the converts of transgressions. But even according to the present text, the passage contains the general meaning which the apostle attributes to it. ' The Goel, the deliverer, should come for the salvation of Zion.'
The apostle informs us that the deliverance vi^hich God promised to effect, and which is spoken of by the prophet in the passage above cited, included much more than the conversion of the few Jews who believed in Christ at the advent. The full accomplishment of the promise, that he should turn away ungodliness from Jacob, contemplated the conver- sion of the whole nation as such to the Lord. We are, of course, bound to receive the apostle's interpretation as correct, and there is the less dif- ficulty in this, as there is nothing in the original passage at all incompa- tible with it, and as it accords with the nature of God's covenant with his ancient people.
(27) For this is my covenant unto them, when I shall tahe away their sins. This verse is not a quotation from any one passage in the Old Testament, but rather a declaration, on the part of the apostle, of the pur- port of God's promises or covenant with his people. The first clause occurs in Isa. 59: 21, immediately after the passage quoted above, and also in Jer. 31 : 33. The latter clause may be considered either as the substance of the passage in Jeremiah, or as borrowed from Isa. 27 : 9, where, in the Septuagint, these same words occur. In either case the general idea is the same. ' The promise of God contemplated the taking away of the sins of his covenant people, and their consequent restoration to his favour.' The words when I shall take away their sins may, ac- cording to the context, mean either, when I have punished their sins : or, when I have removed them. Neither is inconsistent with the context in this case, as the apostle may mean that God would restore the Jews after he had punished them for their iniquities, or when he had converted them from their unbelief; see Isa. 4 : 4.
(28) .Ms concerning the gospel they are enemies for your sahes, but as touching the election they are beloved for the fathers^ sakes. In this and the few following verses, the apostle sums up what he had previously taught. The Jews, he says, were now, as far as the gospel was concerned, regarded and treated as enemies for the benefit of the Gentiles, but, in reference to the election, they were still regarded as the peculiar people of God on account of their connexion with the patriarchs. They are ene- mies, whether of the gospel, of the apostle, or of God, is not expressed, and, therefore, depends on the context. Each view of the clause has its advocates ; the last is the correct one, because they are enemies to him, by whom, on one account, they are beloved. The word may be taken ac- tively or passively. They are inimical to God, or they are regarded and treated as enemies by him. The latter best suits the context. They are now aliens from their own covenant of promise.
As concerning the gospel, that is, the gospel is the occasion of their being regarded as enemies. This is explained by a reference to vs. 11, 15 By their punishment the progress of the gospel has been facilitated