in itself considered, is of no avail. If a man should faithfully perform all the conditions of a contract, the absence of the seal would not, in the judgment of equity, invalidate his claim, any more than the possession of the seal, while the conditions remained unperformed, would entitle him to the specified reward. The word uncircumcision, in the beginning of the verse, obviously means an uncircumcised person, by a common metonymy, but, in the latter clause, it is to be taken literally. The righteousness of the law, the prescriptions of the law;' its various demands. Paul does not say that any heathen does fully answer the demands of the law, the case is merely stated hypothetically to show the little weight due to circumcision. The last clause, his uncircumcision shall be counted for circumcision, is an example of a very common Hebrew idiom; according to which the preposition here rendered for, is placed after verbs signifying to be, to become, or to be regarded, where, in Greek, the nominative would be used. "They two shall be for one flesh," instead of one flesh, as our version renders it, Matt. 19: 5, "It became to a great tree," for 'it waxed a great tree,' Luke 13: 19; compare 1 Sam. 1: 13, "Eli counted her for one drunken," &c. &c. The apostle's meaning is obvious. "The one shall be regarded and treated as though it were the other.'

(27) And shall not uncircumcision, which is by nature, judge thee, &c. Calvin and others make this verse part of the interrogation commenced in the preceding, and not a distinct question by itself. Either mode of interpretation is possible. As pointed and understood by our translators, this verse expresses more than the preceding one. The obedient Gentile would not only be accepted, although uncircumcised, but he would rise up and condemn the more favoured Jew. Which is by nature, i. e. which is natural. The interpretation which Grotius, who is followed by Koppe, gives of this clause, it obviously cannot bear. He connects the words by nature with the following clause, thus, if it fulfil by nature (i. e. by reason and the moral sense) the law, &c.' But the position of the words renders this interpretation impossible, if any regard is paid to the grammatical structure of the sentence. Judge thee, i. e. condemn thee, as this word is often used, see v. 1. Render thy condemnation and its justice more conspicuous. As

the men of Nineveh and the Queen of the south are to rise in judgment against the neglecters of Christ and his gospel and condemn them, Matt. 12: 41, 42. The Jew is here described as one who by the letter and circumcision transgresses the law.' The word for letter means not only an alphabetic character, but also any thing written; John 5: 7, "If they believe not his writings;" 2 Tim. 3: 15, "Thou hast known the sacred scriptures." It means here the written law, see v. 29, and ch. 7: 6, "Not according to the oldness of the letter," i. e. the old written law; 2 Cor. 3: 6, "Hath made us ministers, not of the letter, but of the spirit," that is, not of the written law, but of the spiritual dispensation.' The preposition rendered here by, "By the letter and circumcision," may often be rendered with, and should be so translated here; Who with the letter and circumcision,' that is, 'who, although possessed of the letter, i. e. the written law, and circumcision, art a transgressor of the law;' see ch. 4: 11. Heb. 9: 14, Who with an eternal Spirit, i. e. being possessed of an eternal Spirit, offered himself unto God;' 1 Cor. 14: 9. 2 Cor. 2: 4, " With many tears." The preposition in question, therefore, is often used to indicate the state, condition or circumstances in which any person or thing is placed, as 2 Cor. 3: 11, 'was with glory,' i. e. glorious, and 2 Cor. 6: 7, 8; see Wahl, p. 274. The words "letter and circumcision" might, by a common figure, be taken to mean literal circumcision; but this is, in the first place, unnecessary, and, in the second, not so well suited to the context, as nothing is said here of a spiritual circumcision, and as the law is too prominent a point in the advantages of the Jews to allow of the term which expresses it here, to be merged in a mere epithet.

(28, 29) For he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision which is outward in the flesh, &c. These verses assign the reason why the external rite of circumcision can avail so little. God regards the heart, and not the external circumstances of men. This sentiment is expressed, first negatively, v. 28, and then affirmatively, v. 29. The word Jew is here, as in v. 17, to be taken in its religious sense. He is not a Jew, or a child of God, who is such by profession only, or in external appearance. Neither is the circumcision which is outward in the flesh, that on which the scriptures lay

so much stress, as when it is said "I will circumcise your heart, and the heart of your children, to love the Lord thy God," Deut. 30: 6. The sign is nothing without the spiritual blessing which it signifies. But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly. He only is really one of the people of God, who is such in heart; see 1 Peter 3: 4, where the word, which properly means hidden, secret, is also to be understood in the sense of internal, inward. And circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter, see Deut. 10: 16. The words in the spirit, not in the letter, are evidently explanatory of the circumcision of the heart of which the apostle is speaking; but they may be understood variously. In the spirit may mean spiritual, as relating to the spirit and not to the body, and in the letter would then mean literal; Circumcision of the heart which is spiritual and not literal.' Or in the spirit may be rendered by the Spirit. This gives a better sense, 'Circumcision of the heart which is effected by the Spirit, and not made after the direction of the written law;' compare Col. 2:11. According to this view, the word rendered letter, retains the meaning it has in the preceding verses. The general sentiment, however, is, in either case, the same.

Whose praise is not of men, but of God. The word whose refers to the Jew just described. His excellence is internal, seen and acknowledged of God: not such as falls under the observation of men.

Doctrines.

1. Membership in the true church, considered as a visible society, is no security that we shall obtain the favour of God. The Jews, before the advent, were members of the true and only church, and yet Paul teaches they were not on that account

* Many declarations might be quoted from Jewish authors to show that some of them at least were aware of the little value of the mere external rite of circumcision. There is a passage from R. Lipman, in libro Nizzachon, num. 21. p. 19, which, as Schoettgen remarks, he almost appears to have borrowed from the apostle. "The Christians mock us by saying, Women, who cannot be circumcised, are not to be regarded as Jews. But they are ignorant that faith does not depend on circumcision, but on the heart. Circumcision does not render him a Jew, who does not truly believe; and he who truly believes is a Jew, although he is not circumcised." And in the Talmud (Tract Nidda, fol. 20, 2) it is said, "The Jew is seated in the recesses of the heart." See SCHOETTGEN's Horae Hebraicae, p. 500.

the more acceptable to God. Multitudes of Jewish converts were members of the apostolic church, and yet, retaining their former doctrines and spirit, were in the gall of bitterness,

v. 17.

2. Mere knowledge cannot commend us to God. It neither sanctifies the heart, nor of itself renders men more useful. When made the ground of confidence, or the fuel of pride and arrogance, it is perverted and destructive, vs. 18-20.

3. Superior knowledge enhances the guilt of sin, and increases the certainty, necessity and severity of punishment, without in itself increasing the power of resistance. It is, therefore, a great mistake to make knowledge our sole dependence in promoting the moral improvement of men, vs. 18-20.

4. The sins of the professing people of God are peculiarly offensive to him, and injurious to our fellow men, vs. 22—24.

5. Here, as in the former part of the chapter, the leading idea is, that God is just. He asks not whether a man is a Jew or a Gentile, a Greek or Barbarian, bond or free, but what is his character? Does he do good or evil? vs. 17—24.

6. According to the apostle, the true idea of a sacrament is not that it is a mystic rite, possessed of inherent efficacy, or conveying grace as a mere opus operatum; but that it is a seal and sign, designed to confirm our faith in the validity of the covenant to which it is attached; and, from its significant character, to present and illustrate some great spiritual truth, v. 25.

7. All hopes are vain which are founded on a participation of the sacraments of the church, even when they are of divine appointment, as circumcision, baptism, and the Lord's supper; much more when they are of human invention, as penance, and extreme unction, vs. 26, 27.

8. Religion and religious services, to be acceptable to God, must be of the heart, mere external homage is of no account, vs. 28, 29.

Remarks.

1. The sins and refuges of men are alike in all ages. The Jew expected salvation because he was a Jew, so does the Catholic because he is a Catholic, the Greek because he is a Greek, and so of others. Were it ever so certain that the church to which we belong is the true, apostolic, universal

church, it remains no less certain that without holiness no man shall see God, v. 17, &c.

2. Having superior knowledge should make us anxious, first, to go right ourselves, and then to guide others right. To preach against evils which we ourselves commit, while it aggravates our guilt, is little likely to do others much good,

v. 18, &c.

3. Christians should ever remember that they are the epistles of Jesus Christ, known and read of all men; that God is honoured by their holy living, and that his name is blasphemed when they act wickedly, vs. 23, 24.

4. Whenever true religion declines, the disposition to lay undue stress on external rites is increased. The Jews, when they lost their spirituality, supposed that circumcision had power to save them. Great is the virtue of circumcision,' they cried, 'no circumcised person enters hell.' The Christian church, when it lost its spirituality, taught that water in baptism washed away sin. How large a part of nominal Christians rest all their hopes on the idea of the inherent efficacy of external rites! v. 25, &c.

5. While it is one dangerous extreme to make religion consist in the observance of external ceremonies, it is another to undervalue them, when of divine appointment. Paul does not say that circumcision was useless; he asserts its value. So, likewise, the Christian sacraments, baptism and the Lord's supper, are of the utmost importance, and to neglect or reject them is a great sin, v. 26, &c.

6. If the heart be right in the sight of God, it matters little what judgment men may form of us; and, on the other hand, the approbation of men is a poor substitute for the favour of God, v. 29.

CHAPTER III.

Contents.

THIS chapter may be divided into three parts. The first contains a brief statement and refutation of the Jewish objections to the apostle's reasoning, vs. 1-8. The second, a confirma