Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay: for shall the thing made say of him that made it, He made me not? or shall the thing formed say of him that formed it, He had no understanding?
All Commentaries on Isaiah 29:16 Go To Isaiah 29
Augustine of Hippo
AD 430
Scripture says to Pharaoh, “To this purpose have I raised you that I may show my power in you; and that my name may be declared throughout all the earth.” Then, making a conclusion to both passages, he says, “Therefore he has mercy on whom he will and whom he will he hardens.” Obviously he treats neither of these with injustice but both with mercy and truth; in spite of that there is an uprising of insolent weakness on the part of those who attempt to comprehend the unsearchable depth of the judgment of God according to the interpretations of the human heart. The apostle refutes this view when he says, “You will say therefore to me: Why does he then find fault? For who resists his will?” Let us imagine this as said to us. What other answer should we make than the one he made? If such ideas disturb us also because we, too, are human, we all have need to listen to the apostle saying, “O man, who are you that replies against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it: Why have you made me thus? Or has not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, another unto dishonor?” If this lump of clay were of such indifferent value that it deserved nothing good any more than it deserved anything evil, there would be reason to see injustice in making of it a vessel unto dishonor. But when, through the free will of the first man alone, condemnation extended to the whole lump of clay, undoubtedly if vessels are made of it unto honor, it is not a question of justice not forestalling grace, but of God’s mercy. If, however, vessels are made of it unto dishonor, it is to be attributed to the judgment of God, not to his injustice—far be from us the thought that there could be any such with God! Whoever is wise in this matter with the Catholic church does not argue against grace in favor of merit, but he sings mercy and judgment to the Lord, that he may not ungratefully deny his mercy or unjustly upbraid his judgment.
