The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 175

not to the sinner's spirit, but to his sin "shut up," both AS present and as prospe~ (Rom. vii. 9), in!-c'.1sifying its malignity and tive, in Rom. xi. ~2, " God hath shut up all working death (1b1d., vers. 10-13). These men unto disobedience (a-v,l1e>.<1,r,, d 81b1 views, so explicitly expressed by the apostle 'TOOS 7rdJ/'TllS ,ls a .... ,e..a.11), th&t he might in the two nearly contemporaneous Epistles have meroy upon all; " where likewise the just cited, reveal to us what was in his providential ordering of God is spoken of, mind when writing the words before us, and not the description of Scripture only. end may be properly adduced to explain There we read ,,-oi',s .,.cf.,.,.as, here ,,-cl -ir&v.-11, them. with an evident propriety in the choice of Ver. 22.-Bnt the Scripture ha.th oon- gender ; for there St. Paul is thinking of cluded all under Bin (AMd ,rVP/,,>..,,r,., fi Jews and of Gentiles e.e severally coming ;,pa.<f>~ ,,-,l ircfv,,-a. 6-irb aµa.p.-ia.11); on the con- under the operation of the Divine "shutting trary, the Scripture hath shut it all up under up; " here he is not thinking of varied per• rin. On the sense which the phrase, "the sonalities, but rather of the entire oircum- Scripture," sometimes bears, denoting the ste.nces of men under the legal economy. sacred "·ritings collectively and not one That the promise by faith of Jeans Christ particular passage, see note on ver. 8. might be given to them that believe ('Iva fi Here, a.s in ver. 8, we feel ourselves a.t /,ra.yy,>.la i1t ,r(,r,,-,.,s 'I11uoi) Xp,,r,-oi) oa6p liberty not to limit the apostle's reference 'TOis ,r1unoou,r1). The term "promise," as to one passage, a.s thnt cited in eh. ii. 16 or connected with the verb "might be given," ver. 23 of this chapter, but to understand denotes beyond doubt the thing promiaed, him a.s including in his scope the teaching as in ver. 14, "the promise of the Spirit:" of Holy Scripture in both these and other this is "the promise" meant here. Now, if places; having probably in view some such we were to join the words, "by faith of general summary of the contents of God's Jesus Christ," with the noun "promise," Word as bearing upon the subject, as he we should have to understand the two to- has alleged in Rom. iii. It is highly pro- gether as meaning," the promise which was bable that some such summary, very pos- made to Abraham because of bis f"itb in sibly this identical one with variations, he Jesus Christ;" e.nd this would be attended was wont frequently to employ, as he with a twofold inconvenience : (1) the certainly had constant occe.sion to do, term would have to be ta.ken in two senses in reasoning with his fellow-Jews and in the same sentence; it would first mean others, in synagogues and elsewhere. As here, "the word of promise spoken to Abra- in ver. B, so here, the term " Scripture" is ham," and then, when immediately after so applied as to invest Scripture with a sort taken with the verb "might be given," it of personal agency, which in stricter pro- would change its sense in~o that of "the priety would be predicat.ed of its Divine thing promised; " (2) this method of con- Author. We have, in fact, presented to us struing the sentence would import a new the action of God himself in his ordering of thought, one which did not, so far as we that older economy, and not merely the know-it may have done so, perhaps, hut statement of Scripture describing tlie con- there is no proof of it-belong to St. Paul's dition of things under it. "Shut it all up views of the subject; namely, that" Jesus under sin;" l~aving no loop-hole of escape. Christ "-not merely" Christ," but" Jesus The sense of the verb is illUBtrated by its Christ," the historieal Son of De.vid-waa use in the Septuagint (Josh. vi. 1), "Jeri- believed in by Abraham. It appears so.fer, cho was (,rv-y1<u>.rnrµ,I.,.,,) straitly shut np." therefore, to connect the words, "by faith God, in tLe appointments and revelations of of Jesus Christ," with the verb; thus: "that the Le.w, found and pointedly left his peo- the promise might by faith, as a conse- ple, so to speak, under the operation and quence of foith, of Jesus Christ be given to overmeslering of sin, providing for them them that believe." The apostle redoubles therein, and e.s yet, no such outlet from either the mention of "faith " as the que.li.fic11tion its condemnation or its power (" the law of for receiving the gift. "Faith l Faith I sin," Romans) a.a he purposed in after times with none of your wretched works of cere- to open for them. The description stands monialism I " Compo.re for this iteration in marked contre.st with the blessed libe1ty of faith, vers. 2-7. He adds, "of Jesus predicated in the next chapter of the Christ," to " by faith," to mark that the children of "Jerusalem which is above." bestowment of the blessing WBB delayed till This condition of things under the old Christ should have actually come, to whose economy is represented as being only a line amongst Abraham's posterity the pro- prOTJUional ordering of the Divine Disposer, mise had beon me.de. The apostle intimate, me.de with a view to a perfect manifestation that tho ulterior purpose which God 110.d in of deli\·eri11g goodness to come by-and-by. view in then "shutting it all up under sin," "Shut up ... that," etc. We have a remark- tho purpose which is described in this fast able pa.re.llel to this twofold significance of sentence, was likewise signified Ly " Scrip• OH, III, 1-29,] THE EPISTLE •ro THE GALATIANS. 141