cure

made their first attack upon him, as we had occafion to obferve before e on the Apoftle's vindication, chap. 1. & ii. And thus he might very pertinently fay, that all the zeal they put on for the Galatians, was but an attempt to exclude him, and fethe affections of the Galatians to themfelves. This is fo much to the purpose the Apostle had in view, and comes in fo naturally on what he had been saying of the very great affection the Galatians had shown to him, that fome of the most judicious interpreters have been determined to chufe the fecond reading, us instead of you.

But, after all, whatever it might have been to the Galatians, it is of very little moment to us which of the two readings fhould ftand in this text, unless it be to put us upon our guard against those who lie in wait to deceive, and to fet a mark upon thofe who make no fcruple to attack the characters of men as good, if not better than themselves, when they stand in their way; a practice generally disclaimed, but, alas! as generally practifed. The Apoftle's decifion on the cafe before him is a good one, and will hold in every other cafe:

f

It is good to be zealously affected in a good thing, or in what is good; this takesbin both men and things; and, leaving the As postle's word, asshe has placed it, undeter mined to either, makes it altogether unne ceffary to enter into the reafons which have induced fome very learned mento think that Paul here, in a very elegant manner, fets himself before the Galatians as the good man toward whom they were to be zealously affected. But the Apostle, they should have obferved, changes the phrase he had ufed, when fpeaking of perfons; and instead of zealously affect ing them, he fays, it is good to be zealoufly affected in good; which takes in the whole fubject their zeal is to be employed in. What he adds of being fo always, and not only when he was prefent with them, has been thought to point directly to Paul's perfon, whom they had poured fo many bleffings on when prefent. But on comparing Phil. ii. 12. it will appear, that this expreffion is as applicable to the whole duties of Christianity, as to this or any other particular. The Apostle had no ends of his own to ferve by bespeaking their affection; and as the cafe then stood, - 9 bail Sw 1997 or abusi ylimut affioq

the

2

the caufe of Chrift and his were the fame; and though he was one very proper object of their zeal; yet was he neither the only, nor even the principal one. It is likewise to be observed, that he had but just in the preceding verfe taxed the pretended zeal of their new teachers for their good; and pronounced it wrong, or not rightly and fairly managed, either as to matter or manner; on which it was very natural to give them a general direction for the right management of their own zeal, which fhould hold whether he was present or abfént.

And happy were it for the Christian world, if this rule were punctually obferved. In reading the history of the church, it will be hard to fay, whether what has gone, and still goes, under the name of zeal, has done moft good or hurt to true religion? When regularly conducted by the Apostle's rule, it is the fervour of love to God and man, the very best thing? but how readily does it degenerate into that which the Apoftle blames in the Judaizers, zeal for a party; and that again into what the fame Greek word is often used to denote, the very bittereft enmity, which naturally leads to what we find the A

postle

postle cautioning thefe Galatians against, chap. 5. verf. 15. biting and devouring one another; all which would be avoided were it confined to what is good, whether per

fons or things.

19. My little children, of whom I travail in birth a gain, until Chrift be formed in you. 20. I defire to be prefent with you now, and to change my voice, for Iftand in doubt of you. 21. Tell me, ye that defire to be under the law, do ye not hear the law? 22. For it is written, that Abraham had two fons: the one by a bond-maid, the other by a free-woman. 23. But he who was of the bond-woman, was born after the flefb: but he of the free-woman was by proq mife. 24. Which things are an allegory; for these are the two covenants; the one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is Agar. 25. For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and anfwereth to Jerufalem, which now is, and is in bondage with her children. 26. But Jerufalem which is above is free, which is the mother of us all. 27. For it is written, Rejoice, thou barren, that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that travaileft not for the defolate hath many more children than fhe which hath an husband. 28. Now we, brethren, as Ifaac was, are the children of promife. 29. But as ther he that was born after the flesh, perfecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even fo it is now.' '3 30. Nevertheless, what faith the Scripture? Caft out the bond-woman and her fon; for the fon of the bond

1

woman

woman shall not be heir with the fon of the free-wo5man. So then, brethren, we are not children of the bond-woman, but of the free,

Τ To the main

HE Apoftle being about returning to the main fubject of this epiftle, and having fome very home things yet to fay upon it, wifely prepares them for it: first, by recalling, as we have feen, to their remembrance the happy time when he first preached Chrift to them, which he concludes with the most pathetic intimation of his very great love to them; and next by a very entertaining, as well as inftructive, application of the hiftory of Abraham's two fons, Ifaac and Ifhmael, to the cafe he was writing up

on.

He finishes the very affecting view he was putting them in mind of, with one of the ftrongest expreffions that could be made

of his great concern for their welfare, and the ardency of his affection to them, verf. 18.; which one cannot let pafs without obferving the ftrong contraft between the Jewish zealots, and himself. They were very bufy about them, and in all appearance affected with the greatest warmth of zeal for their falvation, but with no

T

better