John Calvin Commentary Romans 9:15

"For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion." — Romans 9:15 (ASV)

For he says to Moses, etc. With regard to the elect, God cannot be charged with any unrighteousness, for according to his good pleasure he favors them with mercy; yet even in this case, the flesh finds reasons for murmuring, because it cannot concede to God the right of showing favor to one and not to another, unless the cause is made evident. Since it seems unreasonable that some should without merit be preferred to others, the petulance of men quarrels with God, as though he showed partiality to persons more than is right. Let us now see how Paul defends the righteousness of God.

In the first place, he by no means conceals or hides what he saw would be disliked, but proceeds to maintain it with inflexible firmness. In the second place, he does not labor to seek out reasons to soften its asperity, but considers it enough to check vile barkings by the testimonies of Scripture.

It may indeed appear a frigid defense that God is not unjust because he is merciful to whom he pleases; but since God regards his own authority alone as abundantly sufficient, so that he needs no one's defense, Paul thought it enough to present Him as the vindicator of His own right.

Now Paul brings forward here the answer Moses received from the Lord when he prayed for the salvation of the whole people. God’s answer was: “I will show mercy on whom I will show mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion.”

By this oracle, the Lord declared that He is a debtor to no one, and that whatever He gives is a gratuitous benefit. He also declared that His kindness is free, so that He can confer it on whom He pleases; and lastly, that no cause higher than His own will can be conceived for why He does good and shows favor to some people but not to all.

These words indeed mean as much as if He had said, “From him to whom I have once purposed to show mercy, I will never take it away; and with perpetual kindness I will follow him to whom I have determined to be kind.”

And thus He assigns the highest reason for imparting grace—namely, His own voluntary purpose—and also intimates that He has designed His mercy specifically for some. For it is a way of speaking that excludes all outward causes, as when we claim for ourselves the free power of acting, we say, “I will do what I mean to do.”

The relative pronoun also expressly intimates that mercy is not for all indiscriminately. Freedom is taken away from God when His election is bound to external causes.

The only true cause of salvation is expressed in the two words used by Moses. The first is חנן, chenen, which means to favor or to show kindness freely and bountifully; the other is רחם, rechem, which means to be treated with mercy. This confirms what Paul intended: that the mercy of God, being gratuitous, is under no restraint but turns wherever it pleases.