The second part of injunction is higher then the former: Though they do not teach other things, yet they must not spend their gifts in an useless way; as, to give heed to fables: This they apply to the Jews, who had a world of fictions. It is true, we find the Fathers, Gregory Nazianzen, and others, use sometimes a fable in their Orations, to denote some moral matter; but such the Jews did not use. As they must not give heed to fables, so neither to endless genealogies. We see a good use made of genealogies in the Scriptures, but here is reproved the sinful use of them; as those Grammarians among the Heathens, that spent their time about Hecuba's mother, or Achilles pedigree, and what it was that the Siren's sung: And these he calls endless, because vain curiosity is more unruly then the waves of the sea; it hath no limiting, Hitherto shalt thou go, and no further. Now mark, the Apostle condemneth all these, because they do not edify. The shell-fish among the Jews was accounted unclean, because it had but a little meat, and a great deal of labour to get it: and this is true of all doctrines, which have no profit in them. The Apostle therefore tells us, what is the true use of the Law, the end of the precept. Scultetus, who hath it out of Chrysostom, makes [Greek or Hebrew], not to be the law, but the ministry, or preaching; and so the Apostle useth the word, ver. 3. But grant it be so, yet they all agree, he speaks of the law strictly taken afterwards. The Apostle therefore, reproving these false teachers, that did turn bread into stones, and fish into serpents, the good law into unprofitableness, lest this should be thought to traduce the law, he addeth, We know (as if that were without question to all.) So that there is a position, The Law is good, and a supposition, If a man use it lawfully; with a correction, The Law is not made to the righteous. As Austin said, It was hard to speak for free-will, and not to deny free-grace; or free-grace, and not to deny free-will: so it's hard to give the Law its due, and not to seem to prejudice the Gospel; or the Gospel, and not to prejudice the Law: For, take but these two Verses, Videtur Apostolus ⟨p. 3⟩pugnantia dicere, saith Martyr: For, seeing none can use the Law well, but a righteous man, how then is not the Law given to him? But this knot shall be untied in its proper place.
The second part of injunction is higher then the former: Though they doe not teach other things, yet they must not spend their gifts in an uselesse way; as, to give heed to fables: This they apply to the Jewes, who had a world of fictions. It is true, we finde the Fathers, Gregory Nazianzen, and others, use sometimes a fable in their Orations, to denote some morall matter; but such the Jewes did not use. As they must not give heed to fables, so neither to endlesse genealogies. We see a good use made of genealogies in the Scriptures, but here is reproved the sinfull use of them; as those Grammarians among the Heathens, that spent their time about Hecuba's mother, or Achilles pedigree, and what it was that the Syren's sung: And these he calls endlesse, because vaine curiosity is more unruly then the waves of the sea; it hath no limiting, Hitherto shalt thou go, and no further. Now mark, the Apostle condemneth all these, because they doe not edifie. The shell-fish among the Jewes was accounted uncleane, because it had but a little meat, and a great deale of labour to get it: and this is true of all doctrines, which have no profit in them. The Apostle therefore tells us, what is the true use of the Law, the end of the precept. Scultetus, who hath it out of Chrysostome, makes 〈non-Latin alphabet〉, not to be the law, but the ministery, or preaching; and so the Apostle useth the word, ver. 3. But grant it be so, yet they all agree, he speaks of the law strictly taken afterwards. The Apostle therefore, reproving these false teachers, that did turne bread into stones, and fish into serpents, the good law into unprofitablenesse, lest this should be thought to traduce the law, he addeth, We know (as if that were without question to all.) So that there is a position, The Law is good, and a supposition, If a man use it lawfully; with a correction, The Law is not made to the righteous. As Austin said, It was hard to speake for free-will, and not to deny free-grace; or free-grace, and not to deny free-will: so it's hard to give the Law its due, and not to seem to prejudice the Gospel; or the Gospel, and not to prejudice the Law: For, take but these two Verses, Videtur Apostolus ⟨p. 3⟩pugnantia dicere, saith Martyr: For, seeing none can use the Law well, but a righteous man, how then is not the Law given to him? But this knot shall be untyed in its proper place.
