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(1) I ask, then, has God rejected his people? Let it not be! I myself am an Israelite, a descendant of Abraham, a member of the tribe of Benjamin. (2) God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew. Do you not know what the scripture says of Elijah, how he pleads with God against Israel? (3) "Lord, they have killed thy prophets, they have demolished thy altars, and I alone am left, and they seek my life." (4) But what is God's reply to him? "I have kept for myself seven thousand men who have not bowed the knee to Baal." (5) So too at the present time there is a remnant, chosen by grace. (6) But if it is by grace, it is no longer on the basis of works; otherwise grace would no longer be grace. (7) What then? Israel failed to obtain what it sought. The elect obtained it, but the rest were blinded, (8) as it is written, "God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that should not see and ears that should not hear, down to this very day." (9) And David says, "Let their table become a snare and a trap, a pitfall and a retribution for them; (10) let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, and bend their backs for ever." ____________________________________________________________________________________________ After showing that the fall of the Jews is deplorable, though not entirely excusable [n. 813], the Apostle now shows that it is not universal. First, he raises a question; secondly, he answer it [v. 1b; n. 861]; thirdly, he draws a conclusion [v. 7; n. 872]. 860. First, therefore, he says: I ask then, has God rejected his people? i.e., the Jews, because he calls them unbelieving and contrary. Even the Psalmist asks: "O God, why dost thou cast us for ever?" (Ps 74:1; "The Lord has scorned his altar" (Lam 2:7). 861. Then when he says, By no means, he answers the question and shows that God has not totally rejected the Jewish people. And this is what he says: By no means has the Jewish people been rejected in its entirety. He proves this, first of all, with respect to himself, saying: I myself, living in the faith of Christ, am an Israelite by race: "are they Israelites? So am I" (2 Cor 11:22). And because there were among the people of Israel some proselytes not descended in the flesh from the patriarchs, he says that this is not so of him, adding: a descendant of Abraham: "Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I" (2 Cor 11:23). Furthermore, among the Jewish people the tribes were distinguished according to the sons of Jacob, some of whom were sons of slaves and some of wives. Joseph and Benjamin were sons of Rachel, Jacob's fondest wife. Hence he shows his eminence among the Jewish people, saying: a member of the tribe of Benjamin: "Of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin" (Phil 3:5). Hence, some apply to Paul what is in Gen (49:27): "Benjamin is a ravenous wolf, in the morning devouring the prey, and at evening dividing the spoil." 432 862. Secondly, when he says: God has not rejected, he shows that his people has not been rejected by God in regard to many chosen ones. First, he states is proposition; secondly, he recalls a similar situation [v. 2b; n. 864]; thirdly, he adapts it [v. 5; n. 871]. 863. First, therefore, he says: Not only have I not been rejected, but God has not rejected his people whom he foreknew, i.e., the predestined ones: "For the Lord will not reject his people" (Ps 94:14). The Apostle applies this to the predestined. 864. Then when he says, Do you not know, he recalls a similar situation which occurred during the time of Elijah, when all the people seemed to have turned from the worship of the one God. First, he presents Elijah's plea; secondly, the Lord's reply [v. 4; n. 870]. 865. First, therefore, he says: Do you not know what the Scripture says of Elijah, i.e., in the book written about Elijah? For the entire Book of Kings was written mainly to make known the saying and deeds of the Prophets. That is why it is counted among the prophetic books, as Jerome says. How he pleads with God against Israel. 866. The word of Samuel seems to be contrary to this when he says: "Far from me be this sin against the Lord, that I should cease to pray for you" (1 Sam 12:23). Much less, then, should one intervene against the people. But it should be noted that prophets intervene against the people in three ways: in one way by conforming their wills to the divine will revealed to them, as it says in Ps (58:10): "The righteous will rejoice when he sees the vengeance." In another way by 433 intervening against the kingdom of sin, in order that men's sins but not men be destroyed. In a third way that the intervention or prayer be construed as a denunciation, as in Jer (17:18): "Let them that persecute me be confounded," i.e., they will be confounded. 867. In this intervention Isaiah alleges two things against them. First, the impiety they committed against the worship of god. First, by persecuting His ministers, to which he refers when he says: Lord, they have killed thy prophets: "Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute?" (Ac 7:52); "Has it not been told my lord what I did when Jezebel killed the prophets of the Lord" (1 Kings 18:13). Secondly, impiety against God's holy places, as it says in Ps (74:7): "They set they sanctuary on fire." In regard to this he says: They have demolished thy altars. 868. Here it should be noted what the Lord commanded, saying: "You shall seek the place which the Lord your God will choose out of all your tribes to put his name and make hi habitation there; thither you shall go, and thither you shall bring your burnt offerings and sacrifices" (Dt 12:5-6). However, before the temples was built, the people were allowed to build altars in various places for divine worship; but because this became illegal after the temple had been built, the pious king Hezekiah destroyed all such altars. And that is what it says in 2 Kgs (18:220 "Is it not he whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and to Jerusalem, 'You shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem'?" Therefore, what Hezekiah did in a spirit of piety, Achab and Jezebel did in a spirit of impiety in their desire to root out the worship of God entirely. 869. Thirdly [cf. n. 867], he alleges against them the impiety they intended to do, saying: and I alone am left, namely, to worship the one God, because the rest did not show very clearly that they were God's worshippers: and they seek my life. For Jezebel 434 had sent word to Elijah, saying: "so may the gods do to me, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them (1Kgs 19:2), namely of the prophets of Baal whom Elijah had killed. 870. Then he gives the divine reply, saying: But what is God's reply to him, i.e., to Elijah. It is this: I have kept for myself, i.e., for my worship by not permitting them to fall into sin, seven thousand men (this definite number is put in place of the uncertain number, because seen and thousand are perfect numbers), who have not bowed the knee to Baal, i.e. who have not abandoned the worship of God: "All who call on my name, whom I created for my glory" (Is 43:17). 871. Then when he says, So, too, at the present time, he adapts all this to the present situation. First, he sets out the adaptation, saying: So, too, at the present time, in which a multitude of people seems to have gone astray, there is a remnant chosen by grace, saved according to the choice of God's grace: "You have not chosen me, but I have chosen you" (Jn 15:16). Secondly, he draws the conclusion from this: But if it is by grace that they have been saved, it is no longer on the basis of works: "He saved us, not because of deeds done by us in righteousness, but in virtue of his own mercy" (*** 3:5). Thirdly, that this conclusion follows from the premises is shown when he says: Otherwise, i.e., if grace is in virtue of works, grace would no loner be grace, for it is given gratis: "The free gift of righteousness through his grace" (Rom 5:17). 872. Then when he says, What then, he draws the conclusion he intended. 435 And first he sets it out, saying What then shall we say follows from what has been said? This, namely, that Israel, as far as the greater part of its people was concerned, failed to obtain what it sought, namely, righteousness. This is the way one must interpret what was said above (9:31): "But Israel whop pursued the righteousness based on the law did not attain it." Nevertheless, the elect of the Jews obtained it: "He chose us in him, that we should be holy" (Eph 1:4). But the rest were hardened because of their malice: "Their own malice blinded them" (Wis 1:22) 873. Then when he says, As it is written, he clarifies the first part of the conclusion: first, on the authority of Isaiah; secondly, of David [v. 9; n. 876]. 874. In regard to the first it should be noted that the Apostle bases himself on two passages from Isaiah. For it says in Is (29:10): "The Lord has poured out upon you a spirit of deep sleep." In regard to this he says: God gave them a spirit of compunction, which has to do with a perversity of emotion. For compunction implies a puncturing of the heart or sorrow. Hence there is good compunction by which ones grieves over his own sins, as it says in Ps 60(:3), "You have made us drunk with the wine of compunction." There is also evil compunction, i.e., the compunction of envy, by which one grieves over the goods of another. Therefore God gave them this spirit of compunction, i.e., envy, not by instilling malice but by withdrawing grace, as was said above (10:19): "I will make you jealous of those who are not a nation." 436 875. Likewise it says in Is (6:10): "Male the heart of this people fat, and their eyes heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes and hear with their ears." In this vein he designates their weakened power of knowing, when he adds: eyes that should not see the miracles which Christ performed in their presence, and ears that should not hear fruitfully the teachings of Christ and the apostle: "He sees many things but does not observe then, his ears are open, but he does not hear" (Is 42:20). To this the Apostle adds on his own: down to this very day, because they will see and hear at the end of the world, when the hearts of the children will be converted to the hearts of their fathers, as it says in Mal (4:5). 876. Then when hey says, And David says, he presents the authority of David on the same point. First, he touches on the things which occasioned the fall of the Jews, saying" Let their table, i.e. the malice with which sinners are nourished: "Though wickedness is sweet in his mouth, though he hides it under his tongue" (Jb 20:12). This table is before them, when they sin from malice aforethought and it becomes a snare, i.e., a temptation to sin: "He who combs out of the pit shall be caught in the snare: (Is 24:18) and a trap, when they succumb to the pleasure of the temptation: "They shall be trapped and taken" (Is 8:15) and a pitfall, when they fall from one sin into another: "Much peace to those who love your law, and it is not a pitfall to them" (Ps 119:165) and a retribution for them, namely, when they will be punished for their sins. Or because they very fact that God permits them so to fall is itself a retribution for their sins: "Render to the proud their deserts" (Ps 94:2). 437 Or the table is the Sacred Scripture put before the Jews: "She has set forth her table" (Pr 9:2). It becomes a snare, when something ambiguous occurs; a trap, when it is not correctly understood, a pitfall, when it falls into obstinate error; and a retribution , as explained above. 877. Secondly, he mentions the weakening of their power to understand when he says: let their eyes be darkened so that they cannot see, which is said more as a prediction then as a desire; and their backs, i.e., free choice, which carries something for good or for evil, bend forever, i.e., bend from eternal things to temporal things, from the path of justice to iniquity: "Bow down, that we may pass over" (Is 51:23).

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(11) So I ask, have they stumbled so as to fall? Let it not be! But through their trespass salvation has come to the Gentiles, so as to make them jealous. (12) Now if their trespass means riches for the world, and if their diminution means riches for the Gentiles, how much more will their fullness mean! (13) Now I am speaking to you Gentiles. Inasmuch then as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I honor my ministry (14) in order to make my flesh jealous, and thus save some of them. (15) For if their rejection means the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? (16) If the representative sample is holy, so is the whole lump; and if the root is holy, so are the branches.
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After showing that the fall of the Jews is not universal [n. 859], the Apostle now begins to show that their fall was neither useless nor irreparable. In regard to this he does two things: first, he shows that the fall of the Jews is useful and reparable; secondly, he disputes the Gentiles' boasting against the Jews [v. 17; n. 894]. In regard to the first he does two things: first, he asks a question; secondly, he answers it [v. 11b; n. 880]. 879. First, therefore, he says: It has been stated and proved that except for the chosen, the rest of the Jews have been blinded. So the question arises: Have they stumbled so as to fall? This can be interpreted in two ways: the first way is this: Has God permitted them to stumble only so as to fall, i.e., not for any benefit that might follow but merely willing their fall? This, of course, would be contrary to God's goodness which, as Augustine says, is so great that it would not permit any evil to occur except for some good, which He draws out of the evil. Hence it says in Jb (34:24): "He shall break in pieces many and innumerable, and shall make others to stand in their stead"; and in Rev (3:11): "Hold fast what you have, so that no one may seize your crown,": namely, because God permits some to fall in order that their fall be the occasion of salvation for others. Another interpretation is this: Have they stumbled so as to fall? i.e., to remain fallen forever: "will he not rise again from where he lies?" (Ps 41:8). 880. Then when he says, Let it not be! he answers the question: first, according to the second interpretation that it is reparable; 439 second, he resolves the question according to the second interpretation, showing that the Jews’ situation is reparable [883]. 881. First, therefore, he says: By no means was their fall useless; rather, by their, namely, the Jews', trespass, salvation has come to the Gentiles. Hence the Lord Himself says: "Salvation is from the Jews" (Jn 4:22). This can be understood in three ways. In the first way, that by their trespass, which they committed in killing Christ, the salvation of the Gentiles was obtained through the redemption of Christ's blood: "you know that you were ransomed not with perishable things, such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of the Lamb" (1 Pt 1:18). In the second way, it can be understood of the trespass by which they rejected the teaching of the apostles, with the result that the apostles preached to the Gentiles, as it says in Ac (13:46): "It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken first to you. Since you thrust it from you, we turn to the Gentiles." In a third way it can be understood as meaning that on account of their impenitence they have been scattered among all the nations. As a result Christ and the Church had from the books of the Jews testimony to the Christian faith helpful in converting the Gentiles, who might have suspected that the prophecies concerning the testimony of the Hews; hence it says in Ps 59 (v.10): "Let me look in triumph on my enemies," i.e., the Jews. "Slay them not, lest my people forget, make them totter by thy power." 882. There follows so that they may be jealous of them. 440 And because he does not say who or whom, and since there are two kinds of jealousy, namely that of indignation and that of imitation, this phrase can be explained in four ways. The first way is this. The Gentiles are jealous of them, namely the Jews, such that they imitate them in the worship of the one God: "You were at one time without Christ, alien to the way of life of Israel," and later he adds, "But now you, who were once far off, have been drawn near in the blood of Christ" (Eph 2:12); "You have become imitators of the Church of God" (1Th 2:14), which was in Judea. Or it can be interpreted this way. The Gentiles are jealous of the Jews, i.e., they are indignant against them on account of their unbelief: "I beheld the transgressors and I pined away, because they do not keep your words" (Ps 118:158). Thirdly, it can be understood in this way. The Jews are jealous, i.e., imitate the Gentiles when everywhere, and now some of them particularly, are converted to the faith, imitating the faith of the Gentiles; and in the end all Israel will be saved when the fullness of the Gentiles have entered. Thus will be fulfilled what is said in Dt 28(:44), "He will be the head and you will be the tail." Fourthly, it can be interpreted this way. The Jews are jealous of the Gentiles, i.e., are disturbed out of envy towards them when they see their glory passing over to them: "I will provoke you by that which is not a people" (Dt 22:21). 883. Then when he says, Now if their trespass, he answers the question as interpreted in the second way and shows that the fall of the Jews is reparable. He does this in three ways: first, from its usefulness; 441 secondly, from the Apostle's intention [v. 12; n. 885]; thirdly, from the condition of that people [v. 16; n. 891]. In regard to the first he presents the following reason: a good is more powerful than an evil in producing usefulness, but the evil which befell the Jews produced something very useful for the Gentiles, therefore, their good will produce greater usefulness for the world. What he is saying is this: It has been said that by their trespass the salvation of the Gentiles was achieved. Now if their trespass, i.e., the Jews', means riches for the world, i.e., for the Gentiles, because the trespass of the Jews resulted in spiritual riches for the Gentiles, (This refers to their guilt, and their failure, by which they fell from the lofty glory they had, pertains to their punishment). "For we are diminished more than any nation and are brought low in all the earth this day for our sins" (Dan 3:37). How much more will their full inclusion, i.e., their spiritual abundance or their multitude converted to God, result in riches for the Gentiles: "My abode is in the full assembly of saints" (Sir 24:16). And so, if for the benefit of the whole world God permitted the Jews to do wrong and be diminished, much more will He repair their disaster for the benefit of the whole world. 885. Then when he says, For I am speaking to you Gentiles, he shows the same things by revealing the purpose of his ministry, which he first states; secondly, he assigns the reason [v. 15; n. 890]. 886. In regard to the first it should be noted that whereas the previous parts of the epistle were directed to all the believers in Rome, whether from the Jews or from the Gentiles, he is now directing his words to the converted Gentiles. 442 887. He says, therefore: I have stated that their fullness will mean riches for the world. As testimony to this I say to you Gentiles, i.e., Gentiles converted to the faith: "I said, 'Behold me' to a nation that did not call upon my name" (Is 65:1). This, I repeat, I say to you: inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, the special care of whom has fallen to me on account of the office entrusted to me: "For this was I appointed a preacher and apostle, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth" (1 Tim 2:7); I will magnify my ministry not with things that pertain to worldly honor: but first by adorning it with good morals: "As servants of God we commend ourselves in every way in much patience." (2 Cor 6:4). Secondly, by performing extra works to which he was not bound: "What then is my reward? Just this: that by making his anxiety embrace everyone's salvation: "Apart from all other things, there is the daily pressure upon me of my anxiety for all the churches" (2 Cor 11:28). 888. Hence he adds: in order to make my flesh, i.e., the Jews, who are related to me in the flesh, as was said above in chapter 9(:3), jealous: "Do not despise your own flesh" (Is 58:7): and thus save some of them, namely, of the Jews: "not seeking my own advantage but that of many, that they may be saved" (1 Cor 10:33). 889. But this seems contrary to what he says in 2 Cor (10:13): "But we will not boast beyond limit, but will keep to the limits God apportioned us, to reach even to you" But he had not accepted the limit of his service, which was to the Gentiles. Therefore, he should not have concerned himself about the Jews. Some say that the Jews living in Judea did not pertain to his apostolate, but to that of Peter, James and John (Gal c.2). But the Jews living among the Gentiles pertained to his apostolate and he worked for their salvation. 443 But this seems contrary to his statement here. For if those Jews were the limit of his apostolate, he would not be magnifying his service. Therefore, it must be said that preaching to the Gentiles was committed to him in such a way that he was bound to it by necessity, as he says: "Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel. For necessity is laid upon me" (1 Cor 9:16); but he was not forbidden to preach to the Jews, even though he was not bound to do so. Consequently, by working for their salvation he magnified his service. But he would not have done this, if he thought their fall irreparable. Hence the Apostle's very zeal for the conversion of the Jews was the sign he adduced for stating that the fall of the Jews was reparable. 890. Then when he says, For if, he assigns the reason for his interest, namely, that the conversion of the Jews would contribute to the salvation of the Gentiles. Hence he says, For if their loss, i.e., their unbelief and disobedience, as a slave is said to be lost when he flees from the cave and obedience of his master. If I say the loss of the Jews means the reconciliation of the world, inasmuch as we have been reconciled to God through the death of Christ, what will their acceptance mean but life from the dead? i.e., that the Jews will be accepted again by God, as it says in Zech (11:17): "I took unto me two rods." What, I say, will such an acceptance mean but that it will make the Gentiles rise to life? For Gentiles are the believers who will grow lukewarm: "Because wickedness is multiplied, most men's love will grown cold" (Mt 24:12), or will fall away entirely, being deceived by Antichrist. These will be restored to their primitive fervor after the conversion of the Jews. 444 891. Then when he says, If the dough, he proves the same thing by considering the statue of the Jewish race. This he does in two ways. First, on the part of the apostles, when he says: If the representative portion [delibatio] is holy, so is the whole lump. The apostles chosen by God from the Jewish people are the representative sample taken from the whole lump. If, therefore, the apostles are holy, the consequence is that the Jewish people are holy. "You are a holy nation, God's own people" (1 Pt 2:9). 892. Secondly, he proves the same thing on the part of the patriarchs, who are compared to the Jews as root to branches; hence it says in Is (11:1): "there shall come forth a rod from the root of Jesse." If, therefore, the patriarchs, who are the root, are holy, then the Jews, who grew from them as branches, are also holy. 893. But this seems to conflict with what is said in Ex (18:9): "if a man is righteous, he shall surely live." Therefore, it does not follow that if the root is holy, so also the branches. The answer is that the Apostle is not speaking here of actual holiness, for he does not mean to say that unbelieving Jews are holy; but of potential holiness. For if their ancestors and descendents are holy, nothing prevents them from being called back to holiness themselves. Or one might answer that those who imitate the patriarchs are a special type of branch, as it says in Jn (8:39): "If you were Abraham's children, you would do what Abraham did."

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(17) But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, a wild olive shoot, were grafted in their place to share the richness of the olive tree, (18) do not boast over the branches. If you do boast, remember it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you. (19) You will say, "Branches were broken off so that I might be grafted in." (20) That is true. They were broken off because of their unbelief, but you stand fast only through faith. So do not taste high things, but stand in awe. (21) For if God did not spare the natural branches, neither will he spare you. (22) Note then the goodness and the severity of God: severity toward those who have fallen, but God's goodness to you, provided you continue in his kindness; otherwise you too will be cut off. (23) And even the others, if they do not persist in their unbelief, will be grafted in, for God has the power to graft them in again. (24) For if you have been cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, and grafted, contrary to nature, into a cultivated olive tree, how much more will these natural branches be grafted back into their own olive tree.
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After showing that the fall of the Jews was useful and reparable, the Apostle now forbids the Gentiles to boast against the Jews. In regard to this he does two things: first, he shows that the converted Gentiles must not boast against the Jews; 446 secondly, he answers an objection from the Gentiles [v. 19; n. 898]. In regard to the first he does two things: first, he forbids the Gentiles to boast against the Jews; secondly, he gives the reason for this prohibition [v. 18b; n. 897]. 895. There seemed to be two things that might tempt the Gentiles to boast against the Jews. First, the defection of the Jews. Hence he says: We have stated that if the root is holy, so too the branches. But if some of the branches, i.e., some of the Jews but not all, were broken off, i.e., separated from the faith of their fathers who are compared as the root, do not boast: "The flame will dry up his shoots" (Jb 15:30); "The branches not being perfect shall be broken" (Wis 4:5). The second ground for boasting was their own promotion. But the lower the state from which one has been promoted, the more he is inclined to vain boasting, as it says in Pr (30:21): "By three things the earth is disturbed, and the fourth it cannot bear: By a slave when he reigns..." Hence he reminds them of the low state from which they were raised, saying: And you, O Gentile, a wild olive shoot, i.e., a tree bearing no fruit: "He shall be like tamaric in the desert" (Jer 17:6); "Every tree that does not bear fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (Mt 3:10). 896. Then he describes their promotion. First, that they have been raised to the dignity of that race; hence, he says: you were grafted in their place: "He shall break in pieces many and innumerable, and shall make others to stand in their stead" (Job 34:24). 447 Secondly that they have been made associates of the patriarchs, whom he had compared to the root; hence he says: to share the root, i.e., united to the patriarchs and prophets: "Many will come from the east and west, and sit at the table with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven" (Mt 8:11). Thirdly, that they share the glory of the apostles when he says: and share the richness of the olive tree. The Jewish race is called the olive tree on account of the rich spiritual fruit they bore: "The Lord called you once a plentiful olive tree, fruitful and beautiful" (Jer 11:16); "I am like a green olive tree in the house of God" (Ps 52:8). But just as the roots of this olive tree are the patriarchs and prophets, so its richness is the abundance of the Holy Spirit's grace, which the apostles had more than all the others. This, therefore, is the way the Gentiles have been promoted to a partnership with that people, namely, with the patriarchs, apostles and prophets: "You are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets" (Eph 2:19). And although these may seem to be reasons for boasting, do not boast against the branches, i.e., against the Jews: "Your boasting is not good" (1 Cor 5:1). 897. Then when he says, If you do boast, he gives the reason for his admonition, saying: If in spite of this admonition you do boast by insulting the Jews, who stand upright or have been cut off, you should remember as a check to your boasting that it is not you that support the root, but the root that supports you, i.e., Judea did not receive salvation from the Gentiles, but just the reverse: "Salvation is from the Jews" (Jn 4:22). Hence, Abraham was promised that all the nations of the earth would be blessed in him (Gen c.22). 448 898. Then when he says, You will say, he excludes an objection from the Gentiles: first, he presents the objection; secondly, he excludes it [v. 20; n. 900]; thirdly, he urges them to scrutinize God's judgments [v. 22; n. 903]. 899. First, therefore, he says: Therefore, O Gentile, who boasts against the Jews, you might say: Branches were broken off, so that I might be grafted in, i.e., God permitted the Jews to fall from faith, so that I might enter into faith. But no one accepts the loss of one things save for something more precious and more desired, just as a physician allows a foot to remain sore in order to heal the eye. Thus, it would seem that the Gentile nations are more valuable and acceptable to God than Judea. Hence it says in Mal (1:10): "I have no pleasure in you, says the Lord of hosts, and I will not accept an offering from your hands. For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name is great among the nations" and in Is (49:6): "It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob; I will give you as a light to the nations." 900. Then when he says, That is true, he excludes the objection. First, he assigns the reason why the Jews fell away and the Gentiles were promoted, saying: That is true, i.e., that God permitted branches to be broken off, so that you might be grafted in, but consider the cause of the breaking off of the branches. It is because of their unbelief, i.e., because they refused to believe in Christ, that they were broken off: "If I speak the truth, why do you no believe me?" (Jn 8:46).But you, O Gentile, stand fast in faith, i.e., by believing in Christ, through Whom you have obtained 449 grace: "I preached to you the gospel, in which you stand, by which you are saved" (1 Cor 15:1). 901. Secondly, he gives an admonition, saying: So do not become proud, i.e., do not presume on yourself beyond yourself: "Do not be haughty, but consent to lower things" (Rom 12:15); but stand in awe, lest you too be broken off because of unbelief: "The fear of the Lord drives out sin" (Sir 1:27). 902. The reason for this admonition is given when he says: But if the natural branches, i.e., the Jews, who descended by natural origin from the patriarchs, God did not spare but allowed to be broken off, neither will he spare you, i.e., he might permit you to be broken off because of unbelief: "The jealously and rage of the husband will not spare on the day of revenge" (Pr 6:34); "I will not spare and I will not pardon; nor will I have mercy, but to destroy them" (Jer 13:14). This, therefore, is the Apostle's answer; that when someone sees that he has obtained grace and another has fallen, he should not boast against the fallen but rather fear for himself, because pride is the cause of falling headlong and fear is the cause of carefulness and being kept safe. 903. Then when he says, Note then the kindness and severity of God, he invites them to a close scrutiny of divine judgments: first, he invites them to consider; secondly, he instructs them as though unable to consider by themselves [v. 25); n. 912]; thirdly, as though he himself were not perfectly capable of this investigation, he exclaims in admiration of God’s wisdom [v. 33; n. 933]. 450 904. In regard to the first he does three things: first, he shows what should be considered, saying: Note then, i.e., give careful consideration to, the kindness of God having mercy: "How good, O Israel, is God to the upright of heart" (Ps 72:1); "Do you presume upon the riches of his kindness" (Rom 2:4); and his severity in punishing: "O Lord, thou God of vengeance (Ps 94:1); "The Lord is a jealous God and avenging (Nah 1:2). For the first consideration begets hope, the second begets fear, so that despair and presumption are avoided. 905. Secondly, he indicates the ones affected by each of these two qualities, saying: toward those who have fallen, i.e., the Jews, severity: "The Lord has destroyed without mercy all the habitations of Jacob" (Lam 2:2); but to you, the engrafted Gentile, kindness: "You have dealt kindly with your servant, O Lord" (Ps 119:65). 906. Thirdly, he shows how the foregoing points should be considered, since the situation is not immutable but could change in the future. 907. First, he shows this with respect to the Gentiles, saying: To you, I say, kindness, if you persevere in goodness: "Remain in my love" (Jn 15:9); otherwise, if you do not strive to persevere through fear and humility, you too will be cut off: "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down" (Mt 3:10). 908. Secondly, he shows the same with respect to the Jews. First, he states the fact: and even the others, namely, the Jews, if they do not persist in their unbelief, will be grafted in, i.e., restored to their former status: "Thou has prostituted thyself to many lovers. Nevertheless, return to me, says the Lord" (Jer 3:1). 451 909. Then he proves what he has said: First, from God's power, saying: For God has the power to graft them in against; therefore, their salvation is not to be despaired of: "Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save" (Is 59:1). Secondly, by arguing from the lesser, saying: For if you, O Gentile, have been cut from what is by nature a wild olive tree, i.e., from Gentileness, which by nature was not fruit-bearing, not as God made nature, but because it was spoiled by sin: "They were a wicked generation, and their malice natural" (Wis 12:10); "We were by nature children of wrath" (Eph 2:3); and grafted into a cultivated olive tree, i.e., into the faith of the Jews, contrary to nature, i.e., against the common course of nature. (For it is not the custom to graft the branch of a bad tree onto a good tree, but vice versa. But what God does is not against nature; it is natural in the fullest sense. For we call that natural which is cause by an agent to which the patient is naturally subject, even if it is not in keeping with the specific nature of the patient; for just as the ebb and flow of the sea is natural, because it is produced by the motion of the moon, to which the water is naturally subject, although it is not natural to the nature of water: so, too, since every creature is naturally subject to God, whatever God does in creatures is natural in the full sense, although it is not natural to the proper and particular nature of the thing in which it is done, say when a blind man has sight restored or a dead man is revived). 911. If, I say, this was contrary to nature, how much more will these natural branches, i.e., which by natural origin pertains to the Jewish nation, be grated back into their own olive tree, i.e., be brought back to the greatness of their nation: "He will turn the hearts of fathers to their children, and the hearts of children to their fathers" (Mal 4:6).

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(25) For I would not have you ignorant, brethren, of this mystery, les you be wise in your own conceits: a blindness in part has come upon Israel, until the fullness of the Gentiles come in, (26) and so all Israel will be saved; as it is written, "The Deliverer will come from Zion, he will take out, he will banish ungodliness from Jacob"; (27) "and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins." (28) As regards the gospel they are enemies of God, for your sake; but as regards election they are beloved for the sake of their forefathers. (29) For the gifts and the call of God are without repentance. (30) Just as you once did not believe God but now have received mercy because of their unbelief, (31) so they have now not believed in order that by the mercy shown to you they also may receive mercy. (32) For God has consigned all men to unbelief, that he may have mercy upon all.
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After leading the Gentiles to a knowledge of the divine judgments, in which God's kindness and severity were manifested, the Apostle, acting as though they are still unable to consider these things, explains how they seem to him. First, he presents the fact; secondly, he proves it [v. 26b; n. 917]; 453 thirdly, he gives the reason [v. 30; n. 930]. 913. In regard to the first he does three things. First, he states his intention, saying: IO have urged you to consider the kindness and severity of God, because I want you to understand this mystery, for you cannot grasp all mysteries. Hence, this is a prerogative of the perfect to whom the Lord say: "To you it has been given to understand the mystery of God's kingdom: (Lk 8:9); "I will not hide from you the mysteries of God" (Wis 6:24). But ignorance of this mystery would be very damaging to us. 914. Secondly, he discloses the reason for his intention: that you not be wise in your own conceits, i.e., not presume on your own understanding to condemn others and prefer yourself to them: "Never be conceited" (Rom 1:16); "Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes, and shrewd in their own sight (Is 5:21). 915. Thirdly, he states what he intended. First, with respect to the fall of particular Jews, when he says: a hardening has come upon Israel, not universally but upon a part: "Blind the heart of this people" (Is 6:10). Secondly, he predicts the end of this blindness, saying: until the full number of the Gentiles come in to the faith, i.e., not only some Gentile nations as were then converted; but either in all or the greater part the Church would be establishes: "The earth is the Lord's and all its fullness" (Ps 23:1). The Gentiles converted to the faith are said to come in, as though from the exterior and visible things they venerated into spiritual things and the divine will: "Come into his presence with singing" (Ps 100:2). 454 916. It should be noted that the word, until, can signify the cause of the blindness of the Jews. For God permitted them to be blinded, in order that the full number of the Gentiles come in. It can also designate the termination, i.e., that the blindness of the Jews will last up to the time when the full number of the Gentiles will come to the faith. With this agrees his next statement, namely, and then, i.e., when the full number of the Gentiles has come in, all Israel will be saved, not some, as now, but universally all: "I will save them by the Lord their God" (Hos 1:7); "He will again have compassion upon us (Mic 7:19). 917. Then when he says, As it is written, he proves what he had said about the future salvation of the Jews: first, he proves this with an authority; secondly, with a reason [v. 28; n. 921]. 918. First, therefore, he says: I say that all Israel will be saved, as it is written in Is (59:20), where our text says: "A redeemer will come from Zion and this will be my covenant with them that return to Jacob says the Lord." But the Apostle uses the Septuagint and touches on three things. First, the coming of a Savior, when he says: God will come, in human flesh to save us, from Zion, i.e., from the Jewish people who are signified by Zion, the citadel of Jerusalem, a city in Judea. Hence it says in Zech (9:9): " Rejoice greatly, o daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Lo, our king comes to you..." and in Jn (4:22): "Salvation is from the Jews." 455 Or he says that he comes from Zion, not because he was born there, but because his doctrine went from there into the whole world, inasmuch as the apostles received the Holy Spirit in the cenacle in Zion: "Out of Zion shall go forth the law" (Is 2:3). 919. Secondly, he touches on salvation by Christ offered to the Jews, saying: he will banish ungodliness from Jacob. This could refer to deliverance from punishment: "He will snatch my soul from death" (Ps 115:8). Banish ungodliness from Jacob could refer to deliverance from guilt: "O that deliverance for Israel would come from Zion" (Ps 53:6). Or both could refer to liberation from guilt, but he says he will take out, because of the few, who now are converted with great difficulty and with, so to speak, a certain violence: "As if a shepherd should get out of the lion's mouth two legs, or the tip of the ear, so shall the children of Israel be taken out" (Amos 3:12). But he says will banish ungodliness from Jacob to show the ease with which the Jews will be converted at the end of the world: "Who is a God like thee, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance?" (Mic 7:18). 920. Thirdly, he shows the manner of salvation when hey says: And this will be my covenant with them, a new one from me, when I take away their sins. For the old covenant did not remove sins, because "it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats should take away sins" (Heb 10:4). Therefore, because the Old Testament was imperfect, a new testament is promised to them: "I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah" (Jer 31:31) and it will have the power to remit sin through the blood of Christ: "This is my blood of the new covenant, which is poured out for many 456 for the forgiveness of sins" (Mt 26:28); "He will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea" (Mic 7:19). 921. Then when he says, As regards the gospel, he proves his statement with a reason: first, he presents the proof; secondly, he removes an objection [v. 29; n. 924]. 922. First, therefore, he says that their sins will be taken away and that after they have sins, they are enemies of Christ. As regards the gospel, which they resist, they are enemies for your sake, i.e., it has turned out to your benefit. Hence, it says in Lk (19:27): "As for those enemies of mind, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slay them before me"; and in Jn (15:24): "But now they have seen and hated both me and my Father." Or as regards the gospel means their enmity has helped the gospel, which has been spread everywhere by reason of such enmity: "In the word of truth of the gospel, which has come to you, as indeed in the whole world it is bearing fruit and growing" (Col 1:5). 923. But they are beloved by God for the sake of their forefathers as regards election, because He chose their descendants on account of their forefathers' grace: "The Lord loved your fathers and chose their descendants after them" (Dt 10:15). This does not means that the merits established by the fathers were the cause of the eternal election of the descendants, but that God from all eternity chose the fathers and the sons in such a way that the children would obtain salvation on account of the fathers; not as though the merits of the fathers were sufficient for the salvation of the 457 sons, but through an outpouring of divine grace and mercy, the sons would be saved on account of the promises made to the fathers. Or it can mean as regards election, i.e., as regards those elected from that people, salvation was obtained. For if they are dear to God, it is reasonable that they be saved by God: "The eye hath not seen, O God, besides thee, what things thou has prepared for them that wait for thee" (Is 64:4). 924. Then when he says, For the gifts, he excludes an objection. For someone might claim that even though the Jews were formerly beloved on account of their forefathers, nevertheless the hostility they exert against the gospel prevents them from being saved in the future. But the Apostle asserts that this is false, saying: The gifts and call o God are irrevocable, i.e., without repentance. As if to say: That God gives something to certain ones or call certain ones is without repentance, because God does not change His mind: "The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind" (Ps 110:4). 925. However, this seems false, for the Lord says: "It repenteth me that I made man" (Gen 6:7) and "if that nation against which I have spoken shall repent of their evil, I also will repent of the evil that I thought to do to them" (Jer 18:8). The answer is that just as God is said to grow angry, not because the emotion of anger is in him but because he is related to the effect of punishments after the manner of an angry man, so he is said to repent, not because the change involved in repentance is in him but because he changes what he had done after the manner of one who repents. 926. Nevertheless, it does seem that God's gifts are not without repentance, because they are frequently lost, as in Mt (25:28): "Take the talent from him and give it 458 to him that has ten talents." Furthermore, God's call seems to be changed sometimes, since it is written: "Many are called but few are chosen" (Mt 22:14). But it should be noted that "gift" is taken here for a promise made according to God's foreknowledge or predestination, and "call" is taken for election. Because both are so certain, whatever God promises is as good as given and whomever He elects is somehow already called. Such temporal gifts and callings are not voided by a change in God, as though He repented of them, but by a change in man who casts them off: "Take heed lest anyone be wanting in the grace of God" (Heb 12:15). 927. This passage can also be taken to mean that God's gifts which are bestowed in baptism, and the calling by which the baptized person is called, exist without the repentance of the baptized person. Furthermore, it was introduced to counteract any despair about the future salvation of the Jews, since they do not seem to repent of their sin. But against this interpretation are the words of Peter: "Repent and be baptized everyone of you" (Ac 2:38). This can be answered by recalling that repentance is of two kinds: interior and exterior. Interior repentance consists in the heart's contrition by which one is sorry for past sins. Such repentance is required of the baptized, because, as Augustine says: "No one who is arbiter of his own will can begin the new life, unless he repents of the old life; otherwise, he would approach dissembling." But exterior repentance consists in making satisfaction outwardly, and this is not required of the baptized person, because by baptismal grace man is freed not only of guilt but of all penalty, in virtue of the passion of Christ who satisfied for the sins of all: "All 459 of us who have been baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death" (Rom 6:3); "By the washing of regeneration and renewal in the Holy Spirit which he poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ" (*** 3:5). 928. But since the keys of the Church and all the other sacraments work by the power of Christ’s passion, it seems that by the same reasoning all the other sacraments should liberate man from guilt and from all punishment. But the answer is that Christ’s passion works in baptism in the manner of a generation, which requires that a man die completely to his former life to receive a new life. And because the debt of punishment belongs to the oldness of the former life, it is taken away in baptism. But in the other sacraments Christ’s passion works in the manner of a cleansing, as in the sacrament of penance. But a cleansing does not require that right away every remnant of weakness be taken away. And the same argument applies to the other sacraments. 929. But since the confession of sins is relevant for exterior repentance, one could ask whether confession of sins is required at baptism. And it seems that it is, because Mt 3(:6) says that men were baptized by John, "confessing their sins." But the answer is that John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance, namely because by receiving that baptism they declared that they would undertake penance for their sins, and so it was fitting that they should confess so that penance could be meted out to them in accord with the nature of their sins. But Christ’s baptism is a baptism for the remission of all sins, such that the baptized person no longer owes any satisfaction for his past sins, and for this reason there is no need for vocal confession. For the reason 460 confession is necessary on the sacrament of penance is so that the priest can, by the power of the keys, fittingly loose or bind the penitent. 930. Then when he says, Just as you were, he gives the reason for the future salvation of the Jews after their unbelief. First, he shows a similarity between the salvation of both people; secondly, the cause of this similarity [v. 32; n. 932]. 931. First, therefore, he says: So I say that Israel will be saved, although they are now enemies. For just as you Gentiles once did not believe God: "You were once without God in the world" (Eph 2:12); but now have received mercy because of their unbelief: below (15:9), "The Gentiles are to honor God for his mercy"; "I will have mercy on him who was without mercy" (Hos 2:23). And this was because of their unbelief, which was the occasion of your salvation, as was said above. So they, i.e., the Jews, now, i.e., in the time of grace, have not believed, namely, Christ: "Why do you not believe me?" (Jn 8:46). And this is what he adds: In order that by the mercy shown to you, i.e., in Christ's grace, by which you have obtained mercy: "You have saved us according to your mercy" (*** 3:5). Or they have not believed so that they enter into your mercy. Or they have not believed, which turned out to be the occasion of the mercy shown to you, in order that they also at some time may receive mercy: "The Lord will have compassion on Jacob" (Is 14:1). 932. Then when he says, For God, he gives the reason for this similarity, namely, because God wills that His mercy find room in all. And this is what he says: For God has included, i.e., allowed to be included, all, i.e., every race of men, both Jews and Gentiles, in unbelief, as in a chain of error: "They were all bound together with one chain of 461 darkness" (Wis 17:17), that he may have mercy on us, i.e., that His mercy find a place in every race of men. This should not be extended to included demons, as Origen would, or even to all men individually, but to all races of men. The statement applies to the genera of individuals not to all the individuals of the genera. God wishes all men to be saved by His mercy, in order that they be humbled by this fact and ascribe their salvation not to themselves but to God: "Destruction is thy own, O Israel: they help is only in me" (Hos 13:9); "In order that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be made subject to God" (Rom 3:19).

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(33) [n. 933] O the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How incomprehensible are his judgments and how unsearchable his ways! (34) [n. 938] "For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?" (35) [n. 940] "Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?" (36) [n. 942] For from him and through him and in him are all things. To him be glory unto the ages of ages. Amen.
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Above the Apostle endeavored to assign a reason for the divine judgments, by which Gentiles and Jews obtain mercy after unbelief; now he recognizes his inadequacy for such an investigation and exclaims his admiration of the divine excellence. First, he extols the divine excellence; 462 secondly, he proves what he says [v. 34; n. 938]. In regard to the first he does two things: first, he extols the divine wisdom in itself; secondly, in relation to us [v. 33b; n. 937]. 934. He extols the excellence of divine knowledge: first, as to its depth, saying: O the depth: "It is a great depth. Who shall find it out?" (Ec 7:25); "A glorious throne set on high from the beginning" (Jer 17:12). This depth is considered in regard to three things: first, in regard to the thing known, inasmuch as God knows himself perfectly: "I dwell in the highest places" (Sir 24:7); secondly, in regard to the manner of knowing, inasmuch as he knows all things through himself: "The Lord looked down from his holy height, from heaven the Lord looked at the earth" (PS 102:19); thirdly, in regard to the certainty of His knowledge: "The eyes of the Lord are far brighter than the sun" (Sir 23:28). 935. Secondly, he extols the excellence of divine knowledge in regard to its fullness when he says: of the riches "Abundance of salvation, wisdom and knowledge" (Is 33:6). This fullness is regarded in three ways: in one way as to the number of things known, because he knows all things: "Lord, you know all things" (Jn 21:17); "In him are hid all the treasures of wisdom ad knowledge" (Col 2:3); in another way in regard to ease of knowing, because He intuits all things without search and difficulty: "All things are open and laid bare to his eyes" (Heb 4:13). Thirdly, in regard to the abundance of His knowledge, because He gives it generously to everyone: "If anyone lacks wisdom, let him ask God who gives to all men generously" (Jas 1:5). 463 936. Thirdly, he extols the divine excellence in regard to its perfection when he says, of the wisdom and knowledge of God. For He has wisdom about divine things and knowledge about created things. "Who knows all things knows her" (Bar 3:32). 937. Then when he says, How incomprehensible, he shows the excellence of divine wisdom as compared to our understanding. And first in regard to wisdom, whose function is to judge and put things in order, he says: How incomprehensible are his judgments, because man cannot comprehend the reason of God's judgments, since they are hidden in his wisdom: "Thy judgments are like the great deep" (Ps 36:6). Secondly, in regard to knowledge, through which he is at work in things; hence he adds: and unsearchable i.e., his procedures, by which he works in creatures. Even though the creatures are known by man, the ways in which God works in them cannot be comprehended by man: "Thy way was through the sea, they path through the great waters; yet their footprints were unseen (Ps 77:19); "Where is the way to the dwelling of light" (Jb 38:19). 938. The when he says, For who, he proves what he had said by appealing to two authorities, one of which is Is 40(:13): For who has helped the spirit of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? The other is from Job (35:7; 41:11): Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid? In these words and those that follow them the Apostle does three things. 939. First, he shows the excellence of divine wisdom as compared to our understanding, saying: For who has known the mind of the Lord, namely, through which He judges and acts. As if to say: No one, unless God reveals it: "Who shall know they 464 though, except thou give wisdom, and send they Holy Spirit from above:" (Wis 9:17) and "The things of God no one knows but the Spirit of God. But to us God has revealed them through his Spirit" (1 Cor 2:12 & 10). Secondly, he shows the excellence of divine wisdom according as it has height in itself, and indeed is that height which is the supreme principle. Two points pertain to this: first, that it does not proceed from something else; secondly, that other things proceed from it [v. 36; n. 942]. 941. That God's wisdom does not depend on a higher source is shown in two ways. First, by the fact that it is not instructed by someone else's teaching. Hence, he says: Or who has been his counselor? As if to say: No one. For counsel is needed by one who does not fully know how something is to be done, and this does not apply to God: "To whom has thou given counsel? Perhaps to him that has no wisdom" (Jb 26:3). Secondly, by the fact that it is not helped by another's gift. Hence he adds: Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid, as one giving first? As if to say: No one. For man can give God only what he has received form God: "All this abundance comes from thy hand and is all thy own" (1 Chr 29:16); "If thou do justly, what shalt thou give him, or what shall he receive of thy hand" (Jb 35:7). 942. Then when he says, For from him, he shows God's depth, inasmuch as in Him are all things. First, he shows its causality; secondly, its dignity [v. 36b; n. 950]; 465 thirdly, its perpetuity [v.36c; n. 951]. 943. First, therefore, he says: It is right to say that no one first gave to him, because from him and through him and in him are all things. Thus nothing can be unless received from God. To designate God's causality he uses three prepositions, namely, "from", "through" and "in". But the preposition "from" [ex] denotes a principle of change; and this is in three ways. In one way the acting or movent principle; in another way the matter, in a third way the opposite contrary, which is the point of departure of the change. For we say that the knife came to be "from" the knife maker, "from" the steel, and "from" the unshaped [matter]. But the universe of creatures was not made from pre-existing matter, because even their matter is an effect of God. Accordingly, created things are not said to be from something but from its opposite, which is nothing; because they were nothing, before they were created to exist: "We are born of nothing" (Wis 2:2). But all things are from God as from their first maker: "All things are from God" (1 Cor 11:12). 944. It should be noted that another Latin word for "from" is de, which seems to suggest the same relationships; however, de always designates a consubstantial cause. For we say that the knife is from [de] the iron, but not from [de] the maker. Therefore, because the Son proceeds from the Father as consubstantial with Him, we say that the Son is from [de] the Father. But creatures do not proceed from God as consubstantial with Him; hence, they are not said to be from [de] Him but from [ex] Him. 466 945. The preposition, "through" designates the cause of an action; but because an action lies between the maker and the things he makes, there are two ways in which the preposition, "through," can designate the cause of an action. In one way accordingly as the action comes from its performer, as something which is its own cause of acting is said to act through itself. In one way this is the form, as we say that fire acts through heat. In another way it is a higher agent, as we say that man begets man through the power of the sun or rather of God. So, therefore, all things are said to be through him in two ways: In one way as through the first agent, by whose power all things act: "Through me kings reign" (Pr 8:15). In another way, inasmuch as His wisdom, which is His essence, is the form through which God makes all things: "The Lord through wisdom founded the earth" (Pr 3:19). 946. In another way the preposition, "through," designates the cause of an action, not as it comes from the performer but as terminated in its products, as we say that the artisan makes a knife through a hammer: not that the hammer works with the artisan in the way described above, but because the knife comes to be from the activity of the artisan by means of the hammer. Therefore, it is said that this preposition, "through," designates authority directly, as when we say that the king acts through his bailiff—which pertains to what is now being said. But sometimes in a causal sense, as when we say that the bailiff acts through the king—which pertains to the preceding mode. In this mode about which we are now speaking, all things are said to have been made by the Father through the Son, as in Jb (1:3): "All things were made through him," not that the Father has from the Son the power to make thing, but rather that the Son 467 accepts the power of making things from the Father, a power not instrumental but principal, not of a lower order but equal, not diverse but the same: "Whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise" (Jn 5:19). Hence, although all things were made by the Father through the Son, The Son is not an instrument or minister of the Father. 947. The preposition, "in," also designates a causal relationship in three ways: in one way it designates matter, as we say that the soul is in the body or a form in matter. This is not the way in which things are said to be in God, because He is not the material cause of things. In another way it designates a relationship of efficient cause, in whose power it lies to dispose of its effects. In this sense all things are said to be in Him, inasmuch as all things lie under His power and arrangement: "In his hand are all the ends of the earth" (Ps 95:4); "In him we live and move and have our being" (Ac 17:28). In a third way it designates a relationship of final cause, in that the entire good of a thing and its preservation consists in its own optimum. In this sense all things are said to be in God as in the goodness preserving them. "All things hold together in him" (Col 1:17). 948. When he says, All, it is not be taken absolutely for all things which have true being. Sins do not have true being, but insofar as they are sins they lack some being, due to the fact that evil is nothing else than a deprivation of good. Therefore, when he says: From him and through him and to him are all things, this does not include sin, because, according to Augustine, since is nothing and man accomplishes nothing when he sins. yet, whatever entity is present in sin, it is from God. 468 949. Therefore, according to the foregoing, all things are from Him, i.e., God as from the first operating power. All things are through Him, inasmuch as He makes all things through His wisdom. All things are in Him as in their preserving Goodness. Now these three things, namely, power, wisdom and goodness are common to the three persons. Hence, the statement that from him and through him and in him can be applied to each of the three persons. Nevertheless, the power, which involved the notion of principle, is appropriated to the Father, Which is the principle of the entire godhead; wisdom to the Son, Who proceeds as Word, which is nothing else than wisdom begotten; goodness is appropriated to the Holy Spirit, Who proceeds as love, whose object is goodness. Therefore, by appropriation we can say: from him, namely, from the Father, through him, namely, through the Son, in him, namely, in the Holy Spirit, are all things. 950. Then when he says, To him be honor and glory forever, he allows God's dignity, which consists in the two things previously mentioned. For from the fact that all things are from Him and through Him and in Him, honor and reverence and subjection are owed Him by every creature: "If I am a father, where is my honor" (Ma. 1:6). But from the fact that He has not received either counsel or gifts from anyone, glory is owed Him; just as on the contrary it is said of man: "If then you received it, why do you boast as though it were not a gift?" (1 Cor 4:7). And because this is proper to God, it says in Is (42:8): "I am the Lord; my glory I give to no other." 951. Finally, he mentions His eternity when he says: unto the ages of ages, because His glory does not pass as does man's glory, of which it is said: "All its glory is 469 like the flower of the filed" (Is 40:6). But God's glory lasts for all ages, i.e., through all the ages succeeding all ages, inasmuch as the duration of any given thing is called an age. Or unto the ages of ages refers to the durations of incorruptible things, which contain the ages of corruptible things. This applies especially to God’s eternity, which can be spoken of as a plurality because of the multitude and diversity of things contained in it, even though it is one and simple in itself. The meaning would then be "unto the ages that contain the ages": "Your reign is a reign of all ages" (Ps 144:13). 952. He adds: Amen, as confirmation. As if to say: Truly it is so. This is the meaning in the gospels when it says: "Amen, I say to you." Sometimes, however, it means: May it come to pass.

Thus in Jerome's Psalter it says: "All the people will say: Amen, Amen," where our text has "May it come to pass! May it come to pass!"