18 13 Therefore hath

and whom he will he [i] hardeneth.

servants, in the parable; and moreover resisting of the apostles' preaching through all their cities after Christ's resurrection, upon which God gave them up to obduration, and the apostles departed to the Gentiles,) God takes Pharaoh in hand, and saith he will harden his heart (ver. 12.) this time, though not before, ver. 14, and adds, that he had or would have cut him off with the pestilence (see note []), and utterly destroyed him from the earth, see ver. 15, in the præter, not future tense, but that he preserved him alive beyond his time, raised him out of that great danger or pestilential disease that had been upon the land for no other end but to make the divine power more illustriously visible in him, and make all the earth hear of the exemplary punishments of God, in this life, upon one that had thus often hardened his heart against God.

18. From which speech of God's to Pharaoh it is he mercy on whom evident, that as God in shewing mercy is not bound he will have mercy, to render any reason of it beyond his own will, ver. 15, so when he delivers up an obdurate sinner to the obduration of his heart, this he may justly do if he please, especially when all that is done in this is not by infusing any quality into him, but by leaving him now to himself who had so often held out against God, and by inflicting that judgment on him on earth which had otherwise been at this time his portion in hell: and this for ends formerly mentioned, ver. 17. Whereas to many others, not so far advanced in obduration, he continueth his admonitions and chastisements, and by that means brings them to reformation. (And as this was most visibly true on one side in Pharaoh, and on many other men on the other side, to whom God shews himself thus merciful, infinitely beyond their merit, of which no account can be given by us, but only God's free mercy; so in the case in hand of the Jews and Gentiles, it is most observable, God's free undeserved grace is his only motive to shew mercy to the Gentiles, to call them to the gospel, and his free pleasure to deal thus with the incredulous obdurate Jews, to leave them at last to themselves, (upon their hardening themselves so oft, despising the prophets, crucifying the Son of God, and at last rejecting the apostles, and in them the Holy Ghost coming to them, fortified with that great testimony,

13 So then, Apa obv.

fault? For who hath resisted his will?

(as of Jonas out of the whale's belly, which converted sinful Nineveh,) the resurrection of Christ from the dead,) and so by hiding from their eyes the things that belong to their peace, by withdrawing the gospel from them, to harden their hearts, (Matt. xiii. 14, Mark iv. 12, Luke viii. 10, John xxi. 40, Acts xxviii. 26, Rom. xi. 8.)

19 Thou wilt say 19. But upon this passage of Pharaoh it is or may then unto me, Why be objected, If God after the sixth judgment hardened doth he yet find Pharaoh's heart, why doth he then expostulate or chide with him after that, as it is clear he doth, Exod. ix. 17, As yet exaltest thou thyself? for then God might be said to will his obduration, which he had inflicted on him as a punishment, and then what possibility was there for him to resist his will, that God should still find fault? (Parallel to this it may perhaps be objected in respect of the Jews, who, after God's delivering up the Jews to that obduration, foretold, Matt. xiii. 14, and intimated, (though not yet, at the speaking of those words, come to pass,) Luke xix. 42, that after the apostles' departing from them and preaching to the Gentiles, Acts xiii. 46, he yet by himself and his apostles reproves and chides them, when now the prediction of their subversion and total destruction is irreversibly gone out against them, Luke xxiii. 44.) To this objection most clearly and punctually proposed, (as it concerns Pharaoh at that time of his life, when God said, As yet exaltest thou thyself? and by intimation and analogy, as it concerns the Jews, his parallel,) and indeed to the whole matter before set down, the apostle answers, 1. by way of indignation against the objector, to repel the force of his argument, thus:

20 Nay but, Oman, 20. In matters that thus belong to the wisdom of who art thou that God and his dispensations, what man shall dare obrepliest 14 against ject any thing against his proceedings? Shall the God? Shall the thing creature dispute with the Creator, or question him to formed say to him that formed it, Why what end he hath thus and thus dealt with him? Is hast thou made me there any reason to find fault with God (or so much as to make any reply to him) for asking that question of Pharaoh after that time, or doing any thing proportionable to that, to the Jews after judgment was gone out against them? In matters of just and equal God is willing to appeal to and to be judged by us, Isa. v. 3, Ezek. xviii. 25; but in matters of wisdom,

thus?

14 to God, T4 Ocŷ.

whether he hath done wisely or no, in expostulating with Pharaoh and the Jews, when he hath deserted and delivered them up irreversibly to the hardness of their own hearts, there is no reason in the world that what God hath done should be disputed against by us, or that he should be bound to render, or we be supposed to discern a reason of it.

21 Hath not the 21. Nay, we give that liberty to an ordinary potter power over tradesman, a potter by name, (God using that resemthe clay, of the same blance in this matter, Jer. xviii. 3,) of the same lump lump to make one vessel unto honour, of clay to make one vessel for an honourable use, to and another unto be employed at the table, &c.; and while the wheel

dishonour?

22 15 What if God, willing to shew his

runs, or the stuff grows worse, or miscarries in the hand of the potter, Jer. xviii. 4, and so proves unfit for so good an employment, to make another for an inferior, less honourable use, as it seems good to him; and why may we not give God leave to have mercy upon one, who, according to the condition of things laid down in the gospel, is capable of mercy, and so to bring some Jews (a tithe of them, Isa. xvi. 14.) and a multitude of heathens to Christianity and to life, by their performance of those conditions on which God hath promised reception; and on the other side, to reject all obstinate contemners of them, to leave them in their obduration, nay, to deal with them as he did with Pharaoh, by withdrawing all grace, by hiding from their eyes the things that belonged to their peace after they have so long shut their eyes wilfully and resolvedly against the gospel, to harden them irreversibly, to make another kind of vessel of them, to some, though not an honourable use, Jer. xviii. 4, and so to fulfil that prophecy, Isa. vi. 10, Make their hearts fat, &c., and that till their land be utterly desolate, ver. 11; and all this upon their former obdurating their own hearts, Matt. xiii. 15, which is meant by the vessels miscarrying in the hand of the potter, that is, while he was doing that toward them which belonged to their peace? This being premised for the repelling of the disputer, he now proceeds to a more punctual, clear, satisfactory answer, by way of question also or interrogation, which may be easily dissolved into this positive conclusion:

22. God, on purpose to express his wrath visibly wrath, and to make in this life upon Pharaoh, (and in like manner on the his power known, rebellious Jews,) and to make other nations to take

18 But if, Ei dé.

vessels of wrath fitted to destruction :

endured with much notice what God is able to do in the punishing of sinlongsuffering the ners, (an effect of which you may see clearly in the Philistines, who took warning by the story of Pharaoh, 1 Sam. vi. 6,) suffered this man to live when he was fit for nothing but hell, (having filled up the measure of his iniquities,) by his continuing alive, to shew some exemplary judgments upon him: wherein yet there was longanimity expressed, and mercy to him, this estate on earth being more tolerable than it had been to have been thrown into hell presently; as also to the Jews it was, in not cutting them off presently upon their direful rebellions, (as most justly he might,) but suffering them to continue a people some time after the crucifying of Christ, and the apostles' preaching his resurrection to them, nay, sending them still to preach over every city of Jewry, as Moses was sent to Pharaoh after God's hardening his heart. All which being an act of longsuffering to them, was designed by God to this end of magnifying his judgments on those who should persist in their obstinacy, and shewing forth his power most illustriously in their destruction. Well, then, this on Pharaoh and on the Jews was done first to shew God's wrath in punishing of obdurate sinners; but that is not all.

23 And that he 23. There was another more remote end of it might make known (see ch. xi. 11, 12); by this means of discernible the riches of his severity on them to illustrate and set forth more notglory on the vessels of mercy, which he ably his abundant goodness to others, to afford the had afore prepared gospel, and the benefits of the coming of Christ, and unto glory,

his presence here on earth (for that seems to be the meaning of the word glory, as that notes the presence of God among the Jews, see note [c], and note [c] John i.) on some others, whom he had prepared and fitted beforehand for these more honourable purposes, believing in Christ here, and reigning with him hereafter. (And thus that is true also which was said in the other part of ver. 18, He decreed to shew mercy on the Gentiles and others believing in Christ, as he hardened the vessels of wrath, the obdurate contumacious Jews.)

24 Even us, whom he hath called, not 24. Even us, to whom God hath vouchsafed this of the Jews only, favour of revealing Christ to us, some of us Jews, but but also of the Gen- the far greater number of the Gentiles, who have 25 As he saith also made use of that mercy of his, and obeyed his call, in Osee, I will call 25. According to that prediction in Hosea, ch. ii. 23, them my people, where God saith, I will say unto them which were

tiles?

which were not my not my people, Ye are my people; and I will have people; and her bemercy on her which had not obtained mercy; which loved, which was not beloved. notes God's receiving the Gentiles into the church, which was an act merely of God's mercy (at which the Jewish believers were astonished, Acts x. 45.) utterly undeserved.

it was said unto

26 And it shall 26. And according to that other saying of Hosea, come to pass, that ch. i. 10, which is thus to be rendered out of the oriin the place where ginal, And it shall come to pass instead of that which them, Ye are not my was said to them, Ye are not my people, it shall be people; there shall said to them, Ye are the sons of the living God; they be called the which place seems to belong to the Jews (not Genchildren of the liv- tiles), those of them that should believe at the ing God. preaching of the gospel, (for so the next verse, Hosea 1. 11, seems to import, and the place which here follows of Isaiah,) now after they had been carried captive so oft, and so severely punished by God for their sins.

dren of Israel be as

27 Esaias also cri- 27. Whereupon Isaiah also prophesies and proeth concerning Is- claims concerning the Jews, Isaiah x. 22, 23, thus: rael, Though the Though the number of the people of the Jews be as number of the chil- the sand of the sea, the number of carnal Israelites the sand of the sea, never so great, yet a very few of them shall believe a remnant shall 16be in Christ, (see Acts ii. 47,) or, as it is in the original, saved: return, that is, convert from their rebellions to Christ. 28 [k]For he will 28. For the Lord shall deal in justice with or upon finish the work, and the land of Judæa (the people of the Jews) as one cut it short in right- that perfects or makes up an account, and casts off, that is, which in making up an account of a stewardLord make upon the ship, having balanced the disbursements with the receipts, leaves some small sum behind; be there never so many of that people, there shall but few be left, the far greater part being involved in infidelity first, and then in destruction.

eousness: because a

short work will the

earth.

had left us a seed,

29 And as Esaias 29. And as Isaiah saith again, (note [g] ch. i,) of said before, Except the same people, Unless the Lord of the hosts of the Lord of Sabaoth angels and stars in heaven, and of the whole frame of we had been as Sod the world, had left to us Jews a seed, (in which, as oma, and been made other things when they are dead use to revive, so like unto Gomorrha. that people, almost utterly destroyed, might have some possibility of springing up again,) or, as the original in Isaiah hath it, a very small remnant, we had been as utterly destroyed as Sodom and Gomorrha were.

16 escape, σωθήσεται. 17 perfecting and cutting off the account in justice, the Lord shall even make a summary account on the land, or, the Lord shall make an account on the land, perfecting and cutting short.