vi Mercy coextensive with disobedience. 97 



sake. For the gifts and calling of God are not 

 repented of. For as ye in time past were dis- 

 obedient to God, but have now obtained mercy 

 through their disobedience, even so have these also 

 now been disobedient, that by the mercy shown to 

 you they also may now obtain mercy. For God hath 

 shut up all unto disobedience, that He may have 

 mercy upon all. 



" the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and 

 the knowledge of God ! how unsearchable His judg- 

 ments, and how untraceable l His ways ! . . . For 

 of Him, and through Him, and unto Him, are all 

 things." 2 



Before we consider this passage taken altogether, 

 let us inquire the meaning of the 16th verse: "If the 

 firstfruit is holy, so is the lump ; and if the root is 

 holy, so are the branches." Are these two metaphors 

 identical in meaning ? Is this verse an instance of 

 parallelism, like that of Hebrew poetry ? The mean- 

 ing of the second clause admits of no doubt ; the 

 following verses show that the root is the Patriarchs, 

 and the branches are the people of Israel ; so that 

 this is a metaphorical equivalent of the 28th verse : 

 " As touching the election, they are beloved for the 

 fathers' sake." But I would suggest that the former 

 of the two metaphors has a different meaning ; that 

 the " lump " is the human race, and the " firstfruit " 

 the elect Israel, the seed of Abraham, who were 



1 'A?etxrla0T0f, from ix" 05 ? a footstep. 



2 Rom. xi. 11-36. 



H 



