BS2QGS' AN EXPOSITION OF THE NINTH CHAPTER OF THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. WITH THE BANNER OF JUSTIFICATION DISPLAYED. BY JOHN GOODWIN, M.A., SOMETIME FELLOW OF QUEEN's COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE ; AND VICAU OF ST. Stephen's, coleman-street, London. TO WHICH IS ADDED, EIPHNOMAXIA : THE AGREEMENT AND DISTANCE OF BRETHREN. WITH A PREFACE BY THOMAS JACKSON, AUTHOR OF THE LIFE OP THE REV. RICHARD WATSON, &C. &C. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY BAYNES AND SON, PATERNOSTER ROW: SOLD ALSO BY JOHN MASON, 14, CITY ROAD, AND GG, PATERNOSTER ROW MDCCCXXXV. LONDON: PRINTED DY JAMES NICHOLS, 46, HOXTON SQUARE. PREFACE. John Goodwin, the learned author of the following tracts, lived in a stirring and eventful age. The principles of government, both civil and ecclesiastical, the subjects and mode of baptism, religious toleration, the decrees of God, and the extent of human redemp- tion, the personality and work of the Holy Spirit, were then subjects of eager controversy ; and he took a distinguished part in the discussion of all these interesting topics. As a reasoner, few men have ever excelled him in clearness and strength, and in com- mand of temper. The literary combatants who had the courage to assail him felt the keenness of his weapons, and the power of his arm. He was born in the year 1593 ; educated at the University of Cam- bridge ; presented to the living of St. Stephen's, Coleman-street, London, in 1633; and died in 1665. Like the generality of his contemporaries, Mr. Goodwin was trained up in the belief of the doctrine of absolute predestination ; and in the early part of his life he regarded this tenet as a truth of holy writ. Wishful to establish his parishioners in the same views, he undertook to deliver a course of lectures in defence of the Genevan theology, in opposition to the doctrine of Arminius, and of his disciples the Dutch Remonstrants. In the prosecution of this task, he advanced a principle which one of his hearers deemed at once Arminian and heretical ; and for this misde- A 2 IV PREFACE. meanour he was publicly censured in one of the pam- phlets of the day. By this comparatively trifling incident he was led to a thorough investigation of the Calvinistic and Arminian controversy in all its bear- ings. The result was, an entire renunciation of his former opinions, and the adoption of the Arminian theory. A few years after he had undergone this revolution of sentiment he published the most elabo- rate and convincing defence of God's universal love that has ever appeared in the English language. Quaint titles of books were then fashionable; and, regarding the Christian doctrine of redemption by the death of Christ, as having been held in bondage by the arbitrary and unauthorized limitations of men, he denominated his great work. Redemption Redeemed. Its leading design was, to prove that, in the full and proper sense of the expression, Jesus Christ, "by the grace of God, tasted death for every man." As a metaphysician, a Divine, a biblical critic, and a logi- cian, he put forth his full strength in this very remarkable publication. It displays very extensive reading, and contains passages of uncommon power and eloquence, which are scarcely equalled by any theological writer of that day, and would not even suffer from a comparison with the prose writings of his contemporary Milton. The volume is a thin folio, and bears the date of 1651. The author states that it was to be considered only as the first part of the entire work ; and at the end he specifies the sublime and comprehensive questions which he intended to discuss in the further prosecution of his plan. He also adds, " And because, among other scriptures, the ninth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans is fre- PREFACE. V quently, and this in very many places and passages of it, brought upon the stage of these controversies and disputes, and more particularly supposed to deliver impregnable grounds for such a personal elec- tion and reprobation which we apprehend the Scrip- tures generally, yea, and this very chapter, as plainly to oppose, as many men do confidently avouch, we therefore intend a particular and entire explication of this chapter by itself Yea, I am under some present inclination of thoughts, to engage upon this in the first place, and to publish it by itself, before I put hand to the greater work. But in this I shall wil- lingly be determined by the advice of friends." The " advice " which he sought and obtained ap- pears to have accorded with his own views ; and, hence, in the year 1653 the promised Exposition made its appearance. Its character and design are well described in the title. The writer's object is to prove that "the Apostle's scope is to assert and maintain his great doctrine of justification by faith; and that here he discourseth nothing at all concern- ing any personal election or reprobation of men from eternity." He contends that St. Paul does not men- tion Isaac and Jacob, as examples of an absolute and unconditional election of individuals to eternal life ;; but as types of believers in Christ, whether they be- Jews or Gentiles by birth, who are the true spiritual seed of Abraham, justified by God's grace, and con- stituted heirs of a blessed immortality. Esau, he also contends, is not adduced by the Apostle as an abso- lute reprobate, consigned to perdition by virtue of an everlasting decree totally irrespective of his con- duct, but as a type of the unbelieving posterity of Vl PREFACE. Abraham, who were cast off by God, and appointed to destruction by his just judgment; yet still "en- dured with much longsuffering," that they might by repentance and faith flee from the wrath to come. Whatever may be thought of his argumentation, as a whole, every one must approve of the manner in which it is conducted. The author does not treat the writings of St. Paul, as if every verse contained a distinct and independent proposition, like the Proverbs of Solomon, as many theological writers have done ; but endeavours to ascertain the scope and bearing of the Apostle's reasoning, at the same time that he brings a large mass of general biblical learning to bear upon the entire subject. He explains every verse in strict connexion with the context. Mr. Goodwin's views re- ceive a striking confirmation from the fact, that in the Epistle to the Galatians St. Paul brings Ishmael and Isaac before his readers, not as examples of an abso- lute election and reprobation, but as types of believers and unbelievers ; the spiritual and merely natural de- scendants from faithful Abraham. (Chap. iv. 22 — 31.) The conclusion of the ninth chapter of the Epistle to the Romans also presents a strong proof that our author had not mistaken its meaning. " What shall we say then ?" What is the conclusion to which we are led by the facts and arguments which have just been urged? That some men are appointed to eternal life, and others to eternal death, by an absolute and irrespective decree ? No ; but " that the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have at- tained TO righteousness, even the righteousness OF faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of PREFACE. Vlt RIGHTEOUSNESS, WhEREFORE '? BECAUSE THEY SOUGHT IT NOT BY FAITH, but aS it Were BY THE WORKS OF THE LAW. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone ; as it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stumblingstone and rock of offence : and who- soever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." I'he justification upon which St. Paul so largely expatiates, and which is obtained by faith in the sacrificial blood of Christ, Mr. Goodwin regarded as a blessing of inestimable value and importance. He considered it as consisting in the full and free for- giveness of all past sin, and attended by the gift of the Holy Spirit, as the Comforter, and the Sanctifier of human nature ; so that the person on whom this blessing is conferred is at once possessed of a title to heaven, and a meetness for its holy enjoyments and exercises. He is placed in such a state, that if he hold fast the beginning of his confidence steadfast unto the end, he shall be for ever saved. This pro- found Divine was far from considering justification to consist merely in deliverance from the darkness and pollution of Heathenism, and admission into the visible church of Christ, as is taught by Dr. John Taylor, in his " Key to the Apostolic Writings." Taylor, who is eulogised by the late Bishop Watson, explains away nearly all that is vital and saving in Christianity, under the assumed guise of orthodoxy^ and with an affectation of the most perfect candour.* His work is calculated to deceive the very elect. It will be observed that, in the preface to his * Perhaps no author ever succeeded more eflectually than Dr. Taylor in concealing from his readers his real temper and character. He appears in his works as one of the most perfect e.vainples of liberahty and benevolence ; whereas he was one of the most irritable and intolerant Vlll PREFACE. Exposition, Mr. Goodwin speaks of the' infirmities of age as coming rapidly upon him, and of " the trouble- some importunity of some men in another way." He states that, in consequence of these things, "the drawing up of a second part" of his "book of Redemption" was set "back for a time;" and he intimates that it was very doubtful whether he should live to finish it : A foreboding which proved to be too true. The "men" of whom he speaks, whose "importunity" annoyed him, were the Baptists, and the Fifth Monarchy men. The former disturbed the peace of his church, with their peculiar tenets ; and the latter, who were fanatical Millenarians, attempted the subversion of all government, both civil and ecclesiastical. Both these classes of men drew him into public controversy. " The Banner of Justification," which forms the second tract in the volume now before the reader, was published in the year 1659, and shows that, on this great point of Christian theology, the author steadily adhered to those views which the leading Protestant Reformers strenuously advocated. This tract has long been extremely scarce, and the writer of this preface did not even know of its existence when, in the year 1822 he published the Life of this very eminent man. It is valuable, as showing how many things, in the divine economy, contribute to invest mankind with the inestimable blessing of jus- of mortals. Gilbert Wakofiekl, who belonged to the same school of theology, and knew him well, says, " Even the meekness of Christianity itself is exhibited in his prefaces and occasional addresses to the reader. But he was, in reality, a very peevish and angry disputant in conversa- tion, and dictatorial even to intolerance. So imperfect a judgment may be formed of the mildness or asperity of any author from the correspond- ent quality of his writings." — WAKEFrELo's Life, Vol, I., pp. 226, 227. PREFACE. IX tification to eternal life; and forms an appropriate supplement to the Exposition, the leading principle of which it more fully developes. That the Protest- ant Reformers should have maintained the doctrine of justification by faith with zeal and perseverance, is not at all surprising, considering the circumstances under which they were placed. This is a prominent doctrine of Scripture, to which those blessed men made a final appeal on all question b of divinity ; and it is the most powerful engine that was ever employed against Popish error. If penitent sinners may be justified from the guilt of all sin by faith in the atone- ment of Christ, the pretended sacrifice of the mass, penances, priestly absolution, are of no value, and the fire of purgatory is an idle dream. It was by the faithful inculcation of this master-truth that Popery was first driven from these realms ; and it is only by the same means that its incroachments can be effect- ually repelled. Mr. Hickman, against whom the author defends himself in his lively and humorous preface, was a predestinarian Minister ; and Mr. Pierce, who is there mentioned, was an episcopal Divine of great celebrity and influence. He lived at Brington, in Northamptonshire, during the Commonwealth; but at the Restoration was made Dean of Sarum, and Chaplain to the King. He was a man of extraordi- nary learning ; assisted Bishop Walton in editing the London Polyglott Bible ; and, with his friend Dr. Lawrence Womack, he defended, with consummate ability and effect, those views concerning predestina- tion and human liberty which Melancthon held in the latter years of his life, and which the English X PREFACE. ^H Reformers adopted from him. Baxter speaks of these two men in a manner which shows that he felt the force of their logic, eloquence, and wit. Womack wrote under the assumed name of Tilenus, junior. No biographical account of these champions of the doctrine of general redemption, as held by the Church of England, has ever yet been attempted. Their personal history stands connected with the fortunes of the Church of which they were ornaments and members. There is one circumstance mentioned in the pre- face to the " Banner of Justification," which is wor- thy of notice. It shows that Mr. Goodwin's writings on the quinquarticular controversy had produced a considerable effect. Speaking of Mr. Hickman, he says, " I know it would be offensive to the gentleman, if I should relate how many letters, and messages otherwise, of thankful acknowledgments of the grace given unto me, for the clearing of those doctrines of election, reprobation, &c., and of Christian encou- ragements to proceed in my way, &c., I have received, time after time, from several persons of considerable worth for godliness and knowledge, inhabiting in several parts of the nation, some of them Ministers of the Gospel, and others of them students in the University of good standing." The last tract in the present volume, entitled, ** The Agreement and Distance of Brethren," was written by Mr. Goodwin soon after the publication of his " Redemption Redeemed ; " and was designed to correct the misstatements which were then exten- sively circulated respecting the author's creed. He had fully explained and defended himself in that PREFACE. XI great work ; but as it was not likely that a folio volume of controversial divinity would be generally read by private Christians, in whose estimation he did not wish to suffer, he drew up this concise manual for popular use. It contains a syllabus of the controversy on the five points, and serves as a key to all his other writings on that subject. The generality of polemical writers seem, as if by instinct, to place themselves at the greatest possible distance from their opponents ; but Mr. Goodwin appears anxious to come as near to his Calvinian brethren as he could, without violating his con- science. He shows the extent to which he could agree with them in sentiment ; he specifies the pre- cise points at issue between them ; and gives, in a concise form, some of the principal reasons upon which his dissent was founded. The spirit in which he writes is uniformly kind. To some persons it will appear strange, that the names of several private individuals, members of Mr. Goodwin's church, are affixed to the preface of this tract ; but it should be observed that in those times many laymen were pro- foundly read in Christian theology. Of some of the men whose names here occur an account will be found in Mr. Goodwin's Life, already mentioned; and one of them, William Allen, a wealthy mer- chant in London, was himself a somewhat volumi- nous writer on divinity. His works were collected after his death, and published in a folio volume, with a funeral sermon by Bishop Kidder. The learned Prelate acknowledges that many of Mr. Allen's pro- ductions would have done honour to a grave and erudite Divine, for the correct knowledge which they Xll PREFACE. display. They embrace several topics of consider- able difficulty ; and their practical tendency is uni- formly good. No apology, it is presumed, is requisite for the republication of the tracts now collected, which have long been out of print, and in the hands of very few persons. The Exposition, especially, has of late years been much inquired after, and seldom with success. Many persons, friendly to the doctrinal views which the work advocates, have wished to possess it ; and those who adhere to the principles which it opposes cannot justly complain of its appearance in a modern dress, while they themselves continue to reprint and circulate the writings of men who limit the atonement of Christ, and the saving grace of God, in a manner which is conceived to be decidedly unscriptural. These tracts of Mr. Good- win, which contain an able discussion of some of the most interesting questions in theology, it is hoped, will be of essential service to students and young Ministers, and promote the interests of Christian piety by the encouraging views which they present of the sufficiency of Christ's atonement, and the free- ness and fulness of the grace revealed in the Gos- pel ; and by the earnest and forcible manner in which they inculcate a practical compliance with the will of God, in the uninterrupted exercise of a vital and operative faith. To one of his early publications Mr. Goodwin prefixed, as a motto, the impressive lines, — " Small wires, sometimes, massy weights do carry ; And on poor Faith hangs great Eternity." T. J. London, January 8fh, 1835, CONTENTS. EXPOSITION OP THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS THE BANNER OF JUSTIFICATION DISPLAYED 363 EIPHNOMAXIA : THE AGREEMENT AND DISTANCE OP BRETHREN 439 AN EXPOSITION THE NINTH CHAPTER OF THE EPISTLE TO THE ROiMANS: WHEREIN, BY THE TENOU AND CARRIAGE OF THE CONTENTS OF THE SAID CHAPTER, FROM FIRST TO LAST, IS PLAINLY SHEWED AND PROVED, THAT THE APOSTLE's SCOPE THEREIN IS TO ASSERT AND MAINTAIN HIS GREAT DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION BY FAITH, AND THAT HERE HE DISCOURSETH NOTHING AT ALL CONCERNING ANY PERSONAL ELECTION OR REPROBATION OF MEN FROM ETERNITY. Am 1 therefore become yom- enemy, because I tell yon the tnith? — Gal. iv. 16. Judge not accordmg to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment. — John rii. 29. Avadr]paros r) a\7]6eia Kat iravraxoQiv i^ixveima Basil. Mag, Temis est mPtidacium ; prrliicet, si dilirjenter inspeM'Pris. — Seneca. Qui vero vie errare e.vistimant, eiiam atque etiam diligenter qua: sunt dicta con- siderenty nc fortassis ipse errent. — Aug. De Bono Persever. TO THE RIGHT HONOURABLE JOHN FOUK, LORD 3IAY0R OF THE CITY OF LONDON, TOGETHER WITH HIS WORSHIPFUL BRETHREN, THE ALDER- MEN OF THIS CITY. Right Hoxourable a\d Right Worshipful, By your high approbation of a sermon preached at Paul's, before you, in May last, by one Mr. John Pawson, as the press nameth him, testified by your Order in Court of June the 15th, following, about the printing of the said sermon, I cannot, with the salvage of your honours, but judge that you are masters, at least in your own sense and apprehensions, of those noble controversies now on foot amongst us, concerning election, reprobation, the death of Christ, the grace of God, the perseverance of the saints, &c., being the principal if not the only points discoursed in that sermon. Nor would I willingly but presume that, had you not been very studiously and conscientiously versed in these great questions, you would not so publicly have appeared in the habit of a facultas theologica, nor gone so near to the giving a definitive sentence in matters of such profound disputation, as your said Order, printed, even candidly interpreted, amounteth unto. It is one of the sovereign and high contentments of my soul to understand and find, that Magistrates and Judges of the earth are willing to lift up their hearts to the acquainting of themselves with the counsels and mind of God, and will find time to search throughly into those worthy mysteries which the blessed angels, those great princes of heaven, judge it no 2 THE EPISTLE DEDICATOKY. ways beneath them, but rather an advance of blessedness unto them, to ])ry into. When they wlio are gods by institution shall narrowly and with delight contemplate the real excellency of His glory who is a God by nature, they must needs be transformed into his likeness, and this more and more, accord- ing to that most observable passage of the great Apostle : " But we all with open face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, as by the Spirit of the Lord." (2 Cor. iii. 18.) And when the gods on earth shall be changed into the same image with the God of heaven, no doubt blessedness is coming with a high hand upon the world. But of this I must crave leave to inform your Christian minds, that as a narrow and intense beholding of the face of God in a true glass, and which representeth him uniformly like unto himself, is an unquestionable means of that blessed trans- formation I speak of; so on the contrary, to feed upon a false or undue representation of him, with a strong conceit that such a representation is according to truth, and that God is really such, as by the false light of this representation he is exhibited and appeareth unto us, is, especially as the misrepresentation may be, of most dangerous consequence, and apt to transform men into the likeness of the devil, or at least to harden and confirm men in such a transformation. The Prophet David personateth God speaking thus to the wicked : " Thou though test that I was altogether such an one as thyself" (Psalm 1. 21 .) When men are unjust, unmerciful, inordinate lovers of themselves, partial, hollow and loose in their promises, full of dissimulation, or the like, if, under these most hateful and horrid impressions upon their souls, they shall be brought by men of learning, parts, and of supposed godliness, into this hellish paradise, whether it be in expressness of words, or in pregnant and near-hand consequence, it is much the same ; the flesh will smell a consequence afar off^, that sympathizcth with her, that the like things are found in the glorious God himself, and that he acts and moves in his way as the sons of such abominations are wont to move in their way, this must needs be as oil cast upon the raging flames, a teaching of wickedness to be more confidently wicked, than otherwise, in all likelihood, she durst presume to be. It is like that the Prophets of Jerusalem, in Jeremy's days, built up the inhabitants thereof, THK KPISTI.K DEDICATORY. S great and small, unto ruin, by such doctrines as these. For the Lord complains of them in these words : " I have seen also in the Prophets of Jerusalem an horrible thing : They commit adultery ;" that is, they adulterate the truth, as Grotius interprcteth ; " and walk in lies ;" that is, teach the people day after day things which are false : * " they strengthen also the hands of evil doers, that none doth return from his wickedness." (Jer. xxiii. 14.) He that shall put it into the heart and conscience of an evil doer, that God is like unto him in the way of his evil doing, makes it next to an impossibility for such a man to relinquish the evil of his way. For who will not with his whole heart and soul desire and delight to walk in such ways, being otherwise pleasing to the flesh, wherein he verily believeth that he shall be like unto God .'' Now that you may be unjust, unmerciful, cruel, partial, haters without cause of the greatest part under your government, full of dissimulation, indulgers of all manner of sin and wickedness, and yet be like, yea, very like, unto such a God as Mr. Pawson portrayeth out unto you for the true God, the God of your hope and salvation, in his sermon, lately mentioned, although I have demonstratively and with pregnant evidence proved as much already in some of my writings ;-f yet, if you shall please at any time to lay the command of your honourable Court upon me to perform the same service again with more particular reference to the said sermon, I hei'e engage myself, testibus coelo et terra, before God, angels, and men, God sparing me life and health, to do it. Besides, evident it is, by what hath been offered by me and others to public consideration, that the entire system or frame of that doctrine wherein Mr. Pawson endeavours to build you up in his sermon is not according unto godliness, but exactly calculated for the meridian of the flesh, having a palpable and broad tendency in it to revive the " old man," where he is a dying, and to render him vigorous and active, without care or fear. Yea, if the god of this world had a mind and opportunity to petition the grandees or pillars of Christian religion, met in an oecumenical council, that they would take some pity on • Vidi horrenda hominum adidteranihivi veritaiem. t Redemption Redeemed, pp. 509, 510, 513, 514, &c., 499, 489, 490, 477, &c., 470, 471, &c. Agreement and Distance of Brethien, pp. 8, 9, 25, 17, besides several other places. B 2 4< THE F.nSTLE DEDICATORY. him, and establish or allow of some few doctrines amongst them, such as he should nominate unto them, for the relief and support of his tottering and sinking kingdom, the doctrines of this his nomination, to speak that which is very probable, would be those wherewith Mr. Pawson bath prevented him, and laboured in the very fire to plant and propagate in the world. But whereas he pretends in his dedication unto you, that the doctrines delivered in his sermon, conceived by him, as he saith, and perhaps truly, to be truths, were once and again " delivered to the saints," and owned through successive generations by the choicest of saints : 1. As to the latter : If he had read my book of Redemption through, at which he riibbles here and there in his sermon, he might have seen the contrary hereunto face to face, here being a cloud of such witnesses as he speaks of, I mean of the choicest saints, drawn together, who plainly and without parable testify that, in their successive and respective generations, not the doctrines which he maintains, but those diametrically opposite thereunto, were the more generally-received divinity and faith of the choicest saints. 2. To the former : If the doctrines he speaks of were once and again " delivered unto the saints," it is a clear case that they are no Gospel doctrines ; for these were but " once deli- vered unto the saints," as Jude speaketh. Men, fathers, and brethren, are you able to endure sound doctrine? I know that you are able ; and that you had much rather cut oif your right hands, and pluck out your right eyes, and enter into life either maimed, or with one eye, than having two hands, or two eyes, to be " cast into everlasting fire." The Apostle Peter gives this important aviso to the Christians of his times, that many, speaking of such teachers as were like to come amongst them, through covetousness should with feigned words, or rather, tvith ivords formed, or fashioned,* for the purpose, make merchandise of them, (2 Peter ii. 3,) that is, make carnal benefit and advantage of them, as merchants do of their merchandise ; clearly implying, that such teachers who have any worldly design upon those that hear them have hereby a strong temptation upon them to daub with untempered mortar, and to preach doctrines plausible to the flesh, and consequently destructive to the spirit, and so most dangerously * riAorois \oynis. TIIK Kl'lSTl.lL DEDICATORY. O pernicious to the soul. For though for a Minister of the Gospel to build up men in the false and lying imaginations of their hearts, be none other than the casting of a snare of death and eternal ruin upon them, yet is there scarce any work or service for which they are, more generally, so willing to give large wages as for this. Now give me leave, for your precious souls' sake, freely to tell you, that there is no sort of men under heaven so obnoxious to be merchandised, or sold for carnal advantage by their teachers, as men in places of power and authority, and where silver and gold have their throne, and this in more respects than one. 1. Such men as these, in respect of the many opportunities which they visibly have in their hand to gratify those that love this present world, are, in the eye of such teachers, as the wine, when it giveth its colour, and moveth itself right up in the glass, as Solomon speaketh, is in the eye of him that is inordinately addicted to it. The very sight and beholding of them awakens, yea inflames, the carnal spirits of such men to prepare their nets, and spread them in the way of those, if they can come at it, whom they design for their prey. It was to good purpose observed by the poet. Non facile, esuriens posita retinebere mensa, Et multum sediv?is incilat unda sitini. That is, Set meat before an liiingr}- man, He hardly ^vill refrain; And waters springing pleasantly Do thirst inflame amain. 2. The tenets and opinions of great men, in matters of reli- gion, and things appertaining unto God, are commonly the unexamined and presumed notions of the state and times wherein they live ; and so are like to be, not of God, but of the world, and to have a face, but no heart or substance of truth in them. For as Christ pronounceth a woe to such persons of whom all men speak well : " Woe unto you, when all men shall speak well of you ; for so did your fathers to the false prophets ;" (Luke vi. zQ ;) in like manner, and upon the same grounds, it is much to be feared, that a woe belongs unto such doctrines which the generality of a nation shall accept of, can digest, and applaud. In this respect, also, men great in wealth b THK KPISTLE DEDICATORY. and power, arc very opjiortune to become a prey and spoil to the covetousness of their teachers, inasmuch as they may accommodate and comport with them in their judgments and consciences, and yet gratify the flesh ; which is a service of sovereign acceptation, for the most part, with such men. 3. The great men of the world I speak of, as they value themselves above the ordinary and meaner rank of men, so do they their principles and imaginations also, especially in matters of religion, above the rate at which inferior persons estimate theirs ; and, consequently, as, on the one hand, they count it the greater disparagement to have them chastised or put to rebuke by any man, so, on the other hand, they are apt to judge such men worthy a double reward, who shall justify and give testimony unto them. Upon this account, also, such men are in much more danger tlian others to be bought and sold by such teachers who mind or savour the things of this world, bpcause these teachers, observing this strain or humour in such men, are hereby tempted and provoked to work upon it, which must be by perverting the straight ways and counsels of God in the Gospel, so that they may appear every ways conformed, and no ways cross, to their apprehensions. 4. And lastly, the great danger I speak of threatens the sons of the glory and greatness of this world more than other men at this turn also, because they, partly by reason of their places, and partly of the unruly greatness of their estates, are full of the cares, distractions, business, and employments of the world ; and, besides, have the opportunity, of which the flesh makes a necessity, of following and enjoying many pleasures and out- ward contentments, possibly in themselves not unlawful, which persons of meaner condition have not. Now, what between the one and the other, their time is wholly drunk up ; by reason whereof they want leisure, and, so, freedom and composedness of mind and understanding, substantially to examine and try the doctrines of their teachers. This want being understood and resented by them, strcngtheneth their hand to be the more venturous and daring in preaching such doctrines unto them, which, as, on the one hand, they know to be pleasing enough to their present judgments and thoughts, so, on the other hand, they are without much fear of being ever detected, or challenged by their great masters, for unsoundness or untruth in them. As for any detection in this kind by meaner men who hear THE Kl'ISTLE DEUICATORV. 7 them, they balance the fear hereof, partly with the knowledge which they have of the inabilities, in conjunction with the care- lessness and neglect about matters of this nature, in the greatest part of them ; and partly with this apprehension or hope, that, however, the countenance and approbation of the great ones will swallow up the disallowings of a few meaner ones into victory. These disadvantages, with many others of a like or worse nature, being, as far as is discernible, redeemed by so few of the first-rate persons of the world, (I mean those whom wealth and power make a generation of men by themselves,) the considera- tion of it fills me, not with admiration of their persons for advantage'' sake, but with commiseration to their persons for that danger"" sake of perishing eternally, whereunto they are much more exposed than other men. Jerom might have gone lower down, when he professed that he should wonder if any King were ever saved.* And if the Lord Christ knew sucPi imminency of danger in riches only, as to assert that "a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven ;" and again, that " it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God;" (Matt. xix. 23, 24s) how threatening above measure must the danger needs be in this kind, when riches and power meet together in conjunction ; power having every whit as hard, as malignant, an influence upon soul-interest as wealth or riches themselves ! Do I speak these things unto you, because I love you not, because I honour you not, because I own you not in your capacities of magistracy and civil power ? " God knoweth ; " yea, God knoweth, that you have not a friend made of flesh and blood more Christianly real or cordial unto you, either in the things of your present honour, in a worthy discharge of your magistratical trust and dignity, or in the things of your future and eternal peace, than I. If God himself, in respect of your office, and as you are governors of the same world in part with him, judgeth it meet to style you gods, (Psalm Ixxxii. 6,) far be it from me, and from every other man, either to speak or think of you beneath the honour of so high an appellation, upon the same account. The zeal of my loyalty unto, and • Miror si aliquis Rex sidvahilur . 8 THE El'lSTLE DEDICATORY. approbation of, magistracy and government halh been abun- dantly testified by the frequent contests and liftings up of my pen against all the profanations and j)ollutions of the glory of them, whether injustice, tyranny, oppression,, partiality, pride, unfaithfulness, negligence, &c., in those called unto them ; or whether anarchical, disloyal, tumultuous, seditious strains, either in word or deed, in those, a good part of whose calling is obedience and subjection unto them. I trust your patience hath endured me hitherto without offence. I am not like to speak again unto you, until the heavens be no more. Give me leave, therefore, not so much for the satisfying of mine own mind, as conscience, nor at all to trouble or offend you, but to help you in the great and most important affairs of your souls, to say this one thing further unto you, — that such teachers are never like to be cordial or faithful to the dear interest of your souls, nor to make you great in the saving knowledge of God, who either, on the one hand, cannot willingly bear your frowns, neglects, or contradic- tions for the truth"'s sake, or, on the other hand, care not to offend you for a humour's sake, or thing of nought. They are the men for your service in the Gospel who are most solicitous and intent to please you, and, withal, most fearless and regard- less of displeasing you, for your good. If you please to find leisure, diligence, and a judgment unprejudiced, to peruse the ensuing Exposition which I humbly put into your hand, I doubt not but, through His blessing who giveth to every seed its own body, you shall reap from it increase of knowledge and sound understanding in things of highest concernment to you. I call God for a record upon my soul, that I have no design upon you in this dedication, unless it be to make you in all Christian worth and honour as much greater than other men, as you are above the most in wealth and dignity ; and to persuade and beseech you, with all affec- tionateness, with all earnestness of soul and spirit, that, as you desire to be found at the right hand of the great Judge in that his day, so in this your day to remember and consider that magistracy and power of government are no institutions of God, either to fill the purses, or to furnish the tables, or to lift up the minds, or in any kind to gratify the flesh of those in whom they are vested ; but rather to serve, to accommodate, and bless the societies and communities of men on earth, unto which they I THE EPISTLE UEDICATORY. 9 relate respectively, according to that worthy item which the Queen of Sheba gave unto Solomon : " Because the Lord loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee King to do judgment and justice." (1 Kings x. 9) The same Lord and mighty God so overshadow you with his power and good Spirit, that the conceptions of your hearts may be holiness unto him, wealth, and peace, and gladness of heart to the inhabitants of this great and famous city, the government whereof is entrusted with you ; to yourselves, honour, and safety, and length of days, with the peace and joy of a good conscience on earth, and a far more exceeding eternal weight of glory in the heavens. So prayeth, and is willing yet to pray a greater prayer for you than so, did he know any greater. Your servant, to be commanded in Christ, JOHN GOODWIN. From my study in Colemun-stiect, February 7t/i, 1652. TO THE READER. Good Readkii, I. I CANXOT but acknowledge myself a debtor of thine in a far greater sum than here I tender, or, indeed, am likely to be in any capacity to make payment of unto thee, for some years, though God should, against the threatenings of my crazy taber- nacle, reprieve me from the grave. I find old age coming upon me like an armed man, attended with his accustomed retinue of infirmities, weaknesses, and disablings from service many ways, as well in the labour and travail of the mind as of the outer man. Besides, the troublesome importunity of some men in another way, of very ill abode to the affairs of Jesus Christ amongst us, hath engaged my thoughts to offer something in public, and this with as much expedition as my slow pace, with other emergent diversions, which are like to prove not a few, will afford, for the healing of it, if God shall graciously please to stand by me in the cure. By reason hereof my intentions, declared for the drawing up of a second part to my book of Redemption, now some while since published, are interloped, and set back for a time ; yea, whether God will not, by the hand of death, discharge me from the service before I shall be in a capacity to lift up a hand unto it, is beyond the ken of my understanding. However, He whose interest is a thousand times more concerned in such a service than mine will, I am securely confident, awaken other instruments to the performance of it, though I shall fall asleep. II. Concerning the Exposition now in thine hand, though it be not yet of age, yet, I suppose, it can and will speak for itself to those who understand the dialect which it speaketh : If not, I shall not be importune, nor rise up early, to commend it. The parcel of Scripture expounded in it, is, doubtless, of a most high and excellent inspiration ; as our Saviour's advice also was, upon his commending those who had " made them- selves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven."* And as he, by subjoining this epiphonema, " He that is able to receive it, let PlJEFAl'E. 11 him receive it," plainly signified, as well the paucity of those that were like to embrace and follow that his counsel, on the one hand, as the great and singular benefit whereunto it must needs redound to those who should follow it, on the other hand ; in like manner the Apostle Paul, when, by the Holy Ghost, he had indited the contents of this chapter, might well have cha- racterized the genius of it by this or some like eulogium : Capiat qui potis est capere. " Let him understand it that can understand it/' It is a Held wherein there is a treasure of wisdom and knowledge hid ; but he must be content to dig deep and hard that desires to find it, yea, and must be provided of such digging instruments, also, which are proper for the work ; I mean, of such principles which are of good and preg- nant accord with all things delivered and intended by the Apostle in the chapter. Otherwise, the pre-conceptions of his judgment being erroneous, and lying thwart and cross to those notions and truths v.'hich are asserted here, must of necessity turn him out of the way of the Apostle's meaning, and occasion him to sit down in his belief quite besides that which is written. Yea, though a man's judgment be comportant enough with the general scope or main conclusion driven at in a discourse, yet if either it wars against any part of the method, or any argu- ment managed in order to the eviction of such a conclusion, or else misapprehends the scope and main conclusion itself, judging it to be one, when as it is another far differing from it, either of these, but especially both of them meeting together, must needs disorder a man's thoughts, and reduce him to an utter incapacity of understanding aright the carriage of particulars in the discourse. Both these disadvantages, in reference to a true understanding of the Apostle in the chapter before us, I clearly find in the greatest part of our modern expositors, yea, and in some of the more ancient also, who have commented upon it. For, III. 1. To speak first to the latter, they more generally con- ceive the Apostle's scope in the body of the chapter, to be an holding forth or asserting of a peremptory election and reproba- tion from eternity of a determinate number of men, under a mere personal consideration ; whereas, to him that shall nar- rowly and attentively weigh and consider the tcnour and process of the Apostle's discourse from verse 6 to the end, it will be found, as clear as the light at noon-day, that there is tiec vola 12 I'RKFACK. nec vestiginm, neither little nor much, of any such either election or reprobation in it ; but that his express scope and intent is, to vindicate that great doctrine of justification by faith, and this more particularly against two main objections, the one insinuated in verse 6, the other mentioned in verse 14. This I plainly demonstrate in the entrance of my Exposition ; and give further light, ever and anon, to the truth of it, upon occasion offered, in the progress thereof 2. The opinion and sense of the said expositors being, that, if God should elect or choose men, or purpose or decree to elect them, by, or according to, their faith, election should be as much from men themselves, and as little from God, as it would be, in case he should elect, or purpose to elect, them, by, or according to, the merit of their works ; whereas, the Apostle clearly supposeth the contrary in this his discourse, as I make evident upon verse 11 ; evident it is that they lie under the other disadvantage also, lately mentioned, and, by reason of such a notion or principle, cannot possibly fall in or close kindly with him in his sense and meaning along the chapter. IV. If niy brethren of hardest thoughts against me really knew, first, how little pleasure 1 take in declining them, or their iudo'ment, either in the sense of this chapter, or in any other controversial point in religion ; and, secondly, how little offence I take at them, or any of them, simply for their opposition in judgment unto me; I suppose they could not, lightly, be any otherwise affected towards me, notwithstanding my distance in iudo-ment in some things from them, than I am towards them ; and, consequently, that they would only pity and pray for me, as a man to whom the light of truth hath only in part as yet shined, and not be continually shooting the " arrows of bitter words," as David calls them, against me, as if I either were a person disaffected unto them, or their interest, or did not desire, aXyjfliUriv sv ayciTtri, (Eph. iv. 15,) to follow or speak the truth in love as well as they. However, if I could think that the mea- sure which they mete out unto me in hard sayings, and other- wise, would turn to as good an account unto them in honour and peace at the great day of Jesus Christ, as I am certain they will unto me, I could count the tentation double joy unto me. For the truth is, that my reproaches are my best riches ; and my mortality is much more endeared unto me by my sufferings for the truth, than by any thing I have done, or am PllEFACE. 13 in a capacity of doing otherwise, for it. My brethren need not fear that I shall ever reciprocate, either hard sayings or doings with them : Nature itself teacheth me not to reproach my benefactors. V. I easily apprehend that some will attempt the disparage- ment of the explication here presented unto thee, by pretending that it Arminianizeth ; and, if so, what, will these men say, is it good for, but, with unsavory salt, to be cast upon the dunghill ? But I suppose the ears of sober Christians have been so long beaten and accustomed to the noise of Arminianism, that by this time it signifieth little or nothing to them, and that they are no more affected with the sound of it, than those that dwell near unto the catadupes of Nilus are with the hideous noise thereof, who by a continual hearing it are scarce sensible that they do hear it, nor are anyways disturbed or incon- venienced by it. However, we know, notwithstanding that dis- graceful demand in the mouth of a true Israelite, " Can any good come out of Nazareth ?'''' that there did come the greatest good that ever the world saw, had, or enjoyed, from thence. If the Exposition doth Arminianize, that is, was first given unto and delivered by Arminius, or any person styled by men Arminian, I know much more reason why the men should be had in honour for the Exposition's sake, than why the Exposi- tion should suffer for the men's sake. That Arminius studied, upon equal terms with the best of his fellows, " to show himself approved unto God, a workman that needed not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth,"" is a word sufficiently estab- lished in the mouth of more than either two or three witnesses, and these very competent ; and, therefore, according to the law, he ought to be acquitted from any sinister imputation in that kind. VI. Notwithstanding, unless both the credits and the con- sciences of those who shall call the Exposition Arminian be relieved by the figure synecdoche, which in some cases alloweth men to call the whole by a term appropriate unto a part only, they will both suffer deeply in the adventure. For though there be some strains and turnings here and there which sym- pathize with the principles of that way, yet the main body and bulk of the Exposition is built upon grounds of common recep- tion amongst all understanding and learned Christians. Arminius himself, as far as I can find, hath not written, 14 PREFACE. commentary-wise, above the proportion of three or four leaves, at most, in quarto upon the chapter. This piece, though of so narrow a compass, I never read to this day, neither by myself, nor by any other for me ; nor do I know any one notion con- tained in it. I confess, I purposely forbore the reading of it, that I might have wherewith to stop the mouths that wei-e like to be opened against me, as if I had ploughed with Arminius''s heifer. The Remonstrants who appeared at the Synod of Dort delivered into this Synod their sense, somewhat largely, touching the middle part of the chapter, beginning with verse 6, and ending with verse 23 ; but meddled not either with the beginning or the end of it. I confess that at some turns I consulted this piece of a commentary, and sometimes met with such apprehen- sions which consorted well with my genius, and which con- tributed somewhat towards the work I had in hand. But he that shall compare the contents of this writing with my Exposi- tion will find very little, comparatively, borrowed from thence ; and that which is borrowed, so transformed, and the property of it so altered, by superadded explications, limitations, distinc- tions, questions, &c., that the natural face of it can hardly be seen or discerned in my glass. Since this writing of the synodical Remonstrants, I have met with nothing from any man of this learning which relateth to the chapter here explained, but only a brief paraphrase with some observations of Simon Episcopius upon this chapter in conjunction with the two next following. But how little communion my Exposition hath with these, whether paraphrase or observations, will readily be found, by him that shall seek to know it, by comparing them. Whether Hugo Grotius will be numbered amongst men of the Arminian persuasion, I know not. However, his commentaries upon the chapter are but brief; nor had I an opportunity to see them, until I had overcome and finished the much greater part of my work, and was passed those quarters of the chapter where the doctrines of a personal election and reprobation from eternity are supposed by many to be lodged. Nor do I yet know what his sense or judgment is touching these passages. I shall not need to give an account of my method ; it is only that whicli is familiar and common amongst expositors who faithfully endeavour to bring the mind of God into a clear light out of the obscurity of those scriptures which they undertake to expound, partly by a narrow searching into the scope and rRKFACE. 15 context from place to place ; partly by a diligent examination of the different senses or significations of words, and choosing that which is most accommodate and proper for the place ; partly also by considering the Scripture dialect and phrase; partly again by disencumbering the sense given of such objections and difficulties as seem to lie against it ; and lastly, by establishing and avouching the sense given, by showing a perfect harmony between this and other passages of Scripture. " My witness is in heaven, and my record on high,"" (Job. xvi. 19,) that through- out my Exposition I have not willingly wrested, or adulterously forced, any phrase, word, syllable, or letter ; but have, with all simplicity of heart, and as in the sight of God, without turning aside either to the right hand or to the left, followed the most genuine ducture of the context, and scope from place to place, consulting, without partiality, all circumstances which occurred, and which I could think of, in order to a due steerage of my judgment in every thing. The bulkiness of the discourse is not occasioned by any popular enlargements sermon-wise. I only, upon the exposition given of some more nearly-cohering passages, make observation of some brief heads of doctrine from them, respectively, commonly pointing at a scripture, two, or more, comporting with each doctrine ; but neither insist upon any proof by way of argument or reason, nor frame or raise any applicatory discourse at all upon them. That which swells the body of the Exposition to that bigness wherein it appears is partly the sublimity or spiritualness of the argument or matter, partly the Svcrvojjo-ia, the difficulty or ohscm'ity of the Apostle's method or vein of discourse, in the managing or handling of it ; partly, also, the importunity of such mistaken notions and senses of interpretation which have outrun the truth and gotten the start thereof in the reasons, judgments, and understandings of men. Probable it is that the mind of the Holy Ghost in those turnings and passages of the chapter, which are of the most difficult access to the understandings of men in these days, was of a far more easy and ready comprehension to those to whom the epistle was written, and generally to the saints, who were contemporaries with the Apostles ; although it be true also which Peter saith, even with reference to the times wherein he spake it, namely, that in the writings of Paul there are dva-voi^Tci Tjva, some things hard to be understood. Such things are hard to be understood which lie, as it were, far remote, and at a great IC i'Ri:ka( e. distance from tlic apprehensions and understandings of men, in respect of their present state and condition, as, namely, when they are principled only with such notions and suppositions ■which either have little or no sympathy or affinity with the said things, or else with any such which are opposite to the truth of them. In both cases, but especially in the latter, as a man must take many steps in the performance of a long journey, so must he proceed by many approaches of argument and discourse, who shall with any likelihood of success endeavour to carry up the judgments and understandings of men to such truths. Before the Exposition I have prefixed a brief paraphrase of the whole chapter, according to the sense and carriage of the Exposition, that so thou mayest readily, and with a very little reading, understand the management and course of it through- out, and so make some estimate whether it be at any turn wrested or forced, and not veiy naturally consorting and com- porting all along with the context itself After the Exposition I have subjoined, for thy benefit, with no small pains to myself, four tables ; the first containing such particular texts of Scrip- ture occasionally mentioned, with some touch or other of inter- pretation upon them. The second exhibiteth such general rules for the interpretation of Scripture which are upon occasion delivered in the discourse. The third is a collection of the principal questions and difficulties discussed and resolved herein. The fourth and last directeth unto some other particulars in the Exposition which are not to be found out by the help of any of the other tables. I shall not need to inform thee of the useful- ness of these tables, or tell thee that by means of some one or other of them thou mayest very presently find any thing material contained in the whole. 1 know no ground (neither shall I build without) why I should expect any better quarter for this piece from men who have adventured so much of their estates in credit in the crazy bottom of a personal reprobation from eternity, as the greatest part of Ministers amongst us have done, than what my book of Redemption, and some other writings relating in argument thereunto, have found. The serpentine hissing of tongues and pens against me is now no strange thing luito me, and so no great trial. Cunarum labor est angites siqjcrare mcarum. From my youth up until now I have conflicted the viperous PKEFACE. 17 contradictions of men, the truth having acted me in full opposi- tion to my genius and spirit, by making me, with Jeremy, "a man of contention to the whole earth." (Jer. xv. 10.) But now I can willingly and freely say of the truth, as the Empress of her son, Occidat, modo imperet. Let truth handle me as she pleaseth, deprive me of all things, yea, of that very being itself of which I am yet possessed, upon condition that she herself may reign. I have the advantage of old age, and of the sanctuary of the grave near at hand, to despise all enemies and avengers. I know that hard thoughts, and hard sayings, and hard writings, and hard dealings, and frowns, and pourings out of contempt and wrath abide me ; " but none of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I may finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testify the Gospel of the grace of God." (Acts XX. 24.) Farewell, good reader, in the Lord ; let him have a friend's portion in thy prayers, who is willing to suffer all things for thy sake, that the truth of the Gospel may come with evidence and demonstration of the Spirit unto thee, and remain with thee. If the embracing of the truth before men keeps thee from preferment on earth, it will, most assuredly, recompense thee sevenfold, yea, seventy times sevenfold, in heaven. May the Exposition, in thy hand, through the blessing of Him who giveth the increase upon the plantings and waterings of men, be a strengthener of thy faith, and helper of thy joy. Thine, devoted to serve thee in the faith and patience of Jesus Christ, J. GOODWIN. From my study in Sivan-Alley, Coleman- Street, London, February lith, 1652. A PARAPHRASE THE NINTH CHAPTER OF THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS, ACCORDING TO THE TENOR AND SENSE OF THE EXPOSITION FOLLOWING ; CONTAINING, IN BRIEF, THE SUM AND SUBSTANCE THEREOF. 1 I SAY the truth in Christ, I he not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. From what hath been already delivered by me, in this epistle, concerning justification by faith, and not by the observation of Moses's law, as likewise from what I shall further add in the same argument, I easily foresee that my countrymen the Jews will infer and conclude, that I make of them no better than reprobates, a people cast out of the sight and favour of God, inasmuch as they do not receive this my doctrine. And I am not a little jealous but that they will judge and say that it is of hatred and evil will towards them that 1 am so zealous in assert- ing and propagating such a doctrine, inasmuch as they are con- scious unto themselves how injuriously they have entreated me, and what great evil they have done unto me. But to prevent, and heal, if it be possible, any such conceit or apprehension in them as this, and to let them know of a certainty that I am as far as the heavens are from the earth from all bitterness of spirit towards them, or any thought or desire of revenge, in one kind or other, upon them, I most solemnly and seriously profess and swear, as in the presence of Jesus Christ my Lord, whose holiness and A PAUAPHUASE OF THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 1{> power I infinitely reverence and dread, and with the full and clear testimony of my conscience, moved and acted herein by the Holy Ghost, that the sense of their stubbornness and unbelief, whereby they judge themselves unworthy of eternal life, and expose themselves to eternal misery and ruin, is as a sword continually passing through my soul, inwardly troubling, afflicting, and tormenting me without ceasing. 3 For T could wish that myself were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh : And that they may be fully persuaded and satisfied of the reality and truth of this my affection towards them, and that I am a man of no less sorrow and sadness of soul for their misery than I have now expressed, I further, upon the same terms of assurance, declare and profess, that, however my dear Lord and master Christ hath not only vouchsafed unto me the great honour and dignity of being a member of his own mystical body, with other saints, but hath also invested me with the peculiar dignity of an Apostle, and made me his great ambas- sador unto the world, yet am I not only willing and content for their sakes, and to recover them out of that bitter snare of death, their unbelief, to run all extremities of hazard and danger, and to suffer things very grievous to be endured by men ; but also ardently wish and desire that I could or might purchase or procure this grace for them at the hand of God, though it were by my being made, not only the most vile, abject, and despica- ble bondslave in the world, and handled accordingly, but even such a person also, who is esteemed or looked upon as the most abhorred and abominated creature in all the world by Christ himself, and which of all others he would never own ; or as a man devoted unto the worst and most ignominious of deaths, and ready to suffer accordingly. And this I can and do the rather wish and desire on their behalf, to save them from the wrath and vengeance which is to come, and never to pass away or end, because they are by nature and communion in the same blood, my brethren and kinsmen, they and I being jointly descended from one and the same great progenitor of our race, Abraham. In this respect I cannot but, with all naturalness of affection and tenderness of bowels, commiserate their most c 2 20 A paraphrase: of deplorable and sad condition, and, consequently, offer myself most freely and willingly to suffer the uttermost of what 1 may suffer, or lawfully wish to suffer, for their redemption from so great misery. 4 Who are Israelites ; to whom pertaineth the adop- tion, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises ; 5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. Nor, indeed, should I show that reverence which becometh me to the most signal and worthy dispensations of God himself towards this nation and people, if I should suffer them to perish, in case I had a price in my hand, whatsoever it were, wherewith to relieve them. For, 1. God brought them out of the loins of a most famous and worthy progenitor, whose name, being Jacob, upon a special occasion he exchanged for Israel ; and herewith gave him honour in abundance to boot ; in which honour they also partake with him, being called Israelites, and known by this name in the world. 2. Neither hath he cast honour upon them only in the great Patriarch and father of their nation, and in their acknowledged relation of descent from him ; but also, passing by all other nations in the world, hath adopted them for a peculiar people unto himself; vouchsafing unto them the favours and privileges of a son, and providing a choice inherit- ance, even the land of Canaan, a land "flowing with milk and honey," for them. 3. He hath made them a people yet more glorious in the world, by vouchsafing to dwell visibly, by the angel of his glorious presence, in the midst of them ; in whose forehead he had, as it were, written his own great name, and who, for a long time together, upon all occasions manifested himself unto them by signs and wonders, by dreams and visions of prophecy, and other glorious discoveries of his goodness, mercy, wisdom, and power, from time to time. 4. He yet further vovichsaftd to enter into covenant with them, and to engage and oblige them by covenant again unto himself; yea, and renewed and enlarged this his covenant with them time after THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THK ROMANS. 21 time. 5. Besides all this, he gave them a most excellent law, written with his own finger, and many statutes, in wisdom and righteousness far exceeding all the constitutions and laws of all other nations under heaven ; whereby they were taught what was meet and comely for them to do, and how they might keep themselves unspotted, and free from the pollutions of other people. G. Over and above all these vouchsafements he erected and set up amongst them the true worship of himself, full of majesty, wisdom, and holiness ; whereas he suffered all other nations to pollute themselves with their self-devised superstitions and idolatries. 7- 1'hat which was a worthy privilege also, unto this nation he made known, by several promises, and these repeated and enlarged from time to time, the great secret of his counsel and purpose concerning the sending of the Messiah into the world. 8. This nation was yet further dignified by that title and claim which they do and may justly make to those worthy patriarchs and fathers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, &c., as their ancestors and forefathers, unto whom God promised and sware, after a most solemn manner, that he would be their God, and the God of their seed, for ever. 9- And, lastly, the great and first-born privilege vouchsafed by God unto this nation is, that the great Messiah and Saviour of the world, who had been promised and prefigured of old, and with the expectation of whose coming the world was, as it were, all along kept alive ; a person exalted in worth and honour far above all men. Patri- archs, Prophets, and whomsoever, yea, above the angels them- selves ; a person counting it no robbery to be equal with God, having also, Godlike, the absolute dominion of the world, and over all things in it, vested in him : This person, I say, thus astonishingly great, wonderful, and glorious, accepted that flesh or human nature which he assumed at the hand of this natioa and people, and was born of one of their daughters. 6 Not as thouo-h the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel : 7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children : but. In Isaac shall thy seed be called. 8 That is, They which are the children of the fleshy, 22 A PARAPHRASE OV these are not the children of God : but the children of the promise are counted for the seed. 9 For this is the word of promise, At this time will I come, and Sarah shall have a son. But now, when I suppose, or teach that which supposeth, that this so highly dignified a people by God, is rejected and cast off by him, I do not suppose or teach any thing which rendereth God unfaithful in any of those promises made by him unto Abraham and his seed. For when God promised and said that he would be the God of Abraham, and so of Isaac, and of Jacob, and their seed, his meaning was, not to engage himself, according to the terms of this promise, unto all without excep- tion who should descend from their loins by carnal propagation, inasmuch as he plainly declared unto Abraham that he meant to estimate and count that seed of his, to whom he intended the performance of the great promise of being their God, not by the rule of natural propagation, but only by the rule of such a propagation which spiritually resembleth the terms and manner of Isaac's generation and birth, who was conceived and born, not according to the ordinary course of nature, but by means of a promise delivered by God unto Abraham in that behalf, and of the believing of this promise, both by Abraham and Sarah. So that by Abraham's seed, to whom Gcd promised to be and to continue a God for ever, evident it is that only such persons are meant who spiritually or supernaturally are begotten and born; that is, receive a new being and subsisting by virtue. of that gracious promise of his wherein he promiseih righteousness, life, and salvation unto all that believe ; who also may be called Abraham's children or seed, because they spiritually resemble him in his faith, and in all other holy and gracious dispositions accompanying the same, as natural children commonly resemble the parents of their flesh, both in the outward lineaments of the face, and in the frame iind temper of their spirits ; it being a frequent metaphor in the Scripture, to call both men and women the children of those whose ways and actions they imitate. (Ezek. xvi. 3 ; Isaiah Ivii. 3 ; Hosea v. 7 ; John viii, 37, 39, 44 ; 1 Peter iii. 6* ; 1 John iii 8.) Now, then, inas- much as nothing can be more evident than that all that carnally descend from Abraham, and so from Isaac and Jacob, are not thus spiritually born, do not depend upon this free promise of THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMAN'S. 23 God for their justification, as evident it is that all these may be reprobated and rejected by him without any miscarrying or falling to the ground of that promise by which he engaged himself to be a God unto Abraham and his seed. True it is, that that interpretation of his promise made by God unto Abraham, " But in Isaac shall thy seed be called," was some- what obscure ; but God soon after gives further hght unto it by another oracle ; and, however, expected that they who should come to the hearing or reading of it should search and inquire with all diligence after his mind in it. 10 And not only this ; but when Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac ; 1 1 (For the children [or rather, nations] being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him that call- eth;) 12 It was said unto her. The elder shall serve the younger. 13 As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated. Nor did God signify and declare unto Abraham only, by saying unto him, that in Isaac, not in Ishmael, his seed should be called, who, and what manner of persons they are, and must be, whom he meant by that seed of his, unto which he made that great promise of being a God and great Benefactor for ever; but he further declared his will and pleasure in this behalf unto Rebekah also; and this upon such terms, and under such circumstances, as by which his mind and counsel in the business may be more clearly and perfectly known and understood than by the oracle mentioned and delivered unto Abraham upon the same account. For, whereas it might be pretended or thought that God therefore passed by Ishmael, and made choice of Isaac for Abraham's heir, and, consequently, meant to estimate or count him, and so his posterity, for Abra- ham's seed, either because Ishmael. was the son of a concubine, and she a bond-woman, Isaac the son of a free-woman, and Abraham's principal and most legitimate wife; or else 24 A PABAPllRASK OF because Ishmacl was a scoffer, and of a more irreligious spirit, ■whereas Isaac was of a more gracious temper and behaviour ; and, consequently, that no such mystery or meaning as I infer from the said oracle (namely, that God, in his promise, should, by Ahraham's seed, intend only such who spiritually resemble Isaac in his birth) can reasonably be deduced from it ; evident it is, that no such exceptions or pretences as these, to obscure the mind of God concerning Abraham's seed, can have place in that oracle, which, not long after, God himself, likewise, in way of further discovery of his mind about the same business, delivered unto Rebekah, Isaac's wife, being now ready to be delivered of two children, the heads and significators of two nations, in these words : " The elder shall serve the younger." For, 1. These two children had one and the same mother, namely, Rebekah, and were likewise begotten by the same father, and he not a bond-man, or person of mean parentage, but a great and worthy Patriarch of the Jewish nation, yea, Abraham's son and heir, Isaac by name. 2. When God declared unto Rebekah his mind concerning these children, in the words mentioned, (" The elder shall serve the younger,") the case between them was not as it was between Ishmael and Isaac, when Ishmael, being a scoffer, was rejected, and Isaac, a well-disposed youth, chosen and accepted ; but there was no difference at all in point either of good or evil between them, both being yet unborn, and so neither " having done good or evil." Therefore, that God should now declare that his pur- pose concerning the state and condition of the one and the other was so far differing, that he intended, contrary to the common rule and practice observed amongst men, to make the elder, or first-born, servant unto the younger, and, consequently, give dominion and lordship unto the younger over the elder, must needs signify and import some^vhat that is mysterious, besides and above the letter of the history. And what can this reasonably be, but to declare and make known, that his purpose of choosing, estimating, and accepting for Abraham's seed, and heirs of the world, is unchangeably settled upon the liberty and freedom of his own pleasure and will, and this most justly, inas- much as he is the free Donor of all privileges and blessings now appertaining to this seed, calling and inviting men to the par- ticipation hereof upon such terms as himself pleaseth, and is not regulated or carried on in the respective executions of it, by THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 25 the merit of works, or by the observation of Moses's law, as the Jews generally suppose it to be, yea, and that in reason and equity it ought to be, the observation of this law having been prescribed and commanded unto men by himself. And that difference which God declared that he would in time make between Rebekah''s two sons, whilst as yet they were unborn, in their respective posterities, namely, that " the elder should serve the younger," the Prophet Malachi, many ages after, affirms to have taken place ; and so the divine oracle in that behalf to have been fulfilled in his days, and before in these words, uttered by God himself, " Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated;"" meaning, that he had shown respects of love to Jacob and his posterity, partly in giving unto them the land of Canaan, a land flowing with milk and honey, promised before unto Abraham and his seed ; partly, also, after their removal from it for a season, in restoring them unto, and re-establishing them in, the possession of it ; whereas, he had assigned unto Esau, in his posterity, only the rough, craggy, and incult mountains of Idumea for their inheritance, a land no ways to be compared with the land of Canaan ; and, besides, had now for their sins laid their cities desolate and waste, with a resolution never to suffer them to be built more. By these differences, put by God between them, the servile condition of the one, and filial or son-like condition of the other, manifestly appeared, and this in perfect consonancy to that divine oracle, which long before, yea, whilst as yet neither of them was a nation or people, yea, before the heads of either nation were born, had pre-declared these things. 14 What shall we say then? Is there unrighteous- ness with God ? God forbid. Nor doth it follow from that interpretation which I have made of, or from that inference which I have drawn from, the two divine oracles mentioned, the former delivered unto Abra- ham concerning his two sons, Ishmael and Isaac ; the latter, unto Rebekah, concerning her two sons, Esau and Jacob ; namely, that not all who are the natural issue and posterity of Abraham, no, nor yet of Jacob, were intended by God, in his great promise made unto Abraham, for his seed, no, nor yet any other of his natural issue, but only those who, after the manner of Isaac, are children of promise, and spiritually begot- 26 A PARAPHRASK OF ten of the word of God's grace, which promiseth justification and salvation to those that believe ; from hence, I say, it doth not at all follow that God should be unrighteous, or unjust, as, it is like, my countrymen the Jews will pretend. They are apt to think, that, if God should estimate Abraham's seed, and justify men by believing, rejecting from these privileges the strict and zealous observers of his own law, he should be unrighteous and unjust. But I desire they will please to understand, that I am as far from teaching any doctrine what- soever, whereby God should be rendered unrighteous, as them- selves ; yea, every such doctrine as this is the abhorring of my soul. But, that there is no reflection in the least of any unrighteousness in God in my doctrine of justification by faith, and not by the works of the lav/, is evident from the mouth of God himself. 15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have com- passion on whom I will have compassion. For, doth he not assume and claim to himself a liberty, or right of power, to justify and save who or what manner of per- sons himself pleaseth, in saying unto Moses, " I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy ?" &c. Doubtless God claimeih unto himself no liberty or power in one kind or other, but only that which is most equitable, righteous, and just. " Shall not the Judge of all the earth," saith Abraham, " do right ?"" and, so, speak right ? Therefore, if God be at liberty to accept, justify, and save, who and what manner of persons he pleaseth, and, consequently, to reject what manner of per- sons he pleaseth, he cannot be unrighteous or unjust in showing the "mercy" of justification, and so the grace of salvation, upon those who believe, or in denying these privileges to those that seek after them by the works of the law. 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. From hence it clearly foUoweth, that justification, that is, the law or terms of justification, do not proceed from, are not per- mitted to be nominated, appointed, or made by men, though never so forward or desirous of being justified, though never so zealous in pursuing justification ; but the right of enacting this THE XINTII CIIAPTEll TO THE ROMANS. 27 law, and of prescribing these terms, unquestionably apper- tuinetli unto God; and this for this reason, and upon this account, namely, because it is and was in his power, whether any person whatsoever of mankind should ever have been justi- fied, or no, by one means or other. For, as he that freely foundeth a hospital or alms-house out of his own proper estate, and endoweth it with revenue and means for the relief of those that are helpless and poor, hath in equity the right and power of making what laws he pleaseth concerning the persons that shall be admitted to partake in the benefit and comfort of either of these houses, as how they shall be qualified in order to their admission, how regulated after their admission, &c. ; at least, there is no colour of reason, that the persons themselves, who stand in need of, and accordingly desire, the benefit of such charitable foundations should prescribe laws for their own admission and government ; in like manner, God, of his free grace, mercy, and bounty, affording the blessed opportunity of justification unto the sinful and lost world of mankind, hath a most equitable right and power, and claims and exerciseth it accordingly, to nominate, ordain, and appoint what laws, terms, and conditions himself pleaseth and judgeth meet, for all those to be subject unto, who desire part and fellowship in this great and blessed business of justification, before they come to enjoy it. And it is a most preposterous thing to imagine or conceive, that he should suffer or permit men themselves, who are sinful and vile, and stand in the utmost necessity to partake of his bounty in that royal blessing of justification, to make their own terms, how they will be justified. 17 For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth. And as there is no "unrighteousness" in God's showing mercy, the mercy of justification, and so of salvation, on whom he pleaseth, and, consequently, not in justifying those who believe, so neither is there any whit more " unrighteousness" in his rejecting, condemning, and destroying whom, or what man- ner of persons, he pleaseth ; and, consequently, not in his 28 A PARAPHRASE OF rejecting and destroying impenitent, unbelieving, and obdurate sinners. For himself, as we are informed from the Scriptures, plainly told Pharaoh, by Moses iiis servant, that whereas, by his frequent rebellions against him, in detaining his people in bondage, contrary to many express orders and commands from him to let them go, and these seconded by many terrible signs and wonders, time after time, he deserved to have been cut off by death, as many of his subjects, partakers in the same rebel- lions with him, had been, yet he had, upon a special design, respited him from destruction hitherto, namely, that in case he should still stand it out in stubbornness and rebellion against him, and not relent to the dismission of his people, by all that goodness and patience which had already in part been showed, and should yet further to a degree be showed unto him, he might show the dreadfulness of his power in his destruction, and so cause the knowledge of his great and fearful name to be spread far and near throughout the world. By this admonitory and minatory address unto Pharaoh, God plainly declares that he is at liberty, and hath a right of power, to reject from his grace and favour, and to destroy who, and what kind of persons, he pleaseth ; and particularly that that sort or kind of persons whom he is pleased thus to reject and destroy are stubborn and obdurate unbelievers. 18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. Now, then, what from 'the words lately recited, spoken by God unto Moses, on the one hand, and what from the message now mentioned, sent unto Pharaoh, on the other hand, it clearly foUoweth, that God hath a liberty, or right of povver, which he accordingly exerciseth both ways, as well of showing mercy, justifying, and saving, who, and what manner of persons, he pleaseth, as of rejecting, punishing, and destroying, in like manner, whom he pleaseth ; and, consequently, that there is no *' unrighteousness''"' in him, when he doeth either. 19 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault ? For who hath resisted his will ? If things be thus between God, and his creature man, namely, that he hardeneth, punisheth, and rejecteth, whom he pleaseth, and at his will ; it may be that some, out of froward- TTIK XINTII ClIArTF.n TO THE ROMANS. 29 ness, or ignorance, or both, will demand : " How cometh it to pass that he so frequently complains of, and reproveth, those whom he hath hardened and rejected, considering that they are in no capacity to reform or amend any thing that is blameworthy either in their hearts or ways, or to recover themselves from under their present misery, inasmuch as that will of his, by which they are hardened or rejected, cannot be resisted, or the effects of it dissolved or disannulled by men ? Are such things meet matter of reproof, which the persons reproved are in no condition or possibility to help or amend ?" 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus ? For answer to this demand, whosoever thou art that makest it, if thou beest but a man, I cannot but demand another thing of thee : Tell me whether it be meet, or indeed tolerable, that thou, being a poor, weak, ignorant, and sinful creature, dwell- ing in a house of clay, and who must shortly appear before the dreadful tribunal of Jesus Christ, to receive judgment for all thy thoughts, words, and works, shouldest enter a quarrelsome and froward contest against the most glorious, most holy, most righteous, and only wise God, before whom the pillars and powers both of heaven and earth tremble, who is able in the twinkling of an eye to crush and destroy thee, about either the righteousness or wisdom of his ways ? If he doth reprove, complain of, and find fault with those whom he hath hardened or rejected, oughtest not thou to reverence him, and presume both wisdom and righteousness in this his way, although thou, through thy present ignorance and profaneness of heart, art not able to comprehend them ? For, let me yet once more ask thee, is it in the least degree reasonable or comely, that when a workman hath given being to any thing made by him, in such or such a form, that this thing should expostulate with him about the shape or form wherein he hath made it, or complain of him for making it in this form, and not rather in some other; especially considering that that thing which the workman hath made in one form could not possibly have been made by him in another ; inasmuch as it had been another thing, and not 30 A PARArHEASE OF that which now it is, if it had been made in another form. No more reason is there, nay, much less reason there is, why sinful men who, by sinning against God, have forfeited their very beings a thousand times, should contend with him about his proceedings with them, or about the terms of that being which he, notwithstanding those many forfeitures, is graciously pleased to vouchsafe unto them ; especially considering, that God, his infinite wisdom and justice on the one hand, and their folly and sinfulness on the other hand, considered, cannot grant them any being at all upon better terms than that which he now vouch- safed unto them. 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour ? And let me ask thee, O man, yet once more, the more throughly to convince thee of the unreasonableness of thy contest against God about his dealings by thee, having now imbased thyself by sinning, and so art become obnoxious unto his displeasure ; let me, I say, ask thee, Dost thou, or any other man of common reason and understanding, deny unto an ordinary potter a lawfulness of power over his clay, the vileness of the material on the one hand, and his civil right and pro- priety in it on the other hand, considered, as if he might not without the violation of any principle of reason, justice, or equity, of the same parcel or lump of it, make one vessel for services not only necessary but also comely and honourable, another for employments less creditable and seemly ? 22 [And] What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction : 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory to the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory ? And if God shall please, for the manifestation of his most dreadful avenging power upon men prodigiously sinful, on the one hand, and on the other hand, to administer a ground of THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 31 knowledge and consideration unto the world, how rich above measure his remunerating grace and bounty is towards those whom, by his long-suffering and gracious applications of himself otherwise, he shall bring to repentance, and so prepare and make them meet beforehand, or before their death, for salva- tion ; if he shall, I say, for these or the like ends, mercifully, and with much long-suffering and patience, entreat obstinate and obdurate sinners who are already, by means of an abun- dance of guilt contracted by a long-continued course in sinning, sufficiently, or above the ordinary rate even of sinners, fitted for destruction, is he not at liberty, hath he not a lawfulness or right of power, to do it ? Hath any man any colour or pretext of reason to blame his dispensations in this kind ? For other- wise than by enduring sinful men " with much long-suffering" and patience he hardeneth no man ; nor is any man by this means upon any such terms hardened, but that he both might have prevented his hardening by repentance, yea, and all along the course and time of this his hardening have repented, and so have prevented his destruction. Neither is that will of God, by which men are hardened, in any such sense, irresistible ; but that, this notwithstanding, had they been studious or cai*eful of the things of their peace, they might not only have escaped all hardening in this kind, but even have recovered themselves also from under their greatest hardening, however true it is that very few do recover themselves in this case. For the will of God concerning the hardening of men, as appears by the manner and method of his hardening, namely, by enduring them " with much long-sviffering,*" is not absolute or peremptory, but conditional, not enforcing, not constraining, not necessi- tating any man to be or to become hardened, but only upon a supposition of his own voluntary neglect or contempt of the gracious applications made by God unto him. This being the case of men's hardening by God, evident it is, that when he finds fault with those who are hardened, he neither insults over their impotency to help themselves, nor acts contrary to any principle of wisdom, reason, or equity, in such a case. For reproofs are in no case more proper than when men, through their wilful foolishness, have incurred any great inconvenience or danger ; and especially, when having power and opportunity in their hand to redeem themselves, they shall, notwithstanding, neglect to do it. 32 A PARAPHttASE OF 24 Even us, whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles. Amongst those " vessels of mercy," which God by his grace bringeth to repentance and holiness, and so prepares and makes meet for the glory of heaven, before he confers the same upon them, whom also he intends to reward most munificently, as he gives both them and all men to understand by his great kind- ness and patience towards those who most of all provoke him, are we, whom he hath eifectually called and prevailed with to believe in Jesus Christ. Nor are we all, whom God hath thus made " vessels of mercy,"' the children of Abraham by natural descent and propagation, as the Jews mere generally suppose all those must needs be who are in grace and favour with God, but many of us are Gentiles by birth, and upon this account persons on whom they look as men with whom God never meant to have any thing to do in any way of favour or respects of grace. 25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people ; and her beloved, which was not beloved. 26 And it shall come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there shall they be called the children of the living God. But what I affirm in this, that many of us who are called into grace and favour with God are Gentiles, is nothing but what is consonant enough with many prophetical predic- tions, owned by the Jews themselves, and particularly with several passages of the Prophet Hosea ; as first, where he exhibiteth God himself speaking to this effect, that when time should be, he would give the honour and happiness of being a people, in special manner related unto him, unto those who before had neither part nor fellowship in such a business. And again, that he would show great love to such a people, on whom he had frowned before with great indignation. And yet once more, that he would so interpose by his grace and power that, in the land of Judea, where, under the seventy years'" captivity, the people remaining were, by reason of their poor, THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 33 low, and miserable condition, esteemed by the nations round about them as a people deserted and forsaken by their God, they, with their brethren returning from the captivity, and their posterities, should be a nation so prosperous and flourishing, so abundantly blessed by him, that the world should not but acknowledge them for a people highly honoured and respected by God. For though these passages, and others like unto them, do properly, directly, and in their letter, speak of that great and happy change which God, when time was, promised to make in the state and condition of the Jews, when it was very low and, in outward appearance, helpless ; yet the nature and spirit of them plainly signify and import that God acteth but like unto himself in former times, and consequently that there is no strangeness or incredibleness in the thing, in case he makes such a wonderful alteration in the spiritual estate of the Gentiles, that, whereas they have been formerly, for many gene- rations, a people in whom he took no delight, nor ever revealed himself unto them after any such manner as he did unto the Jews, yet now he should look graciously upon them, place his holy name amongst them, and take of them a people holy to himself. 27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. 28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness : Because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. 29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha. And in case my countrymen the Jews shall object, that from my doctrine of justification by faith it followeth that far the greatest part of them and their nation, who reject and abhor this doctrine, must be excluded from the love and favour of God, they may please to remember and consider, that neither is this any strange or new thing with God ; I mean, to reject and cast out of his sight the main body and bulk of their nation- For even their great and royal Prophet Isaiah spake it aloud, 34 A PARAPHRASE OF when time was, in the ears of their forefathers, that though they were a nation numerous and populous above the rate of any other nation under heaven, yet, since they had so highly pro- voked their God, as generally they had done, he was resolved to make such havoc and desolation of them by their enemies, the Assyrians, that a very small number of them, comparatively, should escape ; inasmuch as he was resolved to make thorough and quick work with them, and to declare and make known unto the world the incredible numbers of transgressors and wicked persons amongst them, by a proportionable extent and comprehensiveness of his severe judgments executed upon them ; not sparing any, save only those who were righteous amongst them, and, possibly, some few others for their sakes, and to be subservient unto them. Yea, the same Prophet had, in like manner, informed his nation not long before, that, unless God, who hath the sovereign and absolute command of all strengths whatsoever residing in his creatures, had, when the swords of Rezin, King of Syria, and of Pekah, the son of Remaliah, raged against the inhabitants of Judea ; and again, l when Shalmanezer made that fearful work we read of, 2 Kings xvii., amongst the ten tribes ; — had not, I say, God very graciously and somewhat out of course interposed with his providence and power on their behalf, to save a remnant of them alive, out of whose loins this their nation might again in time spring and recover itself, their desolation had been as absolute and universal as the destruction of those great sinners, the inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrha, of whom not so much as a small remnant was suffered to remain. 30 What shall we say then? That the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteous- ness which is of faith. 31 But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. What now may we clearly infer and conclude from all that hath been argued concerning the pre-mentioned oracles ; the one dehvered by God unto Abraham, namely, that in Isaac his THE NTNTH CHAPTER TO THE nOMANS, 35 seed should be called ; the other, unto Rebekah, concerning her two sons, Esau and Jacob, namely, that the elder should serve the younger ; together with the answers given to such objections as we met with in opposition to those arguings ; what, I demand, may we plainly deduce and infer from all this ? Doubtless this, namely, that upon the Gentile world, in several of their members, though they little or not at all minded or looked after any such business, as how or whereby they might be justified before God, yet, notwithstanding this blessedness is come, they are justified in the sight of God with that justifica- tion which is obtained by believing in Jesus Christ, inasmuch as they, that is, many of them, as hath been said and is com- monly known, have thus believed ; this being the only way or means sanctified and approved by God for the justification of men. And, on the other hand, that the Jews, who most zealously pursued such a way, means, or course, for their justification, whereby they confidently expected to obtain it, yet prospered not in their way, were not justified by the course which they steered in order hereunto. 32 Wherefore ? Because they sought it not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumblingstone ; 33 As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a stum- blingstone and rock of offence : And whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. If you ask me, " But why or how it cometh to pass, that the Jews, who were so zealously diligent in the pursuit of a justified estate before God, did, notwithstanding, miscarry, and lose that prize of blessedness for which, with so much earnestness and contention of mind and soul they ran i' " my answer clearly is, That the true and sole reason of their sad miscarriage in this kind was, because they ran in a by-way of their own, pleasing themselves with a conceit that somewhat like to an observation of Moses's law would justify them ; so turning aside from the way of believing, which is the only way opened and established by God for the justification of men. But they, miserably blinded and deluded men, were offended at the great humility and abasement of Him who was their Messiah, upon this account disdaining and rejecting him, and obdurately refusing I) 2 36 A PAllAPHRASE OF THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. to believe on him ; concerning whom, notwithstanding, God himself had given them warning of old by one of his greatest Prophets that, in the house and line of David their King, he would raise up and establish with power and authority for ever such a person who, by reason of that poor and mean condition wherein he should appear in the world, would be obnoxious to be despised and rejected by vuiwary and inconsiderate men to their destruction and ruin ; who, notwithstanding, should be a blessed Author of life, and peace, and glory, unto all those who should receive and acknowledge him by believing on him. i AN EXPOSITION THE NINTH CHAPTER OF THE EPISTLE OF PAUL TO THE ROMANS. CONCERNING THE SCOPE OF THE CHAPTER. It is a saying, though common, yet of worthy consequence, and this in cases of several imports, " A wise man should still begin at the end.""* A man of understanding being to write or to speak will first diligently consider what his end is in either, what it is that he proposeth unto himself to obtain by the one or the other, and will accordingly form his discourse in all the parts and carriages of it. By means hereof all uncomely extra- vagancies and tedious impertinencies of words will be prevented, and only such things delivered which have a close and accept- able proportion unto his end. And, doubtless, he that desires clearly and without mistake to understand the particular pas- sages or sayings in the discourse of a wise and sober main, which in themselves, simply considered, may be somewhat obscure and of a doubtful interpretation, shall put himself into the best posture of advantage for compassing this his end, if he can discover the end of the speaker, and carry along with him the consideration hereof to the said passages. I confess that, in such cases, where the end and main intent of the speaker is otherwise doubtful and hard to be known, it is to be inquired after, and may very possibly be so discovered and found out, in the tenor, strain, and tendency of the passages themselves of the discourse. There is no one thing of a richer conducement to a true * Sapiens debci incipere a fine. 38 AN EXPOSITION OF understanding of this ninth chapter to the Romans, especially in those passages which are more difficult and obscure, than a clear, steady, and distinct knowledge of the Apostle's scope herein, and what doctrine or conclusion it is which the Holy Ghost seeks to prove, explicate, or establish, throughout this contexture of Scripture. The reason hereof is, because all parts of the discourse must be carried in their respective inter- pretations, as it were, in a straight line upon that which is the scope and end thereof, so that what sense or meaning of words or phrases, though otherwise consistent enough with the letter, simply considered, yea, or with the truth itself in other points, yet shall be found to stand off from the said scope, and be irre- lative to it, may hereby clearly be detected not to be the genuine or true sense or meaning of the Holy Ghost in those words. Therefore, by way of preface to our explication of the chapter itself, we shall inquire a little after the main drift and intent of the Apostle herein ; concerning which I find only these two different opinions, in the general, amongst expositors ; nor, indeed, do I conceive any place left in reason, or with any colour of reason, for a third, at least, materially differing both from the one and the other. First. Some conceive that the Apostle, in this chapter, from the rejection of the Jewish nation out of the love and favour of God, (insinuated verses 2, 3,) who had for many ages past been a peculiar and chosen people unto him, together with the calling and assuming the Gentiles in their stead, takes occasion to declare and open unto the world the original fountain or supreme cause hereof, namely, the absolute and eternal purpose and decree of God, according unto which he hath predestinated such and such persons, as it were by name, unto eternal life and glory, and such and such others unto eternal death and misery. From this absolute decree of predestination in God it conies to pass, as they conceive and teach, that some persons, namely, those who are predestinated unto life, have such means of grace vouchsafed unto them by God, by which they are infallibly, and without all possibility of miscarrying, brought to repent and believe ; as, on the contrary, that others, namely, who are not predestinated unto life, but unto death and eternal condemna- tion, must, of necessity, remain in impenitency and unbelief, and consequently be at last rejected by God and perish ever- lastingly. This is the brief of the account which this opinion THF, NINTH CIIAPTKIl TO THE IIOMAXS. 39 gives of the rejection of the Jews and calling of the Gentiles, namely, the election of the one and reprobation of the other from eternity, and this according to the absolute and mere will and pleasure of God ; from which different purpose in God towards the one and the other it comes to pass, saith this opinion, that the one, as, namely, the Gentiles, that is, great numbers of them, are brought to believe, and hereby become the people of God ; and the other, namely, the Jews, a small remnant only excepted, remain hardened in unbelief, and so are cast off by God and perish. The discussion of this business, the opinion we speak of supposeth to be the sovereign drift and scope of the Apostle in the present chapter. The other opinion conceiveth. That the crown which the Apostle runs for in this chapter is partly the preventing, partly the satisfying, of such objections which he knew the Jews either had made, or very probably might make, against that main doctrine of justification by faith alone in Christ without the works of the law, which he had argued and asserted hitherto, with some occasional insertions of other matters nearly relating hereunto, and for the obstinate and wilful rejection whereof, being now so plainly and fully preached and opened unto them, he certainly knew that their rejection and casting off by God approached, and was even at the door. That this, and not the other, is the genuine, proper, and direct scope of the Apostle in the chapter in hand will be suffi- ciently evidenced by these considerations ; especially in con- junction with that natural correspondency and agreement which we shall find in all the principal passages of the chapter there- with, when we come particularly to examine and unfold ihem. 1. The doctrine of such a predestination as the former opinion notioneth and contendeth for, as the subject-matter of the chapter, hath nothing at all in it to convince the Jews of any rebellion or disobedience against God, in rejecting the doctrine of justification by faith in Christ, or in cleaving so pertinaciously as they did to the observation of the law for their justification. For, that some are elected by God, others repro- bated, no ways proveth either that they who embrace the doctrine of justification by faith are they that are elected by him or approved of him, nor yet that they who depend upon the law for their justification are those that are reprobated by him, or rebel against him. Now it is as clear as the light of the 40 AX EXPOSITION OF sun that Paul, both in this and the two next following chapters, labours mightily to convince the Jews of their obstinacy against God, in rejecting his counsel concerning their justification by faith, and that this obstinacy of theirs was the cause of their casting out of the favour of God, and of the investing of the Gentiles, at this time, with their privileges. Nay, 2. Such a doctrine of election and reprobation, as that speci- fied, is so far from having any thing in it whereby the Jews should be convinced of disobedience against God by rejecting the Gospel, and justification by faith, that of the two it hath rather a tendency of a contrary import, as, namely, to strengthen their hand under this their rejection, and to harden them in their rebellion yet more. For, might not they, upon a very plausible account, argue and conclude that they who continued in the law and ordinances of God, given unto their forefathers, and who sought for righteousness by the observation of them, were the elect of God ; and, on the contrary, that himself and such of their nation who apostatized from the religion of their forefathers, and went an whoring after a strange god and a strange law, for thus they interpreted their believing in Jesus Christ and profession of the Gospel, were the persons repro- bated by God, and therefore destitute of his grace and Spirit ? Doubtless the Apostle who professed, and this with all sacred solemnity, as we shall hear in the opening of the beginning of the chapter, such a transcendency of love to his brethren, that he could wish to be an anathema from Christ for their sakes, was far from delivering any such doctrine unto them, which, in case they believed it, might, on the one hand, so easily, as we heard, prove a snare unto them and harden them in the con- tempt of the Gospel, but, on the other hand, could no ways profit or advantage them in their spiritual estate, in case they had received it. For what benefit could it have been to a Jew, refractory against the Gospel, or of what tendency towards his reducement, to be informed that God of his mere pleasure, without any consideration of sin, elected some and reprobated others from eternity ? Is there any thing in such a doctrine as this either to mollify his heart, or to over-rule his judgment, towards an embracing of the Gospel ? Therefore, certainly the asserting of this doctrine was no part of the Apostle's intend- ment in this chapter. But, 3. For a person who at present is an enemy to the Gospel, THE NIKTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 41 and stands off' at a great distance in his judgment from it, to hear it substantially argued and proved unto him, that God himself did preach the Gospel, and that in such passages of providence or revelations and discoveries of himself, which this person himself owneth and acknowledgeth, is a method or means of the greatest efficacy and power that lightly can be imagined, to work a perfect reconciliation between such a man's judgment and the Gospel. Now this is that which we affirm to be the Apostle's scope and intent in the chapter before us ; as, namely, to demonstrate to the gainsaying Jews, that that very Gospel or doctrine of justification, which they so deeply abhorred and desperately opposed, was anciently preached unto them in their forefathers by God himself; and this in several passages of those very Scriptures, which themselves granted to be of divine authority, yea, and wherein they hoped, as our Saviour testified of them, to have eternal life. This we shall, God assisting, bring forth into a clear and perfect light in our traverse of the chapter. 4. Evident it is that a great part of the chapter, and particu- larly that part of it wherein the said doctrine of a personal election and reprobation from eternity is supposed to be handled, is bestowed and spent in giving satisfaction unto two main objections which the Jews had ever and anon in their mouths, as is most like, or, howsoever, were obvious and near at hand for them to take up into their mouths against the Apostle's doctrine of justification by faith. The former of these objections was to this effect : " If your doctrine of justifica- tion by faith be true, God and his word must needs be false or untrue ; because God hath appointed, not faith in Christ, but the works of the law, to be the condition or means of obtaining justification and adoption ; and hath nominated Abraham's seed and posterity for those that are to be his sons and heirs, and not the Gentiles, as your doctrine of justification by faith would imply." This objection of theirs against him and his doctrine he insinuates in a way of anticipation : " Nevertheless it cannot be that the word of God hath taken no effect," or, as our later translation reads it, "Not as though the word of God hath taken no effect ;" (verse 6 ;) as if he had said. Though I teach justification by faith, and deny it to be by the works of the law ; yea, though by my doctrine of justification I exclude the greatest part of you Jews, who are Abraham's carnal seed, from 42 AX EXPOSITION OK being the sons of God, and entitle the Gentiles to this great and blessed privilege, yet do I not hereby " make the word of God of no effect," as you vainly and untruly charge me to do. This I shall demonstrate from your own Scriptures unto you pre- sently. The other great objection, in the strength whereof the Jews magnified themselves against Paul's doctrine of justifica- tion by faith, was this, that such a doctrine makes God to be unrighteous or unjust. This he insinuates, verse 14 : " What shall we say then .? is there unrighteousness with God?" as if he had said. What ! doth any such thing as you pretend follow from that doctrine which I have now, and formerly in this Epistle, asserted concerning justification by faith, and not by the works of the law, namely, that God should be unjust ? " God forbid ;" meaning, that his doctrine was far from being accessary to any such consequence or conclusion. These being the two grand objections or absurdities where- with the Jews burdened Paul's doctrine of justification, and from which he undertakes to vindicate this his doctrine in this cliapter, we must needs conceive that his scope and intent was to deliver and insist upon such things which are effectual and proper to dissolve the force and strength of them ; unless we shall suppose him to be extravagant and weak in his disputes, even beneath the line of ordinary men. If so, then certainly the asserting of such a doctrine of election and reprobation, which some men would make to be his scope in the chapter, cannot be it. For what though it should be granted, that God from eternity hath peremptorily elected some vinto salvation, and consequently unto faith, and hath reprobated others from salvation, and so from faith, doth it at all follow from hence either, 1. That therefore God's word must needs take effect, and that justification by faith is no ways contrary unto his word .'' Or, 2. That there can be no unrighteousness in God .'* Who seeth not a palpable incongruity and incoherence between such premises and the conclusions specified, as well the one as the other ? Therefore, certainly, the express and clear scope of the Apostle in the chapter under consideration is, to acquit and bring off his doctrine of justification with honour from the two objections mentioned, and not to assert any peremptory election or reprobation of persons from eternity. 5. The Apostle himself, towards the end of the chapter, briefly recollecting the sum and substance of what he had THK NlNlM CHAl'TEll TO THE liOMANS. 43 argued in the former part hereof, in the brief result of it, plainly enough declareth that he had had nothing at all to do with such an election and reprobation of men from eternity as many sup- pose to be there held forth by him ; but that his work and business had been to evince justification by faith, and that it was no ways contrary to the word of God that the Gentiles, believing, should be justified, or that the Jews, seeking to be justified by the law, should be condemned, and cast out of the sight of God. The words we mind are these : " What shall we say, then ? " that is, What may we conclude and gather from what hath been lately said, but this, " that the Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness which is of faith. But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness. Wherefore.? because they sought it, not by faith, but as it were by the works of the law." (Rom. ix. 30 — 32.) Here is nothing of any affinity with, or relation unto, either an election or reprobation of men from eternity of mere will and pleasure, but a plain and right-down assertion of the justification of those who believe, though Gentiles, and of the non-justification of the Jews because they believed not, but sought justification by the law. Both these are here asserted as the natural and clear products of the preceding disputations. Therefore, the intent of these was, not to establish the doctrine of a peremptory and absolute election and reprobation of men from eternity, but to confirm and vindicate that great doctrine of justification by faith, about which there was so sharp a con- test between him and those great adversaries of the Gospel, the Jews, and which he had had in hand from the beginning of the Epistle hitherto. 6. Such an election and reprobation, the explication and asserting whereof many imagine the Apostle setteth up for his scope and drift in this chapter, were never yet, I verily believe, (and this upon grounds to me fully satisfactory, and for which I shall account in due time,) substantially proved, either from this chapter, or any other place or places of Scripture whatsoever ; nor yet by any competent or convincing argument otherwise. Now this, I presvime, is not passable in any man's understand- ing, that the Apostle should fall short, or prove defective, in point of real and substantial proof of what he undertakes. 7- And, lastly, that which is as much as all this, if not more, 44 AN EXPOSITION OF the words, phrases, and imports of the respective verses and passages of the chapter, do very naturally and kindly fall in with that which we have asserted to be the Apostle's scope here, namely, a further proof or vindication of the doctrine of justi- fication against such objections which either the Jews or others might very probably raise against it ; whereas they cannot be drawn to a comport with the doctrine of such an election and reprobation as that which hath been oft mentioned without much unkind and hard usage by straining and wresting. This we shall, God assisting, make good as we pass along in the explica- tion of the chapter, which beginneth as foUoweth : — 1 I say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience also bearing me witness in the Holy Ghost, 2 That I have great heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart. 3 For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ, for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh ; 4 Who are Israelites, to whom, &c. The chapter may be divided into two parts ; the former con- sisting of the five first verses, the latter of the sixth, seventh, &c., to the end of the chapter. In the first, the Apostle, in a most serious, solemn, and sacred manner, professeth a tran- scendent ardency of affection towards his countrymen and bre- thren, the nation of the Jews ; together with a reverend and high esteem of them in respect of those worthy privileges, with the investiture whereof they were highly honoured by God himself above all the world. In the second part he stands up to maintain his doctrine of justification formerly delivered against such objec- tions which the Jews judged impregnable, and such whereby the said doctrine was sufficiently evicted of untruth. Of this part of the chapter we shall speak more particularly when we come to it. Concerning the former, the occasion of that most pathetical and solemn profession and protestation made by the Apostle herein of his signal .affection to his brethren the Jews, together with so particular and full an acknowledgment of their many and great privileges, may well be conceived to be, either the THF, NINTH CHAPTEK TO THE ROMANS. 45 consideration of the matter last in hand, in the close of the pre- ceding chapter, or else of the argument that he intended next to enter upon in the subsequent part of the chapter, together M'ith the two chapters next following. If the former considera- tion ministered the occasion we speak of, it is to be conceived of after this manner. The Apostle, towards the latter end of the former chapter, having spoken very excellent and glorious things concerning the love of God in Christ Jesus towards those that believe, and set forth the great blessedness that accrues unto such persons hereby, on the sudden, and whilst he was yet in the sweetness of his contemplation, he remembers the most deplorable and sad condition of his dear friends and kinsmen the Jews ; who, by the stubbornness of their unbelief, cut themselves off from all part and fellowship in so great and blessed a business. Loving them with such an intense and ardent affection as he did, he could not but be very intimously affected, sorely struck and pierced in his heart and soul, with the consideration of their wilful blindness and rueful folly, whereby they did not only make fast, as it were, with bars of iron, the door that leadeth into all joy and happiness against themselves but also desperately plunged themselves into the bottomless gulf of the wrath and indignation of God. Thus it often Cometh to pass, that upon the mention or thought of some- thing greatly desirable, we fall upon the remembrance of our dearest friends, and are either affected with joy for their sakes, as, namely, when we are in hope that they either do partake or are like to partake therein ; or otherwise are apt to be trou- bled for them, as when we either know, or else have cause to fear, that they neither do nor shall partake thereof, but rather are in danger of suffering that evil which is contrary to it. If the Apostle be conceived in the said proem of the chapter, contained in the five first verses, to mind the argument or sub- ject-matter intended by him to be handled in the sequel of the present chapter, and in the tenth and eleventh chapters next unto it, which I rather incline unto, the relation or connexion between them is this : Doctrines or sayings which are of any disparaging, sad, or threatening import unto those to whom they are spoken or delivered are ofttimes liable to a sinister interpre- tation, and apt to be construed by them as savouring rather of hatred than any good affection towards them in those by whom they are delivered. Now such was the doctrine, in reference to 46 AN EXPOSITION OF the Jews, which the Apostle was now about to deliver unto them. He was to vindicate and assert that great doctrine of the Gospel concerning justification by faith against such arguments and objections as wherein they magnified themselves against it, and by the snare whereof they were desperately hardened in their own sense and opinion of justification by the observance of Moses''s law. Upon which stubbornness and obduration, he, according to the express import of the Scriptures, and tenor of his commission in this behalf, plainly informs them of the counsel and purpose of God concerning their abdication and rejection by him, and of the calling and receiving of the Gen- tiles in their stead. And because such doctrines as these could not but seem " hard sayings" to the Jews, and, consequently, to proceed from a person of an exulcerated or much disaffected spirit towards them, upon which account also they lay under a great disadvantage for believing them, and were the more likely to reject them, therefore the Apostle, if it were possible, and as far as lay in him, seeks, in his entrance upon this doctrine, to possess this people with a confident opinion of the reality and truth, yea, and of a more than ordinary degree of love and dear affection in him towards them, professing that his heart would freely serve him to sacrifice his own dear interest in Christ upon the service of their peace ; hereby endeavouring to remove that great stumbling-stone of prejudice out of their way. This briefly for the connexion of the former part of this chapter with the latter, and, consequently, with the general procedure of the Epistle. We come to the words themselves. / say the truth in Christ, I lie not, my conscience, c^c. — " If the iron," saith Solomon, " be blunt, and a man do not whet the edge, he must then put to more strength." (Eccles. x. 10.) Yea, though the iron, that is, the axe, or other cutting instrument, made of iron, be sharp to a good degree, yet, if the material that is to be cut or pierced with it be very hard and resisting, more than an ordinary strength must be put to notwith- standing, to make an incision or penetration. The Apostle, very well knowing and considering how hard and indisposed the hearts of his countrymen the Jews were to take the impression of what he was now about to speak and say unto them, namely, that he " had great heaviness and continual sorrow in his heart" for that misery which he saw coming like an armed man upon them, and that for the prevention hereof he could be content THE NINTH CHAI'TKR TO THE UOMANS. 47 to suffer to the greatest extremity ; therefore, to make and, as it were, to force a way for the belief of these things in their hearts, he useth the strongest asseveration that can lightly be made of words, " I say,*" or I speak, " the truth in Christ," &c. ; as if he should say, " Let no man suspect me for a liar or dis- sembler in what I am about to say, what unlikelihood soever of truth some may apprehend therein ; nor that I speak out of any passionate, sudden, inconsiderate, or unsettled motion of mind or spirit ; for I speak as in the presence of my great Lord and Master Jesus Christ, from whom I expect all things for my peace and well-being, and who, I know, will severely judge me if I speak an vm truth, especially when I appeal to him as my witness, and whose presence I reverence more than to utter any thing rashly or unadvisedly before him. Yea, I have the tes- timony of mine own conscience within me for the truth of what I speak, and this seconded and avouched by the Holy Ghost himself, who saith to my conscience, ' Testify, and fear not ; it is a certain truth, and a thing worthy to be believed by men, which in this case thou shalt bear witness unto ; yea, it is nothing but what I myself am the author of, and have given reality and truth of being unto/ " AXv]9e/av Xsyca (not tjjv aA»j- ^siav) sv Xp^s'^ ; that is, I speak truth, or, that ivhich is truth ; not, THE truth, as our English translation reads it. H ccKyi^hu, THE truth, is commonly put for the Gospel itself, being the grand emphatical truth of the world. Thus, John viii. 32 : Kaj yvaj(rs(r5e T>jv aA>j5eiav, xui v] aXYj^sia eXsuSspwasi vfjuxs ', And ye shall know the truth, that is, the Gospel, atid the truth, namely, being known and believed by you, shall make yon free. See also John xvii. 17; xviii. 37, &c. In Christ — That is, saith Calvin, secundum Christum, "according to Christ;" meaning, I conceive, "according to the mind of Christ," or, " as Christ would have me speak," or, " for the honour and glory of Christ," or, " for the advancement of his work and kingdom ; " or, rather, (as is probable from what he had said immediately before,) " in the presence of Christ." Or, 2. Ev Xptg-co, in Christ, that is, through Christ, as the pre- position ev very frequently importeth. This construction of the particle ev importeth that that motion of heart or soul out of which Paul professeth to speak that truth which presently he expresseth was in a special manner raised or wrought in him by Christ. This exposition is very probable, and is the judgment 48 AN EXPOSITION OF of Mr. Bucer upon the place. Some interpret, " in Christ," per Christum, "by Christ;" as if the Apostle's intent were to appeal unto Christ, the great Judge of heaven and earth, who searcheth the heart and reins, and knowelh perfectly what is in man, for the confirmation of what he saitli ; by which appeal he makes account that he dcsireth and engageth Christ to take vengeance on him if he speaks untruth. According to this exposition of the particle ev, the Apostle's expression hath the nature, force, and import of an oath. For he that swears by God calleth him to attest and witness the truth of what is affirmed and sworn by him. And because it is by the light of nature itself judged a high indignity and affront put upon God, and that which will most certainly provoke him to take vengeance in the most severe manner upon him that shall do it, to be cited or called in or upon to bear witness to a falsehood or lie ; hence it coraeth to pass that, generally, and amongst all sorts of men, " an oath for confirmation," as the Apostle speak- eth, "is the end of all strife;" (Heb. vi. 16;) meaning, that when a person reputed sober and discreet, and so legally capable of taking an oath, hath sworn, and called God to witness that a matter is so or so as he affirmeth, no reasonable man will or can further question or doubt the truth hereof; or, however, judgeth himself in no capacity of receiving any further or better satisfaction. The ground and reason of which confidence or plenariness of satisfaction upon an oath is, that every man is presumed so far to love himself, his own peace and preservation, that he will not, upon any terms whatsoever, provoke God to punish or destroy him at such a rate of provocation which solemn calling upon him to be a witness to a lie importeth. This exposition of the place in hand both Calvin * and Piscator-|- assert for legitimate without dispute ; and Musculus J bends the same way. Nor is there any thing of moment, as far as I apprehend, against it. Whether the Apostle's intent be to make Christ either the author or avoucher of what he is about • Quia res non indigna erat juramento, contra vera hoc conceptumjamprttjudicium, suam aliogui affirmationem vix credibilevi fore prospiciebat, jurejurando asseverat se verum dicere. — Calvin in loc. t Affirmationem sui doloris confirmut jure jurando, ^c. Piscator in loc. t Nee his contentiis testes advocat primum Christum ; deinde conscientiam suam y ^ertio, Spiritum Sanctiwi, quasi metuens ne nudis verbis, est est, non sint credituri, quorum gratia quju;)(^OjU,rjv, a verb of the preter-im perfect tense, which, say they, signifieth, not that he did now, when or whilst he wrote the passage in hand, wish, but that he had wished, and was wont to wish, namely, when and as oft as he intensely thought upon the sad condition wherein they were now ready to plunge themselves through the obstinacy of their unbelief. Not but that he did as seriously, also, as deeply, as affectionately wish and desire, on the other hand, the glory of God, even in the destruction of this people, upon the supposition of their remaining obdurate in unbelief; namely, when and as oft as he seriously considered that the glory of God could not otherwise be salved or provided for in such a case ; and considered, withal, the sovereign neces- sity that the glory of God be sufficiently provided for in every case whatsoever. This alternation and interchangeableness of contrary affections, as likewise of suitable expressions, and that with reality, yea, and great intenseness in both, upon the con- templation or serious minding of different objects, yea, of one and the same object, materially taken, in different considerations or respects, is not only possible, but in many cases matter of duty unto men, and accordingly enjoined by God in the Scrip- tures : " Rejoice with them that rejoice," saith our Apostle to THE NTl^TH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 63 the Romans, " and weep with them that weep." (Rom. xii. 15.) " Wherein ye greatly rejoice," saith Peter unto others, " though NOW for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness, through manifold temptations.*''' (1 Peter i. 6.) The altering and change of PauFs condition by death was unto him, in one consideration, matter of desire ; in another, of the contrary. (Philip, i. 23, 24.) The sharp Epistle which he wrote to the Church at Corinth in one respect made him sad or sorrowful, namely, as it occasioned their sorrow ; but in another, namely, as it occasioned their repentance of that sin which lay upon them, it was matter of joy to him. (2 Cor. vii. 8, 9-) So that the authors of the interpretation now in hand suppose nothing contrary to the truth in saying that Paul might be so intolerably afflicted in soul for the destruction of the Jews, as his wish for their preservation here importeth, namely, whilst he looked upon it merely as the lamentable condition of a people in many respects most dear to him ; and yet might be well enough satisfied with it, when he considered it as the only means for the vindication of the glory of God, in case of their wilful obduration in unbelief. That the object or subject-matter of PauPs wish in this place, expressed by his being avaQsfxoi utto t« Xpts-n, accursed from Christ, was his eternal separation from Christ, they prove, 1. From the signification of the word ava9e/^a, especially as it is used elsewhere by this Apostle, as, namely, ICor. xvi. 22; where they say it clearly signifies perpetually or everlastingly^ accursed. But this is not so clear as is pretended. 2. From the proportion which, they say, ought in reason to be conceived between that estate of misery whereinto the Jews were in immi- nent danger of falling, and that estate whereunto Paul professeth himself willing to expose himself for their redemption or pre- servation. Now the misery which the Apostle apprehended ready to come upon the Jews for their obstinacy in unbelief was not any temporal affliction or misery, nor a temporal or corporal death, but death eternal : Therefore, upon the aforesaid sup- position, Paul must be supposed to wish himself eternally accursed from Christ, to exempt them from suffering the same or like condition. But neither is this reason much convincing. Whereas this interpretation is by some charged with this inconvenience, namely, that it maketh Paul's wish sinful or unlawful, inasmuch as it is repugnant to the love of God or of G4 AN' EXPOSITION OF Christ in any man to wish himself eternally separated from him upon any terms, or for any creatures'' sakes whatsoever ; to this the friends of it answer, that what proceedeth from love, at least from such love which God requireth in men, cannot be con- trary to the love of God, and so is not sinful upon that account. Now that affection of love in the Apostle, whereof his wish before us is the natural fruit or product, is a love to the souls and salvation of the Jews ; which kind of afl'ection is, of all others, an affection pleasing unto God. Besides, to wish or desire a separation from God or Christ out of any hatred, dis_ respect, or neglect of him, is indeed sinful, and repugnant to that love of God and Christ, which of duty ought to be found in every man. But the Apostle's wish of being separated from Christ was so far from being the fruit of any hatred or neglect of Christ in him, that it proceeded rather from a vehement ardency of love towards him ; the Apostle wishing unto himself the greatest evil and misery that he was capable of enduring, (for such was his eternal separation from Christ, and so appre- hended by him,) that, or upon condition that, Christ might reap that abundant glory which would accrue to him by the salva- tion of such great numbers of men as the Jewish nation amounted unto. ;: This exposition, as it hath been opened, is, for substance^ ^^ " delivered by Mr. Bucer upon the place ; and Calvin seems to concur with it. Nor doth it want a fair face of probabihty ; only the reasons which it insisteth upon to prove the matter of PauPs wish to have been his eternal separation from Christ are not, as hath been already touched, effectually concluding. For, / 1. It may be doubted whether the word ava^s//,a signifieth, I 1 Cor. xvi. 22, a person eternally accursed ; yea, Calvin him- self questioneth it upon the place, and seemeth to incline the contrary way.* 2. If this signification of the word in the place mentioned could be evinced, yet, if it appears to have another signification elsewhere in Scripture, especially in the writings of the same Apostle, and this fairly consistent with the place in hand, that eviction little availeth the said interpretation. Now Calvin himself expressly aflRrmeth, that which otherwise is manifest enough, that the word (xvci&?[j.oi, used twice together by • Incertum est autem optelne illis exitium coram Deo, an c.rosos fidelibiis imo execrabiles esse velit. Ego smpliciter expono, ac si dictum essct, Pereant et exscin- dantu/r, S(c. THE NINTH CIIAl'TKR TO THE UOMAXS. 65 our Apostle, Gal. i. 8, 9, doth not here signify " reprobate, or damned by God, but that which is to be abhorred, or abominated of us."* Neither is it necessary to suppose any such proportion as that intimated between the condition where- unto the Jews were exposed through their wilful blindness and unbelief, and that which the Apostle wisheth that he might undergo for their deliverance from it. Yea, in case it were granted that the Apostle professeth himself willing to be eternally accursed from Christ, yet would not this evince any proportion between the ransom proffered, and the redemption or deliverance for the procuring whereof it is proffered by him. For what proportion is there between the eternal punishment or sufferings of many thousands or millions of men, and the like punishment or sufferings of one man only, being a man but of the same line and level with them ? And besides, manifest it is, that the reason and ground of the Apostle's wish, in the place in hand, was not at all to signify that he was willing or content to give any thing of a valuable consideration, or any thing proportionable, for the redemption of his brethren from that heavy doom which he saw hanging over their heads, but only to express the reality and truth, or at most the heights and depths, the great ardency, of his affection towards them. Now, as our Saviour himself informeth us, " greater love hath no man than this ; "" that is, a more satisfactory or convincing argu- ment or expression, either of the reality and truth, or of the excellency of degree, of this affection, can no man exhibit or give, " that a man lay down his life for his friends."''' (John xv. 13.) So that Paul needed to go no further, no deeper, (indeed, could not regularly or lawfully go either further or deeper,) to express either the truth or greatness of his love to his brethren the Jews, than to possess them fully and throughly with this, that he was desirous and ready to lay down his life for them, and this upon terms of the greatest ignominy and shame, in case it were possible to make an atonement with God for them hereby. The Apostle John, declaring from God the highest engagement of love wherein any man stands bound even to his Christian brethren themselves, and this upon the account of the highest engagement from God and Christ, expresseth it in these • Quemadmodii/m ad Gal. i. 8. Evatigelii carruptorem pronuncians anathema^ non stt/nificat reprobatum, aut damnatum est a Deo, sed nobis abominandum esse admonet Calvin, in 1 Cor. xw. 22. 66 AN EXPOSITION OF words : " Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us ; and we "" (that is, therefore we ; the con- nexive particle >ca«, ajid, is frequently illative *) " ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." (1 John iii. 16.) Nor is there any other precept or charge from God to be found in all the Scripture wherein he requireth any greater expression or fruit of love in any man, either to himself or to men, of what relation or capacity soever, than to lay down their lives or die for either. Therefore, if it shall be supposed that Paul was willing, yea, desirous, not only to lay down his life, but his soul also, for his brethren the Jews ; to suffer the loss of the love and presence of God for ever, together with the vengeance of eternal fire, he must be supposed, 1. To have expressed and showed greater love to a small parcel of men, comparatively, than the Lord Christ himself showpd to the whole world ; for John, as we heard, represents the love of Christ to men as discernible in the greatest height and excellency of it in none other glass than this, that " he laid down his life for them." 2. That he super- erogated, and this in a very high degree ; inasmuch as the commandment or law of God requireth no " greater love,"" or fruit of love, from any man, than that " he layeth down his life for the brethren." Now for a man to devote himself to ever- lasting burnings, and this, not for his brethren in the faith, but in the flesh only, and these desperately set and bent in wrath, rage, and malice against him, as the unbelieving Jews generally were against Paul, argues a far greater and higher degree of love, if yet it be love, and not rather some phrenetical distemper, than the sacrificing of a man"'s natural life upon the service of his Christian brethren. For, besides all this, it seems repugnant unto, and inconsistent with, the order and law of love and charity, that a man should part, or be willing to part, with his God, or with his siimrmim honum, his "sovereign good," and that irrecoverably and for ever, and further to expose himself to the greatest extremity of all endless and remediless torments and misery, upon any account, or for any man's or men's sake what- soever. The law of love is, doubtless, like the rest of the com- mandments of God; and these the Apostle informeth us to be " holy, and just, and good." (Rom. vii. 12.) " Good," that is, as Bucer well expoundeth it, "profitable and commodious ;"f * Vide Cameron. Mi/roth., p. 360. t Quod justum et bonum praterea prceceptum prcedicat, e.vprimcre voluit summam THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 67 paralleling herewith that of our Saviour concerning his doctrine, where he saith, " My yoke is good^'' (for so he translates the original, %p>]rof, which properly signifieth useful or profitable^) " and my burden light." (Matt. xi. 30.) Consonant whereunto is that also of David, when speaking of the "judgments" or statutes of God he saith, " In keeping of them there is great reward." (Psalm xix. 11.) Assuredly if this were the law or commandment of God, that a man should sacrifice his sovereign and chief good, his hope and portion in God and Christ, devoting himself to endless and easeless torments, upon the service of any man or numbers of men whatsoever, it is unpos- sible to conceive how the observing of this command should be cither useful or profitable unto him. And if the action itself, or doing of the thing, be simply, absolutely, and in every respect inconsistent with the benefit, peace, and comfort of him that shall do it, and, consequently, repugnant to the law and command- ment of God, it follows, by clear consequence, that for a man to wish, or to be desirous or willing, to do it, must needs be repug- nant to the law of God also. For what is not lawful for me to do is not lawful for me to wish, or to be desirous to do. There- fore, Paul's wish of being ava^^iua wko Xpig-a, accursed from Christ, was not a wish or desire of being utterly, absolutely, and eternally separated from him. Nor, indeed, is such a wish incident to the nature of man, especially where the import and consequence of the thing wished is fully understood and believed ; in neither of which can we reasonably suppose our Apostle to have been defective. The reason is, because nothing is volibile, competent to become matter of wish or desire to a man, or other reasonable creature, but what hath, in one consideration or other, either the nature and substance, or at least the appearance, of good in it. Now there are but three several kinds of good, in the general. Utile, jucundum, majusquc ambohus honestum ; " that which is profitable, that which is pleasant, and that which is honest, which surpasseth in goodness both the other." Yea, the three may very well be contracted unto two ; for that which is honest must needs be profitable, and what is truly profitable quae in lege est cequitatem, utilitalem, et commoditatem. lllud quod el Servator de sua doctrina dixit, Juyum meum bonum est, et onus meum leve. F 2 68 AN EXPOSITION OF must needs be honest. And the heathen orator levies a sore complaint against those who, by a contra-distinction, separated that which is honest from that which is profitable. Now certain it is, that an eternal separation from Christ hath neither sub- stance nor show in it, either of any thing profitable, much less of any thing pleasant, unto any man ; nor indeed of any thing honest, as that which is honest is or may be distinguished from that which is profitable. Therefore, questionless, such a sepa- ration from Christ as that now argued against was not the Apostle's wish in the scripture in hand. If it be here demanded, " But why might not Paul look upon it as honest, yea, and in some respect, profitable, to be eternally separated from Christ, supposing that he should purchase or procure the salvation of a whole nation thereby, and this so dearly beloved of him as the Jews were ?" to this I answer, 1. That cannot be good or honest which rendereth a man uncapable of reward from God for it. " Knowing," saith the Apostle, " that whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord;" (Eph. vi. 8;) meaning, in a reward or consideration of good answerable, according to the law of divine bounty, thereunto. Now an eternal separation from Christ rendereth a person utterly uncapable of all reward or munificent consideration from God, because it imports such a condition with which nothing that is good or comfortable to a creature is consistent. 2. That which is honest is desirable simply, absolutely, in and for itself: But no separation from Christ is upon such terms desirable ; least of all, an eternal separation from him. That which is penal or afflicting, as the cause of suffering it may be, may be honourable. But honesty imports properly the comeliness or worthiness of a moral action. 3. And lastly : That cannot be profitable to a man which excludes all comfort, peace, and ease, and includes nothing but shame, torment, and sorrow. Therefore, doubtless, an eternal separation from Christ can be profitable for no man. Upon a resentment, I suppose, of that or some such irration- ality in the interpretation mentioned, as that now presented, some understand the Apostle's wish conditionally, as if his meaning in the words in hand were this : " I could wish," namely, if it were lawful, and that which could be done, to become " accursed from Christ." This interpretation, though rilE NINTH CHAPTKK TO THE KOMANS. 69 it doth not suppose an eternal separation from Christ to be the matter of the Apostle's actual wish, at one time or other, or upon one consideration or other, wherein it differs from the former ; yet it rendereth it as a thing vvishable, or which the Apostle could and would wish, in case the two impediments specified, which render it de facto unwishable, were or could be removed out of the way. But neither is this interpretation so satisfying, although it hath many grave and learned friends standing by it. 1. Because here is no mention, no, not the least intimation, of either of those conditions, or of any other like to them, which the said interpretation inserteth ; whereas the Apostle, when he mentioneth such conditional wishing or acts of willing, is wont to express the conditions : " I bear you record,""' saith he to the Galatians, " that, if it had been POSSIBLE, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and have given them to me ;"" (Gal. iv. 15 ;) meaning, either that if it had been lawful or orderly thus to have mangled or defaced their bodies for any man's sake. Sometimes possible is used for that which is lawful : Id possumus, quod jure possumns, or, " if it had been possible," namely, for them to have gratified him or done him any considerable good by such a misfiguring of themselves. 2. The word wherein the Apostle expresseth his wish is a verb of the indicative mood, T^v^o[jir,v, I did wish ; that is, by an enallage of one tense for another, frequent in Scripture, / do wish ; not a verb of the potential mood, ov^oi[jiV}v, I could or would wish. Therefore, it seems, his wish, whatsoever it was, was actually conceived and in present being within him. And probably the reason why he expresseth it rather in a verb of the preterimperfect tense than of the present, may be to insinuate, that this wish was not to serve his present occasion, or, through the present heat or high straining of his spirit, to speak some great thing unto them, now first conceived in him, but had been the sober, settled, and standing wish of his soul for some space of time before. 3. And lastly : It is of very dangerous consequence in the interpretation of Scripture, to insert or understand a condition, where a thing is absolutely or positively affirmed, when there is a sense every way agreeable ' to the words, to the scope of the place, import of the matter in hand, and to the course and current of the Scripture elsewhere, which we shall show presently to be the case in the place in hand, especially when such an insertion or condition is not 70 AN EXPOSITION OF justifiable by any other text of Scripture, as I believe there is none that will justify the inserting of the conditions specified in the clause before us. Thirdly. Some limit the Apostle's expression of being an ava9rju-a, or accursed from Christy precisely to that which the Schoolmen term poina damni, " the punishment of loss," and do not include in it either any thing sinful or any thing that is matter of any positive or sensible sufferings. According to this notion the matter or substance of Paul's wish, in this place, on the behalf of his brethren the Jews and for their salvation, is only a deprivation or loss of all that positive blessedness, all those great and high enjoyments, which, according to the tenor of the promise of God made unto those that should believe in his Son Jesus Christ, and serve him with that zeal and faithful- ness that he had done, he certainly expected from him. That most ardent affection of love which he bare towards these his brethren, and that most transcendent desire of their eternal safely and peace which reigned in his soul, according to the interpretation last mentioned, wrought at so high and strange a rate within him that they made him well contented, yea, put him into a capacity of really wishing and desiring, that they might be procured, though it were with the most invaluable damage and loss that he could possibly sustain, even the loss of that crown of glory, that immortal kingdom, which he was shortly to receive from the hand of his great Lord and Master Christ. This interpretation of the Apostle's wish I could will- ingly subscribe unto, were there not these three things in the way advising me rather to a demur : 1. Such a strain or degree of love in any man which maketh him not only willing but wish- ing to part with his portion in Christ, eternal blessedness and glory, for the accommodation and benefit of other men, is greater love than God requireth of any man upon such an account. This we lately showed, arguing against the first of three interpretations mentioned. 2. God requires no greater love of any man than the laying down of his life, and this not for the enemies of God and Christ or his own, but for " the brethren,"" that is, believers, brethren in Christ, or at least, chiefly for these. " Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us : and we ought to lay down our lives fob the brethren." (1 John iii. 16.) I do not remember any command of God imposed upon the saints to lay THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 71 down their lives for wicked, obstinate, and obdurate men, much less to part with their eternal inheritance in the heavens for their sakes. Therefore, if Paul bare any such affection of love towards the Jews, who were indeed his " brethren," as he calls them, " and kinsmen according to the flesh," but otherwise most inveterate enemies unto him, and to the Gospel also, which made him ready, and willing, and, which is somewhat more, wishing, to sacrifice his everlasting inheritance upon their service, this love must needs be a love of supererogation, a love of a far higher strain than God by any law or precept of his requireth of any of his saints. And in case this love were in Paul, and, withal, were a commendable or praiseworthy affection, as they, I presume, suppose it to have been who ascribe it unto him, then must the law of God be adjudged imperfect, as not requiring of men actions or deportments of greatest perfection. 3. And lastly : To me it is matter of doubt, whether it be law- ful for any creature to wish himself, upon any account or con- sideration whatsoever, or out of any affection whatsoever to any creature or creatures whatsoever, into such a condition wherein he must needs be eternally divested of all capacity of loving God or Christ. Therefore, Fourthly, and lastly : I rather close with the judgment and sense of those who judge the matter and import of the Apostle's wish, in the Scripture now before us, proceeding from his signal affection to his brethren the Jews, and desire of their salvation, to be only this, namely, to be looked upon, and in every respect dealt with in the world, by men as if he were ava.hy,a. utto Xpiss, the only person in the world accursed by and fwin Christ, and abominated by him, and so worthy of all the ignominy, shame, reproach, punishments, tortures, deaths, that could be inflicted by men upon him, and were wont to be inflicted upon such persons who, for some hateful and execrable crime or other, were separated and devoted to utter ruin and destruction, under which devotement they were termed avadif/^ara.. The word is indifferently applied either to persons or things, and in Scripture commonly signifieth such in either kind which are designed and consigned either by God himself, or men, or both, to destruction, in the nature of piacular sacrifices, that is, of such things without the utter and total subversion and abolition whereof by death or destruction, God either really and in trutli will not be satisfied nor his wrath appeased towards a place or 72 AN EXPOSITION OF people ; as, namely, when himself ordereth the death or destruc- tion of the one or the other in order to such an end, or else is supposed by men unsatisfiable, and his wrath unappeasable, otherwise than by the death and ruin either of the one or of the other ; as namely, when they ignorantly and superstitiously con- ceive of the appeasableness or unappeasableness of his wrath, and, consequently, devote either such persons or things to destruction out of an intent and hope to pacify him, the destruc- tion whereof in the mean time rather provoketh him. Some conceive, and with good probability, that the more usual and proper crime for which men were anathematized, or devoted for piacular sacrifices unto the gods, was sacrilege, that is, a taking away and converting to their own use, to. ava.Se[x.aTot, such things as icere consecrated in their temples to the honour of their gods. This crime of sacrilege God himself in the Scrip- tures hinteth for a sin of the deepest abhorrency and detestation amongst the Heathen themselves : " Will a man rob God ?''"' or, as our former translations read it, " Will a man spoil his gods V " Yet ye have robbed me, in tithes and offerings." (Mai. iii. 8.) Yea, the Apostle himself seemeth to resent it as a sin of a very high provocation in the sight of God, more provoking than idol- atry itself: " Thou that abhorrest idols, dost thou commit sacri- lege r'' (Rom. ii. 22.) But this by the way. The Apostle, then, in wishing himself an anathema, or "' accursed from Christ,*" for his brethren's sake, professeth himself content and willing, yea, desirous, to lie under all the ignominy, infamy, and shame, whereunto sacrilegious persons, or men separated and devoted to the worst of ruins or destruc- tions for the most enormous crimes that are, are exposed, yea, and to suffer the death itself of such accursed persons as these, to procure safety and deliverance for them from that most heavy curse of an eternal separation from God, which he certainly knew hung over their heads for their obstinate refusal of the Gospel, and would most assuredly fall upon them if they repented not in time. Hereby he plainly signifieth and declar- eth, that that sorrow and heaviness of soul which was now upon him, out of his sense and consideration of their great misery approaching, was greater and more insupportable to him than any sorrow whatsoever, whereof he was capable upon his own account in matters appertaining to this present world, could have been. THE NINTH CHAl'TER TO THE llOMANS. ^3 This interpretation is confirmed, 1. By the weakness and great improbability of all other interpretations set up in compe- tition with it, whereof an account hath been given. 2. By that perfect agreeableness which the Apostle's wish, thus understood, hath, with the precepts of God and of the Gospel, concerning love, as hath been likewise showed. 3. By the usual sense and import of the word avaSs/^a, which seldom or never signifies either person or thing devoted to the deprivation or loss of eternal blessedness, or to such a death or destruction which standeth in suffering " the vengeance of eternal fire ;" but most frequently such, both persons and things, which are piacularly separated and devoted to a present visible destruction, as hath also been declared. Nor do these words, wtto Xpig-a, from Christ, import any such variation from the usual signification of the word ocvuQs[jia, as in- tended by the Apostle, which should make it signify a person eter- nally separated or accursed from Christ ; but rather some such thing as this, that whereas he was now, as it were, a bosom friend of his, in the nearest union and conjunction with him, of which flesh and blood was lightly capable, and was upon this account highly honoured by his friends, and by all the churches of Christ throughout the world, he could, nevertheless, be content and wish himself for his brethren's sake in the condition of such a man who is generally looked upon as a person separated and divided to the greatest distance from Christ, and this upon the most justifiable grounds that can be ; and, consequently, who lieth under the greatest hatred, detestation, and abhorency of men, and is by all men adjudged worthy to die the worst of deaths. And probable it is that the Apostle doth therefore express the ardency of his affection towards the Jews, by pro- fessing himself willing to be avaSr/xa utto Xpjs-«, accursed or separated from Christ for their sakes, because they generally knew that he placed his greatest felicity and happiness in his relation unto him, and was wont to glory much of him. In this respect wishing to be " separated from Christ," for their good, he expressed the greatest affection towards them that could be. For my brethren, my kinsmen according to the Jlesh ; who are Israelites, SfC. — TTrsp tmv aSsAipcuv jw.«. The preposition v-Ksp, for, importeth here, as frequently elsewhere, the final cause or end. So that, " for my brethren," is as much as, " for my bre- thren's sake," or, " for their benefit, peace, and safety." True it 74 AN EXPOSITION OF is, that the Apostle doth not here, in this chapter, particularly express either what the cause of that great sorrow and heaviness was, which he had so solemnly professed and expressed, (verses 1, 2,) as we heard, over his brethren, or what evil or misery it was from the suffering whereof he here professeth himself so willing to redeem them, with his own unspeakable loss and sorrow of being " separated from Christ;" yet, by the general carriage and subject-matter of the sequel of the chapter, and especially from chapter xi., it clearly appears to have been that most grievous judgment of being rejected from that special grace and favour of God wherein they had now continued for many generations ; by means of which rejection they were like to become the most miserable and accursed nation upon the face of the whole earth, who had, until the falling of this judgment upon them, been the happiest of all people. This judgment he knew hung over their heads, and was ready to be put in execu- tion for their wilful blindness and desperate obstinacy in refusing the glorious Gospel of God sent unto them. He terms them his " brethren," and " kinsmen," to insinuate the reasonableness, and consequently the reality and truth, of that wish for them which he had expressed ; it being reasonable, and concurring with the principles and propensions of nature in men, to wish well unto those that are near in blood to them ; yea, and to be content to suffer much for them, to relieve them under any sad exigent or danger. Brethren — Though it be a word of a more general significa- tion, and appliable unto all men without exception, yet is it a term of an acceptable and sweetening resentment ; and upon this account, probably, used by our Apostle here. That which rendereth it less taking in respect of the generality of it is healed by these restrictive words, immediately following : " My kinsmen according to the flesh, who are Israelites," &c. ; whereby he gives them to conceive that he styled them brethren, not because he looked upon them as descended from the same common root of mankind with him, in which sense all men whatsoever were his brethren, as well as they ; but because he loved and respected them as the children and posterity of the same worthy progenitor, from whom he also was lineally descended, namely, Jacob, the great Patriarch, who had the honourable name of Israel imposed on him by God himself. This consideration, with those immediately subjoined, the Apostle, I conceive, men- THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 'JS tioneth to insinuate the cordialness of his affection towards them, as heing willing to commend them unto the world by all those royal prerogatives wherewith God had dignified them above all people, and not to detract from them in the least, either through envy or any other distaste or offence that they might suppose he had taken or conceived against them, because of their hatred against him, and violent persecution of that doctrine which he so much magnified and laboured to plant in the world. Those words, xaru crupxa, according to the Jlesh, seem to insinuate, that, notwithstanding his spiritual descent, by regeneration, from Jesus Christ and the Gospel, wherein he most gloried, and wherein they disclaimed all communion and affinity with him, yet he owned, loved, and respected them in that natural band of blood and kindred wherein both he and they were mutually obliged. 4 Who are Israelites ; to whom pertaineth the adop- tion, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises ; 5 Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen. In these two verses he summarily reporteth the signal and high privileges and prerogatives of the Jews above all other nations. The reason why in this place he avoucheth them, and this with so full an enumeration of particulars, hath been already intimated ; namely, that by a plain and express vindication and asserting of all their royalties and glorious privileges unto them, he might withal vindicate the reality and truth of his great love and high respects of them, against all surmises they might pos- sibly have of a contrary spirit in him. Verse 4. Who are Israelites — The name of an Israelite was very honourable, as being derived from Israel, a name of extra- ordinary grace and dignation imposed by God himself, and this upon a very signal occasion, upon the renowned Patriarch Jacob, (Gen. xxxii. 28,) from whom the Jews are lineally propagated ; and as partakers of their father*'s honour and dignity in that name of divine imposition are termed Israelites. '" Are they 76 AN EXPOSITION' OF Hebrews ? "" saith this Apostle, speaking of some vain-glorious teachers or false apostles, his corrivals, " so am I. Are they IsraeUtes ? so am I ;" (2 Cor. xi. 22 ;) meaning, that the persons he speaks of stood upon their pedigree and descent from Israel as matter of honour and repute unto them. Only it is here to be remembered, that in this place he allows the name of Israel- ites unto the whole nation of the Jews, who were naturally descended from Jacob or Israel, without distinction ; whereas afterwards, (verse 6,) he appropriates the name or term Israel only unto such of them who resembled their father Israel in faith, and so were spiritual Israelites, true Israelites, Israelites indeed. To whom pertaineth the adoption — That is, who were the only nation or entire body of people in the world adopted by God into the privileges and respects of a son unto him ; accord- ing as himself was pleased to honour them once and again by owning them in such a relation. " And thou shalt say unto Pharaoh,"" saith God to Moses, " Thus saith the Lord, Israel is MY SON, even my first-born : and I say unto thee, Let my son go, that he may serve me," &c. (Exod. iv. 22, 23.) So our Saviour, in the Gospel, speaking of the Jesvs, saith, " It is not meet to take THE children's bread, and to cast it to dogs."" (Matt. XV. 26. See also Jer. xxxi. 20 ; Isaiah Ixiii. 16 ; Gal. iv. 1.) It is true, this adoption of the Jews was but a shadow or type of that high and heavenly adoption which appertaineth to believers through Christ, in which respect the Apostle seems to appro- priate it to the times of the Gospel ; (Gal. iv. 5 ;) yet was it, simply considered, a prerogative of a very rich and sacred import. Or else the meaning of these words, wv rj vtoSio-ix, to whom per- taineth the adoption^ may be, that God placed his great and gracious office, as it were, of adoption, which he erected for the benefit of the world, amongst them. So that whosoever of any nation under heaven desired the honour of sonship unto God, or the privilege and repute of such a high relation, he was to seek and obtain it amongst the Jews, namely, by turning pro- selyte to their religion and worship, and by incorporating himself with them. And the glory — i2v »j So^a, whose is, or, to whom pertaineth, (/lori/, or, the glory. The meaning seems to be, that God, by many visible testimonies of his presence with them, like unto which no nation under heaven besides enjoyed any, had cast a THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 77 spirit of glory upon them, and caused their brightness to shine throughout the world. (See Deut. iv. 6 — 8.) Other nations sat in the dust of the earth, and upon dunghills, whilst they were exalted, by those drawings near of God unto them, upon a throne. And, accordingly, this nation hath still the inheritance of this promise from God pertaining to it, that in the day of the restitution of all things, as Peter speaketh, " The Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory ;" (Isaiah Ix. 19;) meaning, that God, by the abundant and most excel- lent manifestations of his gracious presence with them, would render them a people wonderfully glorious in the sight of the world. Some, by " the glory " in this place, understand the ark of the testimony ; upon the taking and carrying away of which by the Philistines, the wife of Phinehas, now at the point of death, said, " The glory is departed from Israel : for the ark of God is taken." (1 Sam iv. 22.) The authors or abettors of this interpretation have no cause, as far as I understand, to be ashamed of it. And the covenants — Meaning, that God at first made a gracious covenant with this nation in their father Abraham ; and because of their frequent transgressions of it, whereby it was disannulled, dissolved, and made void, he was graciously pleased from time to time to re-establish it, and to give new force and validity vmto it. In respect of which frequent re- establishment, though the covenant was materially, or in respect of the subject-matter, one and the same, yet, formally, it was many ; yea, and in every new establishment of it, there being some alteration, though not in the main substance of the matter, it may upon this account be the better looked upon as multiplied or made many. (See Deut. xxix. 1.) The difference between the " covenants" here, and the " promises," soon after men- tioned, seems to stand in this : The covenants were, as it were, double promises, mutually or reciprocally binding or engaging both parties, according to the terms specified and contained in them. The promises, as to matter of performance, oblige only the one party, namely, the promiser, not him or them to whom they are made ; though it is true they may and do, in a way of equity, oblige these also unto thankfulness. And, generally, all promises that are conditional, so far as they are conditional, and the performance of them suspended upon the performance of terms in one kind or other by the promised, have rather the 78 AN EXPOSITION OF nature of covenants than of simple or direct promises. And of this kind are most of the promises found in the New Testament, the full and thorough performance of them on God's part being by him, and that in a way of the greatest equity, suspended upon such and such deportments of men. By the way, when the Apostle appropriates the covenants he speaks of unto the Jews, his intent is, not so, or upon such terms, to appropriate them unto them, as if they had any right or power by virtue of such an appropriation to exclude the rest of the world, yea, or any person or persons whatsoever of any other nation, from part and fellowship with them therein, who should desire it and become worshippers of the same God with them. "The covenants" were theirs, much in such a sense as the Gospel was PauFs, who often calls it his Gospel, or baptism was John the Baptist's. The words or writings wherein these covenants were contained and expressed were delivered or given unto them ; yea, their names, as it were, were used by God, and put into the said covenants ; not, indeed, as feoffees in trust, properly so called, who are mere trustees, having no right or title themselves to the things wherewith they are intrusted by others ; but as a parcel or party of those persons whose benefit was generally and in common intended by God, in and by these covenants ; only THKY were selected by God to have the custody or keeping of the writings or letter of the said covenants, the tenor and import whereof equally respected the accommodation and benefit of the whole world with them, and they stood bound to manage their trust in this behalf accordingly, " To them," saith our Apostle, in this Epistle, speaking of the Jews, " were committed,"" namely, in trust, as the word eTtig-etj^T^a-av signifies, " the oracles of God." Which oracles, or at least a part of them, are elsewhere termed by him, " the rudiments," or " elements," " of the world," (Gal. iv. 9 ; Col. ii. 8,) because they were intended and given by God for the nurture and training up of the generality of mankind, during the infancy, as it were, or the nonage of it, in the know- ledge, love, and service of himself There is the same considera- tion of the three privileges following. A7id the (jiving of the law, and the service of God, and the promises — By the " giving of the law," he means chiefly, I sup- pose, that most glorious and majestic promulgation of the moral law by God himself, whether immediately, or by the mediation of one or more of his great angels, upon mount Horeb ; not THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 79 excluding the more private delivery of those other laws, cere- monial and judicial, upon the same mount unto Moses, to be by him communicated unto this people, as from God, with this declaration, that by a careful and due observation of them they should be in all respects the happiest nation upon the face of the whole earth. (See Deut. xxviii. 1 — 15.) Now, how great a prerogative this was to this people to have their laws by which they were to be governed composed and framed, not by men, but by God himself, and by him delivered unto them, ratified and sanctioned by so many glorious and magnificently miraculous solemnities, cannot easily be measured by the line of human understanding. By the service of God, rj Xarpsiot., is meant, not the cere- monial law itself, as some interpret, restraining the former pri- vilege of" giving the law," to the moral and judicial law only, and to the "giving"" of these, but that worship, or those ser- vices themselves, which were prescribed in the ceremonial part of the law ; meaning, that it was the singular privilege of this nation, that they had the true worship of God, such as was acceptable and well pleasing unto him, amongst them ; and that no person of any other nation could have the like but by being a debtor unto them for it. Origen, with some others, restrain the " service of God," here mentioned, to the priestly function, and the particular executions and employments hereof; an interpretation not improbable. By " the promises," I conceive, are chiefly meant, those fre_ quent declarations found in the Scriptures of the Old Testa- ment of the gracious purpose and intention of God to send his Son at the time appointed into the world, to accomplish the great work of the redemption thereof, to repair the many sad and wide breaches which sin had made upon the peace and comforts thereof, and to gird it again with joy and gladness. Though there be many other " promises" extant in those oracles of God which were committed to the Jews, yet these are promises^ xut s^o^yj]/ ; these are the first-born amongst their brethren; and this Apostle, in his writings, very fre- quently appropriates the general word " promise" and " pro- mises" unto the great and signal " promise" or " promises" we now speak of (See Rom. xv. 8 ; Heb. xi. 39, &c.) However, " promises" from God, of what nature or kind soever, being friendly communications of his gracious and secret purposes and 80 AN EXPOSITION OF intentions concerning the world and ourselves, cannot but be judged matters of high and singular dignation from God, to what people or persons soever they are peculiarly vouchsafed, and so that no other person or people in the world can come to the knowledge of them but by ploughing, as it were, with their heifer, and drinking of those fountains which have been opened by the hand of Heaven amongst them. Verse 5. Whose are the fathers — That is, whose prerogative also it is to be the children and posterity of most worthy ances- tors, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, &c., who were great in the sight of God, and to whom he made many great and precious promises, wherein their children also, and their children's child- ren in their successive generations, were comprehended. How- ever men, degenerating into ways of sin and wickedness, prove a stain and a blot to the honour and memory of their worthy forefathers, and forfeit their right unto and interest in those promises of grace which are made by God unto their fathers ; yet to come from the loins of parents singularly interested in the love and favour of God, is, simply and in itself considered, a privilege of a very choice and desirable import. That one only promise of God, wherein he promiseth to show mercy to a thousand generations in those that love him, is a demonstration hereof in abundance. He that hath a fair estate left him by his parents is, by means hereof, in a better condition, as to this present world, further from poverty or want, than he that is left, as we say, to the wide world, and must shift for himself; although it oft cometh to pass, that he that hath such an estate left him, through wasteful and unthrifty courses, comes to beg- gary ; and he that was born to inherit the dust of the earth only is fed plentifully. And of ivhom as concerning the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen — " Of whom," that is, not of which fathers, but " of which Israelites,"" as the particle xa» clearly intimates, " Christ came," to xutix a-apxa ; that is, in respect ofhisjlesh, or human nature, which is often in Scrip- ture expressed by the word " flesh." This restrictive or exe- getical clause, to kutu (rapxa, according to the Jlesh, plainly supposeth another nature in Christ, according unto which he came not from the Israelites or Jews ; which can be none other but the divine nature, or Godhead ; which, in the sequel of the verse, as we shall hear presently, is expressly attributed unto THK NINTH (.'IIAPTKR TO THE ItOMANS. 81 him. The Apostle reserves the mention of Cln-ist's descent from the Jews for the last place in his list or catalogue of their prerogatives ; judging it, as it seems, the greatest and most worthy of them all. And if it be a matter of honour and higli vouchsafement unto mankind in general, that Christ, the natural Son of God, was pleased to associate himself in com- munion of the same nature with it; much greater honour it must needs be to that particular family or descent of men which he chose from amongst all others to receive this conde- scentious investitui'c of flesh from it. So that Simeon had good ground, in his prophetical gratulation, to style him, " the glory of his people Israel." (Luke ii. 32.) And if the virgin, his mother, had cause to judge that all generations would call her blessed, and that He that is mighty did great things to her, (Luke i. 48, 49,) in casting the relation of a mother to his Son Christ upon her; doubtless the nation of whom both mother and Son descended had cause to judge themselves happy, and to say that God had " done great things'" for them also, in taking a mother for his Son from amongst them, hereby making this glorious Son of his bone of their bone and of their flesh, in a more appropriate manner. Whereas this Apostle elsewhere admonisheth the saints, though they had " known Christ after the flesh," yet " that henceforth," namely, bein^^ now become new creatures, " they would know him" so " no' more," (2 Cor. v. 16,) his intent only is to give them to con- sider, that to boast of or to think the better of themselves for any carnal relation whatsoever unto men, yea, though unto Christ himself, savoureth more of an unregenerate estate, or at least of weakness in the faith, than of such a change of heart which accompanieth the new birth, especially in the strength and perfection of it ; and upon this account admonisheth them to refrain all such, whether words or thoughts. For, though it be a privilege and honour, and these very great in their kind, and within their own sphere, to be of the same line or descent of blood with Christ, or of the same nation with him, yet do they not reach within the vail, nor commend any man unto God upon any other terms, than as the sense and consideration of them are improved and contrived by men, to provoke them to desire and labour for spiritual union and communion with Christ. And, indeed, the benefit and advantage of all external privileges whatsoever consisteth, if not only, yet mainly and G 82 AN KXPOSITION OF principally, in this ; I mean, that they afford opportunities, and impose engagements upon men that have them, to quit them- selves more worthily in matters relating unto God than other men. And upon this account I suppose it is that the Apostle concludes elsewhere, that the " advantage" which the Jew had above the Gentile was very " much," and so the " profit"" of " circumcision." (Rom. iii. 1, 2.) Who is over all, God blessed for ever. Amen — This glorious eulogium of Christ, as, on the one hand, it highly exalts the prerogative of the Jews, namely, as being that people of whom a person so excellent and so trancendently blessed was descended ; so, on the other hand, it proportionably aggravates their sin and condemnation in rejecting a person of that infinite worth, not- withstanding his descent from themselves. It is probable that the Apostle gives this so highly honourable a testimony unto Christ, because he was so vilified and abhorred by the Jews ; thus not only supplying, as much as might be, that which was more than lacking on their part, but withal making up that great breach which they had made on his name and honour by their unbelief. He is here said to be sttj -cyavTwv, over all, whether persons only, or things and persons both. The word indifferently admits either interpretation ; yet I find expositors rather inclining to the latter, as being the more comprehensive. Christ is said to be " over all," because, as himself expresseth it, " all power was given unto him," namely, by his Father, "in heaven and in earth." (Matt, xxviii. 18.) And John Baptist: "The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand;" (John iii, 35;) meaning, that he hath made him his great Plenipotentiary, to transact, issue, and con- clude all things whatsoever relating unto the whole creation, especially angels and men ; to settle the affairs of heaven and earth for eternity. He expressly asserteth his Godhead, partly, as was hinted, to commend yet further the prerogative of his brethren the Jews, from whom so great and worthy a person as he that "counteth it no robbery to be equal with God" had, in the human nature assumed by him, chosen to descend ; partly, also, to awaken others to the same acknowledgment of him, or at least to inquire after him, until they should come to such a light, by which they might discover him to be indeed God. He addeth these words, suAoyvjroj £»? thj aioovag, blessed for ever, or, to be blessed, that is, that ought to be blessed, for ever, to insi- THE K[NTH CHAPTEll TO THE ROMANS. 83 nuate, that a far differing measure from that which they had measured out unto him hitherto was due unto Christ from' them, as from all other men. They had reviled and reproached him, called him accursed, &c. The Apostle here admonisheth them, that he was so far from deserving any such intreatings at their hands as these, that his divine goodness and glory every ways merited the greatest acknowledgments of praise and honour that they or any other creature could tender unto him. He closeth the business in hand with this word, Amen ; a word commonly used for a .serious confirmation of what is said imme- diately before, together with an approbation thereof; some- times, also, importing a wish for the performance of it. It is six times used by the Apostle in this Epistle. Our Saviour, in the Gospels, frequently useth it as an adverb of asseveration, or valid assertion, and in the beginning of the sentence : In the Gospel according to John he never useth it but with an ingemi- nation, or second repetition of it ; in the other Evangelists, always singly. In all other places of Scripture it is never found used in the beginning of a sentence, but always in the end ; and this seems to have been the ordinary construction of it, according to that of this Apostle, where, speaking of a per- son who understandeth not, he demandeth, " How shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at," that is, after or upon, "thy giving of thanks.''" &c. (1 Cor. xiv. 16.) It is once used as an epithet, or descriptive character of Christ himself: " These things saith the Amen, the faithful and true witness," &c. (Rev. iii. 14.) O A/x^jv, as if he had said,* " These things saith He who is as true in his sayings as truth itself, whose essential and innate veracity is confirmation in abundance of whatsoever he speaketh." From this passage, now last opened, consisting of verses 3 — 5, let us briefly observe some heads of doctrine, and then go forward with our exposition. 1. Whereas the Apostle's sorrow and heaviness of heart for the sad condition of his brethren the Jews was such, and so great, that, to be delivered from it, and to better his condition in respect of it, he wished to be an anathema, one accursed from Christ ; it may be observed, that persons highest in favour • De verba Amen. Tide AinswoRth, in Num. v. 22, et Saji. Petit. T^ar. Led., lib. i., cap. 17. AN EXPOSITION OF and acceptation with God, yea, and such whose joy in him is unspeakable and glorious, as this Apostle's doubtless was, may, notwithstanding, have a sword passing through their soul, and no men's sorrows like unto theirs in this present world. (Luke ii. 35 ; 1 Cor. xv. 19 ; 2 Cor. vi. 4—6, &c. ; xi. 23—25, &c.) 2. From verse 3 : Whereas the Apostle professeth that he could wish, or did wish, to be accursed from Christ for his bre- thren, his kinsmen, &c. ; it is observable from hence, that great love enableth to great and difficult services and sufferings. (Gen. xxix. 20 ; Cant. viii. 6 ; 2 Sam. xxiii. 16 ; 2 Cor. xii. 15.) 3. Whereas he was ready to be himself accursed from Christ for his brethren, &c. ; it may be observed, that it is the natural genius or property of a truly great and public spirit to sacrifice himself, with all his dearest enjoyments in this present world, upon the service and safety of many. (2 Cor. xii. 15 ; John i. 12 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. I7.) 4. Whereas it was the spiritual benefit of his brethren, their exemption from under the heavy displeasure of God, for the procuring whereof he wished to be himself accursed from Christ ; the doctrine is, that the spiritual and soul-interest of great numbers and multitudes of men should engage us very deep for the promoting of it. (2 Cor. xii. 15 ; 1 Cor. ix. 19 — 21, &c. ; John iii. 16.) 5. Whereas they were the Apostle's brethren and kinsmen after the flesh, whose spiritual good he professeth himself so desirous to advance, though with his own utter ruin, and this to be undergone and suffered by him upon the sorest and most grievous terms that lightly could be ; it may be observed, that Christians stand bound in a more peculiar manner before God to endeavour the salvation of their kindred ; to do more, and suffer more, if need be, for their salvation than for other men's; even as they stand charged, likewise, to provide outward things for those of their own house : So that neither of these engage- ments does imply any such knowing of men after the flesh which the Apostle (2 Cor. v. 16) representeth as a disparagement unto Christians. (Acts x. 24; Gen. xviii. 19; Esther viii. 6.) 6. Whereas the Apostle expresseth a great height and depth of affection towards his brethren the Jews, in wishing to be himself accursed from Christ for their sakes, notwithstanding he knew certainly that his offer in this kind would not be taken by God, and that they were not like to taste of that blessing which THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 85 he wished he might procure for them by his being accursed ; it may be observed, that reality and truth, yea, and great ardency of affection, may be expressed by such offers or professions which are never like to be put in execution, nor to benefit those to whom, or on whose behalf, they are made, by any actual performance. (2 Cor. xii. 15 ; 2 Sam. xxiv. I7.) 7« Whereas the Apostle, being comparatively innocent, wish- eth himself accursed for his brethren, who were offenders ; it may be observed, that it is not contrary to the rules of justice or equity that, by the svifferings of an innocent person, innocent I mean comparatively, fi'cely offering himself hereunto, those that are guilty should be discharged from suffering. Otherwise the Apostle's wish in this place would be unlawful, as desiring that which were unrighteous or unequal for God to grant. (Jonah i. 9, compared with verses 12, 15.) 8. Whereas Paul, though conscious to himself of being in many things an offender, as the best of men are, (James iii. 2,) yet wisheth himself accursed for his brethren's sake ; that is, in effect, that by his stripes they might be healed ; it is observable, that it is of good accord with tlie righteousness of God to reward, as the prayers, so, and doubtless much more, the regular sufferings, of his saints, with a kind of mediatory honour, and with the exemption of offenders from such punishments as they have deserved. Otherwise, as we argued before, the Apostle's wish before us will be found sinful, as desiring that at the hand of God which would be unrighteous or unjust for him to give or do. 9- Whereas the Apostle's wish, notwithstanding, of being accursed for his brethren's sake, and, notwithstanding God's liberty in respect of his justice, to have accepted him in this his wish, as, namely, by being pacified towards his brethren upon his being made accursed for them, yet God did not accept him in this kind, was not pleased to receive the Jews into his favour, by putting him upon those sufferings which he was so well content to undergo upon that account ; it may be observed, that such prayers or desires which are regular and of choice accept- ance with God, in a way of approbation, are not yet always accepted by him as to a literal performance or gratification. (2 Cor. xii. 8, 9 ; Exod. xxxii. 32, 33; 2 Sam. xii. 16th with the 18th.) 10. Whereas the Apostle intending, either only or chiefly, lid AN EXPOSITION OF to commend the reality and truth of his affection to the Jews, declares unto them how great things he could even wish to suffer for their sakes ; the observation from hence is, that a readiness to suffer for others is a very convincing argument of soundness and sincerity of affection towards them. (Gal. iv. 15 ; Col. i. 24 ; Gal. ii. 20.) 11. Whereas, desirous to express how deeply he could be content to suffer for his brethren's good, he giveth instance in being made an anathema or " accursed from Christ,"" in the sense declared and asserted ; it is observable, that to those who affectionately love the Lord Christ, it is the extremity or height of sufferings to be looked upon as persons hated and abhorred of him. (1 Cor. iv. 9—13; 2 Cor. xiii. 7.) 12. From verses 4 and 5 : Whereas the Apostle mentioneth sundry great and excellent prerogatives appertaining unto his brethren the Jews, who, all these notwithstanding, were a people extremely refractory against God ; from hence the observation is, that the greatest, and greatest number of outward privileges and vouchsafements from God, may very possibly consist with, yea, and occasion in men, the greater stubbornness and stout- ness of heart against God. (Rom. ix. 23 — 25 ; Jer. vii. 4, 8—10.) 13. Whereas the Apostle, liberally, and without any extenua- tion or expression, acknowledgeth all the excellencies or vouch- safements from God appropriate to the nation of the Jews ; we may learn, that it is a point of Christian candour and ingenuity freely to own and acknowledge all testimonies of respects from God in our greatest enemies. (Rom. x. 1, 2 ; Acts xxvi. 27-) 14. Whereas the Apostle, the better to insinuate the cordial- ness of his affection unto the Jews, gives so free and large a testimony of the great honour which God had put upon them, in many signal prerogatives, above any other, yea, above all, nations ; it may be observed, that a free and full acknowledg- ment of things worthy honour and respects in men is a preg- nant argument or sign of good affection towards these men, in those who make this acknowledgment, or at least that they do not hate them. (Rom. x. 1, 2 ; Gal. iv. 15 ; Heb. x. 32, 33 ; Rev. ii. 6.) 15. Whereas the descent of the Jewish nation from the fathers, and so honourable a person as Israel, or their being Israelites, together with the descent of the Lord Christ from THE NINTH ClIArTEll TO JHK ROMANS. 87 them, are rehearsed by the Holy Ghost amongst the high pre- rogatives of the Jews ; the doctrine is, that as well a worthy ancestry as a worthy posterity are simply and in themselves privileges or matters of honour unto men. (2 Cor. xi. 21, 22; Acts iii. 25 ; 1 Chron. xvi. 13 ; Job v. 25 ; Psalm cxxvii. 4, 5 ; Luke xi. 27.) 16. Whereas the adoption, the glory, the covenants, the giv- ing of the law, &c., are numbered amongst the great and gracious respects vouchsafed by God, prerogativewise, unto the Jews ; it is observable, that a fulness or richness of instituted means for the true knowledge and worship of God is matter of high dignation from God unto men. (Psalm Ixxvi. 1, 2; cxlvii. 19,20; Rom. iii. 1, 2.) 17. And lastly : Whereas the Jews being, more generally, a people rejected by God for their obdurateness in unbelief, had yet far greater means for the true knowledge and worship of God, and, colisequently, for salvation, vouchsafed unto them, than other nations ; the observation is, that the greatest excel- lency of means of salvation vouchsafed by God argueth no specialty of intentions in him towards men in the death of C^hrist. (Matt. xi. 22 — 24 ; Isaiah v. 4.) Verse 6. Not as though the tvord of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel^ which are of Israel, 4'C- — Ouj^ oiov is on sxTTSTTTcioxev 0 >^o'Yog tw ©ea, which some translate thvis : But it is impossible that the word of God should take none effect. But this is not so proper, because it is not here said ou-x^ OIOV Ts, which signifies, impossible, but ov)(^ oiov Is, which properly signifies, but not such a thing as. His meaning clearly enough is, and interpreters do not much vary here, that nothing he had now said or implied, concerning the rejection of the greater part of his brethren the Jews from God, drew any such consequence after it as this, that " the word of God,"" that is, the promises of God, or covenant of God, namely, given unto and made with Abraham and his seed,* should miscarry, or had miscarried, or fallen, as it were, to the ground. The ardent affection which he had expressed towards the nation of the Jews in wishing, after such a deliberate and solemn manner as we have heard, to be " accursed from Christ"" for them, plainly implied, as was * " Tlie word of God " fieqiiently signiiietL '' the promise of God ; '' (Psahn hi. 4 ; r\i. 24; cxis. 38;) where the former ti-anslation readeth "promi;^e," instead of "word ; ' to omit many other pkces. 88 AN EXPOSITION OF hinted, that he looked upon them as accursed from God, or as in imminent and present danger of" being utterly cast out of his sight, and cut off from his grace and favour ; according to what he reasoneth in a like case : " For the love of Christ con- straineth us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead." (2 Cor. v. 14.) Now upon this insinua- tion, amounting in substance to as much as a plain assertion, that the Jews were cast off by God from being any longer a people unto him, the Apostle plainly foresaw that the Jews would rise up with such an objection as this : " If God should cast off that people, to whose fathers he had engaged himself by promise, to be a God unto them and their seed for ever, then the word and promise of God should fail or miscarry in point of truth. But the ' word of God' cannot fail or miscarry ; ergo.'' To this argument the Apostle answereth by granting the minor proposition, namely, that " the word of God " cannot miscarry ; but denying the consequence in the major, which supposeth that a rejection of the people of the Jews would prove the " word of God" to be dissolved and of " none effect." The reason of this his denial he subjoineth in the words immediately following : — For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel — As if he had said, There arc many lineally, according to the course of nature, descended from the loins of the Patriarch Jacob, surnamed Israel by God, who are not the emphatical or spiritual Israel, or " the Israel of God," as he speaks elsewhere, that is, such Israel- ites as to whom God made or intended that great promise of being their God for ever, or, which is the same in effect, of giving justification, adoption, and salvation. It is a thing very frequent in the Scripture to use one and the same word in differ- ent significations in one and the same sentence, and this with much elegancy and emphatical acuteness ; (see Matt. viii. 22 ; Rom. iii. 21 ; John xvii. 19, &c. ;) as also to term a race or generation of men by the name of some of their progenitors, especially being persons of note and fame in the world. (Deut. xxxii. 9 ; Gen. xlix. 7 ' Psalm xiv, 7 ; Ixxxiii. 7? 8, &c.) Moreover, it is not unusual in the Scriptures to appropriate a general or common term, by way of emphasis, or, as is com- monly expressed, xar' s^o-x/^v, to some special particulars, one or more, contained under that general ; yea, and sometimes to bereave such particulars which are less considerable and less perfect of that very name or appellation which agrees to the THE NINTH ( HAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 89 general, and to appropriate it, as hath been said, to those par- ticulars which are most considerable in their kind. (See Rom. ii. 28, 29 ; Gal. iii. 7, 29 ; John vi. 55, &c.) It is true, this pro- mise was declared and delivered to all the posterity of Israel, as we partly heard from the former verses, without exception, and in a kind of conditional sense was made unto them all, as namely, thus : If they would or should all be children, that is, followers of the faith, righteousness, and holiness of Abraham and Israel, their fathers, as they were the children of their flesh, he would be a God, that is, a glorious and signal Benefactor, unto them all for ever. But in this sense and upon these terms it was made as well unto the Gentiles and the whole world as unto the Jews, though it was not so plainly or immediately communicated or made known unto them as to these. And that it should be made unto the Jews themselves in any sense, or upon any other terms than those expressed, as namely, upon their good behaviour and conformity to their worthy progenitors in faith and holiness, is repugnant to all principles of reason, yea, of common sense itself. For who can imagine or conceive that God, being infinitely just, righteous, and holy, should promise the highest and most sacred enjoyments and rewards which he hath to confer upon the best and holiest of men unto the worst, the most stubborn and disobedient of men, and this whether ever they repent of these abominations or no .? If this were so, had not the world cause to demand, " Where is the God of judgment?'' (Mai. ii. 17) Yea, the Jews themselves plainly enough granted this principle for a truth, namely, that all that v/ere carnally descended from Israel were not true Isra^ites, or " the Israel of God," in that they counted all such of this descent accursed and rejected by God, and upon this account hated and persecuted them, even unto death, who embraced the Apostle's doctrine of justification by faith and turned Christians. From whence it is evident, that the Apostle doth not assert the said principle in opposition to the Jews, but only maketh use of it as far as the import of it will reach in this kind, to dissolve the force of their objection against his doc- trine ; the tenor of which objection, as hath been already inti- mated, was this, that the said doctrine, supposing a rejection of a great part of their nation from God, rendered the word and promise of God unto Abraham and his seed " of none effect." Now the Apostle evinccth a nullity in the said objection from 90 AN KXPOSITION OF the principle or concession mentioned, thus far, namely, that such a doctrine, which supposeth a rejection of some part of Abraham's carnal posterity by God doth not hereby at all render "the word of God of none effect;'"' themselves clearly granting this in the said hypothesis. So that the question yet remaining and depending between him and them was this : Who or what sort or kind of Jews they were, and how differing from the rest, whose rejection by God would render such a doctrine which should assert or suppose it so blasphemously erroneous, as to make " the word of God of none effect?'" They affirmed them to be such who sought after righteousness by the observa- tion of Moses's law, and rejected his doctrine of justification by faith ; he, on the contrary, undertakes to prove, that they were such who sought their justification by faith, and placed no con- fidence or hope in this kind in the works of the law. He proceeds to the demonstration hereof in the sequel of this chapter, only asserting, the second time, the principle lately mentioned, by the way, in somewhat differing expressions from the former, to make his transition to his intended demonstration the more passable and fair. The matter or substance of the principle we speak of he expresseth in these words : — Verse 7- Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children — Implying, that the great promises made to "Abraham and his seed"" did not, according to the intent of God in making them, appertain, either universally or solely, to those who should naturally descend from Abraham, and should be his seed, in this sense, but unto those in whom the Spirit of Abraham"'s faith should be found, and so should be, by a spirit- ual kind of propagation or descent, his children. For a man to receive a change or alteration either in the habit or disposition of his mind, or in a course of outward deportments and actions, by means either of counsel or example from another, is a kind of generation whereby he receives a certain being which he had not before. And it is a frequent dialect of Scripture to term men the children of such persons whom they resemble in spirit or practice, especially when this resemblance hath been occa- sioned or produced either by their persuasions or practices : " Thus saith the Lord God unto Jerusalem ; Thy birth and thy nativity is of the land of Canaan : thy father was an Amorite, and thy mother an Hittite."' (Ezek. xvi. 3. See John viii. 38, 39, 41, 44; Acts xiii. 10, &c.) So then this is that THE KINTH ClIAPTKH TO THli ROMANS. 91 which the Apostle here affirmeth, namely, that when God made the promise of being a God, that is, a great and blessed Bene- factor, such as no creature, one or more, could be, unto " Abra- hamand his seed,"" or children; by "seed,'"or "children,"'"' hedid not mean all those, without exception, who should carnally descend from him, but, as the next words plainly insinuate, such who should resemble him in his faith, as children commonly do the parents of their flesh, both in the lineaments of their natural faces, as likewise in the temper or complexion of their minds. By the way, when the Apostle saith, " For they are not all Israel that are of Israel;"" and so again: "Neither because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children ; "'"' he doth not imply or suppose that the greatest part of them were such, I mean Israel or Abraham's children, in his emphatical sense, because he expresseth himself thus : " They are not all Israel, neither are they all children." Negative or exclusive particles do not always suppose or take for granted whatsoever in the same kind is not particularly denied or excluded ; but sometimes simply and precisely deny or exclude without any connotation or implication at all in this kind. As when the Apostle saith, " For all men have not faith,"" he doth not sup- pose that most men or the greatest part of men have faith, but simply denieth that all men have faith. But let us make some brief observations from the words lately opened by the way :— 1. From those words, " Not as if the word of God hath taken no effect,"" so understood as hath been showed, it may be observed, that sometimes such consequences which pretend to a legitimacy of descent from words spoken are yet spuri- ous and illegitimate. (Rom. vi. 1, 2; iii. 5, 31; John xxi. 23, &c.) 2. Upon the same account, only somewhat more particularly, it is observable, that such events now and then come to pass, which seem to contradict the word of God in the Scriptures, and yet really and in truth are far from it. (Rom xi. 1 ; John xii. 31.) 3. Whereas the Apostle rejects such a supposition as this, that the " word of God" should be " of none efFect,"" not only or simply as a noti-sequitur, or that which followeth not upon any thing that he had either said or meant, but as that which is in itself erroneous and dangerous ; it is observable, that any 92 AN EXPOSITION Oi' opinion or saying whatsoever, involving in it a non-performance of any promise or word of God, is unsound, and of a dangerous tendency and consequence. (Rom. iii. 3, 4.) 4. From this clause, " For they are not all Israel that are of Israel," as it hath been expounded, it is observable, that though faith and holiness commonly shoot forth in some of the branches of a natural propagation or descent, where there is or hath been a godly ancestry or parentage, yet seldom or never do they appear in all. (Rom. xi. 1, 2, 15, 16.) 5. From the same clause, as supposing that the Jews conceived all, or at least the greatest part of, those to be Israel, the true Israel of God, who were naturally descended from Israel ; the observa- tion is, that men frequently stretch the intentions of God, in his collation of outward privileges, beyond the truth. Or thus : Men under the enjoyment of outward privileges are apt to think more highly of themselves than there is cause, and to con- ceit themselves something when as indeed they are nothing, as this Apostle speaks elsewhere. (Philip, iii. 3; Rom. ii. 3, 13; Jer. vii. 4.) 6*. And lastly : From these words, " Neither because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children," which imply that the Jews, more generally, thus argued and j udged ; it is observ- able, that the Scriptures, in respect of the phrase and manner of expression in many things, are so framed and drawn up by God, that by men of carnal minds they may easily be wrested to their destruction. (2 Peter iii. 16 ; 2 Cor. iii. 14, 15.) It followeth, But, In Isaac shall thy seed be called — Meaning, that God himself declared who or what persons of Abraham's natural seed his intent was should be counted for his children, namely, such children that should inherit the promises, as also who should not be counted for such, in these words, spoken by himself unto Abraham : " But in Isaac shall thy seed be called." (Gen. xxi. 12.) It is frequent in Scripture to mention words spoken by a person without mentioning either the person speaking them, or sometimes the person to whom they were spoken. (See Gal. iii. 11, 12; Acts i. 4, &c.) The Apostle here entereth upon his main demonstration, intending to prove, that the rejection of such of Abraham's posterity by God, who, according to his doctrine, either were, or were likely ere long to be, rejected by liim, doth in no consideration at all, by no tolerable consequence, make " the word of God of none effect," but rather, as he THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE llOMANS. 93 speakcth elsewhere, " establish it." The argument or pro- syllogism by which he proveth this, may be thus formed : — The rejection of such Jews only, or of such of Abraham's seed to whom God made no promise, no absolute promise, of being their God, of justifying, blessing, or saving them, cannot make the word or promise of God to Abraham and his seed of no effect. But such are those Jews, and only such, namely, to whom God hath made no promise, &c., whose rejection is either asserted or supposed by me in my doctrine. Ergo, the rejection of only such as these, maketh not "the word of God of none effect ;" and, consequently, neither is my doctrine guilty of such a crime, either for asserting or supposing it. The process of this argument from the first to the last is very pregnant and clear. The major proposition the Apostle taketh for granted, as well he may ; and therefore insistetli not upon any proof hereof. The minor is the ball of contention between him and his opposers, the Jews ; therefore, for this he runneth, and that by the way of this argument : — If none of those Jews who, according to my doctrine, are rejected or likely to be rejected by God, have any promise from God that he will be their God, that he will justify, bless, or save them, then cannot the rejection of these make the word or promise of God of none effect. But true it is, that none of those Jews whose rejection is either affirmed or supposed in my doctrine have any such promise. Ergo. The consequence in the major of this syllogism also is too pregnant with evidence of truth to be denied. Therefore, the Apostle passeth over this likewise without proof. For the proof of the minor, he, 1. Supposeth that which is plain enough, and which his adversaries knew well enough, namely, that such Jews, or such of Abraham's seed, who according to his doctrine were spurious, and rejected by God, were only such who rejected Jesus Christ, and peremptorily opposed the doctrine of justifica- tion by faith in him. 2. He proveth that such Jews as these had no such promise made or appertaining unto them, as whereby God should stand engaged to be their God, or to own them for such children of Abraham, to whom he ever engaged himself upon such terms. This he undertaketh to demonstrate from two famous oracles uttered by God himself of old ; the 94 AN EXPOSITION OK one unto Abraham himself in person, (Gen. xxi. 12,) the other unto Rebecca, the wife of Isaac. (Gen. xxv. 23.) To this latter he subjoineth a testimony from one of the Prophets, for a more ample declaration of the mind of God herein, as we shall see when we come to verse 13. By both these oracles, as well jointly as severally, he proveth that the persons, whether Jews, or of any other nation, with whom, under the name of Abra- ham's seed, God covenanted to be their God, to justify and save them, were not such who should seek to be justified by works, or the law, but by faith. The tenor of the former of these oracles is contained in the words recited. But, In Isaac shall thy seed he called — The occasion of these words, spoken, as hath been said, by God himself unto Abra- ham, was this : Sarah, taking notice that Ishmael, Abraham's son by Hagar his servant, proved a scoffer, and misused her son Isaac, made it her earnest request unto Abraham, thatj together with his mother, he might be turned out of doors. Abraham, being very much dissatisfied with the motion, and loath to put in execution what Sarah herein desired, received a command from God, however, to hearken unto her, and perform her request ; giving him this reason to satisfy him in the business : " For in Isaac shall thy seed be called." As if he should have said, " Let it not be so grievous unto thee to part with thy son Ishmael out of thy house, because I have a mysterious and great design in appointing thy son Isaac to be thine only heir, and cutting off Ishmael from all hopes of being a sharer with him in thine inheritance." This, or some like sense to this, to be the true sense, at least one sense, intended by God in those words, the Apostle himself plainly declares in the words imme- diately following by way of interpretation. Verse 8. That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God : hut the children of the promise are counted for the seed — I confess that, without ploughing with the Apostle's heifer in this place, it would have been very hard for a man to have found out that divine riddle in those words which he findeth. But we need not be jealous of his interpretation, knowing from whom he received it. Well, then, saith he, the meaning of God, at least his principal mean- ing, in those words spoken unto Abraham, " In Isaac shall thy seed be called," was this, or to signify, teach, and declare this : 1 . That the children of the flesh are not the children of God. THK NINTH CHAPTER TO THE HOMANS. 95 2. That the children of the promise are, and shall be, " counted for the seed ;"" that is, the children of God. For that is to be minded, that the Apostle doth not here give, or intend to give, the grammatical or literal sense of those words, "But in Isaac shall thy seed be called," but the mystical or typical sense only. And by this interpretation which he gives, he plainly signifieth that the said words were not spoken or meant by God in a literal or grammatical sense, or not in these senses only, but rather in a sense typical, mystical, and allegorical. The type, mystery, or allegory contained in the words of that oracle, he unfoldeth in this eighth verse, as the word t«tss-', that is, showeth ; being a word familiarly used by this Apostle to give notice of an explication or interpretation ensuing. (Rom. vii. 18; X. 6, 7^ Philemon 12, &c.) The mystery, or spiritual secret, typified in the said oracle, the Apostle declareth to be the mind or counsel of God concerning such persons of mankind whom he purposed to own in the relation of children, and to confer the blessing or great inheritance of righteousness and salvation upon ; and whom, on the other hand, he purposed to disown and exclude from all part and fellowship in these blessed privileges. Those, in the first place, whom he purposed to dis- own, and to exclude from the grace and privilege of sons, the Apostle, in his interpretation of the oracle, describes by this character or relation, that they are " children of the flesh i" " They which are children of the flesh, these are not the chil- dren of God." By " children of the fl^esh," opposed to " children of the promise," in the latter part of the verse, he clearly mean- eth such persons who seek after and expect spiritual privileges, adoption, justification, salvation, &c., in a fleshly way ; that is, by works, or by the observation of the law ; as, by " children of the promise," he must needs mean such who depend upon the gracious and free promise of God for these heavenly accommo- dations. Elsewhere he useth "flesh" and "works" synony- mously, and as mutually exegetical the one of the other : " What shall we say then that Abraham, our father as pertaining to the FLESH, hath found ? For if Abraham were justified by WORKS, he hath whereof to glory ; but not before God." (Rom. iv. 1, 2.) Evident it is, that by kocto. aulo post : Non solum, ait, dilexi Jacob, antequam nasceretur, et odio habui Esau, priusquam c,v utero niatris funderetur y sed in posteros eorum a/morem meum et odium con- servavi ; odium in Esau, cujus monies qui appellantur Seir, redegi in solitudineyn, S^c. — HiERONYM. in Mai. i. 2, 3, &c. § Isaac in Jigura salvatoris natus est ; Jacob vero et Esau duorum populorum haJbent typum, credentium et non credentium, S(c. — Ambros. ad Rom. ix. 8, 9. II Jacob quippe Jiguram gesiat ecclesite, sicut Esau veteris synagogce. — Aug. in Enar. Psalm Ixxviii. ^ Secundum litera/m autem, Esau, id est, populus Idumceorum, qui de Esau dcscendit, servivit minori, id est, subditus fuit populo Judccorum, AUegorice vero Esau, id est, populus Judaorum, qui fuit primogenitus , servivit minori; id est, populo Ghristianorum qui secutus e*^,— Anselji in loc. 124 AN EXPOSITION OF of Malachi also, " Jacob have I loved," &e., in perfect conso- nancy hereunto. Nor to my best remembrance have I ever read or heard that so much as any one of the learned fathers con- cluded from the passages in hand, either Esau's reprobation from eternity, or his eternal condemnation in time. And yet more cer- tain I am, that neither could they, nor any other, have any sufficient ground from the said passages, to found such a conclusion upon. REASONS AGAINST THE REPJIOBATION OF ESAU FROM ETERNITY. Because, 1. As hath been oft signified and proved from the express words of the Scripture, Esau is not here mentioned under any personal consideration, but only as the head and significator of his posterity. 2. It is the confession of those that are most opposite in the doctrine of reprobation, and may otherwise be evinced from the Scriptures, that all Esau's posterity were not reprobated, in such a sense, as neither were all Jacob's posterity elected. 3. Neither doth that service or subjection unto Jacob, which the divine oracle imposeth upon Esau, any ways import such a reprobation ; inasmuch as the servant may be, and ofttimes is, elected; yea, and this sometimes when the master is in an estate of reprobation. (See 1 Peter ii. 18 ; Philip, iv. £2, &c.) 4. Were it granted that servitude did signify or import such a reprobation as is contended for, yet certain it is, and hath been proved from the Scriptures, thatEsau in person never served Jacob. 5. Neither doth that hatred of God against Esau, mentioned by Malachi, import any such reprobation of the person of Esau : (1.) Because it related not unto Esau personally considered, or unto the person of Esau, as appears from what hath been already said ; and may appear yet further from that description which the Prophet himself gives of it, in the fruits or effects thereof, as, namely, the laying of his mountains waste, the throwing down when he should build, &c. ; in which kind of fruit or effect, it never expressed itself unto or against the person of Esau. (2.) These very effects of it are not the proper effects of such an hatred in God, which argueth, either a priori or a posteriori, a reprobation of men for eternity ; I mean, of all those who taste of such fruits ; unless we will say, that when Jerusalem was laid waste by the Chaldeans, and burnt with fire, all the persons that were sufferers in this calamity were reprobated by God from eternity ; although in case this could be proved, (the contrary THE NINTH CHAPTER. TO THE ROMANS. 125 whereof, nevertheless, is evident from the Scriptures,) yet were it no sufficient proof, that all that either perish by a temporal death, or deeply suffer otherwise, in public desolations, are therefore reprobated by God from eternity, or perish eternally. 6. The drift and scope of the Apostle in the context, formerly declared and asserted, doth no ways require, either a probation or supposition that Esau should be personally reprobated from eternity, but only that in his posterity, and those sad events which, according to the prediction of the divine oracle, were in after-times to beftil them, he should be set forth, and prove a significant type of the spiritual and eternal misery of all those that should seek justification by the works of the law, or in a way of their own devising, and not submit unto the counsel, will, and good pleasure of God in this behalf, who hath conse- crated the way of faith in his Son Jesus Christ, as the only means whereby justification is to be attained by men. 7- His cordial and perfect reconcilement unto his brother, so fully expressed, as the Scripture recordeth, (Gen. xxxiii.,) after that great and deep offence taken at him, upon occasion of his brother's stepping in between him and home, as we use to say, in obtaining their father's blessing, is no light argument or testimony of his own reconciliation with God. " For if ye for- give men their trespasses," saith our Saviour, " your heavenly Father will also forgive you." (Matt. vi. 14) And though it should be granted that Jacob had not really trespassed against him, or done him any real injury or wrong, in intercepting his father's blessing ; yet, it being such in Esau's apprehension, and the indignation conceived against him for it being as real, serious, and deep, as if it had been a real and high injury indeed, his gentle, sweet, and loving entreating of his brother after it, was every ways equivalent to a real forgiveness, being a true and real reconcilement. Therefore, unless it can be proved, that, after this reconcilement with his brother, Esau returned with the dog unto his vomit, or else continued in some course of impiety inconsistent with salvation formerly practised, there can be no competent ground assigned of his damnation, much less of his personal reprobation from eternity. 8. If Isaac had understood the oracle delivered to his wife Rebecca, " The elder shall serve the younger," as if it had imported that his elder son Esau had been reprobated by God from eternity, it is no ways probable that he could have set his 126 AN EXPOSITION OF heart upon him, delight in him, or love him as he did. That terrible wrath of God revealed from heaven against the son in so signal a way and manner could not but wholly quench all joy, plea- sure, comfort, or contentment in the parent in relation to such a son. And unless we shall judge Isaac to have been a man extremely sensual, and inordinately given to his appetite, we cannot rea- sonably conceive that he could take any comfort or contentment in his son, or love him for his venison"' sake, which yet the Scripture testifieth of him, (Gen. xxv. 28,) if he had certainly known that God had from eternity irreversibly doomed him to the easeless, endless torments of eternal fire. 9. It is no ways probable, nor like unto one of the ways of the dispensations of God, that he should inform such parents who were righteous and holy, who had found special favour in his sight, whose comforts and peace his heart was set to promote and advance, that he had reprobated from eternity any of their children, and this whilst they were yet unborn. A message of such a sad and horrid import as this coming from the mouth of God immediately to a weak and tender woman, whose hour of travail, and this with two children, was now come, being like- wise already sorely troubled and perplexed with the strangeness of her condition, in respect of what she sensibly felt in her womb, could not in all likelihood but have caused an abortion, or preproperous travail, and endangered her life. Therefore, cer- tainly God did not intend to signify unto Rebecca that she was ready to fall in travail of a reprobate, a child which he was peremp- torily resolved to destroy with the dreadful vengeance of hell-fire. 10. If God should have signified unto Rebecca, and by her unto Isaac, that their elder son had been reprobated by him from eternity, and, consequently, that there was no hope, no pos- sibilit}' of his repentance or salvation, must not this needs have been a grand discouragement unto them from lifting up so much as a prayer unto God for him, and so from all other endeavours and applications of themselves unto him, in order to his con- version and salvation ? And thus God must be supposed to have taught astorgy and unnaturalness unto Isaac and Rebecca, yea, and taken them off from the performance of such duties, to and on the behalf of their child, which he strictly and universally imposeth upon all other parents, without exception, in reference unto their children. 11. It was never known or heard of, that God ever made any THE NINTH CHArTEU TO TJIK UOMANS. 127 discovery unto the world of any man's final estate, especially on the left hand, before he was born, no, nor yet before the perpe- tration of some grand and horrid sin. 12. And lastly : There is no end imaginable, worthy the only wise and most gracious God, why or for which he should make known unto the world such a thing concerning Esau, being yet unborn, as that he had reprobated him from eternity. Such a revelation as this cannot well be supposed to be of any use, or spiritual accommodation or edification to the world ; but rather of evil tendency, and of a malignant influence upon the mind and hearts of men, as directly occasioning them to judge hardly and most unworthily of God, and to conceive of him as no faithful Creator, as having no care, no love, no bowels or com- passions towards the best of the workmanship of his hands, — man ; no, not whilst he remains yet pure, and unspotted with sin ; not to mention that dragon's tail, I mean, the long bead- roll of enormous notions and conceits which attends the doctrine of personal reprobation from eternity, the account whereof is to be seen elsewhere.* Whereas, on the other hand, if it be sup- posed, (as according to the truth and evident scope of the con- text it ought,) that by what God revealed unto Rebecca, and so unto the world, concerning Esau, being yet unborn, or his posterity in him, he signified and declared unto the world, that they who should not submit unto his counsel and pleasure for their justification, and seek it by faith in Jesus Christ, should be for ever excluded from the heavenly inheritance ; such a discovery or revelation from him as this is apparantly of a rich and blessed consequence and import unto men. To object that Esau is termed a profane person by the Holy Ghost, for selling his birthright for one morsel of meat, and " that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected," &c., (Heb. xii. 16, I7,) amounts to nothing of value for proof that therefore Esau, before he was born, was discovered by God unto his mother to have been a reprobate from eternity. The utmost that can be conceived to be so much as hinted in this pas- sage is, that being a profane person when he sold his birthright, he was ovit of the favour of God ; and that his rejection by his father Isaac in that ardent and passionate suit which he made unto him for the blessing of the first-born was a presage or item unto him that he would be everlastingly rejected by God, unless he * Etprtvofiaxia, pages 3 — 5, &c. 128 AN EXPOSITION OF repented of his profaneness, and sought tlic favour of God by faith in Jesus Christ. That repentance for which he is said to have " found no place, though he souglit it carefully with tears,"" is not meant of his own repentance, as if he could have found no place for this, " though he sought it carefully with tears," but of the repentance of his father ; the meaning being, that though he most affectionately desired his father to reverse that blessing which he had conferred upon his younger brother, and to settle it upon him, yet he could not prevail with him to do it, or to change his mind in that behalf. " I have eaten of all," saith Isaac unto Esau, "before thou camest, and have blessed him : yea, and he shall be blessed ;" (Gen. xxvii. 33 ;) meaning, that he neither would nor could recal that, which, by the motion of the Spirit of God, was gone out of his lips, in blessing his brother Jacob. And thus we have proved at large the former of the two particulars which were formerly propounded, namely, that the Apostle in the passage now before us, and in what he dis- courseth concerning Jacob and Esau, intended to show and prove who and what manner of persons they are whom God accounteth for Abraham's seed, and persons justified, namely, such who seek their justification by faith and not by the deeds of the law. We proceed to the latter, the tenor whereof was to show how such a doctrine as this can be conceived to be more emphatically, and with greater pregnancy of proof, argued and demonstrated from the present passage concerning Jacob and Esau, than it was in the former concerning Isaac and Ishmael. For this, as we observed, is clearly hinted by the Apostle in these words, Ov f^ovov 8s, And not only this. For the demonstration of this it is to be considered, that though the Apostle's former proof of the doctrine we speak of, from the divine oi-acle delivered unto Abraham, " But in Isaac shall thy seed be called," was in itself sufficient, yet was it obnoxious to some cavils or exceptions which the Jews, with whom only or chiefly he hath to do in the present debate, were very like to make against it ; as n} ysvoiro. Let it not be, or, Fa7' be it from me, and from every man, to affirm or teach any thing that should imply any unrighteous- ness or unjustice in God in the least. My] aSixj« 'STupa. tcu 0scp : Is there unrighteousness, or injus- tice, with God ? — That is, Doth it follow from the premises that God should be unjust .'' But what is the unrighteousness here spoken of? Or in what sense did the Jews mean that Paul by his doctrine made God unjust? I answer, There are two, or rather three, kinds of injustice : The one consisteth in decreeing ; the second, in doing things that are uncomely, or which are contrary to reason and equity ; the third, in speak- ing, promising, or professing that which is not in the heart or in the mind ever to perform. When the Jews pretended that the doctrine of Paul rendered God unrighteous or unjust, they meant, doubtless, in all these respects, or with all these three l2 148 AN EXPOSITION OF kinds of injustice. But that his doctrine was not chargeable with making God unjust with that kind of injustice which con- sists in simulatory promises or speakings, he had proved already : " Not as if the word of God had taken none effect," &ec. (Verses 6, '], &c.) Therefore, in the passage now before us, the Apostle must needs be conceived to speak of one or both the former kinds of injustice, which, indeed, are, upon the matter, but one and the same. For, to purpose or decree things that are uncomely and contrary unto equity, and to perpetrate and act such things, proceed from one and the same spirit of injustice. So that the import of that objection, which he insi- nuates, in this fourteenth verse, was levied against his doctrine by the Jews, was, that hereby God was represented both as a decreer and an actor of things which were uncomely, and of no good consistence with principles of reason and equity. Some conceive that the spring, rise, or occasion of this objec- tion was the Apostle"'s discourse concerning Jacob and Esau, namely, in that he had affirmed, that whilst they were yet unborn, and had done neither good nor evil, and though they were the children of the same parents on both sides, yet God should decree concerning them, that " the elder" should " serve the younger;"" which seems to be a strain of that kind of injus- tice lately mentioned. But that this was not the occasion of the objection, is evident from hence: 1. Because whatsoever Paul had said concerning Jacob and Esau was expressly con- tained in the Scriptures ; and, consequently, it is no ways likely that the Jews would object any thing against it. 2. That which he had said concerning Jacob and Esau, containing matter of favour and respects from God on Jacob's side, who was their great progenitor, and in whom they much gloried upon that account, if they should have reputed it matter of injustice in God to respect Jacob above Esau, which is the effect of all the Apostle had said concerning them, they should have been like ill birds, defiling, as the saying is, their own nest; nor is it probable in the least that they would impute injustice unto God for dealing so graciously and respectfully as he did by them and their forefathers, above any other nation ; or that they were so zealous in the cause of Esau, or the Idumeans, his posterity, and their professed and inve- terate enemies, as for their sakes to charge unrighteousness upon God. THE NINTH CHAPTKU TO THE ROMANS. 149 Therefore the clear spring of the objection here intimated was, not the text, but the interpretation, or that inference or deduction which Paul drew from the said passages of Scripture for the confirmation of that doctrine of justification by faith, so highly contested against by the Jews. He argued and urged, that God, in saying unto Abraham, " In Isaac shall thy seed be called," and afterwards unto Rebecca, concerning the two nations yet in her womb, " The elder shall serve the younger,'"'' intended to declare and signify unto the world, that his purpose and pleasure was, as to elect and accept those for children and justified persons who should depend upon his grace and good pleasure for the obtaining of these blessings, by believing ; so to reject those that should seek after them, and expect to attain them, by the works of the law. Such a declaration as this, say the Jews, in the objection before us, could not be intended by God, because it would argue unrighteousness in him, and that which is repugnant to all reason and equity, as, namely, that he should reject and condemn those who are diligent and zealous observers of his own law, the law which himself hath reci^m- mended unto them, and imposed on them ; and receive into grace and favour such persons who never yielded the like obedience unto him, only because they believe in another, and expect their justification by and from him. To this objection the Apostle answers, 1. By denying the consequence, in the close of this verse. 2. By subjoining a reason of such his denial. And this, (1.) In respect of those whom God justifieth, or to whom he showeth mercy. (Verses 15, 16.) (2.) In respect of those whom he reprobates or con- demns. (Verse 17-) In the former, he vindicates the righ- teousness of God, in justifying those whom he is pleased to justify ; in the latter, he vindicates the same righteousness in reprobating and condemning such who are reprobated and con ■ demned by him. First. He denieth that any such thing followeth from his doctrine, or interpretation of the Scriptures alleged, as that God should be unrighteous. Yea, he denieth it in that phrase or form of words, Myj ysvoiTo, God for'bid, which doth not barely signify or import the untruth of what is denied, but, further, that the untruth hereof is such, that it deserveth even to be abhorred of every man. (See Rom. iii. 4, 6 ; Gal. ii. 17 ; to omit other places.) 150 AN EXPOSITION 01' Secondly. He giveth this account of his denial, as to the first particular objected, namely, that God should be unrighteous, in case he should justify or show mercy to believers. 15 For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have com- passion on whom I will have compassion. 16 So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. Verse 15. For he saith to Moses, I will, S^c. — As if he should have said. My doctrine of justification, by the free grace and pleasure of God through believing, is so far from rendering him unrighteous, that himself plainly expresseth and asserteth the effect and substance of it, in saying thus unto Moses, " I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy," &c. ; meaning, that inasmuch as all men, having sinned, are become miserable, and so absolutely obnoxious unto me, and my pleasure touching their relief, and I am resolved to use my prerogative herein, and to relieve and show mercy unto whom, that is, unto what sort or kind of persons,* I please, not upon such who shall be obtruded upon me by men, or who shall judge themselves worthy or meet above others to be partakers of my grace and favour in this kind. The repetitions in the words, " I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have com- passion on whom I will have compassion,*" are very emphatical, and import the highest degree imaginable of a peremptoriness or resolvedness in God to dispense his favour and mercy unto men according to his own mind and pleasure, and not according to the thoughts or prescriptions of men. When the clouds pour out rain in abundance, it is a sign they were full of water. In like manner, when a man utters over and over, reiterates • Tke pronoun relative, os, qui, " who" or " wLom," is sometimes nsed concrete, and signifieth not simply or barely the subject to which it relateth, but as so or so qualified. Thus our Apostle : / knoiv, w TsreTrirei/Ka, whom I have believed ; (2 Tim. i. 12 ;) that is, what manner of God, how gracious, how mercifiil, how faithful, and powerful, &c., he is whom I have believed, or betnisted mj-self and soul with. Thus also our Saviour : " I know whom," that is, what manner of men, " I have chosen," meaning for disciples. Or rather thus : Oi5a ss fli\elaixi)v , that is, I know whotn, that is, what manner of persons they are, / have chosen. (John xiii. 18.) Thus also Romans ix. 18 : "And whom he will," that is, what kind of persons he pleaseth, " he liardeneth." THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE KOMANS. 151 and repeats, any purpose, intention, or desire in his soul, it argueth a fulness or abundance of that which is thus uttered, and that the heart could not discharge itself of all at once, or by one expression. Now we know who those are on whom God is everlastingly and most unalterably resolved to show mercy, namely, those who believe in his Son Jesus Christ ; according to that of this our Apostle elsewhere : " For the Son of God, Jesus Christ, who was preached among you b}'^ us — was not yea and nay, but in him was yea. For all the promises of God in him are yea, and in him Amen," &c. (2 Cor. i. 19, 20.) And upon this account the Gospel, which asserteth the will and purpose of God in this kind, is termed by John, " the everlasting Gospel," (Rev. xiv. 6,) that is, a Gospel, the tenor and contents whereof shall never be altered. Here God fully declares who they are on whom he " will have mercy," namely, believers : Neither are all the angels in heaven, nor men upon earth, by all the strength of solicitation they can use, able to take him off from this his purpose, as either to cause him not to show mercy on those who believe, or to show mercy, I mean, the mercy here spoken of, unto any others. For that is to be considered by the way, that the Apostle clearly speaketh here of that grace or mercy of God which relateth to the salva- tion of men sinful and miserable. But whereas the Scripture speaks expressly of two sorts, or kinds, or, if you will, degrees, of grace, love, and mercy in God towards men, in reference to their salvation ; one which precedes their faith and obedience to the Gospel, and which consists partly in the gift of his Son Jesus Christ for a Saviour unto them, partly in calling them by the Gospel preached in one kind or other unto them, in vouch- safing means and opportunities unto them for repenting and believing, &c. ; * another, which is subsequent to their repent- ance and believing, and which God showeth and exerciseth towards those who do now truly believe ;•{■ the question may be, of which of these two kinds of mercy the Apostle here speaketh, whether of that which is preventing, and which show- eth itself in giving Christ for a Saviour, in calling men unto him, &c. ; or of that which is subsequent, and which expresseth itself in justification, adoption, &c. I answer, Not of the for- • Of this love or mercy, see John iii. 16 ; Rom. v. S j 1 John iv. 10 ; Matt. xxii. 3, 4, 9, &c. t Of this, see Gal. iii. 26 ; iv. 6 ; John i. 12, &c. 152 AN ExrosiTiov of mer, but of the latter. 1. God makes no such difference or dis- tinction of men in his preventing grace or mercy as the words before us, " I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy," &c., manifestly imply. Christ is said to have " tasted death for every man ;" (Heb. ii. 9;) to have " given himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time."''' (1 Tim. ii. 6.) And, accordingly, God is said to " command all men everywhere to repent;" (Acts xvii. 30 ;) and many are said to be " called," who yet are not "chosen." (Matt. xx. 16,.) 2. The whole discourse of the Apostle in the context adjoining, as hath been showed and proved, is not concerning preventing grace or mercy, but sub- sequent ; as, namely, concerning justification., adoption, &c., which do not appertain to preventing grace, but subsequent. 3. And lastly : Evident it is that the Apostle's intent is to declare the Jews to be excluded from that grace and mercy of which he speaks all along, as in telling them that " they which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God : but the children of the promise are counted for the seed ; " (verse 8;) and again, that the elder should serve the younger ; that the purpose of God stands " not of works," &c. But cer- tain it is, that these Jews were not excluded from the prevent- ing grace, or love, or mercy of God ; for they were called by God by the doctrine and miracles of the Apostles, yea, and by the Lord Christ himself, and this by means so exceedingly efficacious, that our Saviour himself affirmeth that even the men of Tyre and Sidon might or would have been converted by them. (Matt. xi. 21.) Therefore, the " grace" or "-mercy" spoken of in the words in hand must needs be the subsequent grace or mercy of God ; and if so, it cannot be understood, so neither in the verse following, of any such mercy in God towards men by which men yet unregenerate and in their sins are enabled, much less necessitated, to repent or believe ; but, as hath been said, of that grace or mercy which is vouchsafed unto them who do now repent and believe. So that the mean- ing of the words, " I will have mercy on whom I will have inercy," &c., in the Apostle's citation and application of them, is as if God should have said, " I will justify, adopt, save, and glorify persons in what capacity, and under what qualifications soever, I myself please, and will not be ordered or taught by men what I have to do, or what becometh me to do, in this kind." As the said words were spoken by God unto Moses, (Exodus THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 153 xxxiii. 19,) they seem to be of somewhat a different import, yet of affinity enough in the general with the sense now given, and the scope of the Apostle in the present context. And it is the manner of the Evangehsts and Apostles, yea, and sometimes of Christ himself, in the New Testament, to cite passages from the Old for the confirmation or proof of what they teach, when there is only an analogy or proportion of sense or matter between the one and the other. The occasion of God's speaking thus unto Moses, " I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy," as ap- pears from the context, was this : Moses, verses 13 and 16, of the said chapter,(Exodus xxxiii.,) had desired of God that he would consider that the Jews were his people, and that he would please to go before them, and lead them in their way, that so it might be known in the world that both he and his people had found grace in his sight. This God promiseth unto him that he will do, notwithstanding their frowardness and stifF-neckedness ; and, moreover, signifieth unto Moses, that for himself he had found grace in his sight. Upon this gracious declaration of God unto him, Moses takes the boldness to make a further request unto God, namely, that " he would show him his glory : " (verse 18 :) To this request of his also God returns this answer, " I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the Lord before thee ; " giving the reason hereof in the words cited by the Apostle, " And I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy," as if he had said, " Let no man stumble or take offence that I should do that in a way of grace and favour for thee, which I neither shall do to any of the people besides, nor ever did to any of thy fathers before thee ; not to Abraham, or to Isaac, or to Jacob themselves, nor shall do the like to any man after thee ; nor do thou thyself imagine that I am any ways a debtor unto thee of that grace of manifesting my glory thus unto thee which I deny unto others ; for I am a debtor unto no man, and will dispense my favours, and so my mercies, unto such per- sons, and to such only, as I please." This connexive particle, " And ; " " And I will have mercy upon whom I will have mer- cy," is sometimes causal, as Calvin well observeth,* and signifieth, <'for," or "because; " sometimes, again, it is adversative, and signi- fieth, " but,"-f- which signification very well accordeth in the place * Copula enim. particulam causalem valet, quod Latinis et Gnecis est usitatwii . — Calvin, in Col. ii. 5. tSee AiNSWORTH, on Gen. ii. 17. 154< AN EXPOSITION OF before us ; which is accordingly rendered by Junius, and Tre- melHus, and Piscator. Whereas our Apostle, following the Septuagint, as the Evangelists, Christ himself, and the Apostles more commonly do in their citations from the Old Testament, reads the former clause thus : EXstjcrco ov av eXsw, / will have mercy on ivhom I have mercy. Arias Montanus, out of the Hebrew, renders it thus : Gratiam addam cui gratiam addam, that is, " I will add grace to whom I will add grace."" Junius thus: Sed gratiosus ero, cid fuero gratiosus, that is, " But I will be gracious to whom I shall be gracious." It is like the LXX. did not accvirately distinguish between grace and mercy, and so took the liberty to translate the word, properly signifying the former, by the latter. Though the difference between them be not much material, yet it was more properly matter of grace in God unto Moses than of mercy, to make such a signal dis- covery unto him of his glory as here he promiseth to do ; unless we shall say that Moses was somewhat miserable before this manifestation was made unto him, and relieved by it ; both which, haply, in a sense, and this tolerable enough, may be admitted. The same act of God towards men may be, and more generally is, both an act of grace and of mercy, though in different considerations. However, God, in the words before us unto Moses, with an high hand of authority asserteth his absolute liberty to confer both the one and the other on whom himself only pleaseth, saying, not only " I will be gracious," or will add grace, " to whom I will be gracious," but also, " And I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion." As for the version of the Septuagint used here or elsewhere by the Holy Ghost in the New Testament, though it may be a question whether it be hereby justified or avouched for a true translation, yet is it out of controversy authorized hereby for truth ; at least so much of it as is here cited and made canon- ical and authentic Scripture. Our English translators rendering the latter part of either clause of the verse in thefuture tense, " On whom I will have mercy ; " and so, " On whom I will have com- passion," herein follow Moses rather than Paul, who expresseth both in the present tense. As well the sense as the emphatical- ness of the assertion is alike preserved in both readings ; only, that is to be minded, by the way, that it was no part of the Apostle''s intent, by owning the Septuagint in their exchanging tenses with Moses, to strengthen Calvin's apprehension, occa- THK NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 155 bioned, as it seems, thereby ; his conceit being that the words sound to this effect : " On whom I have once decreed to show mercy, I will never take away my mercy from him, and will fol- low him with perpetual kindness, to whom I once decreed to be kind." * Such positions as these are no consectaries to the Apostle's doctrine, the intent whereof, as hath been proved, is only to assert a liberty in God to show mercy, to confer justifi- cation, adoption, salvation, &c,, upon whom, or what manner of persons, himself pleaseth ; not a liberty, much less a purpose, to continue these or any like mercies unto such persons as men shall obtrude upon him, and particularly not unto such unto whom he hath most severely threatened and declared that they shall not be continued. Now many of those whom God decreed, upon their believing, from eternity to justify and adopt, apostatize from, and make shipwreck of, their faith, as the Scripture in many places testifieth ; from whom he hath peremp- torily threatened to take away the grace of justification which before he had conferred upon them ; -f* therefore the emphatical import of the Apostle's expres&ion, EAsrjercu ov eXsoo, I tvill have mercy on whom I have, now, or at present, mercy, respects the same species, not the same persons of men ; being, as if he had said, " To that sort or kind of men to whom now, or at this day, I show mercy, namely, in pardoning their sin and justifying their persons, meaning believers, I will show the like mercy at all times hereafter to the world's end." Or rather thus : " I will have mercy on whom I have mercy," that is, " I will not, or, there is no reason that I should, be taken off or put by by men or by angels, from showing the grace or mercy of justification and adoption unto those, that is, that kind of men to whom I at this day show this grace or mercy, and these are such who believe ; on these I am ultimately and unremovably resolved to show mercy." According to as well the one exposition as the other, God asserteth his liberty against all opposers and contend- ers with him, to dispense his high favours where and on whom himself pleaseth. If it be demanded, " But is this a sufficient argument or plea to vindicate the justice of God in justifying and adopting * Perinde enim sonant verba, acsi dictum esset, cujus semel decrevi miserari ab eo misericordiam nunquani auseram / ct perpetua henignitate prosequar eum, cui betiignus esse statui ? t See Redemption Redeemed, pp. 151—153, 277, 278. 156 AN EXPOSITION OK those that beheve, namely, that himself challengeth or asserteth unto himself a liberty or a resolution thus to do ? " I answer, The plea is both sufficient in itself, and also in reference to the Jews, with whom, particularly, the Apostle had here to do. 1 . It is sufficient in itself upon this foundation, namely, that God is absolutely righteous and just. If so, then can he not conceive within him an act of will but what is righteous and just, nor claim a liberty in one kind or other but what is just likewise. Not that he makes a thing, an action righteous or just by willing or doing it which is not such in itself, and so would have been, whether he had willed or done it or no, but by willing or doing any thing he fully declares the righteousness, yea, and somewhat more, I mean the meetness or fitness of it to be done, at least at such a time when he doeth it. To say that whatsoever God willeth or doeth is just, is a truth, and well con- sistent with his glory ; but to say concerning things that are in themselves and in their own natures unrighteous or unjust, that in case God should do them he would hereby make them just or righteous, is extremely dishonourable to him, and, as Calvin truly observes, " despoils him of the glory of his justice."" * 2. For the Jews, the said plea was every ways sufficient and convincing unto them, because they acknowledged the perfect righteousness of God, and so could not but subscribe any liberty that God should claim to himself as righteous and just. I do not observe amongst interpreters any difference made betweeen the two words, sAew, in the former clause, translated / will have mercy, and oiKTeipcu, in the latter, rendered, " / will have compassion. They generally take both words as purely synonymous and the self-same in signification, only conceiving that a plurality of words coincident in sense is more emphatical, and importetb a certain vehemency or intenseness of spirit in him that speaketh, about that which he so uttereth ; and the truth is, that it is very hard to assign any difference between the two words which will be found any ways pertinent to the Apos- tle*'s discourse. The Greek Lexicons commonly expound the one by the other, so leaving us under a presumption that neither of them signify any thing more, nor any thing less, nor any thing • Deum enini qui ex legem facit, maxima cumglorioi ma parte spoliat Calvin's Opusc, p. 843. THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 157 else, than the other. Notwithstanding, if the grammatical pro- priety of the words were narrowly scanned, the former word, sXssiv, would, I conceive, be found to signify the inward passion or affection itself of mercy ; and the latter, ojjtrsjpco, the out- ward expression or fruit thereof, in one kind or other. Accord- ing to this distinction of the words, to which, notwithstanding, I would not have too much ascribed, God, in the words before us may be thought to make this declaration of himself to the world, namely, that he may of right, and accordingly will, both inwardly in heart and soul, pity and compassionate ; and outwardly also, and visibly, express these gracious affections to whomsoever him- self pleaseth. The difference between the two words in the Hebrew, accord- ing as they are rendered by Arias Montanus, Junius, and Tremellius, and as our English translators, likewise, in consent with them, read them, is of more easy observation ; for here the former clause speaks thus : " And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious." And the latter thus : " And will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.''"' To be " gracious," pro- perly imports a propenseness of mind and will to do some signal good without any motive or engagement thereunto from without ; especially from the person or persons to whom this good is done or intended. To " show mercy," imports only the relieving of those that are in misery out of a merciful disposition. Grace may as well be showed to him that is not in misery as to him that is, and mercy may be showed to him whom we have some engage- ment upon us to relieve, as well as to him from whom we are wholly free in this kind ; so that the formal and strict significa- tions of the words "grace" and " mercy " are very different. Though acts of grace and acts of mercy are sometimes the same materially, and make, as it were, but one and the same stream or current, yet are they different in their springs or foun- tains. Therefore, when our Apostle presenteth God as saying unto Moses, " 1 will have mercy on whom I have mercy," he is to be understood of that kind of mercy, together with the fruits or efl'ects of it, which is purely gracious, no ways provoked, assisted, or strengthened by any motive or engagement from those to whom it is showed. From hence it follows that that mercy, the showing of which unto whom he pleaseth is here claimed prerogative-wise by God, is not so much, if at all, pro- voked, wrought upon, or drawn out, by the misery of those to 158 AN EXPOSITION OF whom it is showed, as by the wise, gracious, and good pleasure of God himself ; for otherwise, there are many thousands alto- gether as miserable as those on whom this mercy is showed by him, to whom, notwithstanding, it is not vouchsafed ; which is a plain argument that it is not of that kind of mercy, the exercise whereof is drawn out or procured by any thing whatsoever in those to whom it is showed, no, not by their misery itself; but of such a kind which, though it relieveth some of those that are miserable, in which respect it is called mercy, yet it doth it not because they are miserable, — for then it should relieve them all, as hath been said, — :but because it pleaseth itself or him in whom it resideth so to do. In this respect it differs very little or nothing at all from grace ; so that our Apostle, exchanging Moses's words, " I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious,'^ into, " 1 will have mercy on whom I will have mercy," was but his interpreter, and showeth that the grace of which he spake was of that kind of grace which as well disposeth the subject to the gratuitous or undeserved relief of such miserable ones as himself pleaseth, as to the advancement of their comforts or well-being, whose condition is at present prosperous and desirable, as the condition of Moses himself was when God spake the words unto him. From the testimony now opened, whei*ein God, as we have heard, asserteth his liberty of showing mercy to whom he pleas- eth, the Apostle infers thus : — Verse 16. So then it is not of him that ivilleth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy — As if he had said. Since it is God that hath and " will have mercy on whom he will have mercy," that is, as hath been said, will justify, adopt, save, and glorify whom, and what manner of persons himself pleaseth, it plainly follows that justification, with the rest of the blessings attending on it, is not, namely, in respect of the terms, law, or condition of it, of those, that is, by their appointment, or at their will or con- trivement, who are the most diligent and zealous observers of the law, much less of any other sort of men, but only of God, that is, by the counsel, will, pleasure, and appointment of God ; and this most equitably and upon the best and clear- est account of reason, namely, because it is he that showeth mercy, that is, who freely, of his own accord, without any engagement from men, or any other creatiu-e, affords unto TIIK NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 159 men the opportunity and means of justification, and thereby of life, peace, and salvation, and eternal happiness; whereas he was at full liberty whether he would ever have called or admitted any person of mankind whatsoever, being fallen, unto justification, and so unto those other blessings, upon any terms, condition, or conditions whatsoever. Those words, " it is," are inserted in the translation as necessary to be supplied, being omitted in the original, as easy to be supplied. The like ellipsis we shall have verse 32. That by " him that willeth," and " him that runneth," here opposed unto " God that showeth mercy," is meant the whole species or kind of such persons who are most zealously intent and bent in their spirits upon the keeping of the law, in order to, or upon hope of, their justification thereby, is, I presume, the sense of most if not all expositors ; or, however, is in itself a thing too manifest to be reasonably denied ; though I do not conceive only such as these, and no others, to be here meant. The Jews, with whom our Apostle had either only or chiefly to do in the place in hand, as we have been oft informed, were both great willers or desirers of justification, and great runners also, that is, laborious observers of the law, for the obtaining of it. This the Holy Ghost, both in the sequel of this chapter, (verses 31, 32,) and elsewhere in Scripture, plainly signifieth. " But Israel, which followed after the law of righteousness," — that is, by the figure hypallage, the righteousness of the law, if Calvin expoundeth it aright, — '' hath not attained the law of righteousnes ; " that is, hath not found the terms of justifica- tion, prescribed, and authorized by God. " Wherefore ? Be- cause they sought it," that is, righteousness or justification, " not by faith, but as it were by the works of the the law." But more of these words in their place ; at present we only observe from them that the Jews did Sjcoxsjv vo^^ov S/xaiocruvrjj, earnestly pursue a law by which they hoped to he justified. (See also Rom. X. 2, 3 ; Acts xv. 1 ; xxi. 20 ; and elsewhere.) So that there is little question but that by " him thatwilleth," and "him that runneth," the Apostle nieaneth such persons who were or shall be raised to the greatest height of desire after justifica. tion in the sight of God, and consequently after salvation also ; and who were and shall be most industrious, likewise, and active in their way for the obtaining of this crown.* In saying, in the • Earnestness and feiTOUv of engagement, in one kind or other, is elsewhere 160 AN EXPOSITION OF sense declared, that it is not of these, but of God, &c., he plainly intimateth that such persons as these are more apt and likely than others to obtrude terms of justification upon God, or, which amounteth to the same, to challenge and expect the great privilege or benefit of justification from God upon the account of their zeal and works. They that languish in their spirits, that are chill and cold in respect of any great thoughts or heat of desire after righteousness, and are withal neglective of such ways and works, upon the account whereof they can with some colour or pretext of reason demand or expect the reward of righteousness or justification from God, have no temptation upon them in this kind ; I mean, to obtrude the merit of works upon God for a rule or law by which he shall justify men. But great willers and runners are far more liable to have their feet taken in this snare, especially when they are " ignorant of the righteousness of God," as our Apostle speaks afterwards, and know not that God hath made faith in him through Jesus Christ, the law of justification unto the world. But, though by " him that willeth," and " him that runneth," in the words before us, the Apostle primarily, as hath been hinted, intendeth Jewish justiciaries, and such as trust to the law and their own righteousness therein for justification ; yet, that which he here affirmeth of these, namely, that justification is not of them, in the sense declared, " but of God that showeth mercy," is as true of them who will and run in the right way appointed by God himself for justification, namely, in the way of believing. For neither is justification any whit more of such willers and runners as these than of the others, inasmuch as true believers themselves are at no hand justified by any law or terms prescribed by themselves for their justification ; nor would faith or believing itself have justified them any whit more than the law or the works thereof, had it not been sanctified and established for such a purpose by a far greater power and authority than theirs, even by "him that showeth mercy." For it is the will, purpose, ordinance, or decree of God, not of be- lievers, by the efficacy, force, and power whereof faith in Christ becomes justifying ; according to that of our Saviour, " And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which expressed by the metaphor of ninning. (1 Cor. ix. 24, 2G ; Gal. v. 7; Psahii cxix. 32 ; to omit many other places.) THE XIXTH CltAi'TEll TO THE KOMAKS. 161 seeth the Son, and beJieveth on him, should have everlasting life," and, consequently, be justified in order hereunto. (John vi. 40. See upon the same account John i. 12 ; John iii. IG, &c.) From the premises, I presume, it is as clear as the sun that the Apostle, in the words yet before us, doth not speak of that which Divines commonly call preventing grace, nor of any thing pre- cedaneous either to believing or working, and, consequently, nei- ther of election from eternity, nor yet of any grace or power from God whereby to believe or the like, but of that which is subsequent to believing, as Paul affirmed, or to working, as the Jews, namely, justification, adoption, salvation, &c. ; so that his meaning, without dispute, is not either that election " is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth," &c., nor that faith or power to believe "is not of him that willeth," &c., but that justification is not of or from either or both of these, " but from Godwho showeth mercy." It is true, indeed, that neither election, whether from eternity or in time, nor yet faith or power to believe, are any whit more, sensu orthodoxo^ et scripturali, from " him that willeth," or from " him that runneth," than justification and adoption themselves ; that is, as they who are elected, with such an election as the Scripture owneth, be it what it will be, are not the authors, or principal efficients, or meritorious causes, of their election ; so neither are they any of these in respect of their faith or power to believe ; in this sense neither is election, nor faith, nor grace, " of him that willeth, nor of him that run- neth, but of God," &c.* But the series and line of discourse running all along the context evidently showeth that the Apos- tie here speaketh neither of election, nor of believing, nor of grace to beheve, but, as hath been oft said, of justification, adoption, &c. ; and besides, nothing can be more evident than that in the words in hand, " So then, it is neither of him that runneth," &c., he concludeth somewhat in opposition to his anta- gonists the Jews. Now there was no contest at all between them and him, either about election from eternity, or about either asuffi- • But thoiTgli neither election, nor faith, nor power to believe, be either originally or meritoriously of or from tho.^e who are elected and do believe ; yet, speaking of theii- election and believing in paiticular, they are from them subordinately or con- currently, namely, as by the grace of God preventing them, and vouchsafed imto them, they freely and willingly perform and siibmit imto those conditions or tei-ms, upon the performance whereof, as well beUenng as election, according to the counsel and decree of God, always follow. M 1G2 AN JiXl'OSlTlON OF ciency or non-sufBciency of power in men to believe ; but the solemn and famous contest between them was about justification, or the ground of claim to the inheritance and peculiar favour of God. Therefore the antecedent to this relative pronoun, "it," expressed in our translation, and understood in the original, " It is not of him," &c., is either justification, adoption, or the like ; not election or believinff. The like construction is observ- able elsewhere in this Epistle. " Therefore, it is of faith, that it might be by grace." (Rom. iv. 16.) Here also the words, " it is," are not found in the original, but left to be supplied by him that readeth ; and the substantive or antecedent, which, accord- ing to grammar exigency, must here sensify or relate unto the pronoun " it," cannot be either faith, as is evident, because then faith shovild be said to be of faith ; nor election, because election had not been so much as once named or hinted in the precedure of the discourse ; nor was there the least occasion of saying here election was not of faith. Therefore the unques- tionable antecedent to the pronoun " it," in this place, is jus- tification, or something including or importing it. (See also verse 32 of this chapter.) And thus we see how the Apostle argueth for the vindication of his doctrine concerning justification by faith, so far as it concerns those that are justified and obtain mercy according to it, from the grand imputation wherewith the Jews charged it, namely, of rendering God unrighteous. Before we proceed to his vindication of it from the same impu- tation in respect of those or of all those who are excluded from mercy or condemned by it, (verses I7, 18,) let us take know- ledge of some of the special heads of doctrine contained in the verses last opened. 1. Whereas the Jews, as the Apostle insinuates, (verse 14,) charged his doctrine of justification by faith that it made God unrighteous or unjust, inferring that upon this account it must needs be erroneous and false ; it may be observed, that even the greatest and most important truths are sometimes liable to such objections which veil their beauty and worth from the eyes of many intelligent men otherwise. (John i. 46 ; iii. 4, 9.) 2. From these words, " God forbid," (verse 14,) importing the Apostle's zeal in abhorring every doctrine which either expressly or by consequence chargeth God with unrighteous- ness ; it is further observable, that all such tenets or doctrines THK NINTH CHAPTKR TO THE ROMANS. lG3 vvliich reflect any matter of unrighteousness or hard dealing upon God ought to be the abhorring of a Christian souL (Rom. iii. 4, 5.) 3. Whereas God himself saith to Moses, " I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy," &c. ; the doctrine is, that God is absolutely and ultimately resolved to follow the counsel of his own will in and about the justification of men, and not to suffer himself to be imposed upon by any creature whatsoever in this behalf. (Eph. i. 11 ; Rom. iii. 22, 24, 25, 28, 30, &c.) 4. Whereas, to vindicate the righteousness of God in justify- ing those that believe, the Apostle insisteth only upon words spoken by himself, wherein he claims a liberty or right of power to justify whom or what manner of persons he pleaseth ; the observation from hence is, that God is a competent Judge, even in his own case. Or thus : Whatsoever God doeth or is resolved to do, is, both by the one and the other, unquestionably proved to be just. (Rom. iii. 4 ; Gen. xviii. 25.) 5. Whereas the Holy Ghost, according to the precedent exposition of verse 15, expresseth justification by showing or having mercy on men ; it is observable, that no act of grace from God towards his creature man preceding justification, nei- ther election, nor the giving of Christ to die for them, nor the vouchsafement of ability or means for believing, &c., exempteth him from being truly miserable. Hence is it that justification is termed the blessedness or blessed-making of a man. (Rom. iv. 7—9; Psalm xxxii. 1, 2.) 6. From the same consideration, namely, that the Holy Ghost expresseth justification by showing mercy ; it is further observable, that justification is an act of mercy or mere grace in God, notwithstanding the performance of that condition by men which God requireth of them in order thereunto. (Rom. iv. 16; Titus iii. 5—7 ; Eph. ii. 8.) 7- From these words, " So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth,'"' &c. ; (verse 16 ;) it is very observ- able, that men zealously devoted and addicted to any way what- soever of serving God are apt to think, and this with confidence, that they highly commend themselves unto him thereby, and must needs be approved of him more than others for the same. (John xvi. 2 ; Acts xxvi. 9, 10.) 8. And lastly : From those words, " But of God that showeth mercy," as they have been interpreted, this doctrine arisetb, M 2 104 AN EXPOSITION OK that the right of nominating and appointing the hiw or terms of justification most equitably appertaineth unto God upon this account, namely, because it is of his mere grace and mercy tliat men, having sinned, are called and admitted unto justi- cation upon any terms whatsoever. (Rom. iii. 21, 22, 30; John vi. 40.) 17 For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee, [or, on thee,] and that my name might be declared through- out all the earth. 18 Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. The Apostle having from that expression of God unto Moses, lately opened, " I will have mercy on vvhom I will have mercy,'" vindicated his doctrine of justification by faith from any repug- nancy unto, or inconsistency with, the justice or righteousness of God, wherewith the Jews charged it, (verse 14,) in respect of those tliat are justified and saved by it, in the words now before us he proceeds unto the like vindication of the same doc- trine in respect of those who in the end come to be condemned i)y it and perish. P^or if there should be found any thing unrighteous or unjust, either in the justification and salvation of those who are justified and saved according to the tenor and import of such a doctrine, or in the condemnation and reproba- tion of those who are condemned and perish by it, as well the one as the other, would evince it to be a doctrine inconsistent with the righteousness of God, and, consequently, erroneous and false. Therefore it concerned our Apostle to clear the inno- cency and righteousness of it, as well in respect of the condem- nation of the latter as of the justification of the former. Having performed this, as hath been said, (verses 15, 16,) he comes in this verse IJ to perform the other. The words are some- what obscure, especially in their relation and accommodation to the Apostle's purpose, and, accordingly, as it commonly befals passages of like difficulty, have been troubled with variety of] interpretations. We shall, God assisting, for the clearing of all things relating to them, 1. Consider some circumstances under which the words here mentioned, " Even for this same purpose Tilt; NINTH ('HAl'TKH TO TllK HOIMANS. 1 G5 liavc I raised thee up,'" &c., were spoken. 2. We shall open the dialect or phrase here used, and so give the sense and meaning of the words. 3. And lastly : We shall show how the said words and passage accommodate the Apostle in that cause which he is now pleading, and how they prove that there is no unrighteousness in God's reprobating or condemning who or what manner of persons he pleaseth, and, consequently, not in his reprobating or condemning those who shall not believe, his pleasure being to reprobate and condemn these, and all these, and these only. 1 . For the first of these there are three circumstances consider- able for the better understanding of the words. (1.) The person speaking. (2.) The person spoken unto. (3.) The time v/hcn they were spoken. (1.) The Apostle saying, that " the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh,*" he, implieth, that the words were spoken by God himself, who is the Author of the Scripture. Elsewhere, upon the same account, what God speaketh unto men in or by the Scripture, the Scripture itself is said to speak or say ; as some- times, also, what he speaketh by men, the men by whom he speaketh are said to speak it. (See llom. x. 11 ; xi. 2; Gal. iii. 8, 22 ; 1 Tim. v. 18, &c.) Now the place where the Scrip- ture, or God in the Scripture, speaketh the words under consi- deration is Exodus ix. 16, where we find that Moses was commanded by God to speak, amongst other things, the words specified unto Pharaoh. (2.) Concerning the person to whom the words were spoken by God, he is expressly said to have been Pharaoh. But because, about these times, the name of Pharaoh was appropriated unto the Kings of Egypt, respectively, in their successions,* as after- wards the name of Ptolemy, the individual person here meant cannot be known merely by the name attributed unto him. Only, in the negative, certain it is, that this Pharaoh was not he of whom Stephen speaketh, saying, that he " dealt subtilly with their kindred, and evil intreated their fathers, so that they cast out their young children, to the end they might not live:'"' • Pharao nomcn erat Rer/iim apud Egyplios, sicui et apud Romanos Rec/es Augusti appellantur. — AsfBROs. in locum. Amhrosius nnvotavit hoc loco, novien Pharaonis non fuisse proprhim, sed potius cognomen ornniuvi Rrgnm JEgyjiti ; ilks enini turn omnes dictos fuisse Pharaones, ut postea died sunt Piolomcsi, cum Marc- dones rerum potircntur. Qucmadmodnm Impcratores Romani dicti sunt Cmsares, (lilt ^iiigHsti. — r. M.\RT. in lor. 166 AN exposition: of And so neither that Pharaoh who lay in wait for the life of Moses, and caused him to flee the country, and to betake him- self to the land of Midian for his safety. For it is expressly said, (Exod. ii. 23,) that this Pharaoh was dead before any thing was given in charge by God, either unto Moses or any other person, about the dismission or deliverance of his people out of Egypt. And probable it is, that the Pharoah, after whom we are now inquiring, was either the next or next but one in succession unto the former ; from the beginning of whose reign, until the reign of our Pharaoh, there passed, as is con- ceived, the space of about fourscore years.* It doth not appear that this Pharaoh walked in the steps of his predecessor, in causing the male children of the Israelites to be put to death ; but he exercised another kind of cruelty towards them, whereby at once, as he conceived, he consulted both the safety and security of his kingdom, against the strength and power of the people of Israel, which seems to have been the chief design of him that would suffer none of their male children to live, and, likewise, the increasing of his revenues and enriching of himself- This was by grinding their faces, by oppressing them with an intolerable servitude, compelling them by stripes and threaten- ings unto hard labour, and this with little or no consideration of wages, or otherwise, for their work. This is that Pharaoh who was oft admonished from God by the ministry of Moses and Aaron, who also wrought sundry miracles in his sight, for the confirmation of their embassy, to suffer his people to depart out of his land. Notwithstanding, though he sometimes, upon the incumbency of some of the plagues and judgments inflicted upon his land and people, seemed to relent, and to be willing that the people of God should have liberty to depart, yet, soon after the removing or ceasing of the stroke, became the same man that he was before, and still detained this people in their most miserable bondage and thraldom, contrary to the express order and command of God, sent and signified unto him in that behalf This is that Pharaoh to whom God said, " For this end have I raised thee up,'"" &c. • Non rex ille, sub quo Moses natus, nee is, sub quo exierat jEgypto, sed successor eorum secundum vel tertius, Erat enim Moses annoruin octoginta antequam iii. Aiyyptum, redlit e.v Madlaii. — Leonard Maril'S in Exod. ii. 23. Et revera constat alium fuisse Pkaraonem Regeni JEyypti, cum Josephtis eo descenderet, alium autem istum, de quo nunc agimus, cujus odium el crudelitas erga Hebrwos describilur in Exod. — Pet. Mart, in locum. THE NINTH CHAPTEU TO THK ROMANS. 167 (3.) And lastly : For tlie time wherein the said vvords were spoken unto Pharaoh, evident it is, from Exod. ix. 16, that it was after the sixth plague or stroke inflicted upon hini and his land, and when another, the seventh, was now at the door, and ready to be inflicted also. A little before the infliction and iramission hereof, God dispatcheth an admonitory message unto him by the hand of Moses, wherein he thrcateneth and declareth that though he had spared his life hitherto, having been as a dead man before him for his high rebellion, yet, unless he shall timely repent, set his people at liberty, and suifer them peace- ably to depart, he will draw out his power to a higher degree against him, and punish him yet more severely than he had done hitherto, that so he may make it known unto all the world, he is a God great and terrible above what the world con- ceived of him before. The substance of this message is con- tained in the words before us. 2. For the words themselves, the tenor of them, as we have heard, is this : " Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might show my power in thee,'"' &c. The Apostle's preface to them, " For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh,'"' we have in part opened already, showing, that when he aflirmeth that the Scripture spake thus unto Pharoah, his meaning was, that God spake it, and that the Scripture only relateth or reporteth it as so spoken by him. We have likewise showed who or what that Pharaoh was to whom they were spoken. The ratiocinative or causal particle ya.^, for, " For the Scrip- ture saith unto Pharaoh," &c., connecteth the words following with those preceding ; yet, haply, not with those immediately preceding, (verse 16,) but rather with those, "God forbid," (verse 14,) namely, that any doctrine should be taught by men, or any man, which importeth any " unrighteousness with God," although either of these connexions may stand. If we conceive the word to relate to verse 14, the import of the connexion is this : The Apostle having there peremptorily denied that his doctrine of justification by faith any ways inferreth any " unrigh- teousness with God," and having proved this in respect of those that are saved according to the tenor of it, (verses 15 — 170 he proceeds to a like vindication of it in respect of those that perish, according to the sense and import of it ; " For," saith he, " the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh," &c. ; as if he had said. There can be no " unrighteousness with God" in condemning 16'8 AX Kxposrnox of or destroying those who shall not believe ; " for," or because, " the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh,"" &c. ; meaning, that God's proceedings in judgment ngainst Pharaoh, a stubborn and impenitent unbeliever, even to destruction, is a clear argument and proof, that he may justly condemn and destroy whom he pleaseth ; and that his pleasure in this kind is, to condemn and destroy impenitent unbelievers ; otherwise he would not have destroyed Pharaoh upon this account. If we approve of that connexion, which referreth the said particle " for" to the words immediately preceding, " So then it is not of him that willeth, but of God that showeth mercy," (verse 16,) the coherence riseth thus : It is a plain case that the law or terms upon which men are justified and saved are not moulded or framed by, do not pro- ceed from, men, though never so zealously intent and bent upon a course of justification in their own way, but by and from God only, who showeth mercy and freedom of grace unto them in their justification, because " the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh," &c., meaning, that inasmuch as God himself claimeth a liberty or right of condemning whom he pleaseth, as appeareth in his proceedings against Pharaoh, evident it is, that he hath a like right and liberty of justifying whom he pleaseth. For he that hath a right of power to condemn whom he pleaseth must, of necessity, and as it were of course, have a like power to justify or absolve whom he pleaseth. The reader is at liberty to choose which of these coherencies of the words he pleaseth : The words I mean are, Even for this same pin'pose have I raised thee up, S^c. — Ori eif uvTo TUTo s^YjyEipa as, &c., that is, that for this same thing have I raised thee zip, 4^c., meaning, for this end or pur- pose. The particle " even" appears not in the original. For the regular understanding of this verse concerning Pharaoh, and the Apostle's drift in it, we shall endeavour these two things : ] . Distinctly to show and declare the end or purpose for which God himself here saith that he raised up Pharaoh. 2. To open the sense and true import of this phrase, E^riystpa. as, I have raised thee up. By a diligent and narrow contemplation of the end for which God is said to have raised up Pharaoh, we shall be the better able to conceive aright of this act of God done by him in order thereunto. The end for which God raised up Pharaoh is here expressed by this subordination. 1. That he might show his power in THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 169 him. 2. That hereby his " name might be declared throughout all the earth." First. Evident it is that the power of God, of which l.c here speaks, is that punishing or revenging power which soon after he exerted in Pharaoh's destruction. This appears by comparing herewith, " What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known,"" &c. (Verse 22.) These two phrases, " showing his wrath," and " making his power known," are mutually exegetical, and the one doth expound the other. So that that power which God did intend to show in or on Pharaoh was the power of his anger, as David calleth it ; (Psalm xc. 11 :) that is, how strong, and mighty, and terrible above measure he is to punish and take vengeance when he pleaseth , and the nature of the sin and provocation of offenders will bear it. Whereas he adds this for the reason why he purposed to make his power known on Pharaoh, namely, that his " name might" hereby " be declared throughout all the earth;" he sig- nifieth, that the punishment or judgment which he meant to inflict upon Pharaoh should be most extraordinary and terrible, insomuch that the tidings thereof should make all the world to tremble, and himself known to be a God exceeding terrible in executing vengeance upon impenitent and obdurate sinners, though never so great and mighty on the earth. But although the punishment here denounced against Pharaoh, as- intended by God to be inflicted on him and on his people, be, in the letter of the threatening, chiefly meant of those outward plagues which were successively inflicted upon him and the Egyptians, and more especially of that tinal overthrow wherein both he and a mighty host of his men with him perished in the Red Sea, yet, there is little question to be made but that these temporal and external judgments, not working a sound repentance in those who were summoned to such a repentance by them, were fore- runners of and accompanied with the vengeance of eternal fire. Yet, whether Pharaoh himself, or any of the Egyptians with him, might or did truly repent, in the immediate approaches of death, which is not impossible for any man free from the guilt of the unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost to do, althouo-h I judge them to be exceeding few who do it, since I find it nowhere revealed or determined in the Scripture, neither shall I determine. However, as we reasoned before concerning Esau, that although it be said that God hated him, yet it cannot be 170 AN EXPOSITION 01' proved from hence, nor from any other Scripture, that therefore he was a reprobate and finally perished ; much less that he was reprobated by God from eternity ; and further, that though he should not be supposed a reprobate in this sense, yet he may, ■with convcniency enough, be a type of those who are or prove such ; in like manner, we affirm concerning Pharaoh, 1. That it cannot convincingly be proved from the Scriptures that he perished everlastingly, or died under a sentence of reprobation ; much less can it be proved that he was reprobated by God from eternity. 2. That though it should not be supposed that he perished eternally, yet may he in his story properly and com- modiously enough be held forth by the Apostle as a type of those who do and will so perish. But this by the way. It being granted on all hands as a thing unquestionable, that God's end or intent in raising up Pharaoh, (of which phrase afterwards in its place,) was the showing of his power on him, and the glorifying of his great name hereby throughout the world, it is a question of most worthy import, and the resolution of it of absolute necessity, for a clear and thorough understand- ing of the passage in hand, whether this end and intent of his was precise and absolute, so that nothing that Pharaoh was in any capacity, under any possibility of doing, could possibly have hindered or taken off God from showing his power in him, that is, in his destruction, &c : Or, whether it was conditional only ; conditional, I mean, in this sense, namely, that in case Pharaoh had repented, whilst the patience of God yet waited on him, and had suffered the people of God peaceably to depart out of his land, and not followed after them to bring them back, whether, I say, upon this supposition, God would, notwithstanding, have showed his power in destroying him, as now he did.* god's end in ItAISING UP PHARAOH NOT POSITIVE OR ABSOLUTE. The far greatest part of expositors take no knowledge at all of any such question as this occasioned from the place ; but according to the ducture of the common notion of an election of persons under a personal consideration, from eternity, hold on their course of expounding, only attempting and straining, • In what seni-e all the intentions and decrees of God are absolute and uuoliange- able, is fully cleared, Redemption Redeemed, pp. 65, 209 ; and bow tlie_v caiuiot be defeated, p. 215 ; and again, how some of them may, pp. 22, 33, 215. THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. I7I though in vain, to bring over the words to comport with this notion. For, 1. Here is not the least intimation of any end propounded by God to himself from eternity about Pharaoh, but only in time ; and this after his refusal to obey the express con)mand of God for the dismission of his people, notwithstand- ing the certainty of this command, as from himself, had been miraculously confirmed unto him by Moses. Nor, 2. Is there the least or lightest hint given, that the end of God here men- tioned, in raising up Pharaoh when he did, namely, the show- ing of his power in him, was upon any such terms proposed or conceived by him, that he meant actually to accomplish or effect it, against all possible interveniencies whatsoever, or par- ticularly whether Pharaoh should have obeyed his command by letting his people go, or no. Nor, 3. Is any thing insinuated, as if Pharaoh had been under an absolute impossibility of yield- ing this obedience unto that his command. Nor, 4. Doth the context or scope of the Apostle, which, as we have formerly showed, is to vindicate the righteousness of God, in con- demning and destroying whom he pleaseth, as, namely, wicked, stubborn, and impenitent unbelievers, require the assertion, intimation, or supposition, of any such thing here, as that Pharaoh should be peremptorily or irreversibly doomed by God from eternity to eternal destruction, the said vindication being sufficiently asserted and made good only by God''s claiming a liberty or right of power to destroy Pharaoh, or any other per- son, in case he shall remain obdurately wicked and unbelieving unto the end. 5. Though I am strong of belief, upon some considerations, that Pharaoh did miscarry and perish, not only temporally, but eternally also ; yet can it not be clearly or demon- stratively proved from any Scripture, that he did thus miscarry. 6. God himself declares and promiseth, that when he shall threaten wicked men with any judgment, or with death, in case they repent before the stroke cometh, he will repent also, and not bring the judgment threatened upon them. " At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it ; if that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them." ( Jer. xviii. 7? 8.) And, soon after : " Thus saith the Lord ; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you : return ye now every one from his evil way, and 172 AK KXPOSITIOS OK make your ways and your doings good ;" (verse 11 ;) meaning, that then he would not execute the evil, which he had devised, that is, purposed, intended, and projected, against them. (See also Zech. xii. 1, 2; Amos iv. 12; with many the like.) Now this message of God unto Pharaoh, " For this same purpose have I raised thee up, to show my power in thee," &c., is mina- tory or threatening; and so the evil therein threatened prevent- able by repentance. 7- There is nothing more frequent and usual in the Scriptures than for the Holy Ghost to express such purposes and intentions of God simply, absolutely, and without any specification or mention of a condition, which yet are conditionally to be understood, as the event and issue of things hath in many cases made fully manifest. This message God sent to Nineveh by the Prophet Jonah : " Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown." (Jonah iii. 4.) In this pas- sage God's intent to destroy Nineveh is positively, and without condition, expressed ; yet the event plainly showeth that this intention of his was conditional, and not meant to be put in execution but only in case of their impenitency, upon the denunciation of it unto them. The like is evident in that mes- sage to Eli : " Wherefore the Lord God of Israel saith, I said indeed," that is, I really or verily intended, and promised accordingly, " that thy house, and the house of thy father, should walk before me," namely, in the office and dignity of the priesthood, " for ever : but now the Lord saith, Be it far from me," &c. (1 Sam. ii. 30.) * And it is matter of ready observa- tion, that the threatenings of God against sinners in every kind are almost every where in Scripture positively and assertively expressed, without mention of any condition, as of faith, repent- ance, or the like, by which the great evil or misery intended and included in them may be prevented ; which conditions, nevertheless, are to be understood ; otherwise the mind of God in such threatenings will utterly, and with imminent danger to the precious souls of men, be mistaken. " Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God ? Be not deceived : neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall • Promissiones et comminaliones non semper prcBcise ct Kara to prtrov, sed s(BI>c ronditionate et hypothelice stint accipiendce,etiam si verba (iLsolute posila esse videan- tur. Sec more of this, Redemption Redeemed, pp. 209, 210, 217, 222, &c. JHE NINTH CJHAl'TKll TO TIIK ROxMANS. 1^3 inherit the kingdom of God.'" (1 Cor.vi. 9,10.) The counsel, pur- pose, and intentions of God for the destruction of all the several kinds of sinners here specified are positively and absolutely, in respect of words, denounced ; which yet we all know are con- ditionally to be understood, and with the reserve or supposal only of final impenitency. Places of like character and phrase, see Eph. V. 6 ; Murk xvi. 16 ; John iii. 36 ; Matt. v. 19, &c. So that to understand this message of God unto Pharaoh conditionally, " For this same purpose have I raised thee np, to show my power in thee," &c., as, namely, " in case thou shall remain stub- born and impenitent unto the end," is every way consonant to the Scriptures. 8. And lastly : To understand the said mes- sage otherwise, and as if God's intent in raising up Pharaoh here mentioned had been peremptory, positive, and absolute, so that, notwithstanding Pharaoh should have behaved himself never so penitently, submissively, and obediently, under or upon this message declared unto him, yet God would have showed his power, as now he did, in destroying him, doth not only oppose the main stream and current of the Scriptures, together with that most gracious manifesto published by God himself unto the world, (Jer. xviii. 7, 8,) lately mentioned, but is repugnant also to that greater and more beloved end of God, here likewise expressed, namely, the declaration of his name throughout all the earth. For, questionless, by this declaration of his name, God doth not simply or only mean a publication or making known of his mighty power, whereby he is able to crush or destroy his creature, but the making known of this power, together with his righteousness or just severity in the exercise of it, for the destruction of all impenitent and stubborn sinners, who will not be reclaimed in due time. Now, in case Pharaoh should have repented, and brought forth fruit worthy repentance, visible to the world, when God had showed his power in destroying him, it would not have been the true name of God, or any name v/orthy him, that would hereby have been declared throughout the world ; because it must needs have signified that as he is dreadfully irresistible in his power, so is he wont to exert and make use of it for the destruction of those who truly repent and submit unto him, in case they have for- merly rebelled and been disobedient. Certainly God doth not intend or project, by one means or other, such a representation of himself as this in the world. 174 AN KXPOSITION 0¥ If it be objected and said, " But God's intent was, that Pharaoh should not repent, or at least foresaw that he would not repent; and, upon the foundation of this his foresight, resolved peremptorily to show his power in his ruin ; " to this I answer, 1. It cannot be proved from any Scripture, that God's intent was, especially from eternity, no, nor yet from the beginning of his treaty with him, that Pharaoh should not repent. Nay, 2. Though it should be granted that God foresaw that Pharaoh would not repent, (albeit in strictness and propriety of speech God doth not foresee any thing, but only seeth and beholdeth all things as present,) yet it must be granted that he foresaw, likewise, that Pharaoh might have repented, if he had pleased. For Pharaoh was under no more, no other, necessity of non-repenting by means of the foresight of God that he would not repent, than he would have been under, in case it could and should be supposed that God had not foreseen it. It is a maxim delivered by Austin long since, and hath been generally received by men of best learning, judgment, and insight into the Scriptures, that " God by his foreknowledge doth not necessitate or constrain the coming to pass of the things foreknown by him." Therefore, it doth not follow from God's foresight of Pharaoh's non-repentance, that his intent was that he should not repent, or that he decreed his non-repentance. In that sense wherein the Scriptures ascribe intentions or desires unto God, he may be said to have intended Pharaoh's repent- ance, and upon this his preservation, notwithstanding his fore- knowledge of his obduration and impenitency. For, 3. The nature and proper tendency of those miracles which God commanded Moses to work in Pharaoh's sight, together with the explication of the end for which God enabled and sent him to work them, which was, that Pharaoh by this means might certainly know that that message or command to suffer the children of Israel to depart out of his land, which was signi- fied unto him by Moses, was from God ; the nature, I say, and proper tendency of these being to work Pharaoh to a ready compliance with and obedience unto that command of God, plainly evinceth that God's intent concerning him was that he should have obeyed. For though God sometimes, as David saith, maketh a fruitful land barren, " for the wickedness of them that dwell therein," (Psalm cvii. 34,) yet his primary THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 1^5 intention in planting any man in a fruitful land is not to starve or famish him, or to slay him with hunger. And it is none of the worst sayings of the Synod of Dort, that " the efficacy of the helps or means of grace," vouchsafed by God unto men, "is to be" measured or "judged of by the nature of the benefit offered, and by the manifest word of God, not by the event or abuse of them." * 4. God's express command imposed upon Pharaoh to let his people go, together with his often threatening him, and this very terribly, in case he should disobey, and not let them go ; to which we may add, his constant execution of these threaten- ings accordingly ; these, I say, both divisim, and especially conjunctim, plainly show that God's intent concerning Pharaoh was not that he should rebel, much less finally persist in his rebellion, but that he should obey, and let the people go. For doth any man command, and that with all seriousness and gravity, yea, and under severe penalties in case of disobedience, that which he neither intends nor desires should be done ? Nay, doth any man that is in earnest command that which is quite con- trary to what he intends or desires should be effected ? Therefore, certainly, God did not intend Pharaoh's disobedience or rebel- lion, but the contrary. Yea, the native and proper tendency of all those applications which God made unto Pharaoh, to pre- vail with him to suffer his people peaceably to depart out of his land, sufficiently appeareth by those yieldings and relentings of heart which they wrought in him once and again, however he hardened himself again afterwards. (See Exod. viii. 25, 28 ; ix. 27 ; X. 16 ; xii. 31, 32.) These inclinations and willingnesses in Pharaoh to let the people go were the genuine and proper effects of those means which God used to make him willing thereunto, not by fits and starts, but with a composed uni- formity and perseverance. 5. He that is " not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance," which the Apostle Peter expressly affirms of God, (2 Peter iii. 9,) could not be willing, much less intend, that Pharaoh should perish, or persist in impenitency. 6. Disobedience and rebellion against just and righteous * Ex natura heneficii oblati, et verba Dei riperlissimo Judicandum est de illis gratia auxiliis, quce hominibus suppeditantur, ?ion autem ex eventu aut ahusu.— SvN. Dort., part ii., p. 128. ]7t> AM EXrOSlTIOX OF laws are abhorrings to the soul of God ; and therefore can be no objects of his intentions or decrees. Whoever intended or decreed such a thing which is contrary to what he approveth, taketh pleasure, or delights in? No man ever yet, being in the possession of his senses, though but common and ordinary, intended or decreed his own sorrow, or any thing contrary to what he approveth.* But two things, it is like, will be here objected: 1. That God often said that he would " harden Pharaoh's heart, that he should not let the people go." (Exod. iv. 21 ; vii. 3, 13, &c.) If so, did he not intend his hardening, and, consequently, his disobedience and ruin .'' 2. If God did not intend his disobe- dience and impenitency, why did he not show him mercy, taking some effectual course to prevent them ? First, to the first, I answer. That when God saith that he will harden Pharaoh's heart, &c., the meaning is not, either, 1. That by any positive, much less by any forcible or compulsory, action, in one kind or other, he would cause Pharaoh's heart to become obdurate or hard : This is granted on all hands. Or, 2. That he would withdraw his grace or Spirit from him to such a degree, that by means hereof it should become impossible for him not to be hardened. If this be affirmed, it clearly followeth that until this act of God, whereby Pharaoh's heart was hardened, he was, by means of the grace and Spirit of God in him, in a sufficient capacity to have repented ; otherwise there could be no occasion for God to withdraw his Spirit from him, in order to his obduration or impenitency ; nor can such a withdrawing as this be proved from the Scriptures. Or, 3. That he meant to withhold the Spirit of grace from him to any such degree, that he would leave him under an absolute impossibility of repentance. For, besides that such a withholding as this cannot be proved from the Scriptures, nor by any good reason, that persons, even after a long course of disobedience and rebellion against God, are yet in a capacity, or possibility at least, of repenting and submitting unto God,-f- is fully evident from Ezek. xii. 2, 3, compared, and 2 Chron. xxxvi. 15, 16 ; to omit many other places of like import. So that when God said he would harden Pharaoh's • Jn jirimis nefas est dicere, Deum aliquid nisi bonum praelestinare. — Arc. Dc PreeJesUnatione Dei, c. 2. See more of thi.s, Redemption Redeemed, p. 4/3. 1 See fimLer groimd for this, jirjreement and Distance of Brethren, pp. 61 — 6?. THE XIS'Tir CUAI'TEU TO TIIK ROMANS. 177 heart, his mcanhig was not, that he would interpose, either by any such action or non-action, whereby Pharaoirs heart must of necessity be hardened ; but either, (1.) That he would proceed or deal after such a manner with him, as, namely, by sparing his person for a long time, by a gracious removing^ and taking off, time after time, those several judgments or jjlagues which he brought upon his land, so giving him respite and ease between plague and plague, and by such gradual withdrawings of his Spirit from him, as by the rule of his pro- ceedings in like cases his sin required, that it was none other- wise like, but that Pharaoh, being a man of a proud, haughty, and profane spirit, would be hardened thereby, and persist in the habitual stubbornness of his heart against God ; or else, (2.) That he would take the course specified with him, upon which he certainly knew or foresaw that he would be hardened. Such acts are frequently in Scripture ascribed sometimes unto God, and sometimes unto men ; some occasion whereof only they administer, though they act nothing positively or directly, in order to the production of them, no, nor yet intend their production. Thus God is said to have turned the heart of the Egyptians " to hate his people, to deal subtilly with his servants,'' (Psalm cv. 25,) only by those providential acts of his grace towards them immediately preceding : " And he increased his people greatly, and made them stronger than their enemies.'" (Compare herewith Exod. i. 7 — ^^5 ^c.) It cannot reasonably be imagined, much less substantially proved, that God did multiply and increase his people with an intent hereby to expose them to the hatred of their enemies, or to exasperate the spirits of the Egyptians against them ; only, by multiplying them so greatly, he ministered such an occasion unto them, which so wrought upon their evil and corrupt hearts, that it provoked their passion of hatred against them. And when God intended and was about thus to multiply them, he might have said, and this in sufficient propriety of speech, " I will exasperate and provoke the Egyptians against my people," as here he saith, " I will harden Pharaoh's heart,"" Sec Nor doth it follow, that because God knew or foresaw, though neither knowledge nor foreknowledge are properly or formally in God,* that such a providence of his would raise up a spirit of envy in • See Redemption Redeemed, pp. 29, 30, N ^']H AN EXPOSITION 01' the Egyptians against his people, that therefore he intended such a thing ; nor did he intend or design the fall of Adam in or by creating the tree of the knowledge of good and evil in Paradise, with pleasant fruit upon it; although he knew the fall of Adam would be the consequent of it, and occasioned by it. For the intentions, as also the decrees, of God have only that which is good and approved by him for their object, as we lately said, and, consequently, not that which is evil or sinful. Other texts of Scripture, where the subministration only of an occasion upon which any thing is acted by another, entitleth the subministrator in this kind to the said action, though he intends it not, are these, and probably many others : 2 Sam. xvi. 10 ; ]Matt. v. 32 ; John xii. 40; Rom. xiv. 15, 20 ; 1 Cor. viii. 13 ; Gen. xlv. 7, 8. So that there is nothing in the first reason drawn from these words of God to Moses, " But I will harden Pharaoh's heart," &c., sufficient to prove that either Pharaoh"'s hardening, final impenitency, or destruction by it, were intended by God. Nor is there any whit more, if not much less, in the latter. For though Pharaoh be here brought upon the stage by the Apostle, as an instance or proof of that just power or liberty which God hath, as well to harden whom, or what manner of persons, he pleaseth, as to have mercy on whom he pleaseth, as appears from the next verse, yet neither will this prove that he simply and absolutely intended Pharaoh's hardening, or destruc- tion upon it; but only that he intended to hold such a course of dispensations towards him, which, his voluntary pride, arro- gance, ignorance, and contempt of God, considered, was very likely to harden him, yea, and which God knew would actually and de facto harden him, and this to destruction, as was lately touched. For the Scripture, speaking of God's intentions, especially those that are primary and antecedent, never makes them concurrent with such events or productions of his pro- vidences or dispensations which are accidental and occasional only, but only with those which are natural and proper, and which the said dispensations are of themselves, and when not abused, apt to produce. Thus our Saviour himself speaketh : " For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world ; but that the world through him might be saved." (John iii. 17) Though a very great part of the world, yea, the far greater part of it, if we speak of men and women actually THE NTNTII CTIAPTF.ll TO THE ROMANS. \'J0 capable of believing, will, in respect of tbe event, be condemned and perish, and this upon the harder terms because of Christ ; yet because the gift of Jesus Christ was an apt, proper, and direct means to save the world, and no such means either to condemn or to increase the condemnation of the world, there- fore he asserts and appropriates the intentions, the primary intentions, of God in this gift unto the former, and removes them from the latter. And whereas elsewhere he saith, " For judgment," sjj xpifx^a, unto judgment, " am I come into this world," &c., (John ix. 39,) he clearly speaketh only of the event and issue of his coming, and that which is accidental thereunto, as Calvin himself, with the generality of interpreters, expoundeth it.* (See further, upon the like account, John x. 10 ; Matt. viii. 11 ; John i. 7? &c.) Now, the hardening of Fharaoh's heart being no natural, proper, or direct eflect of God's dispensations in one kind or other towards him. but acci- dental and occasional only, contrary, indeed, to the native tendency and bent of the said dispensations, caused rather by Pharaoh himself, his voluntary ignorance, pride, covetousness, profaneness, &c., than by any of them, the said dispensations, it cannot, according to Scripture notion concerning God, be resolved into his intentions or will, (primary, I mean, or ante- cedent.) as the cause thereof; yea, the truth is, the nature and property of the means considered, wherein God applied himself unto Pharaoh, he may be said to have intended his repentance, peace, and safety, yea, and to have gone very far, and to have done in some respect as much or more in order to their pro- curing of them than he doth for the generality of those v/ho are brought to repentance and salvation by him. If it be demanded, " But if God did not intend the harden- ing of Pharaoh's heart, how comes his case to be an argument or proof with our Apostle of that just liberty which God claim- eth to harden whom he pleaseth ? Can the effecting of any thing accidentally argue a just liberty to effect or do it, in him who upon such terms effecteth it .'''" to this I answer, It is true, the doing of a thing casually or accidentally by men doth not argue a liberty or right of power in them to do it. The slaying of a man accidentally is no necessary argument • Quod autcm alibi docsl CJiristus, se in judicium venisse, quod vocatur Petru, scandali, quod dicitur positus in multorum ruinam, id accidentcde est vel (ut ita loquar) adventitium, — Calvin, in John iii. 17. N 2 180 AN KXrOSlTIOX OF tliat he that did it hath or had a justness of power, simply and directly, and with the foreknowledge of the event, to do it ; althougli it may very possibly be, that he had a justness of power to do that by which he accidentally slayeth this man. Yea, that which is yet more, supposing that act by which the man is accidentally slain was matter of duty in him that did it, which may very possibly be, and that the event itself, the slaying of the man, had been revealed beforehand by God unto him, he had a justness of power, at least, this foreknowledge of the event notwithstanding, to have done that which he did, and, consequently, by way of event, to slay the man. Now, though nothing can be done by God casually or accidentally, in such a sense of the words wherein they are commonly applied unto men, namely, without a knowledge of the event, yet very many things are done by him casually and accidentally in this sense, namely, as the words signify the doing, effecting, or bringing to pass of such a thing which hath no natural affinity with the means by which it is effected by such an Agent, who, in good propriety of speech, may, notwithstanding, be said to effect it. For otherwise the truth is, that there is no effect or event what- soever, not that which seems and is most casual and accidental, but which, amongst all the means and causes by which it is produced, taken together, will be found to be produced by some, one or more, which are apt and proper to produce it. But therefore some events are called such, (I mean casual and accidental,) and this properly and truly, because some of the causes which contribute towards their production, and without the contribution whereof it is not like they would have been effected, are in themselves of a contrary tendency, and would not have contributed any thing towards the producing of such effects, but the contrary, had they not fallen in conjunction with, and been overruled by, such other causes, which were natural and proper by the opportunity of this conjunction, to produce them. Thus the destruction of fools is ascribed to their prosperity : " The prosperity of fools shall destroy them ;" (Prov. i. 32 ;) not because prosperity, or the bountifulness of God in the good things of this life unto men, hath, in the nature of it, any such malignant property which is destructive either to the peace, comfort, or lives of men, the natural and proper tendency and ducture of it being to lead men unto God, and so to preserve them from destruction ; but because, meeting THE NINTH OHAl'TEIl TO THE ROMANS. 181 with the vanity, weakness, pride, and inconsiderateness of men, it occasioneth strange and fond conceptions of mind and thought in them, which become snares unto them, enticing them into such ways and practices, which prove their ruin in the end. Thus our Apostle, describing the proper genius and work of the goodness of God, to ^pi^fov t« 0£«, towards men, affirms it to be eig /xexavojav aysiv, to lead them to repentance, (Rom. ii. 4,) which, nevertheless, ai3 in the words immediately following, he teacheth in effect, meeting with a hard and unrelenting heart, occasioneth men to " treasure up wrath unto themselves against the day of wrath." By the way, when Solomon saith, that " the prosperity of fools shall destroy them," he doth not suppose that these fools would certainly have been blessed or have escaped in case they had not met with prosperity by the way ; for certain it is that many perish through foolishness, in an adverse or unprosperous condition. But his meaning is, that when prosperity comes upon such persons who are sinfully foolish and vain, it fre- quently occasioneth and produceth both their more speedy as ' likewise their more signal and exemplary ruin. In like manner, when God is said to have hardened Pharaoh's heart, that is, to have raised him up, — for the Apostle, as we shall hear in due time, signifieth but one and the same action in God by these two expressions, — and upon it to have showed his power in his destruction, it neither, 1. Supposeth that Pharaoh's heart was not hardened until God hardened it : The contrary here- unto is evident from the story. Nor yet, 2. That Pharaoh's heart would not have been further hardened, unless God had taken some such course as now he did thus to harden it ; for many men's hearts are and have been hardened to a great degree, without any such interposures of God as those whereby Pharaoh became so fearfully hardened. Nor yet, 3. That Pharaoh would not have perished or been destroyed, unless God had hardened him, as now he did, or showed his power in his destruction, as now likewise he did. All that the said expressions imply, as to such matters as these, are, 1. That God did providentially apply himself unto Pharaoh upon such terms whereby he became hardened to destruction. 2. That had he not been hardened to such a high degree as he was, yet he might have perished, only God could not, according to those principles of wisdom and justice by which he governs the world, 182 AN EXrOSITlON OF and ordereth the concernments of men, have shown his power with so much observation of dread and terror unto the world in his destruction as now he did. But of this afterwards. In the mean time, evident it is, from what hath been argued, that Pliaraoh's hardening by God, being foreknown, though not intended, by him, is a proper instance and sufficient proof of his just Hberty to harden whom he will ; only this supposed, which the Jews, with whom especially the Apostle had here to do, granted without scruple, as we all generally do, namely, that God doeth nothing, in one kind or other, at any time, or in reference to any person, but what he hath a just and full liberty to do. How the prescience or foreknowledge of God differs from his intentions, and how comprehensive, in respect of the object, the former is above the latter, hath been argued at large elsewhere.* So, then, men have no competent ground to judge that God's intent or end in raising up Pharaoh, which is said to be the showing of his power in him, and the glorifying of his name thereby, was positive and absolute, in the sense formerly declared, but conditional only, and intended to be put in execution in case of his perseverance in his former stubborn- ness, and not otherwise ; as, namely, in case he had in time so repented of his rebeUion against God, as to suffer his people to depart his land in peace. If it be yet further objected, that " the express tenor of the words, ' For this very thing,"' or cause, ' have I raised thee up,"" OTTMs evhi^wix-ui, &c., proveth, that the showing of God''s power in Pharaoh, that is, in his destruction, was the very par- ticular and precise end, purpose, or intent of God in raising him up ; " I answer, The question is not, whether God''s showing of his power? namely, in a most extraordinary and signal manner, in Pharaoh's destruction was the real end and intent of his act in raising him up, but whether this end were so or upon such terms intended by him therein, that lie was resolved to proceed to his destruc- tion howsoever ; I mean, whether he had repented, or no. The former hath been granted ; it is only the latter that is denied ; and a sufiicient account, we trust, hath been given of this denial. If it be objected, " But if God's end in raising up Pharaoh was only conditional, in such a sense as you have described, then the ends and intentions of God, it seems, are pendulous ; • Redemption Redeemed, c. 3. THE NIXTII CHAl'TKIl TO Tllii UOMANS. 183 and his attainment or execution of them suspended upon tlic creature, and the motions of his pleasure and will. And to conceive thus of them is it not highly dishonourable unto God?" To this also I answer, 1. There is a sense, and this most proper, clear, and direct, wherein it is most certainly true that all God's ends and inten- tions are absolute, peremptory, and fixed; not alterable, or liable to any disappointment, counter-working, or defeature, by any creature or creatures whatsoever. Whatsoever God intendeth or proposeth to himself in the nature of an end, the tenor, manner, and form of his intending or proposing it, rightly understood and considered, he never failcth, under what inter- veniences soever, to obtain ; nor is the execution of the one, or bringing to pass of the other, liable to any suspension, diversion, or turning aside, by any creature. As for example : God's intent is, to save all those that shall continue in faith and love unto the end. (Mark xiii. 13.) Let the world stand or fall, let men, angels, and devils interpose, and oppose their utmost, this inten- tion of God shall take place, and be put toties quoties in execu- tion : They who shall thus continue unto the end shall be saved. Nor can the execution of such an intention as this be said to be suspended upon the continuance of men in faith and love unto the end, but only upon the power, purpose, and good pleasure of God. For the reason why they who continue in faith and love to the end are saved, is, not because they thus continue, or because they are willing and desirous themselves to be saved; both these might have been," and yet they, the persons, never have been saved ; but because the will and good pleasure of God, who is able to save them, is, that so it should be, that is, that such should be saved. Let instance be put in any other intention of God whatsoever; take the intention in the com- plete, just, and entire notion or tenor of it, as it lieth in the breast of God, and the execution of it will be found impregnable, and independent upon the will or pleasure of what creature soever. Some things, indeed, there are, which are so expressed and represented in the Scriptures, as if they were simply and absolutely the intentions of God, (and may upon this account be called his intentions,) when as they are but parts only of these his intentions, the other parts of them, respectively, being to be supplied and made out from other scriptures. Thus, the excludino; of those who are idolaters, and so of 184) AN EXI'OSITIOX OK adulterers, covetous persons, &c., from the kingdom of God, is oft mentioned as the intent or " purpose of God." (1 Cor. vi. 9, 10 ; Gal. V. 19 — 21 ; Epli. v. 5, 6, &c.) Yet this is but some- what or a part of his intent or purpose in this kind ; his entire or complete purpose or intent about this matter, as other scrip- tures make manifest above all contradiction, is the exclusion of the persons specified, with the like, from the kingdom of God, in case they remain finally impenitent and unbelieving, and not otherwise. Now this intent and purpose of God are "like the great mountains," in David's rhetoric, " which cannot be removed ; " and the execution of them not preventible, by any possible interposure, one or more, of any creature or creatures whatsoever. We gave, not long since, more instances of such partial and incomplete expressions of the intentions of God as this. Of this kind of intention, or expression rather, of the intentions of God, is that under present consideration, where he saith to Pharaoh, " For this very end have I raised thee up, that I may show my power in thee," &c. These words do not contain the whole mind or intent of God concerning Pharaoh, or his destruction, but a part of it only ; and in this respect, so far as it is here declared, it might have been prevented by Pharaoh ; as the intent of God concerning Nineveh, so far as it was revealed unto and by Jonah, was prevented by the Ninevltes. But now take the whole mind, counsel, and intent of God concerning Pharaoh's destruction, and so it was unpos- sible to have been prevented, either by himself or any other. For this it was, that in case Pharaoh should remain obstinate to such a time, under such means as God intended to grant unto him for his repentance, he would then show his power in him ; that is, destroy him with a great pomp and terror of destruction. This intent of God concerning Pharaoh's destruction, neitlaer Pharaoh himself, nor all the angels in heaven, nor all the devils in hell, nor all the men on earth, were able to prevent. The like is true concerning the entire counsel or intention of God about the destruction of Nineveh, which was this, — that unless Nineveh should repent within forty days it should be destroyed. This intention of God concerning this city was like God himself, unchangeable by all imaginable ways and means whatsoever. Now the reason, probably, (to add that briefly by the way,) why God so frequently revealcth his intentions, especially con- THE NINTH CIIArTER TO TIIK ROMANS. 185 cerning the punishing of men, only in part, as hath been observed, mentioning only the punishment, without any overture or promise of exemption upon repentance, may be either, 1. Because the law of exemption from punishment upon repent- ance is written in the tables of men's hearts by the hand of nature, as is to be seen in the case of Ahab, the Ninevites, and others ; who only upon judgments threatened, without any men- tion or promise of mercy in case of repentance, betook them- selves to the sanctuary of repentance, notwithstanding ; making no account but that there was pardon and deliverance here, although they had no particular tidings or assurance of them. Or else, 2. The reason may be, because that very dispensation of God towards men, sinful men, I mean, his giving them warning before he smites, and a space or breathing while between the threatening and the execution, being a fruit of his patience, is, constructively, an invitation unto repentance, and, conse- quently, unto favour, safety, and peace : " The goodness," or patience, " of God," saith our Apostle elsewhere in this Epistle, " leadeth unto repentance ;" that is, pregnantly intimates grace and favour from God unto men upon their repentance. Now God delighteth much to deal with his creature man by way of intimations and insinuations, for the better exercise and improve- ment of those noble faculties of their soul, reason, judgment, conscience, and understanding. Or else, 3. The reason hereof may be, because lawgivers from amongst men are wont fre- quently in their laws to express only the penalty, in order to restraining the transgression ; and to omit the sTnsixsiu, that is, the favourable or indulging part of the law, leaving this to the breast of the Judge. For God, as from many passages of Scripture might be made manifest, in his treaties and dealings with men, loves to comport with those forms and methods of transactions which are in frequent use amongst men. Or else, 4. And lastly : The reason why God sometimes hides the light- some and gracious side of his intentions, exposing only the black and dark side unto present view, may be, because, though that which I call the dark side of his intentions may in every case wherein it is expressed be plainly enough gathered and under- stood from other scriptures, as well as the other, which I call lightsome, yet, men are far more prepense and free to inquire and seek out matters relating to their accommodation and ease, than suoh things which are of a sorrowful and sad resentment 186 AN EXPOSITION OF unto them. And in this respect it is not much improbable, but that God many times may bring the evil day near unto men, and bind it fast and close to their consciences, by the band of an actual mention or threatening of it, and yet leave the good day to be looked after and found out by themselves ; it being not, in respect of the terms or conditions of it, very far remote from them. But whether any or all these, or some other, be the reasons and grounds of that Scripture disposition or dispen- sation we speak of, evident it is that such a disposition is found here ; and that God ofttimes speaks only of wrath and destruc- tion unto those for whom, notwithstanding, he hath in full pur- pose grace and peace in case of their repentance. And thus we clearly and plainly see how and in what sense the intentions of God are all absolute, all inflexible, unchange- able, liable to no disappointment or interruption whatsoever, no ways dependent in their execution upon the vvills or actings of any creature or creatures whatsoever ; and again, on the other hand, how many of them, notwithstanding, so far as they are expressed or declared upon particular occasions, may be, and frequently are, for ever suspended and prevented in their execu- tion by the interposures of men. The result of all these latter discussions is this, — that God's intent in raising up Pharaoh, here described to be the " showing of his power in him," &c., was not his whole counsel or intent concerning his destruction, but one part of it only ; and that he no otherwise intended his destruction, but upon his final obdura- tion only ; yea, and that he as much or as well intended his peace and preservation upon his timely repentance, as his destruction upon his final impenitence. Therefore, Pharaoh is no type, much less any instance or example, of such a reproba- tion of men from eternity, which some men have dreamed of waking, pretending to gather it where it was never strewed, — I mean, from the Scriptures. Give me leave briefly to propound and answer one objection more about the business of Pharaoh, hitherto inquired into, and then, for the present, we shall dismiss it ; although the truth is, that the heart of the objection hath been, in part, broken already. But because it may, haply, seem a new objection unto some, and to have more strength in it for their purpose than any of the former, let us give it audience. It speaketh thus : — Oejkctiox. — " If God intended as much or as well Pharaoh's THE NINTH CIIAl'TKll TO T115: UOMANS. 187 preservation upon his repentance, as his destruction upon his impenitency, and besides, as you have informed us, granted him means more proper to bring him to repentance than to harden him, why should it not rather be said, that God raised him up, that he might show his power in his preservation or exaltation, than in his destruction ? especially considering, as you also have taught us, that the intentions of God are to be judged of by the natural and proper tendency of the means granted by him, and not by the event or consequent of them." To this I Answer, 1. The drift of the Apostle in the passage in hand was to vindicate the righteousness of God, not in justifying or rewarding, (this he had done in the two former verses,) but in rejecting, hardening, and destroying, whom or what manner of persons he pleaseth. So that it was altogether impertinent and unproper for him to speak any thing here concerning any man's exaltation or rewarding by God. 2. Though those providential means by which God in the event hardened Pharaoh's heart to a far higher degree than it was before, and so prepared and fitted him for destruction, were in themselves simply and in their native tendency considered apt and proper to have wrought his heart to a love and reverence of God and of his commands, and not to a further degree of obsti- nacy ; yet the present temper and frame of Pharaoh's heart, when they came to deal with it, considered, they were much more like to occasion and produce such an effect as they did, namely, a greater measure of obduration than the healing or removal of that which he had already contracted. Now, though the intentions of God, that is, his primary and antecedent intentions, as we lately distinguished and observed, be still presented in the Scriptures as confederate and concurring with the natural and proper, not with the accidental or occasional, effects of the means vouchsafed by him ; yet his secondary and subsequent intentions are still concurrent with these.* "Behold this child is set," saith Simeon, "for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against." (Luke ii. 34.) His being " set for the fall of many" proceeds from the Subsequent intention of God, which is, that those who shall reject him, and oppose his doctrine, • How this distinction of the intentions or will of God into antecedent and conf?e- quent is founded upon the Scriptm-es, and why the one are called antecedent the other consequent, see Redemption Redeemed, pp. 448,489. 188 AN EXPOSITION' 01'' shall be detected for hypocrites and unworthy persons, and fall from that high esteem for holiness which before they had amongst men.* His being " set for the rising of many," is from and according to the antecedent or primary intentions of God, which are, that they who shall embrace his doctrine, though before they were ignorant and weak, and so in no repute amongst men for any great matters of sanctity, shall thereby be raised to an honourable esteem in their thoughts. (See the like, John ix. 39; Rom. xi. 33; Mark xvi. 16; to omit other places.) So, then, there being no occasion why the primary and antecedent intentions of God concerning Pharaoh, which yet are evident enough from the nature and tendency of those appli- cations made by him unto him as we lately argued, should be here mentioned by the Apostle, but a manifest and pregnant occasion why his subsequent intentions that way should be declared, it need be no matter of question unto any man why the one should be done and not the other. 3. And lastly : The intent of the Apostle in the place in hand being, as hath been said, only to assert and prove the just liberty of God to harden and destroy whom he pleaseth, and to insinuate withal what manner of persons they are upon or against whom he is pleased to exercise this liberty, it was simply neces- sary for him to insist only upon the subsequent intentions of God, and withal only to instance some such wicked, ignorant, and proud person as Pharaoh was, because the primary inten- tions of God are not set, do not stand, for the hardening or for the destroying of any person of mankind whatsoever, but for the softening and saving of all ; and his subsequent intentions themselves are not bent for the hardening of any, nor, conse- quently, for the destruction of any, but of persons voluntarily ignorant, evil, froward, proud, and either in whole or in part such as Pharaoh was. Having by a dihgent and narrow search clearly discovered and found what God's end, purpose, and intent was in that pro- vidential act or dispensation about Pharaoh, here expressed in these words, e^riysipu as, I have raised thee tip, namely, to show the power of his wrath in his destruction, and so to make him- • Omnino res ipsa eo nos ducit, ut diligenter distinguamus divma decreta. Nam alia vult Dcus irgOTjyovixtvois, alie vero eirofifvus, sive, ut vetuslissimi Christianortim loquuntur, £k ■xsra.gaKoKovdtaiws, sivc (k ■anpis'aaeuis, quod ct Sfimpcits dicunt quidam. —Hugo Grotivj?. in Luc, ii. Si. THE NINTH CIIAPTRTl TO TH F, KOMAKS. 189 self a name great and terrible through the world, in case he repented not in time ; let us, with more brevity, now inquire and consider what this word, g^ijysjpa, / have raised up, here imports, and what this act of God was by which he sought to compass that his end. Some, by God's raising up Pharaoh, understand his act of creating him or bringing him into the world ; * others, his providential act in advancing him to the great place and royal dignity of a King. Some understand by it both the said acts in conjunction : Thus Bucer. Others understand God"'s stirring up or provoking Pharaoh to a greater obdurateness of heart against his people by commanding him so oft as he did to let them go, -f- according to that of our Apostle, " Sin, taking occasion by the commandment, wrought in me all manner of concupiscence," &c. (Rom. vii, 8.) Lastly, some interpret it to be that act or dispensation of God towards Pha- raoh by which he preserved him in life and being after he had made himself a child of death by so many acts of rebellion as he had now committed against him, remaining still obdurate and impenitent notwithstanding. Though the three former inter- pretations, well understood, contain nothing in them that is unsound, and, the third and last of them only excepted, are of competent accord with the signification of the word here used ; yet, circumstances considered, and the words and passage in Moses duly weighed, the exposition last-mentioned will be found most apposite and proper. For, 1. Concerning the clause in Moses, here rendered by the Apostle, eij avTo T8T0 B^r^ysipa. ere. For this very thing have I raised thee up, the Chaldee paraphrase explains it thus : Propter hoc sustinui te, " For this cause have I endured thee," or " patiently borne with thee." This notion of the words well agrees with that phrase of the Apostle, " endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction." (Verse 22.) The Septuagint translates it, aai svsxa tuts duTYipyj^vig scag T8 vuv, And for this hast thou been kept or preserved until now. Augustine : " And for this very thing hast thou been preserved." j Thus also Ambrose reads the words of the Apostle, glossing thus : " He speaketh thus because Pharaoh, being guilty of so many and great evils that he ought not to • Vide Calvin, in locum, et BEZiE Annotat. t Anselm in locum. I Et propter hoc ipsum conservatus es Aug. in Exod., qu, 32. Etpaulo post : Ad eorwm itaque utilitatem Pharaoh servatus est, Sfc. 190 AN EXPOSITION OF live, and a person that would never prove good, lest he should either think that he lived upon the account of his own goodness, or that God whom he often had thought might be deceived was unable to avenge himself on him, hath this mes- sage sent unto him by God : ' For this cause have I saved thee alive,'""* &c. Junius, in his version revised and amended, translates the words thus : " Therefore have I caused that thou shouldest remain alive." -j- Peter Martyr, on the place before us, writeth to this effect : " The Hebrew word here translated by the Apostle is from the verb lai?, which signifies ' to stand ; ' but in the conjugation Hipbil, it signifieth ' to make to stand,' or ' to lift up and establish ; ' although many interpret it, ' to preserve,' or ' save alive,' as if Pharaoh, whilst others fell by death, was preserved alive and remained."! And, to cite no more authors, the sense of the phrase which we have pre- ferred is recommended unto us by Calvin himself, in his com- mentaries upon Exod. ix. 16. Having briefly mentioned two of the interpretations lately presented by us, " some," he saith, " conceive that this sentence depends upon the preceding his- tory, and interpret, ' I have preserved thee, or was willing thou shouldst remain alive.' For the Hebrew word, which is tran- sitive in Hiphil, comes of lDi», which signifieth 'to stand.' Therefore, because God had refrained himself for a time, now he assigns the reason of his forbearance, because had Pharaoh perished and fallen by one light battle, the glory of the conquest had been less famous. In brief, lest Pharaoh should please himself or harden himself with any vain confidence, God denieth that he wanted strength to have destroyed him in a moment, but saith that he deferred his final punishment upon another account, namely, that Pharaoh might learn at leisure that he wrestled in vain with an incomparable power, and that so signal a story might be famous through all generations. But however Paul followeth the Greek interpreter ; yet this hindereth not * Hoc enim dicit, quia cum Pharaoh, tantis nialis essct reus, tit vivere nan debcrct nunquam ftiturus bonus, ne se aut merito vivere, aut Deum, quern scepe fallendum censebat, ad vindictam dandam impotenfem, putavet, audit a Deo, Ad hoc to servavi tit ostendam, Sfc. — Ambros. ad Rom. is. \7 . t Propterea feci ut superstes maneres : In his former it was to the same sense, 7tt restares. t ferbum Hebraicum, quod hie habetur, est a verba ""03?, id auiein. significut stare ; sed in conjugatione Hiphil, est facere stare, aut eriijere et constituere ; quamvis multi interpretati sunt, servare, quasi cadentibus et morientibus aiiis, Pharaoh con- servatus fuerit et manserit. THE XTXTII CIlArTKR TO TIIF. ROMANS. 101 but that it may be free for us to embrace this latter sense. For we know that the Apostles were not so strict in reciting words, but had respect rather to the matter or thing itself. Now sup- pose we confess that the patience of God endured Pharaoh so long, until he should be made a notable and famous document unto all men, what senseless and madmen all those arc who make resistance against God ; yet this also belongs to the eter- nal providence of God. ' For therefore God spared Pharaoh, that he should stand,' or continvie, ' for a time,' '''' &c.* Besides the consent of so many learned and judicious inter- preters, there is this reason to confirm the last recited interpreta- tion, namely, that this message, " For this very cause have I raised thee up," &c., was not sent by God unto Pharaoh at the begin- ning of his treaty with him about the dismission of his people, nor until Pharaoh had multiplied his rebellions against him, now these six several times, and this after so many extraordi- nary and sore judgments inflicted upon his land, and again gra- ciously removed by God, some of them at his request. If by God's raising up Pharaoh were meant either his raising up from nothing by creating or giving him being, or his raising up to the power and dignity of a King, the message now under discourse had been much more proper to have been sent to him at first, and before or at the beginning of the said treaty, than after so much rebellious obstinacy discovered, and so many acts of high misdemeanours worthy of death perpetrated by him. But it was 0HO7rps7ref, excellently becoming God, after so much patience and long-suffering showed unto Pharaoh under such high pro- vocations reiterated one upon another, to admonish him that he had not spared his life all this while intending still to spare it • Alii sententiam hanc putant ex superioribus pendere, ac interpretantur, Conser- vavi te, vel siiperstitem manere volui ; verbum enim Hebraicum, quod transitivuni est in Hiphil, deducitur a to5J quod est stare. Quoniam ergo sibi moderatus ftierat Deus, mine toleranticB sva causam assignat, quia si uno levi pralio cecidisset Pharaoh, minus Celebris fuisset victories gloria. In summa, ne sibi blanditias facial, vel inani Jiducia se obdurat Pharaoh, negat Deus sibi ad euin extemplo perdendiim vires defu- isse, sed ob alium finem distulisse ultimas pwnas ; quo scilicet lente disceret Pharaoh frustra se luctari cum incomparabili potentia, atque ita omnibus saculis celebraretur tain insignis historia. Etsi auiem Paulus Grcecum, interpretetn scquitur, nihil tamen obstat quo minus liberum sit posteriorem nunc sensum amplecti. Jam ut fateamur Dei patientiam, eonsque durasse Pharaonem dum omnibus clarum et nobile documentum foret, quam vesani sint atque amentes, quicunque Deo resisttint, hoc etiatii ad aternam Dei providentiam perlinct. Ideo enim pepercit Pharao7ii Deus, ut ad tempus starei, 8(c. — Calvin, in E.vod. is. 16. 192 AN EXPOSITION OF in case he persisted in his obdurateness and rebelHon ; but, on the contrary, to gain an opportunity thereby for the manifesta- tion of the glorious greatness of his power in his destruction. Such a sense as this, as it incorporates the place in hand with the body of Pharaoh's story, and gives it a pleasant aspect as well upon the precedent as subsequent part thereof; so, also, it perfectly accords with the nature of God, both in respect of his grace and goodness and severity likewise, which are much after the same manner held forth unto the world in many other passages of Scripture, as hath been in part declared formerly. And for the Apostle's phrase, s^nysipa. as, I have raised thee up, this also is well pleased with the said interpretation. For, Pharaoh by rebelling against God time after time, and this after many promises of obedience and loyalty upon God's mer- ciful dealings with him in healing his land at his request, having committed things worthy of death, and consequently being dead, as the saying is, in law, and, according to the sentence thereof, God's clemency towards him in sparing his life might, with sweetness of metaphor and allusion, be termed "a raising him up," as it were, from the dead. In a phrase of somewhat a like resemblance, our Apostle calleth God's forgiving men their sins and trespasses, by means whereof according to the law they were dead, a " quickening " of them, or, as the word signifies, " a making of them to live." (Eph. ii. 1, 5, compared with Col. ii. 13.) And God, by that gracious act of his in raising up Pharaoh, in the sense declared, and healing his land of the several plagues cleaving unto it, may, in Scripture phrase, be said to have covered his former transgressions. So there is little question but that the sense of the word, s^r,ysipa, now con- tended for, is according to the Apostle's mind ; and if so, then was not the showing of God's power in Pharaoh's destruction his direct or primary intent in that act of raising him up, and, consequently, his destruction could not absolutely or peremp- torily be intended by him, but his secondary and subsequent intent only, inasmuch as the patience or bountifulness of God, according to the proper nature of it, and the primary intentions of God in it, leadeth men not to a continuance in obstinacy and rebellion against him, and so not to destruction, but to repent- ance, and, consequently, salvation. We shall touch upon a fur- ther confirmation of the interpretation now pleaded for when we THE XIXTII CHAPTKIt TO THE UOMAVS. 193 come to open the verse next following, and consider the harden- ing there spoken of. This for the clearing of the sense and meaning of this verse. There was a third thing propounded, which was, to show how the example of Pharaoh, as it is here briefly exhibited by the Apostle, accommodates his purpose ; which, as we have heard, was to vindicate the liberty and justness of power in God to reject and cast oif whom or what manner of persons hepleaseth, and consequently the Jews themselves, in case they shall be found such. The verse also immediately following showeth this to be his drift and scope in this place. So then the Apos- tle's reasoning from the example of Pharaoh, and God's proceed- ings with hin, to evince his conclusion, is apparently this, or to this efi^ect : — If God's will and pleasure was, and this most righ- teous and just, to threaten Pharaoh, a person obstinate and rebellious, that if he persisted in his disobedience and obstinacy, he would show his power in his destruction, and, he thus persist- ing, did show it accordingly ; then is it lawful and just for him to proceed after the same manner with all others like unto him. But it was the most righteous and just will and pleasure of God thus to proceed with Pharaoh ; therefore he may justly proceed after the same manner with all others like unto him, and, conse- quently, reject and destroy whom he will. The consequence in the major proposition is undeniable ; for what is righteous and just for God to do in reference to one man, upon the account of such and such actions and ways, is as righteous and just for him to do by all other men in whom the like actions and ways are to be found. The minor proposition, which only asserteth the righteousness of God's proceeding:; with Pharaoh, is unquestionable, and needs no proof. If it be here objected, and said, " But if it be God's will and pleasure to reject, and proceed against to destruction, only such persons as Pharaoh was, that is, persons as deeply and despe- rately obstinate and rebellious as he, there will be very few, or none, found in the world, who will be rejected or destroyed by him ;" to this I answer, That the Apostle, intending to show and prove, in the example of Pharaoh, who or what manner of persons they are on whom God will exercise his just liberty of rejecting and destroying, doth not suppose nor intend so much as to insinuate that God will exercise this his liberty upon none but those that 194 AN EXPOSITION OF shall be gradually like to Phavaoh in sin and wickedness. But bis meaning is, in the notable and famous instance of Pharaoh, whose rebellious obstinacy and disobedience are known to all the world, to declare what kind or species of men they are upon whom God will show his liberty and justness of power to reject and destroy. As in the example of Abraham's justification by faith, and acceptation with God, (Rom. iv. 23, 24 ; Gal. iii. 9,) he did nothing less than intend to show or signify that only persons as great, as strong, in faith as Abraham himself was should be justified ; nor any thing more than to teach and declare what kind or manner of persons they are who shall be justified with faithful Abraham, namely, such who shall believe, not with the same degree, but with the same kind, of faith wherewith he believed. And as the Holy Ghost doth not hold forth the example of Abraham, the grand believer of the world, to dis- courage those from expecting justification or acceptation with God whose faith doth not make her nest among the stars, as his did, but rather to encourage them to such a high-raised faith as this ; so neither doth he propound the example of Pharaoh, the first-born son of disobedience and rebellion, to encourage those to expect mercy or salvation from God who shall not rise every way as high in disobedience and rebellion against him as he did ; but rather to dissuade and terrify all men from all touch, taste, and tincture of such sins which brought such horrible vengeance and destruction upon a miser- able creature. It is of frequent observation in the Scriptures, and sometimes the like is found in other authors, that the heads or principals of any race, family, species, or kind of men, are made the significators of the whole species or family. So that the Apostle''s intent in bringing the example of Pharaoh, an obstinate and rebellious sinner, upon this stage, was to demon- strate, 1. That God is at liberty to reject and destroy what sort and kind of persons he pleaseth ; and, 2. That this his liberty and pleasure determines itself, and pitcheth upon obsti- nate and rebellious ones, such as the Jews for the generality of them very signally were, as the objects of it. They who tell us that Paul insisteth on the example of Pharaoh as an instance of God's reprobation of men, personally considered, from eternity, destroy the eraphatical richness and benefit of his doctrine in the passage, and render this of very little or no effect. It now followeth : — THE NIKTM (HAPTKU TO THE UOMANS. 195 Verse 18. Therefore hath he mercy on whom he trill have mercy, and whom he will he hanleneth — The Apostle having, as hath been showed, substantially vindicated the righteousness of God, both in the justification and salvation, as likewise in the rejection and condemnation, of whom he pleaseth, accord- ingly subjoineth the doctrine or conclusion which he had now won by dint of argument from the Scriptures, in the words before us : " Therefore hath he mercy," &c. What he mean- eth by God's having or showing mercy on men, as, likewise, from whence he infers this part of his conclusion here asserted, namely, that God hath " mercy on whom he will have mercy," may easily be understood by a diligent recognition or survey of the premises ; and of that part of them more particularly, wherein the mind of the Holy Ghost, in verses 15, 16, was explained. But concerning the other part of his doctrine, here drawn up conclusion-wise, namely, that " whom he," that is, God, " will he hardeneth," a double query may be moved : 1. Why he makes mention of such a thing as hardening in this place, having not spoken any thing of it before. 2. From whence he deduceth this part of his conclusion, that God hardeneth whom he will. A good account given of the former will give a good light to the latter. Therefore, for the clearing of the former of these doubts, this consideration is near at hand, namely, that though the Apostle had not used the word hardening before, nor spake any thing of it, formally considered, yet he had spoken of such things under the types of servitude, (verse 12,) and of hatred ; (verse 13;) and besides, by his election, (verse 11.) and God's show- ing mercy on whom he will, (verses 15, 18,) he had avTi^sTiKcos, by way of opposition^ insinuated such things which are of very near affinity with hardening, as, namely, God's rejecting or reprobating of men from his mercy, grace, and favour. These are always either accompanied or followed with hardening. And it is a matter of frequent occurrency in the Scriptures to find words, not only of an equipollent, but of a cognate, signi- fication also, and such which import things of a mutual con- comitancy, exchanged one with another. Thus our Apostle proveth the justification of the Heathen by faith from this promise of God made unto Abraham, " In thee shall all nations be blessed;" (Gal. iii. 8;) justification and blessedness mutually including or supposing the one the other. (See also o 2 190 A\ KXPOSITIOK OF Rom. iv. 5 — 7? Sic.) Thus the same Apostle sometimes useth the word /i/e for justification or righteousness. (Gal. iii. 12, 21 ; with many the like.) In like manner, because rejecting, hating, non-showing mercy, &c., by God, are borderers, in signification and import, unto hardening, therefore the Apostle useth them promiscuously. From hence, as was intimated, it may readily be understood, and so the second question resolved, how and from what pre- mises he inferreth this part of his conclusion, that whom God will he hardeneth. This position being proved, that God showeth mercy on whom he will show mercy, which he had proved by an express from Moses, (verse 15,) it foUoweth, in a way of clear deduction, that then he hath a just liberty to harden whom he will. For if God be at liberty to show mercy on whom he will, he must needs be at liberty not to show mercy on whom he will, or, which is the same, to refuse to show mercy to whom he will, i^ow to refuse to show mercy, and to harden, are, with our Apostle, either synonymous, or at least so nearly related, that they are not separated in their subject, and, consequently, the one may be proved from the other. Notwithstanding, I rather conceive that the Apostle raiseth the inference we speak of from a ground nearer hand, namely, from those words of God to Pharaoh, in the former verse, " I have raised thee up," in the sense lately declared; in which clause the manner and method of God's proceedings in and about the hardening of Pharaoh''s heart, at least so far as he acted positively therein, is comprehended. For all that God did towards or about the hardening of Pharaoh's heart in a positive way was, as hath been formerly observed and made good, by exercising patience, and lenity, and all long-suffering towards him, by inflicting only lesser and lighter judgments upon him, and which did not tuuch his life ; and by removing even these, also, time after time, upon his request, and promise of dismissing his people. Now this whole tract and course of God's treating with Pharaoh upon terms of clemency and indulgence is expressed by the Apostle, as by a narrow inquiry we lately discovered, in those words, " I have raised thee up." So that Paul, having proved from the Scriptures that God hardened Pharaoh, that is, made such providential applications unto Pharaoh, whereby he became hardened, maketh this collec- tion and conclusion from it, that " whom he will he hardeneth."' THE NINTH CHAl'TKR TO THE ROMANS. 197 But there are two demands which may justly be moved upon occasion of the late premises ; which, being well satisfied, the Apostle's discourse in the passage in hand will be yet more lightsome and pleasant. 1. It may be some man's question, what the Apostle means by hardening, when he saith that God hardeneth whom he will. 2. It may be demanded, how, from God's hardening Pharaoh, it can be concluded that he hardeneth, hath a power or a liberty to harden, and, withal, is wont to act or use this liberty, toties quoties, as oft he pleaseth, whom he will ; considering, (1.) That he did not will or intend to harden Pharaoh himself, as was formerly maintained, but only hardened him occasionally or accidentally. (2.) That for his act of hardening Pharaoh it can only be proved, as was before likewise insinuated, that he is at liberty to harden such as Pharaoh was, persons already obstinate and disobedient, not others, and, consequently, as it seems, not whom he will. For satisfaction to the former of these demands, it is, I pre- sume, every man's supposition and grant, that when God is said to harden whom he will, it is to be understood of hardening in sin, or in ways of sinning. The phrase of " hardening in sin," being metaphorical, the metaphor must be briefly opened, that so the expression may be reduced to that which is proper. Hardness is a quality proper to an elementary body, and gives the denomination unto its subject of being hard. The nature of this quality may be readily apprehended by that common description, in natural philosophy, of the subject affected with it, which is this : Durum est, quod renistit tactui ; " That is HARD which resisteth the touch ;" as, on the contrary, that is, molle, or " soft," quod cedit tactui, " which gives way to the touch." Now as such a body is called hard whose constitu- tion, nature, and temper is such, that it will very hardly, if at all, suffer an impression to be made upon it by any ordinary force, whereby the figure or outward shape of it should suffer an alteration or change ; in like manner the heart of a man, and so the man himself, may be said to be hard, made hard, or hardened in sin, when it is wrought or brought to such a temper and frame, that neither the motions of the Spirit of God, nor exhortations, admonitions, promises, or threatenings from the word of God, nor any providential appearings of God, either 198 AN EXPOSITION OF for or against a man, nor any counsel or advice from friends or others, which are the ordinary means whereby sinners are wont to be reclaimed, will alter or change the sinful purposes and inclinations of it, but that it retains and maintains its former disposition of sinning, with the contempt or neglect of all these. In some such consideration as this, .Pharaoh''s heart is often said in the Scriptures to have been hardened, sometimes, in the first place, by himself, (Exod. v. 2 ; viii. 15,) * and then by God also. The hardness of Pharaoh's heart either consisted in or discovered itself by that unyieldingness of it, under so many express messages and commands from God, so many miraculous and extraordinarily-terrible judgments inflicted upon his land and people before his eyes, time after time, so many wonderful and extraordinarily-gracious intermixtures of mercy with judg- ment, in the sudden removal of these judgments upon his request, all of them divisim, but especially conjunctim^ per- suading him with a high hand to hearken unto God, and to let the people of Israel go. What God ordinarily doeth in or about the hardening of men, and particularly what he did about the hardening of Pharaoh, hath been in part already, namely, in our explications of the next preceding verse, and shall, himself assisting, be again touched in our answer to the latter demand. As for those transient and short-lived relentings which appeared in Pharaoh upon the incumbency or new execution of some of the said judgments, God may much more properly be said to be Author of these than of any the respective hardenings pre- sently ensuing ; because these relentings were the proper fruits or effects of what he did in a way of judgment ; whereas those hardenings were, as hath been said, but only the occasional or accidental effects of what he did in a way of mercy, either in sparing the person of Pharaoh so long as he did, or in removing the judgments inflicted so soon as he did, upon his request. This for satisfaction to the former of the two demands lately propounded. To the latter, how or upon what account, from God's hard- • As for Exodus vii. 13, where our last translation, without any ground, either from the context, or otherwise, readeth, " And he hardened Pliaraoh's heart ; " the former translation read it, according to the original, " So Pharaoh's heart was hardened." Mr. Ainsworth translates, "waxed strong;" and some observe that God !:< not said to have hardened Pharaoh's heart under anj- of the five first plagues, nor imlil the sixth and afterwards. THE NMNTir CHAPTER TO Tr[£ ROMANS. 199 ening Pharaoh, it may be concluded, that he hardeneth whom he will, I answer, The premises of God's hardening Pharaoh brings forth this conclusion, that he hardeneth whom he will by the midwifery or mediation of these three suppositions, all of them plain and unquestionable : 1. That he had a liberty or justness of power to harden Pharaoh as he did, otherwise he would not have hardened him. 2. That he hath a like liberty to harden any other person, one, more, or all that shall be found like unto Pharaoh ; for what reason can be imagined that should cause any difference in this kind .'' 3. And lastly : That his will is to harden only such as Pharaoh was. These particulars being granted, it roundly follows, that if God hardened Pharaoh he may, and consequently doth, harden whom he will. If there be any doubt of truth in any of the said three propositions unto any man, it must be, I conceive, in the third and last only ; but the Scriptures being dihgently consulted, this will be found as pregnant of truth as either of the other. For these constantly teach, that every breach between God and the creature is still begun on the creature's side ; which clearly showeth that God never hardeneth any man, and, consequently, that he willeth not to harden any man, but only such who first voluntarily harden themselves, and are obstinately disobedient, as Pharaoh was : " Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright ; but they have sought out many inventions ;" (EccleF. vii. 29 ;) that is, many crooked and perverse notions and cogita- tions, which lead them from that rectitude wherein God created them, as Mercer well expoundeth it. " Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin," saith Azariah, the Spirit of God being now upon him ; " The Lord is with you, while ye be with him ; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you ; but if ye forsake him, he will forsake you." (2 Chron. xv. 1, 2. See also Joshua vii. 12.) " Take heed therefore how ye hear : for whosoever hath, to him shall be given ;" " and he shall have abundance," as Matthew hath it, " and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have ;" (Luke viii. 18 ;) that is, which men, upon sufficient ground judged him at present, and before this judgment of God upon him, to have. The verb hxstv, commonly translated to seem, doth not always import a bare show or appearance of a thing, in opposition to the reality, truth, or certainty of it ; but very frequently noteth the manifestation or certain knowledge of a thing, in opposition 200 AX KXPOSITIOX OK to the secrecy, liiddenness, doubtfulness, or else concealment of it. " For it seemed,"" eh^s yap, or, ir seemed " good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden,*'"' &c. (Acts XV. 28.) The meaning is not as if the non-imposal of any further burden upon the Gentiles barely seemed a thing meet and reasonable unto the Holy Ghost and the Apostles, being in truth and in itself otherwise; but, that the real goodness or meetness of the thing was accordingly apprehended and judged by the Holy Ghost, and by him revealed and made known to the Apostles and elders. (See the like use and import of the word, Mark x. 42 ; Luke i. 3 ; xvii. 9 ; Acts xv. 22, 25 ; XXV, 27 ; 1 Corinthians vii. 40 ; Galalians ii. 9 ; Heb. iv. 1 .) And that, in the text cited, (Luke viii. 18,) it doth not signify a groundless or empty conceit upon a mere show or appearance, but a judgment according to the truth and reality of the thing, is evident from the parallel passages, (Matthew xiii. 12, xxv. 29 ; Mark iv. 25,) where the person spoken of is plainly and simply said to have that which upon his non-having, meaning, by way of improvement, is threatened to be taken from him. But the clear sense and meaning of these passages I have some while since in preaching discussed and evinced at large, and, God sparing life and health, may in time do the like more pub- licly. In the mean time, besides the Scriptures already cited to prove that every breach between God and the creature is still begun on the creature"'s side, these diligently considered are very pregnant. " O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not,' Behold, your house is left unto you desolate."''' (Matt, xxiii. 37, 38.) So again : " For this cause,"'"' namely, for changing the truth of God into a lie, " God gave them up unto vile affections,"" &c. And soon after: "And as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind,"'"' &c. (Rom. i. 28.) It were easy to gather more of these spiritual stones together for the raising of that building yet higher, which is now in hand, the Scripture every where laying at the creature"'s doors the occasion or cause of any displeasure conceived in the breast of God against it at any time. So that he never hardens any but the disobedient, and those who first provoke him to it by such voluntary neglect, stubbornness, and contempt, as Pharaoh did. The Synod of Dort expresseth itself very orthodoxly in THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE KOMAK3. 201 this point, as indeed it doth, by places, in all the rest of which it took cognizance : " The talent of grace," saith this Synod, " which is once granted by God is taken away from no man, unless through his own default he hath first buried it. (Matt. XXV. 28.) Hence it is that in the Scriptures we are from place to place admonished, that we resist not the Spirit, that we quench not the Spirit, that we receive not the grace of God in vain, that we ftill not away from God. (Heb. iii. 7-)' ^ca, this " reason is most clearly given why the creature is at any time forsaken by God, namely, because he is first forsaken by it. ' Because I have called, and ye refused, I also will laugh at your calamity, Sjc' (Prov. i. 24, 26.) ' You have forsaken the Lord tiiat he might,^ or should, ' forsake you.' (2 Chron. xxiv. 20.) But it is nowhere in the Scriptures so much as insinuated in the least, that God is either wont or willing to take away from any man the aid of exciting grace, or any other help which he hath once given in order to his conversion, unless the man him- self hath first made way for it by his sin. This was the doctrine of the orthodox fathers, who had to do with the Pelagians. Whether Austin or Prosper, the one of them saith : ' It is the will of God that a man should continue in a good frame of will, who also forsakes no man until himself be first forsaken, yea, and ofttimes converteth many of the forsakers themselves.'"* Thus far the Synod. By the way, is it not the first-born of things that are strange, that so many learned and grave men should speak and write such things as these, and yet deny that God vouchsafeth unto every man a sufficiency of means for sal- vation ? Or, that God beareth in his breast the most doleful and irreconcilable war of a fatal reprobation from eternity against far the greatest part of men, from their first conception • Talenturn gratiit a Deo semel concessum nemini eripitur, nisi qui prius illiid stio vitio sepelivit. (Matt. xxv. 28.) Hinc est quod nos in Scripturis passim moncmur, ne Spiritui rcsistamus , ne Spiritum cvtinguamus, ne gratiam Dei frustra recipiamus, ne deficiainus a Deo. (Heb. iii. 7.) Imo divina: dereiictionis ea apertissime designa- tur ratio, quod Deus ab hoininibus prius deseratur . Quia vocavi, et renuistis, ego quoque in interitu vestro ridebo. (Prov. i. 24.) Dereliquistis Jehovam, ut derelin- queretvos. (2 CArow. xxiv. 20.) j4t nusqtiam i>i Scripturis vel levissime innuitur, Deum solere, aut velle unquani absque prmvia hominis culpain eripere cuiqtiam gratia excitantis auxilium, aut uUum subsidium, quod semel contulit ad conversionevi hominis ordinatum. Sic docuere Patres orthodoxi, quibus cum Pelagianis negotiuin fuit. Aug. vel Prosp., ad Artie, fals. ad 7. Dei est voluntas, ut in bona vuluntafe inaneatur, qui et priusquam deseratur, neminem dcscrit, et multos desertores scBpe convertit. — Act. Si/n, Dord., part. 2, p. 129. 202 AN' KX POSITION' 01" in the womb ? " Doth a fountain," saith the Apostle James, " send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter ? "" (James iii. 11.) Calvin also hath many passages in his writ- ings very express for the assertion of the same truth ; I mean, that God never withdraws that preventing or exciting grace which is given unto every man, from any man until the man himself by voluntariness of sinning provoketh him to it ; and, consequently, that he willeth not to harden any man or men, but such only who are like unto Pharaoh. But I consider that multiplicity of quotations from men are not so proper for a com- mentary. By this time, I presume, it appears to satisfaction, that all the three suppositions mentioned are unquestionably true, and that, upon this account, the Apostle's inference of God's hardening whom he will, from his particular act in hard- ening Pharaoh, is legitimate and clear. Only, I conceive, there is yet one dark corner in the room we are in, whereinto the light hath not yet shone. This is, " how, from God's hardening Pharaoh, it can be concluded that he hardeneth whom he will, if it be supposed that he intended not, that is, willed not, no, not the hardening of Pharaoh himself, at least with his antecedent or primary intention or will ; nor yet, that he did, in the event, harden him otherwise than accident- ally or occasionally ; for these things have been argued and asserted in the premises ; and, consequently, that Pharaoh, even when God did that by which he became liardened, might have choosed whether he would have been hardened, or no. If this be so, it seems rather to rest in the wills of men who shall be hardened by God, than in the will of God. God shall harden whom men will, not whom himself willeth." I answer to all this, 1. It hath formerly been said and proved that God never intends or willeth the hardening of any person whatsoever, with his primary or antecedent intention or will, but with his subse- quent only ; from whence it follows, that when the Apostle, from God's liaising up or hardening Pharaoh, infers that, there- fore, whom he will he hardeneth, he speaketh of his secondary or his consequent will only.* That God willeth the hardening of no man whatsoever, but only with his consequent will, is at large and with a high hand asserted by the Synod of Dort * How tlic.-e tvvi) will.s iu Gotl differ, and vvlij- one is termed antecedent, the other consequent, is declared at large, Redemption Redeemed, p. 448. THK NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 203 itself in the passage lately transcribed from it ; as also where they teach and grant that " Christ died antecedently for his enemies and unbelievers, but consequently for believers and his friends only/'* For if Christ died antecedently, that is, with his antecedent and primary intention, for his enemies and unbelievers, and such who never are saved, it is unpossible that with his primary or antecedent intention he should intend to harden them ; because this evidently implieth that he should intend both their salvation and damnation, and this with one and the same kind of intention. As for his friends and believers, God hath no will or intent at all, neither antecedent nor consequent, to harden them. So then this is unquestionably certain, in the first place, our adversaries themselves consenting and asserting with us, that God, with his antecedent will, willeth not the hard- ening of any man. 2. Although the event or effect itself of Pharaoh's hardeningf was, both in respect of the antecedent will or intent of God, as likewise in respect of those providential interposures of his by which it was effected, adventitious, accidental, and occasional only, as hath been said, yet in respect of the consequent intent or will of God, it was direct, proper, and really intended by him. For God's intent really and absolutely was, that unless Pharaoh should repent and relent in time to a dismission of his people, by the signal means and motives so graciously vouchsafed unto him to persuade and work him hereunto, he should by degrees be hardened by them to destruction. Even as his full purpose and pleasure now is, that they, who from day to day turn his grace in the Gospel unto wantonness, shall be hardened thereby unto condemnation. 3. Though the consequent will of God was absolute, that Pharaoh, persisting obdurate to such or such a period of time, under so many means used by God himself for his reclaiming, should be finally or in the end hardened unto his own destruc- tion ; yet might Pharaoh, all along the currency of his former obduration, and until he came to be finally hardened, upon which his destruction immediately followed, by relenting and letting the people go, have prevented his final hardening, and, • Ctcterum quando dicimus Christmn esse mortuum pro credentibus et pro arnicis xiiis, hoc iiiteUigendum est consequenter, iia ut denotetur terminus ad quern y sicut c contrario antecedenter dicitur morluus, pro hostibus suis et pro injidelibus ; negative acceplo injidelitatis vocabiilo. — Act. Syn, Dord., part. 2, p. 99. 20 if AN EXPOSITION OF consequently, his destruction. For whilst the goodness of God which, as our Apostle saith, leadeth men to repentance, (Rom. ii. 4,) is continued or vouchsafed unto them, there is no impos- sibility but that they may be led, I mean, led home, or actually brought, to repentance. The Apostle Peter also informeth us, that God's long-suffering towards men proceedeth from hisunwil- lino-ness that any man should perish, and desire that all should repent. (2 Peter iii. 9.) It was not indeed in Pharaoirs power or liberty of choice, having first begun to harden himself, whe- ther God should proceed with him, as in the first place he did, and whereby he became further hardened ; nor yet, having thus further hardened himself, whether God should proceed with him in the next place, as he did, whereby he became yet hardened more, and so along all the gradations or steps of his hardening ; God's deportment of himself towards Pharaoh, upon Pharaoh's deportment towards him, depending only upon his own will, and not at all upon Pharaoh's ; but it was in Pharaoh's power, under or upon every precedent act or dispensation of God, whereby he became hardened, or hardened more than before, to have prevented all those that now followed ; and, con- quently, his final hardening and destruction hereupon. For there is no degree of obduration, on this side the unpardonable sin against the Holy Ghost, but which, as hath been more than once observed in the premises, and is elsewhere more fully proved, both from the Scriptures and by argument,* admitteth of such a degree of the grace of God, and of his good Spirit in consist- ency with it, by the stirring up and improvement whereof it is very possible for men to recover out of the snare thereof, and to reduce themselves to a gracious tenderness of soul. 4. From the premises it is not hard to conceive how and in what sense the Apostle's inference, that " God hardeneth whom he will," standeth firm and is most true, notwithstanding it be true also, in its sense, that it rests in the wills of men being always superintended and assisted by the grace of God, whether they will be hardened by him, or no. God hard- eneth whom he will, inasmuch as he hardeneth those who first voluntarily harden themselves and are found disobedient, these being they, or all those, whom he willeth to harden. Again : Inasmuch as no man is necessitated or compelled to harden himself, or to reject the motions of the preventing grace • u4f/rcc/nen/ and Distance of Brethren, pp. Gl — 64. THE N'lNTlT CirAI'TEU TO '1HI-: ROMANS. 205 of God, but by virtue of this grace, may, if he please, comport with it and approve himself unto God ; it is a plain case that every man, before his voluntary hardening of himself, may pre- vent such his hardening, and, consequently, his being hardened by God. And as God, in saving those who repent and believe, though he savcth no other, yet savcth " whom he will ;■" in like manner, in hardening those who first harden themselves, though he hardeneth no others, yet hardeneth whom he will. Even as this ovir Apostle, speaking of the Holy Ghost and of his gifts, saith, that he distributeth them " to every man severally AS HE will; " (1 Cor. xii. 11 ;) and yet, verse 31 of the same chapter, supposeth that men may have what gifts from him they will by coveting earnestly after them. Otherwise whereunto serveth or tendeth this encouragement or exhortation ? So that the liberty vested in men to have what gifts of the Holy Ghost they please or shall covet after doth not at all prejudice the liberty of the Holy Ghost to dispense them to " every man as he will." If it be yet demanded, " But if God''s primary and antece- dent intentions concerning Pharaoh and his raising up, in the sense by you assigned, were not his hardening or destruction, but the brhiging of him to repentance, and his preservation hereupon from that destruction which now overwhelmed him, as you have affirmed, why did he not vouchsafe unto him means as eifectual to bring him to repentance as he doth unto others who are actually brought to repentance by him ? Or why did he not rather say and declare beforehand, thus : ' I will give unto Pharaoh an heart of flesh,'' rather than, ' I will harden Pharaoh's heart,*" which is, in effect, to give him a heart of stone ? " to this also I answer, 1. That this question or difficulty should, in due process of method, have been propounded and resolved in our explication of the last preceding verse : But an after memory is better than a perpetual forgetfulness. Therefore, 2. I answer that it nowhere appears but that the means vouchsafed by God unto Pharaoh for his repentance, or whereby he ought to have been brought to repent, were as effectual, though not eventually so successful, as those are whereby per- sons ordinarily are brought to repentance. The sun may shine every whit as hot upon the clay when it hardeneth it, as it doth upon the wax when it melteth it. The means whereby Chorazin 206 AN Exi'osniox of and Bethsaida were hardened and prepared for a signal destruc- tion would have been successfully effectual for the conversion or repentance of Tyre and Sidon. (Matt. xi. 21.) And in our discussions of the former verse we showed it to be the express doctrine of the Synod of Dort itself, that the efficacy of the "helps or means of grace," vouchsafed by God unto men, "is to be" measured, or "judged of by the nature of the benefit offered, and by the manifest word of God, xox by the evext OR ABUSE OF THEM." So that Pharaoh's unrelentingness and impenitency are no arguments at all of any defectiveness or insufficiency in the means afforded him for his repentance. Nay, 3. The benefit or indulgence offered by God unto Pharaoh, time after time, upon condition of his repentance and dismission of his people, as, namely, his immvmity from further plagues or judgments from God, plainly show, according to the doctrine of the Synod of Dort lately recited, that the means vouchsafed unto Pharaoh were effectual and fully sufficient to have wrought him to repentance. The proffer or promise of a benefit by a sober and well-disposed person unto any man, upon the perform- ance of svich or such a condition, always supposeth, at least in his apprehension, a sufficiency of power in him to whom such a promise or pi'offer is made to perform this condition. To pro- mise any thing upon other terms is rather an insultation over the weakness of him to whom the promise is made, than any matter of kindness which the nature of a promise still imports. The promise of a reward of a thousand pounds made unto a cripple or poor man whose legs had been cut off, upon condition he will run twenty miles within an hour's space, were merely to deride such a man in his misery. Therefore certainly Pharaoh, God by many promissory intimations time after time signifying unto him, that upon his repentance and letting his people go, the judgments threatened should not come upon him, is hereby evicted to have had a sufficiency of means or power for the fulfilling of the said condition of reoentance and of dismissing the people. 4. Pharaoh, by the means which were vouchsafed unto him, did several times actually and truly repent of his obstinacy, and promised, yea, and gave order for the dismission and departure of the people. (Exod. x. 16, 17; xii. 31, 32, &c.) Therefore he was, questionless, in a sufficient capacity to have repented TITK NIKTII ( [rAPTEU TO TIIK, UOMAXS. 207 and dismissed the people. That afterwards he repented of this his repentance, and returned to his former obdurateness, is no argument that his former repentance was not true. Yea, if this repentance had been hollow or counterfeit, his repenting of it had been no sin. And besides, if the tree, as our Saviour saith, be known by the fruit, that repentance of Pharaoh which produced, (1.) Confession of sin, and of this committed both against God and men. (Exod. x. 16 ;) (2.) Application by way of entreaty unto the saints, to pray unto God for him ; {ibid ;\ (3.) An express order, with encouragement unto Moses and Aaron, to expedite the departure of their people according to the commandment of God, and this in as ample a manner as them- selves desired it ; (Exod. xii. 31,32;) — that repentance, I say, which brought forth such fruits as these must needs be con- ceived to have been a true repentance. And, doubtless, had Pha- raoh persisted in this repentance, and not relapsed into his former provocation, which he was no ways necessitated unto, he had escaped that dreadful stroke from heaven which he met with in the Red Sea. 5. No man, I presume, ever yet conceived that Pharaoh died under the guilt of that unpardonable sin against the Ploly Ghost ; if not, then during the whole course of his disobedience against God he was not to any such degree destitute or deprived of the grace or good Spirit of God, but that, by the help and assistance hereof, as was said formerly, he was in a possibility of recovering out of that snare of Satan wherein his foot was taken.* 6. And lastly : The reason why God did beforehand declare thus : " I will harden Pharaoh''s heart," rather than " I will soften Pharaoh's heart,'" though his antecedent intentions stood for the softening it, might probably be this ; partly because he knew that the hardening of his heart would be the issue and event of those applications he intended to make imto him ; partly, also, because had he told Moses beforehand that he would soften Pharaoh's heart, and Moses, in the transaction of the business, had found the contrary, it might have proved a grand discouragement unto him. Upon a hke account, I suppose, our Saviour (Luke xii. 51) pre-informs his disciples, not of his primary or antecedent intentions of sending forth his Gospel " See this proved from the Scripture, Ayrecment and Dhtance of Brethren, pp. Gl, 62, &c. 208 AX KXPOSITIOX OF into the world, which were to make peace on earth amongst men, inasmuch as he knew these more generally would not take place ; but rather of his consequent, because he foresaw that these would be fulfilled in many places and amongst great num- bers of men, and knew, withal, that should his disciples have met with these cross effects or events of the Gospel in the world, and not have been pre-admonished of them accordingly, they might have been much troubled, and fainted under the trial. " Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth ? I tell you. Nay ; but rather division/' If it be yet demanded concerning Pharaoh and God's har- dening him, " whether God could not, if he had so pleased, have dealt with Pharaoh after such a manner, what by the inward motions and workings of his Spirit within him, and what by such outward applications of himself unto him, so as by the one and the other, either severally or jointly, to have brought him to repentance, at least, so far as to have let the children of Israel go, and, consequently, to have prevented his destruction ; and if God, had he so pleased, might have brought Pharaoh to repentance, and so have prevented his destruction, and yet did neither, how can he be said truly and really to have intended either ? "" I answer, 1. That the power of God, simply and in itself considered, without that regulation which it admitteth from his wisdom and righteousness in the motions and actings of it, there is little question to be made but that he could have handled Pharaoh upon such terms as to have made him stoop and yield to the departure of the children of Israel. Yea, had God refused to heal his land of any of those plagues which were inflicted on it, and for a time clave unto it, until he had suffered the people quietly to depart, doubtless he would have submitted hereunto, rather than have suffered his kingdom to be destroyed by his obstinacy in such a case. And the text itself of the story taketh notice from place to place, that the removal and taking off of the several judgments from time to time by God was that which occasioned toties quoties Pharaoh's re-obduration. (Exod. viii. 15,32; ix. 12, 31.; x. 20.) This clearly implieth that had any of the said judgments been continued in their strength and terror upon this land and people fos any considerable space of time, his stiff neck would have bowed, and his stout heart ' have yielded to the departure of the people. But, THE XTNTTI CHAPTER TO TIIK KOMANS. 209 2, If we speak of the po\»er of God as regulated, managed, or acted by the infinite wisdom and understanding of God in conjunction with his righteousness, in which sense the Scriptures constantly speak of it, in matters of divine administrations in the world, so it may be as truly affirmed, on the other hand, that God was not able, or, which is the same, that it was not in the power of God, to work Pharaoh unto repentance, or, conse- quently, to prevent his destruction. The true meaning and import of such a saying as this is no more but this, — that God is not able to do any thing unwisely or unrighteously ; or, which is the same, which he judgeth repugnant to any principle, either of wisdom or righteousness, for him to do. And such a saying as this is but of the same confederacy, both in reason and truth, with these, and the like, which are every man's sayings, that God cannot lie, cannot deceive, cannot forswear himself, cannot do unjustly, nor any thing whatsoever which includeth either sin or imperfection. Of this regulated power of his, God him- self speaketh : " What could have been done more to my vine- yard, that I have not done in it ? wherefore, when I looked that it should bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild grapes ?'''' (Isaiah v. 4.) God, by his power, simply and absolutely considered, could have done a thousand things more to his vine- yard, to make it fruitful according to his mind, than now he had done in it or to it ; he could have multiplied both miracles and Prophets without number, above what he yet had done ; yea, and have wrought such signs and wonders in the midst of it, which should, in greatness and majesty of conviction, have exceeded an hundred-fold all those that had been as yet wrought here ; and so, likewise, have raised up and sent Prophets unto them far more excellently qualified and gifted than those who had been now sent unto them. But God, in the words specified-" speaks of his regulated power ; that is, of his power as directed and drawn forth into action by his wisdom, in consort with his righteousness : And in respect of this power he demands, " What could have been done more to my vineyard, that 1 have not done in it ?'''' meaning, that he had turned every stone, attempted every way, method, and means, by which it was any ways honourable and meet for him to endeavour their repentance, and so to preserve them from ruin and destruction. He must have made a breach upon his own principles of wisdom and righteousness, which was unpossible for liim to do, according to I' 210 AN FX POSITION OF that of the Apostle, " He cannot deny himself," if he had pro- ceeded any whit further, done any thing more upon that account. This might be illustrated and confirmed from that passage, " And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending ; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place : But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his Prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy." (2 Chron. xxxvi. 15, 16.) These last words, " till there was no remedy," import that the people had proceeded to that height of wickedness, that there was notliing, as it were, left in God to help or heal them ; his power had been drawn out to the uttermost of its regular capacity to do them good, and prevent their ruin ; but it pre- vailed not. This, likewise, is plainly implied in that other clause, where he is said to have had compassion on his people. Doubtless, if he had compassion on them, he did not only vouchsafe a bare sufficiency of means unto them, or such, by the highest and utmost improvement whereof they might have been reclaimed from the evil of their ways, and so have been preserved from ruin ; but as rich and full a proportion of such means as his utmost estate in power, so considered as hath been declared, could afford. He doth not truly compassionate a person in misery, who doth not afford him the best means he is able, with wisdom and discretion, for his relief, in case he cannot be relieved otherwise. Of this regulated power of God the Evangelist Mark also speaketh, where, speaking of Christ now being in his own country, he saith, "And he could there do xo mighty work, save that he laid his hand of a few folk, and healed them." (Mark vi. 5.) The expression implieth, not that that arm of omnipotency by which the Lord Christ wrought so many " mighty works " in other places, was either shortened, or any ways weakened or enfeebled, by coming into or remaining in his own country ; but only that it admitted such a kind of regulation here by his wisdom, in respect of differing circumstances, which it did not receive in other places ; and^ consequently, was at liberty to work many mighty works there, which it wanted here. What circumstance it was in particular, according to the exigency whereof the infinite wisdom of Christ regulated and contracted his power to a narrower sphere of. action in his own country than it did in other parts, the Evan- gelist Matthew clearly expresseth, where, speaking of the same THK NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 211 tiling, he saith, " And he did not many mighty works there BECAUSE OF THEIR UNBELIEF." (Matt. xiii. 58.) Christ judged it not a thing reasonable or meet, and, consequently, it was impossible for him to do it, to multiply miracles or mighty works, where the people generally were either blockish, and set not their hearts or minds upon the interpretation and import of them, or otherwise were of malicious and perverse spirits, draw- ing only darkness out of light, depraving and blaspheming that glorious power by which they were effected. Of the same regulated power we speak of, the Apostle Paul also spake, when he said to the centurion and soldiers concerning the mariners now about to flee out of the ship, " Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved." (Acts xxvii. 31.) Questionless, the power of God, simply considered, did not stand in need of the help or presence of the mariners to preserve either the ship, or those that were in it, from the danger unto which both were now exposed ; but the regulated power of God did. For he had promised unto his beloved servant, Paul, tanquam munus honorarium, " as a reward of honour," the lives, not of some, but of ALL, that sailed with him in the ship ; (verse 24 ;) meaning, if they would all agree, and be content to accept of their preservation upon this account, and be directed by Paul in order hereunto, that so the deliverance might be discerned to be given unto them by God for his sake ; and therefore did not judge it meet or honourable for him to make good his promise by halves, nor yet contrary to the terms upon which it was made, and according to which the performance of it was intended. Therefore, in case the mariners, who were a part of those with Paul in the ship, should attempt their preservation another way, as, namely, by escaping in their boat, and so, in case they should have been thus preserved, their preservation would not have been ascribed to PauFs interest in God, but to their own wisdom and providence, God declares plainly to the residue of those in the ship, by the mouth of his servant Paul, that, unless they took a course to keep the mariners also in the ship, it would not be in his power to save them ; meaning, as hath been said, that it would not be honourable in point of wisdom for him to save them ; in which respect he could not do it. That clause, also, speaking of Christ, " Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him," (Heb. vii. 25,) speaketh, clearly enough, not of the simple or absolute, r2 212 AN EXPOSITION OF but of the regulated, ability or power of Christ to save. For in respect of his power, simply considered, he is able to save even those also to the uttermost, or, for evermore, who do not come unto God by him. And, if so, what great comfort is it for believers themselves, who are they that do " come unto God by him," to hear that he is able to save them upon the same terms ! Therefore, doubtless, the Holy Ghost, by the ability or power of Christ to save, in the passage before us, means, not his absolute, but his regulated, power to save ; for by this he is able to save those who " come unto God by him," but no others. The power of God is in several other scriptures, besides those mentioned, which would be too long to insist upon particularly, represented unto us under that notion of regulation which we have now opened. (See Gen. xix. 22 ; Eph. i. 11 ; 2 Tim. i. 12; ii. 13; Heb. ii. 18 ; besides others.) And as these texts speak of the power of God as regulated, so that of David, Psalm xcix. 4, speaketh, in part, of the regulation itself: "The King's strength also" (he speaketh of the King " that sitteth between the cherubims," verse 1) "loveth judgment;" meaning, that the omnipotency of God in all the exertions, motions, and actings of it, submitteth itself willingly, and with delight, to a prudent and righteous regulation, which it receiveth from his infinite wisdom and understanding. For, to define, or deter- mine what is judgment, that is, what is just, righteous, and meet to be done, appertaineth to the understanding. And^as he that loveth is in a kind of subjection to that, whether person or thing, which he loveth, and receiveth many laws and regula- tions from it, as, namely, concerning the doing of such and such things which are for the benefit, good, and well-being of it, and, on the other hand, concerning the forbearing of such and such actions, which are contrary thereunto ; in like manner, the strength or power of the great King, loving judgment, must of necessity be conceived to be in a kind of subjection unto it, and to accept of such terms of regulation from it, by the observation whereof the said strength or power must necessarily not only act and do all things accommodations unto it, but refrain also the doing of all such other things which are prejudicial to it, and inconsistent with the interest and honour of it. The substance and import of this late saying of David is contained in that of the Apostle Paul, Eph. i. 11, though the words seem to look another way. For here, speaking of God, he saith, that " he TltK NINTH <:HA1'TEII to the ROMANS. 213 worketh all things after," or, according to, ■x.a.ra., " the counsel of his own will," or, t« ^sXYjfji,aTos ocvtb, the will of himself, not simply, " according to his will," but, " according to the counsel of his will ;" according to that regulation which his operative or acting will receiveth from his wisdom or understanding. Now if God, or the power of God, worketh and acteth all things, nothing at all excepted, not according to his mere will or plea- sure, (which are some men's unhappy expressions, but put to rebuke by the Holy Ghost here,) but " according to the coun- sel of his will," in the sense declared, it clearly follows, that the omnipotency of God is continually, in all the movings and workings of it, steered and directed, enlarged and contracted, led this way or that way, by the influence or superintendency of his infinite wisdom and understanding. And wheresoever elsewhere any thing is ascribed unto the will of God simply, and without mention of the " counsel" thereof, the sense of the place or phrase is to be reduced vmto, and regulated by, the scripture last specified, where he is said to " work all things according to the COUNSEL of his own will;" according to that known rule for interpretation of Scripture, namely, that places more par- ticular and full ought to rule the sense of those that are more brief, and, consequently, more obscure. So that the Scripture, speaking of the power of God, in this consideration, may truly and properly enough aflSrm many things to be unpossible to him, which in respect of his power, simply considered, are very possible and easy unto him. There is an eye of, or somewhat in appearance like unto, that regulated power which the Scripture ascribes unto God himself, to be seen in his children also ; and this by the same light of the Scriptures by which we come to under- stand the other. For as the infinite wisdom and understanding of God renderetli many things unpossible unto him, which by his absolute power are very possible for him to do ; so doth that participation of this wisdom which he vouchsafeth to the " chil- dren of light," the saints, contract their power also, according to the exigency of circumstances, and in relation to things law- ful and meet for them to do. In which respect evil works and practices of sin, and things unworthy of them, though in respect of those human faculties and abilities vested in them, possible more than enough for them to do, are, notwithstanding, fre- quently in Scripture asserted as impossibilities unto them. " For we," saith our Apostle, " can do nothing against the 214 AN EXPOSITION OF truth, but for the truth.'' (2 Cor. xiii. 8.) Doubtless, he spealcs of his regulated power ; for, otherwise, by his power, or by his abiUties, simply considered, he was as able, yea, more able, in some respects, to act " against the truth," as other men. Thus also the Apostle John : " Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin ; for his seed remaineth in him : and he cannot SIN, because he is born of God." (1 John iii. 9) These last words, " because he is born of God," import, that that power of sinning, (meaning, against light and consciencOv) which hath a being in the saints, considered simply as men, is restrained and abolished, as to the acting of such sin, by that divine light and heavenly understanding which is the seed of their regeneration; according to that of James, " Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth ; " that is, by the knowledge and understand- ing of that glorious and blessed truth, contained and declared in the word, that is, in the Gospel, or in the Scriptures. For no man is begotten " by the word of truth," as by a charm or spell, or any otherwise than by means of the sound knowledge and understanding of it, that is, of the truth asserted in it. Thus Joseph, likewise, being tempted unto sin by his mistress, repelleth the temptation by demanding, " How can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God.''" meaning, that the knowledge which he had of God, and of the horridness of sinning against him, disabled him from the doing of that which in other respects he was as able to do as other men. In respect of this contraction, limitation, and confinement of the power and abilities of the saints unto things lawful, and ways and practices approved of God, they are by our Apostle so frequently said to be " dead unto sin." (Rom. vi. 2, 11 ; Col. iii. 3 ; 2 Tim. ii. 11. See also 1 Peter ii. 24.) So that maxim in the civil law, Id tantum possumus, quod jure possumus, is, in the literal sense of it, true, both of God and his saints: Neither the one nor the other have power to do any thing, but what their respective understandings inform them to be just, meet, and honourable for them to do. In respect of that regulated power of God which we have clearly evinced from the Scriptures, it is more than probable, that he doeth whatsoever he is able to do for the bringing of all men to repentance, and so for the salvation of the whole world. Therefore, 3. And lastly : To argue the non-intentions of God from liis non-assccutions is as impertinent and weak a kind of arguing THE NINTH CHAl'TEll TO THE ROMANS. 215 as lightly can be. For, as he that offers the full value, and rather with the most, for a commodity, as, suppose a horse, a house, or the like, in case he that is to sell or part with this horse or house shall refuse to let him have either at the price he offereth, cannot reasonably be thought not to have intended, and this very really and seriously, the purchase of either, because, though being a rich man and able, yet he would not come up to the unreasonable demands of the seller, and so to purchase to himself the blot and disparagement of a fool with his money ; in like manner, when God proceedeth so far as he judgeth meet and agreeable to true wisdom, in vouchsafing means and opportunities unto men in order to their repentance and salva- tion, which is the measure that he measureth unto every man, it cannot reasonably be said of him that he doth not or did not really and seriously intend their repentance and salvation, only because he did not that which infallibly, and with certainty of event and success, should cause them to repent and so be saved ; which, being rightly interpreted, is nothing less than the doing of that which was unpossible for him to do. So, then, it is as clear as the light at noon-day, that God's hardening Pharaoh by such means as he did, and the showing of his power in his destruction hereupon, are no arguments or proof that simply and absolutely he intended either ; or that he did not really and truly intend his repentance and preservation by means hereof. All this while we see how methodically and closely our Apos- tle keeps to the line of his engagement, which is to argue and illustrate his doctrine of justification by faith; and, particu- larly in the passages last explained, to vindicate the said doctrine from the pretended crime or imputation of unrighteousness in respect of those who, according to the tenor and effect thereof, are rejected by God and perish. The ground upon which this his vindication standeth is this : God is at liberty, hath a just- ness of power to reject, reprobate, and destroy whom he will. Those whom he willeth thus to reject, reprobate, and destroy, he hath in the example of Pharaoh, and by his proceedings with him from first to last, declared to be obstinate and impeni- tent unbelievers. Therefore, the doctrine of justification in the sight of God by faith reflecteth not the least shadow of unrigh- teousness upon him. By the way, all that we have reasoned from the Scripture in hand, with many others, concerning Pharaoh and God's coun- 216 AK EXPOSITION OF sel and intentions about his raising up, and casting down by destruction, sufficiently evince that the Apostle's intent in his inserting the brief of his story in his present discourse, was to propound him for an instance or example of that sort or kind of men which God by his consequent will is resolved to reject, reprobate, harden, and destroy, namely, such who are finally stubborn, impenitent, and unbelieving. The Apostle in all this plainly enough parallels the case and condition of the stubborn and unbelieving Jews, with whom more particularly he had to do in the present discourse, with the case of Pharaoh, as it is recorded in their own Scriptures. Let us now, from the two verses last explained, take up some brief observations, and so proceed with our interpretation. 1. Whereas the Apostle (verse 17) expresseth himself thus : " For the Scripture saith unto Pharaoh," his meaning, as was explained, being, that God himself spake thus unto him ; it is observable, that what the Scriptures speaketh ought to be con- ceived and understood as spoken by God himself unto the world* (2 Tim. iii. 16; 2 Peter i. 16, 21 ; Gal. iii. 22, &c.) 2. Whereas we hear of God's raising up Pharaoh, in the sense declared, for the end here specified, the " showing of his power in him,"" &c. ; it is most worthy of observation, that where God vouchsafeth the greatest and most signal favours, he always intends the greatest exemplariness of severity in case of dis- obedience and impenitency. (Amos iii. 2 ; Matt. xi. 23 ; xxiii. 37, 38, &c.) 3. From those words, " And that my name may be declared through all the earth, '"' knowledge may be taken, that, in the most severe punishments and executions done upon wicked men, God's intentions are very gracious to the generality of men surviving and succeeding, namely, in ordering and disposing such executions to the more effectual publication and manifesta- tion of his most worthy and great name amongst them. (Psalm Iviii. 10, 11; Num. xiv. 21—23; Deut. xiii. 9—11.) 4. From this inference of the Apostle, " Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, " this doctrine springeth, that the gracious will and good pleasure of God, and not the will or apprehension of man, is, and this with greatest reason and equity, the rule according unto which mercy and favour shall be shown unto men. (Eph. i. 11 ; 2 Cor. x. Hi; John vi. 40, &c.) THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 217 5. And lastly: From those words, "And whom lie will he hardeneth ;" this observation in like manner presenteth itself, that the will of God, not the sense, conceit, or will of men, ought to umpire and determine who and what kind of persons are to be and shall be rejected, punished, and reprobated by God. Proceed we now to exposition. Verse 19. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault ? For who hath resisted his will ? — This par- ticle, " then,'' or, as it is in the original, therefore, epsi^ ow, showeth that the objection or demand contained in the rest of the words was occasioned from the last clause or inference of the Apostle in the former verse, " And whom he will he hardeneth.'"' This yet further appeareth from that other particle, stj, yet, which will not accommodate the objection in reference to any other clause or passage preceding. So that the Apostle raising and propounding the objection thus : " Thou wilt say then unto me. Why doth he yet find fault," &c., in more plainness of speech speaketh thus : " Because I affirm and teach concerning God, that whom he will he hardeneth," therefore it is like that one or other, not well understanding the sense, or not duly weighing the grounds of such a doctrine, will be ready to object and demand, ' Why doth he yet,' namely, when men are now hardened by him, ' find fault?'" reprove, [or complain, as the word fjisfji'^ecrSai signifieth ; meaning of such persons as that they continue wicked, obstinate, disobedient, &c., and will not repent ; taking it for granted, and that not without cause, that God, indeed, is wont to find fault with, to reprove, and complain even of such men whom he hath hardened. The reasonable- ness or strength of the objection, such as it is, is held forth by the objector in the latter demand, as the ratiocinative particle, "for," importeth, " For who hath resisted his will ?" As if he had said, Men, being hardened by the irresistible will of God, cannot reasonably be complained of or reproved by him, either for being or remaining hardened or impenitent. The principle, in reason and common equity, upon which this objection is founded, is this, that men are excusable in whatsoever they are necessitated unto by a power greater than they are able to withstand, and ought not to be reproved upon such an account, especially not by him by whose overbearing power they have been necessitated thereunto. For the phrase, " Who hath resisted," it imports, who hath 218 AN EXPOSITION OK been able to resist, according to that rule by which the Scripture speaketh many things. " Many times the negation of a power to act is included in and with the negation of the act only."*'* Thus God himself speaketh : " And there is none delivereth out of my hand." (Isaiah xliii. 13.) Thus the original hath it, and Junius and Tremellius accordingly render it, and Master Henry Ainsworth also; that is, " None that can deliver out of my hand," Sec, as our English readeth it. So again : " The land did not bear them," (Gen. xiii. 6,) in the original ; that is, " was not able to bear them," as we have it translated. (Compare Matt. xii. 25, with Markiii. 24, 25; and again. Matt. xvii. 21, with Mark ix. 29.) So that the meaning of the words before us, " Who hath resisted his will .? " is, Who hath been, is, or ever shall be, able to resist, that is, to frustrate or to hinder, the coming to pass or being of that which God willeth shall come to pass or be ? By the way, unless by the will of God, in this clause, be meant, that which some call his decreeing will, that is, that will wherewith himself willeth to do a thing, and not his pre- ceptive will, wherewith he only commands something to be done by men, there is no strength, nor colour of strength, or reason in the demand. For, concerning this latter will of God, it may rather be demanded, " Who hath not," at least in many things, " resisted it ? " " In many things," saith James, " we offend all," that is, do many things contrary to the preceptive will of God, and so do not suffer many things willed by him, in this sense, to take place. If we understand the clause to speak of the other, the decreeing will of God, the sense of it must be this: " Who ever hath been, is, or will be, able to hinder the coming to pass of that whicli God hath absolutely and against all possible interveniences decreed to effect.''" According to such a sense as this, the truth is, that the objection hath very little in it in opposition to the Apostle's doctrine of God's hard- ening whom he will. For when he saith of God, that " whom he will he hardeneth," it neither supposeth, in the first place, his actual hardening of any man, but only his just liberty or power to harden whom he pleaseth : Nor, 2. Doth it suppose any purpose or decree in him to harden any man against all possible interveniences, or without the doing of that by those • Negatio actm icepc etiam connotat ncrjathmcm potential. THE NINTH (^HAi'TEK TO THE KOMANS. 219 who are hardened which they might very possibly have prevented or not have done, as we have formerly proved at large, but at the most, a purpose to harden those who shall first voluntarily harden themselves : Nor, 3. Doth it suppose that they who are actually hardened by God are in no capacity or possibility, by means of that grace of God which is yet vouchsafed unto them, notwithstanding their hardening, of recovering themselves from under it, or of betaking themselves to the altar of repentance. The contrary hereunto hath likewise been clearly evicted by us. Now, then, though the decreeing will of God be, in the sense declared, irresistible, yet if this will be, 1. To harden none but those who voluntarily first harden themselves, and so might have prevented their hardening : And, 2. To leave those whom he doth at any time harden in a capacity of relenting and returning to their former or a greater tenderness, so that if they do it not, it becomes a high aggravation of their former sin ; certainly he hath reason in abundance to reprove and complain of those who are at any time hardened by him and so continue- For reproofs are in no case more proper than when men through their wilful foolishness have incurred any great danger and incon- venience ; and especially when, having power and opportunity in their hands to redeem themselves, they shall, notwithstanding, neglect to do it. These things considered, it fully appears that there is little or no strength in the objection ; and that it savour- eth more of a captious humour, or wicked desire to quarrel with the righteous proceedings of God against stubborn and disobe- dient men, or else to trouble, incumber, and disparage tlie Apostle''s doctrine, than of any true desire to be satisfied in the truth hereof, or of any conscientious scruple in the objector about it ; and, upon this account, seemeth rather to be the objec- tion of some perverse-minded Jew than of any other.* Even as in these days, it is exceedingly to be feared that many raise objections, and some write books against several doctrines, not so much out of any ingenuity or goodness of conscience, as really and upon ground judging the said doctrines to be erroneous and unsound, or out of any Christian desire to be satisfied either touching the truth or untruth of them, as to disfigure their faces • An objection, eitLer of a carnal man's ignorance, who dotli not apprehend the Apostle's true meaning in this aforesaid will of God, and hardening of man ; or of a reprobate's rage, who imputes his perdition mito God, &c. — J. Diodat. in locum. 220 AN EXPOSITION OF and heap reproaches upon the heads of these doctrines, lest their beauty and truth should commend them with too high a hand unto the world. But that the objection yet before us proceeds from a great unworthiness of spirit, either through impudence or ignorance, or both, in the objector, the answer which the Apostle returns to it maketh evident ; the tenor of which answer followeth in these words. 20 Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God ? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus ? 21 Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour ? I scarce know any one passage of the Scriptute more impor- tunely handled, and more frequently abused, than this : " Nay but, O man, who art thou that repHest against God?" When men, in the great questions of predestination and reprobation, bring forth any text of Scripture, one or more, which, as they conceive and interpret, make for their notion in these points, though the sense which they put upon these scriptures be never so uncouth, horrid, and loudly dissonant from the genuine and true meaning of the Holy Ghost; yet, if any man goeth about to contradict their sense, or, by the clearest evidence of reason, to overthrow their interpretation, they presently fall upon him with the sharp two-edged sword of this apostolical reproof: " Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God ? " As if Paul had left them his heirs and successors in the infalli- bility of his Spirit ; or, as if all the spots of darkness and igno- rance were clean scoured out of the moon of their understand- ings. Indeed, if men could now give us as good security, that they have the mind of God and of Christ as Paul did that he had them, there were some better colour for the bearing them out in the exercise of such Apostle-like jurisdiction against those who refuse to bow down to their apprehensions. But when men shall call a solid and sober answer to their reasonless and ground- less conceits about the meaning of the Scriptures, a replying against God, it savours more of his spirit who was seen falling THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE UOMANS. 221 like liglitning from heaven, than of his who saw him in this his fall. (Lukex. 18.) This only by the way. The Apostle's answer to the objection or demand propounded consisteth, as Calvin well observeth, of two parts.* The former is a sharp objurgation or reproof; the latter, a substantial vin- dication of the righteousness and wisdom of God in those pro- ceedings of his with men, both which the objection seemeth desirous to impeach. Each part of the answer is propounded in one and the same interrogative form and tenor of speech ; the former thus : " Nay but, O man, who art thou that rephest against God .?" The latter : " Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another to dishonour .?"' Interrogative expressions argue much seriousness and intenseness of mind in him that speaketh, about the things of which he speaketh ; and, withal, are more apt to pierce and awaken the minds and thoughts of those that are spoken unto or hear. In the objurgation or former part of the answer the Apostle toucheth upon three things, to make the objector sensible either of his ignorance or presumption, or both, in admitting and giving way to such thoughts as those of which the objection is made. 1. He reminds him of his own weak and deplorable condition as being a man, and so " sold under sin" and igno- rance: " Nay but, O man, who art thou .?" 2. He sets before him the consideration of the most transcendent greatness, wis- dom, and majesty of Him. against whom he contends, and whom he arraigns by such an objection, in the word " God :" "Who art thou that repliest against God .f* " 3. And lastly: He informs him of the nature or quality of his offence committed in such an objection, against this most glorious and incomprehensible being, God, in that word, o avTwnoy.pivoixsvos, who repliest or takest up a dispute against, or who givest thwart or cross answers unto God. The word will well bear any of these significations ; yet I incline rather to that mentioned in the second place. So that this part of the Apostle's answer, being spread more at large, may be conceived to contain some such address from him as this to the objector : '* How is it, what strange and unheard-of pre- sumption is it, for such a creature as thou art, being a man, • Hac priore responsione nihil aliud quam iinprobitatem illius hlasphemice reiundit arguniento ah hominis conditione sumpto. Alteram mox subjiciet, qua Dei justitiavi nb onini criminaUone vindicabif. 222 AN EXPOSITION' OF dwelling in a house of clay, compassed about with ignorance and darkness, 'sold under sin," adjudged unto death, guilty of eternal death, shouldest undertake to reprove, censure, judge, and condemn the actions and ways of the most high God, as if they were crooked, defective either in justice, or wisdom, or any other excellency ; the actions and ways, I say, of that God who is the sovereign and supreme Ruler of all things, the Lord of life and death, the great Creator, Preserver, Governor of all crea- tures, before whom those great princes of heaven, the holy angels, cover their faces, and heaven and earth are afraid and tremble ; and who, through the riches of his patience hath endured thee in the midst of many great provocations, and all thy sins notwith- standing, hath entreated thee graciously, dealt bountifully with thee, heaped blessings and good things upon thee night and day, in comparison of whom, thou, together with all the nations of the earth, art lighter than vanity, lesser than nothing itself? that such an one as thou art shouldest lift up a thought against such a God as this, or the least of his ways, is such a thing, such a deportment of a creature, at which the sun may be ashamed, and the moon abashed, and the earth removed out of his place." In the words following, " Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it. Why hast thou made me thus ?"" the Apostle further ampHfies and exaggerates the indignity put upon God by him that should rise up against him with any such demand as, " Why doth he yet find fault ? For who hath resisted his will?" meaning, that he that shall thus expostulate with God doth no otherwise, no whit better, than if an earthen pitcher should contend with him that formed it, and demand an account of him why he made it in such or such a shape as now he hath done, and not rather in some other. This comparison sets off the deportment of the objector towards God with a kind of unnatural and prodigious deformity and unworthiness. For what can there lightly be imagined more repugnant to the law of nature or light of reason, than that that which receives the benefit or good of being from another, which, how mean or ordi- nary soever it be, it could no ways deserve or claim from him that gave it, should, notwithstanding, censure or reprove him because the being which he gave unto it was not better, or some other, than what it is ? Have sheep or oxen any cause to find fault with their Creator because he made them such, and not men ? or men, that he made them men, and not angels ? espe- THE NINTH CHAPTF.R TO THE KOAFANS. 223 cially considering that it was impossible for God to have given any other beings unto them than those which he hath now given them, and by which they are that which they are. God could, indeed, have made other creatures, and, doubtless, better than they, when he made them ; but what had this been to them in case they had not been made ? It cannot, upon this account, be said, that he had done better for them, or given them any better being than what they now have ; nay, if they had not received those very kinds of beings which now they have, they could have had no being at all, but only other creatures should have had beings in their stead. Nor ought the Apostle's similitude or comparison seem impro- per to set forth or show the vinreasonableness of the objector in the mentioned objection, although the objection doth not speak of the natural form or simple being of man, but only of God's handling of him or dealing by him being now made. Because, 1. Man having ginned and provoked his Maker hath hereby forfeited his very being, nor is in any capacity of claiming, by any right or law of equity from God, any manner of being, in the least degree or in any respect desirable. Therefore, for a man in this lost condition to expostulate with God why he deals by him so or so, why he doth not entreat him more graciously than he doth, is equivalent to an expostulation with him about the terms or manner of his simple being. 2. This expostulation with God about his handling or dealing by his creature man, and particularly in the matter of hardening upon much voluntary provocation preceding, is so much the more unreasonable,because, the wisdom and justice of God considered, it is not meet, and, consequently, not possible, for him to proceed otherwise with him, or to alter his state and condition, until by means of that grace which is still vouchsafed unto him, notwithstanding his present induration, he stir up himself to seek " an heart of flesh,'" a soft and tender heart, from God. By the way, there is nothing in this part of the Apostle's answer, no, not in these words, " Nay but, O man, who art thou that re- pliest against God ? '"' which imports any unlawfulness or unmeet- ness for men with reverence and sobriety to search out as well the righteousness and equity as the wisdom and goodness, as of the counsels, so of the ways and dispensations, of God. Abraham discoursed with God, propounding several questions and receiv- ing answers from him, during the discourse, concerning his righ- 224 A.V KXPOSITIOX OF teousness in the destruction of Sodom, in such and such cases. (Gen. xviii.) And Jeremy the Prophet desired leave of God to reason with him about his judgments and the prosperity of wicked men. (Jer. xii. 1.) Job also reasoned many things with God about his righteousness and equity in afflicting him as he did, and yet was blameless. The Prophet David, speaking of the great works of God in his government of the world, saith, that they are " sought out of all them that have pleasure therein."" (Psalm cxi. 2.) And, doubtless, he that desires to be praised by men " with understanding," (Psalm xlvii. 7,) and is as well, if not as much, to be praised for his righteousness, for his just and equitable administrations of human affairs in the world, as for any other his attributes and perfections, is well pleased with those who endeavour to make the rough things of his ways smooth ; I mean, to reconcile those things in his ways which unto men are apt to seem unequal and hard, with the clear principles of justice and equity, such as are written by himself in the fleshly tables of men's hearts, that so men may praise him for his righteousness " with understanding." There- fore, all that which the words now before us import in this kind, is, that it is intolerable presumption and impiety in men to accuse, quarrel, or arraign the counsels and ways of God for any defect, whether in wisdom or righteousness, when they are plainly declared unto them, and evicted to be his, or when men cannot reasonably doubt or question whether they be his or no. For this was the Apostle's case in reference to that severe objur- gation wherewith he smites the conscience of the objector : " Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God.''" He had expressly, and above all reasonable contradiction, from Pharaoh's case, evinced the truth of this assertion, that God hardeneth whom he will. It is a far different case when such counsels or ways are obtruded upon us by men, as fallible in their judg- ments as ourselves, in the name of the counsels and ways of God; and more especially when such counsels or ways are upon these terms obtruded, which have an open eye of unequalness, injustice, and partiality in them ; and nothing so much as alleged to cover this great nakedness and shame, but only the prerogative of God to do what he pleaseth, when as the great question is, whether he pleaseth to do any such thing or no, yea, rather, when it is scarce any question at all but that such things arc most displeasing unto him. TIIK NINTH (HAl'TKU TO THE KOMANS. 225 If it be said, " But might not he that should make such an objection against the said doctrine of the Apostle as that men- tioned, ' Why doth he then yet complain ?' &c., make it out of weakness, in conjunction with a real desire of receiving satisfac- tion about that which was a real scruple unto him against it, and which is mentioned in the objection ; considering, that a thing may be evidently proved, and to the full satisfoction of some, which, notwithstanding, may remain doubtful unto others ? If this were the case with the objector here, is not the objurgatory part of the Apostle's answer raised to too high a pin of severity and soreness of reproof ?" I answer, 1. Some account hath been given formerly that the Apos- tle, by the tenor and purport of the objection, intends to personate, not an humble or conscientious man, modestly and with a spirit of meekness desirous of satisfaction in things wherein he was dark, but of a man impatient of hearing the truth, when the light of it breaks out to the discovery of the nakedness of some or other of his darling notions or conceits, and who is not tender of speaking most unworthily of God to salve the credit of his own opinion, or his inordinate contentment received from it. I here add, 2. That the very form of the objection, as it is here drawn up and exhibited unto us by the Apostle, bewrays rather a con- fident and insulting spirit in the objector, a spirit that thought itself sufficiently furnished with knowledge, wisdom, and under- standing, utterly to overthrow the Apostle's doctrine at once, than a spirit burdened with its own weakness and ignorance, or desirous of help from those that were able to relieve it. Look narrowly in the face of the objection, and you will see haughti- ness sitting on the eye-lids of it. " Thou wilt say then unto me. Why doth he yet find fault ? For who hath resisted his will .?" Doth not he that speaketh these things find fault with God himself for finding favdt with men, as if God's act in find- ing fault were justly taxable, but his own faultless and irreprov- able ? Yea, doth he not presume to give a reason whereby, as he conceives, God's act in finding fault with men is evicted of error and unreasonableness ? What else meaneth this clduse subjoined: "For who hath resisted his will?" whereas, ques- tionless, the thought of his heart was, that no good reason could be given by any man to evince any thing culpable in his finding fault with God ; because then, it is like, that he would have 226 AX KXPOSTTION" OK refrained such his reproof. So that tlie highest strain of severity in the Apostle's reproof doth not rise a whit above the line of the demerit of the objection. 3. And lastly : It is not unlikely but that the Apostle in his reproof might and did bear somewhat the harder with his authority upon the objector here, that all others in all succeed- ing generations might be more effectually admonished both to think and speak reverently and with honour of all the counsels and ways of God, and tremble at all communion or affinity with this objector in his impiety. This for the former part of the Apostle's answer to the objection, (verse 20,) wherein he sharply reproves the inditer, and so declares the sinfulness of it. The latter part of his answer followeth : — Hath not the potter power over the clay? Sj-c. — The Apostle in this part of his answer further demonstrates the importune unreasonableness of the said objection, giving a clear account how God may harden whom he will, and yet, both justly and with wisdom every ways beseeming him, find fault with or com- plain of those who are hardened by him, and this notwithstand- ing any irresistibleness of his will in such cases or sense wherein it is irresistible. Notice may be taken by the way, that the passage and words now before us are the first-born of that presumed strength which many think they find in this chapter to stand by them in their opinion of an absolute reprobation of men under a mere personal consideration from eternity. But to me it is the first-born of manifest and apparent truths, that there is nothing at all, little or much, contained or intended by the Apostle, in the said pas- sage, of any comport with such a notion or opinion. And I doubt not but by a diligent examination of the words themselves, together with the context round about them, I shall be able to make this clear to any unpartial or considering man. But men that are inordinate in their desires after expedition, are never like to understand those things which are most expedient for them to know. It is a common saying, but exceeding true, and most worthy some men's considerations, that omne compendium^ dispendium^ haste hath made the greatest part, if not the whole, of that waste of truth which hath been made in the world. But to the words : — Hath not the potter, Sj-c. — I suppose it is no man's question, whether the Apostle, in these words, had an eye, at least of THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 227 allusion, if not of proof and confirmation also, to that passage of the Prophet Jeremy, where, being commanded by God to go down to a potter's house, whilst he stood by, and beheld one vessel miscarrying and marred in this potter''s hand, whilst it was in framing, and another presently made of the same matter by him, the word of the Lord came to him in this tenor : " O house of Israel, cannot I do with you as tliis potter ? saith the Lord. Behold, as the clay is in the potter's hand, so are ye in my hand, O house of Israel." (Jer. xviii. 6.) If it be but granted that our Apostle so much as alludeth unto or glanceth at these words spoken by God unto Jeremy, which, I presume, cannot reasonably be denied, nor is denied that I know of by any man, their conceit of the words before us must needs be importune and against reason, who acknowledge no comparison or similitude in them, but affirm and say that by the word "potter" God is properly and directly meant ; by " the lump," the earth of which men are formed and made ; by " vessels unto honour," those that are ordained unto salvation ; by " ves- sels unto dishonour," those that are appointed unto damnation. The sense of the passage, according to this notion of the words, riseth thus, or to this effect : " Hath not the great Potter, God, such a right of power over that earth of which he intendeth to make and form men, that of the same piece or parcel of it he may lawfully make some for life and glory, others for shame and destruction .''" If the words ran thus: "Hath not oue," or, " Hath not the, heavenly Potter power of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dis- honour ?" the sense specified might have some competent agree- ment with the words, although the context ensuing would ill endure it. But now the tenor of them being, as we have heard, " Hath not o Kspscf^evs, the jjotter,'" that is, any ordinary or common potter, " power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour," that sense doth at no hand accommodate the words themselves. The greater part of expositors, as Calvin, Beza, &c., acknow- ledge a comparison in the words potter, power, clay, lump, vessel, Sfc in their grammatical, literal, and proper significa- tions. But whereas every comparison consists of two parts, as well of that which is called the aTroSotrij, that is, the reddition or application, as of that which is termed 'srpoTOKTi;, that is, the fore-part of it, wherein the case or things resembling are a2 228 AN KXI'OSITIOX OK expressed ; the agreement amongst interpreters about this former part of the comparison in hand, which I call the ■urpo- Tcca-i;, is not greater than the disagreement concerning the other. The -uTpoTtxc-ic, or fore-part, of the comparison is voted on all hands, that inconsiderable paucity resenting the former notion excepted, to be expressed in the words oft mentioned, " Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?" (Verse 21.) But, touching the other, the aTroSocrjj, or applicatory part of it, who knoweth when brethren will be reconciled .'' For some conceive that the Apostle, in the comparison, expresseth himself avavraTroSoTwc, that is^ only mentioneth the t^poraa-ii, or fore-part, of the comparison, leaving the latter or applicatory part of it to be supplied out of the former, by the reasons and understandings of men. Others, on the other hand, conceive, and are very confident and assertive herein, that there is a clear and express a7ro8ocratioii, ^Igrce- inent and Distance of Brethren, pp. 14, 15. THE NINTH CHAl'TKR TO THE llOMANS. 231 Ghost, but only such uncertainties and digladiations amongst the attemptors as these, the alone consideration hereof is abun^ dantly sufficient to do it. Nor is it so obvious or easy as many conceive to build such an application upon the Apostle's simi- litude of a potter and his clay, I mean, with aptness and clear- ness of sense in all the parts of it, which will much accommodate the doctrines of absolute election and reprobation. If we shall suppose that the Holy Ghost hath made no application himself of the similitude we speak of, the contrary whereunto, notwith- standing, we shall shortly demonstrate ; yet may there such an application be made of the words, and this upon better grounds, and with a more particular eye of reference to the passage in Jeremy mentioned, from whence the similitude, as hath been noted, is borrowed, than is found in the common application, which hath no sympathy at all with the said doctrines of elec- tion and reprobation from eternity. As for instance : As the " potter" hath " power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour," in like man- ner, yea, and much more, hath God power, that is, a just and equitable power, and which cannot reasonably offend or trouble any man, over men, who have corrupted and embased them- selves by obstinacy, in which respect they may be very well resembled to a lump of clay, to ordain or make some of them, namely, all those who shall repent, vessels of honour and of salvation ; others of them, namely, such who, notwithstanding the patience of God towards them, shall yet remain stubborn and impenitent, vessels of wrath, and vessels of dishonour, or condemnation. But this application is, I confess, the same for matter and substance with that subjoined by the Holy Ghost himself. In this application, that which answereth the potter's clay or lump, in the •zirpoTtx.a-ig of the comparison, is neither man considered as created or as increated, nor yet either as standing or as fallen, nor under any of those other notions mentioned, which may well be compared to those " foolish and unlearned questions" which, as Paul saith, "gender strifes;" (2 Tim. ii. 23 ;) but man considered as having voluntarily embased and polluted himself with a course of obstinate sinning against God. This notion or interpretation of the potter's clay in the simili- tude agrees, (1.) With the parallel place in Jeremy, vvhere the house of Israel, which the Lord here saith were in his hand as the clay in the potter's hand, had been, not only actually. 232 AX EXI'OblTlON' OF but even obstinately, sinful and rebellious against him for a long time ; and, (2.) It agrees, also, with the context and scope of the place, which was to assert and maintain a right of power in God, not to create or make some men with an absolute intent to save them, others with a like intent to destroy them everlastingly, (the Apostle had nothing on foot at present of any communion with such a notion as this,) but to harden whom he will, on the one hand, and to show mercy on whom he will, on the other. Now we have formerly showed and proved, that those wliom God willeth to harden are such who first harden themselves by neglecting the blessed guidance of his patience towards them, which leadeth them to repentance ; and, on the other hand, that those on whom he willeth to show mercy are such who, having polluted themselves with actual transgressions, accept of his gracious pardon held forth unto them, and flee to the golden altar of repentance. And thus we clearly see there is nothing in the second pretended ground upon which men take courage to frame an application of these words, " Hath not the potter power over the clay," &c., of themselves, that will justify or bear them out herein. The application they make doth but flatter them with a fair face ; the heart of it, as we have proved, is not perfect with the words. 3. And lastly : Neither doth the remaining encouragement turn to any better account unto them for their undertaking. For what though they do not apprehend that the Apostle him- self hath drawn up the a7rod?ocrjj, or application, of the OTporao-jj of his comparison, but imagine that he omitted it, with an intent it should be framed and drawn up by them, yet doth it not from hence follow that therefore, indeed, he hath omitted it, or left it for them to supply, no more than it followeth that what men see not is not, or that what one man or some men appre- hend not cannot be conceived or understood by others. But this notion of theirs will be put to rebuke upon the best terms, by a diligent examination of the words now following, which, doubtless, hereupon will confess that they were intended by the Apostle for an «7ro6ocrij, or application, of his preceding simili- tude, or comparison, " Hath not the potter power over the clay ?" &c., and so will justify those who are thus minded, and dislike the presumption of the other, who, without cause or necessity, will needs undertake to relieve the Holy Ghost, and THE NINTH CHAl'TKR TO THE ROMANS. 233 supply his defects, where there is nothing wanting, nor any need of their help. The words are these : — 22 What if God, willing [or s. h ^skoov o Qso;, and what, or, but what, if God willing^ to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction : 23 And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory ? These words, as hath been more than once intimated, contain the Apostle's reddition or application of his foregoing similitude of the potter and his power over the clay, to do so and so with it as we have heard. Now, as the proposition or fore-part of the comparison expressed a double power in the potter over his clay ; one, to make vessels of honour, the other, vessels of dishonour, of the same lump; so the Apostle's application consists of two parts; the former speaks of the patience and long-suffering of God towards the vessels of wrath before he destroyeth them, which answers that power which the potter hath to make vessels of dishonour ; the latter expressetli the bountifulness of God towards the vessels of mercy in fitting them for glory, which answers the power of the potter to make vessels unto honour. By the way, because both the verses are expressed interroga- tively, "What if God, willing to show his wrath," &c. ; knowledge may be taken, that it is not unusual in the Scriptures to deliver the applicatory part of a comparison or similitude in an interrogative or expostulatory form. " And shall not God," saith our Saviour, in his reddition of the parable or comparison of the unrighteous Judge and the widow, " avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them V (Luke xviii. 7-) Where this also may be observed, that the same adversative particle, Ss, frequently used in a copulative sense, is used in a like construction, as it is in the place in hand, O 8s ©so? « ju-rj ttojijctsj, And^ or but, shall not God avenge, &c. For the interrogative form we speak of in redclitions of similitudes, see also Matt. vi. 23 ; Luke xii. 54 — 56, &.c. So that the interrogative character of 234 AN EXPOSITION OF speech, wherein the verses before us are delivered, argues nothing at all against their relation to the similitude of the potter, (verse 21,) by way of an «7ro8oxjf, or applicatio7i. As this consideration makes nothing against the said relation of these verses, so there are four others which make with a high hand for it. First. The particle, §£, (sj Si ^sXwv o Qeog, &:c.,) shows some relation at least in these verses unto and dependence upon the precedent verse, which contains the similitude of the potter : Which relation our English translators either overlooked, or knowingly winked at, giving no English consideration at all for the said Greek particle, 8s. If they had rendered in copula- tiveiy by the English particle, " and," as they did in the fore- mentioned parable, A7id shall not God avenge his own electa &c., (Luke xviii. 7?) O AE 0coj « ja>] 7ro<>]<7e», &c., the con- nexion between the two parts of the parable or similitude here had been above ground in our English translation, as well as it is there. But notice hath been taken elsewhere that translators, where the letter of the original text bears hard upon any beloved notion or opinion of theirs, decline the proper work of translators, and turn interpreters. Knowledge, likewise, hath been given, that the patrons of a reprobation, merely personal, from eternity, cannot brook any such connexion between the two verses in hand, and the immediately preceding similitude of the potter, which should import the former to contain the explication and application of the latter. Secondly. The grammatical construction and completeness of sense in the verses depend upon some words used in the said simiHtude, (verse 21,) which must be borrowed from thence to make the sentence and syntaxis here regular. Let the words be diligently re-perused, and there will appear a manifest eXAsi^I/jj, or defect of words, that must be supplied from some place or other where they are to be had. This ellipsis is so notorious, and manifest, that I know no expositor but takes notice of it under one term or other. Some call it an aTroo-joTrso-ij. Calvin terms it, reticentia ; Estius, the " pendency," or hanging " of the sentence ;" to omit others. Mind we then the words : " What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction : and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy, which he THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 235 Lad afore prepared unto glory ?" What if God do this and that ? Here is no answer to these questions, nor any thing to make such demands savoury to the understanding. But if we borrow these words from verse 21, where the TrpoTaa-ig of the comparison is, " Hath he not power ? " placing them in the end of the said verses, •' What if God, willing"" to do thus and thus, " hath he not power " to do either or both, this completes the sentence, and renders the sense savoury and congruous. Some of the ancient expositors went higher up, namely, to verse 20, and from thence brought down these words, as they read them, " Who art thou, O man, that canst answer God,""* to make the sense perfect. But this commodity is further fetched, and doth less service when it comes. So that there is little question but that the Apostle, according to the frequent manner of the Scrip- ture in like cases, left the sense of the two verses in hand unper- fect, knowing that there were two words near at hand, even in the same contexture of matter, that would perfect it. And who knoweth whether he did not purposely leave these two verses in a dependence upon that immediately preceding them, that so that relation between them which hath been asserted by us might be the more easily apprehended .'* Thirdly. That the Apostle intended these verses for the reddi- tion or application of his similitude of a potter, (verse 21,) is visible by this juncture of light also : 1. There is nothing else delivered by him that can be imagined to be, or to contain, this application. This, I presume, is every man's concession. 2. It is in no degree probable, that, in the midst of a discourse about another subject he should insert a similitude importing, at least in face and appearance, a matter so transcendently weighty and abstruse, as the prerogative or just power of God over his creature^ without making some application thereof; or, at least, without giving some light of direction in the context near unto it, for such an application. More generally parables and simili- tudes in Scripture have their applications expressed and sub- joined unto them ; and where no such application is particularly expressed, the series of the context round about is full of light to direct to the true and unquestionable application ; as is to be seen in some of the parables delivered by our Saviour. (Matt, xiii. 44 — 46.) So that this parable or similitude of the potter, though it concerns as high, as hidden, as important a matter • 0 homo, III qiiis es I'li respondeas Deo ? 23G AN KXPOSITION OF as any similitude in all the Scripture besides, and be in itself of as difficult and uncertain an interpretation as any other what- soever, as appears by the manifold and grand contests, formerly noted, between the most confident interpreters of it by its own liglit ; yet will it be found deprived of that light of interpreta- tion which is common unto them all, unless we suppose the two verses in hand to contain the interpretation and application of it. But, Fourthly. And lastly : The argument of greatest weight upon my understanding, inclining me to a confidence that the Apostle intended the verses in hand for an explication or application of the said simile of the potter, is the sweet and exact proportion which the substance of matter in these verses holds with the words and carriage of the said simile. This proportion may be conceived after some such manner as this : As the potter hath a just or equitable power over his clay, such as no man is offended at, in respect of the vilencss of such matter, to make of the same lump or parcel of it, as some vessels for a more comely and honourable use, so others for an use dishonourable ; in like manner, who hath any reason, colour, or pretence of rea- son, to gainsay the righteousness of such a power, which God claim eth and exerciseth over men who have embased themselves by a long and voluntary course of sinning and rebelling against him, as, namely, to harden and make vessels of wrath, that is, to destroy those who shall despise his patience and long-suffer- ance, with other means vouchsafed unto them for their reduce- ment and repentance, and this in order to the manifestation of his avenging power; and, on the other hand, to make such persons vessels of mercy, that is, to save and glorify them, upon whom his goodness and patience, with other means of grace attending them, have had such a blessed influence and operation, as to prepare them, that is, by working them to repentance and true holiness, to make them meet for glory ; and this for the declaration of the unsearchable riches of his most glorious grace unto the world ? By a diligent examination of particulars in the carriage of these verses, the application now expressed will be more con- firmed, and further light given to the Apostle's discourse other- wise. For, 1. From these first words, "What if God, willing to show his wrath/' meaning in the great dread and terror of it, as the THE NINTH CHAPTKU TO THK KOMAXS. 237 next clause interpreteth it, " and to make his voweb," that is, his vindictive or avenging power, " known," it fully appeareth that the Apostle doth not treat here of a reprobation of men from eternity, nor yet of reprobates, as simply such, and there- fore, neither of all reprobates; unless we shall affirm and say, that there is no difference in the punishment of reprobates, but that God intends to make his revenging power equally known in the destruction of them all, which is expressly contradictious to a great current of scriptures. For, evident it is, from the said words, that only such reprobates are here spoken of, in whose punishment God intends, namely, with his consequential intentions, as hath been formerly argued, not simply a mani- festation of his avenging power, but a manifestation of the power, as it were, of this power, or of the most astonishing great- ness and dreadfulness of it ; a type whereof was exhibited in the temporal destruction of Pharaoh, of which we heard, verse 17, and on which the Apostle keeps an eye all along his dis- course hitherto. The observation mentioned might be further asserted from those words, " endured with much long-suffering." For certain it is that God doth not endure sv ttoXKyj ij^axpo^vy^ia, with MUCH long-suffermg, all reprobates whatsoever, at least not in the sense which sv ttoXXyj [x,tx.xpoSv[ji,iix. here importeth, although in the mean time I am far otherwise minded than they who teach it for a doctrine that there are some reprobates, and those not a few neither, towards whom God showeth no patience or long-sufferance at all; imagining that many infants of days, yea, and many immediately from the womb, are sent to the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone for evermore. Yea, the truth is, their opinion of reprobation duly considered, they do not hold that any reprobate at all is ever endured by God, not only not with much long-suffering, but not so much as with any long-suffering at all. My soul hath once been in the secret of these men ; but let it never enter thereinto more. HcEc obiter. 2. From the former observation it evidently followeth, that by " vessels of wrath fitted to destruction," cannot be meant persons reprobated by God from eternity, much less the whole number of reprobates, in such a sense, but such persons only who directly and properly are prepared and fitted to destruction only by themselves, as, namely, by despising the grace of God, and sinning against the means of salvation, &c., and not at all 238 AX KXPOSITION OK by God, unless accidentally and occasionally only, namely, as he vouchsafelh unto them such means of grace, which, being turned into wantonness, prepare men for destruction, as dryness in wood or stubble prepares and fits it for the fire. And if God did in any such sense prepare or fit these vessels of wrath to destruction, in which he prepares the vessels of mercy for glory, why should the Holy Ghost so expressly ascribe the preparation of these for glory unto God, as he doth in the following verse, " Which HE had afore prepared unto glory,"" and no ways interests him in the fitting of the other to destruction, but only term them passively and in an indefinite manner, " fitted to destruction ? " The signal difference of the expression, doubt- less, imports something worthy observation in this kind. Yea, 3. " The vessels of wrath " here spoken of are neither said by God, nor yet by his " enduring them with much long-suffer- ing," to be fitted to destruction, either in one sense or other ; but to have been thus fitted, I mean, to destruction, before God is said to " endure them with much lonff-suffering." For he is expressly said to " have endured," that is, by an enallage of the tense, " to endure," " with much long-suffering," these '* ves- sels of wrath," xaTrjpTJo-jarva eij aTrcjoXsiuv, that is, having been jjrepared for destruction^ namely, before such his enduring them. Nor, indeed, can God properly be said to endure men with much long-suffering until they have much provoked him ; as a man cannot be said to exercise much patience towards a person who hath but lightly offended him. Now much provo- cation of God is that whicli prepares or fits a man to destruc- tion. Whilst a man is yet only in preparing and fitting himself to destruction, that is, whilst he holds on in a course of sin, but hath not as yet continued very long in it ; however, God may be said to endure him with patience or long-suffering, yet not sv TToAXj] ixa.KpoduiJ.ia, with MUCH long-siiffering. Nor in pro- priety of Scripture language can a man be said xotTrjpTKTfjisvog eii u-KMXsiav, to he 2)erfectly or throughly fitted to destruction, for so the word properly signifieth, until he hath provoked God to more than an ordinary degree. 4. The premises considered, when the Apostle demandeth, " What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath already prepared," or before fitted, " to destruction," he plainly signifieth, that that power which God claimeth and THK "NINTH (^HAPTKlt TO THK UOMAXS. 239 exerciseth in hardening whom he will, respecteth not men simply considered, no, nor yet considered simply as sinners, he claimeth no such power over any man in either of these considerations ; but it respecteth only such who are already actually prepared and " fitted to destruction," that is, such persons whom he might most justly and equitably destroy, whether he further hardened them, namely, by enduring them with much long-suffering, or no. And that the reason why God endureth such with much long-suffering, and hereby hardeneth them, is not that hereby they might be simply fitted to destruction, or that he may justly and equitably destroy them, — for this he might do with- out any such hardening, — but that, in case they repent not by the opportunity and means of this his enduring them with long- suffering, he might show the dreadfulness of the power of his avenging wrath in their destruction, that is, that he might destroy them with so much the greater and more formidable destruction. This consideration fully proveth that that power in God over his creature man, which answereth the power of the potter over his clay, in the former verse, at least so far as it respecteth his liberty to make vessels to dishonour, extendeth only to such of these creatures who have so far corrupted and embased themselves by voluntary sinning, that they are already meet to be destroyed, and is not claimed or exercised by him in reference to any others. If it be objected, that, " according to this notion of the com- parison, God should have no power to make vessels of wrath simply, but all such vessels as these should be made such of and by themselves, and that the power or liberty of God in this kind extendeth only to the making of such persons larger vessels of wrath, who have been made vessels of wrath simply, by themselves ; and doth not such an interpretation of the power of God as this render it unparallable with and altogether unlike unto the power of the potter over his clay ?" To this I answer, 1. The Scripture nowhere affirmeth that God maketh vessels of wrath, but affirmeth many things of an import contrary here- unto. " Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions." (Eccles. vii. 29.) God made man upright, that is, mankind, or all men, as appears by the pronoun of the plural number, " they," in the latter clause, namely, in Adam ; and, doubtless, they who were made upright by God were not made vessels of wrath, but of 240 AK KXI'OSITION OF love, goodness, and bounty. Again : "As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked ; but that the wicked turn from his way and live." (Ezek. xxxiii. 11 ; xviii. 32 ) Doubtless, if God made vessels of wrath, he would take pleasure in filling them with wrath, that is, in inflicting death and destruction upon them. (See also, upon this account, 1 Tim. ii. 6 ; Heb. ii. 9; 2 Peter iii. 9 ; besides many other places of like import.) But, 2. There is a consideration or sense, notwithstanding, wherein God may be said to make vessels of wrath, namely, as he is Maker of such a law or decree by which wicked and ungodly men are juridically, or in point of law, constituted and declared vessels of wrath. For though men make themselves vessels of wrath morally, and by way of demerit, yet they do not make themselves such judicially, that is, they do not con- stitute or make that law by which they come to be proceeded against, and to suffer, as vessels of wrath : This law is enacted and made by God, and executed by him accordingly. When our Apostle saith, that " the strength of sin is the law," (1 Cor. XV. 56,) his meaning is, that sin, simply considered, and as such, (I mean, as it is such or such an act.) hath no force or strength in it to bind men over unto punishment, or to render men liable hereunto ; but that which gives such a strength or force as this unto it is the law of God, by which such and such acts which now are sinful are made punishable with death. To the same purpose elsewhere : " Because the law worketh wrath ; for where no law is, there is no transgression;*" (Rom. iv. 15 ;) meaning, that such an act which now is sinful and binding unto punishment, by means of a law prohibiting it, and adjudg- ing it punishable, would not be sinful nor binding unto punish- ment, in case no such law were in being ; which, hkewise, is the sense of that other saying, '' But sin is not imputed when there is no law." (Rom. v. 13.) Now, then, God, being the Author and Maker of that decree or law by which men are made vessels of wrath juridically, that is, liable to wrath and punishment, he may in this sense and respect be said to make such vessels, according to the notion of the logic maxim. Quod est causa causcB, est etiam causa causati ; " That which is the cause of the cause is the cause, also, of that which is effected or caused by this cause." 3 And lastly : That liberty or power which is vested in THE NINTH CHAl'TF.K TO THE ROMANS. 2il God of making vessels of wrath, in the sense specified, most properly answereth the power of the potter over his clay, in making what vessels of it he pleaseth unto dishonour, and not such a power as many attribute unto him, namely, of ordaining men, or of purposing to ordain men, to destruction from eter- nity. For that power, that is, the equitableness of that power, which the potter hath over his clay, to make what vessels of it he pleaseth unto dishonour, accrueth unto him, not simply from hence, that it is his, or his own, but that it is his clay, that is, a material of that vileness, that, it being his, no man can rea- sonably be offended with him, in case he makes of it a vessel, one or more, to dishonour. For, questionless, as " it is not meet," no man hath power, that is, a regular or lawful power, " to take the children's bread," that is, such bread which is meet to be given unto children, and fit for their nourishment, " and to cast it to dogs," (Matt. xv. 26,) although this bread be never so much his own, as men count things their own ; so neither hath any man any power (1 still mean a regular or lawful power) to oppress or debase nature in any kind, as to compel such things to serve more ignoble and base ends, the excellency of whose natural temper, properties, and frame, declares them serviceable and meet for ends more honourable and worthy ; although it be very lawful, on the other hand, to advance and gratify nature when we have oppor- tunity or occasion to do it, I mean, by converting the mean, and the vile, and the base, things of nature unto services of a more honest and comely import, as the potter doeth, when of his clay he makes a vessel unto honour. So, then, it is only such a power in God which answereth the power of the potter over his clay whereby he is enabled and at liberty, of such per- sons that are become vile, and have embased themselves, and made themselves meet for destruction by sinning, to ordain and make vessels of wrath whom he pleaseth, as he doth all those who despise his goodness, and patience, and long- sufferance towards them ; and, on the other hand, to make vessels of mercy of whom he pleaseth from amongst this gene- ration of men, as he doth of all those who by his goodness and patience are brought to repentance. And, haply, it may be not unworthy observation, that though goldsmiths, and those who work upon those more costly and choice materials of silver and gold, do take the same liberty over their material which K 212 AX EXPOSITION' OF the potter dotli over his clay, I mean, of the same mass or lump of silver, and sometimes of gold, " to make one vessel unto honour, another unto dishonour," yet the Holy Ghost, in this sublime argument concerning the power which God exerciseth over his creature, in making some vessels of wrath, others ves- sels of mercy, declineth the mention and comparison of their power, or of that power which they exercise in this kind, and borrows his resemblance, as we heard, from the potter, and his power over his clay. The reason whereof, in all probability at least, is this, — because that power which the goldsmith exer- ciseth over his material in making vessels of dishonour of any part of it is not so clear and free from exception and offence as that which the potter exerciseth over his clay upon the same terms. When the goldsmith makes vessels of dishonour, (I mean, in the i\ posticus sense, vessels for less honest and honour- able services,) of silver or gold, he doeth it to gratify the inordi- nate lusts of men, the pomp, pride, luxury, and vanity of the rich and great persons of the world ; whereas the potter, by making like vessels of his earth or clay, accommodateth himself to the necessities or reasonable conveniencies of men. Besides, such vessels as now we speak of cannot be made of any material more vile, and, in this respect, more suitable to those less honourable services for which they are made, than earth or clay is ; in which consideration there is no waste committed upon nature in making them of such a material : In both these respects the potter's making of vessels of dishonour of his clay is far more inoffensive, and less liable to exception and dispute, than the goldsmith's making of the like vessels of dishonour of his silver and gold ; and, consequently, is more apt and proper to illustrate and express that power which God claimeth and exerciseth over his creature in making vessels of wrath, of which or whom of them he pleaseth. But they who notion this power in God, as if by it he ordained, appointed, or made vessels of wrath, of such creatures or persons of mankind who were inno- cent and holy, and this during their innocency and holiness, as all they do who maintain a reprobation of men in a personal consideration from eternity, rather resemble it to the power which the goldsmith, I do not say hath, but which he claimeth and exerciseth, over his silver and gold, in making of them vessels to dishonour, than to the power which the potter claim- eth and exerciseth over his clay in like kind; and, consequently, THli XINTH CHAPTr.n TO THE UOMANS. '2V3 render it very offensive, and justly questionable unto sober and considerate men. Whereas such an explication and notion of it as that which hath been held forth in a direct and clear con- formity unto the potter's power over his clay renders it alto- gether inoffensive, undisputable, and every ways passable in the judgments and understandings of all considering men. And this, questionless, was the Apostle's intent and meaning in the verses in hand ; 1 mean, to assert such a power in God over his creature, in the making of the same kind or sort of them vessels of wrath and vessels of mercy, as he pleaseth, which should be to all reasonable men every ways inoffensive, and far less questionable than the power of the potter over his clay. This will appear as clear as the sun at noon-day, if we do but consider the tenor and carriage of the three verses, 21 — 23, together : " Hath not .the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?" As if he should say, no man questioneth but that he hath. " And what if God willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction ; and that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy which he had afore prepared unto glory ?'''' meaning, " Hath not he power, or rather, hath he not a power, much more rea- sonable and unquestionable than that of the potter over his clay, to do both these?"" So that the Apostle's comparison of the potter is argumentative, and so intended by him, not simply a simili, or ab csqicali, but a minore ad majus, that is, not from the bare similitude or resemblance of one thing with ano- ther by the way of equality, but from the lesser probability or evidence of truth in the one, to the greater in the other. His argument or reasoning here may be formed thus: "If the potter hath such power over his clay, of the same lump to make one vessel to honour, another to dishonour, the lawfulness or equitableness whereof no reasonable man questioneth; much more unquestionable, and apparently equitable and just, is that power in God which he exerciseth in making vessels of wrath of and destroying those most terribly who shall despise his patience and long-suffering, as, likewise, in making those vessels of mercy, and glorifying them, who, by the like patience and long-suffering towards them, shall be wrought in time to repent- ance." The like argument a minore ad majus is intended R 2 244 A\ KXPOSITION OF and held forth by our Saviour himself in that parable of his, ■which we have formerly in another respect, also, compared with that of the Apostle now in hand : " There was in a city a Judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man : And there was a widow in that city ; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary. And he would not for a while : but afterward he said within himself. Though I fear not God, nor regard man ; yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me. And the Lord said. Hear what the unjust Judge saith. And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them .'' I tell you that he will avenge them speedily." (Luke xviii. 2 — 8.) Our Saviour's sscope and drift by this hypotyposis or comparison of the " unjust Judge," who " neither feared God, nor regarded man," &c., was not simply to teach or prove that there is a like ground of hope that God, upon the importunity of his elect by prayer, will avenge them of their enemies and oppressors, with that which the widow had to overcome the unjust Judge, and to prevail with him, by her importunity, to do her justice on her adversary ; but to demonstrate a great overplus of hope, or certainty rather, that God, upon the terms mentioned, will avenge and deliver them. " And shall not God avenge his elect, which cry day and night unto him .'' " &c. As if he should have said, Did the widow, by her importunity, draw water out of the flint, obtain an act of justice contrary to the nature and principles of him from whom she sought it ? And is it not a thousand times more worthy hope, yea, and confidence of expectation, that God, who is naturally inclined to acts of grace and mercy, on the one hand, towards those that are oppressed, as, on the other hand, to acts of justice upon oppressors ; that he, I say, especially upon importunity of requests and solicitations made unto him by persons so highly respected by him as his " own elect," should in due time appear for their deliverance out of trouble .'' And thus you see how both comparisons, that of our Saviour now insisted upon, and that of our Apostle in hand, answer one the other in point of argumentation. If yet it be any man's question or doubt, how or upon what account the power of God to make vessels of wrath, as we have stated and explained it, should be so apparently equitable and THE NINTH CHAl'TKll TO THE ROMAN'S. 245 unquestionable, as we have asserted it, above the power of the potter over his clay, to make of what part of the lump he pleas- eth vessels unto dishonour, were not the thing evident in itself, upon a httle consideration, and so supposed by the Apostle in the context, I should be willing to make a further labour of inquiring into it. But the advantage of unquestionableness in that power of God, which we have ascribed unto him, above the power of the potter over his clay, in the point under considera- tion, is apparently visible in this. That which gives the potter an equitable power over his clay, to do with it as hath been oft said, that is, to make vessels to dishonour of what parts of it he pleaseth, is partly that civil property or propriety which he hath in it, — it is his own lawful substance, and not another man"'s ; partly, the vile and contemptible nature of it, it is but a piece of earth, the lowest, and most ignoble element of all the rest ; yea, a piece of the baser and less considerable part of this element. Now, (1.) TJie civil right or propriety which the potter hath in his clay is not a sovereign right, but subordinate to the will and pleasure of God, who may at any time, and this without injus- tice, take away this clay from him, and give it to what other person he pleaseth ; yea, and may lawfully impose upon the potter laws and terms for the using and disposing of it, even whilst it is his own, and call him to account, and justly punish him, in case he shall transgress any of them. Therefore, that power which the potter hath over his clay in this respect is not so complete or full, and, consequently, not so clearly equitable, as the power of God is over his creature to dispose of it as he pleaseth, inasmuch as his propriety in it is absolute, sovereign, and every ways independent : Nor is he subject to terms or prescriptions from any other, how to order or dispose of it. (2.) The vileness of the clay, the other thing that gives the potter that power over it, of which we now speak, is not voluntarily contracted by the clay itself, but necessitated upon it by the Author of nature, and him that made it ; nor was it at any time in the power of the clay to prevent it. In this respect, also, the power which the potter hath over it to convert it to dishonour- able ends and uses is nothing so equitable, at least, not so apparently equitable, as that power, or the exercise of that power, over the creature man, which hath been ascribed unto God ; inasmuch as that guilt or embasement by sin in this crea- ture, upon which only, or mainly, the Apostle, in the scripture '24:6 AN KXPOSITIOX OK before us, foundeth this power, or at least the exercise of it, in God, is altogether voluntary, and might have been prevented by all those who have contracted it. The potter's clay never was in any capacity of making itself a better or less vile material than now it is ; but God's clay we speak of had means and oj^portunities vouchsafed unto it, (1.) Never to have been this clay ; and, (2.) After it had made itself this clay, to have altered its property and frame, and to have become a better material before vessels of wrath were actually made of it by God. In this consideration, therefore, the power which the Apostle asserts unto God over his clay is far less disputable, as to the reason- ableness or equity of it, than that of the potter over his ; it being every man's sense that natural defects are, in equal con- sideration, far less matter of shame or disparagement than those which are voluntary, and willingly contracted. By the amount of this discourse it fully appeareth, that that liberty or power in God of making vessels of wrath, which the Apostle any ways supposeth in or ascribes unto him, and which answereth the power of the potter over his clay, to make of it vessels to dishonour, is a liberty or power of decreeing, appoint- ing, and determining by a law, who, or what kind of sinners and transgressors those are, who shall at last be eternally destroyed by him, and so become persons that shall receive and retain the dreadful impressions or effects of his wrath for sin, as vessels properly and literally so called are wont to receive and keep liquors or other things that are put into them ; and not a power of making, or of decreeing to make, from eternity, such and such persons of mankind, under a mere personal consideration, for or to eternal destruction. Such a power as this the very nature and essential goodness of God abhors, even as they do a power of lying, deceiving, or oppressing; nor doth the Scri[)ture any where find it in him. This for answer to the objection occasioned by the fourth particular offered to consideration from the words in hand. 5. These words, " endured with much long-suffering," plainly show and teach, that when men are really vessels of wrath, that is, meet to receive in their persons, and there to retain and hold, the wrath of God due unto sin, as a vessel properly so called is to receive such things which are commonly put into it, yea, and are now prepared and fitted to destruction, yet have they the golden sceptre of grace held forth unto them, and are, THE NTNTH CHAl'TICtt TO THE ROMANS. 247 through tlie long- suffering of God, during the continuance hereof, in a blessed capacity of becoming vessels of mercy and of glory. This perfectly accords with that passage of our Apostle in his latter Epistle unto Timothy: " But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth ; and some to honour, and some to dishonour. If a man therefore purge himself from these," that is, shall by repentance cease to be a vessel of wood or earth, and so disnumber himself fx'om the vessels of dishonour, " he shall be a vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the Master's use," &c. (2 Tim. ii. 20, 21.) For the intent and counsel of God, as hath been more than once observed formerly, and once, at least, if not. ofteber, proved, in " enduring with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction," is not absolutely and peremptorily to show his wrath and make his power known in their destruction, but conditionally only, namely, in case they shall stubbornly persist in their disobedi- ence, until the day of his grace and long-suffering be expired. Nor doth the [j.uxfioSv[ji.'ia, or long-suffering of God, import only or merely a non-punishment for the timeof those to whom it is said to be vouchsafed or shown; nay, possibly it may admit somedegreeof punishment with it ; but, besides a respite from punishment, at least from any extremity of punishment, it still importeth a willing, ness, yea, and expectation, in God, that such persons should repent, and, consequently, a vouchsafement of means unto them to bring them to repentance. This is evident from the general current of the Scriptures wherever the patience or long-suffering of God are said to be showed unto any ; as, on the contrary, where God neither willed nor expected repentance, though he granted a reprievement of punishment for a time, yet is he never said to exercise patience or long-suffering. From that saying of the devils unto Christ, " Art thou come hither to torment us before the time.^" (Matt. viii. 29,) to omit other proofs, it clearly appears that their punishment or torment is respited by God for a time, yea, and so hath been for a very long time, as men count long, even from the time of their fall ; that is, from the beginning of the world to this day ; yet God is nowhere said to endure them with much long-sufl^ering, to be patient towards them, or the like. The reason is, partly, because his intent and purpose concerning their eternal punishment and torment is absolute and peremptory ; partly, also, because he affordeth them 248 AN KXI'OSITIOX OF no means, or at least no sufficiency of means, for their recovery. So, likewise, after Saul was rejected by God from being King over Israel, for his disobedience in the business of Amalek, his punishment of being deprived of his kingdom was deferred for a time ; yet God is nowhere said to have endured him with much long-suffering, or to have exercised any patience towards him, or the like. Why ? Because his purpose and intent con- cerning his rejection was absolute, and not reversible by any interveniences on SauFs part, or otherwise whatsoever. But, on the other hand, God was willing, yea, had purposed, to destroy the old world for sin within the space of a hundred and twenty years ; yet, because this will and purpose of his was like unto that wherewith he purposed to destroy Nineveh within forty daysj that is, not absolute, but conditional, yea, and during this space, he vouchsafed unto them sufficient means for their repentance, continuing the ministry of Noah, who was a " Preacher of righteousness" amongst them ; his ju-axpoSu/xja, or long -siiffer 171 y towards them is commended by Peter, and said to have waited or "• expected in the days of Noah," meaning, their returning unto God by repentance, as Tremellius, out of the ancient Syriac translation, rendereth and expresseth it.* Elsewhere the patience and long-suffering of God are held forth unto the world by the Holy Ghost as unquestionable arguments and signs of God's willingness to have men repent and be saved ; and, consequently, they must needs be supposed to be accom- panied with the vouchsafement of sufficient means for the salva- tion of those to whom themselves are vouchsafed. (See and con- sider, upon this account, 2 Peter iii. 9, compared with verse 15; and again, Rom. ii. 3, 4; Isaiah xxx. 18; 1 Tim. i, 16, &c.) So that evident it is, that the vessels of wrath, here said to be endured by God with much long-suffering, were not ordained by him to destruction from eternity, nor yet created by him to destruction ; no, nor yet during the course of his long-suffering towards them, though they had, by a long-continued course of sinning, fitted themselves for destruction, yet were they not all this while positively or absolutely ordained by him to destruc- tion ; but were graciously entreated by him, and this in order to their repentance and salvation. From whence, likewise, it follows, that that will or willingness, here ascribed unto God, • Quum lonfjaniinitas Dei pitccipcrcl utarca Jieret, propter c.rpectalionem con- I'cnionis corum, &r. Dr. A.mes, likewise, in liis ylnalyais, so imdcrstandeth it. THK NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS, 249 to show Ills wrath, and make his power known, in their destruc- tion, is but consequential and conditional. 6. The Apostle, in the words now insisted upon, " endured with much long-suffering,"" seems to give an account of the equitableness of that power which God claimeth and exerciseth in and about the hardening whom he will; as, namely, by showing how or by what means, as, likewise, upon what terms, he doeth it. If he should harden men against their wills, or by any secret and positive action should insensibly work or incline their wills or hearts to a frame of hardness ; yea, or should harden them upon any such terms, or after any such manner, that by the same means by which they become hardened they might not as well, yea, and rather, be softened and made peni- tent ; the power which he claims and exerciseth in this kind, I mean, in hardening men, might be of some hard resentment with men, and grate upon their spirits and souls. But now, inasmuch as he hardeneth men, not only with the free consent of their own wills, but even with the precurrency of them in and about the act of hardening ; yea, and doeth it by none other means than such which are more apt and proper to soften than to harden, yea, and which would actually soften them, as they do many, and so save them, did they but lay their hearts to them, as they might, as, namely, by enduring them with much long- suffering: " If God," saith our Apostle, in effect, " claimeth no other power of hardening men, but only upon such terms as these, who can, with the least pretence or colour of reason, be offended at it .''" To a sober-minded and duly considerate man, it is a matter of more grace that God should afford an oppor- tunity of repentance and salvation unto him, who is already a vessel of wrath, and fitted to destruction, yea, though his volun- tary abuse or neglect of this opportunity must needs render his destruction so much the more grievous and intolerable, than it would be to deny him such an opportunity, however by this denial he should cut off from him all occasion, yea, or possi- bility, of increasing his destruction. So that this power which God claims of hardening whom he will, truly interpreted, and rightly understood, is in itself of no ill abode or portendency unto men, but rather matter of grace, benefit, and accommoda- tion ; however, it turns to a most heavy account unto all those on whom it is exercised with the effect of hardening accom- panying it. 250 AN EXPOSITION OK It may be objected, " But, if the matter be thus, may not God be said to show mercy even on those whom he hardeneth P And, if so, will not the opposition between his showing mercy on whom he will, and his hardening whom he will, (verse 18,) fall to the ground?" I answer. No; because, though God showeth mercy imto men in that act, or series of actions, whereby eventually he hardeneth them, yet he doth not show them mercy in hardening them, because hereby he prepareth and fitteth them for a more terrible judgment and destruction ; which is not an act of mercy, but of justice or judgment ; and is a fruit or effect of that judiciary decree of God, wherein he hath enacted or decreed, that whosoever shall abuse or despise his great long-suffering towards them, shall hereby be hardened, in order to their deeper condemnation, and judgment more intolerable* Even as in the Gospel, he vouchsafeth his grace a.id mercy unto men in that very grace which they do turn into wantonness, although they be hardened hereby, and increase their con- demnation. It may possibly be some man's question, whether God shows mercy unto all those whom he doth not harden ; and, more particularly, whether he showeth mercy to the vessels of wrath fitted already to destruction, in destroying them out of hand, without exposing them to the danger of being hardened by him, and so to the suffering of a more grievous destruction : There- fore, I answer, 1. To the former of these questions, that God, doubtless, doth show mercy, at least, comparatively, though not simply or absolutely, unto all those whom he doth not harden. To harden, as was lately said, is an act of judgment ; and inasmuch as no man can escape or prevent hardening, but by mercy showed unto him in one kind or other by God, evident it is, that all those who do escape hardening have some degree of mercy or other showed unto them. But if the question be understood of mercy, simply and properly so called, or of such mercy which produceth the actual salvation of men, it is a clear case that such mercy is not showed unto all those who are not hardened by God ; otherwise, none should perish, but those who are hardened by him, and, consequently, none but those whom he should endure with much long-suffering ; which is manifestly untrue. THE j;iNTir CHAPTER TO THS ROMANS. 251 2. To the latter question I answer, likewise, that when he doeth present execution by death upon those who are fitted to destruction, he cannot properly be said to show them mercy, because such an act as this is properly, and in the nature of it, an act of justice and judgment. Notwithstanding, if we con- sider the general state and condition of those who have hardened themselves, and so are fitted to destruction, and how few there are of this generation that are brought to repentance by God's enduring them with much long-suffering, and how many that are hereby hardened to their deeper condemnation, there may seem to be an ingredient of mercy, even in that cup of judg- ment. But the first-born difficulty, as far as I understand, about the interpretation given of these words, " endured with much long-suffering," &c., is this, — how God can be said to endure with much long-suffering, in the sense asserted, such persons, and with his primary and antecedent intentions, to intend their repentance and salvation, who he certainly knoweth beforehand will never repent, nor be saved. And so in general, how it can be looked upon or made a matter of any whit more grace, love, or goodness in God to give Christ unto death, or to afford any other means, for the salvation of such men who he foresaw from eternity would be never the better for them, but much the worse, than to have denied them all interest in the death of Christ, and so all other means of salvation. If a father knew certainly beforehand that the gift of such a horse, sum of money, or the like, unto his child, would occasion either his more speedy or sudden death, or bring upon him any other misery or calamity in the world, would it argue any love or kindness in him towards such a child to give him either ? A thorough pursuit of this difficulty will carry us somewhat high ; and they who desire to see a clear bottom for a plenary satisfaction to it must prepare to go up unto the mount of God, and there for a season be content narrowly to contemplate some- what that may be known of him, though at present, 1 fear, it is not knovn unto many, and duly considered, I am certain, but by a few. But to the difficulty itself, or question propounded, I answer, 1. When God vouchsafeth unto men thinops which are in themselves and in their natures good and beneficial, and of worthy concernment unto them, and doth no ways hinder them 252 AN EXPOSITION OF from making a proportionable use of them, but doth many ways encourage, persuade, and press them hereunto, there is no rea- son, nor colour of reason, why he should be thought less gracious or benevolous unto them, only because he knows beforehand they will make a sinful use of them, and destructive to themselves. Or would the same or like vouchsafements from him savour of any whit the more grace, love, or goodness, in case it could or should be supposed that he were ignorant of what men would do with them, whether they would improve them to a happy end for themselves, or no ? Or is there any reason why the surpassing excellency of the knowledge of God should be turned to the prejudice or disparagement of his good- ness in giving such things unto his creatures, which, were they not monstrously careless and regardless of the things of their own peace, might and would be converted and employed by them accordingly ? But, 2. It is much to be considered, that there is not the same consideration of God and of men, in respect of such actions, vouchsafements, or gifts, the issue or consequence whereof, the one and the other, are or may be said to foresee that they will be evil to those who receive them. The difference, with the ground and reason of it, may be thus conceived. In case a man should foresee such an event, in one kind or other, his foresight would be such literally or properly. He should have knowledge of the event, and what this would be, before he had done the action, or given the gift, the event whereof in the receiver he is said to foreknow or foresee ; and, consequently, upon his foresight of an ill issue of his gift in the receiver, in case it should be given him, he may, and perhaps in duty ought to, withhold it. But now God, though he be said to foresee the issue or event of any action or gift of his, in all and every the receivers of it, respectively, yet he is not said pro- perly, or as the word sounds in ordinary acception with men, to foresee them, that is, he doth not first or antecedaneously, in respect of time, foresee or see them before the action be done by him, or the gift given, the event or issue whereof he is said to foresee. For as God himself is not measured by time, so neither are his actions. It is a common and generally received notion amongst men learned in the Scriptures, that God willeth nothing in time ; but whatsoever he willeth, he willeth in or from eternity. So tliat whatsoever comcth to pass, or is effected ■J'HE KIXTH CHAPTKR TO TlIK IIOMANS. 253 in time by the efficacy and intcrposure of the will of God, was, so far as God contributeth towards the production of it by the efficaciousness of his will, done from eternity.* He doth not will any thing to-day, which he did not will yesterday ; nor any thing yesterday, which he did not will from eternity ; otherwise, be must needs be changeable. There is the same reason and consideration of his knowledge or foreknowledge which there is of his will. As he willeth nothing in time, so neither doth he know, foreknow, or foresee any thing in time ; his foreknow- ledge of things being nothing really but himself, there being nothing but himself from eternity, it must needs be as ancient as himself, and co-eternal with himself. So, likewise, that act of his, by which he gives or imparts any thing unto men, though the gift itself given by it doth not come to the hands of men, or is not received by them, till such or such a time ; yet the act, I say of God, by which it is given, and comes thus to be received in time by men, was from eternity ; and, conse- quently, is not capable of being foreseen by him, being as ancient as any foresight or foreknowledge in him. And for the sad consequent or event of any action or gift of God in or to the receiver, one or more, though he may, in a sense, be said to foresee it, because it happeneth in time ; yet, inasmuch as that act passed from him from eternity, and so is and always was irreversible, by which the gift sorting to so sad an event in the receiver was conferred upon him in time, there is no reason, nor colour of reason, why God should be thought to give this gift, being in itself sovereignly good and beneficial to the receiver, out of any whit the less love or grace towards him, only because he may, in the by and unproper sense intimated, be said to have foreseen that it would be abused by him to his harm ; especially considering, (1.) That the receiver of such a gift was no way prejudiced in his liberty of making a blessed use of it by the foreknowledge of God that he would do the contrary, yea, and might have made a blessed use of it, this foreknowledge of God notwithstanding; and, (2.) That God could not, the regula- tion of his power by his wisdom considered, do any thing more towards the preventing of the abuse thereof than he did. God foresaw that his people of old would make a sad use of his grace towards them, in sending to them by his messengers and Pro- * See more of tliis, Redemption Redeemed, pp. 48 — 50, &c. 254 AN Kxi'osniox of phets, who effectually admonished and forewarned them of the ■wrath to come, in case they repented not ; yet is this gracious act of sending thus unto them ascribed to his taking compas- sion on his people.* From whence the truth of both the parti- culars mentioned sufficiently appeareth, as, (1.) That God was never the less gracious or compassionate towards his people in sending unto them by his messengers, because he foresaw, in the sense lately signified, that they would abuse this grace of his to their greater misery ; and, (2.) That he did all that was in his power to do, (see Isaiah v. 4,) to have prevented this abuse of his grace by them.-f- For he that hath true compas- sion on a person, one or more, in misery, is ready to do what he is well able to do for his relief There is the same considera- tion of that of our Saviour in Matthew : " O Jerusalem, Jeru- salem, thou that killest the Prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not ! "" (Matt, xxiii. 37) Here the Lord Christ pro- fesseth the greatest care and tenderness that can well be con- ceived towards Jerusalem and her children, in his vouchsafe- ments of means of grace and repentance unto them ; and, withal, plainly expresseth the sad event of this his care and ten- derness in their impenitency, and destruction hereupon ; yet, evident it is, and is acknowledged by all, that Christ, as God, did foresee, in such a sense as God is capable of foreseeing, this sad event we speak of in Jerusalem and her children, and that, notwithstanding all the means of grace that should be vouch- safed unto them, yet they would remain rebelliously obdurate to destruction. Therefore, that foreknowledge which God hath, that men will turn his grace into wantonness, and abuse the means of salvation granted unto them, to their greater con- demnation, doth no ways argue or prove that his grace, love, or goodness were ever the less towards them in the vouchsafement of them. If it be demanded, " But was it not in God''s power, and at • " And the Lord God of their fathers sent to them b)' Lis messengers, rising up betimes, and sending, because be had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling- place. But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his Prophets, xmtil the wTath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy." (2 Chron. xxxvi. 15, 16.) t See more of this. Redemption Redeemed, pp. 428, 429, 47.S. THE NINTH ( HAPTKU TO THK ROMANS. 255 the liberty of his will, to have denied means of grace and of salvation unto those who he knew and foresaw would abuse them to their greater condemnation ? And, if so, would it not have argued more grace and love in God towards their persons to have denied the said means of salvation unto them than to have given them ?" To this I answer, by distinguishing, 1. A thing may be said to be in God's power, or at the liberty of his will, either to do, or not to do, in respect of free- dom from or non-obnoxiousness unto any external agent, or any thing without himself, either to constrain him to the doing of it, or to restrain him from the doing of it. And in this sense and consideration, that saying common amongst philosophers and Divines, Deiis est Agens liberrinium, " God is the most free Agent that is," is most true. For whereas every creature or being besides God is obnoxious vmto him and his power, he himself is obnoxious unto none of them, nor unto any power vested in them. 2. A thing may be said, or at least by some conceived, to be in God's power either to do, or not to do, in respect of an opportunity or space of time before him to determine his will, or to resolve either for or against the doing of it. As for example : A father that hath not as yet given such or such a sum of money, — suppose a thousand pounds, — or the like, unto his child, hath yet an opportunity and time to bethink himself, and to consider what he had best do in the case, whether to give or not give it unto him. And in this respect we say, and say truly, that it is in his power, and at the liberty of his will, whether he will give it him, or no. But when once he hath given it unto him, it is not now in his power, whether he will give it, or no, because he hath done it. To apply this distinc- tion to the business in hand : In the former consideration or sense, most true it is that it was in the power of God, and at the liberty of his will, whether he would have vouchsafed any such means of salvation as now he hath done unto those who he knew would abuse them to the increase of their condemna- tion and eternal misery. But the meaning hereof is no more but this, — that he was not compelled or necessitated by any external force, or by any thing out of himself, to make such a donation of the means we speak of unto such persons. But in the latter consideration it is altogether as true, that it never was in the power of God to deny or withhold the means of salvation n 256 AN EXI'OSITIOX OF we speak of from the persons whom he knew from eternity would abuse them to their deeper misery and ruin : The reason hereof is, because he never had an opportunity or space of time before him wherein to consult or advise with himself what he should do in this kind, whether he should give, or not give, the means we speak of to such persons. It is repugnant to those two great attributes of his infinite wisdom and actuality, that his will should be at any time undetermined ; or that he should ever be under any consultation about his affairs, or about the administration or government of the world. So that whatsoever he acteth or doeth in time in the world, he doeth, not simply according to, but also by the efficacy and virtue of, that model or determination of his will, which was in him from eternity, and never had beginning. And thus you see how, and in what sense, it never was in the power of God to deny means of salva- tion unto those who he certainly knew would destroy themselves with the greater destruction by occasion of them ; and, conse- quently, that he was never the less loving, gracious, and merci- ful unto them in the vouchsafement of them, such his know- ledge or foreknowledge notwithstanding. If it be yet objected, that, " according to this doctrine now delivered, God must be conceived to work and do all things which he doeth out of the necessity of his nature, and not out of the liberty, freedom, or goodness of his will : And doth not this render all that God doeth for men, either in order to their present comfort or subsistence in the world, or to their eternal happiness, less acceptable unto them, and less matter of praise and thankfulness from them unto him ? For who gives any man thanks for any such good done unto him which he that doeth it hath a necessity laid upon him to do, and could not do otherwise ?"" To this also I answer, 1. That however nature and will be two things really distinct ■ the one from the other in the creature, yet in God, by reason of the infinite simplicity of his essence or being, they are not so, but one and the same. Therefore it can with no more truth be said that God worketh out of the necessity of his nature, than that he worketh out of the necessity of his will. 2. The will of God being nothing else but God himself, and so essentially good and essentially wise, and upon this account infinitely good and infinitely wise, — for whatsoever is such or such by its essence must needs be infinitely such, as is Till-: XINTII (IIAPTKK TO THIC KOAIAXS. 257 demonstrable in the Metaphysics, the acts or productions of it, I mean the things externally acted and produced by it, must of necessity answer the nature and essence of it, as far as they are capable of such a correspondency, that is, must needs be actings and productions of the best, as full of goodness, as full of wisdom, as is possible for such things to be. For it is a general and true rule in philosophy, that modus operandi con- sequitur modum essendi, " the manner of the working of a cause always follows, or accords with, the manner of the being of it." Therefore the will of God being infinitely good and infinitely wise, and both essentially, the products of it must needs answer these properties and perfections as far as they are answerable ; I mean, as far as created actings or administra- tions are capable of such goodness or wisdom. Therefore, 3. If the question be, whether God could not have made things otherwise than now they are made, or govern the world after another manner than now he governeth it, and with different administrations from those now or formerly in being ; the answer must be by this or the like distinction : That if we respect the power of God in itself, or God himself as simply omnipotent, so it may be said that he could or might have made things otherwise than now he hath done, and so have governed the world otherwise than now he governeth it. The reason is, because the power of God, simply considered, extendeth itself to the utmost bounds and limits of all things that are possible, that is, which do not imply a contradiction in their natures ; as, to make a man without a reasonable soul, to make a wall white without whiteness, &c. ; yea, it stretcheth itself to the very confines and borders of impossibilities. In that consideration we now speak of, that is, in respect of the power of God simply considered, he might have made not only another world instead of this, differing from it, and governed it accordingly, but also many other worlds besides this ; as it is the opinion of some that he hath done. But, now, if we respect the power of God as in conjunction with his other attributes and perfections, as wisdom, goodness, righteousness, &c., and as regulated in the exertions and actings of it by these, so we say that he could not have made this world which is known vnito us, and wherein we live, otherwise than now he hath made it, nor govern it otherwise than now he hath and doth govern it; whatsoever may be thoucfht or conceived concerninfj his making other worlds, and 258 AX KXPosiTiox or his governing them. ,For though, for argument sake, we should suppose that he hath made other worlds besides this, and that these other worlds, simply considered, are better and more excel- lent than this, and, in like consideration, better governed than this ; yet this doth not prove that therefore he could have made this world otherwise or better than now he hath made it, or govern it otherwise or better than now he governeth it. As though the sun be a more glorious and excellent creature than the moon that now is, yet this doth not prove that God could have made a better moon than this, or this otherwise or better than now he hath made it. In like manner the Mosaical ordinances and dispensations under the law were but " beggarly rudiments,"" as the Apostle termeth them, being compared with the dispensa- tions under the Gospel ; yet this proveth not that therefore God could have made those Mosaical dispensations better than they were, or that he could have given, all circumstances considered, better in their stead when these were first given, or during the time of their continuance. The reason of what we affirm in all such cases as these is delivered by our Apostle, where, speaking of God, he saith, that he " worketh all things according to the counsel of his own will." (Eph. i. 11.) By the way, the matter of this proposition, God " worketh all things according to the counsel of his own will,"" is not, I suppose, materia contingens, as logicians speak ; that is, the proposition is not so to be understood as if it were a thing contingent and accidental only unto God thus to work ; I mean, " according to the counsel of his will,"'"' or that, if he please, he may work otlicrwise or upon other terms, as, either without counsel, or according to the counsel of any other will besides his own ; but that which the said proposition attributeth unto him, namely, to work all things, meaning, which he now worketh, " according to the counsel of his own will,"'"' is only that which is natural, proper, and essential unto him. This only supposed, from the said words I reason thus to the business in hand : If God worketli all things, not simply and absolutely according to his own will, but " accord- ing to the counsel of"*"" this his "will," that is, according to that excellency of wisdom by which his will is acted or steered in all its motions, then could he work nothing otherwise or better, all circumstances considered, than now he worketh and hath wrought all things which are or have been wrought, done, or made by him. The reason of this consequence or illation is evident; THE NIXTll ( riAPTKK TO TlIK KOMAXS. 259 namely, because he that worketh, and this not contingently or accidentally, but necessarily, uniformly, and constantly, accord- ing to the most exquisite and absolute wisdom or counsel that is or can be imagined, — for such is the wisdom and counsel of God, — must needs work, whatsoever he worketh, after the best and most perfect manner that is ; and, consequently, is in no capacity of working any thing otherwise or better, all circumstances con- sidered, as it is proper for wisdom or counsel to consider them. And if it shall be said or supposed, that God could have made or governed this present world either better, all circumstances considered, or otherwise, than now he hath made or doth govern it, it must be supposed, withal, that he did not make it, and so that he doth not govern it, according to any such counsel which is infinitely perfect, and which adviseth to that which is simply and absolutely best, all circumstances, I still say, considered, which is expressly contrary to the saying of the Apostle, lately mentioned, that "he worketh all things according to the counsel of his will ; " unless we shall suppose that this " counsel of his will " is defective or imperfect ; a supposition which, I think, every man's soul abhorreth. For as counsel, simply considered, supposeth a possibihty, at least in the apprehension of him that consulteth, of acting variously ; so perfection of counsel sup- poseth an advisement or resolution to pitch upon the best way of acting in all this variety. If it be demanded, " But might not God have had, or rather had he not, another model of a world in his eye, differing from that according to which he hath now made this world, which yet might have been of equal goodness with this, so that the making of it would every whit have as well become the counsel of his will you speak of, as the making of this world now doth ? And there is the same reason of another government of the world; and if so, if there were another world before him of equal goodness with this, the making whereof would as well have become his wisdom, or the counsel of his will, as this, then was he not at liberty whether he would have made this or no ? Or, might he not have made that other in the place or stead of this?" To this also I answer, No : Because counsel hath place only, where, in that variety of courses or things that may be taken or done, or are appre- hended as feasible, and which may be done in order to a man's end, it is conceived by him that one thing may be better and « 9 2(i0 AX RXl'OSITIOK OF more conducing to his end than'anotlier ; but where two or more things that may be done are apprehended to be every ways and in every respect of equal conducement to a man's end, in such a case counsel hath no place. For to what purpose should a man consider or consult, when he certainly knows beforehand that he can be no ways benefited by his consultation, nor inconvenienced by the contrary ? Therefore, certainly, if God " worketii all things according to the counsel of his will," he wrought and made this world according hereunto ; and if so, there could be no model of any other world better than this in his eye, no, nor yet equal unto it, when this was made by him ; because, in the former case, he should have wrought contrary unto counsel in making this world ; in the latter, counsel about making this had been useless and impertinent. But to the main objection or difficulty, I answer, 4. And lastly : Though it be supposed that God, his power, wisdom, and goodness, considered as in conjunction, could work, make, and order things no otherwise than now he hath done or doth ; yet, inasmuch as what he now doeth necessarily, in respect of his essential and native goodness and wisdom, he doeth also most voluntarily and freely, vohintate concomitante et siibse- quente, and with infinite satisfaction and contentment to himself in his way, there is no reason or colour of reason why he should be judged less worthy praise or thanks for what he doeth gra- ciously out of such a necessity. As, for argument and illustra- tion sake, suppose a person were under such a necessity of doing some special courtesy for us which he could not decline or avoid ; yet, if this necessity were no ways burdensome or trou- blesome to him, but rather matter of contentment and joy ; so that he doeth the kindness for us with as much readiness and willingness of mind, notwithstanding such a necessity of doing it lying upon him, as he could in case no necessity at all engaged him; in this case we are nevertheless engaged in point of thankfulness unto him that should do us the courtesy, vipon the account of that necessity which lay upon him to do it. The reason is, because that freedom and gladness of spirit wherewith he is supposed to act under the said necessity, is an argument that he would have done every whit as much for us, whether he had been necessitated unto it, or no. In like manner, God rejoicing over that necessity of doing good and showing mercy to the world, which is natural and essential to him, and hereby THE N'IKTH CllAriER TO THK ROMANS. 261 declaring that he would do the one and show tlic other, whether his nature did necessitate him unto either or no, that good which he doeth and mercy which he showeth in this kind, have as equitable a claim to the praises and thankful acknowledg- ments of men who receive them, as they could have had in case he hadbeenantecedaneously, absolutely, and every ways free and at liberty whether he would have done any such good or showed any such mercy unto them, or no. Yea, the nearer any creature, man or angel, attaineth unto a natural necessity of doing good and acting worthily, that is, the more strongly, fervently, and, as it were, triumphantly, inclined they shall be hereunto, the more worthy praise and honour are they to be esteemed ; and the fruits also issuing from such triumphant principles of good- ness the more to be honoured and thankfully entertained by those who receive them. It is a good piece of discourse, in reference to the business in hand, which I find in Ursine. " He," saith he, " hath not free-will,'"' or, a will free, " who can^ not change his counsel, being hindered by an external cause, and in case he be willing," or desirous, " to change it." " Now God changeth not," indeed, "his counsel, nor can change it; yet, not by reason of any impediment or hinderancc from an outward cause, nor yet through any defect of nature, or of any faculty, but because he will not, neither can will, the changing of his counsel, by reason of the immutable," or unchangeable, " rectitude of his will, upon which no error, nor any cause whatsoever of a change, can possibly fall."* From the contents of this passage it plainly appeareth, (1.) That God cannot change the counsel of his will ; and, consequently, that he never could change it, inasmuch as he was the same, neither greater nor lesser, nor other, either in power or in will, from eternity, which now he is. (2.) That the reason of this impossibility of change in him is the immutable rectitude of his will ; and, con- sequently, that no other volitions or motions of his will, if any other shall or can be supposed by any to have been possible, could have had the same rectitude with those now exerted and in • Noil habet liberam volunlalcm is qui consilium, muturo non potest, iiiipeditus a causa externa, et si mutare vclit Detts autcm coiiciliu/n suum non rnutat ; nee mu- lare potest, non propter iinpecUmentum causes externm, nee propter natures autfacid- tatis defectum y sed quia non vult, nee velle potest consilii sui miitatiunem, propter immutabilem rectitiaUnem voluntatis sues, in quam ncque error, neque ulla mututionis fausn potest (•«(Z«r.— Uksim Cat. p. i., qu. 8, sect. 2. 262 ' AN EXPOSITION OF being. And it is the common doctrine or notion of Divines, that God is under a necessity of immutabihty, though most free from all necessity of coaction. And God, by doing that good wiUingly and with delight which that necessity of immu- tability under which he is necessitateth him unto, freeth him- self from all that unacceptableness with those to whom this good is done by him, which, otherwise, the notion of a necessity would expose him unto ; according to that of Seneca in another case, Vetis id, quod necessitas juhet, et totam vim necessitatis ehiseris, that is, " Be willing with that which necessity com- mandeth, and by this means you shall elude the whole force," or strength, " of necessity." And thus we see how it may well stand, that men, in case they could and certainly did foresee that good things given by them would make the receivers miserable, cannot be conceived to give them out of true love to these persons in case they give them upon such terms ; and yet, withal, that God may truly be said to give his Son Jesus Christ, and other means of salvation, out of great love to such men, who yet he foresees, after his manner of foreseeing, will abuse all these gifts of his to their greater condemnation. (3.) And lastly : That God''s intentions, even his primary and antecedent intentions, may be real and true, and yet never take place, I mean, the things really intended by him never come to pass, hath been once and again above all reasonable contradiction, evinced by us from the Scriptures.* So that God may be said truly and really to intend the repentance and salvation of those vessels of wrath which he endureth with much long-suffering ; yea, and this antecedently, though they never do repent nor be saved ; yea, though he certainly foreknew, according to his way of foreknowing, that they would never do the one or be the other. This for clearing the great difficulty propounded. If it be yet demanded, before we leave this, (verse 22,) " But what doth the Apostle all this while answer to that branch of the objection cast in his way, (verse 19,) which seems to carry the chief strength of the objection in it, ' Why doth he yet find fault,' or complain ? where, or in what clause of his answer, is there any account given of the reasonableness of God's reprov- ing or complaining of those whom he hardcneth ? nor doth the • Redemption Redeemed, pp. 22, 35, 215, 434. THK NINTH ClIAl'TEIl TO THK KOMANS. 263 Apostle deny the thing ; I mean, but tliat God is indeed wont to complain of those whom he hardeneth;"" I answer, That in the very words, lately insisted on, " endured with much long-suffering," as they have been opened, together with those following, fitted before, namely, by themselves, to destruc- tion, there is a pregnant and satisfactory account given to the said objections demand. For if God, 1. Hardeneth none but only such who first voluntarily harden themselves, and so fit themselves to destruction ; and, 2. " Endures with much long- suffering" those whom he hardeneth, all the while they are in hardening by him, and this long-suffering of his towards them be, as hath been proved, always accompanied with means suffi- cient to bring them to repentance ; there is as just and reasonable a ground why God should all this while find fault with, blame, and complain of them, as well for their being hardened as that they still continue refractory, obstinate, and impenitent, careless and regardless of the things of their own eternal peace, &c., as well can be imagined. For in what case or condition can men more reasonably be blamed, admonished, or reproved, than when they voluntarily expose themselves unto danger by sinning, and when and whilst they continue in ways of sin and wickedness, which lead unto death, when as the paths of life are before them, and they in a capacity of walking in them ? This shall suffice for clearing this verse 22. Now, though our Apostle stood no further engaged by virtue of the objection levied against him, (verse 19,) but only to vindicate the honour of the justice and wisdom of God in his proceedings about those whom he hardeneth, which he hath substantially done in these two verses 21 , 22, yet, having in this his vindication made use of the similitude of a potter, (verse 21,) and therein mentioned a double power, upon the matter, which this potter hath over his clay ; the one, to make vessels of it unto honour, the other, to make vessels to dishonour ; in his rendition of this simile he adds somewhat, likewise, concerning the power of God to make of his clay vessels unto glory, in these words : — Verse 23. And that he might make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy., which he had afore prepared unto glory — In these words the Apostle gives a further reason or account of that gracious dispensation of God towards " the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction," in " enduring them with 26i AN EXPOSITION OF much long-suffering," (verse 22,) namely, a present discovery, by way of argument or intimation, of his exceeding great bounty towards the " vessels of mercy," namely, such whom he hath before prepared or fitted unto glory. As if he should have said, " God endureth with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath, after they have been fitted to destruction," not only for this end, to show the dreadful power of his avenging wrath in the destruc- tion of these persons, in case they repent not, but likewise that he may exhibit a ground of knowledge unto the world, how incomparably rich and wonderful his bounty is towards " the vessels of mercy," that is, such whom, by the gracious operation of his good Spirit, he hath brought to repentance, faith, and holiness, and so prepared or made them meet for glory. If it be demanded, "But how or by what medium or principle doth God ' make known the riches of his glory towards the vessels of mercy, by enduring the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, with much long-suffering .''"'" I answer, by the light of this principle, namely, that he, who being regular and uniform in all his ways, as God must needs be presumed to be, shall very graciously, with much patience and goodness, entreat his greatest enemies, those that have very highly offended him, and dealt most unworthily by him, will most certainly express him- self, to the height of his power, in all, and all manner of grace, love, bounty, and magnificence, unto those who shall with all faithfulness and obediential respects approve themselves unto him. The riches of God''s patience and long-suffering towards the first-born of sinners in this world are demonstratively pro- phetical of his immense grace and bounty towards the congrega- tion of the first-born, — for so the company of believers are called, — in the world which is to come. This interpretation of the place I conceive to be much better than that which coupleth this verse with the former, by the tatch of this principle or notion, namely, that God's showing his wrath and making his power known in the destruction of repro- bates commends and sets off, upon terms of a far greater accept- ance, the riches of his grace and love in the salvation of his elect. For, not to arraign that conceit for error and vanity at the present, I mean, that God, by making so many reprobates, so called, as he hath done, commends his love upon so much the higher terms to his elect, suppose the conceit we speak of were true, yet can it have nothing to do about the exposition of the THE MNTII rilAPlKR TO THK ROMANS. 2G5 place in hand ; for it is neither said nor meant that God show- eth Ills wrath and maketh his power known, in the destruction of " the vessels of wrath,'' that so he may " make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy;" b\it, that he '' endureth with much long-sufFering the vessels of wrath," that hereby he may " make known the riches of his glory on the vessels of mercy," &c. So that it is not the hatred but the love which God beareth and showeth unto the reprobates, which the Ploly Ghost in this place maketh an argument rf that far greater love which he beareth and showeth, or will show, to his elect. By the way, ir may be not unworthy the observing, that the Apostle, for a more ample and full justification of the wisdom of God in finding fault with those whom he hardeneth, which attribute was principally struck at, as was n( ted by the objec- tion, doth not only show and declare how such a thing may be done by him without the violation of any principle or rule of wisdom, whereof notice hath been taken formerly, but further assigns several ends, and these worthy of him, which he pro- pounds unto self, and compasseth by such a dispensation ; as, 1. The showing of his wrath, meaning, in the more signal destruction of those who, being found fault with by him under their hardening, shall, notwithstanding, not repent. 2. The making of his power known, by the same op})ortunity or means. 3. And lastly : The giving knowledge and information unto the world how transcendently great his grace, love, and bounty are towards those who shall be found obedient unto him. It is a great commendation of wisdom in a man, when his counsels and projections are such that many collateral advantages shall attend either the prosecution or accomplishment of them. We have showed, in general, the Apostle's argument and scope in the verse before us ; let us briefly ponder some of the words and phrases in it more particularly. And that he might make known the riches of his glory — By glory he means that in God which is just matter of honovir and glory to him, the knowledge and due consideration whereof renders him glorious, that is, worthy all admiration, adoration, &c., in the eyes of his creature. In this sense his power, in regard of the excellent greatness of it, is oft called his glory. " Said I not unto thee," said the Lord Christ unto Martha, " that, if thou wouldcst believe, thou shouldest see the glory of 26() AN EXPOSITION OF God ?" (John xi. 40 ;) meaning, that in the raising uj) of her brother Lazarus from the dead, she should see, as in a glass, the glorious power of God. (See also Rom. vi. 4 ; Eph. iii. l(j ; 2 Thess. i. 9, &c.) In this sense true it is that every divine attribute or perfection may be termed his glory, because there is none of them but rendereth him glorious in the esteem of all those who understand, believe, and consider them. Notwith- standing, if the Scripture language be narrowly observed, we shall, I suppose, very seldom, if at all, find any other divine attribute styled or expressed by the name of the glory of God, but only his power, as hath been showed, and his grace or bounty ; which is imported by it in the place in hand, as it is in several others. (See Rom. v. 2; Eph. i. 6, 12, 14; Philip, iv. 19, &c.) The reason probably of this appropriation, I mean, of the word " glory" only to the power and grace of God, is this : Because men, for whose sake the Scriptures were written, are more sensible and apprehensive of the fruits and expressions of these two attributes of God, specially in their conjimction, and so in a more ready capacity to glorify God for them, than of any other his attributes. The fruits of the grace or bounty of God, which are administered by his power, are all the sweet and desirable things which are possessed and enjoyed by men in the world, as life, health, peace, liberty, meat, drinks, wealth, &c. Now because men are generally more taken and affected with such things as these, being the proper productions and fruits of his grace and power, acting together, and so are more apt to glorify him for them, than for any the appropriate fruits of any other his attributes, as wisdom, justice, or the like, therefore those attributes of his may, in reference unto men, be in a more peculiar manner termed his glory. The riches of his glory — That is, the great abundance of his grace and bounty. The metaphor of riches is frequently bor- rowed by this Apostle, to do service in commending and setting forth unto the world the most adorable and unconceivable ful- ness of the attributes and perfections of God : " The riches of his goodness ;" (Rom. ii. 4 ;) " O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God ;" (Rom. xi. 33 ;) " Ac- cording to the riches of his grace;" (Eph. i. 7 0 "Accord- ing to the riches of his glory;" (Eph. iii. 16;) to omit other like. So that by " the riches of his glory," in the place in hand, is meant, the transccndently great, inestimable, and most THE NINTH CHAPTKR TO THE liOMANS. 267 adorable grace, bounty, and munificence of God, the knowledge and consideration whereof rendereth him exceedingly glorious before his creatures. If, by a metonymy of the cause put for the effect, frequent in Scripture, by the "riches of his glory" or glorious grace, we shall understand the fruits and effects of these " riches of his glory," namely, the blessed enjoyments, the glorious estate and felicity, of the saints, &c., it will equally accommodate the place and the Apostle's argument. And that he might make known the riches of his glory, S^c. — Kaj jva yi/wpJ EXPOSITION OF dialect of the Scriptures, wherein God is said to do such and such things, when he doeth that which is proper for him to do in order to the effecting of them, though, through a defect in men not doing that which they ought to do, the thing be never actually done. What there is in that dispensation of God, his " enduring the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction, with much long-suffering," to demonstrate, by way of argument and proof, "the riches of his glory" towards his saints, hath been already argued and declared. On the vessels of tnercy, which he had afore prepared unto glory — By "vessels of mercy," it is out of question that he mean- eth such persons who sometimes were miserable by being " dead in trespasses and sins; wherein they walked according to the course of the world," &c. ; (Eph. iii. 1,2;) but, afterwards, through believ- ing the Gospel, obtain mercy, that great mercy, forgiveness of sins, with the fruits and consequents of it, which is a perfect relief against that misery. So that these " vessels of mercy," and " the children of the promise," (verse 8,) are one and the same. They are termed " vessels of mercy," because, as vessels, properly so called, have a peculiar form given unto them by the artificer who maketh and frameth them, by means whereof they are commodious and fit to receive and hold such things, whether liquid or dry, as are and should be put into them ; in like manner the persons here spoken of are therefore termed " vessels of mercy," inasmuch as when they come vmder this denomination they are so wrought and framed by the Holy Ghost that they are meet to receive the mercy of God ; that is, the fruits and effects of his mercy, as forgiveness of sins, in the first place, and then, in due time and by convenient degrees, all other blessings and good things, imtil their former misery be perfectly relieved, and their conditions reduced to a complete happiness. Now that spiritual form or frame which maketh men "vessels of mercy," in the sense declared, is faith and repent- ance ; whereunto when men are wrought and brought by that great and heavenly Artificer, the Holy Ghost, then doth God judge them meet to receive his mercy, his great and rich mercy, •which consists in forgiveness of sins, together with all other fruits of his mercy accompanying it. So that men, whilst they yet remain dead in sins and trespasses, are not " vessels of mercy," in the sense here intended by the Holy Ghost, but rather " vessels of wrath," although God may and doth ofttimcs TIIK XIXTir CHAPTER TO THE KOMAXS. 269 " endure them," as we heard lately, " with much long-suffering;" which is a kind of mercy, yea, and a rich mercy, in the kind of it, and which sometimes turns to a blessed account to them vt'ho receive it ; new forming them, and of " vessels of wrath ''' making them "vessels of mercy;" and would do the like by them all, if they had will and wisdom to comport with it for their own peace. Which he had afore prepared unto glory — In these words he more particularly declareth who or what kind of persons he meaneth by those vessels of mercy, towards whom God intendeth to " make known the riches of his glory," by his " enduring with much long-suffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruc- tion," as we formerly heard. These vessels of mercy are those " whom he" 7rpo>]TO«]«.aa-e, " afore prepared^'' or, made ready ^ or, fitted^ as the word signifies, " unto glory," or, for glory, sig lo^av. His meaning clearly is, that those riches of his glory, which he desires to make known by the means specified, are only meant and intended by him to be conferred upon such vessels of mercy, which, by his word and Spirit, and other dispen- sations relating to them, he hath " made meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light," (Col. i. 12,) as the Apostle speaketh elsewhere. So that this clause, " whom he hath before prepared unto glory," seems to be characteristical, and dis- tinctive between some vessels of mercy and others ; and to import that there either are, or may be, some of these vessels who will never be prepared or fitted by God for glory, but will miscarry between the hands of the potter, like the vessels in Jeremy, (Jer. xviii. 4,) whilst he is working and fashioning them, on whom those riches of his glory will never be conferred. These riches are intended by God for the portion and inheritance only of such vessels of mercy who will hold and abide, without cracking and breaking to pieces, the framing and working under his hand, until he hath finished all things about them requisite to their meetness for glory. For men are not meet, at least ordinarily, and as God counteth meetness, for a translation into celestial glory immediately upon the first of their repenting or believing, although they may now properly enough be termed vessels of mercy ; but there are yet many things to be done, yea, and suffered, by them, after their first believing, before God looketh upon them as meet for an actual investiture with glory. " For ye have need of patience," saith this our Apostle to the Hebrews, 270 AN KWOSITIO.V OF " that, after ye have done tlie will of God/' namely, by repenting and believing, " ye might receive the promise ;" (Heb. x. 36 ;)* that is, the great salvation promised unto those who shall con- tinue in faith and love unto the end. And they that look for eternal life from God, " who will render to every man accord- ing to his deeds," must seek for it " by patient continuance in well doing." (Rom. ii. 6. 7) So men that are rich in this world, though believers, yet must they do good, yea, " be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;" thus " laying up in store for themselves a good foundation, that they may lay hold on eternal life;" (1 Tim. vi. 18, 19;) that is, that they may come to it, and obtain it, as J. Diodate expoundeth it. The Scriptures are very frequent and pregnant in asserting this, that men must do more than simply believe to become meet for glory, or such on whom God is pleased to confer eternal life. Nor doth it follow from hence, that, in case a person should die the very next moment to that wherein he first believeth, he must then perish, or suffer the loss of eternal life ; because, in case a mane's faith be sound, all holy affections and righteous dispositions, and, consequently, a life and conversation fruitful in good works, are virtually and seminally contained in it. Neither will God turn any man's non-doing of good, through want of opportunity only, which belongs only to himself to give, to any loss or disadvantage unto him. But when men have time and opportunity vouchsafed unto them, if they shall be found negligent and unfaithful in doing those things which God requireth of them, this argueth that their heart is not upright in them, and, consequently, that they are in no capacity of receiving the great recompence of reward from God. 1. Some expositors interpret the word, 7rpo»jToi//-acrf, afore pre- pared, as if it signified, predestinated, or i^re-ordained. Though this sense of the word, rightly understood, createth no error or falsehood, inasmuch as God hath predestinated, and this from eternity, all those who shall persevere believing to the end, unto glory, yet doth not such a sense either so grammatically fit the word, or logically, the place. For the verb, sTo]Toj/x,af be constrvied appositive, as grammarians speak. The words thus ordered, and read, Whom also he hath THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 277 called, lis, that is, even ns, or, namely us, as Beza also distin- guisheth and supplieth,* give us the mind of the Apostle to this effect, that those " vessels of mercy" whom he prepareth unto glory, he is wont also to call, that is, so to call them as to prevail with them to hear and to answer this their call by be- lieving, as the word " call" frequently imports, and thus he hath called us who believe, as well of the Jews as the Gentiles, &c. Such appositive constructions as that mentioned are frequent in the Scriptures, and especially in the writings of this Apostle. One instance we have verse 10 of this chapter ; another, Rom. V. 15 ; another, John v. 45 ; to omit many others. The calling here specified doth not barely signify the act of God in calling or inviting persons unto the fellowship of the Gospel or com- munion with Jesus Christ, as sometimes the word signifies ; (Matt. XX. 16; xxii. 8, 14;) but rather the intended effect of this act of God in calling, that is, his prevailing with men to believe by means of this his calling, which is the much more frequent, and almost the constant, acception of the word with this Apostle. (See Rom. viii. 30 ; 1 Cor. i. 9 ; vii. 18, 21, 22, 24 ; Gal. i. 6, 15 ; besides many other.) And that, in the place before us, it must be taken in this sense is evident, because it is spoken of or applied unto those whom God hath prepared unto glory. Now that calling of God unto men, which is not answered by men with faith and love in Christ Jesus, is common unto thousands who are in no degree prepared by him unto glory, but are by themselves prepared to destruc- tion, according to that of our Saviour : " Many are called, but few are chosen." In this sense of the word " called," the Apostle speaks like unto himself in the former chapter : " More- over whom he did predestinate, them he also called." (Verse 30.) Not that predestination of particular persons goeth before their calling, no more than God's preparing or fitting men unto glory doth ; but God is therefore said to call or to have called them whom he did predestinate or hath predestinated, to show that he is not wont to predestinate any person, capable of calling, until he hath called him. For in saying, " Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called," his intent clearly is, to show who those are whom God hath predestinated " to be conformed to the image of his Son." (Verse 29.) These he notifieth by this character or property, namely, that God hatli called them, * Quo6 ctiam vocavit, nhniri'.m nos, Stc. 278 AN EXPOSITION OF that is, so called them as to cause them to hear and obey his call, as was lately said. Therefore, those who have not this character upon them, that is, are not yet thus called by God, are not predestinated by him to any such conformity. If they were, it could not be truly said that those whom he hath thus predestinated he hath called. But this by the way. The reason why our Apostle subjoineth God's calling, in the sense declared, of those vessels of mercy whom he prepareth or hath prepared unto glory, seemeth to be to give an account unto the froward and contradicting Jews, why or how he, with the rest, both Jews and Gentiles, who had obeyed their calling from God by the Gospel, became vessels of mercy, and were prepared or in preparing by him unto glory, in opposition to their rejec- tion who had not thus been called by him, but had obstinately and wilfully rejected his call. As if he should have said to these unbelieving Jews, " The reason why we believers, as well Jews as Gentiles, look upon ourselves as vessels of mercy prepared, or in preparing, unto glory, and not upon you, is, because that God, by his gracious calling of us by the Gospel, hath per- suaded and prevailed with us to believe in his Son, and to persevere believing until now ; whereas you have been and still remain disobedient unto this heavenly calling ; and, therefore, having once made yourselves vessels of wrath by sinning, you continue such to this day."" The obedience of faith in believers is both here and frequently elsewhere rather ascribed unto the calling of God than to their compliance with the call, though this be as requisite to the production of such an effect as the other, because it is the principal and primary cause and most worthy consideration ; whereas the compliance of man with the call of God, though in respect of the blessed consequence which, through the most gracious and bountiful promise of God, depends upon it and accompanieth it, it be very considerable also, yet in itself and in the nature of it, it is of small value, and carrieth nothing of wonder or worthy observation in it. Oyj xcii s^idXea-?, Whom also he hath called, or, Whom he hath even called — This particle xai, also, or even, seems to be emphatical, and to import that the calling of God, here men- tioned, is very condescentious and full of grace, and not easy to be believed by men by reason of the abundance of grace in it. In such an emphatical sense as this it seems to be used by this our Apostle elsewhere ; as, " Who hath also given unto us his THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THF. UOMANS. 279 Holy Spirit ; '' (1 Thess. iv. 8 ;) as if he should have said, " Who hath given unto us such a gift which we could hardly have expected from him, and greater than which he had none now to give, even his Spirit," (See also Rom. viii. 30, 34.) Some con- ceive it to be exegetical, and declarative of what went before, and to express the manner or means how God prepares the vessels of mercy unto glory. Haply, it is not of much value to observe in the pronoun sg, ivhom, that grammar-figure, accord- ing to which there may be an incongruity in the syntaxis of the words, when the sense is congruous and clear. For «c, being the masculine gender, relates in construction unto (rxsvrj, vessels, in the former verse, being the neuter gender. But grammar incongruities are frequent in the Scripture where the sense suffers not by them. An instance we had, (verses 10, 11,) although we took no notice of it. Not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles — Seldom is there any thing either denied in the Scriptures, but only that which men, at least some men, are apt to affirm ; nor any thing affirmed, but what some are apt or likely to deny. The reason why the Apostle, in the clause before us, expresseth himself by this distribution, " Not of the Jews only, but also of the Gen- tiles," is, because he knew the unbeheving Jews were inclined to think, that if any people under heaven were so graciously entreated by God as to be brought over to him in love and service, they must needs be either only or chiefly Jews. Nay, saith the Apostle, God hath now called and brought home to himself for a people as well Gentiles as Jews, without making any difference between them. This for the former particular insisted on by Paul, to qualify or take off the offence which he knew his countrymen the Jews were apt to take at his appro- priating unto himself, and those who embraced his doctrine, the dignity of being vessels of mercy, prepared by God unto glory, namely, their being called by him, in the sense oft declared. The latter followeth. Verse 25. As he saith also in Osee, Iivill call them myjjeople, which were not my people ; and her beloved, which was not be- loved— These are not the precise words that are found in the Pro- phet; but our Apostle, according to the manner of the New Testa- ment, and of the Spirit of God uttering himself here, takes liberty, in his citations from the Old Testament, to deliver the sense and substance of matter contained in the passages cited 280 AN KX POSITION OF with what variation of words he plcaseth.* And it is well observed by some that, for the most part, when the penmen of the New Testament take this liberty, I mean, to vary in words from the penmen of the Old Testament in their quotations from them, it is for the accommodation of the sense, and to afford some addition of light to the places quoted. The truth of this observation might readily be verified in many instances, if need were. However, the difference in words is not much in the tes- timony before us, though gathered and made up from two several places in the Prophet mentioned, namely, chap. i. 10, and ii. 23. Whereas our Apostle citeth thus : " I will call them my people, which are not my people;" the words in the Prophet are read thus : " And I will say to them which were not my ])cople, Thou art my people." For these words in our Apostle, " Tliere shall they be called the children of the living God," the Pro])het hath, " There it shall be said unto them, Ye are the sons of the living God." The greatest difference between them seems to be about this clause in our Apostle : " And I will call her beloved, which was not beloved ;" where- unto there is nothing found correspondent in the Prophet but only this : " And I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy ;" yet, neither is the difference here very material, only the Apostle's love seems to be somewhat more significant and full than the Prophet's mercy ; if yet we suppose the Prophet's ton% to signify mercy ^ rather than love^ for expositors more generally make it to signify either the one or the other indifferently ; and M. Bucer affirmeth, that it sig- nifieth such an affection or charity which a mother beareth towards her child whom she hath born in her womb.-f- For love doth with a more manifest and pregnant involution include mercy, than mercy, love. Where we truly love we cannot but show mercy upon occasion ; but we may show mercy, especially when extremity is the occasion, where we do not greatly love or aflPect. And besides, mercy, simply as such, extendeth only imto the relief of those in misery, and this but in part neither, for it must not be simply mercy, but mercy in some eminent * Nihil familiarius ^postolis, quam. urucula prophetica, ad sensum potins, qiiuiii till verba allef/are, et instituto suo accommodare, quia sunt Scriptura propkelicai divini interpretcs. — PAREUS-m Heb., p. 68. t Dc verbo Dm dictum jam paulo ante cut, siifnificari co cjusmodi charitatein, (jualcm hahet mater erga filiwrn ximm, quern i/estavit in utero suo. — BucER in Rom . is. 25. TlIK NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 281 degree, which nill advance a plenary relief and support to him that is in misery. But love, amongst many other worthy pro- perties, which our Apostle discovers in the nature of it, y^pYjssueTai, that is, as our former translation rendered, is bountiful, (1 Cor. xiii. 4,) and, as we know, is not satisfied with a bare relief or comfort of such who are in misery, but is ready to bestir and put forth herself to make them prosperous and happy. So that the Apostle, in the clause in hand, exchanging the Prophet's mercy for his love, quits himself evangelically, and opens the heart of God towards his people further than he, the Prophet, did. The tenor cf the whole citation now before us clearly imports a gracious promise or prediction of a blessed alteration and change intended to be made by God in the present estate and condition of some people or other, one or more; and that whereas their present condition was poor, and low, and despic- able, he would so far, and to such a degree, alter the property of it, that it should become prosperous and honourable. The multiplication and variety of expressions in the testimony itself, importing for substance one and the same thing, namely, the intent and purpose of God to do very bountifully by the people spoken of, emphatically imply the fulness of his heart and soul with a purpose and resolution that way ; according to that of our Saviour in the Gospel, " Out of the abundance," that is, according to the abundance, " of the heart the mouth speaketh." But though the sense and import of the testimony be thus far clear, yet is it controversial amongst expositors, of whom, or of what people, God here speaketh, " I will call them my people, which were not my people," &c. ; and particularly whether he speaketh these things concerning the Jews only, as, namely, that he would restore them unto his grace and favour, after their great affliction, devastation of their land, captivity, &c., under which they did not look like the people of God, but like a forlorn people, rejected and forsaken by him ; and that upon their restoration unto his favour he Avould make their faces to shine again in the world, and give them countenance from heaven ; — or whether he predicteth these things unto or concerning the Gentiles, as if his meaning were, that whereas, at that time when his Prophet thus prophesied, the Gentiles were, in their respective nations, a people estranged from God and the knowledge of his ways, without ftivour or countenance 282 AN EXPOSITION OF from him, without any sign or testimony of his presence with them, &c., yet in time he would show such respect unto them, that they also should become his people, and have as great a presence of his grace amongst them as ever the Jews had for- merly. Calvin stands up with much confidence for the former of these interpretations, supposing that he should find no man dissenting from him therein ; * yet Parens seems, with as much, or with very little less, confidence, to assert the latter, endea- vouring to prove by argument, that the Prophet, in the said passages, intended to predict the calling of the Gentiles.-f Though as well the one sense as the other accommodates the Apostle in his present business, as will more appear presently, yet the carriage of all things along the context in Hosea makes very strongly for Calvin's sense, at least thus far, that the re-assuming of the Jewish nation into his grace and favour, after their long exile, as it were, and banishment from hence, was principally intended by God and his Prophet in the pas- sages under question. On the other hand, it is very true, also, that the said oracles, intended, as hath been said, primarily and immediately for the consolation of the Jews, were so indited and drawn up in words by the Spirit of God, that they might accom- modate the state and case of the Gentiles also ; yea, and more- over item and instruct the Jews, that since the case and con- dition of the Gentiles, in reference to the love and favour of God, was no worse, no other, than what theirs sometimes had been, they, when time was, having been no more the people of God than the Gentiles now were, they should not be offended or think it strange that God should make a people for himself of the Gentiles also.J It is frequent in prophetical predictions of the Old Testament, and as frequently observed by judicious expositors, to be formed in such words and phrases, that they • Sensus est apertus ; nisi quod in accommodando testimonio laboratur ; si quidem Prophetam illic de Israelitis loqui, nullus negaverit. — Calvin in Rom. ix. 26. ■f Duobus ex Hosea oraculis probat, vocationem Gentium ad Christum a J)eo jam olim pronunciatam esse. — Pareus in Rom. ix. 25. X Oracuhini vera de Judceis proprie est, quos Domimis pollicetur se iterum assump- turum, cum rejecisset ob impietatem ipsorum, ne esset populus suus, neve charitate et Tnisericordia fruerentur. Verum quia in oraculo hoc inest, Deum assumere in popu- lum suum, quinon est populus ejus, et dignari charitate, qui sunt ea merito, destituti, monebantur eo Judasi, ut ex impensa sibi misericordia Dei discerent, non esse indig- num Deo, earn etiam Gentibus ivipendere, utcunque fuisscnt hactenus ea destituti, et a populo ejus alieni. — BucER ('» Rom. ix. 24. THE NINTH CHAI'TEE TO THE ROMANS. 283 may not only suit and fit those particular cases or events which are principally, directly, and immediately intended and aimed at, in part, by them, but several others also, being of like nature with them, which were to take place in the world afterwards. Nor is it unusual in the New Testament to style many events the fulfillings of such and such predictions or sayings of the Prophets, which did not relate unto them but only in a kind of secondary and collateral way. (See Matt. ii. 15, compared with Hosea xi. 1 ; Matt. ii. 18, with Jer. xxxi. 15 ; Matt. iv. 15, with Isaiah ix. 1 ; Matt. xiii. 35, with Psalm Ixxviii. 2 ; Matt. xiii. 14, with Isaiah vi. 9 ; John xiii. 18, with Psalm xli. 9 ; to omit sundry others.) So that although it be granted that the restitution of the Jews unto the favour of God, and their former enjoyments in their own land, after the sad desola- tions thereof, and their carrying away into Babylon, were directly and immediately intended by the Prophet in those veins of prophecy yet before us ; yet may the calling of the Gentiles be conceived to have been overtured likewise therein. The Apostle's intent and drift, in citing the said testimony, was not, I conceive, simply either to prove or declare, either the re-instating of the Jews in the favour of God after that cloud of displeasure we spake of had for a time been spread over them, or the calling of the Gentiles to be a people unto him ; but rather, as hath been signified, to show and declare that it is no new or strange thing, or that should offend any man, that such persons who had been formerly, yea, unto the very time wherein the change should be made, alienate from God, and under his displeasure, should be called by him, and this upon such terms as to be prevailed with to hearken unto his call, and so with much love and great respects to be entertained by him as his people. This sufficiently appeareth from the passages cited ; so that the Jews could have no reasonable or just cause to stumble at that which the Apostle all along this his discourse had insinuated, and even now more plainly affirmed, namely, that he, with the rest who had obeyed the calling of God in the Gospel by believing, were the people of God, "vessels of mercy prepared unto glory," how far soever they had been estranged from God before. This for the Apostle's latter plea mentioned. AVe shall now only open some particular expressions in the quotations before us, and then make forward. / will call them my people^ which were not my people — 284) AX EXl'OSITIOX OF For God to call any nation or party of men his people imports llieir dignity and great happiness ; as, on the contrary, for him to disown any people in such a relation implies their contempti- bleness and misery. For as earthly Princes and jNIonarchs, for the support of their state and greatness, seek to have all things, in relation unto them and their service, of the best and most excellent in their kind, — the best servants, the best horses, the best houses, the best dishes, &c. ; * — so when God appropriates any thing to himself, whether men, nations, or other creatures, it imports some special worth, excellency, and happiness in them. When our Saviour saith, " God is not the God of the dead, but of the living," (Matt. xxii. 32,) his meaning is, that God is not wont to call himself the God, that is, the Lord or Master, either of things or persons that are " dead," that is, that are in a sad, despicable, helpless, or hopeless condition, " but of the living," that is, whether things or persons, which are in an honourable and happy condition, or in such a capacity wherein he may, with the honour of his wisdom, justice, and truth, make them great and happy. And it is a frequent observation amongst expositors of Scripture, that things of choicest worth and excellency in their kind are here frequently appropriated unto God, or said to be his. Those "goodly cedars," as our English translateth them, (Psalm Ixxx. 10,) are, in the original, " the cedars of God." So the " great moun- tains," (Psalm xxxvi. 6,) in our English Bibles, are " the mountains of God," in the Hebrew. A " goodly river" is called "the river of God;" (Psalm Ixv. 9;) a "vehement flame," so translated, (Cant. viii. 6,) the " flame of God." And Jewish writers say, that to call a man " a man of God " is as much as to say, he is an extraordinary man, a man of an excellent spirit, a Prophet, a holy man. So that when God saith that he will call such or such a nation, or company of men, his people, he signifieth their great dignity, honour, and felicity. -f- / will call them my ijeople — In Scripture phrase, to say that • " Seest tlioii a man diligent in his business ? he shall stand before Kings ; he shall not stand before mean men." (Prov. xxii. 29.) "And if ye offer the lame and sick; is it not evil ? offer it now iinto thy governor ; vaS. he be pleased with thee ? " (Mai. i. 8.) t Solet Scriptura dicere rem (juampiam vel personam, hoc, vel illo, nomine voca- lum iri, 7ion qtcoU habitura sit illud noinen, aut tali nomine vulfjo appellanda sit, sed quod vere ac jilanc habitura sit rem tali nomine siyui/icatam. — Pekek. in Gcn.i 1>. 848. TITK NINTH CIIATTER TO THE ROMANS. 285 a thing or person shall be called so or so, or by such or such a name, doth not always import that either the one or the other shall vulgarly be called, or commonly known, by this name;* but sometimes, and most frequently, that the thing signified by such a name or word, whether it be matter of privilege or of shame, shall be evidently found in the estate and condition of either. " This is his name whereby he shall be called, The Lord our righteousness ;" that is, he shall be known so to be, namely, the Lord, by whom we shall obtain favour and forgive- ness of sins with God. (See also Isaiah vii. 14 ; ix. 6 ; Ivi. 7 ; Zech. vi. 12; Jer. xx. 3; Rev. xix. 13; with many other.) And when the Virgin Mary prophesied, " For, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed,"" her mean- ing was not to oblige either Papists or others to style her, as they commonly do, Beata Virgo, "the Blessed Virgin;" but that the grace and favour which she received from God, in being chosen from amongst women to be the mother of his Son, the great Messiah and Saviour of the world, was so exceedino- great, that she knew it would be reputed a singular happiness unto her amongst Christians in all succeeding generations. So that when God saith, " I will call them my people," his mean- ing is, that he would invest them with such privileges, whether spiritual or temporal, or both, that they should be taken notice of in the world, for a people in special grace and favour with him, or peculiarly related unto him. So, likewise, whereas it followeth, And it shall, or will, come to pass, that in the place where it was said unto them. Ye are not my jjeople ; there shall they be called the children of the living God ; — by, " Where it was said unto them, Ye are not MY PEOPLE," is meant, that where the inhabitants, by reason of their poor, miserable, and forlorn condition, were looked upon and esteemed by their neighbours and others as a people hated and rejected by God ; " there shall they be called the child- ren of the living God," that is, their estate and condition shall in time be so wonderfully altered and changed, that this very people, these inhabitants, shall be honoured and admired by * Schema est propheticiim, quo, naminis quasi proprii impositione , rei ant persona: lie qua agifur, qualitas, ant fatum. indicatur. — Med. Apoc., p. 84. Dicitur Deus vocare quippiam non hiani ^lomine, sed rei proBstatione, dum idfacit esse quod nomi- nat ; qitomodo frequenter in Prophetis vocare et novmiare sumunlur. — Estius ad Rom. is. 25. 286 AN EXPOSITION' OF those who formerly despised them, not simply as the "people of God," but as " the children of the living God," that is, as persons whom he that is God indeed, the true God, loves, honours, and embraceth, not only as his friends, but as his sons or children. A man loveth his children with a more genuine, affectionate, and intimate love than his friends, at least than such friends who are not of an extraordinary endearment to him. The Apostle explains the Prophet's " sons," — " There shall they be called the sons of the living God," — by his " chil- dren :" " They shall be called the children of the living God." The word " children" is more comprehensive, or at least more explicit and significant in the comprehensiveness of it, and so more evangelical and lightsome in this place, than the word " sons ;" for "children" equally respects both sexes, male and female ; whereas " sons" properly importeth only the former. It is true, that the Prophet, by his " sons," synecdo- chically understandeth daughters also ; but his expression was Old-Testament-like, more implicit and involved ; whereas our Apostle, being a son of the New Testament, turns the night of the Old Testament into day, and speaketh more plainly. The children of the living God — This epithet, "living," when applied unto God, is characteristical ; and singleth out Him who is God indeed, the " only true God," from amongst the rabble-rout of those many gods, so called, who are all either dead, as the dumb idols, or dying, as the unclean spirits, or devils, worshipped in them, whose godship was long since waxen old, and ready to vanish away into open shame and torment : Whereas the true God is said to be living, " the living God," not only, as I with submission conceive, because his Godhead is immortal and imperishable, but also because the glory and greatness of it is still growing and waxing in the minds and understandings of men and angels. But the epithet we speak of, " living," is, in the place before us, not only characteristical, in the sense declared, but very emphatical also, bearing some such notion or import as this, — that the persons he speaks of should not only or simply be translated and put by him into a happy condition worthy the children of God, but into such a condition, also, which should flourish more and more, in the enjoyment whereof they might be every day more happy and blessed than other. Concerning the place here spoken of, where they, that is, THE NINTH CHAPTKR TO THE ROMANS. 287 men, or the inhabitants, should be " called the children of the living God," some conceive it to be Chaldea, whither the Jews were carried captive ; some, Jerusalem, or Judea, whither they were restored, and where they were built up again into a nation with beauty, strength, and peace. Others, namely, those who conceive the calling of the Gentiles to be here directly intended, suppose it to be meant indefinitely of any place throughout the whole earth, where God, by the Gospel, should gather a people to himself I incline to the second interpretation, as carrying the sense primarily and directly intended by the Prophet, not excluding the third and last from his intentions, likewise, in a secondary and collateral way, according to what was formerly said. And her beloved, ivho was not beloved — The literal sense of this clause in the Prophet seems to be this, — that whereas God had commanded him to name his daughter Lo-ruhamah, which significth, " not having obtained mercy," or, " not having been beloved," — for that the word indifferently admitteth either sense was lately observed, — under which name she was a type and figure of the Jews during their rejection, now he informeth him that he will change her name, and call her "beloved;"" under which appellation she was a prophetical type or figure of the restitution of that nation, the Jews, unto the love and favour of God. This is vox interpretum, " the joint voice of interpreters ;" and they speak nothing but good probability of truth in it. Junius and Tremellius translate the clause, as they find it in the Prophet, Et miserebor Lo-ruchamce, " And I will have mercy upon Lo-ruhamah," which plainly showeth that they refer it to the Prophet's daughter, as hath been said. Yet it may, and, I humbly conceive, with as much probability, the common dialect of the Scripture consulted, be understood, properly and directly, of the nation of the Jews, and, by the rule of proportion, or of a secondary import, of any other body of people in the world, which having been formerly, either absolutely or comparatively, neglected by God, should after- wards come to be highly respected and beloved of him. For it is a frequent and well-known metaphor in the Scriptures to compare a state, body, or society of men, whether politic and civil, or sacred and ecclesiastic, unto a woman ; and under such a prosopopcea to discourse of them and their affairs. (See Ezek. xvi. 2, 3 ; xxiii. 2 — 4, &c. ; xiii. 14, &c., 35, 46 ; Isaiah 288 AN EXPOSITION OF liv. 1 ; Rev. xii, 1, &c. ; xvii. 1, 3, &c. ; to omit many others.) So that when God saith, " I will call her heloved, which was not beloved,'" his direct and next-hand meaning may be, that he would receive the nation of the Jews, or a remnant of them again into his favour, and entreat them gi'aciously, after he had cast them out of his sight, and proceeded in judgment against them as his enemies. And his further meaning might be, that he was ready to do the like by any other people, nation, or body of men in any part of the world, when they should hearken unto the voice of his calling, and address themselves unto him as their God. But whether this sense, or the former, both much alike accommodate the Apostle in his purpose, as hath been showed, this being to give the Jews to understand that it was no new or unheard-of thing that God should cast his love upon such persons, and call them his people, who, after the greatest estrangement from him, should return in obedience unto him : " Even us whom he hath called, not of the Jews only, but also of the Gentiles."" What the emphatical repetition of one and the same thing, for substance, three times over importeth, hath been already declared. It fol- loweth : — 27 Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved : 28 For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness : because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth. 29 And as Esaias said before, Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed, we had been as Sodoma, and been made like unto Gomorrha. Because the Apostle"'s doctrine of justification by faith, hitherto maintained and asserted, according to the entertainment which it found in the world, was attended with these two conse- quents : 1. That, as well Gentiles as Jews became the people of God, namely, by their receiving it ; 2. That the far greater part of the Jews were reprobated or rejected by God upon their refusing it ; both which were hard sayings unto them, and not easy to be digested or believed ; therefore, to take off THE NINTH ClIAl'TKIl TO TlIK ROMANS. 289 or allay the offensiveness of them, he demonstrates from their own Scriptures that neither the one nor the other were of any such import, but^ that the like had come to pass, and been accordingly predicted by God before their coming to pass, amongst themselves and in their own nation. Tliat which answereth the former of the two he proveth to have been pre- dicted by God, which supposeth tlie accomplishment of it in its time, from several testimonies of the Prophet Hosea, which wc have lately opened. That which paralleleth the latter, and is of the same nature and import with it, I mean, that the far greater part of the Jews should be rejected by God, he proveth to have been foreshowed by^God from a double testimony of the Prophet Isaiah : The former is found in chap. x. of his prophecy, the latter in the first. For the former : — " Esaias also crieth concerning " (for so the preposition, vTrsp, here signifieth, as in many other places) "Israel, Though the num- ber of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea."" Neither doth our Apostle in this testimony bind himself exactly to the words either of the Greek version, or of the original Hebrewitself ; although, in any thing material, he differeth not from either. The particle &?, translated also, is not copulative or augmentative, but adversative, and signifieth, "but ;" and here seemeth to import an opposition between that which went before, concerning God's calhng such his people, and that which now foUoweth, wherein the Apostle citeth the Prophet Isaiah declaring from the mouth of God, in effect, that those who had been his people, loved and graciously entreated by him, should in great numbers cease to be his people, and be severely handled by him. To affect the more deeply his countrymen the Jews, for whose sake espe- cially he manageth the whole discourse of this chapter, as hath been formerly noted, with the testimony of their great Prophet now before us, he exhibiteth him not simply as saying or speak- ing the words of it, but as crying, " Esaias also crieth con- cerning Israel;" which importeth either the great sorrow and bitterness of soul wherewith he uttered it, or else the ardent desire he had that it should be earnestly minded and laid to heart by all men, and more especially by the Jews, who were more particularly and nearly concerned in it.* For the more * Consequitur etiam, clamorem intelligi, non gralidantis, sed dolentis ; qiiomndo frequenter accipitur apud Prophetas. Igitur clamat Esaias, id est, macjno doloris U 290 AN EXPOSITTON OF than ordinary extending of the voice or crying commonly import- eth cither of the one or the other, or both. For the testimony itself : " Though," or ^/, euv, "the num- ber of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea," &c. The words in the Prophet, as Junius rendereth them, sound thus : " For if thy people Israel shall be as the sand of the sea," &c. Some conceive the words spoken to King Hezekiah, others to Israel itself. They may with as much or more pro- bability, as either, be conceived as directed by God to the Pro- phet himself, whose people the Jews may be called in such a sense as God had formerly called them Moseses people. (Exod. xxxii. 7) And, elsewhere, the whole body or nation of them are called the people of each member respectively. (Lev. xix. 16, 18 ; as in many other places.) Vast multitudes or numbers are frequently expressed by the sand of the sea, and sometimes by the sand on the sea shore. (Gen. xxii. 17 ; xxxii. 12 ; to omit several other places.) The particle, eav, if, is not here dubitantis, but ratiocinantis ; not importing it any matter of doubt or question whether " the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea," &c., but supposing and grant- ing this, gives an item that somewhat, notwithstanding, is a truth, which such a supposition seemeth, at least in part, to contradict or render improbable. In such a sense as this, the particle, eav, if, is also used elsewhere. (See 1 Cor. ix. 16 ; xiv. 16.) That which the Prophet from God here asserteth for truth, notwithstanding the said supposition concerning the vast multitudes of the children of Israel be granted, is this, — that yet " a remnant shall be saved," that is, a remnant "only;" the exclusive particle, " only," is frequently omitted and left to be understood. Whereas Moses twice expresseth himself thus : "And him shalt thou serve," (Deut. vi. 13 — 20,) speaking of God ; our Saviour, explaining him, supplieth the word " only:" " And him only shalt thou serve." (Matt. iv. 10.) So, " Christ sent me not to baptize," (1 Cor. i. 17,) that is, not only, or not so much, to baptize. See also James i. 25 : " This man," that is, this man only, "shall be blessed in his deed;" to omit nffcctu loquiltir.— Est IV s in locum. Non, inqidl, (licit, sed clamat JSsaias ; non modo nt prascntcs Judaos ad attentioncm e.vciiet, sed etiaiii nt Esaice jam olim graverii contcntioncni de hoc cum, Judais fuisse innuat. Nolebant audirc hanc doclrinam Judai ; clamabat ergo Esaias, iit audire cn(/erentiir.~-PAREVfi in locuvi. THK NINTH CHAI'TKR TO THK KOMANS. 291 other places. " A remnant," that is, a small parcel or pro- portion of this great multitude. The word is frequently used in this sense in the Prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and others. " Shall be saved," that is, shall be preserved from perishing in that deluge of destruction and desolation which Sennacherib and his host would bring upon the land of Judea ; and by betaking themselves for shelter to Jerusalem, as Noah and his family escaped drowning in the deluge of waters, wherein the residue of the world perished, by betaking themselves into the ark. (See Isaiah vii. I7, to the end of the chapter; and again, Isaiah viii. 6 — 8.) Or if we consult the Prophet from whom our Apostle citeth the testimony in hand, who, instead of "shall be saved," saith, "shall return;" (Isaiah x. 22 ;) the place seemeth rather to be meant of that great consumption, waste, and spoil, which God threatened to make of the lives of the Jews, in the destruction of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, (2 Chron. xxxvi. 6, 17, 20, &c.,) and under the seventy years' captivity ; insomuch, that of those vast numbers who went into captivity there were but very few, comparatively, that should return into their own land, or enjoy the benefit of that grace and liberty of re-enjoying their own country, laws, and privi- leges, which Cyrus, being hereunto moved by God, generally granted unto their nation. This is Calvin's sense in his com- mentaries upon the place, although the truth is, that the place, notwithstanding those words in Esaias, " shall return," may well be understood of the Assyrian desolation of the ten tribes, more strictly and properly called Israel, a small remnant of which were sent back by the King of Assyria into their own land. (2 Kings xvii. 27-) This was Jerome's opinion of old, and is embraced by some modern interpreters of good note. The reason why so few of this nation should escape or return from their banishment and captivity into their own land follows in these words : — Verse 28. For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness : because a short work loill the Lord make upon the earth — It is conceived by some judicious interpreters, that the words in our common Greek copies, by passing through either negligent or injudicious hands, have lost their native perspi- cuity, and are somewhat troubled; who likewise inform us of another reading of them out of an ancient manuscript, much more plain and direct ; as, namely, this : Aoyov yup o-uvtsXcov xai V 2 292 AN EXPOSITION OF j?,* For the Lord finishing, or perfecting and contracting, or cutting short, the account, will act, or fall to work, on the earth. Or thus : For the Lord finishing and cutting short will make the account upon the earth. The Hebrew, as far as Junius and Tremellius under- stood it, hath it to this eifect : " A precise consummation will he consummate, abounding," or overflowing, " in righteous- ness. For a consummation, and this precise, will Jehovah, the Lord of Hosts, make in the midst of this land,""-f- or, in this whole land. Jerome translated the words thus : " An abbre- viated," or shortened, " consummation shall overflow righteous- ness. For God, the Lord of Hosts, will make a consummation and abbreviation in the midst of all," or, of the whole land ;^ Arias Montanus, in his interlineary, thus : " A consummation decided," or cut short, " overflowing rigliteousness : Because the Lord, the Lord of Hosts, will make a consummation, and " this " decided in the inner" parts " of the whole land ;" § Mus- culus, with a little variation, thus : " There shall be a concise consummation overflowing righteousness : Because the Lord God of Hosts will make a consummation, and this concise, in the midst of all the land ;"|| Parens, not differing much from him, thus : " A consummation," or the consummation, " decided," or determined, " shall overflow in," or with, "righ- teousness: Because Jehovah, the Lord of Hosts will make a consummation, and this decided," determined, or cut short, " in the midst of the earth." ^ The Chaldee paraphrase glosseth the two verses thus : " Because though thy people, the house of • In Paulino enim ie.vtu, qrialcin nunc habemus, satis ahsurdmn est, jjoni primum, yap, deindc, on. Omnino hcec lectio intcrpolaia est ew LXX. T'ctus autcm, lectio extat in manuscripto illo qtiem, totics laudo, et sic Jiabet y \oyov yap m«n^ mn^, signifieth, according to some, the God of angels, or, of the stars ; accord- ing to others, the God or Lord of Hosts, -f- God is styled the God of angels, either for his special grace and favour to the angels, in which respect he is called the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, and sometimes the God of his people ; or else, to express his majestic greatness, as being environed and attended with innumerable angels, who them- selves, though creatvu'es, are yet excellently glorious, and of incredible strength and power, " beholding his face continually," as our Saviour speaks, and in this posture attentively awaiting all significations of his pleasure unto them, respectively, for employment. And because he that hath the absolute command. • Vide MuscuLUM in Isaiam i. 10. t Of the divers significations of the Hebrew t^lV, see the same Orotius oa Matt. xxiv. 29. THK XTNTII CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 299 of all the angels must needs, upon this account, be conceived to have the like command over all creatures besides, even of those that are of greatest strength and most formidable, he may, pro- bably, be styled " the Lord of Hosts." In the period before us he seems to be mentioned by this name, "the Lord of Hosts," to show that it was not for want of strength, or power, or of instruments, to have done the execution, that the whole number of us, or of our nation, that we were not all from the first to the last swept away with that flood of destruction which covered, in a manner, the whole face of the land, and overwhelmed the far greater part of us, but for his truth and promise' sake, having long before engaged himself unto Abraham, to be a God unto him and his seed ; that is, to such of his posterity who should walk in the steps of his righteousness and faith. Or else, the said appellation, "the Lord of Hosts," is here used to insinuate that had not God, as well by the interposure of his mighty power as of his grace or faithfulness, rescued the said remnant or seed from the rage and revengeful hand of their enemies, when this was lifted up on high to destroy and make desolate, they had most certainly perished with the rest. (See Psalm cxxiv. 1 — 5.) Had left us a seed — Or, "left us seed." Isaiah hath it, " a remnant." He compares the small remnant which God reserved from perishing in the great desolation of the Jewish nation unto seed : 1. In respect of the smallness of their proportion, com- pared with the vast numbers of their fellows who perished ; as the seed which the husbandman reserves out of his crop for another sowage of his land is but a little quantity in respect of the product or increase of his whole harvest. 2. In respect of that fruitfulness and great increase which this small remnant, through the abundant blessing of God, and according to his pro- mise in this behalf, was to produce, after the ruin and destruction of all the rest. (See Jer. xiii. 14, 16.) Seed, we know, useth to be separated and spared for the pro])agation of a new harvest. 3. And lastly : In respect of that goodness and uprightness of heart, wherein they were more excellent than all their neigh- bours, who were consumed by death ; even as the best and soundest of the grain which the harvest affords is wont to be picked out, and laid by for seed. Now, whereas the leaving of this seed is ascribed unto God, " Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed," Sec, it implieth one of these two things ; 300 AN EXPOSITIOX OF either, 1. That the wrath and fury of the er\cmy were so implacably high against the Jews, that, had not the Lord of Hosts himself opposed them in their way with his irresistible power, they had made an utter desolation of this people, and left them neither rush nor branch remaining ; or else, 2. It implieth that the true reason why that remnant or seed which now escaped was reserved or preserved by God was, not the merit of their righteousness, as if God should have done unjustly, in case he had not preserved them, but his mere grace or his merely-gracious respects unto that weak and imper- fect righteousness that was found in them. God, in strictness of speaking, is the Author only of what he doeth of grace or favour, not of what he doeth according to the exigency either of merit or demerit, either in men or angels. But of these two I incline rather to the latter, as being of nearest affinity with the Apostle's scope and argument in hand ; which is, in effect, to prove and show that his grace, not men or their works, arc the authors of justification and salvation upon it. We had been, or been made, or become, as Sodoma, and made like unto Gomorrha — Meaning, that they, their race and nation, had been utterly extinct and consumed from off the face of the earth, as these two cities, with all their inhabitants and respective families, had been. The Prophet, it is probable, rather chose to express that 'osavoXs^pia, or total ruin, between which and the Jewish nation there v/as but so short a step as we have heard, by the mention of these two places, Sodoma and Gomorrha, than in plain and direct terms, to smite the souls and consciences of the Jews, to whom he prophesied, so much the more effectually to awaken them into some such thoughts and apprehensions as these, that their sins were growing on apace to the like degree of provocation with the sins of these cities, and that it would be their wisdom to take heed by their example of coming under the dint of the like fiery indignation of God by rebelling against him as they did. The Holy Ghost, in his threatenings and admonitory applications unto men to desist from sinning, very frequently remindeth them of what God hath done formerly in a way of punishment or taking ven- geance upon others, whether persons or nations ; this being a method or course much more piercing and convincing than to deal with the consciences of men by simple and direct threaten- ings. For as men are more like to do what and as they have THE NINTH CITArTER TO THE nOMAXS. 301 been accustomed to do, especially when they shall also say and threaten that they will do so, than what they barely say or threaten they will do ; so, when God shall not only or simply threaten sinners, but together herewith remember them with what severity he hath been wont from time to time to handle such persons as they, executing the same or like judgments upon them, this must needs be like the piercings of a sword to a hard heart, and awake the secure conscience most effectually. " But go ye now unto my place which was in Shiloh, where I set my name at the first, and see what I did to it for the wicked- ness of my people Israel. Therefore will I do unto this house, which is called by my name, wherein ye trust, and unto the place which I gave to you and to your fathers, as I have done to Shiloh.'" (Jer. vii. 12, 14. See also Jer. xxvi. 6, 9 ; xliv. 30; Num. xvi. 40; Zech. i. 6 ; Amos vi. 1, 2 ; 1 Cor. x. 5 — 7» &c. ; Heb. iii. 15, 16, &c. ; Jude 5, 6, &c. ; to omit many others.) But this by the way. Sodom and Gomorrah are both mentioned, probably, to show that God spareth not one place or people more than another, when they are in the same condemnation, and under the like guilt of sin. Besides, the naming of a plurality of cities, whose inhabitants respectively have been destroyed by God, with the same severe destruction, for sin, representeth the like destruc- tion as so much the more likely to be inflicted upon any other people that should sin after the same manner or degree. More- over, a double parallel of the misery which a people was in imminent danger to have suffered, the more emphatically com- mends that interposure, whether of mercy or of power, or of both, by which it was prevented. That phrase, Ka* w^ Fofji^oppct. av a)|U,o(«;9r)jaev, And should have been likened as Gomorrha, signifieth, We should have been in all ages mentioned upon all occasions for a people exemplarily destroyed, rush and branch, by God, as Gomorrha now is. The Greek translators use the like expression elsewhere : HaoiwSyj o Xao; [x.ov, oog oux. z-xj^v yvM(Tiv, that is, Aly people is become like, or, hath been likened, as not having knowledge, (Hosea iv. 6,) that is, to a people which hath not knowledge ; for which the Hebrew hath, " as they who judge the Priest," or, contend with the Priest. So, likewise, Ezek. xxxii. 2 : Asovtj gfivwv coij.oiwSyis ] (Txavda\Kr^^, shall not be offended in me, (Matt. xi. 6,) that is, '• shall not THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 325 Stumble at me," * in that term of universality, " whosoever,'''* he comprehended as well the Gentiles as the Jews. The reason why our Apostle termeth Christ a " stumbhng-block to the Jews," not so to the Greeks or Gentiles, but "foolishness," (1 Cor. i. 23,) is not because he was in no respect this latter unto the Jews ; for he had a little before said in the general, that the " preaching of the cross," that is, Christ crucified, was " to them that perish foolishness ; '" so neither because he was in no respect the former, " a stumbling-block," unto the Greeks; but because the Jews having had Christ personally in the flesh amongst them avouching himself, as well by the sinlessness of his life, as by his doctrine and miracles, for their Messiah ; yet, being offended at the meanness of his birth, breeding, and con- dition, all too mean and low by many thousand degrees, as they supposed or pretended, for him that was to be their Messiah, fell heavier upon him with hatred, indignation, and disdain, than the Gentiles generally did ; even those, I mean, who refused to believe in him. And in this respect he may in a more signal and particular manner be termed crxav&aAov, a scandal^ offence^ or stumbling-block unto them. They were the nation that first stumbled or were offended at him in all the world ; yea, they were more offended, and stumbled at him more forcibly and with greater violence than any other nation. Whereas, for the Grecians or Gentiles, though in a general sense, which hath been declared, they may be said to have stum- bled at him likewise, yet his poverty or meanness of condition or suffering death did not occasion their offence or rejection of him, and, consequently, their offence was not so properly a stum- bling as that of the Jews. It is like that some of their own wise men and great philosophers, who were in high esteem amongst them, were as mean of parentage and condition in the world as Christ was represented unto them to have been ; yea, and pos- sibly suffered very great indignities from unjust and cruel men, as Christ also had done. So that their refusing to believe in Christ did not, probably, proceed from any want of secular greatness, in one kind or other, in him. But that which occa- sioned their unbelief was, that they who preached him, and sal- vation by him, did not satisfy or convince them by philosophical arguments or natural demonstrations of the truth and certainty * The subst;mtive, a aav^aXov , is translated siumbling-block, 1 Cor. i. 23 ; Rom. si. 9; Rev. ii. 14. 326 A\ EXPOSITION OF of those things which they affirmed of him. But, to give the Jews to understand that they might very possibly stumble at that stone he speaks of, (the Lord Christ,) he cites a testimony from one of their own greatest Prophets, wherein he is termed a " stumbling-stone," that is, such a person at whom many would be offended, to their great misery and ruin. The words of the testimony are these : — Verse 33. As it is written^ Behold, I lay in Sion a stum- hlingstone and rock of offence : and whosoever helieveth on him shall not he ashamed — This testimony is framed of two or three several clauses taken out of two or three several pas- sages in Isaiah, and put together, with some little variation of words. The former words of this testimony, " Behojd, I lay in Sion," are verbatim found, Isaiah xxviii. 16; only the word Englished, " I lay," in the original soundeth, " I will lay foun- dation-wise," or, " I will found," or " firmly lay." The next, " A stumbling-stone, and rock of offence," are thus expressed : " For a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence." (Isaiah viii. 14.) The last words, " And whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed, are thus read, a little after the former words, " Behold I lay in Zion : " " He that believeth shall not make haste." In this third and last clause, there are three particulars, wherein the Apostle relieveth the Old-Testament darkness, with evangehcal or New-Testament light. First, he expoundeth the Prophet's indefinite, " he," " He that believeth," by his uni- versal " whosoever," " Whosoever beheveth," or, -craj o -arjreuwv, every one believing. The pronoun "he," in such construc- tions as this, is frequently expounded by, " every one that," " whosoever," and the like. Thus, " He that beheveth on me," (John vi. 47 ; Mark xvi. 16 ; 1 Peter ii. 6; 1 John v. 5, 10, &c.,) is interpreted by " Whosoever," or, " Every one that, believeth." (John iii. 16 ; xii. 46 ; Acts x. 43, &c.) Secondly, whereas the Prophet expresseth himself only thus, " He that believeth," not specifying either the person or thing to be believed on, our Apostle, in his citation of the words, Kai •57«f 0 zyig-eucov stt' auTM, And every one believing on him, plainly informeth, 1. That it is a person who is to be beheved on ; * and, 2. That this person is he that is compared to a " stone of • AvTtfi caimot relate imto \i6os, because of -oreTpa, being the feminine gender, coming between ; therefore must needs relate unto the person signiCed by that \t6os, or slone. THE NINTH CHAPTliR TO THE UO.MANS. 327 Stumbling, and rock of ofFence." Thus sometimes actions are mentioned, without any mention of their objects ; which, not- withstanding, are named elsewhere. Thus our Saviour pro- niiseth that to them " that hear more shall be given," (Mark iv. 24,) not specifying either who or what it is they must hear, in order to such a gracious consideration from God. But both these are sufficiently explained in other scriptures. (Matt. xvii. 5 ; Luke x. 16 ; John viii. 47, &c.) Thirdly, and lastly, the Apostle explaineth the Prophet's " will not make haste,"" or rather, " let him not make haste,'"' by his " shall not be ashamed;"" although some learned expositors conceive, that the Hebrew word anciently read in the text in hand was of the same signification with our Apostle's xarajo-p^ovSrj, shall not, or cannot, be ashamed. However, the reading now extant in the Prophet, " will not make haste," may readily be reconciled with the Apostle's " shall not be ashamed." The former, in saying, " He that believeth will not make haste," or, " let him not make haste," meaneth, that whosoever shall believe and stay himself on that Stone he speaks of needs not be like unto those who are fearful of a disappointment where they trust, who by reason of their fear in this kind are impatient of all delay, and tormented herewith, until they see the issue ; hereby implying that which the latter, our Apostle, plainly affirmeth, namely, that such " shall not be ashamed," or confounded. This for making even reckonings between a great Prophet, and an Apostle greater than he, in the particular before us. Now for the sense and mind of the Apostle in the words : — As it is ivritten — This clause, " as it is written," meaning, in the book of God, or amongst the oracles of God, doth not import the testimony or words following to be, or to contain, a direct probation of what he had last before affirmed, namely, that the Jews stumbled at the stumbling-stone, Christ ; but only to show and prove that Christ was a " Stone of stumbling," that is, such a kind of stone, so laid or pitched, so disposed of and contrived by God, that men would be apt to stumble at him, yea, and many would actually stumble at him ; and, con- sequently, that the Jews might very probably stumble at him. The said clause, " as it is written," is frequently in the New Testament used in much a like sense, not importing an express proof of what went before in that which follows, but only some kind of aspect upon, or relation unto, or affinity between, the 328 AN EXPOSITION OF one and the other. (See Luke ii. 23; iii. 4; Actsxiii. 33; Rom. iii. 4 ; viii, 36 ; with many others.) Behold — This word, " behold," in such constructions as this, is like a trumpet sounding from heaven to call the world together from their several quarters, to attend with all their might, and consider what is now ready to be declared unto them. And the truth is, that this trumpet never sounded upon a more solemn and weighty occasion than that before us in the words following: — / lay in Sion — In the Prophet's language, according to some of his interpreters, the words sound thus, Fundaho in Sion, " I will found," or firmly lay, " in Sion." Arias Mon- tanus, in his interlineary, translates them thus : Ecce, ego fundator in Sion lapidis, t^^c, that is, word for word, " Behold, I the founder in Sion of a stone," &c. ; Junius and Tremellius, in their translation, thus : Ecce, ego fundamentuni posui in Sione lapidem ; that is, " Behold, I have laid," or placed, " a foundation in Sion, a stone ;" others, thus : Ecce, ego fundo in Sione lapidem ; that is, " Behold, I found," or lay founda- tion-wise, "in Sion a stone;" Jerome, in the last place, thus: Ecce, ego mittam in fundamentis Sion lapidem, ^c. ; that is, " Behold, I will put," or cast, " in the foundations of Sion a stone," &c. The meaning of the words, together with those following in the verse, suffers little or nothing from this variety of translations, being clearly this, or to this effect, namely, that God here promiseth that in due time he would cause such a person to rise up, or to take his being, from and amongst the Jews, who should be like unto a stone, which is of transcendent worth and value, at which, notwithstanding, many would be apt to stumble, by rea'^on of the situation and position of it ; that is, should be invested with an irresistible strength, power, and authority never to be taken away from him, and who should continually act and exercise this power, for the happy making and keeping of all those that shall depend on him, and commit themselves unto him ; and yet, nevertheless, should be so ordered, disposed of, and contrived by him, that wicked per- sons, careless, and regardless of the mind and counsels of God, may very easily overlook both his excellent worth and power, and so be offended at him, to their own irrecoverable loss and ruin. In Sion — Sion was a part of the city Jerusalem, situate vipon a hill towards the north, in respect of the rest of the city. Sometimes' the hill itself is called by this name ; but more THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE UOMANS. 329 frequently the series of the buildings upon it are termed Sion. This seems to have been the principal part of the city, 1. By reason of the temple ; 2. Of the royal palace ; 3. Of that strong and impregnable fort or tower, called the " strong hold of Zion;" (2 Sam. v. 70 ^^^ standing hereon. This tower, being won by David from the Jebusites, and enlarged with many buildings adjoining, or near to it, became his habitation, or seat royal, and, as it seems from 2 Sam. v. 7? and 1 Kings viii. 1, from the largeness and great compass of buildings added by him unto it, was itself called, " The city of David." So that when God saith, " Behold, I lay in Sion a stone," &c., his intent may be to insinuate, that the person here represented by the metaphor of a stone should be of the house and lineage of David ; which is of a gracious import, as well unto the Jews as the Geiitiles, leading the former dii-ectly to that particular house and family, from whence their Messiah was to be expected, and so preventing those distractions, wanderings, and uncertainties of mind and thought, otherwise incident unto them about his pedi- gree and descent ; and, consequently, confirming the latter in the truth and certainty of his being the Messiah indeed, in whom the New Testament vesteth this transcendent honour and dignity. A stumblinti stone and rock of offence — Some expositors, too much either Arianized or suspected, understand these expressions as not meant in Isaiah concerning Christ, but God himself; and as only allusive-wise, and for commodiousness of phrase, applied by the Apostle unto Christ ; on purpose, it is like, to decline the pregn^mcy and force of such an argument, which otherwise from between the two passages riseth up like an armed man to assert the Divinity of Christ. But how hard a saying it would be, that God, speaking of himself, should say, " Behold, I lay in Sion a stone,"" and that his meaning should be, " Behold, I lay myself in Sion a stone," needeih no arguing. Besides, if the Prophet Isaiah did not by his stumbling-stone, and rock of offence, directly and principally intend Christ, the Apostle, as is evident, should make very small earnings for his purpose of the testimony in hand. For, from God's being a " stumbling-stone and rock of offence" in Isaiah's days, it no ways follows that therefore Christ must of necessity be the like, namely, " a stumbling-stone, and rock of offence," in the Apos- tle's days. And if such a consequence as this be of no value, the truth of the Apostle's affirmation, or intimation, that Christ 330 AM EXPOSITION OK was or is " a stumbling-stone," &c., must rest only upon his own credit and authority ; which we know were of very light esteem with his countrymen the Jews, whose conviction, not- withstanding, as hath been oft said, is the main prize for which he runneth the long race of this and the two following chapters. If it be demanded, why, or in what respect, Christ should be termed, a " stone of stumbling, and rock of offence," I answer, 1. Negatively, (1.) Not because he was by God intended, at least antecedently, for such, either a stone or rock : All stum- blings and offence-takings at Christ are acknowledged by Calvin himself to be accidental and adventitious,* that is, besides the intentions of God, and proceeding from the pravity of men themselves. Nor, (2.) Because they who stumble and are offended at him were appointed or ordained by God unto these or any the like sinful miscarriages, God appointing no man to do that which he universally prohibits all men from doing, as hath been formerly touched. Nor, (3.) Because he is so, or upon any such terms, exhibited or set forth by God unto the world, that any man should be constrained or necessitated, either by his own weakness and corruption, or by the devil, or by any other instrument or creature whatsoever, to stumble or take offence at him : Actions constrained or necessitated upon men are neither demeritorious nor punishable. Nor yet, (4.) And lastly for the negative : Because he is so contrived by God in respect of any circumstance, or matter relating or appertaining to him, that any person should be so much as tempted, or reasonably induced, by any of these to stumble at him: " God," saith James, " tempteth" no "man:" (James i. 13:) This is as true of Christ also. But, 2. For the affirmative, in two words : Christ is therefore termed a " stone of stumbling," &c., partly because he is so laid, placed, or dis- posed of by God, that however no man, as hath been said, is either necessitated to stumble at him, or enticed, by any thing appertaining unto him, thus to miscarry, yet men, willingly • Quod autem alibi docet Christus, se in Juditiiim vcnisse, quod vacatur petra scanduli, quod dicitur jwsitus in inultoruni ruinam, id ucvidentale est, vcl (ut ita loquar) adventitium. — Calvin in John iii. 17. Hoc antithcto demonstrat, quod tarn male accipitur Christus, ncqtie suo viiio, aut univcrsali hominum genio hoc fieri, sed in causa esse eorum pravitateni, qui illmninaii a Deo non esscnt.—Idcin in 1 Cor. i. 23. Notandum vero est, hoc [viz., esse lapidem offensionis\ Christo proprie et a seipso non cmnpetere, sed potius accidentale esse ex hominum malitia, sicut mox seqiniur ..'-Idem ad Rom. ix. 32. THE MINTH CHAPTEIl TO THE ROMANS. 331 ignorant, and wilfully perverse and wicked, may very possibly stumble at him ; partly, also, because, though God intended, as hath been said, no man's stumbling at him, yet he knew that many would, through wilful blindness, and perverseness of spirit, de facto, stumble at him, and so expressed him by a prophetical character answering the event, and predicting that which in time came to pass. If it be demanded, whether the two expressions, " a stone of stumbling,"" and " rock of offence," be synonymous, of one and the same import, or whether there be any material difference between them, I answer, 1. Some expositors conceive them to be altogether the same in signification and import ; only apprehending the doubling of the expression to be somewhat emphatical, and tending to deeper and more serious inculcation of the matter or thing expressed ; which they observe, or at least suppose they observe, to be fre- quent with the Prophets in like cases.* But though zjsTpa, here translated 7'ock, be sometimes found to signify an ordi- nary or lesser stone, as the word A»Soj doth, yet properly it signifieth saccum, or cautes, " a great massy stone," " a rock or mountain of stone," and is accordingly, for the most part, trans- lated rock. (Matt. vii. 24, 25; xvi. 18; Luke viii. 6; 1 Cor. X. 4 ; Matt, xxvii. 51 ; Rev. vi. 15, 16.) Therefore, 2. It is more probable that both the Prophet and Apostle intended somewhat differing in the one expression from the other, and that by the former, A<9of ijxpoa-KOfxfji.aTo;, a stone of stu?nblhig, they might imply that Christ would prove unto some only a stone of such a stumbling, from whence they would recover themselves, and believe on him unto salvation afterwards ; by the latter, 'ursrpci a-Kuv^aXov, a rock of offence, that he would be unto others that which a rock in the sea is to the ship that runneth and dasheth itself with violence against it, and is split, shattered, and broken in pieces by it, never to be repaired. Some state the difference between the two expres- sions thus : That Christ is termed " a stone of stumbhng," because, coming in humihty, he was not owned or acknowledged • Sed et hoc constat, vocabula vicincB significationis, uhi verhoriim copia quceritur, maxime apud HebrcBos, usurpari pro eodem signijicato. Quare, quae otnninm, fere sententia est, in verbis Prophetoe dicimus, esse ejiisdem rei inculcatione^n, Prophetis familiareni : ut quemadmodum Greca 'aTpoaKOjxixa et OKavdaKov, et qua ex Hebrceo vocabula respondeant, accipiuntur velit synonyma ita etiarii lapis et petra. — EsTii'S in Rom. ix. 33. Vide Rob. Co7istant, Lexicon in verba -nreTpa. 332 AN EXPOSITION OF by the Jews, but rejected ; but a " rock of offence,"'' because, after his resurrection and ascending up into heaven, he became a rock, and fell upon them, overwhelmed, and ground them to powder, by the Romans taking away both their place and nation. But the former interpretation, I conceive, is the less strained. It may yet be some man's question, how Christ can be said to have been laid by God "in Sion a stumbling-stone, and rock of offence,"" in the days of the Prophet Isaiah, and in reference to the Jews then living. I answer, 1. That both the places in Isaiah, of some parts whereof the testimony now before us is, as hath been showed, compacted and made up, relate unto the times of Sennacherib, and to the protec- tion which God promised unto those that would hearken unto his counsel, and betake themselves to Jerusalem, and abide there.* 2. It is to be considered, that all promises of grace, peace, safety, deliverance, &c., made by God at any time unto men, are, and have been, made in Christ, that is, upon the account of that grace and favour which formerly he had procured for men by his sufferings, whilst they were yet only undertaken for and not undergone, and since, by the same sufferings having been undergone and endured by him. So that Christ may, in sufficient propriety of speech, be said to have been, and to be, in all promises of grace whatsoever at any time made by God unto men. And they who shall stumble at or reject any of these promises through unbelief, may, in like manner, be said to stumble at Christ ; and so to render their condition much worse and more grievous. Therefore, 3. When God, by his Pi'ophets, sent a promise, one or more, of safety and protection unto the Jews, upon condition of their subjection unto his counsels and commands, intending, withal, that they who should not believe this promise, nor obey his counsels, should hereby bring destruction and ruin upon them- selves, he might well say, " Behold, I lay in Sion a stone of stumbling,"" &c. ; meaning, that Christ now appearing, and being discovered by God in such a gracious promise, and as a sanctuary unto the Jews in the time of their utmost danger, would, nevertheless, prove an occasion of stumbling, falling, and perishing unto many, who would neglect and despise him. • Rede autem ista loca conjunxit, quia in utroque agittir dc temporibiis Senna- ckeribi, Deique tutcla its promiUilur, qui intra Hierosoli/main nianeutcs in lege De^ perstUissent. — Hugo Grot, ud Rom. ix. 33. THE NINTH CHAPTKR TO THE llOMANS. 333 4. And lastly : It is a thing of frequent observation in the writings of the Prophets, that God, having either promised, or being about to promise, any great and signal blessing unto his people, is wont, either in the front or in the rear of such a pro- mise, to renew his promise and intention afresh, of sending Christ unto them in due time, by way of confirmation of such his promise ; yea, and sometimes to involve and, as it were, to wrap up the one promise in the other. (See Isaiah vii. 13 — 15, &c. ; ix. 1, 2, &c; xi. 1, 2 ; x. 12, &c; xlvi, 13; xlix. 1 — ^7» &c. ; li. 4—6, &c. ; lii. j, 8; Hii. 2, 3, &c. ; Iv. 4, 5, &c. ; lix. 20 ; Ixi. 1 — 3 ; Ixii. 11 ; Jer. xxiii. 5, 6, &c. ; Hosea xiii. 14 ; Zech. iii. 8; ix. 9 ; Mai. iii. 1, 2, Sec.) So that, speaking and promising thus unto the Jews, being now in danger of being devoured by a potent and formidable enemy, " Behold, I lay in Sion a stumbling-stone, a rock of offence ; and he that believeth on him shall not be ashamed,"''' he may well be conceived both to promise the sending of the Messiah, and salvation by him, unto those that shall believe on him, and also to threaten ruin and destruction unto those that shall reject him ; and, withal, inclusively, and after the manner of prophetical involution, to promise in the former deliverance from the present danger unto all those that should believe this promise, and hearken unto his counsel delivered with it; and in the latter, to threaten those with bondage or death who, through unbelief of this promise, should refuse obedience unto his counsels. And whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed — The copulative " and'' is frequently used in an adversative sense, and signifies "but;*"* and is accordingly rendered in most translations, where the sense of the place requires it ; as Gen. ii. I7, 20 ; iii. 3 ; xlii. 10 ; besides sundry others. Some- times our English translators retain the proper signification of the word, and translate " and," where the construction requireth *' but ;'] as Luke viii. 18 ; and so in the place before us. For the Apostle, in this clause, evidently opposeth the great benefit and blessedness which from Christ redoundeth unto those who shall believe on him, to that misery and ruin which they bring upon themselves who shall stumble at and reject him. We have given notice already that our Apostle interprets the Prophet's indefinite " he," by his universal " whosoever." He * See M. AiNSWORTH in Gen. ii. 17. 334 AN EXPOSITION OF doth the like in the following chapter. (Verse 11.) His reason, probably, may be, the more plainly and expressly to insinuate, that as well the Gentiles as the Jews shall partake of the unspeakable blessing that is brought unto the world by Jesiis Christ, upon their believing on him. Whosoever believeth on him — To believe God, and so to believe Christ, and to believe on the one and on the other, are frequently used as expressions of one and the same import; at least, in respect of the great blessings depending on either justification and salvation ; the same promises being made to believing God which are made to believing on God ; and again, to believing Christ which are made to believing on Christ. (Consider to this purpose, and compare, John xx. 31 ; Acts viii. 37, 38 ; John iii. 33, 36 ; viii. 24 ; xi. 26, 27 ; Rom. iv. 3, 5 ; x. 9 ; 1 John v. 5 ; to omit many other places.) Nor is this any thing but what is frequently observed and affirmed by Luther, Calvin, Peter Martyr,* and other as well modern as ancient Divines, as I have showed at large elsewhere, -f- To believe on Christ formally and properly is not an act of faith, but of hope or trust ; only including or presupposing faith : And it is well observed by the late Bishop Downham, in his " Treatise of the Covenant of Grace,"" page 214, that " doubting, properly, is opposed to faith ; distrust, to affiance, or hope."J The reason why the great and precious promises of justification and salvation are so frequently in Scripture made to acts of recumbency, or to a resting, trusting, or believing in God or Christ, or rather unto those who do rest, trust, or believe on him, is not because they do originally, formally, or precisely belong to those acts or qualifications, but partly because such acts as these do suppose in their subjects, and in their natures include and comprehend, the act of faith, unto which the said promises do originally and properly belong ; partly, also, I con- ceive, to inform and teach men that they who do truly and unfeignedly believe either God or Christ, in what they speak and assert in the Scriptures, have a sufficient and pregnant • Videos in sacris litteris, tamjidei, qiifiuijiducice promissioncs esse facias ; ncmpe quia fides fiduciam semper secum trahit. — P. M.artyr. Loc. Com., p. 510. t See Redemption Redeemed, pp. 397 — 399, &c. 1 Sed nos haud paitlo aliter philosophamur : Primo spem et fidem, ratione sui et definitione disiincias, re tamen semper indiv?tlsas esse ; adeo ut nequc quisquam vere credat, qui non vere speret, neque rursus vere speret, qui nan vere credat, 8(C. — Dan. Chami. Panstiat, torn. iii. 1. 13. c. 3. s. 9. THK NINTH CHAl'TJER TO THE ROMANS. 335 ground to rely, depend, or believe on the one and the other, for the obtahiing of all things promised, according to the tenor and intent of the said promises respectively, yea, and that they can- not lightly but hope, trust, and depend, accordingly. And, therefore, whereas many say and acknowledge that they believe the truth of all the promises and declarations that God hath made throughout the Scriptures, and this with the greatest con- fidence that may be, and without the least hesitancy or regret in their faith, and yet complain, withal, that they cannot, with any semblable confidence, trust or depend upon God for justifi- cation or salvation, the reason of this irrational and unnatural discord in the soul must needs be, either their ignorance of tlic mind and true meaning of God in those promises, which they say and think that they believe, or else a strange defectiveness in their reasons and understandings, by means whereof they do not see and apprehend that which is as clear as the light at noon-day, that they who do truly, and with their whole heart, believe the promises of God, are ipso facto by this their believ- ing actually invested in a right to all the good things mentioned and contained in them ; and, consequently, have a clear and sure foundation for a steadfast expectation of these things, whatsoever they are, from the hand of God. But whereas some conceive, that to believe God in his pro- mises, and to believe Jesus Christ, do not import justifying or saving faith, but only that which they call an historical faith, of which they make reprobates and devils themselves capable, thus unsanctifying and depreciating this faith, as they suppose, and that it is only a believing on God or in God, and so on or in Jesus Christ, which is justifying and saving; the truth is, 1. That to believe God in his promises, and so Christ, with a faith unfeigned, as the Apostle speaketh, is as justifying and saving as any believing on or in God, or on or in Christ whatsoever. This we have lately proved from John iii. 36 ; xi. 26, 27 ; XX. 31 ; Acts viii. 37, 38; Rom. iv. 3, 5 ; besides several other places. We might here add, that the Scriptures from place to place do not only hold forth a true and unfeigned belief of, or assent unto, what God or Christ spake, especially in matters evangelical, as a faith truly justifying and saving, but even a like belief of the Minister or messenger of God, when he testifieth and declareth the word of God and of Christ in such things. " Jesus saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, Tliat 336 AM EXPOSITION' OF the publicans and harlots go into the kingdom of God before you. For John came unto you in the way of righteousness, and ye beliilved him not : but the publicans and the harlots BELIEVED HIM." (Matt. xxi. 31, 32, See also John iv. 42; Acts viii. 12; 1 Tim. iii. 16.) 2. It it very questionable, whether to believe on or in Christ doth always in Scripture signify or import such a faith which justifieth ; considering what the Evangelist John saith : " Never- theless among the chief rulers also many believed on him ; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue : For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God." (John xii. 42, 43.) Now that they who are ashamed of Christ before men, and through fear shall not confess him, as, likewise, that they who love the praise of men more than the praise of God, are no sound believers, nor persons justified, the former is evident from Matt. X. 32, 33, compared with Mark viii. 38 ; Luke ix. 26 ; Rom. x. 9, &c. ; the latter, from John v. 44. And concerning the phrase of believing in or on Christ, or the name of Christ, that it doth not always import such a faith which is justifying and saving, plainly appeareth from John ii. 23, 24 ; iv. 49 ; vii. 31 ; compared with John i. 11 ; iii. 32 ; xi. 45, 48 ; to omit other places. Therefore, when the Holy Ghost, in the words before us, avoucheth, " that whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed," he must be understood to speak of such a trusting or believing which, as our Apostle elsewhere speaketh concerning faith, " worketh by love;" that is, engageth the heart and soul truly and really to love both God and men, and to walk towards both according to the exigency or requirement of such an affection. For as the Scripture speaketh of a kind of faith which it calls dead, meaning hereby such a faith which is workless and fruitless, and concludes this not to be of that kind of faith unto which God hath annexed the great and pre- cious promises of justification and salvation, and, consequently, that men and this faith may, like rich men and their money, " perish together ;" so it speaketh also of a lively or living hope ; (1 Peter i. 3 ;) which supposeth, by way of antithesis, a lifeless or dead hope likewise, which hath neither part nor fellowship in the blessed business of the promise in hand : " Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed." See Matt. vii. 26, 27 ; where this dead hope we speak of is found by Christ in such THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMAN'S. 337 persons, vho hear his sayings, and do them not ; that is, who expect and hope for salvation by him only upon a formal and fruitless profession of his name. AVhereas the promise of not being ashamed, that is, of being made eternally glorious and blessed, as we shall see anon, is here ascribed to a believing on Christ, notice may be taken that elsewhere the effect and substance of it is ascribed to a believing or trusting on God. (Psalm xviii. 30 ; xxii. 4, 5 ; xxxvii. 3, 4, &c. ; cxlvi. 5; 2 Cor. i. 9, 10 ; iii. 4; 1 Tim. vi. I7, &c.) Yea, the truth is, that they who believe or trust on Christ do more properly believe and trust on God than on Christ, according to that saying of Christ himself, " He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me;"'' (Johnxii. 44;) that is, believeth not so much on me, as on God himself who sent me ; namely, because God is he, who hath by all his Pro- phets since the world began, yea, and now last of all by me also, engaged himself that life and salvation shall be given unto all those who shall believe on me, that is, expect salvation at his hand upon my account, and by means of that atonement which I am shortly to make with my blood. So that the truth and faithfulness of God in his word is the bottom, ground-work, and foundation of our believing in Christ. Nor can any man rea- sonably or with judgment believe in Christ who questionetli the truth of those promises, concerning life and salvation, which God hath made unto those who shall believe in him. And in this sense that of our Savioiir may well be understood : " No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him;" (John vi. 44 ;) that is, unless Gcd, who hath sent me to be believed on unto salvation, shall draw him, that is, prevail with him by the credit and authority of his promises made unto the world in that behalf There may be, I grant, another sense given of the words, and this commodious and edifying, which we shall, T conceive, have occasion to declare some other time. It is a question of no easy solution, whether such a beheving on Christ, to which this promise is made, he " shall not be ashamed," necessarily and universally requireth a distinct know- ledge of Christ, or a knowledge of him by name ; or, whether such a person, who never heard of the name of Christ, may not, notwithstanding, believe on him, or, which is the same, believe on God through him, unto acceptation, justification, and salva- z 338 AN EXPOSITION' OF tion. The just debate of this question would cause too large a digression in a commentary or exposition, and therefore I shall not charge the reader's patience with it here ; especially consider- ing that I have given an account of my sense upon it, and this somewhat at large, in a discourse not long since published, enti- tled, " The Pagan's Debt and Dowry.'" I shall here only add the words of Peter, which, well understood, are sufficiently decisive of the question propounded : " Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons : but in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him." (Acts x. 34, 35.) He speaketh these words upon occa- sion of that special acceptance which he now plainly understood Cornelius had found with God. Yet, by the carriage of the whole relation concerning him, it fully appears that he never had heard of the name of Christ until Peter's coming and preaching this name unto him. Yea, there is little question to be made, but that which God chiefly intended in that extraordi- nary vision, wherein Cornelius was admonished and directed to send for Peter, was, that the name of Christ, together with the great mystery of the grace of God in him towards the world, might by Peter be made known unto him. Therefore, men may believe in God through Christ, and this unto salvation, although Christ by name be not as yet manifested unto them. But more of this elsewhere. Shall not he ashamed — Or, as the margin hath it, " con- founded;" that is, shall be advanced by him to great blessedness and glory. Observation hath been formerly made, in our explication of verse 30, that, according to the Hebrew dialect, which is much frequented in the New Testament, adverbs of denying signify the contrary to the import of that verb where- unto they are joined. Thus, " It shall not be accepted," (Lev. xix. 70 signifies not simply a non-acceptance, but a rejection with high displeasure, as of a thing abominable, as the thing spoken of is expressly there termed. Thus, hkewise, "A man that shall not prosper in his days," (Jer. xxii. 30,) imports a man that shall be calamitous and full of misery whilst he liveth, " With many of them God was not well pleased," that is, God was highly displeased and provoked by many of them, insomuch that, as it followeth, " they were overthrown in the wilderness." (1 Cor. X. 5.) Of like interpretation is that, " My soul shall have NO pleasure in him ;"• (Heb. x. 38 ;) that is, such a person THK NIKTII CHAPTER TO TIIF. ROMANS. 339 shall be the hatred and great abhorring of my soul. To omit many others of like character, " He shall not lose his reward,"" (Mark ix. 41,) implieth that such a person shall be very highly and bountifully rewarded. Thus, in the clause in hand, "Whosoever believeth in him shall not be ashamed" these last words, " shall not be ashamed," do not simply import that such a person shall not be brought to shame or shall not perish, but that he shall be exalted unto exceeding great honour and dignity, and be made everlastingly happy. Some observe that the word xuTaa-^vvscrQai, which properly signifieth, to be ashamed, sometimes signifieth, to be deceived or disappointed ; because a trusting in such promises or persons which fail men in their expectations commonly makes them much ashamed ; it being matter of dishonour or disparagement to a man to be known to trust or depend upon such, whether things or persons, which want either strength or honesty to answer their expectations. " O my God," saitb David, " I trust in thee, let me not be ashamed;" (Psalm xxv. 2;) let me not be disappointed of help and protection, which I expect from thee, inasmuch as such a disappointment will be matter of shame and dishonour unto me. From whence, by the way, it may be observed, the nature of man being, as it were, conscious both of that dignity wherein it was created, as of that likewise whereof it is yet capable, abhorreth nothing more than shame or disparagement, not trouble, pain, or torment itself In which respect the Holy Ghost frequently expresseth the most woeful condition of wicked and ungodly men after death, by ignominy, shame, and contempt. Thus, " And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." (Dan. xii. 2. See also Isaiah Ixvi. 24.) On the other hand, the happy and blessed estate of those who shall be saved by believing on Jesus Christ is very frequently commended unto us under the notion of honour and glory. " But glory, honour, and peace, to every man that workcth good, to the Jew first, and also to the Gen- tile." (Rom. ii. 10.) (Consider to the same purpose, 1 Cor. XV. 40—43 ; Rom. viii. 18 ; 1 Cor. ii. 7 ; 2 Cor. iv. 17; to omit many other places.) But there is scarce any thing of more ready observation from the Scriptures, than to find frustration and disappointment, in matters of expectation, signified by shame. Sennacherib, being full of expectation of carrying Jeru- 340 AN KXPOSITION OF salcm by means of liis puissant and formidable host, when he found himself disappointed by that heavy slaughter which the angel of the Lord made in his army, cutting off all his mighty men of valour therein, he is said to have " returned with SHAME of face to his own land."" (2 Chron. xxxii. 21.) Thus : " Therefore ahall the strength of Pharaoh be your shamk, and the trust in the shadow of Egypt your confusion. They were all ashamed of a people that could not profit them, nor be an help nor profit, but a shamk, and also a reproach."" (Isaiah XXX. 3, 5. See also Isaiah liv. 4 ; Hab. ii. 9, 10; Isaiah xx. 5 ; xlii. 17 ; xliv. 9 ; Jer. ii. 36 ; xiv. 3; xx. 11 ; xxii. 22 ; xlviii. 13 ; Zech. ix. 5 ; not to mention more.) If it be demanded, " But though it be true that 'whosoever believeth on him,' that is, Christ, ' shall not be ashamed,"' yet doth this suppose or imply, that whosoever shall not believe on him shall be ashamed or confounded.'''" I answer, 1. That the position of one means doth not by any logical or rational consequence exclude or remove all others. When our Apostle, speaking of the woman, saith, " She shall be saved,"" A»a Tr)j rsKvoyoviag, by, or through, child-hearing, he doth not imply but that she may be saved in some other way or service besides that of bearing child/en. He that informs a traveller that such or such a way will bring him to such a town or city, whither he is travelling, doth not necessarily suppose that there is no other way that leadeth to the same ])lace, but only this. In like manner, when the Holy Ghost expresseth himself only thus, " Whosoever believeth"" on Christ " shall not be ashamed,"" it doth not follow vi formce, from any express import of the words, that therefore there is no other means to preserve a man from shanie but only by believing on Christ. 2. When any action or course is simply or indefinitely directed or enjoined by way of means for the compassing of such or such an end, the direction or injunction is to be conceived as respecting such persons only who are in a capacity, either imme- diate or remote, of performing such an action or taking such a course, not those who are simply uncapable of either, as if these must necessarily be deprived of the said end because they do not use the means prescribed in such a case. When Christ saith, *' He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved ; but he that believeth not shall be damned,"'"' (Mark xvi. 16,) his meaning is, not to impose either faith or baptism upon infants, as without Tllb; NINTH CHAPTKll TO TlIK llOMANS. 341 which there is no possibility for them to be saved, because infants, as and whilst such, are simply uncapable of believing; as, likewise, in respect of their own procurement or demand, of being baptized. There is much the same consideration of those who are naturally simple, and never received so much as a first fruits of reason or understanding. Therefore, believing in the said passage of Christ is prescribed only to persons of years and of competent understandings, as a means simply necessary to salvation ; and a being baptized, that is, a making profession of such their faith, not as a means of equal necessity to salvation with believing, as appears from the latter clause, where damnr- tion is threatened, not to those who shall not be baptized, but to those only who shall not believe, but as necessary only in case time and opportunity should serve for it. God, in his word and Gospel, having only to do with persons capable of understand- ing what his mind and meaning is in them, chiefly herein declares his counsel concerning them, prescribes rules and laws unto them in order to their peace ; speaking more sparingly, and, as it were, only on the bye of others, as, namely, infants and persons void of natural understanding, rather insinuating than declaring how and by what means he intendeth the salva- tion of these ; although his insinuations in this kind are not so sparing or reserved, but that they are very accessible to the understandings of such persons who take pleasure in them, and are diligent in searching them out. 3. And lastly : Although it followeth not, upon the account specified, from the assertion before us, " Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed,"' that there is no other way or means to preserve men from shame or confusion, but only believing on Christ ; yet, by comparing this saying with the words immediately preceding, " Behold, I lay in Sion a stum- bling-stone," &c., ^and more especially by consultation had with the general purport and current of the Scriptures, it fully appears that for persons competent in understanding there is no other possible way or means for their preservation from ever- lasting shame, but only by believing on Jesus Christ, either virtually and interpretatively, or else formally and explicitly, as we have formerly and elsewhere distinguished/* and this by war- rant from the Scriptures. • See Pagan's Debt and Dowry, pp. 37 — 39. 342 AN EXPOSITION OF The essential and indissolvable connexion between these two, believing on Christ, and not being ashamed, depends upon, though not the mere, yet the absolute and unchangeable, will and good pleasure of God. Believing on Christ is no natural means of any man's preservation from shame ; it produceth no such effect as this by any native or inherent virtue or property in it, but by the irresistible efficaciousness of His will who hath instituted and appointed it for such a purpose. Naaman was cleansed of his leprosy upon his washing seven times in Jordan. But his cure depended not, save only sacramentally, upon the waters of Jordan, nor upon his seven times washing in them ; neither the one nor the other of these had any native property or virtue in them to accomplish such a cure. That which healed liim was the glorious operativeness of His will and plea- sure who prescribed the use of those means unto him. In like manner, the walls of Jericho fell down flat upon the compassing of the city seven days together by seven Priests, having the ark of the covenant with them, and blowing with so many trumpets of rami's horns, together with the shouting of the peo- ple ; yet that which produced this great and wonderful effect, the utter demolishing of these walls, was not any property or force either resident in or issuing from any of the said means, ark. Priests, trumpets, compassing, shouting, or the like, but the most potent energy, force, and power of the will of God, who prescribed all the said means, not so much in order to the effecting of the end mentioned, the bringing down the walls of Jericho, as to the making of his own will actually efficacious to the eflf'ecting of it. For it is no ways probable either that Naa- man would have been cleansed of his leprosy, unless, according to divine prescription, he had washed seven times in Jordan, although this washing, as was said, had nothing in it able or likely to effect the cure ; or, that the walls of Jericho would have fallen down flat on the ground had not all the particulars specified been performed by Joshua and the children of Israel ; however, these, neither dwisim nor conjiinctim, contributed any thing considerable of themselves towards the effect. The reason of both probabilities is this : Had God absolutely and without the performance of such things as he enjoined Naaman in reference to his cure, and the Israelites for the bringing down the walls of Jericho, intended the said gracious effects, or had it been meet for him to have effected either the one or the other THE NINTH CHAPTER TO THE UOMANS. 313 without the said performances respectively ; doubtless he would have required neither the one nor the other upon the said accounts. For it is as true in divinity as philosophy, that God and nature do nothing in vain.* And what can more apparently be done in vain than to prescribe such or such means for the effecting of such an end, which should certainly be obtained or accomplished whether any of these means be used or no. As the case hath been represented in Naaman's cure, and in the bringing down of the walls of Jericho, so is it in that great and blessed concernment of men, expressed, in the clause in hand, by their not being ashamed. God hath enjoined the world to believe on Jesus Christ in order to the attainment of this tran- scendent blessedness ; not as if there were any thing in this believing, either of any natural or moral consideration, sufficient to invest men with such a blessedness, but because his most gracious and good pleasure is to confer this blessedness upon them, upon and by means of such their believing, not judging it meet or worthy his wisdom or righteousness to grant such an investiture upon any other terms, or in any other way. They who hold and teach that faith justifies, and, consequently, saveth, in respect of the object, as they speak, meaning Christ, place the justifying virtue or property of it in the nature and essence of it, not considering that in such a notion they give the right hand of fellowship to that popish doctrine which maintaineth that faith justifieth by the inherent dignity or intrinsical worth of it. For what is or can be more intrinsical or essential to that faith which justifieth than its relation to its object, Jesus Christ ? It cannot be defined but Jesus Christ must of neces- sity ingredi definitionem, as logicians speak, that is " enter or come into the definition ;" which is an infallible note of an essen- tial relation to the thing defined. Yea, that faith which justifi- eth, in the very nature and essence of it includeth such a refer- ence or respect unto Jesus Christ, that this being separated from it, it vanisheth into nothing, at least loseth the justifying glory of it. Besides, if faith should justify by virtue of or by reference unto its object, Christ, there can no reason be given why the love of Christ, or the worshipping of Christ, should not justify as well as faith in Christ, inasmuch as they have all one and the same object. To object that they have not all the • Dens et natura nihil faciunt frustra. 344 A\ EXPOSITION OF same relation to this object, and that faith justifieth and not the other, because of that particularity of relation to the object wherein it differeth from the other; to object to this, I say, in the case in hand, is clearly to take away that honour from the object, Christ, which the opinion pretends to ascribe unto him, I mean, the honour of justifying, and to cast it upon a modus or particular manner of a relation, namely, of that relation which ftiith beareth unto him. But the Scripture very plainly and expressly, from place to place, placeth the justifying virtue or property of faith in Christ, in the will, pleasure, and appoint- ment of God, which are things altogether extra-essential and extrinsical unto faith. " But as many as received him, to them GAVE HE POWER,"' or the right or privilege, as our margin hath it, " to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name." (John i. 12.) It is not the receiving of Christ, or believing in his name, no, nor yet Christ himself passively con- sidered, that is, as received or believed on, that gives power or privilege to those that believe on him to become the sons of God ; but Christ in an active consideration, namely, as willing, ordaining, and decreeing, together with God the Father, that whosoever should believe on him should hereupon and hereby become a son of God, that is, a person justified and in favour with God. If it had been the receiving of Christ, or the believing on his name, that had given this power or privilege unto men, the Evangelist need not have said that he, that is, Christ, or God, gave tliem this power, meaning by an act of grace or good pleasure. So again : " This is the Father''s will Avhich hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me, I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have ever- lasting life," &c. ; (John vi. 39, 40 ;) clearly implying, that both seeing the Son and believing on him would have been available unto no man to the obtaining of everlasting life, had not the will, pleasure, and decree of God interposed to make them available in this kind. It is true the sufferings of Christ, especially the sweet and heavenly frame of soul consi- dered under which so great a person suffered in respect of his deep humility, willing subjection unto God the Father, ardent love unto men, &c., are a consideration fully valuable, both in point of wisdom and of justice, why God should or THK NINTH CHAPTER TO THE ROMANS. 345 may be willing to pardon the sins of what persons he pleaseth ; but they are no reasonable consideration why faith in this Christ, without or contrary unto the will of God, should jus- tify any man ; nor do they give any such dignity, worth, or merit to this faith, that God, setting aside his promise in this be half, should be either unjust or hard unto men in denying them justification upon the exhibition or tender of it. But of these things I remember we have reasoned elsewhere.* Let us therefore at present only take knowledge of some prin- cipal doctrines contained in the four verses last opened, and so conclude our exposition of the chapter. 1. Whereas the Apostle affirmeth, that " the Gentiles fol- lowed not after righteousness;" (verse 30;) it is observable, that great numbers of men and women in the world live without any care or thought of approving themselves unto God, or, which is in effect the same, how they may be justi- fied in his sight. (Eph. ii. 12; iv. I7, 18; Philip, iii. 18, 19; Job xxi. 14, 15.) 2. Whereas he informeth us, that " the Gentiles, which fol- lowed not after righteousness," meaning for a long time and until the letter of the Gospel came amongst them, yet at last " attained to righteousness ; " the doctrine from hence is, that sometimes persons who have been careless and negligent of things of a spiritual concernment for a long season are at last, by some special dispensation of God or other, awakened out of their security, and brought to repent and believe. (Matt, xxi. 31, 32 ; 1 Cor. vi. 11.) 3. Whereas the Gentiles who followed not after righteous- ness are here said to have " attained," notwithstanding, " to the righteousness of faith ;" the doctrine from hence observable is, that forgiveness of sins which, according to the most gracious promise or covenant of God, is given unto all those that believe in Christ, is such a righteousness whereof the greatest sinners, as well as the lesser, are capable. (Rom. iii. 21, 22 ; iv. 5, 7? 8» 23, 24; Eph. ii. 1—3, compared with Col. ii. 13.) 4. Whereas we have it here expressly from the pen of our Apostle, that the Jews who " followed after the law of righte- ousness, hath not attained to the law of righteousness ; " it may be observed, that some men are apt to seek, and this with • Trcalide of Justification. 346 AN EXPOSITION OF great diligence, confidence, and zeal, justification, and accept- ation with God, in such ways and means wherein they are not to be found. (Rom. x. 2, 3; James ii. 14 — 16, Sec. ; John xvi. 2 ; Matt. vii. 21—23, 26, 27 ; Isaiah Iv. 2 ; John ix. 40, 41 ; Philip, iii. 6, compared with Acts xxvi. 9 — H.) 5. Whereas the Apostle (verse 32) assigns this for the reason why the Jews, though following after " the law," or a law, " of righteousness," yet "attained not to" this law, that is, fell short of justification, namely, because they sought it not by faith, but, as it were, by the works of the law ; the doctrine is, that in what way or by what means soever men shall seek justifica- tion or forgiveness of sins at the hand of God, without faith in Jesus Christ, they will miscarry and perish eternally in their sins. (Johnviii. 24; vi. 53 ; iii. 36 ; Acts iv. 12 ; Mark xvi. 16.) 6. Whereas he here saith, not simply or directly, that the Jews sought after righteousness by the works of the law, but cus, asy or, as if ii ivere ; the doctrine, according to one exposi- tion given of the particle ojj, is this, — that many are deprived of the fruit and benefit of many things which they do with some conformity to the law and will of God, by reason of their igno- rance of the regular and true end of them, and by ascribing that unto them which is above their line, and of right appertaining unto another thing. (Philip, iii, 6 — 11 ; Ezek. xxxiii. 13 ; Rom. iii. 30.) Or, according to another construction of the said particle wj, the doctrine may be this, — that many are apt to please themselves in themselves, as if they were very worthy observers of the law of God, whenas, in the mean time, they are full of unrighteousness and disobedience. (1 Sam. xv. 13, 20, compared with verses 14, 19, 22, 23 ; Isaiah Iviii. 2 — 5, &c. ; Luke xi. 45 — 47, &c.) 7. Whereas the Lord Christ is here termed by the Holy Ghost a stumbling-stone, for the reason specified in our exposi- tion ; it is worthy the observing, that the great humiliation of Christ, in the days of his flesh and in his sufferings, if men be not very wary and considerate of other things relating to him, may, very possibly, prove a snare and occasion unto them to despise and reject him. (1 Cor. i. 18, 23 ; Isaiah liii. 2, 3 ; Matt, xxvii. 39—42.) 8. Whereas the Apostle delivers this as the cause or reason why the Jews sought after righteousness, as if it had been to be attained by the works of the law, and not by faith, namely. THE NINTH CHAPTKK TO THE ROMANS. 347 their stumbling at the stumbling-stone, Christ ; the point observ- able from hence is, that non-understanding of the mind and counsel of God in Christ, for the justification and salvation of the world, is the reason why men turn aside into other ways of hope and expectation in this kind. (Rom. x. 2, 3 ; Isaiah Iv. 2, 3 ; Gal. ii. 16.) 9- Whereas the Lord Christ is here styled not only a stum- bling-stone, but a rock of offence also ; the doctrine is, that to fall foul upon Jesus Christ, as either by despising, blaspheming, or opposing him, or the like, is of most dreadful consequence to the creature, and, without repentance, accompanied with the sorest condemnation. (Heb. ii. 2, 3 ; x. 28, 29 ; 1 Cor. xvi. 22 ; Matt. xxi. 44.) 10. Whereas though the Lord Christ be, as he is here termed, a stumbling-stone and rock of offence, yet hath this honour given unto him by God, that " whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed;"" it is worthy observation, that the great and general stumbling or neglect of Christ in the world, by persons of all sorts and conditions, is no reasonable ground to discourage any man from believing in him. (1 Cor. i. 23, 24 ; 1 Peter ii. 7, B ; John x. 39, compared with verses 41 , 42 ; xii. 37, with 42 ; vi. 66, 67, &c.) 11. And lastly : From that awakening particle, "Behold," (verse 33,) the tenor of what is immediately subjoined, consi- dered, " Behold, I lay in Sion, a stumbling-stone," &c., it is of worthy import to consider, that although the counsels of God, concerning the salvation of the world, be of that nature or so laid that, unless men be very ingeniously circumspect and con- sidering, they may easily neglect or be ensnared with them, yet he is graciously pleased to give knowledge and warning hereof unto the world, to prevent their stumbling and ensnaring in this kind, (Luke ii. 34; John ix. 39; 1 Cor. ii 7i Isaiah liii. 2, 3, &c.) A TABLE SOME TEXTS OF SCRIPTURE OCCASIONALLY TOUCHED IN THE PRECEDING EXPOSITION, AND IN PART OPENED. Gen. xviii. 14. xxvii. 33. 1 Sam. ii. 30. 2 Chron. xxxvi. 15, Job xxvii. 2. PsaJm xcix. 4. cv. 25. Prov. i. 32. Eccles. vii. 29. X. 10. Isaiah v. 4. viii. 14, 15. At the time appointed I will return unto thee, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son, page 102 Yea, and he shall he blessed, 128 / said indeed, that thy house — should walk before me for ever : but now the Lord saith. Be it far from me, S^c, 172 &c. Atid the Lord God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up be- times, and sending; because he had compassion on his people. — But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words — till there was no remedy, 210, 254 Who hath taken away my judgment, 320 The King's strength also lovcth judgment, 212 He turned their heart to hate his people, to deal suhtilly with his servants, 177 The prosperity of fools shall destroy them, 180, 181 Lo, this only have I found, that God hath made man upright; but they have sought out many inventions, 199, 239 If the iron be blunt, aiid he do not whet the edge, he must then put to more strength, 46 What could have been done more to my vineyard, that I have not done iii it ? 209 And he shall be for a sanctuary ; hut for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of offence to both the houses of Israel, 318 A TABLE OF SOME TEXTS OF SCRIPTURE. 349 Isaiah xxxviii. 1. xliii. 13. liii. 4. Ix. 19. Ixv. 1. Jer. xviii. 7, 8, 11, xxiii .6. Ezek. xxxiii. 11. Amos iii. 2. Jonah I iii. 4. Matt. A'ii. 26. xiii, . 55, 57. XV. 26. xxi, ,44. xxii i. 32, xxiii. 37. Mark xvi .17. For thou shall die, and not live, 50 And there is none that can deliver out of my hand, 218 Yet we did judge him as plagued, humbled, and smitten of God, and, 321 The Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory, 77 / am sought of them that asked not for me ; I am found of them that sought me not, 311 At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation — to pluck up, and to pull down — If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, ttirnfrom their evil, I will repent. — Thus saith the Lord ; Behold, I frame evil against you, and devise a device against you : return you now every one from his evil way,8^c., 171, 172 This is his name whereby he shall be called. The Lord our righteousness, 285 As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no plea- sure in the death of the wicked j but that the wicked turn from his way and live, 240 You only have I known of all the families of the earth : therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities, 295 Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be overthrown, 172 That heareth these sayings of mifie, and doeth them not, 336, 337 Is not this the carpenter's son ? is not his mother called Mary ? — And they were offend- ed in him, 321 It is not meet to take the children's bread, and to cast it to dogs, 241 A7id whosoever shall fall on this stone shall be broken : but on whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder, 317 God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, 284 0 Jerusalem, Jerusalem — how often would I have gathered thy children together — and ye would not, 254 And these sigjis shall follow them that believe ; In my name they shall cast out devils ; they shall speak with new tongues, ^c, 308 350 A TABLE OF SOME Luke 1. 48, 49. From henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty hath done to me great things, Sfc, 81, 285 ii. 34. Behold, this child is set for the foil and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against, 187 viii. 18. For whosoever hath, to him shall be given ; and whosoever hath 7iot, foom him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have, 199 xviii. 7- -^fid shall not God avenge his own elect ? Sfc, 233 Jolm i. 12. To them gave he power to become the sons of God, 344 20. And he confessed, and denied not; but confessed, I am ?iot the Christ, 50 iii. 17- For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the ivorld through him might be saved, 178 35. The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand, 82 V. 44. How can ye believe, which receive honour one of another, and, Sfc, 323 vi. 29. This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whotn he hath sent, 133 40. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, S^^c, 344 42. Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know ? how is it then that he saith, I came down from heaven ?321 44. A^o man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him, 337 xii. 44. He that believeth on me, believeth not on me, but on him that sent me, 337 XV. 13. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friefids, 65 Acts viii. 33. In his humiliation his judgment was taken away, 320 XV. 28. For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay, Sfc, 200 xxvii. 31. Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved, 211 Rom. ii. 4. Not hiowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repetitance, 181, 185 iii. 1, 2. What advantage then hath the Jew ? or what profit is there of circumcision ? Much every TEXTS OF SCRIPTURE. 351 may : chiefli/, because that unto them were committed the oracles of God, 78 Rom. iv. 1, 2. What shall we say thenthat Abraham, our father as pertaining to thefesh, hath found ? Sec, 95 4. No7V to him that rvorketh is the reward not recko7ied of grace, but of debt, 134 14. For if they which are of the law be heirs, faith is made void, and the promise, Sj-c, 97 15. Becatise the law worketh wrath : for where no law is, there is no transgression, 240 16. Therefore it is of faith, that it might be by grace, 137 V. 13. Until the law sin was in the world, 114 vii. 12. The law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good, QQ 23. To the law of sin, S^c, 313 viii. 30. Moreover whom he did predestinate, them he also called, 277 1 Cor. vi. 9, 10. Be not deceived : neither fornicators, nor idola- tres, Sfc, shall inherit the kingdom of God, 183, 184 X. 5. With many of them God was not well pleased,338 xii. 11. Dividing to every man severally as he will, 205 XV. 56. And the strength of sin is the law, 240 2 Cor. V. 16. Yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more, 81 vi. 10. As sorrowful, yet alway rejoicing, 56 xiii. 8. For we can do nothing against the truth, but for the truth, 213, 214 Gal. iii. 3. Are ye now 7nade perfect by the flesh ? 96 10^ For as many as are of the ivorks of the law are tinder the curse, 8)-c., 96, 135 29. Then are ye Abraham's seed, and heirs accord- ing to the promise, 97 iv. 9. The rudiments of the world, 78 15. / bear you record, that, if it had been possible, ye would, c^c, 69 Eph. i. 11. Who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will, 213, 258 12. That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ, 271 ii. 1,5. You whowere dead in trespasses and sins — Even when we were dead in sins hath quickened, Sfc, 192 352 A TABLE 01' SOME TEXTS OF" SCRIPTURE. Eph. ii. 10. Created unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them, 271 ri. 8. The same shall he receive of' the Lord, 68 Philip, iii. 3. And have no conjidence in thejlesh, 96 Col. ii. 8. After the rudiments of the world, 78 13. Aiid you being dead in your sins — hath he quickened, S^c., 192 1 Tim. vi. 18, 19. Rich in good works, ready to distribute — laying up in store for themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may, ^'c.,270 Without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day, 56 An oath for confirmation is to them an end of all strife, 48 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost, that come unto God by him, 211 Ye have need of patience, that afer ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise, 269, 270 My soul shall have no pleasure in him, 338 Or profane person, as Esau, who for one mor- sel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have in- herited the blessing, he was rejected : for he found no j)lace for repeiitance, though he sought it carefully with tears, 127 James i. 17- Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights. Sj^c, 52 18. Of his own tvill begat he us with the word of truth, c^-c, 214 ii. 21, 24. Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered — Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only, 134 1 John iii. 9. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin ; for his seed remaineth in him : and he cannot sin, because he is born of God, 214 16. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us : and we ought to lay dojvn our lives for the brethren, QQ, 70 Rev. iii. 14. These things saith the Amen, thefaithful, cfc.,83 xiv. 6. The everlasting gospel, 151 2 Tim. i. 3. Hebrews vi. 16. vii 1.25. X. 36. 38. xii . 16, 17. A TABLE SOME GENERAL RULES FOR INTERPRETA- TION OF SCRIPTURE, MENTIONED IN THE PRECEDING EXPOSITION. 1. Expression's of the same things, both negative and affirm- ative, are sometimes emphatical, page 50. 2. It is very frequent in Scripture to use one and the same word in different significations, in one and the same sentence, and this with elegancy and emphatical acuteness, 88. 3. A race or generation of men is sometimes termed by the name of some of their progenitors, especially being persons of note and fame in the world, 88. 4. It is not unusual in the Scriptures to appropriate a general or common term, by way of emphasis, to some special particu- lars, one or more, contained under that general ; yea, and some- times to bereave such particulars which are less considerable and less perfect of that very name and appellation which agrees to the general, and to appropriate it to those particulars which are most considerable in their kind, 88, 89- 5. It is a frequent dialect of Scripture to term men the child- ren of such persons whom they resemble in spirit or practice, especially when this resemblance hath been occasioned or pro- duced either by their persuasions or example, 90. 6. Negative or exclusive particles do not always suppose or take for granted whatsoever in the same kind is not particularly denied or excluded ; but sometimes simply and precisely deny or exclude, without any connotation or implication in this kind, 9L 7. It is frequent in Scripture to mention words spoken by a person, without mentioning either the person speaking them, or, sometimes, the person to whom they were spoken, 92. A A 354 A TABLE OF RULES 8. The pronoun relative, oj, qui, " who" or " whom," is sometimes used concrete, and signifieth not simply or barely the subject to which it relateth, but as so or so qualified, 150, note. 9- It is the manner of the Evangelists and Apostles, and sometimes of Christ himself, in the New Testament, to cite pas- sages from the Old, for confirmation of what they say or teach, when there is only an analogy or proportion of sense or matter between the one and the other, 153. 10. The connexive particle Kott, and, is sometimes causal, 153. 11. There is nothing more usual in the Scriptures than for the Holy Ghost to express such purposes of God, simply, abso- lutely, and without any mention of a condition, which yet are conditionally to be understood, as the event in many cases hath made manifest, 172. 12. Such acts are frequently in Scripture ascribed sometimes unto God, and sometimes unto men, some occasion only whereof they administer, though they act nothing positively or directly in order to the production of them ; no, nor yet intend their production, 177- 13. The Scripture, speaking of God's intentions, especially those that are primary and antecedent, never makes them con- current with such events of his providences or dispensations which are accidental and occasional only, but only with those which are natural and proper, and which the said dispensations are of themselves, and when not abused, apt to produce, 178, 187. 14. Some things there are so expressed and represented in the Scriptures, as if they were simply and absolutely the inten- tions of God, and may, upon this account, be called his inten- tions, whenas they are but parts only of these his intentions, the other part of them, respectively, being to be supplied and made out from other scriptures, 183. 15. God's secondary or subsequent intentions still made con- current with the occasional and accidental effects of the means vouchsafed by him, 187- 16. Words not only of an equipollent, but of a cognate, signi- fication also, and such which import things of a mutual conco- mitancy, are oft interchanged, 195. 17. The Scriptures often speak of the power of God as regulated, 209, &c. 18. Places more particular and full ought to rule the sense of FOR INTKRPRETATION OF SCRIPTURE. 355 those that are more brief and, consequently, more obscure, 213. 19. Many times the negation of a power to act is included in the negation of the act only, 21 8. 20. Reddition of parables oft made interrogatively, 233, 234- 21. God in the Scriptures is oft said to do such or such things, when he doeth that which is proper for him to do in order to the effecting of them, though, through a defect in men not doing that which they ought to do, the thing be never actually done or effected, 267, 268. 22. The Scriptures are very frequent and pregnant in assert- ing this, that men must more than simply believe to become meet for glory, or such on whom God is pleased to confer eter- nal life, 2/0. 23. It is the manner of the New Testament, and of the Spirit of God uttering himself here, in citations from the Old Testa- ment, to deliver the sense and substance of matter contained in them with what variation of words they please, 279, 280. 24. It is frequent in prophetical predictions of the Old Tes- tament to be formed in such words and phrases, that they may not only suit and fit those particular cases or events which are principally, directly, and immediately intended and aimed at by them, but several others also, being of like nature with them, which were to take place in the world afterwards, 282, 283. 25. Nor is it unusual in the New Testament to style many events the fulfilling of such and such predictions or sayings of the Prophets, which did not relate unto them but in a kind of secondary and collateral way, 283. 26. It is a frequent metaphor in the Scriptures to compare a state, body, or society of men, whether politic and civil, or sacred and ecclesiastic, unto a woman ; and, under such a prosopopoeia, to discourse of them and their affairs, 287- 27- Bodies of people are sometimes called theirs who are over them, and sometimes, the people of each member respectively, 290. 28. Euv, if, not always dubitantis, but frequently ratioci- nantis, 290. 29. The exclusive particle onl?/ is frequently omitted and left to be understood, 290, 323. 30. Abstracts in Scripture are often used for their concretes, 294. 2 a2 356 A TABLE OF RULES, &C. 31 . The preter-perfect tense oft used for the preter-pluperfect, 297. 32. God, m strictness of speaking, is the Author only of what he doeth of grace or favour, not of what he doeth according to the exigency either of merit or demerit, whether in men or angels, 300. 33. It is usual in the Scriptures to ascribe that to a generality or multitude, indefinitely expressed, which, in strictness of speech, belongeth only to some, sometimes only to a few, yea, sometimes only to one, of this generality, 308. 34. Adverbs of denying, Hebrew-wise, signify the contrary unto that to which they are applied, 309, 338. 35. There are many jiropositions in the Scriptures which are not formales, but causales or consecutivce, wherein the effect is substantively predicated of the cause, or the consequent of the antecedent, 311. 36. Borrowing and lending words between neighbour sen- tences frequent in the Scriptures, 316. 37. In Scripture notion, when and whilst God blesseth and prospereth men in the world, he is said to cover their sins, namely, from the view and sight of men ; as, on the contrary, when he punisheth men he is said to discover their nakedness or sin, 320, 321. 38. Verbs of the passive form are oft used in a reciprocal sense, and import the effect specified to be done by the persons themselves who are spoken of, or to, in such verbs, 323, 720^6. 39. The indefinite pronoun " he," oft expounded by " who- soever," 326, 333, 334. 40. Sometimes actions are mentioned without their objects ; which, notwithstanding, are named elsewhere, 326. 41. It is of frequent observation, in the writings of the Pro- phets, that God, either having promised, or being about to pro- mise, any great and signal blessing unto his people, is wont, either in the front or in the rear of such a promise, to renew his promise and intent afresh of sending Christ unto them in due time, yea, and sometimes to involve and, as it were, to wrap up the one promise in the other, 333. 42. To believe God, and so Christ, and to believe on the one and on the other, frequently expressions of one and the same import, 334. A TABLE OP THE MORE MATERIAL QUESTIONS AND DIFFICULTIES DISCUSSED IN THE PRECEDING EXPOSITION, L Why the Apostle makes oatli by Christ, rather than by God, page 49- 2. Whether, and how, Paul discerned the motion of the Holy Ghost from any motion of his own spirit, 51 — 53. 3. How a man may be always sorrowing, and yet always rejoicing, 56, 5"]. 4. Why Paul doth not express the ground of his great sorrow and heaviness, 58, 59- 5. Why Abraham''s seed was called in Isaac, 98, &c. 6. Why not all Isaac's posterity counted for Abraham's seed, 100, 101. 7- How this saying from God, " The elder shall serve the younger," doth import that God's purpose is to choose for Abraham's spiritual seed, not by the rule of works, but according to his own pleasure, that is, by the rule of faith. 111, &c. 8. How "the purpose of God according to election" may be said to be, at least more apparently to be, "of him that calleth," namely, God, in case it be supposed to be built upon faith, than it will or can be, if supposed built on wor!vS, 136, 137. 9. Why God maketh the opposition, not between works and faith, as commonly he doth in the business of justification, but between works and him that calleth, 142. 10. Whether God's end or intent in raising up Pharaoh, namely, "that he might show his power in him," &c., was pre- cise and absolute, or conditional, I70, &c. 358 A TxVBLE OF THE MOST MATERIAL 11. In what sense, or how, God hardened Pharaoh's heart, 176—178, 197, 198. 12. How Pharaoh's case becomes an argument or proof of God's just liberty to harden whom he will, if he intended not his hardening, I76, &c., 197} Sec 13. Why God's intentions sometimes, and in some cases, are not fully, but only in part, revealed, 184, &c. 14. Why it is not said that God intended Pharaoh's pre- servation, rather than destruction, if he primarily intended it, 186, &c. So why not his softening, rather than his hardening, 207. 15. How Pharaoh is an instance or proof of God's just liberty to harden whom he will, 193, &c., 198, 199. 16. Why Paul mentioneth hardening in his corollary, not having spoken of it in his precedent doctrine, 195. 17. How God hardeneth whom he will, and yet no man needs be hardened, 204, &c. 18. Whether God vouchsafed unto Pharaoh means effectual for his repentance, 205 — 208. 19- Whether God could not have softened Pharaoh ; and, if so, how can he be said to intend the softening of him, and yet not soften him, 208, &c. 20- Why God endureth men with much long-suffering, 239- 21. Why God's power of making vessels of wrath, rather resembled by the power of the potter over his clay, than of the goldsmith over his silver and gold, 241, &c. 22. How God's power of making vessels of wrath and of mercy, more equitable than that of the potter over his clay, &c., 244 246. 23. What God's counsel or end is in enduring the vessels of wrath with much long-suffering, 246, &c. 24. How God showeth mercy to those whom he hardeneth, 249. 25. Whether God showeth mercy to all those whom he doth not harden, 282. Whether, unto those whom he cuts off by death before hardening, 250, 251. 26. How can he be said to endure with much long-suffering such ])crsons, and with his primary and antecedent intentions to intend their repentance and salvaiion, who he knoweth cer- tainly beforehand will never repent nor be saved ? 251. 27 Whether it was not in God's power, and at the liberty of QUESTIONS AND DIFFICULTIES DISCUSSED. 359 his will, to have denied means of grace unto those who he foresaw would abuse them to their greater condemnation. And, if so, would it not have argued more grace and love in him towards these persons, to have denied the means of salvation unto them, 254, &c. "^ 28. Whether God doeth all things which he doeth out of the necessity of his nature, or out of the freedom of his will, 256, &c. 29. Whether God could have made or administered things otherwise than now he hath done, 257, ^c. 30. Whether God could have made another world equal in goodness unto this, 259, &c. 31. Why God complaineth of those hardened by him, 263. 32. Why the grace and power of God rather termed his glory, than any other of his attributes, 265, &c. 33. Whether, or how, the unbelieving Gentiles may be said to stumble at Christ as the Jews did, 322, &c. 34. In what respect Christ is termed a " stumbling-stone," 330, 331. 35. Whether in one and the same respect he be termed " a stumbling-stone," and " rock of offence," 331, &c. 36. Why promises of justification and salvation made to acts of recumbency, which properly and precisely belong to faith, 334, &c. ~--37. Whether a believing on Christ to salvation necessarily and universally requireth a distinct knowledge of Christ, 337, 338 38. Whether, or how, all shall be ashamed who believe not in Christ, 340, &c. A TABLE SOME PARTICULAR HEADS OF MATTER, NOT READILY TO BE FOUND BY ANY OF THE PRECEDING TABLES. Abraham had four kinds of seed, pages 101, 102 ASiaAeiTTTos, what signifieth, 55 Ainsworth, 333 Alternation of contrary affections, Q2 Ambrose, 123, 190 Amen, 82, 83 hvadina, what signifieth, 64, 71 And, sometimes taken adversa- tively, 153 Ansehn, 123, 189 Augustine, 104, 123, 174, 176, 189 B Behold, what sometimes importeth, 327, 328 Believinff on Christ, and on God, effective the same, 337 — not al- ways justifying, 336 — required only of persons capable, 340, 341 Beza, 118, 277 Bucer, 104, 118, 189, 280, 282 Call, what signifieth, 276, &c. To be called, what it imports, 284, 285 Calvin, 48, 65, 118-121,153-155, 179, 190, 191, 221, 270, 282, 330 Casual, in what sense no event, 180 Chamier, 140, 334 Children, more New-Testament- like than sons, 286 Christ, how alone said to justify, and yet faith to justify also, 136 — proved to be God, 318, 319 — a stumbling-stone, 326, 327, 332, 333 — not known by name, may be believed on, 338 To come, what signifieth in Scrip- ture, 102 Continual, what signifieth, 55, 56 Covenant of Works, the elder cove- nant, 114 Covenants and Promises, how differ, 77 D A€, how sometimes used, 234 Diodate, 219 Discovery. A thing may be dis- covered, or made known, two ways, 267 Dort, Synod of, 175, 201-203, 206 E Election. The doctrine of peremp- tory election and reprobation hath nothing in it to reduce un- believers, 40 Esaii, no type of a personal repro- bation from eternity, 109 — but of seekers to be justified by the law, 113, 124, &c. — prosperous in his person on earth, 117 — not judged a reprobate by many Protestant authors, 118-124 — no reprobate, 124-127 A TABLE OF PARTICULAR HEADS OF MATTER. 361 Estius, 98, 123, 285, 297, 331 ETot/xa^etv, what properly signifies, 270 Examples of former punishments joined with threatenings more piercing, 300, 301 Faith, how a work, how not, 133 — how justifieth, 136 — foreseen, no cause of election, 137, &c. — how a man's righteousness, 310 — dead and living, 336 — saveth, not by nature, but by institu- tion, 342, 344, 345 Foreknowledge in God doth not necessitate, 174, 249 — not pro- perly in God, 252 G God, in one sense doeth nothing casually, 180 — in what sense the most free Agent, 255 — things excellent in their kind appropri- ated to God, 284 — why styled the living God, 286 — the Lord of Hosts, 298, 299 Grace and Mercy, how differ, 154, 157, 158 Grace and Works, how opposed, 133, 134 Grotius, 188, 292, 293, 296-298, 314, 332 H Hardening, what, 197, 198 — God's power to harden not hard, 249 Haired, oft imports a lesser degree of love, 140 Heart, oft noteth intimousness and throughness, 58 Hierome, 123 Hooper, Bishop, 122 Hope, living, dead, 336 I If, not always a particle of doubt- ing, 290 Immutability, reasons of God's, 261, 262 Intentions of God, in what sense they are all absolute, 183, 184— why ofttimes partially revealed and expressed, 184 — their non- asseculions do not prejudice their reality, 214, 215, 298 Isaac, no type of a personal elec- tion from eternity, 103 Israel, variously taken, 312, 313| Israelite, a name of honour, 75 Jacob, no type of a personal elec- tion from eternity, 109 — but of the people of the new covenant, 113 Junius, 190 K Kat, " and," frequently illative, 66 — emphatical, 278 — adversative, 333 Long -suffering, in God, what it im- ports, 247 Love, how differs from mercy, 280, 281 M Martyr, P., 119, 190, 334 Mede, 285 Mercy, subsequent and antecedent, 151 — how differs from grace, 154, 157 — from love, 280 Mollerus, 122 Musculus, 48, 104, 111, 297 o Oath, why an end of all strife, 48 (Ecolampadiiis, 122, 123 ns, and fi