"·ere the Jewi~h s1tl,bath~, with other times of religious observance; the months were the 11cw-moons, always ex:,,ctly observed; the seasons were annual fcstivnls, QS Passover, Pentecost, and :!<'east of 'fabernacles; and the years were the sabbatical year and the yenr ol" jubilee. I. THE GROUNDS OF THE APOSTLE!S CONDEMNATION OF HOLY DAYS. 1. Not that they were not of Divi·ne appointment. God e.xp'ressly appointed them all. 'l'he: Judaists, after all, had more to say for themselves than the Romlln Catholics for their fasts and festivals, which were not appointed by God. 2. Not that Jewish converts were wrong in observing them; for he himself observed some of them, and there was a liberty allowed in this transilion period of the gospet II One man esteemeth one. day a«ive another : another esteerueth e'lery day. alike. Let every man be fully persuade<l in his own mind" (Rom. xi'l. 5). 'l'hus the Jewish converts were in the habit of "keeping the days unto the Lord." • 3 . .Be condemn.9 the Galatians, as ·Gentiles, /01· observin_q days which, as Jewish, had no relation to tliem, llnd most.of which,: as Jewish, :applied only to the couoitions of society in the Holy Land. The Galatians are accordingly condemned: (1) Because they attached importance to ecclesiastical day·s, " like children who were in bond~ge to the elements of the world," suited,· it· might be, to the infancy of the Church, but no longer applicable to a state of spiritual manhood. Similarly in CoL ii. 16 he says, "Let no man jndge you :in mea,t or ·in drink, or in respect of a .holy day, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days.'' (2) Because they rep:arded the observance-of these days as essential to salvation. : 'l'his was a still more fatal error. • II. THE OONllEMNA'ITON IN PRINCIPLE STILL ABIDES IN CamS'.rIANITY. 1. It cannot apply to the obsel'vance of the Lor<Rs day, because (1) the apostle has not such a day in his thoughts at all when he censured their observance of days; (2) because, so far as we know, the Lord's day mu, a fully accepted observance in the Church from .the:·very first, both by Jews and Gentiles; (3) because a day of rest existed before the establish- ment of the Jewish economy, and could not, therefore, be affected by the downfall of Judaism. 2. It cannot apply t,o the case of individuals voluntarily observing daylf of fasting and thanksgiving. for their own spiritual edification, while they do not attempt to make them obligatory on others. 3. It cannot apply to .the right of the Ghwrch, by its own authority, to appoint such days of fasting or thanksgiving as public emergencies may suggest as necessary ·to the highest interests of man. This idea excludes the thought of any special holiness attaching to the day itself. 4. But it does ccmdemn the a,ppointment by the <Jhurch of stated and permanent days which take their place, as a religious service, with all the regularity of the week_ly sabbath itself. The apostle displaces all the Jewish days of observance without exception as belong- ing " to the rudiments of the world," and allows to the Gentiles no day of regularly appointed worship but the Christian sabbath. The tendency of holy days is, not to spiritualize the week,:but rather to seculaTize the sabbath. This, at least, is .manifest in Boman Catholic countries. Ver. 11.-The arpoi;t7,e's apprehensions for his converts. "I am apprehensive of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain." L THE GALATIANS COST THE APOSTLE MUCH LABOUR. He was their spiritual father; he had paid them a second visit which was full of effort and anxiety; and this Epistle represented effort and anxiety in a very extreme form. 'l'he apostle -never spared himsel£ He laboured more abundantly than all the apostles. li. Bis UNCERTAINTY AND CONCERN FOR THEM. It was doubtful whether he would aucceed after all in repelling the attack of the J udaists and rescuing his converts from their injurious influences. But, though he fabours in uncertainty, he· works in hope. " Other work-folks find their work as they left it, but a minister bath all marred many times between sabbath and sabbath" ('l'rapp). Yet it is manifest that it is not his own interest, but that of his converts, which is his suprome anxiety at this moment of crisis in Galatia. Ver. 12.-An affectionate call to liberty. "Brethren, I beseech you "-as if he would redouble his tenderness to converts so dearly loved-stand in your true Obristian liberty apart from the weak and beggarly elements of Judaism. OH, IV, 1-31.] THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 215
J. Hm ASKB THEM TO STAND ON THE SAHE PLATFORM OF LIBERTY WITII HIMSELF, "Become ye as I am "-free yourself from the bondage of ordinances as I have done- " for I also have become as ye are," standing in your Gentile freedom, that I might proach the gospel to you Gentiles. I became," as without Law to them that were without Law, that I might save them that were without Law" (1 Cor. ix. 21). He bad abandoned the legal ground of righteousness as well as the ceremonial formalism of the Jews, and he now invites the'Gentiles, to stand beside him in this position of freedom and privilege. JI, THE QUESTION BETWEEN HIM AND THEM HAS NO PERSONAL ELEMENT WHATEVER. "Ye did me no, wrong." Though they were led to deny or doubt his apostleship, he had no personal ground of complaint against them. The interest at stake was far deeper.