9. These principles have been infinuated by a few perfons, or perhaps a fingle person, tho' numbers have been infected by them.

11. It had probably been faid that Paul, as he conformed to the law himself, had enjoined the obfervance of it on his Gentile converts in other places, tho' not in Galatia This he denies.

12. That is, expelled from christian churches. He did not wish them any greater evil; and this only for the fake of others, who were liable to be influenced by them to their hurt.

Being, as I have reprefented, in a state of freedom, as christians, let me entreat you not to fubmit to a yoke of bondage, without confidering the neceflary confe quence of it. If you, being Gentiles, become circumcifed, like other Jewish converts, you bring yourfelves under an obligation to conform to the whole law, and muft, like the native Jews, expect justification from your obfervance of it, and not from that free grace which is preached in the gospel. We do not expec falvation from the law, but only from our faith in the gofpel, and in obedience to it; a difpenfation which was confirmed by the gifts of the spirit. For, according to the true principles of chriftianity, circumcifion is of no more avail than uncircumcifion, but only that faith in the promises of God which produces love and obedi

ence.

You Galatians made a gcod beginning, why did you

not

not proceed in the fame manner, and hold to the pure truth? This must have come from the perfuafion of others, and not from me who called you to the knowledge of the gospel. But in you is verified the proverb which fays, a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump. Your judaizing teachers tho' few in number have infected many of you. But notwithstanding prefent appearances, I am perfuaded you will on reflection revert to your former better fentiments and conduct, and that the perfons who have been the cause of your dif affection will fuffer for it. If you have heard that I myfelf preach conformity to the law to any of my Gentile converts, you have been misinformed. If I did, I should not have been expofed as I have been, and yet am, to the perfecution of these judaizers. So much mifchief has been done in chriftian churches by the judaizers, that I cannot help wishing that you had no connection with them, but that they were expelled from all the chriftian focieties.

Having represented the gofpel as a difpenfation of liberty, the apoftle here cautions the Galatians against the abuse of it, and to confider themselves as under the strongest obligation to the practice of all vir

tue

13. This is an excellent caution against the abuse of the liberty, which he had exhorted them to affert.

16. Here the apostle paffes from one sense of a word to another, which, tho' fhewing ingenuity, is in danger of misleading the reader. He had before characterized the gospel by the appellation of the spirit, and the law by that of the flesh, as an inferior difpenfation. From

this he now takes occafion to exhort his readers to avoid what is commonly called the lusts of the flesh, or the vices to which men are subject. These he enumerates, and among them fuch as were apt to occafion divifions in churches, and the animofity confequent upon

them.

23. In oppofition to thofe vices which he afcribes to the principle of flesh, he ftrongly recommends the oppofite virtues which he refers to the spirit, or the genuine fruits of the gospel.

24. Here we have another figure of speech, which approaches to a play upon words, fo frequent with this apofle. In imitation of Chrift being crucified, he fometimes represents christians as crucified, dead, and buried, with him, and alfo as rifing again with him. Here he reprefents not himself, but his fias, as crucified with Chrift.

25. That is, if we make profeffion of a religion which was confirmed by the spirit of God, let us live according to the principles of it. But in this the apoftle ufes the term spirit in two different fenfes.

26. Here he alludes to the ftate of the Galatian churches diftracted with their divifions, and the animofities arifing from them.

THE PARAPHRASE.

My brethren, tho' you have been called to liberty, remember, that it is only a freedom from an obligation to the Jewish ceremonial law, and not from the practice of virtue. Do not then abufe it, but confider yourselves as

fervants

fervants to one another, and with the greatest good will, whenever it is in your power, do to one another every kind office. This is agreeable to the tenor of the law itfelf, which you fo much affect. For all the moral and most valuable part of it is comprehended in this one precept, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Take care then left, by your divisions and mutual animofity, you do not act the reverfe of this precept, and fo far from befriending, injure one another.

I have compared the gofpel to the spirit, in oppo, fition to the law, which, as an inferior principle, I termed the flesh. See then that you live according to the fpirit, and avoid what are ufually called the fins of the Aefh, or the vices that men in this life are fubject to. For there are in every man two oppofite principles, one of good, and the other of evil, which may be denominated the spirit and the flesh. From this oppofition of contrary inclinations, (to make myself an example of what I wish to enforce) I cannot always do that which I most approve. If you live according to this fpirit, you will not be subject to the condemning power of the law. The works of the flesh, which are eppofite to those of the fpirit, are well known, viz. fuch as adultery, fornication, and other vices, against which I have frequently warned you, affuring you that they who are addicted to them, cannot obtain the kingdom of God promised in the gofpel. On the contrary, the fruits of the fpirit, by which I exhort you to act, are the oppofite virtues, love, peaceableness, &c. which if you practice, the law will never hurt you. But if you be real chriftians, you are free from all the above mentioned.

vices. For as Chrift was crucified, we alfo may be faid to have crucified our lufts and vices. If then we pretend to be christians, and to have the spirit of God, let us have all the genuine fruits of the fpirit, and efpecially be on our guard against that ambition, which is fo confpicuous in your judaizing teachers, and which leads to envy and every evil work.

Ch. VI. 1. The apoftle concludes his epiftle with moral inftructions of a miscellaneous nature, and after this reverts to his exhortations about judaizing.

1. Let those who boast of their spiritual attainments, or their having the gifts of the fpirit, exert themfelves the most in their endeavours to reclaim the vicious, and in every other refpect to do kind offices to their brethren.

3. Here he alludes to the judaizing teachers, who undervalued him, and boafted of their fuperior knowledge.

4. That is, let every perfon confider how far his conduct is right in itself, and not how much it is better than that of others.

8. The apoftle makes ufe of the terms corruption and life in a correfpondence to the nature of those prin◄ ciples of flesh and spirit, the flesh being liable to corrup tion, and spirit, or breath, being the principle, or life.

11. It was not usual with the apostle to write whole epiftles with his own hand, but only to fign them. Perhaps, being a Jew, he did not write the Greek character well. But it is more truly rendered with what large or awkward letters I have written, not being used to write the Greek character.