John Calvin Commentary Romans 9:4

"who are Israelites; whose is the adoption, and the glory, and the covenants, and the giving of the law, and the service [of God], and the promises;" — Romans 9:4 (ASV)

Who are Israelites, etc. Here the reason is now more plainly given why the destruction of that people caused him so much anguish that he was prepared to redeem them by his own death, namely because they were Israelites; for the relative pronoun is used here instead of a causative adverb.

Similarly, this anxiety took hold of Moses when he desired that he himself be blotted out of the book of life, rather than that the holy and chosen race of Abraham should be reduced to nothing (Exodus 32:32). Then, in addition to his kind feeling, he also mentions other reasons, and those of a higher kind, which led him to favor the Jews: namely, because the Lord had, as it were, by a kind of privilege, so exalted them that they were separated from the common order of humanity. And these titles of dignity were testimonies of love, for we do not usually speak so favorably except about those we love.

And though by their ingratitude they made themselves unworthy to be esteemed on account of these gifts of God, yet Paul continued justly to respect them, so that he might teach us that the ungodly cannot contaminate God's good endowments to such a degree that these endowments cease to deserve praise and admiration. At the same time, those who abuse them acquire by this nothing but greater reproach.

But just as we should not act in such a way as to despise, out of detestation for the ungodly, the gifts of God in them, so, on the other hand, we must use prudence, lest our kind esteem and regard for them make them proud, and especially lest our praises take on the appearance of flattery. Let us imitate Paul, who acknowledged the privileges of the Jews in such a way that he later declared that they were all of no value without Christ. But it was not without reason that he mentioned this as one of their praises: that they were Israelites; for Jacob prayed for this as a great favor, that they should be called by his name (Genesis 48:16).

Whose are the adoption, etc. The main point of Paul’s discourse is this: that though the Jews by their falling away had produced an ungodly divorce between God and themselves, yet the light of God’s favor was not wholly extinguished, according to what he had also said in Romans 3:3. They had indeed become unbelievers and had broken His covenant; but still their faithlessness had not made void the faithfulness of God. For He had not only reserved for Himself some remnant seed from the whole multitude, but had still continued, according to their hereditary right, the semblance of a Church among them.

But though they had already stripped themselves of these ornaments, so that it was of no advantage to them to be called the children of Abraham, yet as there was a danger lest, through their fault, the majesty of the gospel should be devalued among the Gentiles, Paul does not consider what they deserved, but covers their baseness and disgraceful conduct by throwing veils over them, until the Gentiles were fully persuaded that the gospel had flowed to them from the celestial fountain, from the sanctuary of God, from an elect nation. For the Lord, passing by other nations, had selected them as a people special to Himself and had adopted them as His children, as He often testifies through Moses and the prophets. And not content simply to give them the name of children, He sometimes calls them His firstborn, and sometimes His beloved. Thus, the Lord says in Exodus 4:22:

“My first-begotten son is Israel; let my son go,
that he may serve me.”

In Jeremiah 31:9, it is said:

“I am become a Father to Israel, and Ephraim is my first-begotten:”

And again, “Is not my son Ephraim precious to me? Is he not a delightful child? Hence troubled for him are my bowels, and I will yet pity him.” By these words God means not only to express His kindness towards the people of Israel, but rather to exhibit the efficacy of adoption, through which the promise of the celestial inheritance is conveyed.

Glory means the excellence to which the Lord had exalted that people above all other nations, and that in many and various ways, and especially by dwelling among them. For besides many other signs of His presence, He exhibited a unique proof of it in the ark, where He gave responses and also heard His people, that He might display His power in helping them; and for this reason it was called “the glory of God” (1 Samuel 4:22).

As he has distinguished here between covenants and promises, we may observe this difference: a covenant is that which is expressed in distinct and established words, and contains a mutual stipulation, like the one made with Abraham; but promises are what we encounter everywhere in Scripture. For when God had once made a covenant with His ancient people, He continued to offer His favor to them, often through new promises.

It therefore follows that promises are to be traced back to the covenant as their true source, in the same manner as the special acts of God's help, by which He testifies His love towards the faithful, can be said to flow from the true fountain of election.

And as the law was nothing more than a renewal of the covenant, and more fully sanctioned the remembrance of it, legislation, or the giving of the law, seems to be here specifically applied to the things which the law commanded. For it was no small honor conferred on the Jewish people that they had God as their lawgiver. For if some gloried in their Solons and Lycurguses, how much more reason was there to glory in the Lord? An account of this is found in Deuteronomy 4:32.

By worship he understands that part of the law in which the legitimate manner of worshipping God is prescribed, such as rites and ceremonies. These should have been considered lawful because of God’s appointment; without which, whatever men devise is nothing but a profanation of religion.