clearly laid before them the riches of Divine Grace. And they had fo deep an impreffion of the truths, which he taught, and felt fo much of their energy, that they feemed as it were to fee the Son of God crucified among them*: they received the promifed Spirit of adoption, by which they rejoiced in God as their Father, and they cheerfully fuffered much perfecution for the name of Chrift‡. Before this, they had lived in the darkest idolatry; for thefe Churches were formed almoft, if not entirely, of Gentiles §. The true God was made known to them, and Unitarianifm, of itself unable to emancipate men from fin, as the cafe of the Jews evinced, was with them attended with the diftinct knowledge and lively faith of Jefus. What proves the divine tafte of this people was, that no difadvantage in the circumftances of the delivery of the Gospel operated with them to its prejudice. Some remarkable infirmity this great man was afflicted with; what it was precifely we are no where told;-but it prefented fomething contemptible in the eyes of profane perfons. And it is no fmall proof of the Galatians being much humbled and awakened in their minds by the Spirit of God, that this circumstance leffened not at all their regard to the Apostle or to his meffage. They received him as an angel of God, even as Christ Jefus ." They confeffed the bleffed nefs, which they felt on account of the Gofpel, and were ready to give even the most painful proofs of their affection to him. In all this we fee, what the Gospel is, what it does for men who truly understand and embrace it in an humbled heart, what was St. Paul's manner of preaching, and how different a thing Christianity then appeared from the frigid fpeculations which in modern times bear that name. But Galat. iii. 1. iv. 6. ‡iii. 4. §iv. 8. iv. 14. But foon after Paul had left them with the most pleafing hopes of their fpiritual growth, he was aftonished to hear of a change for the worfe, which took place among them. Some Jews, who were either their own countrymen, or who had lately arrived at Galatia from other parts of Afia Minor where Paul had laboured, took pains to pervert them. They made no attempts, indeed, to unfettle their minds in the views of the unity of the Godhead, and the principal facts of Christianity; nor did they endeavour to draw them back to the worship of idols. They neither formally denied the atonement of Chrift, nor perfuaded the people to defift from Christian worship. Yet was it another gofpel, though it deferved not the name of Gofpel*, to the love of which they seduced them. They affured them, that they could not be faved without circumcifion, and prevailed on them to Judaize fo far, as to obferve the rites of Mofes in various inftances. They took pains to eftrange them from Paul, and to draw them over to themselves, and to a worldly spirit of conformity, loving to appear fair in the eyes of men, and pretending to be zealous for good works, while their real view was to avoid the perfecution, which attended the Cross of Chrift . Το give the better effect to their infinuations, they inftilled into them difrefpectful ideas of Paul as though he were far inferior to the other Apoftles: and, as it seems, they reprefented the motherchurch of Jerufalem, with the college of Apostles there, as coinciding with themfelves in doctrine. Thus the felf-righteous poifon, which first iffued from Jerufalem, was brought into this diftant province, where the ignorance and fimplicity of the people, unacquainted with Jewish modes and habits, gave it the freeft room to operate. Thefe falfe teachers • Chap. i. 6, 7. + iv. 10. vi. 12. teachers ftill called themfelves Chriftians, and the mifchief which they introduced, may be deemed at first fight no great one. So, I doubt not, fome fashionable perverfions of Evangelical truth at this day, of a fimilar kind, appear to many to be of no great confequence. I am not, however, to difguife that this Galatian delufion appears ftrongly to refemble the perverfions to which I allude. I have reprefented things as they appear to me from the epiftle. The great evil, lurking under all this art and zeal, was the adulteration of the faith of Jefus, the fole Author of our falvation. In no epiftle does the Apostle speak fo fharply, or express himself fo vehemently. His exhortation and rebuke came warm from a charitable heart, juft after the reception of the difagreeable tidings. He profeffes himself aftonifhed at the defection of the Galatians from Chrift; and execrates any man or even angel, who fhould preach any other way of falvation. If fuch a perfon ftill call himself a Christian, and hold the hiftorical facts of the Gospel, the cafe is not altered for the better; the deception only paffing more current on that account *. He afferts, that if they mixed circumcifion, or any work of the law with Chrift in the article of juftification, Chrift would be of no effect to them. He must be their whole Saviour, or he would profit them nothing; law and grace in this cafe being quite oppofite. He marks the mere worldly nature of the doctrine they were embracing it would make them bigotted Jews indeed, proud, felf-righteous, void of the love of God and man §, and no better in their fpiritual ftate than they were while idolaters . Thus they would lofe all the liberty of the Gofpel, and be mere flaves in religion, • Chap. i. § Chap. v. + Chap. v. iv. 9. Chap. vi. toward the end. religion, like all unconverted perfons, who in reality are felf-righteous, and devoid of holy principle. He points out to them the peculiar nature of the Gofpel, as perfectly diftinct from any thing that man in his depraved ftate is apt to teach or ready to embrace. In the hiftorical part of the epiftle he vindicates his own Apoftolical character, inculcates throughout, in all poffible variety of language and with his ufual copioufnefs both of clear argument and strong diction, the all-important article of juftification, and preffes the neceffity of continuing in it, in order to be benefited by it. Otherwife we make Chrift the minifter of fin, or of condemnation: we build again what we have destroyed; and, as far as in us lies, make him to have died in vain. He appeals to their own experience of the happy fruits of the Gofpel, which they had felt internally, and reprefents himfelf as travailing in birth for them, till Christ be formed in them. He expreffes himself dubious of their condition, and defirous of vifiting them, that he might adapt his language to their perilous fituation. He wishes that their evil advisers were cut off, fo mifchievous were they to fouls; and affures them, that the Divine Vengeance would overtake thofe that troubled them. He informs them, that the perfecution, which he himself endured, was on account of this very doctrine. This it was that stirred up the enmity of the human heart; and this doctrine being loft, the Gofpel becomes a mere name, and Christianity is loft in the group of common religions. It will be proper for us to bear in mind the Apostle's reafonings on this fubject, and to apply them to every period of Church-hiftory; fince it is evident, that the rife or fall of this great Chriftian article, muft determine the vigour or decline of true religion in all ages. He neglects not however to inculcate in his ufual manner the neceffity of good works, as the juft fruits and evidences of a real Chriftian ftate*; and he particularly encourages them to works of mercy, attended with a patient and cheerful profpect into eternity, and animated with genuine charity. There is reafon to hope, that the best effects were produced by the epiftle. No very long time after, the Apostle again visited thefe Churches, and went over the whole country, ftrengthening "all the difciples." This is the fubftance of what I can collect from Scripture concerning the hiftory of this Church, except a fingle hint in another epiftle §, in which he recommends to the Corinthians to ufe the fame plan for the relief of the poor faints, which he had fuggefted to the Galatians. From the influence which he hence appears to have had in Galatia, it is probable, that the Judaical perverfion was overcome. -- * Chap. v. toward the end. + Chap. vi. † Acts xviii. 23. § 1 Cor. xvi. 1, СНАР. |