Romans 2:4

“Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness, etc..] The apostle anticipates an objection against what he had said, taken from the prosperity of these persons; who might conclude from thence, that they were not so wicked as he had represented them; and that they should escape the judgment of God, otherwise they would have been punished by God in this life, and not have prospered as they did; which objection is removed by observing, that it was not their innocence, but “the riches of” divine “goodness, and longsuffering and forbearance”, which were the causes of their prosperity: by “the riches of God's goodness”, are not meant the riches of his special, spiritual, and eternal goodness, which…”

“Or despisest - This word properly means to contemn, or to treat with neglect. It does not mean here that they professedly treated God’s goodness with neglect or contempt; but that they perverted and abused it; they did not make a proper use of it; they did not regard it as suited to lead them to repentance; but they derived a practical impression, that because God had not come forth in judgment and cut them off, but had continued to follow them with blessings, that therefore he did not regard them as sinners, or they inferred that they were innocent and safe. This argument the Jews were accustomed to use (compare Luke 13:1-5; John 9:2); and thus sinners still continue to abuse the goodness…”

“Or despisest thou - Dost thou go farther still, - from hoping to escape his wrath, to the abuse of his love?. The riches - The abundance. Of his goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering - Seeing thou both hast sinned, dost sin, and wilt sin. All these are afterwards comprised in the single word goodness. Leadeth thee - That is, is designed of God to lead or encourage thee to it. Romans 2:5”

“2:4 Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin? Behind Paul’s question are Jewish passages (e.g., Wisdom of Solomon 12–15; cp. Jer 7:1-5; Amos 5:18-27) that portray a prevalent Jewish complacency toward judgment. Many Jews thought that because they were God’s people, they did not need to worry about judgment, for their sins would not be punished as the sins of Gentiles would be. Paul emphasizes that God’s grace was intended to turn the Jews from their sin, not to condone a sinful lifestyle.”

“despisest: Rom 6:1, Rom 6:15; Psa 10:11; Ecc 8:11; Jer 7:10; Eze 12:22, Eze 12:23; Mat 24:48, Mat 24:49; Pe2 3:3 riches: Rom 9:23, Rom 10:12, Rom 11:33; Psa 86:5, Psa 104:24; Eph 1:7, Eph 1:18, Eph 2:4, Eph 2:7, Eph 3:8, Eph 3:16; Phi 4:19; Col 1:27, Col 2:2; Ti1 6:17; Tit 3:4-6 forbearance: Rom 3:25, Rom 9:22; Exo 34:6; Num 14:18; Psa 78:38, Psa 86:15; Isa 30:18, Isa 63:7-10; Jon 4:2; Ti1 1:16; Pe1 3:20 goodness: Job 33:27-30; Psa 130:3, Psa 130:4; Isa 30:18; Jer 3:12, Jer 3:13, Jer 3:22, Jer 3:23; Eze 16:63; Hos 3:5; Luk 15:17-19, Luk 19:5-8; Pe2 3:9, Pe2 3:15; Rev 3:20 Romans 2:5”