7.8. But if the ministration of death, written (and) engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not steadfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance ; wdiich (glory) was to be done away : how shall not the ministration of the Sphit be rather glorious ?
It was tlie design and effect of the law to kill. This is true, so far as the work of salvation is concerned, of the law in all its forms, whether the moral law as revealed in the Scriptures, or as written in the heart, or as the Mosaic law. In all these forms it was designed to bring men to the knowl- edge of sin and helplessness ; to produce a sense of guilt and misery, and a longing for redemption, and thus be a school- master to bring men to Christ. Gal. 3, 24. This was a neces- sary office, and therefore glorious. But how can it compare with the gospel ? How can that which only makes us know that we are sinful and condemned, be compared with that which delivers us from sin and condemnation ? This is the idea which the apostle expands, and, as it were with exulta- tion, turns over as though he could not let it go, in vs. 7-11. But if the tninistration of deaths icritten (and) graven in stones. The Greek is, et 8e 7} StaKOVia tov ^o^vdrov iu ypajXfxaaiv €.vT€Tv-iT0)iJi€V7] Iv A.t^ots, but if t/ie mlnistratioii of death in letters engraven in stones. The simplest interpretation of these words is that the ministration of death was in letters, i. e. by means of letters, engraven on stone ; which is the sense ex- pressed by the free translation given in our common version. According to this view Iv ypdfxfjiacnv are connected with what follows. But more commonly they are connected with what precedes ; the oninistration of death in letters^ which Luther makes to mean, " the ministration which by means of letters (i. e. the Avritten law) produces death," This certainly gives a good sense and consistent with the context ; but it is not so simple or natural as the one first mentioned. It will be ob- served that Paul says that the ministration was engraven on stone. It was, however, of course not the ministration (the office of a minister) but the law itself that was thus engraven. There are two things here stated. First, that Moses was the minister of a covenant that produced death ; and secondly, tljat that covenant was an external economy or system. These two ideas are combmed at the expense of mere verbal