Bible Commentaries
Galatians 1

Verse 1

The penman of this epistle is here described by his name, Paul: by his office, an apostle; and by his commission to that office, which was not human, but altogether divine, even from God the Father by Jesus Christ.

Observe here, 1. The great modesty of this great apostle, in the setting forth his authority as an apostle; you will find, in the front of his epistles, when he names any others in the salutation with himself (as Silvanus and Timotheus) he mentions not himself as an apostle, when named with them, lest he should be thought to magnify himself above them. But here, because his apostolical office was called in question, he is necessitated to vindicate his authority, and accordingly declared himself an apostle, not of men, nor by man; that is, men were neither the authors nor choosers of him to his office: he was not called, as Matthias was, Acts 1:23 by the suffrage of the rest of the apostles: he was not an apostle of men's election, nor by men's instruction; but appointed by Jesus Christ, and God the Father, who raised him from the dead.

Learn hence, that no sins before, nor yet after, conversion, can hinder the rich mercy and free grace of God, from using men in the highest employments in the church, if he pleases to make use of them. Paul, after he had been a blasphemer, was made an apostle; and Peter, after his conversion, denied Christ with oaths and curses: yet is a chief apostle and an inspired penman of holy scripture.

Observe, 2. The high dignity conferred upon St. Paul, with reference to his apostolical office, he did not take it upon himself, but was chosen to it; he was not chosen to it for any merit in himself, but it was a grace freely bestowed upon him: and this not by the ministry and mediation of man, but by the immediate resignation and election of Jesus Christ.

Thus far he stands upon equal terms with the rest of the apostles; they did not call themselves, nor were they called by Christ, for any worthiness in themselves above others: but behold the peculiar prerogative of St. Paul above the rest of the apostles, in this particular; they were called by Christ, in the day of his humiliation, when he was here upon earth in the flesh; but he was called by Christ after his resurrection, yea, in his highest state of exaltation, when sitting at his Father's right hand in heaven.

And as his call was thus very extraordinary, so his gifts were answerable to his call: the gospel which he preached he received by inward and immediate revelation, which made him so much excel all the other apostles; insomuch, that although, in his own opinion, he was the least of saints when here upon earth: yet, in the opinion of others, he was the holiest man when upon earth, and the highest now in heaven, next the man Jesus Christ.

Verse 2

That is, "All the brethren which are here with me, and own the doctrine which I preach, send greeting unto the churches of Galatia."

Here note, 1. How St. Paul's doctrine is justified from the charge of singularity, which the Judaizing false teachers objected against it. What he wrote and taught, he tells the Galatians, was owned by all the brethren. This shews the consent he had of the church with him, in that holy doctrine which was delivered by him.

Note, 2. The generality of the persons to whom this epistle is directed; not to a single person, nor to a particular church, but unto all the churches in the province of Galatia. There were several Christian congregations, called churches, in that country, and all of them being leavened, or in danger of being soured with Judaism, that is, of superadding the ceremonial law of Moses to the gospel of Christ: the apostle and the brethren with him, direct this epistle, not to any single church in that province, but to them all in general, being equally concerned: All the brethren with me, unto the churches of Galatia.

Note, 3. How the apostle doth not say here, as elsewhere, To the saints of God which are in Galatia; or, To them that are sanctified by God the Father; but barely says, To the churches of Galatia; thereby declaring his holy indignation against the Galatians, as unworthy of those gracious appellations, because they had sadly corrupted the doctrine of the gospel begun in the Spirit, and ended in the flesh; first owning Christ and the liberty of the gospel, and afterwards pleading for the bondage of the ceremonial law.

Yet, note, lastly, as corrupt as these churches of Galatia were, our apostle owns and acknowledges them to be true churches; they retained the essentials of Christianity, and were not guilty either of idolatry, or a total apostasy; therefore though stained with divers corruptions both in doctrine and manners, which he sharply rebukes and reproves them for, yet he doth not deny them the name of churches: All the brethren which are with me, unto the churches of Galatia.

Verse 3

These words are both a Christian salutation, and an apostolical benediction: as they are a salutation, they express a wish and desire of the best blessings towards and on the behalf of them they saluted.

From whence we may learn, that religion doth not abolish and destroy, but spiritualize and improve civility, humanity, and common courtesy. The Heathens wished health to their saluted friends; the Jews, peace; but the Christians, grace and peace.

Again, the words may be understood as an apostolical and ministerial blessing: the apostles were the patriarchs of the church of the New Testament: and as a spiritual father, St. Paul here blesses his children, wishing them first grace, then peace: Peace must be sought after grace; and not expected before it. Peace without grace is no peace. There can be no peace with the Creator, no sanctified peace with the creatures, except through Jesus Christ we are first made partakers of the gracious love and favour of Almighty God. Accordingly, says the apostle here, Grace be to you, and peace, from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ.

Where note, that grace and peace may be said to be from the Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, these two ways:

1. Efficiently, as the authors and causes of both: God the Father is the author of all grace, as he did decree it; and Christ, as he did purchase it.

2. Objectively; that is, this grace and love in God the Father, and this peace and satisfaction that is in Jesus Christ the more they are by faith apprehended by us, the more are they increased in us, and upon us.

Learn from the whole, that the holiest and best of Christians here on earth, stand in manifest need of fuller supplies and farther additions both of grace and peace to be daily communicated to them, and enjoyed by them; Grace be to you, and peace.

Verse 4

That is, "Our Lord Jesus Christ gave himself unto death, for the remission of our sins, that he might deliver us from this evil world; namely, to separate or bring us off from the evil customs and practices of the wicked men in the world, and engage us to live a life of strict holiness according to the will and command of God our Father."

Here note, 1. The priestly office of Christ declared and asserted; He gave himself for our sins: that is, an expiatory sacrifice for our sins. So deadly was the guilt of sin, so exact the justice of God, and so unalterable his faithfulness, in executing the judgment which was denounced against sinners, that there was no hope for guilty sinners pardon, without satisfaction given to the injured justice of God, for sin; and nothing less would satisfy than the blood of God: that is, the blood of Jesus Christ, who is essentially, truly, and really God.

Note, 2. A farther end and design which Christ had in giving himself for us, namely, to deliver us from the rage of our lusts, as well as from the wrath of God, to sanctify our natures for us, and to mortify our corruptions in us, to redeem us from our vain conversation, and deliver us from this present evil world; not totally to remove us out of the world, but morally to oblige us to abandon the wicked courses, the sinful practices of the evil men of the world.

Blessed be God, that Jesus Christ did not only purchase pardon and remission, but holiness and sanctification also for his ransomed and redeemed ones, and is as willing to free us from the dominion, as from the danger of our sins: He gave himself for us, that he might deliver us from this present evil world.

Note, 3. As the final cause of Christ's death, deliverance from God's wrath and sin's rage, so the efficient cause of his death, the will of his Father. He gave himself for us according to the will of God; that is, according to the purpose and appointment of God. Christ, as Mediator, was the Father's servant; and whatever he did in the work of mediation for us, was by the appointment and with the special approbation of God the Father. Eternal thanks be given, that the Son's purchase was the Father's pleasure.

Note, 4. The comfortable relation in which God now stands unto us, since Christ gave himself for us, namely, that of a Father; according to the will of God and our Father; that is, who is now our Father.

Learn hence, that satisfaction being given by Christ so provoked justice for our sins, God, who was before a consuming fire, and a sin-punishing judge, is become our gracious and reconciled Father; our Father by adoption, who before was our Father only by creation; according to the will of God and our Father.

Verse 5

That is, "To God the Father, and Christ Jesus our Redeemer, be given the highest degrees of honour and glory, throughout the present and eternal ages."

Note here, 1. The work and duty incumbent upon Christ's redeemed ones, and that is, to ascribe all honour and homage, all glory and praise to God the Father, as the contriver, and to Christ the Son, as the accomplisher of the work of redemption; To whom, both whom, be glory.

Note, 2. The duration and continuance of this duty; not for a day, or year, but for eternal ages. This duty of ascribing honour and homage, glory and praise to the Father and Mediator, for the glorious work of man's redemption, is such, that it can never be sufficiently discharged, but requires a succession of ages to perform it in: yea, eternity itself is too short for the performance of it: To whom be glory for ever and ever. The glory of the Redeemer, and of him that sent him to redeem, will be the long-lasting, and never-ending song of redeemed ones, through millions of ages, yea, to all eternity; a work begun on earth, never finished in heaven.

Verse 6

Observe here, 1. The heavy charge which St. Paul brings in against the false apostles or Judiazing teachers, they perverted the gospel which St. Paul preached, and taught a new gospel of their own; yet not absolutely so, but by compounding and mingling the gospel with the cermonial law, and by making circumcision and other things, necessary to salvation, which our Saviour never made so, this the apostle calls another gospel.

Whence learn, 1. That it is no new or strange thing to hear of new gospels, of true gospel perverters, and of false gospel teachers. We find such in the primitive and purest churches, planted even by the apostles themselves; no wonder they are found in our days, who are fallen into the very dregs of time and error together.

Learn, 2. That the addition of any thing to the Christian religion, as necessary to be believed and practiced in order to salvation, is a perverting the gospel of Christ, and preaching another gospel. These Galatians did not renounce Christianity, and go over to another religion, but they received circumcision, and the observation of the law of Moses; as an essential part of the Christian religion, and as a condition of eternal salvation: whereas the death of Christ having put an end to the Jewish dispensation, there was neither then, nor now, any obligation upon Christians to observe the law of Moses; and consequently, the addition of any thing to the Christian doctrine, as necessary to be believed and practiced in order to salvation, is preaching another gospel, and a manifest perverting of the gospel of Christ.

Learn, 3. That there is no authority in the Christian church, in any, or in all the guides of it, to impose upon Christians any thing, as of necessity to salvation, which the gospel has not made necessary. The apostles themselves had no authority to add any thing to the gospel, much less can any that come after them pretend to it: Christ commanded them, Matthew 28:19, to teach all nations, to observe all things whatsoever he commaded them: and head the apostles themselves added any point of faith and practice, not given them in charge by Christ himself, they had fallen under that curse themselves, which here they denounced against false teachers.

Observe, 2. The artifice which these false teachers used to draw the Galatians into these new errors, and that was hastily and suddenly to avow and own them before the world; I marvel that ye are so soon removed. Seducers are for clapping up a hasty match between the mind and error, and press the seduced to quick resolutions; a hasty dispatch being their great advantage, before they consult their spiritual guides, or weigh matters in the balance of impartial judgments. What says the apostle, are ye so soon removed? Yes, might the false teachers have said, if not so soon, it might never; if not so soon removed, they might never be at all: for errors are like fish, they must be eaten fresh and new, or they'll quickly stink, and be thrown away.

Observe, 3. The true cause from which the Galatians fall into error did proceed: they trusted themselves with themselves; they trusted to the clearness of their own unassisted eyes, and to the strength of their own reason and judgment, without consulting their spiritual guide. Had not these Galatians a Paul to consult with, before they gave their consent to false teachers? Or if he was at a distance from them, about the work of the Lord in remote places, could not they have written to him, or advised with others besides him? Woe to him that is alone, when assaulted by seducers!

Verse 8

Observe here, 1. How our apostle supposes an impossibility only for the confirmation of what he had before affirmed. He doth not suppose it possible for any angel in heaven, or apostle upon earth, to contradict the doctrine of the gospel which he had delivered, to preach any thing contrary to it, or besides it, or different from it; making that necessary to be believed and practiced, which Christ and his apostles never made necessary.

Learn hence, that the written word of God, without unwritten traditions, contains in it all things necessary to salvation; and whatever doctrines are propounded to the church, not only contrary to, but differing from it, or besides the written word, are cursed doctrines.

Observe, 2. The terrible Anathema which the apostle denounces against those, whoever they should be, be it an apostle upon earth, or an angel from heaven, that should thus pervert the gospel of Christ, by making any thing necessary to be believed or practiced in order to salvation, which Christ has not made necessary, Let him be accursed. Let the church of Rome in general, and the council of Trent in particular, dread the efficacy of this curse, who have added so many new articles to the Christian faith, and enforced them as necessary to be believed by all Christians; insomuch that they pronounced, "that no salvation can be obtained without the belief of them," and denounced their anathemas against us who cannot believe them: but as their curse, causeless, shall not come, so we believe that they, propounding terms of salvation, nowhere delivered by Christ and his apostles, do bring themselves under the apostle's anathema here in this text: for if the new articles of the church at Rome be necessary to salvation, than what Christ and his apostles delivered was not sufficient to salvation before; and thus the pride of man exalts itself above the wisdom of God.

Observe, 3. How the apostle expresses his assurance in this matter; and to shew that he did not speak rashly, and in a heat, but upon due consideration, he repeats again, As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach otherwise, let him be accursed Galatians 1:9.

Note here, how positive and peremptory the apostle is in this matter: and doubtless this one Anathema of his, is more dreadful than all the bruta fulmina, the freakish anathema, of an enthusiastic church, who, in a manifest affront to the authority of St. Pual, has presumed to add so many new articles to the Christian religion, for which there is not the least ground or warrant, either from the holy scriptures, or any of the ancient creeds.

Observe lastly, how the apostle puts himself into the number, if I, or any man, or any angel preach otherwise, let him be accursed. As if the apostle had said, "Not only the false apostles are to be rejected, but I myself deserve to be anathematized, and accounted an execrable person, should I preach any other doctrine to you, than what you have received from Christ by me; nay, should any angel from heaven attempt it, he ought to be detested for it."

Learn, that no angel in heaven, no person or church upon earth, have power to make new articles of faith, or to impose any thing upon our belief or practice, that is either against or besides the written word, or any ways inconsistent with it, or contrary unto it.

Verse 10

Our apostle in these words discovers the great sincerity used in preaching the pure and unmixed doctrine of the gospel to the Galatians; for he did not persuade that men, but God, should be heard and obeyed, that so their faith might be founded upon divine, and not human authority; nor did he in his ministry aim at pleasing men, but Christ: for should he now please men, being an apostle, as he did at times past, being a Pharisee, he should not be the servant of Christ.

The ministers of Christ must not be men-pleasers; they must not please men either by flattery or falsehood, nor accommodate their doctrines to the humour and dispositions of men; pleasing of God is our great work and business, let us mind that: man-pleasing is endless, and needless, any farther than for their good, and the gospel's gain.

Accordingly, the apostle tells us elsewhere, that he was made all things to all men, that he might gain some: not to make a present gain of them, but that they might be eternal gainers by him; it was not to exalt himself, but that Christ might be exalted in the hearts and lives of his hearers, that he sought in and by his ministry to please all men; and thus in imitation of him, let us seek to please all men for their good to edification.

Verse 11

The apostle here, as he did before, Galatians 1:1-2, asserts the divinity of the doctrine of the gospel which he had preached to them; and assures them likewise of his own lawful call to be an apostle, which was questioned by his adversaries, who affirmed, that he had received his doctrine only from others at the second-hand. To satisfy them in the divinity of his doctrine, he tells them, it was not after man; that is, it was not human, but divine; nothing belonging to man, but all from God in it: And as for his authority to preach it, he assures them, he had a revelation and commission from Jesus Christ so to do; he learned not his doctrine from any human teacher, nor undertook to preach it by any human authority, but from Christ's immediate revelation.

Learn hence, it is a singular satisfaction to the ministers of Christ, and that which gives them boldness before their false accusers, when they can give good proof of their regular call to the work of the ministry, and of the divinity of the doctrine dispensed by them. Thus did St. Paul here: the gospel, says he, which I preach to you, and the mission I had so to preach it, was not after man, nor from man, nor by man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Where note, from Christ's being so often opposed to man in these verses, and in the first verse, that he is not mere man, but God as well as man: why else doth the apostle oppose Christ to man so often as he doth here? Not of man, neither by man, nor after man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ, who is God.

Verse 13

Here the apostle offers several arguments to satisfy the Galatians, that both his commission to preach the gospel, and also the gospel which he preached to them, were not from man, but our Lord Jesus Christ. And the first argument to prove it, as a convictive evidence of it, was his bitter enmity against the Christian religion, and his mighty zeal for the Jewish religion, in which he was educated and brought up: All which he mentions as a thing publicly known, leaving them to infer from thence, that so great and sudden a change could not be the effect of human persuasion, but divine revelation; In time past I persecuted the church of God, and wasted it.

Where note, that although our apostle did not shun to make an open confession of his wicked life, before his conversion, that he might thereby make evident, that his conversion was immediately from God, yet he makes an open confession only of his open sins, such as they had heard of in time past, without discovering his secret sins, which had been kept from the knowledge of the world, the divulging whereof would but have multiplied scandals and stumbling-blocks unto others. To confess our secret sins to God, is safe; to confess our open sins to the world, is sufficient.

Observe farther, the commendable proficiency which St. Paul made in the Jewish religion, wherein he was educated, I profited in the Jews' religion above many my equals. He was also a zealous maintainer of the Jewish customs, and unwritten traditions, being more exceedingly zealous of the traditions of my fathers. From St. Paul's example we may infer, that it is a special duty incumbent upon all persons to make religion the matter of their choice; and having espoused it, to be the more serious and zealous in it; to labour to advance and grow both in the knowlege and in the practice of it; and that to a degree of eminecy, excelling and outstripping others: I profited in the Jewish religion above many my equals, or contemporaries.

Verse 15

Here we have second evidence which St. Paul brings to prove himself an apostle extrordinary, called by God himself unto the ministerial service; and that the doctrine he delivered was not immediately from the mouths of the apostles, but by immediate revelation from Jesus Christ.

Thus he speaks: "When, says he, it pleased God, who decreed and determined to separate and set me apart for the work of an apostle, even from my very infancy, and afterwards of his mere grace and good-will called me to preach the gospel to the Gentile world, having first revealed his Son in me, and to me, and then by me, immediately I set about the work, and complied with my duty, not consulting any person living, neither my own carnal reason, nor any man's advice; neither went I up presently to Jerusalem to confer with, to receive authority or instruction from them, which were apostles before me; but I went immediately from Damascus, the place of my conversion, into Arabia, and preached the gospel three years among those wild and barbarous Heathens, and then returned again unto Damascus: From whence it evidently appears, that I neither had instruction nor commission from any of the apostles that were before me, having never seen any of them as yet, but both my mission and my message were immediately received from Jesus Christ."

Here observe, 1. The qualification necessary in a minister that reveals Jesus Christ unto his people, namely, that Christ must be revealed to him, and in him. We must learn Christ ourselves, before we pretend to preach him to others: When it pleased God to reveal his son in me, I preached him among the Heathen. As there is no knowledge like the knowledge of experience; so there is no preaching like experimental preaching. Happy those that can say, not only that which we have heard and read, but that which we have tasted, and felt, and experienced from the Holy Spirit's operation in and upon our own hearts, that declare we unto you.

Observe, 2. What haste the apostle made to obey the call and command of God, after he had received it; Immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood. He consulted neither himself nor others, neither his own heart nor the wisest heads, he consulted not his own safety nor carnal interest, but instantly did what he was commanded to do. The great commendation of duties, is the ready discharge of duties. When once the mind of God is declared, and conscience thoroughly satisfied, we cannot be too quick and expeditious in the execution of divine commands. Lord! how readily should all men, but especially thy ministers, answer and obey thy call, and execute thy will and pleasure! Immediately I conferred not, says St. Paul; I made haste and delayed not, says holy David. In a good work it is good to make haste: In God's work we cannot readily make more haste than good speed.

Verse 18

Here is a third evidence to prove, that St. Paul received his ministry and message by divine revelation from Jesus Christ, and not from man, or by man. He acknowledges that not till three years after his conversion, when he had preached the gospel in the deserts of Arabia, had he ever seen Peter, or any other of the apostles, and consequently could not receive the knowledge of the gospel from him or them, as his adversaries the false apostles would insinuate and suggest. True, after his three years preaching in, and his return from Arabia, he went up to Jerusalem, and saw Peter and James, and conversed with them for fifteen days: But the shortness of his stay with them is an evidence that he went not up to Jerusalem to learn the gospel from them, much less to pay homage to St. Peter as the prince of the apostles; for St. Paul often affirms, in his epistles, that he was not inferior to St. Peter, nor came behind the chiefest of the apostles; but it was only a familiar and friendly visit, given by one minister of Christ to another, in token of mutual consent and agreement in the same truth preached by both; and by no means to receive ordination from Peter, or divine instructions (for he had a higher teacher than him, even Christ himself) or to acknowledge any subjection to him, by owning his supremacy over all the apostles; as the church of Rome would bear us in hand he did, in defiance of what St. Paul himself declares to the contrary. But we cannot help it, if men who have their credulity at their own disposal, and can believe what they list, will yield their assent to what is contrary to divine revelation and the reason of things. Very evident it is to any impartial observer, that St. Paul's visit at Jerusalem was a visit of civil courtesy, yet for the spiritual consolation and mutual edification both of himself and the apostles, whom he thus visited.

From hence learn, 1. That the ministers of Christ should be so far from living at variance with, or at any distance in affection from each other, that they ought to maintain correspondency and familiarity with one another, and to give friendly visits to each other, in token of their harmony and mutual agreement in the same divine truths delivered by them. Thus did our apostle here; he took a journey to Jerusalem to see Peter, and James, our Lord's kinsman.

Learn, 2. From the shortness of his visit and stay at Jerusalem, though it was in the most delightful and desirable, yea, most profitable company, yet it was but for fifteen days; he hastens away to his charge again.

Thence note, that though the ministers of Christ may and ought to visit each other, as an evidence of reciprocal affection, and in order to mutual direction, edification and consolation; yet ought their meetings to be neither so frequent, nor of so long continuance, that thereby their several flocks should suffer prejudice: After a short time spent in visiting, we must return to our business, and mind, above all things, our ministerial charge: I went to see Peter, but abode with him only fifteen days.

Verse 20

Observe, here, that St. Paul, having to do with the false apostles and the seduced Galatians, whom, he had just cause to suspect, would not (as they ought) give much credit to his word; he asserts the truth of what he affirmed, upon oath, appealing to the all-knowing and heart-searching God, as witness and judge of the truth of what he said: Behold before God, I lie not.

Where, note, 1. That it is no new thing for the faithfulest and ablest ministers and servants of Christ to be looked upon as liars, unworthy to be trusted, and to have the truth of what they deliver, though in God's name, questioned and suspected. Our apostle's purging of himself here from lying, doth import, that some did suspect him for a liar. And if an inspired apostle be, what private minister may not be, suspected!

Note, 2. The mean which St. Paul makes use of, for purging himself from the imputation of falsehood; it was, by taking an oath in a solemn manner.

Learn thence, that though rash swearing, false swearing, and upon every light occasion to take or multiply oaths, be a very great sin; yet to swear, and bear witness to the truth, and to take an oath upon due consideration, and for weighty reasons, and to swear by the name of God, is certainly a lawful, and sometimes a very necessary and important duty.

Verse 21

The fourth evidence is here produced by St. Paul, to prove, that both his ministry and his message, his office and his doctrine, were divine; and that he was so far from learning the Christian religion from the Christian churches in Judea, that he was not by face so much as known to them, or they to him: They had heard, indeed, that one Paul, a persecutor, was become a preacher, but they had never seen him; and accordingly they magnified the grace of God in his conversion, admiring the wonderful change wrought in him.

Observe here, 1. The laborious diligence and indefatigable industry of St. Paul, in planting and propagating the Christian faith throughout the world; he travels, as soon as converted, into Arabia, then into the regions of Syria and Cilicia, thinking he could never do service enough for Christ, who had suffered and done so much for him. Oh, how full of life and zeal are young converts! What activity and industry for Christ and souls is found with them! They despise all dangers, they surmount all difficulties, are above all discouragements, in expressing their love to Christ, and venturing their lives for him: But, alas! as they grow older, their affections are cooler; so that they have many times just cause to say, Oh, that it were with me, as in the months of old, in the day when God converted me, when the secret of God was with me, and when by his light I walked through all difficulties to subserve his interest, and to promote his glory.

Observe, 2. The great and mighty power of the heart-changing grace of God, which turns the haters and professed enemies of religion into friends, and bitter and bloody persecutors into bold and painful preachers of the gospel: He who persecuted in times past, now preacheth the faith which once he destroyed. He that leads captivity captive, can soon make the stoutest enemies of religion to become its strongest friends.

Observe, 3. Paul, before his conversion, is said to destroy the faith, because he intended it, and endeavoured it, though he could not actually effect it, and accomplish it. Sin and evil, intended by a determinate resolution, are as good as acted, in God's account. Bloody persecutors design no less than a total extirpation of the truth, to destroy the faith; which though it be out of their reach to effect, yet having deliberately resolved it, it is as actually accomplished in the account of God; He now preacheth the faith that once he destroyed.

Observe, lastly, to whom the glory and praise of converting grace is due, namely, to God, and to God alone; They glorified God in me; that is, they owned and admired the grace of God bestowed upon me, which wrought such a glorious and blessed change in me. The converting grace of God, wrought either in ourselves, or others, is matter of admiration, and calls for thanksgivings and acknowlegments unto God; They glorified God in me.