The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 154

writing, there being no to.blet (eo to epeo.k) that idee. upon thei-r souls. What envier nr suggested on which the writing could be their happiness in him conk], then, possibly oonceived of ne clone. rp&,p.,, it ie trne, be.ve torn them from him, This so.me mee.ne "doscribe" in John i. 45 and Rom. portraiture of " Christ crucified " which he x. 5; but it is still o. description in writing. reminds the Ge.le.tie.ns he had in tboee days Wo are, therefore, driven to assign t.o the presented to them, he also, as he tells the verb the notion of portraying ae in o. paint- Corinthians {1 Cor. i. 23; ii. 2; 2 Cor. v. ing, 11. eenee which in Common Greek it 20, 21), had been intent on holding up certainly does sometimes bear, and which before the Greeks of Achaia; while further littaches to it in the 010:yp&,p,,, of Ezek. iv. l; he intimates to the Romane, in bi; Epistl; viii. 10 (Septuagint). We thus go.in the. to them, how eager be was to come and at sense, " had before been set· forth or por- Rome e.lso bolrl up Christ as him whom trayed;" before (that is) the envier assailed God had set forth to be a. Propitiation, you. This so.me sense, of portro.ying rather thron.~h faith, by his blood (Rom. i. 15, 16; than of writing, would be also the 'beet to iii. 25). Both to the Jew and to the Gentile, give to the verb, supposing the .,,.pb to be both to Greeks e.nd to barbarians, both understood as the "before" of place ; wbicb to wise and to unwise, this, emphatically conception of the-preposition Bishop Light- this, was the alone e.nd the sovereign salva- foot contends for, urging the use of the verb tion. This picturin.g forth of the crucified .,,.po")'pac/)«v, e.nd the nouns .,,.po")'paµµa e.nd One, however, would hardly from Paul ·a .,,.P•")'pac/)r,, with reference to the plo.ce.rde on lips concern itself much with the outward which public notices were given of political particulars of the passion; it might have been or other matters of business. When, how- this, in e. fe.r greater degree, in St. Peter's ever, we consider how partial the apostle presentment of it, who had been himself ie to verbs compounded with rrpb of time, witness of those sufferings; but Paul, with e.s is seen in his use of .,,.poa1T1&oµa1, .,,.poa.J<o6r,,, his ho.bits of thought, e.s we know them from .,,.poaµapT4vr,,, 1rpoe?.,.,,.{(o,, ...poevc/.pxoµa1, 1rp0• his writings, who knew Christ as in the spirit e...ayye?..?..oµa1, 1rpOET01µa(o,, .,,.pQEVa")"')'EAl(oµa1, rather than as in the flesh, would occupy wpo,ca:rar,EM"', ,rpo,ca:rapTl("', 1rpo,cvp&oµ.ai, himself more with the spiritual idea of tlw .,,.po.,,.&~.,, not e. few of which were probably cross-its embodiment of perfect meekness compounded qy himself as he wanted them, e.nd gentleness e.nd self-sacrifice, of humility, it o.ppears highly probable that, to serve of obedience to the Father's will, of love to the present occasion, he here forms the e.11 mankind, of especial care for his own, compound ..-po"Yp&,p., in the sense of "por- e.nd its antagonism to the spirit of Levitical traying before," the compound not existing ceremonialism. "Such presentmenl," re- elsewhere in the so.me sense. He compo.1·es, marks Calvin," as if in e. picture, nay, as if then, the idea of Christ crucified, presented actually crucified in the very mi<lst of the to his hearers in his preaching, to a por- hearers themselves, no eloquence, no arti- traiture, in which the Redeemer he.d been fice of rhetoric, can produce, unless that so vividly e.nd with such striking effect mighty working of the Spirit be assistant exhibited to his converts, the.t it ought in of which the apostle speaks in his two all reason he.ve for ever safeguarded their Epistles to the Corinthians (e.g. l Cor. ii. souls ago.inst all danger from teo.ching of an 4, 5, 13, 14 ; 2 Cor. iii. 3, 6). If any, there- alien character. If the phrase, iv vµw, be fore, would fain duly discharge the m.inistrv retained, it appears beet, with Chrysostom of the gospel, let them learn not BO much to and many others, to understand it ll~ mean- apply eloq uencc o.nct declamation, ns to ing, tbe.t St. Paul had presented Christ likewise so pierce into men's consciences crucified In such lively oolours to their view, that these may truly feel Christ crucifierl that they had, as it were, seen him hanging and the dropping upon them of his blood. on the oross "in their very midst." The Where the Church hath painters such as position of EUTavpo,/'<>os, disconnected from these, she very little needeth e.ny more 'h1uovs Xp,uTJs and at the end of the 8en- representations in wood and stone, that is, tence, gives it intense signilicance. What dead images, very little 11ny paintings; an,I the idea of Obrist crucified wae to hie own certainly among Christians tile doors of the self, the apostle had just before declared ; temples were not open for the reception for him it at once had destroyed o.11 spirituo.l of imug-as e.nd paintings until the shep- connection with the ceremonial Lo.w, the Law herds either had grown dumb and becomo whioh bade the cruoified One o.we.y from mero dolls, or else did se.y in the pulpit itself as e.ocureed, and o.lso by the infinite no more than jnst e. few words, and these love to himself which ho beheld mo.nifested in so oold o.nd perfunctory a manner that in Christ oruoified for him, had bound him the power and efficacy of the gospel minis- to him by spiritual ties both 1111-constre.in- try we.a utterly extinct." ing and indissoluble. And suoh (he means) Ver. 2.-This only would I learn of you should have been the effeot produced b7 (TouTo µ.&vov B,?..., µ.aOt,v o.q,' vµow); t/,ia  120 THE EPISTLE TO THE GA.LA'l'IANS. [en. m. 1-29,