Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

Romans 11:33

Romans 11:33. O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God. With Chrysostom and most modern commentators, we prefer this view of the passage to that followed in the E. V. Either is grammatical, but the former is not only more natural, but agrees better with what follows. ‘The depth of the riches' may refer to the fullness of God's grace, as shown in the preceding discussion, or be taken in a wider sense, as if to say: ‘How superabundantly rich is God!' (Meyer). The depth of God's ‘wisdom' is in his wise ordering of all the means for his own gracious ends; the depth of His ‘knowledge,' in His all inclusive fore-knowledge of ends and means. These constitute an ocean, the depths of which we should ever explore, but can never fathom. In these three words Origen found an allusion to the Trinity (as in Romans 11:36), but however applicable the terms might be to the attributes of Jehovah manifested by the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, it is not proper to assert that the Apostle intended to make any such distinction in this verse.

How unsearchable, etc. The discrimination between ‘wisdom' and ‘knowledge' seems to be implied here; judgments are the decisions (not exclusively judicial) of God's wisdom, according to which He acts; these are ‘unsearchable.'

His ways, the general modes of procedure, in accordance with His infinite knowledge, are ‘untraceable;' the adjective, from the word meaning ‘foot-print,' is aptly used with ‘ways.' Precisely because this is true, God is an inexhaustible object for our minds as well as our hearts.

Continues after advertising

BibliaPlus

Philip Schaff's Popular Commentary (4 vols)

Romans 11:33

Old Testament

New Testament