Romans 11:32

For God hath concluded them all, &c.— Them is not in the original, and should not be in the translation. Concluded is no English word in this place; the sense of the Greek verb συνεκλεισε is, he hath locked, or shut up together, which may be properly rendered by the Latin word concludo; but we never in English use the word conclude to signify to lock or shut up. The word in the original is found but in three places besides this, viz. Luke 5:6 where it is well rendered inclosed; and Galatians 3:22 where in one verse it is rendered very improperly concluded, and in the other shut up. All were locked up under sin, and the Jews in particular were locked up under the law; so here God has locked up all together in unbelief. Now, as all Jews and Gentiles, before Christ came, were locked up under sin, and the Jews were locked up under the law, condemning them to death;—(not as if none of them could be saved, or be in a state of acceptance with God, but only so far, and in this sense, as the ground of their pardon and redemption was not laid, or the price of their redemption was not paid, till Christ, by the sacrifice of himself, took away the sin of the world;) so here first the Gentiles, afterwards the Jews are locked up in unbelief; not as if they were therefore locked out of the favour of God, and excluded from eternal life; for unbelief is here to be understood, not in the absolute, but in the relative sense;—not in the absolute sense, as it is a principle, which renders a man wicked, but with reference to the kingdom of God in this world, or as it disqualifies a person from being a sharer in the honours and privileges of that kingdom.—It is unbelief in profession, which stands opposed, not to a life of holiness and virtue, or of eternal happiness in the world to come, but only to faith in profession. That the Apostle here means unbelief in this general relative sense, and only so far as it excludes a person out of the present kingdom of God, is evident; for this verse stands in immediate connection with the two foregoing; and ALL here includes the unbelieving Jews and Gentiles in those verses. But the unbelieving Gentiles are those (Romans 11:30.) who in times past had not believed God; but now, upon their conversion to Christianity, had obtained mercy; consequently, they were the whole body of Gentiles, who, from the time when the covenant was made with Abraham, to the time when they embraced the faith of the Gospel, had not believed God; that is, had not been numbered among the subjects of his visible kingdom, as the Jews were during that period. And the unbelieving Jews are those (Romans 11:31.) who now do not believe God; but at last shall upon their conversion to Christianity, obtain mercy; consequently, they are the whole body of Jews, who, from the time of their rejecting the kingdom ofGod under the Messiah, have not believed God; that is, have not been numbered amongthe subjects of his visible kingdom, as the believing Gentiles now are. All this is clear; and therefore we may conclude, first, that the unbelief which the Apostle here speaksof is not the faulty character of particular persons, but the general profession of whole nations through a long tract of time: neither, secondly, is it that unbelief which subjects persons to final condemnation; for that unbelief will not terminate in their obtaining mercy: but the unbelief under which the Gentiles were locked up, terminated in their obtaining mercy, and so will the unbelief of the Jews also. Thirdly, the whole body of Gentiles, who embraced the Christian religion, obtained mercy; and so will the whole body of the Jews, at the future period whereof the Apostle speaks; but evidently this relates to their being admitted to the privileges of God's kingdom in this world; consequently their unbelief, which stands opposed to their obtaining mercy, relates only to their being excluded from those privileges. In short, the Apostle considers the unbelieving Gentiles, during the Jewish peculiarity, as one body of men; which body of men afterwards obtained mercy, when they were taken into the visible church of God: and he likewise considers the unbelieving Jews, from the time of their rejecting Christ, to the future time of their conversion, as one bodyof men, who shall then also obtain mercy, or be brought again into the peculiar kingdom of God. Therefore, as this obtaining of mercy is no other than the election about which he argues in this Epistle, it is certain he does not therefore mean that election only of particular persons; but he means such an election as may be applied to bodies of men, with respect to their being taken into the kingdom of God in this world. Mr. Locke's note on this place is very excellent, and sets the whole of this important subject in a very clear light. "The unbelief," says he, "here charged nationally on Jews and Gentiles in their turns, in this and the two preceding verses, whereby they ceased to be the people of God, was evidently the disowning of his dominion; whereby they put themselves out of the kingdom which he had and ought to have in the world, and so were no longer in the state of subjects, but aliens and rebels. A general view of mankind will lead us into an easier conception of St. Paul's doctrine, who through this whole Epistle considers the Gentiles, Jews, and Christians, as three distinct bodies of men. God, by creation, had no doubt an unquestionable sovereigntyover mankind, and this was at first acknowledged in their sacrifices and worship of him. Afterwards they withdrew themselves from their submission to him, and found out other Gods, whom they worshipped and served. This revolt from God, and the consequence of it, God's abandoning them, St. Paul describes, ch. Romans 1:18. In this state of revolt from God were the nations of the earth in the time of Abraham. And then Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and their posterity the Israelites, upon God's gracious call, returned to their allegiance to their ancient and rightful King and Sovereign; owned the one invisible God, creator of heaven and earth, for their God, and so became his people again, to whom he, as to his peculiar people, gave law. And thus remained the distinction between Jews and Gentiles, that is to say, the nations, as the word signifies, till the time of the Messiah; and then the Jews ceased to be the people of God, not by a direct renouncing the God of Israel, and taking to themselves other false gods whom they worshipped; but by opposing and rejecting the kingdom of God, which he proposed at that time to set up with new laws and institutions, and to a more glorious and spiritual purpose, under his Son Jesus Christ; him God sent to them, and him the nation of the Jews refused to receive as their Lord and Ruler, though he was their promised King and Deliverer, answering all the prophesies and types of him, and evidencing his mission by his miracles. By this rebellion against him, into whose hand God had committed the rule of his kingdom, and whom he had appointed Lord over all things, (and who himself is God over all, blessed for ever,) the Jews turned themselves out of the kingdom of God, and ceased to be his people, who had now no other people but those who received and obeyed his Son as their Lord and Ruler. This was the απειθεια, unbelief, here spoken of. And I would be glad to know any other sense of believing or unbelief, wherein it can be nationally attributed to a people (as visibly here it is), whereby they shall cease, or come to be the people of God, or visible subjects of his kingdom here on earth. Indeed, to enjoy life and estate in this, as well as other kingdoms, not only the owning of the prince, and the authority of his laws, but also obedience to them is required: for a Jew might own the authority of God, and his law given by Moses, and so be a true subject, and as much a member of the commonwealth of Israel as any one in it, and yet forfeit his life by disobedience to the law. And a Christian may own the authority of Jesus Christ, and of the Gospel, and yet forfeit eternal life by his disobedience to the precepts of it; as may be seen, ch. Romans 7:8,, Romans 7:9"