revealed to a man through the law, it is impossible but that he should become impatient, murmur against God, and despise his will: for he cannot bear the judgment of God, his own death and damnation; and yet, notwithstanding, he cannot escape them. Here he must needs fall into the hatred of God, and blasphemy against God. Before, when he was out of temptation, he was a very holy man; he worshipped and praised God; he bowed his knee before God, and gave him thanks as the Pharisee did, (Luke xviii.) But now, when sin and death is revealed unto him, he wisheth that there were no God. The law therefore, of itself, bringeth a special hatred of God. And thus sin is not only revealed and known by the law, but also is increased and stirred up by the law. Therefore Paul saith, "sin, that it might appear to be sin, wrought death in me by that which was good, that sin might be out of measure sinful by the commandment.' (Rom. vii.) There he entreateth of this effect of the law very largely.

Paul answereth therefore to this question, if the law do not justify, to what end then serveth it? Although (saith he) it justify not, yet it is very profitable and necessary. For, first, it civilly restraineth such as are carnal, rebellious, and obstinate. Moreover, it is a glass that sheweth unto a man himself, that he is a sinner, guilty of death, and worthy of God's everlasting wrath and indignation. To what end serveth this humbling, this bruising and beating down by this hammer, the law, I mean? To this end, that we may have an entrance into grace. So then the law is a minister that prepareth the way unto grace. For God is the God of the humble, the miserable, the afflicted, the oppressed, and the desperate, and of those that are brought even to nothing: and his nature is to exalt the humble, to feed the hungry, to give sight to the blind, to comfort the miserable, the afflicted, the bruised and broken-hearted, to justify sinners, to quicken the dead, and to save the very desperate and damned. For he is an almighty Creator, making all things of nothing. Now that pernicious and pestilent opinion of man's own righte ousness, which will not be a sinner, unclean, miserable, and . damnable, but righteous and holy, suffereth not God to come to his own natural and proper work. Therefore God must needs take this maul in hand, (the law, I mean) to drive down, to beat in pieces, and to bring to nothing this beast, with her vain confidence, wisdom, righteousness, and power, that she may so learn at the length, by her own misery and mischief, that she is utterly forlorn, lost, and damned. Here now, when the conscience is thus terrified with the law, then cometh the doctrine of the gospel and grace, which raiseth up and comforteth the same again, saying, Christ came into the world, not to break the bruised reed, nor to quench the smoking flax; but to preach the gospel of glad tidings to the poor, to heal the broken and contrite in heart, to preach forgiveness of sins to the captives, &c. (Isaiah xlii. 3. Matt. xii. 20.)

But here lieth all the difficulty of this matter, that when a man is terrified and cast down, he may be able to raise up himself again, and say, Now I am bruised and afflicted enough; the time of the law hath tormented and vexed me sharply enough; now is the time of grace; now is the time to hear Christ, out of whose mouth proceed the words of grace and life; now is the time to see, not the smoking and burning mount Sinai, but the mount Moria, where is the throne, the temple, the mercyseat of God, that is to say, Christ, who is the king of righteousness and peace. There will I hearken what the Lord speaketh unto me, who speaketh nothing else but peace unto his people.

Nay, the foolishness of man's heart is so great, that, in this conflict of conscience, when the law hath done his office, and exercised his true ministry, he doth not only not lay hold upon the doctrine of grace, which promiseth most assuredly the forgiveness of sins, for Christ's sake, but seeketh and procureth to himself more laws, to satisfy and quiet his conscience. If 1 live, saith he, I will amend my life. I will do this: I will do that. Here, except thou do quite the contrary; that is to say, except thou send Moses away, with his law, to those that are secure, proud, and obstinate, and in these terrors and in this anguish lay hold upon Christ, who was crucified and died for thy sins, look for no salvation.

So the law with his office helpeth by occasion to justification, in that it driveth a man to the promise of grace, and maketh the same sweet and comfortable unto him. Wherefore we do not abrogate the law, but we show the true office of the law; to wit, that it is a true and a profitable minister, which driveth a man to Christ. Therefore, after the law hath humbled thee, terrified thee, and utterly beaten thee down, so that now thou art at the very brink of desperation, see that thou learn how to use the law rightly; for the office and use of it is not only to reveal sin and the wrath of God, but also to drive men unto Christ. This use of the law the Holy Ghost only setteth forth in the gospel, where he witnesseth that God is present unto the afflicted and broken-hearted. Wherefore, if thou be bruised with this hammer, use not this bruising perversely, so that thou load thyself with more laws, but hear Christ, saying, "Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you." (Matt. xi. 28.) When the law so oppresseth thee, that all things seem to be utterly desperate, and thereby driveth thee unto Christ, to seek help and succour at his hands, then is the law in his true use; and, through the gospel, it helpeth to justification. And this is the best and most perfect use of the law.

Wherefore Paul here beginneth afresh to entreat of the law, and defineth what it is, taking occasion of that which he said before; to wit, that the law justifieth not. For reason, hearing this, by-and-by doth thus infer: then God gave the law in vain.

It was necessary, therefore, to seek how to define the law truly, and to shew what the law is, and how it ought to be understood, that it be not taken more largely or more straitly than it should be. There is no law (saith he) that is of itself necessary to justification. Therefore, when we reason as touching righteousness, life, and everlasting salvation, the law must be utterly removed out of our sight, as if it had never been, or never should be, but as though it were nothing at all. For, in the matter of justification, no man can remove the law far enough out of his sight, or behold the only promise of God sufficiently, and as he should do. Therefore I said before that the law and the promise must be separate far asunder, as touching the inward affections and the inward man; albeit, indeed, they are nearly joined together.

VERSE 19. Until the seed came unto the which the promise was made. Paul maketh not the law perpetual, but he saith that it was given, and added to the promises for transgressions; that is to say, to restrain them civilly, but especially to reveal and to increase them spiritually, and that not continually, but for a time. Here it is necessary to know how long the power and the tyranny of the law ought to endure, which discovereth sin, sheweth unto us what we are, and revealeth the wrath of God. They whose hearts are touched with an inward feeling of these matters, should suddenly perish, if they should not receive comfort. Therefore, if the days of the law should not be shortened, no man should be saved. A time therefore must be set, and bounds limited to the law, beyond which it may not reign. How long then ought the dominion of the law to endure? Until the seed come; to wit, that seed, of which it is written, "In thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed." The tyranny of the law then must so long continue until the fulness of the time, and until that seed of the blessing come; not to the end that the law should bring this seed or give righteousness, but that it should civilly restrain the rebellious and obstinate, and shut them up, as it were, in prison; and then spiritually should reprove them of sin, humble them, and terrify them; and, when they are thus humbled and beaten down, it should constrain them to look up to that blessed seed.

We may understand the continuance of the law both according to the letter and also spiritually; according to the letter thus, that the law continueth until the time of grace. "The law and the prophets," saith Christ, "prophesied until John. From the time of John, until this day, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force." (Matt. xi. 12, 13.) In this time Christ was baptized, and began to preach; at what time also, after the letter, the law, and all the ceremonies of Moses ceased.

Spiritually the law may be thus understood: that it ought not

me.

to reign in the conscience any longer than to the appointed time of this blessed seed. When the law sheweth unto me my sin, terrifieth me, and revealeth the law and judgment of God, so that I begin to tremble and to despair, there hath the law his bounds, his time and his end limited, so that he now ceaseth to exercise his tyranny any more. For when he hath done his office sufficiently, he hath revealed the wrath of God, and terrified enough. Here we must say, Now leave off, law; thou hast done enough; thou hast terrified and tormented me enough. "All thy floods have run over me, and thy terrors have troubled Lord, turn not away thy face in thy wrath from thy servant; rebuke me not, I beseech thee, in thine anger," &c. (Ps. xlii. 7. lxix. 17. vi. 1.) When these terrors and troubles come, then is the time and the hour of the blessed seed come. Let the law then give place; which indeed is added to reveal and to increase transgressions, and yet no longer, but until that blessed seed be come. When that is come, then let the law leave off, to reveal sin and to terrify any more, and let him deliver up his kingdom to another; that is to say, to the blessed seed, which is Christ: who hath gracious lips, wherewith he accuseth and terrifieth not, but speaketh of far better things than doth the law; namely, of grace, peace, forgiveness of sins, victory over sin, death, the devil, and damnation, gotten by his death and passion, unto all believers.

Paul therefore sheweth by these words: "Until the seed should come, unto whom the blessing was promised," how long the law should endure literally and spiritually. According to the letter, it ceased after the blessed seed came into the world, taking upon him our flesh, giving the Holy Ghost, and writing a new law in our hearts. But the spiritual time of the law doth not end at once, but continueth fast rooted in the conscience. Therefore it is a hard matter for a man which is exercised with the spiritual use of the law, to see the end of the law. For in these terrors and feeling of sin, the mind cannot conceive this hope, that God is merciful, and that he will forgive sins, for Christ's sake; but it judgeth only that God is angry with sinners, and that he accuseth and condemneth them. If faith come not here to raise up again the troubled and afflicted conscience, or else, according to that saying of Christ, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name," &c. (Matt. xviii. 20.) there be some faithful brother at hand that may comfort him, by the word of God, which is so oppressed and beaten down by the law, desperation and death must needs follow. Therefore it is a perilous thing for a man to be alone. "Woe be to him that is alone," (saith the preacher) "for when he falleth, he hath none to raise him up," (Eccles. iv. 10.) Wherefore they that ordained that cursed monkish and solitary life, gave occasion to many thousands to despair. If a man should separate himself from the company of others for a day or two, to be occupied in

prayer, (as we read of Christ, that sometime he went aside alone into the mount, and by night continued in prayer,) there were no danger therein. (Matt. xxvi. 39. Luke xxii. 41.) But when they constrained men continually to live a solitary life, it was a device of the devil himself. For when a man is tempted and is alone, he is not able to raise up himself, no, not in the least temptation that can be.

VERSE 19. And it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator.

This is a little digression from his purpose, which he neither declareth nor finisheth, but only toucheth it by the way, and so proceedeth. For he returneth incontinent to his purpose, when he saith, "What, is the law then contrary to the promises of God?" Now, this was the occasion of his digression. He fell into this difference between the law and the gospel: that the law, added to the promises, did differ from the gospel, not only in respect of the time, but also of the author and the efficient cause thereof. For the law was delivered by the angels, (Heb. i.) but the gospel by the Lord himself. Wherefore the gospel is far more excellent than the law; for the law is the voice of the servants, but the gospel is the voice of the Lord himself. Therefore, to abase and to diminish the authority of the law, and to exalt and magnify the gospel, he saith that the law was a doctrine given to continue but for a small time, (for it endured but only until the fulness of the promise, that is to say, until the blessed seed came which fulfilled the promise:) but the gospel was for ever. For all the faithful have had always one and the self-same gospel from the beginning of the world, and by that they were saved. The law, therefore, is far inferior to the gospel, because it was ordained by the angels, which are but servants, and endured but for a short time, whereas the gospel was ordained by the Lord himself, to continue for ever. (Heb. i.) For it was promised before all worlds. (Tit. i.)

Moreover, the word of the law was not only ordained by the angels being but servants, but also by another servant far inferior to the angels, namely, by a man; that is, (as here he saith) by the hand of a mediator, that is to say, Moses. Now, Christ is not a servant, but the Lord himself. He is not a mediator between God and man, according to the law, as Moses was; but he is a mediator of a better testament. The law therefore was ordained by angels as servants. For Moses and the people heard God speaking in the mount Sinai; that is to say, they heard the angels speaking in the person of God. Therefore Stephen, in the seventh chapter of the Acts, saith, "Ye have received the law by the ministry of angels, and ye have not regarded it." Also the text in the third of Exodus sheweth plainly that the angel appeared unto Moses in a flame of fire, and spake unto him from the midst of the bush.

Paul therefore signifieth that Christ is a mediator of a far better