St. Paul ascribes their declension to the subtlety of their false teachers [Sin has an astonishingly fascinating power°— Error, whether in faith or practice, soon insinuates itself into our hearts Whenever people are drawn from the truth, they are first beguiled by the specious appearances of false principles Apostates therefore may be justly considered as deluded creatures And if at any time they be recovered, they wonder at themselves how they ever could have been so "bewitched," so blinded, so befooled-] Nevertheless he deservedly censures their compliance with them [He was far from indulging a contemptuous or vindictive spirit Yet he judged it his duty to "rebuke them sharply"— He therefore spoke of their conduct with holy indignationHe expressed his wonder that they could be so soon turned from the truthP— He seems at a loss to represent their folly in terms suf- ficiently humiliating Yet his question evidently imports also a mixture of pity- He therefore expostulated with them in order to reclaim them-] INFERENCES 1. How great is the evil and danger of self-righteous ness! [The Galatians intended to honour God's own institu tions But by laying an undue stress upon them they endangered their own salvation How careful then should we be not to trust in any righteousness of our own! Let us remember in what light our own righteousness should be viewed Let us bear in mind our Saviour's directions— Let us cultivate the disposition of the great apostle'—] 2. What need have even the most eminent Christians to watch against apostasy! [The attainments of the Galatians seemed to be very emi nent • This seems the exact import of the original. P Gal. i. 6. 9 Gal. iv. 19. • Luke xvii. 10. r Isai. Ixiv. 6. t Phil. iii. 9. Yet they were soon seduced from the simplicity of the gospel Who then are we, that we should be over-confident?— Our dearest friends may well regard us as Paul did the Christians at Corinth" Let us attend then to the advice which he gives us — Nor let us despise that salutary admonition of St. Petery-] 3. What cause of thankfulness have they who are kept stedfast in the truth! [They who know their own instability will wonder that they are kept at all Surely such will adopt the grateful acknowledgment of David And these are the persons in whom that declaration shall be verified We conclude with that suitable doxology-] " 2 Cor. xi. 3. Ps. xxvi. 12. x 1 Cor. x. 12. a 1 Pet. i. 5. y 2 Pet. iii. 17. b Jude 24, 25. LVI. THE WHOLE AND THE SICK, THE RIGHTEOUS AND SINNERS, DESCRIBED. Mark ii. 17. They that are whole, have no need of the physi cian, but they that are sick: I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. THERE is no action, however benevolent, which cavillers may not censure Every part of our Lord's conduct was worthy of his divine character Yet was he constantly "enduring the contradiction of sinners," &c. He was now conversing familiarly with publicans for their good This was condemned by the scribes as unbecoming an holy person, if not also as giving countenance to sinOur Lord vindicated himself on principles acknowledged by them— His words contain I. A generally established maxim Persons desire not a physician unless they be sickThis is true according to its literal import [A person in health wishes not for any medical assistanceHe would refuse it if it were tendered to him— He would not submit to any regimen that should be prescribed But they who are diseased are glad to hear of a skilful physician They will cheerfully put themselves under his directionAnd they will follow his prescriptions, that they may obtain a cure-] It is more particularly so in a figurative sense [There is an analogy between sickness and sin This is a disorder of the soul as that is of the body— A person unconscious of his sinfulness desires not a saviourNor will he comply with the self-denying directions given him But one who feels his lost state longs earnestly for a cureHe delights to hear of Christ, and to make application to him Nor does he esteem any injunction too severe-] This being acknowledged, our Lord proceeds to make II. An application of it to his own conduct The physician's office leads him to converse with the sick Our Lord's work required him to maintain an intercourse with sinners There are many who conceive themselves to be "righteous" [None are absolutely and perfectly righteous But many suppose that their sins are neither great nor nu merous Such were the Scribes and Pharisees whom our Lord addressed And there are many of this description in every aged-] Such persons were not so much the objects of our Lord's attention [He willed indeed that all should come to repent ancee But he knew that they would not receive his offersThey saw no need of the salvation which he came to accomplish Their pride and prejudice unfitted them for receiving it a 1 John v. 3. b None by nature, Job xiv. 4. and xv. 14. None by practice, Rom. iii. 10, 12, 23. e Luke xviii. 9, 11. d Prov. xxx. 12. 3 Pet. iii. 9. He therefore bestowed less labour in calling them to repentance-] But there are many of more ingenuous disposition [They are not really more heinous "sinners" than othersBut they are made sensible of their guilt and dangerSuch was the publican at whose house our Lord wasAnd such are to be found in every place-] To call these to repentance was the great object of Christ's ministry [These were prepared, like thirsty ground for the rainTo them he was a welcome messenger They rejoiced to hear that repentance could profit themAnd our Lord delighted to encourage their hopes-] Thus did his conduct accord with the dictates of reason, and with the great ends of his mission INFER 1. The danger of self-righteousness [Men feel of themselves the danger of gross sin But they cannot be persuaded that they will suffer any thing by self-righteousness But a person who, under dying circumstances, denies his need of help, as effectually destroys himself, as if he drank poison or plunged a dagger to his heart Deny not then your need of the heavenly Physician Nor think to heal yourselves by any self-righteous methodsYou must resemble the publican, if ever you would enjoy his lots-] 2. The folly of unbelief [We are apt to make the depth of our misery a reason for despondency But the doubting of the Physician's power will be as destructive to the soul, as the denying of our need of him— O behold the remedy! are you sick?-sinners ?i-lost? Christ suits his promises to your state He addresses himself to each, nor shall any suppliant be disappointed"] f Luke iv. 18, 19. i 1 Tim. i. 15. John vi. 37. g Luke xviii. 13, 14. Jer. viii. 22. 1 John v. 6. VOL. I. 3 G LVII. THE REST THAT REMAINS FOR GOD'S PEOPLE. Heb. iv. 9. There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God. THE servants of God possess many distinguished privileges Their state in this world is far happier than that of the ungodly But there is an infinitely richer portion reserved for them hereafter To this David had respect in that awful denunciation Whence it appears, that though prefigured by other rests, it remains yet to be enjoyed — I. Who are the people of God This title cannot belong to all indiscriminately [The greater part of the world are idolatrous heathensThe generality of those who are called Christians are ignorant of God Impiety and profaneness abound in every place This indisputably proves the apostle's assertion— The sinful works of men plainly shew whose people they ared “ Nor do all who ❝ profess godliness" really belong to GodThere are many who deceive both themselves and others] Those who alone have a right to it are described by God himself— They "worship God in the Spirit" [It is the characteristic of God's enemies that they neglect prayerh Nor will formal services prove us to be God's people— a Ps. xcv. 11. The apostle's argument seems to be this: God instituted a day of rest in commemoration of his having ceased from his works of creation. And many centuries afterwards he promised a rest to his people in the land of Canaan. But that rest was only typical of a more glorious sabbath, of which David spake a long time after the other had been enjoyed. From hence the apostle concludes that there must yet be a rest, or Σαββατισμὸς (for he changes the word which he had before used, in order more strongly to intimate the analogy between the different rests there spoken of,) remaining for the people of God. c Rom. ix. 6. d 1 John iii. 8. John viii. 44. f Rev. iii. 1. Jam. i. 26. h Ps. liii. 4. e Rom. ii. 28, 29. Tit. i. 16. g Phil. iii. 3. Matt. xv. 8, 9, |