tural BRANCHES be grafted into their own olive ?

25 For brethren, that ye may not be rise in your own conceits, I would not have you ignorant of this mystery,1 1 that blindness in part hath happened to Israel, till the fulness of the Gentiles come in. 3

26 And so all Israel shall be saved; as it is written,2 The deliverer shall come out of Zion, and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob.

Jews who are the natural members of that covenant, be restored again to their own honours and privileges, by believing the gospel, which is the accomplishment of the ancient revelations made to themselves?

25 For, brethren, that ye may not have an high conceit of yourselves, on account of your being made the people of God, in place of the Jews, I must shew you this secret, that the blindness of the Jews in part, will continue only till the generality of the Gentiles come into the Christian church. For that illustrious event will render the evidences of the gospel irresistible.

26 And so laying aside their prejudices, all Israel, by believing the gospel, shall enjoy the means of salvation, according as it is foretold, Is. lix. 20. "The Redeemer shall "come to Zion, and to them that "turn from transgression in Jacob."

into this temple or church to worship, signifies their conversion to Christianity.

Ver. 26.-1. And so all Israel shall be saved. The future restoration of the Jews to their privileges as the people of God, in consequence of their embracing the gospel, is expressed by their being saved; because, by their coming into the Christian church, they shall have the means of salvation bestowed on them. See ver. 11. note 2. Besides, this is the only sense in which all Israel shall be saved. For the eternal salvation of a whole nation, no one can suppose probable.-The conversion of the Jews being spoken of in this passage as a thing future, the conversions of that people made by the apostle Peter, mentioned acts ii. 41. iv. 4. v. 15. though numerous, were not in St. Paul's opinion, the conversion of the Jews foretold by the prophets.

2. As it is written, The deliverer shall come out of Zion, and shall turn away ungodliness from Facob; namely, the ungodliness of unbelief. The apostle adopted the LXX. translation of this passage, with the variation of sx for ivezav, because it expresses the sense of the original with sufficient exactness.-The deliverer, being the son of David, he is said by the apostle to come out of Zion, the city of David and the seat of his kingdom, rather than for the sake of Zion, the words used by the LXX. On the other hand, as he came to turn away the ungodliness of unbelief from the posterity of Jacob, he might be said, as in the Hebrew original, to come to Zion and to

them that turn from transgression in Jacob: for Zion or Jerusalem was the chief city of the posterity of Jacob. But as this deliverance of Jacob from the ungodliness of unbelief, was not accomplished by Christ at his first coming, it will be accomplished in some future period, by the presence of the power of the Lord to heal them..

Ver. 27.-1. When I shall take away their sins. In this expression, there is an allusion to the scape-goat's carrying away the sin of the children of Israel into a land not inhabited, Lev. xvi. 22.-See Is. xxvii. 9. where the future conversion of the Jews is foretold under the idea of taking away their sin, namely, of unbelief.

Ver. 23.-1. With respect to the election, they are beloved on account of the fathers. The very persons here said to be beloved in respect of the election, are in the preceding clause said to be enemies in respect of the gospel. Wherefore, this election cannot be of individuals to eternal life but it is that national election, whereby the Jews were made the church and people of God. See chap. ix. 11. note 2. In respect of that election, the Jews are still beloved of God. For although they be cast off for their unbelief, yet in consequence of the promises made to their fathers, they are in some future period to become the people of God, by believing the gospel.-Whitby remarks, that there is a twofold election of the Jews spoken of in this chapter: one whereby they were made the people of God, through their natural descent from the fathers, and which Moses has described, Deut. vii. 6.-8. The other, whereby such of them as believed on Christ, were made the people of God under the gospel dispensation. This election is mentioned, Rom. xi. 7.

27 For this is my covenant with them, when I shall take away their sins of unbelief. "My spirit that is up"on thee, O Messiah, and my word "which I have put in thy mouth, "shall not depart out of thy mouth, "nor out of the mouth of thy seed, "saith the Lord, from henceforth "and for ever."

28 With respect to the gospel indeed, they are, through their unbelief, enemies to God on your account; your reception into the church. But with respect to their original election to be the people of God, they are still beloved of God, on account of the promise to their fathers, that he would be a God to them in their generations.

29 For God's free gift, and his calling Abraham's posterity by Isaac his people, are unalterable on the part of God, who, if they repent, will receive them again.

30 Besides, as ye Gentiles also in times past have disobeyed God by your idolatry, yet now have obtained the mercy of being admitted into God's covenant and church, through the disobedience of the Jews to the gospel:

Ver. 29.-1. For the free gifts and the calling of God are without repentance. The blessings, which God freely bestowed on Abraham and his sced, and his calling, or making them his people, God will never repent of; but will restore to his natural seed the honour of being his people, after the Redeemer hath turned away their ungodliness of unbelief, Ezek. xvi. 60, 61, 62.

Ver. 30.-1. Besides, as ye also in times past have disobeyed God. The disobedience of the Gentiles consisted in their losing the knowledge and worship of the true God, and in their worshipping idols, notwithstanding the true God made himself known to them in every age, by his works of creation and providence, Rom. i. 20.

2. Yet now have obtained mercy. The great favour of being admitted into the covenant and church of God, is called mercy, because it proceeded entirely from the mercy of God. See Rom. ix. 15. note.

31 Even so have these

also now not believed, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy.

32 For God hath conIcluded them all in unbe

31 Ούτω και έτοι vvv ηπειθησαν τῷ ὑμετέρῳ ελεει, ἵνα και αυτοι ελεηθωσι

32 Συνέκλεισε γαρ ὁ Θε

lief, that he might have ος τους παντας εις απείθειαν, ἱνα τους παντας ελεησῃ.

mercy upon all.

33 O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom

and knowledge of God! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

33 Ω βάθος πλουτου και σοφίας και γνώσεως Θεου ὡς ανεξερεύνητα τα κριματα αυ του, και ανεξιχνιαςοι αἱ ὁδοι

αυτου.

3. Through their disobedience. The apostle does not mean, that the Gentiles would not have been admitted into the covenant and church of God, by having the gospel preached to them, if the whole Jewish nation had embraced the gospel. The title of the Gentiles to all the blessings of the cove nant with Abraham, was established by the covenant itself. But his meaning is, that considering the disposition of the Jews, their disobedience and rejection, and the consequent demolition of their church, in order to the erection of the church of God on a more enlarged plan, was necessary to the admission of the Gentiles into the covenant and church of God. See ver. 11. note.

Ver. 31-1. Even so these also have now disobeyed. The disobedience of the Jews consisted in their rejecting the gospel, notwithstanding it was preached to them as the fulfilment of the prophecies contained in their own sacred writings.

2. Through your mercy, so as through your mercy, they also shall obtain mercy. Theophylact construes and translates this verse in the following manner : Even so, they also have now disobeyed, so as they should obtain mercy, through your mercy. Beza approves of Theophylact's translation, because it renders this an exact counterpart to the foregoing verse. But the translation which I have given, possesses that advantage, and at the same time preserves the order of the words in the original.

Ver. 32.-1. God hath shut up together all for disobedience. That the words us away, here, do not signify in unbelief, but for disobedience, is plain from the use of the preposition us, Mark i. 4. 1 Cor. xvi. 1. 2 Thess. i. 11. and from the nature of the thing. For while a man is shut up in unbelief, or disobedience, that is, while he is made to continue in unbelief, he is not an object of mercy, neither can he receive the gospel. But men may be shut up as prisoners, for their disobedience or unbelief, and in that state may receive mercy; because, while thus shut up, they may return to their duty.

31 Even so the Jews also have now disobeyed the gospel, on your being admitted into God's covenant, yet so as by your receiving that great favour, the gospel being continued in the world, they also shall obtain the mercy of being at length admitted into God's covenant.

32 For God hath shut up together all, under sentence of death, for their disobedience, that, in admitting them into his covenant and church, he might make them sensible he bestows a free gift upon all.

33 In surveying the divine dispensations, instead of finding fault, we ought to cry out, O the greatness, both of the wisdom of God in contriving and ordering these dispensations, and of the knowledge of God in foreseeing the effects which they would produce! How unsearchable are his determinations, and his ways past finding out !

2. That he might have mercy upon all. The mercy here said to be shewed to all, is God's bestowing upon them the gospel, by the belief of which they become the people of God. See ver. 30. note 2.

Ver. 33.-1. O the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and of the knowledge of God! By applying the word depth to the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God, the apostle represents these perfections as forming a vast heap, the depth of which cannot be measured.

2. How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out! The word avığıxas, comes from xvov, which signifies the mark of a foot. The metaphor is taken from animals, which pursue and find out their prey by tracing their footsteps.

3. His judgments, are God's methods of directing and governing all things, both generally and particularly. Agreeably to this interpretation of ngpara, judgments, the apostle adds, and his ways past finding out. Men are not capable of penetrating into the depths of the divine wisdom, because revelation hath made known only what God hath willed, and said, and done, without disclosing the reasons either of his general or of his particular con