Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary on the Whole Bible
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Romans
Book: Romans
Chapter: 11
Overview:
The rejection of the Jews is not universal.
(1-10) God
overruled their unbelief for making the
Gentiles partakers of
Gospel privileges.
(11-21) The
Gentiles cautioned against pride
and unbelief, The Jews shall be called as a nation, and brought
into
God's visible
Covenant again.
(22-32) A solemn adoring of
the
Wisdom,
Goodness, and
Justice of God.
(33-36)
1-10 There was a
Chosen remnant of believing Jews, who had
Righteousness and
Life By Faith in
Jesus Christ. These were kept
according to the election of
Grace. If then this election was of
Grace, it could not be of
Works, either performed or foreseen.
Every truly good disposition in a fallen
Creature must be the
effect, therefore it cannot be the cause, of the
Grace of
God
bestowed
On him.
Salvation from the first to the last must be
either of
Grace or of
Debt. These things are
So directly
contrary to each other that they cannot be blended together.
God
glorifies his
Grace By changing the hearts and tempers of the
rebellious. How then should they wonder and praise him! The
Jewish nation were as in a
Deep sleep, without knowledge of
their danger, or concern about it; having
No sense of their need
of the
Saviour, or of their being upon the borders of eternal
ruin.
David, having
By the
Spirit foretold the sufferings of
Christ from his own people, the Jews, foretells the dreadful
Judgments of God upon them for it, Ps 69. This teaches us how
to understand other prayers of
David against his enemies; they
are prophecies of the
Judgments of God, not expressions of his
own
Anger. Divine curses will work long; and we have our eyes
darkened, if we are bowed down in worldly-mindedness.
11-21 The
Gospel is the greatest riches of every place where it
is. As therefore the righteous rejection of the unbelieving
Jews, was the occasion of
So large a multitude of the
Gentiles
being reconciled to
God, and at peace with him; the future
receiving of the Jews into the
Church would be such a change, as
would resemble a general
Resurrection of the dead in
Sin to a
Life of
Righteousness.
Abraham was as the root of the
Church.
The Jews continued branches of this tree till, as a nation, they
rejected the
Messiah; after that, their relation to
Abraham and
to
God was, as it were, cut off. The
Gentiles were grafted into
this tree in their room; being admitted into the
Church of
God.
Multitudes were made heirs of
Abraham's
Faith,
Holiness and
blessedness. It is the natural state of every one of us, to be
wild
By nature.
Conversion is as the grafting in of wild
branches into the good
Olive. The wild
Olive was often ingrafted
into the fruitful one when it began to decay, and this not only
brought forth
Fruit, but caused the decaying
Olive to revive and
flourish. The
Gentiles, of free
Grace, had been grafted in to
share advantages. They ought therefore to beware of
self-confidence, and every kind of pride or ambition; lest,
having only a dead
Faith, and an empty profession, they should
turn from
God, and forfeit their privileges. If we stand at all,
it is
By Faith; we are guilty and helpless in ourselves, and are
to be humble, watchful, afraid of self-deception, or of being
overcome
By Temptation. Not only are we at first justified
By
Faith, but kept to the
End in that justified state
By Faith
only; yet,
By a
Faith which is not alone, but which worketh
By
Love to
God and
Man.
22-32 Of all judgments, spiritual judgments are the sorest; of
these the
Apostle is here speaking. The restoration of the Jews
is, in the course of things, far less improbable than the
Call
of the
Gentiles to be the children of
Abraham; and though others
now possess these privileges, it will not hinder their being
admitted again.
By rejecting the
Gospel, and
By their
indignation at its being preached to the
Gentiles, the Jews were
become enemies to
God; yet they are still to be favoured for the
sake of their pious fathers. Though at present they are enemies
to the
Gospel, for their
Hatred to the
Gentiles; yet, when
God's
time is come, that will
No longer exist, and
God's
Love to their
fathers will be remembered. True
Grace seeks not to confine
God's favour. Those who find
Mercy themselves, should endeavour
that through their
Mercy others also may obtain
Mercy. Not that
the Jews will be restored to have their priesthood, and
Temple,
and ceremonies again; an
End is
Put to all these; but they are
to be brought to believe in
Christ, the true become one
Sheep-Fold with the
Gentiles, under
Christ the Great
Shepherd.
The captivities of
Israel, their
Dispersion, and their being
shut out from the
Church, are emblems of the believer's
corrections for doing wrong; and the continued care of the
Lord
towards that people, and the final
Mercy and blessed restoration
intended for them, show the patience and
Love of
God.
33-36 The
Apostle Paul knew the mysteries of the
Kingdom of God
as
Well as ever any
Man; yet he confesses himself at a loss; and
despairing to find the bottom, he humbly sits down at the brink,
and adores the depth. Those who know most in this imperfect
state, feel their own weakness most. There is not only depth in
the Divine counsels, but riches; abundance of that which is
precious and valuable. The Divine counsels are complete; they
have not only depth and height, but breadth and length, Eph
3:18, and that passing knowledge. There is that vast distance
and disproportion between
God and
Man, between the Creator and
the
Creature, which for ever shuts us from knowledge of his
ways. What
Man shall teach
God how to govern the world? The
Apostle adores the
Sovereignty of the Divine counsels. All
things in
Heaven and
Earth, especially those which relate to our
Salvation, that belong to our peace, are all of him
By way of
Creation, through him
By way of
Providence, that they may be to
him in their
End. Of
God, as the
Spring and
Fountain of all;
through
Christ, to
God, as the
End. These include all
God's
relations to his creatures; if all are of Him, and through Him,
all should be to Him, and for Him. Whatever begins, let
God's
Glory be the
End: especially let us
Adore him when we talk of
the Divine counsels and actings. The saints in
Heaven never
dispute, but always praise.