Rom. xi. 34 — 36. Who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor ? Or who hath first given to him, and it shall be recompensed unto him again ? For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things : to whom be glory for ever. Amen.
GOD is represented in the Scriptures as " a jea- lous God." And well he may be so : for it is not fit that any portion of " his glory should be given to another." But man is ready, on all occasions, to ar- rogate something to himself. Hence it becomes the servants of God to exercise extreme vigilance in rela- tion to this matter ; and to claim for God the honour due unto his name.
In the chapter before us, the Apostle has been set- ting forth the mysterious designs of God in relation both to Jews and Gentiles. It had pleased God, for two thousand years, to confine the knowledge of him- self to Abraham and his descendants : but at length he saw fit to cast off them, and to transfer his blessings to the Gentiles. In due season, however, it is his purpose to restore to his favour his ancient people, and, through their instrumentality, to diffuse the knowledge of himself over the face of the whole earth. Now, in the whole of this wrork, it is obvious that God has acted " according to the counsel of his own will ;" and that to no creature in the universe is there left any room to boast. Hence St. Paul, in the words which we have read, ascribes all the glory to God alone.
Let me call your attention to the component parts of this sublime passage :
I. His unrestricted challenge —
Who will venture to claim any merit to himself in reference to redemption at large I —
[Of whom did God take counsel, when he determined to save a ruined world? Who suggested to him a hint respect- ing the substitution of his own Son in the place of sinful man ? Who proposed to him so strange a way of reconciling all his