4 Or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance, and patience, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
The Lord is not slow concerning his promise, as some count slowness; but is patient with us, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.
whom God set forth to be an atoning sacrifice{or, a propitiation}, through faith in his blood, for a demonstration of his righteousness through the passing over of prior sins, in God's forbearance;
Yahweh passed by before him, and proclaimed, "Yahweh! Yahweh, a merciful and gracious God, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness and truth,
that in the ages to come he might show the exceeding riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus;
in whom we have our redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,
What if God, willing to show his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath made for destruction, and that he might make known the riches of his glory on vessels of mercy, which he prepared beforehand for glory,
to whom God was pleased to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory;
If you, Yah, kept a record of sins, Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with you, Therefore you are feared.
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, and is rich to all who call on him.
Oh the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past tracing out!
that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, that you may be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inward man;
Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, then I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me.
who before were disobedient, when God waited patiently in the days of Noah, while the ark was being built. In it, few, that is, eight souls, were saved through water.
But when the kindness of God our Savior and his love toward mankind appeared, not by works of righteousness, which we did ourselves, but according to his mercy, he saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, which he poured out on us richly, through Jesus Christ our Savior;
However, for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first, Jesus Christ might display all his patience, for an example of those who were going to believe in him for eternal life.
My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
Yahweh is slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, forgiving iniquity and disobedience; and that will by no means clear [the guilty], visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, on the third and on the fourth generation.
He sings before men, and says, 'I have sinned, and perverted that which was right, And it didn't profit me. He has redeemed my soul from going into the pit, My life shall see the light.' "Behold, God works all these things, Twice, yes three times, with a man, To bring back his soul from the pit, That he may be enlightened with the light of the living.
But he, being merciful, forgave iniquity, and didn't destroy them. Yes, many times he turned his anger away, And didn't stir up all his wrath.
For you, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive; Abundant in loving kindness to all those who call on you.
Yahweh, how many are your works! In wisdom have you made them all. The earth is full of your riches.
Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil.
I will make mention of the loving kindnesses of Yahweh, [and] the praises of Yahweh, according to all that Yahweh has bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he has bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses. For he said, Surely, they are my people, children who will not deal falsely: so he was their Savior. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bore them, and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and grieved his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, [and] himself fought against them.
Go, and proclaim these words toward the north, and say, Return, you backsliding Israel, says Yahweh; I will not look in anger on you; for I am merciful, says Yahweh, I will not keep [anger] forever. Only acknowledge your iniquity, that you have transgressed against Yahweh your God, and have scattered your ways to the strangers under every green tree, and you have not obeyed my voice, says Yahweh.
Return, you backsliding children, I will heal your backsliding. Behold, we are come to you; for you are Yahweh our God. Truly in vain is [the help that is looked for] from the hills, the tumult on the mountains: truly in Yahweh our God is the salvation of Israel.
Son of man, what is this proverb that you have in the land of Israel, saying, The days are prolonged, and every vision fails? Tell them therefore, Thus says the Lord Yahweh: I will make this proverb to cease, and they shall no more use it as a proverb in Israel; but tell them, The days are at hand, and the fulfillment of every vision.
that you may remember, and be confounded, and never open your mouth any more, because of your shame, when I have forgiven you all that you have done, says the Lord Yahweh.
He prayed to Yahweh, and said, "Please, Yahweh, wasn't this what I said when I was still in my own country? Therefore I hurried to flee to Tarshish, for I knew that you are a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and you repent of the evil.
But when he came to himself he said, 'How many hired servants of my father's have bread enough to spare, and I'm dying with hunger! I will get up and go to my father, and will tell him, "Father, I have sinned against heaven, and in your sight. I am no more worthy to be called your son. Make me as one of your hired servants."'
When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said to him, "Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house." He hurried, came down, and received him joyfully. When they saw it, they all murmured, saying, "He has gone in to lodge with a man who is a sinner." Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, "Behold, Lord, half of my goods I give to the poor. If I have wrongfully exacted anything of anyone, I restore four times as much."
See then the goodness and severity of God. Toward those who fell, severity; but toward you, goodness, if you continue in his goodness; otherwise you also will be cut off.
But God, being rich in mercy, for his great love with which he loved us,
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Romans 2
Commentary on Romans 2 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 2
The scope of the first two chapters of this epistle may be gathered from ch. 3:9, "We have before proved both Jews and Gentiles that they are all under sin.' This we have proved upon the Gentiles (ch. 1), now in this chapter he proves it upon the Jews, as appears by v. 17, "thou art called a Jew.'
Rom 2:1-16
In the former chapter the apostle had represented the state of the Gentile world to be as bad and black as the Jews were ready enough to pronounce it. And now, designing to show that the state of the Jews was very bad too, and their sin in many respects more aggravated, to prepare his way he sets himself in this part of the chapter to show that God would proceed upon equal terms of justice with Jews and Gentiles; and now with such a partial hand as the Jews were apt to think he would use in their favour.
Rom 2:17-29
In the latter part of the chapter the apostle directs his discourse more closely to the Jews, and shows what sins they were guilty of, notwithstanding their profession and vain pretensions. He had said (v. 13) that not the hearers but the doers of the law are justified; and he here applies that great truth to the Jews. Observe,