And this his answer he prosecutes , Chap. 7. and shews the Jew , that the Jews were freed from the Law ( which was the strength of Sin , 1 Cor. 15 , 56. ) and were brought under the Gospel , that they might serve God by a new kind of Life , which the Gospel worketh in us , and that they might not follow that old kind of life , which they led , while they were under the Law , through the Motions of sin , which were by the Law .

But now , because some might say , that there could be no motions of Sin by the Law ; and others might say , that the Law would be the cause of Sin , if there were any motions of Sin by it ; He sheweth verse the seventh , and so forward to the end of the Chapter , both that the Law was the occasion of sin , to those which were under it ; and that it was not for all that , the true and genuine cause thereof ; wherefore ( at the seventh verse ) the better to shew these things which he speaks of , and the condition of the Jews , which lived before the Law was given by Moses ; and the condition of the same people when they were under the Law after it was given : He puts one in his own person , the person of the Jews , both as they lived before the Law , and under the Law .

Now after the Apostle hath finished these things he comes again in the eighth Chapter , to shew the happiness of them , who are justified by faith , or who are in Christ Jesus ( for those are all one ) whom he also describeth by that , That they walk not after the Flesh , but after the Spirit , in relation to what he had taught in the whole sixth Chapter , concerning the Life of a man , which is justified by Faith , or which is in Christ Jesus , that it ought to be such as is Holy and free from all Vnrighteousnesse . And to this holinesse of life doth he use here divers new Arguments to excite them from the first to the seventeenth verse of this Chapter ; at which verse shewing , that we must not onely do the works of Righteousnesse , but also suffer ( if need be ) for Righteousness sake . He doth in the ensuing part of the Chapter use divers arguments to move them to suffer afflictions patiently , and endeth this Chapter , with the narration of the happinesse of those which he spake of from the fifth Chapter hitherto ; that is , of those which are justified by Faith , or ( which is the same ) of those which are in Christ Jesus .

Now in the ninth Chapter ( reflecting upon what he said before , that a man is justified by Faith , and not by the workes of the Law , and reflecting upon the happinesse of those which are justified by Faith , and considering withall that the Jewes , for the most part , were such as he spake of , Chap. 2. Verse 8. That is , such as were contentious against the Gospel , and obeyed not , or believed not that Word of Truth , but obeyed Vnrighteousness , against whom indignation and wrath is revealed . ) He manifests the great heaviness and continual sorrow , which he had in his heart . For those Jews which were his Kinsmen according to the flesh , and to whom ( among many other priviledges ) the promises of God did belong , to think , that they resisting that way , which God had appointed , for obtaining Righteousness , or Justification , should invent another way of their own , and go about to establish that their own way , and submit not , or yield not to follow that way of Righteousness , which God had prescribed And this heaviness and continual sorrow of his heart for them , he doth shew that they considering and contemplating his sorrow for them , might pity their own selves , and embrace the truth , that they might be saved at the last .

But though he manifesteth here the great heaviness , and continuall sorrow , which he had in heart , for those his Kinsmen , to wit , the Jewes , yet he doth not here express the cause of this his sorrow , being interrupted with an objection , which might arise from what he had said , and to which he would answer , but deferreth it to the next Chapter and there resumeth , and perfecteth , what he here broke off , though in other terms .

The Objection which might arise from what he had sad , is this . He said that among other Priviledges , which belonged to the Jewes , which were the people of Israel according to the flesh , this was one . That the promises of God were theirs , upon which a Jew might thus object and say . That if we Jewes , who are the Childrn of Israel according to the flesh , were not justified , but were under Wrath and Indignation , as thou Paul sayest . Then would the promises of God be void and of none effect ; which is , to make God false in his word : For God promised by his servant Jeremy ( and many other his servants the Prophets ) that he would make a new covenant with them , and justifie them , Jer. 31. ver. 31 , 32 , 33 , 34. To this objection Saint Paul answers here verses 6 , 7 , 8 , 9. to this effect . True it is , that God made a promise to the Israelites that he would justifie them , but whereas there are to sorts of Israelites , one which are Israelites according to the Flesh , which descended from Jacob , and Abraham by carnall propagation . The other which were Israelites , and the Children of Abraham according to the Spirit , because they did imitate , and follow Abraham in this Faith ( for they which are of Faith , they are the Children of Abraham , Gal. 3.7 . ) That promise of Justification doth belong absolutely and immediately , not to those , which are the Children of Jacob , or the Children of Abraham according to the Flesh , as Such ; but to those which believe , as Such ; and so are the Children of Jacob , and of Abraham according to the Spirit , whether they be Jewes , or whether they be Gentiles .

Now , because the same or another Jew might reply upon this , and say . Yea , but for all thy saying ( Paul ) though I should grant , that that promise doth not belong to us Jewes , as we are the Children of Jacob , or of Abraham , according to the Flesh , as Such , yet surely it doth appertain to us : as we seek justification by the works of the Law , and we are , or shall be justified by so doing .

To this objection the Apostle answers verse 10 , 11 , 12 , 13. to this effect . No , neither shall ye be justified for this , neither ; which may be proved by that , which God said unto Rebecca , while she had two Twins Esau and Jacob , the heads of two People in her womb : For at that time , when the Children were not yet born , before they had done either good or evil , he said unto her , The Elder shall serve the Younger ; and this God said to her at that time to signifie in a type , that his purpose concerning his actual Electing men to Justification ( which Election is performed in time , by justifying them ) was and should be to elect or justifie them , not for their workes sake ( for which no man can be justified , and if he could he might claim justification of debt , ) but for his own Mercy and Grace sake , who calleth us by the preaching of his Gospel , that we may believe , and believing may be justified , and hath appointed , that to be our way for Justification .

But because a Jew would be apt to say , that if it were so as St. Paul had said , Viz. That God would not justifie a Jew , though he were a Jew by birth , and though he did moreover seek justification by works , if he believed not ; and yet would justifie every one which believeth , though he were a Gentile : Then there would be unrighteousness with God .

Saint Paul takes away this objection , shewing first , That there is no unrighteousness with God , in justifying those which believe , though they be Gentiles ; for he may justly have mercy on whom he will have mercy , ver . 15. And ( by the by , ver. 16 ) he shews them , who being ignorant of Gods way of Righteousness , or Justification , went about to establish a way of their own , that it was not in them , who chose a way of Righteousness or Justification of their own , though they were zealous in that way , and run earnestly in it , to attain to Justification : but it was onely in God , who sheweth mercy to whom he will , and to what way he will . Then , as he had shewed , that there was no unrighteousness in God , if he did justifie those which did believe , though they were Gentiles : He shewes , verse 17. by the Example which God shewed upon Pharaoh , that there is no unrighteousness in God , if he did not justifie a Jew , though he were a Jew by birth , and sought Justification by works , if he believed not ; And concludeth , verse 18. That God doth justly justifie whom he will , and doth justly deny justification to whom he will , yea , and harden them too .

And now being , that God doth every where complain of the Jewes , and threatneth to destroy them , for the hardness of their heart : A malepart Jew starts up , and hearing Paul say , that God hardeneth whom he will , Sayes : But if God hardeneth whom he will , why doth he now find fault with us and threatneth us for our hardness of heart ? For it is he that hardneth whom he will ; and if he will harden us , how can we help it ? are we able to resist him ? To this objectian made verse 19. Saint Paul answers , first by rebuking the Objector , for his Sauciness , who dares to chop Logick thus with God , verse 20 , 21. Then verse 22 , 23. he gives a more direct answer , by which he shews that God did harden them onely occasionally , in that he did not cut them off , but did endure them with much long-suffering , by which those vessels of wrath , that is , they which were contentious , and obeyed not the truth , but obeyed unrighteousness , fitted themselves for destruction ; for though by his long-suffering God led them to repentance , yet they by the abuse thereof , contracted hardness , and an impoenitent hearts upon themselves , heaping up wrath against the day of wrath , and Revelation of the Righteous judgement of God ; and therefore there was no unrighteousness in God , if he being willing to shew his wrath upon those vessels of wrath if they would not repent , he found fault with them when they repented not . And if by so doing he shewed the abundance of his goodness also , to the vessels of mercy by justifying them , and so preparing them to glory , as he had before determined . Which vessels of mercy he shews . verse 24. to be them , which believe , not of the Jswes onely , but of the Gentiles also . Then to confirm what he had said concerning those disobedient Jews , and the believing Gentiles , he brings divers testimonies out of the Scriptures , verses 25 , 26 , 27 , 28 , 29. And then he gathers out of what he had said , that the believing Gentiles had attained to Justification by their Faith , ver . 30. But the Jewes for the greatest part of them , missed of Justification , because they sought it not by Faith , but by the works of the Law . And so having made way to that , which he left imperfect at the sixth verse of this Chapter .

The Apostle in the eleventh Chapter moves the question , whether God had cast off his people the Jews , or no : And answers it in the negative , verse 1. And to prove , that he had not cast them all off , he shews , that he was a Jew and yet was accepted of God . And that the Jews were a people , whom God did foreknow , that is , whom God did determine , from eternity so to love , as not utterly to forsake them , verse 2. and that even then there were a Remnant of Jewes , whom God had justified , verses 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6. But yet he saith , that the Jews for the greatest part of them , which sought for Justification by works , obteined it not , but those few which believed , atteined to it , and the rest were blinded , and fell , verses 7 , 8 , 9 , 10. and that into their place the Gentiles were received , verse 11. But yet , he saith , that they fell not so , as that they should not rise again , but might recover their fall ; and this he proveth by the calling of the Gentiles , which were called and received , that they might provoke the Jews to jealousie , and make them to strive to hold , or regain the love of God , which they had lost or well nigh lost , verses 11 , 12. He proves it also by the end of his own preaching , which was that ( if by any means he could ) he might save some of them , verses 13 , 14 , 15. He proves it also by that ; that they were the branches of an holy root , that is , that they were the children of Abraham , which was holy , and therefore of the Church , or People of God , which was holy verse 16. But yet , because some of the branches of that tree , were broken off , and cast out of the number of Gods people or Church , and the Gentiles were grafted in , in their room ; he admonisheth the Gentiles not to boast against the Jewes , but rather to fear : For as the Jewes were cut off by reason of their unbelief , and as they were grafted into their room , and stood because of their Faith : So might they be cut off again , if they fell back into unbelief , and the Jewes be grafted in again , if they would believe , verses 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 , 23 , 24.

Then verses 25 , 26 , 27. he returns to prove that God had not utterly cast off his people , because he intends to send them a Deliverer , by whom they shall be saved from their sins , when the fullness of the Gentiles is come in . And because they were a People whom God had elected , to be a peculiar people to himself , and such as that he would not utterly leave destitute without the means of Salvation ( though many of them fell from the Society of that people by unbelief ) and that for their Fathers sake , verse 28 , 29. and because though God had concluded them , for the greatest part in unbelief , yet he did it for this end , that he might have mercy upon them , verses 30 , 31 , 32. Which dispensations he saith were done in wisedome by God , though his Counsel and Wisedome is unsearchable therein , verse 33.

Thus having finished the Doctrinal part of this his Epistle , he comes artificially in the twelfth Chapter to the second part thereof , to wit , the moral part , which he continues from thence to the End of his Epistle .

Saint Peter in his second Epistle Chap. 3. ver. 15 , 16. Saith that in the Epistle , which Paul wrote to the Jews , as also in all other his Epistles , there are some things hard to be understood , which they which are unlearned and unstable wrest as they do all other Scriptures unto their own destruction .

Whether this Epistle of Saint Paul be the peculiar Epistle , which Saint Peter meant , by that which Saint Paul wrote to the Jewes ( as some would have it : ) Or whether the Epistle , to the Hebrews , ( as others ) or no. Sure it is , that in this Epistle of his to the Romans , there be some things hard to be understood , and there be things , which they which are unlearned and unstable , have wrested to their own destruction .

For because that Saint Paul declares in this his Epistle , that Justification is not by the workes of the Law , but by Faith and so by Grace ( to omit many other errors , falsely collected out of other passages of this his Epistle not well understood ) some have contented themselves with the empty name of Faith , as though that were enough , not only to Justifie them , but to save them , and have altogether neglected good workes , and even fought against them . For that there were those even in the Apostles time , which taught that a barren Faith which produceth not works , was sufficient to salvation .

We may learn both from Saint James , and from Saint Jude in their Epistles , and Saint Augustine sheweth as much , in his book De Vnico Baptismo contra Petilianum , Cap. 10. Tom. 7 , page 85. col . 2. A. This was Simon Magus's doctrine , or wicked heresie rather , and the doctrine and heresie of his Disciples called from him Simoniani , as also of the Menandrians , Basilidians , Gnosticks , Manichees , Aetians , and Eunomians : All or some of which did willingly embrace all manner of sin , and turpitude , as the fruit of the grace of God , by which we are saved . Such Hereticks did the ages following bring forth ; and to Skip to later times , such were , and are they , which are called Antinomians , whose Tenets concerning good works and faith ( among other are these . That the Law is not given to Christians . That the ten Commandments ought not to be taught in Churches . That it is sufficient for a wicked man to believe , and not to doubt of his Salvation . That neither good works profit to Salvation , neither ill workes do no hurt . That to say that the Law is a rule of life , is blasphemy in Divinity , &c. Then which nothing can be more destructive of a man's Salvation ; and these their Heresies they drew from the misunderstanding of Saint Pauls words , in this his Epistle .

But because in this Epistle of Saint Paul's , there are many things , which are hard to be understood , for the better understanding of this Epistle , it will be expedient to know ,

First , What is the main Scope of the doctrinal part at least , of this Epistle of Saint Paul .

Secondly , How one thing hangs or depends upon another .

Thirdly , How the Scriptures , which he alledgeth so often , make for the proofs , for which he alledgeth them .

Fourthly , How he useth many words , which he useth , and in what sense .

For the first of these , that short Epitome , which I have given of the eleven first Chapters , may suffice .