Audio commentary on this verse

Note 2 at Rom. 11:9: This quotation from David comes from Psalm 69:22-23 (below). In this Psalm, David was prophesying about the suffering of Christ in the first person as if David himself was actually describing his own suffering. However, there are seven very clear references to Christ in this chapter which were quoted in the New Testament as having a direct fulfillment in Jesus (1st-Ps. 69:4-fulfilled in Jn. 15:25; 2nd-Ps. 69:9a-fulfilled in Jn. 2:17; 3rd-Ps. 69:9b-fulfilled in Rom. 15:3; 4th-Ps. 69:21a-fulfilled in Mt. 27:34; Mk. 15:23; Lk. 23:36; 5th-Ps. 69:21b-fulfilled in Mt. 27:48; Mk. 15:36; Jn. 19:28-30; 6th-Ps. 69:22-fulfilled in Rom. 11:9; 7th-Ps. 69:25-fulfilled in Acts 1:20). Also Psalm 69:8 was certainly fulfilled in Jesus (Jn. 7:5) although this passage was not quoted in the New Testament.

Therefore, Psalm 69 is a prophetic psalm where Christ is describing His earthly ministry and crucifixion. The denunciation of Psalm 69:22-23 is given by Christ against those who crucified him. When understood in this context, it is easy to see that this blindness and deafness didn't cause the Jews' rejection but it was the Jews' rejection that caused this pronouncement.

All of this is to say that God is not unjust and has never taken away a person's freedom of choice unless that individual or nation had already exercised that choice against Him (see note 9 at Rom. 9:17, p. 807).