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The apostle would become a

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ROMANS.

3 For, I could wish that myself to the flesh:

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sacrifice to save his countrymen,

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were accursed from Christ for my 4 Who are Israelites; to whom A.U.C.cir.811. brethren, my kinsmen according pertaineth the adoption,

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• Exod. 32. 32. Or, separated.

Deut. 7. 6.- - Exod. 4. 22. Deut.

14. 1. Jer. 31.9.

e1 Sam. 4. 21. 1 Kings 3. 11. Ps. 63. 2. & 78. 61.

persuading them that they were not duly taken into the
church of God; that the Jews were, and ever must continue
to be the only church and kingdom of God; and that they
could not be cast off, so long as God was faithful to his pro-
mise to Abraham; and that the Gentiles were most miser-
ably deceived, when they supposed they were brought into
that kingdom by faith in Christ; whereas, there was no way
of entering it, or of being entitled to its privileges, but by
submitting to the law of Moses. This being the fixed opi-
nion of the Jews, and the ground on which they opposed the||
Gentiles, and endeavoured to sap the foundation of their
hope of salvation from the gospel of Christ; it was therefore
a matter of the utmost importance to be able to prove, that
the Jews, by rejecting Christ and his gospel, were themselves
cast out of the church; and this, in a way perfectly consis-
tent with the truth of the promise made to Abraham. He
had slightly touched on this subject at the beginning of the
3d chapter; but it would have broken in too much on the
thread of his discourse, to have pursued the argument there,
for which reason he appears to have reserved it to this place;
where he (1) solemnly declares his tenderest affection for his
countrymen, and his real grief of heart for their infidelity,
and consequent rejection, ver. 1—5. (2) answers objections
against this rejection, ver. 6—23. (3) Proves the calling of
the Gentiles, from their own scriptures, ver. 24—30. (4)||
Gives the true state and reasons of the rejection of the Jews,
and the calling of the Gentiles, ver. 30. to ver. 14 of chap.
x. (5) Proves the necessity of the apostolic mission to the
Gentiles, in order to their salvation, chap. x. 14. to the

end.

And all this was intended, at once, to vindicate the divine dispensations, to convince the infidel Jew, to satisfy the believing Gentile that his calling or invitation into the church of God was valid; to arm him against the cavils and objections of the unbelieving Jews, and to dispose the Christian Jew to receive and own the believing Gentile as a member of the family and kingdom of God, by a divine right, equal to any, to which he himself could pretend. See Taylor's notes, p. 321. &c.

Verse 1. I say the truth in Christ, I lie not] This is one of the most solemn oaths any man can possibly take. He appeals to Christ as the searcher of hearts, that he tells the truth; asserts that his conscience was free from all guile in this matter, and that the Holy Ghost bore him testimony that what he said was true. Hence, we find that the testi

mony of a man's own conscience, and the testimony of the Holy Ghost, are two distinct things, and, that the apostle had both, at the same time.

As the apostle had still remaining a very awful part of his commission to execute, namely, to declare to the Jews not only that God had chosen the Gentiles, but had rejected them because they had rejected Christ and his gospel; it was necessary that he should assure them, that however he had been persecuted by them, because he had embraced the gospel, yet, it was so far from being a gratification to him that they had now fallen under the displeasure of God, that it was a subject of continual distress to his mind; and that it produced in him great heaviness and continual sorrow.

Verse 3. For I could wish that myself were accursed from Christ] This, and the two preceding verses are thus paraphrased by Dr. Taylor. I am so far from insisting on the doctrine (of the rejection of the Jews) out of any ill-will to my countrymen, that I solemnly declare in the sincerity of my heart, without the least fiction or dissimulation, and herein I have the testimony of my own conscience, enlightened and directed by the Spirit of God, that I am so far from taking pleasure in the rejection of the Jewish nation, that contrariwise, it gives me continual pain and uneasiness, insomuch that as Moses formerly, when God proposed to cut them off, and in their stead to make him a great nation, Exod. xxxii. 10. begged that he himself should rather die than that the children of Israel should be destroyed, ver. 32. So, I could even wish that the exclusion from the visible church, which will happen to the Jewish nation, might fall to my own share; if hereby they might be kept in it. And to this I am inclined by natural affection, for the Jews are my dear brethren and kindred.

Very few passages in the New Testament have puzzled critics and commentators more than this. Every person saw the perfect absurdity of understanding it in a literal sense; as no man in his right mind could wish himself eternally damned in order to save another; or to save even the whole world. And the supposition that such an effect could be produced by such a sacrifice, was equally absurd and monstrous. Therefore various translations have been made of the place, and different solutions offered. Mr. Wakefield says, I see no method of solving the difficulty in this verse, which has so exercised the learning and ingenuity of commentators, but by the suqua vai of Homer, I profess myself to be; and he translates the passage in a parenthesis, thus, (for I

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also was once an alien from Christ) on account of my brethren, &c. But how it does appear that Saul of Tarsus was ever an alien from Christ on account of his kinsmen, is to me perfectly indiscernible. Let us examine the Greek text. Huμην γαρ αυτός εγώ αναθεμα ειναι απο του Χρισου υπερ των aδέλφων μου, "For I did wish myself to be an anathema FROM (UTO BY Christ, as some ancient MSS. read,) for my brethren." As you is the 1st per. sing. of the imperfect tense, some have been led to think that St. Paul is here mentioning what had passed through his own mind, when, filled with the love of God, he learned the rejection of the Jews; and that he only mentions it here as a thing which, in the effusions of his loving zeal, had been felt by him, inconsiderately, and, without any divine afflatus leading him to it; but that he does not intimate that now, he felt any such unreasonable and preposterous wish." I am afraid this is but ill calculated to solve the difficulty.

The Greek word avalspa, anathema, properly signifies any thing devoted to God, so as to be destroyed; it answers to the Hebrew □ cherem, by which the S ptuagint translate it; and means either a thing or person separated from its former state or condition, and devoted to destruction. In this sense it is used Deut. vii. 25, 16. Josh. vi. 17, 18;

vii. 12.

It is certain that the word, both among the Hebrews and Greeks, was used to express a person devoted to destruction for the public safety. In Midrash hanneelam, in Sohar Chadash, fol. 15. Rabbi Chaijah the elder said, "There is no shepherd found like unto Moses, who was willing to lay down his life for the sheep; for Moses said, Exod. xxxii. 32. if thou wilt not pardon their sin, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written." Such anathemas, or persons devoted to destruction for the public good, were common among all ancient nations. See the case of M. Curtius and Decius among the Romans. When a plague took place, or any public calamity, it was customary to take one of the lowest or most execrable of the people, and devote him to the Dii Manes or infernal gods. See proofs in Schleusner, and see the observations at the end of the chapter. This one circumstance is sufficient to explain the word in this place. Paul desired to be devoted to destruction, as the Jews then were, in order to redeem his countrymen from this most terrible excision. He was willing to become a sacrifice for the public safety, and to give his life to redeem theirs. And as Christ may be considered as de

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voting them to destruction, see Matt. xxiv. Paul is willing that in their place, Christ should devote him, for I could wish myself, avaleua eivaι año, (or, as some excellent MSS. have it, UTO,) TO Xpisov, to be devoted BY Christ, to that temporal destruction to which he has adjudged the disobedient Jews, if, by doing so, I might redeem them. This, and this alone, seems to be the meaning of the apostle's wish.

Verse 4. Who are Israelites] Descendants of Jacob, a man so highly favoured of God, and from whom he received his name Israel, a prince of God, Gen. xxxii. 28. from which name his descendants were called Israelites, and separated unto God for his glory and praise. Their very name of Israelites implied their very high dignity; they were a royal nation; princes of the most high God.

The adoption] The Israelites were all taken into the family of God, and were called his sons and first-born, Exod. iv. 22. Deut. xiv. 1. Jer. xxxi. 9. Hos. xi. 1. And this adoption took place when God made the covenant with them at Horeb

The glory The manifestation of God among them; principally by the cloud and pillar, and the Shekinah, or divine presence, appearing between the Cherubim over the mercyseat. These were peculiar to the Jews; no other nation was ever thus favoured.

The covenants] The covenants made with Abraham, both that which relates to the spiritual seed, and that which was peculiar to his natural descendants, Gal. iii. 16, 17. which covenants were afterwards renewed by Moses, Deut. xxix. 1. Some suppose that the singular is here put for the plural, and that by covenants we are to understand the decalogue which is termed berith, or covenant, Deut. iv. 13. But it is more likely that the apostle alludes to the great covenant made with Abraham, and to its various renewals and extensions at different times afterwards; as well as to its twofold design, the grant of the Land of Canaan, and the rest that remains for the people of God.

The giving of the law] The revelation of God, by God himself; containing a system of moral and political precepts. This was also peculiar to the Jews; for to no other nation had he ever given a revelation of his will.

The service] Aarpela.. The particular ordinances, rites, and ceremonies of their religious worship; and especially the sacrificial system, so expressive of the sinfulness of sin, and the holiness of God.

The promises] The land of Canaan, and the blessings of

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the Messiah and his kingdom; which promises had been made and often repeated to the patriarchs and to the prophets.

Lord." Notes P. 329. Yes, and when we take other scriptures into the account, where his essential Godhead is particularly expressed, such as Colos. i. 16, 17, For, by

Verse 5. Whose are the fathers] Abraham, Isaac, Ja-him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are cob, Joseph, the twelve patriarchs, Moses, Joshua, Samuel, David, &c. &c. without controversy, the greatest and most eminent men that ever flourished under heaven. From these, in an uninterrupted and unpolluted line, the Jewish people|| had descended; and it was no small glory to be able to reckon, in their genealogy, persons of such incomparable merit and excellency.

And of whom, as concerning the flesh, Christ came] These ancestors were the more renowned, as being the progenitors of the human nature of the MESSIAH. Christ, the Messiah, иaтa σариа, according to the flesh, sprang from them. But this Messiah was more than man, he is God over all; the very Being who gave them being, though he appeared to receive a being from them.

in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers; all things were created BY him, and for him; and he is BEFORE all things, and BY him do all things consist; we shall find that he is not God by investiture or office, but properly and essentially such ; for, it is impossible to convey in human language, to human apprehension, a more complete and finished display of what is essential to Godhead, indivisible from it, and incommunicable to any created nature, than what is contained in the above verses. And while these words are allowed to make a part of divine revelation, the essential Godhead of Jesus Christ, will continue to be a doctrine of that revelation.

I pass by the groundless and endless conjectures about reversing some of the particles and placing points in different positions, as they have been all invented to get rid of the doctrine of Christ's divinity, which is so obviously acknowledged by the simple text; it is enough to state that there is no omission of these important words in any MS. or Version yet discovered.

Here the apostle most distinctly points out the twofold nature of our Lord, his eternal Godhead, and his humanity; and all the transpositions of particles, and alterations of points in the universe, will not explain away this doctrine. As this verse contains such an eminent proof of the deity of Christ, no wonder that the opposers of his divinity should Verse 6. Not as though the word of God hath taken none strive with their utmost skill and cunning to destroy its effect] A Jew might have objected, as in chap. iii. 3. "Is force. And it must be truly painful to a mind that has no- not God bound by his faithfulness to continue the Jews as thing in view but truth, to see the mean and hypercritical me- his peculiar church and people, notwithstanding the infidethods used to elude the force of this text. Few have met it lity of the major part of them? If they are brought to a lein that honest and manly way in which Dr. Taylor, who was vel with the Gentiles, will it not follow that God hath failed a conscientious Arian, has considered the subject. "Christ," || in the performance of his promise to Abraham, Gen xvii. 7, says he, "is God over all, as he is by the Father appointed|| 8, I will establish my covenant between me and thee, for Lord, king, and governor of all. The Father hath commit- an everlasting covenant; to be a God unto thee, and thy seed ted all judgment to the Son, Joh. v. 22. has given all things || after thee." To which it may be answered, this awful disinto his hands, Matt. xxviii. 18. He is Lord of all, Acts x. pensation of God towards the Jews, is not inconsistent with 36. God has given him a name above every name, Phil. ii. 9. the veracity of the divine promise; for, even the whole body Above every name that is named, not only in this world, but|| of natural-born Jews, are not the whole of the Israelites also in that which is to come; and has put all things, (him- comprehended in the promise. Abraham is the father of self excepted, 1 Cor. xv. 27.) under his feet, and given him many nations; and his seed is not only that which is of the to be head over all things, Eph. i. 21, 22. This is our Lord's law, but that also which is of the faith of Abraham, chap. iv. supreme Godhead. And that he is evλoyntos, blessed for 16, 17. The Gentiles were included in the Abrahamic coever, or the object of everlasting blessing, is evident from venant as well as the Jews; and, therefore, have no excluRev. v. 12, 13, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive || sive right to the blessings of God's kingdom. power—and blessing and honour be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever. Thus it appears, the words may be justly applied to our blessed

Verse 7. Neither because they are the seed of Abraham, &c.] Nor can they conclude, because they are the natural descendants of Abraham, that, therefore, they are, all of

The promise was made to

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children: but, in

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CHAP. IX.

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are they all Isaac shall thy

8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed.

Isaac, and not to Ishmael

this time will I come, and Sarah A. M. cir.4062. shall have a son.

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10 And not only this; but when A.U.C.cir.811. "Rebecca also had conceived by one, even by our father Isaac ;

11 (For the children being not yet born, neither having done any good or evil, that 9 For, this is the word of promise, At the purpose of God, according to election,

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them, without exception, the children, in whom the promise spared; nor of Esau's running for venison; but by introducis to be fulfilled.

But, in Isaac shall thy seed be called.] The promise is not confined to immediate natural descent, but may be accomplished in any part of Abraham's posterity. For, Abraham had several sons besides Isaac, Gen. xxv. 1, 2. particularly Ishmael, who was circumcised before Isaac was born; and in whom Abraham was desirous that the promise should be fulfilled, Gen. xvii. 18. and in him God might have fulfilled the promise, had he so pleased; and yet he said to Abraham Gen. xxi. 12. not in Ishmael, but in Isaac shall thy seed be called.

Verse 8. That is, they which are the children of the flesh] Whence it appears that not the children who descend from Abraham's loins, nor those who were circumcised as he was, nor even those whom he might expect and desire, are therefore the church and people of God; but those who are made children by the good pleasure and promise of God, as Isaac was, are alone to be accounted for the seed with whom the covenant was established.

Verse 9. For this is the word of promise, &c.] That is, this is evidently implied in the promise recorded Gen. xviii. 10, at this time I will come, saith God, and exert my divine power, and Sarah, though fourscore and ten years old, shall have a son; which shews that it is the sovereign will and act of God alone, which singles out and constitutes the peculiar seed that was to inherit the promise made to Abraham. It should be considered, that the apostle, in this and the following quotations, does not give us the whole of the text, which he intends should be taken into his argument, but only a hint or reference to the passages to which they belong; directing us to recollect or peruse the whole passage, and there view and judge of the argument.

ing these particulars into his conclusion, he gives us to understand that his quotations are to be taken in connexion with the whole story of which they are a part; and without this, the Apostle's meaning cannot be apprehended.

The same may be said of his conclusion, ver. 18, whom he will he hardeneth; hardeneth is not in his argument, but it is in the conclusion. Therefore hardening is understood in the argument, and he evidently refers to the case of Pharaoh. The generality of Jews were well acquainted with the scripture, and a hint was sufficient to revive the memory of a whole passage. Taylor, p. 330.

Verse 10. And not only this] A Jew might object, "Ishmael was rejected, not by the sovereign will of God, but because he was the son of the handmaid or bond-woman, and therefore unworthy to be the peculiar seed; but observe, this was not the only limitation of the seed of Abraham with regard to inheriting the promise; for, when Rebecca was with child by that one person of Abraham's issue, to whom the promise was made, namely, our father Isaac; she went to enquire of the Lord, Gen. xxv. 22, 23, And the Lord said unto her, Two nations are in thy womb; and two munner of PEOPLE shall be separated from thy bowels; and one PEOPLE shall be stronger than the other PEOPLE; and the elder shall serve the younger. That is, the posterity of the younger shall be a nation much more prosperous and happy than the posterity of the elder..

Verse 11. For, the children being not yet born] As the word children is not in the text, the word nations would be more proper; for it is of nations that the apostle speaks, as the following verses shew, as well as the history to which he refers.

Neither having done any good] To merit the distinction of That he is so to be understood, appears from the conclu- being made the peculiar people of God.—nor evil, to deserve sion he draws, ver. 16, So then, it is not of him that willeth, to be left out of this covenant, and the distinguishing national nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. In blessings which it conferred; that the purpose of God achis arguments, ver. 7 and 8, &c. he says not one word of cording to election might stand, that such distinctions might Abraham's willing Ishmael to be the seed in whom the pro-appear to depend on nothing but God's free choice, not of mise might be fulfilled; nor of Isaac's willing Esau; nor of Moses' willing and interceding that the Israelites might be

works, or any desert in the peoples or nations thus chosen; but of the mere purpose of him who calleth any people he pleases,

How God dealt with the

ROMANS.

posterity of Jacob and Esau.

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13 As it is written, Jacob have An. Olymp.

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I loved, but Esau have I hated.

Ch. 4. 17. & 8. 28. Gen. 25. 23. Or, greater. Or, lesser. e Mal. 1. 2, 3. See Deut. 21. 15.

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Prov. 13. 24. Matt. 10. 37. Luke 14. 26. John 12. 25.

to make them the depositories of his especial blessings, and dignation for ever. And your eyes shall see, and ye shall thus to distinguish them from all others.

say, The Lord will be magnified from the border of Israel.
1. It incontestibly appears from these passages, that the
prophet does not speak at all of the person of Jacob or
Esau, but of their respective posterities. For it was not
Esau in person that said, We are impoverished, neither were
his mountains nor heritage laid waste. Now, if the prophet ·
speaks neither of the person of the one, nor of the person of
the other, but of their posterity only, then it is evident that
the apostle speaks of them in the same way.

2. If neither the prophet nor the apostle speaks of the persons of Jacob or Esau, but of their posterity, then it is evident that neither the love of God to Jacob, nor the hatred of God to Esau, were such, according to which the eternal states of men, either in happiness or misery, are to be deter

Verse 12. The elder shall serve the younger.] These words, with those of Malachi, Jacob have I loved, and Esau have I hated, are cited by the apostle to prove, according to their typical signification, that the purpose of God, according to election, does, and will stand, not of works, but of him that calleth; that is, that the purpose of God, which is the ground of that Election which he makes among men, unto the honour of being Abraham's seed, might appear to remain unchangeable in him; and to be even the same which he had declared unto Abraham. That these words are used, in a national, and not in a personal sense, is evident from this, that, taken in the latter sense, they are not true, for Jacob never did exercise any power over Esau; nor was Esau ever subject to him. Jacob, on the contrary, was, rather, sub-mined; nor is there here, any scriptural or rational ground for ject to Esau, and was sorely afraid of him; and, first by his messengers, and afterwards, personally, acknowledged his brother to be his lord, and himself to be his servant, see Gen. xxxii. 4. xxxiii. 8, 13. And hence it appears, that neither Esau, nor Jacob, nor even their posterities, are brought here by the apostle as instances of any personal reprobation from eternity. For, it is very certain that very many, if not far the greatest part of Jacob's posterity were wicked, and rejected by God; and it is not less certain, that some of Esau's posterity were partakers of the faith of their father Abraham.

From these premises, the true sense of the words immediately following, Jacob have I loved, and Esau have I hated, Malach. i. 2, 3, fully appears; that is, that what he had already cited from Moses concerning the two nations, styled by the names of their respective heads, Jacob and Esau; was but the same in substance with what was spoken many years after by the prophet Malachi. The unthankful Jews had, in Malachi's time, either in words or in their heart, expostulated with God, and demanded of him wherein he had loved them? I have loved you, saith the Lord, yet ye say, Wherein hast thou loved us? Mal. i. 2, 3, 4. To this the Lord answers, Was not Esau Jacob's brother? Yet I loved Jacob, and hated Esau, and laid his mountains and his heritage waste for the dragons of the wilderness. Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places: thus saith the Lord of Hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down, and they shall call them The border of wickedness, and The people, against whom the Lord hath in

the decree of unconditional personal election and reprobation, which, comparatively, modern times have endeavoured to build on these scriptures. For-1. It is here proved, that Esau is not mentioned under any personal consideration, but only as the head of his posterity. 2. The testimony of scripture amply proves, that all Esau's posterity were not, even in this sense, reprobated; nor all Jacob's posterity elected. 3. Neither does that service, or subjugation to Jacob, which the Divine Oracle imposed on Esau, import any such reprobation as some contend for; as the servant may be elected, while the master himself is in a state of reprobation. 4. Were it even granted that servitude did import such a reprobation, yet it is certain that Esau, in person, never did 5. Nor does the hatred of God against Esau import any such reprobation of the person of Esau, because it is demonstrable, that it related not to Esau personally, but to his posterity. 6. The scope of the apostle's reasoning is to shew that God is the sovereign of his own ways, has a right to dispense his blessings as he chuses; and to give salvation to mankind, not in the ways of their devising, but in that way that is most suitable to his infinite wisdom and goodness.

serve Jacob.

Therefore-1. He chose the Jewish people from all others, and revealed himself to them. Thus they were the elect, and all the nations of mankind reprobate. 2. When the fulness of the time came, he revealed himself also to the Gentiles, who gladly received the gospel; and the Jews rejecting it, were cast off. Thus the elect became reprobate: and the reprobate, elect. 3. He published to all mankind,

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