mh_parser/vol_split/48 - Galatians/Chapter 4.xml

<div2 id="Gal.v" n="v" next="Gal.vi" prev="Gal.iv" progress="56.17%" title="Chapter IV">
<h2 id="Gal.v-p0.1">G A L A T I A N S.</h2>
<h3 id="Gal.v-p0.2">CHAP. IV.</h3>
<p class="intro" id="Gal.v-p1">The apostle, in this chapter, is still carrying on
the same general design as in the former—to recover these
Christians from the impressions made upon them by the judaizing
teachers, and to represent their weakness and folly in suffering
themselves to be drawn away from the gospel doctrine of
justification, and to be deprived of their freedom from the bondage
of the law of Moses. For this purpose he makes use of various
considerations; such as, I. The great excellence of the gospel
state above the legal, <scripRef id="Gal.v-p1.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.1-Gal.4.7" parsed="|Gal|4|1|4|7" passage="Ga 4:1-7">ver.
1-7</scripRef>. II. The happy change that was made in them at their
conversion, <scripRef id="Gal.v-p1.2" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.8-Gal.4.11" parsed="|Gal|4|8|4|11" passage="Ga 4:8-11">ver. 8-11</scripRef>.
III. The affection they had had for him and his ministry, <scripRef id="Gal.v-p1.3" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.12-Gal.4.16" parsed="|Gal|4|12|4|16" passage="Ga 4:12-16">ver. 12-16</scripRef>. IV. The character of
the false teachers by whom they had been perverted, <scripRef id="Gal.v-p1.4" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.17-Gal.4.18" parsed="|Gal|4|17|4|18" passage="Ga 4:17,18">ver. 17, 18</scripRef>. V. The very tender
affection he had for them, <scripRef id="Gal.v-p1.5" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.19-Gal.4.20" parsed="|Gal|4|19|4|20" passage="Ga 4:19,20">ver. 19,
20</scripRef>. VI. The history of Isaac and Ishmael, by a
comparison taken from which he illustrates the difference between
such as rested in Christ and such as trusted in the law. And in all
these, as he uses great plainness and faithfulness with them, so he
expresses the tenderest concern for them.</p>
<scripCom id="Gal.v-p1.6" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4" parsed="|Gal|4|0|0|0" passage="Ga 4" type="Commentary"/>
<scripCom id="Gal.v-p1.7" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.1-Gal.4.7" parsed="|Gal|4|1|4|7" passage="Ga 4:1-7" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gal.4.1-Gal.4.7">
<h4 id="Gal.v-p1.8">The Redemption by Christ. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gal.v-p1.9">a.
d.</span> 56.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gal.v-p2">1 Now I say, <i>That</i> the heir, as long as he
is a child, differeth nothing from a servant, though he be lord of
all;   2 But is under tutors and governors until the time
appointed of the father.   3 Even so we, when we were
children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:   4
But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son,
made of a woman, made under the law,   5 To redeem them that
were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.
  6 And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of
his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.   7 Wherefore
thou art no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then a heir of
God through Christ.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.v-p3">In this chapter the apostle deals plainly
with those who hearkened to the judaizing teachers, who cried up
the law of Moses in competition with the gospel of Christ, and
endeavored to bring them under the bondage of it. To convince them
of their folly, and to rectify their mistake herein, in these
verses he prosecutes the comparison of a child under age, which he
had touched upon in the foregoing chapter, and thence shows what
great advantages we have now, under the gospel, above what they had
under the law. And here.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.v-p4">I. He acquaints us with the state of the
Old-Testament church: it was like a child under age, and it was
used accordingly, being kept in a state of darkness and bondage, in
comparison of the greater light and liberty which we enjoy under
the gospel. That was indeed a dispensation of grace, and yet it was
comparatively a dispensation of darkness; for as the heir, in his
minority, is <i>under tutors and governors till the time appointed
of his father,</i> by whom he is educated and instructed in those
things which at present he knows little of the meaning of, though
afterwards they are likely to be of great use to him; so it was
with the Old-Testament church—the Mosaic economy, which they were
under, was what they could not fully understand the meaning of;
for, as the apostle says (<scripRef id="Gal.v-p4.1" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.3.13" parsed="|2Cor|3|13|0|0" passage="2Co 3:13">2 Cor. iii.
13</scripRef>), <i>They could not stedfastly look to the end of
that which is abolished.</i> But to the church, when grown up to
maturity, in gospel days, it becomes of great use. And as that was
a dispensation of darkness, so of bondage too; for <i>they were in
bondage under the elements of the world,</i> being tied to a great
number of burdensome rites and observances, by which, as by a kind
of first rudiments, they were taught and instructed, and whereby
they were kept in a state of subjection, like a child under tutors
and governors. The church then lay more under the character of <i>a
servant,</i> being obliged to do every thing according to the
command of God, without being fully acquainted with the reason of
it; but the service under the gospel appears to be more reasonable
than that was. The time appointed of the Father having come, when
the church was to arrive at its full age, the darkness and bondage
under which it before lay are removed, and we are under a
dispensation of greater light and liberty.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.v-p5">II. He acquaints us with the much happier
state of Christians under the gospel-dispensation, <scripRef id="Gal.v-p5.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.4-Gal.4.7" parsed="|Gal|4|4|4|7" passage="Ga 4:4-7"><i>v.</i> 4-7</scripRef>. <i>When the fulness of
time had come,</i> the time appointed of the Father, when he would
put an end to the legal dispensation, and set up another and a
better in the room of it, <i>he sent forth his Son,</i> &amp;c. The
person who was employed to introduce this new dispensation was no
other than the Son of God himself, the only-begotten of the Father,
who, as he had been prophesied of and promised from the foundation
of the world, so in due time he was manifested for this purpose.
He, in pursuance of the great design he had undertaken, submitted
to be <i>made of a woman</i>—there is his incarnation; and to be
<i>made under the law</i>—there is his subjection. He who was
truly God for our sakes became man; and he who was Lord of all
consented to come into a state of subjection and to take upon him
the form of a servant; and one great end of all this was <i>to
redeem those that were under the law</i>—to save us from that
intolerable yoke and to appoint gospel ordinances more rational and
easy. He had indeed something more and greater in his view, in
coming into the world, than merely to deliver us from the bondage
of the ceremonial law; for he came in our nature, and consented to
suffer and die for us, that hereby he might redeem us from the
wrath of God, and from the curse of the moral law, which, as
sinners, we all lay under. But that was one end of it, and a mercy
reserved to be bestowed at the time of his manifestation; then the
more servile state of the church was to come to a period, and a
better to succeed in the place of it; for he was sent to redeem us,
<i>that we might receive the adoption of sons</i>—that we might no
longer be accounted and treated as servants, but as sons grown up
to maturity, who are allowed greater freedoms, and admitted to
larger privileges, than while they were under tutors and governors.
This the course of the apostle's argument leads us to take notice
of, as one thing intended by this expression, though no doubt it
may also be understood as signifying that gracious adoption which
the gospel so often speaks of as the privilege of those who believe
in Christ. Israel was God's son, his first-born, <scripRef id="Gal.v-p5.2" osisRef="Bible:Rom.9.4" parsed="|Rom|9|4|0|0" passage="Ro 9:4">Rom. ix. 4</scripRef>. But now, under the gospel,
particular believers receive the adoption; and, as an earnest and
evidence of it, they have together therewith the Spirit of
adoption, putting them upon the duty of prayer, and enabling them
in prayer to eye God as a Father (<scripRef id="Gal.v-p5.3" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.6" parsed="|Gal|4|6|0|0" passage="Ga 4:6"><i>v.</i> 6</scripRef>): <i>Because you are sons, God hath
sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying Abba,
Father.</i> And hereupon (<scripRef id="Gal.v-p5.4" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.7" parsed="|Gal|4|7|0|0" passage="Ga 4:7"><i>v.</i>
7</scripRef>) the apostle concludes this argument by adding,
<i>Wherefore thou art no more a servant, but a son; and, if a son,
then an heir of God through Christ;</i> that is, Now, under the
gospel state, we are no longer under the servitude of the law, but,
upon our believing in Christ, become the sons of God; we are
thereupon accepted of him, and adopted by him; and, being the sons,
we are also heirs of God, and are entitled to the heavenly
inheritance (as he also reasons <scripRef id="Gal.v-p5.5" osisRef="Bible:Rom.8.17" parsed="|Rom|8|17|0|0" passage="Ro 8:17">Rom.
viii. 17</scripRef>), and therefore it must needs be the greatest
weakness and folly to turn back to the law, and to seek
justification by the works of it. From what the apostle says in
<scripRef id="Gal.v-p5.6" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.1-Gal.4.7" parsed="|Gal|4|1|4|7" passage="Ga 4:1-7">these verses</scripRef>, we may
observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.v-p6">1. The wonders of divine love and mercy
towards us, particularly of God the Father, in sending his Son into
the world to redeem and save us,—of the Son of God, in submitting
so low, and suffering so much, for us, in pursuance of that
design,—and of the Holy Spirit, in condescending to dwell in the
hearts of believers for such gracious purposes.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.v-p7">2. The great and invaluable advantages
which Christians enjoy under the gospel; for, (1.) We receive
<i>the adoption of sons.</i> Whence note, It is the great privilege
which believers have through Christ that they are adopted children
of the God of heaven. We who by nature are children of wrath and
disobedience have become by grace children of love. (2.) We receive
<i>the Spirit of adoption.</i> Note, [1.] All who have the
privilege of adoption have the Spirit of adoption—all who are
received into the number partake of the nature of the children of
God; for he will have all his children to resemble him. [2.] The
Spirit of adoption is always the Spirit of prayer, and it is our
duty in prayer to eye God as a Father. Christ has taught us in
prayer to eye God as our Father in heaven. [3.] If we are his sons,
then his heirs. It is not so among men, with whom the eldest son is
heir; but all God's children are heirs. Those who have the nature
of sons shall have the inheritance of sons.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gal.v-p7.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.8-Gal.4.11" parsed="|Gal|4|8|4|11" passage="Ga 4:8-11" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gal.4.8-Gal.4.11">
<h4 id="Gal.v-p7.2">Affectionate Remonstrance. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gal.v-p7.3">a.
d.</span> 56.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gal.v-p8">8 Howbeit then, when ye knew not God, ye did
service unto them which by nature are no gods.   9 But now,
after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn
ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire
again to be in bondage?   10 Ye observe days, and months, and
times, and years.   11 I am afraid of you, lest I have
bestowed upon you labour in vain.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.v-p9">In these verses the apostle puts them in
mind of what they were before their conversion to the faith of
Christ, and what a blessed change their conversion had made upon
them; and thence endeavours to convince them of their great
weakness in hearkening to those who would bring them under the
bondage of the law of Moses.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.v-p10">I. He reminds them of their past state and
behaviour, and what they were before the gospel was preached to
them. Then <i>they knew not God;</i> they were grossly ignorant of
the true God, and the way wherein he is to be worshipped: and at
that time they were under the worst of slaveries, for <i>they did
service to those which by nature were no gods,</i> they were
employed in a great number of superstitious and idolatrous services
to those who, though they were accounted gods, were yet really no
gods, but mere creatures, and perhaps of their own making, and
therefore were utterly unable to hear and help them. Note, 1. Those
who are ignorant of the true God cannot but be inclined to false
gods. Those who forsook the God who made the world, rather than be
without gods, worshipped such as they themselves made. 2. Religious
worship is due to none but to him who is by nature God; for, when
the apostle blames the doing service to such as by nature were no
gods, he plainly shows that he only who is by nature God is the
proper object of our religious worship.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.v-p11">II. He calls upon them to consider the
happy change that was made in them by the preaching of the gospel
among them. Now <i>they had known God</i> (they were brought to the
knowledge of the true God and of his Son Jesus Christ, whereby they
were recovered out of the ignorance and bondage under which they
before lay) <i>or rather were known of God;</i> this happy change
in their state, whereby they were turned from idols to the living
God, and through Christ had received the adoption of sons, was not
owing to themselves, but to him; it was the effect of his free and
rich grace towards them, and as such they ought to account it; and
therefore hereby they were laid under the greater obligation to
adhere to the liberty wherewith he had made them free. Note, All
our acquaintance with God begins with him; we know him, because we
are known of him.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.v-p12">III. Hence he infers the unreasonableness
and madness of their suffering themselves to be brought again into
a state of bondage. He speaks of it with surprise and deep concern
of mind that such as they should do so: <i>How turn you again,</i>
&amp;c., says he, <scripRef id="Gal.v-p12.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.9" parsed="|Gal|4|9|0|0" passage="Ga 4:9"><i>v.</i>
9</scripRef>. "How is it that you, who have been taught to worship
God in the gospel way, should not be persuaded to comply with the
ceremonial way of worship? that you, who have been acquainted with
a dispensation of light, liberty, and love, as that of the gospel
is, should now submit to a dispensation of darkness, and bondage,
and terror, as that of the law is?" This they had the less reason
for, since they had never been under the law of Moses, as the Jews
had been; and therefore on this account they were more inexcusable
than the Jews themselves, who might be supposed to have some
fondness for that which had been of such long standing among them.
Besides, what they suffered themselves to be brought into bondage
to were but <i>weak and beggarly elements,</i> such things as had
no power in them to cleanse the soul, nor to afford any solid
satisfaction to the mind, and which were only designed for that
state of pupillage under which the church had been, but which had
now come to a period; and therefore their weakness and folly were
the more aggravated, in submitting to them, and in symbolizing with
the Jews in observing their various festivals, here signified by
<i>days, and months, and times, and years.</i> Here note, 1. It is
possible for those who have made great professions of religion to
be afterwards drawn into very great defections from the purity and
simplicity of it, for this was the case of these Christians. And,
2. The more mercy God has shown to any, in bringing them into an
acquaintance with the gospel, and the liberties and privileges of
it, the greater are their sin and folly in suffering themselves to
be deprived of them; for this the apostle lays a special stress
upon, that after they had known God, or rather were known of him,
they desired to be in bondage under the weak and beggarly elements
of the law.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.v-p13">IV. Hereupon he expresses his fears
concerning them, <i>lest he had bestowed on them labour in
vain.</i> He had been at a great deal of pains about them, in
preaching the gospel to them, and endeavouring to confirm them in
the faith and liberty of it; but now they were giving up these, and
thereby rendering his labour among them fruitless and ineffectual,
and with the thoughts of this he could not but be deeply affected.
Note, 1. A great deal of the labour of faithful ministers is labour
in vain; and, when it is so, it cannot but be a great grief to
those who desire the salvation of souls. Note, 2. The labour of
ministers is in vain upon those who begin in the Spirit and end in
the flesh, who, though they seem to set out well, yet afterwards
turn aside from the way of the gospel. Note, 3. Those will have a
great deal to answer for upon whom the faithful ministers of Jesus
Christ bestow labour in vain.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gal.v-p13.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.12-Gal.4.16" parsed="|Gal|4|12|4|16" passage="Ga 4:12-16" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gal.4.12-Gal.4.16">
<h4 id="Gal.v-p13.2">Affectionate Remonstrance. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gal.v-p13.3">a.
d.</span> 56.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gal.v-p14">12 Brethren, I beseech you, be as I <i>am;</i>
for I <i>am</i> as ye <i>are:</i> ye have not injured me at all.
  13 Ye know how through infirmity of the flesh I preached the
gospel unto you at the first.   14 And my temptation which was
in my flesh ye despised not, nor rejected; but received me as an
angel of God, <i>even</i> as Christ Jesus.   15 Where is then
the blessedness ye spake of? for I bear you record, that, if <i>it
had been</i> possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and
have given them to me.   16 Am I therefore become your enemy,
because I tell you the truth?</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.v-p15">That these Christians might be the more
ashamed of their defection from the truth of the gospel which Paul
had preached to them, he here reminds them of the great affection
they formerly had for him and his ministry, and puts them upon
considering how very unsuitable their present behaviour was to what
they then professed. And here we may observe,</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.v-p16">I. How affectionately he addresses himself
to them. He styles them brethren, though he knew their hearts were
in a great measure alienated from him. He desires that all
resentments might be laid aside, and that they would bear the same
temper of mind towards him which he did to them; he would have them
<i>to be as he was, for he was as they were,</i> and moreover tells
them that <i>they had not injured him at all.</i> He had no quarrel
with them upon his own account. Though, in blaming their conduct,
he had expressed himself with some warmth and concern of mind he
assured them that it was not owing to any sense of personal injury
or affront (as they might be ready to think), but proceeded wholly
from a zeal for the truth and purity of the gospel, and their
welfare and happiness. Thus he endeavours to mollify their spirits
towards him, that so they might be the better disposed to receive
the admonitions he was giving them. Hereby he teaches us that in
reproving others we should take care to convince them that our
reproofs do not proceed from any private pique or resentment, but
from a sincere regard to the honour of God and religion and their
truest welfare; for they are then likely to be most successful when
they appear to be most disinterested.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.v-p17">II. How he magnifies their former affection
to him, that hereby they might be the more ashamed of their present
behaviour towards him. To this purpose, 1. He puts them in mind of
the difficulty under which he laboured when he came first among
them: <i>I knew,</i> says he, <i>how, through infirmity of the
flesh, I preached the gospel unto you at the first.</i> What this
<i>infirmity of the flesh</i> was, which in the following words he
expresses by <i>his temptation that was in his flesh</i> (though,
no doubt, it was well known to those Christians to whom he wrote),
we can now have no certain knowledge of: some take it to have been
the persecutions which he suffered for the gospel's sake; others,
to have been something in his person, or manner of speaking, which
might render his ministry less grateful and acceptable, referring
to <scripRef id="Gal.v-p17.1" osisRef="Bible:2Cor.10.10 Bible:2Cor.12.7-2Cor.12.10" parsed="|2Cor|10|10|0|0;|2Cor|12|7|12|10" passage="2Co 10:10,12:7-10">2 Cor. x. 10, and to
<i>ch.</i> xii. 7-10</scripRef>. But, whatever it was, it seems it
made no impression on them to his disadvantage. For, 2. He takes
notice that, notwithstanding this his infirmity (which might
possibly lessen him in the esteem of some others), they did not
despise nor reject him on the account of it, but, on the contrary,
<i>received him as an angel of God, even as Christ Jesus.</i> They
showed a great deal of respect to him, he was a welcome messenger
to them, even as though an angel of God or Jesus Christ himself had
preached to them; yea, so great was their esteem of him, that, if
it would have been any advantage to him, <i>they could have plucked
out their own eyes, and have given them to him.</i> Note, How
uncertain the respects of people are, how apt they are to change
their minds, and how easily they are drawn into contempt of those
for whom they once had the greatest esteem and affection, so that
they are ready to pluck out the eyes of those for whom they would
before have plucked out their own! We should therefore labour to be
accepted of God, <i>for it is a small thing to be judged of man's
judgment,</i> <scripRef id="Gal.v-p17.2" osisRef="Bible:1Cor.4.2" parsed="|1Cor|4|2|0|0" passage="1Co 4:2">1 Cor. iv.
2</scripRef>.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.v-p18">III. How earnestly he expostulates with
them hereupon: <i>Where is then,</i> says he, <i>the blessedness
you spoke of?</i> As if he had said, "Time was when you expressed
the greatest joy and satisfaction in the glad tidings of the
gospel, and were very forward in pouring out your blessings upon me
as the publisher of them; whence is it that you are now so much
altered, that you have so little relish of them or respect for me?
You once thought yourselves happy in receiving the gospel; have you
now any reason to think otherwise?" Note, Those who have left their
first love would do well to consider, Where is now the blessedness
they once spoke of? What has become of that pleasure they used to
take in communion with God, and in the company of his servants? The
more to impress upon them a just shame of their present conduct, he
again asks (<scripRef id="Gal.v-p18.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.16" parsed="|Gal|4|16|0|0" passage="Ga 4:16"><i>v.</i> 16</scripRef>),
"<i>Am I become your enemy, because I tell you the truth?</i> How
is it that I, who was heretofore your favourite, am now accounted
your enemy? Can you pretend any other reason for it than that I
have told you the truth, endeavoured to acquaint you with, and to
confirm you in, the truth of the gospel? And, if not, how
unreasonable must your disaffection be!" Note, 1. It is no uncommon
thing for men to account those their enemies who are really their
best friends; for so, undoubtedly, those are, whether ministers or
others, who tell them the truth, and deal freely and faithfully
with them in matters relating to their eternal salvation, as the
apostle now did with these Christians. 2. Ministers may sometimes
create enemies to themselves by the faithful discharge of their
duty; for this was the case of Paul, he was accounted their enemy
for telling them the truth. 3. Yet ministers must not forbear
speaking the truth, for fear of offending others and drawing their
displeasure upon them. 4. They may be easy in their own minds, when
they are conscious to themselves that, if others have become their
enemies, it is only for telling them the truth.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gal.v-p18.2" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.17-Gal.4.18" parsed="|Gal|4|17|4|18" passage="Ga 4:17-18" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gal.4.17-Gal.4.18">
<h4 id="Gal.v-p18.3">Affectionate Remonstrance. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gal.v-p18.4">a.
d.</span> 56.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gal.v-p19">17 They zealously affect you, <i>but</i> not
well; yea, they would exclude you, that ye might affect them.
  18 But <i>it is</i> good to be zealously affected always in
<i>a</i> good <i>thing,</i> and not only when I am present with
you.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.v-p20">The apostle is still carrying on the same
design as in the <scripRef id="Gal.v-p20.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.12-Gal.4.16" parsed="|Gal|4|12|4|16" passage="Ga 4:12-16">foregoing
verses</scripRef>, which was, to convince the Galatians of their
sin and folly in departing from the truth of the gospel: having
just before been expostulating with them about the change of their
behaviour towards him who endeavoured to establish them in it, he
here gives them the character of those false teachers who made it
their business to draw them away from it, which if they would
attend to, they might soon see how little reason they had to
hearken to them: whatever opinion they might have of them, he tells
them they were designing men, who were aiming to set up themselves,
and who, under their specious pretences, were more consulting their
own interest than theirs: "<i>They zealously affect you,</i>" says
he; "they show a mighty respect for you, and pretend a great deal
of affection to you, <i>but not well;</i> they do it not with any
good design, they are not sincere and upright in it, for <i>they
would exclude you, that you might affect them.</i> That which they
are chiefly aiming at is to engage your affections to them; and, in
order to this, they are doing all they can to draw off your
affections from me and from the truth, that so they may engross you
to themselves." This, he assures them, was their design, and
therefore they must needs be very unwise in hearkening to them.
Note, 1. There may appear to be a great deal of zeal where yet
there is but little truth and sincerity. 2. It is the usual way of
seducers to insinuate themselves into people's affections, and by
that means to draw them into their opinions. 3. Whatever pretences
such may make, they have usually more regard to their own interest
than that of others, and will not stick at ruining the reputation
of others, if by that means they can raise their own. On this
occasion the apostle gives us that excellent rule which we have,
<scripRef id="Gal.v-p20.2" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.18" parsed="|Gal|4|18|0|0" passage="Ga 4:18"><i>v.</i> 18</scripRef>, <i>It is good
to be zealously affected always in a good thing.</i> What our
translation renders <i>in a good man,</i> and so consider the
apostle as pointing to himself; this sense, they think, is favoured
both by the preceding context and also by the words immediately
following, <i>and not only when I am present with you,</i> which
may be as if he had said, "Time was when you were zealously
affected towards me; you once took me for a good man, and have now
no reason to think otherwise of me; surely then it would become you
to show the same regard to me, now that I am absent from you, which
you did when I was present with you." But, if we adhere to our own
translation, the apostle here furnishes us with a very good rule to
direct and regulate us in the exercise of our zeal: there are two
things which to this purpose he more especially recommends to us:—
(1.) That it be exercised only upon that which is good; for zeal is
then only good when it is in a good thing: those who are zealously
affected to that which is evil will thereby only to do so much the
more hurt. And, (2.) That herein it be constant and steady: it is
good to be zealous always in a good thing; not for a time only, or
now and then, like the heat of an ague-fit, but, like the natural
heat of the body, constant. Happy would it be for the church of
Christ if this rule were better observed among Christians!</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gal.v-p20.3" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.19-Gal.4.20" parsed="|Gal|4|19|4|20" passage="Ga 4:19-20" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gal.4.19-Gal.4.20">
<h4 id="Gal.v-p20.4">Affectionate Remonstrance. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gal.v-p20.5">a.
d.</span> 56.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gal.v-p21">19 My little children, of whom I travail in
birth again until Christ be formed in you,   20 I desire to be
present with you now, and to change my voice; for I stand in doubt
of you.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.v-p22">That the apostle might the better dispose
these Christians to bear with him in the reproofs which he was
obliged to give them, he here expresses his great affection to
them, and the very tender concern he had for their welfare: he was
not like them—one thing when among them and another when absent
from them. Their disaffection to him had not removed his affection
from them; but he still bore the same respect to them which he had
formerly done, nor was he like their false teachers, who pretended
a great deal of affection to them, when at the same time they were
only consulting their own interest; but he had a sincere concern
for their truest advantage; he sought not theirs, but them. They
were too ready to account him their enemy, but he assures them that
he was their friend; nay, not only so, but that he had the bowels
of a parent towards them. He calls them <i>his children,</i> as he
justly might, since he had been the instrument of their conversion
to the Christian faith; yea, he styles them his <i>little
children,</i> which, as it denotes a greater degree of tenderness
and affection to them, so it may possibly have a respect to their
present behaviour, whereby they showed themselves too much like
little children, who are easily wrought upon by the arts and
insinuations of others. He expresses his concern for them, and
earnest desire of their welfare and soul-prosperity, by the pangs
of a travailing woman: <i>He travailed in birth for them:</i> and
the great thing which he was in so much pain about, and which he
was so earnestly desirous of, was not so much that they might
affect him as <i>that Christ might be formed in them,</i> that they
might become Christians indeed, and be more confirmed and
established in the faith of the gospel. From this we may note, 1.
The very tender affection which faithful ministers bear towards
those among whom they are employed; it is like that of the most
affectionate parents to their little children. 2. That the chief
thing they are longing and even travailing in birth for, on their
account, is that Christ may be formed in them; not so much that
they may gain their affections, much less that they may make a prey
of them, but that they may be renewed in the spirit of their minds,
wrought into the image of Christ, and more fully settled and
confirmed in the Christian faith and life: and how unreasonably
must those people act who suffer themselves to be prevailed upon to
desert or dislike such ministers! 3. That Christ is not fully
formed in men till they are brought off from trusting in their own
righteousness, and made to rely only upon him and his
righteousness.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.v-p23">As further evidence of the affection and
concern which the apostle had for these Christians, he adds
(<scripRef id="Gal.v-p23.1" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.20" parsed="|Gal|4|20|0|0" passage="Ga 4:20"><i>v.</i> 20</scripRef>) that <i>he
desired to be then present with them</i>—that he would be glad of
an opportunity of being among them, and conversing with them, and
that thereupon he might find occasion <i>to change his voice</i>
towards them; for at present <i>he stood in doubt of them.</i> He
knew not well what to think of them. He was not so fully acquainted
with their state as to know how to accommodate himself to them. He
was full of fears and jealousies concerning them, which was the
reason of his writing to them in such a manner as he had done; but
he would be glad to find that matters were better with them than he
feared, and that he might have occasion to commend them, instead of
thus reproving and chiding them. Note, Though ministers too often
find it necessary to reprove those they have to do with, yet this
is no grateful work to them; they had much rather there were no
occasion for it, and are always glad when they can see reason to
change their voice towards them.</p>
</div><scripCom id="Gal.v-p23.2" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.21-Gal.4.31" parsed="|Gal|4|21|4|31" passage="Ga 4:21-31" type="Commentary"/><div class="Commentary" id="Bible:Gal.4.21-Gal.4.31">
<h4 id="Gal.v-p23.3">Affectionate Remonstrance. (<span class="smallcaps" id="Gal.v-p23.4">a.
d.</span> 56.)</h4>
<p class="passage" id="Gal.v-p24">21 Tell me, ye that desire to be under the law,
do ye not hear the law?   22 For it is written, that Abraham
had two sons, the one by a bondmaid, the other by a freewoman.
  23 But he <i>who was</i> of the bondwoman was born after the
flesh; but he of the freewoman <i>was</i> by promise.   24
Which things are an allegory: for these are the two covenants; the
one from the mount Sinai, which gendereth to bondage, which is
Agar.   25 For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia, and
answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her
children.   26 But Jerusalem which is above is free, which is
the mother of us all.   27 For it is written, Rejoice,
<i>thou</i> barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou that
travailest not: for the desolate hath many more children than she
which hath a husband.   28 Now we, brethren, as Isaac was, are
the children of promise.   29 But as then he that was born
after the flesh persecuted him <i>that was born</i> after the
Spirit, even so <i>it is</i> now.   30 Nevertheless what saith
the scripture? Cast out the bondwoman and her son: for the son of
the bondwoman shall not be heir with the son of the freewoman.
  31 So then, brethren, we are not children of the bondwoman,
but of the free.</p>
<p class="indent" id="Gal.v-p25">In these verses the apostle illustrates the
difference between believers who rested in Christ only and those
judaizers who trusted in the law, by a comparison taken from the
story of Isaac and Ishmael. This he introduces in such a manner as
was proper to strike and impress their minds, and to convince them
of their great weakness in departing from the truth, and suffering
themselves to be deprived of the liberty of the gospel: <i>Tell
me,</i> says he, <i>you that desire to be under the law, do you not
hear the law?</i> He takes it for granted that they did hear the
law, for among the Jews it was wont to be read in their public
assemblies every sabbath day; and, since they were so very fond of
being under it, he would have them duly to consider what is written
therein (referring to what is recorded <scripRef id="Gal.v-p25.1" osisRef="Bible:Gen.16.1-Gen.16.16 Bible:Gen.21.1-Gen.21.34" parsed="|Gen|16|1|16|16;|Gen|21|1|21|34" passage="Ge 16:1-16,21:1-34">Gen. xvi. and xxi.</scripRef>), for, if they
would do this, they might soon see how little reason they had to
trust in it. And here, 1. He sets before them the history itself
(<scripRef id="Gal.v-p25.2" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.22-Gal.4.23" parsed="|Gal|4|22|4|23" passage="Ga 4:22,23"><i>v.</i> 22, 23</scripRef>):
<i>For it is written, Abraham had two sons,</i> &amp;c. Here he
represents the different state and condition of these two sons of
Abraham—that the one, Ishmael, <i>was by a bond-maid,</i> and the
other, Isaac, <i>by a free-woman;</i> and that whereas the former
<i>was born after the flesh,</i> or by the ordinary course of
nature, the other <i>was by promise,</i> when in the course of
nature there was no reason to expect that Sarah should have a son.
2. He acquaints them with the meaning and design of this history,
or the use which he intended to make of it (<scripRef id="Gal.v-p25.3" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.24-Gal.4.27" parsed="|Gal|4|24|4|27" passage="Ga 4:24-27"><i>v.</i> 24-27</scripRef>): <i>These things,</i> says
he, <i>are an allegory,</i> wherein, besides the literal and
historical sense of the words, the Spirit of God might design to
signify something further to us, and that was, That these two, Agar
and Sarah, <i>are the two covenants,</i> or were intended to typify
and prefigure the two different dispensations of the covenant. The
former, Agar, represented that which was given from mount Sinai,
and <i>which gendereth to bondage,</i> which, though it was a
dispensation of grace, yet, in comparison of the gospel state, was
a dispensation of bondage, and became more so to the Jews, through
their mistake of the design of it, and expecting to be justified by
the works of it. <i>For this Agar is mount Sinai in Arabia</i>
(mount Sinai was then called Agar by the Arabians), <i>and it
answereth to Jerusalem which now is, and is in bondage with her
children;</i> that is, it justly represents the present state of
the Jews, who, continuing in their infidelity and adhering to that
covenant, are still in bondage with their children. But the other,
Sarah, was intended to prefigure Jerusalem which is above, or the
state of Christians under the new and better dispensation of the
covenant, which is free both from the curse of the moral and the
bondage of the ceremonial law, and <i>is the mother of us
all</i>—a state into which all, both Jews and Gentiles, are
admitted, upon their believing in Christ. And to this greater
freedom and enlargement of the church under the gospel
dispensation, which was typified by Sarah the mother of the
promised seed, the apostle refers that of the prophet, <scripRef id="Gal.v-p25.4" osisRef="Bible:Isa.54.1" parsed="|Isa|54|1|0|0" passage="Isa 54:1">Isa. liv. 1</scripRef>, where it is written,
<i>Rejoice, thou barren that bearest not; break forth and cry, thou
that travailest not; for the desolate hath many more children than
she who hath a husband.</i> 3. He applies the history thus
explained to the present case (<scripRef id="Gal.v-p25.5" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.28" parsed="|Gal|4|28|0|0" passage="Ga 4:28"><i>v.</i> 28</scripRef>); <i>Now we, brethren,</i> says
he, <i>as Isaac was, are the children of the promise.</i> We
Christians, who have accepted Christ, and rely upon him, and look
for justification and salvation by him alone, as hereby we become
the spiritual, though we are not the natural, seed of Abraham, so
we are entitled to the promised inheritance and interested in the
blessings of it. But lest these Christians should be stumbled at
the opposition they might meet with from the Jews, who were so
tenacious of their law as to be ready to persecute those who would
not submit to it, he tells them that this was no more than what was
pointed to in the type; for <i>as then he that was born after the
flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit,</i> they must
expect it would be <i>so now.</i> But, for their comfort in this
case, he desires them to consider what the scripture saith
(<scripRef id="Gal.v-p25.6" osisRef="Bible:Gen.21.10" parsed="|Gen|21|10|0|0" passage="Ge 21:10">Gen. xxi. 10</scripRef>), <i>Cast out
the bond-woman and her son, for the son of the bond-woman shall not
be heir with the son of the free-woman.</i> Though the judaizers
should persecute and hate them, yet the issue would be that Judaism
would sink, and wither, and perish; but true Christianity should
flourish and last for ever. And then, as a general inference from
the whole of the sum of what he had said, he concludes (<scripRef id="Gal.v-p25.7" osisRef="Bible:Gal.4.31" parsed="|Gal|4|31|0|0" passage="Ga 4:31"><i>v.</i> 31</scripRef>), <i>So then, brethren,
we are not children of the bond-woman, but of the free.</i></p>
</div></div2>