Romans · Chapter 10

V. 1. My prayer to God is, that they may be saved-He would not have prayed for this, had they been absolutely reprobated.

Verse 1. My heart’s desire, &c.] Though the apostle knew that the Jews were now in a state of rejection, yet he knew also that they were in this state through their own obstinacy, and that God was still waiting to be gracious, and consequently, that they might still repent and turn to him. Of his concern for their salvation he had already given ample proof, when he was willing to become a sacrifice for their welfare, see Romans 9:3.

Verses 1-3. Brethren, my heart’s desire, &c. — Here the apostle proceeds to show the cause of that rejection of the Jews which he had spoken of in the preceding chapter, namely, their rejecting that way of obtaining righteousness and salvation appointed by God. And lest they should suppose he spoke out of prejudice and ill-will to them, he professes his earnest desire for their salvation. And my prayer to God for Israel is, that they may be saved — He would not have prayed for this had they been absolutely reprobated. For I bear them record — I am ready to testify, from what I well know of them from my own observation and experience; that they — That is, many of them; have a zeal of God — A zeal for that worship and service of him instituted by Moses, by which they think to promote his glory; but not according to knowledge — Not directed by a proper acquaintance with the true way of becoming righteous, nor of the design of the law. Their zeal was like that of those mentioned John 16:2, who, as Christ predicted, would put his disciples out of the synagogues, and think they did God service by killing them; or like that of Paul, mentioned Philippians 3:6. For being ignorant of God’s righteousness — Of the purity of his nature, and the spirituality and extent of his holy law, and of the method of becoming righteous appointed by him: and going about — That is, striving; to establish their own righteousness — The merit of their own works as the ground of their justification, and hope of salvation; have not submitted themselves — Have not complied with, but rejected; the righteousness of God — The way of becoming righteous which he hath established.

Verse 1. My heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. Chrysostom’s comment is, my “vehement desire” for their salvation. St. Paul having declared his mind, in the full and flowing language of all the prophets, concerning the equal rights of the gentiles to all the blessings of Abraham’s covenant, here declares his heart in all goodwill for the salvation of his countrymen. This was as balm to the wounds his words had inflicted. Judge then with what indignation he would have read our antinomian notions of reprobation.

1. Brethren—The rebuking Who art thou, O man, is now softened down, and the apostle recognises, as in Romans 9:1-6, that the rebellious Jew is his dear brother. Still he firmly proceeds to maintain the charge that Israel’s downfall is his own fault. God’s willing as he pleased to have mercy was all conditioned on Israel’s faith, and Israel was fatally faithless. This whole chapter is a conclusive denial of the Calvinistic interpretation of chapter 9.

Ver. 1. Brethren: to Christians. The Jews are spoken of in the third person: on their behalf. Cp. Romans 9:31-33.

For salvation: aim of Paul’s prayer for Israel. This prayer proves that the case of those for whom (in Romans 9:3) Paul mourns is not hopeless. So Romans 11:23.

V. 2. They have a zeal, but not according to knowledge-They had zeal without knowledge; we have knowledge without zeal.

Verse 2. They have a zeal of God] They believe their law to have come immediately from God himself, and are jealous of its glory and excellence; they conscientiously observe its rites and ceremonies, but they do not consider the object and end of those rites; they sin more through ignorance than malice; and this pleads in their excuse. By this fine apology for them, the apostle prepares them for the harsher truths which he was about to deliver.

Verses 1-3. Brethren, my heart’s desire, &c. — Here the apostle proceeds to show the cause of that rejection of the Jews which he had spoken of in the preceding chapter, namely, their rejecting that way of obtaining righteousness and salvation appointed by God. And lest they should suppose he spoke out of prejudice and ill-will to them, he professes his earnest desire for their salvation. And my prayer to God for Israel is, that they may be saved — He would not have prayed for this had they been absolutely reprobated. For I bear them record — I am ready to testify, from what I well know of them from my own observation and experience; that they — That is, many of them; have a zeal of God — A zeal for that worship and service of him instituted by Moses, by which they think to promote his glory; but not according to knowledge — Not directed by a proper acquaintance with the true way of becoming righteous, nor of the design of the law. Their zeal was like that of those mentioned John 16:2, who, as Christ predicted, would put his disciples out of the synagogues, and think they did God service by killing them; or like that of Paul, mentioned Philippians 3:6. For being ignorant of God’s righteousness — Of the purity of his nature, and the spirituality and extent of his holy law, and of the method of becoming righteous appointed by him: and going about — That is, striving; to establish their own righteousness — The merit of their own works as the ground of their justification, and hope of salvation; have not submitted themselves — Have not complied with, but rejected; the righteousness of God — The way of becoming righteous which he hath established.

Ver. 2. They have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. Josephus notices their zeal to pull down the Roman eagle which Herod had placed on the walls of the temple, when about three thousand jews perished in the contest. Against christians, their zeal was predicted by the Saviour: Whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service. But their zeal was not according to knowledge. Learning was in the hands of few men; the glory and the miracles of Christ they disdained to study; and in crucifying him, they knew not what they did. What candour in Paul to speak thus of men who had once stoned him at Lystra, Acts 14:19, and often scourged him in the synagogues.

2. Zeal of God—Monotheism, the maintenance of the doctrine of one God, as opposed to polytheism and idolatry, was the great mission bestowed on Israel in the Old Testament. Before the captivity the people were prone to idolatry. The remnant who returned were the earnest few, who never again relapsed. But their very monotheism grew fierce and malignant. Not… knowledge—The fiercer the zeal, even for truth, when not regulated by the real principles of truth, the worse its excesses. The very element of truth renders the mind self-conceited and unsparing, and the corrective and restraining part of the truth is over-ridden and disregarded. Monotheism by its very conscious truth took firm hold of the Jew’s conscience; and then, strangely for that truth, as Paul knew by experience, he could be a knave, a persecutor, and a bloody brigand.

Ver. 2. Proof that they need salvation. But before proving this, and thus finding fault, Paul gives them credit for all the good in them. Zeal for God: literally, of God: same phrase in Acts 22:3, an interesting coincidence.

Not according to understanding: earnestness in God’s cause not guided by an intelligent view of His revealed purpose. Consequently, while seeking salvation, they are still unsaved. None need our sympathy and prayers more than those who are earnest for God but know not how to serve Him.

V. 3. For they being ignorant of the righteousness of God-Of the method God has established for the justification of a sinner. And seeking to establish their own righteousness-Their own method of acceptance with God.

Have not submitted to the righteousness of God-The way of justification which he hath fixed.

Verse 3. For-being ignorant of God’s righteousness] Not knowing God’s method of saving sinners, which is the only proper and efficient method: and going about to establish their own righteousness-seeking to procure their salvation by means of their own contriving; they have not submitted-they have not bowed to the determinations of the Most High, relative to his mode of saving mankind, viz. through faith in Jesus Christ, as the only available sacrifice for sin-the end to which the law pointed.

Verses 1-3. Brethren, my heart’s desire, &c. — Here the apostle proceeds to show the cause of that rejection of the Jews which he had spoken of in the preceding chapter, namely, their rejecting that way of obtaining righteousness and salvation appointed by God. And lest they should suppose he spoke out of prejudice and ill-will to them, he professes his earnest desire for their salvation. And my prayer to God for Israel is, that they may be saved — He would not have prayed for this had they been absolutely reprobated. For I bear them record — I am ready to testify, from what I well know of them from my own observation and experience; that they — That is, many of them; have a zeal of God — A zeal for that worship and service of him instituted by Moses, by which they think to promote his glory; but not according to knowledge — Not directed by a proper acquaintance with the true way of becoming righteous, nor of the design of the law. Their zeal was like that of those mentioned John 16:2, who, as Christ predicted, would put his disciples out of the synagogues, and think they did God service by killing them; or like that of Paul, mentioned Philippians 3:6. For being ignorant of God’s righteousness — Of the purity of his nature, and the spirituality and extent of his holy law, and of the method of becoming righteous appointed by him: and going about — That is, striving; to establish their own righteousness — The merit of their own works as the ground of their justification, and hope of salvation; have not submitted themselves — Have not complied with, but rejected; the righteousness of God — The way of becoming righteous which he hath established.

Ver. 3. They being ignorant of God’s righteousness. Not that righteousness by which he himself is just, but that by which he makes us just, through the merit or righteousness of our Lord and Saviour. There is here an antithesis between the righteousness of God, and that of men. Sinners must abandon all human righteousness, to obtain that which is divine. The mystery of the gospel is a new theory of grace, opened on the mind with realizing powers.

3. Being ignorant—Or, rather, ignoring actively; just as the following participle going about is active. People often wilfully ignore what they really know; and St. Paul tells us (verse 19, where see comment) that Israel did know. Dr. Chalmers pertinently says that people are not always blamable for not seeing, but are blamable for not looking. God’s righteousness—(See note on Romans 1:17.) The righteousness which God has ready to bestow on man through Christ. It includes in its various degrees and stages pardon, justification, sanctification, and eternal glorification. Going about—Old English phrase for engaging in or trying at a thing. The Greek word here literally signifies seeking, endeavouring. Submitted—For faith is the submission of the whole man to God. Paul now shows what is the righteousness of God which the Jew ignored; namely, that righteousness of which Christ was the consummation.

Ver. 3. Explains their want of understanding.

Righteousness of God: as in Romans 1:17; 3:21: cp. “righteousness from God” in Philippians 3:9. So also in Romans 10:5, 6, righteousness from law and from faith. It is in conspicuous contrast to their own righteousness; and is something which the Jews do not know and to which they have not submitted. They sought the Judge’s approval by obedience to law. Had they succeeded, they would have had a righteousness of their own, i.e. resulting from their own effort, and derived from law. But God accepts as righteous all who believe, and these only. Of this righteousness, a gift of God, the Jews were ignorant. Consequently, they did not submit to it, i.e. to God’s way of bestowing righteousness, by laying aside their own efforts to make themselves righteous. Consequently, they still need salvation: and therefore Paul prays for them.

V. 4. For Christ is the end of the law-The scope and aim of it. It is the very design of the law, to bring men to believe in Christ for justification and salvation. And he alone gives that pardon and life which the law shows the want of, but cannot give.

To every one-Whether Jew or Gentile, treated of, Romans 10:11, &c. That believeth-Treated of, Romans 10:5.

Verse 4. For Christ is the end of the law] Where the law ends, Christ begins. The law ends with representative sacrifices; Christ begins with the real offering. The law is our schoolmaster to lead us to Christ; it cannot save, but it leaves us at his door, where alone salvation is to be found. Christ as an atoning sacrifice for sin, was the grand object of the whole sacrificial code of Moses; his passion and death were the fulfilment of its great object and design. Separate this sacrificial death of Christ from the law, and the law has no meaning, for it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins: wherefore the Messiah is represented as saying, Sacrifice and observing thou didst not desire; burnt-offering and sin-offering thou hast not required; then said I, Lo, I come to do thy will; a body hast thou prepared me, Psalm 40:6,7; Hebrews 10:4-10; which proves that God never designed that the sacrifices of the law should be considered the atonement for sin, but a type or representative of that atonement; and that THE atonement was the sacrifice offered by Christ. Thus he was the END of the law, in respect to its sacrifices. And, as sacrifices were offered merely to procure pardon of sin, righteousness, or justification, Christ is the end of the law for this justification to every one that believeth on him, as dying for their offences, and rising again for their justification, having made peace through the blood of his cross. Therefore every Jew who rejected Christ rejected salvation, and that very salvation which the law witnessed and required, and which could not be had but through Christ alone.

Verse 4. For — That they have not submitted themselves to God’s way of becoming righteous is evident in this, that they reject Christ, by whom alone righteousness can be obtained; Christ is the end of the law — The scope and aim of it; for righteousness — Observe, 1st, The righteousness here spoken of is evidently that which is necessary in order to eternal life, and leads to it, (see Romans 5:21,) termed the righteousness of God by faith, Philippians 3:9; implying not only justification, Romans 3:24, Titus 3:7, without which we, guilty, condemned sinners, can have no title to eternal life, it being the only means of cancelling our guilt, and freeing us from condemnation; but also sanctification, spoken of Ephesians 4:17-24, Titus 2:5, 6, without which we are not in Christ, 2 Corinthians 5:17, and have no fitness for heaven; and practical obedience consequent thereon, Ephesians 2:10, the grand evidence that we are righteous, Luke 1:6, 1 John 3:7. 2d, This righteousness, in these three branches of it, is not attainable by the law, moral or ceremonial; not by the former, because it finds us guilty of violating its spiritual and holy precepts, and has no pardon to give us; it finds us depraved, weak, and helpless, and has neither a new nature nor supernatural aid to impart. But may we not have the help we want from the ceremonial law? Cannot the sacrifices of it remove our guilt? No. It is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats, &c., to take away sin, Hebrews 10:4, &c. Cannot the various washings or purifications of it renew and cleanse our souls? No: they can only remove the filth of the flesh, Hebrews 9:13; 1 Peter 3:21. Cannot the various institutions respecting meats and drinks, and the observance of days, &c., assist us to attain practical righteousness or obedience? No: as they do not make the tree good, of course the fruit cannot be good; as they do not purify the fountain, the streams issuing thence cannot be pure, Matthew 7:16-19. But, 3d. This righteousness may be found by us in Christ; the end, or the final cause, for which the law was instituted; the moral law being chiefly intended to convince men of sin, namely, of their guilt, depravity, and weakness, and thus to be a school-master to bring them to Christ; Galatians 3:19-24; and the ceremonial, to shadow forth and exhibit his sacrifice and grace. Accordingly the law points to Christ, and directs the sinner to have recourse to him for all the different branches of righteousness above mentioned, which cannot be obtained by it, but may be had in and by Christ; namely, justification, through his obedience unto death, whereby he hath removed the curse of the moral law, being made a curse for us; and regeneration, or a new creation, with the practical righteousness proceeding therefrom, through his grace and Spirit; the information and direction, in the way of duty, afforded by his doctrine and example, and the motives to obedience furnished by his precepts, promises, and threatenings, co-operating as means to produce the same blessed effects. But, 4th, To whom is Christ thus the end of the law for righteousness? To every one — Whether Jew or Gentile; (see verse 11-15;) that believeth — Namely, with the faith described verse 5, &c. So that the very end and design of the law was to bring men to believe in Christ, whom it exhibited and pointed out, for justification, renovation, and universal holiness.

Ver. 4. Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. The allusion is to Matthew 11:12, 13, where the presence of the Saviour, opening the glorious gospel with the seal of miracles, had closed the legal dispensation. Since that time, the kingdom of God has been preached and righteousness opened in the heart.

4. End… righteousness—The end of the law is that full and final result which the fulfilled law would accomplish in the perfectly fulfilling man; namely, perfect justification founded on his perfect righteousness. But let man commit the slightest transgression and, alas! he is done for. Law can never justify him, but must eternally condemn. But, says the apostle, Christ now can step in and accomplish the law’s perfect end. Believeth—Same as the submitted of verse 3. Man must in faith submit himself to Christ in order to the end. And this the Jew ignored, and fell.

Ver. 4. Proof of their ignorance and need of salvation.

End: see under Romans 6:21. It involves here the idea of cessation as in Luke 1:33. For Paul is exposing the ignorance of those who seek to set up a righteousness of their own which can come only from law. Christ an end of law: the principle. Do this and live, being replaced, for those who believe, by the Gospel, which says, Live and do this. Cp. Romans 6:14; 7:4; Galatians 2:19; 3:25. For righteousness: purpose for which in Christ we have been removed from the domain of law, viz. that righteousness may be given to everyone that believes. Cp. Romans 1:5, “for obedience of faith;” Romans 1:16, “for salvation to everyone that believes.” If Christ by His own appearance has put an end to law as a means of salvation or as a hindrance to it, in order that all who believe may obtain righteousness, then to endeavour to set up our own righteousness, which can rest only on the basis of law, is to display ignorance of the righteousness which God gives.

V. 5. For Moses describeth the only righteousness which is attainable by the law, when he saith,

The man who doeth these things shall live by them-that is, he that perfectly keeps all these precepts in every point, he alone may claim life and salvation by them. But this way of justification is impossible to any who have ever transgressed any one law in any point. Leviticus 18:5

Verse 5. For Moses describeth the righteousness which is of the law] The place to which the apostle refers, seems to be Leviticus 18:5: Ye shall therefore keep my statutes and my judgments; which if a man do, he shall live in them. These words seem to be spoken in answer to an objection which might be made by a Jew: “Did not Moses give us a law, the observance of which should secure our salvation?” Such a law Moses undoubtedly gave, and that law promises life to those who perform its precepts: but who can plead for life on this ground, who rejects that Christ who is the end of the law? No man ever did, nor ever can, fulfil that law, so as to merit salvation by the performance of it: for, as all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, they are all under the curse of the law, which says: Cursed is every one who continueth not in all the things that are written in the book of the law to do them, Deuteronomy 27:26; Galatians 3:10; therefore by the deeds of this law none can be justified, because all are in a state of condemnation for transgressions already committed against it. If, therefore, there were not such a provision as is made by the death of Christ, no soul could be saved.

Verse 5. For Moses describeth the righteousness of the law — The only way of becoming righteous by the law, when he saith, The man that doeth these things shall live by them — Not only a happy life in the land of Canaan, but in heaven, of which Canaan was a type and figure: (see on Leviticus 18:5.) That is, he who perfectly keeps all these precepts in every point, he alone may claim life and salvation by them. For though the law directs to a better and more effectual righteousness in Christ, yet in itself, considered as a law, abstracted from its respect to Christ and the gospel, (for so the unbelieving Jews embraced and adhered to it,) it acknowledges nothing as a righteousness, sufficient to justify a man, but that of perfect obedience; a way of justification impossible to any who have ever transgressed any one law in any point. As if the apostle had said, Moses, by showing that the law requires exact and perfect obedience for righteousness, (an obedience impossible to be performed by us in our fallen state,) may thereby convince us that righteousness is not to be attained by our own works, but only by faith in Christ. It may be proper to observe here, that although the law, which was given from Sinai, was not, strictly speaking, a covenant of works, or of mere justice, (for who then could have been saved under that dispensation?) yet, that it might more effectually bring men to Christ, and render the covenant of grace more acceptable, it had a great mixture of the strictness and terror of such a covenant. Accordingly it condemned notorious offenders to temporal death in many cases, and made no provision for the pardon of any sin, deliberately and wilfully committed against it. See Hebrews 10:28. It, however, contained some further discoveries of that covenant of grace, which was made with mankind after the fall, by which many had been saved during the patriarchal ages, and which had been solemnly and repeatedly renewed to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Ver. 5. The man that doeth those things shall live by them. So Moses describes the righteousness of the law, which was opposed or introductory to the promise. And as conscience said, that even he had not done them, but that defects had attended all his best performances, he was saved by looking for the promised Messiah, by whom alone grace and truth have come to man.

5. Moses, according to Paul, in the present verse, describes, in quotation of Leviticus 18:5, the hard way of works, and in 6-9, from Deuteronomy 30:11-14, the easy way of faith, in contrast. Doeth those things—The law justifies only the things done, but makes no allowance, for failure. Live—The blessed life. (See note on John 11:25.)

Ver. 5.-11. Proof that Christ is an end of law.

Moses writes: nearly word for word from Leviticus 18:5, and embodying a principle running through the Mosaic Law. If then the Law be historically due to Moses, these words may be fairly quoted as his, whether or not the Book of Leviticus as we have it came actually from his pen: see Diss. iii. The Vat. MS. and the Syriac and Old Latin versions read Moses describes the righteousness etc… that. The practical difference is slight: and the Revisers’ reading is somewhat better attested.

Shall live: primarily natural life: the reward promised in the Mosaic Law; e.g. Deuteronomy 30:20. But, since all life, here and hereafter, is from God, the difference does not weaken Paul’s inference.

In it: in the righteousness which is from law: cp. Ezekiel 18:22, 24; Leviticus 18:5 reads in them, viz. in the ordinances. The change is immaterial and suits Paul’s argument. In Leviticus 18:5, God solemnly announces the great principle that only by obedience to His commands can men obtain the blessings promised in the Law. This is the essential principle of all law.

V. 6. But the righteousness which is by faith-The method of becoming righteous by believing. Speaketh a very different language, and may be considered as expressing itself thus: (to accommodate to our present subject the words which Moses spake, touching the plainness of his law:) Say not in thy heart, Who shall ascend into heaven, as if it were to bring Christ down: or, Who shall descend into the grave, as if it were to bring him again from the dead-Do not imagine that these things are to be done now, in order to procure thy pardon and salvation. Deuteronomy 30:14.

Verse 6. But the righteousness which is of faith] As it is most evident that there can be no justification by works, as all are sinful and all in a guilty state; if God will grant salvation at all, it must be by faith: but faith must have an object and a reason for its exercise; the object is Jesus Christ-the reason is the infinite merit of his passion and death. Who shall ascend unto heaven? &c.] As Christ is the end of the law for justification to every one that believes, no observance of the law can procure him. Who, by the practice of the law, can bring Christ down from heaven? or, when brought down, and crucified and buried, as a sacrifice for sin, who can bring him up again from the dead? And both his death and resurrection are essentially necessary for the salvation of a lost world. Or the sense of the apostle may be this: They who will not believe in Christ crucified must in effect be seeking another Messiah to come down from heaven with a different revelation; or they who will not credit the doctrine that we preach concerning his resurrection seem in effect to say, Christ yet remains to be raised from the dead, and reign over the Jews as a mighty secular sovereign, subjecting the Gentile world to the sway of his righteous sceptre.

Verses 6-9. Blot the righteousness which is of faith — The method of becoming righteous by believing; speaketh — A very different language from that of the law, and may be considered as expressing itself thus; (to accommodate to our present subject the words which Moses spake touching the plainness of his law:) Say not in thy heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? as if it were to bring Christ down — To teach and instruct us, or to atone for our offences. “The Jews, it would seem, thought it not reasonable to believe on Jesus as the Christ, unless he was brought from heaven in a visible manner, to take possession of his kingdom:” which some think was the sign from heaven which they expected, Matthew 16:1. Or, Who shall descend into the deep? — Into the grave, as if it were to bring up Christ again from the dead — Do not imagine that these things are now to be done in order to prove Jesus to be the true Messiah, or to confirm his doctrine. “The Jews expected that the Messiah would abide with them for ever, John 12:34. Wherefore, when the disciples saw Jesus expire on the cross, they gave up all hope of his being the Christ: Luke 24:21, We trusted that it had been he who should have redeemed Israel. It is true, the objection taken from Christ’s death was fully removed by his resurrection. But the Jews, pretending not to have sufficient proof of that miracle, insisted that Jesus should appear in person among them, to convince them that he was really risen. This they expressed by one’s descending into the abyss to bring Christ up from the dead.” — Macknight. But what saith it — Namely, the gospel, or righteousness of faith: what is its language? Even these words, so remarkably applicable to the subject before us. All is done ready to thy hand. The word is nigh thee — Within thy reach; easy to be understood, remembered, practised; in thy mouth and in thy heart — Let thy mouth and heart perform the offices assigned them and thou shalt be saved; that is, the word of faith — The doctrine of the gospel, which teaches men to believe in Christ for salvation, Romans 1:16, 17; which we preach — Which we, the apostles and ministers of Christ, declare to you, and exhort you to embrace. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus — Shalt make a free confession of thy faith in Christ and his truths, both by words and deeds, even in the time of persecution, when such a confession would expose thee to imprisonment, torture, and martyrdom: and shalt believe in thy heart — Sincerely, and with a faith that influences thy heart, and worketh by love; that God hath raised him from the dead — And thereby demonstrated him to be the Messiah; manifested the certain truth and infinite importance of his doctrine; the acceptableness and efficacy of the atonement which he made for sin; hath broken the power of death, and ensured to his followers an immortal life; as also the Holy Spirit to prepare them for it, by raising them from the death of sin to the life of righteousness: thou shalt be saved — From sin here, and its consequences hereafter. “The apostle mentions the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, as the principal article to be believed in order to salvation, because by that miracle God demonstrated Jesus to be his Son, established his authority as a lawgiver, and rendered all the things which he taught and promised indubitable.” — Macknight.

Ver. 6. But the righteousness which is of faith says, that there is no need to ascend into heaven, or to descend into the grave, for Christ and all his promises are at hand. If thou shalt believe that he lived and died for thee, and with full consent of heart, and glorify his grace by an open confession of his name, thou shalt be saved. As the heart once consented to sin, so the heart must now consent to Christ, and become heir of the riches of his grace.

6. Righteousness… speaketh—Righteousness herself is personified, like Wisdom in Proverbs. And the righteousness of faith proclaims that she offers no distant and inaccessible Saviour. He is neither above the skies nor low in the abyss. Say not in thine heart, whether in the language of doubt, discouragement, or cavil. Ascend into heaven—Beautifully and rightly (even though Moses knew it not) applied by St. Paul to the ascended Christ, who though on high is ever with us on earth. Bring Christ down—This is developed by St. Paul from the old words, as the flower is developed from the bud in which it is concealed (See note on Romans 1:2.)

Ver. 6.-7. Further proof that Christ is an end of law.

Which is from faith: as in Romans 1:17; 3:22.

Says thus: righteousness being personified: cp. Proverbs 8:1, 2. In Deuteronomy 30:12-14, at the close of his farewell address, Moses asserts a universal principle which applies to righteousness by faith. Therefore in his words the righteousness from faith speaks and describes itself. He reminds Israel that God has spoken. There is therefore no need for effort on their part to find out the will of God. Others might inquire whether there is one God, or many gods, and whether God desires the obedience and worship of men. To Israel all such inquiry was shut out by God’s revelation of Himself. They had no need to ask for someone to mount the sky to find out God, or to cross the sea to learn from other nations. God’s own word was already in their midst, spoken by human lips, pondered in human hearts. Moses asserts the great principle that a revelation from God makes needless, and therefore ought to put an end to, all human effort for that which He reveals. Such effort implies either ignorance or rejection of God’s revelation.

This principle was applied by Moses to the Law just repeated in the ears of the people. But, like all other great principles, it has an application far beyond the thought of the original speaker. It applies with great force to the fuller revelation in Christ. In the Law God gave a knowledge of His will: in the Gospel He gives conformity to His will. Therefore, as the former revelation put aside as needless all effort to obtain knowledge of His will, so the later revelation puts aside all effort to attain righteousness. Such efforts are as much a mark of ignorance and obstinacy as would have been in the days of Moses efforts to obtain by human wisdom a knowledge of God’s will. Paul is therefore justified in calling these words of Moses a voice of the righteousness of faith proclaiming the end of law. For law implies doing: and the Gospel, even according to a principle asserted by Moses, puts an end to doing as a means of righteousness. This appeal to Moses is a remarkable example of skilful and correct exegesis. In thy heart: where unbelief speaks before it dares to speak in the lips. That is: Paul’s exposition of Moses, words. To seek justification from works, is to act as though Christ had not come down from heaven. This suggests His pre-existence.

Abyss: literally without bottom: same word in Luke 8:31, Revelation 9:1, 2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1, 3. Hence it is used for the unfathomable sea; and for the place of the dead. Moses refers to the former, Paul to the latter. Paul modifies the words of Moses to suit the facts of the Gospel. This he has a right to do because his modification leaves the principle untouched. To seek a righteousness of our own is to act as though Christ had never risen.

Verses 6-9. Blot the righteousness which is of faith — The method of becoming righteous by believing; speaketh — A very different language from that of the law, and may be considered as expressing itself thus; (to accommodate to our present subject the words which Moses spake touching the plainness of his law:) Say not in thy heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? as if it were to bring Christ down — To teach and instruct us, or to atone for our offences. “The Jews, it would seem, thought it not reasonable to believe on Jesus as the Christ, unless he was brought from heaven in a visible manner, to take possession of his kingdom:” which some think was the sign from heaven which they expected, Matthew 16:1. Or, Who shall descend into the deep? — Into the grave, as if it were to bring up Christ again from the dead — Do not imagine that these things are now to be done in order to prove Jesus to be the true Messiah, or to confirm his doctrine. “The Jews expected that the Messiah would abide with them for ever, John 12:34. Wherefore, when the disciples saw Jesus expire on the cross, they gave up all hope of his being the Christ: Luke 24:21, We trusted that it had been he who should have redeemed Israel. It is true, the objection taken from Christ’s death was fully removed by his resurrection. But the Jews, pretending not to have sufficient proof of that miracle, insisted that Jesus should appear in person among them, to convince them that he was really risen. This they expressed by one’s descending into the abyss to bring Christ up from the dead.” — Macknight. But what saith it — Namely, the gospel, or righteousness of faith: what is its language? Even these words, so remarkably applicable to the subject before us. All is done ready to thy hand. The word is nigh thee — Within thy reach; easy to be understood, remembered, practised; in thy mouth and in thy heart — Let thy mouth and heart perform the offices assigned them and thou shalt be saved; that is, the word of faith — The doctrine of the gospel, which teaches men to believe in Christ for salvation, Romans 1:16, 17; which we preach — Which we, the apostles and ministers of Christ, declare to you, and exhort you to embrace. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus — Shalt make a free confession of thy faith in Christ and his truths, both by words and deeds, even in the time of persecution, when such a confession would expose thee to imprisonment, torture, and martyrdom: and shalt believe in thy heart — Sincerely, and with a faith that influences thy heart, and worketh by love; that God hath raised him from the dead — And thereby demonstrated him to be the Messiah; manifested the certain truth and infinite importance of his doctrine; the acceptableness and efficacy of the atonement which he made for sin; hath broken the power of death, and ensured to his followers an immortal life; as also the Holy Spirit to prepare them for it, by raising them from the death of sin to the life of righteousness: thou shalt be saved — From sin here, and its consequences hereafter. “The apostle mentions the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, as the principal article to be believed in order to salvation, because by that miracle God demonstrated Jesus to be his Son, established his authority as a lawgiver, and rendered all the things which he taught and promised indubitable.” — Macknight.

7. Into the deep—In the Hebrew and the Septuagint the phrase is to beyond sea. And as to the ancients the sea was conceived as unbounded, so this phrase would mean to a limitless distance. The apostle’s word is abyss, which was conceived as a bottomless deep. Where its place, is not distinctly said; but as earth to the ancient conception was the limitless plane of sublunary existence, (as being antithetic to heaven,) it would, verbally, be in the depths of earth. When our conceptions are purified by astronomy, however, the abyss, hell, is no longer necessarily located in our earth. In substituting the bottomless abyss for the limitless ocean, the apostle simply adapts the phrase to his present purpose; which is, to use the term abyss as hades, or the state of the dead, into which Christ descended after his crucifixion. (See notes on Luke 16:23.)

Ver. 6.-7. Further proof that Christ is an end of law.

Which is from faith: as in Romans 1:17; 3:22.

Says thus: righteousness being personified: cp. Proverbs 8:1, 2. In Deuteronomy 30:12-14, at the close of his farewell address, Moses asserts a universal principle which applies to righteousness by faith. Therefore in his words the righteousness from faith speaks and describes itself. He reminds Israel that God has spoken. There is therefore no need for effort on their part to find out the will of God. Others might inquire whether there is one God, or many gods, and whether God desires the obedience and worship of men. To Israel all such inquiry was shut out by God’s revelation of Himself. They had no need to ask for someone to mount the sky to find out God, or to cross the sea to learn from other nations. God’s own word was already in their midst, spoken by human lips, pondered in human hearts. Moses asserts the great principle that a revelation from God makes needless, and therefore ought to put an end to, all human effort for that which He reveals. Such effort implies either ignorance or rejection of God’s revelation.

This principle was applied by Moses to the Law just repeated in the ears of the people. But, like all other great principles, it has an application far beyond the thought of the original speaker. It applies with great force to the fuller revelation in Christ. In the Law God gave a knowledge of His will: in the Gospel He gives conformity to His will. Therefore, as the former revelation put aside as needless all effort to obtain knowledge of His will, so the later revelation puts aside all effort to attain righteousness. Such efforts are as much a mark of ignorance and obstinacy as would have been in the days of Moses efforts to obtain by human wisdom a knowledge of God’s will. Paul is therefore justified in calling these words of Moses a voice of the righteousness of faith proclaiming the end of law. For law implies doing: and the Gospel, even according to a principle asserted by Moses, puts an end to doing as a means of righteousness. This appeal to Moses is a remarkable example of skilful and correct exegesis. In thy heart: where unbelief speaks before it dares to speak in the lips. That is: Paul’s exposition of Moses, words. To seek justification from works, is to act as though Christ had not come down from heaven. This suggests His pre-existence.

Abyss: literally without bottom: same word in Luke 8:31, Revelation 9:1, 2, 11; 11:7; 17:8; 20:1, 3. Hence it is used for the unfathomable sea; and for the place of the dead. Moses refers to the former, Paul to the latter. Paul modifies the words of Moses to suit the facts of the Gospel. This he has a right to do because his modification leaves the principle untouched. To seek a righteousness of our own is to act as though Christ had never risen.

V. 8. But what saith he-Moses. Even these words, so remarkably applicable to the subject before us. All is done ready to thy hand. The word is nigh thee-Within thy reach; easy to be understood, remembered, practised. This is eminently true of

the word of faith-The gospel.

Which we preach-The sum of which is, If thy heart believe in Christ, and thy life confess him, thou shalt be saved.

Verse 8. But what saith it? The word is nigh thee] There is no occasion to seek high or low for the saving power; the word of reconciliation is nigh. The way of salvation is now both plain and easy. The law is magnified and made honourable by the death of Christ; and the doctrine of faith in his death and resurrection is fully proclaimed, and amply proved to be effectual to the purpose for which it was revealed. By the preaching of the Gospel the doctrine of salvation is nigh thee, and the saving influence is at hand: it is in thy mouth, easy to be understood, easy to be professed: and in thy heart, if thou art upright before God, sincerely desiring to be saved on his own terms, not striving to establish thy own method of justification by the law, which must for ever be ineffectual, but submitting to the method of justification which God has devised.

Verses 6-9. Blot the righteousness which is of faith — The method of becoming righteous by believing; speaketh — A very different language from that of the law, and may be considered as expressing itself thus; (to accommodate to our present subject the words which Moses spake touching the plainness of his law:) Say not in thy heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? as if it were to bring Christ down — To teach and instruct us, or to atone for our offences. “The Jews, it would seem, thought it not reasonable to believe on Jesus as the Christ, unless he was brought from heaven in a visible manner, to take possession of his kingdom:” which some think was the sign from heaven which they expected, Matthew 16:1. Or, Who shall descend into the deep? — Into the grave, as if it were to bring up Christ again from the dead — Do not imagine that these things are now to be done in order to prove Jesus to be the true Messiah, or to confirm his doctrine. “The Jews expected that the Messiah would abide with them for ever, John 12:34. Wherefore, when the disciples saw Jesus expire on the cross, they gave up all hope of his being the Christ: Luke 24:21, We trusted that it had been he who should have redeemed Israel. It is true, the objection taken from Christ’s death was fully removed by his resurrection. But the Jews, pretending not to have sufficient proof of that miracle, insisted that Jesus should appear in person among them, to convince them that he was really risen. This they expressed by one’s descending into the abyss to bring Christ up from the dead.” — Macknight. But what saith it — Namely, the gospel, or righteousness of faith: what is its language? Even these words, so remarkably applicable to the subject before us. All is done ready to thy hand. The word is nigh thee — Within thy reach; easy to be understood, remembered, practised; in thy mouth and in thy heart — Let thy mouth and heart perform the offices assigned them and thou shalt be saved; that is, the word of faith — The doctrine of the gospel, which teaches men to believe in Christ for salvation, Romans 1:16, 17; which we preach — Which we, the apostles and ministers of Christ, declare to you, and exhort you to embrace. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus — Shalt make a free confession of thy faith in Christ and his truths, both by words and deeds, even in the time of persecution, when such a confession would expose thee to imprisonment, torture, and martyrdom: and shalt believe in thy heart — Sincerely, and with a faith that influences thy heart, and worketh by love; that God hath raised him from the dead — And thereby demonstrated him to be the Messiah; manifested the certain truth and infinite importance of his doctrine; the acceptableness and efficacy of the atonement which he made for sin; hath broken the power of death, and ensured to his followers an immortal life; as also the Holy Spirit to prepare them for it, by raising them from the death of sin to the life of righteousness: thou shalt be saved — From sin here, and its consequences hereafter. “The apostle mentions the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, as the principal article to be believed in order to salvation, because by that miracle God demonstrated Jesus to be his Son, established his authority as a lawgiver, and rendered all the things which he taught and promised indubitable.” — Macknight.

Ver. 8, 9. The word is nigh thee. Salvation is assuredly promised to him who with an honest mind believes on the Saviour, and confesses him in all the obedience of faith and hope. There is no need of pilgrimages to holy places. Christ is knocking at the door, and asking admission into the heart. He is a present Saviour in the time of need.

8. The word… heart—This entire clause is quotation. That is—The apostle now identifies the word of Moses with the gospel word. The word of faith is in its utterance in the mouth, in its power within the heart. Whether Christ be in the heavens or in the deep, the power of faith in him is salvation in our soul. It is more than nigh us, it is in us.

Ver. 8. The quotation from Deuteronomy 30:12-14 continued, and still further expounded.

In thy mouth: to be publicly spoken.

In thy heart: to be silently pondered.

That is: Paul’s exposition, as in Romans 10:6, 7. Word of faith: announcement of salvation through faith.

Proclaim: as in Romans 10:14, 15; 2:21; 1 Corinthians 1:23; 15:11, 12, etc.: cognate to the word herald in 1 Timothy 2:7; 2 Timothy 1:11.

V. 9. If thou confess with thy mouth-Even in time of persecution, when such a confession may send thee to the lions.

Verse 9. That if thou shalt confess, &c.] Acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as the only Saviour. Believe in thy heart that he who died for thy offences has been raised for thy justification; and depend solely on him for that justification, and thou shalt be saved.

Verses 6-9. Blot the righteousness which is of faith — The method of becoming righteous by believing; speaketh — A very different language from that of the law, and may be considered as expressing itself thus; (to accommodate to our present subject the words which Moses spake touching the plainness of his law:) Say not in thy heart, Who shall ascend into heaven? as if it were to bring Christ down — To teach and instruct us, or to atone for our offences. “The Jews, it would seem, thought it not reasonable to believe on Jesus as the Christ, unless he was brought from heaven in a visible manner, to take possession of his kingdom:” which some think was the sign from heaven which they expected, Matthew 16:1. Or, Who shall descend into the deep? — Into the grave, as if it were to bring up Christ again from the dead — Do not imagine that these things are now to be done in order to prove Jesus to be the true Messiah, or to confirm his doctrine. “The Jews expected that the Messiah would abide with them for ever, John 12:34. Wherefore, when the disciples saw Jesus expire on the cross, they gave up all hope of his being the Christ: Luke 24:21, We trusted that it had been he who should have redeemed Israel. It is true, the objection taken from Christ’s death was fully removed by his resurrection. But the Jews, pretending not to have sufficient proof of that miracle, insisted that Jesus should appear in person among them, to convince them that he was really risen. This they expressed by one’s descending into the abyss to bring Christ up from the dead.” — Macknight. But what saith it — Namely, the gospel, or righteousness of faith: what is its language? Even these words, so remarkably applicable to the subject before us. All is done ready to thy hand. The word is nigh thee — Within thy reach; easy to be understood, remembered, practised; in thy mouth and in thy heart — Let thy mouth and heart perform the offices assigned them and thou shalt be saved; that is, the word of faith — The doctrine of the gospel, which teaches men to believe in Christ for salvation, Romans 1:16, 17; which we preach — Which we, the apostles and ministers of Christ, declare to you, and exhort you to embrace. That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus — Shalt make a free confession of thy faith in Christ and his truths, both by words and deeds, even in the time of persecution, when such a confession would expose thee to imprisonment, torture, and martyrdom: and shalt believe in thy heart — Sincerely, and with a faith that influences thy heart, and worketh by love; that God hath raised him from the dead — And thereby demonstrated him to be the Messiah; manifested the certain truth and infinite importance of his doctrine; the acceptableness and efficacy of the atonement which he made for sin; hath broken the power of death, and ensured to his followers an immortal life; as also the Holy Spirit to prepare them for it, by raising them from the death of sin to the life of righteousness: thou shalt be saved — From sin here, and its consequences hereafter. “The apostle mentions the resurrection of Jesus from the dead, as the principal article to be believed in order to salvation, because by that miracle God demonstrated Jesus to be his Son, established his authority as a lawgiver, and rendered all the things which he taught and promised indubitable.” — Macknight.

Ver. 8, 9. The word is nigh thee. Salvation is assuredly promised to him who with an honest mind believes on the Saviour, and confesses him in all the obedience of faith and hope. There is no need of pilgrimages to holy places. Christ is knocking at the door, and asking admission into the heart. He is a present Saviour in the time of need.

9. That—Rather, because, as depending upon nigh thee. Mouth… heart—St. Paul follows the order of Moses in these two words; though, in the ordinary order of cause and effect, the latter is the fountain from which the stream flows through the former. And so Paul reverses the order in verse 10. Moses, however, accustomed to outer confession, penetrates from the outward inwardly to the heart.

Ver. 9. Contents of the word of faith. It is a promise suspended on two conditions.

If thou confess: cp. Matthew 10:32. By making confession a condition of salvation, God put the Gospel into the mouth as well as the heart of those that believe.

In thy heart: the inner chamber, far removed from human sight, in which men believe.

That God raised Him etc.: historic object-matter of saving faith. But belief of the historic fact will not save unless it include belief of the great promise stated in this verse:

thou shalt be saved. It was needless to add this further matter of faith: for all promises are fulfilled only in those who by faith expect their fulfilment. The man who is sure that God raised Christ from the dead, and is sure, because Christ said so, that all who believe this, and therefore himself, will be saved, will, according to the plain statement of this verse, be saved. Now our conscience tells us with the authority of God that sin excludes the sinner from heaven. Consequently we cannot believe that we shall be saved unless we are prepared to forsake sin: and our faith becomes a reliance upon the power of Him who is able to save from all sin.

Notice here the importance of the resurrection of Christ: cp. Romans 1:4; 4:25; 6:4, 5; 7:4; 8:34. Compare also 1 John 5:1. The difference of the object-matter of faith is immaterial. We cannot believe that Christ rose from the dead without admitting His claim to be the Son of God.

V. 10. For with the heart-Not the understanding only. Man believeth to righteousness-So as to obtain justification. And with the mouth confession is made-So as to obtain final salvation. Confession here implies the whole of outward, as believing does the root of all inward, religion.

Verse 10. For with the heart man believeth, &c.] And be sincere in this: for with the heart, duly affected with a sense of guilt, and of the sufficiency of the sacrifice which Christ has offered, man believeth unto righteousness, believeth to receive justification; for this is the proper meaning of the term here, and in many other parts of this epistle; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. He who believes aright in Christ Jesus will receive such a full conviction of the truth, and such an evidence of his redemption, that his mouth will boldly confess his obligation to his Redeemer, and the blessed persuasion he has of the remission of all his sins through the blood of the cross. One grand object of the apostle is to show the simplicity of the Gospel scheme of salvation; and at the same time, its great efficacy, it is simple, and very unlike the law, which was full of rites, ordinances, ceremonies, &c., each of which required to be perfectly fulfilled: and yet, after all, even those who had the utmost zeal for God, and, as conscientiously as possible, observed all the precepts of the law, had not attained to justification nor peace of conscience. Whereas both Jews and Gentiles, who had believed on the Lord Jesus according to the simple declarations of the Gospel, were freely justified from all things from which they could not be justified by the law of Moses: and they had the witness in themselves that they were passed from death to life.

Verse 10. For with the heart — Not with the understanding only; man believeth unto righteousness — So as to obtain justification, regeneration, and holiness, in all its branches; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation — So as to obtain eternal salvation. For if we so believe in Christ as to become truly righteous, and manifest that we are so by confessing him to be the Messiah, the Son of God, the Saviour of the world, when such a confession might deprive us of our property, our liberty, and our lives, we must, of course, love him better than any or all of these things; and therefore we willingly part with them for his sake. And being thus crucified to the world, and all visible and temporal things, our affections will be set on things above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God: and consequently, when he shall appear we shall appear with him in glory. “In the first ages, the spreading of the gospel depended, in a great measure, on Christ’s disciples confessing him openly before the world, and on their sealing their confession with their blood. Hence Christ required it, in the most express terms, and threatened to deny those who denied him, Matthew 10:32, 33; 1 John 4:15. The confessing Christ being so necessary, and at the same time so difficult a duty, the apostle very properly connected the assurance of final salvation therewith; because it was the best evidence which the disciple of Christ could have of his own sincerity, and of his being willing to perform every other act of obedience required of him. There is a difference between the profession and the confession of our faith. To profess is to declare a thing of our own accord; but to confess is to declare a thing when asked concerning it. This distinction Cicero mentions in his oration Pro Cecinna.” — Macknight.

Ver. 10. With the heart man believeth unto righteousness. From Abel down to Abraham, and thence to Christ, all the holy fathers obtained righteousness by faith. How should it be otherwise? We are all gone out of the way; we are all guilty before God. We are wholly without strength. The mercy is therefore adapted to the misery of man. Look, and be healed — believe, and be saved — come unto me, and I will give you rest.

10. The heart—In modern language the heart is held to be, as a mental term, the seat of the feelings or sensibilities. And as modern science claims to have shown that the head, the brain, is the seat of thought, so we often have the antithesis head and heart as expressing intellect and sensibilities. But this antithesis is unknown to antiquity, especially to the Bible. But a single passage in the whole canon attributes thought to the head. (Daniel 7:1.)

As this passage locates the seat of faith in the heart, it becomes important to know the precise import of that term. In his Biblical Psychology Dr. Delitzsch goes into an extensive research on this subject, and brings out some striking results. As the bodily heart is the centre of the bodily system, so the mental heart is the centre of soul and spirit. And, as the centre of the interior self, it manifests itself in various directions. It is not merely the fountain of the sensibilities and emotions, natural and moral—of the desires, the loves, and the hates; but it is also the seat of the perceptions, reflections, meditations, reasonings, and memories, and the spring of the purposes, plans, determinations, and volitions. It is then in the very centre of our spiritual being that faith has its seat and its spring. So that, in accordance with modern mental science, we may define New Testament faith as being that belief of the intellect, consent of the affections, and act of the will, by which the soul places itself in the keeping of Christ as its ruler and Saviour. Hence both the Greek noun for faith, and its usual cognate verb believe, would, perhaps, both generally be more closely rendered by the word trust.

Unto righteousness—This self-surrendering trust being accepted, the believer is pardoned and held as righteous; by the Holy Spirit he is in measure sanctified and made intrinsically righteous. But true faith will ever go from heart to mouth, from belief to confession and profession; and this in its fulness results from present justification to final salvation. The true mode of profession appointed by Christ for every Christian includes always the sacraments of baptism and the eucharist. The self-esteemed believer who neglects these appointments of Christ disobeys Christ, and is very likely to lose that salvation that results from confession.

Ver. 10. Further explanation and support of the foregoing statement. The order is changed from mouth and heart in Romans 10:9 as in Deuteronomy 30:14 to the order of time, which is heart and mouth. Since the heart (see Romans 1:21) is the seat of the intelligence and the will, and since all belief of the words of God or man is an act of the will accepting the judgment of the intelligence, it is with the heart that men believe. And we believe the Gospel in order to obtain righteousness, i.e. to be justified.

For salvation: final salvation, as in Romans 5:9, 10; 13:11. The moment we believe the promise, we receive the gift of righteousness. But we cannot retain it to final salvation unless we confess our faith. And, if we know that God requires confession, we cannot believe His promise of salvation without a purpose to confess. For our conscience will not allow us to believe that God smiles on us while we refuse to obey Him.

V. 11. Isaiah 28:16.

Verse 11. For the Scripture saith] And howsoever the Jews may despise this Gospel, because it comes not unto them with pomp and ceremony, it puts those who receive it into possession of every heavenly blessing: and this is according to the positive declarations of the prophets; for it is written, Isaiah 28:16; 49:23: Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed. He shall neither be disappointed of his hope, nor ashamed of his confidence; because he has that faith which is the evidence of things not seen, the subsistence of things hoped for, Hebrews 11:1. See Clarke’s note on “Romans 1:16”.

Verses 11-13. For the Scripture saith, &c. — He proceeds to prove, by the Scriptures, the saving effects of faith and confession, spoken of in the two last verses. He refers to Isaiah 28:16, and perhaps also to Psalm 25:3. Or, he means, that this is the general doctrine of the Scriptures: Whosoever believeth on him — Whether Jew or Gentile; shall not be ashamed — Disappointed of his expectation of salvation, or put to confusion in any imaginable circumstance. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek — As to the way of obtaining justification and salvation; for the same Lord of all — The Creator, Preserver, Governor, and Benefactor of the whole human race; is rich — Full of mercy and grace; so that his blessings are never to be exhausted, nor is he ever unable or unwilling to bestow them on such as are prepared to receive them; or, that call upon him — For them, sincerely, importunately, and in faith. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord — Not only of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles, as appears from Acts 2:21, where also these words of Joel are quoted; shall be saved — In the sense explained in the note there, and on Joel 2:32, which see. “The word in the prophet, in the original, is Jehovah, whence it is certain that the prophet speaks these words of the true and only God; and yet it is as certain that he ascribes them to Christ, both from the following words, How shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? (for the apostle, in this whole chapter discourses of faith in Christ,) and from the words foregoing, evidently spoken of Christ, of which these are a proof, and with which they are connected by the particle for. Here, then, we have two arguments for the divinity of Christ; 1st, That what is spoken of Jehovah is ascribed to him. 2d, That he is made the object of our religious invocation,” as he is also 1 Corinthians 1:2, and in many other passages of the epistles. — Whitby. Bishop Pearson, also, (on the Creed, p. 149,) argues at large from hence, that if Christ be not here called Jehovah, the apostle’s argument is quite inconclusive. It may be observed here likewise, that the great truth proposed, verse 11, is so repeated in these two following verses, and further confirmed, verses 14, 15, as not only to imply that whosoever calleth upon him shall be saved, but also that the will of God is, that all should savingly call upon him.

11. For—In proof of the doctrines of the last verse, Scripture is adduced. Believeth—It being assumed that the true believer will also be a faithful confessor. Whosoever—Same passage quoted in Romans 9:33. Here it is adduced in proof of the universality of the Gospel salvation. Christ is a universal Saviour. As, descended from Abraham, he is a Jew, so, descended from Adam, he is Gentile.

8. This Faith-condition is impartial, embracing All and proclaimed to All, 12-21.

In order that all, Jew and Gentile, may call upon God and be saved, (12, 13,) the preacher must be sent (14) (especially to Gentiles) and heard, (15-17;) nay, the Gentiles have heard from nature’s voice, (18,) and Israel knows, from the prophets, (19-21.)

Ver. 11. Proof, from Isaiah 28:16, already quoted in Romans 9:33, that salvation is by faith.

Everyone: not in the text quoted, but justified in Romans 10:12, 13. All who are not saved

will be put “to shame, to eternal abhorrence: “ Daniel 12:2. The assertion in Romans 10:4 is now proved. Paul’s application to the Gospel of Moses’ words touching the Law has been justified by the words of Isaiah. For this last taught that in days to come they who believe will be saved; thus implying a new revelation from God to man: and, if so, Moses’ words will apply to this new revelation. God’s word will put aside all self-effort to obtain salvation, as His word through Moses had already put aside all self-effort to obtain a knowledge of His will. And, if so, according to Moses’ own description of the Law as something to be done, the new revelation will put aside the Law; and will do this in order to bestow salvation on those who believe. Hence the prophecy in Isaiah 28:16, read in the light of its fulfilment in Christ and of the principle asserted by Moses, affords complete proof of the assertion in Romans 10:4. And, if so, the Jews are ignorantly resisting God; and therefore in spite of their zeal are in need of salvation, and are fit objects for (Romans 10:1) Paul’s prayer.

V. 12. The same Lord of all is rich-So that his blessings are never to be exhausted, nor is he ever constrained to hold his hand. The great truth proposed in Romans 10:11 is so repeated here, and in Romans 10:13, and farther confirmed, Romans 10:14, 15, as not only to imply, that whosoever calleth upon him shall be saved; but also that the will of God is, that all should savingly call upon him.

Verse 12. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek] All are equally welcome to this salvation. Here the Jew has no exclusive privilege; and from this the Greek is not rejected. One simple way of being saved is proposed to all, viz. faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; because he is the same Lord who has made all and governs all, and is rich in mercy to all that call upon him.

Verses 11-13. For the Scripture saith, &c. — He proceeds to prove, by the Scriptures, the saving effects of faith and confession, spoken of in the two last verses. He refers to Isaiah 28:16, and perhaps also to Psalm 25:3. Or, he means, that this is the general doctrine of the Scriptures: Whosoever believeth on him — Whether Jew or Gentile; shall not be ashamed — Disappointed of his expectation of salvation, or put to confusion in any imaginable circumstance. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek — As to the way of obtaining justification and salvation; for the same Lord of all — The Creator, Preserver, Governor, and Benefactor of the whole human race; is rich — Full of mercy and grace; so that his blessings are never to be exhausted, nor is he ever unable or unwilling to bestow them on such as are prepared to receive them; or, that call upon him — For them, sincerely, importunately, and in faith. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord — Not only of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles, as appears from Acts 2:21, where also these words of Joel are quoted; shall be saved — In the sense explained in the note there, and on Joel 2:32, which see. “The word in the prophet, in the original, is Jehovah, whence it is certain that the prophet speaks these words of the true and only God; and yet it is as certain that he ascribes them to Christ, both from the following words, How shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? (for the apostle, in this whole chapter discourses of faith in Christ,) and from the words foregoing, evidently spoken of Christ, of which these are a proof, and with which they are connected by the particle for. Here, then, we have two arguments for the divinity of Christ; 1st, That what is spoken of Jehovah is ascribed to him. 2d, That he is made the object of our religious invocation,” as he is also 1 Corinthians 1:2, and in many other passages of the epistles. — Whitby. Bishop Pearson, also, (on the Creed, p. 149,) argues at large from hence, that if Christ be not here called Jehovah, the apostle’s argument is quite inconclusive. It may be observed here likewise, that the great truth proposed, verse 11, is so repeated in these two following verses, and further confirmed, verses 14, 15, as not only to imply that whosoever calleth upon him shall be saved, but also that the will of God is, that all should savingly call upon him.

12. Over all—Thus far the apostle in this chapter has shown how beautiful the righteousness ignored by the Jew is. He now proclaims that it must overpass the Jewish limits. If the believing Christian must not only have a heart to believe, but a mouth to confess, so must the entire Church have a believing heart and a confessing mouth. Both must not only be faithful, but vocal.

Ver. 12. Paul now justifies the word everyone inserted by him in the above quotation, by asserting a principle which breaks down all national distinctions.

No difference: as in Romans 3:23.

Jew and Greek: as in Romans 1:16; 2:9, 10; 3:9. The recurring phrases in Romans 10:3, 5, 6, 12 indicate that Paul has now returned to his main thesis in Romans 1:16, 17; 3:21-30. Lord of all: probably Christ, to whom the word Lord was distinctively applied: cp. Romans 14:9; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Philippians 2:11.

Rich towards all etc.: so Ephesians 3:8.

Call-upon: to appeal to for help, or as a witness: cp. 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:23; 2 Timothy 2:22; Acts 25:11, 12, 21,

25. In the presence of the one Master, all national distinctions fade.

V. 13. Joel 2:32.

Verse 13. For whosoever shall call, &c.] Nor shall any one who hears this doctrine of salvation, and credits it as he is commanded, be permitted to pray or supplicate the throne of grace in vain: for the Prophet Joel hath declared, Joel 2:32: Whosoever shall call upon, invoke, the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour of sinners, shall be saved-shall have his guilt pardoned, his heart purified; and if he abide in the faith, rooted and grounded in him, showing forth the virtues of him who was called him out of darkness into his marvellous light, he shall be saved with all the power of an eternal life.

“Believing in Christ, or God, Romans 10:11, and calling upon God, Romans 10:12-14, are in effect the same thing; as calling upon God necessarily connects and supposes faith in him: and he who duly believes in Christ has such a sense of his dependence upon Divine grace, that he looks unto God and trusts in his power and goodness alone for happiness: which is the true religion of the Gospel.” Dr. Taylor.

It is evident that St. Paul understood the text of Joel as relating to our blessed Lord; and therefore his word kuriov must answer to the prophet’s word hwhy Yehovah, which is no mean proof of the Godhead of Jesus Christ. If the text be translated, Whosoever shall invoke in the name of the Lord, which translation יהוה בשם arqy yikra beshem Yehovah will certainly bear, yet still the term Yehovah, the incommunicable name, is given to Christ; because invoking in the name signifies soliciting one in the name or on the account of another. He who is invoked is GOD; he, in whose name he is invoked, is JESUS CHRIST, who is here called Yehovah. He who asks mercy from GOD, in the name and for the sake of JESUS CHRIST, shall get his soul saved.

Verses 11-13. For the Scripture saith, &c. — He proceeds to prove, by the Scriptures, the saving effects of faith and confession, spoken of in the two last verses. He refers to Isaiah 28:16, and perhaps also to Psalm 25:3. Or, he means, that this is the general doctrine of the Scriptures: Whosoever believeth on him — Whether Jew or Gentile; shall not be ashamed — Disappointed of his expectation of salvation, or put to confusion in any imaginable circumstance. For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek — As to the way of obtaining justification and salvation; for the same Lord of all — The Creator, Preserver, Governor, and Benefactor of the whole human race; is rich — Full of mercy and grace; so that his blessings are never to be exhausted, nor is he ever unable or unwilling to bestow them on such as are prepared to receive them; or, that call upon him — For them, sincerely, importunately, and in faith. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord — Not only of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles, as appears from Acts 2:21, where also these words of Joel are quoted; shall be saved — In the sense explained in the note there, and on Joel 2:32, which see. “The word in the prophet, in the original, is Jehovah, whence it is certain that the prophet speaks these words of the true and only God; and yet it is as certain that he ascribes them to Christ, both from the following words, How shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? (for the apostle, in this whole chapter discourses of faith in Christ,) and from the words foregoing, evidently spoken of Christ, of which these are a proof, and with which they are connected by the particle for. Here, then, we have two arguments for the divinity of Christ; 1st, That what is spoken of Jehovah is ascribed to him. 2d, That he is made the object of our religious invocation,” as he is also 1 Corinthians 1:2, and in many other passages of the epistles. — Whitby. Bishop Pearson, also, (on the Creed, p. 149,) argues at large from hence, that if Christ be not here called Jehovah, the apostle’s argument is quite inconclusive. It may be observed here likewise, that the great truth proposed, verse 11, is so repeated in these two following verses, and further confirmed, verses 14, 15, as not only to imply that whosoever calleth upon him shall be saved, but also that the will of God is, that all should savingly call upon him.

Ver. 13. Quotation from Joel 2:32, asserting that everyone who appeals to God will be saved, and thus justifying the word everyone inserted by Paul in the quotation in Romans 10:11. Same quotation in Acts 2:21. Joel refers evidently to the Day of Christ. He foretells that salvation will be obtained by calling upon God. And, although he speaks of a deliverance in Jerusalem and in Zion, his words forbid a limitation of this salvation to the Jews. The words quoted announce clearly a salvation for all.

The Lord: in Joel, Jehovah, the proper name of the God of Israel. But it is easy to apply it to Christ our Lord. The difference is immaterial. Salvation is from the Father through the Son: and we pray through the Son and to the Son.

This section expounds, in the light of principles asserted by Moses, the words quoted in Romans 9:33. Hence the quotation is repeated in Romans 10:11, and then further expounded by comparison with another quotation. In Romans 9:25, Paul began to prove that the Gospel and its results accord with ancient prophecy. Hosea foretold that aliens will become children of God: and Isaiah taught that only a part of Israel will be saved. Before Paul’s eye, these prophecies were being fulfilled. The mass of the Jews were unsaved, because of their unbelief, and because the Gospel had become to them a stone of stumbling. Even this was foretold. For it had been clearly announced that God Himself would be a stumbling-block to Israel, and that believers would be saved. The plainness of the prophecy forces upon Paul the thought that Israel’s unbelief arises from inexcusable ignorance. His intense conviction of this evokes a prayer for their salvation. He opens a way for his charge of ignorance by acknowledging the earnestness of the Jews; and proves it by showing that what they were earnestly seeking to set up Christ came to put an end to, and that this is clearly taught in the words of Isaiah just quoted, read in the light of the teaching of Moses.

The principle asserted in Deuteronomy 30:12-14 is valid for all blessings promised on the condition of faith. For instance, to seek to obtain by our own moral effort full deliverance from the stain and power of sin, is as useless and needless as to seek for someone to fetch Christ from heaven. For God has promised this salvation as a free and present gift to all who believe. Therefore Christ is an end of law for purity as for righteousness. We believe the word of God, and both are ours.

Verse 14. How then shall they call on him] As the apostle had laid so much stress on believing in order to salvation, and as this doctrine, without farther explanation, might be misunderstood, it was necessary to show how this faith was produced; and therefore he lays the whole doctrine down in a beautifully graduated order.

1. There can be no salvation without the Gospel: a dispensation of mercy and grace from God alone, here called, Romans 10:15, the Gospel of peace; glad tidings of good things.

2. This must be preached, proclaimed in the world for the obedience of faith.

3. None can effectually preach this unless he have a Divine mission; for how shall they preach except they be SENT, Romans 10:15. The matter must come from God; and the person who proclaims it must have both authority and unction from on high.

4. This Divinely-commissioned person must be heard: it is the duty of all, to whom this message of salvation is sent, to hear it with the deepest reverence and attention.

5. What is heard must be credited; for they who do not believe the Gospel as the record which God has given of his Son cannot be saved, Romans 10:14.

6. Those who believe must invoke God by Christ, which they cannot do unless they believe in him; and in this way alone they are to expect salvation. Professing to believe in Christ, without earnest, importunate prayer for salvation, can save no man. All these things the apostle lays down as essentially necessary; and they all follow from his grand proposition, Whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. But, says the apostle, How shall they CALL upon him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they BELIEVE in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they HEAR without a preacher? And how shall they PREACH except they be sent? And with what message which can bring salvation can they be sent, but with the GOSPEL OF PEACE, the GLAD TIDINGS OF GOOD THINGS. When, therefore, there is: 1st, a proper MESSAGE; 2dly, a proper MESSENGER; 3dly, the message PREACHED, proclaimed, or properly delivered by him; 4thly, the proclamation properly HEARD and attentively considered by the people; 5thly, the message which they have heard, conscientiously BELIEVED; 6thly, the name of the Lord Jesus, by whom alone this salvation is provided, most fervently INVOKED; then, 7thly, salvation, or redemption from sin and misery, and the enjoyment of peace and happiness, will be the result of such calling, believing, hearing, preaching, sending, and message sent:-and thus the doctrine of salvation by grace through faith is guarded from abuse.

Verses 14-17. How then — As if the apostle had said, From the promise of salvation made to them that shall call on the name of the Lord, I have inferred, that there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, as to the possibility of obtaining salvation from God; and from hence we may further infer, that the gospel must be preached to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews, and the sundry means of grace be dispensed to them, and therefore that we, the apostles, in so doing, do nothing but what is agreeable to the will of God, though on that account we are much reproached and persecuted. For how shall they call upon him — With sincerity; in whom they have not believed — In whose existence, power, and goodness they have not believed; or in whom, as capable of hearing, and able and willing to grant their requests, they have no confidence; (see on Hebrews 11:6;) or whom they do not believe to be a proper object of worship, or worthy to be invoked with divine honours and adoration. And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? — “Even the works of nature and providence must be made known to mankind by instructers, to make them able to understand them: much more the gospel of Christ.” — Baxter. Or the apostle speaks here chiefly, if not only, of believing in Christ, and therefore his words are not inconsistent with what he advances, Romans 1:19, 20, concerning the existence and perfections of God being made known to all mankind by the works of creation. Some way or other the divine revelation concerning Christ must be made known to us, before we can understand and believe it. In hearing is included reading, which is tantamount to hearing, and by which many are brought to believe, John 20:31; These things are written that you may believe. But hearing only is mentioned as the more ordinary and natural way of receiving information. How shall they hear without a preacher — To carry these important tidings, which the light of nature could never be able to discover: or, except God reveal the gospel to them some way or other. And how shall they — The ministers of the gospel; preach except they be sent — Expressly for that purpose? that is, except they be both commissioned, and, at least in some measure, qualified for that difficult though important work? How shall a man act as an ambassador, unless he have both his instruction and his credentials from the prince that sends him? St. Paul probably intended to intimate, that as the apostles, and other first ministers of the gospel, were originally Jews, their own prejudices on this head were so strong, that they never would have thought of carrying the gospel to the Gentiles if God had not particularly charged them to do it; especially as its avowed opposition to the idolatry and the other vices which reigned in the Gentile countries, could not but expose them, more or less, to persecution in various forms, wherever they came and attempted to preach it. Thus, by a chain of reasoning from God’s will, that the Gentiles also should call upon him, Paul infers that the apostles were sent by God to preach to them also. As it is written — And described in that striking prophecy, Isaiah 52:7, 8, How beautiful are the feet — The very footsteps, or the coming; of them that preach the gospel of peace — The gospel, which shows the way how peace is made between God and man. The figure here applied by Isaiah “is extremely proper. The feet of those who travel through dirty or dusty roads are a sight naturally disagreeable: but when they are thus disfigured by travelling a long journey, to bring good tidings of peace and deliverance to those who have been oppressed by their enemies, they appear beautiful.” — Macknight. Most commentators think “that the 52d chapter of Isaiah is to be explained as a prophecy of the return of the Jews from Babylon, and that the text here quoted refers to the joyful welcome that should be given to the messengers who brought the first tidings of Cyrus’s decree for their dismission. And if it were so, the apostle might very justly infer from thence the superior joy with which the messengers of the gospel should be received. But I think a great deal may be said to show it probable, that the context in question has, in its original sense, a further reference.” — Doddridge. See note on Isaiah 52:7. But they have not all obeyed, &c. — As if he had said, But you may say, Why then doth not this preaching convert more of the Jews? This excellence of the gospel, and the preaching of it, doth not suppose that all that hear it will be converted by it: for though faith comes by hearing, yet there may be hearing without faith. So Esaias saith — In that very context which contains so many illustrious testimonies to the gospel, namely, Isaiah 53:1, Lord, who hath believed our report? — That is, very few have been persuaded and converted by our preaching. So then faith cometh by hearing — Hearing is the ordinary means, even hearing the word of God, of begetting faith in people: and it was necessary for the Gentiles, in particular, who had not access to the Scriptures, to have the truths of the gospel declared to them by preaching, that they might hear and believe them.

14. How—By a succession of queries, like propelling waves, St Paul declares that invocation requires faith, faith hearing, and hearing a preacher; and crowns the climax with a beautiful strain from the old prophet. Hear… preacher—St. Paul is here defending the rising organism of the new Christian Church, by which a most rapid system of proclaiming the Gospel and converting the world was coming into existence and power. Preacher—As the whole Church cannot go forth, so a preacher, and an order of preachers, must be ordained.

ROMANS

SECTION 34 — THE PREACHED GOSPEL AND

ISRAEL’S UNBELIEF WERE FORETOLD CH.

10:14-21

How then are they to call on one in whom they have not believed? But how are they to believe one whom they have not heard? But how are they to hear without a herald proclaiming? But how are heralds to proclaim unless they be sent? According as it is written, “How beautiful the feet of those that announce, as glad tidings, good things.” But not all have obeyed the glad tidings. For Isaiah says, Lord, “who has believed what we have heard?” Therefore faith comes from something heard; and that which is heard comes through the word of Christ.

But I say, Have they not heard? Certainly they have. “Into all the earth went forth the sound of them, and their words into the ends of the world. But I say, Has Israel not known? First, Moses says, “I will provoke you to jealousy for that which is no nation; for a nation without understanding, I will move you to anger.” But Isaiah is very bold, and says, “I was found by those not seeking me: I became manifest to those not asking after me.” But touching Israel he says, “All the day I stretched out my hands towards a people disobedient and contradicting.”

Ver. 14.-15a. Four questions suggested by the foregoing quotation. None can call on God unless they believe in Him: cp. Hebrews 11:6. Hence the teaching of Joel 2:32 implies that of Isaiah 28:16. Nor can we believe one whose words we have not heard. This implies that the faith which saves is produced by spoken words. Again, we cannot hear the words of the Great King unless a herald proclaim them. Nor can this be unless such herald be sent from God to men.

Herald-proclaiming: same word as in Romans 10:8.

V. 15. But how shall they preach, unless they be sent-Thus by a chain of reasoning, from God's will that the Gentiles also should call upon him, St. Paul infers that the apostles were sent by God to preach to the Gentiles also.

The feet-Their very footsteps; their coming. Isaiah 52:7.

Verse 15. How beautiful are the feet of them that preach] Dr. Taylor remarks on this quotation, which is taken from Isaiah 52:7, that “feet are variously used in Scripture, and sometimes have respect to things internal and spiritual. For as the life of man and the practice of piety are compared to walking, Psalm 1:1, so his feet may signify the principles on which he acts, and the dispositions of his mind. Ecclesiastes 5:1: Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God. Agreeably to this, the feet of the messengers in Isaiah and of the apostles in this verse, may signify the validity of their mission-the authority upon which they acted, and any character or qualifications with which they were invested.”

Verses 14-17. How then — As if the apostle had said, From the promise of salvation made to them that shall call on the name of the Lord, I have inferred, that there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, as to the possibility of obtaining salvation from God; and from hence we may further infer, that the gospel must be preached to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews, and the sundry means of grace be dispensed to them, and therefore that we, the apostles, in so doing, do nothing but what is agreeable to the will of God, though on that account we are much reproached and persecuted. For how shall they call upon him — With sincerity; in whom they have not believed — In whose existence, power, and goodness they have not believed; or in whom, as capable of hearing, and able and willing to grant their requests, they have no confidence; (see on Hebrews 11:6;) or whom they do not believe to be a proper object of worship, or worthy to be invoked with divine honours and adoration. And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? — “Even the works of nature and providence must be made known to mankind by instructers, to make them able to understand them: much more the gospel of Christ.” — Baxter. Or the apostle speaks here chiefly, if not only, of believing in Christ, and therefore his words are not inconsistent with what he advances, Romans 1:19, 20, concerning the existence and perfections of God being made known to all mankind by the works of creation. Some way or other the divine revelation concerning Christ must be made known to us, before we can understand and believe it. In hearing is included reading, which is tantamount to hearing, and by which many are brought to believe, John 20:31; These things are written that you may believe. But hearing only is mentioned as the more ordinary and natural way of receiving information. How shall they hear without a preacher — To carry these important tidings, which the light of nature could never be able to discover: or, except God reveal the gospel to them some way or other. And how shall they — The ministers of the gospel; preach except they be sent — Expressly for that purpose? that is, except they be both commissioned, and, at least in some measure, qualified for that difficult though important work? How shall a man act as an ambassador, unless he have both his instruction and his credentials from the prince that sends him? St. Paul probably intended to intimate, that as the apostles, and other first ministers of the gospel, were originally Jews, their own prejudices on this head were so strong, that they never would have thought of carrying the gospel to the Gentiles if God had not particularly charged them to do it; especially as its avowed opposition to the idolatry and the other vices which reigned in the Gentile countries, could not but expose them, more or less, to persecution in various forms, wherever they came and attempted to preach it. Thus, by a chain of reasoning from God’s will, that the Gentiles also should call upon him, Paul infers that the apostles were sent by God to preach to them also. As it is written — And described in that striking prophecy, Isaiah 52:7, 8, How beautiful are the feet — The very footsteps, or the coming; of them that preach the gospel of peace — The gospel, which shows the way how peace is made between God and man. The figure here applied by Isaiah “is extremely proper. The feet of those who travel through dirty or dusty roads are a sight naturally disagreeable: but when they are thus disfigured by travelling a long journey, to bring good tidings of peace and deliverance to those who have been oppressed by their enemies, they appear beautiful.” — Macknight. Most commentators think “that the 52d chapter of Isaiah is to be explained as a prophecy of the return of the Jews from Babylon, and that the text here quoted refers to the joyful welcome that should be given to the messengers who brought the first tidings of Cyrus’s decree for their dismission. And if it were so, the apostle might very justly infer from thence the superior joy with which the messengers of the gospel should be received. But I think a great deal may be said to show it probable, that the context in question has, in its original sense, a further reference.” — Doddridge. See note on Isaiah 52:7. But they have not all obeyed, &c. — As if he had said, But you may say, Why then doth not this preaching convert more of the Jews? This excellence of the gospel, and the preaching of it, doth not suppose that all that hear it will be converted by it: for though faith comes by hearing, yet there may be hearing without faith. So Esaias saith — In that very context which contains so many illustrious testimonies to the gospel, namely, Isaiah 53:1, Lord, who hath believed our report? — That is, very few have been persuaded and converted by our preaching. So then faith cometh by hearing — Hearing is the ordinary means, even hearing the word of God, of begetting faith in people: and it was necessary for the Gentiles, in particular, who had not access to the Scriptures, to have the truths of the gospel declared to them by preaching, that they might hear and believe them.

15. Sent—The first apostles were sent by the visible Christ himself. (Mark 16:15.) And these apostles were to preach and be preachers. And of these apostles, so far forth as they were preachers, every true preacher is a true successor. And here the word sent, applied to every preacher, is the very verb from which the word apostle is formed. (See note on Matthew 10:2.) And every true preacher is sent or apostolized from Christ himself, not visible, yet present; according to his promise to be with his sent preachers to the end of the world. Yet it is not to be held that any preacher, or anybody, is or can be successors of the apostles, or themselves apostles, in the full sense that the first apostles were. As it was necessary that the apostle should have seen Christ, the full apostolate necessarily died with the first apostles. (See note on Luke 1:2.) Written—Isaiah 52:7. To himself and his brother preachers sent forth by Christ, St. Paul exultingly applies those beautiful words of the prophet applied by Jewish commentators themselves to the days of the Messiah. Christ’s heralds are compared to messengers, appearing on the mountains about Jerusalem, bringing good tidings to Zion, the city of David. Their feet, nimbly bringing the joyous bulletin, are called beautiful, because whatever is dear to the heart is apt to seem beautiful to the eye. And these messengers, like Paul himself, were rapid of foot. They were neither sluggard nor settled, but zealous and itinerant.

Ver. 15b. Quotation from Isaiah 52:7 in harmony with the teaching underlying the foregoing questions and the quotation from Joel. The prophet foresees the arrival of messengers announcing-as-glad-tidings good-things. He thought probably of the return from Babylon. But his words, especially in Isa. 53, found no worthy fulfilment then; and therefore point forward to blessings still future. In the Gospel of Christ, we find both the good news and the smitten deliverer. The news was so good that in the eyes of those who heard it the weary and way-worn feet which had borne the messengers were beautiful. Contrast Romans 3:15; Acts 5:9. Announce-as-glad-tidings: same word in Romans 1:15. Cognate to the word Gospel in Romans 10:16. The object-matter of this glad announcement is added: good-things.

V. 16. Isaiah 53:1.

Verse 16. But they have not all obeyed the Gospel.] This seems to be the objection of a Jew; as if he had said: A Divine mission would be attended with success; whereas there are numbers who pay no attention to the glad tidings you preach. To this the apostle answers, that the Spirit of God, by Isaiah, Isaiah 53:1, foretold it would be so, even in the case of the Jews themselves, where he said, Lord, who hath believed our report? For although God brings the message of salvation to men, he does not oblige them to embrace it.

It is proposed to their understanding and conscience; but it does not become the means of salvation unless it be affectionately credited.

Verses 14-17. How then — As if the apostle had said, From the promise of salvation made to them that shall call on the name of the Lord, I have inferred, that there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, as to the possibility of obtaining salvation from God; and from hence we may further infer, that the gospel must be preached to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews, and the sundry means of grace be dispensed to them, and therefore that we, the apostles, in so doing, do nothing but what is agreeable to the will of God, though on that account we are much reproached and persecuted. For how shall they call upon him — With sincerity; in whom they have not believed — In whose existence, power, and goodness they have not believed; or in whom, as capable of hearing, and able and willing to grant their requests, they have no confidence; (see on Hebrews 11:6;) or whom they do not believe to be a proper object of worship, or worthy to be invoked with divine honours and adoration. And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? — “Even the works of nature and providence must be made known to mankind by instructers, to make them able to understand them: much more the gospel of Christ.” — Baxter. Or the apostle speaks here chiefly, if not only, of believing in Christ, and therefore his words are not inconsistent with what he advances, Romans 1:19, 20, concerning the existence and perfections of God being made known to all mankind by the works of creation. Some way or other the divine revelation concerning Christ must be made known to us, before we can understand and believe it. In hearing is included reading, which is tantamount to hearing, and by which many are brought to believe, John 20:31; These things are written that you may believe. But hearing only is mentioned as the more ordinary and natural way of receiving information. How shall they hear without a preacher — To carry these important tidings, which the light of nature could never be able to discover: or, except God reveal the gospel to them some way or other. And how shall they — The ministers of the gospel; preach except they be sent — Expressly for that purpose? that is, except they be both commissioned, and, at least in some measure, qualified for that difficult though important work? How shall a man act as an ambassador, unless he have both his instruction and his credentials from the prince that sends him? St. Paul probably intended to intimate, that as the apostles, and other first ministers of the gospel, were originally Jews, their own prejudices on this head were so strong, that they never would have thought of carrying the gospel to the Gentiles if God had not particularly charged them to do it; especially as its avowed opposition to the idolatry and the other vices which reigned in the Gentile countries, could not but expose them, more or less, to persecution in various forms, wherever they came and attempted to preach it. Thus, by a chain of reasoning from God’s will, that the Gentiles also should call upon him, Paul infers that the apostles were sent by God to preach to them also. As it is written — And described in that striking prophecy, Isaiah 52:7, 8, How beautiful are the feet — The very footsteps, or the coming; of them that preach the gospel of peace — The gospel, which shows the way how peace is made between God and man. The figure here applied by Isaiah “is extremely proper. The feet of those who travel through dirty or dusty roads are a sight naturally disagreeable: but when they are thus disfigured by travelling a long journey, to bring good tidings of peace and deliverance to those who have been oppressed by their enemies, they appear beautiful.” — Macknight. Most commentators think “that the 52d chapter of Isaiah is to be explained as a prophecy of the return of the Jews from Babylon, and that the text here quoted refers to the joyful welcome that should be given to the messengers who brought the first tidings of Cyrus’s decree for their dismission. And if it were so, the apostle might very justly infer from thence the superior joy with which the messengers of the gospel should be received. But I think a great deal may be said to show it probable, that the context in question has, in its original sense, a further reference.” — Doddridge. See note on Isaiah 52:7. But they have not all obeyed, &c. — As if he had said, But you may say, Why then doth not this preaching convert more of the Jews? This excellence of the gospel, and the preaching of it, doth not suppose that all that hear it will be converted by it: for though faith comes by hearing, yet there may be hearing without faith. So Esaias saith — In that very context which contains so many illustrious testimonies to the gospel, namely, Isaiah 53:1, Lord, who hath believed our report? — That is, very few have been persuaded and converted by our preaching. So then faith cometh by hearing — Hearing is the ordinary means, even hearing the word of God, of begetting faith in people: and it was necessary for the Gentiles, in particular, who had not access to the Scriptures, to have the truths of the gospel declared to them by preaching, that they might hear and believe them.

16. But—St. Paul, in 16, 17, still maintains that preachers must be sent and heard. Even from the fact, noted (16) from Isaiah, that the gospel was not obeyed, he infers (17) that it must still be heard in order to faith. Report—The word report is in the Greek the same as the word hearing in

Ver. 16. Although the news was so good, not all who heard it gave to it the submission it demanded and obeyed the Gospel: cp. Romans 10:3; Romans 1:5; 2 Thessalonians 1:8. Not all: stating much less than the whole truth: so Romans 3:3. In proof of that which no one can deny, Paul quotes an ancient prophecy, to show that the Jews’ unbelief was foretold, and is therefore no proof or presumption that the Gospel they rejected is not divine. The prophet throws himself forward into the days of the good tidings. He and his compeers hear the news. But he sadly asks,

Who has believed what we have heard? This question, asked in prophetic vision, implies that not many believed; and is therefore a prophecy of the unbelief of the mass of the Jews in Paul’s day.

V. 17. Faith, indeed, ordinarily cometh by hearing; even by hearing the word of God.

Verse 17. So then faith cometh by hearing] Preaching the Gospel is the ordinary means of salvation; faith in Christ is the result of hearing the word, the doctrine of God preached. Preaching, God sends; if heard attentively, faith will be produced; and if they believe the report, the arm of the Lord will be revealed in their salvation.

Verses 14-17. How then — As if the apostle had said, From the promise of salvation made to them that shall call on the name of the Lord, I have inferred, that there is no difference between Jews and Gentiles, as to the possibility of obtaining salvation from God; and from hence we may further infer, that the gospel must be preached to the Gentiles as well as to the Jews, and the sundry means of grace be dispensed to them, and therefore that we, the apostles, in so doing, do nothing but what is agreeable to the will of God, though on that account we are much reproached and persecuted. For how shall they call upon him — With sincerity; in whom they have not believed — In whose existence, power, and goodness they have not believed; or in whom, as capable of hearing, and able and willing to grant their requests, they have no confidence; (see on Hebrews 11:6;) or whom they do not believe to be a proper object of worship, or worthy to be invoked with divine honours and adoration. And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? — “Even the works of nature and providence must be made known to mankind by instructers, to make them able to understand them: much more the gospel of Christ.” — Baxter. Or the apostle speaks here chiefly, if not only, of believing in Christ, and therefore his words are not inconsistent with what he advances, Romans 1:19, 20, concerning the existence and perfections of God being made known to all mankind by the works of creation. Some way or other the divine revelation concerning Christ must be made known to us, before we can understand and believe it. In hearing is included reading, which is tantamount to hearing, and by which many are brought to believe, John 20:31; These things are written that you may believe. But hearing only is mentioned as the more ordinary and natural way of receiving information. How shall they hear without a preacher — To carry these important tidings, which the light of nature could never be able to discover: or, except God reveal the gospel to them some way or other. And how shall they — The ministers of the gospel; preach except they be sent — Expressly for that purpose? that is, except they be both commissioned, and, at least in some measure, qualified for that difficult though important work? How shall a man act as an ambassador, unless he have both his instruction and his credentials from the prince that sends him? St. Paul probably intended to intimate, that as the apostles, and other first ministers of the gospel, were originally Jews, their own prejudices on this head were so strong, that they never would have thought of carrying the gospel to the Gentiles if God had not particularly charged them to do it; especially as its avowed opposition to the idolatry and the other vices which reigned in the Gentile countries, could not but expose them, more or less, to persecution in various forms, wherever they came and attempted to preach it. Thus, by a chain of reasoning from God’s will, that the Gentiles also should call upon him, Paul infers that the apostles were sent by God to preach to them also. As it is written — And described in that striking prophecy, Isaiah 52:7, 8, How beautiful are the feet — The very footsteps, or the coming; of them that preach the gospel of peace — The gospel, which shows the way how peace is made between God and man. The figure here applied by Isaiah “is extremely proper. The feet of those who travel through dirty or dusty roads are a sight naturally disagreeable: but when they are thus disfigured by travelling a long journey, to bring good tidings of peace and deliverance to those who have been oppressed by their enemies, they appear beautiful.” — Macknight. Most commentators think “that the 52d chapter of Isaiah is to be explained as a prophecy of the return of the Jews from Babylon, and that the text here quoted refers to the joyful welcome that should be given to the messengers who brought the first tidings of Cyrus’s decree for their dismission. And if it were so, the apostle might very justly infer from thence the superior joy with which the messengers of the gospel should be received. But I think a great deal may be said to show it probable, that the context in question has, in its original sense, a further reference.” — Doddridge. See note on Isaiah 52:7. But they have not all obeyed, &c. — As if he had said, But you may say, Why then doth not this preaching convert more of the Jews? This excellence of the gospel, and the preaching of it, doth not suppose that all that hear it will be converted by it: for though faith comes by hearing, yet there may be hearing without faith. So Esaias saith — In that very context which contains so many illustrious testimonies to the gospel, namely, Isaiah 53:1, Lord, who hath believed our report? — That is, very few have been persuaded and converted by our preaching. So then faith cometh by hearing — Hearing is the ordinary means, even hearing the word of God, of begetting faith in people: and it was necessary for the Gentiles, in particular, who had not access to the Scriptures, to have the truths of the gospel declared to them by preaching, that they might hear and believe them.

Ver. 17. Faith cometh by hearing, as in Lydia’s conversion. Truth illuminates the understanding, and grace persuades the heart.

17. Mr. Forbes maintains that Isaiah’s words should be rendered, Who of us hath believed our hearing, or that which we have heard. The first clause in verse 16, But… gospel, is used merely to introduce the quotation from Isaiah.

17. So then—Or, therefore. From Isaiah’s words, even if they describe a disbelief of the hearing, yet it follows that hearing is the proper means of faith. He confirms this instance from Isaiah by maintaining that the Gentiles had heard, (18,) and that Israel had known from hearing prophetic warnings, (19-21.)

Ver. 17. A general inference from Romans 10:14-16, including the quotations from Isaiah 52:7; 53:1.

Faith… something heard… a spoken word: rising from effect to cause: so Romans 10:14.

Word: an articulate sound, as in Romans 10:8, 18; but different from the word used in Romans 9:6, 9, 28, which signifies intelligent discourse. Since Paul quotes the Book of Isaiah for the light it sheds on the Gospel, he speaks of the herald’s proclamation, without which there can be nothing heard and no faith, as a word of Christ: probably a word spoken by Christ. Contrast “the word of faith” in Romans 10:8. The genitive case, of Christ, leaves the precise relation to be determined by the context.

V. 18. But their unbelief was not owing to the want of hearing For they have heard.

Yes verily-So many nations have already heard the preachers of the gospel, that I may in some sense say of them as David did of the lights of heaven. Psalm 19:4

Verse 18. But I say, have they not heard?] But to return to the objection: You say they have not all BELIEVED; I ask: Have they not all HEARD? Have not the means of salvation been placed within the reach of every Jew in Palestine, and within the reach of all those who sojourn in the different Gentile countries where we have preached the Gospel, as well to the Jews as to the Gentiles themselves? Yes: for we may say of the preaching of the Gospel what the psalmist has said (Psalm 19:4) of the heavenly bodies: Their sound went into all the earth, and their words unto the ends of the world. As the celestial luminaries have given testimony of the eternal power and Godhead of the Deity to the habitable world, the Gospel of Christ has borne testimony to his eternal goodness and mercy to all the land of Palestine, and to the whole Roman empire. There is not a part of the promised land in which these glad tidings have not been preached; and there is scarcely a place in the Roman empire in which the doctrine of Christ crucified has not been heard: if, therefore, the Jews have not believed, the fault is entirely their own; as God has amply furnished them with the means of faith and of salvation.

In Psalm 19:4, the psalmist has µwq kauuam, their line, which the Septuagint, and the apostle who quotes from them, render fqoggov, sound; and hence some have thought that the word in the Psalm was originally µlwq kolam, voice. But that wq kau is used for word or speech is sufficiently evident from Isaiah 28:10, line upon line, precept upon precept, &c., where wq is analogous to word or direction. It is very remarkable that these words of David, quoted by St. Paul, are mentioned in Sohar. Genes. fol. 9, where it is said: מלינ אינון ajyvm [db[ Abdey mashicha innun millin. “These words are the servants of the Messiah, and measure out both the things above and the things beneath.” To this notion of them the apostle may refer in his use of them in this place, and to a Jew the application would be legitimate.

Verses 18-21. But I say, Have they not heard — As if he had said, Their unbelief was not owing to the want of hearing. For they have heard; yes, verily, &c. — So many nations have already heard the preachers of the gospel, that I may, in some sense, say of them as David did of the lights of heaven, Their sound went into all the earth, &c. — To the utmost parts of the known world. But I say, Did not Israel know — Namely, that the gospel should be preached to the Gentiles, and many of them thereby made members of the church? They might have known it even from Moses and Isaiah, that many of the Gentiles would be received, and many of the Jews rejected. For first, Moses saith, (Deuteronomy 32:21,) I will provoke you to jealousy — To the highest degree of displeasure and exasperation; by them that are no people — By bestowing your privileges on the Gentiles, who at present are not my people, and of no account with me. As the Jews followed gods that were not gods, so he accepted, in their stead, a nation that was not a nation; that is, a nation that was not in covenant with him. This the Jews could not endure to hear of, and were exceedingly enraged when the apostles preached the gospel to the Gentiles. And by a foolish nation — A people who were destitute of the knowledge of the true God, and showed themselves to be fools by their idolatries. See Jeremiah 10:8. But indeed all who know not God, may well be called foolish. But Esaias is very bold — And speaks plainly what Moses only intimated, and by so doing showed he was not afraid of the resentment of the Jews, who he knew would be exceedingly provoked at the prophecy which he was about to utter. I was found of them that sought me not — That is, I will call the Gentiles, and by the preaching of my gospel will bring them to the knowledge of myself, who formerly neither knew nor regarded me. The Gentiles were too much occupied with the worship of their idols ever to think of worshipping, or even inquiring after, the true God. Nevertheless, even to them, while in this state, God, by the preaching of the gospel, made himself known, and offered himself to be the object of their worship, and their God in covenant. But to Israel he saith — Invidious as he knew his words would be to a nation so impatient of rebuke, All the day long have I stretched forth my hands — In the most importunate and affectionate addresses; unto a disobedient and gainsaying people — Who are continually objecting and cavilling; whom no persuasion can induce to regard their own happiness, so as to be willing to admit the evidence of truth, and the counsels of wisdom; and whose character is just opposite to that of those who believe with their hearts, and make confession with their mouths. The prophet’s words are an allusion to the action of an orator, who, in speaking to the multitude, stretches out his arms to express his earnestness and affection. By observing that these words were spoken of Israel, the apostle insinuates that the others were spoken of the Gentiles. See the notes on Isaiah 65:1, 2.

Ver. 18. Their sound went out into all the earth. See Psalm 19:4. Acts 8:4.

18. Have they not heard—That they have heard, St. Paul maintains by a quotation of a passage from Psalm 19. Their words refers to the words of the heavens, the firmament, etc., declaring the glory of God: “There is no speech nor language where their voice is not heard.” And then come the words quoted. The they of whom the apostle asks whether they have not heard must be the Gentiles. And what they have heard is nature’s voice preaching unto them. As they have a law written on their hearts, so they have a gospel in the teachings of nature by which to be saved. (Notes on Romans 2:14, 15.) That this refers to the Gentiles is plain from the fact that Israel’s case is taken up in the following verses.

Ver. 18. Throughout Rom. 10, by showing that the Gospel and its rejection were foretold, Paul makes good against the Jews his charge of inexcusable ignorance. He now takes up a possible excuse. Since faith comes only from hearing, those who have not heard cannot be blamed for unbelief. Paul therefore asks, Can Israel plead this excuse? He clothes his emphatic denial in the words of Psalm 19:4. He does not in any sense appeal for proof to the Psalm, nor does he expound, as in Psalm 19:6-8, its underlying principle, but simply makes use of the psalmist’s words to express his own thoughts. Psalm 19 describes the voice of Nature, especially the heavenly bodies, as proclaiming the glory of their Maker. Paul says, referring to the limited circle in which he moved, that the sound of them, i.e. the voice of the heralds of salvation, is co-extensive with the light of the sun: cp. Romans 1:8; Colossians 1:6, 23. His use of these words suggests that the universal revelation of God in Nature is a pledge that in every land the glory of God manifested in Christ will some day be proclaimed.

V. 19. But hath not Israel known-They might have known, even from Moses and Isaiah, that many of the Gentiles would be received, and many of the Jews rejected.

I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are not a nation-As they followed gods that were not gods, so he accepted in their stead a nation that was not a nation; that is, a nation that was not in covenant with God. A foolish nation-Such are all which know not God. Deuteronomy 32:21

Verse 19. But I say, Did not Israel know?] You object to this preaching among the Gentiles; but is not this according to the positive declaration of God? He, foreseeing your unbelief and rebellion, said by Moses, Deuteronomy 32:21, I will provoke you to jealousy by them that are no people, and by a foolish nation I will anger you. As you have provoked me to jealousy with worshipping those that are no gods, I will provoke you to jealousy by those which are no people. This most evidently refers to the calling or inviting of the Gentiles to partake of the benefits of the Gospel; and plainly predicts the envy and rage which would be excited in the Jews, in consequence of those offers of mercy made to the Gentiles.

Verses 18-21. But I say, Have they not heard — As if he had said, Their unbelief was not owing to the want of hearing. For they have heard; yes, verily, &c. — So many nations have already heard the preachers of the gospel, that I may, in some sense, say of them as David did of the lights of heaven, Their sound went into all the earth, &c. — To the utmost parts of the known world. But I say, Did not Israel know — Namely, that the gospel should be preached to the Gentiles, and many of them thereby made members of the church? They might have known it even from Moses and Isaiah, that many of the Gentiles would be received, and many of the Jews rejected. For first, Moses saith, (Deuteronomy 32:21,) I will provoke you to jealousy — To the highest degree of displeasure and exasperation; by them that are no people — By bestowing your privileges on the Gentiles, who at present are not my people, and of no account with me. As the Jews followed gods that were not gods, so he accepted, in their stead, a nation that was not a nation; that is, a nation that was not in covenant with him. This the Jews could not endure to hear of, and were exceedingly enraged when the apostles preached the gospel to the Gentiles. And by a foolish nation — A people who were destitute of the knowledge of the true God, and showed themselves to be fools by their idolatries. See Jeremiah 10:8. But indeed all who know not God, may well be called foolish. But Esaias is very bold — And speaks plainly what Moses only intimated, and by so doing showed he was not afraid of the resentment of the Jews, who he knew would be exceedingly provoked at the prophecy which he was about to utter. I was found of them that sought me not — That is, I will call the Gentiles, and by the preaching of my gospel will bring them to the knowledge of myself, who formerly neither knew nor regarded me. The Gentiles were too much occupied with the worship of their idols ever to think of worshipping, or even inquiring after, the true God. Nevertheless, even to them, while in this state, God, by the preaching of the gospel, made himself known, and offered himself to be the object of their worship, and their God in covenant. But to Israel he saith — Invidious as he knew his words would be to a nation so impatient of rebuke, All the day long have I stretched forth my hands — In the most importunate and affectionate addresses; unto a disobedient and gainsaying people — Who are continually objecting and cavilling; whom no persuasion can induce to regard their own happiness, so as to be willing to admit the evidence of truth, and the counsels of wisdom; and whose character is just opposite to that of those who believe with their hearts, and make confession with their mouths. The prophet’s words are an allusion to the action of an orator, who, in speaking to the multitude, stretches out his arms to express his earnestness and affection. By observing that these words were spoken of Israel, the apostle insinuates that the others were spoken of the Gentiles. See the notes on Isaiah 65:1, 2.

Ver. 19. Moses saith, I will provoke you to jealousy, by the conversion of gentiles whom you despise; and as Isaiah says, “I am found of them that sought me not.” These are bold sayings. Moses and Isaiah, two princes of the prophets, foretelling the accession of the gentile nations to Christ, and leaving the jews in their sinful obduracy, were terrific arguments, and very humiliating to the carnal jews. Add to these, that the whole body of jewish prophets join their voices to usher in the fulness of the gentiles, gathered to Him whom their fathers had crucified. — It would seem from the strong words of Moses, that he had very clear views of the final obduration of the jews, and of the calamities which should overtake them in the latter day. Deuteronomy 28:49-64. 32:15-43. His prospects towards heaven were luminous, and full of immortality; but when he turned his regards to earth, they were like the cloud in the desert, bright on one side, and dark on the other.

19. Israel know—Know is parallel to heard in ver. 18. St. Paul uses the word to indicate that Israel did know what they ignored in verse 3. Know is evidently equivalent to heard; for St. Paul shows that they knew by hearing it from the predictions of the prophets. They knew because they heard just what they ignored in verse 3; namely, that they were in danger of refusing the righteousness of God, of being supplanted by the Gentiles, and having a record of gainsaying left against them, (19-21.) First Moses—Earliest in the line of warning prophets. The quotation is from Deuteronomy 32:21, according to the Septuagint. Indisputably the no people were the Gentiles, and the Jews were at the present moment exhibiting to Paul the very jealousy and anger predicted.

Ver. 19. Further proof that the Jews are without excuse. Did Israel not know? viz. that the sound of the Gospel would go to all lands. The quotations following prove that they ought to have known it. Of several proofs, Paul quotes first the words of Moses, as recorded in Deuteronomy 32:15-21. He foretold that Israel would worship that which is no god and thus provoke God to jealousy and anger, and that in return God would move them to jealousy and anger by bestowing His favour on that which is no nation: a clear prophecy that God will bestow His favour upon Gentiles, and by so doing displease Israel. Provoke-to-jealousy: or emulation good or bad: same word in a good sense in Romans 11:11, 14; cognate to zeal in Romans 10:2; 13:13.

No nation: cp. Romans 9:25, 26. In none except the chosen people was the true idea of a nation realised.

Without-understanding: same word in Romans 1:21, as a characteristic of the Gentiles.

V. 20. But Isaiah is very bold-And speaks plainly what Moses but intimated. Isaiah 65:1, 2.

Verse 20. But Esaias (the Greek orthography for Isaiah) is very bold] Speaks out in the fullest manner and plainest language, Isaiah 65:1, notwithstanding the danger to which such a declaration exposed him, among a crooked, perverse, and dangerous people: I was found of them that sought me not; I put my salvation in the way of those (the Gentiles) who were not seeking for it, and knew nothing of it: thus, the Gentiles which followed not after righteousness have attained to the law of righteousness, Romans 9:30, and they have found that redemption which the Jews have rejected.

Verses 18-21. But I say, Have they not heard — As if he had said, Their unbelief was not owing to the want of hearing. For they have heard; yes, verily, &c. — So many nations have already heard the preachers of the gospel, that I may, in some sense, say of them as David did of the lights of heaven, Their sound went into all the earth, &c. — To the utmost parts of the known world. But I say, Did not Israel know — Namely, that the gospel should be preached to the Gentiles, and many of them thereby made members of the church? They might have known it even from Moses and Isaiah, that many of the Gentiles would be received, and many of the Jews rejected. For first, Moses saith, (Deuteronomy 32:21,) I will provoke you to jealousy — To the highest degree of displeasure and exasperation; by them that are no people — By bestowing your privileges on the Gentiles, who at present are not my people, and of no account with me. As the Jews followed gods that were not gods, so he accepted, in their stead, a nation that was not a nation; that is, a nation that was not in covenant with him. This the Jews could not endure to hear of, and were exceedingly enraged when the apostles preached the gospel to the Gentiles. And by a foolish nation — A people who were destitute of the knowledge of the true God, and showed themselves to be fools by their idolatries. See Jeremiah 10:8. But indeed all who know not God, may well be called foolish. But Esaias is very bold — And speaks plainly what Moses only intimated, and by so doing showed he was not afraid of the resentment of the Jews, who he knew would be exceedingly provoked at the prophecy which he was about to utter. I was found of them that sought me not — That is, I will call the Gentiles, and by the preaching of my gospel will bring them to the knowledge of myself, who formerly neither knew nor regarded me. The Gentiles were too much occupied with the worship of their idols ever to think of worshipping, or even inquiring after, the true God. Nevertheless, even to them, while in this state, God, by the preaching of the gospel, made himself known, and offered himself to be the object of their worship, and their God in covenant. But to Israel he saith — Invidious as he knew his words would be to a nation so impatient of rebuke, All the day long have I stretched forth my hands — In the most importunate and affectionate addresses; unto a disobedient and gainsaying people — Who are continually objecting and cavilling; whom no persuasion can induce to regard their own happiness, so as to be willing to admit the evidence of truth, and the counsels of wisdom; and whose character is just opposite to that of those who believe with their hearts, and make confession with their mouths. The prophet’s words are an allusion to the action of an orator, who, in speaking to the multitude, stretches out his arms to express his earnestness and affection. By observing that these words were spoken of Israel, the apostle insinuates that the others were spoken of the Gentiles. See the notes on Isaiah 65:1, 2.

20. Very bold—Is still more explicit. Sought me not—Compare the followed not after of verse Romans 9:30. The Gospel was now being carried to the Gentiles before they were aware of its existence.

Ver. 20.- 21. Another proof, from Isaiah 65:1, 2, that the Gospel will be accepted by Gentiles and rejected by Israel.

Is-very-bold: spoke at great personal peril. The present tense gives a vivid picture of the fearless prophet. He says in God’s name, “I gave audience to men who asked not, I was found by men who sought Me not. I said, Here I am, here I am, to a nation not called by My name. I stretched out My hands all the day to a nation in rebellion, the men who walk in a way not good, after their own reasonings.” He was looking forward to a day (Isaiah 64:11) when the temple and Jerusalem lie desolate; and (Isaiah 64:7) the people are forgetful of God and (Isaiah 65:3, 4) practically heathen, yet (Isaiah 65:5) boasting peculiar holiness. He cries to God, and God answers him. Speaking from the distant future, God declares that He has revealed Himself to this practically heathen nation. Salvation is at hand, salvation most glorious and complete; but only for the chosen seed, for the servants of God. Upon the rest will fall (Isaiah 65:12-15) sorrow and death. These words had no worthy fulfilment except in the salvation announced by Christ: and they foretell that it will find Israel godless and rebellious. They found remarkable fulfilment in the state of Israel in Paul’s day. The emphatic words,

but touching Israel, seem to imply that Romans 10:20 does not refer to Israel but to the Gentiles. The words no nation in Romans 10:19 refer evidently to Gentiles; and suggest that Romans 10:20 has the same reference. But Isaiah 65:1, 2 refer apparently to the same persons, viz. Israel. Perhaps Paul, quoting from memory, may have overlooked this identical reference, In any case, God’s longsuffering to Israel when it was practically heathen was a prophecy of mercy for the Gentiles.

All the day: an unceasing appeal.

Disobedient and contradicting: refusing by acts and words. This verse, as applied by Paul to the Jews of his own day, is utterly inconsistent with Calvin’s teaching that the grace of God is irresistible. Had God, following a hidden purpose, withheld from these disobedient Jews influences without which they could not come to Him, these solemn words would have been meaningless. So Romans 2:4.

In Romans 10:1-13, Paul expounded words quoted in Romans 9:33 from Isaiah 8:14; 28:16, in the light of Leviticus 18:5; Deuteronomy 30:12-14; and supported his exposition by a quotation from Joel. He has now proved that this latter quotation implies salvation through faith, a preached word, and divinely-sent preachers; that Isaiah foretold the announcement of good news and the persistent disobedience of the mass of the nation; and that Moses foretold that God would move Israel to anger by bestowing His favour on others. The Jews had heard the Gospel, and they knew what Moses and Isaiah had said. They were therefore not only ignorant but inexcusably ignorant.

Paul thus completes his proof, begun in Romans 9:25, that the Gospel and its results accord with O.T. prophecy. Good tidings (Isaiah 52:7) have been announced, viz. a proclamation of (Isaiah 53:1; 28:16) salvation through faith, for all (Joel 2:32) who cry to God. This salvation has been accepted by only a small part of the nation: Isaiah 10:22; 1:9. The good news has been disbelieved by many in Israel; and God’s continued offers of mercy have been rudely rejected: Isaiah 53:1; 65:2. He who was designed to be a foundation has become a stone of stumbling: Isaiah 8:14; 28:16. At the same time, aliens have become not only the people, but the sons, of God: Hosea 2:23; 1:10. The argument of Romans 9:25-10:21 has less weight for us, who from childhood have received the O.T. and N.T. with the same authority, than for Paul’s readers, many of whom had read the O.T. as the word of God long before they heard the Gospel. To such men, the discovery that the Gospel, a thing of yesterday, was in its essence, in many details, and in its reception and results, foretold in the sacred books which for centuries their fathers had revered, must have come with a force we cannot estimate. No wonder that the O.T. was a chief means of leading many Jews to believe the Gospel: cp. Romans 16:26; 2 Timothy 3:15; and as coincidences, Acts 13:27; 17:11, 12; 18:28; 26:27; 28:23. But notice carefully that Paul deduces the doctrines of the Gospel, not from the O.T. as we do from the N.T., but from a few fundamental truths, e.g. Romans 3:21-26; 6:3, 11; 8:3, 4, which he asserts and assumes without proof. These rest, as a new and final revelation from God, on the authority of Christ. And the authority of Christ rested in His lifetime (John 5:36; 10:25) on His miracles; and now rests (Romans 1:4; 4:24) on the greater miracle of His resurrection. Only after he asserted and expounded these great doctrines, does Paul appeal to the prophets. And he appeals to them not so much in proof of particular doctrines as in proof of the harmony of the Old and New. Hence his favourite form, According as it is written. This harmony, amid so great differences, is a wonderful confirmation of the truth of the Gospel and of the divine mission of Him who proclaimed it. The prophets promised beforehand, and thus now bear witness to, the Gospel: Romans 1:2; 3:22. By doing so, they bear witness to Christ: Acts 10:43.

V. 21. An unbelieving and gainsaying people-Just opposite to those who believed with their hearts, and made confession with their mouths.

Verse 21. But to Israel he saith] In the very next verse, (Isaiah 65:2,) All day long have I stretched forth my hands, manifesting the utmost readiness and willingness to gather them all together under my protecting care; but I stretched forth my hands in vain, for they are a disobedient and gainsaying people. They not only disobey my command, but they gainsay and contradict my prophets. Thus the apostle proves, in answer to the objection made Romans 10:16, that the infidelity of the Jews was the effect of their own obstinacy; that the opposition which they are now making to the Gospel was foretold and deplored 700 years before; and that their opposition, far from being a proof of the insufficiency of the Gospel, proved that this was the grand means which God had provided for their salvation; and having rejected this, they could expect no other. And this gives the apostle opportunity to speak largely concerning their rejection in the following chapter.

I. IN the preceding chapter are several quotations from the law, the prophets, and the Psalms; and as the apostle seems to take them with considerable latitude of meaning, it has been thought that he only uses their words as being well calculated to express his sense, without paying any attention to their original import. This principle is too lax to be introduced in such solemn circumstances. Dr. Taylor has made some judicious and useful distinctions here. After observing that, if we allow this principle, no argument can be built on any of the apostle’s quotations; and that it must have been an indifferent thing with him whether he did or did not understand the Scripture-as, on this supposition, they would serve him as well without as with the true meaning-he adds: the apostle was a strict and close quoter of the Scripture; but he did not always quote them in the same manner, or for the same purpose.

1. Sometimes his intention goes no farther than using the same strong expressions, as being equally applicable to the point in hand. So, Romans 10:6-8, he uses the words of Moses, not to prove any thing, nor as if he thought Moses spoke of the same subject, but only as intimating that the strong and lively expressions which Moses used concerning the doctrine he taught, were equally applicable to the faith of the Gospel. So, in the same manner, Romans 10:18, he quotes Psalm 19:4, though it is likely (see the note in that place) that those expressions were used by the ancient Jews in application to the Messiah as the apostle applies them.

2. Sometimes the design of the quotation is only to show that the cases are parallel: or, that what happened in his times corresponded with what happened in former days. So Romans 2:24; 8:36; 9:27-29; 11:2-5, 8-10; 15:21.

3. Sometimes the quotation is only intended to explain a doctrinal point, as Romans 1:17; 4:6-8, 18-21; 9:20, 21; 10:15; 15:3.

4. Sometimes the quotation is designed to prove a doctrinal point. Romans 3:4, 10-19; 4:3-17; 5:12-14; 9:7, 9, 12, 13, 15, 17; Romans 10:5, 11, 13; 12:19, 20; 13:9; 14:11.

5. Sometimes it is the intention of the quotation to prove that something was predicted, or properly foretold in the prophetic writings, as Romans 9:25, 26, 33; 10:16, 19-21; 11:26, 27; 15:9-13. These things duly considered, it will appear that the apostle has every where shown a just regard to the true sense of the Scripture he quotes, in the view in which he quotes it.

These rules may help to vindicate the quotations in all the apostolic writings. And it is evident that we cannot form a true judgment upon any quotation, unless we take in the intention of the writer, or the view in which he quotes.

II. The apostle here makes a just and proper distinction between the righteousness or justification that is of the law, and that which is by faith in Christ. And, in his view of the former, shows it to be absolutely impossible; for if no man is to live thereby-to have spiritual and eternal life, but he who does these things; then salvation on that ground must be impossible; for, 1. The law makes no provision for the pardon of sin. 2. It affords no helps for the performance of duty. 3. It makes no allowances for imperfections in duty, or for imperfections is our nature. 4. Its commandments, necessarily, suppose a righteous soul, and a vigorous body; and it does not lower its claims to the fallen state of man. 5. It requires perfect obedience, not only in all things, but in all places and circumstances. The man who comes up to this standard, has ever been in it, and has never swerved from it, shall, by the law, live for ever. But no man, since the fall, ever did so or ever can do so: therefore, salvation by the works of the law is absolutely impossible. But, 1. The righteousness or justification, which is by faith, receives Christ as an atoning sacrifice, by which all past sin is pardoned. 2. Receives continual supplies of grace from Christ by the eternal Spirit, through which the man is enabled to love God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength, and his neighbour as himself. 3. This grace is afforded in sufficient degrees suited to all places, times, and circumstances, so that no trial can happen too great to be borne, as the grace of Christ is ever at hand to support and to save to the uttermost. The law is the letter that killeth; the Gospel is the spirit that giveth life. Reader, let thy whole soul say with the apostle, Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift!

ROMANS

Verses 18-21. But I say, Have they not heard — As if he had said, Their unbelief was not owing to the want of hearing. For they have heard; yes, verily, &c. — So many nations have already heard the preachers of the gospel, that I may, in some sense, say of them as David did of the lights of heaven, Their sound went into all the earth, &c. — To the utmost parts of the known world. But I say, Did not Israel know — Namely, that the gospel should be preached to the Gentiles, and many of them thereby made members of the church? They might have known it even from Moses and Isaiah, that many of the Gentiles would be received, and many of the Jews rejected. For first, Moses saith, (Deuteronomy 32:21,) I will provoke you to jealousy — To the highest degree of displeasure and exasperation; by them that are no people — By bestowing your privileges on the Gentiles, who at present are not my people, and of no account with me. As the Jews followed gods that were not gods, so he accepted, in their stead, a nation that was not a nation; that is, a nation that was not in covenant with him. This the Jews could not endure to hear of, and were exceedingly enraged when the apostles preached the gospel to the Gentiles. And by a foolish nation — A people who were destitute of the knowledge of the true God, and showed themselves to be fools by their idolatries. See Jeremiah 10:8. But indeed all who know not God, may well be called foolish. But Esaias is very bold — And speaks plainly what Moses only intimated, and by so doing showed he was not afraid of the resentment of the Jews, who he knew would be exceedingly provoked at the prophecy which he was about to utter. I was found of them that sought me not — That is, I will call the Gentiles, and by the preaching of my gospel will bring them to the knowledge of myself, who formerly neither knew nor regarded me. The Gentiles were too much occupied with the worship of their idols ever to think of worshipping, or even inquiring after, the true God. Nevertheless, even to them, while in this state, God, by the preaching of the gospel, made himself known, and offered himself to be the object of their worship, and their God in covenant. But to Israel he saith — Invidious as he knew his words would be to a nation so impatient of rebuke, All the day long have I stretched forth my hands — In the most importunate and affectionate addresses; unto a disobedient and gainsaying people — Who are continually objecting and cavilling; whom no persuasion can induce to regard their own happiness, so as to be willing to admit the evidence of truth, and the counsels of wisdom; and whose character is just opposite to that of those who believe with their hearts, and make confession with their mouths. The prophet’s words are an allusion to the action of an orator, who, in speaking to the multitude, stretches out his arms to express his earnestness and affection. By observing that these words were spoken of Israel, the apostle insinuates that the others were spoken of the Gentiles. See the notes on Isaiah 65:1, 2.

21. Stretched forth my hands—As a mother inviting her child. How justly terrible to the Jews were these predictions of their present character drawn from their own prophets!

Ver. 20.- 21. Another proof, from Isaiah 65:1, 2, that the Gospel will be accepted by Gentiles and rejected by Israel.

Is-very-bold: spoke at great personal peril. The present tense gives a vivid picture of the fearless prophet. He says in God’s name, “I gave audience to men who asked not, I was found by men who sought Me not. I said, Here I am, here I am, to a nation not called by My name. I stretched out My hands all the day to a nation in rebellion, the men who walk in a way not good, after their own reasonings.” He was looking forward to a day (Isaiah 64:11) when the temple and Jerusalem lie desolate; and (Isaiah 64:7) the people are forgetful of God and (Isaiah 65:3, 4) practically heathen, yet (Isaiah 65:5) boasting peculiar holiness. He cries to God, and God answers him. Speaking from the distant future, God declares that He has revealed Himself to this practically heathen nation. Salvation is at hand, salvation most glorious and complete; but only for the chosen seed, for the servants of God. Upon the rest will fall (Isaiah 65:12-15) sorrow and death. These words had no worthy fulfilment except in the salvation announced by Christ: and they foretell that it will find Israel godless and rebellious. They found remarkable fulfilment in the state of Israel in Paul’s day. The emphatic words,

but touching Israel, seem to imply that Romans 10:20 does not refer to Israel but to the Gentiles. The words no nation in Romans 10:19 refer evidently to Gentiles; and suggest that Romans 10:20 has the same reference. But Isaiah 65:1, 2 refer apparently to the same persons, viz. Israel. Perhaps Paul, quoting from memory, may have overlooked this identical reference, In any case, God’s longsuffering to Israel when it was practically heathen was a prophecy of mercy for the Gentiles.

All the day: an unceasing appeal.

Disobedient and contradicting: refusing by acts and words. This verse, as applied by Paul to the Jews of his own day, is utterly inconsistent with Calvin’s teaching that the grace of God is irresistible. Had God, following a hidden purpose, withheld from these disobedient Jews influences without which they could not come to Him, these solemn words would have been meaningless. So Romans 2:4.

In Romans 10:1-13, Paul expounded words quoted in Romans 9:33 from Isaiah 8:14; 28:16, in the light of Leviticus 18:5; Deuteronomy 30:12-14; and supported his exposition by a quotation from Joel. He has now proved that this latter quotation implies salvation through faith, a preached word, and divinely-sent preachers; that Isaiah foretold the announcement of good news and the persistent disobedience of the mass of the nation; and that Moses foretold that God would move Israel to anger by bestowing His favour on others. The Jews had heard the Gospel, and they knew what Moses and Isaiah had said. They were therefore not only ignorant but inexcusably ignorant.

Paul thus completes his proof, begun in Romans 9:25, that the Gospel and its results accord with O.T. prophecy. Good tidings (Isaiah 52:7) have been announced, viz. a proclamation of (Isaiah 53:1; 28:16) salvation through faith, for all (Joel 2:32) who cry to God. This salvation has been accepted by only a small part of the nation: Isaiah 10:22; 1:9. The good news has been disbelieved by many in Israel; and God’s continued offers of mercy have been rudely rejected: Isaiah 53:1; 65:2. He who was designed to be a foundation has become a stone of stumbling: Isaiah 8:14; 28:16. At the same time, aliens have become not only the people, but the sons, of God: Hosea 2:23; 1:10. The argument of Romans 9:25-10:21 has less weight for us, who from childhood have received the O.T. and N.T. with the same authority, than for Paul’s readers, many of whom had read the O.T. as the word of God long before they heard the Gospel. To such men, the discovery that the Gospel, a thing of yesterday, was in its essence, in many details, and in its reception and results, foretold in the sacred books which for centuries their fathers had revered, must have come with a force we cannot estimate. No wonder that the O.T. was a chief means of leading many Jews to believe the Gospel: cp. Romans 16:26; 2 Timothy 3:15; and as coincidences, Acts 13:27; 17:11, 12; 18:28; 26:27; 28:23. But notice carefully that Paul deduces the doctrines of the Gospel, not from the O.T. as we do from the N.T., but from a few fundamental truths, e.g. Romans 3:21-26; 6:3, 11; 8:3, 4, which he asserts and assumes without proof. These rest, as a new and final revelation from God, on the authority of Christ. And the authority of Christ rested in His lifetime (John 5:36; 10:25) on His miracles; and now rests (Romans 1:4; 4:24) on the greater miracle of His resurrection. Only after he asserted and expounded these great doctrines, does Paul appeal to the prophets. And he appeals to them not so much in proof of particular doctrines as in proof of the harmony of the Old and New. Hence his favourite form, According as it is written. This harmony, amid so great differences, is a wonderful confirmation of the truth of the Gospel and of the divine mission of Him who proclaimed it. The prophets promised beforehand, and thus now bear witness to, the Gospel: Romans 1:2; 3:22. By doing so, they bear witness to Christ: Acts 10:43.