the houſhold of faith y. mw As we have &bjeas befere us, or as God gives us time, and ability. x Let it be our bulineſs to harm non?, but we ſupply the neceſſities ct all Men; either with our ſpiritual advice and coun- ſels, with a!l the ahirance we can give them, that may any way 2 of ſpiritual profit or advantaze to them, or with our worldly £0045 miniftrias to their neceſſities. »y But all in an order prefer- rig Chriitians before others; Thoſe that belong to the Church, (which is called the Houſe of God, 1 Tim. 3. 15. I Pet. 4. 17. and the Zouſhold of God, Eph. 2. 19.) before ſuchas have no relation to the Church. i1 Ye ſee how large a letter I have written to you,
with my own hand z.
7 Paul made uſe of the hands of others in the writing ſome [ others of the Epiſtles, as appears from Rom. 16. 22. and ſome- times he himſelf only wrote the Salutation, 1 Cor. 16. 21. But he tells them he wrote the Epiſtle to them wholly with his own hand, that he might thereby more commend his Love to them and care over them.
12 AS many as deſire to. make a fair ſhew in the fieſh a, they conſtrain you to be circumciſed b: * on- ly Ie they ſhould ſuffer perſecution for the croſs of Chrilt c.
a The Apoſtle here refleð upon thoſe falſe Teachers, who had perverted this Church, and diſcovereth their hypocritie under all their pretences of £o0d Will to them. Theſe are thoſe who (he laith) defired ro make a fair ſhew in the Fleſh; that is, to make a fair ſhev to the V/orld as Men very devout (which Formalifts and Perſuns cver-zealous for Rituals ordinarily do.) þ Theſe would conſtrain, were very urgent to perſwade theſe Believers to be cir- cunciled, net out of any love they had to the Law of God, or to | 4 the £u1s cf theſe Galatians, c But only to avoid Perſecution; for as 4 the Jews were more favourable to ſuch Chriſtians, who together with th2 Dcatrin of Chriſt obſerved alſo their Rites and lezal Ceremo- nes: Se we are told by ſome of the Ancients, that ſome of the Ro- mw Emperors by their Edids gave liberty to the Jews in the Provin- CES ſubject to them, to uſe their own Religious Rites ; now all who were circumcited went under that notion, and ſo had more liberty
!
fan thole who were not circumciſed, who were perſecuted both
C
O
b
any thing þ, nor uncircumcition, but a new cure 2.
from Rome, while Paul was a Priſoner there, who are in Pats it from ver. 16. thinking that it was wrote at a time ven there ſuffering Impriſcnment.
TIANS.
by the Tewiſh and Heathen Magiſtrates, The Apoſtle 5; rhete falſe Teachers, who {© zealoutly urged Circumcij TR Gentile Church, did it tor no other end but for the danger of Periecution, which they ſaw would follow ing taſt in their Goſpel liberty, and not brinsins theme. der the Law : Which Perſecution he tacitly hinteth on be ſo induſtrioully ſhunned and avoided, becauſe it was on ow, ſake, who had indured the Croſs for them, as _ 13 For neither they themſelves who arc clrcumc; ied, keep the law d, bur delire to have you _ ted, that they may glory in your fleſh e. "oy 4 In this the Hypocrifie of your falſe Teachers dif
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avoiding 4;
Cr; 3.9 brif;
J Chap, V up l har
Non upon ti; their ttanc the
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ſelf, that whereas by their being circumciſed, they had dec F ; an UQOary
themſclves Debtors to the whole Law, and under entirely to keep it if they would be ſaved ; did not keep it, only were very zealous for this one thin any love they had to the Law; e but they might zlory
Witt
wh” Ol YOu,
f For my part I have no ſuch ends, T have no Ambition to -taw
in you as my Converts; all that T deiire to £lory. in, is in +1, & * art . ts ['Yith oy (hav,
. ET Xs 5 Tor the propagation vf it, and my conformity to Chrift in ſuffering for Preachin- the Goſpel. g By the Croſs of Chriſt the 10-14 is Crucified to 1 be "a to 7t. I care no more for the World than it careth for w- On
Lic
10 hat! enabled me to it; for the Particle tranſlated by whom, may OE
I5 For 1n Chriſt Jeſus neither circumciſion availeth crez-
þ Under the Goſpel ſtate as ſettled by Chriſt, with reference to Salvaticn, it is of no moment whether a Man be a Jew or þ a Gentile
"Þ , , A : z Put whether a Man be Regenerated or no, and bs renewed by
the Holy Ghoſt, ſo as cld things with him be paſſed away, and al
things be become new. He had ſaid the ſame chap. 2. 28. and 5.6, SEE allo 2 Cor. 5. 17, Under the Law indeed there was ſmerhins in Circumcifien, as it was Ged's Covenant in the Fleſh to that Peg: pl- to whom he gave it, and the Uncircumciſed were ſtrangers rg the Covenants ct Premiſe, and aliens to the Church cf God; bur under the Goſpel, Circumcifion and Uncircumciſion are 0f no jic- nificanyz Ged neither regards any for the former, nor reiterh any for the latter, he only looketh at the Heart and inward Van whether that be renewed and ſanttified, yea, Or no. |
16 * And as many as walk according to this rule b *DC1 peace be on them, | of God m.
k He either meaneth the Rule of Scripture, the whole Word of 1% ? God ; or the Dottrin which he had taught them throushout this © in our courſe of well-doing ; otherwiſe we can no more expett to | x piſtle ; or what he had ſaid in the words immediately 2cins be- + fore, where the Apoſtle had given them this Rule, not fo recard either Circumciſion or Uncircumciſion, or any thing in the Heh, but only the change of their Hearts. 1 To theſe he either prophetieth Peace and Mercy, or he prayeth Peace and Mercy for them, under which large terms, he comprehendeth all good things whether in- ternal or external. 01 the Jſrae] of God ; hereby intimating of what he had ſaid, Rom. 2. 28, 29. ſaid of Nathaniel, Fohn 1. 47. calling him an I{-2elite i:
and mercy /, and upon the * |{r;el«,
m Upon the true J/razlites, whom he callzth and confirming the Truth and what our Saviour bad | nos ys Yo
auſe in him was 70 guilez and eſtabliſhing a diſtingi.n ©=twixt
ſuch as were ſo really, and thoſe who were cvIy J/+-121;: 5, 11 name, becauſe deſcended from Facob, to whom Gud gave the nams ot Iſrael. Herevy alſo checking the vanity of the Fews, wha ;luricd in the name of Jſaelires, and thought there could no water come
ut of the Feuntains of Jſrael which God would caft away. The
Apottle doth not promiſe, or prophefie Mercy and Veacz to all Jjralites, but only to the 1/72! of God ; that is, to Believers that received and imbraced Jeſus Chrift, offered in the Goſpe!.