THE reforming them in these two points feems to be the main business of this epiftle, wherein he endeavours to establish them in a resolution to stand firm in the freedom of the gofpel, which exempts them from the bondage of the Mofaical law and labours to reduce them to a fincere love and affection one to another; which he concludes with an exhortation to liberality; and general beneficence, especially to their teachers, chap. vi. 6, 10. Thefe being the matters he had in his mind to write to them about, he seems here as if he had. done. But, upon mentioning, ver. 11, what a long letter he had writ to them with his own hand, the former argument concerning circumcifion, which filled and warmed his mind, broke out again into what we find, ver. 12-17, of the: fixth chapter. An Ch. 57. T SECT. I. CHA P. I.. 1-5. INTRODUCTION.. CONTENT S. HE general view of this epiftle plainly fhews St. Paul's chief defign in it to be, to keep the Galatians from hearkening to thofe judaizing feducers,. CHAP. I. who had almoft perfuaded them to be circumcifed. These perverters of the gospel of Christ, as St. Paul himself calls them, ver. 7, had, as may be gathered froin ver. 8. and 10. and from chap. v. LI.. and other paffages of this epistle,, made the Galatians believe, that St. Paul himself was for circumcifion. Until St. Paul himself had fet them right in this matter, and convinced them of the falfhood of this afperfion, it was in vain for him, by other arguments, to attempt the re-establishing the Galatians in the chriftian liberty, and in that truth which he had preached to them. The removing therefore of this calumny, was his firft endeavour and to that purpose, this introduction, different from what we find in any other of his epiftles, is marvelloufly well adapted. He declares, here at the entrance, very exprefly and emphatically, that he was not fent by men on their errands; nay, that Chrift, in fending him, did not fo much as convey his apoftolick power to him by the miniftry, or intervention of any man; that his commiffion and inftructions were all intirely from God, and Chrift him-felf, by immediate revelation. This, of itself, was an argument fufficient to induce them to believe, 1. That what he taught them, when he firft preached the gofpel to them, was the truth, and that they ought to stick firm to that. 2. That he changed not his doctrine, whatever might be reported of him. He was Chrift's chofen officer, and had no dependence on men's opinions, nor regard to their authority or favour, in what he preached; and therefore it was not likely he should preach one thing at one time, and another thing at another. but: THUS NERONIS 3. THUS this preface is very proper in this place, to introduce what he is going An. C. 57. to fay concerning himself, and adds force to his discourse, and the account he gives of himself in the next fection. CHAP. I.. PARAPHRASE. TEXT.. b men, neither by man, but And all the brethren, which 2: AUL (an apostle not of men, to ferve their PAUL an apoftle (not of 1. ends, or carry on their designs, nor receiving his call, or commiffion, by the intervention of any man to whom he might be thought to owe any refpect or deference that account; but immediately from upon Jefus Chrift, and from God the Father, who raised 2. him up from the dead); And all the brethren that are 3. with me, unto the churches of Galatia: Favour be to you, and peace from God the Father, and from 4. our Lord Jefus Chrift, Who gave himself for our fins,, that he might take us out of this prefent evil world, according to the will and good pleasure of God and 5 our Father, To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.. 2 d с SECT.. NOTE S. Grace be to you, and peace, 3: from God the Father, and from our Lord Jefus Chrift,, Who gave himself for our 4. fins, that he might deliver us from this prefent evil world, according to the will of God. and our Father. To whom be glory for ever. and ever. Amen.. I 2 Oîn ûπ2 Åνder," not of men," i. e. not fent by men at their pleasure, or by their autho-rity; not inftructed by men what to fay, or do, as we fee Timothy and Titus were, when sent by St. Paul; and Judas and Silas, fent by the church of Jerufalem. b Oude di arbeÉT, "nor by man," i. e. his choice and feparation to his miniftry and apostleship was fo wholly an act of God and Christ, that there was no intervention of any thing done by any man in the cafe, as there was in the election of Matthias. All this we may fee explained at large, ver.10-12, and ver. 16,. 17.. and chap. ii. 6-9.. c 2 Churches of Galatia." This was an evident feal of his apoftlefhip to the Gentiles; fince, in no bigger a country than Galatia, a fmall province of the leffer Afia, he had, in no long stay among them, planted several diftinct churches. 3 "Peace." The wifhing of peace, in the fcripture-language, is the wishing of all manner of good.. 4 **Oπws aι Nas En TH EVES WTO aiv© wornex. "That he might take us out of this prefent: evil world," or age; fo the Greek words fignify, Whereby it cannot be thought, that St. Paul: meant, that chriftians were to be immediately removed into the other world. Therefore vesas aiv ένες muft fignify fomething elfe, than prefent world, in the ordinary import of those words in English.. Ai 7, I Cor..ii. 6, 8. and in other places, plainly fignifies the Jewish nation, under the Mofaical conftitution; and it fuits very well with the apostle's defign in this epiftle, that it fhould do fo here.. God has, in this world, but one kingdom, and one people. The nation of the Jews were the kingdom and people of God, whilft the law ftood. And this kingdom of God, under the Mofaical con-flitution, was called air, this age, or as it is commonly tranflated, this world, to which air evesas,. the prefent world, or age, here anfwers. But the kingdom of God, which was to be under the Meffiah, wherein the economy and conftitution of the Jewish church, and the nation itself, that, in op-pofition to Chrift,. adhered to it, was to be laid afide, is in the new teftament called air inner, the world, or age to come; fo that "Chrift's taking them out of the prefent world" may, without: any violence to the words, be understood to fignify his fetting them free from the Mofaical conftitu. This is fuitable to the defign of this epiftle, and what St. Paul has declared in many other places.. See Col. ii. 14-17, and 20, which agrees to this place, and Rom. vii. 4, 6. This law is tion. An. Ch. 57. CHAP. I. NOT E S. faid to be contrary to us, Col. ii. 14. and to "work wrath," Rom. iv. 15. and St. Paul fpeaks very diminishingly of the ritual parts of it in many places: but yet if all this may not be thought fufficient to justify the applying of the epithet wovnp, evil, to it; that fcruple will be removed if we take vesas aiav," this prefent world," here, for the Jewish conftitution and nation together; in which fense it may very well be called "evil;" though the apostle, out of his wonted tenderness to his nation, forbears to name them openly, and uses a doubtful expreffion, which might comprehend the heathen world alfo; though he chiefly pointed at the Jews. W SECT. II. CHAP. I. 6——II. 21. CONTENT S. E have observed, that St. Paul's firft endeavour, in this epiftle, was to fatisfy the Galatians, that the report spread of him, that he preached circumcifion, was falfe. Until this obftruction, that lay in his way was removed, it was to no purpose for him to go about to diffuade them from circumcifion, though that be what he principally aims, in this epiftle. To fhew them, that he promoted not circumcifion, he calls their hearkening to those who perfuaded them to be circumcifed, their being removed from him; and thofe that fo perfuaded them, "perverters of the gofpel of Chrift, ver. 6, 7. He farther affures them, that the gofpel which he preached every-where was that, and that only, which he had received by immediate revelation from Chrift, and no contrivance of man, nor did he vary it to please men: that would not confift with his being a fervant of Chrift, ver. 10. And he expreffes fuch a firm adherence to what he had received from Chrift, and had preached to them, that he pronounces an anathema upon himself, ver. 8, 9. or any other man, or angel that should preach any thing else to them. To make out this to have been all along his conduct, he gives an account of himself, for many years backwards, even from the time before his converfion. Wherein he fhews, that from a zealous perfecuting Jew, he was made a chriftian, and an apoftle, by immediate revelation; and that, having no communication with the apoftles, or with the churches of Judea, or any man, for some years, he had nothing to preach, but what he had received by immediate revelation. Nay, when, fourteen years after, he went up to Jerufalem, it was by revelation; and when he there communicated the gofpel, which he preached among the Gentiles, Peter, James, and John, approved of it, without adding any thing, but admitted him, as their fellow-apoftle. So that, in all this, he was guided by nothing but divine revelation, which he inflexibly ftuck to fo far, that he openly oppofed St. Peter, for his judaizing at Antioch. All which account of himself tends clearly to fhew, that St. Paul made not the least step towards complying with 6. the Jews, in favour of the law, nor did, out of regard to man, deviate from the An. Ch. 57. doctrine he had received by revelation from God. NERONIS 3. ALL the parts fection, and the narrative contained in it, manifeftly CHAP. I. of this concenter in this, as will more fully appear, as we go through them, and take a closer view of them; which will fhew us, that the whole is fo fkilfully managed, and the parts fo gently flid into, that it is a strong, but not feemingly laboured juftification of himself, from the imputation of preaching up circumcifion. “I PARA PHRA S E. a CANNOT but wonder that you are fo foon removed from me, (who called you into the covenant of grace, which is in Chrift) unto another fort of 7. gofpel; which is not owing to any thing elfe, but only this, that ye are troubled by a certain fort of men, who would overturn the gofpel of Chrift, by making circumcifion, and the keeping of the law, 8. neceffary under the gofpel. But if even I myself, or an angel from heaven, fhould preach any thing to you for gofpel, different from the gofpel I have 9. preached unto you, let him be accurfed. I fay it again to you, if any one, under pretence of the gofpel, preach any other thing to you, than what ye 6 d have NOT E S. So foon." The firft place we find Galatia mentioned, is Acts xvi. 6. And therefore St. Paul may be fuppofed to have planted thefe churches there, in his journey mentioned, Acts xvi, which was anno Domini 51. He vifited them again, after he had been at Jerufalemn, Acts xviii. 2123. A. D. 54. From thence he returned to Ephefus, and ftaid there about two years, during whichtine this epistle was writ; fo that, counting from his laft vifit, this letter was writ to them within. two or three years from the time he was laft with them, and had left them confirmed in the doctrine he had taught them; and therefore he might with reafon wonder at their forfaking him fo foon, and that gofpel he had converted them to. 66 "From him that called you." Thefe words plainly point out himself; but then one might wonder how St. Paul came to use them; fince it would have founded better to have faid, "Removed from the gofpel I preached to you, to another gofpel, than removed from me that preached to you, GC To another gofpel." But if it be remembered, that St. Paul's defign here, is to vindicate him felf from the afperfion caft on him, that he preached circumcifion, nothing could be more fuitable to that pu pofe, than this way of expreffing himself. reac ἐκ ἔσιν ἄλλο 70 & ES аλλ I take to fignify "which is not any thing elfe." The words themfelves, the cor text, and the bufinefs the apoftle is upon here, do all concur to give thefe words the fenfe I have taken them in. For, 1, If, had referred to evay feλtov, it would have been more natural to have kept to the word repo", and not have changed it into 0. 2. It can fcarce be fuppofed, by any one who s what St. Paul fays, in the following words of this verfe, and the two adjoining; and alfo chap. iii. 4. and ver. 2-4. and 7, that St. Paul fhould tell them, that what he would keep them from, "is ot another gofpel." 3. It is fuitable to St. Paul's defign here, to tell them, that to their being: "removed to another gofpel," no-body elfe had contributed, but it was wholly owing to thofe ju daiz ing feducers. d Sec Acts xv. 1, 5, 23, 24. 9. ". Ace it b PARAPHRASE. d have received from me, let him be accurfed. For ro 9 NOTE S. "Accurfed." Though we may look upon the repetition of the anathema here, to be for the adding of force to what he lays, yet we may obferve, that by joining himself with an angel, in the foregoing verfe, he does as good as tell them, that he is not guilty of what deferves it, by fkilfully infinuating to the Galatians, that they might as well fufpect an angel might preach to them a gospel different from his, i. e. a falfe gofpel, as that he himself should: and then, in this verfe, lays the anathema, wholly and folely, upon the judaizing feducers. ο Αρτι, σε 10 Apr," now," and 7, " yet," cannot be understood without a reference to fomething in St. Paul's paft life; what that was, which he had particularly then in his mind, we may fee by the account he gives of himself, in what immediately follows, viz. that before his converfion he was employed by men, in their defigns, and made it his business to please them, as may be seen, Acts ix. I, 2. But when God called him, he received his commiffion and inftructions from him alone, and fet immediately about it, without confulting any man whatsoever, preaching that, and that only, which he had received from Chrift. So that it would be fenfelefs folly in him, and no lefs than the forfaking his Mafter, Jefus Chrift, if he should now, as was reported of him, mix any thing of men's with the pure doctrine of the Gofpel, which he had received immediately by revelation from Jefus Chrift, to please the Jews, after he had fo long preached only that; and had, to avoid all appearance or pretence to the contrary, fo carefully fhunned all communication with the churches of Judea; and had not, until a good while after, and that very fparingly, converfed with any, and those but a few, of the apoftles themselves, fome of whom he openly reproved for their judaizing. Thus the narrative, fubjoined to this verfe, explains the "now," and "yet," in it, and all tends to the fame purpose. Hi, tranflated "perfuade," is fometimes ufed for making application to any one to obtain his good-will, or friendship; and hence, Acts xii. 20, neioares Bxdsor is tranflated" having made "Blaftus their friend :" the fenfe is here the fame which, I Theff. ii. 4, he expreffes in these words, ἐχ ὡς ἀνθρώποις αρέσκοντες ἀλλὰ τῷ Θεῷ, σε not as pleafing men, but God.” IId To evay Sexo bèv up," which has been preached by me:" this, being spoken indefinitely, must be understood in general, every-where, and fo is the import of the foregoing verfe. |