under the curse," i. e. as many as seek acceptance by their own works. The apostle's meaning, therefore, obviously is, that if those who rely upon their own works are the heirs of the promise, and are accepted on the condition of obedience to the law, the whole covenant is broken, /ae7A is made void, and the promise made of none effect. " Is made void" is ren- dered useless ; see 1 Cor. 1 : 17, " The cross of Christ is made useless," 9 : 15, &c. ; compare 1 Cor. 15 : 17, " Your faith is vain," not only without foundation, but of no use. The promise is made of none effect, i. e. is invalidated ; see ch. 3 : 3, 31.
(15) Because the law worketh wrath, &c. This verse is not to be con- nected with the 14th, as the punctuation in our version would intimate, .as though it contained a proof of the declaration there made, that faith and the promise would be invalidated if works were made the ground of acceptance. For although it is true that this conclusion would follow from the nature of the law, inasmuch as it requires perfect obedience, and all who trust in it are under the curse, and of course not the heirs of the promise ; yet this idea is not presented as a proof that the promise must fail. That was proved in a different way in the previous verse. The argument from the nature of the law is intended to bear on the gene- ral proposition that justification is not by works. This verse, therefore, contains the fourth argument in the apostle's reasoning in support of his main doctrine.
Worketh wrath, i. e. causes men to suffer wrath or punishment. This, however, the law does in two ways, and, therefore, there are two me- thods of explaining this verse. The law is condemnatory, its sanction or penalty is an essential part of it, and it is only in virtue of law that sin is punished ; for sin is not imputed or punished where there is no law ; or, where there is no law there is no transgression. The idea and argument then are, that it is the office of the law to condemn, and not to justify. As it requires perfect obedience, and says, " cursed is every one who continueth not in all things written in the book of the law to do them," all who are under the law are under the curse. For sinners, therefore, salvation by the law is from its very nature impossible. Ac- cording to this view the argument of the apostle is analogous to that in Gal. 3:10. But there is another way in which the law works wrath ; it excites and exasperates the evil passions of the heart. Not from any defect, indeed, in the law itself, but from the nature of sin. This idea the apostle frequently presents, 7 : 5, &c. 8:3, The meaning then is, that the law which, instead of freeing men from sin, incidentally renders these transgressions more numerous and conspicuous, and thus brings them more and more under condemnation, is not, from its nature, capable of securing the justification of men. This is perhaps the most com- monly received view of the passage. The former, however, seems more natural, and better suited to the context.
For where there is no law there is no transgression. The meaning given to this clause depends upon the view taken of the preceding one