see,l. The unity i~ not that established by circumcision, but something far deeper. 2, God had purposes of mercy toward the heathen, 'rhese purposes included their, justification on the same grounds as those which secured the acceptance of the Jews. 'The J~wish dispensation was particularistic, and was so far temporary and preparatory to a dispensation universalistic in its character, In Christ there was to be henceforth "neither Jew nor Gentile," 8. The way of salvation is the same in both d-ispensations. Old 'l'estament saints were saved exactly like New Testament &:lints, by faith in "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." The Levitical system was in itself an evangelical representation of the true method of salvation. 4. We .see here the value of Scripture/or proof,jor conjfrmation,jor comjo1·t, through all ages,. IV. CoMYUNITY AS WELL AS UNTI'Y IN THE BLESSING. "So then they whieh he. of faith are blessed together with the faithful Abraham." 1.. The blessing. It is the manifestation of Divine favour. The blessing and justification are regarded in the context as correlative terms. 2. The community between .Abraham and his seed. (1) He is" faithful Abraham," because of the simplicity, strength, and activity of his faith. He manifested all these characteristics of faith in (a) his self-expatriation; (b) his readiness to sacfifice Isaac; (c) his warlike courage; (d) his self-abnegation in the case of Lot. (2) He is the "fatLer of the faithful." There are but two properly representative men, the first and the second Adam; but Abraham holds a relation of his own, though not of a federal character, towards all who are his seed spiritually. He and they are blessed together. a. The ground of this community. It is the promise of God, "In thee shall the nations of the earth be blessed," realized in course of tim11 in the common faith of all who, whether Jew or Ge~tile, trust ~ pne Redeemer, and find in him their true inheritance as joint-heirs with him. ., .1 Ver.10.-Third argument,-the curse of the Law. "For as many~ ar~ oftbework~. ef the Law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things written in the book of the Law to do them." 'rhe apostle is carried naturally by antithesis of thought from the blessing of faith to the curse-of the Law. I. THE CURSE. This is " the curse of the Law" of ver. 13, from which the Law- itself cannot deliver men, for its function is t0 condemn. 1. Jt is not the mere civil punish- men~ inflicted on the Israelites for the transgression of the ceremonial or judicial Law. The context shows that the curse is a far deeper thing, for the contra.tit.is.between wrath and blessing, condemnation and justification. Besides, the passage. refers to Gentiles who could not be affected by the dispensational peculiarities of Judaism. 2. Tlte curse is the Divine sentence upon transgressors involving doom and shame, the los~ of God, and separation from him ( Isa. lix. 2). The curse includes the penal sanction of the moral Law-a Law written in the hearts of Gentiles as it was delivered to Jews on tables of stone; so that Gentiles and Jews were alike under curse. It is a mistake; therefore, to regard the curse as the mere natural consequence of transgression, as di,;c-ase is the consequence of debauchery; it ie a penal evil. II. THE RANGE OF TBE CURSE, It extends to "as _many as are of the works of th, Law." A distinction is here necessary.between being of the works of the Law and being under the Law. The Old Testament saints were under the Law, but they were not under curse, because, like Abraham, they "saw the day of Christ afar off." They "believed God, and it was counted to -them for righteousness." They apprehended God's mercy and grace under the sacrificial forms of the Jewish economy. But the curse must necessarily descend upon "all who are of the works of the Law," because they have broken it and are still breaking it day by day. IIL How THE CURSE COMEB INTO OPERATION. It is by a Divine sentence which pronounces the curse upon all transgressors of the Law. The curse here quoted is the last of the twelve curses pronounced by the Levites on Mount Ebal (Deut. xxvii. 26). The reference points to ethical, not ceremonial, requirements. 1. '7'he Law demanils p,·actical obedience. It is not "hearers" of the Law, but "doers," who are in question. 2. lt demand6 a per6rmal obedience. " Every one." There is no room for a proxy or a mediator. 8. It def'Tl,Q/f/,IU a perfect obedience; for it covers" all the things written" in the Law. ¼. It must be a perpetual obedience, "Cursed is every one that continueth nut." The least failure involves the transgression of the whole Law (Jas. ii. 10).. ii. The ~Jfect <:f transgression i8 curse. All the evil that is iovolved in tl,nt terrible THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 151
word. ••.D~th o.nd hell are the end of every sin, but not of every Rinner." 6. The Law slili exists to ·cursQ transgressors. It is not abrogated, though J u<laism is no more. Verp,. 11, 12.-Fourth. argument-the inconsistency of Law and faith. "But that DC\ man is justified in the Law in-the Hight of Goel, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. But the Law is not of faith: but, The man that hath <lone these things ,hall live in them." • I. J US7'JFI<;lf'. 'fW~ JS 90'1'. op; THE SPHERE OF LA w. 1. Not because a perfect obed;ence would not bring iustification, for the fundamental principle of the Law is, "The man that hath done these things shall live in them" (Lev. xviii. 5). 2. But because no on~ is able to obey_p~.Law perfectly, Thus salvation becomes impossible on the principlr, of.Law. Il. SCRIPTURE ASSERTS THE CONNECTION OF JUSTIFICATION WITH FAITH, "The just shall ljve by. .faith." The apostle shqws the J udaists liow they misapprehended the doctrine of the Old Testament; for, several hundred years before Christ, the Prophet Habakkuk conn.ects life eternal with J~ith. "The Law is not of faith;" it does not find its starting-point in faith; doing, not believing, is the demand of the Law; and it is in no sense or manner connected with faith. 0