Romans 9:20

(C) The Reply: Creative Sovereignty

20. Nay but Same word as Romans 10:18, and Luke 11:28; (E. V., "Yea, rather.") Q. d., "Rather thanthe position of a questioner, take that of a creature."

man The word is, of course, emphatic.

the thing formed Lit. the thing moulded; the Potter and the Clay being in the writer's thought. Here lies the force of the "whoart thou?" The case is not that of yielding to vastly greater power or subtler intellect, but of yielding to the Origin of your existence; to the Uncaused Cause of your conscience, will, affections, and all. The Sovereign is the Creator; are you, the Creature, really in a position to judge Him? This clause is nearly verbatim from Isaiah 29:16; Isaiah 45:9 (LXX.) "Why hast thou made me thus?" is not a quotation. In Isaiah 45:9, the words occur in a context of mercy. The mercy of God, as well as His severity, is sovereign and mysterious.