The Pulpit Commentary — Galatians — Section 339

here as in oLhor passa.ges, as e.g. I Thess. t~eir hold upon the fundamental prin- v. 15, is ono whioh flows natnra.lly from the ciples of the gospel, they had also declined proper influence UJ?OD tho mind of the great in their affectionate maintenance of the facts sta.ted in I Tim ii. 3-7, as a.lso it we.s tea.chars who nphelrl those doctrines. He a. spltit which in a. most eminent degree now commends these, belonging to faith's nnima.ted tho apostle's own life. Witness own hous~hol.~1 to their especial regard that noble outburst of universal benevolence ( comp. Phil. m. 17). "Esper,ially ; " this which we read of in Acts xxvi. 29. Such qualification in an intensified form of the an escape from bigotry and particularism precept of universal beneficence, is the out- was quite novel to the Gentile world, and come of no cold calculation of relative sce.rcely heard of in the Jewish, thougb duties, but of fervent love towards those beautifully pointed forward to in the teach- who are truly brethren in Christ. Tha.t to ing of the Book of Jonah (see Introduction these an especial affection is due above all to the Book of Jonah, in 'Speaker's Com- others is a sentiment commended and in- mentary,' vol. vi. p. 576). Espeoially unto culcated in almost all St. Paul's Epistles ; them who are of the household of faith as it is also by St. Peter, e.s e.g. in 1 Pet. i. (µJ.l\.1uTri 8~ 7rpbr TobS" olK.Efovs T-ijS' 1rluTEr.1s); 22, etc.; and again by St. John. With all, but especially towards them that are of the "love of brethren ( 4>,/\~•/\4'(a)" is a different household of faith. The adjective ol,ceio, sentiment from that sentiment of charity occurs in the New Testament only in St. which is due to all fellow-men; that is, it Paul's Epistles-twice besides here, namely, is an intensified form of this latter, exalted in Eph. ii. 19, "fellow-citizens with the into a peculiar tenderness of regard by the saints, and of the'. household (ol,uio,) of admixture of higher relations than those God;" end in I Tim. v. 8, "if any pro- which antecedently connect true Christians videth not for his own, and specially his with all members of the human family. own household (oi1Cefow)." In the last-cited Christ has him~elf (Matt. xxv. 31-46) passage, the adjective, denoting e.s it plainly taught his disciples that he deems a pecu- is meant to· do, a closer r.elation than "his liar regard to be due from them to those own (l6fow)" must mean members of his "his brethren" who at that day shall be on household or· family; and we con hardly his right hand; meaning, evidently, by err in supposing that in Eph. ii. 19 like- "these my brethren," not suffering men, wise the phrase; olKtio, -roii @eoii denotes women, or children as such, but sufferers those whom God he.a admitted into his peculiarly belonging to himself (comp. family as children. So the word also Matt. x. 42; xvili. 5, 6). Thus we see that, signifies in the Septuagint of Isa. iii. 5 ; after all, there is a particularism properly lvili. 7; and Lev. xviii. 6, 12, 13. It is, characteristic of Christian sentiment; only, therefore. an unnecessary dilution of its not such a particularism as a Gentile, and force here to render it, "those who belong too often a Jew likewise, wonld have for- to the faith," though such a rendering of it mulated thus: "Thou sbalt love thine own might be justified if found in an ordinary people and hate the alien; " bnt one which Greek author. The meaning of -rij• .,,./a--r•w• may be formulated thns: "Thou shalt love is illustrated by the strong personi.fico.tion every me.n, but especially thy fellow-believer used before by the lipostle in •eh. iii. 23, 25, in Christ." The reader will, perhaps, scarcely "before faith ea.me; " "shut up for the faith need to be reminded of Keble's exquisite which was yet to be revealed; " '' now that piece on the Second Sunday after Trinity faith is come:" The apostle surely here is in the 'Christian Yeo.r.' not thinking of" the Christian doctrine," Ver. 11.-Ye see how large a letter I have but of that principle of believing accept- written unto you with mine own hand ance of God's promises which he has been ~ETE "IMJ/\(Ko« Oµ.iv -ypd.µ.µ.a.a-,v (-ypa,j,a ry ,µ.fi insisting upon all through the Epistle. ;rceap[) ; see with what large pieces of writing This principle, again personified, is here the (or, with what large letters) I have written patron or gua.rdian of God's people afore- (or, 1 write) unto you with mine men hand. time under a pedagogue : " of the household There can be hardly any doubt that the of faith," not "of the faith." The apostle rendering " ye see" of the Authorized is thinking of those who sympathized with Version, supposing, as it seems to do, that the doctrine of justification by faith in this is mell.llt as an indicative, must be Christ without legal observances; and very wrong (cf. John iv. 29; l John iii. 1). The possibly is glancing in particular at the %3•-r• of the Textus Receptus in Phil. i. 30 teachers under whose care the apostle had is replaced by recent editors with one con- left the Ga.lo.tian Churches. At first, we sent by etl,-re. Each one of the folll' next may believe, the Gala.tian Churchmen, in the Greek words, 71"11/1.(,co,s uµ.iv -ypdµ.µ.aa-,v l-yp<1,j,a, fervour of their a.ffection to the apostle him- bas been subjected to a variety of interpre- eelf, had been willing enough to holp those tations. What o.ppeBrs to the present writer troohers in every way. But when rela~ing the most probable view hl' must explain a.a Q4l,A'HAl'i~, X  306 THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [err. 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