says to the Galatians, that they had been known by God, (Galatians 4:9); for he had anticipated
them with his favor, so as to call them to the knowledge of Christ. We now perceive, that though
universal calling may not bring forth fruit, yet the faithfulness of God does not fail, inasmuch as
he always preserves a Church, as long as there are elect remaining; for though God invites all people
indiscriminately to himself, yet he does not inwardly draw any but those whom he knows to be his
people, and whom he has given to his Son, and of whom also he will be the faithful keeper to the
end.
Know ye not, etc. As there were so few of the Jews who had believed in Christ, hardly another
conclusion could have been drawn from this small number, but that the whole race of Abraham
had been rejected; and creep in might this thought, — that in so vast a ruin no sign of God’s favor
appeared: for since adoption was the sacred bond by which the children of Abraham were kept
collected under the protection of God, it was by no means probable, unless that had ceased, that
the people should be miserably and wretchedly dispersed. To remove this offense, Paul adopts a
most suitable example; for he relates, that in the time of Elias there was such a desolation, that there
remained no appearance of a Church, and yet, that when no vestige of God’s favor appeared, the
Church of God was, as it were, hid in the grave, and was thus wonderfully preserved.
It hence follows, that they egregiously mistake who form an opinion of the Church according
to their own perceptions. And surely if that celebrated Prophet, who was endued with so enlightened
a mind, was so deceived, when he attempted by his own judgment to form an estimate of God’s
people, what shall be the case with us, whose highest perspicuity, when compared with his, is mere
dullness? Let us not then determine any thing rashly on this point; but rather let this truth remain
fixed in our hearts — that the Church, though it may not appear to our eyes, is sustained by the
secret providence of God. Let it also be remembered by us, that they are foolish and presumptuous
who calculate the number of the elect according to the extent of their own perception: for God has
a way, easy to himself, hidden from us, by which he wonderfully preserves his elect, even when
all things seem to us past all remedy.
And let readers observe this, — that Paul distinctly compares here, and elsewhere, the state of
things in his time with the ancient condition of the Church, and that it serves in no small degree to
confirm our faith, when we bear in mind, that nothing happens to us, at this day, which the holy
Fathers had not formerly experienced: for novelty, we know, is a grievous engine to torment weak
minds.
As to the words, In Elias, I have retained the expression of Paul; for it may mean either in the
history or in the business of Elias; though it seems to me more probable, that Paul has followed the
Hebrew mode of speaking; for , beth, which is rendered in the Greek by ἐν, in, is often taken in
Hebrew for of
How he appeals to God, etc^340 It was certainly a proof how much Elias honored the Lord, that
for the glory of his name he hesitated not to make himself an enemy to his own nation, and to pray
and free election of God. There is no way to account for this, except by admitting, that election is an efficacious purpose which
secures the salvation of those who are its objects, who have been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world. — Ed.(^340) “Quomodo appellet Deum adversus Israel — how he appeals to or calls on God against Israel;” ;
“how he solicits (interpellet) God against Israel,” Beza; “when he pleadeth with God against Israel,” Doddridge; “when he
complaineth to God against Israel,” Macknight. To “complain to God against, or, with respect to, Israel,” would probably be the
most suitable rendering. See Acts 25:24