I HULSEAN LECTURES for 1823. ON THE APOSTOLICAL PREACHING AND VINDICATION OF THE GOSPEL TO THE 3jtto$, Samaritan*, # trefcout i&mtilt*, AS EXHIBITED IN THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, THE EPISTLES OF St. PETER, AND THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. By JAMES CLARKE FRANKS, M. A. CHAPLAIN OF TRINITY COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE; AND VICAR OF HUDDERSFIELD, YORKSHIRE. CAMBRIDGE: Printed by J. Smith, Printer to the University ; FOR C. & J. RIVINGTON, LONDON; AM) SOLD BY DEIGUTON & SONS, STEVENSON, AND THE OTHER BOOKSELLERS IN CAMBRIDGE; AND PARKEI?, OXFORD. 1 823 THEOLOGIi SIR JOHN RAMSDEN, Bart. OF BYRAM, IN THE COUNTY OF YORK. Sir, Being now about to close my official duties in this University, I cannot let this Volume issue from the press, until I have put upon record a thankful acknowledgment of my obli- gations to you for that Patronage, which could not have been anticipated by one previously unknown to you, but which has been extended to me in a manner so flattering and disinterested, as greatly to enhance the value of the benefit conferred. Being appointed by you to a ministerial charge so extensive and important, I must now leave this peaceful scene of literary exertion, not wholly without regret, yet with a pleasing recollection of the manifold advantages and blessings, which, for twelve years, I have here enjoyed. It is, however, no small satisfaction to me, that, through your kindness, I shall now remove to a station of high and honourable VI trust: to one. which will place me near my honoured Parents, at that period of their lives when this will he peculiarly gratifying to an onlv child: — near also to those native scenes, in which the friends and companions of early life still survive, and with which are ever associated some of the purest and happiest feelings of our nature. So precious to me has heen the boon you have bestowed. — I am sensible that I am called upon henceforward to prove to you the sin- cerity cf my gratitude, by the active and effectual discharge of all the varied duties of my office, as " a minister of Christ, and a steward of the mysteries of God," for the temporal and eternal welfare of the inhabitants of Hud- dersfield. I would say, therefore, in the words of our Ordination Service; " I will apply myself thereto, the Lord being my helper." I remain. Sir, With every sentiment of gratitude and respect. Your obliged and obedient servant. .JAMES C. FRANKS. Trinity College Dec. l*. 1823. rn Substance of certain CLAUSES in the WILL of the Rev. J. HULSE, m.a. dated July 21, 1777. He founds a Lectureship in the University of Cambridge. The Lecturer is to be a ' c Clergyman in the University of Cambridge, of the degree of Master of Arts, and under the age of forty years." He is to be elected annually, " on Christmas-day, or within seven days after, by the Vice-Chancellor for the time being, and by the Master of Trinity College, and the Master of Saint John's College, or any two of them." In case the Master of Trinity, or the Master of Saint John's be the Vice-Chancellor, the Greek Professor is to be the third Trustee. The duty of the said Lecturer is "to preach twenty Sermons in the whole year, that is to say, ten Sermons during the months of April, and May, and the two first weeks in June; and likewise ten Sermons during the months of September, and October, and during the two first weeks of November." The place of preaching, is to be "Saint Mary's Great Church in Cambridge:" and the time, " either on the Friday morning, or else on Sunday afternoon." The subject of the said Discourses is to be, "the Evidence for Revealed Religion; the truth and excellence of Christianity ; Prophecies and Miracles ; direct or col- lateral proofs of the Christian religion, especially the col- lateral arguments; the more difficult texts or obscure parts of the Holy Scriptures ;" or any one or more of these topics, at the discretion of the Preacher. The subject of the said Discourses is not to be " any particular sects or controversies amongst Christians themselves; except some VI II new and dangerous error, either of superstition, or enthu- siasm, as of Popery or Methodism, or the like, either in opinion or practice, shall prevail. And in all the said twenty Sermons, such practical observations shall be made, and such useful conclusions added, as may best instruct and edify mankind." "The said twenty Sermons are to be every year printed," at the Preacher's expence, " and a new Preacher elected, (except in the case of the extraordinary merit of the Preacher, when it may sometimes be thought proper to continue the same person for five or, at the most, for six years together, but for no longer term) nor shall he ever afterwards be again elected to the same duty. "An Abstract of the heads or material parts" of the WILL of the Rev. John Hulse, relative to the two Scholarships, founded by him in St. John's College, and by him directed to be added to the conclusion of the foregoing clauses, " so that such Clergyman, or persons, whom the same may concern, may know that there are such endowments, of which they may claim and take the benefit, under the regulations, and with the qualifications, therein mentioned." The Scholars are to be " Undergraduates of St. John's College, who shall be born in the county palatine of Chester." " Such Scholar is to be elected by the Master and a majority of the senior Fellows of the said College on Christmas-day, or in the first seven days after/' and candidates are to have the preference, in the order, and with the limitations specified in the following extracts. IX 1. "The son of any Clergyman, who shall at any time officiate as Curate to the Vicar of Sandbach; or next to him the son of any Vicar or Curate, who shall then live and officiate in the parish of Middlewich, as the proper Minister or Curate of Middlewich; or lastly of any Minister or Curate of the Chapel of \Y itton, or who shall reside and live in the town of Northwich or Witton, or the adjacent townships of Castle Northwich and Wilmington, and shall do the duty of the said Chapel as the proper Minister of Witton (all of them in the said county of Chester.)" 2. " And in default of such persons, then the son of any other Clergyman, who (that is which son) shall be born in either of the said parishes of Sandbach or Middle- wich, or in the said Chapelry of Middlewich, shall have the preference. And if none shall be admitted, then the son of any other Clergyman shall be preferred, who (that is which son) shall be born in the said county of Chester, and next in any of the four following counties of Stafford, Salop, Derby, or Lancaster; or lastly, elsewhere in any other county or part of England, provided that it shall appear that the Clergyman who is father to such Scholar is not, if living, or, if dead, was not at the time of his death possessed of any spiritual pre- ferment of more than one hundred and forty pounds a year, clear income ; or whose income in every respect shall not exceed the clear yearly value of two hundred pounds in the whole/' " But if no son of any Clergyman, so entitled as aforesaid, shall be elected into such Scholarship, the same shall be given to the son of some lay person, whose clear yearly income does not, if living, and, if dead, did not at the time of his death amount to more than two hundred pounds; and such son being born in the counties of Chester, Stafford, Salop, Derby, and Lancaster, the counties in that order having a preference; or lastly, elsewhere in England/' " And such Scholar, whether the son of a Clergyman, or Layman, to be elected in manner aforesaid, shall continue to enjoy this my benefaction until he shall take., or be of standing to take his first degree of Bachelor of Arts, unless some other person, being the son of some of the officiating ministers at some of the Churches or Chapels before mentioned, and otherwise qualified as aforesaid, and which qualification, had he been a member of the said College at the time the party in possession of the Scholarship had been elected, would have been entitled to the preference, shall be admitted a member of the said College; in which case the Scholar, who shall then be in possession, shall only hold the same for that year; and the other, with a prior right, shall be elected to the same the year following. And I do appoint the Master and senior Fellows of St. John's College Trustees for the said Scholarships." PREFACE. The following work being a continuation of a former course of Lectures, delivered and pub- lished in the year 1821, — and the principle, upon which the Author has treated the subject, having been explained in the Preface, and in the second Lecture of his former Volume, — it is unnecessary to repeat the explanation there offered. He then considered "the Evidences of Christianity as stated and enforced in the dis- courses of our Lord himself." He has proceeded to consider the same subject, as it was propounded by our Lord's Apostles, from the time at which they began their labours, down to the period at which they entered on a new and wholly different field of labour, viz. the instruction of the idolatrous Gentiles. Had not the Author been called to undertake the charge of a large and populous Parish, it might have been his endeavour, if " continued" in office, to illustrate the method pursued by the Apostles in their preaching to the idolatrous Gentiles : and to have reviewed Xll PREFACE. the controversies which originated in the con- version of the Gentiles. And hence he would have heen led to examine the Epistles to the Romans, Galatians, and Ephesians, as the sub- ject of the present Volume has led to the notice of the Epistles of St. Peter, and of that to the Hebrews. One or more courses, in continuation of the present, would have included the examination of some of the most important and interesting por- tions of the New Testament; and the entire series would have led to the developement of the plan and scope of the Christian Scriptures, — of those parts, at least, which unfold to us the Gospel system. At what time, and in what form, the Author may pursue his investigations, may now be uncertain. He does not entirely abandon the idea; but the difficulty and importance of what still remains untouched, will rather cause him to rejoice that he will not be obliged to prepare, in so hurried a manner, what he may, at some future time, offer in addition. The last remark suggests another. The Lec- turer for the present year is anxious to add his testimony to that of his predecessor, respecting PREFACE. Xlll the excessive and exhausting labour required by the office. He undertook it voluntarily on a former occasion, and was willing to attribute the hurry and difficulty, which he then felt, to the peculiar circumstances under which he performed its duties. A second time he has voluntarily undertaken it, but he has not found that the entire year has sufficed to enable him to pre- pare, with comfort and satisfaction, what he now is compelled to publish. The preparation of twenty Sermons of such a nature merely for deli- very, is too much, and is not required by any similar institution. The Boyle and Bampton Lec- tures require only eight; the Lady Mover's Lecture, which has now ceased, required the same number. That founded by Lady Donellan in the University of Dublin, at a more recent period, also requires eight annually. The Warburtonian Lecture im- poses only four; and the Lecturers under that institution, and under those of Mr. Boyle and Lady Donellan, have generally published the Lectures of three years in the same Volume ; thus having time to reconsider, revise, and, if need be, to subjoin notes and illustrations. What completes the distressing destiny of the Hulsean Lecturer, is the circumstance that his twenty Sermons must not only be preached within a certain prescribed \1V PRE FATE. . t time, but actually printed within about six weeks of the termination of his course. Hence his atten- tion, towards the close of the year, is distracted by preparation of Lectures for the Pulpit, revision of others for the press, and the correction of his proof sheets. If this foundation of Mr. Hulse is to be acted upon in such a manner, as to comply with the spirit of its requisitions,— if the purposes which the Founder had in view are to be accomplished,— if the individual who holds the office is to have that comfort in the discharge of its duties which alone (in ordinary cases) can enable him to satisfy the expectations of the University, and of the public, — the letter of the requisitions must be modified, whether that be accomplished by au- thority, or the tacit acquiescence of those concerned. These remarks are made from painful experience of the arduous, and almost impracticable, nature of its duties. But at the same time let it be added, that as the metropolis has two institutions of this kind, and one also exists in each of the sister Universities, this University ought not to suffer such an institution to expire, or be dor- mant, if it can be maintained with any prospect of advantage. Some of our most valuable Theolo- gical works have been produced by similar insti- tutions; nor is there any reason to believe that PREFACE. XV such will not be the effect of that now established among ourselves. But although the necessity for exertion often acts as a motive to vigorous per- severance, it may be so imperious as to perplex, discourage, and unnerve. The Lecturer would beg the reader's forbear- ance because of the earnestness and freedom of these remarks. He would also apologize for the manner in which the subject of this Volume is treated. He laments that it has been treated in a manner rather explanatory than practical. But it is now too late to amend the error. He is anxious, however, that the blame should attach to himself, and not to the institution of Mr. Hulse. Although an idea prevails that the Lecturer is almost obliged to occupy himself in dry and unedi- fying investigations, — the intentions of Mr. Hulse are manifest from his Will. He suggests, indeed, that ten Sermons should be preached on the Evidences; yet his explanation subjoined seems to leave the Lecturer at perfect liberty, either to discuss the Evidences of Christianity, or such of "the more difficult texts or obscure parts of Holy Scripture, as may appear more generally useful, or necessary to be explained." — "And in all the said twenty Sermons, such practical obser- XVI PREFACE. ■cations shall be made, and such practical con- clusions added, as may best instruct, and edify mankind." In retiring from the office, the present Lec- turer would devoutly re-echo the pious aspiration of the Founder. — "May the divine blessing for ever go along with all his benefactions ! And may the Greatest and Best of Beings, by his all-wise Providence, and gracious influence, make the same effectual to his own glory, and the good of our fellow-creatures !" CONTENTS Lecture I. The extent and progressive attainment of those qualifica- tions for their subsequent labours, which the Apostles of our Lord acquired in the interval between his Resur- rection and Ascension. Acts i. 8, Q. Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you ; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these words, while they beheld, he was taken up; and a cloud received him out of their sight p. 1 , Lecture II. The nature, design, and reality of the Gift of Tongues, first communicated on the day of Pentecost. Acts ii. 4. They were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance p. 20. Lecture III. The Discourse of St. Peter on the day of Pentecost. Acts ii. 16, 17- But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh, ... . p. 56. ■ b xviii CONTENTS. Lecture IV. The Gifts of Healing exercised by the Apostles.— The Cure of the Lame Man, and St. Peter's Discourse on that occasion. Acts hi. 12 — l6. When Peter saw it, he answered unto the people, Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at this ? or why look ye so earnest li/ on us, as though by our own power or holiness we had made this man to walk? The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers hath glorified his son Jesus, whom ye delivered up — and killed the Prince of Life, whoyn God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. And his name, through faith in his name, hath made this man strong whom ye see and know p. 78. Lecture V. The commencement of Persecution. Inferences sug- gested by the conduct and testimony of the Apostles under such circumstances. Acts v. 41, 42. And they departed from the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for his name. And daily in the temple, and in every house, they ceased not to teach, and preach Jesus Christ p. 100. Lecture VI. The opening of the controversy between Christians and Jews. The Apprehension., Defence, and Death of Stephen. Acts vii. 51 — 53. Ye stiffnecked, and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost; as your fathers did so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers per- i'tuted ? And they have shun them which shewed before of the CONTENTS XIX coming of the Just One, of whom ye have novo been the betrayers and murderers : who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it p. 120. Lecture VII. The occasion and method of the Conversion of the Sama- ritans — their participation of the Gifts of the Holy Ghost. Acts viii. 14, 15. Now when the Apostles which were at Jeru- salem heard that Samaria had received the word of God^ they sent unto them Peter and John: who, when they were come down, prayed for them, that they might receive the Holy Ghost p. 141. Lecture VIII. The Gospel preached to the devout Gentiles. — In what manner, and for what reasons, St. Peter and Cornelius were prepared for such a proceeding. Acts xi. 17, 18. Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, what was I, that I could withstand God? When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life p. 162. Lecture IX. St. Peter's remarks, in his Epistles, on the confirma- tion of the Apostolic Testimony by the Prophetic Word; and on the Use, Design, and Interpretation of Prophecy. 2 Pet. i. 16 — 20. We have not followed cunningly devised fables, when we made known unto you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eye-witnesses of his majesty. XX CONTENTS. For he received from God the Father honour and glory, when there came such a voice to him from the excellent glory, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased. And this voice, which came from heaven, we heard, when we were with him in the holy mount. We have also a more sure word of prophecy ; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day-star arise in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation p. 183. Lecture X. The Conversion of St. Paul; and his earliest preaching- addressed to the Jews, previously to his Mission to the idolatrous Gentiles. Acts xiii. 46. Then Paul and Barnabas waxed bold, and said, It was necessary that the word of God should first have been spoke?i to you; but seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, lo, we turn to the Gentiles p. 226. Lecture XI. The general Subject and Occasion of the Epistle to the Hebrews. — The Introduction noticed. Heb. i. 1 — 4. God, who at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake in times past unto the Fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the xvorlds ; -alio being the brightness of his Father's glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high: being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excel- hi nit me than they p. 248 > CONTENTS. xxi Lecture XII. The true Interpretation of the second Chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews. The Humanity of Christ not inconsistent with his Divinity. Reasons of his Incarnation. Heb. ii. 8, 9) 10. But now we see not yet all things put under him. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the Angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man. Tor it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings .... p. 267- Lecture XIII. Christ Jesus the Apostle of our profession, superior to Moses. — Practical application of that consideration. Heb. hi. 5, 6. Moses verily was faithful in all his house, as a servant, for a testimony of those things which were to be spoken after ; but Christ as a Son over his own house ; whose house are we, if we holdfast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end p. 284. Lecture XIV. The Office and Qualifications of a High-priest. — The possession of these by the High-priest of our pro- fession. — Practical digression. Heb. iv. 14. Seeing then that we have a great High-priest , that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession p. 305. Lecture XV. The Order, Dignity, and Efficacy of the Priesthood of Christ, deduced from a comparison with that of Melchisedec. XXU CONTENTS. Heb. vi. 20. Jesus, made an High-priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec p. 322. Lecture XVI. In what Sanctuary, and under what Covenant Christ ministers as a Priest; and what are the Method and Effects of his Ministration. Heb. viii. i, 2, 6, 7. Of the things which we have spoken this is the sum : We have such an High-priest, who is set on the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in the heavens; a minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man. — Now hath he obtained a more excellent ministry, by how much also he is the mediator of a better covenant, which was established upon better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, then should no place have been sought for the second p. 339* Lecture XVII. The Sacrifice which Christ offered as our High-priest. Heb. ix. 15. For this cause he is the mediator of the New Tes- tament {Covenant'), that by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions that were under the first Testament (Cove- nant), they which are called might receive the promise of eternal inheritance ^ p. 362. Lecture XVIII. The Nature, Operations, and Benefits of Faith, under the Old Testament dispensation. — Its objects enlarged under the Gospel. — Appropriate exhortation. Heb. xi. 39, 40; xn. 1, 2. And these all, having obtained a good report through faith, received not the promise: God having provided some better thing for us, that they without CONTENTS. xxiii us should not be made 'perfect. Wherefore, seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the* sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith p. 585. Lecture XIX. The mildness and privileges of the Gospel dispensation; the responsibility which it involves ; and its unalterable establishment. — Attention to the Gospel urged. Heb. xii. 25. See that ye refuse not him that speaketh. . .p. 409. Lecture XX. The concluding Prayer of the Apostle in behalf of the Hebrew Converts. Heb. xiii. 20, 21. Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting Covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well-pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ ; to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen p. 439. LECTURE I. THE EXTENT AND PROGRESSIVE ATTAINMENT OF THOSE QUALIFICATIONS FOR THEIR SUBSEQUENT LABOURS, WHICH THE APOSTLES OF OUR LORD ACQUIRED IN THE INTERVAL BETWEEN HIS RESURRECTION AND ASCENSION. Acts I. 8, 9. Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you ; and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. And when he had spoken these words, while they beheld, he was taken up ; and a cloud received him out of their sight. When our Lord Jesus announced the approach of those rr days of vengeance/' in which the pre- dictions of the ancient prophets, and his own, were fulfilled by the destruction of Jerusalem, and the extinction of the Jewish nation, he illus- trated the awful suddenness of that calamitous season by a reference to similar visitations in former ages. The ungodly, who lived in the days of Noah and of Lot, continued incredulous, and insensible to every intimation of the coming wrath, until awakened by a woful experience of its presence and reality. "They eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they A 2 Lecture I. builded," living- in security, while they persevered in irreclaimable apostacy, when the day of irre- trievable ruin overtook them. ci Even thus," added our Lord, " shall it be in the day when the Son of Man is revealed." But the longsuffering of God again waited long with the men of that generation. The blow was suspended, that they might, if possible, be led to repentance by the previous offers and de- monstrations of his mercy. Yet even of these they had as little prior expectation, as they had of the terrors which encompassed them in " the days of vengeance." The Baptist had perished in Galilee, and Jesus, who reiterated the same exhortations and warnings, at Jerusalem. And then the multitudes, who had seen the miracles of Jesus, who had heard his instructions, and followed him so eagerly, relapsed into their for- mer careless tranquillity. Their rulers bribed the soldiers^ who had watched the sealed tomb of the newly risen Jesus, and persuaded them to account for the absence of the body, by stating that his disciples had taken it away by night. Yet neither, on the one hand, were the soldiers, who had been stationed to watch, punished for sleeping, as their report stated, on so important a post ; nor, on the other, were the disciples, who were so well known, and were so frequently in Jerusalem, called to answer for the assault and Lecture I. 3 theft attributed to them. The matter was hushed up, and several weeks passed in perfect quiet : the very recollection of these things was begin- ning to fade away, and the rulers seemed to have reason to congratulate themselves on the success of their iniquitous measures. But the day of Pentecost drew near. And far were the people or their rulers from anticipating, that the same God, who had before overruled their politic deter- mination not to put Jesus to death at the Paschal feast, would select the ensuing feast of Pente- cost, when the devout professors of Judaism were again assembled, for the exhibition of new and signal miracles, for the assertion of facts which they could not deny, and for the dissemination of principles, which they were unable to refute, and yet unwilling to admit. To that day, and to the part which the Apostles took in its momentous transactions, our Lord referred in the words of our text. With those words he took leave of his disciples, after having been seen by them, though not constantly, yet at frequent intervals, during a period of forty days, giving them " infallible proofs" of his re- surrection from the dead, and " speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." Events had occurred, the prediction of which had filled the disciples with sorrow and perplexity, but in which, when accomplished, they could both acquiesce and rejoice. Now, therefore, they A 2 4 Lecture I. were able to bear those more enlarged instruc- tions, the communication of which had been pre- viously withheld, because the obstacles to their right comprehension of them had not before been removed. Only by a gradually progressive con- viction did they attain the joy of no longer doubting his resurrection. And in the same pro- gressive manner they were thenceforward led into the knowledge of all those truths, which afterwards they confidently believed, and diligently proclaimed. Such a remark naturally suggests the inquiry ; at what time the Apostles were qualified to dis- charge the commission entrusted to them, and by what successive steps they attained the requisite qualifications. And as this inquiry will form an appropriate, if not a necessary introduction to the subject, which, at the close of this Lecture, will be proposed for our consideration in future Lectures, it will be our endeavour I. To shew that, before the day of Pentecost, the Apostles had attained that knowledge of the nature and design of the Gospel, which qualified them for their earliest labours. II. To ascertain the successive steps by which they advanced in knowledge, during the period which intervened between the resurrection and ascension of their Master. III. To offer some remarks respecting the ascension of Jesus, with reference to the influ- Lecture I. 5 ence which it had on their views, and also as to the certainty of the event itself. I. With regard to the first of these topics it may be asked, " Were not the Apostles to be led into all truth" by the Holy Spirit, and was not the day of Pentecost the time at which they were " filled with the Holy Spirit? In answer to the former part of this query, we readily grant that the Holy Spirit was pro- mised as their permanent instructor; and that his office would be, to bring to their remembrance all that Jesus had taught them, and also to lead them into the knowledge of all truth. But the latter part of this office was not fully executed even on the day of Pentecost. Some years after- wards, a special revelation was necessary in order to prepare the mind of St. Peter to attempt the conversion of devout Gentiles resident in Judea. And his brother Apostles objected to the propriety of his conduct, until they heard from his own mouth that the arrival of the messengers from Cornelius was preceded by a remarkable vision, that he then was expressly directed by the Spirit to accompany them, and that his Gentile hearers, immediately after his preaching the Gospel to them, received spiritual gifts of the same kind as had been previously given to themselves 3 . a Acts x. 6 Lecture I. Another communication was made by the Holy Spirit in order to effect the general conversion of the idolatrous Gentiles, by the separation of Paul and Barnabas as Apostles of the uncircumcision a . And again, when the success of the Gospel a- mong the Gentiles gave occasion to the question, whether they were exempt from the civil and ritual obligations of the Mosaic law, the Apostles came together to consider of that question : and it was not until after that solemn deliberation that they prefaced their joint decision with the declaration, (t It seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us 1 "." — St. Paul also speaks of the universal and unrestricted call of the Gentiles, as a dis- pensation, of which the propriety "was not in other ages made known to the sons of men, as it had then been revealed to the Apostles and Pro- phets" cf the Christian Church