but of the whole Church; all the parts of which, Gentile, as well as Jew, are jointly built on him, and upheld by him, Ephe/. 2. 20. 77 See v. 5. nShall not be diſappointed of his expected Salvation, and fo ſhall have no cauſe to be aſhamed of his Hope. This 1s ac- cording to the LXX, the Hebrew hath it, ſhall nxt make haſte, 1. e. he that believes in Chriſt ſhill not through hafte, or Diftruſt, or Unwillinzneſs to wait Gn's time and way, ſeek after any other way f Salvation than by Girift ; and fo {as before) not being dilap- pointed, ſhall have no cauſe to be aſhamed; whereas they that do not helieve, but make haſl*, coming ſhort of their. ExpeRation, are at laſt filld with Contui:on. See the places in the Margin. 7 Unto you therefore which believe he 7s} precious -: bur unto them which be ditobedient p, * the Itone
' which the builders g dilatſowed 7, the ſame is made
the head of the corner: /. | » The Margin reads it according to the Greek, an Honour, E1-
| tlier the Abſtract is put for the Concrete, an hong for honow-
rable or precious (a5 the Text hath it) and then the ſenſe is plain that Chriſt, as he is precious in himltclt, and to his Father, fo he is to them that believe : Or, /mur may be put for the cauſe of Ho- nour, and then jt is oppoſed to ſhame and Confuſion before-men- tioned, and the ſenſe is, Ye that believe, ſhall be fo tar from be- ing aſhamed, or having your Faith fruſtrated, that ye ſhall be ho- noured, and ſaved by Chriſt. And this agrees well with what fol- I-wws in this and v. 8. p Unbelievers, who were diſobedient to the grert Command of the (Goſpel concerning Faith in the Lord Jeſus Chrift. 4 The High Prieſts, Scrihes, Pharifees, and Rulers of the Zews, whoſe Duty it was to build vp the Church, as having not only the Name, but the Power then refiding in them. » Rezeted him, and would not acknowledze him for the promiſed Meſſtah, and the preat Foundation vpon which the Church of God was fo be built. / Qnefl. How is Chriſt ſaid to be made the Head of the Comer to them that rejett him? Anf. Either, 1. ſomething 1s here to be underſtood, iz. tis is fatd, or ſpoken, which follows, the Stone which the Builrs, &c. q. 4. they deſpited him, but God hath ho- noured him ; they would allow him no place in the Building, but God hath given him the beſt, made him the Head-ſtone of the Cor- ner : Or, 2, Chriſt may be ſaid to be made to the Diſobedient in ſpite of their reietins and oppoting him, the Head of the Corner; i. e. 4 King and a Judz. to icftrain, and curb them-1n, ſeeing they would nct be ruled by him. :
$ * And tone of ſtumbling; and a + rock of offence
.t, een 19 them which ſtumble ar the word, being dilo-
bedientn, || wherennto x allo rhey were appointed.
t i. e. A Stone at which they fhumble, a Rock at which they are offended ; and ſo it implies Clnitt not to be "the caule of their flumblinz, but the Object of it ; thicy of their own accord, and through tite pravity of their 'Noture, without any juſt occation gl- ven by him, being offended, cither hecaufc the; find not that in him, which they exp- ted, 12, outivard Encouragements ; or find that in him which they do not like, the Holinels of his Law, and Purity of his DoQrine, contrary to their Corruptions and Lufts, and eſpe- cially his requiring of them Faith. in him for the Juſtification of their Perſons, which was fo contrary to the Pride of their Hearts, and which was one vreat reaſon of the Jews ſtumbling at him, as ſeeking to eſtabliſh their own Kighteuutncls, and therefore not tbmitting to the Bi-hteautnyſe of God, Rom. 9. 32. 33. com. with WW. 2 This ſhimblins includes not only their falling into Sin, but into Deſtruction tov, the Puniſhment ot Sin, 012. 8. 14, 15. where- of Chriſt can be no wore thn the tnculpabie occation, but their awn Unbelicf the proper Cruſe, » Thefe words may have a double reading, one accordin? to our Trantlation, and then the ſenſe js, that ſtumble at the Word of the Goſpel, 7. e are difobedtent to if, in rejectins Chriſt theretn offered to them: Or, that ſlumble, being dinbedient to tho {md 1. e. ftumble at Chritt preached to them in the Ward, and theretore will not obey it : they ſhew that they are offended at Chritt, by their not receiving his Dodtrine, nor accepting his offers. x Fither this may reter, 1. fo wv. 5. where Chriſt is ſaid to be /aid (the ſame word 1n the Greeb, with that which is here trantlated, by appointed ) /n Zion, as a chief Cor- ner-flone, ele and precious, on whom wholoever belreveth, ſhall not be confounded + The Apoſtle then ads, that even theſe Unbelievers were appninted (viz. in their external Vocation, 4s being taken in- to Covenant with God) to be built on Chrift by Faith, but they ſtumbled, by their Unbelief, at the Word of tlic Goſpel, and con- ſzquently at this ſtumbling-Stone. And then it is an high agerava- ting the Unbelief of the Jews, that they being God's peculiar People, ſhould reieet that Salvation which was ſent to them, and to the firit offer of which they were det1gned, As 13. 25, 46, 47. Or, 2ly, to the words immed1atcly going before, that ſtumbleth at the Word, teing d'(obedient, and then the ſenſe 1s (ſpeaking con- cerning the reprobate Jews that God appointed them to this ſtumb- ling, in his decrecing not to give them Faith jn Chriſt, but to leave them to their Unbeliet, and to puniſh them juſtly for it : See Rom. 9. 17, and 1 Theſſ. 5. 9. Fude 4. The Scope of the Apo- ſile in this whole Verſe teems to be, to keep weak Chriſtians from beins offended at the multitude of Unbelievers, and eſpecially at their ſecing Chriſt rejeted by the Jewilh Rulers and Dottors ; and this he doth by pointing them to the Scripture, where all this was long fince foretold, and theretore not to be wondred at now, nor be any occation of offence to them. See the like, John 16. t, 4.
9 But ye y are a choſen generation 2, a tf, royal priefthool a, an holy nation b, \| a peculiar people - thar / ve ſhould ſhew forth e the || praiſes f of him who hath called g you * our of darknels þ into
ir. his marvellous light 7 -
y Ye Believers, in oppoſition to thoſe Reprobates that are diſo- bedient to the Word, He ſhews that thoſe Dignities and Privi- ledges, which were mentioned by Moſes; as belonging to their Fore- {athers, did much more beforig {6 ffieri; add Fat they had the real
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