29.And as Isaiah had before said, etc.^314 He brings another testimony from the first chapter,
where the Prophet deplores the devastation of Israel in his time: and as this had happened once, it
was no new thing. The people of Israel had indeed no pre-eminence, except what they had derived
from their ancestors; who had yet been in such a manner treated, that the Prophet complained that
they had been so afflicted, that they were not far from having been destroyed, as Sodom and
Gomorrah had been. There was, however, this difference, that a few were preserved for a seed, to
raise up the name, that they might not wholly perish, and be consigned to eternal oblivion. For it
behoved God to be ever mindful of his promise, so as to manifest his mercy in the midst of the
severest judgments.
Romans 9:30-33
- Quid ergo dicemus? Quod gentes quae
non sectabantur justitiam, adeptae sunt justitiam,
justi-tiam autem ex fide: - What shall we say then? That the
Gentiles, which followed not after righteousness,
have attained to righteousness, even the
righteousness which is of faith. - Israel autem sectando legem justitiae, ad
legem justitiae non per-venit. - But Israel, which followed after the law
of righteousness, hath not attained to the law of
righteousness. - Quare? Quid non ex fide, sed quasi ex
operibus; offenderunt enim ad lapidem
offensionis: - Wherefore? Because they sought it not
by faith, but as it were by the works of the law.
For they stumbled at that stumblingstone; - Quemadmodum scriptum eat, Ecce pono
in Sion lapidem offensionis et petram offendiculi:
et omnis qui crediderit in eum non pudefiet. - As it is written, Behold, I lay in Sion a
stumblingstone and rock of offence: and
whosoever believeth on him shall not be
ashamed.
30.What then, etc. That he might cut off from the Jews every occasion of murmuring against
God, he now begins to show those causes, which may be comprehended by human minds, why the
Jewish nation had been rejected. But they do what is absurd and invert all order, who strive to
assign and set up causes above the secret predestination of God, which he has previously taught us
is to be counted as the first cause. But as this is superior to all other causes, so the corruption and
wickedness of the ungodly afford a reason and an occasion for the judgments of God: and as he
(^314) Isaiah 1:9. The words of the Septuagint are given literally, and differ only in one instance from the Hebrew; “seed” is put
for “remnant;” but as “seed” in this case evidently means a small portion reserved for sowing, the idea of the original is conveyed.
Schleusner refers to examples both in Josephus and Plato, in which the word “seed,” is used in the sense of a small reserved
portion. Its most common meaning in Scripture is posterity.
Paul has given “Sabaoth” from the Septuagint, which is the Hebrew untranslated. This word, in connection with God, is
variously rendered by the Septuagint: for the most part in Isaiah, and in some other places, it is found untranslated as here; but
in the Psalms and in other books, it is often rendered μ , that is, Jehovah or Lord “of the powers,” and often ,
“omnipotent;” and sometimes “the holy one.” But our version, “Jehovah” or “Lord of hosts,” is the proper rendering. It
means the hosts of animate and inanimate creatures; in fact, the whole universe, all created things; but, according to the context,
it often specifically refers to material things, or to things immaterial. — Ed.