cording to the truth of it, even as Peter, Barnabas, and others here, whofe diffimulation did not confift with the truth of the gospel, which they preached, but tended to establish the law, and fo to overturn the gofpel. But God hath fometimes very few witneffes to ftand up for the truth of the gofpel. Here Paul was alone, Peter was against him; and Barnabas, his own intimate affociate, was drawn away with the diffimulation; Jews and Gentiles were infected; and therefore Paul alone muft fight against them all, for the cause of Christ, and the doctrine of the gofpel, which was endangered. I faid unto Peter before them all, &c. Peter did not err. by teaching any erroneous doctrine; for that is a principle we maintain, that the apoftles never erred in teaching, or in their doctrine delivered to the church; but his error was in practice, compelling the Gentiles to judaize, whereby he gave them occafion to think, that the obfervation of the law was neceffary for juftification: Whereas he adds, We that are Jews by nature, v. 15, 16. We apoftles (might he fay) tho' Jews by nature, yet we feek not justification by the works of the law; and therefore we ought not to drive the Gentiles to the obfervation of the law, that they may feek righteoufnefs and juftification thereby. Why? Becaufe,. (1.) We know that a man cannot be juftified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Chrift. (2.) Because therefore, having renounced the law in point of juftification, we have embraced Chrift by faith, that through him we may be juftified. (3.) Becaufe by the deeds of the law no flesh can be justified. Now, from ver. 17. and downward, the apoftle returns to the Galatians: Having told how he reproved Peter, and what he said to him concerning juftification without the works of the law, he now comes to fhew this doctrine

doctrine to be nowife oppofite to the doctrine of fanctification, but of abfolute neceffity to true holinefs, ver. 17, 18. q. d. If we Jews, who lived formerly under the law, and now feek righteousness in Chrift alone, are thus accounted as finners, when we followed the law; it would feem that Chrift did disapprove the law and approve fin; God forbid, fays the apoftle. This he denies and rejects with abhorrence. To object thus might he say, against the doctrine of free juftification, were egregious blafphemy against the Son of God, as if he were the minifter of fin, who came to deftroy fin, and to deftroy the works of the Devil. And by this Gospel which I preach (might he fay) Christ is held out, as the Lamb of God, that taketh away the fins of the world; not to take away righteousness, truly fo called, unless it be that false vizard of legal felf-righteousness, with which we formerly covered and masked ourselves: Nay, he came to bring in everlasting righteousness, a true and perfect righteoufnefs for juftification; he came to make an end of fin by the facrifice of himself, and thereby to purchase the Spirit, as a Spirit of holiness and fanctification, to destroy the power of fin and corruption, and therefore it is a base calumny to fay, that this gofpel doctrine opens the door to fin and licentiousnefs. This he proves by two arguments: 1. Because the faith of Chrift does not deftroy itself; ver. 18. Sin is like an old houfe, which I have razed and destroyed by my doctrine of free juftification by faith, and not by the works of the law; for by this doctrine I preached freedom from fin through Chrift; and therefore, if I fhould build up thefe old wastes of fin again, it is not Chrift, but I that would be the finner, or minifter of fin; nay, I

Would

would be a mad-man, to build with one hand what I deftroyed with the other. 2. Because liberty to fin is contrary to the very fcrope of the gofpel, and to the defign of this doctrine of juftification by faith without the works of the law; For I through the law am dead to the law, that I might live unto God.

This is a very strange and wonderful text, that flesh and blood can hardly bear, without fufpecting, that it favours too much of a new fcheme of doctrine: And if it were not the divinely inspired words of our apoftle Paul, it would hardly escape being taxed as an Antinomian paradox. I remember Luther upon the text fays, the falfe apoftles taught, unless you live to the law, you cannot live to God; and therefore here Paul must be the most heretical of all hereticks. His herefy is unheard-of herefy, reason and human wisdom cannot receive it, that if we will live to God, we must be dead wholly to the law: Yet fo it is here, he declares it of himfelf, and in the name of all believers in Christ, yea, as the very doctrine of faith, I through the law, &c. In which words you may notice two remarkably different things, death and life, mortification and vivification. I. A wonderful death, 1 through the law am dead to the law. 2. A remarkable life proceeding out of that death, that I might live unto God. 1. You have a wonderful death, or Paul's ftrange mortification; I through the law.am dead to the law; and of this mortification we have here three things, (r.) The general nature of it, it is called a death, I am dead. (2.) The object of it, the law. (3.) The means of it, the law; I through the law am dead to the law; all very odd things to carnal reafon. (1.): The general nature of it; it is called a death, I am dead. There are feveral forts VOL. II. I

of

of death commonly fpoken of, temporal, fpiritual and eternal; but this is none of them. Temporal death is a feparation betwixt foul and body, but this death takes place where there is no fuch feparation. Paul was thus alive, when he faid here, I am dead. Spiritual death is feparation betwixt God and the foul, but this death is a mean of joining God and the foul together. Eternal death is an eternal feparation betwixt God and the foul; but the death here fpoken of, makes way for eternal communion with God. This is a strange death, a ftrange mortification; efpecially if you confider, (2.) The object of it, the LAW; I am dead to the law; not only the ceremonial law, but even the moral law itself as under the form of a covenant of works, and as a condition of life. I renounce, might he fay, the righteousness of the law, feeking no falvation in the works thereof; nay, in this refpect, it is dead to me, and I to it; it cannot fave me, and I cannot expect falvation by it; nay, I am dead to the law. To be dead to fin, is a mortification that people may think they can easily understand; but the myftery of it, in being dead to fin, by this means of being dead to the law, cannot be well underftood; for one would think that to die to the law, were to live in fin: Nay, fays the apoftle, it iş quite otherwife; that I may die to fin, I am dead' to the law. (3.) You have the means of this death, which is as ftrange, namely, the law; I through the law am dead to the law. As to this means of death to the law, to wit, the law, I find fome divines understand it a different law from the other; as if the apoftle should fay, I by the law of Christ am freed from the law of Mofes; or, I by the law of faith am freed from the law of works.

But I

encline

encline to join with the current of found divines, who understand both of the fame law, q. d. I am dead to the law through the law; the law hath taught me that I am a finner, that cannot be juftified by the law, which curfes and condemns finners: By the law is the knowledge of fin; and having thus by the law known myfelf to be a finful guilty wretch, I am dead to all expectation of righteousness by the law. The law then, having thus killed me, and all my hope of life by it, hath been a bleft means of drawing me out of myself, and all my legal righteoufnefs, to feek life and juftification in Chrift, and his righteoufnefs received by faith: Thus you have a wonderful death here fpoken of. 2. You have a remarkable life proceeding out of that death; you may call it Paul's vivification, which was not peculiar to him, but is common to all believers: That I might live unto God. Where again you may notice three things, (1.) The general nature of this vivification, it is called by the name of life. While a man is alive to the law, he continues dead; but whenever he is dead to the law, then he is alive, the breath of life is breathed into his noftrils, and he becomes a living foul; for the Spirit of God, the Spirit of life enters into him. (2.) The object of this life, or vivification, it is God; a living unto God, that is a new life, a holy life, a divine life, a living to God, to God's honour, to God's glory. Before this, the man lived to himfelf as his end, as well as from himself as his principle; but now he lives from God as his principle, and to God as his end, which only is a holy life, and wherein true fanctification lies. (3.) You have the influence that this death hath upon this life, or this mortification

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