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Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers Romans 9:14–24. His three-level outline is real structure in the source text, so it is rendered as structure.
The apostle, having asserted the true meaning of the promise, comes here to maintain and prove the absolute sovereignty of God, in disposing of the children of men, with reference to their eternal state. And herein God is to be considered, not as a rector and governor, distributing rewards and punishments according to his revealed laws and covenants, but as an owner and benefactor, giving to the children of men such grace and favour as he has determined in and by his secret and eternal will and counsel: both the favour of visible church-membership and privileges, which is given to some people and denied to others, and the favour of effectual grace, which is given to some particular persons and denied to others.
Now this part of his discourse is in answer to two objections.
I.It might be objected, Is there unrighteousness with God? If God, in dealing with the children of men, do thus, in an arbitrary manner, choose some and refuse others, may it not be suspected that there is unrighteousness with him? This the apostle startles at the thought of: God forbid! Far be it from us to think such a thing; shall not the judge of all the earth do right? Gen 18:25; Rom 3:5, Rom 3:6. He denies the consequences, and proves the denial.
1.In respect of those to whom he shows mercy, Rom 9:15, Rom 9:16. He quotes that scripture to show God's sovereignty in dispensing his favours (Exo 33:19): I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. All God's reasons of mercy are taken from within himself. All the children of men being plunged alike into a state of sin and misery, equally under guilt and wrath, God, in a way of sovereignty, picks out some from this fallen apostatized race, to be vessels of grace and glory. He dispenses his gifts to whom he will, without giving us any reason: according to his own good pleasure he pitches upon some to be monuments of mercy and grace, preventing grace, effectual grace, while he passes by others. The expression is very emphatic, and the repetition makes it more so: I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. It imports a perfect absoluteness in God's will; he will do what he will, and giveth not account of any of his matters, nor is it fit he should. As these great words, I am that I am (Exo 3:14) do abundantly express the absolute independency of his being, so these words, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, do as fully express the absolute prerogative and sovereignty of his will. To vindicate the righteousness of God, in showing mercy to whom he will, the apostle appeals to that which God himself had spoken, wherein he claims this sovereign power and liberty. God is a competent judge, even in his own case. Whatsoever God does, or is resolved to do, is both by the one and the other proved to be just. Eleēsō on han heleō - I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy. When I begin, I will make an end. Therefore God's mercy endures for ever, because the reason of it is fetched from within himself; therefore his gifts and callings are without repentance. Hence he infers (Rom 9:16), It is not of him that willeth. Whatever good comes from God to man, the glory of it is not to be ascribed to the most generous desire, nor to the most industrious endeavour, of man, but only and purely to the free grace and mercy of God. In Jacob's case it was not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth; it was not the earnest will and desire of Rebecca that Jacob might have the blessing; it was not Jacob's haste to get it (for he was compelled to run for it) that procured him the blessing, but only the mercy and grace of God. Wherein the holy happy people of God differ from other people, it is God and his grace that make them differ. Applying this general rule to the particular case that Paul has before him, the reason why the unworthy, undeserving, ill-deserving Gentiles are called, and grafted into the church, while the greatest part of the Jews are left to perish in unbelief, is not because those Gentiles were better deserving or better disposed for such a favour, but because of God's free grace that made that difference. The Gentiles did neither will it, nor run for it, for they sat in darkness, Mat 4:16. In darkness, therefore not willing what they knew not; sitting in darkness, a contented posture, therefore not running to meet it, but anticipated with these invaluable blessings of goodness. Such is the method of God's grace towards all that partake of it, for he is found of those that sought him not (Isa 65:1); in this preventing, effectual, distinguishing grace, he acts as a benefactor, whose grace is his own. Our eye therefore must not be evil because his is good; but, of all the grace that we or others have, he must have the glory: Not unto us, Psa 115:1.
2.In respect of those who perish, Rom 9:17. God's sovereignty, manifested in the ruin of sinners, is here discovered in the instance of Pharaoh; it is quoted from Exo 9:16. Observe,
(1.)What God did with Pharaoh. He raised him up, brought him into the world, made him famous, gave him the kingdom and power, - set him up as a beacon upon a hill, as the mark of all his plagues (compare Exo 9:14) - hardened his heart, as he had said he would (Exo 4:21): I will harden his heart, that is, withdraw softening grace, leave him to himself, let Satan loose against him, and lay hardening providences before him. Or, by raising him up may be meant the intermission of the plagues which gave Pharaoh respite, and the reprieve of Pharaoh in those plagues. In the Hebrew, I have made thee stand, continued thee yet in the land of the living. Thus doth God raise up sinners, make them for himself, even for the day of evil (Pro 16:4), raise them up in outward prosperity, external privileges (Mat 11:23), sparing mercies.
(2.)What he designed in it: That I might show my power in thee. God would, by all this, serve the honour of his name, and manifest his power in baffling the pride and insolence of that great and daring tyrant, who bade defiance to Heaven itself, and trampled upon all that was just and sacred. If Pharaoh had not been so high and might, so bold and hardy, the power of God had not been so illustrious in the ruining of him; but the taking off of the spirit of such a prince, who hectored at that rate, did indeed proclaim God glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders, Exo 15:11. This is Pharaoh, and all his multitude.
(3.)His conclusion concerning both these we have, Rom 9:18. He hath mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth. The various dealings of God, by which he makes some to differ from others, must be resolved into his absolute sovereignty. He is debtor to no man, his grace is his own, and he may give it or withhold it as it pleaseth him; we have none of us deserved it, nay, we have all justly forfeited it a thousand times, so that herein the work of our salvation is admirably well ordered that those who are saved must thank God only, and those who perish must thank themselves only, Hos 13:9. We are bound, as God hath bound us, to do our utmost for the salvation of all we have to do with; but God is bound no further than he has been pleased to bind himself by his own covenant and promise, which is his revealed will; and that is that he will receive, and not cast out, those that come to Christ; but the drawing of souls in order to that coming is a preventing distinguishing favour to whom he will. Had he mercy on the Gentiles? It was because he would have mercy on them. Were the Jews hardened? It was because it was his own pleasure to deny them softening grace, and to give them up to their chosen affected unbelief. Even so, Father, because it seemed good unto thee. That scripture excellently explains this, Luk 10:21, and, as this, shows the sovereign will of God in giving or withholding both the means of grace and the effectual blessing upon those means.
II.It might be objected, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Rom 9:19.
Had the apostle been arguing only for God's sovereignty in appointing and ordering the terms and conditions of acceptance and salvation, there had not been the least colour for this objection; for he might well find fault if people refused to come up to the terms on which such a salvation is offered; the salvation being so great, the terms could not be hard. But there might be colour for the objection against his arguing for the sovereignty of God in giving and withholding differencing and preventing grace; and the objection is commonly and readily advanced against the doctrine of distinguishing grace. If God, while he gives effectual grace to some, denies it to others, why doth he find fault with those to whom he denies it? If he hath rejected the Jews, and hid from their eyes the things that belong to their peace, why doth he find fault with them for their blindness? If it be his pleasure to discard them as not a people, and not obtaining mercy, their knocking off themselves was no resistance of his will. This objection he answers at large,
1.By reproving the objector (Rom 9:20): Nay but, O man. This is not an objection fit to be made by the creature against his Creator, by man against God. The truth, as it is in Jesus, is that which abases man as nothing, less than nothing, and advances God as sovereign Lord of all. Observe how contemptibly he speaks of man, when he comes to argue with God his Maker: "Who art thou, thou that art so foolish, so feeble, so short-sighted, so incompetent a judge of the divine counsels? Art thou able to fathom such a depth, dispute such a case, to trace that way of God which is in the sea, his path in the great waters?" That repliest against God. It becomes us to submit to him, not to reply against him; to lie down under his hand, not to fly in his face, nor to charge him with folly. Ho antapokrinomenos - That answerest again. God is our master, and we are his servants; and it does not become servants to answer again, Tit 2:9.
2.By resolving all into the divine sovereignty. We are the thing formed, and he is the former; and it does not become us to challenge or arraign his wisdom in ordering and disposing of us into this or that shape of figure. The rude and unformed mass of matter hath no right to this or that form, but is shaped at the pleasure of him that formeth it. God's sovereignty over us is fitly illustrated by the power that the potter hath over the clay; compare Jer 18:6, where, by a like comparison, God asserts his dominion over the nation of the Jews, when he was about to magnify his justice in their destruction by Nebuchadnezzar.
(1.)He gives us the comparison, Rom 9:21. The potter, out of the same lump, may make either a fashionable vessel, and a vessel fit for creditable and honourable uses, or a contemptible vessel, and a vessel in which is no pleasure; and herein he acts arbitrarily, as he might have chosen whether he would make any vessel of it at all, or whether he would leave it in the hole of the pit, out of which it was dug.
(2.)The application of the comparison, Rom 9:22-24. Two sorts of vessels God forms out of the great lump of fallen mankind: - [1.] Vessels of wrath - vessels filled with wrath, as a vessel of wine is a vessel filled with wine; full of the fury of the Lord, Isa 51:20. In these God is willing to show his wrath, that is, his punishing justice, and his enmity to sin. This must be shown to all the world, God will make it appear that he hates sin. He will likewise make his power known, to dumaton autou. It is a power of strength and energy, an inflicting power, which works and effects the destruction of those that perish; it is a destruction that proceeds from the glory of his power, Th2 1:9. The eternal damnation of sinners will be an abundant demonstration of the power of God; for he will act in it himself immediately, his wrath preying as it were upon guilty consciences, and his arm stretched out totally to destroy their well-being, and yet at the same instant wonderfully to preserve the being of the creature. In order to this, God endured them with much long-suffering - exercised a great deal of patience towards them, let them alone to fill up the measure of sin, to grow till they were ripe for ruin, and so they became fitted for destruction, fitted by their own sin and self-hardening. The reigning corruptions and wickedness of the soul are its preparedness and disposedness for hell: a soul is hereby made combustible matter, fit for the flames of hell. When Christ said to the Jews (Mat 23:32), Fill you up then the measure of your father, that upon you may come all the righteous blood (Mat 23:35), he did, as it were, endure them with much long-suffering, that they might, by their own obstinacy and wilfulness in sin, fit themselves for destruction. [2.] Vessels of mercy - filled with mercy. The happiness bestowed upon the saved remnant is the fruit, not of their merit, but of God's mercy. The spring of all the joy and glory of heaven is that mercy of God which endures for ever. Vessels of honour must to eternity own themselves vessels of mercy. Observe, First, What he designs in them: To make known the riches of his glory, that is, of his goodness; for God's goodness is his greatest glory, especially when it is communicated with the greatest sovereignty. I beseech thee show me thy glory, says Moses, Exo 33:18. I will make all my goodness to pass before thee, says God (Exo 33:19), and that given out freely: I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious. God makes known his glory, this goodness of his, in the preservation and supply of all the creatures: the earth is full of his goodness, and the year crowned with it; but when he would demonstrate the riches of his goodness, unsearchable riches, he does it in the salvation of the saints, that will be to eternity glorious monuments of divine grace. Secondly, What he does for them he does before prepare them to glory. Sanctification is the preparation of the soul for glory, making it meet to partake of the inheritance of the saints in light. This is God's work. We can destroy ourselves fast enough, but we cannot save ourselves. Sinners fit themselves for hell, but it is God that prepares saints for heaven; and all those that God designs for heaven hereafter he prepares and fits for heaven now: he works them to the self-same thing, Co2 5:5. And would you know who these vessels of mercy are? Those whom he hath called (Rom 9:24); for whom he did predestinate those he also called with an effectual call: and these not of the Jews only, but of the Gentiles; for, the partition-wall being taken down, the world was laid in common, and not (as it had been) God's favour appropriated to the Jews, and they put a degree nearer his acceptance than the rest of the world. They now stood upon the same level with the Gentiles; and the question is not now whether of the seed of Abraham or no, that is neither here nor there, but whether or no called according to his purpose.
Historical interpretation
Two Centuries of Reception
8 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.
Select a marker to jump to its quote. Markers stagger vertically where authors wrote within a few decades of each other.
Pharaoh’s heart was hardened in the following way: God did not want to punish him immediately and completely. Although Pharaoh’s wickedness was enormous, God in his patience did not withdraw the possibility of conversion from him. Instead he struck him lightly at first and then gradually increased the blows. But although God acted with patience, Pharaoh was hardened by that very thing and became even more angry with God and contemptuous of him.… Therefore it is not that God hardens whom he wills, but rather that whoever is not softened by his patience is thereby automatically hardened.
Someone may object that Pharaoh cannot have been hardened, nor can anyone else who falls into sin, since in that case they would not be guilty of the hardening which has come upon them. But in saying this, O Man, you are going beyond yourself and seeking the secret reason for this inequality in God. There is no injustice here, the apostle said, because the refusal to show mercy on a sinner is due to the foreknowledge of the divine wisdom and not to some judicial reward. In this respect the apostle goes on to say that it is not up to men to sound the hidden depths of God, for the message of salvation is properly administered to all, whether mercy is shown to them or not.
Here Paul assumes the role of an objector who makes these assumptions.
"Therefore He hath mercy on whom He will have mercy, and whom He will He hardeneth. Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he then find fault? For who hath resisted His will?" See what pains he takes to embarrass the subject in every way. And the answer he does not produce forthwith, it being a useful thing not to do so, but he first stops the disputant's mouth, saying as follows.
If this is understood to mean that God has mercy on whom he wills and hardens whom he wills because there is enough wickedness, then your argument will be lost, viz., the argument that not you but the will of the Lord, to which there can be no opposition, is the cause of your sins. The very nature of God’s justice opposes this reasoning.
He enables the one on whom he has mercy to do good, and he leaves the one whom he hardens to do evil. But that mercy is the result of the prior merit of faith, and that hardening is the fruit of prior unbelief, so that we do good deeds by the gift of God and evil deeds because of his punishment. Yet in either case free will is not taken away from man, whether it is to believe in God, so that mercy on us might follow, or to disbelieve in him, so that punishment on us might be the result.
You must believe that the man whom God permits to go astray and to become hardened has deserved this evil, while in the case of the man upon whom he has mercy, you must acknowledge with an unswerving faith that this is a case of the grace of God, who is rendering not evil for evil but good for evil.
Why does the Father not teach all people in order that they might come to Christ, unless it is that all those whom he teaches, he teaches because of mercy, but those whom he does not teach, he does not teach because of judgment?
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Summary
Romans 9:18 stands as a profound theological declaration within Paul's discourse on God's sovereign election, asserting that divine mercy and hardening are not contingent upon human will or effort but are expressions of God's unchallengeable purpose. This verse serves as a climactic summary, concluding Paul's use of Old Testament examples to illustrate God's absolute freedom in dispensing grace and permitting resistance, thereby defending His righteousness in the face of Israel's unbelief.
Context
Literary Context
Romans 9:18 is strategically placed at the culmination of Paul's intricate argument concerning God's faithfulness to His covenant promises, despite the majority of Israel's rejection of Jesus as Messiah. Chapters 9-11 of Romans form a distinct unit addressing the "problem of Israel." Specifically, Romans 9:6-13 establishes that God's promises are not to all physical descendants of Abraham, but to the children of promise, exemplified by God's choice of Jacob over Esau even before their birth, as highlighted in Romans 9:11-13. Paul then anticipates the objection of injustice, leading to his potent use of the Pharaoh narrative. Romans 9:15-16 quotes Exodus 33:19 ("I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion"), emphasizing that God's mercy is not based on human will or exertion. This is immediately followed by the example of Pharaoh in Romans 9:17, where God states He raised Pharaoh up to display His power. Verse 18 then synthesizes these examples, drawing the decisive conclusion about God's dual actions of mercy and hardening.
Historical & Cultural Context
Paul is writing to a diverse church in Rome, comprising both Jewish and Gentile believers. A significant theological tension existed regarding the status of Israel, God's chosen people, who largely did not accept Jesus as their Messiah, while Gentiles were being brought into the covenant. This raised questions about God's faithfulness and justice. Paul's argument in Romans 9 addresses these concerns by appealing to Old Testament precedents and a robust understanding of God's sovereignty, which would have resonated with both Jewish listeners (familiar with narratives like Jacob and Esau, and Pharaoh) and Gentile listeners (who might have struggled to reconcile God's promises to Israel with their current exclusion). The concept of a sovereign deity was not foreign to the Greco-Roman world, but Paul's articulation of God's specific, purposeful hardening for redemptive ends would have been uniquely biblical and challenging.
Key Themes
The central theme underscored by Romans 9 as a whole, and particularly by verse 18, is God's Absolute Sovereignty. This doctrine asserts God's supreme authority and freedom to act according to His own perfect will, independent of human merit or preference. Closely related is the theme of Divine Mercy, presented as an unmerited gift, freely bestowed upon those God chooses, demonstrating His compassion and grace. Conversely, the challenging theme of Divine Hardening is introduced, which is often understood as God's judicial act of confirming or intensifying an existing resistance in those who have already hardened their own hearts against Him, as seen in the case of Pharaoh in Exodus. This hardening is not arbitrary but serves God's ultimate purposes, often to display His power and glory, as stated in Exodus 9:16. Finally, the verse implicitly raises the tension between Divine Justice and Human Responsibility, a tension Paul addresses directly in Romans 9:19-21 with the analogy of the potter and the clay, asserting God's unquestionable right to fashion humanity for His own purposes.
Exposition and Analysis
Key Word Analysis
From ἔλεος (eleos), meaning to compassionate, by word or deed, especially by divine grace. In this context, it signifies God's sovereign act of extending unmerited favor and compassion. It is not earned or deserved but is freely given according to God's will.
Apparently strengthened from the alternate form of αἱρέομαι (haireomai), meaning to determine as an active option from subjective impulse; to choose or prefer; to wish or be inclined to. This word emphasizes God's active, deliberate, and free choice, stemming from His own divine purpose and disposition, rather than being compelled by external factors or human actions.
From σκληρός (sklēros), meaning to indurate, stiffen, or render stubborn. In this verse, it refers to God's action of making a heart resistant or inflexible. This is often understood not as God forcing an innocent person into evil, but rather as God withdrawing His restraining grace or confirming a person's pre-existing stubbornness, using that very resistance to accomplish His divine purposes.
Verse Breakdown
"Therefore hath he mercy"
This opening phrase, introduced by "Therefore" (G686 ára and G3767 oûn), signals a logical conclusion drawn from the preceding arguments and examples (Jacob, Esau, Pharaoh). It asserts that God's act of showing mercy is a direct consequence of His sovereign nature and choice, not a response to human merit or desire.
"on whom he will [have mercy]"
This clause clarifies the object of God's mercy. The phrase "he will" (G2309 thélō) underscores the divine prerogative; God's decision to show mercy is entirely dependent on His own sovereign will and purpose, not on the will or efforts of the recipient. The bracketed "[have mercy]" is supplied in the KJV for clarity, completing the thought of God's volitional act of extending compassion.
"and whom he will"
The conjunction "and" (G1161 dé) introduces the second, contrasting aspect of God's sovereign action. Again, "he will" (G2309 thélō) emphasizes God's deliberate, unconstrained choice, applying the same principle of divine volition to the act of hardening as to the act of showing mercy.
"he hardeneth"
This final clause states the second outcome of God's sovereign will: the hardening of certain individuals. This is not presented as a forced act against an unwilling subject, but as a judicial or permissive act where God allows or confirms a person's existing resistance to His will, often for the display of His power and the furtherance of His redemptive plan.
Literary Devices
Romans 9:18 employs several significant literary devices that amplify its theological impact. The most prominent is Parallelism, specifically an Antithetical Parallelism, where two contrasting ideas—mercy and hardening—are presented in a balanced, corresponding structure ("on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth"). This highlights the dual nature of God's sovereign action, demonstrating His complete control over both the bestowal of grace and the permission of resistance. The verse also functions as a Sovereign Declaration, a definitive statement of divine prerogative, drawing a forceful conclusion from the preceding Old Testament examples. The concise and direct phrasing contributes to its authoritative tone, leaving little room for human argumentation against God's ultimate will.
Theological and Thematic Connections
Romans 9:18 is a cornerstone text for understanding the depth of God's sovereignty in salvation and judgment. It challenges human assumptions about fairness and merit, asserting that God's actions are rooted in His own perfect character and purposes, not in human performance or worthiness. This verse, following the examples of Jacob and Pharaoh, underscores that God's choices are not arbitrary but are part of a grand, unfolding redemptive plan that ultimately brings Him glory. While deeply profound, it simultaneously calls for humility and trust in the God who is both merciful and just, even when His ways are beyond full human comprehension.
Reflection and Application
Romans 9:18, while challenging, invites profound reflection on the nature of God and our place before Him. For the believer, this verse should cultivate deep humility and boundless gratitude, recognizing that salvation is entirely a gift of God's sovereign mercy, unearned and undeserved. It reminds us that our standing with God is not based on our striving or merit, but solely on His gracious choice. This truth should lead to a greater trust in God's ultimate goodness, justice, and wisdom, even when His ways seem inscrutable or difficult to reconcile with human logic. It calls us to rest in His perfect plan, knowing that He works all things according to the counsel of His will. For those who have received His mercy, it is a call to live lives that reflect this profound grace, extending compassion to others and humbly acknowledging God's supreme authority in all matters.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Does Romans 9:18 imply that God is unfair or arbitrary in His choices?
Paul anticipates this very objection in Romans 9:19, asking, "Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?" His answer, using the analogy of the potter and the clay in Romans 9:20-21, asserts God's unquestionable right as Creator to fashion humanity for His own purposes, whether for mercy or for judgment. The Bible consistently portrays God as just and righteous in all His ways (Psalm 145:17). His choices are not arbitrary but are rooted in His perfect wisdom and character, always serving His ultimate glory and redemptive plan. The "hardening" is often understood as a judicial act that confirms or intensifies a pre-existing resistance in those who have already hardened their own hearts against Him, as seen in the case of Pharaoh in Exodus 8:15.
Christ-Centered Fulfillment
Romans 9:18, while focusing on God's sovereign acts of mercy and hardening, finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the preeminent object of God's mercy, the one through whom all divine compassion flows to humanity. The cross of Christ is the ultimate demonstration of God's sovereign mercy, where He, in His infinite love, chose to provide salvation for a world lost in sin (John 3:16). At the same time, Christ also represents the point of divine hardening for those who reject Him. As 1 Peter 2:7-8 states, He is "a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense" to those who disobey, fulfilling the prophetic hardening of hearts that leads to judgment. The very act of some rejecting Christ, which led to His crucifixion, was paradoxically part of God's sovereign plan to bring salvation to the Gentiles and ultimately to a remnant of Israel (Romans 11:11-12). Thus, in Christ, we see the perfect convergence of God's sovereign mercy for those who believe and His righteous hardening for those who persistently refuse His grace, all working together for the display of His glory and the accomplishment of His redemptive purposes.