paul does not regard what they deserved,
but covers their baseness and disgraceful conduct by throw-
ing vails over them, until the Gentiles were fully persuaded,
that the gospel had flowed to them from the celestial foun-
tain, from the sanctuary of God, from an elect nation. For
the Lord, passing by other nations, had selected them as a
people peculiar to himself, and had adoj^ted them as his
children, as he often testifies by Moses and the prophets ;
and not content simply to give them the name of children,
he calls them sometimes his first-begotten, and sometimes
his beloved. So the Lord says in Ex. iv. 22, — " My first-
begotten son is Israel ; let my son go, that he may serve
me." In Jer. xxxi. 9, it is said, " I am become a Father
to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-begotten :" and again,
" Is not my son Ephraim precious to me ? Is he not a de-
lightful child ? Hence troubled for him are my bowels, and
I will yet pity him." By these words he means, not only to
set forth his kindness towards the people of Israel, but
S4-0 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP IX. 4.
rather to exhibit the efficacy of adoption, through which the
promise of the celestial inheritance is conveyed.
Glory means the excellency into which the Lord had
raised up that people above all other nations, and that in
many and various ways, and especially by dwelling in the
midst of them ; for besides many other tokens of his pre-
sence, he exhibited a singular proof of it in the ark, where
he gave responses, and also heard his people, that he might
show forth his power in helping them : and for this reason
it was called " the glory of God." (1 Sam. iv. 22.)^
As he has distinguished here between covenants^ and pro-
mises, we may observe this difference, — that a covenant is
that which is expressed in distinct and accustomed words, and
contains a mutual stipulation, as that which was made with
Abraham ; but promises are what we meet with everywhere in
Scripture ; for when God had once made a covenant with liis
ancient people, he continued to oifer, often by new promises,
his favour to them. It hence follows, that promises are to
be traced up to the covenant as to their true source ; in the
same manner as the special helps of God, by which he testi-
fies his love towards the faithful, may be said to flow from
the true fountain of election. And as the law was nothing
more than a renewal of the covenant, and more fully sanc-
tioned the remembrance of it, legislation, or the giving of
the law, seems to be here peculiarly applied to the things
which the law decreed : for it was no common honour con-
ferred on the Jewish people, that they had God as their
lawgiver. For if some gloried in their Solon s and Lycur-
' Vitringa thinks that " the glory" was the pillar of fire and the cloud
in the wilderness: but Beza, Orotiiis, and Hammond agree with Calvin,
that the ark is meant. See Ps. Ixxviii. 61. It seems to refer to those
manifestations made in the tabernacle, and afterwards in the temple, by
peculiar brightness or splendour. See Ex. xl. 34; and 1 Kings viii. 11.
This splendour or glory signified God's presence, a privilege peculiar to the
Israelites. — Ed.
^ Why he mentions " covenants," «' ^la^^xxt, in the plural number, has
been variously accounted for, — " there were A^arious things included — the
land of Canaan, prosperity, and the priesthood, — there were three laws —
the moral, ceremonial, and judicial, — there were several repetitions of the
covenant made to the patriarchs:" but if we read Gal. iii. 17, we shall
see the true reason, for the Apostle there makes a distinct difference be-
tween the Abrahamic and the Mosaic covenant ; but both these belonged
to the Jews. See also Eph. ii. 12. — Ed.
CHAP. IX. 5. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 341
guses, how mucli more reason was there to glory in the
Lord ? of this vou have an account in Dcut. iv. 32. By
worship he understands that part of the hiw in which the
legitimate manner of worshipping God is prescribed, such as
rites and ceremonies. These ouglit to have been deemed
lawful on account of God's appointment ; without which,
whatever men devise is nothing but a profanation of re-
ligion.
5. Whose are the fathers, &c. It is indeed of some im-
portance to be descended from saints and men beloved of
God, since God promised to the godly fathers mercy with
regard to their children, even to thousand generations, and
especially in the words addressed to Abraham, Isaac, and
Jacob, as we find in Gen. xvii. 4, and in other passages. It
matters not, that this by itself, when separated from the fear
of God and holiness of life, is vain and useless : for we find
the same to have been the case as to worship and glory, as
it is evident everywhere in the prophets, especially in Is. i.
11 ; Ix. 1 ; and also in Jer. vii. 4. But as God dignified
these things, when joined with attention to godliness, with
some degree of honour, he justly enumerated them among
the privileges of the Jews. They are indeed said to be the
heirs of the promises for this very reason, — because they de-
scended from the fathers. (Acts iii. 25.)
From whom is Christ, &c. They who apply this to the
fathers, as though Paul meant only to say that Christ had
descended from the fathers, have no reason to allege : for
his object was to close his account of the pre-eminence of
the Jews by this encomium, — that Christ proceeded from
them ; for it was not a thing to be lightly esteemed, to
have been united by a natural relationship with the Re-
deemer of the world ; for if he had honoured the whole
human race, in joining himself to us by a community of
nature, much more did he honour them, with whom he had
a closer bond of union. It must at the same time be always
maintained, that when this favour of being allied by kin-
dred is unconnected with godliness, it is so far from being
an advantage, that on the contrary it leads to a greater con-
demnation.
342 COMMENTARIES UN THE CHAP. IX. 5,
But we have here a remarkable passage, — that in Christ
two natures are in such a manner distinguished, that they
are at the same time united in the very person of Christ :
for by saying that Christ had descended from the Jews, he
dechired his real humanity. The words according to the
flesh, which are added, imply that he had something superior
to flesh ; and here seems to be an evident distinction made
between humanity and divinity. But he at last connects
both together, where he says, that the Christ, who had de-
scended from the Jews according to tlie flesh, is God blessed
for ever.
"We must further observe, that this ascription of praise be-
longs to none but only to the true and eternal God ; for he de-
clares in another place, (1 Tim. i. 17,) that it is the true God
alone to whom honour and glory are due. They who break
ofi" this clause from the previous context, that they may take
away from Christ so clear a testimony to his divinity, most
presumptuously attempt to introduce darkness in the midst of
the clearest light ; for the words most evidently mean this,
— Christ, who is from the Jews according to the flesh, is God
blessed for ever} And I doubt not, but that Paul, who had
1 Stuart has in a most convincing manner vindicated the true and obvi-
ous meaning of this clause. There is no reading of any authority, nor any
early version, that affects the genuineness of the received text : and it is
amazing what ingenuity has been exercised by various critics to evade the
plain construction of the passage, — a remarkable instance of the debasing
power of preconceived notions. It is somewhat singular too, that some
who professed at least the doctrine of Christ's divinity, such as Erasmus,
Whitby, and Locke, have attempted to make changes in the text, and those
for the most part conjectural, by wlaich the obvious meaning is wholly
altered.
It is very clearly shown by Stuart, that the very position of the words,
and their connection with the context, will admit of no other construction
than that which our version contains.
It is well known, that in Hebrew the word " blessed " is always placed
before " God," or Jehovah, when it is an ascription of praise ; and it ap-
pears that the Septuagint has in more than thirty instances followed the
same order, and, indeed, in every instance except one, (Ps. Ixvii. 19,) and
that evidently a typographical mistake. The same is the case with all
the examples in the New Testament. So that if the phrase here was
a doxology, it must have been written ilxoyr,TOi o ^los. In the Welsh
language, which in many of its idioms is identically the same with the
Hebrew, the order of the words is the same : when it is a doxology, the
word " blessed " invariably precedes the word '• God ;" and when other-
wise it follows it.
The opinion of Chrysoatom on this sentence, to which Erasvitis attaches
CHAP. IX. 6. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 343
to contend hard with a reproach urged against him, did de-
signedly raise up his own mind to the contemplation of the
eternal glory of Christ; nor did he do this so much for his
own sake individually, as for the purpose of encouraging-
others hy his example to raise up their thoughts.
6. Not as though the word of God 6. Neque tamen, quasi exciderit
hath taken none effect. For they are verbum Dei: non enim onines qui
not all Israel which are of Israel : sunt ex Israele sunt Israelitae :
7. Neither, because they are the 7. Nee qui sunt semen Abraham,
seed of Abraham, are they all chil- ideo omnes liUi ; sed in Isaac voca-
dren : but, In Isaac shall thy seed bitur tibi semen :
be called ;
8. That is. They which are the 8. Hoc est, non qui sunt filii car-
children of the flesh, these are not nis, ii filii sunt Dei ; sed qui sunt
the children of God : but the chil- filii promissionis, censebuntiu- in
dren of the promise are counted for semen :
the seed.
9. For this is the word of promise, 9. Promissionis enim verbum hoc
At this time wiU I come, and Sarah est, Secundum hoc tempus veniam,
shall have a son. et erit Sarse filius.
6. Not however, &c. Paul had been carried away by the
ardour of his wish, as it were, into an excess of feeling, {in
ecstasin,) but now, returning to discharge his office as a
teacher, he adds what may be viewed as somewhat qualifying
what he had said, as though he would restrain immoderate
grief. And inasmuch as by deploring the ruin of his own
nation, this inconsistency seems to follow, that the covenant
made by God with the seed of Abraham had failed, (for the
favour of God could not have been wanting to the Israelites
without the covenant being abolished,) he reasonably anti-
cipates this inconsistency, and shows, that notwithstanding
the great blindness of the Jews, the favour of God continued
still to that people, so that the truth of the covenant re-
mained firm.
some importance, is of no value whatever, as he did not understand Hebrew:
and Paul, for the most part, wrote as a Hebraist.
The participle av, being put for IfTi, is what is common in Hebrew and
in the New Testament. See a remarkable instance of two participles and
a verb in the middle, in Rev. i. 4. It has been said, that " amen " im-
suitably follows a declarative sentence; but see an instance in ch. i. 25.
It is justly observed by Stuart, that the context requires the application
of this sentence to Christ, as otherwise there would be no antithesis to the
words " according to the flesh." — Ed.
344 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 6.
Some read, " But it is not possible," &c., as though it were
in Greek olov re ;^ but as I find this reading in no copy, I
adopt the common reading. Not hoivever that it had failed,
&c., and according to this sense, " That I deplore the de-
struction of my nation is not because I think the promise,
given formerly by God to Abraham, is now void or abolished.'"'
For not all, &c. The statement is, — that the promise was
so given to Abraham and to his seed, that the inheritance
did not belong to every seed without distinction ; it hence
follows that the defection of some does not prove that the
covenant does not remain firm and valid.
But that it may be more evident on what condition the
Lord adopted the posterity of Abraham as a peculiar people
to himself, two things are to be here considered. The first
is, That the promise of salvation given to Abraham belongs
to all who can trace their natural descent to him ; for it is
offered to all without exception, and for this reason they are
rightly called the heirs of the covenant made with Abraham ;
and in this respect they are his successors, or, as Scripture
calls them, the children of the promise. For since it was
the Lord's will that his covenant should be sealed, no less
in Ishmael and Esau, than in Isaac and Jacob, it appears
that they were not wholly alienated from him ; excejat, it
may be, you make no account of the circumcision, which
was conferred on them by God's command ; but it cannot be
so regarded without dishonour to God. But this belonged
to them, according to what the Apostle had said before,
" whose are the covenants," though they were unbelieving ;
and in Acts iii. 25, they are called by Peter, the children of
the covenants, because they were the descendants of the
Prophets. The second point to be considered is. That the
children of the promise are strictly those in whom its power
and effect are found. On this account Paul denies here
that all the children of Abraham were the children of God,
though a covenant had been made with them by the Lord,
* Were this the case, the verb which follows, as Woljius says and proves
by an example, must have been in the infinitive mood. Piscator says the
same. But Parens and Beza take this to be the meaning ; and so does
Macknight, " Now it is not possible that the promise of God hath fallen."
—Ed.
CHAP. IX. 7. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 345
for few continued in the faith of the covenant ; and yet God
himself testifies, in the sixth chapter of Ezekiel, that they
were all regarded by him as children. In short, when a
whole people are called the heritage and the peculiar people
of God, what is meant is, that they have been chosen by the
Lord, the j^romise of salvation having been offered them and
confirmed by the symbol of circumcision ; but as many by
their ingratitude reject this adoption, and thus enjoy in no
degree its benefits, there arises among them another differ-
ence with regard to the fulfilment of the promise. That it
might not then appear strange to any one, that this fulfil-
ment of the promise was not evident in many of the Jews,
Paul denies that they were included in the true election of
God.
Some may prefer such a statement as this, — " The general
election of the people of Israel is no hinderance, that God
should not from them choose by his hidden counsel those
whom he pleases." It is indeed an illustiious example of
gratuitous mercy, when God deigns to make a covenant of
life with a nation : but his hidden favour appears more evi-
dent in that second election, which is confined to a part
only.
But when he says, that all who are of Israel are not
Israelites, and that all who are of the seed of Abraham are
not children, it is a kind of change in the meaning of words,
{TrapovofiacrLo) ; for in the first clause he includes the whole
race, in the second he refers only to true sons, who were
not become degenerated.
7. But, " In Isaac shall thy seed be called." Paul men-
tions this, to show that the hidden election of God overrules
the outward calling, and that it is yet by no means incon-
sistent with it, but, on the contrary, that it tends to its con-
firmation and completion. That he might then in due order
prove both, he in the first place assumes, that the election
of God is not tied to the natural descendants of Abraham,
and that it is not a thing that is included in the conditions
of the covenant : and this is what he now confirms by a most
suitable example. For if there ought to have been any
natural progeny, which fell not away from the covenant;
346 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 9.
this ought to have been especially the case with tliose who
obtained the privilege at first : but-^vhen we find, that of the
first sons of Abraham, while he was yet alive, and the pro-
mise new, one of them was separated as the seed, how much
more might the same thing have taken place in his distant
posterity ? Now this testimony is taken from Gen. xvii. 20,
where the Lord gives an answer to Abraham, that he had
heard his prayer for Ishmael, but that there would be an-
other on whom the promised blessing would rest. It hence
follows, that some men are by special privilege elected out
of the chosen people, in whom the common adoption beconies
efficacious and valid.
8. That is, They are not, &c. He now gathers from God's
answer a projaosition, which includes the whole of what he
had in view. For if Isaac, and not Ishmael, was the seed,
though the one as well as the other was Abraham's son, it
must be that all natural sons are not to be regarded as the
seed, but that the promise is specially fulfilled only in some,
and that it does not belong commonly and equally to all.
He calls those the children of the fiesh, who have nothing-
superior to a natural descent ; as they are the children of the
promise, avIio are pecviliarly selected by the Lord.
9. For the word of lyromise is this, &c. He adds another
divine testimony ; and v^e see, by the application made of it,
with what care and skill he explains Scripture. When he
says, the Lord said that he would come, and that a son
would be born to Abraham of Sarah, he intimated that his
blessing was not yet conferred, but that it was as yet sus-
pended.^ But Ishmael was already born when this was
^ Gen. xviii. 10. The quotation is not from the Septuagint, but is
much nearer a literal version of the Hebrew : the only material ditference
is in the words, " at this time," instead of " according to the time of life."
The words in different forms occwx four times, — Gen. xvii. 21 ; xviii, 10, 14 ;
xxi. 2 ; we meet with the same words in 2 Kings iv. 16, 17. It appears that
the Apostle here took this expression, " at this time," from Gen. xvii. 21,
while he mainly followed the text in Gen. xviii, 10. The meaning of the
phrase, " according to the time of life," as given in Genesis and in Kings,
evidently is the time of child-bearing, what passes between conception and
the birth. This was repeatedly mentioned in order to show that the usual
course of nature would be followed, though the conception would be mira-
cidous ; the child to be born was to be nourished the usual time in the
womb, — " according to the time of producing life," or of child-bearing.
CHAP. IX. 10. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 847
said : then GocVs blessing had no regard to Ishmacl. We
may also observe, by the way, the great caution with which
he proceeds here, lest he should exasi)crate the Jews. The
cause being passed over, he first simply states the fact ; he
will hereafter oj)en the fountain.
10. And not only this; but when 10. Non solum autem hie, sed et
Rebecca also had conceived by one, Rebecca, quie ex uno conceperat,
even by our father Isaac, patre nostro Isaac :
11. (For the children being not 11. Quum enim nondum nati es-
yet born, neither having done any sent pueri, nee quidpiam boni aut
good or evil, that the purpose of mali egissent, ut secundum electio-
God according to election might nem propositum Dei maneret,
stand, not of works, but of him that
calleth,)
12. It was said unto her. The 12. Non ex operibus, sed ex vo-
elder shall serve the younger. cante, dictum est ei, Major serviet
minori ;
13. As it is written, Jacob have I 13. (iuemadmodum scriptum est,
loved, but Esau have I hated. Jacob dilexi, Esau autem odio habui.
10. And not only, &c. There are in this chapter some
broken sentences, such as this is, — But Rebecca also, tvho had
conceived hy one, our father Isaac ; for he leaves off' in the
middle, before he comes to the principal verb. The mean-
ing, however, is, that the difference as to the possession of
the promise may not only be seen in the children of Abraham,
but that there is a much more evident example in Jacob
and Esau : for in the former instance some might allege that
their condition was unequal, the one being the son of an
handmaid ; but these were of the same mother, and were
even twins : yet one was rejected, and the other was chosen
by the Lord. It is hence clear, that the fulfilment of the
promise does not take place in all the children of the flesh
indiscriminately.
And as Paul refers to the persons to wdiom God made
known his j^urpose, I prefer to regard a masculine pronoun
to be understood, rather than a neuter, as Erasmus has
done: for the meaning is, that God's special election had
The exposition of Gesenius, adopted by Thohick and Stuart, " when the
time shall be renewed," does not comport with the passage, as it introduces
a tautology. Hammond says, that the Hebrews interpret the expression
in Kings as meaning the time between the conception and the birth. — Ed.
348 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 11.
not been revealed only to Abraham, but also to Rebecca,
when she brought forth her twins.^
11. For when the children, &c. He now begins to ascend
higher, even to show the cause of this difference, which he
teaches us is nowhere else to be found except in the election
of God. He had indeed before briefly noticed, that there
was a difference between the natural children of Abraham,
that though all were adopted by circumcision into a partici-
pation of the covenant, yet the grace of God was not efi'ect-
ual in them all ; and hence that they, who enjoy the favour
of God, are the children of the promise. But how it thus
happened, he has been either silent or has obscurely hinted.
Now indeed he openly ascribes the whole cause to the elec-
tion of God, and that gratuitous, and in no Avay depending
on men ; so that in the salvation of the godly nothing higher
(nihil superius) must be sought than the goodness of God,
1 Here is a striking instance of a difficulty as to the construction, while
the meaning of the whole passage is quite evident. The ellipsis has been
variously supplied : " and not only this," i.e., what I have stated ; " and not
only he," i.e., Abraham to whom the first communication was made ; " and
not only she," i.e., Sarah, mentioned in the preceding verse ; " but Re-
becca also is another instance." But it may be thus supplied, — " and not
only so," i.e., as to the word of promise ; " but Rebecca also had a loord,"
or a message conveyed to her. That the verse has a distinct meaning in
itself is evident, for the next begins with a yaj, " for ;" and to include the
11th verse in a parenthesis, seems by no means satisfactory. The three
verses may be thus rendered, —
10. And not only so, but Rebecca also received a message, when she
conceived by the first, (i.e., son or seed,) even our father Isaac :
11. for they being not yet born, and having not done any good or evil,
that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not
12. through works, but through him who calls, it was said to her, " The
elder shall serve the younger."
The words il i^h, rendered commonly " by one," have never been satis-
factorily accounted for. It seems to be an instance of Hebraism ; the
word tHs, " one," means also " first." We have other instances of this
in the New Testament ; s's /^lav t»v o-aSSeiTaf — " on the first (i.e., day) of
the week," Matt, xxviii. 1 ; see also Mark xvi. 2; John xx. 19. " The
first day" in Gen. i. 5, is rendered by the Septuagint, V^?« /^'«- Isaac was
the first son or seed of promise : and a difference was made in the children
of the very first seed. But this meaning of th is said by Schleusner to be
sanctioned by Greek Avriters, such as Herodotus and TJiucydides. There
is no necessity of introducing the word " children," at the beginning of
verse 11 ; the antecedent in this case, as it sometimes happens, comes
after the pronoun ; and it is the " elder " and " younger " at the end of
verse 12. — Ed.
CHAP. IX. 11. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 349
and nothing higher in the perdition of tlie reprobate than
his just severity.
Then the first proposition is, — " As the blessing of the
covenant separates the Israelitic nation from all other people,
so the election of God makes a distinction between men in
that nation, while he predestinates some to salvation, and
others to eternal condemnation." The second proposition
is, — " There is no other basis for this election than the good-
ness of God alone, and also since the fall of Adam, his
mei'cy ; which embraces whom he pleases, without any re-
gard whatever to their works." The third is, — " The Lord
in his gratuitous election is free and exempt from the neces-
sity of imparting equally the same grace to all ; but, on the
contrary, he passes by whom he wills, and whom he wills he
chooses." All these things Paul briefly includes in one sen-
tence : he then goes on to other things.
Moreover, by these words, When the children had not yet
been born, nor had done any good or evil, he shows, that God
in making a difference could not have had any regard to
works, for they were not yet done. Now they who argue on
the other side, and say, that this is no reason why the elec-
tion of God should not make a difference between men ac-
cording to the merits of works, for God foresees who those
are who by future works would be worthy or unworthy of
his grace, are not more clear-sighted than Paul, but stumble
at a principle in theology, which ought to be well known to
all Christians, namely, that God can see nothing in the cor-
rupt nature of man, such as was in Esau and Jacob, to in-
duce him to manifest his favour. When therefore he says,
that neither of them had then done any good or evil, what he
took as granted must also be added, — that they were both
tlie children of Adam, by nature sinful, and endued with no
particle of righteousness.
I do not dwell thus long on explaining these things, be-
cause the meaning of the Apostle is obscure ; but as the So-
phists, being not content with his plain sense, endeavour to
evade it by frivolous distinctions, I wished to show, that
Paul was by no means ignorant of those things which they
allege.
SoO COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 11.
It may furtlier "be said, that though tliat corrui^tion alone,
which is diiFused through the whole race of man, is sufficient,
before it breaks out, as they say, into action, for condemna-
tion, and hence it follows, that Esau was justly rejected, for
he was naturally a child of wrath, it was yet necessary, lest
any doubt should remain, as though his condition became
worse through any vice or fault, that sins no less than virtues
should be excluded. It is indeed true, that the proximate
cause of reprobation is the curse we all inherit from Adam ;
yet, that we may learn to acquiesce in the bare and simple
good pleasure of God, Paul withdraws us from this view, un-
til he has established this doctrine,- — That God has a suffi-
ciently just reason for electing and for reprobating, in his
own will.^
That the purpose of God according to election, &c. He
speaks of the gratuitous election of God almost in every in-
stance. If works had any place, he ought to have said, —
" That his reward might stand through works ;" but he men-
tions the purpose of God, which is included, so to speak, in
his own good pleasure alone. And that no ground of dis-
pute might remain on the subject, he has removed all doubt
by adding another clause, according to election, and then a
third, not through works, hut through him who calls. Let us
now then apply our minds more closely to this passage :
Since the purpose of God according to election is established
1 Arclibishop Usher asks this question, " Did God, before he made man,
determine to save some and reject others ?" To this he gives this answer,
— '• Yes, surely ; before they had done either good or evil, God in his eter-
nal counsel set them apart." It is the same sentiment that is announced
here by Calvin. But to deduce it from what is said of Jacob and Esau,
does not seem legitimate, inasmuch as they were in a fallen condition
by nature, and the reference is evidently made to anything done person-
ally by themselves. Electioii and reprobation most clearly presuppose
man as fallen and lost : it is hence indeed, that the words derive their
meaning. That it was God's eternal purpose to choose some of man's
fallen race, and to leave others to perish, is clearly taught us : but this is
a different question from the one touched upon here, — that this purpose
I was irrespective of man's fall, — a sentiment which, as far as I can see, is
not recognised nor taught in Scripture. And not only Calvin,^ but many
other divines, both before and after him, seem to have gone in this re-
spect somewhat beyond the limits of revelation ; it is true, by a process of
reasoning apparently obvious ; but when we begin to reason on this high
and mysterious subject, we become soon bewildered and lost in mazes of
difficulties. — Ed.
CHAP. IX. 12. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 351
in this way, — that before the brothers were born, and had
done either good or evil, one was rejected and the other
chosen ; it hence follows, that when any one ascribes the cause
of the difference to their works, he thereby subverts the pur-
pose of God. Now, by adding, not through works, hut thy^ough
him xuho calls, he means, not on account of works, but of the
calling only ; for he wishes to exclude works altogether. We
have then the whole stability of our election inclosed in the
purpose of God alone : here merits avail nothing, as they
issue in nothing but death ; no worthiness is regarded, for
there is none ; but the goodness of God reigns alone. False
then is the dogma, and contrary to God's word, — that God \
elects or rejects, as he foresees each to be worthy or un-
worthy of his favour.^
12. The elder shall serve the younger. See how the Lord
makes a difference between the sons of Isaac, while they
were as yet in their mother's womb ; for this was the hea-
^ Nothing can be conceived more conclusive in argument than what is
contained here. The idea of foreseen works, as the reason or the ground of
election, is wholly excluded. The choice is expressly denied to be on ac-
count of any works, and is as expressly ascribed to the sovereign will of
Gt)d.
•' He does not oppose works to faith, bvit to him who calls, or to the
railing, which precedes faith, that is, to that calhng which is according to
God's purpose. Paul means, that the difference between Jacob and Esau
was made tlirough the sole will and pleasure of God, not through their
wills or works, existing or foreseen." — Pali. Si/n.
Yet some of the Fathers, as Chrysostom and Theodoret, as well as some
modern divines, ascribe election to foreseen works. How this is reconcil-
able with the argument of the Apostle, and with the instances he adduces,
it is indeed a very hard matter to see. One way by which the Apostle's
argument is evaded, is, that the election here is to temporal and outward
privileges. Be it so : let this be granted ; but it is adduced by the Apostle
as an illustration — and of what ? most clearly of spiritual and eternal elec-
tion. He refers both to the same principle, to the free choice of God, and
not to anything in man. " God foresaw the disposition of each." — Theo-
doret and Chrysostom. " His election corresponds with the foreseen dis-
position of men." — Theodoret, " It was done by the prescience of God,
whereby he knew while yet unborn, what each would be." — Augustine.
These are quotations made by a modern writer (Bosanquet) with appro-
bation : but sm'ely nothing could be suggested more directly contrary to
the statements and the argument of the Apostle. There is a mistake, I
apprehend, as to the last quotation : perhaps similar to that made in quot-
ing Augustine on the latter part of the 7th chapter of this Epistle, where
the writer quotes a sentiment of Augustine, which he afterwards retracted,
a thing which has been often done by the advocates of Popery, but by no
means becoming a Protestant. — Ed.
352 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 13.
venly answer, by which it appeared that God designed to
show to the younger peculiar favour, which he denied to the
ekler. Though this indeed had reference to the right of
primogeniture, yet in this, as the symbol of something-
greater, was manifested the will of God : and that this was
the case we may easily perceive, when we consider what
little benefit, according to the flesh, Jacob derived from his
primogeniture. For he was, on its account, exposed to great
danger ; and to avoid this danger, he was obliged to quit his
home and his country, and was unkindly treated in his exile :
when he returned, he tremblingly, and in doubt of his life,
prostrated himself at the feet of his brother, humbly asked
forgiveness for his ofl'ence, and lived through the indulgence
shown to him. Where was his dominion over his brother,
from whom he was constrained to seek by entreaty his life ?
There was then something greater than the primogeniture
promised in the answer given by the Lord.
13. As it is written, Jacob I loved, &c. He confirms, by
a still stronger testimony, how much the heavenly answer,
given to Rebecca, availed to his present purpose, that is,
that the spiritual condition of both was intimated by the
dominion of Jacob and servitude of Esau, and also that
Jacob obtained this favour through the kindness of God,
and not through his own merit. Then this testimony of the
prophet shows the reason why the Lord conferred on Jacob
the primogeniture : and it is taken from the first chapter of
Malachi, where the Lord, reproaching the Jews for their in-
gratitude, mentions his former kindness to them, — " I have
loved you," he saj's ; and then he refers to the origin of his
love, — " Was not Esau the brother of Jacob ?" as though he
said, — " What privilege had he, that I should prefer him to
his brother ? None whatever. It was indeed an equal right,
except that, by the law of nature the younger ought to have
served the elder ; I yet chose the one, and rejected the
other ; and I was thus led by my mercy alone, and by no
worthiness as to works. I therefore chose you for my people,
that I might show the same kindness to the seed of Jacob ;
but I rejected the Edomites, the progeny of Esau. Ye are
then so much the worse, inasmuch as the remembrance of so
CHAP. IX. 14. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 853
great a favour cannot stimulate you to adore my majesty."^
Now, thougli earthly blessings are tliere recorded, whicli
God had conferred on the Israelites, it is not yet right to
view them but as symbols of his benevolence : for where the
Avrath of God is, there death follows ; but where liis love is,
there is life.
14. What shall we say then? Is 14. Quid ergo dicemus? num in-
ihere unrighteousness with God ? justitia est apud Deum ? Absit :
God forbid.
15. For he saith to Moses, I will 15. Moses enim dicit, Miserebor
have mercy on whom I will have cvijus miserebor, et miserebor quem
mercy, and I will have compassion miseratus fuero.
on whom I will have compassion.
IG. So then it is not of him that 16. Ergo non volentis neque cur-
willeth, nor of him that runneth, but rentis, sed miserentis est Dei.
of God that sheweth mercy.
17. For the scripture saith unto 17. Dicit enim Scriptura Phara-
Pharaoh, Even for this same pur- oni, In hoc ipsum excitavi te, ut os-
pose have I raised thee up, that I tendam in te potentiam meam, et ut
might shew my power in thee, and prfedicetur nomen meum in universa
that my name might be declared terra.
throughout all the earth.
18. Therefore hath he mercy on 18. Ergo cujus vult miseretur, et
whom he will have mercy, and whom quem vult indurat.
he will he hardeneth.
14. What then shall we say ? &c. The flesli cannot hear
of this wisdom of God without being instantly disturbed by
numberless questions, and without attempting in a manner
to call God to an account. We hence find that the Apostle,
whenever he treats of some high mystery, obviates the many
absurdities by which he knew the minds of men would be
otherwise possessed ; for when men hear anything of what
Scripture teaches respecting predestination, they are espe-
cially entangled with very many impediments.
The predestination of God is indeed in reality a labyrinth,
from which the mind of man can by no means extricate it-
self: but so unreasonable is the curiosity of man, that the
more perilous the examination of a subject is, the more
boldly he proceeds ; so that when predestination is discussed,
as he cannot restrain himself within due limits, he immedi-
1 The meaning of the words " loving" and " hating " is here rightly ex-
plained. It is usual in Scripture to state a preference in terms like these.
See Gen. xxix. 31 ; Luke xiv. 26 ; John xii. 25. — Ed.
Z
354 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 14.
ately, through his rashness, plunges himself, as it were, into
the depth of the sea. What remedy then is there for the
godly? Must they avoid every thought of predestination ?
By no means : for as the Holy Spirit has taught us nothing
but what it behoves us to know, the knowledge of this would
no doubt be useful, provided it be confined to the word of
God. Let this then be our sacred rule, to seek to know
nothing concerning it, except what Scripture teaches us :
when the Lord closes his holy mouth, let us also stop the
way, that we may not go farther. But as we are men, to
whom foolish questions naturally occur, let us hear from
Paul how they are to be met.
Is there unrighteousness with God ? Monstrous surely is
the madness of the human mind, that it is more disposed to
charge God with unrighteousness than to blame itself for
blindness. Paul indeed had no wish to go out of his way to
find out things by which he might confound his readers ;
but he took up as it were from what was common the wicked
suggestion, which immediately enters the minds of many,
when they hear that God determines respecting every indi-
vidual according to his own will. It is indeed, as the flesh
imagines, a kind of injustice, that God should jjass by one
and show regard to another.
In order to remove this difiiculty, Piiul divides his subject
into two parts ; in the former of which he speaks of the
elect, and in the latter of the reprobate ; and in the one he
would have us to contemplate the mercy of God, and in the
other to acknowledge his righteous judgment. His first
reply is, that the thought that there is injustice with God
deserves to be abhorred, and then he shows that with regard
to the two parties, there can be none.
But before we proceed further, we may observe that this
ver}^ objection clearly proves, that inasmuch as God elects
some and passes by others, the cause is not to be found in
anj^thing else but in his own purpose ; for if the difference
had been based on works, Paul would have to no purpose
mentioned this question respecting the unrighteousness of
God, no suspicion could have been entertained concerning it
if God dealt with every one according to his merit. It may
CHAP. IX. ] 5. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 355
also, ill the second place, be noticed, that though he saw
that this doctrine could not be touched without exciting
instant clamours and dreadful blasphemies, he yet freely
and openly brought it forward ; nay, he does not conceal
how much occasion for murmuring and clamour is given to
us, when we hear that before men are born their lot is as-
signed to each by the secret will of God ; and yet, notwith-
standing all this, he proceeds, and without any subterfuges,
declares what he had learned from the Holj^ Spirit. It
hence follows, that their fancies are by no means to be en-
dured, who aim to appear wiser than the Holy Sjiirit, in re-
moving and pacifying offences. That they may not crimi-
nate God, they ought honestly to confess that the salvation
or the j)erdition of men depends on his free election. Were
they to restrain their minds from unholy curiosity, and to
bridle their tongues from immoderate liberty, their modesty
and sobriety would be deserving of approbation ; but to put
a restraint on the Holy Spirit and on Paul, what audacity
it is ! Let then such magnanimity ever i)revail in the
Church of God, as that godly teachers may not be ashamed
to make an honest profession of the true doctrine, however
hated it may be, and also to refute whatever calumnies the
ungodly may bring forward.
15. For he saith to Moses, kc} With regard to the elect,
God cannot be charged with any unrighteousness ; for .
according to his good pleasure lie favours them with mercy :
and yet even in this case the flesh finds reasons for mur-
muring, for it cannot concede to God the right of showing
favour to one and not to another, except the cause be made
evident. As then it seems unreasonable that some should
without merit be preferred to others, the petulancy of men
quarrels with God, as though he deferred to persons more
^ The quotation is from Ex. xxxiii. 19, and literally from the Septuagint.
The verb IXi'iu is to be taken here in the sense of showing favovir rather
than mercy, according to the meaning of the Hebrew word ; for the idea
of mercy is what the other verb, o'iktu^oj, conveys. Schleusner renders it
here and in some other passages in this sense. The rendering then wovxld
be — " I will favour whom I favovir," that is, whom I choose to favour ; " and
I will pity whom I pity," which means whom I choose to pity. The latter
verb in both clauses is in Hebrew in the future tense, but rendered pro-
perly in Greek in the present, as it commonly expresses a present act. — Ed.
356 COMxMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 15.
than what is right. Let us now see how Paul defends the
righteousness of Gocl.
In the first place, he does by no means conceal or hide
what he saw would be disliked, but proceeds to maintain
it with inflexible firmness. And in the second place, he
labours not to seek out reasons to soften its asperity, but
considers it enough to check vile barkings by the testimonies
of Scripture.
It may indeed appear a frigid defence that God is not
unjust, because he is merciful to whom he pleases ; but as
God regards his own authority alone as abundantly sufficient,
so that he needs the defence of none, Paul thought it
enough to appoint him the vindicator of his own right.
Now Paul brings forward here the answer which Moses re-
ceived from the Lord, when he prayed for the salvation of
the whole people, " I will show mercy," was God's answer,
" on whom I will show mercy, and I will have compassion
on whom I will have compassion." By this oracle the
Lord declared that he is a debtor to none of mankind, and
that whatever he gives is a gratuitous benefit, and then that
his kindness is free, so that he can confer it on whom he
pleases ; and lastly, that no cause higher than his own will
can be thought of, why he does good and shows favour to
some men but not to all. The words indeed mean as much
as though he had said, " From him to whom I have once
purposed to show mercy, I will never take it away ; and
with perpetual kindness will I follow him to whom I have
determined to be kind." And thus he assigns the highest
reason for imparting grace, even his own voluntary purpose,
and also intimates that he has designed his mercy j^eculiarly
for some ; for it is a way of speaking which excludes all
outward causes, as when we claim to ourselves the free
power of acting, we say, " I will do what I mean to do."
The relative pronoun also expressly intimates, that mercy
is not to all indiscriminately. His freedom is taken away
from God, when his election is bound to external causes.
The only true cause of salvation is expressed in the two
words used by Moses. The first is pPI, chenen, which means
to favour or to show kindness freely and bountifully ; the
CHAP. IX. 16. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 357
other is WHI, rQchem, wliicli is to be treated with mercy.
Thus is confirmed what Paul intended, that the mercy of
God, being gratuitous, is under no restraint, but turns
wherever it pleases.^
16. It is not then of him who wills, &c. From the testi-
mony adduced he draws this inference, that beyond all con-
troversy our election is not to be ascribed to our diligence,
nor to our striving, nor to our efforts, but that it is wholly
to be referred to the counsel of God. That none of you may
think that they who are elected are elected because they are
deserving, or because they had in any way procured for
themselves the favour of God, or, in short, because they had
in them a particle of worthiness by which God might be
moved, take simply this view of the matter, that it is neither
by our will nor efforts, (for he has put running for striving or
endeavour,) that we are counted among the elect, but that
it wholly depends on the divine goodness, which of itself
chooses those who neither will, nor strive, nor even think of
such a thing. And they who reason from this passage, that
there is in us some power to strive, but that it effects no-
thing of itself unless assisted by God's mercy, maintain
what is absurd ; for the Apostle shows not what is in us,
but excludes all our efforts. It is therefore a mere sophistry
to say that we Avill and run, because Paul denies that it is
of him who wills or runs, since he meant nothing else than
that neither willing nor running can do anything.
They are, however, to be condemned who remain secure
and idle on the pretence of giving place to tlie grace of God ;
for though nothing is done by their own striving, yet that
effort which is influenced by God is not ineffectual. These
^ These two words clearly show that election regards man as fallen ; for
favour is what is shown to the undeserving, and mercy to the wretclied and
miserable, so that the choice that is made is out of the corrupted mass of
mankind, contemplated in that state, and not as in a state of innocency.
Augustine says, " Deus alios facit vasa irse secundum meritum ; alios vasa
misericordije secundum gratiam — God makes some vessels of wrath accord-
ing to their merit; others vessels of mercy according to his grace." In
another place he says, " Deus ex eadem massa damnata originaliter, tan-
quam figulus, fecit aliud vas ad honorem, aliud in contumeliam — God, as
a potter, made of the same originally condemned mass, one vessel to honour,
another to dishonour." " Two sorts of vessels God forms out of the great
lump of fallen mankind." — Henry.
358 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP, IX. 16.
tilings, then, are not said that we may quench the Spirit of
God, while kindling sparks within us, by our waywardness
and sloth ; but that we may understand that everything
we have is from him, and that we may hence learn to ask
all things of him, to hoj)e for all things from him, and to
ascribe all things to him, while we are prosecuting the work
of our salvation with fear and trembling.
Pelagius has attempted by another sophistical and worth-
less cavil to evade this declaration of Paul, that it is not
only of him who wills and runs, because the mercy of God
assists. But Augustine, not less solidly than acutely, thus
refuted him, " If the will of man is denied to be the cause
of election, because it is not the sole cause, but only in part ;
so also we may say that it is not of mercy but of him who
wills and runs, for where there is a mutual co-operation,
there ought to be a reciprocal commendation : but unques-
tionably the latter sentiment falls through its own absurdity."
Let us then feel assured that the salvation of those whom
God is pleased to save, is thus ascribed to his mercy, that
nothing may remain to the contrivance of man.^
1 The terms "willing" and "running "are evidently derived from the
circumstances connected Avith the history of Esau. " In vain," says Tur-
rettin, " did Esau seek the blessing. In vain did Isaac hasten to grant it,
and in vain did Esau nm to prociu^e venison for his father ; neither the
father's willingness nor the running of the son availed anything ; God's
favovu- overruled the whole." But the subject handled is God's sovereignty
in the manifestation of his favour and grace. Esau was but a type of the
unbelieving Jews, when the gospel was proclaimed, and of thousands of
such as are in name Christians. There is some sort of " willing," and a
great deal of " running," and yet the blessing is not attained. There
was much of apparent willing and running in the strict formality and zeal
of Pharisaism, and there is much of the same kind still in the austerities
and mechanical worship of superstition, and also in the toils and devotions
of self-i-ighteousness. The word or the revealed will of God is in all these
instances misunderstood and neglected.
Isaac's "willingness" to give the blessing to Esau, notwithstanding the
announcement made at his birth, and Rebecca's conduct in securing it to
Jacob, are singular instances of man's imperfections, and of the overruling
power of God. Isaac acted as though he had forgotten what God had
expressed as his will ; and Rebecca acted as though God could not eflect
his purpose without her interference, and an interference, too, in a Avay
highly improper and sinfid. It was the trial of faith, and the faith of both
halted exceedingly ; yet the purpose of God was still fulfilled, but the
improper manner in which it was fulfilled was afterwards visited with God's
displeasiure . — Ed.
CHAP. IX. 17. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 359
Nor is there much more colour for what some advance,
who think that these things are said in the person of the un-
godly ; for how can it be right to turn passages of Scripture
in which the justice of God is asserted, for the purpose of
reproaching him with tyranny ? and then is it probable that
Paul, when the refutation was at hand and easy, would have
suffered the Scripture to be treated with gross mockery ?
But such subterfuges have they laid hold on, who absurdly
measured this incomparable mystery of God by their own
judgment. To their delicate and tender ears this doctrine
was more grating than that they could think it worthy of an
Apostle. But they ought rather to have bent their own
stubbornness to the obedience of the Spirit, that they might
not surrender themselves up to their gross inventions.
17. For the Scripture saith, &c. He comes now to the
second part, the rejection of the ungodly, and as there seems
to be something more unreasonable in this, he endeavours to
make it more fully evident, how God, in rejecting whom he
wills, is not only irreprehensible, but also wonderful in his
wisdom and justice. He then takes his proof from Exodus
ix. 16, where the Lord declares that it w^as he who raised up
Pharaoh for this end, that while he obstinately strove to
resist the power of God, he might, by being overcome and
subdued, afford a proof how invincible the arm of God is ;
to bear which, much less to resist it, no human power is able.
See then the example which the Lord designed to exhibit
in Pharaoh ! ^
There are here two things to be considered, — the predes-
tination of Pharaoh to ruin, which is to be referred to the
past and yet the hidden counsel of God, — and then, the
design of this, which was to make known the name of God ;
and on this does Paul primarily dwell : for if this harden-
ing was of such a kind, that on its account the name of God
deserved to be made known, it is an impious thing, accord-
1 " For," at the beginning of this verse, connects it with the 14th ; it is
the second reason given for what that verse contains : this is in accord-
ance with Paul's manner of writing, and it may be rendered here, moreover,
or besides, or farther. Macknight readers it "besides." Were yag ren-
dered thus in many instances, the meaning would be much more evident.
—Ed.
360 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 17.
ing- to evidence derived from the contrary effect, to charge
him with any unrighteousness.
But as many interpreters, striving to modify this passage,
pervert it, we must first observe, that for the word, " I have
raised," or stirred up, (excitavi,) the Hebrew is, " I have ap-
pointed," (constitiii,) by which it appears, that God, design-
ing to show, that the contumacy of Pharaoh would not
prevent him to deliver his people, not only affirms, that his
fury had been foreseen by him, and that he had prepared
means for restraining it, but that he had also thus designedly
ordained it, and indeed for this end, — that he might exhibit
a more illustrious evidence of his own power.^ Absurdly
' It is somewhat remarkable, that Paul, in quoting this passage, Exod.
ix. 16, substitutes a clause for the first that is given by the Septuagint :
instead of '• 'i,'.)i'.v touto Itim^nhi—on this account thou hast been pre-
served," he gives, " lU auro touto l%-/iyupa «•£ — for this very end have I
raised thee." The Hebrew is, " And indeed for this end have I made thee
to stand, l^mDyn." The verb used by Paul is found only in one other
place in the New Testament. 1 Cor. vi. 14; where it refers to the resur-
rection. In the Septuagint it often occurs, but never, as Stuart tells us,
in the sense of creating, or bringing into existence, but in that of exciting,
rousing from sleep, or rendering active. References are made to Gen.
xxviii. 16 ; Judges v. 12 ; Ps. vii. 7 : Jer. 1. 41 ; Joel iii. 9, &c. Hence
it is by him i-endered here, " I have roused thee up." But to make the
Hebrew verb to bear this sense is by no means easy : the three places re-
ferred to, Neh. vi. 7, and Dan. xi. 11 and 13, do not seem to afford a
satisfactory proof. Ps. cvii. 25, is more to the point. Its first meaning
\?,,io make to stand, and then, to present persons, Numb. xiii. 6, — to estab-
lish or make strong z kingdom or a city, 1 Kings xv. 4, — \o fix persons in
office, 2 Chron. xx::v. 2, — to set up or build a house, Ezra ix. 9, — to appoint
teachers, Neh. vi. 1. — and to arrange or set in order an army, Dan. xi.
13. Such are the ideas included in this verb. " I have made thee
to stand." established, or made thee strong, may be its meaning in this
passaf'e. To establish or to make one strong, is more than to preserve,
the V, ord used by the Septuagint : and-hence it was, it may be, that Paul
adopted another word, which conveys the idea, that Pharaoh had been ele-
•.ated into greater power than his predecessors, which the Hebrew verb
seems to imply.
Venema, as well as Stuart, thought that the idea of exciting, rousing in-
to action, or stimulating, is to be ascribed to the verbs here used, and that
what is meant is, that God by his plagues awakened and excited all the
evil that was in Pharaoh's heart for the piu-poses here described, and
that by this pi'ocess he '■ hardened" him ; and the conclusion of verse 28
seems to favour this view, for the hardening mentioned there can have no
reference to anything in the context except to what is said in this verse.
But the simpler view is that mentioned by Wolfius — that reference is
made to the dangers which Pharaoh had already escaped. God says, " I
have made thee to stand," i.e., to remain alive in the midst of them. We
hence see the reason why Paul changed the verb ; for " preserve," used
CHAP. IX. 18. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 361
then do some render this passage, — that Pharaoh was joy-e-
served for a time ; for his beginning is what is spoken of
here. For, seeing many things from various quarters happen
to men, which retard their purposes and impede the course
of their actions, God says, that Pharaoh proceeded from
him, and that his condition was by himself assigned to him :
and with this view agrees the verb, / have raised up. But
tliat no one may imagine, that Pharaoh was moved from
above by some kind of common and indiscriminate impulse,
to rush headlong into that madness the special cause, or
end, is mentioned ; as though it had been said, — that God
not only knew what Pharaoh would do, but also designedly
ordained him for this purpose. It hence follows, that it is
in vain to contend with him, as though he were bound to
give a reason ; for he of himself comes forth before us, and
anticipates the objection, by declaring, that the reprobate,
through whom he designs his name to be made known, pro-
ceed from the hidden fountain of his providence.
18. To whom he wills then he showeth rn.ercy, &c. Here
follows the conclusion of both parts ; which can b}^ no means
be understood as being the language of any other but of'
the Apostle ; for he immediately addresses an opponent,
and adduces what might have been objected by an opposite
party. There is therefore no doubt but that Paul, as we have
already reminded you, speaks these things in his own person,
namely, that God, according to his own will, favours with
mercy them whom he pleases, and unsheathes the severity
of his judgment against whomsoever it seemeth him good.
That our mind may be satisfied with the difference which
exists between the elect and the reprobate, and may not
inquire for any cause higher than the divine will, his pur-
pose was to convince us of this — that it seems good to God >
to illuminate some that they may be saved, and to blind '
others that they may perish : for we ought particularly to
notice these words, to whom he wills, and, whom he wills :
beyond this he allows us not to proceed.
by the Septuagint, did not fully express the meaning ; but to " raise up,"
as it were from the jaws of death, conveys more fully what is meant by
the origmal. — Ed.
362 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 18.
But the word hardens, when applied to God in Scripture,
means not only permission, (as some washy moderators
would have it,) but also the operation of the wrath of God :
i for all those external things, which lead to the blinding of
\ the reprobate, are the instruments of his wrath ; and Satan
\ himself, who works inwardly with great power, is so far his
; minister, that he acts not, but by his command.^ Then
that frivolous evasion, which the schoolmen have recourse
to respecting foreknowledge, falls to the ground : for Paul
teaches us, that the ruin of the wicked is not only foreseen
b}'' the Lord, but also ordained by his counsel and his will ;
and Solomon teaches us the same thing, — that not only the
destruction of the wicked is foreknown, but that the wicked
themselves have been created for this very end — that they
may perish. (Prov. xvi. 4.)
1 Much has been unnecessarily written on this subject of hardening.
Pharaoh is several times said to have hardened his own heart, and God
is said also several times to have hardened him too. The Scripture in
many instances makes no minute distinctions, for these may be easily
gathered from the general tenor of its teaching. God is in his natm-e
holy, and therefore hardening as his act cannot be sinful : and as he is
holy, he hates sin and punishes it ; and for this purpose he employs wicked
men, and even Satan himself, as in the case of Ahab. As a punishment,
he affords occasions and oijportunities to the obstinate even to increase
their sins, and thus in an indirect way hardens them in their rebellion
and resistance to his will ; and this was exactly the case with Pharaoh.
This, as Calvin says, was the operation or Avorking of his wrath. The
history of Pharaoh is a sufficient explanation of what is said here. He
was a cruel tyrant and oppressor : and God in his first message to Moses
said, " I am sure that the king of Egypt will not 'let you go, no, not by a
mighty hand." God might indeed have softened his heart and disposed
him to allow them to depart : but it pleased him to act otherwise, and to
manifest his power and his greatness in_ another way : so that " whom he
wills, he favours, and whom he wills, he hardens ;" and for reasons known
only to himself.
Reference is at the end of this section made to Prov. xvi. 4. The
creation mentioned can be imderstood in no other sense than the continued
exercise of divine power in bringing into existence human beings in their
present fallen state. But " creation" is not the word used, nor is the pas-
sage correctly rendered. It is not ^5"l^ nor HCy, but PyS; and it is^not a
verb but a substantive. Literally rendei*ed the passage is the following —
Every work of Jehovah is for its (or, his) purpose,
And even the Avicked is for the day of calamity.
The Rev. G. Ilolden is very indignant that this text has been applied
to support the doctrine of reprobation. Be it, that it has been misap-
plied ; yet the doctrine does not thereby fall to the ground. If Paul does
not maintain it in this chapter and in other passages, we must hold that
CHAP. IX. 19. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 363
19. Thou wilt say then unto me, 19. Dices itaquemihi, Quid adhuc
Why doth he yet find fault? For who conqueritiu: ? voluntati ejus quis re-
hath resisted his will ? stitit ?
20. Nay but, O man, who art 20. Atqui, O homo, tu quis es
thou that repliest against God ? Shall qui contcndis judicio cum Deo ! num
the thing formed say to him that dicit fictile figido, cur me sic fecisti ?
formed it, Why hast thou made me
thus ?
21. Hath not the potter power 21. An non habet potestatem fi-
over the clay, of the same lump to gulus luti ex eadem massa, faciendi,
make one vessel unto honour, and aliud quidcm vas in honorem, aliud
another unto dishonoiur ? in contumeliam ?
19. Thou luilt then say, &c. Here indeed the flesh espe-
cially storms, thcit is, when it hears that they who perish have
been destined by the will of God to destruction. Hence the
Apostle adojjts again the words of an opj^onent ; for he saw
that the mouths of the ungodly could not be restrained from
boldly clamouring against the righteousness of God : and
he very fitly expresses their mind ; for being not content
with defending themselves, they make God guilty instead
of themselves ; and then, after having devolved on him the
blame of their own condemnation, they become indignant
against his great power.^ They are indeed constrained to
yield ; but they storm, because they cannot resist ; and as-
cribing dominion to him, they in a manner charge him with
tyranny. In the same manner the Sophists in their schools
foolishly dispute on what they call his absolute justice, as
though forgetful of his ow^i righteousness, he would try the
power of his authority by throwing all things into confusion.
Thus then speak the ungodly in this passage, — " What cause
has he to be angry with us ? Since he has formed us such as
we are, since he leads us at his will where he pleases, what
else does he in destroying us but punish his own work in us ?
For it is not in our power to contend with him ; how much
soever we may resist, he will yet have the upper hand. Then
unjust will be his judgment, if he condemns us ; and unre-
words have no meaning. The history of God's providence is an obvious
confirmation of the same a^vful truth. — Ed.
> The clause rendered by Calvin, " Quid adhuc conqueritur — why does
he yet complain ?" is rendered by Be^a, " Qviid adhuc succenset — why is
he yet angry ?" Our common version is the best, and is followed by Dod-
dridge, Macknight, and Stuart. The ya.^, in the next clause, is omitted
by Calvin, but Griesbach says that it ouglat to be retained. — Ed.
864 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 20.
strainable is the power which he now employs towards us."
What does Paul say to these things ?
20. But, 0 man ! who art thou ? &c} As it is a participle
in Greek, we may read what follows in the present tense,
who disputest, or contendest, or strivest in opposition to God ;
for it is expressed in Greek according to this meaning, —
"Who art thou who enterest into a dispute with God?"
But there is not much difference in the sense.^ In this first
answer, he does nothing else but heat down impious blas-
phemy by an argument taken from the condition of man :
he will presently subjoin another, by which he will clear the
righteousness of God from all blame.
It is indeed evident that no cause is adduced higher than
the will of God. Since there was a ready answer, that the
difference depends on just reasons, why did not Paul adopt
such a brief reply ? But he placed the will of God in the
iliighest rank for this reason, — that it alone may suffice us
'for all other causes. No doubt, if the objection had been
false, that God according to his own will rejects those whom
he honours not with his favour, and chooses those whom he
gratuitously loves, a refutation would not have been ne-
glected by Paul. The ungodly object and say, that men are
exempted from blame, if the will of God holds the first place
in their salvation, or in tlieir jierdition. Does Paul deny
this ? Nay, by his answer he confirms it, that is, that God
determines concerning men, as it seems good to him, and
that men in vain and madly rise up to contend with God ;
for he assigns, by his own right, whatever lot he pleases to
what he forms.
But they who say that Paul, wanting reason, had recourse
* " But " is not sufficiently emphatical liere ; //.ivoZvyi ; " yes, verily," in
ch. X. 18; "yea, rather," in Luke xi. 28 ; "doubtless," in Phil. iii. 8; it
may be rendered here, " nay. rather." — Ed.
^ " Quis es qui contendas judicio cum Deo;" t/; J o avTa.rroK^iv'o/yi.ivo;, ru
0ia ; " tl>at repliest against God," is the rendering of Macknight and
Stuart ; " who enterest into a debate Avith God," is what Doddridge gives.
The verb occurs once in another place, Luke xiv. fi, and " answer again "
it our version. Schleusner says that «>"r) prefixed to verbs is often redun-
dant. In Job xvi. 8. and xxxii. 12, this compound is used by the Septua-
gint simply in the sense of answering, for HJJ?. He renders it here, "cum
Deo altercari — to quarrel, or, dispute with God." — Ed.
CHAP. IX. 20. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 365
to reproof, cast a grievous calumny on the Holy Spirit : for
the tilings calculated to vindicate God's justice, and ready
at hand, he was at first unwilling to adduce, for they could
not have been comprehended ; yea, he so modifies his second
reason, that he does not undertake a full defence, but in
such' a manner as to give a sufficient demonstration of God's
justice, if it be considered by us with devout humility and
reverence.
lie reminds man of what is especially meet for him to
remember, that is, of his own condition ; as though he had
said, — " Since thou art man, thou ownest thyself to be dust
and ashes ; why then doest thou contend with the Lord
about that which thou art not able to understand ?" In a
word, the Apostle did not bring forward what might have
been said, but what is suitable to our ignorance. Proud
iaxen clamour, because Paul, admitting that men are rejected
or chosen by the secret counsel of God, alleges no cause ; as
though the Spirit of God were silent for want of reason, and
not rather, that by his silence he reminds us, that a mystery
which our minds cannot comprehend ought to be reverently
adored, and that he thus checks the wantonness of human
curiosity. Let us then know, that God does for no other
reason refrain from speaking, but that he sees that we can-
not contain his immense wisdom in our small measure ; and
thus regarding our weakness, he leads us to moderation and
sobriety.
Does tuhat is foi-med ? &c. We see that Paul dwells con-
tinually on this,-— that the will of God, though its reason is
hid from us, is to be counted just ; for he shows that he is
deprived of his right, if he is not at liberty to determine
what he sees meet concerning his creatures. This seems un-
pleasant to the ears of many. There are also those who
pretend that God is exposed to great reproach were such a
jDOwer ascribed to him, as though they in their fastidious-
ness were better divines than Paul, who has laid down this
as the rule of humility to the faithful, that they are to ad-!
mire the sovereignty of God, and not to estimate it by their'
own judgment.
But he represses this arrogance of contending with God
866 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 21.
by a most apt similitude, in which he seems to have alluded
to Is. xlv. 9, rather than to Jer. xviii. 6 ; for nothing else is
taught us by Jeremiah, than that Israel was in the hand of
the Lord, so that he could for his sins wholly break him in
pieces, as a potter the earthen vessel. But Isaiah ascends
higher, " Woe to him,'' he says, " who speaks against his
maker ;" that is, the pot that contends with the former of the
clay ; " shall the clay say to its former, what doest thou ?"
&c. And surely there is no reason for a mortal man to think
himself better than earthen vessel, when he compares him-
self with God. We are not however to be over-particular in
applying this testimony to our present subject, since Paul
only meant to allude to the words of the Prophet, in order
that the similitude might have more weight.^
21. Has not the ivorker of the clay 'I &c. The reason why
what is formed ought not to contend with its former, is, that
the former does nothing but what he has a right to do. By
the word poiuer, he means not that the maker has strengtli
to do according to his will, but that this jorivilege rightly
and justly belongs to him. For he intends not to claim for
God any arbitrary power but what ought to be justly ascrib-
ed to him.
And further, bear this in mind, — that as the potter takes
away nothing from the clay, whatever form he may give it ;
i so God takes away nothing from man, in whatever condition
he may create him. Only this is to be remembered, that
God is deprived of a portion of his honour, except such an
authority over men be conceded to him as to constitute him
the arbitrator of life and death.^
^ The words in the 20th verse are taken almost literally from Is. xxix.
16, only the latter clause is somewhat different ; the sentence is, " y,h l^u
70 -rXao-fia rZ TXacravri auro, oh trv fii 'i-rXaa-as — shall what is formed say tO
its former, Thou hast not formed me ?" This is a faithful rendering of
the Hebrew.
Then the words in the 21st verse are not verbally taken from either of
the two places refen'ed to above ; but the simile is adopted. — Ed.
^ The metaphor in these verses is doubtless to be interpreted according
to the context. Not only Calvin, but many others, have deduced from it
what is not consistent with what the next verse contains, which gives the
necessary explanation. By the " mass " or the lump of clay, is not meant
mankind, contemplated as creatures, but as fallen creatures ; or, as Augus-
tine and Parens call them, " massa damnata — the condemned mass ;" for
CHAP. IX. 22. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 367
22. What if God, willing to show 22. Quid autem si Deus volens
his wrath, and to make his power demonstrare iram, et notam facere
known, endured with much long- potentiam suani, sustinuit in niulta
suflering the vessels of wrath fitted patientia vasa irae, in interitum ap-
to destruction : parata ;
23. And that he might make 23. Ut notas quoqne faceret divi-
known the riches of his glory on the tias gloriaj sua) in vasa misericordiaj,
vessels of mercy, which he had afore quae preparavit in gloriam ?
prepared unto glory,
22. And what, &c. A second answer, by which he briefly
shows, that though the counsel of Grod is in fact incompre-
hensible, yet his unblamable justice shines forth no less in
the perdition of the reprobate than in the salvation of the
elect. He does not indeed give a reason for divine election,
so as to assign a cause why this man is chosen and that man
rejected ; for it was not meet that the things contained in
the secret counsel of God should be subjected to the judg-
ment of men ; and, besides, this mystery is inexplicable.
He therefore keeps us from curiously examining those things
which exceed human comprehension. He yet shows, that
as far as God's predestination manifests itself, it a23i3ears
perfectly just.
The particles, et Be, used by Paul, I take to mean, And
what if? so that the whole sentence is a question ; and thus
the sense will be more evident : and there is here an ellipsis,
when we are to consider this as being understood, — " Who
then can charge him with unrighteousness, or arraign him ?"
for here appears nothing but the most perfect course of jus-
tice.^
they are called in the next verse vessels of wrath, that is, the objects of
wrath ; and such are all by nature, according to what Paul says in Eph.
ii. 3 ; " we were," he says, " by nature the children of wrath, -even as
others."
" The words, ' I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy,' imply
that all deserved wrath ; so that the lump of clay in the hands of the pot-
ter must refer to men already existing in God's foreknowledge as fallen
creatures . " — Scott .
In all the instances in which this metaphor is used by Isaiah and Jere-
miah, it is applied to the Jews in their state of degeneracy, and very
pointedly in Isaiah Ixiv. 8 : where it is preceded, in the 6th verse, by that
remarkable passage, " We are all as an unclean thing," &c. The clay
then, or the mass, is the mass of mankind as corrupted and depraved. — Ed.
^ Critics have in various ways attempted to supply the ellipsis, but what
is here proposed is most approved. Beza considered the corresponding
368 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 22.
But if we wish fully to understand Paul, almost every
word must be examined. He then argues thus, — There are
vessels prepared for destruction, that is, given up and ap-
pointed to destruction : they are also vessels of wrath, that
is, made and formed for this end, that they ma}'' be exam-
ples of God's vengeance and displeasure. If the Lord bears
patiently for a time with these, not destroying them at the
first moment, but deferring the judgment prej)ared for them,
and this in order to set forth the decisions of his severity,
that others may be terrified by so dreadful examples, and
also to make known his power, to exhibit which he makes
them in various ways to serve ; and, further, that the ampli-
tude of his mercy towards the elect may hence be more fully
known and more brightly shine forth ; — what is there worthy
of being reprehended in this dispensation ? But that he is
silent as to the reason, why they are vessels appointed to
destruction, is no matter of wonder. He indeed takes it as
granted, according to what has been already said, that the
clause to be at verse 30, and viewed the intervening verses as parenthetic,
" And if God," &c., — " What then shall we say?" Orotius subjoined,
" Does God do any wrong?" Eisner, " Has he not the power?" and Wol-
fius, " What canst thou say against God ?" Stuart proposes to repeat the
question in verse 20, " Who art thou ?" &c. Some connect this verse
with the question in verse 20, and include the latter part of it and verse
21 in a parenthesis. Whatever way may be adopted, the sense is materially
the same. It has also been suggested that £< ?£ is for siVe^, since, seeing,
2 Thess. i. 6 ; 1 Pet. ii. 3. In this case no apodosis is necessary. But we
may take u, as meaning since, and 11 as an illative, and render the three
verses thus, —
22. " Since then God willed (or, it was God's will) to show his wrath and to
make known his power, he endured with much forbearance the vessels
23. of wrath, fitted for destruction ; so he willed to make known the riches
of his glory towards the vessels of mercy, whom he has fore-prepared
24. for glory, even us, whom he has called not only from the Jews but
also from the Gentiles."
The verb £»■", or ?v, is often imderstood after participles, especially in
Hebrew; and xai has the meaning of so in some instances, Matt. vi. 10; Acts
vii. 51 ; Gal. i. 9 ; and in some cases, as Schleusner says, without being
preceded by any particle of comparison, such as Matt. xii. 26, and 1 John
ii. 27, 28 ; but s' here stands somewhat in that character.
The beginning of verse 23 presents an anomaly, if, with Stuart and
others, we consider " willing " or wills to be understood, as it is followed
in the preceding verse by an infinitive, and here by a subjunctive mood.
But Beza, Grotius, and Hammond, seem to regard the verb " endured,"
to be here, as it were, repeated, which gives the same meaning to the pas-
sage as that which is given to it by Calvin. — Ed.
CHAP. IX. 22. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. oGD
reason is hid in the secret and inexplorable counsel of God ;
whose justice it behoves us rather to adore than to scru-
tinize.
And he has mentioned vessels, as commonly signifying
instruments ; for wliatevcr is done by all creatures, is, as it
were, the ministration of divine power. For the best reason
then are we, the faithful, called the vessels of mercy, whom
the Lord uses as instruments for the manifestation of his
mercy ; and the reprobate are the vessels of wrath, because
they serve to show forth the judgments of God.
22. That he might also make knoiun the riches of his glory,
&c. I doubt not but the two particles kuI cva, is an instance
of a construction, where the first word is put last ; (vcrrepov
irporepov ;) and that this clause may better unite with the
former, I have rendered it. That he might also make known,
&c. {Ut notas quoque faceret, &c.) It is the second reason |
which manifests the glory of God in the destruction of the I
reprobate, because the greatness of divine mercy towards the \
elect is herdjy more clearly made known ; for how do they
differ from them except that they are delivered by the Lord
from the same gulf of destruction ? and this by no merit of
their own, but through his gratuitous kindness. It cannot
then be but that the infinite mercy of God towards the elect
must appear increasingly worthy of praise, when we see how
miserable are all they who escape not his wrath.
The word glory, which is here twice mentioned, I consider
to have been used for God's mercy, a metonymy of effect for
the cause ; for his chief praise or glory is in acts of kindness.
So in Eph. i. 1 8, after having taught us, that we have been
adopted to the praise of the glory of his grace, he adds, that
we are sealed by the Spirit of promise unto the praise of
his glory, the word grace being left out. He wished then
to show, that the elect are instruments or vessels through i
Avhom God exercises his mercy, that through them he may|
glorify his name.
Though in the second clause he asserts more expressly,
that it is God who prepares the elect for glory, as he had
simply said before that the reprobate are vessels prepared
for destruction ; there is yet no doubt but that the prepara-
2 A
370 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 24.
tion of botli is connected with the secret counsel of God.
Paul might have otherwise said, that the reprobate give up
or cast themselves into destruction ; but he intimates here,
that before they are born they are destined to their lot.
24. Even us, whom he hath called, 24. Qiios etiam vocavit, nimirum
not of the Jews only, but also of the nos, non solum ex Iud^eis, sed etiam
Gentiles ? ex Gentibus :
25. As he saith also in Osee, I 25. Quemadmodum et in Osee
will call them my people, which were dicit, Vocabo populum meum eum
not my people ; and her beloved, qui non est populus, et dilectam earn
which was not beloved. quse non est dilecta :
2G. And it shall come to pass, that 2(5. Et erit in loco ubi dictum est
in the place where it was said unto eis, Non populus mens vos, illic vo-
them, Ye are not my people ; there cabmitur filii Dei viventis.
shall they be called the children of
the living God.
27. Esaias also crieth concerning 27. lesaias autem clamat super
Israel, Though the number of the Israel, Si fuerit numerus filiorura
children of Israel be as the sand of Israel ut arena maris, reliquiae serva-
the sea, a remnant shall be saved : buntur :
28. For he will finish the work, 28. Sermonem enim consummans
and cut it short in righteousness ; et abbrevians,^ quoniam sermonem
because a short work will the Lord abbreviatum faciet Dommus in
make upon the earth. terra :
29. And as Esaias said before, Ex- 29. Et quemadmodum prius dix-
cept the Lord of Sabaoth had left us erat lesaias, Nisi Dominus Sabbaoth
a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and reliquisset nobis semen, instar
been made like unto Gomorrha. Sodomaj facti essemus, et Gomor-
rhte essemus assimilati.
24. Whom he also called, &c. From the reasoning which
he has been hitherto carrying on respecting the freedom of
divine election, two things follow, — that the grace of God
is not so confined to the Jewish people that it does not also
flow to other nations, and diffiise itself through tlie whole
world, — and then, that it is not even so tied to the Jews
tliat it comes without exception to all the children of Abra-
ham according to the flesh ; for if God's election is based on
his own good pleasure alone, wherever his will turns itself,
there his election exists. Election being then established,
the way is now in a manner prepared for him to proceed to
those things which he designed to say respecting the calling
of the Gentiles, and also respecting the rejection of the Jews;
' " In righteousness," left out. The word rendered " matter" is " sermo,"
but it is explained in this sense in the comment. — Ed.
CHAP. IX. 25. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 871
tlie first of -wliich seemed strange for its novelty, and the
other wholly unbecoming. As, however, the last had more
in it to offend, he speaks in the first place of that which was
less disliked. He says then, that the vessels of God's mercy,
whom he selects for the glory of his name, are taken from
every people, from the Gentiles no less than from the Jews.
But though in the relative luhom the rule of grammar is
not fully observed by Paul,^ yet his object was, by making
as it were a transition, to subjoin that we are the vessels of
God's glory, who have been taken in part from the Jews
and in part from the Gentiles ; and he proves from the call-
ing of God, that there is no difterence between nations made
in election. For if to be descended from the Gentiles was
no hinderance that God should not call us, it is evident that
the Gentiles are by no means to be excluded from the king-
dom of God and the covenant of eternal salvation.
25. As he says in Hosea^ &c. He proves now that the
calling of the Gentiles ought not to have been deemed a new
thing, as it had long before been testified by the prediction
of the prophet. The meaning is evident ; but there is some
difficulty in the application of this testimon}^ ; for no one
can deny but that the prophet in that passage speaks of the
Israelites. For the Lord, having been offended with their
wickedness, declared that they should be no longer his
people : he afterwards subjoined a consolation, and said,
that of those who were not beloved he would make some be-
loved, and from those who were not a people he would make
a people. But Paul applies to the Gentiles what was ex-
pressly spoken to the Israelites.
They who have hitherto been most successful in untying
this knot have supposed that Paul meant to adopt this kind
of reasoning, — " What may seem to be an hinderance to the
Gentiles to become partakers of salvation did also exist as
to the Jewish nation : as then God did formerly receive into
favour the Jews, whom he had cast away and exterminated,
so also now he exercises the same kindness towards the
^ It is an instance of Hebraism, the use of a double pr(;noun — whom and
us, governed by the same verb. — Ed.
^ Hos. ii. 23. See 1 Pet. ii. 10.
372 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 25.
Gentiles." But as this interpretation, tlioiig-h it may be
supported, yet seems to me to be somewhat strained, let the
readers consider this, — Whether it wouhl not be a more suit-
able view to regard the consolation given by the prophet, as
intended, not only for the Jews, but also for the Gentiles :
for it was not a new or an unusual thing with the prophets,
after having pronounced on the Jews God's vengeance on
account of their sins, to turn themselves to the kingdom of
Christ, which was to be propagated through the whole world.
And this they did, not without reason ; for since the Jews
so provoked God's wrath by their sins, that they deserved to
be rejected by him, no hope of salvation remained, except
they turned to Christ, through whom the covenant of grace
Avas to be restored : and as it was based on him, so it was then
renewed, when he interposed. x\nd doubtless, as Christ was
the only refuge in great extremities, no solid comfort could
have been brought to miserable sinners, and such as saw
God's wrath impending over them, except by setting Christ
before their eyes. Yes, it was usual with the prophets, as
we have reminded you, after having humbled the people by
pronouncing on them divine vengeance, to call their atten-
tion to Christ, as the only true asylum of those in despair.
And where the kingdom of Christ is erected there also is
raised up that celestial Jerusalem, into wliicli citizens from
all parts of the world assemble. And this is what is chiefly
included in the present prophecy : for when the Jews were
banished from God's family, they were thus reduced to a
common class, and put on a level with the Gentiles. The
difference being taken away, God's mercy is now indiscrimi-
nately extended to all the Gentiles. We hence see that the
prophet's jjrediction is fitly applied to the present subject ;
in which God declares, that after having equalized the Jews
and the Gentiles, he would gather a Church for himself from
aliens, so that they who were not a people would begin to
be so.
/ will call them my people which are not a people. This
is said with resj^ect to the divorce, which God had already
made with the people, by depriving them of all honour, so
that they did not excel other nations. Though they indeed,
CHAP. IX. 27. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 373
wliom God in his eternal counsel has destined as sons to
himself, are perpetually his sons, yet Scripture in many
parts counts none to be God's children but those, the elec-
tion of whom has been proved by their calling* : and hence
he teaches us not to judge, much less to decide, respecting-
God's election, except as far as it manifests itself by its own
evidences. Thus Paul, after having shown to the Ephesians
that their election and adoption had been determined by
God before the creation of the world, shortly after declares,
that they were once alienated from God, (Eph. ii. 1 2,) that
is, during that time when the Lord had not manifested his
love towards them ; though he had embraced them in his
eternal mercy. Hence, in this passage, they are said not to
be beloved, to whom God declares wrath rather than love :
for until adoption reconciles men to God, we know that his
wrath abides on them.
The feminine gender of the participle depends on the con-
text of the prophet ; for he had said, that a daughter had
been born to him, to whom he gave this name, Not beloved,
in order that the people might know that they were hated
by God. Now as rejection was the reason for hatred, so the
beginning of love, as the prophet teaches, is, when God
adopts those who had been for a time strangers.^
27. And Isaiah exclaims, &c. He proceeds now to the
second part, with which he was unwilling to begin, lest he
should too much exasperate their minds. And it is not
without a wise contrivance, that he adduces Isaiah as ex-
claiming, not speaking, in order that he might excite more
attention. But the words of the Prophet were evidently in-
tended to keep the Jews from glorying too much in the
flesh : for it was a thing dreadful to be heard, that of so
large a multitude, a small number only would obtain salva-
tion. For though the Prophet, after having described the
^ The quotation is from Hosea ii. 23, and is not literal cither from the
Hebrew or from the Septuagint. The order of the verse is reversed : and
the word "beloved" is taken from the tSeptuagint. "Not beloved," in
Hebrew, is lo-ruhamah, i.e., one not pitied, or one who has not received
mercy : which is the same in meaning.
In the next verse, 20, the words are taken from Hos. i. 10, and are not
verbatim either from the Hebrew or the Septuagint, but the difl'erence is
very trifling. — Ed.
874 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 28.
devastation of the people, lest the faithful should think that
the covenant of God was wholly aholished, gave some re-
maining- hope of favour ; yet he confined it to a few. But
as the Prophet predicted of his own time, let us see how
could Paul rightly apply this to his purpose. It must be in
this sense, — When the Lord resolved to deliver his people
from the Babylonian captivity, his purj)ose was, that this
benefit of deliverance should come only to a very few of that
vast multitude ; which might have been said to be the rem-
nant of that destruction, when compared with the great
number which he suffered to perish in exile. Now that tem-
poral restoration was typical of the real renovation of the
Church of God ; yea, it was only its commencement. What
therefore happened then, is to be now much more com-
pletely fulfilled as the very progress and completion of that
deliverance.
28. For I will finish and shorten the matter, 8ic} Omit-
ting various interpretations, I will state what appears to me
to be the real meaning : The Lord will so cut short, and cut
off liis people, that the residue may seem as it were a con-
sumption, that is, may have the appearance and the vestige
of a very great ruin. However, the few who shall remain
from the consumption shall be a 2')roof of the work of God's
righteousness, or, what I prefer, shall serve to testify the
righteousness of God throughout the world. As word often
in Scripture means a thing, the consummated word is put
for consumption. Many interpreters liave here been grossly
mistaken, who have attempted to philosophize with too
^ Sermonem enim consumnians et abbrevians,'" &c. ; Aoyov yap, &c. li
is literally the Septvagint except in two instances: Paul puts in ya.^-, and
substitutes ^tJ t«s yni for Iv t-/i o/x«j/^=v?j oXn. It is a difficult passage in
. Hebrew : but the following rendering will make it materially consistent
with the words of the Apostle, who evidently did not intend to give the
words literally.
A destruction, soon executed,
Shdl overflow in righteousness ;
For completed and soon executed shall it be ;
The Lord, Jehovah of hosts, shall do it,
In the midst of the whole land.
The word rendered above •• soon executed," means literally, abbreviated
or cut short, signifying the quick execution of a thing or work. " Shall
overflow in righteousness," imports, " shall justly or deservedly overflow." —
Ed.
CHAP. IX. 29. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 375
much refinement ; for they have imagined, that the doc-
trine of the g'ospel is thus called, because it is, when the cere-
monies are cut off", a brief compendium of the law ; though
the word means on the contrary a consumption/ And not
only liere is an error committed by the translator, but also
in Isaiah x. 22, 23 ; xxviii. 22 ; and in Ezek. xi. 13 ; where
it is said, " Ah ! ah ! Lord God ! wilt thou make a comple-
tion of the remnant of Israel V But the Prophets meant to
say, " Wilt thou destroy the very remnant with utter de-
struction t' And this has happened through the ambiguity
of the Hebrew word. For as the word, p]7^, ca?e, means to
finish and to perfect, as well as to consume, this difference
has not been sufficiently observed according to the passages
in which it occurs.
But Isaiah has not in this instance adopted one word only,
but has put down two words, consumption and termination,
or cutting off; so that the affectation of Hebraism in the
Greek translator was singularly unseasonable ; for to Avhat
purpose was it to involve a sentence, in itself clear, in an
obscure and figurative language ? It may be further added,
that Isaiah speaks here hyperbolically ; for by consumption
he means diminution, such as is wont to be after a remark-
able slciughter.
29. And as Isaiah had before said, &c.^ He brings another
1 There are many venerable names in favour of this opinion, such as
Amhrose, Clirysostom, Augustine, &c. Not knowing the Hebrew language,
they attached a classical meaning to the expression, \oyov <TuyTiTfcn[/.iyov,
■wholly at variance with what the Hebrew means, as CaZciH justly observes.
The word, (TvyTiTft.nfji.ivov, in this passage, as Schleusner says, bears a mean-
ing diSerent from what it has in the classics ; it imports what is cut short,
that is, quickly executed. — Ed.
- Isaiah i. 9. The words of the Septuagint are given literally, and difler
only in one instance from the Hebrew ; " seed" is put for " remnant ;" but
as " seed " in this case evidently means a small portion reserved for sowing,
the idea of the original is conveyed. Schleusner refers to examples both
in Josephus and Plato, in which the word " seed," is used in the sense of a
small reserved portion. Its most common meaning in Scripture is pos-
terity.
Paul has given " Sabaoth" from the Septuagint, which is the Hebrew
untranslated. This word, in connection with God, is variously rendered
by the Septuagint : for the mnst part in Isaiah, and in some other places,
it is found untranslated as here ; but in the Psalms and in other books, it
is often rendered ruv Iwaf^iuv, that is, Jehovah or Lord " of the powers,"
and often 'ravrox^dra^, " omnipotent ;" and sometimes o ayms, " the holy
376 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. SO.
testimony from the first chapter, where the Prophet deplores
the devastation of Israel in his time : and as this had hap-
pened once, it was no new thing. The people of Israel had
indeed no pre-eminence, except what they had derived from
their ancestors ; who had yet been in snch a manner treated,
that the Prophet complained that they had been so afflicted,
that'they were not far from liaving been destroyed, as Sodom
and Gomorrah had been. There was, however, this differ-
ence, that a few were preserved for a seed, to raise up the
name, that they might not wholly perish, and be consigned
to eternal oblivion. For it behoved God to be ever mindful
of his promise, so as to manifest his mercy in the midst of
the severest judgments.
30. What shall we say then? That 30. Quid ergo cUcemiis? Quod
the Gentiles, which followed not after gentcs quaj non sectabantur justi-
righteousness, have attained to right- tiani, adeptse sunt justitiam, justi-
eousness, even the righteousness tiam auteni ex fide :
which is of faith :
31. But Israel, which followed after 31. Israel autem sectando legem
the law of righteousness, hath not at- justitife, ad legem justitiaj non per-
tained to the law of righteousness. venit.
32. Wherefore? Because they 32. Quare? Quia non ex fide,
sought it not by faith, but as it were sed quasi ex operibus ; oftenderunt
by the works of the law. For tbey enim ad lapidem offensionis :
stumbled at that stumblingstone :
33. As it is written, Behold, I lay 33. Quemadmodum scriptum est,
in Sion a stmnblingstone and rock of Ecce pono in Sion lapidem often-
offence : and whosoever believeth on sionis et petram ofiendiculi : et om-
him shall not be ashamed. nis qui crediderit in eum non pude-
fiet.
30. What then, &c. That he might cut oif from the Jews
every occasion of murmuring against God, he now begins to
sliow those causes, which may be comprehended by human
minds, why the Jewish nation had been rejected. But they
do what is absurd and invert all order, who strive to assign
and set up causes above the secret predestination of God,
wdiicli he has previously taught us is to be counted as the
first cause. But as this is superior to all other causes, so
the corruption and wiclvcdness of the ungodly afford a reason
and an occasion for the judgments of God : and as he was
one." But our version, " Jehovah" or "Lord of hosts," is the proper render-
ing. It means the hosts of animate and inanimate creatures ; in fact, the
whole universe, all created things ; but, according to the context, it often
specifically refers to material things, or to things immaterial.— .£^c?.
CHAP. IX. 30. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 877
engaged on a difficult point, he introduced a question, and,
as tliough he were in doubt, asked what might be said on
the subject.
That the Gentiles who did not pursue, &c. Notliing ap-
peared more unreasonable, or less befitting, than that the
Gentiles, who, liaving no concern for righteousness, rolled
themseWes in the lasciviousness of their flesh, should be
called to partake of salvation, and to obtain righteousness ;
and that, on the other hand, the Jews, who assiduou.sly
laboured in the works of the law, should be excluded from
the reward of righteousness. Paul brings forward this, which
was so singular a paradox, in such a manner, that by adding
a reason he softens whatever asperity there might be in it ;
for he says, that the righteousness which the Gentiles at-
tained was by faith ; and that it hence depends on the
Lord's mercy, and not on man's own worthiness ; and that
a zeal for the law, by which the Jews were actuated, was
absurd ; for they sought to be justified by works, and thus
laboured for what no man could attain to ; and still further,
they stumbled at Christ, through whom alone a way is open
to the attainment of righteousness.
But in the first clause it was the Apostle's object to exalt
the grace of God alone, that no other reason might be sought
for in the calling of the Gtentiles but this, — that he deigned
to embrace them when unworthy of his favour.
He speaks expressly of righteousness, without wdiicli there
can be no salvation : but by saying that the righteousness
of the Gentiles proceeded from faith, he intimates, that it
Avas based on a gratuitous reconciliation ; for if any one
imagines that they were justified, because they had by faith
obtained the Spirit of regeneration, he departs far from the
meaning of Paul ; it would not indeed have been true, that
they had attained what they sought not, except God had
freely embraced them while they were straying and wander-
ing, and had offered them righteousness, for which, being
unknown, they could have had no desire. It must also be
observed, that the Gentiles could not have oljtained right-
eousness by faith, except God had anticipated their faith by
his grace ; for they followed it when they first by faith as-
878 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 32.
pired to righteousness ; and so faith itself is a portion of his
favour.
81. But Israel, hy inir suing, &c. Paul openly states what
seemed incredible, — that it was no wonder that the Jews
gained nothing by sedulously following after righteousness ;
for by running out of the way, they wearied themselves in
vain. But in the first place it seems to me that the law of
righteousness is here an instance of transposition, and means
the righteousness of the law ;^ and then, that when rejDeated
in the second clause, it is to be taken in another sense, as
signifying the model or the rule of righteousness.
The meaning then is, — " That Israel, depending on the
righteousness of the law, even that which is prescribed in
the law, did not understand the true method of justification."
But there is a striking contrast in the expression, wlien he
teaches us that the legal righteousness was the cause, that
they had fallen away from tlie law of righteousness,
32. Not hy faith, hut as it tuere hy works, &c. As false
zeal seems commonly to be justly excused, Paul shows that
' There seems to be no necessity for this transposition. " A law (not
the law) of righteousness " means a law which prescribes righteousness,
and which, if done, would have conferred righteousness. But the Jcavs
following this did not attain to a law of righteousness, such a law as se-
cured righteousness. The Apostle often uses the same words in the same
verse in a different sense, and leaves the meaning to be made out by the
context. Groiius takes " law " as meaning way, " They followed the way
of righteousness, but did not attain to a way of righteousness."
What follows the question in the next verse stands more connected with
ver. 30 than with ver. 31 ; and we must consider that the word righteous-
ness, and not law, is referred to by " it " after the verb " pursue," which
is evidently to be understood before the words, " not by faith," &c., as the
sentence is clearly elliptical.
The verb Ii&'ku, rendered " sector " by Calvin, means strictly to pursue
what flees away from us, whether a wild beast or an enemy ; it signifies
also to follow a leader, and to run a race, and further, to desire, to attend
to, or earnestly to seek a thing : and in this latter sense Paul often uses
it. See ch. xii. 13 ; xiv. 19 ; 1 Cor. xiv. 1. Similar is the application of
the corresponding verb, f]!"!, in Hebrew. See Dent. xvi. 20 ; Ps. xxxiv.
14. " Quajro — to seek," is the word adopted by Grotius.
But Parens and Hammond consider that there are here tlu-ee agonistic
terms, ^iukuv, Kot.T'iXa.^i, and s^^ao-j. The first signifies the running ; the
thii-d, the reaching of the goal ; and the second, the laying hold on the
prize : and with this corresponds the stumbling afterwards mentioned.
The Gentiles did not run at all, but the Jews did, and in running, they
stumbled ; while the Gentiles reached the goal, not by running, or by their
own efforts, but by faith, and laid hold on the prize of righteousness. — Ed.
CHAP. IX. 82. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. S79
they arc deservedly rejected, who attempt to attain salvation
by trusting in their own works ; for tliey, as ftu" as they can,
abolish faith, without which no salvation can be exi)ected.
Hence, were they to gain their object, such a success would
be the annihilation of true righteousness. You farther see
how faith and the merits of works are contrasted, as things
altogether contrary to each other. As then trust in works
is the chief hinderance, by which our way to obtain right-
eousness is closed up, it is necessary that we should wholly
renounce it, in order that we may depend on God's goodness
alone. This example of the Jews ought indeed justly to
terrify all those who strive to obtain the kingdom of God by
works. Nor does he understand by the works of the law,
ceremonial observances, as it has been before shown, but the
merits of those works to which faith is opposed, which looks,
as I may say, with both eyes on the mercy of God alone,
without casting one glance on any worthiness of its own.
For they have stumbled at the stone, &c. He confirms by
a strong reason the preceding sentence. There is indeed
nothing more inconsistent than that they should obtain
righteousness who strive to destroy it. Christ has been
given to us for righteousness, whosoever obtrudes on God
the righteousness of works, attemjjts to rob him of his own
office. And hence it apj^ears that whenever men, under the
empty pretence of being zealous for righteousness, put con-
fidence in their works, they do in their furious madness
carry on war with God himself.
But how they stumble at Christ, who trust in their works,
it is not difficult to understand ; for except we own ourselves
to be sinners, void and destitute of any righteousness of our
own, we obscure the dignity of Christ, which consists in this,
that to us all he is light, life, resurrection, righteousness,
and healing. But how is he all these things, except that
he illuminates the blind, restores the lost, quickens the dead,
raises up those who are reduced to nothing, cleanses those
who are full of filth, cures and heals those infected with dis-
eases ? Nay, when Ave claim for ourselves any righteousness,
we in a manner contend with the power of Christ ; for his
office is no less to beat down all the pride of the flesh, than
880 COMMENTAKIES ON THE CHAP. IX. 83.
to relieve and comfort those who labour and are wearied
under their burden.
The quotation is rightly made ; for God in that passage
declares that he would be to the peoj^le of Judali and of
Israel for a rock of offence, at which they should stumble
and fall. Since Christ is that God who spoke by the Pro-
phets, it is no wonder that this also should be fulfilled in him.
And by calling Christ the stone of stumbling, he reminds us
that it is not to be wondered at if they made no progress in
the way of righteousness, who through their wilful stub-
bornness stumbled at the rock of offence, when God had
showed to them the way so plainly.^ But we must observe,
that this stumbling does not properly belong to Christ viewed
in himself; but, on the contrary, it is what hapi^ens through
the wickedness of men, according to what immediately
follows.
83. And every one luho believes in him shall not be ashamed.
He subjoins this testimony from another part for the con-
solation of the godly ; as though he had said, " Because
Christ is called the stone of stumbling, there is no reason
that we should dread him, or entertain fear instead of con-
fidence ; for he is appointed for ruin to the unbelieving, but
for life and resurrection to the godly." As then the former
projDhecy, concerning the stumbling and offence, is fulfilled
in the rebellious and unbelieving, so there is another which
is intended for the godly, and that is, that he is a firm stone,
precious, a corner-stone, most firmly fixed, and whosoever
builds on it shall never fall. By putting shall not be ashamed
instead of shall not hasten or fall, he has followed the Greek
Translator. It is indeed certain that the Lord in that pas-
sage intended to strengthen the hope of his people : and
when the Lord bids us to entertain good hope, it hence fol-
lows that we cannot be ashamed.^ Sec a passage like this
in 1 Peter ii. 1 0.
1 " Error is often a greater obstacle to the salvation of men than care-
lessness or vice. . . . Let no man think error in doctrine a slight practical
evil. No road to perdition has ever been more thronged than that of false
doctrine. Error is a shield over the conscience and a bandage over the
eyes." — Professor Hodge.
* The citation in this verse is made in a remarkable manner. The first
CHAP. X. 1. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS, 381
CHAPTER X.
1. Brethren, my heart's desire 1. Fratres, benevolentia certe
and prayer to God for Israel is, cordis mei, et deprecatio ad Deum
that they niij^ht be saved. super Israel, est in saluteni.
2. For I bear them record, that 2, Testimonium enim reddo illis,
they have a zeal of God, but not quod zelum Dei habent, sed non
according to knowledge. secundiuu scientiam :
3. For they, being ignorant of 3. Ignorantes enim Dei justitiam,
God's righteousness, and going about et propriam justitiam qunerentes
to establish their own righteousness, statuere, justitia; Dei sulfjecti non
have not submitted themselves unto fuerunt ;
the righteousness of God.
4. For Christ is the end of the 4. Finis enim Lcgis Christus in
law for righteousness to every one justitiam omni credent!.*
that believeth.
We here see witli what solicitude tlie holy man obviated
offences ; for in order to soften whatever sharpness there
may have been in his manner of exphxining the rejection of
the Jews, he still testifies, as before, his goodwill towards
them, and proves it by the effect ; for their salvation was
an object of concern to him before the Lord, and such a
feeling arises only from genuine love. It may be at the
same time that he was also induced by another reason to
testify his love towards the nation from which he had sprung ;
for his doctrine Avould have never been received by the Jews
had they thought that he was avowedly inimical to them ;
and his defection would have been also suspected by the
Gentiles, for they would have thought, as we have said in
the last chapter, that he became an apostate from the law
through his hatred of men.^
part, " Behold I lay in Zion," is taken from Is. xxviii. IG ; what follows,
" a stone of stumbling and rock of offence," is taken from Is. viii. 14 : and
then the last words, " and whosoever believes in him shall not be ashamed,"
are given from the preceding passage in Is. xxviii. IG. The subject is the
same.
With respect to the last clause Paul has followed the Septuagint, " shall
not be ashamed." But the Hebrew word, rendered in our version " shall
not make haste," will bear a similar meaning, and may be translated, shall
not hurry or be confounded. — Ed.
^ The r^p, " for," at the beginning of this verse, connects it with the
latter part of the preceding, as the >-«?, " for," in the preceding connects it
with the latter part of verse 2 ; and yxp also in verse 5 expresses a reason
for what verse 4 contains. So that we have a regular chain ; the following
sentence gives a reason for the one immediately preceding in four instances.
—Ed.
* Calvin's Latin for this verse is : " Fratres, benevolentia certe cordis
S82 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. X. 2.
2. For I hear to them a testimony, &c. This was intended
to secure credit to liis love. There was indeed a just cause
why he should regard them with compassion rather than
hatred, since he perceived that they had fallen only through
ignorance, and not through malignancy of mind, and espe-
cially as he saw that they were not led except by some re-
gard for God to persecute the kingdom of Christ. Let us
hence learn where our good intentions may guide us, if we
yield to them. It is commonly thought a good and a very
fit excuse, Avhen he who is reproved pretends that he meant
no harm. And this pretext is held good by many at this
day, so that they apply not their minds to find out the
truth of God, because they think that whatever they do
amiss through ignorance, without any designed malicious-
ness, but with good intention, is excusable. But no one of
us would excuse the Jews for having crucified Christ, for
having cruelly raged against the Apostles, and for having
attempted to destroy and extinguish the gospel ; and yet
they had the same defence as that in which we confidently
glory. Away then with these vain evasions as to good in-
tention ; if we seek God sincerely, let us follow the way by
which alone we can come to him. For it is better, as
Augustine says, even to go limping in the right way than to
run with all our might out of the way. If we would be
reallv religious, let us remember that what Lactantius teaches
is true, that true religion is alone that Avhich is connected
with the word of God.^
mei et deprecatio ad Deum super Israel est in salutem — Brethren, the good-
■will indeed of my heart and prayer to God for Israel is for their salvation."
The word for " goodwill," tvhox'ia, means a kind disposition towards another,
it means here a benevolent or a sincere desire, or, according to Theophylact,
an earnest desire. Doddridge renders it " affectionate desire ;" Beza, " pro-
pensa volmitas — prepense wish;" and Stuart, "kind desire."
At the beginning of the last chapter the Apostle expressed his great
qrief for his brethren the Jews, he now expresses his great love towards
"thein, and his strong desire for their highest good — their salvation. — Ed.
" " A zeal of God," Z^iXov etau, is a zeal for God, a genitive case of the
object. Some regard "God" here as meaning something great, as it is
sometimes used in Hebrew, and render the phrase, as Macknight does, " a
great zeal ;" but this is not required by the context. The Jews had pro-
fessedly " a zeal for God," but not accompanied with knowledge. The
necessity of knowledge as the guide of zeal is noted by Turrettin in four
particulars : 1 . That we may distinguish truth from falsehood, as there
CHAP. X. 4. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 383
And further, since we see that they perish, who with
good intention wander in darkness, let us bear in mind, that
we are worthy of thousand deatlis, if after having been ilki-
minated by God, wc wander knowingly and wilfully from
the right way.
3. For being ignorant of the righteousness of God, &c. See
how they went astray through inconsiderate zeal ! for they
sought to set up a righteousness of their own ; and this
foolish confidence proceeded from their ignorance of God's
righteousness. Notice the contrast between the righteous-
ness of God and that of men. We first see, that they are
opposed to one another, as things wholly contrary, and can-
not stand together. It hence follows, that God's righteous-
ness is subverted, as soon as men set up their own. And
again, as there is a correspondence between the things con-
trasted, the righteousness of God is no doubt his gift ; and
in like manner, the righteousness of men is that which they
derive from themselves, or believe that they bring before
God. Then he who seeks to be justified through himself,
submits not to God's righteousness ; for the first step towards
obtaining the righteousness of God is to renounce our own
righteousness : for why is it, that we seek righteousness
from another, except that necessity constrains us ?
We have already stated, in another place, how men put
on the righteousness of God by faith, that is, when the
righteousness of Christ is imputed to them. But Paul
grievously dishonours the pride by Avhich hypocrites are in-
flated, "when they cover it with the specious mask of zeal ;
for he says, that all such, by shaking off as it were the yoke,
are adverse to and rebel against the righteousness of God.
4. For the end of the law is Christ, &c. The word com-
pletion^ seems not to me unsuitable in this place ; and Eras-
may be zeal for error and false doctrine as well as for that which is true ;
2. That we may understand the comparative importance of things, so as
not to make much of what is little, and make little account of what is
great; B. That we may prosecute and defend the truth in the riglit way,
with prudence, firmness, fidelity, and meekness ; 4. That our zeal may
have the r'i<jlit object, not our own interest and reputation, but the glory of
God and the salvation of men. — Ed.
^ " Complementum — the complement," the filling up, the completion.
The word rixos, •' end," is used in various ways, as signifying — 1. The
384< COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. X. 4.
mus lias rendered it perfection : but as the other reading is
ahnost universally approved, and is not inappropriate, read-
ers, for my part, may retain it.
The Apostle obviates here an objection which might have
been made against him ; for the Jews might have appeared
to have kept the right way by depending on the righteous-
ness of the law. It was necessary for him to disprove this
false opinion ; and this is what he does here. He shows
that he is a false interpreter of the law, who seeks to be jus-
tified by his OMai works ; because the law had been given
for this end, — to lead us as by the hand to another right-
eousness : nay, whatever the law teaches, whatever it com-
mands, whatever it promises, has always a reference to
Christ as its main object ; and hence all its parts ought to
bo applied to him. But this cannot be done, except we,
being stripped of all righteousness, and confounded Avith the
knowledge of our sin, seek gratuitous righteousness from
him alone.
It hence follows, that the wicked abuse of the law was
justly reprehended in the Jews, who absurdly made an ob-
stacle of tliat which was to be their help : nay, it appears
that they had shamefully mutilated the law of God ; for they
Urmmation of any thing, either of evils, or of life, &c., Matt. x. 22;
John xiii. 1 ; — 2. Completion or fulfilment, Luke xxii. 37 ; 1 Tim. i. 9 ; —
3. The issue, the effect, the consequence, the result, chap. vi. 21 ; 1 Pet.
i. 9 ; 2 Cor. xi. 15; — i. Tribute or custom, chap. xiii. 7; — 5. The chief
thing, summary or substance, 1 Pet. iii. 8.
The meaning of the word depends on what is connected with it. The
end of evils, or of life, is their termination ; the end of a promise is its ful-
filment ; the end of a command, its performance or obedience ; the end of
faith is salvation. In such instances, the general idea is the result, or the
effect, or the consequence. Now the law may be viewed as an economy,
comprising the whole Jewish law, not perfect, but introductory ; in this
view Christ may be said to be its end — its perfection or " its landing place."
But we may also regard the law in its moral character, as the ride and
condition of life ; then the end of the law is its fulfilment, the performance
of what it requires in order to attain hfe : and Christ in this respect is its
end, liaAdng rendered to it perfect obedience. This last meaning is most
consistent with the words which follow, and with the Apostle's argument.
The fu-st view is taken by Chrysostom, Beza, Turrettin, as well as Calvin;
the second, by Mede, Stuart, and Chalmers. There is really not much
difference in the two views ; only the sequel of the verse, " for righteous-
ness to every one who believes," and the opposite sentiment in the next
verse, " the man Avho doeth these shall live in (or tlirough) them," seem
to favom- the latter view. — Ed.
CHAP. X. 5.
EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.
385
rejected its soul, and seized on tlio dead body of the letter.
For though tlio law promises reward to those who observe
its righteousness, it yet substitutes, after having proved all
guilty, another righteousness in Christ, which is not attained
by works, but is received by faith as a free gift. Thus the
righteousness of faith, (as we have seen in the first chapter,)
receives a testimony from the law. We have then here a
remarkable passage, which proves that the law in all its
parts had a reference to Christ ; and hence no one can
rightly understand it, who does not continually level at
this mark.
5. For Moses describeth the right-
eousness 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 Chi'ist
downj^fom 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
beheve in thine heart that God hath
raised him from the dead, thou shalt
be saved.
10. For with the heart man be-
lieveth unto righteousness ; and with
the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.
5. Moses enim describit justitiam
quje est ex Lege, Quod qui fecerit
ea homo vivet in ipsis.
6. Qufe vero est ex fide justitia
sic dicit, Ne dixeris in corde tuo,
Quis ascendet in coehmi ? hoc est
Christum deducere :
7. Aut, Quis descendet in abys-
sum ? hoc est Christum ex mortuis
reducere :
8. Sed quid dicit ? Prope est ver-
bum, in ore tuo et in corde tuo ;
hoc est verbum fidei quod prsedi-
camus,
9. Quod si confessus fueris in ore
tuo Dominum lesuni, et credideris
in corde tuo quod Deus suscitavit
ilium ex mortuis, salvus eris :
10. Corde enira creditur in jus-
titiam, ore fit confessio in salutem.
5. For Moses, &c. To render it evident how much at
variance is the righteousness of faith and that of works, he
now compares them ; for by comparison the opposition be-
tween contrary things appears more clear. But he refers
not now to the oracles of the Prophets, but to the testimony
of Moses, and for this reason, — that the Jews might under-
stand that the law was not given by Moses in order to de-
tain them in a dependence on works, but, on the contrary, to
2 B
386" COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. X. 5,
lead them to Christ. He might have indeed referred to the
Prophets as witnesses ; but still this doubt must have re-
mained, " How was it that the law prescribed another rule
of righteousness V He then removes this, and in the best
manner, when by the teaching of the law itself he confirms
the righteousness of faith.
But we ought to understand the reason why Paul har-
monizes the law with faith, and yet sets the righteousness of
one in opposition to that of the other : — The law has a two-
fold meaning ; it sometimes includes the whole of what has
been taught by Moses, and sometimes that jDart only which
was peculiar to his ministration, which consisted of precepts,
rewards, and punishments. But Moses had this common
office — to teach the people the true rule of religion. Since
it was so, it behoved him to preach repentance and faith ;
but faitli is not taught, except by propounding promises of
divine mercy, and those gratuitous : and thus it behoved him
to be a preacher of the gospel ; which office lie faithfully
performed, as it appears from many passages. In order to
instruct tlie people in the doctrine of repentance, it was
necessary for him to teach what manner of life was ac-
ceptable to God ; and this he included in the precepts
of tlie law. That he might also instil into the minds of
the people the love of righteousness, and implant in them
tlie hatred of iniquity, promises and threatenings were
added ; which proposed rewards to the just, and denounced
dreadful punishments on sinners. It was now the duty
of the people to consider in how many ways they drew
curses on themselves, and how far they Avere from deserv-
ing anything at God's hands by their works, that being
thus led to despair as to their own righteousness, they
might flee to the haven of divine goodness, and so to
Christ himself This was the end or design of the Mosaic
dispensation.
But as evangelic promises are only found scattered in
the writings of Moses, and these also somewhat obscure, and
as the precepts and rewards, allotted to the observers of the
law, frequently occur, it rightly appertained to Moses as his
own and peculia]- office, to teach what is the real righteous-
CHAP. X. O. EPISTLE TO TUB ROMANS. 387
ness of works, and then to show what remuneration awaits
the observance of it, and what jDunishment awaits tliose
who come short of it. For this reason Moses is by John
compared with Christ, when it is said, " That the Law was
given by Moses, but that grace and truth came by Christ."
(John i. 17.) And whenever the word law is thus strictly
taken, Moses is by im2)lication opposed to Christ : and then
we must consider what the law contains, as separate from
the gosj)eI. Hence what is said here of the righteousness of
the law, must be apj^lied, not to the whole office of Moses,
but to that part which was in a manner j)eculiarly com-
mitted to him. I come now to the words.
For Moses describes, &c. Paul has ypdcfjec, writes ; which
is used for a verb which means to describe, by taking away
a part of it [evriy/ja^ei.] The passage is taken from Lev.
xviii. 5, where the Lord promises eternal life to those who
would keep his law ; for in this sense, as you see, Paul has
taken the jDassage, and not only of temporal life, as some
think. Paul indeed thus reasons, — " Since no man can
attain the righteousness prescribed in the law, excejit he
fullils strictly every part of it, and since of this perfection
all men have always come far short, it is in vain for any one
to strive in this way for salvation : Israel then were very
foolish, who expected to attain the righteousness of the law,
from which we are all excluded." See how from the pro-
mise itself he proves, that it can avail us nothing, and for
this reason, because the condition is impossible. What a
futile device it is then to allege legal promises, in order to
establish the righteousness of the law ! For with these an
unavoidable curse comes to us ; so far is it, that salvation
should thence proceed. The more detestable on this account
is the stupidity of the Papists, who think it enough to prove
merits by adducing bare promises. " It is not in vain," they
say, " that God has promised life to his servants." But at
the same time they see not that it has been promised, in
order that a consciousness of their own transgressions may
strike all with the fear of death, and that being thus con-
strained by their own deficiency, they may learn to flee to
Christ.
388 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. X. 6.
6. But the righteousness^ which is hy faith, &c. This pas-
sage is sucli as may not a little disturb the reader, and for
two reasons — for it seems to be impi'operly applied by Paul —
and the words are also turned to a different meaning. Of
the words we shall hereafter see what may be said: we shall
first notice the application. It is a passage taken from Deut.
XXX. 12, where, as in the former jmssage, Moses sj^eaks of
the doctrine of the law, and Paul ai:)plies it to evangelic
promises. This knot may be thus untied : — Moses shows,
that the way to life was made plain : for the will of God was
not now hid from the Jews, nor set far oif from them, but
placed before their eyes. If he had spoken of the law only,
his reasoning would have been frivolous, since the law of
God being set before their eyes, it was not easier to do it,
than if it Avas afar oif. He then means not the law only,
but generally the whole of God's truth, wdiich includes in it
the gospel : for the word of the law by itself is never in our
heart, no, not the least syllable of it, until it is implanted in
us by the faith of the gospel. And then, even after regener-
ation, the word of the law cannot properly be said to be in
our heart ; for it demands perfection, from which even the
faithful are far distant : but the word of the gospel has a
seat in the heart, though it does not fill the heart; for it
ofiers pardon for imperfection and defect. And Moses
throughout that chapter, as also in the fourth, endeavours to
commend to the people the remarkable kindness of God,
because he had taken them under his own tuition and
government, which commendation could not have belonged
to the law only. It is no objection that Moses there speaks
of forming the life according to the rule of the law; for the
s])irit of regeneration is connected with the gratuitous
righteousness of faith. Nor is there a doubt but that this
verse dej^ends on that main truth, " The Lord shall circum-
cise thine heart,'' which he had recorded shortly before in
the same chapter. They may therefore be easily disproved,
who say that Moses speaks only in that passage of good
works. That he speaks of works I indeed allow ; but I
• Righteousness is here personified, according to the usual manner of the
Apostle : law and sin had before been represented in the same way. — Ed.
CHAP. X. G. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 889
deny it to be unreasonable, that the keeping of the law should
be traced from its own fountain, even from the righteousness
of faith. The explanation of the words must now follow.^
Say not in thine heart, Who shall ascend? &c. Moses
mentions heaven and the sea, as places remote and difficult
of access to men. But Paul, as though there was some spi-
ritual mystery concealed under these words, applies them to
the death and resurrection of Christ. If any one thinks that
this interpretation is too strained and too refined, let him
understand that it was not the object of the Apostle strictly
to explain this passage, but to apply it to the explanation of
his present subject. He does not, therefore, repeat verbally
what Moses has said, but makes alterations, by which he ac-
commodates more suitably to his own purpose the testimony
of Moses. He spoke of inaccessible places ; Paul refers to
those, which are indeed hid from the sight of us all, and
may yet be seen by our faith. If then you take these things
as spoken for illustration, or by way of improvement, you
cannot say that Paul has violently or inaptly changed the
words of Moses ; but you will, on the contrary, allow, that
without loss of meaning, he has, in a striking manner, al-
luded to the words heaven and the sea.
Let us now then simply explain the words of Paul : — As
the assurance of our salvation lies on two foundations, that
is, when we understand, that life has been obtained for us,
and death has been conquered for us, he teaches us that faith
through the word of the gospel is sustained by both these ;
for Christ, by dying, destroyed death, and by rising again he
1 It seems not necessary to have recourse to the distinctions made in the
foregoing section. The character of the quotation given is correctly de-
scribed in the words of Chtysostom, as quoted by Poole, " Pauhis ea trans-
tulit et aptavit ad justitiam fidei — Paul transferred and accommodated
these things to the righteousness of faith." He evidently borrowed the
words of Moses, not literally, but substantially, for the jjurpose of setting
forth the truth he was handling. The speaker is not Moses, but " the
righteousness of faith," represented as a person. Luther, as quoted by
Woljins, says, that " Paul, under the influence of the Spirit, took from
Moses the occasion to form, as it were, a new and a suitable text against
the justiciaries." It appears to be an application, by way of analogy, of
the words of Moses to the gospel, and not a confirmatory testimony.
Chalmers hesitates on the subject ; but Parens, Wolfius, Turrettin, and
Doddridge, consider the words as applied by way of accommodation. — Ed.
890 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. X. 8.
obtained life in his own power. The benefit of Clirist's
death and resurrection is now communicated to us by the
gospel : there is then no reason for us to seek anything-
farther. That it may thus appear, that the righteousness of
faith is abundantly sufficient for salvation, he teaches us,
tliat included in it are these two things, which are alone
necessary for salvation. The import then of the words,
Who shall ascend into heaven .^ is the same, as though you
should say, "Who knows whether the inheritance of eternal
and celestial life remains for us?" And the words. Who
shall descend into the deep 1 mean the same, as though you
should say, " Who knows whether the everlasting destruc-
tion of the soul follows the death of the body ?" He teaches
us, that doubt on those two points is removed by the right-
eousness of faith ; for the one would draw down Christ from
heaven, and the other would bring him up again from death.
Christ's ascension into heaven ought indeed fully to confirm
our faith as to eternal life ; for he in a manner removes
Christ himself from the possession of heaven, who doubts
whether the inheritance of heaven is prepared for the faith-
ful, in whose name, and on whose account he has entered
thither. Since in like manner he underwent the horrors of
hell to deliver us from them, to doubt whether the faithful
are still exposed to this misery, is to render void, and, as it
were, to deny his death.
8. What does it say ?^ For the purpose of removing the
impediments of faith, he has hitherto spoken negatively : but
now in order to show the way of obtaining righteousness, he
adopts an affirmative mode of speaking. Though the whole
might have been announced in one continuous sentence, yet
a question is interposed for the sake of exciting attention :
and his object at the same time was to show how great is
the difiference between the righteousness of the law and that
of the gospel ; for the one, showing itself at a distance, re-
strains all men from coming nigh ; but the other, ofiering
itself at hand, kindly invites us to a fruition of itself, Nigh
thee is the word.
J " The righteousness of faith" is evidently the "it" in this question:
See ver. G.—Ed.
CHAP. X. 8. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 391
It must bo further observed, that lest the minds of men,
being led away by crafts, should wander from the way of
salvation, the limits of the word are prescribed to them,
Avithin which they are to keep themselves: for it is the same
as though he had bidden them to be satisfied with the word
only, and reminded them, that in this mirror those secrets
of heaven are to be seen, which would otherwise by their
brightness dazzle their eyes, and would also stun their ears
and overpower the mind itself.
Hence the faithful derive from this passage remarkable
consolation with regard to the certainty of the word ; for
they may no less safely rest on it, than on what is actually
present. It must also be noticed, that the word, by which
we have a firm and calm trust as to our salvation, had been .
set forth even by Moses :
Tliis is the luord of faith. Rightly does Paul take this as
granted ; for the doctrine of the law does by no means ren-
der the conscience quiet and calm, nor supply it with what
ought to satisfy'- it. He does not, however, exclude other
parts of the word, no, not even the precepts of the law ;
but his design is, to show that remission of sins stands for
righteousness, even apart from that strict obedience which
the law demands. Sufficient then for pacifying minds, and
for rendering certain our salvation, is the word of the, gospel ;
in which we are not commanded to earn righteousness by
works, but to embrace it, when offered gratuitously, by faith.
The word of faith is to be taken for the word of promise,
that is, for the gospel itself, because it bears a relation to
faith.^ The contrast, by which the difference between the
law and the gospel appears, is indeed to be understood : and
from this distinction we learn, — that as the law demands
works, so the gospel requires nothing else, but that men
bring faith to receive the grace of God. The words, which
we jJ^'sach, are added, that no one might have the suspicion
that Paul differed from Moses ; for he testifies, that in the
ministration of the gospel there was complete consent be-
1 It is " the word " which requires " faith," and is received by faith ; or
it is the word entitled to faith, worthy of being believed ; or it is the word
which generates and supports faith. — Ed.
392 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. X. 9.
tween him and Moses ; inasmuch as even Moses placed our
felicity in nothing else but in the gratuitous promise of
divine favour.
9. That if thou wilt confess, &c. Here is also an allusion,
rather than a proper and strict quotation : for it is very
probable that Moses used the word mouth, hy taking a part
for the whole, instead of the word /ace, or sight. But it was
not unsuitable for the Apostle to allude to the word mouth,
in this manner : — " Since the Lord sets his word before our
face, no doubt he calls upon us to confess it." For wherever
the word of the Lord is, it ought to bring forth fruit ; and
the fruit is the confession of the mouth.
By putting confession before faith, he changes the order,
which is often the case in Scripture : for the order would
have been more regular if the faith of the heart had pre-
ceded, and the confession of the mouth, which arises from it,
had followed.^ But lie rightly confesses the Lord Jesus,
who adorns him with his own power, acknowledging him to
be such an one as he is given by the Father, and described
in the gospel.
Express mention is made only of Christ's resurrection ;
which must not be so taken, as though his death was of no
moment, but because Christ, by rising again, completed the
whole work of our salvation : for thougli redemption and
satisfaction were effected by his death, through which we
are reconciled to God ; yet tlie victory over sin, death, and
1 " He puts ' mouth ' before ' heart,' " says Parens, " for he follows the
order m ■which they are given by Moses, and for this reason, because we
know not faith otherwise than by possession."
This is one of the many instances both in the New and Old Testament,
in which the most apparent act is mentioned first, and then the most hid-
den, or in which the deed is stated first, and then the principle from which
it proceeds. See ch. xiii. 13 ; xv. 13. And we have here another in-
stance of the Apostle's style; he reverses the order in the 10th verse,
mentioning faith first, and confession last. The two verses may be thus
rendered, —
9. That if thou wilt confess 'with thy mouth the Lord Jesus,
And believe in thine heart that God raised liira from the dead,
Thou shalt be saved :
10. For with the heart we believe unto righteousness.
And with the mouth we confess unto salvation.
He begins and ends with confession, and in the middle clauses he men-
tions faith. — Ed.
CHAP. X. 10. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. o93
Satan was attained by liis resurrection ; and hence also came
righteousness, newness of life, and the hope of a blessed im-
mortality. And thus is resurrection alone often set before
us as the assurance of our salvation, not to draw away our
attention from his death, but because it bears witness to the
efficac}'' and fruit of his death : in short, his resurrection
includes his death. On this subject we have briefly touched
in tlie sixth chapter.
It may be added, that Paul requires not merely an his-
torical faith, but he makes the resurrection itself its end.
For we must remember the purpose for which Christ rose
again ; — it was the Father's design in raising him, to restore
us all to life : for thougk Christ had power of himself to re-
assume his soul, yet this work is for the most part ascribed
in Scripture to God the Father.
10. For with the heart we believe^ unto righteousness, &c.
This passage may help us to understand what justification
by faith is ; for it shows that righteousness then comes to
us, when we embrace God's goodness oifered to us in the
gospel. We are then for this reason just, because we believe
that God is propitious to us in Christ. But let us observe
tliis, — that the seat of faith is not in the head, {in cerebro —
in the brain,) but in the heart. Yet I would not contend
about the part of the body in which faith is located : but as
the word heart is often taken for a serious and sincere feel-
ing, I would say that faith is a firm and effectual confidence,
(Jiducia — trust, dependence,) and not a bare notion only.
^ " Creditur ;" ^KmCiTai, "li is believed." It is an impersonal verb,
and so is the verb in the next clause. The introduction of a person is
necessary in a version, and we may say, " We believe ;" or, as " thou " is
used in the preceding verse, it may be adopted here, — " For by the heart
thou believest unto righteousness," i.e., in order to attain righteousness;
" and with the mouth thou confessest imto salvation," i.e., in order to
attain salvation. " God knows our faith," as Parens observes, " but it is
made known to man by confession." Turrettin's remarks on this verse
are much to the purpose. He says, that Paul loved antitheses, and that
we are not to understand faith and confession as separated and applied
only to the two things here mentioned, but ought to be viewed as con-
nected, and that a similar instance is foimd in ch. iv. 25, where Christ is
said to have been delivered for our oflences, and to have risen again for
owe justification ; which means, that by his death and resurrection our
offences are blotted out, and justification is obtained. In the same man-
ner the import of what is here said is, that by sincere faith and open con-
fession we obtain justification and salvation. — Ed.
394 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. X, 11.
With the mouth confession is made unto salvation. It may
seem strange, that he ascribes no part of our salvation to
faith, as he had before so often testified, that we are saved
by faith alone. But we ought not on this account to conclude
that confession is the cause of our salvation. His design
was only to show how God completes our salvation, even when
he makes faith, which he implants in our hearts, to show
itself by confession : nay, his simple object was, to mark out
true faith, as that from which this fruit proceeds, lest any
one should otherwise lay claim to the empt}^ name of faith
alone : for it ought so to kindle the heart with zeal for God's
glory, as to force out its own flame. And surely, he who is
justified has already obtained salvation : hence he no less
believes with the heart unto salvation, than with the mouth
makes a confession. You see that he has made this distinc-
tion,— that he refers the cause of justification to faith, — and
that he then shows what is necessary to complete salvation ;
for no one can believe with the heart without confessing
with the mouth : it is indeed a necessary consequence, but
not that which assigns salvation to confession.
But let them see what answer they can give to Paul, who
at this day proudly boast of some sort of imaginary faith,
which, being content with the secrecy of the heart, neglect
the confession of the mouth, as a matter superfluous and
vain ; for it is extremely puerile to say, that there is fire,
when there is neither flame nor heat.
1 1 . For the scripture saith, Who- 1 1 . Dicit enim scriptura, omnis
soever believeth on him shall not be qui credit in eum non pudefiet :
ashamed.
12. For there is no difference be- 12, Non enim est distinctio ludaji
tween the Jew and the Greek : for et Gra?ci ; imus enim Dominus om-
the same Lord over all is rich unto nium, dives in omnes qui invocant
all that call upon him. eum ;
13. For whosoever shall call upon 13. Quisquis enim invocaverit no-
thename of the Lord shall be saved, men Domini salvus erit.
11. For the Scripture saith, &c. Having stated the rea-
sons why God had justly repudiated the Jews, he returns to
prove the calling of the Gentiles, which is the other part of
the question which he is discussing. As then he had ex-
plained the way by which men obtain salvation, and one
that is common and opened to the Gentiles no less than to
CHAP. X. 12. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 395
the Jews, lie now, having first hoisted an universal banner,
extends it expressly to the Gentiles, and then invites the
Gentiles byname to it : and he repeats the testimony which
he had before adduced from Isaiah, that what he said might
have more authority, and that it might also be evident, how
well the prophecies concerning Christ hai-monize with the
law.^
12. For there is no distinction, &c. Since faith alone is
required, wherever it is found, there the goodness of God
manifests itself unto salvation : there is then in this case no
diiferenee between one people or nation and another. And
he adds the strongest of reasons ; for since he who is the
Creator and Maker of the whole w^orld is the God of all
men, he will show himself kind to all who will acknowledge
and call on him as their God : for as his mercy is infinite,
it cannot be but that it will extend itself to all by whom
it shall be sought.
Rich is to be taken here in an active sense, as meaning-
kind and bountiful.^ And we may observe, that the wealth
of our Father is not diminished by his liberality ; and that
therefore it is not made less for us, with whatever multiplied
affluence of his grace he may enrich others. There is then
no reason why some should envy the blessings of others, as
though anything were thereby lost by them.
But though this reason is sufficiently strong, he yet
strengthens it by the testimony of the Prophet Joel ; which,
according to the general term that is used, includes all alike.
But readers can see much better by the context, that what
Joel declares harmonizes with the present subject ; for he
prophesies in that passage of the kingdom of Christ : and
further, after having said, that the wrath of God would burn
in a dreadful manner, in the midst of his ardour, he promises
1 As in cliap. ix. 33, the Ajiostle quotes from the Septuag'int; for to
" make haste," as the Hebrew is, conveys the same idea as " to be asham-
ed :" for he Avho hastens, acts for the most part foolishly and brings him-
self to shame, as Saul did, -when he did not wait for Samuel, but hastened
to sacrifice, and thereby brought shame on himself. — Ed.
2 " Pro benigno et benefico :" the word " rich," is rather to be taken as
meaning one who possesses abundance, or an exuberance of things, and
here, of gifts and blessings, of mercy and grace to pardon, to cleanse, and
to endow with spiritual privileges. — Ed.
396 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. X. ] 3.
salvation to all vvho would call on the name of tlie Lord. It
hence follows, that the grace of God penetrates into the
abyss of death, if only it be sought there ; so that it is not
by any means to be withheld from the Gentiles.^
14. How then shall they call on 14. Qiiomodo ergo invocabunt
him in whom they have not be- eum in quem non crediderint ? quo-
lieved ? and how shall they believe in modo vero in eum credent de quo
him of whom they have not heard ? non audiverint ? quomodo autem
and how shall they hear without a audient absque prsedicante ?
preacher ?
15. And how shall they preach, 15. Quomodo autem prsedicabunt
except they be sent ? as it is written, nisi mittantur? quemadmodum scrip-
How beautiful are the feet of them turn est, Quam pulchri pedes an-
that preach the gospel of peace, and nuntiantium pacem, annuntiantiura
bring glad tidings of good things! bona !
16. But they have not all obeyed 16. Sed non omnes obedierimt
the gospel : for Esaias saith. Lord, evangelic ; lesaias enim dicit, Do-
who hath beheved our report ? mine, quis credidit sermoni nostro ?
17. So then faith cometh by hear- 17. Ergo fides ex auditu, auditus
ing, and hearing by the word of autem per verbum Dei.
God?
I shall not engage the reader long in reciting and dis-
proving the opinions of others. Let every one have his own
view ; and let me be allowed to bring forward Avhat I think.
That you may then understand the design of this gradation,
bear in mind first, that there was a mutual connection be-
tween the calling of the Gentiles and the ministry of Paul,
which he exercised among them ; so that on the evidence for
the one depended the evidence for the other. It was now
necessary for Paul to prove, beyond a doubt, the calling of
the Gentiles, and, at the same time, to give a reason for his
own ministry, lest he should seem to extend the favour of
God without authority, to withhold from the children the
bread intended for them by God, and to bestow it on dogs.
But these things lie therefore clears up at the same time.
But how he connects the thread of his discourse, will not be
fully understood, until every part be in order explained.
The import of what he advances is the same as though
^ The passage referred to is in Joel ii. 32. It is taken verbatim from
the Septiiagint ; and it is literally according to the Hebrew, except that
the last verb u?D, in that language, means to be set free, rescued, or
dehvered, rather than to be saved ; but the idea is nearly the same. — Ed.
CHAP. X. 14. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 397
he had said, " Both Jews and Gentiles, by calling- on the
name of God, do thereby declare that they believe on him ;
for a true calling on God's name cannot be except a right
knowledge of him were first had. Moreover, faith is pro-
duced by the word of God, but the word of God is nowhere
preached, except through God's special providence and ap-
pointment. Where then there is a calling on God, there is
faith ; and where faith is, the seed of the word has preceded;
where there is preaching there is the calling of God. Now
where his calling is thus efficacious and fruitful, there is
there a clear and indubitable proof of the divine goodness.
It will hence at last appear, that the Gentiles are not to be
excluded from the kingdom of God, for God has admitted
them into a participation of his salvation. For as the cause
of faith among them is the preaching of the gospel, so the
cause of preaching is the mission of God, by which it had
pleased him in this manner to provide for their salvation."
We shall now consider each portion by itself
14. How shall they call ? &c. Paul intends here to connect
prayer with faith, as they are indeed things most closely
connected, for he who calls on God betakes himself, as it
were, to the only true haven of salvation, and to a most
secure refuge ; he acts like the son, who commits himself
into the bosom of the best and the most loving of fathers,
that he may be protected by his care, cherished by his kind-
ness and love, relieved by his bounty, and supported by his
power. This is what no man can do who has not previously
entertained in his mind such a persuasion of God's paternal
kindness towards him, that he dares to expect everything
from him.
He then who calls on God necessarily feels assured that
there is protection laid up for him ; for Paul speaks here of
that calling which is approved by God. Hypocrites also
pray, but not unto salvation ; for it is with no conviction of
faith. It hence appears how completely ignorant are all the
schoolmen, who doubtingly present themselves before God,
being sustained by no confidence. Paul thought far other-
wise ; for he assumes this as an acknowledged axiom, that
we cannot rightly pray unless we are surely persuaded of
398 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. X. 15.
success. For he does not refer liere to hesitating faith, but
to that certainty which our minds entertain respecting" his
paternal kindness, when by the gospel he reconciles us to
himself, and adopts us for his children. By this confidence
only we have access to him, as we are also taught in Eph.
iii. 12.
But, on the other hand, learn that true faith is only that
which brings forth prayer to Grod ; for it cannot be but that
he who has tasted the goodness of God will ever by prayer
seek the enjoyment of it.
How shall they believe on him? &c. The meaning is, that
we are in a manner mute until God's promise opens our
mouth to pray, and this is the order which he points out by
the Prophet, when he says, " I will say to them, my people
are ye ]" and they shall say to me, " Thou art our God."
/(Zech. xiii. 9.) It belongs not indeed to us to imagine a
God according to what we may fancy ; we ought to possess
a right knowledge of him, such as is set forth in his word.
i And when any one forms an idea of God as good, according
' to his own understanding, it is not a sure nor a solid faith
vf liich he has, but an uncertain and evanescent imagination ;
it is therefore necessary to have the word, that we may have
a rio-ht knowledge of God. No other word has he mentioned
here but that which is preached, because it is the ordinary
mode which the Lord has appointed for conveying his word.
But were any on this account to contend that God cannot
transfer to men the knowledge of himself, except by the
instrumentality of preaching, we deny that to teach this
was the Apostle's intention ] for he had only in view the
ordinary dispensation of God, and did not intend to prescribe
a law for the distribution of his grace.
15. Hoiu shall they preach except they he sent? &c. He in-
timates that it is a jjroof and a pledge of divine love when
any nation is favoured with the preaching of the gosjpel;
and that no one is a j^reacher of it, but he whom God has
raised up in his special providence, and that hence there is
no doubt but that he visits that nation to whom the gospel
is proclaimed. But as Paul does not treat here of the lawful
call of any one, it would be superfluous to speak at large on
CHAP. X. 16. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 399
the subject. It is enough for us to bear this only in mind,
that the gospel does not fall like rain from the clouds, but
is brought by the hands of men wherever it is sent from
above.
As it is written, Hoiv beautiful, &c. We are to apply this
testimony to our present subject in this manner, The Lord,
when he gave hope of deliverance to his people, commended
the advent of those who brought the glad tidings of peace,
by a remarkable eulogy ; by this very circumstance he has
made it evident that the apostolic ministry was to be held
in no less esteem, by which the message of eternal life is
brought to us. And it hence follows, that it is from God,
since there is nothing in the world that is an object of desire
and worthy of praise, which does not proceed from hishand.^
But hence we also learn how much ought all good men to
desire, and how much they ought to value the preaching of
the gospel, which is thus commended to us by the mouth of
the Lord himself Nor is there indeed a doubt, but that
God has thus highly spoken of the incomparable value of
this treasure, for the purpose of awakening the minds of all,
so that they may anxiously desire it. Take feet, by metony-
my, for coming.'
16. But all have not obeyed the gospel, &c. This belongs
1 " This prophecy," says Oomarus, " has not two meanings — the proper
and the allegorical, as the Papists foolishly assert, but two fulfilments ;
the first when heralds announced the return of the people from Babylon
to their o^^ n comitry ; and the second, (shadowed forth by the first as its
destined tji^e,) when the heralds of the gospel annoimced and proclaimed
its tidings to the world." — Ed.
- This passage is taken from Isaiah lii. 7. This is a striking instance that
the Apostle quotes not from the Septuagint, when that version materially
departs from the Hebrew, as is the case here. Though it appears to be a
version of his own, he yet gives not the original literally, but accommo-
dates it to his own purpose : he leaves out '•' on the mountains," and adopts
the i^lural mmiber instead of the singular, both as to the participle " an-
nouncing" or evangelizing, and as to the word "good." The words peace,
good, and salvation, in Hebrew, seem to refer to the same thing, according
to the usual style of the Prophets.
The words of Paul, as rendered by Calvin, coincide more with the He-
brew, than as they are rendered in our common version. The verb siay-
yO.i^M, is often used simply in the sense of annomicing. publishing, declaring
or preaching, as in Luke iii. 18 ; iv. 43 ; Acts v. 42, &c. ; and in this sense
it exactly corresponds with 1C'3, which means the same, though the other
idea of the Greek verb, that of evangelizing, has been wrongly given to it ;
for it is applied to the announcing of bad as well as of good news. — Ed,
400 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. X. 1 6.
not to tlie argument, which Paul designed to follow in the
gi-adation he lays down ; nor does he refer to it in the con-
clusion which immediately follows. It was yet expedient
for Paul to introduce the sentence here, in order to antici-
pate an ohjection, lest any one should build an argument on
what he had said, — that the word in order always precedes
faith, as the seed the corn, — and draw this inference, that
faith everywhere follows the word : for Israel, who had never
been without the word, might have made a boast of this
kind. It was therefore necessary, that, in passing, he should
give them this intimation, — that many are called, who are
yet not chosen.
He also quotes a passage from Isaiah liii. 1 ; where the
Prophet, before he proceeds to announce a remarkable predic-
tion respecting the death and the kingdom of Christ, speaks
with astonishment of the few number of believers, who ap-
peared to him in the Spirit to be so few, that he was con-
strained to exclaim, " 0 Lord, who has believed our report?"
that is, the word which we preach. For though in Hebrew
the term Piyi^SJ^, shimiioe, means passively a word,^ yet the
Greeks have rendered it, aKorjv — hearing, and the Latins,
auditum — hearing ; incorrectly indeed, but with no ambi-
guity in the meaning.
We now see why this exception was by the way intro-
duced ; it was, that no one might suppose that faith neces-
sarily follows where there is preaching. He however does
afterwards point out the reason, by saying, " To whom has
the arm of the Lord been revealed 1" by which he intimates
that there is no benefit from the word, except when God
shines in us by the light of his Spirit ; and thus the inward
* Or, what is heard ; it being a noim from VOK', to hear, in its passive
sense, it signifies a report, a message, or any tidings conveyed to the hear-
ing of men. The Greek word cckoyi is used in various senses, as signifying
the act of hearing, Matt. xiii. 14, — ihe faculty of hearing, 1 Cor. xii. 17, —
the organ of hearing, the ear, Mark. vii. 35, — and ivhat is heard, a word,
a report, as here and in John xii. 38. Schleusner refers to instances in
the classics in which the word is used in all these meanings. It is not
necessary, nor is it in accordance with the usual manner of the Apostle, to
give the word the same meaning in the next verse as in this. It is the
practice of the Apostle to use the same words in different senses in the
same passage. See chap. iv. 18 ; viii. 24. Here it means what is heard,
report : and in the following verse, the act, that is, hearing. — Ed.
CHAP. X. 1 7. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 401
calling-, which alone is efficacious and peculiar to the elect,
is distinguished from the outward voice of men. It is hence
evident, how foolishly some maintain, that all are indiscri-
minately the elect, because the doctrine of salvation is uni-
versal, and because God invites all indiscriminately to him-
self. But the generality of the promises does not alone and
by itself make salvation common to all : on the contrary,
the peculiar revelation, mentioned by the Prophet, confines
it to the elect.
17. Faith then is hy hearing, &c. We see by this con-
clusion what Paul had in view by the gradation which he
formed ; it was to show, that wherever faith is, God has
there already given an evidence of his election ; and then,
that he, by pouring his blessing on the ministration of the
gospel, to illuminate the minds of men by faith, and thereby
to lead them to call on his name, had thus testified, that the
Gentiles were admitted by him into a participation of the
eternal inheritance.
And this is a remarkable passage with regard to the effi-
cacy of preaching ; for he testifies, that by it faith is pro-
duced. He had indeed before declared, that of itself it is
of no avail ; but that when it pleases the Lord to work, it
becomes the instrument of his power. And indeed the voice
of man can by no means penetrate into the soul ; and mor-
tal man would be too much exalted, were he said to have
the power to regenerate us ; the light also of faith is some-
thing sublimer than what can be conveyed by man : but all
these things are no hindrances, that God should not work
effectually through the voice of man, so as to create faith in
us through his ministry.
It must be further noticed, that faith is grounded on no-
thing else but the truth of God ; for Paul does not teach us
that faith springs from any other kind of doctrine, but he
expressly restricts it to the word of God ; and this restriction
would have been improper if faith could rest on the decrees
of men. Away^ then with all the devices of men Avhen we
speak of the certainty of faith. ^ Hence also the Papal con-
ceit respecting implicit faith falls to the ground, because it
tears away faith from the word ; and more detestable still is
2 c
402 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. X. 18.
that blasphemy, that the truth of the word remains sus-
pended until the authority of the Church establishes it.
18. But I say, Have they not 18. Sed dico, Nunquid non audi-
heard ? Yes verily, their sound went erunt ? Quinimo, In oumem terram
into all the earth, and their words exivit sonus eorum, et in fines orbis
unto the ends of the world. verba eoruni.
19. But I say, Did not Israel 19. Sed dico, Nunquid non cogno-
know ? First, Moses saith, I will pro- vit Israel ? Primus Moses dicit. Ego
yoke you to jealousy by them that ad semulationem provocabo vos in eo
are no people, and by a foolish na- qui non est populus, et in gente stulta
tion I Avill anger you. irritabo vos.
20. But Esaias is very bold, and 20. lesaias autem audet et dicit,
saith, I was found of them that Inventus sum a non quserentibus me,
sought me not ; I was made manifest conspicvms factus sum iis qui me non
unto them that asked not after me. interrogabant.
21. But to Israel he saith, All day 21. De Israele autem dicit, Quo-
long I have stretched forth my hands tidie expandi manus meas ad popu-
unto a disobedient and gainsaying lum contumacem et contradicentem
people. {yel, non credentem.)
18. But I say, have they not heard ? &c. Since the minds
of men are imbued, by preaching, with the knowledge of God,
which leads them to call on God, it remained a question
whether the truth of God had been proclaimed to the Gen-
tiles ; for that Paul had suddenly betaken himself to the
Gentiles, there was by that novelty no small offence given.
He then asks, whether God had ever before directed his voice
to the Gentiles, and performed the office of a teacher towards
the whole world. But in order that he might show that the
school, into which God collects scholai's to himself from any
part, is open in common to all, he brings forward a Prophet's
testimony from Ps. xix. 4 ; which yet seems to bear appar-
ently but little on the subject : for the Prophet does not
speak there of Apostles but of the material works of God ;
in which he says the glory of God shines forth so evidently,
that they may be said to have a sort of tongue of their own
to declare the perfections of God.
This passage of Paul gave occasion to the ancients to
explain the whole Psalm allegorically, and posterity have
followed them : so that, without doubt, the sun going forth
as a bridegroom from his chamber, was Christ, and the
heavens were the Apostles. They who had most piety, and
showed a greater modesty in interpreting Scripture, thought
CHAl'. X. 18. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 40o
that what was properly said of the celestial architecture, lias
been transferred by Paul to the Apostles by way of allusion.
But as I find that the Lord's servants have everyw^here with
great reverence explained Scripture, and have not turned
them at pleasure in all directions, I cannot be persuaded,
that Paul has in this manner misconstrued this passage. I
then take his quotation according to the proper and genuine
meaning of the Prophet ; so that the argument will be some-
thing of this kind, — God has already from the beginning
manifested his divinity to the Gentiles, though not by the
preaching of men, yet by the testimony of his creatures ;
for though the gospel was then silent among them, j^et the
whole workmanship of heaven and earth did speak and make
known its author by its preaching. It hence appears, that
the Lord, even during the time in which he confined the
favour of his covenant to Israel, did not yet so withdraw
from the Gentiles the knowledge of himself, but that he ever
kept alive some sparks of it among them. He indeed mani-
fested himself then more particularly to his chosen people,
so that the Jews might be justly compared to domestic
hearers, whom he familiarly taught as it were by his own
mouth ; yet as he spoke to the Gentiles at a distance by the
voice of the heavens, he showed by this prelude that he de-
signed to make himself known at length to them also.
But I know not why the Greek interpreter rendered the
word Dip, kum, (f)^oy<yov avrcov, their sound ; for it means a
line, sometimes in building, and sometimes in writing.^ As
' Interpreters liave been very much at a loss to account for this differ-
ence. The Apostle adopts the rendering of the Septuagint, as though the
Hebrew word had been D?1p. Though there is no copy, yet consulted,
that favours this reading, it is yet the probable one : not only because the
Apostle sanctions it, but it is what the context demands, and especially the
parallelism which prevails in Hebrew poetry. In the next line " words "
are mentioned, and " voice" here would be the most suitable correspond-
ing term. But we may go back to the preceding distich, and iind not
only a confirmation of this, but also an instance of terms being used in the
same passage in ditferent senses, while yet the meaning is obvious to a
common reader, and at the same time intricate and puzzling to a critic.
The two distichs may be thus rendered, —
4. Without speech, and without words!
Not heard is their voice ! —
5. Through all the earth goes forth their voice,
And through the extremity of the world their words.
404 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. X. 19.
it is certain that the same thing is mentioned twice in this
passage, it seems to me probable, that the heavens are intro-
duced as declaring by what is written as it were on them, as
well as by voice, the power of God ; for by the word going
forth the Prophet reminds us, that the doctrine, of which the
heavens are the preachers, is not included within the narrow
limits of one land, but is proclaimed to the utmost regions
of the world.
19. But I say, has not Israel known f This objection of
an opponent is taken from the comparison of the less with
the greater. Paul had argued, that the Gentiles were not
to be excluded from the knowledge of God, since he had
from the beginning manifested himself to them, though only
obscurely and through shadows, or had at least given them
-some knowledge of his truth. What then is to be said of
Israel, who had been illuminated by a far different light of
truth ? for how comes it that aliens and the profane should
run to the light manifested to them afar oiF, and that the
holy race of Abraham should reject it when familiarly seen
by them ? For this distinction must be ever borne in mind,
" What nation is so renowned, that it has gods coming nigh
to it, as thy God at this day descends to thee 1" It was not
then without reason asked, why knowledge had not followed
the doctrine of the law, with which Israel was favoured.
First, Moses saith, &c. He proves by the testimony of
Moses, that there was nothing inconsistent in God in pre-
ferring the Gentiles to the Jews. The passage is taken from
that celebrated song, in which God, upbraiding the Jews
with their perfidiousness, declares, that he would execute
vengeance on them, and provoke them to jealousy by taking
the Gentiles into covenant wath himself, because they had
They have no words, and yet they have words ; they have no voice, and
yet they have a voice. Here the first and the last Hne correspond, and
the second and the third. There is indeed a difl'erent term used for •' words"
in the last line from that which is adopted in the first, but in the first there
are two, " speech," IDS, and " words," D''"i3"I, which are expressed by
one, D vO, in the last. It seems then most probable, that the true read-
ing has been retained by the Septuagint.
The " sound," or voice, as applied in this passage, means the report, the
news, respecting the gospel ; and the " words," the actual preaching of it.
—Ed.
CHAP. X. 20. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 405
departed to tictitious gods. " Ye liave/' lie says, " by de-
spising and rejecting me, transferred my right and honour
to idols : to avenge this wrong, I will also substitute the
Gentiles in your place, and I Avill transfer to them what I
have hitherto given to you." Now this could not have been
without repudiating the Jewish nation : for the emulation,
which Moses mentions, arose from this, — that God formed
for himself a nation from that which was not a nation, and
raised up from nothing a new people, who were to occupy
the place from which the Jews had been driven away, inas-
much as they had forsaken the true God and prostituted
themselves to idols. For though, at the coming of Christ, the
Jews were not gone astray to gross and external idolatry,
they had yet no excuse, since they had profaned the whole
worship of God by their inventions ; yea, they at length
denied God the Father, as revealed in Christ, his only-be-
gotten Son, vv'hich was an extreme kind of impiety.
Observe, that a foolish nation, and 7io nation, are the
same ; for without the hope of eternal life men have pro-
perly no existence. Besides, the beginning or origin of life
is from the light of faith : hence spiritual existence flows
from the new creation ; and in this sense Paul calls the
faithful the work of God, as they are regenerated by his
Spirit, and renewed after his image. Now from the word
foolish, we learn that all the wisdom of men, apart from the
word of God, is mere vanity.^
20. But Isaiah is bold, and says, &c. As this prophecy is
somewhat clearer, that he might excite greater attention he
says that it was expressed with great confidence ; as though
he had said, — " The Prophet did not speak in a figurative
language, or with hesitation, but had in plain and clear
words declared the calling of the Gentiles." But the things
which Paul has here separated, by interposing a few words,
1 The quotation is from Deut. xxxii. 21, and it is literally the Hebrew
as well as the Septuagint, except that "you "is put for " them." The
contrast in Hebrew is very strildng ; the whole verse is this, —
21. They have made me jealous by a no-God,
They have provoked me by their foolish idols :
And I will make them jealous by a no-people,
By a foolish nation Avill I provoke them. — Ed.
4(){) COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. X. 21.
are found connected together in the Prophet, ch. Ixv. 1,
where the Lord declares, that the time would come when he
should turn his favour to the Gentiles ; and he immediately
subjoins this reason, — that he was wearied with the perversc-
ness of Israel, wliich, through very long continuance, had
become intolerable to him. He then speaks thus, — " They
who inquired not of me before, and neglected my name,
have now sought me, (the perfect tense for the future to de-
note the certainty of the ])rophecy ;) they who sought me
not have beyond hope and desire found me."^
I know that this whole passage is changed by some Rab-
bins, as though God promised that he would cause that the
Jews should repent of their defection: but nothing is more
clear than that he speaks of aliens ; for it follows in the
same context, — " I have said, Behold I come to a people, on
whom my name is not called." Without doubt, then, the
Prophet declares it as what would take place, that those
who were before aliens would be received by a new adoption
unto the family of God. It is then the calling of the Gen-
tiles ; and in wdiich appears a general representation of the
calling of all the faithful ; for there is no one who anticipates
the Lord ; but we are all, without exception, delivered by
his free mercy from the deepest abyss of death, wlien there
is no knowledge of him, no desire of serving him, in a word,
no conviction of his truth.
21. But of Israel, &c. A reason is subjoined why God
passed over to the Gentiles ; it was because he saw that his
favour was become a mockery to the Jews. But that readers
may more fully understand that the blindness of the people
is pointed out in the second clause, Paul expressly reminds
us that the elect people were charged with their own wicked-
ness. Literally it is, "He says. to Israel;" but Paul has
imitated the Hebrew idiom ; for 7, lamed, is often jDut for
|D, men. And he says, that to Israel he stretched forth his
hands, wliom he continually by his word invited to himself,
1 Is. Ixv. 1. The two sentences are reversed ; the Septuagint and the
Hebrew are the same. The reason for changing the order does not ap-
pear ; but it may be observed, that it is an instance common in Hebrew,
where essentially the same idea is expressed in two successive lines, so that
it is immaterial which of them is put first. — Ed.
CHAP. X. 21. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 407
and ceased not to allure by every sort of kindness ; for these
are the two ways which he adopts to call men, as he thus
proves his good-will towards them. However, he chiefly
complains of the contempt shown to his truth ; which is the
more abominable, as the more remarkable is the manner by
which God manifests his paternal solicitude in inviting men
by his word to himself
And very emphatical is the expression, that he stretches
out his hands; for by seeking our salvation through the
ministers of his word, he stretches forth to us his hands no
otherwise than as a father who stretches forth his arms,
ready to receive his son kindly into his bosom. And he says
daily, that it might not seem strange to any one if he was
wearied in showing kindness to them, inasmuch as he suc-
ceeded not by his assiduity. A similar representation we
have in Jer. vii. 13; and xi. 7, where he says that he rose
up early to warn them.
Their unfaithfulness is also set forth by two most suitable
words. I have thought it right to render the participle
aireiOovvTa, refractory, or rebellious, and yet the rendering
oi Erasmus and of the Old Translator, which I have placed
in the margin, is not to be wholly disapproved. But since
the Prophet accuses the people of perverseness, and then
adds that they wandered through ways which were not good,
I doubt not but that the Greek Translator meant to express
tlie Hebrew word ^HID, surer, by two words, calling them
first disobedient or rebellious, and then gainsaying ; for their
contumacy showed itself in this, because the peo])le, with
untamable pride and bitterness, obstinately rejected the
holy admonitions of the Prophets.^
* The passage is taken from Is. Ixv. 2. The Sepluagint is followed,
except that the order of the words in the first part of the sentence is
changed, though the Septuagint has preserved the order of the original.
The version is according to the Hebrew, with the exception of the last
Avord, which from its form, the last radical letter being doubled, can hardly
be expressed in another language by a single term, and so the Septuagint
has employed two. It means •' revolting again and again," or wilfully re-
volting. The simple verb ID, signifies to turn aside, to revolt, to aposta-
tize : and in a reduplicate form, as here, it means either a repeated or an
obstinate revolt. Indeed the revolt or the apostasy of the Jews was both
reiterated and perverse, as their history abundantly testifies. — Ed.
408
COMMENTARIES ON THE
CHAP. XI. 1.
CHAPTER XI.
1. I 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 pro-
phets, 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 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 accord-
ing 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.
1. Dico igitur, Num abjecit Deus
populum suum ? absit : etenim ego
Israelita sum, ex genere Abrahse,
tribu Beniamin.
2. Non abjecit Deus populum
suum queni pr£ecogno\at. An nesci-
tis in Elia quid scriptura dicat ?
quomodo appellet Deum adversus
Israel, dicens,
3. Domine, Prophetas tuas occi-
derunt, et altaria tua diruervmt, et
ego relictus sum solus, et quajrunt
animam meam.
4. Sed quid dicit ei oraculum?>
Reservavi mihi ipsi septem millia
virorum, qui non fiexerunt genu
imagini Baal.
5. Sic ergo et hoc tempore, reli-
quifB secundum electionem gratise
supersunt :
6. Quod si per gratiam, jam non
ex operibus ; alioqui gratia, jam non
est gratia : si vero ex operibus, jam
non est gratia ; alioqui opus, jam
non Cot opus.
1. / say then, &c. What he has hitherto said of the blind-
ness and obstinacy of the Jews, might seem to import that
Christ at his coming- had transferred elsewhere the promises
of God, and deprived the Jews of every hope of salvation.
This objection is what he anticipates in this passage, and he
so modifies what he had previously said respecting the repu-
diation of the Jews, that no one might think that the cove-
nant formerly made with Abraham is now abrogated, or that
God had so forgotten it that the Jews were now so entirely
alienated from his kingdom, as the Gentiles were before the
coming of Christ. All tliis he denies, and he will presently
show that it is altogether false. But the question is not
whether God had justly or unjustly rejected the people ; for
1 " Oraculum," o x.i'^f^"''^"'!^''^, the oracle, the divine response. The
answer is put for him who gave the answer, for it is "Jehovah" in the
passage that is quoted; as "Scripture" in verse 2, and in other places,
means him who .speaks in the Scripture. — Ed.
CHAP. XI. 2. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 409
it was proved in the last chapter that when the people,
through fiilse zeal, had rejected the righteousness of God,
they suffered a just punishment for their presumption, were
deservedly blinded, and were at last cut off from the cove-
nant.
The reason then for their rejection is not now under con-
sideration ; but the dispute is concerning another thing,
which is this, That though they deserved such a punishment
from God, whether yet the covenant which God made for-
merly with the fathers was abolished. That it should fail
through any perfidiousness of men, was wholly unreasonable ;
for Paul holds this as a fixed principle, that since adoption
is gratuitous and based on God alone and not on men, it
stands firm and inviolable, howsoever great the unfaithfulness
of men may be, which may tend to abolish it. It was
necessary that this knot should be untied, lest the truth and
election of God should be thought to be dependent on the
wortliiness of men.
For I am also an Israelite, &c. Before he proceeds to
the subject, he proves, in passing, by his own example, how
unreasonable it was to think that the nation was utterly
forsaken by God ; for he himself was in his origin an Israelite,
not a proselyte, or one lately introduced into the common-
wealth of Israel. As then he was justly deemed to be one
of God's special servants, it was an evidence that God's
favour rested on Israel. He then assumes the conclusion as
proved, which yet he will hereafter explain in a satisfactory
manner.
That in addition to the title of an Israelite, he called
himself the seed of Abraham, and mentioned also his own
tribe ; this he did that he might be counted a genuine
Israelite, and he did the same in his Epistle to the Philip-
pians, ch. iii. 4. But what some think, that it was done to
commend God's mercy, inasmuch as Paul sprung from that
tribe which had been almost destroyed, seems forced and
far-fetched.
2. God has not cast away, &c. This is a negative answer,
accompanied with a qualifying clause ; for had the Apostle
unreservedly denied that the people were rejected, he would
410 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XI 2.
have been inconsistent with himself; but by adding a modi-
fication, he shows it to be such a rejection, as that God's
promise is not thereby made void. So the answer may be
divided into two parts, — that God has by no means cast
away the whole race of Abraham, contrary to the tenor of
his owm covenant, — and tliat yet the fi'uit of adoption does
not exist in all the children of the flesh, for secret election
precedes. Tlius general rejection could not have caused
that no seed should be saved ; for the visible body of the
people was in such a manner rejected, that no member of
the spiritual body of Christ was cut off.
If any one asks, " Was not circumcision a common sym-
bol of God's favour to all the Jews, so that they ought to
liave been all counted his people?" To this the obvious
answer is, — That as outward calling is of itself ineifectual
without faith, the honour which the unbelieving refuse when
offered, is justly taken from them. Tluis a special people
remain, in whom God exhibits an evidence of his faithful-
ness ; and Paul derives the origin of constancy from secret
election. For it is not said here that God regards faith, but
that he stands to his own purpose, so as not to reject the
people whom he has foreknown.
And here again must be noticed what I have before
reminded you of, — that by the verb foreknow, is not to be
understood a foresight, I know not what, by which God
foresees what sort of being any one will be, but that good
pleasure, according to which he has chosen those as sons to
himself, who, being not yet born, could not have procured for
themselves his favour.^ So he says to the Galatians, that
1 That foreknowledge here includes election or predestination, as Augus-
tine maintains, is evident from what follows in verse 5, where " the rem-
nant" is said to be reserved " according to the election of grace," or
gratuitous election. If it be gratuitous, then it cannot be according to
any foreseen works : and works are expressly excluded in verse 6. Were
it otherwise, were foreseen works the ground of election, there would be no
suitableness nor congruity in such terms as foreknowledge and election on
the subject. It would have been much more appropriate in this case for
the Apostle to say, " God will receive every Jew who will render himself
worthy by his works." On this supposition there was no necessity for him
to go back to election to remove the objection which he had stated : he
had only to refer to the terms of the gospel, which regard Jews and Gen-
tiles without any difference. But instead of doing this, which seems ade-
CHAP. XL 2. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 41 1
they had been known by God, (Gal. iv. 9) ; for lie bad anti-
cipated tbem with bis favour, so as to call tbem to tbe
knowledge of Cbrist. We now perceive, tbat tbougb uni-
versal calling- may not bring forth fruit, yet the fiiithfulness
of God does not fail, inasmuch as he always preserves a
Church, as long as there are elect remaining ; for though
God invites all peojjle indiscriminately to himself, yet he
does not inwardly draw any but those whom he knows to
be his peoj^le, and whom he has given to his Son, and of
whom also he will be the faithful keeper to the end.
Knoiu ye not, &e. As tlicre were so few of the Jews Avho
had believed in Christ, hardly another conclusion could have
been drawn from this small number, but that the wliole
race of Abraham had been rejected ; and creep in might
this thought, — that in so vast a ruin no sign of God's favour
appeared : for since adoption w^as the sacred bond by which
the children of Abraham were kept collected under the pro-
tection of God, it was by no means probable, unless that had
ceased, that the people should be miserably and wretchedly
dispersed. To remove this offence, Paul adopts a most suit-
able example ; for he relates, that in the time of Elias there
was such a desolation, that there remained no appearance of
a Church, and yet, that when no vestige of God's favour ap-
peared, the Church of God was, as it were, hid in the grave,
and was thus wonderfully preserved.
It hence follows, that they egregiously mistake who form
an opinion of the Church according to their own perceptions.
And surely if that celebrated Prophet, who was endued with
so enlightened a mind, was so deceived, when he attempted
by his own judgment to form an estimate of God's peoj)le,
what shall be the case with us, whose liighest perspicuity,
wdien compared with his, is mere dulness ? Let us not then
determine any thing rashly on this point ; but rather let
this truth remain fixed in our hearts — that the Church,
though it may not appear to our eyes, is sustained by the
quale to the purpose, he gives an answer by referring to the foreknowledge
and free election of God. There is no way to account for this, except by
admitting, that election is an efficacious purpose which secures the salva-
tion of tiiose who are its objects, who have been chosen in Christ before
the fovuidation of the world. — Ed.
412 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XL 2.
secret providence of God. Let it also be remembered by us,
that they are foolish and presumptuous who calculate the
number of the elect according- to the extent of their own
perception : for God has a way, easy to himself, hidden from
us, by which he wonderfully preserves his elect, even when
all things seem to us past all remedy.
And let readers observe this, — that Paul distinctly com-
pares here, and elsewhere, the state of things in his time
with the ancient condition of the Church, and that it serves
in no small degree to confirm our faith, when we bear in
mind, that nothing happens to us, at this da}^, which the
holy Fathers had not formerly experienced : for novelty, we
know, is a grievous engine to torment weak minds.
As to the words, In Elias, I have retained the expression
of Paul ; for it may mean either in the history or in the
business of Elias ; though it seems to me more probable, that
Paul has followed the Hebrew mode of speaking ; for 2,
beth, which is rendered in the Greek by ev, in, is often
taken in Hebrew for of.
How he appeals to Ood, &c} It Avas certainly a proof
how mucli Elias honoured the Lord, that for the glory of his
name he hesitated not to make himself an enemy to his own
nation, and to pray for their utter ruin, because he thought
that the religion and worship of God had perished among
them : but he was mistaken in charging the whole nation,
himself alone excepted, with that impiety, for which he
wished them to be severely visited. There is however in
this passage, Avhich Paul quotes, no imprecation, but a com-
^ " Quomodo appellet Deuni adversus Israel — how he appeals to or calls
on God agamst Israel : " &>; hruyx''^^' "^V ®'f "^'^a ■^"y 'ir^ahx ; " how he
solicits (interpellet) God against Israel," Beza ; " when he pleadeth with
God against Israel," Doddridge ; '•' when he complaineth to God against
Israel," Machnight. To " complain to God against, or, with respect to,
Israel," would probably be the most suitable rendering. See Acts xxv. 24.
The quotation in the following verse is from 1 Kings xix. 10, and is not
taken literally, either from the Hebrew, or from the Septuagint. The
order of the two first clauses is changed ; " prophets," and not " altars,"
are mentioned first : in these he has adopted the words of the Septuagint,
but in the clause which follows he has changed the terms ; instead of ««'
v-7r(i>iXiif^f/.a.i iyu fjt.ovararo;, the Apostlc has xaya {/■rtXtlfi^yiv fzovog ; and he
has left out the words, " to take it away" after life. The case is similar
with the quotation in ver. 4, from 1 Kings xix. 18. The sense is given, but
not exactly the words, either from the Hebrew or the Septuagint. — Ed.
CHAP. XI. 5. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 4J3
plaint only : but as lie complains in such a way as to despair
of the whole people, there is no doubt but that he gave them
up to destruction. Let us then especially notice what is
said of Elias, which was this, — that when impiety had
everywhere prevailed, and overspread almost the whole land,
he thought, that he was left alone.
/ have reserved for myself seven thousand, &c. Though
you may take this finite for an indefinite number, it was yet
the Lord's design to specify a large multitude. Since then the
grace of God prevails so much in an extreme state of things,
let us not lightly give over to the devil all those whose piety
does not openly appear to us. It also ought to be fully
imprinted on our minds,- — that however impiety may every-
where prevail, and dreadful confusion spread on every side,
yet the salvation of many remains secured under the seal of
God.^ But that no one may under this error indulge his
own sloth, as many seek hiding-places for their vices in the
hidden providences of God, it is right to observe again, — that
they only are said to be saved who continue sound and un-
polluted in the faith of God. This circumstance in the case
ought also to be noticed, — that those only remained safe
who did not prostitute their body, no, not even by an ex-
ternal act of dissimulation, to the worship of idols ; for he
not only ascribes to them a purity of mind, but that they
had also kept their body from being polluted by any filthi-
ness of superstition.^
So then also at this time, &c. He applies the example to
his own age ; and to make all things alike, he calls God's
people a remnant, that is, in comparison with the vast num-
ber in whom impiety prevailed : and alluding at the same
time to the prophecy he had quoted from Isaiah, he shows,
J Paints ol)serves, tliat these seven thousand had no public ministry,
for that was idolatrous ; and that yet they were preserved by such in-
struction as they derived from the written word. — Ed.
' Calvin, as some others, has supplied " image" before " Baal," as the
feminine article tv is by Paul prefixed to it. In the Septuagint it is
rf , and a masculine pronoun is found at the end of the verse in 1 Kings
xix. 18, so that it could not have been a female deity, as some have sup-
posed. It is indeed evident, especially from a passage in Tobit, ch. i. 5,
that there was a female deity of this name ; but the text in Kings will not
allow us to regard this goddess to be intended. — Ed.
414 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XL 6,
that in the midst of a miserable and confused desolation the
faithfulness of God yet shone forth, for there was still some
remnant : and in order more fully to confirm this, he ex-
pressly calls them a remnant that survived through the
grace of God : and thus he bore witness that God's election
is unchang-eable, according to what the Lord said to Elias,
— that where the whole people had fallen away to idolatry,
he had reserved for himself seven thousand : and hence we
conclude, that through his kindness they were delivered
from destruction. Nor does he simply speak of grace ; but
he now calls our attention also to election, that we may
Icai'n reverently to rely on the hidden purpose of God.
One thing then that is laid down is, — that few are saved
in comparison with the vast number of those who assume
the name of being God's people ; the other is, — that those
are saved by God's power whom he has chosen with no re-
gard to any merit. The election of grace is a Hebrew idiom
for gratuitous election.
6. If through grace, it is no more hy works, &c. This
amplitieation is derived from a comparison between things
of an opposite character ; for such is the case between God's
grace and the merit of works, that he who establishes the
one overturns the other.
But if no regard to works can be admitted in election,
without obscuring the gratuitous goodness of God, which he
designed thei'eby to be so much commended to us, what
answer can be given to Paul by those infatuated persons,
(jjhrenetici — insane,) who make the cause of election to be
that worthiness in us which God has foreseen? For whether
you introduce works future or past, this declaration of Paul
opposes you ; for he says, that grace leaves nothing to
works. Paul speaks not here of our reconciliation with
God, nor of the means, nor of the proximate causes of our sal-
vation ; but he ascends higher, even to this, — why God, before
the foundation of the world, chose only some and passed by
others : and he declares, that God was led to make this dif-
ference by nothing else, but by his own good pleasure ; for
if any place is given to works, so much, he maintains, is
taken away from grace.
CHAP. XI. 6. EPISTLK TO THE ROMANS. 415
It lienee follows, tliat it is absurb to blend foreknowledge
of works with election. For if God chooses some and re-
jects others, as he has foreseen them to be worthy or un-
worthy of salvation, then the grace of God, the reward of
works being established, cannot reign alone, but must be
only in part the cause of our election. For as Paul has rea-
soned before concerning the justification of Abraham, that
where reward is paid, there grace is not freely bestowed ; so
now he draws his argument from the same fountain, — that
if works come to the account, when God adopts a certain
number of men unto salvation, reward is a matter of debt,
and that therefore it is not a free gift.^
Now, though he speaks here of election, yet as it is a
general reasoning which Paul adopts, it ought to be applied
to the whole of our salvation ; so that we may understand,
that whenever it is declared that there are no merits of
works, our salvation is ascribed to the grace of God, or ra-
ther, that we may believe that the righteousness of works is
annihilated, whenever grace is mentioned.
7. What then? Israel hath not 7. Quid ergo? Qnod quserit Is-
obtained that which he sceketh for ; r?el, non est assequutus ; - electio
but the election hath obtained it, and autem assequuta est, reliqui vero
the rest were blinded excEecati fuerunt ;
8. (According as it is written, God 8. Quemadmodum scriptum est,
hath given them the spirit of slum- Dedit illis Deus spiritum compunc-
ber, eyes that they should not see, tionis, oculos ut non videant, et au-
and ears that they should not hear) res ut non audiant, usque ad hodier-
unto this day. num diem.
> The last half of this verse is considered spurious by Griesbach, being
not found in the greatest number of MSS., nor in the Vulgate, nor in the
Latin Fathers ; but it is found in some of the Greek Fathers, Theodoret,
CEcumenius, Fhvtins, and in the text, though not in the comment o? Chrysos-
tom, and in TJieophylact, with the exception of the last clause, " Otherwise
work," &c. The !Syriac and ^ivt^ic versions also contain the whole verse.
The argument is complete without the last portion, which is, in fact, a re-
petition of the first in another form. But this kind of statement is wholly
in unison with the character of the Apostle's mode of writing. He often
states a thing positively and negatively, or in two diflerent ways. See
chap. iv. 4, 5 ; ix. 1 ; Eph. ii. 8, 9. Then an omissiun is more probable
than an addition. Beza, Fareus, Woljius, &c., regard it as genuine, and
Doddridge and Machnight have retained it in tlieir versions. Every rea-
son, except the number of MSS., is in favour of its genuineness. — Ed.
" Literally it is, " what Israel seeks, this he has not obtained." The
pronoun for " this," tovtou Griesbach has displaced, and introduced tovt;
in its stead, as the most approved reading. — Ed.
416 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XI. 7.
9. And David saitli. Let their table 9. Et David dieit, Fiat mensa
be made a snare, and a trap, and a eorum in laqueum et in captionem
stuniblingblock, and a recompense et in oft'endiculum et in retributio-
unto them : nem ipsis :
10. Let their ejes be darkened, 10. Obscurentur oculi eorum ne
that they may not see, and bow down videant, et dorsum eorum semper in-
their back alway. curva.
7. What then ? What Israel seeks, &c. As lie is here en-
gaged on a difficult subject, he asks a question, as though
he was in doubt. He intended, however, by expressing this
doubt, to render the answer, Avhich immediately follows,
more evident ; for he intimates, that no other can be given ;
and the answer is, — that Israel in vain laboured to seek sal-
vation, because his attempt was absurd. Though he men-
tions here no cause, yet as he had expressed it before, he
certainly meant it to be understood in this place. For his
words are the same, as though he had said, — that it ought
not to seem strange, that Israel gained nothing in striving
after righteousness. And hence is proved what he presently
subjoins concerning election, — For if Israel has obtained no-
thing by merit, what have others obtained wliose case or
condition was not better ? Whence has come so much differ-
ence between equals ? Who does not here see that it is
election alone which makes the difference ?
Now the meaning of the word election here is doubtful ;
for to some it seems that it ought to be taken in a collective
sense, for the elect themselves, that there may be a corre-
spondence between the two clauses. Of this opinion I do not
disapprove, provided it be allowed that there is something
more in the word than if he had said, the elect, even this, —
that he intimates that there was no other reason for obtain-
ing their election, as though he said, — " They are not those
who strive by relying on merits, but those whose salvation
depends on the gratuitous election of God." For he dis-
tinctly compares with the whole of Israel, or body of the
])eople, the remnant which was to be saved by God's grace.
It hence follows, that the cause of salvation exists not in
men, but depends on the good joleasure of God alone.
And the rest have been blinded} As tlie elect alone are
^ " Excsecati fuerunt," l^ra^u^tja-av ; it means hardened, stupified, rendered
callous or obdiu-ate. OccaJluerunt — " were hardened," Beza ; both JJac-
CHAP. XI. 7. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 41 /
delivered by God's grace from destruction, so call who are not
elected must necessarily remain blinded. For what Paul
means with regard to the reprobate is,— that the beginning
of their ruin and condemnation is from this — that they are
forsaken by God.
The quotations which he adduces, collected from various
parts of Scripture, and not taken from one passage, do seem,
all of them, to be foreign to his purpose, when you closely
examine them according to their contexts ; for you will find
that in every passage, blindness and hardening are men-
tioned as scourges, by which God punished crimes already
committed by the ungodly ; but Paul labours to prove here,
that not those were blinded, who so deserved by their
wickedness, but who were rejected by God before the foun-
dation of the world.
You may thus briefly untie this knot, — that the origin
of the impiety which provokes God's displeasure, is the
perversity of nature when forsaken by God. Paul there-
fore, while speaking of eternal reprobation, has not without
reason referred to those things which proceed from it, as
fruit from the tree or river from the fountain. The ungodly
are indeed, for their sins, visited by God's judgment with
blindness ; but if we seek for the source of their ruin, we
must come to this, — that being accursed by God, they can-
not by all their deeds, sayings, and purposes, get and obtain
any thing but a curse. Yet the cause of eternal reprobation is
so hidden from us, that nothing remains for vis but to wonder
at the incomprehensible purpose of God, as we shall at length
see by the conclusion. But they reason absurdly who, when-
ever a word is said of the proximate causes, strive, by bringing
forward these, to cover the first, which is hid from our view ;
as though God had not, before the fall of Adam, freely de-
termined to do what seemed good to him with respect to the
whole human race on this account, — because he condemns
his corrupt and depraved seed, and also, because he repays
to individuals the reward which their sins have deserved.^
knight and Doddridge render it, " blinded." It is applied to the heart in
Mark vi. 52 ; viii. 17 ; John xii. 40,— to the mind in 2 Cor. iii. l-i.—Ed.
The foregoing reasoning is not satisfactory : it goes beyond the evi-
dent meaning of the Apostle. He no doubt quoted the texts according to
2 D
418 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XI. 8.
8. Given them has Ood, &c. There is no doubt, I think,
but that the passage quoted here from Isaiah is that -which
Luke refers to in Acts, as quoted from him, onl}' the words
are somewhat altered. Nor does he record here what we
find in the Prophet, but only collects from him this senti-
ment,— that they were imbued from above with the spirit of
maliciousness, so that they continued dull in seeing- and
hearing. The Prophet Avas indeed bidden to harden the
heart of the people : but Paul penetrates to the very foun-
tain,— that brutal stupor seizes on all the senses of men,
after they are given up to this madness, so that they excite
themselves by virulent stimulants against the truth. For
he does not call it the spirit of giddiness, but of compunc-
tion, when the bitterness of gall shows itself ; yea, when
there is also a fury in rejecting the truth. And he declares,
that by the secret judgment of God the reprobate are so de-
mented, that being stupified, they are incapable of forming
a judgment ; for when it is said, that by seeing they see
nothing, the dulness of their senses is thereby intimated.^
Then Paul himself adds, to this very day, lest any one
should object and say, tliat this prophecy had been formerly
fulfilled, and that it was therefore absurd to apply it to the
their original design, and to say he did not is to assert what is incapable of
being proved, and what is even contrary to the Apostle's reasoning through-
out. The hardening or blinding spoken of by the Prophets, is stated uni-
formly as a punishment for previous unbelief and impenitence, as admitted
by our author himself, and the obvious fact as to the Jews in the Apostle's
days, was an evidence of the same, and though he states not this fact here,
he states it in the sequel of this Epistle. But why some were hardened
and others were softened, is what must be resolved altogether to the will of
God. This, and no more than this, is what the Apostle evidently teaches
here : and it is neither wise nor right to go beyond what is expressly taught, es-
pecially on a subject of a nature so mysterious and incomprehensible. — Ed.
' The quotation in this verse is taken from two passages : the first
clause is from Is. xxix. 10, and the rest from Is. vi. 9, or Deut. xxix. 4.
The tirst clause is not exactly according to the Hebrew or the Scptuagint :
instead of '-God gave them,"&c., it is in the Septuagint, "the Lord hath
made you drink," &c., and in Hebrew, " Jehovah has poured upon you,"
&c. It is the "spirit of slumber " in both, or rather, "of deep sleep" —
nDTlD, a dead or an overwhelming sleep ; and xaTa»i;'|;f, though not as to
its primary sense the same, is yet used according to this meaning. The
verb means to puncture, to prick, either with grief or remorse, and also to
affect with stupor. The latter idea the noun must have in this place, for the
Hebrew does not admit of the other. The latter part is found in substance,
though not in the same form of words in the two places referred to. — Ed.
OIIAP. XL 9. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 41.9
time of the ^ospel : this objection he anticipates, by sub-
joining, that it was not only a blindness of one day, which
is described, but that it had continued, together with the
unheakble obstinacy of the people, to the coming of Christ.^
9. And David says, &c. In this testimony of David there
is also made some change in the words, but it is not what
changes the meaning. For he thus speaks, " Let their table
before them become a snare, and their peaceful things a
trap ;" there is no mention of retribution. As to the main
point there is sufficient agreement. The Prophet prays, that
whatever is desirable and happy in life might turn out to
the ruin and destruction of the ungodly ; and this is what
he means by table and peaceful things.^ He then gives them
up to blindness of spirit and weakening of strength ; the
one of which he expresses by the darkening of the eyes, and
1 Some consider this passage as taken from Dent. xxix. 4, and regard
the hist words as part of the quotation. — Ed.
2 Grotius miderstands by " table " guests, or friends, who partake of the
provisions spread on the table. The wish is, that these should be a snare,
&c. " Table," according to Parens, means luxm-y or festivity : and he
adds, that there are here three metaphors, — the ensnaring of birds — the
entrapping of wild beasts — and the stumbling in the dark, or that of blind
men. Then the recompense or retaliation implies, that this evil of being
ensnared and entrapped, and of stmiibling, are only just retaliations for
similar acts on their part : as they had ensnared, entrapped, and caused
others to stumble, it was but just that they shoidd be treated in the same
way. And if we take " table " as a metonymy for friends or guests, the
meaning would be very striking. And we know that the very friends and
confederates of the Jews became their enemies and effected their nun. See
Jer. xxxviii. 22.
The subject of imprecations is attended with some difficulty. To impre-
cate, or to pronounce a curse on others, or to wish others accm-sed, was
forbidden even under the law, and it is expressly forbidden under the
gospel, Matt. v. 45 ; Rom. xii. 14 ; we have the example of our Saviour
praying for his enemies even on the cross ; and yet we find that God pro-
nounced a ciu*se on all the transgressors of the law, Deut. xxvii. 26, — that
Christ pronounced a curse on Chorazin and Bethsaida, — that the Psalmist
often imprecated vengeance on his enemies, Ps. v. 10 ; cix. 7-15, — that the
Apostle cursed Alexander the coppersmith, 2 Tim. iv. 14, — and that John
bids us not to pray for him who sins the sin unto death, 1 John v. 16.
The truth is, that circumstances make the ditierence ; what is forbidden
in one respect is allowed in another. The rule to man is, not to curse, but
to bless, except to pronounce on God's enemies as such the judgment
which God has already denounced on them. But to curse individuals is
what no one is allowed to do, except he be inspired so as to know who
those are who are given up by God to final judgment ; which may be sup-
posed to have been the case with the Psalmist and with St. Paul. — Ed.
420 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XI. 9.
the other by the incurvation of the back. But tliat tliis
should be extended ahnost to the whole nation, is not to be
wondered at ; for Ave know, that not only the chief men w^ere
incensed against David, but that the common people Avere
also opposed to him. It appears plain, that what is read in
that passage Avas not applied to a foAv, but to a large num-
ber ; yea, AAdien Ave consider of AA'hom David Avas a type, there
appears to be a spiritual import in the opposite clause.^
Seeing then that this imprecation remains for all the ad-
versaries of Christ, — that their meat shall be converted into
poison, (as Ave see that the gospel is to be the savour of death
unto death,) let us embrace Avith humility and trembling the
grace of God. We may add, that since David speaks of the
Israelites, Avho descended according to the flesh from Abra-
ham, Paul fitly applies his testimony to the subject in hand,
that the blindness of the majority of the people might not
appear new or unusual.
11. I say then, Have they stum- 11. Dico igitur, Num impegerunt
bled that they should fall ? God for- ut corruerent ? Absit : sed eorum
bid : but rather through their fall lapsu salus contigit gentibus in hoc,
salvation is come unto the Gentiles, ut ipsi ad semulationem provocaren-
for to provoke them to jealousy. tm-.
12. Now, if the fall of them be the 12. Si vero eorum lapsus divitise
richesof the world, and the diminish- sunt mundi, et imminutio eorum
ing of them the riches of the Gen- divitise gentium, quanto magis com-
tiles : how much more their fulness ? plementum ipsorum ?
13. For I speak to you Gentiles, 13. Vobisenim dico gentibus, qua-
inasmuch as I am the apostle of the tenus certe ego gentium sum Apos-
Gentiles, I magnify mine office : tolus, ministerium meum illustror,
14. If by any means I may provoke 14. Si quomodo ad semulationem
to emulation them wh ich are my flesh, provocavero carnem meam, et aliquos
and might save some of them. ex ea salvos fecero :
15. For if the casting away of them 1 5. Si enim rejectio eorum, recon-
^ Ps. Ixix. 22, 23. The passage is given as in the Septuagint, except
that y.ii'i I'l; H^cf) is added, and the two foUoM'ing Avords are transposed, with
auTols put after them, and a»7-acro'§«/ia is put for acra^roSsir/v. The 10th verse
is given without any variation from the Septuagint. The Hebrew is in
words considerably difierent, and more so in our version than it really is.
The Avord, D'^OIPE;^, is improperly rendered " welfare," while it ought to be
" recompenses," or, according to Tremelius and Bp. Hoi'seley, " retribu-
tions," or "retribution." See Is. xxxiv. 8. The last clause of the 10th
verse, though in meaning the same, is yet Avholly different in Avords from
the Hebrew, which is thus correctly rendered in our version, " and make
their loins continually to shake." The idea in both instances is the taking
away of vigour and strength. — Ed.
CUAP. XI. 11. KPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 421
be the reconciling of the world, what ciliatio est nuindi, quid assumptio
shall the receiving of them be, but life nisi vita ex niortuis ?
from the dead ?
11. Have they stumbled, &c. You will be greatly hinder-
ed in understanding- this argument, except you take notice,
that the Ajoostle speaks sometimes of the whole nation of
the Jews, and sometimes of single individuals ; for hence
arises the diversity, that onewhile he speaks of the Jews as
being banislicd from the kingdom of God, cut off from the
tree and precipitated by God's judgment into destruction,
and that at another he denies that they had fallen from
grace, but that on the contrary they continued in the pos-
session of the covenant, and had a place in the Church of
God.
It is then in conformity with this diifcrence that he now
speaks ; for since the Jews for the most part rejected Christ,
so that perverseness had taken hold almost on the whole
nation, and few among them seemed to be of a sane mind,
he asks the question, whether the Jewish nation had so
stumbled at Christ, that it Avas all over with them univer-
sally, and that no hope of repentance remained. Here he
justl}^ denies that the salvation of the Jews was to be de-
spaired of, or that they were so rejected by God, that there
was to be no future restoration, or that the covenant of
grace, which he had once made with them, was entirely
abolished, since there had ever remained in that nation the
seed of blessing. That we are so to understand his meaning
is evident from this, — that having before connected a sure
ruin with blindness, he now gives a hope of rising again ;
which two things are wholly diiferent. They then, who per-
versely stumbled at Christ, fell and fell into destruction ;
yet the nation itself had not fallen, so that he who is a Jew
must necessarily perish or be alienated from God.
But by their fall salvation has come to the Gentiles, &c.
The Apostle asserts two things in this place, — that the fall
of the Jews had turned out for salvation to the Gentiles ;
but to this end — that they might be kindled by a sort of
jealousy, and be thus led to repentance. He no doubt had
an eye to the testimony of Moses, which he had already
422 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XI. 12.
quoted, where tlie Lord threatened Israel, — that as he had
been provoked by them to emulation through their false
gods ; so he also, according to the law of retaliation, would
provoke them by a foolish nation.
The word here used denotes the feeling of emulation or
jealousy with which we are excited, when we see another
preferred before us. Since then it was the Lord's purpose
that Israel should be provoked to emulation, they were not
so fallen as to be precipitated into eternal ruin ; but that
God's blessing, despised by them, might come to the Gen-
tiles, in order that they might at length be also stirred up
to seek the Lord, from whom they had fallen away.
But there is no reason for readers to weary themselves
much as to the application of this testimony : for Paul does
not dwell on the strict meaning of the word, but alludes only
to a common and well-known practice. For as emulation
stimulates a wife, who for her fault has been rejected by her
husband, so that she strives to be reconciled again ; so it
may be now, he says, that the Jews, seeing the Gentiles in-
troduced into their place, will be touched with grief for their
divorce, and seek reconciliation.
12. And if their fall, &c. As he had taught us that after
the Jews were repudiated, the Gentiles were introduced in
their place, that he might not make the salvation of the
Jews to be disliked by the Gentiles, as though their salva-
tion depended on the ruin of the Jews, he anticipates this
false notion, and lays down a sentiment of an o])posite kind,
that nothing would conduce more to advance the salvation
of the Gentiles, than that the grace of God should flourish
and abound among the Jews. To prove, this, he derives an
argument from the less, — " If their fall had raised the Gen-
tiles, and their diminution had enriclied them, how much
more their fulness ?" for the first was done contrary to
nature, and the last will be done according to a natural order
of things. And it is no objection to this reasoning, that the
word of God had flowed to the Gentiles, after the Jews had
rejected, and, as it were, cast it from them ; for if they had
received it, their faith would have brought forth much more
fruit than their unbelief had occasioned ; for the truth of
CHAP. XI. 13. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 423
God would have been thereby confirmed by being accom-
plished in them, and tliey also themselves would have led
many by their teaching, whom they, on the contrary, by
their perverseness, had turned aside.
Now he would have spoken more strictly correct, if, to the
fall, he had opposed rising :^ of this I remind you, that no
one may expect here an adorned language, and may not be
offended with this simple mode of speaking ; for these things
were written to mould the heart and not the tongue.
IS. For to you Gentiles I speak, &c. He confirms by a
strong reason, that nothing shall be lost by the Gentiles,
were the Jews to return again to favour with God ; for he
shows, that the salvation of both is so connected, that it
can by the same means be promoted. For he thus addresses
the Gentiles, — " Though I am peculiarly destined to be your
Apostle, and ought therefore with special care to seek your
salvation, with which I am charged, and to omit as it were
all other things, and to labour for that only, I shall yet be
faithfully discharging my oflice, by gaining to Christ any of
my own nation ; and this will be for the glory of \\\y minis-
try, and so for your good."^ For whatever served to render
^ This is not quite correct : the first part is a mere announcement of a
fact — the fall of the Jews ; and then in what follows, according to the
usual style of Scripture, the same thing is stated in other words, and a
coiTesponding clause is added ; and the antithesis is found to be suitable —
the diminution and the completion. The reason for the restatement of
the first clause seems to be this, — that the fiiU might not be deemed as
total, but in part ; it was »jrT>j^a, a less part, a diminution, a lessening of
their number in God's kingdom. A contrast to this is the •prXri^uf^a., the
full or complete portion, that is, their complete restoration, as it is said in
verse 26. To preserve the antithesis, the first word must have its literal
meaning, a diminution or lessening, that is, as to the number saved. Ham-
mond renders the phrase, "their paucity." — Ed.
2 The meaning attached here to the words t?jv S/axav/av f/.ov S«|a^(y, is
somewhat different from what is commonly miderstood. Its classical sense,
" highly to estimate," is wdiat is generally given here to the verb : but
Calvin takes it in a sense in which it is mostly taken in Scripture, as
meaning, " to render illustrious," or eminent, " to render glorious." The
construction of the two venses, 13 and 14, is somewhat difficult, and the
meaning is not very clear. To include the words, " as I am indeed the
Apostle of the Gentiles," in a parenthesis, as it is done by some, Avould
render the sense more evident, and to add " this" after " say," and " that"
before " I render." The version then would be as follows, —
13. For I say this to you Gentiles (as I am indeed the Apostle of the
14. Gentiles,) that I render my ministry glorious, if 1 shall by any
424 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XI. 1 5.
Paul's ministry illustrious, was advantageous to the Gentiles,
whose salvation was its object.
And here also he uses the verb Trapa^rfXcoa-ac,, to provoke
to emulation, and for this purpose, that the Gentiles might
seek the accomplishment of Moses' prophecy, such as he
describes, when they understood that it would be for their
benefit.
14. A7id save, &c. Observe here that the minister of the
Avord is said in some way to save those whom he leads to the
obedience of faith. So conducted indeed ought to be the
ministry of our salvation, as that we may feel that the whole
power and efficacy of it depends on God, and that we may
give him his due praise : we ought at the same time to un-
derstand that preaching is an instrument for effecting the
salvation of the faithful, and though it can do nothing with-
out the Sjiirit of God, yet through his inward operation it
produces the most powerful effects.
15. Fo7- if their rejection, &c. This passage, which many
deem obscure, and some awfully pervert, ought, in my view,
to be understood as another argument, derived from a com-
parison of the less with the greater, according to this import,
" Since the i-ejection of the Jews has availed so much as to
occasion the reconciling of the Gentiles, how much more
effectual will be their resumption ? Will it not be to raise
them even from the dead ?" For Paul ever insists on this,
that the Gentiles have no cause for envy, as though the re-
storation of the Jews to favour were to render their condition
worse. Since then God has wonderfully drawn forth life
from death and light from darkness, how much more ought
we to hope, he reasons, that the resurrection of a people, as
means excite to emulation my own flesh and save some of
them.
The sentiment in the last clause is the same as that at the end of verse
11. The Vulgate, and some of the Latin Fathers, and also Luther, read
J<i|air« in the future tense ; which would make the passage read better, —
" that I shall render," &c. These two verses are not necessarily connected
with the Apostle's argument ; for in the following verse he resumes the
subject of verse 12, or rather, as his usual manner is, he states the same
thing in other words and in more explicit and stronger terms. So that
the ya^ in the next verse may very properly be rendered " yea," or as an
illative, " then." — Ed.
CHAP. XL 16. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 425
it were, wholly dead, will bring life to the Gentiles.^ It is
no objection what some allege, that reconciliation differs not
from resurrection, as we do indeed understand resurrection
in the present instance, that is, to be that by which we are
translated from the kingdom of death to the kingdom of
life, for though the thing is the same, yet there is more force
in the expression, and this a sufficient answer.
16. For if the first-fruit 6^, holy, IG. Quod si primitire sanctje,
the himp is also hoh/ ; and if the etiam conspersio : et si radix sancta
root be holy, so are the branches. etiam rami :
17. And if some of the branches 17. Si vero ex ramis quidam de-
be broken off, and thou, being a wild fracti sunt, tu vero oleaster quum
olive-tree, wert grafted in among esses, insitus es pro ipsis, et particeps
them, and with them partakest of factus es radicis et pinguedinis olese;
the root and fatness of the olive-tree ;
18. Boast not against the branches: 18. Ne contra ramos glorieris:
but if thou boast, thou bearest not quod si gloriaris, non tu radiceni
the root, but the root thee. portas ; sed radix te.
19. Thou wilt say then, The 19. Dices ergo, Defracti sunt
branches were broken off, that I rami, ut ego insererer.
might be grafted in.
20. Well ; because of unbelief 20. Bene ; propter incredulitatem
they were broken off, and thou defracti sunt, tvi vero fide stabilitus
standest by faith. Be not high- es ; Ne animo efferaris, sed timeas.
minded, but fear :
21. For if God spared not the 21. Si enim Deus naturalibus
natural branches, take heed lest he ramis non perpercit, vide ne qua fit,
also spare not thee. ut et tibi non parcat.
16. For if the first-fruits, &c. By comparing the worthi-
ness of the Jews and of the Gentiles, he now takes away
^ Some view the last words, " life from the dead," as understood of the
Jews and not of the Gentiles. But the antithesis seems to require the
latter meaning. The rejection or casting away, a^roSoXh, of the Jews was
the occasion of reconciliation to the world, that is, the Gentiles ; then the
reception, -tt^oo-ati^i;, of the Jews will be "life from the dead" to the
Gentiles or to the world. He expresses by stronger terms the sentiment
in verse 12, " the riches of the world," only intimating, as it appears, the
decayed state of religion among the Gentiles ; for to be dead sometimes
means a religious declension, Rev. iii. 1,2; or a state of oppression and
wretchedness, as the case was with the Israelites when in captivity, Ezek.
xxxvii. 1-14: Is. xxvi. 19. The phrase is evidently figurative, and signi-
fies a wonderful revival, such as the coming to life of those in a condition
resembling that of death. The restoration of the Jews unto God's favour
will occasion the revival and spread of true religion through the whole
Gentile world. This is clearly the meaning.
Some of the fathers, such as (Jhrysostom and Theodoret, regarded the
words as referring to the last resurrection : but this is wholly at variance
with the context. — Ed.
426 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XI. 16.
pride from the one and pacifies the other, as far as he could ;
for lie shows that the Grentiles, if they pretended any prero-
gative of honour of their own, did in no respect excel the
Jews, nay, that if they came to a contest, tliey should be left
far behind. Let us remember that in this comjiarison man
is not compared with man, but nation with nation. If then
a comparison be made between them, they shall be found
equal in this respect, that they are both equally the children
of Adam ; the only difterence is that the Jews had been
separated from the Gentiles, that they might be a peculiar
people to the Lord.^
They were then sanctified by the holy covenant, and
adorned with peculiar honour, with which God had not at
that time favoured tlie Gentiles ; but as the efficacy of the
covenant appeared then but small, lie bids us to look back
to Abraham and the patriarchs, in whom the blessing of God
was not indeed either empty or void. He hence concludes,
that from them an hereditary holiness had passed to all their
posterity. But this conclusion would not have been right
had he spoken of persons, or rather had he not regarded the
promise ; for when the father is just, he cannot yet transmit
his own upriglitness to his son : but as the Lord had sancti-
fied Abraham for himself for this end, that his seed might
also be holy, and as he thus conferred holiness not only on
his person but also on his whole race, the Apostle does not
unsuitably draw this conclusion, that all the Jews were
sanctified in their father Abraham."
^ There were two kinds of first-fruits : the sheaf, being the first ripe
fruit, Lev. xxiii. 10 ; and the dough, the first kneaded cake, Num. xv. 20.
It is to the hist that the reference is here made.
The first-fruits are considered by some, such as Mede and Chalmers, to
have been the first Jewish converts to Christianity — the apostles and dis-
ciples ; but this is not consistent with the usual manner of the Apostle,
which is to express the same thing in two ways, or by two metaphors.
Besides, the whole context refers to the first adoption of the Jewish nation,
or to the covenant made with Abraham and confirmed to the patriarchs.
—Ed.
^ That the holiness here mentioned is external and relative, and not
personal and inward, is evident from the whole context. The children of
Israel were denominated holy in all their wickedness and disobedience, be-
cause they had been consecrated to God, adopted as his people, and set
apart for his service, and they enjoyed all the external privileges of the
covenant which God had made with their fathers.
CHAP. XI. 17. EPISTLE TO THE KOMAIVS. 427
Then to confirm this view, he adduces two similitudes :
the one taken from the ceremonies of the hiw, and tlie other
borrowed from nature. The first-fruits which were oficred
sanctified the whole lump, in like manner the goodness of
the juice diffuses itself from the root to the branches ; and
posterity hold the same connection with their parents from
Avhom they proceed as the lumj) has with the first-fruits, and
the branches with the tree. It is not then a strange thing
tliat the Jews were sanctified in their father.
There is here no difficulty if you understand by holiness
the spiritual nobility of the nation, and that indeed not be-
longing to nature, but what proceeded from the covenant.
It may be truly said, I allow, that the Jews were naturally
holy, for their adoption was hereditary ; but I now speak of
our first nature, according to which we are all, as we know,
accursed in Adam. Therefore the dignity of an elect peoj)le,
to speak correctly, is a supernatural privilege.
17. And if some of the hranches, &c. He now refers to
the present dignity of the Gentiles, which is no other than
to be of the branches ; which, being taken from another, are
set in some noble tree : for the origin of the Gentiles was
as it were from some wild and unfruitful olive, as nothing but
a curse was to be found in their whole race. Whatever glory
Parens makes a distinction between what passes from progenitors to
their offspring and what does not pass. In the present case the rights and
privileges of the covenant were transmitted, but not faith and inward
holiness. " Often," he says, " the worst descend from the best, and the
best from the worst; from wicked Ahaz sprang good Hezekiah, from
Hezekiah descended impions Manasse, from INIanasse again came good
Josiah, and from Josiah sprang wicked sons, Shallum and Jehoiakim."
But all were ahke holy in the sense intended here by the Apostle, as they
were circumcised, and inherited the transmissible rights and pi-ivilegis of
the covenant.
" The holiness," says TurreUin, " of the first-fruits and of the root was
no other than an external, federal, and national consecration, such as could
be transferred from parents to their children."
" The attentive reader," says Scott, " will readily perceive that relative
holiness, or consecration to God, is here exclusively meant. . . . Abraham
was as it were the root of the visible Church. Ishmael was broken off,
and the tree grew up in Isaac ; and when Esau was broken off", it grew up
in Jacob and his sons. . . . When ^the nation rejected the Messiah, their
relation to Abraham and to God was as it Avere suspended. They no
longer retained even the outward seal of the covenant ; for circumcision
lost its validity and baptism became the sign of regeneration : they were
thenceforth deprived of the ordinances of God." — Ed.
428 COMMKNTARIES ON THE CHAP. XI. 19.
then they had was from their new insition, not from their old
stock. There was then no reason for the Gentiles to glory
in their own dignity in com2:)arison with the Jews. We may
also add, that Paul wisely mitigates the severity of the case,
by not saying that the whole to^) of the tree was cut off, hut
that some of the branches were broken, and also that God
took some here and there from among the Gentiles, whom
he set in the holy and blessed trunk. ^
18. But if thou gloriest, thou hearest not the root, &c. The
Gentiles could not contend with the Jews respecting the
excellency of their race without contending with Abraham
himself; which would have been extremely unbecoming,
since he was like a root by which they were borne and nour-
ished. As unreasonable as it would be for tlie branches to
boast against the root, so unreasonable would it have been
for the Gentiles to glory against the Jews, that is, with re-
spect to the excellency of their race ; for Paul would have
them ever to consider whence was the origin of their salvation.
And we know that after Christ by his coming has pulled down
the pnrtition-wall, the whole world partook of the favour
which God had previously conferred on the chosen people. It
hence follows, that the calling of the Gentiles was like an
ingrafting, and that they did not otherwise grow up as God's
people than as they were grafted in the stock of Abraham.
19. Thou wilt then say, &c. In the person of the Gentiles
' There is a difference of opinion as to the precise meaning of the words
lvsx£v7-^/V&»j £v auToisj Calvin's version is, " insitus es pro ipsis — thou hast
been ingrafted for them," or in their stead : that of Beza and Parens is
the same, and also that of Macknight ; but Orotius has " inter illos —
between them," that is, the remaining branches ; and Doddridge renders
the words " among them," according to our version. What is most con-
sonant with the tirst part of the verse, is the rendering of Calvin ; what is
stated is the cutting off of some of the branches, and the most obvious
meaning is, that others were put in for them, or in their stead. It has
been said, that it was not the practice to graft a wild olive in a good oHve,
except when the latter was decaying. Such may have been the case ; but
the Apostle's object was not so much to refer to what was usual, as to
form a comparison suitable to his purpose ; and this is what oiu- Saviour
in his parables had sometimes done. Contrary to what the case is in
nature, the Apostle makes the stock good and the graft bad, and makes
the stock to communicate its goodness to the graft and to improve the
quality of its fruit. But his main object is to show the fact of incision,
without any regard to the character of the stock and of the graft in natural
things ; for both his stock and his graft are of a different character. — Ed.
CHAP. XI. 19. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 429
he bring-s forward what they might have pleaded for tliein-
selves ; but that was of such a nature as ought not to have
filled them with pride, but, on the contrary, to have made
them humble. For if the cutting off of the Jews was through
unbelief, and if the ingrafting of the Gentiles was by faith,
what was their duty but to acknowledge the favour of God,
and also to cherish modesty and humbleness of mind ? For
it is the nature of faith, and what properly belongs to it, to
generate humility and fear.^ But by fear understand that
which is in no way inconsistent with the assurance of faith ;
for Paul would not have our faith to vacillate or to alternate
with doubt, much less would he have us to be frightened or
to quake with fear.^
Of what kind then is this fear ? As the Lord bids us to
take into our consideration two things, so two kinds of feel-
ing must thereby be produced. For he would have us ever
to bear in mind the miserable condition of our nature ; and
this can produce nothing but dread, weariness, anxiety, and
despair ; and it is indeed expedient that we should thus be
thoroughly laid prostrate and broken down, that we may at
length groan to him ; but this dread, derived from the
knowledge of ourselves, keeps not our minds while relying
on his goodness, from continuing calm ; this weariness hin-
ders us not from enjoying full consolation in him ; this
1 " Be not elated in mind — ne animo efferaris ;" ,">) y^j)Ao(p^ovf/ ; "be not
high-minded," as in our version, is the literal rendering. — Ed.
2 Some have deduced from what Paul says here the uncertainty of faith,
and its possible failure. This has been done through an entire misappre-
hension of the subject handled by the Apostle. He speaks not of indi-
viduals, but of the Gentile world, not of living faith but of professed faith,
not the inward change, but of outward privileges, not of the union of the
soul to Christ, but of union with his Church. The two things are wholly
ditFerent ; and to draw an argiunent from the one to the other is altogether
illegitimate ; that is to say, that as professed faith may be lost, therefore
living faith may be lost.
Augustine, in commenting on Jer. xxxii. 40, says, "God promised per-
severance when he said, ' I will put fear in their heart, that they may not
depart from me.' \\ hat else does it mean but this, ' Such and so great
will my fear be, which I shall put in their heart, that they shall perse-
veringly cleave to me.'"
" As those," says Parens, " who believe for a time never had true
faith, though they seem to have had it, and hence fall away and do not
persevere : so they who possess true faith never fail, but continue stead-
fast, for God infallibly sustains them and secures their perseverance." — Ed.
430 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XL 21.
anxiety, this despair, does not prevent us from obtaining in
him real joy and hope. Hence the fear, of which he speaks,
is set up as an antidote to proud contempt ; for as every one
claims for himself more than what is right, and becomes too
secure and at length insolent towards others, we ought then
so far to fear, that our heart may not swell with pride and
elate itself.
But it seems that he throws in a doubt as to salvation,
since he reminds them to beware lest they also should not
be spared. To this I answer, — that as this exhortation re-
fers to the subduing of the flesh, which is ever insolent even
in the children of God, he derogates nothing from the cer-
tainty of faith. And we must especially notice and remem-
ber wliat 1 have before said, — that Paul's address is not
so much to individuals as to the whole body of the Gentiles,
among whom there might have been many, who were vainly
inflated, professing rather than having faith. On account of
these Paul threatens the Gentiles, not without reason, with
excision, as we shall hereafter find again.
21. Fo7' if God has not s}mred the natural hi-anches, &c.
This is a most powerful reason to beat down all self-con-
fidence : for the rejection of the Jews should never come
across our minds without striking and shaking us with dread.
For what ruined them, but that through supine dependence
on the dignity which they had obtained, they despised what
God had appointed ? They were not spared, though they were
natural branches ; what then shall be done to us, who are
the wild olive and aliens, if we become beyond measure
arrogant ? But this thought, as it leads us to distrust our-
selves, so it tends to make us to cleave more firmly and
steadfastly to the goodness of God.
And here again it appears more evident, that the discourse
is addressed generally to the body of the Gentiles, for the
excision, of which he speaks, could not apply to individuals,
whose election is unchangeable, based on the eternal purpose
of God. Paul therefore declares to the Gentiles, that if
they exulted over the Jews, a reward for their pride would
be prepared for them ; for God will again reconcile to him-
self the first people whom he has divorced.
CHAP. XL 22. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 431
22. Behold therefore the good- 22. Vide igitur lenitatemi et se-
ness and severity of God : on them veritatem Dei : in eos quideni qui
which fell, severity ; but toward ceciderunt, severitatem ;- in te vero
thee, goodness, if thou continue in lenitatera, si permanseris in lenitate ;
his goodness ; otherwise thou also alioqui tu quoque excideris :
shalt be cut off.
23. And they also, if they abide 23. Et illi, si non perstiterint in
not still in unbelief, shall be grafted incredulitate, inserentur ; potens
in : for God is able to gratl'tliem in enini est Deus rursuni inserere ipsos.
again.
24. For if thou were cut out of 24. Si enim tu ex oleastro, qua?
the olive-tree, which is wild by na- tibi nativa erat, exectus es, et prajter
ture, and wert grafted contrary to naturam insitus es in vcram oleani ;
nature into a good olive-tree ; how midto magis hi secundum naturam
much more shall these, which be the propria; oleaj inserentur.
natural brandies, be grafted into
their own olive-tree ?
22. See then, &c. By laying the case Ijefore their eyes he
more clearly and fully confirms the fact, — that the Gentiles
had no reason to be proud. They saw in the Jews an
example of God's severity, which ought to have terrified
them ; while in themselves they had an evidence of his grace
and goodness, by which they ought to have been stimulated
to thankfulness only, and to exalt the Lord and not them-
selves. The woi'ds import the same, as though he had said,
— " If thou exultest over their calamity, think first what
thou hast been ; for the same severity of God would have
impended over thee, hadst thou not been delivered by his
gratuitous favour : then consider wliat thou art even now ;
for salvation shall not continue to thee, except thou humbly
' "Lenitatem ;" ;(;f»iff-TOT»Ta ; " indulgentiam — indulgence," Jerome ; " be-
nignitatein — benignity," Bcza. Its most Hteral meaning is " benefi-
cence," as ;^^g»(rTo; is useful or beneficial : but " goodness," as in our ver-
sion, expresses its sense here perhaps better than any other word. It is
rendered " kindness" in 2 Cor. vi. 6 : Eph. ii. 7 ; Col. iii. 12 ; Tit. iii. 4,
— " gentleness" in Gal. v. 22,— and " good" in Rom. iii. 12. It is no-
where else found and has a similar meaning in the S'eptuagint, and stands
often for 21D, which signifies good, goodness, benevolence. — Ed.
^ " Severitatem;" cr.-?roToi^la.i \ "rigorem — rigour," i'rasmtts,- "prsecisam
severitatem— a cut-off severity," Beza. It means literally excision, cut-
ting off, amputation, and metaphorically, rigour, severity ; and it is taken,
says Schhusyier, not from the amputation of infected limbs, but from the
cutting off of barren and useless branches of trees. It occurs here only, and
is not found in the Septiiagint. ' ArrDTi/.ia. tuv yof/,uv — rigour of the laws,
Diod. /Sic. It is used adverbially in two places, 2 Cor. xiii. 10, and Tit.
i. 13 ; where it means rigidly, sharply, severely. The adjective, a<roTofii>;,
is found in Wisdom of Sol. v. 20, and vi. G, connected with " wrath" and
" judgment," and means rigid or severe. — Ed.
432 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XI. 22.
recognisest tlie mercy of God ; for if thou forgettest thyself
and arrogantly exultest, the ruin, into which they have
fallen, awaits thee: it is not indeed enough for thee to have
once embraced the favour of God, except thou followest his
call through the whole course of thy life.'' They indeed
who have been illuminated by the Lord ought always to
think of perseverance ; for they continue not in the good-
ness of God, who having for a time responded to the call of
God, do at length begin to loathe the kingdom of heaven,
and thus by their ingratitude justly deserve to be blinded
again.
But he addresses not each of the godly apart, as we have
already said, but he makes a comparison between the Gen-
tiles and the Jews. It is indeed true that each individual
among the Jews received the reward due to his own unbe-
lief, when they were banished from the kingdom of God, and
that all who from among the Gentiles were called, were
vessels of God's mercy ; but yet the particular design of
Paul must be borne in mind. For he would have the Gen-
tiles to depend on the eternal covenant of God, so as to con-
nect their own with the salvation of the elect people, and
then, lest the rejection of the Jews should produce offence,
as though their ancient adoption were void, he would have
them to be terrified by this example of punishment, so as
reverently to regard the judgment of God. For whence
comes so great licentiousness on curious questions, excei^t
that we almost neglect to consider those things which ought
to have duly taught us humility ?
But as he speaks not of the elect individually, but of the
whole body, a condition is added. If they continued in his
kindness. I indeed allow, that as soon as any one abuses
God's goodness, he deserves to be deprived of the offered
favour ; but it would be improper to say of any one of the
godly particularly, that God had mercy on him, when he
chose him, provided he would continue in his mercy ; for
the perseverance of faith, which completes in us the effect
of God's grace, flows from election itself. Paul then teaches
us, that the Gentiles were admitted into the hope of eternal
life on the condition, that they by their gratitude retained
CHAP. XI. 22. KPLSTLE TO THE ROM.\NS. 4o3
possession of it. And dreadful indeed was tlic defection
of the whole world, which afterwards happened ; and this
clearly proves, that this exhortation was not superfluous ;
for when God had almost in a moment watered it with his
grace, so that religion flourished everywhere, soon after the
truth of the gospel vanished, and the treasure of salvation
was taken away. And whence came so sudden a change,
except that the Gentiles had fallen away from their calling?
Otherwise thou also shalt he cut off, &c. We now under-
stand in what sense Paul threatens them with excision,
whom he has already allowed to have been grafted into the
hope of life through God's election. For, first, though this
cannot happen to the elect, they have yet need of such warn-
ing, in order to subdue the pride of the flesh ; which being
really opposed to their salvation, ought justly to be terrified
with the dread of perdition. As far then as Christians are
illuminated by faith, they hear, for their assurance, that the
calling of God is without repentance ; but as far as they
carry about them the flesh, which wantonly resists the grace
of God, they are taught humility by this warning, " Take
heed lest thou be cut off." Secondly, we must bear in mind
the solution which I have before mentioned, — that Paul
speaks not here of the special election of individuals, but
sets the Gentiles and Jews in opposition the one to the
other ; and that therefore the elect are not so much ad-
dressed in these words, as those who falsely gloried that they
had obtained the place of the Jews : nay, he speaks to the
Gentiles generally, and addresses the whole body in common,
among whom there were many who were fjiithful, and those
who were members of Christ in name only.
But if it be asked respecting individuals, " How any one
could be cut off from the grafting, and how, after excision,
he could be grafted again," — bear in mind, that there are
three modes of incision, and two modes of excision. For
instance, the children of the faithful are ingrafted, to whom
the promise belongs according to the covenant made with
the ftithers ; ingrafted are also they who indeed receive the
seed of the gospel, but it strikes no root, or it is choked be-
fore it brings any fruit ; and thirdly, the elect are ingrafted,
2 B
434 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XI. 23.
who are illuminated unto eternal life according to the immu-
table purpose of God. The first are cut off, when they re-
fuse the promise given to their fathers, or do not receive it
on account of their ingratitude ; the second are cut off, when
the seed is withered and destroyed ; and as the danger of
this impends over all, with regard to their own nature, it
must be allowed that this warning which Paul gives belongs
in a certain way to the faithful, lest they indulge themselves
in the sloth of the jflesh. But with regard to the present
passage, it is enough for us to know, that the vengeance
which God had executed on the Jews, is pronounced on the
Gentiles, in case they become like them.
23. Foi^ God is able, &c. Frigid would this argument be
to the profane ; for however they may concede power to God,
yet as they view it at a distance, shut up as it were in
heaven, tliey do for the most part rob it of its effect. But
as the faithful, whenever they hear God's power named,
look on it as in present operation, he thought that this rea-
son was sufiicient to strike their minds. We may add, that
he assumes this as an acknowledged axiom, — that God had
so punished the unbelief of his people as not to forget his
mercy ; according to what he had done before, having often
restored the Jews, after he had apparently banished them
from his kingdom. And he shows at the same time by the
comparison, how much more easy it would be to reverse the
present state of things than to have introduced it ; that is,
how much easier it would be for the natural branches, if they
were again put in the place from which they had been cut
off, to draw substance from their own root, than for the wild
and the unfruitful, from a foreign stock : for such is the
comparison made between the Jews and the Gentiles.
25. For I would not, brethren, that 25. Noloenimvos ignorare, fra-
je should be ignorant of this niys- tres ,mysterium hoc, ut ne apud vos-
tery, lest ye should be wise in your metipsos superbiatis, quod csecitas
own conceits, that blindness in part ex parte Isrseli contigit, donee pleui-
is happened to Israel, until the ful- tudo gentium ingrediatur :
uess of the Gentiles be come in.
2(3. And so all Israel shall be saved : 26. Atque ita universus Isrsel sal-
as it is written, There shall come out vus fiet ; quemadmodum scriptum
of Sion the Deliverer, and shall tm-n est, Veniet ex Sion is qui liberal, ct
away ungodhness from Jacob : avertct impictates a Jacob :
CHAP. XI. 25. EPISTLE TO THE KOMANS. 435
27. For this IS my covenant unto 27. Ethocillisametestamentura,
them, when I shall take away their quum abstulcro peccata eorum.
sins.
25. I tuould not, &c. Here lie rouses his hearers to a
greater attention, while he avows that he is going to declare
something that was secret. Nor did he do this without
reason ; for he wished to conclude, by a brief or plain
sentence, a very perplexed question ; and yet he declares
what no one could have expected. But the words, Lest ye
should be proud in yourselves^ show what was his designed
object; and that was, to check the arrogance of the Gentiles,
lest they should exult over the Jews. This admonition was
also necessary, lest the defection of that people should im-
moderately disturb the minds of the weak, as though the
salvation of them all was to be for ever desjmired of The
same is still not less useful to us at this day, so that we may
know, that the salvation of the remnant, whom the Lord
will at length gather to himself, is hid, scaled as it were by
his signet. And whenever a long delay tempts us to de-
spair, let us remember this word mystery ; by which Paul
clearly reminds us, that the mode of their conversion will
neither be common nor usual ; and hence they act absurdly
Avho attempt to measure it by their own judgment ; for what
can be more unreasonable than to regard that as incredible
which is far removed from our view? It is called a mystery,
because it will be incomprehensible until the time of its re-
velation.^ It is, however, made known to us, as it was to the
1 " Ne apud vos superbiatis ;" "i-a i^n rin Tag' ia.vToli (p^!fji[/.oi ; " ut ne sitis
apud vosnietipsos sapientes— lest ye should be wise in yourselves," — Eeza
and Piscator. The meaning, as given by Grotius, is, " Lest ye think your-
selves so wise as to suppose that ye can by your own understanding know
what is to come." But the object of the Apostle seems to have been, to
keep down self-elevation on account of the privileges they had attained.
The phrase seems to have been taken from Prov. iii. 7 ; Avhere the Septua-
gint render, " in thine own eyes," "iTi^D, -ru^a. o-£«i/-f. " in thyself," that is-,
in thine own esteem. And it appears to be its meaning here, '• Lest ye should
be wise in your own esteem," which signifies, " Lest ye should be proud,"
or elated, that is, on account of your now superior privileges and advan-
tages. Doddridge's version expresses the idea, " Lest you should have too
high an opinion of yourselves." — Ed.
^ The mystery is accounted for in rather a singular way. The most
obvious meaning is, that the mystery was the fact of the restoration, and
not the manner of it. No doubt the word sometimes means what is ob-
4o6 COMMENTARIES UN THE CHAP. XI. 25.
Uomans, that our faitli may be content with the word, and
support us with hope, until the event itself come to light.
That blindness in part, &c. " In part," I think, refers not
simply to time, nor to the number, but means, in a manner,
or in a measure ; by which expression he intended, as it
seems to me, only to qualify a declaration which in itself
was severe. Until does not specify the progress or order of
time, but signifies the same thing, as though he had said,
" That the fulness of the Gentiles," &c. The meaning tlien
is, — That God had in a manner so blinded Israel, that while
they refused the light of the gospel, it might be transferred
to the Gentiles, and that these might occupy, as it were, the
vacated possession. And so this blindness served the pro-
vidence of God in furthering the salvation of the Gentiles,
which he had designed. And the fulness of the Gentiles is
to be taken for a great number : for it was not to be, as be-
fore, when a few proselytes connected themselves with the
Jews ; but such was to be the change, that the Gentiles
would form almost the entire body of the Church.^
scure, sublime, or profound, as "great is the mystery of godliness," I Tim.
iii. IG : but here the mystery is made known, in the same manner as Paul
mentions a fact respecting the resurrection, 1 Cor. xv. 51, and also the call
of the Gentiles, Rom. xvi. 25. — Ed.
* The explanation of this verse is by no means satisfactory. It does
not correspond at all with what the Apostle has already declared in A'erses
11, 12, and 15; where the restoration of the Jews to the faith is most
clearly set forth. Besides, by making Israel, in the next verse, to mean
generally the people of God, the contrast, observable through the whole
argument, is completely destroyed.
The word for " bhndness " is ■^c^^i^iffn, hardness, callousness, and hence
contumacy. " In part," is generally regarded as having reference both to
extent and duration ; the hardness did not extend to all the Jews, and it
was not to endure, but to continue for a time ; and the time is mentioned,
" until the fulness of the Gentiles come in." This is obviously the mean-
ing, and confirmed by the whole context. The attempt of Grot'ms and
Hammond, and of some of the Fathers, to confine what is said to tlie
Apostolic times, is wholly irreconcilable with the drift of the whole passage
and with facts.
Much has been written on the words, ^x^n »" ■^o orX>j^«^a rav i6vuv
i!<riX^ri, That the event was future in the Apostle's time (and future still
as history proves) is evident, especially from the following verse, " and so
all Israel shall be saved." The plain construction of the passage is, "un-
til the fulness of the Gentiles shall come." What this " fulness " is to be
has been much controverted. But by taking a view of the whole context,
without regard to any hypothesis, we shall, with no great difficulty, ascer-
tain its meaning. The •• fulness " of the Jews hi verse 12, is determined
CHAP. XL 26. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 437
26. And so all Israel, &c. Many understand this of the
Jewish people, as though Paul had said, that religion would
again be restored among them as before : but I extend the
word Israel to all the people of God, according to this mean-
ing,— "When the Gentiles shall come in, the Jews also shall
return from their defection to the obedience of faith ; and
thus shall be completed the salvation of the whole Israel of
God, which must be gathered from both ; and yet in such a
way that the Jews shall obtain the first place, being as it were
the first-born in God's family." This interpretation seems
to me the most suitable, because Paul intended here to set
forth the completion of the kingdom of Christ, which is by
no means to be confined to the Jews, but is to include the
whole world. The same manner of speaking we find in
Gal. vi. 16. The Israel of God is what he calls the Church,
gathered alike from Jews and Gentiles ; and he sets the
people, thus collected from their dispersion, in opposition to
the carnal children of Abraham, who had departed from his
faith.
As it is written, &c. He does not confirm the whole pas-
sage by this testimony of Isaiah, (Is. lix. 20,) but only one
clause, — that the children of Abraham shall be partakers of
redemption. But if one takes this view, — that Christ had
by verse 26 ; it includes the whole nation. Then the " fulness of the Gen-
tiles " must mean the same thing, the introduction of all nations into the
Church. The grafting more particularly signifies profession. It then fol-
lows that all nations shall be brought publicly to profess the gospel prior
to the removal of the hardness from the whole nation of the Jews. There
may be isolated cases of conversion before this event, for " in part " as to
extent the hardness is to be : but all shall not be brought to the faith,
imtil the faith spread through the whole world : and the effect of their re-
storation will be a great revival of vital religion among the professing
Gentiles, according to what is said in verse 15. This is clearly the view
presented to us in this extraordinary passage, when all its parts are com-
pared with each other.
Hammond tells us, that many of the Fathers wholly denied the future
restoration of the Jews ; and we are told by Parens, who mentions some
of the same Fathers, that they maintained it. But it appears from the
quotations made by the first, that the restoration disallowed was that to
their own land, and that the restoration referred to by the latter was res-
toration to the faith ; two things wholly distinct. That "Israel" means
exclusively the Jewish nation, was almost the unanimous opinion of the
Fathers, according to Estius ; and that their future restoration to the
faith is here foretold was the sentiment held by Beza, Fareus, Willet,
Mede, and others, and is generally held by modern divines. — Ed.
438 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XI. 26.
been promised and offered to them, but that as they rejected
him, they were deprived of his grace ; yet the Prophet's words
express more, even this, — that there will be some remnant,
who, having repented, shall enjoy the favour of deliverance.
Paul, however, does not quote what we read in Isaiah,
word for word ; " come,'' he says, " shall a Redeemer to
Sion, and to those Avho shall repent of iniquity in Jacob,
saith the Lord." (Is. lix. 20.) But on this point we need
not be very curious ; only this is to be regarded, that the
Apostles suitably apply to their jjurpose whatever proofs
they adduce from the Old Testament ; for their object was
to point out passages, as it were by the finger, that readers
might be directed to the fountain itself.
But though in this prophecy deliverance to the spiritual
people of God is promised, among whom even Gentiles are
included ; yet as the Jews are the first-born, what the Pro-
phet declares must be fulfilled, especially in them : for that
Scripture calls all the people of God Israelites, is to be as-
cribed to the pre-eminence of that nation, whom God had
preferred to all other nations. And then, from a regard to
the ancient covenant, he says expressly, that a Redeemer
shall come to Sion ; and he adds, that he will redeem those
in Jacob who shall return from their transgression.^ By
these words God distinctly claims for himself a certain seed,
so that his redemption may be efi"ectual in his elect and
peculiar nation. And though fitter for his purpose would
^ There is more discrepancy in this reference than any we have met
with. The Apostle follows not literally either the Hebrew or the Septua-
gint, though the latter more than the former. In the Hebrew, it is, " to
Sion," JVV?? and in the Septuagint, " for the sake of Sion," tnxsv ituv.
Then the following clause is given verbatim from the Septuagint, and
differs materially from the Hebrew, at least as translated in our version.
The Syriac and Chaldee give the verb a causative meaning, so as to make
the sense the same as here. But it may be regarded as an infinitive with
a paragogic "•, and in a transitive sense, which it sometimes has. See
1 Kings ii. 16 ; Ps. cxxxii. 10. If so, the verse will agree with the Apos-
tle's words, and may be thus rendered, —
Come to Sion shall a deliverer,
And to turn away the ungodliness that is in Jacob.
He shall come to Sion, and shall come " to turn away," &c. ; or the 1
may be rendered even, " Even to turn away," &c. This rendering corre-
sponds more than that of our version with the substance of the verse which
follows. — Ed.
CHAP. XI. 27. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 439
have been tlie expression used by tlio Prophet, "shall come
to Sion ;" yet Paul made no scruple to follow the commonly
received translation, which reads, " The Redeemer shall
come forth from Mount Sion." And similar is the case as
to the second part, " He shall turn away iniquities from
Jacob:" for Paul thought it enough to regard this point
only, — that as it is Christ's peculiar office to reconcile to God
an apostate and faithless people, some change was surely to
be looked for, lest they should all perish together.
27. And, This is my covenaM with them, &c. Though
Paul, by the last prophecy of Isaiah, briefly touched on the
office of the Messiah, in order to remind the Jews what was
to be expected especially from him, he further adds these
few words from Jeremiah, expressly for the same purpose ;
for what is added is not found in the former passage.^ This
also tends to confirm the subject in hand ; for what he said
of the conversion of a people who were so stubborn and
obstinate, might have appeared incredible : he therefore re-
moves this stumbling-block, by declaring that the covenant
included a gratuitous remission of sins. For we may gather
from the words of the Prophet, — that God would have no
more to do with his apostate people, until he should remit
the crime of perfidy, as well as their other sins.
28. As concerning the gospel, M^j/ 28. Secundum Evangelium qui-
are enemies for your sakes : but as dem inimici propter vos ; secundum
touching the election, thei/ are be- electionem vero dilecti propter Pa-
loved for the fathers' sakes. tre.'; :
29. For the gifts and caUing of 29. Sine poenitentia enim sunt
God are without repentance. dona et vocatio Dei.
30. For as ye in times past have 30. Quemadmodum enim vos quo-
not believed God, yet have now ob- que^ increduli fuistis Deo, nunc au-
tained mercy through their unbehef; tern misericordiam estis consequuti
istorum incredulitate :
31. Even so have these also now 31. Sic et ii nunc increduli facti
not beheved, that through your sunt, eo quod adepti estis misericor-
' The former part of it is, " This is my covenant," but not the latter,
" When I shall take away their sins." Some suppose that this is taken
from Is. xxvii. 9, where we iind this phrase in the Septuagint, " When I
shall take away his sin," rhv a^ajT/'av aumu -. but the Hebrew is somewhat
different and farther from the form of the sentence here. We must there-
fore consider it as an abridgment of what is contained in Jer. xxxi. 33,
and quoted in Heb. viii. 10. — Ed.
2 n<iT£ — formerly, left out.
440 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XI. 29.
mercy they also may obtain mer- diam, ut ipsi quoque misericordiam
cy. conseqviantur.i
32. For God hath concluded them 32. Concludit enira Deus omnes
all in unbelief, that he might have sub incredulitate, ut omnium mise-
mcrcy upon all. reatur.
28. With regard indeed to the gospel, &c. He shows that
the worst thing in the Jews ought not to subject them to
the contempt of the Gentiles. Their chief crime was unbe-
lief: but Paul teaches us, that they were thus blinded for a
time by God's providence, that a way to the gospel might be
made for the Gentiles ;^ and that still they were not for ever
excluded from the favour of God. He then admits, that
they were for the present alienated from God on account of
the gospel, that thus the salvation, which at first was de-
posited with them, might come to the Gentiles ; and yet that
God was not unmindful of the covenant which he had made
with their fathers, and by which he testified that according
to his eternal purpose he loved that nation : and this he
confirms by this remarkable declariition, — that the grace of
the divine calling cannot be made void ; for this is the im-
port of the words, —
29. The gifts and calling of God are without repentance.
He has mentioned gifts and calling ; which are to be under-
stood, according to a figure in grammar,^ as meaning the gift
of calling : and this is not to be taken for any sort of call-
ing but of that, by which God had adopted the posterity of
Abraham into covenant ; since this is especially the subject
here, as he has previously, by the word, election, designated
' Our common version departs here from the original by connecting
" your mercy " with the last clause. Calvin keeps the proper order of the
words, though he paraphrases them, rS vfuri^ai Ixiu, " eo quod adepti estis
misericordiam." They might have been rendered, " through your mercy,"
that is, the mercy shown to you, or the mercy of which you are the objects.
—Ed.
- They were " enemies" to Paul and the Church, say Grot'ms and Xit-
ther, — to the gospel, says Parens, — to God, say Mede and Stuart. The
parallel in the next clause, " beloved," favours the last sentiment. They
were become God's enemies, and alienated through their rejection of the
gospel ; but they were still regarded as descendants of the Fathers and in
s(mie sense on their account " beloved," as those for whom God entertained
love, inasmuch as his " gifts and calling" made in their behalf, were still
in force and never to be changed. — Ed.
2 Ili/pallage — transposition, a change in the arrangement of a sentence.
CTIAP. XI. 29. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 441
tlie secret purpose of God, by wliicli lie had formerly made
a distinction between the Jews and the Gentiles.^ For we
must bear this in mind, — that he si^caks not now of the
election of individuals, but of the common adoption of the
whole nation, which might seem for a time, according to the
outward a])pearance, to have failed, but had not been cut
lip by the roots. As the Jews had fallen from their privi-
lege and the salvation promised them, that some hope might
remain to the remnant, Paul maintains that the purpose of
God stands firm and immovable, by which he had once
deigned to choose them for himself as a peculiar nation.
Since then it cannot possibly be, that the Lord will depart
from that covenant which he made with Abraham, " I will
be the God of thy seed," (Gen. xvii. 7,) it is evident that he
has not wholly turned away his kindness from the Jewish
nation.
He does not oppose the gospel to election, as though they
were contrary the one to the other, for whom God has chosen
' It is not desirable to amalgamate words in this manner ; nor is it neces-
sary. The Apostle ascends : he mentions first the " gifts," the free pro-
mises which God made to the Jews ; and then he refers to the origin of
them, the calling or the election of God, and says that both are irreversi-
ble, or, as CasteUio well explains the word a^8ra^£A.»Ta, irrevocable. See
a similar instance in chap. xiii. 13.
Calf in seems to regard " the gifts and calHng" as having reference to
the adoption of the Jewish nation, and their adoption to certain privileges
included in the Abrahamic covenant, probably those mentioned in chap.
ix. 4. But Parens, Mede, and others, extend' the meaning farther, and
consitler " the gifts" as including those of " faith, remission of sins, sanc-
tification, perseverance and salvation ;" and they understand by " calling,"
not the external, which often fails, but the internal, made by the Spirit,
and ever efficacious, of which the Apostle had spoken, when he said,
"Those whom he has predestinated, he has called, justified, and glorified."
According to this view the Apostle must be considered to mean, that ac-
cording to what is said in verse 5, the gifts and calling of God shall be
etfectual towards some of the Jews throughout all ages, and towards the
whole nation, when the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in ; or, that
though they may be suspended, they shall yet be made evident at the ap-
pointed time ; so that what secures and renders certain the restoration of
the Jews is the covenant of free grace which God made with their
fathers.
Some, as Pareus informs us, have concluded from what is here said,
that no Gentile nation, once favoured witli •' the gifts and calling of God,"
shall be wholly forsaken ; and that though religion may for a long season
be in a degenerated state, God will yet, in his own appointed time, renew
his gifts and his calling, and restore true religion. The ground of hope is
tlie irrevocability of his gifts and calling. — Ed.
442 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XI. 32.
he calls ; but inasmuch as the gospel had been proclaimed
to the Gentiles beyond the expectation of the world, he
justly compares this favour with the ancient election of the
Jews, which had been manifested so many ages before : and
so election derives its name from antiquity ; for Grod had in
past ages of the world chosen one people for himself
On account of the Fathers, he says not, because they gave
any cause for love, but because God's favour had descended
from them to their posterity, according to the tenor of tlie
covenant, " Thy God and the God of thy seed." How the
Gentiles had obtained mercy through the unbelief of the
Jews, has been before stated, namely, that God, being angry
with the Jews for their unbelief, turned his kindness to
them. What immediately follows, that they became unbe-
lievers through the mercy manifested to the Gentiles, seems
rather strange ; and yet there is in it nothing unreasonable ;
for Paul assigns not the cause of blindness, but only de-
clares, that what God transferred to the Gentiles had been
taken away from the Jews. But lest what they had lost
through unbelief, should be thought by the Gentiles to have
been gained by them through the merit of faith, mention is
made only of mercy. What is substantially said then is, —
that as God purposed to show mercy to the Gentiles, the
Jews wei'e on this account deprived of the light of faith.
32. For God has shut up, &c. A remarkable conclusion,
by which he shows that there is no reason why they who
have a hope of salvation should despair of others ; for what-
ever they may now be, they have been like all the rest. If
they have emerged from unbelief through God's mercy alone,
they ought to leave place for it as to others also. For he
makes the Jews equal in guilt with the Gentiles, that both
might understand that the avenue to salvation is no less
open to others than to them. For it is the mercy of God
alone which saves ; and this offers itself to both. This sen-
tence then corresponds with the testimony of Hosea, which
he had before quoted, " I will call those my people who
were not my people." But he does not mean, that God so
blinds all men that their unbelief is to be imputed to him ;
but that he hath so arranged by his providence, that all
CHAP. XI. 82. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 443
should be guilty of unbelief, in order tliat lie migbt have
them subject to his judgment, and for this end, — that all
merits being buried, salvation miglit proceed from his good-
ness alone.^
Paul then intends here to teach two things — that there
is nothing in any man wh}' he should be preferred to others,
apart from the mere favour of God ; and that God in the
dispensation of his grace, is under no restraint that he should
not grant it to whom he pleases. There is an emphasis in
the word mercy ; for it intimates that God is bound to none,
and that he therefore saves all freely, for they are all equally
lost. But extremely gross is their folly who hence conclude
that all shall be saved ; for Paul simply means that both
Jews and Gentiles do not otherwise obtain salvation than
through the mercy of God, and thus he leaves to none any
reason for complaint. It is indeed true that this mercy is
without any difference oifered to all, but every one must
seek it by faith.
33. O the depth of the riches both 33. O profiinditateni divitiarum
of the wisdom and knowledge of et sapientise et cognitionis Dei !
God! how unsearchable are his quam incomprchensibilia- sunt judi-
judgments, and his ways past find- cia ejus et impervestigabiles' vise
ing out ! ipsius !
34. For who hath known the 34. Quis enim cognovit mentem
mind of the Lord ? or who hath Domini ? aut quis illi a consiliis
been his counsellor ? fuit ?
35. Or who hath first given to 35. Aut quis prior dedit ei et re-
him, and it shall be recompensed tribuetur illi ?
unto him again ?
^ The verb which Calvin renders conchisit, (rwixX-Kn, means to shut up
together. The paraphrase of Chrysostom is, that " God has proved
{HXiyliv) all to be unbelieving." WolHus considers the meaning the same
with verse 9 of chap, iii., and with Gal. iii. 22. God has in his providence,
as well as in his word, proved and demonstrated, that all mankind are by
nature in a state of unbelief and of sin and of condemnation.
God has shut up together, &c., " how ?" asks Paresis : then he answers,
" by manifesting, accusing, and condemning unbelief, but not by effecting
or approving it." — Ed.
^ " Incomprehensibilia," so the Vuhiate ; " ayi^i^iuvnra — inscrutabilia
inscrutable," Beza. It means what cannot be found out by searchino-.
Our version conveys the correct idea — '■ unsearchable." — Ed.
3 " Impervestigabiles," so Beza ; " «n|/;)^v;ao-T<!/_investigabiles — unin-
vestigable," Vulgate; what cannot be investigated, and of which there
are no footsteps— untraceable ; "cannot be traced out " is the version of
Boddriflcie . — Ed.
444 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XI. 33.
36. For of him, and through him, 36. Quoniam ex illo et per illmu
and to him, are all things : to whom et in ilium sunt omnia : Ipsi gloria
be glory for ever. Amen. in secula. Amen.
33. Oh ! the depth, &c. Here first the Apostle bursts into
an exclamation, which arose spontaneously from a devout
consideration of God's dealings with the faithful ; then in
passing he checks the boldness of impiety, which is wont to
clamour against the judgments of God. When tlierefore we
hear. Oh! the depth, this expression of wonder ought greatly
to avail to the beating down of the presumption of our flesh ;
for after having spoken from the word and by the Spirit of
the Lord, being at length overcome by the sublimity of so
great a mystery, he could not do otherwise than wonder and
exclaim, that the riches of God's wisdom are deeper than
our reason can penetrate to. Whenever then we enter
on a discourse respecting the eternal counsels of God, let a
bridle be always set on our tlioughts and tongue, so that
after having spoken soberly and within the limits of God's
word, our reasoning may at last end in admiration. Nor
ought we to be ashamed, that if we are not wiser than he,
who, having been taken into the third heaven, saw mysteries
to man ineffable, and who yet could find in this instance no
other end designed but that he should thus humble himself.
Some render the words of Paul thus, " Oh ! the deep
riches, and wisdom, and knowledge of God ! " as though the
word l3ddo<; was an adjective ; and they take riches for
abundance, but this seems to me strained, and I have there-
fore no doubt but that he extols God's deep riches of
wisdom and knowledge.^
1 It has indeed been thought by many that ttXovtou, riches, is a noun
belonging to wisdom and knowledge, used, after the Hebrew manner, in-
stead of an adjective. It means abundance or exuberance. The sentence,
according to om- idiom, would then be, " O the profundity of the abound-
ing wisdom and knowledge of God ! " The Apostle, as in the words " the
gifts and calling of God," adopts an ascending scale, and mentions wisdom
first, and then knowledge, which in point of order precedes it. Then in
the following clause, according to his usual practice, he retrogrades, and
states first what belongs to knowledge — "judgments," decisions, divine
decrees, such as knowledge determines ; and then " ways," actual proceed-
ings, for the guiding of which wisdom is necessary. Thus we see that his
style is thoroughly Hebraistic.
It appears from Poole's Syn., that Origen, Chrysostom, and Theochret,
CHAP. XI. o3. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 445
How incomprehensible, &c. By different words, according
to a practice common in Hebrew, he expresses the same
thing. For he speaks oi judgments, tlien he subjoins ways,
which mean appointments or the mode of acting, or the
manner of ruling. But he still continues his exclamation,
and thus the more he elevates the height of the divine
mystery, the more he deters us from the curiosity of investi-
gating it. Let us then learn to make no searchings respect-
ing the Lord, except as far as he has revealed himself in the
Scriptures; for otherwise we shall enter a labyrinth, from
Avliich the retreat is not easy. It must however be noticed,
that he speaks not here of all God's mysteries, but of those
which are hid with God himself, and ought to be only ad-
mired and adored by us.
connected " riches" with " depth," " O the abounding depth," &c. ; but that
Ambrose and Augustine cormecie(\. it with " wisdom," &c. The use of the
term in Eph. i. 7, favours the last; for "the riches of his grace" mean
clearly " his abounding grace."
But some, with Stuart, suppose that by "riches" here is meant God's
goodness or mercy, according to verse 12, and Eph. iii. 8. And Stuart
gives this version, " O the boundless goodness, and wisdom, and knowledge
of God ! " But this destroys the evident correspondence that is to be found
in the latter clause of the verse, except we take in the remaining portion of
the chapter, and this perhaps is what ought to be done. But if we do this,
then -rXouTou means " treasures," or blessings," or " copia beneficiorum," as
Schleusner expresses it. "Riches of Christ" mean the abounding bless-
ings laid up in him, Eph. iii. 8. God may be viewed as set forth here
as the source of all things, and as infinite in wisdom and knowledge ; and
these three things are the subjects to the end of the chapter, the two last
verses referring to the first, and the end of the thirty-third and the thirty-
fourth to the two others, and in an inverted order. The depth or vastness
of his wealth or bounty is such, that he has nothing but his own, no one
having given him anything, (verse 35,) and from him, and through him,
and to him are all things, (verse 36.) Then as to the vastness of his
Avisdom and of his knowledge ; what liis knowledge has decided cannot be
searched out, and what his wisdom has devised, as to the manner of execut-
ing his purposes, cannot be investigated ; and no one can measure the ex-
tent of his knowledge, and no one has been his counsellor, so as to add to
the stores of his wisdom, (verse 34.) That we may see the connection of
the different parts, it is necessary to present the whole passage in lines —
33. Oh the depth of God's bounty and wisdom and knowledge !
IIow inscrutable his judgments
And untraceable his ways !
34. Who indeed hath known the Lord's mind,
Or who has become his coimsellor ?
35. Or who has first given to him ?
And it shall be re payed to him :
36. For from him and through him and to him are all things :
To him the glorv for ever. — Amen. — Ed.
446 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XI. 34.
34. Who has known the mind of the Lord ? He begins
here to extend as it were his hand to restrain the audacitj
of men, lest they should clamour against God's judgments,
and this he does by stating two reasons: the first is, that
all mortals are too blind to take a view of God's predestina-
tion by their own understanding, and to reason on a thing
unknown is presumj^tuous and absurd ; the other is, that we
can have no cause of complaint against God, since no mortal
can boast that God is a debtor to him ; but that, on the con-
trary, all are under obligations to him for his bounty.^
Within this limit then let every one remember to keep his
own mind, lest he be carried beyond God's oracles in investi-
gating predestination, since we hear that man can distinguish
nothing in this case, any more than a blind man in dark-
ness. This caution, however, is not to be so applied as to
weaken the certainty of faith, wdiich proceeds not from the
acumen of the human mind, but solely from the illumination
of the Spirit ; for Paul himself in another place, after having
testified that all the mysteries of God far exceed the com-
prehension of our minds, immediately subjoins that the faith-
ful understand the mind of the Lord, because they have not
received the spirit of this world, but the Spirit which has
been given them by God, by whom they are instructed as to
his goodness, which otherwise would be incomprehensible to
them.
As then we cannot by our own faculties examine the
secrets of God, so we are admitted into a certain and clear
knowledge of them by the grace of the Holy Spirit : and if
w^e ought to follow the guidance of the Spirit, where he
leaves us, there w^e ought to stop and as it were to fix our
' The words of this verse seem to have been taken literally from Is. xl.
13, as given in the Septaagint. The Hebrew is in some measure different,
but the words will admit of a rendering approaching nearer to the meaning
here than what is presented in oiir version, as follows —
Who has weighed the spirit of Jehovah,
And, being a man of his counsel, has taught him ?
To " weigh the spirit" is to know it thoroughly : the same verb, pD, is
used in this sense in Prov. xvi. 2 ; xxiv. 12. It indeed means to compute
by measure or by weight ; so that it may be rendered " measure" as well
as " weigh," and if we adopt " measure," it will then appear that to "know
the mind of the Lord," is to know the extent of his understanding or know-
ledge : an idea which remarkably corresponds with the passage. — Ed.
CHAP. XI. 'So. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 44-7
standing. If any one will seek to know more than what
God has revealed, he shall be overwhelmed with the immea-
surable brightness of inaccessible light. But we must bear
in mind the distinction, which I have before mentioned,
between the secret counsel of God, and his will made known
in Scripture ; for though the whole doctrine of Scripture
surpasses in its height the mind of man, yet an access to it
is not closed against the faithful, who reverently and soberly
follow the Spirit as their guide ; but the case is different
with regard to his hidden counsel, the depth and height of
which cannot by any investigation be reached.
35. Who has first given to him, &c. Another reason, by
which God's righteousness is most effectually defended
against all the accusations of the ungodly : for if no one re-
tains him bound to himself by his own merits, no one can
justly expostulate with him for not having received his re-
ward ; as he, who would constrain another to do him good,
must necessarily adduce those deeds by which he has de-
served a reward. The import then of Paul's words is this —
" God cannot be charged with unrighteousness, except it can
be proved, that he renders not to every one his due : but it
is evident, that no one is deprived by him of his right, since
he is under obligation to none ; for who can boast of any
thing of his own, by which he has deserved his favour?"^
Now this is a remarkable passage ; for we are here taught,
that it is not in our power to constrain God by our good
works to bestow salvation on us, but that he anticipates the
undeserving by his gratuitous goodness. But if we desire
to make an honest examination, we shall not only find, that
God is in no way a debtor to us, but that we are all subject
to his judgment, — that we not only deserve no favour, but
that we are worthy of eternal death. And Paul not only
' There is a passaoe in Job xH. 11, (2, in the Hebrew Bible,) of which
this verse seems to be a translation, made by the Apostle himself, as
totally another meaning is given in the Septuayint. The person is alone
changed. The Hebrew is literally this,
Who has anticipated me,
And I will repay ?
To " anticipate" means here with favour or gift ; for the remainder of
the verse is the following, —
Everything under the whole heaven, mine it is. — Ed.
448 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XI. 36.
concludeSj that God owes us nothing, on account of our cor-
rupt and sinful nature ; but he denies, that if man were
perfect, he could bring anj^thing before God, by which he
could gain his favour ; for as soon as he begins to exist, he
is already by the right of creation so much indebted to his
Maker, that he has nothing of his own. In vain then shall
we try to take from him his own right, that he should not,
as he pleases, freely determine respecting his own creatures,
as though there was mutual debt and credit.
36. For from him and through him, &c. A confirmation
of the last verse. He shows, that it is very far from being
the case, that we can glory in any good thing of our own
against God, since we have been created by him from no-
thing, and now exist through him. He hence infers, that
our being should be employed for his glory : for how unrea-
sonable would it be for creatures, whom he has formed and
whom he sustains, to live for any other purpose than for
making his glory known ? It has not escaped my notice,
that the phrase, et? avrov, to him, is sometimes taken for
ev avTM, in or by him, but improperly : and as its proper
meaning is more suitable to the present subject, it is better
to retain it, than to adopt that which is improper. The
import of what is said is, — That the whole order of nature
would be strangely subverted, were not God, who is the
beginning of all things, the end also.
To him be glory, &c. The proposition being as it were
proved, he now confidently assumes it as indubitable, — That
the Lord's own gloiy ought everywhere to continue to him
unchangeably : for the sentence would be frigid were it
taken generally ; but its emphasis depends on the context,
that God justly claims for himself absolute supremacy, and
that in the condition of mankind and of the whole world
nothing is to be sought beyond his own glory. It hence
follows, that absurd and contrary to reason, and even insane,
are all those sentiments which tend to diminish his glory.
CHAP. XII. 1. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 419
CHAPTER XII.
1 . I beseech you therefore, bre- 1 . Obsecro itaque vos fratres, per
thren, by the mercies of God, that miserationes Dei, ut sistatis corpora
ye present your bodies a Uving sacri- vestra hostiam vivam, sanctam, ac-
fice, holy, acceptable unto God, u'/iicA ceptam Deo, rationabilem cultuin
is your reasonable service. vestrum.
2. And be not conformed to this 2. FA ne conformetis vos huic
world ; but be ye transformed by mundo, sed transfiguremini renova-
the renewing of your mind, that ye tione mentis vestrse, ut probetis
may prove what is that good, and qufe sit voluntas Dei bona et placita
acceptable, and perfect will of God. et perfecta.
After having handled those things necessary for the
erection of the kingdom of God, — that righteousness is to be
sought from God alone, that salvation is to come to us alone
from his mercy, that all blessings are laid up and daily of-
fered to us in Christ only, — Paul now passes on, according
to the best order, to show how the life is to be formed. If it
be, that through the saving knowledge of God and of Christ,
the soul is, as it were, regenerated into a celestial life, and
that the life is in a manner formed and regulated by holy
exhortations and precepts ; it is then in vain that you show
a desire to form the life aright, except you prove first, that
the origin of all righteousness in men is in God and Christ ;
for this is to raise them from the dead.
And this is the main difference between the gospel and
philosophy : for though the philosophers sj^eak excellently
and with great judgment on the subject of morals, yet
whatever excellency shines forth in their precepts, it is, as
it were, a beautiful superstructure without a foundation ;
for by omitting principles, they offer a mutilated doctrine,
like a body without a head. Not very unlike this is the
mode of teaching under the Papacy: for though they men-
tion, by the way, faith in Christ and the grace of the Holy
Spirit, it yet appears quite evident, that they approach hea-
then philosophers far nearer than Christ and his Apostles.
But as philosophers, before they lay down laws respecting
morals, discourse first of the end of what is good, and inquire
into the sources of virtues, from which afterwards they draw
and derive all duties ; so Paul lays down here the principle
2 F
450 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XII. 1.
from which all the duties of holiness flow, even this, — that
we are redeemed by the Lord for this end — that we may
consecrate to him ourselves and all our members. But it
may be useful to examine every part.
1. / therefore beseech you by the mercies (miserationes —
compassions) of God, &c. We know that unholy men, in
order to gratify the flesh, anxiously lay hold on whatever is
set forth in Scripture respecting the infinite goodness of God;
and hypocrites also, as far as they can, maliciously darken
the knowledge of it, as though the grace of God extinguished
the desire for a godly life^ and opened to audacity the door
of sin. But this exhortation teaches us, that until men
really apprehend how much they owe to the mercy of God,
they will never with a right feeling worship him, nor be
efiectually stimulated to fear and obey him. It is enough
for the Papists, if they can extort by terror some sort of
forced obedience, I know not what. But Paul, that he
might bind us to God, not by servile fear, but by the volun-
tary and cheerful love of righteousness, allures us by the
sweetness of that favour, by which our salvation is effected ;
and at the same time he reproaches us with ingratitude, ex-
cept we, after having found a Father so kind and bountiful,
do strive in our turn to dedicate ourselves wholly to him.^
And what Paul says, in thus exhorting us, ought to have
more power over us, inasmuch as he excels all others in
setting forth the grace of God. Iron indeed must be the
heart which is not kindled by the doctrine which has been
laid down into love towards God, whose kindness towards
itself it finds to have been so abounding. Where then are
1 By "'mercies," the Apostle refers, as some think, to the various acts of
God's mercy, such as election, vocation, justification, and final salvation.
Grot'ms considers that God's attributes are referred to, such as are de-
scribed in Exod. xxxiv. 6, 7. Erasmus, quoting Origen, says, that the
plural is used for amplification, in order to show the greatness of God's
mercy, as though the Apostle had said, " by God's great mercy." Schleusner
renders the clause, " per summam Dei benignitatem — by God's great kind-
ness," that is, in bringing you to the knowledge of the gospel. So " Father
of mercies," in 2 Cor. i. 3, may mean " most merciful Father," or the
meaning may be, " the Father of all blessings," as mercy signifies some-
times what mercy bestows, (Phil. ii. 1,) as grace or favour often means the
gift which flows from it. According to this view, "mercies" here are the
blessings which God bestows, even the blessings of redemption. — Ed.
CHAP. XII. 1. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 451
they who think that all exhortations to a holy life are nulli-
fied, if the salvation of men depends on the grace of God
alone, since by no precepts, by no sanctions, is a pious mind
so framed to render obedience to God, as by a serious medi-
tation on the Divine goodness towards it ?
We may also observe here the benevolence of the Apostle's
spirit, — that he preferred to deal with the faithful by admo-
nitions and friendly exhortations rather than by strict com-
mands ; for he knew that he could prevail more with the
teachable in this way than in any other.
That ye present your bodies, &c. It is then the beginning
of a right course in good works, when we understand that
we are consecrated to the Lord ; for it hence follows, that we
must cease to live to ourselves, in order that we may devote
all the actions of our life to his service.
There are then two things to be considered here, — the
first, that we are the Lord's, — and secondly, that we ought
on this account to be holy, for it is an indignity to God's
holiness, that anything, not first consecrated, should be
ofiered to him. These two things being admitted, it then
follows that holiness is to be practised through life, and that
we are guilty of a kind of sacrilege when we relapse into
uncleanness, as it is nothing else than to profane what is
consecrated.
But there is throughout a great suitableness in the ex-
pressions. He says first, that our body ought to be oflfered a
sacrifice to God ; by which he implies that we are not our
own, but have entirely passed over so as to become the pro-
perty of God; which cannot be, except we renounce our-
selves and thus deny ourselves. Then, secondly, by adding
two adjectives, he shows what sort of sacrifice this ought to
be. By calling it living, he intimates, that we are sacrificed
to the Lord for this end, — that our former life being de-
stroyed in us, we may be raised up to a new life. By the
term holy, he points out that wdiicli necessarily belongs to a
sacrifice, already noticed ; for a victim is then only approved,
when it had been previously made holy. By the third word,
acceptable, he reminds us, that our life is framed aright, when
this sacrifice is so made as to be pleasing to God : he brings
452 COMMENTARIES ON THE OHAP. XII. I.
to US at the same time no common consolation ; for lie teaches
us, that our work is pleasing and acceptable to God when
we devote ourselves to purity and holiness.
Bj bodies he means not only our bones and skin, but tlie
whole mass of which we are composed ; and he adopted this
word, that he might more fully designate all that we are :
for the members of the body are the instruments by which
we execute our purposes.^ He indeed requires from us holi-
ness, not only as to the body, but also as to the soul and
spirit, as in 1 Thess. v. 23. In bidding us to present our
bodies, he alludes to the Mosaic sacrifices, which were pre-
sented at the altar, as it were in the presence of God. But
he shows, at the same time, in a striking manner, how
prompt we ought to be to receive the commands of God,
that wo may without delay obey them.
Hence we learn, that all mortals, whose object is not to
worship God, do nothing but miserably wander and go astray.
We now also find what sacrifices Paul recommends to the
Christian Church : for being reconciled to God through the
one only true sacrifice of Christ, we are all through his g-race
made j^riests, in order that we may dedicate ourselves and
all we have to the glory of God. No sacrifice of expiation
is wanted ; and no one can be set up, without casting a
manifest reproach on the cross of Christ.
Your reasonable service. This sentence, I think, was added,
that he might more clearly apply and confinn the preceding
* The word a-uf/.ara, « bodies," lie seems ta have used, because of the
simiHtude he adopts respecting sacrifices ; for the bodies of beasts we are
to consecrate our o^m bodies. As he meant before by " members," ch. vL
13, the whole man, so he means here by " bodies," that is, themselves.
They Avere to be living sacrifices, not killed as the legal sacrifices. They
were to be holi/, not maimed or defective, but whole and perfect as to all
the members, and free from diseases. See Lev. xxii. 19-22. They were
to he acceptable, tLd^ia-Tov ; " placentem — pleasing," i>e^a ; "well-pleasing,"
Doddridge. It was not sufficient under the law for the sacrifices them-
selves to be holy, blameless, such as God requii-ed ; but a right nwtive and
a right feeling on the part of the ofierer were necessary, in order that they
might be accepted or approved by God. Without faith and repentance,
and a reformed life, they were not accepted, but regarded as abominations.
See Ps. H. 19; Is. i. 11-19.
It is said by Wolfius, that all the terms here are derived from the sacri-
ficial rites of the law, and that Christians are represented both as the
priests who offered, and as the sacrifices which were oflered by them. — Ed,
CHAP. XII. 2. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 453
exhortation, as though he had said, — " Offer yourselves a
sacrifice to God, if ye have it in your heart to servo God :
for this is the right way of serving God ; from whicli, if any
depart, they are but false worshii^pers." If then only God is
riglitly worsliipped, when we observe all things according to
what he has prescribed, away then with all those devised
modes of worship, which he justly abominates, since he values
obedience more than sacrifice. Men are indeed pleased with
their own inventions, which have an empty show of wisdom,
as Paul saj'^s in another place ; but we learn here what the
celestial Judge declares in opposition to this by the mouth
of Paul ; for by calling that a reasonable service which he
commands, he repudiates as foolish, insipid, and presumptu-
ous, whatever we attempt beyond the rule of his word.^
2. And conform ye not to this world, &c. The term world
has several significations, but here it means the sentiments
and the morals of men ; to which, not without cause, he for-
bids us to conform. For since the whole world lies in wick-
edness, it behoves us to put off whatever we have of the old
man, if we would really put on Christ : and to remove all
doubt, he explains what he means, by stating what is of a
contrary nature ; for he bids us to be transformed into a
newness of mind. These kinds of contrast are common in
Scripture ; and thus a subject is more clearly set forth.
* The word Xayixriv, " reasonable," ivas considered by Origen, and by
many after him, as designating Christian service consonant Avith reason,
in opposition to the sacrilices under the law, which were not agreeable to
reason. But Chrysostom, whom also many have followed, viewed the
word as meaning what is spiritual, or what belongs to the mind, in con-
tradistinction to the ritual and external service of the law : but there is no
example of the word having such a meaning, except it be 1 Pet. ii. 2,
Avhich is by no means decisive. Rational, or reasonable, is its meaning,
or, what agrees with the word, as Phavorinus explains it. There is no
need here to suppose any contrast : the expression only designates the act
or the service which the Apostle prescribes; as though he said, " What I
exhort you to do is nothing but a reasonable service, consistent with the
dictates of reason. God has done great things for you, and it is nothing
but right and just that you should dedicate yourselves wholly to him."
This seems to be the obvious meaning. To draw this expression to another
subject, in order to set up reason as an umpire in matters of faith, is
wholly a perversion : and to say, that as it seems to refer to the word in
1 Pet. ii. 2, it must be so considered here, is what does not necessarily
follow ; for as x'oyo; sometimes means " word," and sometimes " reason," so
its derivative may have a similar variety. — Ed,
454 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XII. 2.
Now attend here, and see what kind of renovation is re-
quired from us : It is not that of tlie flesh only, or of the
inferior part of the soul, as the Sorbonists explain this word ;
but of the mind, which is the most excellent part of us, and
to which philosophers ascribe the supi'emacy ; for they call
it 7]y€^oviKov, the leading power ; and reason is imagined to
be a most wise queen. But Paul pulls her down from her
throne, and so reduces her to notliing by teaching us that
we must be renewed in mind. For how much soever we
may flatter ourselves, that declaration of Christ is still true,
— that every man must be boKn again, who would enter into
the kingdom of God ; for in mind and heart we are alto-
gether alienated from the righteousness of God.
That ye may proved &c. Here you have the purpose for
which we must put on a new mind, — that bidding adieu to
our own counsels and desires, and those of all men, we may
be attentive to the only will of God, the knowledge of which
is true wisdom. But if the renovation of our mind is neces-
sary, in order that we may prove what is the will of God, it
is hence evident how oj^posed it is to God.
The epithets which are added are intended for the pur-
^ Ut probetis, th to loxifid^nv iifias ; " ut noscatis — that ye may know,"
Theophylact ; " lit diligenter scrutemini — that, ye may carefully search,"
Jerome ; " that ye may experimentally know," Doddridge ; " that ye may
learn," Stuart. The verb means chieiiy three things, — to test, i.e., metals
by tire, to try, to prove, to examine, 1 Pet. i. 7 ; Ijuke xiv. 19 ; 2 Cor. xiii.
5, — to approve what is proved, Rom. xiv. 22 ; 1 Cor. xvi. 3, — and also to
prove a thing so as to make a proper distinction, to discern, to ^mdcrsiand,
to distinguish, Luke xii. 56 ; Kom. ii. 18. The last idea is the most suit-
able here, " in order that ye may understand what the will of God is, even
that which is good and acceptable and perfect."
What Stuart says on the last clause seems just, that it is to be taken by
itself, and that the words do not agree with " will," but stand by them-
selves, being in the neuter gender. Otherwise we cannot affix any id^a to
" acceptable ;" for it would be unsuitable to say that God's will is " accept-
able " to him, that being self-evident.
" Good," ayaPov, is useful, advautageous, beneficial ; " acceptable," ila^i.
irrov, is what is pleasing to and accepted by God ; and "perfect," tsXe/sv, is
complete, entire, without any defect, or just and right.
It ought to be borne in mind, as Parens observes, that in order to dis-
cern, and rightly to understand God's will, the Apostle teaches us, that
" the renewing of the mind " is necessary ; otherwise, as he adds, " our
corrupt nature will fascinate our eyes that they may not see, or if they
see, will turn our hearts and wills, that they may not approve, or if they
approve, will hinder us to follow what is approved." — Ed.
CHAP. XII. o. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 455
pose of recommending God's will, that we may seek to know
it witli greater alacrity : and in order to constrain our per-
verseness, it is indeed necessary tliat the true glory of justice
and perfection should be ascribed to the will of God. The
world persuades itself that those works which it has devised
are good ; Paul exclaims, that what is good and right must
be ascertained from God's commandments. The world praises
itself, and takes delight in its own inventions ; but Paul
affirms, that nothing j^leases God except what he has com-
manded. The world, in order to find perfection, slides from
the word of God into its own devices ; Paul, by fixing per-
fection in the will of God, shows, that if any one passes over
that mark he is deluded by a false imagination.
3. For I say, through the grace given 3. Dico enim per gratiam,
unto me, to every man that is among quae data est mihi, cuilibet ves-
you, not to think of himself more trura, ne supra modum sapiat
highly tlian he ought to think; but prseter id quod oportet sapere,
to think soberly, according as God sed sapiat ad sobrietatem, sicuti
hath dealt to every man the measure unicuique distribuit Deus men-
of faith. suram tidei.
3. For I say, through the grace, &c. If you think not the
causal particle superfluous, this verse will not be unsuitably
connected with the former ; for since he wished that our
whole study should be employed in investigating the will of
God, the next thing to this was, to draw us away from vain
curiosity. As however the causal particle is often used re-
dundantly by Paul, you may take the verse as containing a
simple affirmation ; for thus the sense would also be very
appropriate.
But before he specifies his command, he reminds them of
the authority which had been given to him, so that they
might not otherwise attend to his voice than if it was the
voice of God himself; for his words are the same, as though
he had said, " I speak not of myself ; but, as God's ambas-
sador, I bring to you the commands which he has entrusted
to me." By "grace" (as before) he means the Apostleship,
with respect to which he exalts God's kindness, and at the
same time intimates, that he had not crept in through his
own presumption, but that he was chosen by the calling of
God. Having then by this preface secured authority to him-
456 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XII. 8.
self, lie laid the Romans under tlie necessity of obeying,
unless tliey were prepared to despise God in the person of
his minister.
Then the command follows, by which he draws us away
from the investigation of those things which can bring no-
thing but harassment to the mind, and no edification ; and
he forbids every one to assume more than what his capacity
and calling will allow ; and at the same time he exhorts us
to think and meditate on those things which may render us
sober-minded and modest. For so I understand the words,
rather in the sense given them by Erasmus, who thus renders
them, " Let no one think proudly of himself;'' for this sense
is somewhat remote from the words, and the other is more
accordant with the context. The clause, Beyond ivhat it be-
hoves him to he wise, shows what he meant by the former
verb vTrep^poveiv, to be above measure wise ; that is, that we
exceed the measure of wisdom, if we engage in those things
cencerning which it is not meet that we should be anxious.^
To be wise unto sobriety is to attend to the study of those
things by which you may find that you learn and gain
moderation.
To every one as God has distributed, &c. {Unicuique ut
divisit Deus.) There is here an inversion of words, instead
of — As to every one God has distributed.^ And here a reason
is given for that sober-minded wisdom which he had men-
tioned ; for as distribution of graces is various, so every one
preserves himself within the due boundaries of wisdom, who
^ " Ne supra modum sapiat," so the Vulgate and Beza; f/.h u'^i^ip^iviiM,
" ne supra modum de se sentiat — let him not think immoderately of him-
self," Merle; " not to arrogate to himself," Doddridge ; "not to over-
estimate himself," Stuart. This and the following clause may be thus
rendered, " not to think highly above what it behoves him to think," that
is, of himself. Then what follows may admit of this rendering, " but to
think so as to think rightly," or modestly, {tU ro ircu(p^ovuv.) The last verb
occurs elsewhere five times ; thrice it means " to be of a sane mind," Mark
vii. 15; Luke viii. 35; 2 Cor. v. 13; and twice it means " to act pru-
dently," Titus ii. 6 ; 1 Peter iv. 7 ; or, it may be, in tlie last passage, '• to
live temperately." As it refers here to the mind, it must mean such an
estimate of one's self as is sound, just, and right, such as becomes one who
is sound and sane in his mind. Pride is a species of insanity ; but humility
betokens a return to a sane mind : and an humble estimate of ourselves, as
Professor Hodge observes, is the only sound, sane, and right estimate. — Ed.
2 We find a similar transposition in 1 Cor. iii. 5. — Ed.
CHAP. XII. 8. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 4o7
keeps within the limits of that grace of faith bestowed on
him by the Lord. Hence there is an immoderate affectation
of wisdom, not only in empty things and in things useless to
be known, but also in the knowledge of those things which
are otherwise useful, when we regard not what has been
given to us, but through rashness and presumption go beyond
the measure of our knowledge ; and such outrage God will
not suffer to go unjiunished. It is often to be seen, with
what insane trifles they are led away, who, by foolish ambi-
tion, proceed beyond those bounds which are set for them.^
The meaning is, that it is a part of our reasonable sacrifice
to surrender ourselves, in a meek and teachable spirit, to be
ruled and guided by God. And further, by setting up faith
in opposition to human judgment, he restrains us from our
own opinions, and at the same time specifies the due measure
of it, that is, when the faithful humbly keep themselves
within the limits allotted to them.^
4. For as we have many members 4. Quemadmodum enim in uno
in one body, and all members have corpore membra niulta habemus,
not the same office ; membra vero omnia non eandem
habent actionem ;
5. So we, being many, are one 5. Sic multi unum sumus corpus
body in Christ, and every one mem- in Christo membra mutuo alter
bers one of another. altering.
6. Having then gifts, differing ac- 6. Habentesautem dona secundum
cording to the grace that is given to gratiam nobis datam differentia;
us, whether prophecy, ^c?t<sprop/*f!Sj/ sive prophetiam, secundimi analo-
according to the proportion of faith ; giam fidei ;
7. Or ministry, let us wait on our 7. Sive ministerium, in ministerio ;
ministering ; or he that teacheth, on sive qui docet, in doctrina :
teaching ;
1 " It is better," says Augustine, " to doubt respecting hidden things,
than to contend about things imcertain." — Ed.
2 The expression " the measure of faith," fiir^ov -Jt'iimai;, is differently
explained. Some, as Beza and Parens, consider " faith " here as includ-
ing religion or Christian truth, because faith is the main principle, " as
God has divided to each the measure of Christian truth or knowledge."
Others suppose with Mede, that " faith " here is to be taken for those
various gifts and endowments which God bestowed on those who believed
or professed the faith of the gospel ; " as God has divided to each the
measure of those gifts which come by faith, or which are given to those
who believe." The last view is most suitable to the context. We may,
however, take " faith " here for grace, and consider the meaning the same
as in Eph. iv. 7. The subject there is the same as here, for the Apostle
proceeds there to mention the different offices which Christ had appointed
in his Church. — Ed.
458 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XII. 4.
8. Or he that exhorteth, on ex- 8. Sive qui exhortatur, in exhor-
hortation : he that giveth, let him do tatione ; sive qui hirgitur, in simpli-
it with simplicity ; he that ruleth, citate ; sive qui prseest, in studio ;
with dihgence ; he that sheweth sive qui miseretur, in hilaritate.
mercy, with cheerfulness.
4. For as in one body, &c. The very thing which he had
previously said of limiting the wisdom of each according to
the measure of faith, he now confirms by a reference to the
vocation of the faithful ; for we are called for this end, that
we may unite together in one body, since Christ has ordained
a fellowship and connection between the faithful similar to
that which exists between the members of the human body;
and as men could not of themselves come together into such
an union, he himself becomes the bond of this connection.
As then the case is Avith the human body, so it ought to be
with the society of the faithful. By applying this similitude
he proves how necessary it is for each to consider what is
suitable to his own nature, capacity, and vocation. But
though this similitude has various parts, it is yet to be chiefly
thus applied to our present subject, — that as the members
of the same body have distinct offices, and all of them are
distinct, for no member possesses all powers, nor does it
appropriate to itself the offices of others ; so God lias dis-
tributed various gifts to us, by which diversity he has de-
termined the order which he would have to be observed
among us, so that every one is to conduct himself according
to the measure of his capacity, and not to thrust himself
into what peculiarly belongs to others ; nor is any one to
seek to have all things himself, but to be content with his
lot, and willingly to abstain from usurping the offices of
others. When, however, he points out in express words the
communion which is between us, he at the same time inti-
mates, how much diligence there ought to be in all, so that
they may contribute to the common good of the body ac-
cording to the faculties they possess.^
' The Apostle pursiies this likeness of the human body much more at
large in 1 Cor. xii. 12-31. There are two bonds of union ; one, which is
between the believer and Christ by true faith ; and the other, which is
between the individual member of a church or a congregation and the rest
of the members by a professed faith. It is the latter that is handled by
the Apostle, both here and in the Epistle to the Corinthians. — Ed.
CHAP. XII. 6. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 459
6. Having gifts, &c. Paul spccaks not now simply of
cherishing among ourselves brotherly love, but commends
humility, which is the best moderator of our whole life.
Every one desires to have so much himself, so as not to
need any help from others ; but the bond of mutual com-
munication is this, that no one has sufficient for himself,
but is constrained to borrow from others. I admit then that
the society of the godly cannot exist, except when each one
is content with his own measure, and imparts to others the
gifts which he has received, and allows himself by turns to
be assisted by the gifts of others.
But Paul especially intended to beat down the pride
which he knew to be innate in men ; and that no one might
be dissatisfied that all things have not been bestowed on liim,
he reminds us that according to the wise counsel of God
eveiy one has his own portion given to him ; for it is neces-
sary to the common benefit of the body that no one sliould
be furnished with fulness of gifts, lest he should heedlessly
despise his brethren. Here then we have the main design"^
which the Apostle had in view, that all things do not meet /
in all, but that the gifts of God ai'e so distributed that each
has a limited portion, and that each ought to be so attentive
in imparting his own gifts to the edification of the Church,
that no one, by leaving his own function, may trespass on
that of another. By this most beautiful order, and as it
Avere symmetry, is the safety of the Church indeed pre-
served ; that is, when every one imparts to all in common :
what he has received from the Lord, in such a way as not to j
impede others. He who inverts this order fights with God,
by whose ordinance it is appointed ; for the difference of
gifts proceeds not from the will of man, but because it has
pleased the Lord to distribute his grace in this manner.
Whether prophecy, &c. By now bringing forward some
examples, he shows how every one in his jDlace, or as it were
in occupying his station, ought to be engaged. For all gifts
have their own defined limits, and to depart from them is to
mar the gifts themselves. But the passage appears some-
what confused ; we may yet arrange it in this manner,
" Let him who has prophecy, test it by the analogy of faith ;
4G{) COMMENTARIES ON THE CITAP. XII. 6.
let liim in the ministry discliarge it in teaching/'^ &c.
They who will keep this end in view", will rightly preserve
themselves within their own limits.
But this passage is variously understood. There are those
who consider that by jyrophecy is meant the gift of predict-
ing, which prevailed at the commencement of the gospel in
the Church ; as the Lord then designed in every way to
commend the dignity and excellency of his Cliurch ; and
they think that what is added, according to the analogy of
faith, is to be applied to all the clauses. But I prefer to
follow those who extend this word wider, even to the peculiar
gift of revelation, by which any one skilfully and wisely per-
formed the office of an interpreter in explaining the will of
God. Hence prophecy at this day in the Christian Church
is hardly anything else than the right understanding of the
Scripture, and the peculiar faculty of exjjlaining it, inas-
much as all the ancient prophecies and all the oracles of God
have been completed in Christ and in his gospel. For in
this sense it is taken by Paul when he says, " I wish that
you spoke in tongues, but rather that ye prophesy," (1 Cor.
xiv. 5 ;) " In part we know and in part we prophesy," (1 Cor.
xiii. 9.) And it does not appear that Paul intended here
to mention those miraculous graces b}'' which Christ at first
rendered illustrious his gospel ; but, on the contrary, we find
that he refers only to ordinary gifts, such as were to continue
perpetually in the Church."
* Tlie ellipsis to be supplied here is commonly done as in our version,
adopted from Beza. The supplement proposed by Fareus is perhaps more
in unison with the passage ; he repeats after " prophecy" the words in
verse 3, changing the person, " let us think soberly," or " let us be mo-
destly wise." — Ed.
* It is somewhat difficult exactly to ascertain what this "prophecy"
was. The word " prophet," N"'I1J, means evidently two things in the Old
Testament and also in the New — a foreteller and a teacher, or rather an
interpreter of the word. Prophecy in the New Testament sometimes sig-
nifies prediction, its primary meaning, Acts xii. 27 ; 2 Pet. i. 21 ; Rev. i.
3 ; but most commonly, as it is generally thought, the interpretation of
prophecy, that is, of prophecies contained in the Old Testament, and for
this work there were some in the primitive Church, as it is supposed, who
were inspired, and thus peculiarly qualified. It is probable that this kind
of prophecy is what is meant here. See 1 Cor. xii. 10 ; xiii. 2, 8 ; xiv.
3, 6, 22 ; 1 Thess. v. 20.
That it was a distinct function from that of apostles, evangelists, pastors,
CHAP. Xll. 6. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 4f)l
Nor docs it scorn to me a solid objection, tliat the Apostle
to no purpose laid this injunction on those who, having the
Spirit of God, could not call Christ an anathema ; for he
testifies in another place that the spirit of the Prophets is
subject to the Prophets ; and he bids the first speaker to be
silent, if anything were revealed to him who was sitting-
down, (1 Cor. xiv. 32 ;) and it was for the same reason it may
be that he gave this admonition to those who prophesied in
the Church, that is, that they were to conform their pro-
phecies to the rule of faith, lest in anything they should
deviate from the right line. By faith he means the first
principles of religion, and whatever doctrine is not found to
correspond with these is here condemned as false.^
As to the other clauses there is less difllculty. Let him
who is ordained a minister, he says, execute his oftice in
ministering ; nor let him think, that he has been admitted
into that degree for himself, but for others ; as though he
had said, " Let him fulfil his oflice by ministering faithfully,
that he may answer to his name." So also he immediately
adds with regard to teachers ; for by the word teaching, he
and teachers, is evident from Epli. iv. 11 ; and from the interpretation of
tongues, as it appears from 1 Cor. xii. 10 ; and from revelation, know-
ledge, and doctrine, as we find from 1 Cor. xiv. 6. It also appears that
it was more useful than other extraordinary gifts, as it tended more to
promote edification and comfort, 1 Cor. xiv. 1, 3. It is hence most pro-
bable that it was the gift already stated, that of interpreting the Scrip-
tures, especially the prophecies of the Old Testament, and applying them
for the edification of the Church. " Prophets" are put next to " apostles"
in Eph. iv. 11. — Ed.
' '• Secundum analogiam fidei," so Parens ; koltu. rhv avaXoylav tvi
vla-Tias; " pro proportione fidei — according to the proportion of faith," Beza,
Piscator ; that is, as the former explains the phrase, " according to the
measure or extent of the individual's faith ;" he was not to go beyond what
he knew or what had been communicated to him by the Spirit. But the
view which Calvin takes is the most obvious and consistent with the pas-
sage ; and this is the view which Hammond gives, " according to that form
of faith or wholesome doctrine by w^hich every one who is sent out to preach
the gospel is appointed to regulate his preaching, according to those heads
or principles of faith and good life which are known among you." The
word a.vaXoy'ia mcaus properly congruity, conformity, or proportion, not in
the sense of measure or extent, but of equality, as when one thing is
equal or conformable to another ; hence the analogy of faith must mean
what is conformable to the faith. And faith here evidently signifies divine
truth, the object of faith, or what faith receives. See chap. x. 8 ; Gal. iii.
23 ; Tit. i. 4 ; Jude verse 3.— Ed.
462 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XII. 8.
recommends sound edification, according to this import, —
" Let liim who excels in teaching know that the end is,
that the Church may be really instructed ; and let him study
this one thing, that he may render the Church more inform-
ed by his teaching :" for a teacher is he who forms and
builds the Church by the word of truth. Let him also who
excels in the gift of exhorting, have this in view, to render
his exhortation effectual.
But these offices have much affinity and even connection ;
not however that they were not different. No one indeed
could exhort, except by doctrine : yet he who teaches is
not therefore endued with the qualification to exhort. But
no one prophesies or teaches or exhorts, without at the same
time ministering. But it is enough if we preserve that dis-
tinction which we find to be in God's gifts, and which we
know to be adapted to produce order in the Church.^
8. Or he who gives, let him do so in simplicity, &c. From
the former clauses we have clearl}" seen, that he teaches us
here the legitimate use of God's gifts. By the fxeTa8cSovvTOL<i,
the givers, of whom he speaks here, he did not understand
1 Critics have found it difficult to distinguish between these offices. The
word ^laxo/ia, ministry, is taken sometimes in a restricted sense, as mean-
ing deaconship, an office appointed to manage tlie temporal affairs of the
Church, Acts vi. 1-3 ; 1 Tim. iii. 8-18 ; and sometimes in a general sense,
as signifying the ministerial office, 2 Cor. vi. 3 ; Eph. iii. 7 ; Col. i. 23. As
the " teacher" and " exhorter" are mentioned, some think that the
deaconship is to be understood here, and that the Apostle tirst mentioned
the highest office, next to the apostleship — prophecy, and the lowest — the
deaconship, and afterwards named the intervening offices — those of teachers
and exhorters.
But what are we to think of those mentioned in the following clauses ?
Stuart thinks that they were not public officers, but private individuals,
and he has sustained this opinion by some very cogent reasons. The form
of the sentence is here changed ; and the Apostle, having mentioned the
deaconship, cannot be supposed to have referred to the same again. The
word that seems to stand in the way of this view is what is commonly ren-
dered '• ruler," or, " he who rules :" but o -r^o'/a-rccfiivas, as our author shows,
means a helper, an assistant, (see chap. xvi. 2,) as well as a ruler ; it means
to stand over, either for the purpose of taking care of, assisting, protect-
ing others, or of presiding over, ruling, guiding them. Then iv (r-rou^, with
promptness or diligence, will better agree with the former than with the
latter idea. The other two clauses correspond also more with this view
than with the other. It has been said, that if a distributor of alms had
been intended, the word would have been ^lah^ol; and not furccli^ol;. See
Eph. iv. 28. The expression, sv a-rXoryiTi, means " with liberahty, or liber-
ally." See 2 Cor. viii. 2 ; ix. 11, 13 ; James i. 5. — Ed.
CHAP. XII. 8. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 463
those wlio gave of their own property, but the deacons, who
presided in dispensing the public charities of the Church ;
and by the kkeovvTot,<;, those who showed mercy, he meant the
widows, and other ministers, who were appointed to take
care of the sick, according to the custom of the ancient
Church : for there were two different offices, — to provide
necessaries for the poor, and to attend to their condition.
But to the first he recommends simplicity, so that without
fraud or resjject of persons they were faithfully to administer
what was entrusted to them. He required the services of
the other party to be rendered with cheerfulness, lest by
their peevishness (which often happens) they marred the
favour conferred by them. For as nothing gives more solace
to the sick or to any one otherwise distressed, than to see
men cheerful and prompt in assisting them ; so to observe
sadness in the countenance of those by whom assistance is
given, makes them to feel themselves despised.
Though he rightly calls those irpolaTdixevov^;, presidents,
to whom was committed the government of the Church, (and
they were the elders, who presided over and ruled others
and exercised discipline ;) yet what he says of these may be
extended universally to all kinds of governors : for no small
solicitude is required from those who provide for the safety
of all, and no small diligence is needful for them who ought
to watch day and night for the wellbeing of the whole com-
munity. Yet the state of things at that time proves that
Paul does not speak of all kinds of rulers, for there were
then no pious magistrates ; but of the elders who were the
correctors of morals.
9. Let love be without dissimiila- 9. Dilectio sit non simulata ; sitis
lion. Abhor that Avhich is evil, aversantes malum, adherentes bono ;
cleave to that which is good.
10. Be kindly aftectioned one to 10. Fraternacharitate ad vosmu-
another with brotherly love ; in lion- tuo amandos propensi, alii alios ho-
our preferring one another ; nore prasvenientes ;
11. Not slothful in business: fer- 11. Studio non pigri, spiritu fer-
vent in spirit ; serving the Lord ; ventes, tenipori servientes :
12. Rejoicing in hope ; patient in 12. Spegaudi.ntes, in tribulatione
tribulation ; continuing instant in patientes, in oratione perseverantes ;
prayer ;
13. Distributing to the necessity 13. Necessitatibus sanctorum com-
of saints ; given to hospitality. numicantes,hospitalitatem sectaiites.
4(54 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XII. 10.
9. Let love he, &c. Proceeding- now to speak of particu-
lar duties, he fitly begins with love, which is the bond of
perfection. And respecting this he enjoins what is espe-
cially necessary, that all disguises are to be cast aside, and
that love is to arise from pure sincerity of mind. It is in-
deed difficult to express how ingenious almost all men are to
pretend a love which they really have not, for they not only
deceive others, but impose also on themselves, while they
persuade themselves that those are not loved amiss by them,
whom they not only neglect, but really slight. Hence Paul
declares here, that love is no other but that which is free
from all dissimulation : and any one may easily be a witness
to himself, whether he has anything in the recesses of his
heart which is opposed to love.^ The words good and evil,
which immediately follow in the context, have not here a
general meaning ; but evil is to be taken for that malicious
wickedness by which an injury is done to men ; and good
for that kindness, by which help is rendered to them ; and
there is here an antithesis usual in Scripture, when vices are
first forbidden and then virtues enjoined.
As to the participle, airoarv^ovvTe^, I have followed neither
Erasmus nor the old translators, who have rendered it
" hating," {odio habentes ;) for in my judgment Paul in-
tended to express something more ; and the meaning of the
term " turning away,'" corresponds better with the opposite
clause ; for he not only bids us to exercise kindness, but
even to cleave to it.
10. With brotherly love, &c. By no words could he satisfy
himself in setting forth the ardour of that love, with which
we ought to embrace one another : for he calls it brotherly,
and its emotion crropyrjv, affection, which, among the Latins,
is the mutual affection which exists between relatives ; and
truly such ought to be that which we should have towards
the children of God.^ That this may be the case, he subjoins
^ " Love," says an old author, " is the sura and substance of all virtues.
Philosophers make justice the queen of virtues ; but love is the mother of
justice, for it renders to God and to our neighbour what is justly due to
them."— ^f^
^ It is difficult to render this clause : Calvin's words are, " Fraterna cha-
ritate ad vos mutuo amandos propensi ;" so Beza. The Apostle joins t\\ o
CHAP. XII. H. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 4G5
a precept very necessary for the preservation of benevolence,
— that every one is to give honour to Iiis brethren and not
to himself; for there is no poison more effectual in alienating
the minds of men than the thought, that one is despised.
But if by honour you are disposed to understand every act
of friendly kindness, I do not much object: I however ap-
prove more of the former interpretation. For as there is no-
thing more opposed to brotherly concord than contempt,
arising from haughtiness, when each one, neglecting others,
advances himself; so the best fomenter of love is humility,
when every one honours others.
11. Not slothful in business, &c. This precept is given to
us, not only because a Christian life ought to be an active
life ; but because it often becomes us to overlook our own
benefit, and to spend our labours in behalf of our brethren.
In a word, we ought in many things to forget ourselves ; for
except we be in earnest, and diligently strive to shake off all
sloth, we shall never be rightly prepared for the service of
Christ.^
By adding fervent in spirit, he shows how we are to at-
tain the former ; for our flesh, like the ass, is always torpid,
and has therefore need of goads ; and it is only the fervency
of the Spirit that can correct our slothfulness. Hence dili-
gence in doing good requires that zeal which the Spirit of
God kindles in our hearts. Why then, some one may say,
does Paul exhort us to cultivate this fervency ? To this I
things — mutual love of brethren, with the natiu-al love of parents and
children, as though he said, " Let your brotherly love have in it the affec-
tionate feehng which exists between parents and children." " In brotherly
love, be mutually full of tender affection," Doddridge. " In brotherly
love, be kindly disposed toward each other," Macknight. It may be thus
rendered, " In brotherly love, be tenderly affectionate to one another."
Calvin's version of the next clause is, " Alii alios honore prsevenientes :"
so Erasmus ; t^ n/^^ aXXnXot/; Tr^aiiyoCf^ivoi •, " honore alii aliis pra^untes —
in honoiu: (that is, in conceding honour) going before one another," Beza,
Piscator, Macknight. It is thus explained by Mede, " Wait not for ho-
nour from others, but be the first to concede it." The participle means to
take the lead, to outrun, to go before, to anticipate ; " in bestowing honour,
taking the lead of, or outrunning, one another." See Phil. ii. 3. — Ed.
1 " Studio non pigri," t>; ittouI^ f/.h oxvn^oi ; " Be not slothful in haste,"
that is, in a matter requiring haste. " We must strive," says Theophylact,
" to assist with promptness those whose circumstances require immediate
help and relief." — Ed.
2g
466 . COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XII. ] 2.
answer, — that though it be the gift of God, it is yet a duty-
enjoined the faithful to shake off sloth, and to cherish the
flame kindled by heaven, as it for the most part happens,
that the Spirit is suppressed and extinguished through our
fault.
To the same purpose is the third particular, serving the
time : for as the course of our life is short, the opportunity
of doing good soon passes away ; it hence becomes us to
show more alacrity in the performance of our duty. So Paul
bids us in another place to redeem the time, because the
days are evil. The meaning may also be, that we ought to
know how to accommodate ourselves to the time, which is a
matter of great imiDortance. But Paul seems to me to set in
opposition to idleness what he commands as to the serving
of time. But as Kvpiro, the Lord, is read in many old copies,
though it may seem at first sight foreign to this passage, I
yet dare not wholly to reject this reading. And if it be
approved, Paul, I have no doubt, meant to refer the duties
to be performed towards brethren, and whatever served ta
cherish love, to a service done to God, that he might add
greater encouragement to the faithful.^
12. Rejoicing in hope, &c. Three things are here con-
nected together, and seem in a manner to belong to the
clause " serving the time ;" for the person who accommo-
dates himself best to the time, and avails himself of the op-
portunity of actively renewing his course, is he who derives
his joy from the hope of future life, and patiently bears
tribulations. However this may be, (for it matters not much
whether you regard them as connected or separated,) he first
forbids us to acquiesce in present blessings, and to ground
our joy on earth and on earthly tilings, as though our happi-
ness were based on them ; and he bids us to raise our minds
up to heaven, that we may possess solid and full joy. If our
joy is derived from the hope of future life, then patience will
grow up in adversities ; for no kind of sorrow will be able to
1 The balance of evidence, according to Griesbach, is in favour of t<?
xaioM, " time," though there is much, too, which covmtenances the other
reading. Luther, Erasmus, and Hammond prefer the former, while
Beza, Fiscator, Parens, and most of the moderns, the latter. The most
suitable to the context is the former. — Ed,
CHAP. XII. 13. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 467
overwhelm this joy. Hence these two things are closely con-
nected together, that is, joy derived from hope, and patience
in adversities. No man will indeed calmly and quietly sub-
mit to bear the cross, but he who has learnt to seek his hap-
piness beyond this world, so as to mitigate and allay the
bitterness of the cross with the consolation of hope.
But as both these things are far above our strength, we
must be instant in prayer, and continually call on God, that
he may not suffer our hearts to faint and to be pressed down,
or to be l^roken by adverse events. But Paul not only sti-
mulates us to prayer, but expressly requires perseverance ;
for we have a continual warfare, and new conflicts daily arise,
to sustain which, even the strongest are not equal, unless
they frequently gather new vigour. That we may not then
be wearied, the best remedy is diligence in prayer.
IS. Communicating to the necessities^ &c. He returns to
the duties of love ; the chief of which is to do good to those
from whom we exjiect the least recompense. As then it
commonly happens, that they are especially despised who
are more than others pressed down with want and stand in
need of help, (for the benefits conferred on them are regarded
as lost,) God recommends them to us in an especial mannei*.
It is indeed then only that we prove our love to be genuine,
when we relieve needy hrethren, for no other reason but
that of exercising our benevolence. Now hospitality is not
one of the least acts of love ; that is, that kindness and
liberality which are shown towards strangers, for they are
for the most part destitute of all things, being far away from
their friends : he therefore distinctly recommends this to us.
We hence see, that the more neglected any one commonly
is by men, the more attentive we ought to be to his wants.
* There is here an instance of the depravation of the text by some of the
fathers, such as Ambrose, Hilary, Pelagius, Optntus, &c., who substi-
tuted f^nia,;, monuments, for zv-"^'^ necessities, or wants : but though
there are a few copies which have this reading, yet it has been discarded
by most ; it is not found in the Vulgate, nor approved by Erasmus nor
Grotius. The word was introduced evidently, as Whitby intimates, to
countenance the superstition of the early Church respecting the monu-
ments or sepulchres of martyrs and confessors. The fact, that there
were no monuments of martyrs at this time at Rome, was wholly over-
looked.— Ed.
468 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XII. 14.
Observe also the suitableness of the expression, when he
says, that we are to communicate to the necessities of the
saints ; by which he implies, that we ought so to relieve the
wants of the brethren, as though we were relieving our own
selves. And he commands us to assist especially the samfs .•
for though our love ought to extend itself to the whole race
of man, yet it ought with peculiar feeling to embrace the
household of faith, who are by a closer bond united to us.
14. Bless them which persecute 14. Benedicite iis qui vos perse-
you : bless, and curse not. quuntur ; benedicite et ne malum
impreceniini.
15. Rejoice with them that do re- 15. (jfaudete cum gaudentibus,
joice, and weep with them that weep, flete cum tientibus ;
16. Be of the same mind one 16. Mutuo alii in alios sensu
toward another. IVIind not high aifecti, non arroganter de vobis
things, but condescend to men of sentientes, sed humilibus vos accom-
low estate. Be not wise in your own modantes : ne sitis apud vos ipsos
conceits. prudentes.
14. Bless them, &c. I wish, once for all, to remind the
reader, that he is not scrupulously to seek a precise order as
to the precepts here laid down, biit must be content to have
short precepts, unconnected, though suited to the formation
of a holy life, and such as are deduced from the principle
the Apostle laid down at the beginning of the chapter.
He will presently give direction respecting the retaliation
of the injuries which we may suffer : but here he requires
something even more difficult, — that we are not to impre-
cate evils on our enemies, but to wish and to pray God to
render all things prosperous to them, how much soever they
may harass and cruelly treat us : and this kindness, the more
difficult it is to be practised, so with the more intense
desire we ought to strive for it ; for the Lord commands
nothing, with respect to which he does not require our
obedience ; nor is any excuse to be allowed, if we are desti-
tute of that disposition, by which the Lord would have his
people to differ from the \mgodly and the children of this
world.
Arduous is this, I admit, and wholly opposed to the nature
of man ; but there is nothing too arduous to be overcome
by the power of God, which shall never be wanting to us,
provided we neglect not to seek for it. And though you
CHAP. XII. 15. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 469
can hardly find one who has made such advances in the law
of the Lord that he fulfils this precept, yet no one can
claim to be the child of God or glory in the name of a
Christian, who has not in part attained this mind, and who
does not daily resist the opposite disposition.
I have said that this is more difiicult than to let go revenge
when any one is injured : for though some restrain their
hands and are not led away by the passion of doing- harm,
they yet wish that some calamity or loss would in some
way happen to their enemies ; and even when they are so
pacified that they wish no evil, there is yet hardly one in a
hundred who wishes well to him from whom he has received
an injury ; nay, most men daringly burst forth into impre-
cations. But God by his word not only restrains our hands
from doing evil, but also subdues the bitter feelings within ;
and not only so, but he would have us to be solicitous for
the wellbeing of those who unjustly trouble us and seek our
destruction.
Erasmus was mistaken in the meaning of the verb evko-
<yelv, to bless ; for he did not perceive that it stands opposed
to curses and maledictions : for Paul would have God in
both instances to be a witness of our patience, and to see
that we not only bridle in our prayers the violence of our
wrath, but also show by praying for pardon that we grieve
at the lot of our enemies when they wilfully ruin themselves.
1 5. Rejoice with those who rejoice, &c. A general truth is
in the third place laid down, — that the faithful, regarding
each other with mutual affection, are to consider the con-
dition of others as their own. He first specifies two parti-
cular things, — That they were to "rejoice with the joyful,
and to weep with the weeping." For such is the nature of
true love, that one prefers to weep with his brother, rather
than to look at a distance on his grief, and to live in plea-
sure or ease. What is meant then is, — that we, as much as
possible, ought to sympathize with one another, and that,
whatever our lot may be, each should transfer to himself the
feeling of another, whether of grief in adversity, or of joy in
prosperity. And, doubtless, not to regard with joy the happi-
ness of a brother is envy ; and not to grieve for his raisfor-
470 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XII. 16.
tunes is inliumanity. Let there be such a sympathy among
us as may at the same time adapt us to all kinds of feelings.
1 6. Not thinking arrogantly of yourselves^ &c. The Apostle
employs words in Greek more significant, and more suitable
to the antithesis, " Not thinking/' he says, " of high things :"
by which he means, that it is not the part of a Christian
ambitiously to aspire to those things by which he may excel
others, nor to assume a lofty appearance, but on the contrary
to exercise humility and meekness : for by these we excel
before the Lord, and not by j)ride and contempt of the
brethren. A precept is fitly added to the preceding ; for
nothing tends more to break that unity which has been
mentioned, than w^hen we elevate ourselves, and aspire to
something higher, so that we may rise to a higher situation.
I take the term humble in the neuter gender, to complete
the antithesis.
Here then is condemned all ambition and that elation of
mind which insinuates itself under the name of magna-
nimity ; for the chief virtue of the faithful is moderation, or
1 The first clause is omitted. The text of Calvin is, " Mutuo alii in
alios sensu affecti ;" to ah-To u; aXXyiXov; (p^oyovvTi; ; " Ititlem alii in alios
afiecti — Feel alike towards one another," Beza ; " Be entirely united in
your regards for each other," Doddridge ; " Be of the same disposition to-
wards one another," Machnight. The verb means to think, or to feel, or
to mind, in the sense of attending to, or aspiring after a thing. It is used
also in the next clause, evidently in the last sense, minding. There is no
reason why its meaning should be different here : it would then be, " !Mind
the same thing towards one another," that is, Do to others what you ex-
pect others to do to you. It is to reduce to an axiom what is contained in
the former verse. We may indeed give this version, " Feel the same, or
alike towards one another," that is, sympathize with one another : and this
would still be coincident in meaning with the former verse ; and it would
be in accordance with the Apostle's mode of writing.
But another construction has been given, " Think the same of one
another," that is. Regard one another alike in dignity and privilege as
Christians, without elevating yourselves, and viewing yourselves better
than others. This would well agree with the sentence which follows.
The two following clauses are thus given by Doddridge, " Affect not
high things, but condescend to men of low rank," — and by Macknight,
"Do not care for high things ; but associate with lowly men." The word
Tacruvor?, is not found in the New Testament to be applied to things, but
to persons. " Associate " is perhaps the best rendering of (rutct-xay'oiJ.ivoi,
which literally means to withdraw from one party in order to walk with
another : they were to withdraw from those who minded high things,
and walk or associate with the himible and lowly. " And cleave to the
humble," is the Syriac version. — Ed.
CHAP. XII. 17. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 471
rather lowliness of mind, whicli ever prefers to give honour
to others, rather than to take it away from them.
Closely allied to this is what is subjoined : for nothing
swells the minds of men so much as a high notion of their
own wisdom. His desire then was, that we should lay this
aside, hear others, and regard their counsels. Erasmus has
rendered (f)povl/jbov<;, arrogantes — arrogant ; but the render-
ing is strained and frigid ; for Paul would in this case repeat
the same word without any meaning. However, the most
appropriate remedy for curing arrogance is, that man should
not be over-wise in his own esteem.
17. Recompense to no man evil 17. Nemini malum pro malo re-
fer evil. Provide things honest in pendentes, providentes bona coram
the sight of all men. omnibus hominibus.
18. If it be possible, as much as 18. Si fieri potest, quantum est in
lieth in you, live peaceably with all vobis, cum omnibus hominibus pa-
men, cem habcntes ;
19. Dearly beloved, avenge not 19. Non vosmetipsos ulciscentes,
yourselves, but ra</ier give place unto dilecti ; sed date locum irse ; scrip-
Avrath : for it is written, Vengeance turn est enim, Mihi vindictam, et
is mine ; I will repay, saith the Lord, ego rependam, dicit Dominus.
1 7. Repaying to no one, &c. This differs but little from
what shortly after follows, except that revenge is more than
the kind of repaying of which he speaks here ; for we ren-
der evil for evil sometimes, even when we exact not the
requiting of an injury, as when we treat unkindly those who
do us no good. We are indeed wont to form an estimate of
the deserts of each, or of what they merit at our hands, so
that we may confer our benefits on those, by whom we have
been already obliged, or from whom we expect something :
and again, when any one denies help to us when we need it,
we, by returning like for like, as they say, do not help him
in time of need, any more than he assisted us. There are
also other instances of the same kind, in which evil is ren-
dered for evil, when there is no open revenge.
Providing good things, &c. I no not disapprove of the
rendering of Erasmus, " Providently preparing," (Provide
parantes ;) but I prefer a literal rendering. As every one
is more than justly devoted to his own advantage, and provi-
dent in avoiding losses, Paul seems to require a care and an
attention of another kind. "What is meant is, that we ought
472 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XII. 18.
diligently to labour, that all may be edified by our honest
dealings. For as purity of conscience is necessary for us
before God, so uprightness of character before men is not to
be neglected : for since it is meet that God should be glori-
fied by our good deeds, even so much is wanting to his
glory, as there is a deficiency of what is praiseworthy in us ;
and not only the glory of God is thus obscured, but he is
branded with reproach ; for whatever sin we commit, the
ignorant employ it for the purpose of calumniating the gospel.
But when we are bidden to prepare good things before
men,^ we must at the same time notice for what purpose : it
is not indeed that men may admire and praise us, as this is
a desire which Clirist carefully forbids us to indulge, since
he bids us to admit God alone as the witness of our good
deeds, to the exclusion of all men ; but that their minds
being elevated to God, they may give praise to him, that by
our example they may be stirred up to the practice of right-
eousness, that they may, in a word, perceive the good and
the sweet odour of our life, by which they may be allured to
the love of God. But if we are evil spoken of for the name
of Christ, Ave are by no means to neglect to provide good
things before men : for fulfilled then shall be that saying,
that we are counted as false, and are yet true. (2 Cor. vi. 8.)
18. If it he -possible, &c. Peaceableness and a life so or-
dered as to render us beloved by all, is no common gift in a
Christian. If we desii'e to attain this, we inust not only be
endued with perfect uprightness, but also with very courteous
and kind manners, which may not only conciliate the just
and the good, but produce also a favourable impression on
the hearts of the ungodly.
But here two cautions must be stated : We are not to
seek to be in such esteem as to refuse to undergo the hatred
^ " Providentes bona ;" -T^o\ioi>vi/,ivot KaXa, ; " procurantes honesta — provid-
ing honest things," Beza ; " providing things reputable," Doddridge ;
" premeditating things comely," Macknight. The participle means to
mind beforehand, to prepare, to provide, and ako to take care of or to
attend to a thing. " Attending to things honourable " may be the render-
ing here. The adjective xako;, means fair, good ; and good in conduct as
here is not " comely," but just, right, or reputable, as Doddridge renders
it. The word " honest " does not now retain its original idea of honour-
able.—£<i,
CHAP. XII. 19. EPISTLE TO THE ROMAN'S. 473
of any for Christ, whenever it may he necessary. And in-
deed we sec that there are some who, though they render
themselves amicable to all by the sweetness of their man-
ners and peaceableness of their minds, are yet hated even
by their nearest connections on account of the gosi^el. The
second caution is, — that courteousness sliould not degenerate
into compliance, so as to lead us to flatter the vices of men
for the sake of preserving peace. Since then it cannot al-
ways be, that w^e can have peace with all men, he has an-
nexed two particulars by way of exception, If it he possible,
and, as far as you can. But we are to conclude from what
piety and love require, that we are not to violate peace, ex-
cept when constrained by either of these two things. For
we ought, for the sake of cherishing peace, to bear many
things, to pardon offences, and kindly to remit the full
rigour of the law ; and yet in such a way, that w^e may be
prejDared, whenever necessity requires, to fight courageously :
for it is impossible that the soldiers of Christ should have
perpetual peace with the world, whose prince is Satan.
19. Avenge not yourselves, &c. The evil which he corrects
here, as we have reminded you, is more grievous than tlie
preceding, which he has just stated ; and yet both of them
arise from the same fountain, even from an inordinate love
of self and innate pride, which makes us very indulgent to
our own faults and inexorable to those of others. As then
this disease begets almost in all men a furious passion for
revenge, whenever they are in the least degree touched, he
commands here, that how^ever grievously we may be injured,
we are not to seek revenge, but to commit it to the Lord.
And inasmuch as they do not easily admit the bridle, who
are once seized with this wild passion, he lays, as it were,
his hand upon us to restrain us, by kindly addressing us as
beloved.
The precept then is, — that we are not to revenge nor seek
to revenge injuries done to us. The manner is added, a
place is to be given to wrath. To give place to wa-ath, is to
commit to the Lord the right of judging, which they take
away from him who attempt revenge. Hence, as it is not
lawful to usurp the office of God, it is not lawful to revenge ;
474 COiMMENTAEIES ON THE CHAP. XII. 19.
for we thus anticipate the judgment of God, who will have
this office reserved for himself He at the same time inti-
mates, that they shall have God as their defender, who
patiently wait for his help ; but that those who anticipate
him leave no place for the help of God.^
But he prohibits here, not only that we are not to execute
revenge with our own hands, but that our hearts also are
not to be influenced by a desire of this kind : it is therefore
superfluous to make a distinction here between public and
private revenge ; for he who, with a malevolent mind and
desirous of revenge, seeks the help of a magistrate, has no
more excuse than when he devises means for self-revenge.
Nay, revenge, as we shall presently see, is not indeed at all
times to be sought from God : for if our petitions arise from
a private feeling, and not from pure zeal produced by the
Spirit, we do not make God so much our judge as the exe-
cutioner of our depraved passion.
Hence, we do not otherwise give place to Avrath, than
when with quiet minds we wait for the seasonable time of
deliverance, praying at the same time, that they who are
now our adversaries, may by repentance become our friends.
For it is written, &c. He brings proof, taken from the
song of Moses, Deut. xxxii. 35, where the Lord declares that
he will be the avenger of his enemies ; and God's enemies
are all who without cause oppress his servants. " He who
touches you," he says, " touches the pupil of mine eye."
With this consolation then we ought to be content, — that
they shall not escape unpunished who undeservedly oppress
us, — and that we, by enduring, shall not make ourselves
1 Many have been the advocates of this exposition, Chrysostom, Theo-
pliylact, Luther, Beza, Hammond, Mackivight, Stuart, &c. But there is
no instance of the expression, " to give place," having this meaning. In
the two places where it occurs, it means to give way, to yield. See Luke
xiv. 9 ; Eph. iv. 27. Then to give place to wrath, is to yield to and
patiently to endure the wrath of the man who does the wrong. Some
have maintained that the meaning is, that the injured man is to give place
to his own wrath, that is, allow it time to cool : but this view comports
not with the passage. The subject is, that a Christian is not to retaliate,
or to return wrath for wrath, but to endure the wrath of his enemy, and
to leave the matter in the hand of God. With this sense the quotation
accords as much as with that given by Calvin. Not a few have taken
this view, Basil, Ambrose, Drusius, Mede, Doddridge, Scott, &c. — Ed.
CHAP. XII. 20. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 475
more subject or open to the injuries of the wicked, but, on
the contrary, shall give place to the Lord, who is our only-
judge and deliverer, to bring us help.
Though it be not indeed lawful for us to pray to God for
vengeance on our enemies, but to pray for their conversion,
that they may become friends ; yet if they proceed in their
impiety, what is to happen to the despisers of God will
happen to them. But Paul quoted not this testimony to
show that it is right for us to be as it were on fire as soon
as we are injured, and according to the impulse of our flesh,
to ask in our prayers that God may become the avenger of
our injuries ; but he first teaches us that it belongs not to
us to revenge, except we would assume to ourselves the ofiice
of God ; and secondly, he intimates, that we are not to fear
that the wicked will more furiously rage when they see us
bearing patiently ; for God does not in vain take upon him-
self the ofiice of executing vengeance.
20. Therefore if thine enemy 20. Itaque si esurit inimicus tuus,
hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give pasce ilium ; si sitit, potuni da illi :
him drink : for in so doing thou shalt hoc enim faciens carbones ignis con-
heap coals of fire on his head. geres in caput ipsius.
21. Be not overcome of evil, but 21. Ne vincaris a male, sed vin-
overcome evil with good. cas bono malum.
20. If there/ore, &c. He now shoAvs how we may really
fulfil the precepts of not revenging and of not repaying evil,
even when we not only abstain from doing injury but when
we also do good to those who have done wrong to us ; for it
is a kind of an indirect retaliation when we turn aside our
kindness from those by whom we have been injured. Under-
stand as included under the words meat and drink, all acts
of kindness. Whatsoever then may be thine ability, in
whatever business thy enemy may want either thy wealth,
or thy counsel, or thy efibrts, thou oughtest to help him.
But he calls him our enemy, not whom we regard with
hatred, but him who entertains enmity towards us. And if
they are to be helped according to the flesh, much less is
their salvation to be opposed by imprecating vengeance on
them.
Thou shalt heap coals of fire, &c. As we are not willing
476 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XII. 21.
to lose our toil and labour, lie shows what fruit will follow,
when we treat our enemies with acts of kindness. But some
by coals understand the destruction which returns on the
head of our enemy, when we show kindness to one unworthy,
and deal with him otherwise than he deserves ; for in this
manner his guilt is doubled. Others prefer to take this
view, that when he sees himself so kindly treated, his mind
is allured to love us in return. I take a simpler view, that
his mind shall be turned to one side or another ; for doubt-
less our enemy shall either be softened by our benefits, or
if he be so savage that nothing can tame him, he shall yet
be burnt and tormented by the testimony of his own con-
science, on finding himself overwhelmed with our kindness.^
21. Be not overcome hy evil, &c. This sentence is laid
down as a confirmation ; for in this case our contest is alto-
gether with perverseness, if we try to retaliate it, we con-
fess that we are overcome by it ; if, on the contrary, we
return good for evil, by that very deed we show the invin-
cible firmness of our mind. This is truly a most glorious
kind of victory, tlie fruit of which is not only apprehended
by the mind, but really perceived, while the Lord is giving
success to their patience, than which they can wish nothing
* Calvin has in this exposition followed Chrysostom and Theodoret.
The former part no doubt contains the right view ; the following verse
proves it, " Overcome evil with good." The idea of " heaping coals of
fire" is said to have been derived from the practice of heaping coals on the
fire to melt hard metals ; but as " the coals of fire" must mean " burning
coals," as indeed the word in Prov. xxv. 22, whence the passage is taken,
clearly means, this notion cannot be entertained. It seems to be a sort
of a proverbial saying, signifying something intolerable, which cannot be
borne without producing strong efiects. Such is represented to be kind-
ness to an €nemy, to feed him when hungry and to give him drink when
thirsty, has commonly such a power over him that he cannot resist its in-
fluence, no more than he can withstand the scorching heat of burning
coals. Of course the natural tendency of such a conduct is all that is in-
tended, and not that it invariably produces such an effect ; for in Scripture
things are often stated in this way ; but human nature is such a strange
thing, that it often resists what is right, just, and reasonable, and reversed,
as it were, the very nature of things.
It is not true what Whitby and others have held, that " coals of fire"
always mean judgments or punishment. The word indeed in certain con-
nections, as in Ps. xviii. 13 ; cxl. 11, has this meaning, but in Prov. xxv.
22, it cannot be taken in this sense, as the preceding verse most clearly
proves. There is no canon of interpretation more erroneous than to make
words or phrases to bear the same meaning in every place. — Ed.
CHAP. XIII. 1. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 4/7
better. On the other hand, he who attempts to overcome
evil with evil, may perhaps surpass his enemy in doing- injury,
but it is to his own ruin ; for by acting thus he carries on
war for the devil.
< CHAPTER XIII. >
1. Let every soiil be subject unto 1. Oranis anima potestatibus su-
the higher powers. For there is no pereminentibus subdita sit : non
power but of God: the powers that enim est potestas, nisi a Deo: quje
be are ordained of God. vero sunt potestates a Deo sunt
ordinatse.
2. Whosoever therefore resisteth 2. Itaque qui resistit potestati,
the power, resisteth the ordinance of Dei ordinationi resistit ; qui vero
God ; and they that resist shall re- restiterint judicium sibi accersent.
ceive to themselves damnation.
1. Let every soul,^ &c. Inasmuch as he so carefully
handles this subject, in connection with what forms the
Christian life, it appears that he was constrained to do so by
some great necessity which existed especially in that age,
though the preaching of the gospel at all times renders this
necessary. There are indeed always some tumultuous
spirits who believe that the kingdom of Christ cannot be
sufficiently elevated, unless all earthly powers be abolished,
and that they cannot enjoy the liberty given by him, except
they shake oif eveiy yoke of human subjection. This error,
however, possessed the minds of the Jews above all others ;
for it seemed to them disgraceful that the offspring of Abra-
ham, whose kingdom flourished before the Redeemer's
coming, should now, after his appearance, continue in sub-
mission to another power. There was also another thing
which alienated the Jews no less than the Gentiles from
their rulers, because they all not only hated piety, but also
persecuted religion with the most hostile feelings. Hence
' " Anima," ^/'y;t»(, not only the Hebrews, (see Gen xiv. 21 ; xlvi. 27.)
but the Greeks also designate man by this word. Man is sometimes de-
signated by his immaterial part, soul, and sometimes by his material part,
Jlesh, or body, as in ch. xii. 1. One author says that the word soul is used
here in order to show that the obedience enforced should be from the soul,
not feigned, but sincere and genuine. Let every soul, that is" every one,"
says Grotius, " even apostles, prophets, and bishops." — Ed.
478 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XIII. 1.
it seemed unreasonable to acknowledo-e them for leofitimate
princes and rulers, who were attempting to take away the
kingdom from Christ, the only Lord of heaven and earth.
By these reasons, as it is probable, Paul was induced to
establish, with greater care than usual, the authoi'ity of
magistrates, and first he lays down a general precept, which
briefly includes what he afterwards says : secondly, he sub-
joins an exposition and a proof of his precept.
He calls them the higher powers,^ not the supreme, who
possess the chief authority, but such as excel other men.
Magistrates are then thus called with regard to their sub-
jects, and not as compared with each other. And it seems
indeed to me, that the Apostle intended by this word to
take away the frivolous curiosity of men, who are wont
often to inquire by what right they who rule have obtained
their authority ; but it ought to be enough for us, that they
do rule; for they have not ascended by their own power
into this high station, but have been placed there by the
Lord's hand. And by mentioning every soul, he removes
every exception, lest any one should claim an immunity
from the common duty of obedience.^
For there is no power, &c. The reason why we ought to
be subject to magistrates is, because they are constituted
by God's ordination. For since it pleases God thus to go-
vern the world, he who attempts to invert the order of God,
and thus to resist God himself, desj^ises his power ; since to
^ " Potestates supereminentes — pre-eminent powers." Hammond ren-
ders the words llouriais v^ri^ix'^'^'^'h supreme powers, meaning kings, and
refers to a^x'^'^^s in ver. 3, as a proof: but this word means magistrates
as well as kings. See Acts xvii, 98. The ruling power as exercised by
those in authority is evidently what is meant here, without any reference
to any form of government. Of course obedience to kings, or to em-
perors, or to any exercising a ruling power, whatever name they may bear,
is included. — Ed.
• Grotius qualifies this obedience by saying, that it should not extend
to what is contrary to the will of God. But it is remarkable, that often
in Scripture things are stated broadly and without any qualifying terms,
and yet they have limits, as it is clear from other portions. This peculi-
arity is worthy of notice. Power is from God, the abuse of power is from
what is evil in men. The Apostle throughout refers only to power justly
exercised. He does not enter into the subject of tyranny and oppression.
And this is probably the reason why he does not set limits to the obedience
required : he contemplated no other than the proper and legitimate use
of power. — Ed.
CHAP. XIII. 2. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 479
despise the providence of him who is the founder of civil
power, is to carry on war with him. Understand further,
that powers are from God, not as pestilence, and famine, and
wars, and other visitations for sin, are said to be from him ;
but because he has appointed them for the legitimate and
just government of the world. For though tyrannies and
unjust exercise of power, as they are full of disorder, {ara^-
ta<i,) are not an ordained government ; yet the right of
government is ordained by God for the wellbeing of man-
kind. As it is lawful to repel wars and to seek remedies
for other evils, hence the Apostle commands us willingly
and cheerfully to respect and honour the right and authority
of magistrates, as useful to men : for the punishment which
God inflicts on men for their sins, we cannot properly call
ordinations, but they are the means Avhich he designedly
appoints for the preservation of legitimate order.
2. And they who 7'esist, &c. As no one can resist God
but to his own ruin, he threatens, that they shall not be
unpunished who in this respect oppose the providence of
God. Let us then beware, lest we incur this denunciation.
And hj judgment,^ I understand not only the punishment
which is inflicted by the magistrate, as though he had only
said, that they would be justly punished who resisted author-
ity ; but also the vengeance of God, however it may at
length be executed: for he teaches us in general what end
awaits those who contend with God.
3. For rulers are not a terror to 3. Principes enim non sunt ter-
good Avorks, but to the evil. Wilt rori bonis operibus sed malis : vis
thou then not be afraid of the ergo non timere potestateiii ? bene
power? Do that which is good, and fac, et habebis laudem ab ea ;
thou shalt have jiraise of the same :
4. For he is the minister of God 4. Dei enim minister est tibi in
to thee for good. But if thou do bonum : si vero quid mali feceris,
that which is evil, be afraid ; for he time ; non enim frustra gladium
beareth not the sword in vain : for gerit ; Dei enim minister est, vin-
he is the minister of God, a revenger dex in iram adversus eos qui male
to execute wrath upon him that agunt.^
doeth evil.
1 '•' Judicium," x^!fia ; some render it " punishment ;" Beza, '•' con-
demnation." The word is used in both senses: but according to the
tenor of the former part of the verse, it seems that the Apostle means
that which is inflicted by God. — Ed.
* The words, " Vindex in iram adversus eos qui male agunt," can
480 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XIII. o.
3. For princes, &c. He now commends to us obedience
to princes on the ground of utility ; for the causative jap,
for, is to be referred to the first proposition, and not to the
last verse. Now, the utility is this, — that the Lord has de-
signed in this way to provide for the tranquillity of the good,
and to restrain the waywardness of the wicked ; by which
two things the safety of mankind is secured : for except
the fury of the wicked be resisted, and the innocent be
protected from their violence, all things would come to an
entire confusion. Since then this is the only remedy by
which mankind can be preserved from destruction, it ought
to be carefully observed by us, unless we wish to avow our-
selves as the public enemies of the human race.
And he adds. Wilt not thou then fear the power ? Do good.
By this he intimates, that there is no reason why we should
dislike the magistrate, if indeed we are good ; nay, that it
is an implied proof of an evil conscience, and of one that is
devising some mischief, when any one wishes to shake off
or to remove from himself this yoke. But he sj)eaks here
of the true, and, as it were, of the native duty of the magis-
trate, from which however they who hold j)ower often de-
generate ; yet the obedience due to princes ought to be
rendered to them. For since a wicked prince is the Lord's
scourge to punish the sins of the people, let us remember,
that it happens through our fault that this excellent bless-
ing of God is turned into a curse.
Let us then continue to honour the good aj)pointment of
God, which may be easily done, provided we impute to our-
selves whatever evil may accompany it. Hence he teaches
us here the end for which magistrates are instituted by the
Lord ; the happy effects of which would always appear, were
not so noble and salutary an institution marred through our
fault. At tlie same time, princes do never so far abuse their
power, by harassing the good and innocent, that they do not
retain in their tyranny some kind of just government : there
can then be no tyranny which does not in some resj^ects
assist in consolidating the society of men.
hardly be translated ; and the latter part is improperly put in the plural.
—Ed.
CHAP. XIII. 4. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 481
He has here noticed two tilings, wliich even philosophers
have considered as making a part of a well-ordered adminis-
tration of a commonwealth, that is, rewards for the good,
and punishment for the wicked. The word praise has here,
after the Hebrew manner, a wide meaning.
4. For he is God's minister for good, &c. Magistrates
may hence learn what their vocation is, for they are not to
rule for their own interest, hut for the public good ; nor are
they endued with unbridled power, but what is restricted to
the wellbeing of their subjects ; in short, they are respon-
sible to God and to men in the exercise of their power. For
as they are deputed by God and do his business, they must
give an account to him : and then the ministration which
God has committed to them has a regard to the svibjects,
they are therefore debtors also to them. And j^rivate men
are reminded, that it is through the divine goodness that
they are defended by the sword of princes against injuries
done by the wicked.
For they bear not the sword in vain, &c. It is another
part of the office of magistrates, that they ought forcibly to
repress the waywardness of evil men, who do not willingly
suffer themselves to be governed by laws, and to inflict such
punishment on their oflences as God's judgment requires ;
for he expressly declares, that they are armed with the
sword, not for an empty show% but that they may smite
evil-doers.
And then he says, An avenger, to execute wrath} &c.
This is the same as if it had been said, that he is an execu-
tioner of God's wrath ; and this he shows himself to be by
having the sword, which the Lord has delivered into his
hand. This is a remarkable passage for the purpose of prov-
ing the right of the sword ; for if the Lord, by arming the
magistrate, has also committed to him the use of the sword,
whenever he visits the guilty with death, by executing God's
1 Vindex in iram, 'ialiico; lU o^yhv ; " a revenger to ecrecute wrath," Cora.
Ver., Doddridge ; " a revenger for •wrath," Hammond. Wrath is here
taken to mean punishment, by Luther, Beza, Grotins, Mede, &c. See
chap. ii. 5; iii. 5; iv. 15. The phrase then might be rendered, "con-
demning to punishment the doer of evil." There is a contrast between
" for wrath " and " for good " at the beginning of the verse. — Ed.
2 H
482 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XIII. 5.
vengeance, lie obeys his commands. Contend then do they
with God who think it unlawful to shed the blood of wicked
men.
5. Wherefore ye, must needs be 5. Itaque necesse est subjici, non
subject, not only for wrath, but also modo propter iram, sed etiam prop-
for conscience sake. ter conscientiam.
6. For, for this cause pay ye tribute 6. Propterea enim tributa quoque
also: for they are God's ministers, solutis; ministri^ enuu Dei sunt, in
attending continually upon tliis very hoc incumbentes.
thing.
7. Render therefore to all their 7. Reddite ergo omnibus quod
dues : tribute to whom tribute is debetiu* ; cui tributum, tributum ;
due ; custom to whom custom ; fear cui vectigal, vectigal ; cui timorem,
to whom fear ; lionour to whom timorem ; cui honorem, honorem.
honour.
5. It is therefore necessary, &c. What he had at first
commanded as to the rendering of obedience to magistrates,
he now briefly repeats, but with some addition, and that is,
— that we ought to obey them, not only on the ground of
necessity arising from man, but that we thereby obey God ;
for by wrath he means the punishment which the magis-
trates inflict for the contempt of their dignity; as though he
had said, " We must not only obey, because we cannot with
impunity resist the powerful and those armed with authority,
as injuries are wont to be borne with which cannot be re-
pelled; but we ought to obey willingly, as conscience through
God's word thus binds us." Though then the magistrate
were disarmed, so that we could with impunity provoke and
despise him, yet such a thing ought to be no more attempted
than if we were to see punishment suspended over us ; for it
belongs not to a private individual to take away authority
from him whom the Lord has in power set over us. This
whole discourse is concerning civil government ; it is there-
fore to no purpose that they who would exercise dominion
over consciences do hence attempt to establish their sacri-
legious tyranny.
1 " Ministri," Xnrov^yo), administrators, functionaries, the performers of
public services, or public ministers, according to Macknight. Rulers were
called before, in verse 4, ^laxavm, servants, deacons, ministers. The same
titles are given to them as to the Apostles and ministers of the gospel,
and even to Christ himself: and they are said to be the ministers and
functionaries of God, being so in civil matters, as those are in spiritual
things who preach the gospel. — Ed.
CHAP. XITI. 7. EPISTLT; to the ROMANS, 483
6. For this reason also, &c. He takes occasion to intro-
duce the subject of tributes, the reason for which he deduces
from the office of magistrates ; for if it be their duty to de-
fend and safely preserve the peace of the good, and to resist
the mischievous attempts of the Avickcd, this they cannot do
unless tliey are aided by sufficient force. Tributes then are
justly paid to support such necessary expenses.^ But re-
specting the proportion of taxes or tributes, this is not the
jdace to discuss the subject ; nor does it belong to us either to
prescribe to princes how much thoy ought to expend in every
aifair, or to call them to an account. It yet behoves them
to remember, that whatever they receive from the people, is
as it were public property, and not to be spent in the grati-
fication of private indulgence. For we see the use for which
Paul appoints these tributes which are to be paid — even that
kings may be furnished with means to defend their subjects.
7. Render then to all what is due, &c. The Apostle seems
here summarily to include the particulars in which the duties
of subjects towards magistrates consist, — that they are to
hold them in esteem and honour, — that they are to obey
their edicts, laws, and judgments, — that they are to pay
tributes and customs. By the word fear, he means obe-
dience ; by customs and tributes, not only imposts and taxes,
but also other revenues.^
Now this passage confirms what I have already said, —
that we ought to obey kings and governors, whoever they
may be, not because we are constrained, but because it is a
service acceptable to God ; for he will have them not only
to be feared, but also honoured by a voluntary respect.
' The •words " to this very thing," tU auro Toiro, seem to be an instance
of Hebraism, as JIST, " this," in that language is both singular and plural,
and means " this," or " those," according to the context. " To these very
things," before mentioned, as to the works and duties of magistrates,
appears to be the meaning here : and so the words are rendered in the
Syriac and Ethiopic versions. A singular instance is found at the be-
gining of verse 9, " For this," ro ya^, and then several commandments are
mentioned ; " for this " is the law, says Stuart ; but the Avord for " law "
is of a different gender. What we would say in English is, "for these,"
&c. It is a Hebrew idiom transferred into Greek. — Ed.
^ The distinction commonly made between the two words is this, — ifo^oj,
" tribute," is a tax on the person or on lands, and riXo;, " custom," is what
is levied on merchandise. — Ed.
481- COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XIII. 8.
8. Owe no man any thing, bvit to 8. Neniini quicquam debeatis,
love one another : for he that loveth nisi ut invicem diligatis ; qui enira
another hath fultilled the law. diligit alterum Legem implevit.
9. For this, Thou shalt not com- 9. lUud enim, Non nioechaberis,
niit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Non occides, Non falsum testimo-
Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not nium dices, Non concupisces, et si
bear false witness. Thou shalt not quodest aliud prseceptum.in hocser-
covet ; and if there he any other com- mone comprehenditur, Diliges proxi-
mandment, it is briefly comprehend- mum sicut teipsum.
ed in this saying, namely. Thou shalt
love thy neighbour as thyself.
10. Love Avorketh no ill to his 10. Dilectio proximo malum non
neighboiu- : therefore love is the ful- infert : plenitudo ergo legis est dilec-
filling of the law. tio.
8. To no one owe ye, &c. There are those who think that
this was not said without a taunt, as though Paul was answer-
ing the objection of those who contended that Christians
were burdened in having other precepts than that of love
enjoined them. And indeed I do not deny, but that it may
be taken ironically, as though he conceded to those who
allowed no other law but that of love, what they required,
but in another sense. And yet I prefer to take the words
simply as they are ; for I think that Paul meant to refer the
precept respecting the power of magistrates to the law of
love, lest it should seem to any one too feeble ; as though he
had said, — " When I require you to obey princes, I require
nothing more than what all the faithful ought to do, as de-
manded by the law of love : for if ye wish well to the good,
(and not to wish this is inhuman,) yo ought to strive, that
the laws and judgments may prevail, that the administra-
tors of the laws may have an obedient people, so that through
them peace may be secured to all." He then who intro-
duces anarchy, violates love ; for what immediately follows
anarchy, is the confusion of all things.^
For he who loves another^ &c. Paul's design is to reduce
all the precej^ts of the law to love, so that we may know that
we then rightly obey the commandments, when we observe
the law of love, and when we refuse to undergo no burden
in order to keep it. He thus fully confirms what he has
1 The debt of love is to be always paid, and is always due : for love is
ever to be exercised. We are to pay other debts, and we may pay them
fully and finally ; but the debt of love ever continues, and is to be daily
discharged . — Ed.
CHAP. Xlll. I). Ei'ISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 48-5
commanded respecting obedience to magistrates, in which
consists no small portion of love.
But some are here impeded, and they cannot well extri-
cate themselves from this difficulty, — that Paul teaches us
that the law is fulfilled when we love our neighbour, for no
mention is here made of what is due to God, which ought
not by any means to have been omitted. But Paul refers
not to the whole law, but speaks only of what the law re-
quires from us as to our neighbour. And it is doubtless
true, that tlie whole law is fulfilled when we love our neigh-
bours ; for true love towards man does not flow except from
the love of God, and it is its evidence, and as it were its
effects. But Paul records here only the precepts of the
second table, and of these only he speaks, as though he had
said, — " He who loves his neighbour as himself, performs his
duty towards the whole world." Puerile then is the gloss of
the Sophists, who attempt to elicit from this passage what
may favour justification by works : for Paul declares not
what men do or do not, but he speaks hypothetically of that
which you will find nowhere accomplished. And when we
say, that men are not justified by works, we deny not that
the keeping of the law is true righteousness : but as no one
performs it, and never has performed it, we say, that all are
excluded from it, and that hence the only refuge is in the
grace of Christ.
9. For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, &c. It can-
not be from this passage concluded what precepts are con-
tained in the second table, for he subjoins at the end, and if
there he any other pi'ecept. He indeed omits the command
respecting the honouring of parents ; and it may seem
strange, that what especially belonged to his subject should
have been passed by. But what if he had left it out, lest ho
should obscure his argument ? Though I dare not to affirm
this, yet I see here nothing wanting to answer the purpose
he had in view, which was to show, — that since God in-
tended nothing else by all his commandments than to teach
us the duty of love, we ought by all means to strive to per-
form it. And yet the uncontentious reader will readily ac-
knowledge, that Paul intended to prove, by things of a like
486 OOMMENTAllIES OK THE CHAP. XIII. 11.
nature, tliat the import of the whole law is, that love to-
wards one another onght to be exercised by us, and that
what he left to be implied is to be understood, and that is, —
that obedience to magistrates is not the least thing which
tends to nourish peace, to preserve brotherly love.
10. Love doeth no evil to a neighbour, &c. He demon-
strates by the effect, that under the word love are contained
those things which are taught us in all the commandments ;
for he who is endued with true love will never entertain the
thought of injuring others. What else does the whole law
forbid, but that we do no harm to our neighbour ? This,
however, ought to be applied to the present subject ; for
since magistrates are the guardians of peace and justice, he
who desires that his own right should be secured to every
one, and that all may live free from wrong, ought to defend,
as far as he can, the power of magistrates. But the enemies
of government show a disposition to do harm. And when
he repeats that the fulfilling of the law is love, understand
this, as before, of that part of the law which refers to man-
kind ; for the first table of the law, which contains what we
owe to God, is not here referred to at all.
11. And that, knowing the time, 11. Hoc enim, quum noverimus
that now /< is high time to awake tempus, quia hora est qua jam e som-
ciut of sleep : for now is our salva- no expergiscamur (nunc enim propior
tion nearer than when we believed, est salus nostra quam quum credi-
dimus,)
12. The night is far spent, the 12. Nox progressa est, dies vero
day is at hand : let us therefore cast appropinquavit : abjiciamus ergo
off the works of darkness, and let us opera tenebrarum, et induamus
put on the armour of light. amia lucis.
13. Let us walk honestly, as in 13 Sicut in die decenter ambu-
the day ; not in rioting and drunken- lemus : non comessationibus neque
ness, not in chambering and wanton- ebrietatibus, neque cubilibus neque
ness, not in strife and envying : lasciviis, neque contentione neque
semulatione :
14. But put ye on the Lord Jesus 14. Sed induamini Dominum le-
Christ, and make not provision for sura Christum, et carnis curam ne
the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof. agatis ad concupiscentias.
11. Moreover, &c. He enters now on another subject of
exhortation, that as the rays of celestial life had begun to
shine on us as it were at the dawn, we ought to do what
they are wont to do who are in public life and in the sight
of men, who take diligent care lest they should commit any-
CHAP. XIII. n. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 487
tiling that is base or unbecoming; for if they do anything
amiss, they see that they are exposed to the view of many
witnesses. But we, who always stand in the sight of God
and of angels, and whom Christ, the true sun of righteous-
ness, invites to his presence, we indeed ought to be mucli
more careful to beware of every kind of pollution.
The import then of the words is this, " Since we know
that the seasonable time has already come, in which we
should awake from sleep, let us cast aside whatever belongs
to the night, let us shake off all the works of darkness, since
the darkness itself has been dissipated, and let us attend to
the works of light, and walk as it becomes those who are
enjoying the day." The intervening words are to be read
as in a parenthesis.
As, however, the words are metaphorical, it may be useful
to consider their meaning: Ignorance of God is what he
calls night; for all who are thus ignorant go astray and
sleep as people do in the night. The unbelieving do indeed
labour under these two evils, they are blind and they are in-
sensible ; but this insensibility he shortly after designated
by sleep, which is, as one says, an image of death. By light
he means the revelation of divine truth, by which Christ the
sun of righteousness arises on us.^ He mentions awake,
by which he intimates that we are to be equipped and pre-
pared to undertake the services which the Lord requires
from us. The works of darkness are shameful and wicked
works ; for night, as some one says, is shameless. The
' The preceding explanation of night and day, as here to be understood,
does not comport with what is afterwards said on verse 12. The distinc-
tion between uight and day. when ignorance and knowledge are intended,
and the night and day of a Christian, ought to be clearly kept in view.
The first is what is here described, but the latter is what the passage refers
to. And the sleep mentioned here is not the sleep of ignorance and un-
belief, but the sleep, the torpor, or inactivity of Christians.
That the present state of believers, their condition in this world, is meant
here by " night," and their state of future glory is meant by " day," ap-
pears evident from the words which follow, " for nearer now is oiu- salva-
tion than when we believed." Salvation here, as in chap. viii. 24, and in
1 Pet. i. 9, means salvation made complete and perfect, the full enjoyment
of all its blessings. Indeed in no other sense can what is said here of night
and day be appropriate. The night of heathen ignorance as to Christians
had already passed, and the day of gospel light was not approaching, but
had appeared. — Ed.
488 COMMENTARIES ON THi: CHAP.XIII.il.
armour of light rci)resents good, and temperate, and holy
actions, such as arc suitable to the day ; and armour is men-
tioned rather than works, because we are to carry on a war-
fare for the Lord.
But the particles at the beginning, And this, are to be
read by themselves, for they are connected with what is gone
before; as we say in Latin Adhcec — besides, or prceterea —
moreover. The time, he says, was known to the faithful, for
the calling of God and the day of visitation required a new
life and new morals, and he immediately adds an explana-
tion, and says, that it was the hour to awake : for it is not
')(p6vo<; but KaLp6<i, which means a fit occasion or a seasonable-
time.^
For nearer is now our salvation, &c. This passage is in
various ways perverted by interpreters. Many refer the
word believed to the time of the law, as though Paul had
said, that the Jews believed before Christ came ; which
view I reject as unnatural and strained ; and surely to con-
fine a general truth to a small part of the Church, would
have been wholly inconsistent. Of that whole assembly to
which he wrote, how few were Jews ? Then this declaration
could not have been suitable to the Romans. Besides, the
comparison between the night and the day does in my judg-
ment dissipate every doubt on the point. The declaration
then seems to me to be of the most simjjle kind, — " Nearer
1 The words kou tovto, according to Beza, Grotius, Mede, &c., connect
what follows with the preceding exhortation to love, " And this do, or let
ns do, as we know," &c. But the whole tenor of what follows by no
means favours this view. The subject is wholly difl'erent. It is evidently
a new subject of exhortation, as Calvin says, and the words must be ren-
dered as he proposes, or be viewed as elliptical ; the word " I say," or •' 1
command," according to Mackniijht,he'mg understood, "This also / say,
since we know the time," &c. If we adopt " I command," or " moreover,"
as Calvin does, it woidd be better to regard the participle il^oTn as having
the meaning of an imperative, utt; being understood, several instances of
which we have in the preceding chapter, verses 9, 16, 17. The whole pas-
sage would then read better in this manner, —
11. Moreover, know the time, that it is even now the very time for us
to awake from sleep ; for nearer now is our salvation than when we
12. believed : the night has advanced, and the day has approached ; let
us then cast away the works of darkness, and let us put on the
13. armoiu* of light ; let us, as in the day, walk in a becoming manner,
&zc.—Ed.
CHAP. XIII. 13. EPiSTLE TO THE ROMANS. 489
is salvation now to us than at that time when we hegan to
believe:" so that a reference is made to the time which had
preceded as to their faith. For as the adverb here used is
in its import indefinite, this meaning is much the most
suitable, as it is evident from what follows\
12. The night has advanced, and tlie day, &c. This is the
season which he had just mentioned ; for as the faithful are
not as yet received into full light, he very fitly compares to
the dawn the knowledge of future life, which shines on us
through the gospel : for day is not put here, as in other
places, for the light of faith, (otherwise he could not have
said that it was only approaching, but that it was present,
for it now shines as it were in the middle of its progress,)
but for that glorious brightness of the celestial life, the be-
ginnings of which are now seen through the gospel.
The sum of what he says is, — that as soon as God begins
to call us, we ought to do the same, as when we conclude
from the first dawn of the day that the full sun is at hand ;
we ought to look forward to the coming of Christ.
He says that the night had advanced, because we are not
so overwhelmed with thick darkness as the unbelieving are,
to whom no spark of life appears ; but the hope of resurrec-
tion is placed by the gospel before our eyes ; yea, the light
of faith, by which we discover that the full brightness of
celestial glory is nigh at hand, ought to stimulate us, so
that we may not grow torpid on the earth. But afterwards,
when he bids us to walk in the light, as it were during the
day time, he does not continue the same metaphor; for he
compares to the day our present state, while Christ shines
on us. His purpose was in various waj^s to exhort us, — at
one time to meditate on our future life ; at another, to con-
template the present favour of God.
13. Not in revellings, &c. He mentions here three kinds
of vices, and to each he has given two names, — intemper-
ance and excess in living, — carnal lust and uncleanness,
which is connected with it, — and envy and contention. If
these have in them so much filthiness, that even carnal men
are ashamed to commit them before the eyes of men, it be-
hoves us, who are in the light of God, at all times to abstain
490 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XIII. 14.
from tliem ; yea, even when we are withdrawn from the pre-
sence of men. As to the third vice, though contention is
put before envying, there is yet no doubt but that Paul in-
tended to remind us, that strifes and contests arise from this
fountain ; for when any one seeks to excel, there is envying
of one another ; but ambition is the source of both evils.^
14. But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, &c. This meta-
phor is commonly used in Scripture with respect to what
tends to adorn or to deform man ; both of which may be
seen in his clothing : for a filthy and torn garment dis-
honours a man ; but what is becoming and clean recom-
mends him. Now to put on Christ, means here to be on
every side fortified by the power of his Spirit, and be there-
by prepared to discharge all the duties of holiness ; for thus
is the image of God renewed in us, which is the only true
ornament of the soul. For Paul had in view the end of our
calling ; inasmuch as God, by adopting us, unites us to the
body of his only-begotten Son, and for this purpose, — that
we, renouncing our former life, may become new men in
him.^ On this account he says also in another place, that
we put on Christ in baptism. (Gal. iii. 27.)
And have no care, &c. As long as we carry about us our
flesh, we cannot cast away every care for it ; for though our
conversation is in heaven, we yet sojourn on earth. The
things then which belong to the body must be taken care of,
1 The case is the same with the two preceding instances ; the vice which
seems to follow is placed first. Revelling is first mentioned, though
drunkenness goes before it ; and " chambering," or concubinage, or indul-
gence in unlawful lusts is first stated, though lasciviousness or wantonness
is the source from which it proceeds. It is an example of the Apostle's
mode of writing similar to what we find in chap. xi. 29, as to " the gifts
and calling of God," and in verse 33, as to " the wisdom and knowledge of
God."— ^rf.
2 Many have explained " the putting on " here in a manner wholly in-
consistent with the passage, as though the putting on of Christ's right-
eousness was intended. Calvin keeps to what accords with the context,
the putting on of Christ as to his holy image. Sanctification, arid not
justification, is the subject of the passage. To put on Christ, then, is to
put on his virtues and graces, to put on or be endued with his spirit, to
imitate his conduct and to copy his example. This is in addition to the
putting him on as our righteousness, and not as a substitute for it. Both
are necessary : for Christ is our sanctification, the author, worker, and ex-
ample of it, as well as our righteousness. — Ed.
CHAP. XIV. 1. El'ISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 491
but not otherwise than as they are lieljis to us in our pil-
grimage, and not that they may make us to forget our coun-
try. Even heatliens have said, that a few things suffice
nature, but that the appetites of men are insatiable. Every
one then who Avishes to satisfy the desires of the flesh, must
necessarily not only fall into, but be immerged in a vast and
deep gulf
Paul, setting a bridle on our desires, reminds us, that the
cause of all intemperance is, that no one is content with a
moderate or lawful use of things : he has therefore laid down
this rule, — that we are to provide for the wants of our flesh,
but not to indulge its lusts. It is in this way that we shall
use this world without abusing it.
CHAPTER XIV.
1 . Him that is weak in the faith 1 . Eura vero qui fide est imbecilla,
receive ye, but not to doubtful dis- suscipite, non ad disceptationes quses-
putations. tionum.
2. For one belie veth that he may 2. Qui credit, vescatur quibusvis :
eat all things : another, who is weak, qui autem infirmus est, olera edit,
eateth herbs.
3. Let not him that eateth despise 3. Qui edit, non contemnat eum
him that eateth not ; and let not him qui abstinet ; et qui abstinet, eum
which eateth not judge him that eat- non condemnet qui edit : Dominus
eth : for God hath received him. enini ilium suscepit.
4. Who art thou that judgest an- 4. Tu quis es qui judicas alienum
other man's servant ? to his own mas- servum ? proprio Domino stat vel
ter he standeth or falleth ; yea, he cadit. Stabit vero : potens est enim
shall be holden up : for God is able Deus efficere ut stet.
to make him stand.
1. Him indeed, &c. He passes on now to lay down a pre-
cept especially necessary for the instruction of the Church,
— that they who have made the most progress in Christian
doctrine should accommodate themselves to the more ignor-
ant, and emi^loy their own strength to sustain their weak-
ness ; for among the people of God there are some weaker
than others, and who, except they are treated with great
tenderness and kindness, will be discouraged, and become at
length alienated from religion. And it is very probable that
this happened especially at that time ; for the Churches
wore formed of both Jews and Gentiles ; some of whom,
492 COxMMENTARIJiS ON THE (JHAP. XIV. ].
havinff been lono- accustomed to the rites of the Mosaic law,
having been brought up in them from childhood, were not
easily drawn away from them ; and there were others who,
having never learnt such things, refused a yoke to which
they had not been accustomed/
Now, as man's disposition is to slide from a difference in
opinion to quarrels and contentions, the Apostle shows how
they who thus vary in their opinions may live together with-
out any discord ; and he prescribes this as the best mode, —
that they who are strong should spend their labour in assist-
ing the weak, and that they who have made the greatest
advances should bear with the more ignorant. For God, by
making us stronger than others, does not bestow strength
that we may oppress the weak ; nor is it the part of Chris-
tian wisdom to be above measure insolent, and to despise
others. The import then of what he addresses to the more
intelligent and the already confirmed, is this, — that the
ampler the grace which they had received from the Lord,
the more bound they were to help their neighbours.
Not for the dehatings of questions? This is a defective sen-
tence, as the word which is necessary to complete the sense
is wanting. It appears, however, evident, that he meant
nothino- else than that the weak should not be wearied with
1 Some, as Haldane, have found fault with this classification, as there is
nothing in the chapter which countenances it. But as the Apostle's ob-
ject throughout the epistle was to reconcile the Jews and Gentiles, there
is reason sufficient to regard them as the two parties here intended : and,
as C/ite/iJiers justly observes, it is more probable that the Gentiles were the
despisers, inasmuch as the Jews, Avho, like Paul, had got over their preju-
dices, were no doubt disposed to sympathize with their brethren, who were
still held fast by them. — Ed.
^ Non ad disceptationes qucestionum, f^h lU hccK^lo-ns ^iccXoyia-fiuiv ; " non
ad altercationes disceptationmn — not for the altercations of disputings" or
debatings, Beza ; " not to debates about matters in doubt," Doddridge ;
" not in order to the strifes of disputations," Macknight. Both words are
in the plural number ; therefore to give the first the sense of "judging,"
as Hodge does, cannot be right ; for in that case it would have been in the
singular number. The words may be rendered, '• not for the solutions of
doubts." One of the meanings of the first word, according to Hesychius,
is S(aAi/ff-/;— untying, loosening, dissolving ; and for the latter, see Luke
xxiv. 38, and 1 Tim. ii. 8. According to the frequent import of the pre-
position £'';, the sentence may be thus paraphrased, "Him who is weak in
the faith receive, but not that ye may solve his doubts," or, " debate his
reasonings," or, " contend in disputations." — Ed.
fHAP. XTV. 2. EPISTLE TO THE ROMAxVS. 493
fruitless disputes. But wc must remember the subject he
now handles : for as many of the Jews still clave to the
shadows of the law, he indeed admits, that this was a fault
in them ; he yet requires that they should be for a time
excused ; for to press the matter urgently on them might
have shaken their faith/
He tlien calls those contentious questions which disturb a
mind not yet sufficiently establislied, or which involve it in
doubts. It may at the same time be proper to extend tins
farther, even to any thorny and difficult qviestions, by which
weak consciences, without any edification, may be disquieted
and disturbed. We ought then to consider what questions
any one is able to bear, and to accommodate our teaching to
the capacity of individuals.
2. Let him who believes, &c. Wliat Erasmus has followed
among the various readings I know not ; but he has muti-
lated this sentence, which, in Paul's words, is complete ; and
instead of the relative article he has improperly introduced
alius — one, " One indeed believes," &c. That I take the
infinitive for an imperative, ought not to appear unnatural
nor strained, for it is a mode of speaking very usual with
Paul.^ He then calls those believers who were endued with
^ Scott's remarks on this verse are striking and appropriate, — " Not-
withstanding," he says, '• the authority vested by Christ in his Apostles,
and their infalhbihty in delivering his doctrine to mankind, differences of
opinion prevailed even among real Christians ; nor did St. Paul, by an
express decision and command, attempt to put a final termination to
them. A proposition indeed may be certain and important truth ; yet a
man cannot profitably receive it without due preparation of mind and
heart ; — so that a compelled assent to any doctrine, or conformity to any
outward observances, without conviction, would in general be hypocrisy,
and entirely unavailing. So essential are the rights and existence of pri-
vate judgment, in all possible cases, to the exercise of true religion ! and
so useless an encumbi'ance would an infallible judge be, for deciding con-
troversies, and producing unanimity among Christians !"
^ This is true, but the passage here seems not to require such a con-
struction. Both sentences are declarative, announcing a fact respecting
two parties : the one believed he might eat everything ; the other did eat
only herbs. The relative '<>;, when repeated, often means " one," as in ver.
5, and in 1 Cor. xi. 21 : and the article o stands here for that repetition;
an example of which Raplielms adduces from the Greek classics.
Some think that this abstinence from meat was not ])eculiar to the
Jews ; but that some Gentiles also had scruples on the subject. It is true
that heathens, who held the transmigration of souls, did not eat flesh : but
it is not likelv that abstinence, arising from such an absurd notion, Avoidd
494? COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XIV. 4.
a conscience fully satisfied ; to these he allowed the use of
all things without any diiference. In the mean time the
weak did eat herbs, and abstained from those things, the
use of which he thought was not lawful. If the common
version be more approved, the meaning then will be, — that
it is not right that he who freely eats all things, as he be-
lieves them to be lawful, should require those, who are yet
tender and weak in faith, to walk by the same rule. But to
render the word sick, as some have done, is absurd.
3. Let not him who eats, &c. He wisely and suitably
meets the faults of both parties. They who were strong had
this fault, — that they despised those as superstitious who
were scrupulous about insignificant things, and also derided
them : these, on the other hand, were hardly able to refrain
from rash judgments, so as not to condemn M'hat they did
not follow ; for whatever they perceived to be contrary to
their own sentiments, they thought was evil. Hence he ex-
horts the former to refrain from contempt, and the latter
from excessive moroseness. And the reason which he adds,
as it belongs to both parties, ought to be applied to the two
clauses, — " When you see," he says, "a man illuminated with
the knowledge of God, you have evidence enough that he is
received by the Lord ; if you either despise or condemn him,
you reject him whom God has embraced."^
4. Who art thou who judgest, &c. " As you would act
uncourteously, yea, and presumptuously among men, were
you to bring another man's servant under your own rules,
have been thus treated by the Apostle. It indeed appears evident, that
the abstinence here referred to did arise from what was regarded to be the
will of God : and though abstinence from all animal food was not enjoined
on the Jews, yet it appears from history that Jews, living among heathens,
wholly abstained, owing to the fear they had of being in any way contami-
nated. This was the case with Daniel and his companions, Dan. i. 8-lG.
Professor Hodge says, in a note on this passage, " Josephus states in his
life (ch. xxiii.) that certain Jewish priests, wliile at Rome, lived entirely
upon fruit, from the dread of eating anything unclean." We may also
suppose that some of the Essenes, who abstained both from meat and from
wine, were among the early converts, — Ed.
' The last clause is by Haldane confined to the strong, and he objects
to this extension of it ; and certainly the following verse is in favour of his
view, for the weak, the condemner, is the person reproved, and therefore
the strong is he who to his own master stands or falls. The condemner
throughout is the weak, and the despiser is the strong. — Ed.
CTIAP. XIV. 4. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 495
and try all his acts by the rule of your own will ; so you
assume too much, if you condemn anything in God's servant,
because it does not please you ; for it belongs not to you to
prescribe to him what to do and what not to do, nor is it
necessary for him to live according to your law."
Now, though the power of judging as to the person, and
also as to the deed, is taken from us, there is yet much dif-
ference between the two ; for we ought to leave the man,
whatever he may be, to the judgment of God ; but as to his
deeds we may indeed form a decisive opinion, though not
according to our own views, but according to the word of
God ; and the judgment, derived from his word, is neither
human, nor another man's judgment. Paul then intended
here to restrain us from presumption in judging ; into which
they fall, who dare to pronounce anything respecting the
actions of men without the warrant of God's word.
To his own Lord he stands or falls, &c. As though he
said, — " It belongs rightly to the Lord, either to disapprove,
or to accept what his servant doeth : hence he robs the Lord,
w^ho attempts to talce to himself this authority." And he
adds, he shall indeed stand : and by so saying, he not only
bids us to abstain from condemning, but also exhorts us to
mercy and kindness, so as ever to hope well of him, in Avhom
we perceive anything of God ; inasmuch as the Lord has
given us a lioi^e, that he will fully confirm, and lead to per-
fection, those in whom he has begun the work of grace.
But by referring to the power of God, he means not
simply, as though he had said, that God can do this if he
will ; but, after the usual manner of Scripture, he connects
God's will with his power : and yet he speaks not here of
perpetuity, as though they must stand to the end whom
God has once raised up ; but he only reminds us, that we
are to entertain a good hope, and that our judgments should
lean this way ; as he also teaches us in another place, " He
who began in you a good 'work, will perform it to the end."
(Phil. i. 6.) Li short, Paul shows to what side their judg-
ments incline, in whom love abounds.
5. One man esteemeth one day 5. Hie quidem diem prse die
above another ; another esteemeth aestimat ; ille autem pera^que sestimat
40G COMMENTARIES ON THE OIIAP. XIV. 5.
every day alike. Let every man be omnem diem. Unusquisque sen-
fully persuaded in his own mind. tentiai sure certus sit.
6. He that regardeth the day, 6. Qui curat diem, Domino curat ;
regardeth it unto the Lord ; and he qui non curat diem, Domino non
that regardeth not the day, to the curat. Qui vescitur, Domino ves-
Lord he doth not regard it. He citiu-, gratias enim agit Deo ; et qui
that eateth, eateth to the Lord, for abstinet, Domino abstinet, et gratias
he giveth God thanks ; and he that agit Deo.
eateth not, to the Lord he eateth
not, and giveth God thanks.
5. One indeed, &c. He had spoken before of scruples in
the choice of meats ; he now adds another example of dif-
ference, that is, as to days ; and both these arose from
Judaism. For as the Lord in his law made a difference be-
tween meats and pronounced some to be unclean, the use of
which he prohibited, and as he had also appointed festal and
solemn days and commanded them to be observed, the Jews,
who had been brought up from their childhood in the doc-
trine of the law, would not lay aside that reverence for
days which they had entertained from the beginning, and
to which through life they had been accustomed ; nor could
they have dared to touch these meats from which they had
so long abstained. That they were imbued with these no-
tions, was an evidence of their weakness ; they would have
thought otherwise, had they possessed a certain and a clear
knowledge of Christian liberty. But in abstaining from what
they thought to be unlawful, they evidenced piet}^, as it would
have been a proof of presumption and contempt, had they
done anything contrary to the dictates of conscience.
Here then the Apostle applies the best rule, when he bids
every one to be fully assured as to his own mind ; by which
he intimates that there ought to be in Christians such a
care for obedience, that they do nothing, except what they
think, or rather feel assured, is pleasing to God.^ And this
' " Unusquisque sententise suje certus sit ; " txatrros l» tS i^lai »« irXx-
§«ip«g£/V^<a ; " unusquisque in animo suo plene certus esto — let every one
be fully sure in his own mind," Beza, Parens ; " let every one be con-
vinced in his mind," Macknight ; " let every one freely enjoy his own sen-
timent," Doddridge. This last is by no means the sense : Our own ver-
sion is the best and the most literal, " let every man be fully persuaded in
his own mind ;" and with which Calvin's exposition perfectly agrees. For
the meaning of the verb here see ch. iv. 21. " The Greek word is a me-
taphor borrowed from ships, which are carried with full sail, and signifieth
a most certain persuasion of the truth." — Leigh. The certain persuasion
CHAP. XIV. 6. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS, 497
ought to be thoroughly borne in mind, that it is the first
principle of a right conduct, that men should be dependent
on the will of God, and never allow themselves to move
even a finger, while the mind is doubtful and vacillating ; for
it cannot be otherwise, but that rashness will soon pass over
into obstinacy when we dare to proceed further than what
we are persuaded is lawful for us. If any object and say,
that infirmity is ever perplexing, and that hence such cer-
tainty as Paul requires cannot exist in the weak : to this
the plain answer is, — That such are to be pardoned, if they
keep themselves within their own limits. For Paul's pur-
pose was none other than to restrain undue liberty, by
which it happens, that many thinist themselves, as it were,
at random, into matters which are doubtful and undeter-
mined. Hence Paul requires this to be adopted, — that the
will of Grod is to preside over all our actions.
6. He who regards a day, &c. Since Paul well knew
that a respect for days proceeded from ignorance of Christ,
it is not probable that such a corruption was altogether de-
fended by him ; and yet his words seem to imply, that he
who regarded days committed no sin ; for nothing but good
can be accepted by God. Hence, that you may under-
stand his purpose, it is necessary to distinguish between the
notion, which any one may have entertained as to the ob-
servance of days, and the observance itself to which he felt
himself bound. The notion was indeed superstitious, nor
does Paul deny this ; for he has already condemned it by
calling it infirmity, and he will again condemn it still more
plainly. Now, that he who was held fast by this supersti-
tion, dared not to violate the solemnity of a particular day ;
this was approved by God, because he dared not to do any
thing with a doubtful conscience. What indeed could the
Jew do, who had not yet made such progress, as to be de-
livered from scruples about days ? He had the word of God,
in Avhich the keeping of days was commended ; there was a
necessity laid on him by the law ; and its abrogation was
not clearly seen by him. Nothing then remained, but that
here refers~to both parties — the eater and the abstainer : both were to do
what thej were fully convinced was agreeable to the will of God. — Ed.
2 I
498 COMMENTAEIES ON THE CHAP. XIV. 6.
he, waiting for a fuller revelation, should keep himself within
the limits of his own knowledge, and not to avail himself of
the benefit of liberty, before he embraced it by faith. ^
The same also must be thought of him who refrained from
unclean meats : for if he ate in a doubtful state of mind, it
would not have been to receive any benefit from God's hand,
but to lay his own hand on forbidden things. Let him then
use other things, which he thinks is allowed to him, and
follow the measure of his knowledge : he will thus give
thanks to God ; which he could not do, except he was per-
suaded that he is fed by God's kindness. He is not then
to be despised, as though lie offended the Lord by this his
temperance and pious timidity: and there is nothing un-
reasonable in the matter, if we say, that the modesty of the
weak is approved by God, not on the ground of merit, but
through indulgence.
But as he had before required an assurance of mind, so
that no one ought rashly of his own will to do this or that,
we ought to consider whether he is here exhorting rather
than afiirming- ; for the text would better flow in this strain,
— " Let a reason for what he does be clear to every one ; as
an account must be given before the celestial tribunal ; for
whether one eats meat or abstains, he ought in both in-
stances to have regard to God." And doubtless there is no-
thing more fitted to restrain licentiousness in judging and to
correct superstitions, than to be summoned before the tribu-
nal of God : and hence Paul wisely sets the judge before all,
to whose will they are to refer whatever they do. It is no
objection that the sentence is affirmative ; for he imme-
diately subjoins, that no one lives or dies for himself; where
he declares, not what men do, but commands what they
ought to do.
Observe also what he says, — that we then eat to the Lord,
or abstain, when we give thanks. Hence, eating is imi^ure,
and abstinence is impure, without thanksgiving. It is only
' It has been sujrgested as a question by some, whether the Christian
Sabbath is included here ? The very subject in hand proves that it is not.
The subject discussed is the observance of Jewish days, as in Gal. iv. 10,
and Col. ii. 16, and not what belonged to Christians in common. — Ed.
CHAP. XIV. 8. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 499
the name of God, when invoked, that sanctifies us and all
we have.
7. For none of us livetli to him- 7. Nemo enim nostrum sibi ipsi
self, and no man dieth to himself. vivit, et nemo sibi moritur.
8. For whether we live, we live 8. Sive enim vivimus, Domino
rmto the Lord ; and whether we die, vivimus ; sive morimur, Domino mo-
we die mito the Lord : whether we rimur : sive vivimus sive morimur,
live therefore, or die, we are the Domini sumus.
Lord's.
9. For to this end Christ both died, 9. In hoc enim et mortuus est
and rose, and revived,' that he might Christus, et resurrexit, et revixit,' ut
be Lord both of the dead and living, vivis dominetur et mortuis.
7. For no one of its, &c. He now confirms the former verse
by an argument derived from the whole to a part, — that it is
no matter of wonder that particular acts of our life should
be referred to the Lord's will, since life itself ouglit to be
wholly spent to his glory ; for then only is the life of a
Christian rightly formed, when it has for its object the will
of God. But if thou oughtest to refer whatever thou doest
to his good pleasure, it is then an act of impiety to under-
take anything whatever, which thou tliinkest will displease
him ; nay, which thou art not persuaded will please him.
8. To the Lord we live, &c. This does not mean the same
as when it is said in chap. vi. 11, that we are made alive
unto God by his Spirit, but that we conform to his will and
pleasure, and design all things to his glory. Nor are we
only to live to the Lord, but also to die ; that is, our death
as well as our life is to be referred to his will. He adds the
best of reasons, for whether we live or die, we are his : and
it hence follows, that he has full authority over our life and
our death.
The application of this doctrine opens into a wide field.
God thus claims authority over life and death, that his own
condition might be borne by every one as a yoke laid on
him ; for it is but just that he should assign to every one
his station and his course of life. And thus we are not only
1 The words, ««/ ccvia-rti, are dismissed by Griesbach as spurious, and he
substitutes s^»<rsy for avi^rKnv. The difference in meaning is none ; only it
comports with the style of the Apostle to add words of similar iaiport for
the sake of greater emphasis, as the case often is in the Prophets. — Ed.
500 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XIV. 9.
forbidden rashly to attempt this or tliat without God's com-
mand, but we are also commanded to be patient under all
troubles and losses. If at any time the flesh draws back in
adversities, let it come to our minds, that he who is not free
nor has authority over himself, perverts right and order if
he depends not on the will of his lord. Thus also is taught
us the rule by which we are to live and to die, so that if he
extends our life in continual sorrows and miseries, we are
not yet to seek to depart before our time ; but if he should
suddenly call us hence in the flower of our age, we ought
ever to be ready for our departure.
9. Fo7- to this end Christ also died, &c. This is a confir-
mation of the reason which has been last mentioned ; for in
order to prove that we ought to live and to die to the Lord,
he had said, that whether we live or die we are under the
power of Christ. He now shows how rightly Christ claims
this power over us, since he has obtained it by so great a
price ; for by undergoing- death for our salvation, he has
acquired authority over us which cannot be destroyed by
death, and by rising again, he has received our whole life as
his peculiar property. He has then by his death and resur-
rection deserved that we should, in death as well as in life,
advance the glory of his name. The words aldose and lived
again mean, that by resurrection he attained a new state of
life ; and that as the life which he now possesses is subject
to no change, his dominion over us is to be eternal.
10. But why dost thou judge thy 10. Tu vero quid judicas fratrem
brother?' or why dost thou set at tuuni? aut etiam tu, quid contem-
nought thy brother ? for we shall nis fratrem tuum ? Omnes enim sis-
all stand before the judgment-seat temiur ad tribunal Christi :
of Christ :
11. For it is written, As I live, 11. Scriptum est enim, Vivo ego,
saitli the Lord, every knee shall bow dicit Dominus, mihi flectetur omne
to me, and every tongue shall con- genu, et omnis lingua confitebitur
fess to God. I>eo.
12. So then every one of us shall 12. Unusquisque igitur de se ratio-
give account of himself to God. nem reddet Deo.
13. Let us not therefore judge one 13. Quare ne amplius judicemus
* It appears from the order of the words o-u Vi, t/ — , and n xa.) o-u, ri — ,
that the address was made to two parties, " But thou, the weak, why con-
demnest thou thy brother ? and thou also, the strong, why dost thou de-
spise thy brother ?" — Ed.
CHAP. XIV. 11. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 501
another any more: but judge this alius alium : sed hoe judicatepotius,
rather, that no man put a stum- ne lapsus occasio detur fratri aut
blingblock, or an occasion to fall, in ofFendiculum.
his brother's way.
10. But thou, why dost thou, &c. As he liad made the life
and death of us all subject to Christ, he now proceeds to men-
tion the authority to judge, which the Father has conferred
on him, together with the dominion over heaven and earth.
He hence concludes, that it is an unreasonable boldness in
any one to assume the jjower to judge his brother, since by
taking such a liberty he robs Christ the Lord of the jsower
which he alone has received from the Father.
But first, by the term brother, he checks this lust for judg-
ing ; for since the Lord has established among us the right
of a fraternal alliance, an equality ought to be preserved ;
every one then who assumes the character of a judge acts
unreasonably. Secondly, he calls us before the only true
judge, from whom no one can take away his power, and
whose tribunal none can escape. As then it would be absurd
among men for a criminal, who ought to occupy a humble
place in the court, to ascend the tribunal of the judge ; so
it is absurd for a Christian to take to himself the liberty of
judging the conscience of his brother. A similar argument
is mentioned by James, when he says, that " he who judges
his brother, judges the law," and that " he who judges the
law, is not an observer of the law but a president ;" and, on
the other hand, he says, that " tliere is but one lawgiver, who
can save and destroy." (James iv. 12.) He has ascribed
tribunal to Christ, which means his power to judge, as the
voice of the archangel, by which we shall be summoned, is
called, in another place, a trumpet ; for it will pierce, as it
were with its sound, into the minds and ears of all.^
11. As I live, &c. He seems to me to have quoted this
testimony of the Proj^het, not so much to prove what he had
said of the judgment-seat of Christ, which was not doubted
* The words "We shall all stand," &c., may be rendered, "We must
all stand," &c. It is indeed the future tense, but this is according to
what is often the case in Hebrew, for in that language the future has
frequently this meaning. The 12th verse may be rendered in the same
manner, " So then every one of us must give account of himself to God."
—Ed.
502 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XIV. 11.
among Christians, as to show that judgment ought to be
looked for by all with the greatest humility and lowliness of
mind ; and this is what the words import. He had first then
testified by his own words, that the power to judge all men
is vested in Christ alone ; he now demonstrates by the words
of the Prophet, that all flesh ought to be humbled while ex-
pecting that judgment ; and this is expressed by the bend-
ing of the knee. But though in this passage of the Prophet
the Lord in general foreshows that his glory should be
known among all nations, and that his majesty should every-
where shine forth, which was then hid among very few, and
as it were in an obscure corner of the world ; yet if we ex-
amine it more closely, it will be evident that its complete
fulfilment is not now taking place, nor has it ever taken
place, nor is it to be hoped for in future ages. God does
not now rule otherwise in the world than by his gospel ; nor
is his majesty otherwise rightly honoured but when it is
adored as known from his word. But the word of God has
ever had its enemies, who have been perversely resisting it,
and its despisers, who have ever treated it with ridicule, as
though it were absurd and fabulous. Even at this day there
are many such, and ever will be. It hence appears, that
this prophecy is indeed begun to be fulfilled in this life, but
is far from being completed, and will not be so until the day
of the last resurrection shall shhie forth, when Christ's ene-
mies shall be laid prostrate, that they may become his foot-
stool. But this cannot be except the Lord shall ascend his
tribunal : he has therefore suitably applied this testimony
to the judgment-seat of Christ.
This is also a remarkable passage for the purpose of con-
firming our faith in the eternal divinity of Christ: for it is
God who speaks here, and the God who has once for all de-
clared, that he will not give his glory to another. (Is. xlii. 8.)
Now if what he claims here to himself alone is accomplished
in Christ, then doubtless he in Christ manifests himself
And unquestionably the truth of this prophecy then openly
appeared, when Christ gathered a people to himself from
the whole world, and restored them to the worship of his
majesty and to the obedience of his gospel. To this purpose
CHAP. XIV. 12. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 503
are the words of Paul, when he says tliat God gave a name
to his Christ, at whicli every knee sliould bow, (Phil. ii. 10:)
and it shall tlien still more fully appear, when he shall
ascend his tribunal to judge the living and the dead ; for all
judgment in heaven and on earth has been given to him by
the Father.
The words of the Prophet are, " Every tongue shall swear
to me :" but as an oath is a kind of divine worship, the
word which Paul uses, shall confess, does not vary in sense •}
for the Lord intended simply to declare, that all men should
not only acknowledge his majesty, but also make a confes-
sion of obedience, both by the mouth and by the external
gesture of the body, which he has designated by the bowing
of the knee.
12. Every one of us, &c. This conclusion invites us to
humility and lowliness of mind : and hence he immediately
draws this inference, — that we are not to judge one another ;
for it is not lawful for us to usurp the office of judging, who
must ourselves submit to be judged and to give an account.
From the various significations of the word to judge, he
has aptly drawn two different meanings. In the first place
he forbids us to judge, that is, to condemn ; in the second
place he bids us to judge, that is, to exercise judgment, so
as not to give oftence. He indeed indirectly reproves those
malignant censors, wlio employ all their acuteness in find-
ing out something faulty in the life of their brethren : he
therefore bids them to exercise wariness themselves ; for by
their neglect they often precipitate, or drive their brethren
against some stumbling-block or another.^
* The passage is from Isaiah xlv. 23. In two instances the Apostle
gives the sense, and not the words. Instead of " by myself have I sworn,"
he gives the form of the oath, " As I live." This is the manner in which
God swears by himself, it is by his life — his eternal existence. Then the
conclusion of the verse in Hebrew is, " every tongue shall swear," that is,
" unto me." To swear to God or by his name is to avow allegiance to
him, to profess or to confess his name. See Ps. xliii. 11 ; Is. Ixviii. 1;
Zeph. i. 5. The Apostle therefore does no more than interpret the He-
brew idiom when he says, " every tongue shall confess to God." — Ed.
2 The two words, •r^oirxi/zft.a. and <rx.(k\ila.Xoy, mean nearly the same thing,
but with this difference, that the first seems to be an hinderance or an ob-
stacle which occasions stumbling or falling, and the other is an obstacle
which stops or impedes progress in the way. See Matt. xvi. 23. The
504 COMMENTARIE& ON THE CHAP. XIV. 1 4.
14.1 know, and am persuaded by 14. Novi et persuasus sum in
the Lord Jesus,i that there is nothing Domino lesu, nihil commune per se
unclean of itself: but to him that esse; nisi qui existimat aliquid esse
esteemeth any thing to be unclean, commune, ei commime est.
to him it is imclean.
15. But if thy brother be grieved 15. Verum si propter cibum fra-
with thi/ meat, now walkest thou not ter tuus contristatur, jam non se-
charitably. Destroy not him with cundum charitatem ambulas ; ne cibo
thy meat for whom Christ died. tuo ilium perdas, pro quo Christus
mortiuis est.
16. Let not then your good be 16. Ne vestrum igitur bonumho-
evil spoken of: niinum maledicentise sit obnoxium :
17. For the kingdom of God is 17. Non enim est regimm Dei
not meat and drink ; but righteous- esca et potus ; sed justitia, et pax, et
ness, and peace, and joy in the Holy gaudium in Spiritu sancto.
Ghost.
18. For he that in these things 18. Qui enim servit per hsec
serveth Christ is acceptable to God, Christo, acceptus est Deo, et proba-
and approved of men. tus hominibus.
14, I know, &c. To anticipate their objection, wlio made
sucli progress in the gospel of Christ as to make no distinc-
tion between meats, he first shows what must be tliought of
meats when viewed in themselves ; and then he subjoins
how sin is committed in the use of them. He then de-
clares, that no meat is impure to a right and pure con-
science, and that there is no hinderance to a pure use of
meats, except ignorance and infirmity ; for when any imagines
an impurity in them, he is not at liberty to use them. But
he afterwards adds, that we are not only to regard meats
themselves, but also the brethren before whom we eat : for
we ought not to view the use of God's bounty with so much
indifference as to disregard love. His words then have the
same meaning as though he had said, — " I know that all
two parties, the strong and the weak, are here evidently addressed ; the
former was not, by eating, to put a stumbhngblock in the way of the weak
brother ; nor was the weak, by condemning, to be a hinderance or impedi-
ment in the way of the strong so as to prevent him to advance in his
course. Thus we see that forbearance is enjoined on both parties, though
the Apostle afterwards dwells more on what the strong was to do.
The clause might be thus rendered, —
" But rather judge it right to do this, — not to lay before a brother a
stumbling-stone, or an impediment." — Ed.
^ " At the very time of giving forth the sentence, and on the highest of
all authority, that there is nothing unclean of itself, he yet leaves others at
liberty to esteem anything unclean. We are not sure if anywhere else in
Scripture, the divine authority of toleration is so clearly manifested." —
Chalnwrs.
CHAP. XIV. 15. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 505
meats are clean, and therefore I leave to thee the free use
of them ; I allow thy conscience to be freed from all scru-
ples : in short, I do not simply restrain thee from meats ;
but laying aside all regard for them, I still wish thee not to
neglect thy neighbour."
By the word common, in this place, he means unclean,
and what is taken indiscriminately by the ungodly ; and it
is opposed to those things which had been especially set
apart for the use of the faithful peoj^le. He says that he
knew, and was fully convinced, that all meats are pure, in
order to remove all doubts. He adds, in the Lord Jesus ;
for by his favour and grace it is, that all the creatures which
were accursed in Adam, are blessed to us by the Lord.^ He
intended, however, at the same time, to set the liberty given
by Christ in opposition to the bondage of the law, lest they
thought that they were bound to observe those rites from
which Christ had made them free. By the exception which
he has laid down, we learn that there is nothing so pure but
what may be contaminated by a corrupt conscience : for it
is faith alone and godliness which sanctify all things to us.
The unbelieving, being polluted within, defile all things by
their very touch. (Tit. i. 1 5.)
15. But if through meat thy brother is grieved, &c. He
now explains how the offending of our brethren may vitiate
the use of good things. And the first thing is, — that love is
violated, when our brother is made to grieve by what is so
trifling ; for it is contrary to love to occasion grief to any
one. The next thing is, — that when the weak conscience is
wounded, the price of Christ's blood is wasted ; for the most
abject brother has been redeemed by the blood of Christ : it
is then a heinous crime to destroy him by gratifying the
stomach ; and we must be basely given up to our own lusts,
if we prefer meat, a worthless thing, to Christ.^ The third
^ To elicit this meaning, which is in itself true, Calvin must have con-
strued the sentence thus, " I know, and I am persuaded, that through the
Lord Jesus nothing is of itself unclean:" but this is not the meaning.
What the Apostle says is, that he knew, and was fully assured by the
Lord Jesus, that is, by the teaching of his word and Spirit, that nothing
was in itself unclean, all ceremonial distinctions having been now removed
and abolished. — Ed.
* From the words " destroy not," &c., some have deduced the senti-
506 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XIV. l7.
reason is, — that since the liberty attained for us by Christ is
a blessing, we ought to take care, lest it should be evil
spoken of by men and justly blamed, which is the case,
when we unseasonably use God's gifts. These reasons then
ought to influence us, lest by using our liberty, we thought-
lessly cause oifences.^
17. For the kingdom of God, &c. He noAv, on the other
hand, teaches us, that we can without loss abstain from the
use of our liberty, because the kingdom of God does not
consist in such things. Those things indeed, which are ne-
cessary either to build up or preserve the kingdom of God,
are by no means to be neglected, whatever oflences may
hence follow : but if for love's sake it be lawful to abstain
from meat, while God's honour is uninjured, while Christ's
kingdom suflfers no harm, while religion is not hindered,
tlien they are not to be borne with, who for meat's sake
disturb the Church. He uses similar arguments in his first
Epistle to the Corinthians : " Meat," he says, " for the sto-
mach, and the stomach for meat ; but God will destroy
both," (1 Cor. vi. J 3 :) again, " If we eat, we shall not
abound," (I Cor. viii. 8.) By these words he meant briefly
to show, that meat and drink were things too worthless,
ment, that those for whom Christ died may perish for ever. It is neither
•wise nor just to draw a conchision of this kind ; for it is one that is nega-
tived by many positive declarations of Scripture. IVIan's inference, when
contrary to God's word, cannot be right. Besides, the Apostle's object in
this passage is clearly this, — to exhibit the sin of those Avho disregarded
the good of their brother, and to show what that sin was calculated to do,
without saying that it actually effected that evil. Some have very un-
wisely attempted to obviate the inference above mentioned, by suggesting,
that the destruction meant was that of comfort and edification. But no
doubt the Apostle meant the ruin of the soul ; hence the urgency of his
exhortation,—" Do not act in such a way as tends to endanger the safety of
a soul for whom Christ has shed his blood :" or, " Destroy not," that is, as
far as you can do so. Apostles and ministers are said to " save" men ;
some are exhorted here not to '■ destroy" them. Neither of these eflects
can follow, except in the first instance, God grants his blessing, and in the
second his permission ; and his permission as to his people he will never
grant, as he has expressly told us. See John x. 27-29. — Ed.
* " Vestrum bonum," uf^uv to aya^ov. Some, such as Grotiits and
Hammond, Scott, Chalmers, &c., agree with Calvin, and view this
" good," or privilege, to be Christian liberty, or freedom from ceremonial
observances, (see 1 Cor. x. 29:) but Origen, Anibrose, Theodoret, Mede,
&c., consider that the gospel is meant. The first opinion is the most
suitable to the passage. — Ed.
CHAP. XIV. 17. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 507
that on their account the course of the gospel should be im-
peded.
But righteousness and peace, &c. He, in passing, has set
these in opposition to meat and drink ; not for the purpose
of enumerating all the things which constitute the kingdom
of Christ, but of showing, that it consists of spiritual things.
He has at the same time no doubt included in few words a
summary of what it is ; namely, that we, being well assured,
have peace with God, and possess real joy of heart through
the Holy Spirit dwelling in us. But as I have said, these
few things he has accommodated to his present subject. He
indeed who is become partaker of true righteousness, enjoys
a great and an invaluable good, even a calm joy of con-
science ; and he who has peace with God, what can he de-
sire more ?^
By connecting joeace and joy together, he seems to me to
express the character of this joy ; for however torpid the
reprobate may be, or however they may elevate themselves,
yet the conscience is not rendered calm and joyful, except
when it feels God to be pacified and propitious to it ; and
there is no solid joy but what proceeds from this peace.
And though it was necessary, when mention was made of
these things, that the Spirit should have been declared as
the author ; yet he meant in this place indirectly to oppose
the Spirit to external things, that we might know, that the
things which belong to the kingdom of God continue com-
plete to us without the use of meats.
1 What is here said is no doubt true of the kingdom of God ; but by
considering what is afterwards said in the two following verses, we cannot
well accede to this exposition. Righteousness, peace, and joy, mentioned
here, are things acceptable to God and approved hy men : they must then
be things apparent and visible, which men see and observe ; and to follow
" the things of peace," refers to the conduct. " Righteousness" then must
mean here the douig of what is right and just towards one another; "peace,"
concord and unanimity, as opposed to discord and contentions; "joy,"
the fruit of this peaceable state, a cheering delight, a mutual rejoicing,
instead of the sorrow and grief occasioned by discord ; and these come
" through the Holy Spirit" and are produced by him; and they are not
the semblances of such virtues and graces, presented in some instances by
false religions. See Gal. v. 22, 23. Doddridge, Stuart, and Chalmers
have viewed the passage in this light, though the latter, as well as Scott,
seemed inclined to combine the two views: but this is to mix up things
together imnecessarily, and to destroy the harmony of the context. — Ed.
508 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XIV. 1 9.
18. For he who in these things, &c. An argument draMai
from the effect : for it is impossible, but that when any one
is acceptable to God and approved by men, the kingdom of
God fully prevails and flourishes in him : he, who with a
quiet and peaceful conscience serves Christ in righteousness,
renders himself approved by men as well as by God.
"Wherever then there is righteousness and peace and spi-
ritual joy, there the kingdom of God is complete in all its
parts : it does not then consist of material things. But he
says, that man is acceptable to God, because he obeys his
will ; he testifies that he is approved by men, because they
cannot do otherwise than bear testimony to that excellency
which they see with their eyes : not that the ungodly always
favour the children of God ; nay, when there is no cause,
they often pour forth against them many reproaches, and with
forged calumnies defame the innocent, and in a word, turn
into vices things rightly done, by putting on them a malig-
nant construction. But Paul speaks here of honest judgment,
blended with no moroseness, no hatred, no superstition.
19. Let us therefore follow after 19 Proinde quae pacis sunt, et
the things which make for peace, sedificationis mutuse, sectemur.
and things wherewith one may edify
another.
20. For meat destroy not the work 20. Ne propter cibum destruas
of God. All things indeed are pure; opus Dei. Omnia quidem pura, sed
but it is evil for that man who eateth malum est homini qui per otfensio-
with offence. nem vescitur.
21. // is good neither to eat flesh, 21. Bonum est non edere carnem,
nor to drink wine, nor any thing nee vinum bibere,'necaZ/w,ii/c(ccre in
whereby thy brother stimibleth, or is quo frater tuns concidat, vel offen-
ofi'ended, or is made weak. datur, vel infirmetur.
19. Let us then follow, &c. He recalls us, as much as pos-
sible, from a mere regard to meats, to consider those greater
things which ought to have the first place in all our actions,
and so to have the precedence. "We must indeed eat, that
we may live ; we ought to live, that w^e maj serve the Lord;
and he serves the Lord, who by benevolence and kindness
edifies his neighbour; for in order to promote these two
1 Jerome often employed the former part of this verse for the purpose of
encouraging monasticism ; and by thus disconnecting it from the context,
he got a passage quite suitable to his purpose. Even Erasmus condemned
this shameful perversion. — Ed.
CHAP. XIV. 20. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 509
tilings, concord and edification, all the duties of love ought
to be exercised. Lest this should be thought of little mo-
ment, he repeats the sentence he had before announced, —
that corruptible meat is not of such consequence that for its
sake the Lord's building should be destroyed. For wherever
there is even a spark of godliness, there the work of God is
to be seen ; which they demolish, who by their unfeeling
conduct disturb the conscience of the weak.
But it must be noticed, that edification is joined to peace;
because some, not unfrequently, too freely indulge one an-
other, so that they do much harm by their compliances.
Hence in endeavouring to serve one another, discretion ought
to be exercised, and utility regarded, so that we may wil-
lingly grant to our brother whatever may be useful to fur-
ther his salvation. So Paul reminds us in another place :
" All things," he says, " are lawful to me ; but all things are
not expedient ;" and immediately he adds the reason, " Be-
cause all things do not edify." (1 Cor. x. 23.)
Nor is it also in vain that he repeats again. For meat de-
stroy not} &c., intimating, that he required no abstinence, by
which there would be, according to what he had said before,
any loss to piety : though we eat not anything we please,
but abstain from the use of meats for the sake of our brethren ;
yet the kingdom of God continues entire and complete.
20. All things are indeed pure, &c. By saying, that all
things are pure, he makes a general declaration ; and by
adding, that it is evil for man to eat with offence, he makes
an exception ; as though he had said, — " Meat is indeed
good, but to give offence is bad." Now meat has been given
to us, that we may eat it, provided love be observed : he
then pollutes the use of pure meat, who by it violates love.
Hence he concludes, that it is good to abstain from all things
which tend to give offence to our brethren.
^ This is a similar, but not the same sentence as in verse 15. The verb
is different, xardxui ; which means to undo, to loosen, to pull down : and as
"work" follows, which, as Calvin and others think, is to be understood of
God's building, the work of edifying or building up his people, the verb
may in this sense be rendered here, "Pull not down the work of God."
But here, as in verse 15, it is the tendency of the deed that is to be con-
sidered, and the effect as far as man's doing was concerned. The Apostle
says nothing of what God would do. — Ed.
5 1 0 COMMENTAKIES ON THE CHAP. XIV. 22.
He mentions three things in order, to fall, to stumble, to
be weakened : the meaning seems to be this, — " Let no
cause of falling, no, nor of stumbling, no, nor of weakening,
be given to the brethren.'' For to be weakened is less than
to stumble, and to stumble is less than to fall. He may be
said to be weakened whose conscience wavers with doubt, —
to stumble when the conscience is disturbed by some greater
perplexity, and to fall when the individual is in a manner
alienated from his attention to religion.^
22. Hast thou faith? have it to 22. Tu fidem habes ? apud teip-
thyself before God. Happy is he sum habe coram Deo. Beatus qui
that condemneth not himself in that non judicat seipsum in eo quod exa-
thing Avhich he alloweth. minat.
23. Andhethatdoubtethisdamned 13. Qui vero dijudicat si come-
if he eat, because he eateth not of derit condemnatus est ; quia non ex
faith : for whatsoever is not of faith fide : quicquid vero non est ex fide,
is sin. peccatum est.
22. Hast thou faith? In order to conclude, he shows in
what consists the advantage of Christian liberty : it hence
appears, that they boast falsely of liberty who know not how
to make a right use of it. He then says, that liberty really
understood, as it is that of faith, has properly a regard to
God ; so that he who is endued with a conviction of this
kind, ought to be satisfied with peace of conscience before
God ; nor is it needful for him to show before men that he
possesses it. It hence follows, that if we offend our weak
brethren by eating meats, it is through a perverse opinion ;
for there is no necessity to constrain us.
It is also plainly evident how strangely perverted is this
passage by some, who hence conclude, that it is not mate-
rial how devoted any one may be to the observance of foolish
and superstitious ceremonies, provided the conscience re-
mains pure before God. Paul indeed intended nothing less,
1 What is said here proves what is stated in a note on verse 1 3 ; that is,
that tTKOLvlaXov is a less evil than ■Tr^itrx.nfiiAct, only that the idea of stumbling,
instead of hinderance or impediment, is given here to the former word. The
Apostle still adopts, as it were, the ascending scale. He first mentions the
most obvious effect, the actual fall, the extreme evil, and then the next to
it, the obstacle in the way : and, in the third place, the weakening of the
fiiith of the individual. The real order of the process is the reverse, — the
weakening, then the impediment, and, lastly, the stumblingblock which
occasions the fall. — Ed.
CHAP. XIV. 23. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 511
as the context clearly shows ; for ceremonies are appointed
for the worship of God, and they are also a part of our con-
fession : they then who tear off faith from confession, take
away from the sun its own heat. But Paul handles nothing
of this kind in this place, but only speaks of our liberty in
the use of meat and drink.
Happy is he who condemns not himself, &c. Here he
means to teach us, first, how we may lawfully use the gifts
of God ; and, secondly, how great an impediment ignorance
is ; and he thus teaches us, lest we should urge the un-
instructed beyond the limits of their infirmity. But he
lays clown a general truth, which extends to all actions, —
" Happy,'' he says, " is he who is not conscious of doing
wrong, when he rightly examines his own deeds." For it
happens, that many commit the worst of crimes without any
scruple of conscience ; but this happens, because they rashly
abandon themselves, with closed eyes, to any course to which
the blind and violent intemperance of the flesh may lead,
them ; for there is much difference between insensibility and
a right judgment. He then who examines things is happy,
provided he is not bitten by an accusing conscience, after
having honestly considered and weighed matters ; for this
assurance alone can render our works pleasing to God. Thus
is removed that vain excuse which many allege on the ground
of ignorance ; inasmuch as their error is connected with in-
sensibility and sloth : for if what they call good intention is
sufficient, their examination, according to which the Spirit
of God estimates the deeds of men, is superfluous.^
23. But he luho is undecided, &c. He very fitly expresses
1 The version of Calvin is, " Beatus qui non judicat seipsum in eo quod
examinat," fiaxa^ios o //.» x^lvuv lavrov iv £ toKif/.dZ.'-i ; the latter part is ren-
dered by Bez(x and Piscator, " in eo quod approbat — in that which he
approves ;" by Doddridge, " in the thing which he alloweth ;" by Mac-
knight, " by what he approveth." The reference is no doubt to the strong,
who had " faith," who believed all meats lawful. The verb means to try,
to examine, as well as to approve ; but the latter seems to be its meaning
here. To approve and to have faith appears in this case to be the same :
then to have faith and not to abuse it by giving offence to a brother was to
be a happy man, who did not condemn himself. The meaning tlien most
suitable to the passage is this, " Happy the man ! who condemns not him-
self by what he approves," that is, by eating meat to the annoyance and
stumbling of the weak. — Ed.
512 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XIV. 23.
in one word the character of that mind which vacillates and
is uncertain as to what ought to be done ; for he who is un-
decided undergoes alternate changes, and in the midst of
his various deliberations is held suspended by uncertainty.
As then the main thing in a good work is the persuasion of
a mind conscious of being right before God, and as it Avere
a calm assurance, nothing is more opposed to the acceptance
of our works than vacillation.^ And, oh ! that this truth
were fixed in the minds of men, that nothing ought to be
attempted except what the mind feels assured is acceptable
to God, men would not then make such an uproar, as they
often do now, nor waver, nor blindly hurry onward where-
ever their own imagination may lead them. For if our way
of living is to be confined to this moderation, that no one is
to touch a morsel of meat with a doubting conscience, how
much greater caution is to be exercised in the greatest
things ?
And whatever is not from faith, &c. The reason for this
condemnation is, that every work, however splendid and
excellent in appearance, is counted as sin, except it be
founded on a right conscience ; for God regards not the out-
ward display, but the inward obedience of the heart, by this
alone is an estimate made of our works. Besides, how can
that be obedience, when any one undertakes what he is not
persuaded is approved by God ? Where then such a doubt
exists, the individual is justly charged with prevarication :
for he proceeds in opposition to the testimony of his own
conscience.
^ The Greek is » ^laxoivifisvos, "he who discerns," that is, a difference as
to meats ; so Doddridge, Macknight, and Chalmers regard its meaning.
Beza has " qui dubitat — who doubts," and so our version. The word used
by Calvin is dijadicat, which properly means to judge between things, to
discern, but according to his explanation it means to judge in two ways, to
be undecided.
The verb no doubt admits of these two meanings ; it is used evidently
in the sense of making or putting a difference, but only, as some say, in the
active voice. There are indeed two places where it seems to have this
meaning in its passive or middle form, James ii. 4, and Jude verse 22. But
as Paul has before used it in this Epistle, chap. iv. 20, in the sense of hesi-
tating, staggering, or doubting, we may reasonably suppose that it has this
meaning here, and especially as in every place where he expresses the other
idea, he has employed the active form. See 1 Cor. iv. 7 ; xi. 29, 31 ; &c.
—Ed.
CHAP. XV. 1. EPISTLE TO THE BOMANS. 513
The word faith is to be taken licre for a fixed persuasion
of the mind, or, so to speak, for a firm assurance, and not
that of any kind, but what is derived from the truth of God.
Hence doubt or uncertainty vitiates all our actions, liowever
specious they may otherwise be. Now, since a pious mind
can never acquiesce with certainty in an^'^thing but the word
of God, all fictitious modes of worship do in this case vanish
away, and whatever works there may be which originate in
the brains of men ; for while everything- which is not from
faith is condemned, rejected is whatever is not supported and
approved by God's word. It is at the same time by no
means sufficient that what we do is approved by the word of
God, except the mind, relying on this persuasion, prepares
itself cheerfully to do its work. Hence the first thing in a
right conduct, in order that our minds may at no time fluc-
tuate, is this, that we, depending on God's word, confidently
proceed wherever it may call us.
CHAPTER XY}
1. We then that are strong ought 1. Debemus autem nos qui po-
to bear the infirmities of the weak, tentes suraus, infirmitates impoten-
and not to please ourselves. tium portare, et non placere nobis
ipsis :
2. Let every one of us please his 2. Unusquisque enim nostrum
neighbour for his good to edification, proximo placeat in bonum, ad aedifi-
cationem.
3. For even Christ pleased not 3. Etenim Christus non placuit
himself; but, as it is written, The sibi ipsi ; sed quemadmodum scrip-
reproaches of them that reproached tum est, Opprobria exprobrantium
thee fell on me. tibi, ceciderunt super me.
1. We then who are strong, &c. Lest they who had made
more advances than others in the knowledge of God should
' Introduced here, as the conclusion of the last chapter, by Griesbach
and other collators of MSS.. are the three last verses of the Epistle, 25-
27. It appears that the largest number of copies is in favour of this ar-
rangement, countenanced by the Greek fathers, and the Syriac and Arabic
versions. In favoiu: of the present order, as in our version, there are some
good MSS., the Latin fathers, and the Vulgate, &c. What strongly
favours and decidedly confirms the order which we have, is the evident
connection as to matter between this and the last chapter, which shows the
impropriety of having those verses intervening between them. — Ed.
2k
514 COMMENTARIES ON" THE CHAP. XV. 2.
think it unreasonable, that more burden Avas to be laid on
them than on others, he shows for what purpose this strength,
by which they excelled others, was bestowed on them, even
that they might so sustain tlie weak as to prevent them to
fall. For as God has destined those to whom he has granted
superior knowledge to convey instruction to the ignorant, so
to those whom he makes strong he commits the duty of sup-
porting the weak by their strength ; thus ought all gifts to
be communicated among all the members of Christ. The
stronger then any one is in Christ, the more bound he is to
bear with the weak.^
By saying that a Cliristian ought not to jylease himself,
he intimates, that he ought not to be bent on satisfying
himself, as they are wont to be, who are content with their
own judgment, and heedlessly neglect others : and this is
indeed an admonition most suitable on the present subject ;
for nothing imj^edes and checks acts of kindness more than
when any one is too much swallowed up with himself, so
that he has no care for others, and follows only his own
counsels and feelings.
2. Let indeed^ every one of iis, &c. He teaches us here,
that we are under obligations to others, and that it is there-
fore our duty to please and to serve them, and that there is
no exception in which we ought not to accommodate ourselves
to our brethren when we can do so, according to God's w^ord,
to their edification.
There are here two things laid down, — that we are not to
be content with our own judgment, nor acquiesce in our own
desires, but ought to strive and labour at all times to please our
brethren, — and then, that in endeavouring to accommodate
' The word for '•' strong " is "Swuto}, " able," which Calvin renders po-
tentes, powerful, or able. They were the more advanced in knowledge and
in piety. They were to " bear," jSairTa^s^v, in the sense of carrying or sus-
taining the infirmities of the weak, impotentiitm, " the unable," a'Swaruv,
such as were imable to carry their own burdens. The duty is not merely
to bear with or tolerate weaknesses, (for this is not the meaning of the
verb,) but to help and assist the weak and the feeble to carry them. The
most literal rendering is —
" We then who are able ought to bear (or carry) the infirmities of the
unable." — Ed.
^ The yag in this verse is considered by Griesbach as wholly spurious ;
and Beza has left it out. — Ed.
CHAP. XV. o. EPISTLJi TO THE ROMANS. 5J5
ourselves to our brethren, we ought to have regard to God,
so that our object may be their edification ; for the greater
part cannot be pleased except you indulge their humour ; so
that if you wish to be in favour with most men, their salva-
tion must not be so much regarded, but their folly must be
flattered ; nor must you look to what is expedient, but to
what they seek to their own ruin. You must not then strive
to please those to whom nothing is pleasing but evil.
3. For even Christ pleased not himself, &c. Since it is
not right that a servant should refuse what his lord has him-
self undertaken, it would be very strange in us to wish an
exemption from the duty of bearing the infirmities of others,
to which Christ, in whom we glory as our Lord and King,
submitted himself ; for he having no regard for himself, gave
up himself wholly to this service. For in him was really
verified w^hat the Prophet declares in Ps. Ixix. 10: and
among other things he mentions this, that " zeal for God's
house had eaten him up," and that " the reproaches of those
who reproached God fell on him." By these words it is
intimated, that he burned with so much fervour for God's
glory that he was possessed by such a desire to promote his
kingdom, that he forgot himself, and was, as it were, ab-
sorbed with this one thought, and that he so devoted himself
to the Lord that he was grieved in his soul whenever he
perceived his holy name exposed to the slandering of the
ungodly.^
The second part, " the reproaches of God," may indeed be
understood in two ways, — either that he was not less affected
by the contumelies which were heaped on God, than if he
himself had endured them, — or, that he grieved not other-
wise to see the wrong done to God, than if he himself had
been the cause. But if Christ reigns in us, as he must ne-
cessarily reign in his people, this feeling is also vigorous in
our hearts, so that whatever derogates from the glory of God
' The intention of producing Christ's example here is to enjoin disin-
terestedness. He denied himself for the sake of glorifying God in the
salvation of men : so his followers ought to show the same spirit ; they
ought to inconvenience themselves, and undergo toil, trouble, suffering,
and reproaches, if necessary, in order to help and assist their fellow-Chris-
tians.— Ed.
516 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XV. 4.
does not otherwise g^rieve us than if it was done to ourselves.
Away then with those whose highest wish is to gain honours
from them who treat God's name witli all kinds of reproaclies,
tread Christ under foot, contumeliously rend, and with the
sword and the flame persecute his gospel. It is not indeed
safe to be so much honoured by those by whom Christ is not
only despised but also reproachfully treated.
4. For whatsoever things -n-ere 4. Qu^cunque enim ante scripta
written aforetime were written for sunt, in nostram doctrinam sunt
our learning ; that Ave, through pa- scripta, ut per patientiam et conso-
tience and comfort of the scriptures, lationem Scriptiu-arum spem habe-
might have hope. amus.
5. Now the God of patience and 5. Deus autem patientise et con-
consolation grant you to be like solationis det vobis idem nuituo cogi-
minded one toward another, accord- tare secundum Christum lesum ;
ing to Christ Jesus ;
6. That y^ may with one mind 6. Ut uno animo, uno ore, glori-
and one mouth glorify God, even the ficetis Deum et Patrem Domini
Father of om- Lord Jesus Christ. nostri lesu Christi.
4. For whatsoever things, &c. This is an application of tlie
example, lest any one should think, that to exhort us to
imitate Christ was foreign to his purpose ; " Nay/' he says,
" there is nothing in Scripture which is not useful for your
instruction, and for the direction of your life."^
This is an interesting passage, by which we understand
that there is nothing vain and unprofitable contained in the
oracles of God ; and we are at the same time taught that it
is by the reading of the Scripture that we make progress in
piety and holiness of life. Whatever then is delivered in
Scripture we ought to strive to learn ; for it were a reproach
offered to the Holy Spirit to think, that he has taught any-
thing which it does not concern us to know ; let us also
know, that whatever is taught us conduces to the advance-
ment of religion. And though he speaks of the Old Testa-
ment, the same thing is also true of the writings of the
Apostles ; for since the Spirit of Christ is everywhere like
itself, there is no doubt but that he has adapted his teaching^
^ " The object of this verse is not so much to show the propriety of
applying the passage quoted from the Psalms to Christ, as to show that
the facts recorded in the Scriptures are designed for our instruction." —
Hodge.
CHAP. XV. 5. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 51 7
by the Apostles, as formerly by the Prophets, to the edifica-
tion of his people. Moreover, we find here a most striking
condemnation of those fanatics who vaunt that the Old Tes-
tament is abolished, and that it belongs not in any degree
to Christians ; for with what front can they turn away
Christians from those things which, as Paul testifies, have
been appointed by God for their salvation ?
But when he adds, that through the patience and the con-
solation of the Sci'iptures we might have hope,^ he does not
include the whole of that benefit which is to be derived from
God's word ; but he briefly points out the main end ; for the
Scriptures are especially serviceable for this purpose — to
raise up those who are prepared by patience, and strength-
ened by consolations, to the hope of eternal life, and to keep
them in the contemplation of it.^ The word consolation
some render exhortation ; and of this I do not disapprove,
only that consolation is more suitable to patience, for this
arises from it ; because then only we are prepared to bear
adversities with patience, when God blends them with con-
solation. The patience of the faithful is not indeed that
hardihood which philosophers recommend, but that meek-
ness, by which we willingly submit to God, while a taste of
his goodness and paternal love renders all things sweet to
us : tliis nourishes and sustains hope in us, so that it fails not.
5. And the God of patience, &c. God is so called from
what he produces ; the same thing has been before very fitly
ascribed to the Scriptures, but in a different sense : God
alone is doubtless the author of patience and of consolation ;
for he conveys both to our hearts by his Spirit : yet he em-
' Or, That we might possess, enjoy, or retain hope. He does not de-
scribe this hope, it being sufficiently evident — the hope of the gospel. — Ed.
- Some take " patience " apart from " consolation," — " through patience,
and the consolation of the Scriptures ;" but what is evidently meant is the
patience and consolation which the Scriptures teach and administer, or
are the means of supplying ; for it is the special object of the passage to
show the benefits derived irom the Scriptures. Then it is no doubt " con-
solation," and not exhortation, though the word has also that meaning ;
for in the next verse it clearly means consolation. It is thus rendered,
and in connection with " patience," by Beza, Parens, Doddridge, Mac-
knight, &c.
In our version it is " comfort " in ver. 4, and " consolation " in ver. 5 ;
but it would have been better to have retained the same word. — Ed.
518 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XV. 5.
ploys his word as the instrument ; for he first teaches us
what is true consolation, and what is true patience ; and
then he instils and plants this doctrine in our hearts.
But after having admonished and exhorted the Romans
as to what they were to do, he turns to pray for them : for
he fully understood, that to speak of duty was to no purpose,
except God inwardly effected by his Spirit what he spoke
by the mouth of man. The sum of his prayer is, — that he
would bring their minds to real unanimity, and make them
united among themselves : he also shows at the same time
what is the bond of unity, for he wished them to agree to-
gether according to Christ Jesus. Miserable indeed is the
union which is unconnected with God, and that is uncon-
nected Avith him, which alienates us from his truth.^
And that he might recommend to us an agreement in
Christ, he teaches us how necessary it is : for God is not
truly glorified by us, unless the hearts of all agree in giving
him praise, and their tongues also join in harmony. There
is then no reason for any to boast that he will give glory to
God after his own manner ; for the unity of his servants is
' There is a difference of opinion as to the unity contemplated here,
Avhether it be that of sentiment or of feeling. The plirase, ro xvro (p^avtiv,
occurs in the following places, Rom. xii. IG ; xv. 5 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 11 ; Phil,
ii. 2; iii. 10; iv. 2. Leigh says, that the phrase signifies to be of one
mind, of one judgment, of one affection, towards one another. But though
the verb ip^ovuv may admit of these three significations, yet the Apostle no
doubt had in view a specific idea ; and when we consider that he had been
inculcating the principle of toleration as to unity of sentiment with regard
to the eating of meats and of observing of days, and that he has been en-
forcing the duty of forbearance, and of sympathy, and of love towards each
other, it appears probable that unity of feeling and of concern for each
other's welfere is what is intended here. Beza, Scott, and Chalmers take
this view, while Parens, Mede, and Stuart take the other, that is, that
unity of sentiment is what is meant.
What confirms the former, in addition to the general import of the con-
text, is tlie clause which follows, " according to Christ Jesus," which evi-
dently means, " according to his exam])le," as mentioned in ver. 3.
Then in the next verse, the word ofioeui^aloti refers to the unity of feeling
and of action, rather than to that of sentiment. It occurs, besides here,
in these places, Acts i. 14 ; ii. 1, 46 ; iv. 24 ; v. 12 ; vii. 57 ; viii. 6 ; xii.
20; XV. 25; xviii. 12; xix. 29. It is iised by the Septuagint for "l/T*,
which means " together." It is rendered " unanimiter — imanimously,"
or, with one mind, by Erasmus ; " concorditer — with one accord," by
Beza ; •' with one mind," by Doddridge ; and " unanimously," by Mac-
knight. It is thus paraphrased by Grotius, " with a mind full of mutual
love, free from contempt, free from hatred." — Ed.
CHAP. XV. 7. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 519
SO much esteemed by God, that he will not have his glory
sounded forth amidst discords and contentions. This one
thought ouglit to be sufficient to check the wanton rage for
contention and quarrelling, which at this day too much pos-
sesses the minds of many.
7. Wherefore receive ye one an- 7. Itaque suscipite vos mutuo,
other, as Christ also received us to quemadmodumChristusvossuscepit,
the glory of God. in gloriam Dei.
8. Now I say, that Jesus Christ 8. Dico autem lesum Christum
was a minister of the circumcision ministerium fuisse circumcisionis su-
for the truth of God, to confirm the per veritate Dei ad proniissionos Pa-
promises made mito the fathers : trum confirinandas :
9. And that the Gentiles might 9. Gentes autem pro misericordia
glorify God for Ms mercy ; as it is glorificare debent fJeum : quemad-
written, For this cause I will confess modum scriptimi est. Propter hoc
to thee among the Gentiles, and sing confitebor tibi inter Gentes et no-
unto thy name. mini tuo psallam :
10. And again he saith, Rejoice, 10. Etrursumdicit,ExultateGen-
ye Gentiles, with his people. tes cum populo ejus ;
11. And again. Praise the Lord, 11. Et rursum, Laudate Domi-
all ye Gentiles ; and laud him, all ye num omnes Gentes, et collaudate
people. eum omnes popiili.
12. And again, Esaias saith, There 12. Et rursum lesaias dicit, Erit
shall be a root of Jesse, and he that radix Jesse, et qui exurget ad im-
shall rise to reign over the Gentiles ; perandum Gentibus ; in ipso Gentes
in him shall the Gentiles trust. sperabunt.
7. Receive ye then, &c. He returns to exhortation ; and
to strengthen this he still retains the example of Christ.
For he, having received, not one or two of us, but all to-
gether, has thus connected us, so that we ought to cherish
one another, if we would indeed continue in his bosom.
Only thus then shall we confirm our calling, that is, if we
separate not ourselves from those whom the Lord has bound
together.
The words, to the glory of God, may be applied to us only,
or to Christ, or to him and us together : of the last I mostly
appiove, and according to this import, — " As Christ has
made known the glory of the Father in receiving us into
favour, when we stood in need of mercy ; so it behoves us,
in order to make known also the glory of the same God, to
establish and confirm this union which we have in Christ."'
' In ghriam Dei, lU S«|av QioZ, i.e., in order to set forth the glory of
God, or, in other words, that God might be glorified. So Erasmus,
Chalmers, and Stuart. Others regard this "glory" as that which God
bestows, even eternal happines.s, according to this meaning, — " Receive ye
520 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XV. 8.
8. Now I say, that Jesus Christ, &c. He now shows that
Christ has embraced us all, so that he leaves no diiFerenee
between the Jews and the Gentiles, except that in the first
place he was promised to the Jewish nation, and was in a
manner peculiarly destined for them, before he was revealed
to the Gentiles. But he shows, that with respect to that
which was the seed of all contentions, there was no difference
between them ; for he had gathered them both from a miser-
able dispersion, and brought them, when gathered, into the
Father's kingdom, that they might be one floclc, in one
sheepfold, under one shepherd. It is hence right, he de-
clares, that they should continue united together, and not
despise one another; for Christ despised neither of them.^
He then speaks first of the Jews, and says, that Christ
was sent to them, in order to accomplish the truth of God
by performing the promises given to the Fathers: and it
was no common honour, that Christ, the Lord of heaven and
earth, put on flesh, that he might procure salvation for
them ; for the more he humbled himself for their sake, the
greater was the honour he conferred on them. But this
point he evidently assumes as a thing indubitable. The
more strange it is, that there is such effrontery in some
fanatical heads, that they hesitate not to regard the pro-
mises of the Old Testament as temporal, and to confine them
to the present world. And lest the Gentiles should claim
any excellency above the Jews, Paul expressly declares,
that the salvation which Christ has brought, belonged by
one another into communion and fellowship, as Christ has received you
into the glory of God," that is, into that glorious state which God has pro-
laded and promised. See John xvii. 24. For " you," our version has
"us ;" but Griesbach considers "you" as the true reading. — Ed.
^ The hegimiing of this verse, " Now I say," Dico autem, Aiym Ti, is
read by Beza and Grotms, Aiya yx^, " For I say," and Griesbach regards
it of nearly equal authority. If we retain Ss, it may be rendered " more-
over," or " further ;" and to render the clause more distinct, the word
" this," as proposed by Beza and Pagninus, may be added, — " I further
say this," &c. The two verses may be thus rendered, —
8. I further say this, that Christ became a minister of the circumcision
for the truth of God, that he might confirm the promises made to
9. the fathers, and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy,
as it is written, " I will therefore confess thee among the nations,
and to thy name will I sing."
The reasons for this rendering are given in the next note. — Ed.
CHAP. XV. 9. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 521
covenant to the Jews ; for by his coming he fulfilled what
the Father had formerly promised to Abraham, and thus he
became the minister of that people. It hence follows that
the old covenant was in reality spiritual, though it was an-
nexed to earthly types ; for the fulfilment, of which Paul
now speaks, must necessarily relate to eternal salvation.
And further, lest any one should cavil, and say, that so
great a salvation was promised to posterity, when the cove-
nant was deposited in the hand of Abraham, he expressly
declares that the promises were made to the Fathers.
Either then the benefits of Christ must be confined to tem-
poral things, or the covenant made with Abraham must be
extended beyond the things of this world.
9. The Gentiles also^ &c. This is the second point, on
proving which he dwells longer, because it was not so evi-
dent. The first testimony he quotes is taken from Ps. xviii. ;
which psalm is recorded also in 2 Sam. xxii., where no doubt a
prophecy is mentioned concerning the kingdom of Christ ;
and from it Paul proves the calling of the Gentiles, because
it is there promised, that a confession to the glory of God
should be made among the Gentiles ; for we cannot really
1 The construction of this first sentence is differently viewed. Grotivs
and Stuart connect it with "I say" at the beginning of the former verse;
but Beza and Parens connect it with the last clause, and consider tU to as
being here understood : and this seems to he the best construction. Christ
became the minister of the circumcision, a minister under the Abrahamic
economy, for two objects, — that he might confirm the promises made to
the Fathers,— and that the Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy.
Mercy was destined to come to the Gentiles through the covenant made
with Abraham, of which circumcision was the sign and seal. The pro-
mise, " In thee shall the nations of the earth be blessed," was made to
Abraham, and not to the Gentiles. Hence it is called " mercy" to them,
there being no previous promise made distinctly to thov, vhile the same
mercy as to the Jews is called " truth," because it was the fulfilment of a
promise. A remarkable instance of this difference, noticed by IJaldane,
is found in Micah vii. 20. What is said to be " mercy" to Abraham, to
whom the promise was first made, is said to be "truth" to Jacob, to -v^hom
it was confirmed. It may also, by the ivay, be observed, that this verse in
Micah aflibrds an example of what we often find in Paul's style ; for in
mentioning two or more things, he often reverses the regular order. W hat
Micah mentions first is " truth" to Jacob, and then he goes back to God's
" mercy" to Abraham.
The quotation from Psalm xviii. 49, is verbatim from the Septuagint.
The Hebrew verb with its postfix, "]*TIS, in our version, " I m ill give thanks
to thee," may more properly be rendered, " I will confess thee."— Ed.
522 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XV. 12,
make God known, except among those who hear his praises
while they are sung by us. Hence that GocFs name may be
known among the Gentiles, they must be favoured with the
knowledge of him, and come into communion with his
people : for you may observe this everywhere in Scripture,
that God's praises cannot be declared, except in the assem-
bly of the faithful, who have ears capable of hearing his
praise.
10. Exult, ye Gentiles, with his people. This verse is com-
monly considered as if it was taken from the song of Moses ;
but with this I cannot agree ; for Moses' design there was
to terrify the adversaries of Israel by setting forth his great-
ness, rather than to invite them to a common joy. I hence
think that this is quoted from Ps. xlvii. 5, where it is writ-
ten, " Exult and rejoice let the Gentiles, because thou
judgest the nations in equity, and the Gentiles on the earth
thou guidest." And Paul adds, with his people, and he did
this by way of explanation ; for the Prophet in that psalm
no doubt connects the Gentiles with Israel, and invites both
alike to rejoice ; and there is no joy without the knowledge
of God.^
11. Praise God, all ye Gentiles, &c. This passage is not
inaptly applied ; for how can they, who know not God's
greatness, praise him ? They could no more do this than to
call on his name, when unknown. It is then a prophecy
most suitable to prove the calling of the Gentiles ; and this
appears still more evident from the reason which is there
added ; for he bids them to give thanks for God's truth and
mercy. (Ps. cxvii. 1.)
12. And again, Isaiah, &c. This prophecy is the most
illustrious of them all : for in that passage, the Proiihet,
when things were almost past hope, comforted the small
1 This passage is evidently taken from Deut. xxxii. 43, given literally as
it is found in the Septuagint, and literally too from the Hebrew, if the
reading of two copies, referred to by Kennicalt, be adopted, in which DX,
" with," is placed before IdJ?, " his people." It is no objection that " ad-
versaries" are mentioned in the context. There have ever been adver-
saries to God's people ; and God even now denomices his judgments on his
adversaries, though the Gentiles as a people, as a separate class from the
Jews, have been long ago admitted to the privilege of rejoicing with his
people. — Ed.
CHAP. XV. 12. KPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 523
remnant of the faithful^ even by this, — that there would
arise a slioot from the dry and the dying trunk of David's
family, and that a branch would flourish from his despised
root, which would restore to God's people their pristine
glory. It is clear from the account there given, that this
shoot was Christ, the Redeemer of tlie world. And then, he
added, that ho would be raised for a sign to the Gentiles,
that mifflit be to them for salvation. The words do indeed
differ a little from the Hebrew text ; for we read here, arise,
while in Hebrew it is stand for a sign, which is the same ;
for he was to appear conspicuous like a sign. What is here
hope, is in Hebrew seek ; but according to the most com-
mon usage of Scripture, to seek God is nothing else but to
hope in him.^
But twice in this prophec}^ is the calling of the Gentiles
confirmed, — by the expression, that Christ was to be raised
up as a sign, and he reigns among the faithful alone, — and
by the declaration, that they shall hope in Christ, which
cannot take place without the preaching of the word and
illumination of the Spirit. With these things corresponds
the song of Simeon. It may be further added, that hope in
Christ is an evidence of his divinity.
13. Now the God of hope fill you 13. Deus autem spei hiipleat vos
with all joy and peace in believing, omni gaudio et pace in credendo,
that ye may abound in hope, through quo abundetis in spe per potentiam
the power of the Holy Ghost. Spiritus sancti.
14. And I myself also am per- 14. Persuasus autem sum, fratres
suaded of you, my brethren, that ye mei, ipse quoque de vobis, quod et
also are full of goodness, filled with ipsi pleni sitis bonitate, referti omni
all knowledge, able also to admonish cognitione, idonei ad vos mutuo ad-
one another. monendos.
* Isaiah xi. 10. The whole of this quotation is given as it is found in
the Septuagint. The difierence, as noticed by Calvin, between the words
as given in Hebrew, is considerable. The language of the Prophet is me-
taphorical, the Septuagint interpreted it, and this interpretation the Apos-
tle approved and adopted. The Messiah is represented by the Prophet as
a general or leader of an army, raising his banner for the nations, (D''Oy,
not " people," as in our version :) and the Gentiles repair or resort to this
banner for protection; and so Loivth renders the verb IClT*, only he does
not preserve the metaphor, by rendering "I vi^, " unto him," instead of
" to it," as in our version. It hence appears evident, that the passage is
substantially the same ; and indeed the verb a-zx-'h retains in some mea-
sure the idea of the original, for it strictly means to be a leader, to ride as
a chief. — Ed.
52 i COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XV. 13.
15. Nevertheless, brethren, I have 15. Audacius autem seripsi vobis,
written the more boldly unto you in fratres, ex parte, vehiti commone-
some sort, as putting you in mind, faciens vos, propter gratiam milii
because of the grace that is given to datam a Deo ;
me of God,
1(3. That I should be the minister 16. Ut sim minister Christi erga
of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, Gentes,consecransevangelium Chris-
ministering the gospel of God, that ti, ut sit oblatio Gentium accepta-
the offering up of the Gentiles might bilis, sanctificata per Spiritum sanc-
be acceptable, being sanctified by the turn.
Holy Ghost.
13. A7id may the God, &c. He now concludes the pas-
sage, as before, with prayer ; in which he desires the Lord
to give them whatever he had commanded. It hence ap-
pears, that the Lord does in no degree measure his precepts
according to our sti'ength or the power of free-will ; and that
he does not command what we ought to do, that we, relying
on our own power, may gird up ourselves to render obedi-
ence ; but that he commands those things which require the
aid of his grace, that he may stimulate us in our attention
to prayer.
In saying the God of hope, he had in view the last verse ; ,
as though he said, — " May then the God in whom we all
hope fill you with joy, that is, with cheerfulness of heart,
and also with unity and concord, and this by believing:"^
for in order that our peace may be approved by God, we
must be bound together by real and genuine faith. If any
one prefers taking in helieving, for, in order to believe,^ the
sense will be, — that they were to cultivate peace for the pur-
pose of believing ; for then only are we rightly prepared to
believe, when we, being peaceable and unanimous, do will-
ingly embrace what is taught us. It is however preferable,
that faith should be connected with peace and joy ; for it is
the bond of holy and legitimate concord, and the support of
godly joy. And though the peace which one has within with
1 The God of hope may mean one of two things, — the giver or author of
hope, as in 1 Pet. i. 3, — or the object of hope, he in whom hope is placed,
as in 1 Tim. vi. 17.
Why does he mention joy before peace ? It is in accordance with his
usual manner, — the most visible, the stream first, then the most hidden,
the spring. — Ed.
* That is, £'f TO, instead of " rS.^Ed.
CHAP. XV. 14. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 52-5
God may also be understood, yet the context leads us rather
to the former explanation.^
He further adds, that ye may abound in hope; for in this
way also is hope confirmed and increased in us. The words,
through the jjowej' of the Holy Spirit, intimate that all
things are the gifts of the divine bounty : and the word
power is intended emphatically to set forth that wonderful
energy, by which the Spirit works in us faith, hope, joy, and
peace.
14. But even I myself am persuaded, &c. This was said
to anticipate an objection, or it may be deemed a kind of
concession, made with the vieAV of pacifying the Romans, in
case they thought themselves reproved by so many and so
urgent admonitions, and thus unjustly treated. He then
makes an excuse for having ventured to assume towards
them the character of a teacher and of an exhorter ; and he
says, that he had done so, not because he had any doubt as
to their wisdom, or kindness, or perseverance ; but because
he was constrained by his office. Thus he removed every
suspicion of presumption, which especially shows itself when
any one thrusts himself into an office which does not belong-
to him, or speaks of those things which are unsuitable to
him. We see in this instance the singular modesty of this
holy man, to whom nothing was more acceptable than to be
thought of no account, provided the doctrine he preached
retained its authority.
There was much pride in the Romans ; the name even of
their city made the lowest of the people proud ; so that they
1 This is the view approved by Theophylact, Beza, Orotius, Mede, and
Hammond : but Doddridge, Scott, Stuart, and Chalmers consider "peace"
here to be that with God, and "joy" as its accompaniment; while Parens
and Hodge view both as included, especially the latter. If we consider the
subject in hand, that the Apostle was attempting to produce union and
concord between the Jews and the Gentiles, we shall see reason to accede
to Calvin's explanation. This joy and peace seem to be the same as in ch.
xiv. 17. Concord, union, and mutual enjoyment, are graces which come
by belie\'ing, or by faith, as well as concord or peace with God, and its
accompanying joy : and these graces have no doubt an influence on hope,
so as to make it brighter and stronger, when they are produced by the
Holy Spirit. There are three things which distinguish these graces from
such as are fictitious, — they proceed from faith, — they increase hope, —
they are produced by the Spirit. — Ed.
526 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XV. 15.
could hardly bear a teacher of another nation, much less a
barbarian and a Jew. With this haughtiness Paul would not
contend in his own private name : he however subdued it, as
it were, by soothing means ; for he testified that he under-
took to address them on account of his Apostolic office.
Ye are full of goodness, being filled with knowledge, &c.
Two qualifications are especially necessary for him who gives
admonitions : the first is kindness, which disi^oses his mind
to aid his brethren by his advice, and also tempers his coun-
tenance and his words with courtesy, — and the second is
skill in advice or prudence, which secures authority to him,
inasmuch as he is able to benefit the hearers whom he ad-
dresses. There is indeed nothing more opposed to brotherly
admonitions than malignity and arrogance, which make us
disdainfully to despise the erring, and to treat them with
ridicule, rather than to set them right. Asperity also,
whether it appears in words or in the countenance, deprives
our admonitions of their fruit. But however you may excel
in the feeling of kindness, as well as in courtesy, you are not
yet fit to advise, except you possess wisdom and experience.
Hence he ascribes both these qualifications to the Romans,
bearing them a testimony, — that they were themselves suffi-
ciently competent, without the helj) of another, to administer
mutual exhortations : for he admits, that they abounded both
in kindness and wisdom. It hence follows, that they were
able to exhort.
15. The more boldly, however, have I ivritten to you, &c.
The excuse follows, and in adducing this, that he might
more fully show his modesty, he says, by way of concession,
that he acted boldly in interposing in a matter which they
tliemselves were able to do ; but he adds that he was led to
be thus bold on account of his office, because he was the
minister of the gospel to the Gentiles, and could not there-
fore pass by them who were also Gentiles. He however thus
humbles himself, that he might exalt the excellency of his
office ; for by mentioning the favour of God, by which lie was
elevated to that high lionour, he shows that he could not
sufter what he did according to his apostolic office to be
despised. Besides, he denies that he had assumed the part
CHAP. XV. 16. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 527
of a teacher, but that of an admonisher, whose oiRcc it is to
briiif^ to remembrance what is not otherwise unknown.^
16". Consecrating the gospel, &c. This rendering I prefer
to tliat wliich Erasmus in the first place adopts, that is,
"Administering;" for notliing is more certain than that
Paul iiere alludes to the holy mysteries which were performed
by the priest. Pie then makes himself a chief priest or a
jiriest in the ministration of the gospel, to oifer up as a sac-
rifice the peoj^le whom he gained for God, and in this man-
ner he laboured in the holy mysteries of the gospel. And
doubtless this is the priesthood of the Christian pastor, that
is, to sacrifice men, as it were, to God, by bringing them to
obey the gospel, and not, as the Papists have hitherto
haughtily vaunted, by oftering up Christ to reconcile men
to God. He does not, however, give here the name of priests
to the pastors of the Church simply as a perpetual title, but
intending to commend the honour and power of the ministrj'-,
Paul availed himself of the opportunity of using this meta-
phor. Let then the preachers of the gospel have this end
in view while discharging their office, even to ofier up to
God souls purified by faith.
What Erasmus afterwards puts down as being more
correct, " sacrificing the gospel," is not only improper but
obscures also the meaning ; for the gospel is, on the con-
trary, like a sword, by which the minister sacrifices men as
victims to God."^
1 It does not clearly appear what meaning Calvin attached to the words
a'TTo (/.'i^oui, which he renders ex parte. Some, like Origen, connect the
expression with the verb, " I have written to jon in part," that is, not
fully, which seems to have no meaning consistently with the evident tenor
of the passage. Oihcrs, n?, Clirysostom, Eraxmus, and Parens, connect
the words with the adjective, " 1 have in part (or somewhat) more boldly
(or more freely, or more confidently) written to you." Macknight con-
nects them with the following clause, " partly as calling things to your
remembrance." Doddridge and Stuart render them " in this part of the
Epistle." The most suitable view is to consider them as qualifying the
adjective. — Ed.
^ " Consecrans evangelium," so Augustine ; U^ov^youvTu to ilayyixiov,
" operans evangelic — being employed in the gospel," Beza and Parens;
"docens sacrum evangelium — teaching the holy gospel," Yatahlus. The
verb means to " perform sacred rites," or to officiate in holy things. It
has no connection, as some think, with a sacrificing priest ; indeed h^iu;
itself, that is a priest, is a holy person, who did sacrifice no doubt among
528 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XV. l^.
He adds that such sacrifices are acceptable to God; which
is not only a commendation of the ministry, but also a sin-
gular consolation to those who surrender themselves to be
thus consecrated. Now as the ancient victims were dedi-
cated to Grod, having been externally sanctified and washed,
so these victims are consecrated to the Lord by the Spirit of
holiness, through whose power, inwardly working in them,
they are separated from this world. For though the purity
of the soul proceeds from faith in the word, yet as the voice
of man is in itself inefficacious and lifeless, the work of
cleansing really and properly belongs to the Spirit.
17. I have therefore whereof I 17. Habeo igitur quod glorier per
may glory through Jesus Christ in lesum Christum in iis qu£e ad Deum
those things which pertain to God. pertinent.
18. For I will not dare to speak 18. Non enim ausim loqui quic-
of any of those things which Christ quam de iis quae non effecit Christus
hath not wrought by me, to make per me, in obedientiam Gentium,
the Gentiles obedient, by word and sermone et opera ;
deed,
19. Through mighty signs and 19. In potentia signorum et pro-
wonders, by the power of the Spirit digioruni, in potentia Spiritus Dei,
of God ; so that from Jerusalem, ut ab Jerusalem et in circuitu usque
and round about unto Illyricum, I in Illyricum impleverim evangelium
have fuUy preached the gospel of Christi:
Christ.
20. Yea, so have I strived to 20. Ita annitens prsedicare evan-
preach the gospel, not where Christ gelium, non ubi nominatus erat
was named, lest I should build upon Christus, ne super alieniun funda-
another man's foundation : mentum sediiicarem ;
21. But, as it is written, To whom 21. Sed quemadmodum scriptum
he was not spoken of, tliey shall see : est, li quibus non annuntiatum est
and they that have not heard shall de eo, videbunt, et qui non audi-
imderstand. erimt, intelUgent.
17. I have then, &c. After having in general commended
his own calling, that the Romans might know that he was
a true and undoubted apostle of Christ, he now adds testi-
other things, but the Avord does not import a sacrificer any more than
jriD in Hebrew. The word here does not mean to consecrate, or to
sanctify, or to sacrifice, but to discharge a holy function. Perhaps the
most literal rendering would be " performing a holy office as to the gospel,"
but dispensing, administering, or preaching the gospel would be the best
version. The Apostle had previously called himself >~urou^yoy, a public
functionary, a public minister of Jesus Christ ; he now designates his work
as such, being a sacred administrator of the gospel, and then he states the
object, that the oflering of the Gentiles, that is, that the Gentiles being
ofiered, might be an acceptable sacritice to God, sanctified by the Spirit.
See chap. xii. 1. — Ed.
CHAP. XV. 18. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 529
monies, by which ho proved tliat ho had not only taken
upon him tlie apostolic office conferred on him by God's
appointment, but tliat he had also eminently adorned it.
He at the same time records the fidelity which he had ex-
hibited in discharging- his office. It is indeed to little pur-
pose that we are appointed, except we act agreeably to our
calling and fulfil our office. He did not make this declara-
tion from a desire to attain glory, but because nothing was
to be omitted wliich might procure favour and authority to
his doctrine among the Romans. In God then, not in him-
self, did he glory ; for he had nothing else in view but that
the whole praise should redound to God.
And that he speaks only negatively, it is indeed an evi-
dence of his modesty, but it availed also to gain credit to
what he was proceeding to announce, as though he said,
" The truth itself affords me such cause for glorying, that I
have no need to seek false praises, or those of another, I am
content with such as are true." It may be also that he in-
tended to obviate the unfavourable reports which he knew
were everywhere scattered by the malevolent, he therefore
mentioned beforehand that he would not speak but of things
well known.
18. In order to make the Gentiles obedient, &c. These
words prove wliat his object was, even to render his ministry
approved b}^ the Romans, that his doctrine might not be
without fruit. He proves then by evidences that God by
the presence of his power had given a testimony to his
preaching, and in a manner sealed his apostleshiji, so that
no one ought to have doubted, but that he was ajipointed
and sent by the Lord. The evidences were word, luorh, and
miracles. It hence appears that the term work includes
more than miracles. He at last concludes with this expres-
sion, through the power of the Spirit ; by which he intimates
tliat these things could not have been done without the
Spirit being the autlior. In short, he declares that with re-
gard to his teaching as well as his doing, he had such strength
and energy in preaching Christ, that it was evidently the
wonderful power of God, and that miracles were also added,
which were seals to render the evidence more certain.
2 L
530 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XV. 18.
He mentions word and woi^k in the first place, and then
he states one kind of work, even the power of performing
miracles. The same order is observed by Luke, when he
says that Christ was mighty in word and work, (Luke xxiv.
19 ;) and John says that Christ referred the Jews to his own
works for a testimony of his divinity. (John v. 86.) Nor does
he simply mention miracles, hut gives them two designa-
tions. But instead of wliat he says here, the poiuer of signs
and of wonders, Peter has " miracles and signs and won-
ders." (Acts ii. 22.) And doubtless they were testimonies of
divine power to awaken men, that being struck with God's
power, they might admire and at the same time adore him ;
nor are they without an especial meaning, but intended to
stimulate us, that we may understand what God is.
This is a stiiking passage respecting the benefit of mira-
cles : they are designed to prepare men to reverence and to
obey God. So you read in Mark, that the Lord confirmed
the truth by the signs which followed. (Mark xvi. 20.) Luke
declares in the Acts, that the Lord by miracles gave testi-
mony to the word of his grace. (Acts xiv. 8.) It is then evi-
dent that those miracles which bring glory to creatures and
not to God, which secure credit to lies and not to God's
word, are from the devil. The power of the Spirit, which he
mentions in the third place, I apply to both the preceding
clauses.^
' Some, as Beza and Grotius, understand by the last clause, " through
the power of the Spirit of God," the internal power of speaking with
tongues, &c., and by " signs and wonders," the external work of healing
the sick, &c. But this passage is evidently an instance of the Apostle's
usual mode of stating things. "Word" means preaching: and "work,"
the doing of miracles. He first specifies the last, the work was that of
" signs and wonders ;" and then he mentions what belongs to the first,
and shows how it became effectual, that is, through the power of the
Spirit. See a similar arrangement in 1 Cor. vi. 11; where he mentions
washed, sanctified and justified ; and then he mentions first what belongs
to the last, " in the name of the Lord Jesns," and afterwards what ap-
pertains to the first words, " and by the Spirit of our God." " Signs
and wonders " are often mentioned together : they designate the same
things by different names : miracles were called " signs," because they
Avere evidences of divine power, and they were called " wonders," or pro-
digies, because they were not according to the course of nature, but were
extraordinary things. By these words their design and character are set
forth.— Erl
CHAP. XV. 20. KPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 531
19. So that from Jerusalem, &c. He joins also a testi-
mony from tlie effect ; for the success which followed his
preaching exceeded all the thoughts of men. For who could
have gathered so many churches for Christ, without being
aided by the power of God ? " From Jerusalem," he says,
" I have propagated the gospel as far as Illyricum, and not
by hastening to the end of my course by a straight way, but
by going all around, and through the intervening countries."
But the verb ireirXripwKevai, which after others I have ren-
dered filled up or completed, means both to perfect and to
supply what is wanting. Hence ifX-^pw/xa in Greek means
perfection as well as a supplement. I am disposed to ex-
plain it tlius, — that he diffused, as it were by filling up, the
preaching of the gospel ; for others had before begun, but
he spread it wider.^
20. Thus striving to j^'^'^^ch the gospel, &c. As it was
necessary for Paul not only to prove himself to be the ser-
vant of Christ and a pastor of the Christian Church, but also
to show his title to the character and office of an Apostle,
that he might gain the attention of the Romans, he men-
tions here the proper and peculiar distinction of the apostle-
ship ; for the work of an Apostle is to propagate the gospel
where it had not been preached, according to that command,
"Go ye, preach the gospel to every creature." (Mark xvi. 15.)
And this is what we ought carefully to notice, lest we make
a general rule of what specially belongs to the Apostolic
order : nor ought we to consider it a fault, that a successor
was substituted who built up the Church. The Apostles
' The clause is rendered by ^eza and Grothis, " Impleverim prsedicandi
evang^elii Christi niunus — I have fulfilled the office of preaching the gospel
of Christ." The gospel is put for preachhig the gospel. See Acts xii. 25 ;
Col. i. 25. Vatoblus renders the verb " plene annunciaverim — I have
fully announced:" and Mede, " propagaverim — I have propagated."
Some, as Woljius and Vitringa, think the verb is used in a sense borrow-
ed from Hebrew: the verb "lOJ, which in its common meaning is to f II or
to finish, is used in the sense of teaching, not indeed in the Hebrew bible,
but in the Talmud. That the idea of teaching, or propagating, or preach-
ing, belongs to it here, and in Col. i. 25, is evident. The notion of filling
up, which Calvin gives to it, is hardly consistent with what the Apostle
says in verse 20. The full, preaching is referred by Erasmus, not to its
extent, but to its fidelity, " omitting nothing which a faithful evangelist
ought to have proclaimed." — Ed.
532 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XV.2].
then were the founders as it were of the Church ; the pas-
tors who succeeded them, had to strengthen and amplify
the buikling- raised up by them.^ He calls that another's
foundation, which had been laid by the hand of another :
otherwise Christ is the only stone on which the Church is
founded. See 1 Cor. iii. 1 1 ; and Eph. ii. 20.
21. Bat as it is written, &c. He confirms by the testi-
mony of Isaiah what he had said of the evidence of his
apostleship ; for in chap. Iii. 15, speaking of the kingdom of
Messiah, among other things he predicts, that the knowledge
of Christ would be sj^rcad among the Gentiles throughout
the whole world, tliat his name would be declared to those
by whom it had not been heard of before. It was meet that
this should be done by the Apostles, to whom the command
was specifically given. Hence the apostleshii? of Paul was
made evident from this circumstance, — that this prophecy
was fulfilled in him."
It is absurd for any one to attempt to apj)ly what is here
said to the pastoral ofiice ; for we know that in Churches
rightly foi'med, where the truth of the gospel has been al-
read}^ received, Christ's name must be constantly preached.
Paul then was a preacher of Christ, yet unknown to foreign
nations, for this end, — that after his departui-e the same
doctrine should be daily proclaimed in every place by the
mouth of the pastors ; for it is certain that the Proi^het
speaks of the commencement of the kingdom of Christ.
' The participle, "striving," rendered annitens by Calvin and by Erasmus,
is <pi\oTi[j,ovf/.i\io;, which means to strive honourably : it is to seek a thing as
an object of honour or ambition. It may be rendered here, " honourably
striving ;" Doddridge has, " It hath been the object of my ambition ;"
Stuart, " I was strongly desirous ;" and Wolfius, " honori mihi ducentem
— esteeming it an honour to me." It is used to express both an honour-
able and an earnest or diligent pursuit. It is found in two other places,
2 Cor. V. 9 : 1 Thess. iv. 11. Perhaps the best rendering would be, " Es-
teeming it an honour," or, " Being ambitious." — Ed.
2 Isaiah Iii. 15. The quotation is literally from the Septuagint, and is
nearly according to the Hebrew, only the tense is altered, it being the past
in that language, as prophecies are often found to be, in order to show
their certainty. The Hebrew is as follows, —
For what had not been told them, have they seen,
And what they had not heard, have they understood.
To render the last verb " consider," as in our version, is not proper ;
it means to distinguish between things, to discern, to understand. It
bears strictly the same meaning with the Greek verb here used. — Ed.
CHAP. XV. 22. EPISTLK TO THE ROMANS. 533
22. For which cause also I have 22. Itaqueimp -!^ilns etiam sfepius
been much hindered from coming to fui quominus venircm ad vos :
you.
23. But now having no more place 23. Nunc vcro nullum amplius
in these parts, and having a great locum habens in his regionibus, de-
desire these many years to come un- siderium autcm habens a multis an-
to you ; nis veniendi ad vos ;
24. Whensoever I take my journey 24. Si quando in Hispaniam pro-
into Spain, I will come to you : for ficiscar, veniam ad vos :' spero enim
1 trust to see you in my journey, and fore ut istac iter faciens videam vos,
to be brought on my Avay thither- et illuc a vobis deducar, si tamen
ward by you, if tirst I be somewhat prius ex parte vestra consuetudine
tilled with your company. fuero expletus.
22. And on this account, &c. What lie had said of his
apostleship ho applies now to another point, even for the
purpose of excusing himself for not having come to them,
though he was destined for them as well as for others. He,
in passings then intimates, that in propagating the gospel
from Judea as far as to Illyricum, he performed, as it were,
a certain course enjoined him hj the Lord ; which being
accomplished, he purposed not to neglect them. And lest
they should yet think that they had been neglected, he re-
moves this suspicion by testifying, that there had been for a
long time no want of desire. Hence, that he had not done
this sooner was owing to a just impediment : he now gives
them a hope, as soon as his calling allowed him.
From this passage is drawn a weak argument respecting
his going to Spain. It does not indeed immediately follow
that he performed this journe^^ because he intended it : for
he speaks only of hope, in which he, as other ftiithful men,
might have been sometimes frustrated.^
1 This clause, and 7«f in the next, Griesbach dismisses as being spuri-
ous : then the verse would be, —
24. " Whenever I go into Spain, I hope, in passing through, to see you,
and to be by you sent there, when I shall first be in a measure re-
freshed by you ;" or, literally, " filled with you ;" or it may be ren-
dered, '• satisfied with you."
The Vulgate renders the words, " Si vobis primum ex parte fruitus fuero
— when I shall first in part enjoy you, i.e., your society. Stuart's version
is, " When I am in part first satisfied with your company." The expres-
sion, " in part," seems to imply that his stay would not be long. — Ed.
2 On this subject Wvffus says, " Paul's journey to Spain was imknown
to Origen and Eusehius ; nor does it comport ^ith the records connected
with him. The Apostle, when freed from the chains of Nero, did not go
to Spain, but to Asia ; and there is no vestige of a Church founded by
Paul in Spain. Basnage has carefully examined this subject as well as
W. Wall in his critical Notes in English on the New Testament." As
534 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XV. 24.
24. For I hope, &c. He refers to the reason why lie had
for a long time wished to come to them, and now intended
to do so, — even that he might see them, enjoy an interview
and an intercourse with them, and make himself known to
them in his official character ; for by the coming of the
Apostles the gospel also came.
By saying, to he brought on iniy way thither hy you, he in-
timates how much he expected from their kindness ; and
this, as we have already observed, is the best way for con-
ciliating favour ; for the more confidence any one hears is
reposed in him, the stronger are the obligations under which
he feels himself ; inasmuch as we deem it base and dis-
courteous to disappoint the good opinion formed of us. And
by adding. When I shall first he in part filled, &c., he bears
witness to the benevolence of his mind towards them ; and
to convince them of this was very necessary for the interest
of the gospel.
25. But now I go unto Jerusalem 25. Nunc vero proficiscor leroso-
to minister unto the saints. lymam ad ministrandum Sanctis.
26. For it hath pleased them of 26. Placuit enini Macedonias et
Macedonia and Achaia to make a Achaife communicationem facere in
certain contribution for the poor pauperes sanctos qm sunt leroso-
saints which are at Jerusalem. Ijmis :
27. It hath pleased them verily; 27. Placuit, inqviam, et debitores
iind their debtors they are. For if sunt ipsorimi ; si enim sjiiritualibus
the Gentiles have been made par- ipsorum communicarunt Gentes, de-
takers of their spiritual things, their bent et in carnalibus > ministrare
duty is also to mhiister unto them ipsis.
in carnal things.
is common in many things connected Avith antiquity, fathers later than
Origen and Eusebius came to know of this journey, but how, it is not easy
to know : and in process of time various particulars Mere discovered, or
rather invented, in connection with this journey. It is something similar
to the story of Peter being the founder of the Church of Rome. — Ed.
' "In carnalibus;" £» rais a-apicixois. The word "carnal" incur language
does not convey the meaning. The Apostle uses it here in opposition to
what is " spiritual," and therefore " temporal " expresses its meaning. See
1 Cor. ix. 11. It sometimes means "human," as in 2 Cor. i. 12, where
man's wisdom is set in contrast with God's wisdom. In 2 Cor. x. 4, it
means " weak," or feeble, or powerless, being opposed to the "mighty"
weapons of God. It has its own proper meaning in Rom. vii. 14. and in
1 Pet. ii. 11, "carnal," that is, wicked, sinful, corrupt, depraved. In
1 Cor. iii. 1, it signities weak, ignorant, imperfect in knowledge, as opposed
to spiritual and enlightened persons. And in Heb. vii. 16, it expresses
what is fleeting and transitory. In no language is there one word which
can convey all the meanings of a similar word in another : hence the ne-
cessity of changing a word sometimes in a translation.— Ed.
CHAP. XV. 20. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 535
28. Wlieu therefore I have per- 28. Hoc igitur quum perfocero, et
fornictl this, and have sealed to them ohsigniavcro ilHs f'nictum hunc, pro-
this fruit, I will come by you into ficiscar per vos in Hispaniam.
Spain.
29. And I am sure that, when I 29. Scio aulvtu quod quum venero
come unto you, I shall come in the ad vos, in plenitudine benedictionis
fulness of the blessing of the gospel evangelii Christi venturus sum.
or Christ.
25. But I am going now, &c. Lest they should expect his
immediate coming-, and think tliemselves deceived, if he had
not come according to their expectation, he declares to them
what business he had then in hand, which prevented hira
from going soon to them, and that was, — that he was going
to Jerusalem to bear the alms which had been gathered in
Macedonia and Achaia. Availing himself at the same time
of this opportunity, he proceeds to commend that contribu-
tion ; by which, as by a kind of intimation, he stirs them
up to follow this example : for though he does not openly
ask them, yet, by saying that Macedonia and Achaia had
done what they ought to have done, he intimates, that it
was also the duty of the Romans, as they were under the
same obligation ; and that he had this view, he openly con-
fesses to the Corinthians, — " I boast," he says, " of your
promptitude to all the Churches, that they may be stirred
up by your example." (2 Cor. ix. 2.)
It was indeed a rare instance of kindness, that the Gre-
cians, having heard that their brethren at Jerusalem were
labouring under want, considered not the distance at which
they were separated from them ; but esteeming those suffi-
ciently nigh, to whom they were united by the bond of faith,
they relieved their necessities from their own abundance.
The word communication, which is here employed, ought to
be noticed ; for it well expresses the feeling, by which it be-
hoves us to succour the wants of our brethren, even because
there is to be a common and mutual regard on account of
the unity of the body. I have not rendered the pronoun
TLva, because it is often redundant in Greek, and seems to
lessen the emphasis of this passage.^ What we have ren-
^ The words are, xoivavlav ma Tointraocai, " to make a certain contribu-
tion," or, " some contribution," or, as Doddridge has it, " a certain collec-
tion." There seems to be no necessity for leaving out the word rt-a. — Ed.
536 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XV. 28.
dered to minister, is in Greek n, participle, ministering ; but
the former seems more fitted to convey the meaning of Paul :
for he excuses himself, that by a lawful occupation he was
prevented from going immediately to Rome.
27. And their debtors they are, &c. Every one perceives,
that what is said here of obligation, is said not so much for
the sake of the Corinthians as for the Romans themselves ;
for the Corinthians or the Macedonians were not more in-
debted to the Jews than the Romans. And he adds the
ground of this obligation, — that they had received the gos-
pel from them : and he takes his argument from the com-
parison of the less with the greater. He employs also the
same in another place, that is, that it ought not to have
appeared to them an unjust or a grievous compensation to
exchange carnal things, which are immensely of less value,
for things spiritual. (2 Cor. ix. 11.) And it shows the value
of the gospel, when he declares, that they were indebted
not only to its ministers, but also to the whole nation, from
whom they had come forth.
And mark the verb Xecrovpyrjaai, to minister ; wliich
means to discharge one's office in the commonwealth, and
to undergo the burden of one's calling: it is also sometimes
applied to sacred things. Nor do I doubt but that Pfiul
meant that it is a kind of sacrifice, when the faithful gave
of their own to relieve tlie wants of their brethren ; for they
thus perform that duty of love which they owe, and offer to
God a sacrifice of an acceptable odour. But in this place
what he had peculiarly in view was the mutual right of
compensation.
28. And sealed to them this fruit, &c. I disapprove not
of what some think, that there is here an allusion to a
practice among the ancients, who closed up with their seals
what they intended' to lay up in safety. Thus Paul com-
mends his own faithfulness and integrity ; as though he had
said, that he was an honest keeper of the money deposited
in his hands, no otherwise than if he carried it sealed up.^ —
* More satisfactory is the explanation of Stuart : he says, that the
word " sealed" means that the instrument to which a seal is applied is
authenticated, made valid, i.e., " sure to answer the purpose intended.
So here the Apostle would not stop short in the performance of his duty,
OHAP. XV. 29. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 537
The word fruit seems to designate the produce, which he
had before said returned to the Jews from the propagation
of the gospel, in a way similar to the land, which by bring-
ing forth fruit supports its cultivator.
29. And I know, that ivlien I come, &c. These words
may be explained in two ways : the lirst meaning is, — that
he should find a plentiful fruit from the gospel at Rome;
for the blessing of the gospel is, when it fructifies by good
works : but to confine this to alms, as some do, is not what
I approve. The second is, that in order to render his com-
ing to them more an object of desire, he says, that he hopes
that it would not be unfruitful, but that it would make a
great accession to the gospel ; and this he calls fulness of
blessing, which signifies a full blessing ; by which expression
he means great success and increase. But this blessing de-
pended partly on liis ministry and partly on their faith.
Hence he promises, that his coming to them woidd not be
in vain, as he would not disappoint them of the grace given
to him, but would bestow it with the same alacrity with
which their minds were prepared to receive the gospel.
The former exposition has been most commonly received,
and seems also to me the best ; that is, that he hoped that
at his coming he would find what he especially wished, even
that the gospel flourished among them and prevailed with
evident success, — that they were excelling in holiness and
in all other virtues. For the reason lie gives for his desire
is, that he hoped for no common joy in seeing them, as he
expected to see them abounding in all the spiritual riches
of the gospel.^
as the almoner of the Churches, until he had seen the actual distribution
of their charity.'"' It seems then that "sealed" here means " sectu-ed,"'
or safely conveyed. " Delivered to them safely,"' is the paraphrase of
Hammond. — Ed.
^' This explanation is that of Chrysostom ; but how to make the words
to give such a meaning is a matter of some difficulty. The obvious
import of the passage corresponds with ch. i. 11. All the authors quoted
by Poole, except Est his, take the other view, such as Grotius, Bcsa,
Mede, &c. The last gives the following as the sentiments of Orujen
and Anselm — " My preaching and conversation shall impart to you an
abundant knowledge of the gospel mysteries, love, comfort, grace, and
spiritual fruit." The word " blessing,' ihxoyia, is said by Gi-oiius to mean
everything that is freely bestowed on us. See Gal. iii. 14 ; Eph. i. 3.
538 COMMENTAKIES ON THE CHAP. XV. 30.
30. Now I beseech you, brethren, 30. Obsecro autem vos fratres, per
for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and Doniinum nostrum lesura Christum
for the love of the Spirit, that ye et per dilectionem Spiritus, ut con-
strive together with me in your certetis mihi in precibus vestris pro
prayers to God for me ; me ad Deum ;
31. That I may be deUvered from 31. Ut liberer ab incredulis in
them that do not beUeve in Judea ; ludea, et ut ministerium nieum quod
and that my service which I ham suscipio erga Jerusalem acceptum sit
for Jerusalem may be accepted of Sanctis ;
the saints ;
32. That I may come unto you 32. Ut cum gaudio veniam ad
with joy by the will of God, and vos per voluntatem Dei, unaque
may with you be refreshed. vobiscum refociller. Deus autem
33. Now the God of peace he pacis sit cum omnibus vobis. Amen.^
with you all. Amen.
30. Now I beseech you, &c. It is well known from many
passages how much ill-will prevailed against Paul in his
own nation on account of false reports, as though he taught
a departure from Moses. He knew how much calumnies
might avail to oppress the innocent, especially among those
who are carried away by inconsiderate zeal. Added also to
this, was the testimony of the Spirit, recorded in Acts xx.
23 ; by which he was forewarned, that bonds and afflictions
awaited him at Jerusalem. The more danger then he per-
ceived, the more he was moved: hence it was, that he was
so solicitous to commend his safety to the Churches ; nor
let us wonder, that he was anxious about his life, in which
he knew so much danger to tlie Church was involved.
He then shows how grieved his godly mind was, by the
earnest protestation he makes, in which he adds to the
name of the Lord, the love of the Sjnrit, by wliich the saints
ought to embrace one another. But though in so great a
fear, he yet continued to proceed ; nor did he so dread
danger, but that he was prepared willingl^^ to meet it. At
the same time he had recourse to tlie remedies given liim
by God ; for he solicited the aid of the Church, so that
The words -roZ tlayyixlou tov, are not considered genuine by Griesback
and by most critics. This makes no difference in the meaning : the
clause then would be, — " With the fulness of the blessirgs of Christ," or,
with the abounding blessing of Clirisl ; or, as L'eza renders it, " with
the full blessing of Christ." — Ed.
' The word " Amen," is regarded as spurious: Gricsbach and others
have left it out. — Ed.
CHAP. XV. oO. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 539
being- helped by its prayers, he might find coiafort, accord-
ing to the Lord's promise, — " Where two or three shall
assemble in my name, there in the midst of them am I,"
(Matt, xviii. 20 ;) and, " Whatsoever they agree in on earth,
they shall obtain in heaven," (Matt, xviii. 19.) And lest no
one should think it an unmeaning- commendation, he be-
sought them both by Christ and by the love of the Spirit.
The love of the Spirit is that by which Christ joins us toge-
ther ; for it is not that of the flesh, nor of the world, but is
from his Spirit, who is the bond of our unity.
Since then it is so great a fixvour from God to be helped
by the prayers of the faithful, that even Paul, a most choice
instrument of God, did not think it right to neglect this
privilege, how great must be our stupidity, if we, who are
abject and worthless creatures, disregard it ? But to take a
handle from such passages for the purpose of maintaining'
the intercessions of dead saints, is an instance of extreme
effrontery.^
That ye strive together with tne'^ &c. Erasmus has not
given an unsuitable rendering, " That ye help me labour-
ing :" but as the Greek word, used by Paul, has more force,
I have preferred to give a literal rendering : for by the
word strive, or contend, he alludes to the difficulties by
which he was oppressed, and by bidding them to assist in
this contest, he shows how the godly ought to pray for their
brethren, that they are to assume their person, as though
1 Scott quotes the followiiif^ from Whitbi/, — " If Paul, saith Est'iug,
might desire the prayers of the Romans, why might not the Romans
desire the prayers of Paul ? I answer, they might desire his prayers, as he
did theirs, by a letter directed to him to pray for them. He adds, If
they might desire his prayers for them when living, why not when dead
and reigning with Christ ? I answer, Because they could direct no epistle
to him, or in any other way acquaint him with their mind." — Ed.
^ " Ut concertetis mihi," (rwayuviira.crga.i fioi ; >' ut mecum certetis — that
ye strive with me,'' — Beza ; " ut mecum laboretis — that ye labour with
me," — Tremelius, irom. the Syriac. Literally it is, '• that ye ngonize with
me." It is an allusion, says Grot'ius, to Jacob's wrestling with the angel.
Gen. xxxii. 24. A strenuous and earnest supplication is intended.
Parens says, that it is a metaphor taken from warfare, when a soldier
comes to the help of another : but rather from the games, when there is a
striving for the prize. He would have the Romans to make a similar
strenuous effort for him in prayer to God. . The word uyuy, is an agonistic
and not a military term. — Ed.
540 COMMENTARIP^S ON THE CHAP. XV. 33.
they were placed in the same difficulties ; and he also inti-
mates the effect which they have ; for he who commends his
brother to the Lord, by taking- to himself a jjart of his dis-
tress, do so far relieve him. And indeed if our strength is
derived from prayer to God, we can in no better way con-
firm our brethren, than by praying to God for them.
31. That my ministration, &c. Slanderers had so pre-
vailed by their accusations, that he even feared that the
present would hardly be acceptable, as coming from his hands,
which otherwise, under such a distress, would have been
very seasonable. And hence appears his wonderful meek-
ness, for he ceased not to labour for those to whom he
doubted whether he would be acceptable. This disposition
of mind we ought to imitate, so that we may not cease to
do good to those of whose gratitude we are by no means
certain. We must also notice that he honours with the name
of saints even those by whom he feared he would be sus-
pected, and deemed unwelcome. He also knew that saints
may sometimes be led away by false slanders into unfavour-
able opinions, and though he knew that they wronged him,
he yet ceased not to speak honourably of them.
By adding that I may come to you, he intimates that this
prayer -would be profitable also to them, and that it con-
cerned them that he should not be killed in Judea. To the
same purpose is the expression vnth joy ; for it would be
advantageous to the Romans for him to come to them in a
cheerful state of mind and free from all grief, that he might
in a more lively and strenuous manner labour among tliem.
And by the word refreshed^ or satisfied, he again sliow^s how
fully persuaded he w^as of their brotherly love. The words
hy the luill of God remind us how necessary it is to be dili-
gent in prayer, for God alone directs all our ways by his
providence.
And the God of peace ^ &c. From the universal word all,
^ It was a mutual refreshment, according to chap. i. 12. The verb
here used, says Grothis, means to r/ive and to receive comfort. The verb
without its compound o-i/^, is found in 1 Cor. xvi. LS; 2 Cor. vii. 13;
Phil, verse 7, &c. — Ed.
2 Lover, author, or bestower of peace. This intimates that there were
strifes and contentions among them. Paul often speaks of God as the
CHAP. XVI.
EPISTLK TO THE ROMANS.
541
I conclude that lie did not simply pray that God Avould be
present witli and favour the Romans in a general sense, but
that he would rule and guide every one of them. But the
Avord peace refers, I think, to their circumstances at the time,
that God, the author of peace, would keep them all united
toi>'ether.
CHAPTER XVI.
1. I commend unto you Phebe
om- sister, which is a servant of the
church which is at Cenchrea ;
2. That ye receive her in the
Lord, as becometh saints, and that
ye assist her in wliatsoever business
she hath netd of you : for she hath
been a succourer of many, and of
myself also.
3. Greet Priscilla and Aquila my
helpers in Christ Jesus ;
4. (Who have for my life laid down
their own necks : unto whom not
only I give thanks, but also all the
churches of the Gentiles :)
5. Likewise <jrect the cluu-ch that
is in their house. Salute my well-
beloved Epenetus, avIio is the first-
fruits of Achaia unto Christ.
6. Greet Mary, who bestowed
much labour on us.
7. Salute Andronicus and Junia,
my kinsmen, and my fellow-pri-
soners, who are of note among the
apostles, who also were in Christ
before me.
8. Greet Amplias, my beloved in
the Lord.
9. Salute Urbane, our helper in
Christ, and Stachys my beloved.
10. Salute Apelles, approved in
Christ. Salute them which are of
Aristobulus ' household.
11. Salute Herodion my kins-
man. Greet them that be of the
1 . Comniendo autem vobis Phoo-
ben sororem nostram, qua? est mi-
nistra ecclesiaj Cenchreensis ;
2. Ut earn suscipiatis in Domino,
ut dignum est Sanctis, et adsitis ei
in quocunque vobis eguerit negotio ;
etenim ipsa cum multis afl'uit, turn
etiam mihi ipsi.
3. Salutate Priscam et Acylam,
cooperarios meos in Christo lesu :
4. Qui pro anima mea suam ip-
sorum cervicem posuerunt, quibus
non ego solus gratias ago, sed etiam
omnes ecclesife Gentium ;
5. Et doniesticam eorum eccle-
siam. Salutate Epsenetum mihi
dilcctum qui est primitiae Achaiae in
Domino.
6. Salutate Mariam, quse multum
laboravit erga vos.
7. Salutate Andronicum et Ju-
niam, cognatos meos et cocaptivos
meos, qui sunt insignes inter Apos-
tolos, qui etiam ante me fuerunt in
Christo.
8. Salutate Ampliam, dilectum
meum in Domino.
9. Salutate Urbammi, adjutorem
nostrum in Christo et Stachyn di-
lectum meum.
10. Salutate Apellen, probatum
in Christo. Salutate eos qui sunt
ex Aristobuli familiaribus.
11. Salutate Herodionem, cogna-
tum meum. Salutate eos qui sunt
God of peace, especially when referring to the discords which prevailed
among Christians. See 1 Cor. xiv. 33 ; 2 Cor. xiii. 11 ; Phil. iv. 9 ; I
Thess. V. 23 ; 2 Thess. iii. 16 ; Ileb. xiii. 20.— Ed.
542 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XVI. 1.
hovsehold of Narcissus, which are ex Narcissi familiaribus, hos qui
in the Lord. sunt in Domino.
12. Sakite Tryphena and Try- 12. Sahitate Tryphaenam et Try-
phosa, who labour in the Lord, phosam, qute hiborant in Domino.
Sahite the beloved Persis, which Salutate Persidem dilectam, quae
laboured much in the Lord. multum laboravit in Domino.
13. Salute Rufus, chosen in the 13. Salutate Rufum electum in
Loi-d, and his mother and mine. Domino et matrem illins ac meam.
14. Salute Asyncritus, Phlefjon, 14. Salutate Asynchritum, Phle-
Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and gontem, Hermam, Patrobam, Mer-
the brethren which are witli them. curium, et qui cum his simt fratres.
15. Salute Philologus, and Jidia, ,, 15. Salutate Philologuni et lu-
Nereus, and his sister, and Olym pas, "^liam, Nereum et sororem ejus, et
and all the saints which are with 01ympam,et qui cum his sunt omnes
them. sanctos.
16. Salute one another with an 16. Salutate vos invicem in os-
holy kiss. The churches of Christ culo sancto. Salutant vos ecclesise
salute you. Christi.
1. I commend to yo\i, &,c. Tliegreaterpart of tliis chapter
is taken up with salutations ; and as they contain no diffi-
culties, it would be useless to dwell long on them. I shall
only touch on those things which require some light by an
explanation.
He first commends to them Phoebe, to whom he gave this
Epistle to be brought to them ; and, in the first place, he
commends her on account of her office, for she performed a
most honourable and a most holy function in the Church ;
and tlicn he adduces another reason why they ought to re-
ceive her and to show her every kindness, for she had al-
ways been a helper to all the godly. As then she was an
assistant^ of the Ceuchrean Church, he bids that on that
^ '•' Ministra," S/axov«; — minister, or servant, or deaconess, one who mi-
nisters. Origen and Chrysostom considered her to be a deaconess, but
the Avord does not necessarily prove this ; for it is used often to designate
generally one who does service and contributes to the help and assistance
of others. She was evidently a person of wealth and influence, and was no
doubt a great support and help to the Cenchrean Church. Those spoken
of by Paid in 1 Tim. v. 10, and Tit. ii. 3, were widows and aged, and they
are not called «' B/ax«va/, deaconesses. There arose, as it appears, an
order of this kind in the early Church, and Grotius says that they were
ordained by imposition of hands before the Laodicean Council, which for-
bade the practice. Their office was, according to Bingham and Suicer,
referred to by ScJdeiisner, to baptize women, to teach female catechumens,
to visit the sick, and to perform other inferior offices in the Church. But
this was a state of things after the apostolic times, and there is no reason
to believe that Phoebe was of this order. She was evidenlly a great helper
of the Christian cause, as some other women also are mentioned in this
CHAP. XVI. 1. I:PISTLE to the ROMANS. 543
account she slioukl be received in tlie Lord ; and Ly adding
as it is meet for saints, lie intimates that it would be unbe-
coming the servants of Christ not to show her honour and
kindness. And since it behoves us to embrace in love all
the members of Christ, we ought surely to regard and es-
pecially to love and honour those who perform a public office
in the Church. And besides, as she had always been full of
kindness to all, so he bids that help and assistance should
now be given to her in all her concerns ; for it is what
courtesy requires, that he who is naturally disposed to kind-
ness should not be forsaken when in need of aid, and to in-
cline their minds the more, he numbers himself among those
whom she had assisted.
But this service, of which he speaks as to what it Avas, he
teaches us in another place, in 1 Tim. v. 9, for as the poor
were supported fromthepublic treasury of the Church, so they
were taken care of by those in public offices, and for this
charge widows were chosen, who being free from domestic
concerns, and cumbered by no children, wished to consecrate
themselves wholly to God by religious duties, they were
therefore received into this office as those who had wholly
given up themselves, and became bound to their charge in a
manner like liim, who having hired out his own labours,
ceases to be free and to be his own master. Hence the
Apostle accuses them of having violated their faith, who
renounced the office which they had once undertaken, and
as it behoved them to live in widowhood, he forbade them
to be chosen under sixty years of age, (1 Tim. v. 9, 11 ,) because
he foresaw that under that age the vow of perpetual celibacy
was dangerous, yea, liable to prove ruinous. This most
sacred function, and very useful to the Church, when the
state of things had become worse, degenerated into the idle
order of Nuns ; which, though corrupt at its beginning, and
contrary to the word of God, has yet so fallen away from
what it was at its commencement, that there is no difference
chapter, and she had been the helper of many, (verse 2,) and not of one
Chnrch, and also of Paul hhnself ; and from what is said in verse 2, it ap-
pears prohable that slie was a woman carrjini;- on some business or traffic,
and that she went to Rome partly at least on this accoimt. — Ed.
544 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XVI. 4.
between some of the sanctuaries of cliastity and a common
bi'otliel.
3. Salute Prisca^ and Aquila. The testimonies wliich lie
brings here in favovir of some individuals, were partly in-
tended for this end, that bv honouring' those who were faith-
ful and worthv, faithfulness itself might be honoured, and
that the}^ who could and would do more good than others,
might have authority ; and partly that they tliemselves
miglit study to act in a manner corresponding to their past
life, and not fail in their religious course, nor ever grow
languid in their pious ardour.
It is a singular honour which he ascribes here to Prisca
and Aquila, especially with regard to a woman. The
modesty of the holy man does on this account more clearly
shine forth ; for he disdained not to have a woman as his
associate in tlie work of the Lord ; nor was he ashamed to
confess this. She was the wife of Aquila, and Luke calls
her Priscilla. (Acts xviii. 2.)^
4. To whom not only I, &c. As Prisca and Aquila had
not spared their life for preserving tlie life of Paul, he tes-
tifies that he himself was individually thankful to them :
he however adds, that thanks were given them by all the
Churches of Christ ; and he added this that he might, by
such an exiimple, influence the Romans. And deservedly
dear and precious to all the Gentiles was the life of such a
man, as it was an incomj^arable ti'oasure : it was therefore
no wonder that all the Churches of the Gentiles thought
themselves to be under obligations to his preservers.^
What he adds resj^ecting the Church in their house is
worthy of being observed ; for he could not have more
splendidly adorned their household than by giving it the
' So reads Oriesbach ; it is the same with Priscilla. See Acts xviii. 2,
26, and 2 Tim. iv. 19, where she is also called Prisca. Names in former
times, as well as now, were sometimes used in an abbreviated form. — Ed.
^ Whether Aquila was a layman or not, the Apostle connects his wife
with him in the work of co-operation with him in his ministerial work ;
and we see by Acts xviii. 2G, that they both taught Apollos. It is some-
what singular, that the wife, not only here but in several other instances,
though not in all, is mentioned before the husband. — Ed.
The occasion is not mentioned. It was probably at Corinth, accord-
ing to the account given in 18th of Acts.
CHAP. XVI. 7. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 646
title of a Church. The word congregation, which Erasmus
has adopted, I do not approve ; for it is plainly evident,
that Paul, hy way of lionour, had used tlie sacred name of
Church.^
5. Who is the first-fruit, &c. This is an allusion to the
rites of the law ; for as men are sanctified to God by faith,
they who first oifer themselves arc fitly called the first-fruit.
Whosoever then is called first in time to the faith, Paul
allows him the prerogative of honour: yet he retains this
eminence only when the end corresponds with the beginning.
And doubtless it is no common honour when God chooses
some for first-fruits : and there is in addition a greater and
an ampler trial of faith, through a longer space of time,
provided they who have first begun are not wearied in their
course.^
6. He again testifies his gratitude, in recording the kind-
ness of Mary to him. Nor is there any doubt but that he
commemorates these praises, in order to recommend those
whom he praised to the Romans.^
7. Salute Andronicus. Though Paul is not wont to make
much of kindred, and of other things belonging to the flesh,
yet as the relationship which Junia and Andronicus bore to
him, might avail somewhat to make them more fully known,
lie neglected not this commendation. There is more weight
in the second eulogy, when he calls them his felloiu-prison-
1 Some of the Fathers considered that the family, being all religious,
was the Church ; but this is wholly inconsistent with the mode of ex-
pression that is used, and with the state of things at that time. They
had no churches or temples to meet in : private houses were their chinches.
Superstitious ideas as to places of worship no doubt led men to seek such
an explanation. Would the Apostle have used such a phraseology as the
following, if he meant only the family, — " Aquila and Priscilla salute you
much in the l^ord, with {'rl" — together with) the Church that is in their
house," 1 Cor. xvi. 19. — Ed.
"^ J'ipenetus, who is here called the first-fruit of Acliaia, may have been
of the ftimily of Stephanas, who is said to have been the 6rst-fruit in
1 Cor. xvi. 15. But tlie nnijority of copies has Asia, 'Aa-la;^ here, instead
of Achaia, 'Ax,a'ia;. By Asia is often meant Asia Minor, and so here, no
doubt, if it be the right reading. — Ed.
* It is said of Mary, that she " laboiu"ed much," u; if^as, towards us,
or among us; " inter nos — among v.s," Beza ; " pro nobis — for us,"
Grotius. The reading ih ofiZ;, towards you, has many MSS. in its favour,
and also £» u^rv, among vou. — Ed.
2 M
546 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XVI. 11.
ers ;^ for among the honours belonging to the warfare of
Christ, bonds are not to be counted the least. In the third
place, he calls them AjJostles : he uses not this word in its
proper and common meaning, but extends it wider, even to
all those who not only teach in one Church, but also spend
their labour in promulgating the gospel everywhere. He
then, in a general way, calls those in this place Apostles,
who planted Churches by carrying here and there the doc-
trine of salvation ; for elsewhere he confines this title to
that first order which Christ at the beginning established,
when he appointed the twelve disciples. It would have been
otherwise strange, that this dignity should be only ascribed
to them, and to a few others. But as they had embraced
the gospel by faith before Paul, he hesitates not to set them
on this account before himself^
11. Who are of the family of Narcissus. It would have
been unbeseeming to have passed by Peter in so long a
catalogue, if he was then at Rome : yet he must have been
there, if we believe the Romanists. But since in doubtful
things nothing is better than to follow probable conjecture,
no one, who judges impartially, will be persuaded that what
they affirm is true ; for he could not surely have been omit-
ted by Paiil.
It is further to be noticed, that we hear nothing here of
splendid and magnificent titles, by which we might conclude
that men high in rank were Christians ; for all tliose whom
Paul mentions were the obscure and the ignoble at Rome.
Narcissus, whom he here names, was, I think, the freeman
1 It is not certain to what the Apostle refers ; for we have no particular
account of him hitherto as a prisoner, except for a short time at Philippi,
Acts xvi. 23-40 : and it is probable, that it was on that occasion that they
had been his fellow-prisoners ; for it appears from the narrative, that there
were more prisoners than Paul and Silas, as it is said that the " prison-
ers " heard them singing, verse 25 ; and Paul's saying to the jaOor, in
verse 28, " we are all here," clearly imphes that he had some with him
besides Silas. — Ed.
^ The words I'^to-fif/.m h rols a'TToffToXoi;, notcd among the Apostles, can
hardly admit of a meaning different from what is here given, though some
have explained the sense to be, that they were much esteemed by the
Apostles, or that they were " distinguished in the Apostles' judgment," or
that they were well known to the Apostles. But as "Apostles" in some
other instances mean teachers, as Barnabas was, (Acts xiv. 14,) the ex-
planation here given is most to be approved. — Ed.
CHAP. XVI. 16. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 547
of Claudius, a man notorious for many crimes and vices. The
more wonderful was the goodness of God, which penetrated
into that impure house, abounding in all kinds of wickedness;
not that Narcissus himself had been converted to Christ,
but it was a great thing that a house, whicli was like hell,
should be visited by the grace of Christ. And as they, who
lived under a foul pander, the most voracious robber, and
the most corrupt of men, worshipped Christ in purity, tlierc
is no reason that servants should wait for their masters, but
every one ought to follow Christ for himself Yea, the ex-
ception added by Paul shows that the family was divided,
so that the faithful were only a few.
16. Salute one anotJier luith a holy kiss. It is clear from
many parts of Scripture, tliat a kiss was a usual and com-
mon symbol of friendship among the Jews ; it was perhaps
less used by the Romans, though not unfrequent, only it was
not lawful to kiss women, except those only who were rela-
tives. It became however a custom among the ancients for
Christians to kiss one another before partaking of the Sup-
per, to testify by that sign their friendshi]") ; and then they
bestowed their alms, that they might in reality and by the
effect confirm what they had represented by the kiss : all
this appears evident from one of the homilies oi Chrysostom}
Hence hr.s arisen that practice among the Papists at this
day, of kissing the paten, and of bestowing an offering : the
former of which is nothing but superstition without any
benefit, the other serves no other purpose but to satisfy the
avariciousness of the jjriests, if indeed it can be satisfied.
Paul however seems not here positively to have enjoined
^ It appears from Justin Martyr and TertuUian, that the early Chris-
tians kissed one another always after prayers, or at the end of the service.
They did so, says Grotins, to " show that they were all equal ; for the
Persians and the orientals kissed the mouth of those only of the same
rank, and gave their hands to be kissed by their inferiors." It was evi-
dently a custom among the Jews. See 2 Sam. xx. 9 ; Jiiike vii. 45 ;
Matt. xxvi. 49. This " holy kiss " is mentioned in 1 Cor. xvi. 20 : 2 Cor.
xiii. 12 ; 1 Thess. v. 26. It is called the kiss of love, or charity, by Peter,
1 Peter v. 14. It was one of those things which arose from peculiar
habits, and is not to be considered as binding on all nations, any more
than the washing of feet. The Apostle's object seems to have been, not
to enjoin a rite, but to regulate a practice, already existing, and to preserve
it from abuse : it was to be a holy kiss. — Ed.
548 COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XVI. 17.
a ceremony, but only exhorts them to cherish brotherly love ;
and he distuiguishes it from the profane friendships of the
world, which, for the most part, are either disguised or at-
tained by vices, or retained by wicked arts, and never tend
to any good. By sending salutations from the Churches,^
he was endeavouring, as much as he could, to bind all the
members of Christ by the mutual bond of love.
17. Now, I beseech you, brethren, 17. Obsecro autem vos fratres, ut
mark them which cause divisions observetis eos qui dissidia et offen-
and offences contrary to the doctrine siones contra doctrinara, quara vos
which ye have learned ; and avoid didicistis, excitant ; et ut dechnetis
them. ab illis.
18. For they that are such serve 18. Qui enim tales sunt, Christo
not our Lord Jesus Christ, but their Domino non serviunt, sed suo ventri ;
own belly ; and by good words and ac per blandiloquentiam et assenta-
fair speeches deceive the hearts of tionem decipiunt corda simplicium.
the simple.
19. For your obedience is come 19. Vestra quidem obedientia ad
abroad unto all men. I am glad omnes permanavit: gaudeo igiLur de
therefore on your behalf : but yet I vobis; sed a'oIo vos sapientes esse ad
would have you wise unto that which bonum, simplices vero ad malum.
is good, and simple concerning evil.
20. And the God of peace shall 20. Deus autem pacis contcret
bruise Satan imder your feet shortly, brevi Satanam sub pedibus vestris.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ Gratia Domini nostri lesu Christi
be with you. Amen. sit vobiscum. Amen.
17. And I beseech you, &c. He now adds an exhortation,
by which all Churches have often need of being stirred up ;
for the ministers of Satan are ever ready to take occasion to
disturb the kingdom of Christ : and they attempt to make
disturbances in two ways ; for they either sow discord, by
which the minds of men are drawn away from the unity of
truth, or they occasion offences, by which men are alienated
from the love of the gospel.^ The former evil is done when
' Grieshach approves of -^airai, " all,"' after Churches ; then it would be
" all the Churches ;" that is, of Greece, says Grotius, but of Corinth, says
Wolfius, even those which assembled at different private houses : and this
is a more likely supposition, than that Paul, according to Origen and
others, took it as granted that all the Churches which he had founded
wished well to the Church of Rome. That they wished well to it there
can be no doubt ; but it is not probable that Paul acted on such a sup-
position.— Ed.
* The two words are §/;^^B-Ta(r/a/ and crxdv^aXu, divisions and offences, or
hinderances. He had, no doubt, in view, what he noticed in chapter 14,
about eating and observing of days ; and according to his usual manner he
CHAP. XVI. 18. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 549
the truth, of God is mixed with new dogmas devised by men;
and the hxtter takes phace, when by various arts it is made
odious and contemptible. He tliercfore bids all, who did
either of these two things, to be observed, lest they should
deceive and catch the unwary ; and also to be shunned, for
they were injurious. Nor was it without reason that he re-
quired this attention from the faithful ; for it often happens
through our neglect or want of care, that such wicked men
do great harm to the Church, before they are opposed ; and
they also creep in, with astonishing subtlety, for the purpose
of doing mischief, except they be carefully watched.
But observe, that he speaks of those who had been taught
the pure truth of God. It is indeed an impious and sacri-
legious attempt to divide those Avho agree in the truth of
Christ : but yet it is a shameful sophistry to defend, under
the pretext of peace and unity, a union in lies and impious
doctrines. There is therefore no ground for the Papists to
seek countenance from this passage, in order to raise ill-will
against us ; for we do not impugn and tear asunder the
gospel of Christ, but the falsehoods of the devil, by which
it has been hitherto obscured : nay, Paul clearly shows, that
he did not condemn all kinds of discords, but those which
destroyed consent in the orthodox faith ; for the force of the
passage is in the words, which ye have learnt ; for it was the
duty of the Romans, before they were rightly taught, to de-
part from the habits of their fathers and the institutions of
their ancestors.
18. For they luho are such, &c. He mentions an unvary-
ing mark, by which false prophets are to be distinguished
from the servants of Christ ; for they have no care for the
mentions first the efiect — " divisions," and then the cause — " offences."
The Gentile Christians, by eating, gave ofience to the believing Jews, and
this offence led to a division or separation. The evils which he had pre-
viously attempted to correct were doubtless those referred to here.
" Serving their own belly," in the next verse, has in this respect an em-
phatic meaning. Instead of denying themselves in the use of meats for
the sake of Christ, and for the peace of liis Chiu'ch, they preferred to gra-
tify their own appetites. And being led away by their lust, they covered
their real motive by kindly or plausibly addressing (x^^ir'^'^oyla') and eulo-
gizing (iuXoyia) those wlio joined them, imitating in this respect the arts
of all false professors and zealots, whatever be the false principle by which
they may be guided. — Ed.
660 COMMENTARIES ON THE CPIAP. XVI. 19.
glory of Christ, "but seek the benefit of their stomach. As,
however, they deceitfully crej^t in, and by assuming another
character, concealed their own wickedness, he at the same
time pointed out, in order that no one might be deceived, the
arts which they adoi:)ted — that they ingratiated themselves
by a bland address. The preachers of the gospel have also
their courtesy and their pleasing manner, but joined with
honesty, so that they neither soothe men with vain praises,
nor flatter their vices ; but impostors allure men by flattery,
and spare and indulge their vices, that they may keep them
attached to themselves. He calls those simple who are not
cautious enough to avoid deceptions.
19. Your obedience^ &c. This is said to anticipate an ob-
jection ; for he shows that he did not warn them, as though
he thought unfavourably of them, but because a fall in their
case was such as might have easily happened ; as if he had
said, — " Your obedience is indeed commended everywhere,
and for this reason I rejoice on your account : yet since it
often happens, that a fall occurs through simplicity, I would
have you to be harmless and simple as to the doing of evil ;
but in doing good, to be most jorudent, whenever it may be
necessary, so that you may preserve your integrity."
We here see what that simplicity is which is commended
in Christians ; so that they have no reason to claim this dis-
tinction, who at this day count as a high virtue their stupid
ignorance of the word of God. For though lie approves in
the Romans, that tliey were obedient and teachable, yet he
would have them to exorcise wisdom and judgment, lest
their readiness to believe ex]5osed them to impositions. So
then he congratulates them, because they were free from a
wicked disposition ; lie yet wished them to be wise, so as to
exercise caution.^
^ This he calls " faith" in chap. i. 8 : so that obedience to the gospel is
faith in what it declares. ' To believe is the special command of the gospel :
hence to believe is the special act of obedience that is required ; and he
who believes is he who shall be saved. But this faith is that of the heart,
and not of the lips ; and a faith which works by love and overcomes the
world, the mighty power of which we learn from Ileb. xi. — Ed.
^ " Good" and " evil" in this clause, is beneficence and mischief. To
be Avise as to good, is to be wise in acts of kindness, in promoting good, as
Beza seems to take it; and to be harmless or guileless, or simple as to
CHAP. XVI. 20. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 551
20. What follows, God shall bruise Satan, &c., is a promise
to confirm tlicm, rather than a prayer. He indeed exhorts
them to fight manfully against Satan, and promises that
they should shortly be victorious. He was indeed once con-
quered by Christ, but not in such a way but that he renews
the war continually. He tlien promises ultimate defeat,
which docs not appear in the midst of the contest. At the
same time he docs not speak only of the last day, Avhen
Satan shall be comi:)letely bruised ; but as Satan was then
confounding all things, raging, as it were, with loose or
broken reins, he promises that the Lord would shortly sub-
due him, and cause him to be trodden, as it were, under foot.
Immediately a prayer follows, — that the grace of Christ
would be with them, that is, that they might enjoy all the
blessings which had been procured for them by Christ.
21. Tiniotheus my work- fellow, and 21. Sahitant vos Timothcus, co-
Lucius, anilJason, and Sosipater, my operarius mens, et Lucius et lason
kinsmen, salute you. et Sosipater, cognati mei.
22. I Tertius, who wrote this 22. Saluto ego vos Tertius, qui
epistle, salute you in the Lord. scrips! epistolam, in Domino.
23. Gaius mine host, and of the 23. Salutat vos Gains, hospes
whole church, saluteth you. Erastus, mens et Ecclesife totius. Salutat
the chamberlain of the city, saluteth vos Erastus, qu?estor jerarius m-bis,
you, and Quartus a brother. et Quartus frater.
24. The grace of our Lord Jesus 24. Gratia Domini nostri lesu
Christ be. with you all. Amen. Christi sit cum omnibus vohis. Amen.
25. Now to him that is of power to 25. Ei vero qui potcns est vos
stablish you according to my gosjiel, confunnare secundum evangelium
and the preaching of Jesus Christ, meuni, et prseconium scilicet lesu
(according to the revelation of the Christi, secundum revelationem mys-
mystery, which was kept secret since terii, quod teniporibus secularibus
the world began, tacitum,
26. But now is made manifest, and 26. Manifestatum nunc fuit, et
by the scriptures of the prophets, ac- per scripturas propheticas, secundum
cording to the commandment of the seterni Dei ordinationem,inobedien-
evil, is to exercise no arts, by plausible speeches and flatteries, as was done
by those referred to in verse 17, in order to do mischief, to create divisions.
The Apostle's object throughout seems to have been to produce unanimity
between the Jews and Gentiles. Hence in the next verse he speaks of
God as " the God of peace," the author of peace among his people ; and
he says that this God of peace would soon tread down Satan, the author
of discord, the promoter of divisions and ofl'ences : or, as most consider the
passage, he prays that God would do this ; for the futmre, after the man-
ner of the Hebrew, is sometimes used by the Apostle as an optative. And
indeed the verb is found in some copies in this mood (<ryvTf /vZ-a/) and in the
Syriac, Ethiopic, and Vulgate versions. — Ed.
552 COMMENTAllIES ON THE CHAP. XVI. 21.
everlasting God, made known to all tiam fidei ad omnes gentes promul-
nations for the obedience of faith : ) gatum, —
27. To God only wise, be glory 27. Soli sapienti Deo per lesum
through Jesus Christ for ever. Amen. Christum gloria in secula. Amen.
^ Written to the Romans from Ad Romanes missa fuit a Corin-
Corinthus, and sent by Phebe, tho per Phceben, ministram
servant of the church at Cen- Cenchi-eensis ecclesise.
chrea.
21. Timothy, &c. The salutations which he records, served
in part to foster union between those who were far asunder,
and in part to make the Romans know that their brethren
subscribed to the Epistle ; not that Paul had need of the
testimony of otlici"s, but because the consent of the godly is
not of small importance.
The Epistle closes, as we see, with praise and thanksgiving
to God. It indeed records the remarkable kindness of God
in favouring the Gentiles with tlie light of the gospel, by
which his infinite and unspeakable goodness has been made
evident. The conclusion has, at the same time, this to re-
commend it, — that it serves to raise uji and strengthen the
confidence of the godly, so that with hearts lifted up to God
they may fully exj)ect all those things which are here as-
cribed to him, and may also confirm their hope as to what is
to come by considering his former benefits.^ But as he has
made a long period, by collecting many things into one jjas-
sage, the different clauses, implicated by being transposed,
must be considered apart.
He ascribes first all the glory to God alone ; and then, in
order to show that it is rightly due to him, he by the way
mentions some of his attributes ; whence it appears that he
alone is worthy of all praise. He says that he 07ily is wise;
which praise, being claimed for him alone, is taken away
from all creatures. Paul, at the same time, after having
spoken of the secret counsel of God, seems to have designedly
annexed this eulogy, in order that he might draw all men to
1 This conclusion bears an evident reference to the point the Apostle
had especially in view — the reconciling of the Jews and Gentiles. He con-
nects the gospel with the ancient Scriptures, and mentions the gospel as
being in unison with them. Then the Jews had no reason to complain.
As in verses 17 to 20 inclusive, he reproved the Gentiles who caused divi-
sions ; so in these verses his special object is to put an end to the objec-
tions of the Jews. — Ed.
CHAP. XA'^I. 21. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 553
reverence and adore the wisdom of God : for we know liow
inclined men are to raise a clamour, when they can find out
no reason for the works of God.
By adding, that God was able to confirm the Romans, he
made them more certain of their final iDcrseverance. And
that they might acquiesce more fully in his power, he adds,
that a testimony is borne to it in the gospel. Here you see,
that the gospel not only promises to us present grace, but
also brings to us an assui'ance of that grace which is to en-
dure for ever ; for God declares in it that he is our Father,
not only at present, but that he will be so to the end : nay,
his adoption extends beyond death, for it will conduct us to
an eternal inheritance.
The other things are mentioned to commend the power
and dignity of the gospel. He calls the gospel the pi-eaching
of Jesus Christ ; inasmuch as the whole sum and substance
of it is no doubt included in the knowledge of Christ. Its
doctrine is the revelation of the mystery ; and this its charac-
ter ought not only to make us more attentive to hear it, but
also to impress on our minds the highest veneration for it :
and he intimates how sublime a secret it is, by adding that
it was hid for many ages, from the beginning of the world.^
It does not indeed contain a turgid and proud wisdom,
such as the children of this world seek ; and by whom it is
held on this account in contempt : but it iinfolds the in-
effable treasures of celestial wisdom, much higher than all
human learning ; and since the very angels regard them with
wonder, surely none of us can suificiently admire them. But
this wisdom ought not to be less esteemed, because it is con-
1 The words are xz'"^"'^ aluvUi;, rendered improperly by Hammond and
others, from the eternal ages, or eternity. "We find them preceded by -r^o,
before, in 2 Tim. i. 9, and in Tit. i. 2 : " before the eternal ages," could not
be right rendering ; nor is " before the world began," as in our version,
correct ; for a reference in Titus is made to God's promise. " In the times
of the ages " is the rendering of Leza and of Macknight ; and, in " ancient
times," is that of Doddrvhje and Stuart. The same subject is handled in
two other places, Eph. iii. 5, and Col. i. 2(3 : and the words used by him
are " in other ages," ^ iTi^ais ytnaT;, and, " from ages and generations,"
a-ro Tuv aiavuv xai U'tto tcuv yiviZv. Thcudorct explained the terms bv avahv
— in past times; and Theopliylact by ^aXa; — formerly; and Schleumer by
a similar word, olim. — Ed.
55 i COMMENTARIES ON THE CHAP. XVI. 21.
veyetl in an humble, i^lain, and simple style ; for thus it has
pleased the Lord to bring down the arrogance of the flesh.
And as it might have created some doubt how this mys-
tery, concealed for so many ages, could have so suddenly
emerged, he teaches us, that this has not happened through
the hasty doings of men, or through chance, but through the
eternal ordination of God. Here, also, he closes up the door
against all those curious questions which the waj'wardness
of the human mind is wont to raise ; for whatever happens
suddenly and unexpectedly, they think, happens at random ;
and hence they absurdly conclude, that the works of God
are unreasonable ; or at least they entangle themselves in
many perplexing doubts. Paul therefore reminds us, that
what appeared then suddenly had been decreed by God be-
fore the foundation of the world.
But that no one might raise a dispute on the subject, and
charge the gospel with being a new thing, and thus defame
it, he refers to the prophetic Scriptures, in which we now
see, that what is fulfilled had been foretold ; for all the Pro-
phets have rendered to the gospel so clear a testimony, that
it can in no other M'ay be so fully confirmed. And God thus
duly prepared the minds of his people, lest the novelty of what
they were not accustomed to should too much astonish them.^
1 This clause is differently construed : some connect " prophetic Scrip-
tures" with " manifested," or made manifest. So Doddridge and Stuart;
but Beza, Parens, and Macknight agree with Calcin, and connect the
words with " made known " or proclaimed. The conjunctive ti after S;a
favours this construction ; and S/a means here " by the means," or by the
aid and sanction, "of the prophetic Scriptures." Then the meaning is —
" that the mystery, hid for ages, is now manifest, that is, by the gospel, and
by means of the prophetic Scriptures, and consistently with the decree
(l-jTirxyh) or ordination of the eternal God, is made knov/n to all nations
for the obedience of faith." According to this view is the exposition of
Calvin, which is no doubt correct.
But it is more consistent with the tenor of the latter part of this epistle,
and with the other passages, such as Eph. iii. 4-6, and Col. i. 20, 2", where
he mentions the same mystery, to consider the reference here to be exclu-
sively to the imion of Jews and Gentiles, and not generally to the gospel,
as Calvin and others have thought.
There is a grammatical dilficulty in the last verse : the relative f is
foimd before " glory." Beza and others considered it redundant. The
verse is literally as follows, —
27. To the only wise God, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory
for ever. Amen.
It is omitted in a few copies ; several copies have alrS, which would read
CHAP. XVI. 21. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 555
If any one objects and says, tliat there is an inconsistency
in the words of Paul, because he says that tlic mystery, of
which God ]iad testified by his Propliets, was hid throughout
all the ages ; — the solution of tliis knot is plainly given by
Peter, — that tlie Prophets, when they sedulously inquired
of the salvation made known to us, ministered, not to them-
selves, but to us. (1 Pet. i. 12.) God then was at that time
silent, though he spoke ; for he held in suspense the revela-
tion of those things concerning which he designed that his
servants should projahesy.
Though it is not agreed among the learned in what sense
he calls the gospel a hidden mystery in this place, and in
Eph. iii. 9, and in Col. i. 26 ; yet their opinion has most in
its favour, who appl}^ it to the calling of the Gentiles, to
Avhich Paul himself expressly refers in his Epistle to the
Colossians. Now, though I allow this to be one reason, I
yet cannot be brouglit to believe that it is the only reason.
It seems to me more probable that Paul had also a regard
to some other differences between the Old and the New
Testament. Per though the Prophets formerly taught all
those things which have been explained by Christ and his
Apostles, yet they taught them with so much obscurity,
that in comparison with the clear brightness of gospel light,
it is no Avonder that those things are said to have been hid-
den which are now made manifest. Nor was it indeed to
no purpose that Malachi declared that the Sun of righteous-
ness would arise, (Mai. iv. 2 ;) or that Isaiah had beforehand
so highly eulogized the embassy of the Messiah. And lastly,
it is not without reason that the gospel is called the king-
dom of God : but we may conclude from the event itself,
better: but its genuineness is rejected by Griesbach and others. The
ascription of praise is evidently given to God, as one Avho has contrived
and arranged his dispensation of grace and mercy : and his wisdom here
refers to the same thing, as in ch. xi. 33. However mysterious may his
dispensation appear to us with re^^ard to the Jews and Gentiles, in leaving
tlie latter for so long a time in ignorance, in favouring the former only in
the first instance with a revelation of himself, and then in showing favour
to the Gentiles, and in rejecting the Jews for a time, and afterwards
restoring them — however mysterious all these things may appear, the
Apostle assures us that they are the arrangements of the onlv wise God.
—Ed.
556 COMMENTARIES ON THE ROMANS. CHAP. XVI. 21.
that tlien only were oj^ened the treasures of celestial wisdom,
when God appeared to his ancient people through his only-
begotten Son, as it were face to face, all shadows having
been done away. He again refers to the end, mentioned at
the beginning of the first chapter, for which the gospel is to
be preached, — that God may lead all nations to the obe-
dience of faith.
PRAISE FOR EVER TO
THE ONLY WISE GOD :
AMEN.
END OF THE COMMENTARIES ON THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS.
A TRANSLATION
CALYO'S VERSION
THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMAICS.
CHAPTER I.
1 Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ, a called Apostle, chosen for
2 the gospel of God, which he had before promised by his Pro-
3 phets in the holy Scriptures, concerning his Son, who came
4 from the seed of David according to the flesh ; declared the Son
of God in power, through the Spirit of holiness, by the resur-
5 rection from the dead, even Jesus Christ our Lord ; through
whom we have received grace and apostleship for the obedi-
6 ence of faith among all nations, for his name's sake ; among
7 whom ye are also the called of Jesus Christ ; To all of you who
are at Rome, beloved by God, called saints : grace to you, and
peace from God the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.
8 First indeed I give thanks to my God, through Jesus Christ,
for you all, because your faith is proclaimed through the whole
9 world. For my witness is God, whom I serve with my spirit
in the gospel of his Son, that I continually make mention of
10 you, in all my prayers, requesting that by some means a pros-
perous journey may some time be given me, through God's
11 will, to come to you : for I desire to see you, that I may impart
12 to you some spiritual gift to confirm you ; that is, that we may
mutually partake of encouragement through mutual faith, even
yours and mine.
13 And I would not that you should not know, brethren, that I
have often proposed to come to you, (and have been hitherto
hindered,) that I might have some fruit among you as also
14 among other nations. Both to the Greeks and to the barba-
15 rians, both to the wise and to the foolisli, am I a debtor; so
558 _ NEW TRANSLATION OF THE CHAP. II. 2.
that, as far as I can, I am ready to preach the gospel to you
16 also who are at Rome ; for I am not ashamed of the gospel of
Christ, since it is the power of God for salvation to every one
17 who believes, to the Jew first, then to the Greek ; for the
righteousness of God is in it revealed from faith to faith, as it
is written, " The just by his faith shall live."
18 Revealed also is the wrath of God from heaven, against all
the impiety and injustice of men, who unjustly suppress the truth
19 of God ; because what may be known of God, is manifest in
20 them, for God has manifested it to them ; since his invisible
things are seen from the creation of the world, being understood
by his works, even his eternal power and divinity, so that they are
21 inexcusable; inasmuch as when they knew God, they glorified
him not as God, nor w^ere thankful ; but became vain in their
22 thoughts, and darkened was their foolish heart: when they
23 thouglit themselves wise, they became fools, and changed the
glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of an image,
into that of a corruptible man and of birds and of quadrupeds
and of reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them up to the lusts of their own hearts
for uncleanness, that they might degrade their bodies among
25 themselves, who had transformed the truth respecting God
into falsehood, and worshipped and adored the creature above
26 the Creator; who is blessed for ever; Amen: — Therefore, I
say, God gave them up to disgraceful passions; for their
women turned the natural habit into that which is contrary to
27 nature ; and in like manner the men also, having left off the
natural use of the woman, burned with mutual lust, one towards
another, males working filthiness with males, and receiving in
themselves the reward due to them for their going astray.
28 And as they chose not to retain the knowledge of God, God
gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do things not becoming ;
29 that they might be full of all unrighteousness, wickedness, lust,
avarice, malignity, being filled with envy, murder, strife, guile,
30 perversity, being whisperers, calumniators, haters of God, vil-
lanous, disdainful, haughty, inventors of evils, disobedient to
31 parents, without understanding, insociable, void of natural
32 affections, truce-breakers, merciless ; Who, when they knew
the judgment of God, that they who do such things are worthy
of death, not only do them, but approve of those who do them.
CHAPTER n.
Therefore inexcusable art thou, 0 man, who judgest ; for
in what thou judgest another, thou condemnest thj'self, for
the same things doest thou who judgest. Now Ave know that
God's judgment is according to truth on those who do such
thinjcs.
CHAP. II. 29. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 559
3 And thinkest thou, O man, wlio judgest those who do such
things and doest the same, that thou shalt escape the judgment
4 of God? Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and for-
bearance and gentleness, not knowing that the goodness of God
5 leads thee to repentance ? but according to thy hardness and a
heart that cannot repent, thou treasurcst for thyself wrath for
the day of wrath and of the revelation of the righteous judg-
6 raent of God ; who will render to every one according to his
7 works, — to those indeed, who by perseverance in doing good,
8 seek glory and honour and immortality, eternal life ; but to those
who are contentious and disobedient to the truth and obey
9 unrighteousness, there shall be indignation and wrath : tribula-
tion and anguish shall he on every soul of man who doeth evil,
10 the Jew first, then the Greek ; but glory and honour and peace
shall he to every one who Avorks good, to the Jew first, then
11 to the Greek ; since there is no respect of persons with God.
12 For whosoever have without the law sinned, shall also with-
out the law perish ; but whosoever have under the law sinned,
13 shall by the law be judged : for not the hearers of the law are
just before God ; but they who do the law shall be justified.
14 AMien indeed the Gentiles, who have not the law, do by nature
the things of the law, they, having not the law, are a law to
15 themselves ; who show the work of the law wi'itten on their
hearts, their conscience at the same time attesting, and their
16 thoughts accusing or excusing each other, in the day in which
God will judge the secrets of men, according to my gospel,
through Jesus Christ.
17 Behold, thou art named a Jew, and restest in the law and
18 gloriest in God, and knowest his will and approvest of things
19 excellent, being instructed from the law, and art confident that
thou thyself art a leader to the blind, a light to those who are
20 in darkness, an instructor to the foolish, a teacher to the ignor-
ant, because thou hast the form of knowledge and of the truth
21 according to the law : Yet thou who teachest another, dost not
teach thyself; thou who preachest " steal not," stealest; thou
22 who sayest, " commit no adultery," committest adultery; thou
23 who hatest idols, committest sacrilege; thou who gloriest in the
24 law, by transgressing the law dishonourest God ; for the name
of God, as it is written, is reproached on your account among
the nations.
25 For circumcision indeed profits, if thou keep the law ; but if
thou be a transgressor of the law, thy circumcision is turned
26 into uncircumcision. If then the uncireuracision keep the
righteousness of the law, shall not his uncircumcision be count-
27 ed for circumcision ? and shall not he who is by nature uncir-
cumcision judge thee, (if he keep the law,) who by the letter and
28 circumcision art a transgressor of the law ? For not he who is
a Jew openly, is a Jew ; nor is that circumcision wdiich is openly
29 in the flesh: but he who is one in secret is a Jew ; and circum-
560 NEW TRANSLATION OF TUB CHAP. III. 26.
cision is that of the heart, in the spirit, not in the letter ; the
praise of whom is not from men, but from God.
CHAPTER HI.
1 What then is the privilege of the Jew, or what is the benefit
2 of circumcision ? Much in every way ; and first indeed, be-
cause to them have been intrusted the oracles of God.
3 What indeed if some have not believed ? Shall their unbe-
4 lief render void the faithfulness of God ? By no means ; but
let God be true, and every man false, as it is written, " That
thou mightest be justified in thy words, and overcome when
5 thou art judged." But if our unrighteousness commend the
righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who
6 executes wrath ? (according to man I speak :) by no means ;
7 for how then shall God judge the world? If indeed the truth
of God has through my falsehood redounded to his glory, why
8 still am even I judged as asinner, — and tvhy not (as we are
reproached, and as some declare that we say) " Let us do
evils, that good things may come?" the judgment of whom
is just.
9 What then ? do we excel ? Not at all ; for we have before
brought a charge against both Jews and Greeks, that they are
10 all under sin ; as it is written, " There is none righteous, not
11 indeed one ; there is none who understands, there is none who
12 seeks God; all have turned aside ; they have become together
unprofitable ; there is none who doeth kindness, no, not even
13 one : An open grave is their throat ; Avith their tongues have
14 they dealt deceitfully : The poison of asps is under their lips:
15 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Swift are their
16 feet to shed blood; ruin and misery are in their ways ; and
17 the Avay of pence have they not known: There is no fear of
18 God before their eyes."
19 Now we know that whatever the law says, it speaks to those
who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and
20 the whole world may become guilty before God : because no
flesh shall by the works of the law be justified before him, since
by the law is the knowdedge of sin.
21 But now the righteousness of God without the law is mani-
22 fested, being approved by the law and the Prophets, — even the
righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ, ivhich is to
all and upon all who believe : there is indeed no difference ; for
23 all have sinned, and are become destitute of the glory of God ;
24 and they are justified gratuitously by his grace through the I'e-
25 demption which is in Christ Jesus ; whom God has set forth as
a propitiatory through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of
26 his righteousness on account of the remission of sins, which be-
fore existed through the forbearance of God, — for a demonstra-
CHAP. IV. 1 7. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 561
tion of his righteousness, at this time, that he might be just
and the justifier of him who believes in Jesus.
27 Whei-e then is glorying? It is excluded : by what law? of
28 works? no ; but by the law of faith. We then conclude, that
29 by faith is man justified without the works of the law. Is he
the God of the Jews only ? and not also of the Gentiles ? Yes,
30 of the Gentiles also; since one is God, who will justify the
circumcision by faith and the uncircumcision through faith.
31 Do we then make void the law by faith? By no means; but
we confirm the law.
CHAPTER IV.
1 What shall we then say, that Abraham, our fiither according
2 to the flesh, had obtained ? For if Abraham was by works
justified, he has what he may glory in, but not before God.
3 But what saith the Scripture? " Abraham believed God, and
4 it was imputed to him for righteousness." To him indeed who
works the reward is not imputed as a grace, but as a debt :
5 but to him who works not, but believes on him who justifies
the ungodly, imputed is his faith for righteousness.
6 As David also describes the blessedness of the man, to
7 whom God imputes righteousness without works, " Blessed
are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are
8 covered; blessed is the man to whom God has not imputed
sm.
9 Was then this blessedness on the circumcision onli/, or also
on the uncircumcision ? for we say, that imputed to Abraham
10 was faith for righteousness: how then was it imputed? when
he was in circumcision, or in uncircumcision ? not in circum-
11 cision, but in uncircumcision ; and he received the sign of cir-
cumcision as a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he
had in uncircumcision, that he might be the father of all who
believe while in uncircumcision, in order that to them also
12 righteousness might be imputed, — and the father of the cir-
cumcision, not to those who are in circumcision only, but who
walk in the footsteps of that faith which our father Abraham
had in uncircumcision.
13 It was not indeed by the law that the promise- was to Abra-
ham and to his seed, that he should be the heir of the world,
14 but through the righteousness of faith. For if they who are
of the law are heirs, then made void is faith, and abolished
15 is the promise. For the law causeth wrath : but where no law
16 is, there is also no transgression. It is therefore by faith, that
it might be through grace, in order that the promise might be
sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of the law, but
17 which also is of the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us
all, (as it is written, '' The father of many nations have I made
2n
562 NEW TRANSLATION OF THE CHAP. Y. 15.
thee,") before God whom he believed, who quickens the dead,
18 and calls things which are not, as though they were : Who
against hope believed through hope, that he would be the
father of many nations, according to what had been said, " So
19 shall thy seed be." And being not in faith weak, he consi-
dered not his own body, now dead, when he was nearly an
20 hundred years old, nor the dead womb of Sarah ; nor did he
indeed search into the promise of God through unbelief, but
21 was strengthened by faith, giving glory to God ; and being
assuredly persuaded, that what he had promised he was also
22 able to perform : and it was therefore imputed to him for
righteousness.
23 Now it was not written on his account only, that it was im-
24 puted to him : but also on our account, to whom it shall be
imputed, even to us who believe on him, who raised Jesus our
25 Lord from the dead ; who was delivered for our offences and
raised for our justification.
CHAPTER V.
1 Being then justified, we have peace with God through our
2 Lord Jesus Christ ; through whom we have had access by
faith to this grace in which we stand, and glory in the hope
3 of the glory of God : and not only so, but we glory also in
4 tribulations ; knowing that tribulation produces patience ;
5 and patience, experience ; and experience, hope : moreover,
hope makes vs not ashamed, because the love of God is
diffused in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who has been given
to us.
6 For Christ, when we were as yet as to time weak, died for
7 the ungodly. Hardly indeed for the just will any one die ;
but for the good perhaps some one may even venture to die :
8 but God confirms his love towards us, because when we were
9 yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having been
now justified by his blood, shall we be saved by him from wrath.
1 0 If indeed when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by
11 the death of his Son, much more, having been reconciled, shall
we be saved through his life : and not only so, but we also
glory in God througli our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we
have now received reconciliation.
12 AVherefore as by one man sin entered into the world, and
through sin death ; and so over all men has death spread, since
13 all have sinned ; (for until the law sin was in the world ; but
14 sin is not imputed when there is no law. Yet reign did sin
from Adam to Moses, even over them who had not sinned
after the likeness of the transgression of Adam, who is the
15 figure of him that was to come. But not as the offence, so
also the gift: for if through the oflTence of one many died,
CHAP. VI. 17. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 563
much more has the grace of God, and the gift of God tlirough
16 grace, abounded unto many. And not as through one who
had sinned, so the gift ; for judgment was from one offence to
condemnation, but the gift is from many offences unto justi-
17 fication. For if by the oiFence of one death reigned through
one, much more shall they who have received abundance of
gi'ace, and the gift of righteousness, reign in life through one,
18 Jesus Christ.) Therefore as through the offence of one judg-
ment came on all men to condemnation, so also through the
justification of one, the gift comes to all men to the justification
19 of life : for as through the disobedience of one man raanyAvere
made sinners, so also through the obedience of one many shall
be made righteous.
20 But the law intervened, that the offence might abound : but
where sin abounded, grace has superabounded ; that as sin has
reigned through death, so grace also might reign through
righteousness unto eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
CHAPTER VI.
1 What then shall we say ? Shall we continue in sin that
2 grace may abound ? By no means : we who have died to sin,
3 how shall we still live in it ? Know ye not, that we all, who
have been baptized into Jesus Christ, have been baptized into
4 his death ? Buried then have we been with him through bap-
tism unto death, that as Christ was raised from the dead by
the glory of the Father, so we also should walk in newness of
5 life : for if we have been ingrafted in the likeness of his death,
6 doubtless we shall also be partakers of Ms resun-ection ; know-
ing this, that our old man was crucified together with him,
that abolished might be the body of sin, so that we may no
7 longer serve sin : for he who has died, has been freed from sin.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall
9 also live with him ; knowing that Christ, having been raised
10 from the dead, dies no more, death no more reigns over him :
for that he died, he once for sin died ; and that he lives, he
lives to God.
11 So also regard ye yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but
12 alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let not sin then
13 reign in your mortal body, so as to obey it in its lusts. Nei-
ther present your members, as weapons of unrighteousness, to
sin ; but present yourselves to God, as alive from the dead,
14 and your members, as weapons of righteousness, to God : for
sin shall not rule over you, since ye are not under the law,
but under grace.
15 What then? Shall we sin, because we are not under the
16 law, but under grace? By no means: know, ye not that to
whom ye present yourselves servants for obedience, ye are the
17 servants of him Avhom ye obey, whether of sin for death, or
564 NEW TRANSLATION OF THE CHAP. VII. 13,
of obedience for righteousness ? But thanks to God ; for ye
have been the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the
18 heart the form of doctrine into which you were dehvered ; and
having been freed from sin, ye became the servants of right-
eousness.
19 T speak what is human on account of the infii-mity of your
flesh : As ye have presented your members to uncleanness and
to iniquity for iniquity, so also now present your members ser-
20 vants to I'ighteousness for holiness : for when ye were the ser-
vants of sin, ye were free from righteousness.
21 What fruit therefore had you then in those things, of which
22 ye are now ashamed'? for their end is death ; but now, having
been freed from sin and made servants to God, ye have your
23 fruit, holiness, and your end, eternal life: for the wages of sin
is death ; but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our
Lord.
CHAPTER VII.
1 Know ye not, brethren, (for to those who knoAv the law I
2 speak,) that the law rules over a man as long as he lives. For
a woman, subject to a husband, is bound by the law to a living
husband ; but if the husband die, she is loosed from the law of
3 her husband. While then the husband is living, she shall be
called an adulteress, if she be united to another man : but if
the husband be dead, she is freed from his law, so that she is
not an adulteress by marrying another man.
4 And thus, my brethren, are ye also dead to the law through
the body of Christ, that hereafter ye should be united to an-
other, even to him who has been raised from the dead, that ye
5 might bring forth fruit to God. For when ye were in the
flesh, the emotions of sin which are through the laAv wrought in
6 your members to bring forth fruit to death : but now ye are
loosed from the law, having died to that by which we were
held, that we might serve in newness of spii'it, and not in the
oldncss of the letter.
7 What then shall we say ? Is the law sin ? By no means : yet
sin I knew not except through the law ; for concupiscence I
8 had not known, had not the law said, " Thou shalt not lust."
And the occasion being taken, sin through the commandment
9 wrought in me every concupiscence. Sin indeed Avithout the
law is dead : and I lived some time without the law ; but when
10 the commandment came, sin revived, and I died ; and the
commandment, which was for life, was found by me to be
11 unto death : for sin, taking occasion through the commandment,
12 led me astray, and thi'ough it slew me. So then the law in-
deed is holy, and the commandment holy and just and good.
1 3 Did then Avhat is good become death to me ? By no means :
but sin, that it might appear to be sin, wrought death in me
CHAP. VIII. 11. EPISTLE TO THE KOMANS. 565
through that which is good, in order that sin through the com-
mandment might become above measure sinfuL
14 "We indeed l^now that tlie hiw is spiritual ; but I am carnal,
15 sold under sin: for what I work I know not; since what I
16 would, this I do not, but what I hate, this I do. If then, what
I would not, this I do, 1 consent to the law of God, that it is
17 good: and now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin which
18 dwells in me.^ I indeed know that no good dwells in me, that is,
19 in ray flesh ; for to will is present with me, but to perform what
is good I tind not ; since the good I would I do not ; but the evil
20 1 would not, that I do. But if what I would not, that I do, it is
21 no longer 1 who do it, but sin which dwells in me. I find then a
law that while I am willing to do good, evil lies in wait for me.
22 I consent then to the law of God according to the inner
23 man : but I see another law in my members, resisting the law
of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin which is
24 in my members. Miserable man am I ! who shall rescue me
25 from this body of death ? — I give thanks to God through Jesus
Christ our Lord : so then with the mind I serve myself the
law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.
CHAPTER VIII.
1 There is now then no condemnation to those who are in
2 Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me
3 free from the law of sin and of death : for it being impossible
for the law, because it was weak through the flesh, God, hav-
ing sent his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, even by a
4 sin-olfering condemned sin in the flesh ; that the justification of
the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit.
5 For they who are after the flesh, think of the things of the
flesh ; but they who are after the Spirit, of the things of the
6 Spirit. Doubtless the thinking of the flesh is death ; but the
7 thinking of the Spirit is life and peace : because the thinking
of the flesh is enmity against God ; for to the law of God it is
8 not subject, nor can it be ; they therefore who are in the flesh,
cannot please God.
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spii'it, if indeed the
Spirit of God dwells in you ; but if any one has not the Spirit
10 of Christ, he is not his. But if Christ is in you, the body in-
deed is dead with respect to sin, but the spirit is life with regard
11 to righteousness. If then the Spirit of him, who raised Jesus
from the dead, dwells in you, he who raised Christ from the
dead will quicken your mortal bodies through his Spirit who
dwells in you.
* Here is repeated in a different way what had been before stated, only
the reference before was to the weakness of good, but here to the power of evil.
566 NEW TRANSLATION OF THE CHAP. VIII. 25.
12 So then, brethren, debtors we are, not to the flesh, that we
13 may live after the flesh ; for if ye live after the flesh, ye shall
die ; but if by the Spirit ye mortify the deeds of the flesh, ye
14 shall live : for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these
are the sons of God.
15 Ye have not indeed received the spirit of bondage again to
fear ; but ye have received the spirit of adoption, through
16 whom we cry, Abba, Father: the very Spirit itself testifies
17 together with our spirit, that we are the sons of God: and if
sons, then heirs ; the heirs of God, and co-heirs with Christ;
if indeed we suffer with him, that we may also be glorified to-
18 gether. I indeed judge, that the afflictions of this time are not
to be compared to the future glory which shall be revealed
to us.
1 9 For the intent expectation of the creation waits for the reve-
20 lation of the sons of God ; for to vanity has the creation been
subjected, not willingly, but on account of him who has sub-
21 jected it in hope; because the creation itself shall also be re-
claimed from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty
22 of the sons of God ; for we know that the whole creation
23 groans and laboui's in pain to this day : and not only so, but
we ourselves also, who have the beginnings of the Spirit, even
we ourselves do groan in ourselves, waiting for our adoption,
24 the redemption of our body ; for by hope are we saved : but
hope that is seen is not hope; for what one sees, how can he
25 hope for it ? If then ibr what we see not we hope, we wait for
it in patience.^
1 To exhibit the meaning of this passage according to what is advanced in a
note in jDp. 306, 307, it shall be presented here in lines, —
19. Truly the intent expectation of the creature
AVaits for the revelation of the sons of God;
20. For to vanity has the creature been subjected, not willingly,
But on his account who has subjected it in hope ;
21. For even the creature itself shall be freed from the bondage of corrup-
tion,
Into the glorious liberty of the sons of God ;
22. For we know that every creature groans together,
And together travails in pain to this day: —
28. And not only they, but we also ourselves,
Who possess the iirst-fruit of the Spirit,
Even we ourselves gi-oan within ourselves,
Anxiously waiting for our adoption,
The redemption of our body;
24. For in hope are we saved,
But hope seen is not hope ;
For what one sees, why does he yet hope for it ?
25. But if what we see not, we hope for,
We wait for it in patience.
W"e may indeed consider " every creature" in verse 22 as referring to every
reneAved creature then living, (except the Apostles and those endowed with
the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit,) and all such from the beginning of the
world. In this case, " to this day" has a striking impoi-t. All God's servants
from the beginning had been groaning under the body of sin, and not only they,
but even those who had enjoyed the first outpouring of the Spirit, and had been
CHAP. IX. 5. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 567
26 And in like manner the Spirit also assists our infirmities ;
for what to pray for as we ought we know not ; but the Spirit
27 himself intercedes for us with groanings unutterable : and he
who searches the hearts knows the mind of the Spirit ; because
he intercedes according to God's ivill for the saints.
28 "VYe further know, that to those who love God all things
co-operate for good, even to tho.se who are called according to
29 his purpose : for whom he has foreknown, he has also predeter-
mined to be conformed to the imnge of his Son, that he might
30 be the first-born among many brethreii ; and whom he has
predetermined, them has he also called ; and whom he has
called, them has he also justified ; and whom he has justified,
them has he also glorified.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God be for us,
32 who can be against us? He who spai-ed not his own Son, but
delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also
freely give us all things ?
33 Who shall bring an accusation against the elect of God ? God
34 is he who justifies. Who is he who condemns? Christ is he
who died ; nay, rather who has been raised, who also is at the
right hand of the Father, and who intercedes for us.
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? tribulation,
or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger,
36 or sword? As it is written, "For thee we die daily, we are
37 counted as sheep destined for the slaughter :" but in all these
things we do more than overcome through him who has loved
38 us. For I am persuaded, that neither death nor life, neither
angels nor principalities nor powers, neither things present
39 nor things future, neither height nor depth, nor any other
created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus.
CHAPTER IX.
1 The truth I say in Christ, I lie not, my conscience bearing me
2 a testimony together with the Holy Spirit, that I have a great
3 grief and a continual sorrow in my heaz't ; for I myself could
wish to be an anathema from Christ for my brethren, my
4 kindred according to the flesh ; who are Israelites, whose are
the adoption and the glory and the covenants and the lawgiv-
5 ing and the worship and the promises ; whose are the fathers,
and from whom is Christ according to the flesh, who is above
all, God blessed for ever. Amen.
endued with extraordinary gifts. The gifts of the Spirit, however abundant,
did not fi-ee any from the bondage of corruption, from the body of sin ; but this
was an object of hope, for which they were to wait. The context, before and
after, clearly shows that the present condition of God's people is the subject.
— Ell ,
568 NEW TRANSLATION OF THE CHAP. IX. 81.
6 Not however as though God's word has failed ; for not all
7 who are from Israel are Israelites ; nor are they who are the
seed of Abraham, on this account all sons ; but, " In Isaac
8 shall thy seed be called ;" that is, They who are the sons of
the flesh, are not the sons of God ; but they who are the sons
9 of the promise shall be counted for a seed. For the word of
promise is this, " According to this time shall I come, and
10 tliere shall be a son to Sarah." And not only he, but Rebecca
1 1 also, who had conceived by one, our father Isaac ; for when
the children were not yet born, and had done neither good nor
evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand,
12 not by works, but through him who calls, it Avas said to her,
13 "The elder shall serve the younger;" according to what is
written, " Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated."
14 What then shall we say? Is there unrighteousness with
15 God? By no means: for he says to Moses, " I will have
mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compas-
16 sion on whom I will have compassion." It is not then of him
who wills, nor of him who runs ; but of God who shows
17 mercy. For the Scripture saith to Pharaoh, " For this have
I raised thee, that I might show in thee my power, and that
18 my name might be prochiimed through the whole earth." So
then on whom he wills he has mercy, and whom he wills he
hardens.
19 Thou wilt then say to me. Why does he still blame ? His will,
20 who has resisted it? But, O man, who art thou who contend-
est in judgment with God? Does the earthen vessel say to
21 the potter. Why hast thou thus made me ? Has not the former
of the clay power, from the same mass, to make one vessel to
22 honour, another to dishonour? And what if God, willing to
show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured
23 with much patience the vessels of wrath, prepared for destruc-
tion ; that he might also make known the riches of his grace
towards the vessels of mercy, which he has foreprepared for
24 glory ? Whom he has also called, even us, not only from the
25 Jews, but also from the Gentiles ; as he says in Hosea, "• I will
call them my people, who is not a people, and her beloved,
26 who is not beloved : and it shall be in the place where it was
said to them, ' Not my people are ye ;' there shall they be
27 called the sons of the living God :" and Isaiah exclaims re-
specting Israel, " Though the number of the sons of Israel
28 should be as the sand of the sea, yet only a remnant shall be
saved ; for the work he will finish and shorten, because a short-
29 ened work will the Lord do on the earth ;" as Isaiah had also
said before, " Except the Lord of hosts had left us a seed, we
should have been as Sodom and made like to Gomorrha."
30 What then shall we say? That the Gentiles, who did not
follow after righteousness, have obtained righteousness, even
31 the righteousness which is by faith : but Israel, by foUoM'ing
after the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of
CHAP. X. 21. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 569
32 righteousness, "Why ? Because [they followed after it] not by
faith, but as it were by works ; for they have stumbled at the
33 stone of stumbling, according to what is written, " Behold, I
lay in Sion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offence :" and,
" Every one who believes in him shall not be ashamed,"
CHAPTER X.
1 Brethren, the kind desire of my heart, and prayer to God
2 for Israel, is for their salvation. P^or I bear to them a testi-
mony, that they have a zeal for God ; but not according to
3 knowledge : for being ignorant of the righteousness of God,
and seeking to establish their own righteousness, they have not
4 submitted to the righteousness of God ; for the end of the law
is Christ for righteousness to every one who believes,
5 For Moses describes the righteousness which is by the law,
6 " The man who shall do these things shall live by them :" but
the righteousness, which is by faith, saith thus, " Say not in
thine heart, ' Who shall ascend into heaven V this is to bring
7 down Christ; or, 'Who shall descend into the deep?' that is
to bring up Christ again from the dead :" but what does it say ?
8 " Nigh thee is the word, in thy mouth and in thy heart :" this
9 is the word of faith which we preach, — That if thou wilt confess
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thy heart that
10 God has raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved; for
with the heart we believe to righteousness, and with the mouth
11 confession is made to salvation ; for the Scripture says, " Eveiy
12 one wdio believes in him shall not be ashamed :" for there is no
diflference between the Jew and the Greek ; for the same is the
13 Lord of all, being rich to all who call on him ; for, " whoso-
ever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved,"
14 How then shall they call on him in whom they have not be-
lieved ? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have
not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? and
15 how shall they preach except they be sent? As it is writ-
ten, " How beautiful are the feet of those who proclaim peace,
16 who proclaim good things !" But all have not obeyed the gos-
pel ; for Isaiah says, " Who has believed our report ?"
17 Faith then is by hearing, and hearing through the word of
18 God, But I say, Have they not heard ? Yes, verily, "Into
all the earth has gone forth their sound, and into the ends of
19 the world their words." But I say, Has not Israel known?
First, Moses says, " I will provoke them to jealousy by them
who are not a people, and by a foolish nation will I irritate
20 them :" then Isaiah is bold and says, " I have been found by
those who sought me not, I have been made manifest to those
21 who inquired not for me;" but of Israel he says, " Daily have
I stretched forth my hands to a people disobedient and gain-
saying."
570 NEW TRANSLATION OF THE CflAP. XI. 23.
CHAPTER XI.
1 I say then, Hath God cast awaj his people ? By no means;
for I also am an Israelite, from the seed of Abraham, //-o/w the
2 tribe of Benjamin. God has not cast away his people whom
he has foreknown. Know ye not what the Scripture saith as
3 to Elias? how he appeals to God against Israel, saying, " Lord,
thy prophets have they killed, and thy altars have they pulled
4 down, and I am left alone, and they seek my life ?" But what
says the answer of God to him ? "I have reserved for myself
seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to the
5 image of Baal." So now, even at this time, there is a remnant
6 according to the election of grace : and if through grace, then
no longer by works, otherwise grace is no longer grace ; but if
by works, then no longer by grace, otherwise work is no longer
work.
7 What then ? That which Israel seeks, he has not obtained ;
but election has obtained it, and the rest have been blinded,
8 as it is written, " God has given them the spirit of compunc-
tion, eyes so as not to see, and ears so as not to hear," even to
9 this day ; and David says, " Be their table for a snare and for
a trap, and for a stumbling, and for a recompense to them ;
10 darkened be their eyes so as not to see, and their back ever
bow thou down."
11 I say then. Have they stumbled so as wholly to fall? By
no means ; but by their fall salvation is come to the Gentiles
12 in order to provoke them to jealousy. But if their fall be the
riches of the world, and their diminution the riches of the
13 Gentiles, how much more their fulness? Even to you Gentiles
do I speak, — As far, doubtless, as I am the Apostle of the Gen-
14 tiles, I make illustrious my office, if by any means I shall pro-
15 voke to emulation my flesh, and shall save some of them. If
indeed their rejection be the reconciliation of the world, what
7vill be their resumption but life from the dead?
16 Now if the first-fruits be holy, even so the lump ; and if the
17 root be holy, so also the branches. If indeed some of the
branches have been broken off, and thou, a wild olive, hast been
ingrafted instead of them, and hast become a j^artaker of the
18 root and fatness of the olive, glory not against the branches;
19 but if thou gloriest, it is not thou who bearest the root, but the
root thee. Thou wilt then say, " Broken off have been the
20 branches, that I might be ingrafted." Be it so : for unbelief
have they been broken off, and thou by faith standest ; be not
21 high-minded, but fear: for if God spared not the natural
branches, beware lest he should not spare thee.
22 See then the kindness and the severity of God ; towards those
indeed who have fallen, severity ; but towards thee kindness, if
thou continuest in his kindness ; otherwise thou also shalt be
23 cut off : and they, if they remain not in unbelief, shall be in-
CHAP. XII. 9. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 571
24 grafted ; for God is able to ingraft them again. For if thou
hast been cut oft' from the wild olive, which is so by nature, and
hast contrary to nature been ingrafted in the true olive, much
more shall they, according to nature, be ingrafted in their own
olive.
25 I would not indeed, brethren, that you should be ignorant of
this mystery, lest you should be proud among yourselves, that
blindness has in part happened to Israel, until the fulness of
26 the Gentiles shall come in : and so all Israel shall be saved, as
it is written, " Come from Sion shall the Deliverer, and shall
27 turn away imjiieties from Jacob ; and this shall he my covenant
28 with them, when I shall take away their sins." As to the
gospel they are indeed enemies on your account ; but as to
29 election they are beloved on account of the fathers ; for with-
30 out repentance are the gifts and the calling of God. As indeed
ye also formerly believed not God, but have now obtained
31 mercy through their unbelief; so also they have not now be-
lieved, because ye have obtained mercy, that they may also
32 obtain mercy : for God has shut u\) all under unbelief, that he
might show mercy to all.
33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and of the
knowledge of God ! how incomprehensible are his judgments
34 and unsearchable his ways ! AVho indeed has known the mind
35 of the Lord? or who has been to him a counsellor'? or, who
36 has first given to him, and it shall be rendered to him again ?
for from him and through him and for him are all things : to
him be glory for ever. Amen.
CHAPTER XII.
1 I beseech you then, brethren, by the mercies of God, to
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God,
2 as your rational service. And conform not yourselves to this
world, but be ye transformed by the renovation of your mind,
that ye may prove what is the good and acceptable and perfect
will of God.
3 I indeed say, through the grace which has been given to me,
to every one of you, that he be not above measure wise, be-
yond what he ought to be wise ; but that he be wise unto so-
briety, as God has to each distributed the measure of faith.
4 For as in one body we have many members, but all the mem-
bers have not the same office ; so we, being many, are one
5 body in Christ, and severally members of one another. Now
6 having gifts differing according to the grace given to us, whether
7 prophecy, let us use it according to the analogy of faith ; or
8 ministry, in ministering ; or the teacher, in teaching ; or the
exhorter, in exhortation ; or the giver, in simplicity ; or the pre-
sident, with care ; or he who shows mercy, with cheerfulness.
9 Let love be undissembled : turn away from evil, cleave to
572 NEW TRANSLATION OF THE CHAP. XIII. 12.
10 what is good. Be readj with brotherly love to love one an-
il other, anticipating each other with honour. In business be not
12 slothful, in spirit fervent, serving the time; Rejoicing in hope,
13 patient in tribulation, persevering in prayer, distributing to the
14 necessities of the saints, following hospitality. Bless those who
15 per.^ecute you ; bless and pray for no evil. Rejoice with those
16 who rejoice, and weep with those who weep, having the same
feeling towards one another, not thinking arrogantly of your-
selves, but accommodating yourselves to humble things : be
17 not wise in your own esteem. To no man render evil for evil,
18 providing honest things before all men. If it be possible, as
far as you can, cultivate peace with all men.
19 Avenge not yourselves, beloved; but give place to wrath;
for it is written, " Mine is vengeance, and I will repay, saith
20 the Lord." If then thine enemy hungers, feed him ; if he
thirsts, give him drink : for by so doing, thou shalt heap coals
of fire on his head. Be not overcome by evil, but overcome
evil by good.
CHAPTER XIII.
1 Let every soul be subject to the supreme powers ; for there
is no power but from God ; and the powers that be have been
2 ordained by God. He therefore who resists the power, resists
the ordination of God ; and they who resist, shall for them-
selves receive judgment.
3 For princes are not for terror to good but to evil works :
wouldest thou then not fear the power ? Do good, and from it
4 thou shalt have praise ; for he is God's minister to thee for
good : but if thou doest any evil, fear ; for not in vain does he
bear the sword, since he is God's minister, an avenger for wrath
5 against those who do evil. It is therefore necessary to be sub-
ject, not only on account of wrath, but also on account of con-
science.
6 For this reason also pay tributes, since they are God's minis-
7 ters, constantly attending to this very thing. Render then to
all what is due ; to whom tribute is due, tribute ; to whom cus-
tom, custom; to whom fear, fear; to whom honour, honour.
8 To no one owe ye anything, except to love one another ; for he
9 who loves another, has fulfilled the law ; for this, " Thou shalt
not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill. Thou shalt not bear
false testimony. Thou shalt not covet, and if there be any other
10 precept, it is comprehended in this saying, Thou shalt love
thy neighbour as thyself." Love works no evil to a neighbour ;
the fulfilling then of the law is love.
11 Moreover, as ye know the time, that the hour is, when we
ouglit to have awakened already from sleep, (for nearer is now
1 2 our salvation than when we believed,) the night is far advanced,
CHAP. XIV. 18. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 573
and the day has approached ; let us then cast away the works
13 of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light : let us walk
decently as in the day, not in revelliniis and drunkennes.s, not
in chamberings and lasciviousness, not in contention and envy ;
14 but put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and have no care for the
flesh for the sake of its lusts.
CHAPTER XIV.
1 Now him who is weak in faith receive, not for the debatings
of questions.
2 Let hira indeed who believes eat everything ; but he who is
3 weak, eats herbs. Let not him who eats, despise him who ab-
stains ; and let not him who abstains, condemn him who eats,
4 since God has received him. Who art thou who judgest the
servant of another? to his own Lord he stands or falls: he
shall indeed stand, for God is able to make him stand.
5 One indeed esteems a day above a day ; but another esteems
every day alike : let every one be fully persuaded in his own
mind.
6 He who regards a day, regards it for the Lord ; and he who
regards not a day, regards it not for the Lord : he who eats,
eats for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God ; and he who ab-
7 stains, abstains for the Loi'd, and gives thanks to God ; for no
8 one of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself; for
whether we live, we live to the Lord, and whether we die, we
die to the Lord ; whether then w^e live or die, we are the Lord's.
9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose and lived again, that
he might be the Loi'd both of the dead and of the living.
10 But thou, 1 why dost thou judge thy brother ? or also thou,2
why dost thou despise thy brother? for we must all stand be-
ll fore the tribunal of Christ ; for it is written, " Live do I, saith
the Lord ; to me shall bow every knee, and every tongue shall
12 confess to God." Elvery one of us then shall give an account
13 of himself to God. Let us therefore no more judge one another ;
but rather judge this, that no occasion of falling or an offence
be given to a brother.
14 1 know and am persuaded, that in the Lord Jesus nothing is
in itself unclean : but he who regards anything unclean, to him
15 it is unclean. But if on account of meat thy brother is grieved,
thou no longer walkest consistently with love : by thy meat
16 destroy not him for whom Christ died. Let not then your
17 good be subject to the evil-speaking of men : for the kingdom
of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness and peace and
18 joy through the Holy Spirit. For he who in these things
serves Christ, is acceptable to God and approved by men.
> The Jewish convert. ^ fhe Gentile believer.
5 74 KEW TRANSLATION OF THE CHAP. XV. 16.
19 Let us then follow the things of peace and of mutual ediiica-
20 tion : on account of meat destroy not the work of God.
All things are indeed pure ; but evil it is for man to eat with
21 offence. It is good not to eat flesh, nor to drink wine, nor to
do anything, by which thy brother may fall, or be offended, or
be weakened.
22 Hast thou faith ? Have it for thyself before God : happy is
he who condemns not himself in that which he examines : but
he who is undecided, if he eat, is condemned ; for he eats not
in faith : and whatsoever is not from faith is sin.
CHAPTER XY.
1 Now we who are able ought to bear the infirmities of the
2 unable, and not to please ourselves : let indeed each of us
3 please his neighbour for good, to his edification. For even
Christ did not please himself; but, as it is written, "The re-
4 proaches of those who reproached thee, fell upon me." For
whatsoever things have been before written, have been written
for our instruction, that through the patience and consolation
5 of the Scriptures we might have hope : and may the God of
patience and of consolation grant you to have the same mind
6 towards one another, according to Christ Jesus, that ye may
unanimously, with one mouth, glorify the God and Father of
our Lord Jesus Christ.
7 Receive ye then one another, as Christ has received us, to the
8 glory of God. Now I say, that Jesus Christ became the mi-
nister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confii^m the
9 promises made to the fathei'S : the Gentiles also ought to glorify
God for his mercy, as it is written, " On this account will I
confess to thee among the Gentiles, and to thy name will I
10 sing:" and again he says, " Exult, ye Gentiles, with his people;"
11 and further, "Praise the Lord, all ye Gentiles, and praise him
12 together, all ye nations :" and again Isaiah says, "There shall
be the root of Jesse, and he who shall rise up to reign over the
13 Gentiles; in him shall the Gentiles hope." And may the God
of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye
may abound in hope through the power of the Holy SiJirit.
14 But I am persuaded, my brethren, even I myself, concern-
ing you, that ye are also yourselves full of goodness, having
been filled with all knowledge, being able to admonish one an-
15 other. The more boldly, however, have I M'ritten to you, my
brethren, in part, as putting you in mind, on account of the
16 grace given to me by God, that I should be the minister of
Christ to the Gentiles, consecrating the gospel of Christ, that
the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanc-
tified by the Holy Spirit.
CHAP. XVI. 4. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 575
17 I have therefore reason for glorying, through Jesus Christ,
18 in the things of God. I will not indeed dare to speak anythin'-f
of those things which Christ has not done through me, as to
19 the obedience of the Gentiles, by word and work, through the
power of signs and of wonders, through the power of the Holy
Spirit ; so that from Jerusalem, and round about to Illyricum,
20 I have spread more fully' the gospel of Christ ; thus endeavour-
ing to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, that I
21 might not build on another's foundation ; but, as it is written,
" They to whom it has not been declared concerning him, shall
see ; and they Avho have not heard, shall understand."
22 I have on this account also been often hindered from coming
23 to you : but now, having a place no longer in these regions,
24 and having a desire for many years to come to you, when I go
to Spain, I shall come to you. For I hope that when I go
there I shall see you, and that I shall be brought on my way
thither by you, if however I shall first be in part filled by a
converse with you.
25 But I am now going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints :
26 for it has pleased Macedonia and Achaia to make a contribu-
27 tion to the saints who are at Jerusalem : it has pleased them,
I say, and their debtors they are ; for if the Gentiles have
partaken of their spiritual things, they ought also to minister
28 to them in temporal things. When therefore I shall have per-
formed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I shall go by
29 you to Spain : and I know that when I come to you, I shall
come in the fulness of the blessing of the gospel of Christ.
30 Now I beseech you, brethren, by our Lord Jesus Christ and
by the love of the Spirit, that ye strive with me in your prayers
31 for me to God, that I may be delivered from the unbelievino-
in Judea, and that my service, undertaken for Jerusalem, may
32 be acceptable to the saints; that with joy I may come to you
b)^ the will of God, and may, together with you, be refreshed.
And the God of peace be with you alL Amen.
CHAPTER XVI.
1 Now I commend to you Phoebe, our sister, who is a deacon-
2 ess of the Cenchrean Church ; that ye receive her in the Lord,
as it becomes saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever matter
she may have need of you; for she has been a helper to many,
and to me also.
3 Salute Prisca and Aquila, [my fellow-workers in Christ
4 Jesus, who for my life laid down their own necks, to whom
' " I have siipplemented," is what Ca/vin approves : the gospel had ah-eady
been partially preached, but Paul had filled up or supplied what was deficient.
576 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. CHAP. XVI. 26.
not I alone give thanks, but also all the Churches of the
5 Gentiles,] and the Church in their house.
Salute Epenetus, my beloved, who is the first-fruit of Achaia
6 in the Lord. Salute Mary, who has laboured much with us.
7 Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow-cap-
tives, who are celebrated among the Apostles, and who were
8 before me in Christ. Salute Amplias, my beloved in the
9 Lord. Salute Urban, our helper in Christ, and Stachys, my
10 beloved. Salute Apelles, approved in Christ. Salute those
11 who are of the family of Aristobulus. Salute Herodion, my
kinsman. Salute those of the family of Narcissus, who are in
12 the Lord. Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who have laboured
much in the Lord. Salute the beloved Persis, who has
13 laboured much in the Lord. Salute Rufus, chosen in the Lord,
14 and his mother and mine. Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Her-
mas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren who are with them.
15 Salute Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olym-
16 pas, and all the saints who are with them. Salute one another
with an holy kiss. The Churches of Christ salute you.
17 But I beseech you, brethren, to observe those who stir up
divisions and offences, contrary to the doctrine which ye have
18 learnt, and to avoid them : for they, who are such, serve not
our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly ; and by courteous
19 language and flattery deceive the hearts of the simple. Your
obedience indeed has been published to all : I am therefore
glad on your account ; but I wish you to be wise for good, and
20 simple for evil. And the God of peace shall shortly bruise
Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be
with you. Amen.
21 Salute you do Timothy, my fellow-worker, and Lucius and
22 Jason and Sosipater, my kinsmen. Salute you do I Tertius,
23 who have written this Epistle, in the Lord. Salute you does
Gains, my host and of the whole Church. Salute you does
24 Erastus, the treasurer of the city, and Quartus a brother. The
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
25 Now to him who is able to confirm you according to my
gospel, even the preaching of Jesus Christ according to the
26 revelation of the mystery, Avhich was hid in former ages, but
has been now made known, and through the prophetic Scrip-
tures proclaimed, according to the appointment of the eternal
God, for the obedience of faith among all nations ; — to the only
wise God, through Jesus Christ, be glory for ever. Amen.
Sent to the Romans, from Corinth, by Phoebe, a
deaconess of the Cenchrean Church.
END OF THE NEW TRANSLATION.
INDICES
COMMENTAJIIES
ST. PAUL'S EPISTIE TO THE ROMANS.
2o
INDEX
OF GREEK WORDS EXPLAINED.
Page
Page
aiTida&ai
124
xarapysTv
115
a/ji,dPTU§ov
71
x^iviadai
117
aXka .
233
xv^i(jj
466
ava&s[j,a
388
"kiiTO'joyrieai .
536
UMa^Ttfia
388
fjbiTadibovvroig
462
U)ia\yrte)'iav .
335
fjJ^fOJdlV
104
a.vd^c/}-ofdyoug
126
01 OV Tl
344
dvTai^iag
479
o[ioiui[ji,aTt
223
avTiXur^ov
227
172
dcrdDijav
335
Tavrors
56
d'TrodruyovvTig
464
'jta.^aCr^^'j^Gai
424
d.ffhviia
280
'xd^sgyov
130
^aSog .
444
'Xi^l
282
7H '
195,286
'Zi'TrXrj^oi'/.ivai
531
'y^a(pst
387
ffX^jw.aa
531
ds
288
'jrgo'/sra/Xcvovg
463
did
166
TOi/jjg/ai'
81
hixaioGmri
211
voevsiav
81
hixaiM/La
211
^^oXri-^iig
96
b^asrlx-ov xaxoy
81
•^rgCTidivai
142
il Bs
101,367
CTivoy^(ti^ii6$ai
328
ihat
318
ero^yrjv
464
iig aurhv
448
euva\/TiXa//.QdviTai
311
iXsovvToig
463
TiXog
242
iV
412
Tivd
535
If W .
278
TO dd'jyuTOv .
278
B^a-TTardv
256
TO yvoiSTov
69
voXoyilv
469
TO (pponrifMot,
285
i-jorj'/.svai
153
TOJTOU
272
rjyifji^o]/r/.0]/
454
Turrov .
104
6i()STuyi7g
81
l^DigTocg
82
6up,og
92
h-wiQri<pd'jOvg .
82
iXadT^oiov
142
i/ortsfft/'i/e/v
456
KO.i ha
369
<p^o\ioZsiv
285
xaighg
488
y^imog
488
xuKorihiav
81
ODEX
OF HEBREW WORDS EXPLAINED.
1
Page
281
69, 412
356
Dm
Page
375
357
400
INDEX
OF PASSAGES REFERRED TO, QUOTED, OR EXPLAINED.
GENESIS.
1 SAMUEL.
Chap.
Ver.
Page
Chap. Ver. Page
li.
4
117
liii. 5 185
Chap.
Ver.
Page
Chap.
Ver.
Page
Ivi.
11
322
Ux. 7, 8 127
iii.
15
137
iv.
22
340
Ixix.
10
515
20 437
vi.
3
273
22
419
Ix. 1 341
5
235
23
419
Ixi. 1 215
16
487
2 SAMUEL.
Ixxii.
7
337
Ixv. 1 406
XV.
6
155
cvi.
30
161
xvii.
4
341
xxii.
50
521
cxvi.
11
116
7
165
441
cxvii.
cxxviii.
1
1
522
162
JEREMIAH.
20
346
1 KINGS
vii. 4 341
xviii.
23
328
13 407
25
120
xix.
10
412
PRO"\'ERBS.
ix. 24 71
xlviii.
16
339
18
413
ii.
14
83
102
xi. 7 407
EXODUS.
JOB.
X.
xvi.
7
4
183
362
xviii. 6 866
XXX. 22 52
150
iv.
22
16
32
339
359
338
xxxiv.
17
120
xxxi. 9 339
ix.
xxxii.
xl.
4
180
ISAIAH
33 112
439
i.
9
375
LEVITICUS.
PSALMS.
11
341
EZEKIEL.
vi.
9
418
xviii.
5
387
i.
2
162
viii.
14
380
xi. 13 375
ii.
7
45
X.
22,23
374
xvi. 25 83
DEUTERONOMY.
iii.
6
822
xi.
10
522
xxxvi. 20 107
V.
9
126
xix.
18
299
iv.
1
95
X.
7
127
xxviii.
16
379
161
xiv.
1
126
22
375
DANIEL.
82
841
128
xxix.
10
418
X.
16
165
xviii.
49
521
xxxvii.
4
53
vi. 20 53
xxvii.
26
95
xix.
4
402
xlii.
8
502
xxix.
4
98
5
403
xlv.
9
366
XXX.
6
165
xxiii.
4
822
Iii.
5
107
HOSEA.
12
888
xxxvi.
1
127
7
399
xxxii.
21
404
xlvii.
5
522
15
532
i. 10 373
32
474
1.
16
105
liii.
1
400
ii. 23 299
580
INDEX OF SCRIPTURE PASSAGES.
Chap. Ver.
Page
Chap.
Ver.
Page
Chap. Ver.
Page 2
THESSALONIANt
U. 23
371
xi.
32
110
iv. 8
328
372
xxiv.
19
530
16
271
Chap. Ver. Page
442
25
98
V. 20
47
i. 6,9 328
xiii. 9
77
21
282
JOHN.
vi. 8
ix. 2
472
535
1 TIMOTHY.
JOEL.
14
n
19
16
44
387
46
142
11
536
i.
X. 10
195
i. 17 342
ii. 2
32
89
395
ii.
iii.
V. 9, 11 543
23
47
GALATIANS.
AMOS.
V.
viii.
36
36
530
238
i. 8
830
TITUS.
V. 18
89
ix.
X.
31
18
196
46
293
15
iii. 11
12
42
158
135
i. 15 505
HABAKKUK.
xii.
xiv.
43
17
140
46
27
221
490
HEBREWS.
ii. 4 65
ZEPHANIAH.
XV.
xvii.
16
3
A.CTS.
59
71
iv. 9
V. 17
25
315
411
263
294
i. 2 169
14 330
ix. 15 144
xi. 3 71
xii. 18 296
i. 15
89
ii.
iii.
22
25
530
341
EPHESIANS.
xiii. 15 52
ZECHARIAH.
xiii. 9 398
MALACHI.
vi.
ix.
xiv.
xviii.
7
15
3
17
2
344
48
47
530
71
544
i. 20
ii. 12
20
iii. 9
iv. 13
30
325
273
532
555
57
294
JAMES.
i. 3 191
ii. 20 149
iv. 12 501
XX.
23
538
i. 2, 8
352
xxviii.
26
418
iv. 2
555
PHILIPPLINS.
1 PETER.
1 CORINTHIANS.
i. 2 317
12 655
MATTHEW.
i. 6
495
V. 10
329
iii.
iv.
11
5
5.32
100
ii. 10
iii. 3
503
54
ii. 10 380
17
151
vi.
13
506
4
409
xii. 42
110
viii.
8
506
xviii. 19
539
X.
23
509
2 PETER.
20
539
xii.
11
22
67
195
COLOSSIANS.
i. 4 189
MARK.
xiii.
xiv.
9
5
460
460
i. 20
555
xvi. 15
531
32
461
1 JOHN.
20
530
1 THESSALONIANS.
2 CORINTHIANS.
iii. 2 189
iv. 7
50
803
LUKE.
i.
23
54
239
16 196
iii.
6
112
v. 3
65
iv. 10 315
vii. 37
196
iv.
8
191
23
452
V. 19,20 301
GENERAL INDEX.
AcBA, Father, 298, 299.
Abound, to, in hope, 525.
Abraham justified by faith through
life, after his regeneration, l.'U,
136 ; a pattern of the righteousness
by faith, 153, &c. ; a descent from,
an honour, 1 54 ; his faith desoribod,
15'J ; how the heir of the world,
IG 1 ; circumcised after he believed,
165 ; the father of the faithful, 174;
his strong faith, 177, 178; his laugh-
ter, blameless, 180; and Lot, ex-
amples of distress, 3-8 ; all his
■ children not God's children, 344.
Acceptable, sacrifices, to God, 451.
Access to God through Christ, 1 88.
Achaia, Epcnetus the first-fruit of,
545 ; sent contributions to Jerusa-
lem, 535, 536.
Adam, when he became a sinner,
shunned God's presence, 140; and
Christ, compared, 199-213 ; death
reigned fi'ora, to Moses, 204 ; a
type of Christ, 204, 205 ; and
Christ, how they difl'er, 210; dis-
obedience of, 212, 213.
Admonitions, two things necessary for
administering, 526.
Adoption, the spirit of, 295-299 ; the,
of our body, to be waited for, 309 ;
belonged to Israel, 339; based on
God's mercy alone, 409.
Adversaries, the, of the truth, ever
slanderous, 122, 123.
Adversities turned into blessings, 327.
Afflictions, promote the glory of the
faithful, 190-192 ; are only momen-
tary, 302 ; ought to be patiently
borne, 316-319.
Alive, to be, without the law, 255.
Ambition, the cause of discord, 470.
Ambrose, his view of " nauie " in eh.
i.5, 47.
Ammonius, quoted, 81.
Anabaptists denied oaths to be lawful
53, 54.
Analogy, the, of faith, 459.
Anathema, the meaning of, 335.
Antiquity often fabulous, 43.
Apostles, pretended successors of, 42 ;
their special office, 49 ; how they
quoted Scripture, 1 17, 438.
Apostleship, the, a favour, 47 ; its pe-
culiar work, 531, 532.
Approbation, the, of vices, a heinous
sin, 82, 83.
Approval, a twofold, 103.
Arts and sciences, worthless, compared
with the knowledge of God, 126.
Ashamed, the believer shall not be,
380.
Aquila saluted, 544.
Assurance, given by the Spirit, 299 ;
the, of God's love, a sufficient sup-
port, 323 ; the, of salvation, rests
on two foundations, 389.
Assured, to be fully, in one's own mind,
496/;497.
Asylum, the, of the sinner, faith, 155.
Avenge, to, forbidden, 473.
Avenger, the, assumes God's office, 475.
Augustine, his notion as to the word,
Paul, 40 ; referred to on image-
worship, 75 ; his saying respecting
mercy, 82 ; his false view of " the
righteousness of God," 134 ; what
he says of Abraham disapproved,
178 ; mistaken in his view of " the
love of God," 193 ; what he says of
the " law," wrong, 214 ; his opinion
of the tenth conmiandment, 252 ;
retracted his opinion on chap, vii.,
264 ; how he calls the Christian
conflict, 270; quoted on chap, viii.,
15, 298 ; his view of "all things"
in chap. viii. 28, disapproved, 315 ;
his answer to Pelagius, 358 ; a say-
ing of, 382.
Authority belongs only to God's word,
1 25 ; not given to truth by the
Church, 401,402; the civil, to re-
sist, is to resist God, 478, 479.
B
Babylon, restoration from, a type of
spiritual restoration, 374.
682
GENEKAL INDEX.
Banner, an universal, hoisted by Paul,
395.
Baptism, without holiness, an empty
sign, 109; alone does not justify,
109 ; substituted for circumcision,
165, 166 ; sins after, as well as be-
fore, forgiven, 208, 209 ; what it
signifies, 220 ; sometimes taken as
connected with what it typifies, 221.
Barrenness of Sarah, 177.
Beginnings, the, of tlie Spirit, 308.
Benefits, earthly, pledges to the godly
of eternal life, 169.
Benevolence, the, of God, its design, 87.
Blasphemers, how they excuse them-
selves, 294.
Blasphemy, the, of fanatics, 287 ; of
the Papists, in making truth de-
pendent on the Church, 401, 402.
Bless, to, persecutors, 468.
Blessing, the fulness of, what, 537.
Blessings, earthly, given for different
purposes, 88.
Blindness, a judgment on the Jews,
418, 419 ; in part, what it means,
436.
Bodies, mortal, what they mean, 253 ;
to be presented as living sacrifices,
451, 452.
Body, the, of sin, how crucified, 224 ;
the, of death, 272 ; taken for the
corrupt nature of man, 291.
Bondage, tiie spirit of, 295-298 ; the,
of corruption, 305.
Bond of unity, Christ the, 518.
Branches, natural, the Jews were, 430.
Brother, a, to judge, is to assume God's
oflBce, 501.
Brotherly love, how to be exercised,
464.
Bucer, quoted, 51, 58.
Building on another's foundation, 532.
Budseus, quoted, 338.
Business, not to be slothful in, 465.
Calling, distinguished from election,
319; and works, opposed to each
other, 35) ; an evidence of election,
373 ; on God, a pi'oof of faith, 397;
effectual, 401.
Calumny, that grace favours sin, 236 ;
that God is unjust in election, 354.
Care for the flesh, w hat it ought to be,
490,491.
Cenchrea, the Church at, 542.
Ceremonies, the works of the law not
confined to, 159 ; not meant by the
law which cannot justify, 280,379;
lawful, when appointed by God, 34 1.
Cheerfulness, mercy to be shown with,
463,
Chosen, the, of the Father, committed
to Christ's care, 49.
Christ, the manifestation of, twofold,
137; a propitiatory, 141, 142 ; re-
stores the inhei'itance lost in Adam,
169; was delivered for our offences,
184 ; was raised for our justifica-
tion, 185 ; is our peace, 187, 188 ;
died for the ungodly, 194, 195 ; re-
conciled sinner.s, 197, 198 ; and
Adam, compared, 199-213 ; how
they difi'er, 210 ; died once to sin,
227 ; how he dwells in his people,
291; is an example in suffering,
328 ; is the brother of all tlie faith-
ful, 318 ; is filled with all blessings,
322, 323 ; is our mediator and in-
tercessor, 325 ; descended from the
Jews, 34] ; his two natures, 342 ;
and Moses, contrasted, 387 ; died
and arose, that he might be the
Lord of all, 500 ; his eternal di-
vinity, 502, 503 ; pleased not him-
self, 515; became a minister of the
circumcision for two ends, 520-522.
Christian philosophy, what, 241; the,
priesthood, 527.
Christians die to sin, 218, 219 ; rise to
a new life, 228, 229.
Church, the truth's authority not de-
rived from, 402 ; to judge of, by
appearances, not right, 411, 412;
the sacrifices of, 452 ; its true
unity, 549.
Chrysostom, his mistake as to the works
of the law, 131 ; his opinion of
"likeness," 223; quoted on chap,
viii. 3, 281 ; his homilies referred
to, 547.
Cicero, quoted, 92, 124.
Circumcision a symbol of God's cove-
nant, 108 ; its true character, 108;
required perfection, 109 ; what it
really signifies, 111; why gloried
in by the Jews, 132, 163; a seal of
the righteousness of faith, 1 64, 1 65;
why administered to infants, 1 65 ;
why discontinued, 166.
Civil powers. See Magistrates.
Clay, the, the former of, 366.
Coals of fire, to heap, what, 475, 476.
Commandment, the, found to be to
death, 256; is holy, just, and good,
257, 258.
Communication, mutual, required of
the faithful, 459.
Compunction, the spirit of, 418.
Condemnation, doubly merited, 84 ;
the, of the impenitent inci'eased by
GENERAL INDEX.
583
God's bounty, 88; none to those iu
Clirist, 275, -276.
Confession, necessary, 392.
Confidence, the ground of, 32G ; in-
creases obhgation, 534.
Conflict, tlie, of the failliful, 179; dif-
ferent in the natural and in the
spiritual man, 262, 2b'3; how it ex-
» ists in the Christian, 270.
Conform, to, we ought not, to this world,
453, 454.
Congruity and condignity, 147.
Conjecture, the moral, of the School-
men, 1 73, 1 89, 300.
Conquer. See Overcome.
Conscience, ascribed to the heathens,
98; appealed to by Paul, 334.
Consciences, quieted only by faith, 135,
1G8, 170, 187.
Consolation and patience, given by the
Scriptures, 517; the author of, God,
517, 518.
Contention, the effect of envy, 490.
Contentious, the, threatened with
wrath, 91.
Corruption, the, of the heathens, 78,
79; tlie, of all mankind, 125-130,
199-205.
Counsel, God's, hidden, not to be
curiously searched, 287, 446", 447.
Counsellor, a strange one, 105; none to
God, 446.
Courteousness, to be limited, 473.
Covenant, the old, was spiritual,
521.
Covenants, the, belonged to the Jews,
340.
Coveting, made known by the law,
251,252.
Creation, the, ought to lead us to the
Creator, 70; waits for renovation,
303-306.
Creature, the, subject to vanity, 304.
Creatures, rational and irrational, the
rer.ovation of, 305, 306.
Crucifitd, the old man is to be, 226,
227.
Curiosity, not to he indulged on intri-
cate questions, 353.
Custom, due to rulers, 483.
D
Darkness, the works of, 487, 488.
Eavid, Christ's descent from, 44 ; was
justified by faith after a long life of
holiness, 136; his imprecation on
his enemies, 419.
Day, the, of Judgment, a day of wrath
to the wicked, 89; what it means,
489.
Days, a difference made in, by the
Jews, 496 ; the observance of, an
infirmity, 497.
Death, its i-eign from Adam to Moses,
204, 205; derives its power from
sin, 215; the, of sin, the life of
man, 255 ; the body of, 272 ; how
to be wished, 273, 274; the law of,
277; the punishment of, given to
the magistrate, 481, 482.
Debatings, the, of questions, 492, 493.
Debtor, a, Paul, to all, CO.
Debtors, none to the flesh, 293, 294;
the Gentiles to the Jews, 336.
Deity, a, the idea of, implanted in all,
71.
Depth, the, of God's wisdom and
knowledge, 444, 445.
Despair makes men to seek death, 273.
Destroy, to, a brother, by meat, 505,
506.
Devil, the, accuser of the faithful, 324.
Die, to, to the Lord, what, 499.
Difference, none in justification, 139 ;
between the Jews and the Gentiles,
from God's favour, 150 ; between
-Jacob and Esau, 351, 352; between
the law and the gospel, 388; none
between the Jew and the Greek,
395; between the gospel and phi-
losophy, 449; a, in opinion, leads to
discord, 492 ; in days among the
Jews, 496.
Diminution, the, of the Jews, 422, 423.
Discord, occasioned by ambition, 470.
Disobedience, the, of Adam, 212, 213.
Dispensation, the, of the law and of
the gospel, 297; the Mosaic, the
design of, 386, 387.
Distinction. See Difference.
Distress, defined, 328.
Diversity, the, of gifts, 458, 459.
Divinit}', the, and the humanity of
Christ, 44; the, of God, proved by
his works, 70; the, of Christ, at-
tested, 502, 503.
Dominion, not allowed to sin, 230-233;
the, of sin, when it ceases, 236;
the, of Christ, over the living and
the dead, 500.
Domitian, as described by Pliny, 127.
Drunkenness, leads to revelling, 489.
E
Edification, what promotes it, to be
followed, 508, 509 ; to, to please
one another, 514, 515.
Elder, the, serving the younger, o51,
352
Elect, the, cannot be condemned,
584
GENEKAL INDEX.
323, 324 ; a remiiaut, 401, 402, 413,
414.
Election, general and particular, 343-
353, 440, 441 ; not confined to Ab-
raham's children, 345; not based
on works, 350, 351 ; is to be re-
ferred to God's counsel, 357 ; a
great mystery, 367 ; dependent
only on God's good pleasure, 370;
not confined to nations, 371 ; ma-
nifested by calling, 373 ; the, the
grace of, 414; what it means in
{^chap. xi. 7, 416.
Elections, two, as to Israel, 345.
Elias, his complaint against Israel,
411-413; 7000 reserved by God in
his time, 413.
Emotions, the, of sin, 249.
Emulation, the Jews provoked to, by
the Gentiles, 424.
End, the, of the law, Christ is, 383,
384.
Enemy, an, ought to be fed, 475.
Enemies, no evil to be imprecated on,
4G8 ; to wish evil to, natural to
man, 469.
Envy, aud pride, prevent improve-
ment, 53 ; no ground for, 395;
produces contention, 490.
Equality among Christians, 501.
Epenetus, the first-fruits of Achaia,
545.
Erasmus, quoted, 60, 92, 179, 181, 205,
229, 236, 264, 277-279, 285, 303,
464, 469,471,527, 545.
Esau, why rejected, 349-352.
Eternal life, to whom promised, 90;
the gift of God, 242.
Eusebius referred to, 75.
Evil, to turn away from, 464; to bo
overcome by good, 476; nut done
by love, 487.
Example, the, of Christ, in not pleas-
ing himself, 515.
Examples, the, of Scripture, for our
instruction, 182, 183.
Excellencies, those of a neutral kind,
104, 105.
Excision, the, of the Gentiles, threat-
ened, 433 ; two modes of, 433, 434.
Exhortations are to follow doctrines,
229, 293, 294.
Exhorting, the office of, 462.
Experience, produced by patience, 191.
Expressions, paraphrastic, the design
of, 184.
Faith, the, obedience of, 48 ; the, of
the Romans, 52; the peculiar gift
of God, 52; from, to faith, 65; the
righteous live by, 65, 66 ; receives
all from God, 148 ; and works,
blended by the self-righteous, 148;
the, of Abraham, 155, 156 ; brings
nothing but a confession of need
and misery, 155 ; how counted
righteousness, 158, 159; and sacra-
ments, to be distinguished, 167;
borrows nothing from the law, 167;
different from regeneration, 173 ;
mounts on celestial wings, 176;
its weakness, twofold, 179; regards
not human weakness but God's
power, 181; aud the word, con-
nected, 182 ; the true defined, 189;
sustained by promises, 326 ; and
works, incompatible, 379 ; its seat,
the heart, 393 ; produced by the
word, 397 ; comes by hearing, 401 ;
based on God's truth, 401 ; impli-
cit, of the Papists, vain, 401, 402 ;
generates humility and fear, 429 ;
perseverance in, flows from God's
election, 432 ; the weak in, how to
be treated, 491-503; to act with-
out, a sin, 512.
Faithful, the, ought, like Abraham, to
believe against hope, 180 ; groan
and wait, 306; are one body in
Christ, 458.
Falsehoods, the duty of exposing,
123.
Fanatics, their blasphemy, 287.
Fathers, the, were saved through
Christ, 195; how they differed from
us, 297.
Fear, the, of God, takes from the flesh
its sovereignty, 276 ; alone quelled
by forgiveness, 298 ; compatible
with the assurance of faith, 429;
due to those in power, 482, 483.
Feeding an enemy, what, 475.
Feelings, of two kinds, in the faithful,
308 ; of two kinds, entertained by
Paul, 335.
Fervent, to be, in the Spirit, 465.
First-born, the Jews were, in God's
family, 437.
Fii-st-fruit, the, and the lump, in what
sense holy, 425-427.
Flesh, what it means, 133; the, mur-
murs against God's mysteries, 234,
253; to be in, what, 249; means
corrupt nature, 267; the, to walk
after, what, 284, 285 ; the, the
thinking of, 285, 286.
Forbearance, the, of God, 145.
Foreknowledge, its meaning, 316-318;
not a simple prescience, 410; the,
of works, to blend with election,
absurd, 415.
GENERAL INDEX.
58.5
Foundation, another's, Paul built not
on, 5'S2.
Freedom, from the law, only through
Christ, 247, 248; from sin and the
law, eotemporaneous, 248, 249;
from sin, gauied only by Christ,
288.
Free-will, proved false, 26'2 ; carried
high by Sophists, 288.
Fruit, Paul wished to gather, among
the Romans, 5.') ; the. of charity, to
seal, what, o.'iG, 5'M.
Fulness, the, of the Jews, 422; of the
Gentiles, 436 ; of blessings, what,
537.
Garrulity, the, of hypocrites, 105.
Gentiles, the, a law to themselves, 96-
98; had some knowledge of the law,
98; ascribed majesty to idols, 106;
called the uncircumcision, 110; all
under sin, 123, 124 ; justified in the
same way with the Jews, 134-139,
149, 150; obtained righteousness
witliout seeking it, 377, 378 ; had
the preaching of God's works, 402-
404 ; received mercy in order to
provoke the Jews to jealousy, 404,
405 ; their calling foretold by Isaiah,
405, 406 ; will be benefited by the
restoration of the Jews, 422, 423 ;
the Jews provoked to emulation by
the, 424 ; compared to a wild olive,
427-430; warned not to glory, 428;
the calling of, foretold in various
passages, 521-523; their offering
up to God, the object of Paul's
ministry, 528 ; how made obedient,
529 ; the gospel preached to them
according to God's command, 553-
556. See Heathens.
Gift, the, of Prophecy, 459, 460.
Gifts, God's object in granting, 57 ;
r the, of God, ought to be valued,
336, 337 ; the, and calling of God,
without repentance, 440, 441 ; va-
rious, in the Church, 457-463.
Glory, the, of God, to come short of,
140; given to God by faith, 180;
the, of the Father, its meaning,
222 ; the, what it means in ch. ix.
4, 340 ; the riches of, 369.
Glorying excluded, 147; not allowed
to Abraham, 154, 155.
God, his greatness incomprehensible,
69 ; his power and divinity made
evident by his works, 70, 71 ; gave
up the heathens to vile lusts, 76, 77 ;
gave them up to a perverted mind,
79, 80 ; is an impartial judge, 85 ;
is necessarily a righteous judge,
120, 121; works good by evil, 122;
his power not easily believed, 181 ;
his love diffused in tlie heart by
the Spirit, 1 92 ; confirms his love,
196, 197 ; is pleased with nothing
but righteousness, 287 ; is the
searcher of hearts, 313, 314; turns
evils into benefits, 314 ; his favour
all-sufficient, 322; spared not his
own Son, 322 ; his gifts, wherever
found, to be valued, 336-341 ; is
debtor to none, 356, 447, 448 ;
shows mercy to whom he wills,
361 ; hardens whom he wills, 362;
is silent on some things, because
we cannot understand them, 365 ;
preached to the Gentiles by his
works, 402, 403 ; ever preserves a
Church for himself, 4 1 1 ; his gifts
and calling irrevocable, 440, 441 ;
the depth of his wisdom and know-
ledge, 444, 445 ; ordains the powers
that be, 477, 478; claims authority
over life and death, 499 ; the, of
liope, 524 ; the, of peace, 540 ; is
the only wise, 552.
Godly, the, enjoy lawfully what they
have, 169 ; are divided and pulled
two ways, 263 ; wish death, wh}',
273; check impatience, how, 274.
Good, the, man, described, 196; no,
dwells in us, 267; intention.% often
deceptive, 382, 511; and evil, what
they mean, 464.
Goodness, the, of God, leads to re-
pentance, 87, 88; the, of God, to
the Gentiles, 431, 432 ; the, of God,
abused by hypocrites, 450; the, of
God, its constraining power, 450 ;
the Romans full of, 526.
Gospel, the, included in Christ, 43;
offered to the wise and the un-
wise, 60; contemptible in the eyes
of the world, 61 ; the power of God,
62 ; how it becomes the savour of
death, 62; an extraordinary know-
ledge of, claimed b}' vain talkers,
105; came to the Gentiles from the
Jews, 339 ; conveys certainty, 391 ;
requires nothing but faith, 391 ;
preached in every place tlu'ough
God's special providence, 397 ; be-
lieved by few, 400 ; the preaching
of, a sacred work, 527; formerly
hid, now revealed, 553, 554 ;
preached among all nations con-
sistently with the prophetic writ-
ings, 554.
Government, God's ordination, 477-
480 ; a bad, better than none, 480.
58b*
GENEKAL INDEX.
Grace, salvation wholly by, 50 ; men
ai-e made partakers of, by faith
only, I.tO; opposed to offence, 207;
absurdly defined by Scliuohnen,
208; its superaboundiiig, 215;
calumniated by the ungodly, 218;
destroys sin, 218, 219 ; to be under,
what, "235 ; and merit, incompa-
tible, 414.
Grafting into Christ, 222, 223.
Greeks, the, and Barbarians, Paul a
debtor to, 60 ; put for all nations,
63.
Grief for the reprobate, how allowable,
3;!4, 335.
Groaning and waiting, the case with
the faithful, 308.
Groaniugs, unutterable, 3 1 3.
H
Hands, the extention of, what, 407.
ilaters, the, of God, 81.
Haughty, who they are, 82.
Hearers, the, of the law, 95.
Heart, me;'.ns the understanding, 37,
38.
Heathens, their ignorance, wilful, 71 ;
their idolatry, 73-75; being wise,
became fools, 73 ; their vices, evi-
dences of God's wrath, 76.
Heavens, the, preached to the hea-
thens, 402-404.
Herbs, the weak lived on, 494.
Hinderances, the, of the godly and of
the ungodly, different, 59 ; the
chief, in attaining righteousness,
379.
History, a teacher, 182, 183.
Holy, the Law is, 257.
Honour, to be conceded to others, 465;
due to those in power, 483.
Honours, to seek, from God's enemies
a disgrace, 516.
Hope, Abraham believed against, 176,
177; increased by experience, 190-
192; ascribed to creatures void of
reason, 304 ; saved by, 309 ; sus-
tained by patience, 310 ; to rejoice
in, 466; and patience, connected,
467 ; the God of, 524 ; to abound
in, 525.
Hosea, a quotation from, in what sense
applicable to the Gentiles, 371, 372.
Hospitality, enjoined, 467, 4(i8.
Humility, commended, 459; and meek-
ness, the highest excellencies, 470.
Hypocrisy, the best mode of dealing
with, 86.
Hypocrites, are influenced by sinister
motives, 55 ; make great display of
sanctity, 83; summoned to God's
tribunal, 85 ; take prosperity a
proof of God's favour, 87 ; their
garrulity, 105; glory in outward
rites, 109, 132; their inebriating
confidence, 256; their specious zeal,
383 ; pray without faith, 397.
Idolatry, a sacrilege, 78, 106.
Ignorance, the, of the heathens, wil-
ful, 7) ; the, of God, the cause of
inhumanity, 126 ; the sins of, less
culpalile than those of knowledge,
171, 172; a vain excuse, 511.
Illyricum, Paul preached as far as to,
531.
Image, an, the heathens made, of
God, 74.
Impatience, how restrained, 274.
Impenitent, the, their condemnation
increased by God's bounty, 88.
Impiety and unrighteousness, what
they mean, 68.
Implicit faith, the, of the Papists, vain,
401,402.
Impossibility, the, of the Law, 278.
Inconsistency, an apparent, reconciled,
198.
Incomprehensible, God's judgments
are, 445.
Indignation and wrath, the lot of the
disobedient, 92.
Inexcusable, the heathens were, for
their idolatry, 71-74; the guilty,
who judges another, 83, 84.
Infants, why circumcised, 165; in-
cluded in Adam's sin, 204.
Inheritance, belongs to children, ."jOI ;
attained by the cross, 301, 302;
belongs only to the childi-en of the
pi'omise, 344.
Injuries, not to be repayed, 473.
Inner man, the, and the members,
how to be distinguished, 271.
Insition, three modes of, 433, 434.
Insolent, the, described, 82.
Intentions, good, often deceptive, 382^
511.
Intercession, the, of the Spirit, 312,
313; the, of Christ, how to be un-
derstood, 325.
Interpreters, pervert what is said of
Pharaoh, 360 ; misrepresent the
meaning of Isaiah x. 22, 23, 374,
375; make the second to be the
first cause of perdition, 376.
Intricate questions, curiosity not to be
indulged on, 353.
Invisible things, the, of God, 71.
QEUBRAL INDEX.
587
Isaac, the seed of promise, 345.
Ishniuel, not tile lieir oi' promise, 346.
Isniel, wliat it means, 437.
Israelite, an, i'aul was, 409.
Jacob chosen, and Esau rejected, 347;
loved, and Esau hated, 352.
James, consistent on justification with
Taui, 14 9.
Jealousy, the Jews excited to, by the
(ii miles. 421,4-J2.
Jerome, his mistake as to " the works
of tlie law," 131.
Jerusalem, Paul pi'eached from, to
lUyricum, 531 ; visited by Paul,
535.
Jesse, the root of, 523.
Jew, a, who is, 111, 112.
Jews, the, called the Messiah tiie son
of David, 44; were allowed tlieir
prerogatives by Paul, 63 ; when
and why called Jews, 101, 102;
rested in the law and boasted of
their privileges, 102-105 ; their su-
periority was owing to God's mercy,
li3, 124; were peculiarly guilty,
129, liO; their privileges enume-
rated, 332-341; were hrst-born in
God's family, 339; their fall ren-
dered not void God's truth, 343;
[ sought righteousness without hnd-
ing it, 377,37(5; turned the law to a
wrong purpose, 3114, 3!>5; were ex-
cluded lor their sins, 405; stumbled,
but fall not finally, 421 ; were
moved to jealousy hy the Gentiles,
421, 422; the first-born in God's
family, 437; and Gentiles, were pe-
culiarly tempted to disobey heathen
rulers, 477 ; made a difference be-
tween meats, and also between
days, 49().
Joel, his testimony as to the calling of
the Gentiles, 395.
Josephus, quoted, 101.
Joy, the godly have ever reasons for,
274 ; and peace, by believing, 524,
525.
Judge, to, of the Church, by outward
appearances, is wrong, 411, 412 j
to, a brother, is to assume Christ's
office, 50 1 ; to, has two meanings,
503.
Judges, how they became unjust, 120.
Judging, the power of, taken from
man, 495.
Judgment, the, of the world, worth-
less, 53; the, of God, according to
truth, 85; the day of, the day of
wrath to the wicked, 89; the, of
those who calumniate the truth,
just, 123.
Judgnient->eat, the, of Christ, all must
appear before, 502.
Judgments, the, of Cod, incompre-
hensible, 4-15.
Just, the, debcnbed, 195, )96 ; sinners
counted, by God, 28 1-283.
Justified, to be, what it means, 324.
Justification, not by the law, 95, 96;
1.'jO-133; through grace only with-
out any merits, 134-137, 140, I4l,
414; by faith only, 136, 138, 157-
159; by imputati<jn, 144; and sanc-
tification, united, 217, 219, 277;
extends to the whole of life, 319.
Justify, baptism alone does not, 1 09.
Kindness, paternal, the, of God, 323,
329.
Kingdom, the, of God is not meat and
drink, .506; what it consists of, 507.
Kiss, a holy, to salute with, 547.
Knot, a twofold, untied by Paul, 332,
333.
Knowledge, the, of Christ, what, 43;
the form of, 103, 104; the, of God,
tlie highest, 126; the, of God, the
bond of society, Tib'; the, of sin by
the law, 133; the, of God, alone
from his word, 398 ; the, of God,
the depth of, 444, 445 ; the Romans
filled with, 526.
Lasciviousness, condemned, 489.
Laetantius, referred to, 75 ; a saying
of, 382.
Law, the, requires perfection, 95; tlie
knowledge of, different from the
power to fulfil, 97 ; the works of,
what, 130-132; promises reward to
pood works, 131; discovers sin,
133; delivers us over to death,
147; its design, 152; not n)ade
void by faith, 151, 152; brings
condenmation, 171 ; to be under, to
be subject to the curse, 173; in-
creases sin, 213,214 ; to be under,
what it imports, 232, 233; in what
sense abolished, 234, 243, 248 ; ab-
sent, in what sente, 255; demands
perfect obedience, 246, 260, 387;
called the hand-writing. 247; free-
dom from, only through Christ, 247,
248; excites sin, 249; is holy, 257;
is good, 265 ; the, of the mind, 271,
272 ; the, of sin and death, 277;
588
GENERAL INDEX.
the, the impossibility of, 278 ; weak
through the flesh, 280 ; cannot jus-
tify, 280 ; the, an expression of
God's will, 287; its end, Christ,
383, 384; leads to Christ, 384;
and the gospel, their respective de-
mauds, 391 ; its precepts reduced
to love, 484; made a difference iu
meats and in days, 406.
Lawgiving, one of the privileges of
the Jews, 340.
Letter, the, what it means. 111, 112;
the oldness of, 251.
Liberty. See Fi-eedom.
Life, eternal, God's gift, 242 ; the right
object of, 41)9 ;' and death, iu the
power of God, 499.
Live, to, to God, what, 499.
Love, evidences of, 53, .5(5 ; the, of
God, diffused in the heart, 192;
the, of God, the shield of the saints,
32 1 ; the, of God, separation from,
impossible, 32(5-332 ; an evidence
of, a concern for others, 381 ; ought
to be undissembled, 4G4; brotherly,
enjoined, 464, 465 ; comprehends
the whole law, 484; to a neighbour,
a fulfilling of the law, 485 ; works
no evil, 487.
Lycurgus, deemed sacrilegious, 106.
M
Macedonia and Achaia, relieved the
poor at Jerusalem, 535, 536.
Magistrate, the 'punishment of death
given to the, 481, 482.
Magistrates, obedience to, required,
478-480; are ordained by God for
the public good, 481 ; obedience to,
enforced on two grounds, 432.
Maliciousness, defined, 81.
Man, natui'ally without a spark of
good, 175; the old, why so called,
224 ; the old, to be crucified, 226,
227 ; is become earthly, 230, 273 ;
when renewed, a twofold being,
270 ; the innei", and his members,
27 1 ; audacious, disputing with God,
364.
Marriage, the bond of, 245, 246.
Measure, the, of one's knowledge, 498.
Meats, a difference in, made by the
Jews, 496 ; not to destroy a brother
by, 505, 506.
Members, what they mean, 231 ; term-
ed weapons, 231 ; Christians are,
of one another, 458.
Men, more disposed to blame God
than themselves, 354 ; think them-
selves wiser than God's Spirit,
355 ; their evasions as to election,
359 ; their cavils with regard to
election and reprobation, 363.
Mercies, by the, of God, 450.
Mercy, shown to whom God wills,
361 ; the vessels of, 369 ; to show,
with cheerfulness, 463.
Merit, not proved by reward, 90, 302,
303; excluded, 147, 148, 317, 318 ;
not the cause of election, 355-366 ;
human, disproved, 379.
Message, the, of the Gospel, glad tid-
ings, 399.
Minding, the, of the flesh and spirit,
285-289.
Ministers, an encouragement to, 55.
Ministry, the, the office of, 461.
Miracles, the design of, 530.
Mortal bodies, what they mean, 293.
Mouth, the, stopped, what, 130.
Mysteries, the, of God, objected to, by
the flesh, 234 ; not to be searched
farther than the Scripture war-
rants, 444, 445.
Mystery, the rejection of the Jews,
435 ; the, the revelation of, 553.
N
Nature, the, of Christ, resembled sin-
ful nature, 281.
Necessities, the, of the saints, to be
relieved, 467.
Night, what it means, 487, 489.
Novatus, his error, 145.
Novelty, suspicious, 43.
Nuns, a degenerated order, 543.
O
Oath, when necessary, 53, 54 ; declar-
ed to be unlawful by the Anabap-
tists, 53, 54.
Obedience, the, of faith, 48 ; the, of
the Romans, universally known,
52, 53, 550 ; the, of Christ, called
his righteousness, 213 ; proves who
our master is, 234, 235 ; to rulers,
enforced on two grounds, 482 ; the,
of the Gentiles, how produced, 529.
Offence, not to be given, 503, 510.
Offences, how to be avoided, 218 ; re-
moved by Paul, 332 ; taken by the
ungodly, 353, 354.
Old man to be crucified, 226, 227.
Olive-tree, an, the Jews con)pared to,
427-430.
Olive, a wild, the Gentiles compared
to, 427-430.
Oracles, the, of God, entrusted to the
Jews, 113, 114.
GENERAL INDEX.
589
Origen, his idea as to the name Paul,
40 ; his niistal<e as to the \vori<s of
the law, 131; his error on original
sin, 205.
Original sin, the error of Pelagius as
to, -201.
Overcome, the faithful more than, 329;
to, evil by good, 476.
Ovid, quoted, 106.
Papacy, the, the teaching of, more
heathen than Christian, 449.
Papists, deny sin to be in the regener-
ate, 253 ; their philosophy, 2.00 ;
absurdly support merit by adduc-
ing promises, 387 ; extort obedi-
ence by terror, 450.
Paradox, a, as to the Gentiles and the
Jews, 377.
Paradoxes, God's mysteries are, to the
flesh, 119.
Paraphrastic expressions, the meaning
of, 184.
Pardon, only for sins committed, 145.
Passions, disgraceful, the heathens
given up to, 79.
Past tense implies certainty, 1 74.
Paternal kindness of God, *.i23, 329.
Patience, produced by tribulation,
1 90, 191 ; necessary for hope, 310;
and consolation, given by the Scrip-
tures, 517 ; the God of, 517.
Paul, why so called, 40 ; a chosen
Apostle, 41 ; calls God his God,
52, 53 ; his prayers for the Ro-
mans, 56; his modesty, 57, 58 ; a
debtor to all, 60 ; adopts Hebrew
phrases, 69 ; how he speaks of
signs, 109; declares his own case
as to the spiritual conflict, 261-273;
expresses his concern for the Jews,
333-336 ; had sorrow and resigna-
tion, 335 ; his wish as to his own na-
tion, 335,336; owns the Jews as his
ki)ismen, 337 ; expresses his good-
will towards them, 381 ; reminds
the Romans of his apostleship, 455,
526 ; proves his apostleship by the
effects, 529 ; ascribes his success
to the Spirit, 529 ; intended to go
to Spain, 533 ; acknowledged his
obligations to Prisca and Aquila,
544.
Peace, with God, through Christ, 187;
to be cultivated with all, 472,473 ;
and joy, united, 507 ; the God of,
540.
Pelagius, his error as to original sin,
201 ; his evasion as to grace, 358.
Perseverance, final, denied by Sophists,
189 ; implied by the fact of glory-
ing, 189.
Persons, the respect of, what, 93, 94.
Perversity, what it means, 81.
Pharaoh, predestinated to ruin, 359 ;
interpreters pervert what is said
of him, 360 ; hardened, 362.
Pharisee, the, and the thoughtless
sinner, 187.
Pharisees, their character, 110.
Philosophers, did not originate but
adopt the superstitions of the peo-
ple, 73, 74 ; their view of virtues
and vices, 253.
Philosophy, what is Christian, 261.
Phoabe, recommended to the Ro-
mans, 542.
Plato, involved in idolatry, 74.
Please, to, one another for edification,
514, 515.
Pliny, his character of Domitian, 127.
Powers, the higher, obedience due to,
477-482.
Pray, to, we know not how, 312.
Prayer, when right, 299 ; must be ac-
cording to God's will, 314 ; and
faith, connected, 397 ; persever-
ance in, 467; the Romans besought
to strive in, for Paul, 539.
Preacher, the true, sent by God,
398, 399.
Preaching, the contempt of, a contempt
of God's authority, 48 ; made the
means of salvation, 62 ; when bless-
ed, produces faith, 401 ; the means
of saving through the Spirit, 424.
Precepts, the, of the law, included in
love, 484.
Predestination, what it means, 318 ; a
labyrinth, 353 ; our views of, to be
limited to Scripture, 354, 446 ; the
second made by some the first
cause of, 376.
Preparations, a vain figment, 1 88.
Presidents, how they were to rule,
263, 264.
Pride, innate in man, 459 ; breaks
unity, 470; much, in the Romans,
525, 526.
Priesthood, the, of Christian pastors,
527.
Priests, Christians are made, 452.
Princes, obedience due to, 480.
Prisca and Aquila saluted, 544.
Promise, the, of salvation, how to be
viewed as made to Israel, 345.
Promises, the, and the gospel, not to
be confounded, 43 ; in order to be
sure, are made to faith, 170, 171;
the, of the Old Testament, deemed
only tempoi'al by fanatics, 520.
o90
GENERAL INDEX.
Prophecy, the gift of, 459, 460.
Prophets, the, the spirit of, subject to,
4()1; false, their unvarying mark,
549.
Propitiatory, a, Christ was made, 141-
143.
Provide, to, good things, 471.
Punishment, the, of death, given to the
civil power, 481, 482.
Pure, all things are, 509.
Purists, their dogma, 275.
Purpose, God's, explained, 315, 316.
Put on, to, Christ, what, 490.
Q
Questions, intricate, curiosity not to
be indulged in, ?.53 ; the debatings
of, 492, 493 ; difficult, harass weak
consciences, 493.
R
Rabbins, their gloss on Is. Ixv. 1, 40(i.
Reason, human, rebels against God's
wisdom, 119; the highest, for im-
parting grace, 356 ; deemed a
queen bv heathens, dethroned by
Paul, 454.
Reasonable, a, service, 452, 453.
Rebecca, the mother of twins, 347.
Redemption through Christ, 141; the,
of the body, 309.
Regeneration, and justification, united,
217, 219, 277; progressive, 226,
262, 291.
Reign, the, of sin, what, 2.31.
Rejection of Esau, 349-.352.
Rejoice, to, in hope, 466 ; to, with
those who rejoice, 469.
Relics, the, of sin in the godly, 263.
Remission, the, of sins past, 14.3; and
merit, incompatible, 144, 159, 160;
connected with regeneration, 290.
Remnant, a, the elect are, 4)3, 414.
Renewal, and justification, united, 283,
284; an evidence of true religion,
289.
Repay, to, evil for evil, forbidden, 471.
Repentance, God's gifts and calling
without, 440,441.
Reprobate, the, demented by God's
judgment, 418.
Reprobation, its proximate and its
primary cause, 350, 417; cavils as
to, 363.
Resignation, how to be cherished, 274.
Respect of persons, what. 93, 94.
Resurrection, the, of Christ, why as-
cribed to the Father, 292; mani-
fested the efficacy of his atonement,
390, 392, 393.
Revelation, the, of God's sons, what,
303 ; the, of the mystery hidden
for ages, 553.
Revellings, condemned, 489.
Revenge, forbidden, 471.
Reward, allotted to good works by the
law, 131.
Rich, God is, to all, 395.
Riches, the, of God's goodness, 87 ;
the, of God's wisdom and know-
ledge, 444, 445.
Right and wrong, somewhat under-
stood by the light of nature, 263.
Righteous, the, alone loved by God,
63; none, by nature, 126; sinners
counted, by G<>d, 281.
Righteousness, the, of God revealed in
the gospel, 63, 64 ; the, of God, by
faith in Chri.st, 134; the, of God
proved by the law and the Pro-
phets, 137, 138; partial, confuted,
140; the, of faith consists of two
parts, 146; the, of faith, imputative,
155 ; the, of faith, a gift, 158 ; by
works, what it imports, 161, 162 ;
the, of Christ,called obedience, 213;
the servants of, freed from sin,
237,238 ; andsalvation, united, 377;
the, of God and of man, opposed to
one another, 383 ; the, of faith and
of the law, compared, 385-394 ;
forms a part of God's kingdom, 507.
Romance, the, of initial righteousness,
161; the, of the advocates of cere-
monies, 167, 168.
Root, the, of Jesse, 523.
Ruler.s, custom due to, 483.
Sacr.ivments, how they are seals, 164,
1 65 ; the, of the Old and New Tes-
tament, the same, 167.
Saints, the, their purpo.ses sometimes
upset by God, 59 ; retain the relics
of sin, 128; gloi'y in tribulations,
190, 191 ; relying on God, superior
to all trials, 322 ; ever suliject to
persecutions, 328; more than con-
querors, 329 ; descent from, an
advantage, 431 ; their necessities, to
be relieved, 467.
Saintlings, hypocrites so called, 84, 89.
Salvation, the work of a human and
divine person, 44 ; the gospel the
power of God unto, 61, 62; alone
by grace, 1 55 ; the certainty of, 1 97 ;
based on election, 31 6; the proniis-e
of, how made to Israel, 345 ; the
true cause of, 356 ; the assurance
of, lies on two foundations, 389 ;
drawing near, 488.
GENERAL INDEX.
591
Sarah, her barrenness, 177; received
the promise of a son, 346.
Satan, a minister of God's wrath, 362;
his ministers disturb the Churcii
in two ways, 548 ; sliall be bruised,
551.
Satisfactions, contrary to Paul's doc-
trine, 160.
School, tlie, of God, common to all,
40-2.
Schoolmen, their maxim as to rewards,
131; their fiction of half remission,
160; tiieir faitli, a moral conjec-
ture, 173 ; absurdly define grace,
208; pervert ciiap. viii. 17, 300,
301 ; deny final perseverance, 331;
advocate hesitating faith, 397.
Scourges, God's, tokens of his wrath,
321.
Scriptures, the, were written for our
instruction, 516 ; administer pa-
tience and consolation, 517.
Scruples, the Jews had, about meats
and days, 4!)7.
Seal, to, the fruit of charity, 596.
Secrets, the, of men, shall come to
judgment, 99.
Seed of promise, Isaac the, 345.
Separation, from God's love, impos-
sible, 326-332.
Servant, the, of another, we are not to
judge, 494, 495.
Servants, the, of sin, 235, 236 ; the, of
righteousness, 237, 238.
Service, a reasonable, 452, 453.
Seven thousand reserved by God in
the time of Elias, 4 1 3.
Severity, the, of God, towards the
Jews, 431, 432.
Shame, wlien felt for sin, 241.
^Signs and wonders, accompanying
Paul's preaching, 530.
Simple, the, liable to be deceived, 550.
Simplicity, to give with, 462, 463.
Sin, the cause of, not from God, 77;
to be under, what, 125 ; tlie, ori-
ginal, 200 ; the body of, 224, 225 ;
to die to, wliat, 218; the reign of,
231 ; its two effects, 242; excited
by the law, 250 ; made known by
the law, 251, 252 ; works death by
the law, 256 ; above measure sin-
ful, 258 ; the law of, 277 ; put for
a sin-offering, 281, 282; a, to act
without faith, 5)2.
Sincerity, the proof of, 55.
Sion, the Redeemer from, 438.
Slanderers differ from whisperers, 81,
82.
Slothful, not to be, in business, 465.
Sober-minded, to be, what, 456, 457.
Sodom, destroyed for sin against the
law of nature, 202.
Sold under sin, what, 260, 261.
Sons, the, of God, are guided by his
Spirit, 294 ; know tlicmselves to be
his sons, 301 ; the i-evelation of,
what, 303.
Sonship, a proof of heirship, 295.
Sophists, their pestilential doghias,
189 ; defend free-will, 264-288 ;
deny assurance, 324 ; make love
meritorious, 485. See Schoolmen.
Sorbonists, the, their view of the mind,
454.
Sorrow and resignation, combined in
Paul, 335.
Spain, Paul intended to go to, 533.
Spirit, the, of holiness, 46 ; in the,
what it means, 111,112; the love
of God diffused by, 191-193; the,
to walk aftei", 276 ; his work, 276,
277; called the Spirit of God and
the Spirit of Christ, 290; why
called life, 291 ; dwells in the jus-
tified, 294 ; the, of bondage and of
adoption, 295-299 ; his direct tes-
timony, 299 ; aids our infirmities,
311,312; needed in prayer, 312;
intercedes for the saints, 312,313 ;
the power of, 529; the love of, 538.
Spiritual, the, who they are, 290 ;
why God's children so called, 291.
Spiritual things, the Jews communi-
cated, to the Gentiles, 536.
State, the, of man, known by what
rules him, 290.
Stone, the, of stumbling, 379.
Strong, the, who he is, 491, 513; his
duty towards the weak, 492, 513,
514 ; the, the fault of, 494.
Stumblingblock, not to be set before
a brotner, 503, 510.
Sufferings, present, not to be compar-
ed to future glory, 302, 303.
Superiority, the, of the Jews, not from
merit, but from mercy, 1 13, 124.
Superstitions. See Phiios-ophers.
Sword, the, given to magistrates, 481.
Sympathy, required among Chris-
tians, 469.
Teachers, ought to accommodate
themselves to all, 61 ; ecclesiasti-
cal, their duty, 125.
Teaching, the office of, 462 ; the, of the
Prophets, obscure, compared W'f*'
that of the Gospel, 555.
Tense, the past, implies certainty, 174.
Testimony, the direct, of the Spirit,
299.
■)92
GENERAL INDEX.
-/.
l<v^
Thanksgiving, for faith, proves it is
from God, 52 ; is an aclcnowledg-
ment of grace, 236.
Theology, the, of tlie letter, 255.
Thousand, seven, reserved by God in
the time of Elias, 413.
Time, to serve, what, 4G6. ♦
Transformed, we ought to be, 453.
Transgressor, every, dishonoui's God,
106.
Tribulation, produces patience, 190,
191; not able to separate the saints
from the love of God, 327 ; and dis-
tress, how they differ, 328.
Tribulations, to gloi'y in, 191.
Tribute, due to rulers, 483.
Trifles, men are led away by, 457.
Truth, the, of God, what it means, 69 ;
signifies integrity, 85 ; means the
revealed will of God, 92 ; none,
unnecessarily taught by the Spirit
in the Scriptures, 354.
Type, a, of Christ, Adam was, 204, 205.
U
Unanimity, necessary in worship,
518.
Unbelief, the, of the Jews, did not
nullify God's faithfulness, 115,
116; the Jews fell through, 430.
Uncircumcision, the Gentiles, 110.
Unclean, nothing in itself, 504, 505.
Uncleanness, a sacrilege, 451.
Undecided, the, forbidden to eat,
511,512.
Understanding, " the heart" used for
the, 37, 38.
Ungodly, the, have no right to earthly
blessings, 1G9.
Union, not in false doctrines, but in
the truth, 549.
Unity, the bond of, Christ, 518.
Unrighteousness, the heathens filled
with, 81 ; the, of man, made to
display God's glory, 118-123.
Unsearchable, the ways of God, 445.
Unsociable, the, who they are, 82.
Vanity, the creation subjected to,
304.
Vessels, the, of wrath, 368 ; the, of
mercy, 369.
Vices, the, of the heathens, evidences
of God's wrath, 75, 76.
Villainous, the, described, 82.
W
Wages, the, of sin, 242.
Ways, the, of God, unsearchable,
445.
Weak, the law is, through the flesh,
280 ; the, in faith, how to be
treated, 491-503; ought not to be
troubled by fruitless questions,
492, 493 ; lived on herbs, 494; the
fault of, 494.
Weakness, the, of faith, twofold, 179.
Weapons, our members so called, 23 1 .
Whisperers, differ from slanderers,
81, 82.
Wickedness, what it means, 81.
Wise, to be, unto sobriety, 456 ; not
to be, in our own esteem, 471 ; to
be, for good, 550.
Wisdom, the, of God, 444, 445; true,
the knowledge of God's will, 454.
Will, to, what, 268 ; the, of God, the
highest cause of election, 364 ; the,
of God, holy, 454 ; the, of God,
paramount in all things, 497.
Wonders, signs and, accompanying
Paul's preaching, 530.
Word, the, of God, our boundary,
391 ; the, of faith, what, 391 ; the,
of God, generates faith, 397 -, the,
alone gives a right knowledge of
God, 398 ; effectual only througli
God's Spirit, 400, 401.
Worker, a, defined, 157, 158.
Works, good, how rewarded, 90, 139 ;
the, of the law, what, 130-1 32 ; the,
of the regenerate, excluded in
justification, 135 ; alone accepted
through Christ, 161, 162 ; and faith,
incompatible, 170, 171, 379 ; and
calling, opposed to one another,
35 1 ; trust in, the chief hinderance
in attaining righteousness, 379 ;
the, of darkness, 487,488.
Works of the law not confined to cere-
monies, 159.
Worship, unanimity necessary in, 318.
Worthiness, foreseen, the cause of
election, an insane notion, 414.
Wrath, the, of God, what it imports,
68, 171 ; the day of, 89, 120; tiie
vessels of, 368 ; to give place to,
473, 474 ; executed by magistratv,^,
481.
Wrong and right, somewhat under-
stood by the light of nature, 263.
Zeal, a, the Jews had for God, 382 ;
inconsiderate, leads astray, 383 ;
the specious, of hypocrites, 383.
THE END.
ERRATA.
Page
Line
93,
(Eng. ver.)
6, law, . . ou
glU to he law ;
93,
(Lat. ver.)
6, judieabuntur,
, judieabuntur
96,
(Eng. ver.)
1 1 , another.
another;)
127,
(note)
4, nmn
nmo
143,
1 1 , propitiation.
propitiatory.
143,
26, casual
causal.
177,
(note)
1, presence
promise.
222,
(note)
1 6, God's favour
God's power.
306,
(note)
20, material
rational.
392,
(note)
3, possession
profession.
433,
34, incision
insition.
456,
11, rather
rather than.
N.B. — Mede in the Notes should in all instances be Menochius. The mis
take arose from an oversight as to the name intended by the abbreviation 71/ <
in Poole's Synopsis.
DATE DUE
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