-«►« I , PRINCETON, N. J. -A \ i>.ivt .if tlip 9 Part of the i ADDISON ALKXANDER LIBUARY, ^ fj\ which was presented by (| \ ' MK.SKS. R. I- AND A. Stuart. J ^ Division. S ^, . Division (31 f) ^*''^'^' I ^; Af/^f^V'. ^®^ V I Booh', No,... 1. .g. MlV acG{:.c^ /ci /a ...... Sect. VIII. The Gospel is at length communicated to the idolatrous Gentiles by Barnabas and Paul . Sect. IX. The Council of the Apostles and Elders, which determines that the Mosaic Law is not binding upon the believing Gentiles Sect. X. St. Paul's Second Missionary Journey The Pauline Epistles. The Epistles to the Thessalonians St. Paul at Athens The Epistle to the Galatians St. Paul at Corinth The Epistle to Titus The First Epistle to Timothy . Sect. XI. St. Paul's Third Missionary Journey The First Epistle to the Corinthians St. Paul at Ejihcsus The Second Epistle to the Corinthians . Page 1 II 39 52 74 80 83 101 108 167 168 177 185 188 191 199 206 224 227 CONTENTS. The Episilo to the Romans . St. Paul's Address to the Elders ol Ephesus at Miletus St. Paul's arrest at Jerusalem, his ai.pcal to Caesar, and his voyage to Rome The Epistle to the Ephesians The Epistle to the Colossians and to Philemon The Epistle to the Philippians . The Epistle to the Hebrews St. Paul writes the Second Epistle to Timothy from his ])rison in Rome . • • " The Catholic Epistles. The Epistle of St. James The First Epistle of St. Peter . The Second Epistle of St. Peter The Epistle of J ude The First Epistle of St. John . The Second Epistle of St. John The Third Epistle of St. John TJje Epistles to the Seven Churches of the Apocalypse The Conclusion . • • ' 233 251 256 273 287, 296 300 310 325 343 355 364 370 375 383 384 386 393 INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. The Gospels, to use the language of Chrjsostom, are the history of what Christ said and did ; the Acts, of what was said and. done by the other Advocate. The first record the ministry of Him who is the Author and Finisher of our faith ; the second, the building by his Apostles of his Church upon the sure and precious foundation of Him, crucified for our sins, and raised again for our justification. This Book contains the only authentic narrative of the promised descent of the Holy Spirit, and of its operations both on and with his first followers ; on them, by endowing them with undaunted re- solution ; and with them, by making them mighty to cast down the strongholds of Satan, and to bring the hearts both of bigotted Jews and of ignorant and vicious heathen into captivity to the obedience of Christ. We read herein how they carried out their commission; and the evidence for the fundamental fact of the Resurrection, with which the Gospels close, is here corroborated by the testimony of those to whom our Lord shewed himself alive after his passion, and by the working of the Spirit with that testimony to the conversion of thousands, according" to his prediction, " If I be raised up, I shall draw all men unto me." The religion which in the Gospels is a minute mustard seed, rapidly springs up in the Acts, and promises to fulfil the prediction, which future ages have witnessed, of its becoming a great tree of life, with leaves for the healing of the nations. Only fifty days after ^ INTKOUUCTOIIY OBSERVATIONS. the crucifixion of Jesus, and under the eyes of those who had crucified him, his Apostles boldly declared his resur- rection and exaltation to the right hand of God, and charged them with killing the Prince of life. They were neither learned nor eloquent, they had no influence, they had all the wisdom as well as the folly, the learning as well as the ignorance, the piety as well as the atheism of the world to encounter, and the power whicli its rulers might at any time be inclined to exercise in behalf of any of these interests. Their weapons were facts which they had themselves wit- nessed, and which they confirmed from the Scriptures to the Jews, and by appeals to the consciences of all, by occasional miracles, by holy and beneficent lives, by fervent prayer and patient suffering, even to imprisonment and death ; which they not only endured, but rejoiced in for their Master's sake. Attended by a divine power, manifested both in undeniable miracles, and in inwardly preparing men's hearts to receive the truth, they had such astonishing success, that thousands not only of Jews and proselytes, but even of licentious idol- aters, in spite of ridicule and at the risk of life, declared their conviction of the truth of their doctrine, and adorned their profession by pure and moral lives. Now if this ac- count be true, the Gospel must have a divine origin ; it was written by one who was acquainted with the principal actors, and was present at many of the transactions which he relates. His impartiality entitles him to credit, and the acquiescence in his narrative of tliose who niiglit, if able, have confuted it, establishes his veracity ; for the events which he records did not take place in a corner, as Paul observed before King Agrippa and the Roman governor of Judaea, but in the principal and most enlightened cities of the empire; while neither Jewish scribe nor Gentile statesman or philosopher contradicted it. The silence of opponents j^roves that they could not deny the facts, though they refused to admit the conclusions justly drawn from them. The Churches also, the INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. S planting- of which it narrates, would never have acknow- ledged a book, the contents of which they did not know to be true. The authenticity of the Acts appears, from the references to it by both Greek and Latin Fathers. One of the earliest of the former, Irena?us, (iii. 14,) gives from it a sketch of St. Paul's travels ; and Origen wrote Commentaries on it, and ascribed it to Luke, A. D. 230 : while in the West, Tertul- lian, A.D. 200, speaks of it as confirming the Epistles, and the reality of that Apostle's conversion. In a later age, there are Homilies on this as well as on other books of Scripture, by Chrysostom, who tells us, that it was an ancient custom to read it out in the churches between Easter and Whitsuntide. I have noticed in the Introduction to the Diatessaron, the testimony of the apocryphal to the truth of the genuine Gospels. It may be observed, that if this book had not been previously circulated, such an imitation of it as the Acts of Paul and Thecla would never have been written. In this forgery, Onesimus and Titus are introduced as Paul's friends ; Demas, Hermogenes, and Alexander the copper- smith, as pretended adherents and real opponents ; and in one section they are brought in saying, that they will shew that the Resurrection, which he declares to be future, is passed already a. It is observable, that the authenticity of the Acts is never denied even by the few heretics who reject its authority. '^ This work, which is extant in a Latin translation as well as in Greek, was published by Dr. Grabe, in his Spiei]egiura,from a MS. in the Bodleian, and may be read in English in Jones's Canon of the New Testament, vol. ii. Its date is unknown, but it must be earlier than Tertullian ; for in his tract on Baptism he writes, if they think fit to make use of works falsely ascribed to Paul, to support the right of women to teach and baptize, let them know, that the presbyter who composed these Acts, as if he had been able to increase Paul's fame, having confessed that he did it out of love to him, was deposed. b2 ^ INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. The work is professedly a continuation of Luke's Gospel, and is like that dedicated to one Theophilus ; but as it is de- signed to be independent and complete in itself, the dedication is repeated, audit begins, as the former treatise ended, with our Lord's Ascension. Luke never names himself; but from the change of the pronoun from t//ey to we, it appears that he joined Paul at Troas, (chap, xvi.) on his first voyage to Europe. Another change implies, that he was not with him at Athens ; and a third, that he joined him again at Troas, to leave him no more. The narrative ends abruptly with leave given to Paul to reside under the guard of a soldier in his own hired lodging, and therefore it was probably finished before his liberation. The date may therefore be assumed to be about thirty years after the Crucifixion. The title, Acts of the Holy Apostles, was hardly given to it by the author, for with respect to most of them it is silent. Even Peter and John, the prominent characters in the beginning, are soon succeeded by Paul, and the greater part is appro- priated to a narrative of his missionary travels. It could not however have been designed as his biography, for many interesting particulars, which must have been known to Luke, are entirely passed over. He is introduced abruptly ; and we only learn that In? was born at Tarsus, and educated in Jerusalem under Gamaliel. The interval between his con- version and his appearance is a blank. There are no allusions to his Epistles, nor to the disjjutes in the Churches which he planted ; and only a few of his sufferings in his Master's cause are recorded. Paul himself, when compelled by the schismatical Corinthians (2 Cor. xi. 24, 25.) to boast, enu- merates five scourgings by the Jews, three beatings with rods by the Romans, three shipwrecks previous to that off Melite, and a night passed in the deep — it should seem on some plank which preserved his life. And he tells the Romans, {xvi. 3, 4.) that Aquila and Priscilla had saved him at the risk of their own necks. Luke is content with a specimen. INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. 5 He relates one scourging, that at Philippi, (chap, xvi.) ; of his many visions, only the one which converted him, (chap, ix.), afterwards narrated by himself, (xxii.); one shipv^^reck, that on his voyage to Rome; he gives us only one of his many synagogue speeches, (c. xiii.) ; one address to a Pagan mob, (c. xiv.) ; one to philosophers at Athens, (c. xvii.) ; one farewell address to his converts, (c. xx.) that at Miletus; and one defence before a Roman governor, Felix, though he made another before Festus : for that before Agrippa, from the peculiarity of his being a Jew, is a reasonable ex- ception. His " perils of waters, his perils of robbers, his perils by the heathen, and his perils among false brethren," are altogether omitted. This great Apostle then, as Eich- horn remarks, is not the pole round which the narrative revolves ; and he, and Dr. Benson long before him, seem to be right in supposing that Luke's design was to give a con- cise statement of the mode of preaching Christianity adopted by the Apostles, and of their success. Accordingly, after an account of their commission by our Lord, and of the ef- fusion of the Holy Spirit to qualify them for their office, he commences with the conversion of the Jews ; this is followed by that of the Samaritans ; and next, by that of the devout Gentiles, or proselytes of the gate ; and finally, by that of the idolatrous Gentiles. In the two first divisions, Peter is the principal character ; in the last, Paul. The book may be divided into two parts ; in the first twelve chapters, Jerusalem is the centre from which all events proceed ; in the re- mainder, Antioch, from which Paul was sent forth on his missions. The Acts are chronologically arranged, and yet no dates are given. It does not suit my design to discuss the merits of the several schemes proposed; I will merely observe, that the two most interesting events, the Conversion of Paul, and the Council of Jerusalem, are the most difficult to deter- mine; the date assigned to the former varying from A.D. 33 6 INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. to 40, that to the latter from A.D. 49 to 52. Profane history supplies us with the following facts, to guide chrono- logists in their investigations. The deposition of Pilate, A.D. 35, who had probably- acquiesced in Stephen's martyrdom. The embassy of the Jews to Caius Caligula, deprecating the erection of his statue at Jerusalem, which took place in A.D. 40, not long before his assassination, when Claudius succeeded, and appointed his friend Herod Agrippa, King of Juda3a, with all the dominions of his grandfather Herod the Great. He died A.D. 44, and this synchronizes with the famine and the relief sent by the brethren of Antioch to those of Jerusalem, and with the death of James the brother of John. Felix was appointed Procurator in A.D. 52, and Paul was imprisoned by him in 59 or 60, two years before the ex- piration of his government. Paul was sent to Rome a little before the equinox of 61, and reached Rome early in 62. The year 65, the commencement of the Jewish rebellion, which ended in the destruction of the city and temple, 70, appears also to have been the date of the martyrdom of both Paul and Peter. We have no narrative to compare with the Acts, as we have four Gospels to illustrate one another ; but we have the contemporary authority of Paul himself, in the Epistles which he wrote to several of the Churches, the formation of which the Book relates ; and commentators of course have seen from the first, that the one throws light upon the other. It was reserved, however, for Dr. Paley, in our own times, to shew from latent coincidences between tlie narrative in the one, and the allusion to them in the other, which had escaped not only ordinary readers, but the niost eminent commenta- tors, that these mutually attest the truth of the facts as independent vouchers. The Horac Paulinjjc, like all his INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. 7 writings^ from his omission of reference to preceding authors, has the air of originality ; but as the striking opening of his Natural Theology is borrowed from Nieuentyt's Religious Philosopher, so in this work he was probably indebted to Biscoe, who had shewn how the truth of the Acts is confirmed by the Epistles. He thus states his argument. By assuming the genuine- ness of the letters, we may prove the substantial truth of the history; or by assuming the truth of the history, we may argue strongly in support of the genuineness of the letters. But I assume neither. The reader is at liberty to suppose these writings to have come to our hands destitute of any extrinsic or collateral evidence whatever. He then guards against three suppositions; 1. the compiling of the history from the letters; 2. the fabrication of the letters out of the history; and, 3. the founding of both upon any common authority. He concludes, that undesignedness is the charac- teristic of truth; and that the more numerous the inter- mediate steps through which the conclusion is deduced, in a word, the more circuitous the investigation, the better, because the argument which finally results is thereby further removed from the suspicion of contrivance or design. The work has been all but universally admired, and is considered by many as the one on which the author's fame will prin- cipally rest. It has found, however, a formidable opponent in Dr. Hales ^, whose objections I think it proper to lay before the reader. He allows that Dr. Paley has traced out many curious instances of remote resemblance and latent coincidence, which have escaped even the best commentators; but he considers his hypothesis as rather specious than solid, because Luke attended the Apostle during the period in which most of the Epistles were written. Paul, he observes, probably kept copies, and Luke would have been unpardon- able to have neglected these most valuable documents for ^ New Analysis of Chronology, iii. p. 445. 8 INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. his history, a history which the Apostle had probably com- missioned him to write. The conclusion is, that he would consult them, and borrow from them what best suited his plan, as an original historian acquainted with the subject, and having Paul himself to refer to if lie required it. As, he continues, the copying from Matthew's Gospel, with vari- ations by Mark and Luke, does not detract from their authority, Luke's knowledge of the Epistles will not lessen the credibility of the Acts. And indeed, when we consider that Luke accompanied Paul to Rome, and must have known those to whom his letters were sent, and listened to discourses on the subjects on which they treat, we can hardly have supposed that he would have abstained from a perusal which could not have failed to have been edifying to himself. His knowledge of them may even explain his silence, when otherwise we might have expected information from him; and we may conceive that he might assume that these letters would be read as now, not only by the congre- gations to which they were addressed, but by all the brethren. It is remarkable that no early attempt was made by opponents to call in question any of the fcxcts contained in this brief sketch of the progress of Christianity. Unless then we receive it, we must believe that no true record of the first propagation of the faith has been preserved, and a falsg document has been substituted, and that so dexterously forged, as to harmonise with all tradition, sacred and pro- fane, and the extant Epistles of the Apostles; and yet this document, notwithstanding all this skill, is at the same time deficient in many of the arguments in favour of this new religion, which a forger would scarcely have omitted. To the truth of the leading facts, we have the attestation of Christian writers occasionally supported, and never con- tradicted by heathens ; and if we admit the trutii of the narrative, the reality of the miracles follows as a necessary INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. 9 consequence. In Livy and other heathen historians it is easy to detach the marvellous from the ordinary course of events; but in the Acts, miracles and speeches and deeds are inseparably connected, so that both must stand or fall together. Without supernatural aid, the Apostles would never have undertaken to convert the world, nor succeeded in their undertaking. The internal evidence is most decisive, both as to style and matter. In language, and manner of composition, it remarkably resembles the Gospel of the same author, which diifers from the other three precisely as might be expected, from what we can collect of the habits of Luke. It has none of the elaborate arrangement of a forgery ; it is not a panegyrical biography of any of the Apostles; there is no oratorical display of their sufferings or of their success, nor is it a complete development of the religion they proclaimed. It opens without pretension, and passes from Peter and John to Paul, till he becomes the central and almost exclusive object. Its end is abrupt, and it is difficult to ascertain its precise object, for it omits many important facts, such as the foundation of the Churches of Edessa, Alexandria, Antioch, and even of Rome, though Christianity had been established in the first long before it was adopted by Constantine ; though the second was the great school of Theology; the third, the centre of Missions to the heathen; and the fourth, the most interesting as the capital of the empire, and the mother of all the Western Churches. He omits also many parti- culars in the life of St. Paul himself, upon whose actions he principally enlarges; and it is only incidentally that we dis- cover that he was frequently his fellow traveller. Indeed, he preserves a modest silence respecting himself, though as attending that great Apostle he must have cooperated in his labours, and shared his perils. The Acts take a wider range than the Gospels. Such a work, therefore, w^ouldhave been a more difficult undertaking 10 INTRODUCTORY OBSERVATIONS. for an impostor. It brings us to cities of celebrity, and in- troduces us to historical authorities, as Gallio, Felix, Festus, and Agrippa, whose characters have been sketched by heathen authors; and to Gamaliel and Ananias, concerning whom we have rabbinical traditions. Scarcely any forgery has been attempted, however ingenious, in which some mistake of fact or manners has not been detected ; and therefore, Jortin observes, if a forger has tolerable sense, he will avoid minute details, in which he must perpetually expose his ignorance or dishonesty. Yet the Acts abound in allusions to Jewish, Grecian, and Roman customs, some of which, unnoticed by any extant classical authors, have even been substantiated by coins and inscriptions. And in some cases, what remained for centuries an apparent dis- crepancy, has been of late years shewn to be correct in a manner as curious <= as satisfactory. ••• See in Michaelis's Introduction to the New Testament, an ingenious explanation of St. Paul's ignorance of the person of the High Priest. The title of Proconsul (a;'6u7raTos), given to his convert Sergius Paulus, by Luke, (Acts xiii. 7.) is a case in point. Augustus divideil the provinces between himself and the Senate ; the Governors of the former were called Legates, those of the latter retained the ancient republican title of Proconsul, with the superior dignity of being attended by Lictors. Luke's accuracy has been called in question on the authority of a later historian, Dion Cassius; but a coin has been since discovered, giving the disputed title to the successor of Sergius in the government of Cyprus. Other examples are the title of Neocori {ufuKSpos"), claimed for the Ephesians by their town clerk, confirmed by a succession of coins. The altar at Athens to the Un- known (iod, mentioned in Diogenes Laertius, and the author of Pbilopatris, and Philippi, called a Roman colony, not airoiKla, but koawvIu. LECTURES ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. SECTION I. THE GOSPEL IS PREACHED TO THE JEWS. The Resurrection had declared Jesus to his Apostles to be the Son of God with power, and satisfied them that he had made atonement for sin by his voluntary sacrifice of himself upon the Cross, in the nature which he had assumed for that purpose, in order that his holy Father might be just, as well as merciful, in justifying the believer in him. A transient view, however, of their risen Lord would not have sufficed to convince their judgment, and to remove their prejudices ; He therefore graciously condescended to shew himself to them, from time to time, during a period of forty days after his passion, giving them infallible proofs that he was alive, and speaking to them sufficiently of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God. The period then was come for him to reassume the glory which he had had with the Father before the world was, and to send to them that second Advocate, who was to remain, though invisible, for ever with his people. He accordingly, for the last time, assembled them together, and led them out to the Mount of Olives as far as Bethany. They would have felt themselves 12 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. more secure in their own country Galilee, than in the midst of their enemies ; but he had commanded them to continue at Jerusalem, and wait there for the promised baptism of the Holy Spirit, which the Baptist had, to mark its efficacy, contrasted with his own of water, by designating it as that of fire. They must have perceived, that their Lord had some most important object in view ; and seem to have indulged the hope, that he was now about to seat himself on the throne of his father David, and to break the yoke of imperial Rome. Their feelings vent themselves in the enquiry. Wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? He does not deny this sovereignty, or declare that they had misconceived its nature and its locality; but he waives a direct reply, knowing that the event would soon answer their question in the negative, and discourages them from the vain desire of penetrating the secret things of God. It is not for you to know the times and the seasons tohich the Father hath put in his oiim power, and which it was no part of his commission to reveal. He draws their attention to what it concerned them to know ; their allotted work of making disciples, and baptizing all men into the religion of the trivme Deity, and of bearing witness to him, not in Jerusalem, and in all Judcea alone, or even in Samaria, but also unto the uttermost part of the earth. This was a w'ork which men of greater natural powers than they weremightwell have renounced in despair ; but tiiey were sustained by the assurance, that they should vece'we power froin the Holy Spirit. He then gave this little flock his parting blessing, and in the act loas lifted up, and a cloud received him out of their sight. Thus the Saviour ceased to be seen by men ; but we know from other passages of Scripture, that when he disappeared on earth, he was welcomed to heaven by myi'iads of angels, who attended him to his mediatorial throne, where he sits on the right hand of the Majesty on high, till his enemies shall be made his footstool ; gifted with all power in heaven ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 13 and on earth, which believers have the strong consolation of knowing that he is ever exercising for the edifying of his Church. The Apostles gazed intently towards Jesus, even after he had vanished from their eyes ; and two of the hea- venly host, to comfort them, rendered themselves visible, and assured them, that as he had ascended, in like manner the same Jesus would return, coming, as he had himself an- nounced in Daniel's words, in the clouds of heaven, and as St. Paul teaches us, tvith the voice of the Archangel, and with the trump of God. Now is our salvation nearer by more than eighteen cen- turies, than when the angels comforted the Apostles with the assurance of his second advent in glorious majesty ; and of late many of his disciples have been asking, why the Lord delayeth his coming. The enquiry often proceeds from the desire of beholding him, whom, though they have never seen him, they love as their Benefactor, and would honour as their King ; and from a too impatient wish that he should take to himself his great power, and reign. It becomes them, however pardonable their longing, to possess their souls in patience, as the Apostles did, for God's providence does not allow us to anticipate the day, which is to take the world by surprise. It is enough to know that the Son of man cometh as a thief in the night, in an hour in which he is not expected, and that the same meetness for his presence is required for those who shall first sleep in Jesus, and for those who shall be alive at his coming. In our days the Gospel has been proclaimed to the many distant lands which it had not pre- viously reached ; and there are few indeed which the joyful sound has not at least imperfectly reached, so that now it can hardly be long before the holy city, the new Jerusalem, shall come down from heaven, in the light of which the nations of the saved shall walk — the light not of the sun, but of the Lamb. Then shall the renewed earth, in which righteousness is to dwell, realise the design of its Creator, 14 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. and become a temple worthy of him. It seems to be a blessing reserved for a future generation to bring forth witj^ shoutings the headstone of the spiritual edifice. It is honour sufficient to be hewers of timber or quarriers of marble; and having erected on the only foundation, the Rock of Ages, a superstructure, we hope, of " gold and silver and precious stones," let us be contented with accomplishing our allotted work, leaving others to enter into our labours, looking forward to the spiritual harvest, when, as our Lord has promised, sowers and reapers shall rejoice together. Our Lord's miraculous ascent, the encouraging assurance of the Angels, and his previous conversation, so kept up their faith, that instead of yielding to despondency, their first occupation was to fill up the vacancy in their number, occasioned by the defection of Judas ; and nothing could more strongly shew their conviction that Jesus was the Christ, and their determination to do what in them lay to fulfil his command of propagating his religion. The Apostles now returned to the upper room'', but not as on former occasions in the spirit of fear, for we read no more of the doors being shut for fear of the Jews. When their Master was seized, they had all forsaken him » There were many capacious apartments in the Temple, and there are distinguished commentators who assign to them one of these. The use of one, however, was not likely to be asked by or granted to the disciples of one, whom the priests had rejected, and prevailed upon the government to crucify. The article in the original indicates that it must have been men- tioned in " the former treatise," consequently the one in which our Lord had instituted his Supper. It was, we are told, in the house of a friend, and became in time, according to Cyril, himself Bishop of Jerusalem, the upper church of the Apostles. Here too, he says, the Holy Ghost descended upon them; a fact which tradition might easily preserve, and had no tempt- ation to falsify. It stood upon Mount Zion; and Jerome, who spent his later days in the Holy Land, applies to it the Psalmist's words, I'he Lord lovntli tlie gates of Zion viorc tluin nil the dwellings of Jacob. It was pro- bably the room honoured by Christ's appearance after the Resurrection, and (ho house in which they broke bread, if we so translate kolt oIkov, instead oifrom house to hmise. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 15 and fled, and their hope had been buried with him in the grave. But when he had broken the bonds of death, which could detain him no longer than he pleased, their hope revived, and they returned, but in a different spirit from that in which they had gone; for they had seen their Master ascend to a heavenly throne ; and now, filled with higher aspirations, setting their affections on things above, they were willing to follow him even though it should be through death. On an appointed day, they were assembled with the rest of the believers, including the women, altogether no more than one hundred and twenty. We read of an appearance of the risen Saviour to as many as five hundred in Galilee, but few of these would venture to appear in Jerusalem; and there might be in the city secret believers, who were afraid of shewing themselves. Peter now takes the lead, and strengthens the brethren, by calling upon them to fill up the vacancy in their body, caused by the defection of Judas, and so to shew their intention of following out their Lord's commandment. He encouraged them by shew- ing, that both his treachery, and the providing a successor on his failure, had been foretold in two of the Psalms. "Let his habitation be desolate ;" (Ixix. 25.) "and his office of super- intendence let another take." (cix. 8.) The qualifications required were an attendance upon the Lord during his whole ministry, and the ability to attest the fact of his Resurrection. The necessity of the latter appears from the words of the supernumerary Apostle, who was commissioned by his Lord direct, Am not I an Apostle? have not I seen the Lord? (1 Cor. ix. 1 .) and he was put on a level with the others, by the sight of him in his glorified body. Peter did not presume to name the Apostle, but the assembly selected two, Joseph, surnamed Barsabas, and Matthias; and the decision was refei-red in prayer to the Lord, who knows the hearts of men. That Lord we cannot doubt was Jesus, for he claims this attribute in dictating his Epistle to Thyatira; (Rev. xir. 16 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 23.) and it is said afterwards, that the Apostles commended the presbyters they had elected to the Lord, in whom they believed, (Acts xiv. 23.) The lot fell upon Matthias, but these brief annals take no notice of his labours. Nor do we read of any of the eleven, except the two James's, Peter, and John. And even our Lord's Mother is now named for the last time. Barsabas occurs once more as a propagator of the faith. T/ie lot, says the Proverb, (xvi. 33.) is cast into the lap, but the whole disposing thereof is of the Lord; and this precedent has been often followed. But though under the earlier dispensation it had even been commanded, as in the division of Canaan, it does not seem sanctioned by this instance, for it preceded the full manifestation of the Spirit, and was in its nature peculiar; as the new Apostle would not have been of equal authority with the rest, unless the Master set his seal to his appointment in an extraordinary way. The eventual consequence of this apparently insigni- ficant meeting, in an upper chamber, of a small party, in humble station, of uncultivated minds, was an unparalleled, moral, and religious revolution, which gradually improved and spiritualized the whole framework of society. Yet neither their doctrine nor their energy were their own ; they spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost, which brought home their words with power to the consciences and hearts of their hearers. It was one of the wise arrangements of the Mosaic dis- pensation, that an acknowledgment of the bounty of the God of nature, in giving fruitful seasons, should be con- nected with the commemoration of his spiritual blessing on his people Israel. Thus the Feast of Weeks, or of Pente- cost, as it was called in Greek, as the fiftieth day from that high day, the second of unleavened bread, was observed as a thanksgiving, not only for the harvest, but also for the promulgation of the Law. It was chosen for the announce- ment of the new and better covenant of the Gospel, which was ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 17 to supersede the Law, and the command was to go forth no longer from Sinai, but from Zion. The day predetermined for the solemn promulgation of Christianity, was one which gave an opportunity of declaring at once to mankind a faith, which was designed for them all. It was the second of the three feasts, which it was the duty of the Israelites to keep in the place which it had pleased God to choose for his special abode on earth. We learn from their own historian, Josephus, that their concourse was great enough to justify Luke's expression, ' they came out of every country under heaven.' He takes them in geographical order, be- ginning with the Parthians, Medes, Elamites, and dwellers in Mesopotamia in the east; proceeds northward to Cappa- docia and Asia Minor ; and enumerating Egypt and Lybia, in the south and west, concludes his circle with Rome, Crete, and Arabia. The number present must have been beyond what we can easily imagine. The only assemblage that we can compare with it in modern times is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, which attracts pious Moslems from still remoter regions, as Tartary, India, and Morocco. In both, business and religion met together ; for, as in the great fairs of the mediaeval ages, trade was carried on at fixed places and at appointed times, and the former was sanctified by, and gave protection to, the latter. The influx into Jerusalem was probably greater, for a Mecca pilgrimage is only required once in a life, and may be performed by a substitute. The attendance at Jerusalem was thrice in every year, but it was left to discretion, and distant Israelites did not probably often repeat the visit. Pentecost, it is likely, was the fullest, as distant worshippers who could afford to stay, we may suppose would remain from the preceding Passover. At the desire of Cestius Gallus, Governor of Syria, not many years after, a calculation of the lambs slain, allowing a paschal family to consist of ten, gave a temporary population of above two millions and a half. Even the outcasts of Israel may be c 18 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. comprehended among the Medes; and the dispersed ofJudah, though then as now dwelling alone, were still, while enjoy- ing a religious existence in their own Judaea, almost as much scattered among the nations. Of those dispersed over the Roman empire, we have authentic accounts. They had been highly favoured by Alexander, and by his generals who assumed the thrones of Syria and Egypt. In Antioch, Seleucus had granted them the same privileges as to the Macedonians, and they had been confirmed by the Romans. Egypt, where Philo computes them at a million, and they had a rival temple, was a second home. A whole quarter in Alexandria was appropriated to them, and they were under the government of one of their own nation. Philo has preserved a letter from the elder Agrippa to the Emperor Caius, in which he writes, " Nor can I forbear to allege in behalf of the holy city, that it is not the metro- polis of Judasa alone, but of many countries, on account of the colonies it has sent forth, not only into neighbouring lands, as the Syrias and Egypt, but into places more remote, as Pamphylia, Cilicia, and as far as Bithynia, and the recesses of Pontus. Europe also, as Thessaly, Boeotia, Macedonia, and the best parts of Peloponnesus, are filled with Jews; and not the continents only, but also the isles, as Crete and Cyprus, not to mention the country beyond the Euphrates." The younger Agrippa also, when the war was about to break out, uses their dispersion as an argument for peace. " You will," says he, " expose to danger not yourselves only, but the Jews, who inhabit other cities, for there is not in all the world a people which has not among them some of you." And we have a little earlier, a witness to the same fact in St. Peter, who addresses his first Epistle to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, [proconsular] Asia, and Bithynia. All these became the more attached to their holy and rational law, as they contrasted th.eir Lord Jehovah, the Maker and Governor of the world, ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 19 with the images made like to perishable mortals, and even of beasts, and birds, and reptiles, which were worshipped by their heathen neighbours. Their law kept them from social inter- course with them, though it permitted commercial dealings, and they all scrupulously remitted their annual offering to the Temple. They had been long the light-bearers in a dark world, and their Scriptures, translated into Greek under the Egyptian kings, were accessible to the educated heathen. An unacknowledged perusal of them probably made the philosophers of Alexandria wiser than those of Athens, as the reflected light of the Gospel improved the morals of the later Stoics and Platonists. It was a great advantage the Apostles had over our missionaries, that in almost every idol- atrous city there was, as it were, a foreign colony, fearing the true God, and acquainted, at least partially, with the prophecies of the Messiah. Accordingly we find, that St. Paul always first addressed them. Their prejudices, however, in most instances more than counterbalanced these advantages. The Apostles turned to the Gentiles, and they, not the children of the promise, were the majority of the believers. Some of the many Jews converted on this feast of Pentecost, would take back to their homes this in- estimable good news of justification through faith in the atoning sacrifice of Christ, which otherwise, humanly speaking, might not have reached for years the places in which they dwelt. It was apparently introduced thus silently into the capital itself, for when Paul addressed his Epistle to the Romans, they had not been visited by any of the Apostles. It seems to have been arranged, that this memorable first effusion of the Holy Spirit, by falling upon the day already the Lord's, because marked by his resurrection, should con- secrate it as the Christian sabbath, by commemorating at once his personal triumph, and the promulgation of the Faith. As, according to the Jewish reckoning, the day begins with c 2 J^O ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. the evening, the expression, ' iully come,' means that it was on the following morning. The Apostles were assembled, I assume, in their upper chamber. The probable size cannot be objected, as no room would have held the whole multitude, whom the supernatural blast brought together. They seem to have surrounded the house ; and the Apostles- must have gone out to them. As Peter is said to have stood up with the rest, I conclude that all addressed at once several com- panies to the same effect in their own languages, though the substance of his discourse alone is preserved. In the infancy of the world, the presumption of men had brought on them as a punishment the confusion of speech, which has ever been the great obstacle to a general com- bination. A miracle of a contrary nature was now vouch- safed to facilitate for a season their reunion. The first rendered men at once unintelligible to one another, the second enabled them to communicate their thoughts in tongues which they had never known. Two external signs of the descent of the Holy Ghost were granted, the one to the ear, the other to the eye. Air in motion is the best emblem of his invisible operations, and the metaphor is common probably in all languages. Certainly, both in Hebrew and Greek, the same word according to the con- text is to be rendered ivind or spirit. The comparison was used by our Lord in his conversation with Nicodemus ; and after his resurrection, he had breathed on the disciples, saying, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Such a sign, therefore, from heaven would lead the Apostles to expect the fulfil- ment of their Master's promise, while it served to bring together witnesses of the miraculous effusion of his gifts. The other sign was the resting on them of tongues of fire, the effect probably of the electric fluid, but like the wind, though a natural pho^nomenon, miraculous, because pro- duced by a supernatural interference. They are called cloven in our translation, but the original word means. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 21 distributed among them, so that one lambent flame seems to have settled upon each. These tongues might denote at the same time the new languages with which they were en- dowed, and the fervent zeal with which they spoke them, and the enlightening and warming influence of their discourses upon others. The playing of a flame around the head with- out injuring it was, among the Greeks and Romans, a symbol of the Divine favour, and the same idea prevailed among the Rabbies ^. It is not clear whether the Apostles alone, or all the believers present, were the subjects of this miracle. The words are, " They were all in one place ;" and the doubt arises from the antecedent, for which we may go back either to the last verse of the preceding chapter, or to the fifteenth of this, which enumerates the 120 disciples and the women. The latter will better suit the prophecy quoted, "Your sons and daughters shall prophesy." Such was the opinion of the early Church; and in confirmation of it we may observe, that subsequently neither this nor the other miraculous gifts were limited to the Apostles. The efiect of this miracle was different on different persons. The strangers who heard them speak in their own various tongues were satisfied of its reality, others mocked them as drunkards; these were probably natives of Judaea, who undei-stood no language but their own, and would also be more prejudiced against Jesus and his Galilaean follovvei's. Peter arose to solve the wonder of the first, and to rectify the misrepre- sentations of the last. Whoever doubts the inspiration of Peter, would do well to compare him as he now appears with '' Thus Homer, Iliad, xviii. 214. 'Cis air 'AxiW^os Ke(pa\rji ffeKas aldip" 'iKave. And Virgil, iEn. ii. 683. Ecce levis summo de vertice visus luli Fundere lumen apex, tactuque inuoxia molles Lambere ttamma comas, et circum tempora pasci. " Wheu these learned men studied the Scriptures, fire shone round them as on Sinai at the promulgation of the Law." Scha'tgen. tlorrr. Heb. 22 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. what he so lately was. He who on the first appearance of danger had shrunk from the scrutinising glance of a maid-servant, and had thrice denied his Master, now boldly came forward as the ambassador of God, not only declaring that Master to have been approved among them by miracles, but even reproached their rulers with crucifying him whom God had made both Lord and Christ, He first exposed the absurdity and malignity of the charge of drunkenness at nine o'clock in the morning, the very hour of the Temple service, which the devout attended fasting, and which we know was Peter's own practice in his private devotions. (Acts x, 9.) He then stated, that this gift of tongues was the commencement of the fulfilment of Joel's prophecy of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in " the last days," which here, as in other passages of Scripture, mean the Gospel dispensation. He next reminded them of the awful signs and portents which ac- cording to the same Prophet were to precede the destruction of the impenitent and unbelieving part of the nation, in the great and terrible day of impending vengeance. For their con- solation, however, these denunciations were tempered with mercy in the gracious promise of salvation or deliverance, to whoever would with faith and repentance call upon the name of the Lord. He then proceeded to declare who that Lord was, even Jesus of Nazareth, a person pointed out to them by God, by the miracles which he had wrought by him whom they, notwithstanding, had crucified through the agency of the Gentiles, and thus unwittingly fulfilled the predetermined counsel of God. He then affirmed that God had raised him again to life, fulfilling another prophecy, (Ps. xviii. 4, 5.) in having loosened the jiuins'^ of death, because he could not be holden by it. This fact, which was the point at issue, he establishes by an appeal to a Psalm (xvi. 10.) of David, which he shows could not have been accomplished « This is the Septuagint rendering of the Hebrew word, which properly ujeaiis bonds. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 23 in that Patriarch himself; because confessedly, his body had seen corruption, and his soul had been left in the place of departed spirits, but was fulfilled in this his Son ; and he supports this interpretation by this miraculous gift of tongues, this shedding forth of which shewed that Jesus had been exalted to a seat at God's right hand. And, according to another prophecy of the same Patriarch, (ex.) it was not himself but this his Lord who was now raised to that place of honour, till his enemies were made his footstool. Thus Peter connects the Resurrection with the Ascension, the first as proved by its chosen witnesses, the second by the gift of tongues which they had now heard. The same prophecy was afterwards urged for the same purpose to the Jews of Antioch in Pisidia by the Apostle Paul. Never did the most eloquent or studied speech produce such an eflfect as this most convincing address, which was no sermon, that is, no doctrinal discourse or exhortation deduced from it, but a simple statement of facts, which he shewed to have been foretold in their own Scriptures, and demonstrated by this supernatural gift of tongues, which bore testimony to the glorification of him whom they had so lately crucified. The auditors were pricked to the heart, for the Spirit brought the accusation home to their consciences, and they anxiously enquired what they should do. Upon which Peter replied, that they should repent, and be baptized into the name of this very Jesus, whom they had so lately given up to death as a male- factor and a deceiver, and that they would not only be forgiven, but that they too would receive the gift of the same Holy Ghost, under whose influence he himself spake; and he encouraged them by adding, that the promise he had just cited from Joel was unto them and unto their children. Such conditions of salvation were new and strange to those who expected to recommend themselves to God by their own righteousness ; but a conviction of sin, shewing them that their own righteousness at the best was too 24 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. defective and imperfect to be meritorious, made them willing to conform to the terms prescribed by God, which it taught them were the only ones that they could fulfil, Faith and Repentance. In addition to the address here fecorded, Peter exhorted them with many other words, the substance of which was, that they should embrace the Gospel, without waiting for the concurrence of their rulers or teachers ; and that they should thus save themselves from that untoward generation. Three thousand gladly received his word, and were baptized. As they were in the midst of a populous city, with no other stream than an insignificant torrent, at that season probably dry, we may assume that they were baptized not by im- mersion, but by affusion or sprinkling, especially since the baptism of the Holy Ghost is spoken of as poured out and shed forth. They were pricked in their hearts by the con- viction that they had crucified the Messiah; and Peter's declaration was attested by the strangers hearing these uneducated men speak in their own language. The extraordinary gifts of the Holy Spirit, so called, because, unlike the ordinary ones, granted only to a few, and only for a season, may now be briefly considered. The fullest account of them is found in St. Paul's First Epistle to the Corintliians, which opens (chap, xii.) with affirming in a remarkable passage the benefits bestowed upon the Church by the three Persons of the Trinity. There are. Diversities of Gifts, but one and the same Spirit. Administrations, but one and the same Lord. Operations, hut one and the same God. The Apostle then specifies the gifts, and afterwards the officers to whom they were appropriated; and I copy this tabular view from Lord Barrington's Miscellanea, from whom Bishop Horsley and Dr. Hales do not greatly differ. 1. Word of wisdom. Apostles. 2. Word of knowledge. Prophets in expounding of tht'Ol'! r<'-t;iiin'iit. 3. Faith. Teachers of Christianity. 4. ("lifts of healing. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 25 5. Working of miracles. 6. Prophe?:ying. Helps, such as Mark, Tychicus, Onesimas. 7. Discerning of Spirits. Governments. 8. Tongues. 9. Interpretation of tongues. They are thus specified in Mark's Gospel. 1. The ejection of demons. 2. The gift of tongijes. 3. The handling of serpents without hurt. 4. The drinking poisons with impunity. 5. The cure of diseases. 6. The restoration of life to the dead. The first and last had been conferred upon the Apostles on their original appointment, (Matthew x.) and also upon the Seventy, (Luke x. 17.) The handling of serpents was also granted to the latter; but Paul's shaking off the viper is the only Scriptural instance. No miraculous gift seems less liable to suspicion than speak- ing a foreign tongue, and it is more striking than the cure of a disease, the ejection of a demon, or even restoration to life ; for the former may be counterfeited, and a trance may be mistaken for death, but of the gift of tongues, all to whom these tongues are native can judge without the possibility of error; and the efiect of a variety of them spoken at once, might well produce the result of this Pentecostal miracle. Before this efinsion, the d,iversity of tongues must have seemed to the Apostles to present an insurmountable obstacle to their com- mission. "What hope of success to those who spoke only a tongue, the use of which was confined within the narrow limits of Palestine. " How," to adopt the words which Eusebius (Dem. Ev. iii.) puts into their mouths, " shall we proclaim salvation to the Romans, or converse with the Egyptians ? What language shall we, who have been brought up in the Syriac alone, speak to Greeks ? How shall we address Persians and Armenians, Chaldseans, Scythians, Indians, or any other nation of the barbarians?" On this memorable feast, a variety of nations bore testimony ; a testimony, which from its 26 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. nature cannot be contradicted, to the reality of the miracle; and yet there are modern Christians who endeavour to ex- plain it away. But it is by torturing the text in a manner that would not be endured, in explaining a profane author. Others would lower it, by attempting to show that the gift was granted only on this one occasion. But the Acts them- selves refute this assumption ; for we read, that it was con- ferred upon Cornelius and his companions previous to their baptism ; and the Epistles to the Corinthians show that it was not uncommon in their congregations. There it might seem superfluous, if we did not recollect that the original city had been razed to the ground, and that Roman Corinth was a Latin colony called Julia, after its. celebrated founder, the first Caesar ; and being the seat of the proconsular go- vernment, it must have contained many inhabitants who could only imperfectly understand Greek. Let those who represent it as a temporary gift, as it were, exhibited only to be withdrawn, consider Warburton's remark, that once con- ferred, it becomes a natural power, just like the use of a limb restored by a miracle. Indeed, to have lost it after a temporary use would imply another miracle, for it must have been by actual deprivation, unless we suppose them mere irrational organs through which divine sounds were conveyed. The unwillingness to believe this miraculous gift in its fullest extent, arises in part from the notion, that a knowledge of Greek was sufficient for the propagation of Christianity, and that Greek was so generally prevalent in Palestine, that the Apostles probably spoke it without in- spiration. Those who maintain these opinions, must narrow their view to the eastern division of the Roman Empire ; for Latin, not at all known to the Apostles, was indispensable for the western provinces ; and they forget, that though the sacred narrative is confined to that portion of the world, we have reason to believe from other sources of information, that the primitive believers carried the Gospel beyond its ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 27 limits, and other languages were required on the further side of the Euphrates. Greek, it is true, was the language of literature; and through the Macedonian conquests had been spread over Syria and Egypt ; but still even there the native languages prevailed among the lower and middle classes. Chrysostom informs us, that even in his time Greek was not understood in Antioch by the people of the country ; and the fact is estabhshed by the early versions of the Scriptures into Syriac and Coptic. In Palestine, Greek was clearly not genei-ally understood ; and the Gospels show, that our Lord spoke a dialect of Syriac, which is commonly called Hebrew ; and this appears from the inscription over the Cross, w^hich would not have been written in that tongue if those in Latin and Greek had been generally intelligible. The Apostle, with whose missions we are most familiar, must have learnt Greek in the ordinary way ; but even he traversed countries, where he must have felt the want of other languages. Greek would have been of little use to him if he visited Spain or Britain; and even in Asia Minor, we hear of the Lycaonian tongue. St. Jerome tells us, that the Celtic was still spoken in his time by the Galatians, who were the descendants of Gallic invaders; and the bilingual inscriptions from Patara in the British Museum show, that there must have been a local language in Lycia. Cappadocia, Phrygia, and Lydia, had also their own tongues. A comprehensive review of the language then spoken will be found in the fifth of Milman's Bampton Lectures'^. •= He brings forward as a curious confirmation, if not of the necessity yet of the probable utility of this gift, or, to say the least, a comment on the general belief of the Church in its reality, the imitation of the miracle by those, who, after the manner of the Apostles, went about the world converting their hearers to a new system of belief. " Indeed," says Damis, addressing ApoUonius of Tyana, as to the languages of the barbarians, " as many as they are, I have a knowledge of them all ; and I, my friend, says ApoUonius, understand them all, having learnt none." Philostratus, i. 19. This Life was not written till a century after his death, (though he was contemporary with the Apostles,) at the request of the Empress Julia Domna, to oppose the »0 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. The Romanists maintain, that this power is still from time to time exhibited, and it is included, by their great contro- versialist Cardinal Bellarmin, among the notes of the true Church. The miracles however which they produce are most unsatisfactory ; and Bishop Douglas's Criterion will supply the reader with a complete confutation. How long they continued it is impossible to ascertain. Irenaeus speaks of the gift of tongues from hearsay, though in Gaul he might seem himself to have been a suitable subject for it ; and in- deed, though in that and in subsequent ages it was believed to be inherent in others, we read of no saint who claimed it for himself. Chrysostom seems to acknowledge, that in his time they were exercised by none. Various periods for their cessation have been suggested, as the conversion of the Roman empire, or the extinction of the Arian heresy; but I acquiesce in what appears to me to be the more rea- sonable supposition of Gibbon, that these supernatural gifts were limited to the xApostles, and those to whom they im- parted them. They would, we may suppose, cease with the need for them. On the opening of a new dispensation, they were required to confirm the word, (Mark xvi. 20.) as the credentials of those who proclaimed it. This testimony from heaven fixed the attention of the heathen, (Acts xiv. 11.) and the gift of tongues was a sign to them that believed not ; but it is the doctrine that is to enlighten the understanding, and to renew the heart. And these miracles, as recorded in the Scriptures, ought to be as convincing to us, as if they had been wrought in our streets. The Protestant divines of a former age have supposed, that under circumstances similar to those of the Apostles, these gifts would be renewed ; but time has shewn that they were mistaken. The modern Christians. He had been ridiculed by Lucian twenty years before, and no use was made of his pretended miracles, for the disj)aragement of Chris- tianity, until llierocles. Governor of Bithynia, and a leading persecutor under Diocletian, conceived the design. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 'Z\i missionary has the acquisition of a difficult language to ex- ercise his faith, into which he will often be perplexed how to introduce the words that are essential to the conveyance of religious knowledge. But, on the other hand, he has ad- vantages even over the Apostles, for he comes from a land of higher civilisation, with superior knowledge of every descrip- tion ; while, above all, he has the sword of the Spirit in the whole written word, which, rightly used, will prove a dis- coverer of the thoughts and intents of the heart. While gifts arrest attention, it is the ordinary grace that convinces us of sin, and directs the awakened conscience to the Deliverer from its penalty and its power. It was so in the primitive times. Christ crucified was found at Corinth, by as many as were called, to be the power of God and the wisdom of God ; and Paul was not ashamed to declare to the Romans the whole counsel of God ; justification and sanctification through faith, before they had received any spiritual gift. They were added to the saved^ ; and their conduct evinced that they might in the judgment of charity be so con- sidered, for they are described as passing their time in the Temple, and continuing stedfast in the Apostle's doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayer. The expression, breaking of bread, is to us ambiguous, and has been interpreted of ordinary food, and more generally of the Lord's Supper. Both I conceive are meant ; for as that Sacra- ment was instituted after a meal, it was originally combined with one, as appears from the first Epistle to the Corinthians, (chap. X.) Such was the piety of the first Christians; and <■ 'Zaiioiiivou Not, 'should be saved,' as rendered by our translators, who seem to have deferred to the authority of the Vulgate, but * the saved,' as they render it in other places, as the Gospel is the power of God unto us who are saved. (1 Cor.i. 18.) As the Catechism expresses it, ' this state of salvation,' not (as from the language of many they seem to think) a state of expectation, but of possession of the privileges of the Gospel ; but the belief should be guarded as by the Catechism, which goes on to say, " And I pray unto God to give me his grace, that I may continue in the same to my life's end." 30 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. their benevolence towards their brethren showed itself by the sale of their property, and throwing it into a common stock. The presence from distant lands of so many converts, who probably brought no more than enough to defray their ex- penses, and might wish to lengthen their stay, perhaps sug- gested this arrangement. Their conversion would cut them off from general charity, and from any participation of the Temple sacrifices. Whatever was the cause, it appears from the decree of the Council, and from St. Paul's regulations in all the Churches of his planting, that the Jerusalem believers especially needed the aid of their wealthier brethren. A community of goods from Plato to Sir Thomas More has been a favourite speculation with philosophers, and an attempt to realise it has often been made by missionary en- thusiasts of more feeling than judgment, especially when agreeing in a system of doctrines, the object of which is to mark the superior importance of eternal to temporary things ; for this self-denying liberality would give the sincere more leisure to devote themselves to a contemplative life, while the designing, if such, like Ananias, intruded themselves among them, would manage the common property to their own personal advantage. The idea is pleasing alike to the idle and the contemplative, and attempts have been continually made to realise it, from the early monastic institutions to the establishment of the Mormons, and the communities of Owen and the Socialists. The Christians of Jerusalem had an example before their eyes in the Essenes, and it may be that some of them were among these converts, and encoiiraged this system, for they would be, unlike the Pharisees and Sadducees, predisposed in favour of the Gospel. We have an account of them in Philo and Josephus, and some moderns have even considered them, but I think without reason, as Christians. They were divided inte two classes; 1. the prac- tical, who lived in the world, and even married ; and, 2. the contemplative, who formed what may be called a monastic ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 31 society, and were called Therapeutas, that is, curing diseases of the soul. They shunned cities, and sacrificed no living creatures, but sent presents to the Temple. They led a life of celibacy and asceticism, and were most rigid in the observance of the Sabbath ; they are not named in the Gospels, it is sup- posed because that from their retired life they did not come into our Saviour's way ; but it is thought they are referred to by St. Paul, when he condemns voluntary humility, and neglecting the body, touch not, taste not, handle not, though it seems more likely that in Colosse he would refer to Gnostics. Such a community, at least on a large scale, must be un- favourable in a national point of view, and would, by destroy- ing instead of regvilating the motives that govern human conduct, paralyze industry, and generate discontent. It seems also to contradict the scheme of Providence, which did not design us for such social unions, but for independent families, and must, as far as it operates, weaken the parental, filial, and conjugal ties, by which it was meant that society should be bound together ; reversing the plan of advancing from individuals to communities, and teaching the perhaps specious, yet really impracticable, scheine of the ancient philosophers, and of descending from patriotism to personal attachments, or, as some Christians speak, from the Church to its members, from the whole to the parts. For it is from individuals to the whole that the human soul must rise ; Love will first parent, wife, and child embrace, His country next, and next all human race. Or, in St. Peter's words^, the Christian will add to godliness, love of the brethren, and to that, charity, or love of mankind. This community of goods, deceivers have been eager to reproduce in all periods of religious or social movements, and visionaries have as readily accepted it from the Anabaptists of Luther's days, to the Mormonites of our own. We read of it in no other of the primitive Churches, and the Epistles « 2 Pet. ii. 7. S2 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. recognise rich and poor as two permanent classes among believers, and while the most self-denying charity is enforced, the measure of it is left to discretion as each has prospered ; intimating, that as Godloveth a cheerful giver,they were not to give grudgingly, or of necessity, but as every man pur- posed in his heart. Even at Jerusalem this community was not enjoined ; it sprung out of spontaneous love to the brethren. It clearly did not last, and perhaps it is interpreted too rigidly ; for it is clear from Peter's speech to Ananias, that it was optional ; to use the phraseology of a later day, it was an imperfect duty, it was a counsel of perfection. The next event recorded is the miraculous cure, by Peter and John, of a lame man, lying for alms at the beautiful gate of the Temple, and it is recorded because of its im- portant results. "We have here the seal of God set to the divine mission of the Apostles, as it had been before so often to that of his beloved Son. They had spoken, and now they acted in the name of him svho had been crucified. This was evidence adapted to the meanest capacity, and convincing to the highest, and there was nothing like artifice or delusion that could discredit the miracle. The cripple resided in Jerusalem, that is, in the midst of the enemies of Christianity; he had been lame from his birth, and was now upwards of forty years old. Many had relieved, and more had seen him, for he was carried daily, not to an obscure corner, but to the entrance of the Temple, and the miracle took place at the hour of morning sacrifice, and therefore in the presence of many worshippers. His walking is a proof of the completeness of the cure, his praising God was the proper imijrovement of it. The cure was instantaneous, and so perfect, that he not only walked, but leaped for joy. The rulers could not deny the fact, but they would not be- lieve; because they hated the doctrine which it accredited. Similar miracles were wrought by the Apostles and by Jesus, but the manner of working shewed the diflference ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 33 between the Master and the servants, between inherent and delegated power. His language was that of Sovereignty : and he never hesitated to receive as his due the homage in con- sequence offered to him; but his Apostles are anxious to disclaim any honour, except that of being liis instruments. JVht/, said Peter, look ye so earnestly at us, as if hy our own power or holiness we had made this man to ivalk. This difference can only be explained upon the supposition of our Lord's Divinity. Peter proceeded to say, that faith in the name of Jesus, the Author of life, whom they had killed, but God had raised from the dead, had given the cripple his present soundness. In his first speech he ascribed the condemnation of the Messiah more to the Romans, ha x-^^^^ dvofjt,cov : in this he grew bolder, and charged them with it directly, even against the Governor's desire to acquit him. He apologized for their crime, by their own ignorance and that of their rulers of the real character of the Messiah, through which they had unwittingly fulfilled the prophecies of his suffer- ings, which God had foretold by the mouth of all his prophets. And he admonished them to repent, and be converted, and to wait for the fulfilment of the divine promises in the seasons of refreshment, and times of restitution, at his second coming in glory. He impressed on them the necessity of immediate repentance and reformation, because Jesus was the prophet like unto Moses, to all whose instructions they were bound to hearken, under the penalty of being cut off by God from his people. He reminded them of their high privileges as sons of the prophets, and heirs of the covenant, and declared that God had raised up to them a Saviour, whom he had sent to bless believers in his mission, not with temjDoral greatness, as they, misconceiving the prophecies, flattered themselves, but with a spiritual deliverance from the do- minion of sin. So convincing was this speech, that it raised the number of the believers to 5000, for the word Iyevvjj9>j (i v. 4.) favours this opinion, and the use of avlge? instead of otvSgwTrot, D 34 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, seems to exclude women. The Apostles continued speaking till evening, when they were interrupted, and committed to custody. In the morning, the high priest and his kinsmen, Caiaphas and others, interrogated them. The Pharisees had been our Lord's chief opponents ; but now, the Sadducees were more set upon persecuting his followers than their rivals, since the testimony of the Apostle to his resurrection directly contradicted their denial of that doctrine. Peter, undaunted, and, as we are told, under the influence of the Holy Spirit, replied to their interrogatories, and announced that the cripple stood before them cured througli the name of Jesus, whom they had crucified ; and declared him to be the stone, which, though rejected by the builders, had be- come the head of the corner, as predicted in the hundred and eighteenth Psalm, which he, in his last discourse in the Temple with his enemies, had applied to himself. Peter then passed from his power of saving the body, that is healing, to that of saving the soul, adding, that there was no other name under heaven by which men could be saved. The rulers could not deny the miracle ; and as the people favoured the Apostles, they did not venture on punish- ing them, but dismissed them, commanding them not to teach in the name of Jesus. They answered respectfully, yet with determination, that they could not but speak the things that they had seen and heard. Being dismissed, they went to their own company, and related what had passed ; when all with one consent burst forth into praise and thanksgiving to God, for fulfilling the second Psalm, respecting the un- availing persecution of the Messiah, both by the Jews and Romans; and prayed, not to be protected from danger, but to be endued with boldness to speak the word, and that God would confirm it by miracles. Their energetic supplication was heard, the place was shaken as on the day of Pentecost, and they were all filled with an abundant communication of the Holy Spirit, so that they preached tlie word witli all ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 35 boldness, not at all dismayed by the menaces of their enemies. The charitable contributions were now continued with more spirit than before. Those who had land and houses sold them ; and they might be led by the Spirit to foreknow that no permanent settlement of the Church was to be expected in Judaea, on account of its impending desolation. This state of the primitive believers is illustrated by the example of a Levite of Cyprus, surnamed Barnabas, that is, son of consolation or exhortation, who became afterwards an Apostle to the Gentiles, and now having land sold it, and laid the money it fetched at the Apostles' feet. His genuine love of the brethren is brought out into full light by the contrast it exhibits to the hypocrisy of Ananias and his wife Sapphira, the next incident recorded. The task they had under- taken of serving both God and mammon was impracticable. They sought to enjoy the reputation of a sacrifice which they had not the heart to make, and secreted a part of the purchase money, and gave the rest, as if it were the whole. They sought to obtain equal credit with those who had given all; and this deception might even be profitable, since it entitled them to maintenance out of the common stock. It was an awful sin, not occasioned by strong temptation, but deliberately undertaken by mutual agree- ment, and is called by Peter the suggestion of the evil Spirit. Such gifts were not obligatory; for, as he told Ananias, the field he might have kept, or if he sold it, he might have retained the price. It was aggravated by the time in which it was committed, and by the Person whom they attempted to deceive, which, as they were told, was not man but God. It was, says Doddridge, a sin directly levelled against the Holy Ghost himself, in the midst of his astonishing train of extraordinary operations. The Holy Spirit, as the Protector of the Church, took cognizance of the crime, by the means of that faculty of discerning spirits D 2 36 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. with which lie endued Peter, and punished Himself both the offenders in the death on the spot. Some infidels, as Porphyry, have presumed to blame Peter, not choosing to see that the death of these hypocrites was not caused by him, but by the immediate interference of the Deity. He merely announced what he was inspired to know would take place; and if God had not been pleased to interfere, his announcement would have done them no harm. His speech is so expressed, as to prove the personality and divinity of the Holy Spirit. Why has Satan filed thy heart to lie to the Holy Ghost: and, thou hast not lied unto meii, hut unto God. This signal interference in punishing two detected hypocrites produced a reverential fear in the whole body of believers; the consequence was, that no one dared to join them from unworthy motives ; it tended also to render the Gospel honourable in the eyes of the people, and a succes- sion of miracles, the sick being healed, and the possessed freed from their tormentors, even by the shadow of Peter passing- over them in the streets, contributed greatly to multiply the Church. This example of the Divine judgment was not upon avowed enemies, but upon false friends, and was expedient at the first promulgation of Christianity to strengthen the authority of the Apostles. The introduction of the Mosaic covenant was in like manner marked by the death of two sons of Aaron, vv^ho presumed to act as priests, in a manner contrary to what Jehovah had commanded. The Apostles were now cast into the common prison: but in vain did the high priest and the other Sadducees fight against God. Their obstinacy only called forth in their favour an interposition of the Almighty. An Angel oj^ened the doors, and commanded them to appear in the temple. While the prison was guarded, and the Council were deliberating what they should do with them, the Apostles were at liberty, and publicly teaching. They sent for them, but without using violence, for fear of the people. Being again prohibited ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 37 from teaching in the name of Jesus, Peter boldly replied, that they must obey God rather than man, and charged them with crucifying the Messiah. This intrepid answer, stating briefly, yet powerfully, their credentials, vouching Christ's ascension by their own witness, and the infallible one of the Holy Spirit with which they were endued, cut them to the heart as with a saw {hsTrplovro), and they consulted to slay them; but they were dissuaded by Gamaliel, a Pharisee, who recommended them to wait to see the result of their preach- ing, since if it were a scheme of human ambition, it would come to nought, like the insurrections of Theudas", and after- wards of Judas of Gtdilee, at the time of Cyrenius's census ; but if it were of divine origin, they could not overthrow it. They scourged them for disobedience, with fresh injunctions not to speak in the name of Jesus ; but they ceased not both in the temple and at home to proclaim him as the Messiah, re- joicing they were honoured in being disgraced for his name. Gamaliel is highly venerated even now among the Jews. He is said to have been the son of the aged Simeon, who took our Lord in his arms in the temple, and hailed him by inspiration as the promised Saviour. His advice then might in part arise from some leaning towards Christianity ; in part perhaps from a less worthy feeling of dislike of the Sadducees, who appear now as the ruling sect. St. Paul, on a future occasion, the disciple of Gamaliel, availed himself of this hostile feeling before the Council, and was supported by the Pharisees present upon the very plea urged by Gamaliel ; Tf a spirit or an angel spake unto him, let us not fight against God. This original Christian community was composed of native Jews, and of such as, from their dispersion among the Greeks (Hellenes), used the Greek language, and were therefore a A Theuclas, who ffiiled, and was beheaded, is mentioned by Joscphus, (Ant. XX. 5.) who places him fourteen years hiter ; but it was so common a name, that we may easily imagine it it was borne by some of the in- surgents, who rebelled on the death of Herod the Great. 38 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. called Hellenists. The great and rapid accession to the Church and the enlargement of its funds, would soon render it difficult to afford a proper supply to all, and must engross in a secular work the time of the Apostles, which ought to be employed in the far higher office of promoting the eternal salvation of their countrymen. The task, however conducted, was a delicate one, as well as laborious. Daily ministration and serving tables seem to imply, that relief was afforded not in money, but in provisions. There might have been in the several quarters of the city frugal meals, like the public tables of the Cretans and Spartans. Some think that the Apostles had already under them Jewish assistants, though they undertook a general superintendence of this work of charity. As the greater part of the property must have been contributed by the Hebrews, the Apostles, or those who acted under them, might think that they ought to favour their widows. They were charged with partiality, and the Apostles, to allay the discontent, assembled the congregation, and stating that they would give themselves to their more appropriate office of praying and teaching, invited them to choose seven persons, whom they themselves would appoint as almoners, by setting them apart with prayer and the imposition of hands. As all the names are Greek, the seven seem to have been selected out of that part of the Church which had complained, and some think that they were only appointed to look after their own widows. We know nothing of the history of any but Stephen and Philip : for Nicolas is too common a name, to justify our assuming with some that their associate was the author of the heresy of the Nicolaitans, who our Lord, in his Epistle dictated to the Ephesians, declares to be odious to Himself as well as to them^. Deacon means a person who serves in any capacity ; and both the noun and the verb occur frequently in the New Testament in a secular sense. It is mucli disputed whether or not this was the '■ Rev. ii. 6, ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 39 origin of the Diaconate. The language of the Apostles, that they would not serve at tables, haMvilv rguTrsi^aig, apparently marks it as a civil office; on the other hand, we know that two of them, Stephen and Philip, acted as Evan- gelists, whether in consequence of this or another appoint- ment is not clear ; but I incline to think, that they were ecclesiastical deacons, for if the distribution of charity had been their sole occupation, the Apostles would hardly have required as a qualification that they should be full of the Holy Ghost, or have admitted them to their office in so solemn a manner. This is one of the questions in which the opinion of early commentators would have much weight, but they are divided ; nor is it so important as it may seem to be at first sight to determine it ; for whenever this order of Deacons was instituted as the first step in the Ministry, we know that it was in existence when St. Paul wrote to Titus and to the Philippians, and that it has ever since continued in the Church. Luke adverts to the institution apparently not on its own account, but as introductory to the martyrdom of Stephen. He therefore does not enlarge upon the duties of the office; and omits altogether the more important order of Presbyters, rendered in our version Elders, which he assumes to be known to his readers ; for when they first occur in his narrative, he only incidentally obsei'ves, that through them the believers in Antioch sent their alms for the poor saints of Jerusalem. It formed there- fore no part of his design to enter upon a subject as well un- derstood by his contemporary readers as by himself; yet such an account as can be collected from the Acts and the Epistles may be desirable for those for whom these Lectures are chiefly intended, and therefore I insert the following. Sketch of the Constitution of the Primitive Church. Religion is a personal concern, and the Son of God was incarnate, that through his atoning sacrifice of himself he 40 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. might be the Saviour from wrath and punishment of every penitent transgressor who comes unto him for pardon and acceptance. Still as man is born into the world not a solitary individual, but a member of the state, so Baptism admits him into the company of believers, called Ecclesia, which is sometimes rendered Congregation, sometimes Church, and with them he unites in worship. And that the Lord viewed all that should believe in his name as one great family, appears from his declaring, that he would build his Church upon the confession of his divinity, and that it should last for ever ; and from his prayer, that they might be a brother- hood distinguished by unity. The promised Comforter descended upon the Apostles and other disciples, not as scattered here and there, but when they tvere oil with one accord in one place; and thenceforth it was the rule of the divine administration to add to the Church those who liad been brought into a state of salvation. A religious like a secular society must be under some administration. The earlier introductory dispensation had a ivorldly sanctuary, made according to the pattern shewn to Moses in the mount, and had both a ministry of sacrificing priests of divine appointment, and victims to be offered up on various occa- sions, as accurately detailed by Moses. That system was revealed in its integrity, and admitted of no alterations; but the Christian Church, the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, was left to grow up and enlarge itself as circumstances required. For a time it existed without a formal polity, under the presidency of its natural leaders, the Apostles ; till the accession of disciples led them, no doubt under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, to form a separate order in the Ministry, to whom they delegated certain duties, which they had hitherto discharged themselves. For several years after this appointment of Deacons, the Apostles acted as the sole governors, and in a great degree as the teachers of the con- gregation, and conductors of the public worship. But even ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 41 in the mother Church, it soon became necessary to unite others in their spiritual office ; and when Churches were formed in other countries by the Apostles, who assumed a missionary character, it became indispensable to place them under ministers, whom they called, in deference for their age. Presbyters, that is. Elders, and from their office, Bishops, that is. Superintendents. Thus the Church was permitted to develope her polity from within ; the want of an office was felt before it was supplied. It is still a popular notion, that the Christian Ministry was shadowed forth under the High Priest, Priests, and Levites, of the Jewish dispensation; and even as early an author as Clement of Rome uses this language. The theory of a Christian hierarchy was soon introduced, and is adopted by Rome ; which maintains, that the Christian ministers are sacrificing priests, and that the Eucharist is their sacrifice, which peace-offering has superseded the bloody victims of the Law. This view has found favour with some Protestants, but it is not in harmony with the spirit of the Reformation, for the doctrine of sacrifice is essentially Jewish and Pagan. There are Protestants also who take the same views, but the consequences of the theory are essentially Roman Catholic ; and certainly the High Priest better represents an individual monarch like the Pope, than the aristocracy of an Episcopate, which prevailed in the earlier ages. Such a theory derives no countenance from the writers of the New Testament, who never apply the terms of the Law and its ordinances to the new covenant, except in a figure, and carefully avoid the use of words which would convey the idea of sacrificers. Thus the ministers are invariably called elders, and priest is a term reserved for the laity, the great body of believers. " Ye are," says St. Peter, (1 Pet. ii. 9.) "a royal priesthood;" and as a priest, according to the definition in the Epistle to the Ilebrews, (v. 1 .) musthave something to offer, our Connnunion Service, keeping up the analogy, teaches us to desire our heavenly Father to accept 42 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. our " sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving;" and also the offer- ing of ourselves, which in St. Paul's language to the Romans is called " a reasonable, holy, and lively (living) sacrifice." It is manifest from the reasoning of the Epistle to the Hebrews, that Jesus neither has, nor can have, a human successor; and the priesthood being changed, there is of necessity a change also in the law. Aaron is indeed the type of the High Priest of our profession, who by the one sacrifice of himself once made, and which never can be repeated, has made a full satisfaction for sin; and ever living as a Priest in heaven, has appointed no successor to act in his name, and bring him down continually as a victim to an altar on earth. History also contradicts this theory; for the Apostles set up no rival hierarchy, but continued with their followers to attend the services of the temple. So far were they from forming a new system, that, like the early followers of Wesley, their meetings for devotion were additional, and did not interfere with attendance at the stated sacrifices. They assumed no hostile attitude to these divinely-appointed ordinances, regarding them, probably much as Christians do the Lord's Supper, as commemorative types, differing only as they were prospective, and the latter looked back to what had been accomplished. They were considered therefore not as the introducing of a new religion, but of a new sect, that of the Nazarenes. The believers of Jewish origin could never, even if the Apostles wished it, have con- sented to break off their connection with the temple ; for James told Paul% that the "many tens of thousands" who believed in Jerusalem were all zealous for the law, and recommended him to take a part publicly in one of its con- spicuous ceremonies, that he might avoid giving offence, by shewing that he himself also walked according to the ordi- nances, and did not deem it inconsistent to comply as an Israelite with customs which he would be no ])arty in imposing » Acts xxi. 20. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 43 on Gentile believers. Still the Christian special worship did not originate with the Apostles, for the model was already extant, though not in the Temple, but in the Synagogue. The true God had selected a single spot for the sacrificial worship which he had himself ordained, but it was a duty in every place to render him the homage of prayer and praise. Buildings were in time (it is not recorded when) erected for this purpose, both in Judaea, and wherever Israelites were settled ; and as places of meeting, they ob- tained the Greek name of synagogues. In these buildings the Christians, even in Jerusalem, had been accustomed to meet for prayer and hearing the word of God, before they were brought to believe that Jesus was the Messiah; and after their conversion, it seems, from a passage in James's Epistle'', that they at first retained the name, (o-uvaywy^), though it soon yielded to that oi Ecclesia, that is, a meeting, and transferred in time from the assembly to the place in which it assembled. The transition was indeed slight, for though there would be a great difference, both in the feeling and language of him who believed in a glorified heavenly Messiah, and of him who expected only a victorious Prince, a human victim, one yet to come ; the service both of a Jewish and of a Christian synagogue was essentially the same, consisting of prayer, and reading and exposition of the word of God. In the latter, we know that the new Scriptures were added to the old, and the Eucharist, as a social commemoration, superseded the Paschal Supper, a family ceremony, and instead of being limited to a single evening, was generally celebrated when- ever they met, and was combined with their ordinary meal. The Synagogue and the Temple had no connection with each other, though the Jews worshipped in both, and the service of the former Vv^as conducted, not by the priests, but by rulers ; and they delegated at their discretion the oflice of reading and exhorting to whom they pleased. We find that '' James ii. 2. 44 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. it excited no surprise when Jesus, though of the tribe not of Levi but of Juclah, stood up to read in the synagogue of Nazareth ; and we are told, that in that of Antioch of Pisidia, Paul and Barnabas, strangers, werecourteously invited, if they had any word of exhortation to the people, to say on. The Jewish Priesthood was an hereditary bod}', and their office was not to teach, but to sacrifice. To the Christian Ministry is assigned the teaching of the word of God. In the temple there was no pulpit, in the church there is no altar. When St. Paul established a congregation, he placed it under ministers whom he selected from the body of believers, and using synagogue terms, called them, indifferently from their age, presbyters, that is, elders ; orfrom thciroffice, superintendents, or bishops ; and they (as their followers have been since) were admitted into their office, not as the priests by anointing, but with prayer, and the imposition of hands. There are commentators of celebrity, and, strange to say, even of learning, who have discovered bishops, in the modern sense of the word, in the New Testament; but it requires little learning to show, that their zeal has outrun their judg- ment. Scott justly observes, that to assert, as some have done, that the elders of Ephesus, whom Paul sent for to Miletus, were indeed the diocesan bishops of all the Asiatic Churches, only exposes the cause which it is meant to support; for how could they have been got together at so short a notice. The statement would also show, that there were no presby- ters, and consequently asserts a parity of ministers directly contrary to the sentiments of those who make it. St. Paul, addressing these elders, (Trgecr^uTigoi,) charges them to take heed to tJiemselves, and to the Jlock over lohich the Holy Ghost has made them overseers, (eTr/o-xoTro*.) The two it was evident were then convertible terms ; for St. Paul directs his Epistle to Philippi, "To all the saints who are in Christ Jesus, with the bishops and deacons." These two are the only officers whom he instructs Timothy to appoint, and the qualifications are ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 45 the same as those stated to Titus, as required in elders. The origin of the episcopate, as distinguished from the pres- bytery, appears to me to he thus fairly stated by Scott. Oi'iginally none of these leaders (^youjxsvoj) had any direct au- thority over the rest. But sincere ministers, and such as were most eminent for wisdom, ability, piety, or usefulness, would acquire a measure of influence, and their juniors, both in their own Church, and in others which had been planted from it, would naturally look up to them. Thus they would be ex- pected to take the lead in every business, especially in the ordination of ministers, in directing their labours, and in animadverting on such as turned aside to heretical doctrines or immoral practices. Hence the name of bishop, inspector, or overseer, seems gradually to have been appropriated to one principal minister, to whom a measure of authority and distinction was invariably annexed, and the title and rank of presbyter was continued to the rest. It is evident this pre- vailed generally and early in the primitive Church, in some places earlier than in others ; and it appears, from the Epistles of Ignatius, if genuine, to have been established in his time, and to have been regarded by him as of the first importance, since due submission to episcopal authority (with great respect also to the presbyters) seems, while he was looking forward to martyrdom, to have been the object he had chiefly at heart. This view is in conformity with the testimony of the presbyter Jerome, A.D. 392, who writes, that "until, through the in- stigation of the devil, factions grew up, and it began to be professed among the people, "I am of Paul, I of Apollos, and I of Cephas," Churches were governed by the common advice of presbyters ; but when every man began to reckon those, whom he had himself baptized, his own, and not Christ's, it was de- creed in the whole world, that one chosen out of the pres- byters should be placed above the rest, to whom all care of the Church should belong, and so the seeds of schism be removed. The introduction appears to have been gradual. 46 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. and there is no trace of it in the Acts or in the Epistles. The mission of the Apostles was to confirm and plant . Churches, and in all they retained an episcopacy in their hands. But we know of Paul, and may reasonably conjecture of the rest, that their visits must have been rare to any, and to many were never repeated, and their presence was sup- plied by an occasional letter, or by an agent, such as Timothy and Titus, delegated for the purpose. Ecclesiastical writers call them bishops, and assign Ephesus to the former and Crete to the latter. They might indeed end their career as permanent bishops, but they appear in the New Testament as evangelists, deputed for a particular work, and then re- called. Long after the death of Paul and Peter, and probably all the other Apostles, the beloved disciple was banished to Patmos, and visited by his Lord, who dictated through him, apparently their general superintendent. Epistles to the Angels of the seven Churches of proconsular Asia ; Angel or Mes- senger, an individual ; it seems therefore a reasonable sup- position, that there was at that time one minister who pre- sided over the rest. To say the least, it could not have been displeasing to the Head of the Church, and it seems a fair inference, that it had been appointed, or at least approved, by his last surviving Apostle. As we have no Liturgy derived from the Apostles, and each branch of the Universal Church has availed itself of its liberty of instituting such rites and ceremonies as shall ajopear to it most edifying, so no form of ecclesiastical government is commanded ; and our own Reformers were content with defining the Church to be "a congregation of faithful people, in which the pure word of God is preached, and the sacraments be duly administered." (Art. xix.) The word of God, we are told, continued to increase ; and it is added as worthy of notice, that among the converts were many of the Priests. Stephen, one of these seven ministers, has the honour of being the first of the ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 47 noble army of martyrs. He is said to have performed great miracles, which excited more especially against him the enmity of the unconverted Hellenists, of the synagogue of the Libertines'', Cyrenians, Alexandrians, Cilicians, and other Asiatics, who disputed with him. They were confounded by his heavenly wisdom, and could not resist the spirit by which he spake. They had therefore re- course to a more eifectual method of silencing him, by suborning false witnesses, who charged him with blas- phemy, maintaining that they had heard him say, that this Jesus of Nazareth whom he preached would destroy the temple, and change the law. The members of the council before whom he had been brought, looking stedfastly at him, to discover if he betrayed any symptoms of guilt or fear, saw him calm and serene, with his face resembling that of an angel. The face of Moses shone with brightness after his second conference on Mount Sinai : and the Almighty might be pleased to distinguish this his faithful servant with the same sign of approbation, with which he had honoured his lawgiver, whom Stephen was accused of blaspheming. His defence is incomplete, for the multitude rushing upon him and stopping their ears, brought it to a premature con- clusion. Hence it is that the appropriateness of the discourse b Libertini is held by several critics, as Michaelis aud Bishop IMaish, to be the Latin word for freed men who had been slaves. That such persons might be numerous at Rome, in which there was a large colony of Jews is not surprising, but it is extraordinary to find so many of them as pro- selytes in Jerusalem. Townshend thinks the difficulty is removed by a passage in Tacitus, An. ii. that persons so characterised, and described by him as infected with foreign (Jewish?) superstition, were so numerous in the reign of Tiberius, that 4000 of them of age to bear arms were sent into Sardinia, and the rest were ordered either to renounce their religion, or to leave Italy. This account is confirmed by Suetonius ; but the date seems to me too late for them to have settled at Jerusalem, where I also think they would not have been allowed to come. As it was a joint synagogue possessed by them in common with the Alexandrians and Cyrenians, it seems to me more natural to interpret the word of an African city; and we loam from Suidas, that Libertus is the name of a place. 48 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. is not sufficiently clear to the generality of readers, insomuch that some have not hesitated to affirm that we cannot ascertain .its tendency. His object was to show, that worship might "be pleasing in God's sight even without any visible temple or any ritual observances, and that he looks to the heart and dis- position of his worshippers. His proofs are adduced from the history of their nation, and he begins with their pro- genitor Abraham, showing that the glorious God had appeared unto him twice before he brought him iuto the holy land, of wliic'h he did not actually give him or his immediate de- scendants as much as a spot to set his foot on ; and that it was not till several centuries after their taking possession of their inheritance, that Solomon was permitted to build the house of whose honour they were so zealous. That house had superseded the moveable tabernacle erected by Moses in the wilderness after the model shewn him by God, and had been brought into the holy land, and j^et even David had desired to i*aise another; and Solomon himself in his dedi- cation of the house, and the prophet after him, corrected the gross popular notion of the Deity, as if the Most High, whom the heaven of heavens could not contain, could be confined within the precincts of a palace built with men's hands ^. He details the history of Moses with the more minuteness, in order to convict them of ingratitude. Thus he records the speech with which his attempt to mediate between two Israelites, who were striving together, was repelled, lllio made thee a ruler and a judge over us ? and their subsequent rejection of him, and repeated rebellions in the wilderness against Jehovah ; insinuating thereby that it was no new thing for the Israelites to reject a divinely-connnissioned leader, and purposely citing his prediction of the prophet like unto himself, who should be raised up out of their brethren, tliat is, who should be a legislator, which Peter had already applied to Jesus as the Messiah. We may collect, that he would •> Tsaiali Ixvi. 1 . ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 49 have proceeded to show that this magnificent temple, of which thej boasted, like the moveable tent in the wilderness which preceded it, was but a temporary place of worship ; and that there was no blasphemy in affirming that it would be destroyed, when the purpose for which it had been erected was accomplished. They seem to have discovered his design, and probably showed such indications of anger and impatience, that he found he should not be permitted to make his application. He was therefore em- boldened and influenced by the Holy Spirit to judge, as it were, those who sat in judgment upon him ; for he had already convicted their ancestors of fighting against God, by a reference to their rebellions and idolatry for forty years in the wilderness; and he now addresses them as a stiffnecked generation, wdiich rested in the outward sign of the covenant, while their hearts and ears were uncircumcised. He told them, that, like their fathers, they always resisted the Holy Spirit, and imitated their persecution of the prophets, by murdering the Messiah, that Just One, whose coming they had foretold. He allows that they had received the law from God through the ministry of angels<= ; but this was the very aggravation of their sin, for they had not kept it. Stephen began his defence in calm and respectful language ; but all at once he changes his tone, and nothing can exceed the severity of his conclusion. Had we not been assured that he was at the time full of the Holy Ghost, we might be disposed to think him too vehement ; but he was inspired to bear this awful testimony, and thus to warn them against the destruction they were about to bring upon themselves. His dying prayer for his murderers proves that there was no want of charity towards them in his heart. This ac- « The narrative of Moses makes no mention of angels, yet this is not only the interpretation of Josephus, (Ant. xv. 5.) and of the Rabbis, but seems to be established by the similar Itinguaoe of the Epistle to the Galatians, (iii. 19.) ordained ihrouyh angels, and of that to the Hebrews, (ii. 2.) the word spoken hy angels. E 50 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. cusation goaded them on to madness, and they gnashed upon him with their teeth, like beasts of prey eager to devour him ; yet they could not convict him, for they could not deny the facts with which he reproached their ancestors. Undismayed, he looked up to heaven in testi- mony of his resignation and his hope, when by an extraordinary dispensation, such as had been occasionally granted to the ancient prophets, the evidence of sense was added to that of faith. He who was first called upon to seal his profession of faith with his blood, was favoured with an especial sign of the Divine approbation, to encourage others to be, like him, faithful unto death, and to assure them, that though they see not Jesus with their bodily eyes, as the proto- martyr did, yet he looks down with complacency upon their confession of him, and will receive them to their reward as they rise from the scaffold or the stake. Jesus is gene- rally represented as siti'nig at his Father's right hand ; but now he stands, as it were in the attitude of encouraging his faithful witness. Stephen's rapture was too strong to be suppressed, antl, he exclaimed, that he saw the heaven opened, and this despised Son of man, whom they had re- jected, standing on the right hand of God. Their passions, wound up to the highest pitch, now burst forth with un- governable fury. They cried out to drown his voice, and, stopping their ears lest they should hear more of what they called blasphemy, ran upon him with one accord, cast him out of the city, and stoned him. Notwithstanding the excess of their rage, they so far restrained themselves as to observe the forms of law. Thus he suffered tlie accustomed death of a blasphemer, and beyond the city ; and although all were eager to take a part in his death, they waited till the witnesses had cast the first stone. It seems therefore that, however iniquitous their conduct, he was not slain by a few zealots, but had been formally condemned by the council. Bishop Horsley says, he died a martyr to the divinity of ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 51 Christ; certainly his last act was calling upon him as God''. There cannot be a more solemn act of religion than the committing to the care of any one the departing spirit ; and as his Master, whose example he followed in praying for his murderers, resigned his soul into his Father's hands, as a faithful Creator ; so he addressed that Master as God, saying, " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." The Martyr teaches us by this act, that he regarded Jesus as possessing the same power, and entitled to the same honour, as his Father. His last words, a dying prayer for the pardon of his murderers, beautifully illustrates the Christian temper, and proves him to have been in love to man as well as in love to God, what every follower of Christ professes to be. His death was violent, yet it was so calm and peaceful, as to be expressed by the term, he fell asleep. This martyrdom presents a chronological difficulty. It might have been one of the last outrages that occurred during the timid administration of Pilate, who, if he had had time to interpose, would have been afraid of incurring the resentment of the council : or it might have happened before the arrival of a new Procurator ; for Vitellius, the governor of Syria, who attended the Passover A. D. S5, removed him on the complaint of the Samaritans, for putting some of that people to death in a sedition at Mount Gerizim; and he soon after deposed Caiaphas, transferring the priesthood to Jonathan, son of Ananias. The martyrdom of Stephen was the signal of a general persecution, which really promoted the progress of the faith, for believers were scattered abroad, and went every where proclaiming the ivord, except the Apostles. d Tt is to be regretted that our translators should have inserted, though in italics, the word God, as it directs the inattentive reader from the Son to the Father. e2 52 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. SECTION II. THE GOSPEL IS PREACHED TO THE SAMARITANS. Christianity, hitherto confined to Jews, was now to comprehend Samaritans. Philip, ranking apparently next to Stephen in zeal, went down to one of their cities, that we may presume where our Lord had conversed with the woman at Jacob's well. As he had passed two days there, and had expressly named Samaritans as within his commission to the Apostles, they availed themselves of the first opportunity of admitting them into the congregation of believers, not- withstanding the bigoted aversion of their countrymen to these aliens. The inhabitants gave heed unto Philip's teach- ing, and were converted by his various miracles. The Gospel also triumphed over the illusions of Simon, surnamed Magus or Conjuror, himself a Samaritan, who by his artifice had long kept the people in amazement; for the force of truth broke his charms, his admirers forsook him, and the im- postor himself was convinced that Philip acted by the divine power, to which he could only pretend, being as much amazed by his miracles as his own dupes had been by his magic ='. He behaved with such apparent ingenuous- ness, that Philip, being unsuspicious, baptized him. Peter and John were now sent down to communicate to the baptized Samaritans the supernatural gifts of the Holy Ghost, which was only conferred through the agency of the Apostles. John had once wished to call for fire from heaven to punish the Samaritans, for their inhospitality to his Master; and now they had become his disciples, he must a The English reader is led by tlie authorized Version to a belief in witchcraft, which is not justified by the orif?inal. JNIodifications of the same verb — i^laruv, i^fffraicevat, i^lffTaro — are used of the effects produced by Philip and Simon; but when referred to the former they are rendered wondered, when to the latter bcivifched. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 53 have rejoiced in being chosen to bestow on them miraculous powers. Simon betrayed his real character, by offering to purchase the gift which the Apostles gratuitously con- ferred on whom they pleased. Luke tells us that he be- lieved ; yet his offer shewed his ignorance of the spirit of the Gospel, and that though it might have convinced his understanding, it had not converted his heart ; and having, as Peter told him, neither part nor lot in this matter, he could not have been regenerated, since he had not rightly received that sacrament, not having fulfilled his conditions of the covenant, faith and repentance. The same Apostle says, in his first Epistle, that Baptism doth now save us, that is, puts us into a state of salvation ; but to show that the inward grace is not necessarily con- nected with the outward sign, but that man, to avail himself of the benefits of the covenant, must perform his part, he adds, not the putting away of the filth of the fiesh, hut the answer of a good conscience unto God. It is, as he began by saying, ?i figure of spiritual purification. Accordingly, on Paul's conviction of the truth of Christianity, and his bitter sorrow for his persecution of it, the commandment was given to him. Arise, and wash away thy sins, calling upon the name of the Lord. But when Simon betrayed his true character, showing that he did not possess the qualifications required, the same Peter declared, that baptism was to him no sacrament, but merely a badge of Christian profession''; for he indignantly replied. Thy silver perish tvith thee, because thou sujiposest that the gift of God cati be purchased with money. The rebuke is severe, yet it must be taken not as an imprecation, but as an alarm- ing warning ; for he adds, certainly in real kindness. Re- pent, that is, change thy purpose, and abandon thy wicked schemes, and pray God that the thought of thy heart may be forgiven thee. Still, he rather wished than expected him to '^ Archbishop Sumner, on 1 Peter iii. 17. 54 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. repent, for he could discern no symptoms of contrition. On the contrary, he said, I ferceive that thou art now in the gall of bitterness, and the hand of iniquity; as it were, a bitter poisonous plant, and a bundle of unrighte- ousness. Nevertheless, he intimated, notwithstanding the abhorrence he had shown, that he did not consider that he had sinned beyond the possibility of forgiveness, for he exhorts him to repent, and to pray. Simon, terrified, entreats the Apostles to pray for him, but we are not told of his pi'aying for himself; and his reply seems dictated not by compunction but by prudence, from no feeling of the guilt and misery of sin, but from the appre- hension of punishment. He has the infamous celebrity of giving name to the sinful practice of trafficking in spiritual concerns ; and Simony, as it is called, the purchasing ordi- nation, or the cure of souls, is condemned by the Canon Law, and the Statutes of our own country ; and every Clerk pre- sented to a Benefice takes a circumstantial oath, that he has not been implicated in any manner in a contract of this description. There is no farther notice of Simon in the inspired narrative, but he has in ecclesiastical history the bad pre- eminence of being described as the parent of all heresy. We learn from Justin Martyr, an high authority, as so early a writer and as his fellow-countryman, that he was born at Gitton ; and he is reported in the spurious Recognitions of Clement to have studied at Alexandria. He probably believed that Christ was an emanation from the Deity, yet his system was so debased with the specu- lations of the falsely called philosophy of the East, that he would with more propriety, like the other Gnostics, be called, not an heretic, but the propagator of another religion. According to the Fathers, he was the inventor of the scheme which was proudly called Tvwtrig, that is. Knowledge, to which there are allusions both in St. John's Gospel, and the ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 55 Pauline Epistles. According to Justin, nearly all the Sa- maritans, and a few persons in other countries, acknowledged him as the supreme God; and according to Irenasus, he de- clared himself to the Samaritans as the Father, to the Jews as the Son, and to the Gentiles as the Holy Spirit ^ Eusebius'-^ and the early Fathers have marvellous stories of his sub- sequent rivalry with St. Peter at Rome, when both must have been advanced in life. The first was like the trial between Elijah and the priests of Ahab, to ascertain whether Jehovah or Baal was God ; for each tried, Simon in" vain, and Peter successfully, to restore to life a deceased relation of the Emperor. The second was an attempt to fly from the Capitoline hill ; when at the prayer of Peter, who was standing in the crowd, his wings no longer upheld him, and he fell so miserably bruised, that he died. The stories are improbable enough in themselves ; and the authority of one of these writers, Justin Martyr, from whom later writers, like Eusebius, might borrow, is weakened by his assertion, that a statue had been erected to him in the Tyberine island, since this actual statue was disinterred in 1574, when it appeared from the inscription, ' Simoni Sanco Deo Fidio,' that an obscure local God had been mistaken for this heretic. He seems to have been one of the exorcists common at that period ; and if we may believe Justin Martyr, in his first Apology to the Emperor, he went to Rome in the reign of Claudius, and obtained numerous followers ; but his celebrity was evanescent ; for we learn from Origeu (against Celsus), that in his time there were not perhaps thirty Simonians remaining. " Irenseus, iv. 20. "^ Historia, ii. ] 3. 56 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. SECTION III. THE GOSPEL IS ANNOUNCED TO THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH, A PROSELYTE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS. Philip had been sadly disappointed in his Samaritan convert ; but he was soon after called to proclaim the Messiah to a true believer, and of such an exalted station, that through his instrumentality he became a blessing to a distant people, none otlier of Avhom he was to see in the flesh. We cannot fail to be struck with this illustration of the remark, that when there is an earnest search after truth, God is often pleased to bring the seeker to the truth or the truth to the seeker. The Almighty, who disposes all things according to the good pleasure of his will, now passed over the intermediate land of Egypt, with which Israel was still so intimately connected, and selected the Treasurer of Candace, Queen of Ethiopia, a descendant it should seem of Ham, and the first not of the seed of Abraham, to become a convert, and to be the Apostle of his remote country, cut off even now from Christendom, and as it were the outpost of Christianity among the Mohammedans and the heathen of South Africa. He was a proselyte of righteousness, that is, one of those devout men, or persons fearing God, as Luke calls them, who though of Gentile birth had abjured their idols, and had taken Jehovah for their only Lord. This Eunuch had visited Jerusalem to behold the fair beauty of the Lord, and to visit his Temple. In the society he had kept, probably the name of Jesus had been never mentioned ; and certainly he had now no prospect of hearing of his claim to the oflice of the Messiah, for he was returning home, and a few days must have placed him beyond the reach of any of his disciples. But Philip is suddenly impelled by the Spirit to enter the southern desert, between Gaza and Egypt, which he would never have visited of his own accord. The command soon explained itself, for he saw the Eunu-ch sitting in his chariot, and endeavouring to discover ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 57 the meaning of the Prophet Isaiah. The passage which he was reading aloud was that memorable prediction of the humi- liation of the Messiah, his rejection by his people, and his suffering unto death, and his meek and lamb-like endurance, which more perhaps than any other single one brings con- viction. The Targums interpret it rightly ; but modern Jews, misled by their celebrated medigeval commentators, as Kimchi, Jarchi, and Abenezra, wrest it in various ways from its obvious meaning; some, in defiance of common sense, taking it as a figurative representation of the nation, (though hy his stripes we are healed, necessarily implies two parties ;) and others referring it to Hezekiah or Jeremiah. Strange to say, there are Christian commentators who without the same motives, however learned they may be, are so pre- judiced, as to discover Judas Maccabaeus in him who cometh with dyed garments from Bozra, travelling in the greatness of his strength, mighty to save, whom the humble teachable believer recognises as his triumphant Redeemer. And these, with the Jews, give up this wonderful prediction, which has been so accurately fulfilled even to its minutest details, though referred to Christ by Peter a^, and here formally assigned to him by Philip under the teaching of the Holy Spirit. Those who enlarge upon the diffi- culties of understanding God's holy word, though an inspired writer of a large portion of it says, it giveth understanding unto the simple, are fond of repeating the Eunuch's reply to Philip's question, Understandest thou what thou readest ? — How can I, unless some man teach me. They forget that this is not a dogma, or a precept, or a promise, but a prophecy ; and that, in the interpretation of that which has not been fulfilled, the learned and the intelligent are on a level with the dull and the ignorant, while the fulfilled is equally obscure to those who have not been informed of the event which fulfils it. This passage is preeminently clear, and has confirmed the faith of " 1 Peter ii. 24. 58 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. many a pious imperfectly educated peasant, who has com- pared the sufferings of his Saviour, as foretold by the Prophet, and narrated by the Evangelists. It is not the ignorant, but the learned, who have deprived themselves of the edification which it is intended to convey, by seeking a private interpretation of their own, that find this perspicuous prophecy perplexing; while those who yield to the teaching of the Holy Spirit have no difficulty in comprehending the text he has indited. The Eunuch required no miracle to confirm his faith. Philip's exposition of the passage satisfied him ; and learning that Jesus, though crucified with male- factors, had received an honourable and expensive interment, he equally believed what could not be exhibited to the senses, and what no doubt was at the same time explained to him, that the chastisement of his peace was upon Jesus. No sooner had they on their solitary journey reached a well or pool, than the convert, unwilling to lose time, eagerly ex- claimed, Heie is water ; what doth hinder me to he baptized? Philip assuring him, that if he had real faith he might ; he answered, / believe that Jesus is the Son of God; a brief creed, but including no doubt in this confession of his divinity, a firm persuasion of his atoning sacrifice for sin. The object for which Philip had been brought into the desert being thus accomplished, the Spirit snatched him away, and he is next found at Azotus, about forty miles from Gaza. The Eunuch we may presume was confirmed in his faith by his disappearance, as sudden and as unexpected as his coming ; and as he carried back with him that pearl of great price, with which all the treasures connected to his trust are unworthy to be compared, it is not surprising that he went on his way rejoicing''. •> This memorable confession is discarded by (rriesbach and Matthsei, because wanting iu A. C. G. and other Ms§. To me it seems more likely that it should have been dropj)ed than interpolated, and its authority is sustained by the Vulgate and the Syriac version. The Alexandrian and some other Mss read, ' The Holy Spirit fell upon the Eunuch, but an angel of the Lord took away Philip.' ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 59 SECTION IV. THE MIRACULOUS CONVERSION OF SAUL THE PERSECUTOR. This eminent Apostle is introduced to us abruptly ; for the first we hear of him is, that the vvitnesses who began the murder of Stephen, to prepare themselves for stoning him, took off their cloaks % and laid them at the feet of a young man, who was approving their conduct. The singling him out indicates, that his zeal must have already given him celebrity; and as it was with the members, among others of the Cilician synagogue, that Stephen had disputed, it is probable that he, a Cilician, had taken part in those dis- cussions for which his education would have qualified him. Luke could have fully gratified our curiosity, but his object was not the life of his friend, but a review of his labours and success as a Christian Missionary ; and he tells us no more than that it was through Barnabas that he was introduced to the Apostles ; so that the tradition may be true, that they studied together vn:ider Gamaliel ; and if it be, the two, though subsequently of one mind, took in youth an opposite course, the one eagerly sacrificing pro- perty to the cause he had embraced, the other driven by the fervour of his character into persecution of the sect which his fellow-disciple encouraged. However this may- be, Paul, we learn from himself, was brought up at the feet of that eminent teacher. And he is our sole authority for all the particulars we have of his history, which incidentally drop from him in his justification of himself, both in the Temple and before King Agrippa; and in his second Epistle » Our translators, in conformity with the consentiens of the Vulgate, render arvpeK^oKe^s, consenting, though they render it more correctly, have pkastwe, in Romans i. 32. 60 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. to the Corinthians, in which, to maintain his Apostolical authority, he was obliged to boast of his revelations, and to glory in the abundance of his spiritual gifts. From himself then we learn, that he was a native not of Judaea but of Tarsus, as he calls it, no mean city, and one yielding to few in eminence ; for it had the rank of Metropolis, and was as a place of education in the time of Strabo, (xiv.) that is of Augustus, reckoned superior to Alexandria and Athens. During the civil war, it was so zealous in the cause of Caesar, that it assumed the name of Juliopolis, and was recompensed by Augustus, for Cassius's ill treatment of it, by freedom from taxes ; but was not, as is maintained by many learned writers, a Colony. St. Paul we know was a Roman citizen, and on emergencies availed himself of his privileges. He had inherited the distinction, but not as a native of Tarsus ; for after declaring his birthplace, the centurion was still surprised at his citizenship ; but being free born, his father, or some ancestor, must either have bought the right, or obtained it as a remuneration for service rendered to the State. In his birthplace he became acquainted with the Greek language, which was spoken there with some peculiarity, and critics have fancied from the time of Jerome that they have discerned Cilicisms in his writings; they also assume that he here studied the literature of Greece, but his style is Hellenistic, and the only evidence brought is of little weight, for the passages he quotes from Callimachus, and Aratus, and Menander, might be in common use ; nor have the reading of their works shown much proficiency in the language. He bore the name of the first king of Israel, being of his tribe ; and it was with a prophetic reference to him, in the opinion of Chrysostom and Augustin, that the dying Jacob said of Benjamin, in the morning he will raven as a zvolf, in his unconverted state ; and in the evening, when an Apostle, divide the prey. Humanly speaking, and as a Jew, he had more reason than others to trust in the flesh, for ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 61 he was a Hebrew of the Hebrews, that is, not like his son in the faith, Timothy, but born of parents who were both Jews by birth and religion. He had been circumcised at the appointed time, the eighth day, he was the son of a Pharisee, and had lived a Pharisee, according to the strictest sect of Judaism, without reproach, and touching the righteousness of the law blameless. Having been sent for education to Jerusalem, he could appeal to the nation that he had been taught according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, and was zealous, and had lived in all good conscience, and had made proficiency in the Jews' religion beyond his associates. His zeal and his attainments opened a career of distinction ; but when he tells the Philippians, that for the excellency of the knoivledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, I have suffered the loss of all things, it seems to imply that he had given up more than prospects. His father was at least able to afford to send him to Jerusalem, and he had there connections, for we read of his nephew ; and had kinsmen in Rome, for under that appellation he salutes Herodian, Lucius, Jason, Sosipater, and Andronicus; and Junia, who had been also in prison with him; and however obscure now, were then of note among the Apostles, He is reputed to have been two years older than our Lord, and must have been his contemporary ; and we may believe that he had providentially withdrawn from Jerusalem during his ministry, and had not returned till after the crucifixion ; for otherwise we might presume, that one of his impetuous disposition would not have come forward as the personal opponent of Him, whom he afterwards so furiously and unrelentingly persecuted in his members. He might however not have condescended to notice one, whom he must have then regarded either as an impostor or an en- thusiast ; and the reports that would reach him of his opposition to the glosses and interpretations of the law of those teachers whom he received, and whom Jesus con- 0» ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. demned with severity, while he spared sinners, might cause him to despise him too much to seek him even to confute him. He might also have been stationary at Jerusalem, which Jesus rarely visited, and but for a short period. Whatever be the cause, I think his words to the Corinthians, {2 Cor. V. 16.) though we had known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth hioio tve him no more, indirectly convey the idea that he was not personally acquainted with him ; and if he had, I think that in this Epistle, in which he enters so much into his own history and feelings, he would have acknowledged the fact, while praising the mercy that rescued him from the career of ruin in w iiich he was running when apprehended by him. Writers ancient and modern, admiring, as they cannot fail to do, his regenerate character, endeavour to diminish his original guilt, and plead as an excuse if not an apology his sincerity. Such an excuse might equally be offered for many a subsequent persecutor; but it will ever be rejected with abhorrence by the true penitent, who, like Paul, will, when sitting not at the feet of a time-serving Gamaliel, but in his sound mind at those of Jesus, confess well the full extent of his sin, and attribute his forgiveness to unmerited favour. He allows at the same time that he did it ignorantly in unbelief, and before Agrij)pa that he was exceedingly mad against the Christians, thinking that he ought to do many things against the name of Jesus of Nazareth. Paul seems to have lived in a superior circle to the eleven; and no con- clusion to the contrary can be drawn from his tent-making, by which, when a Christian, he maintained himself and his companions; for Jews of the highest rank and of the greatest wealth were always taught a mechanical trade. He is called vsuv((rxoi, a you7ig man, a word which was used with great latitude. Clirysostom assumes him to have been thirty-five years old; and in his Epistle to Philemon, written twenty-eight years after, he calls himself ayed. For ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 63 this persecutor, who had raged against believers like a wild beast, but who was soon to preach the doctrine which he had opposed, was reserved the honour of opening the kingdom of heaven to the idolatrous Gentiles; for Cornelius, the convert of Peter, was the first fruits of the proselytes of the gate, that is, of those who, while they acknowledged the God of Israel, had not entered into covenant with him. This first great adversary of the faith had been active in Jerusalem, in haling men and women to prison, breathing forth threatenings and slaughter, and his fame had reached Damascus ; for Ananias, when Jesus appeared to him in a vision, remonstrated, saying, Lord, I have heard from many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem. That city was not a field ample enough for his zeal; he sought and obtained letters to Damascus, which contained a Jewish population of some thousands, that he might bring back with him any of that way for punishment. In spiritual matters, the authority of the Sanhedrim would be allowed, but the nature of his commission required the sanction of the civil power ; and we may conclude, Aretas, in whose possession the city- then was, to have been a proselyte. Judaism flourished in Arabia, it was professed by many of the petty sovereigns of Yemen, and his being Herod's father-in-law, adds to the probability of being a convert. Saul set out to make havoc of the Church in Damascus, to which we may suppose some of its more timid members had fled ; but he was suddenly arrested in his destructive career by a personal interposition of the Saviour, and he entered that city a humble and contrite penitent. He became a believer and an Apostle, and not only an Apostle, but not a whit behind the chiefest of them, as Peter and John, and one to whom it had been granted to labour more abundantly than them all. It was announced to him in a vision in the Temple, that he was a chosen instrument to bear the Saviour's name to the 64 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. Gentiles, and it was for maintaining that the partition wall between Jew and Gentile had been broken down by the Lord and Saviour of them both, that both might be recon- ciled to God in one body on the cross, that he suffered confinement at Rome. In the Epistle therefore, written from the capital to the Ephesians, (iii. 1.) he styles him- self the 2^'^'^soner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles; and we and all who are not of the stock of Israel are under the highest obligation to this our Apostle, who has so triumphantly established our right to partake of the blessing of redemption. In labours, in sufferings, in pri- vations, he was foremost, and equally so in gifts, and in revelations. The latter might indeed have overcome his natural modesty, and tempted him to boasting; but lest he should be exalted beyond measure, a thorn in the flesh'', a messenger of Satan, was sent to buffet him, and to keep him low. This apparent obstacle to his success, some bodily defect, most probably an impediment in his speech, which rendered his presence contemptible, though his letters were weighty, was felt by him so deeply, that he thrice besought the Lord that he might be delivered from it. His prayer was heard, but not as he expected, for it was not removed ; but he was assured that his Lord's grace was sufficient for him, and that his strength should be perfected in weakness. The Apostle therefore not only cheerfully acquiesced in this dispensation, but rejoiced, perceiving that when he thought himself weak, he was really strong. It should seem that it was designed that he should expe- rience all the evils which he had inflicted upon others. Thus he who was accessory to the stoning of the first Martyr, was himself stoned ; he who had driven others into exile, had no settled habitation ; and he, once such a zealot for the Law, was not only exposed to the enmity of the Jews, for maintaining that it was for a temporary authority " 2 Cor. xii. 7—10. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 65 about to vanish away, but had also to contend with insidious false brethren, who, by combining it with Christianity as the cause of justification, annulled the free finished sal- vation, which is the substance and the glory of the Gospel. The miraculous appearance, which at once subdued the proud spirit of Saul, and caused the persecutor to ])raj to him whom he had in 'his members persecuted, is an attestation to the truth of Christianity, which Lord Lyttleton has ably urged, and which no infidel has at- tempted to confute. He has demonstrated that Saul could be no impostor, for all the temptations which wealth, power, or honour could offer were on the Jewish side ; and no self- deceived enthusiast, for this supposition is contradicted by the whole tenour oT his life and writings. The warmth of his temper carried him violently in the opposite direction; and had he professed to have seen a vision encouraging him to proceed in his course, it might have been plausibly stated that his imagination had imposed upon his judgment. But nothing having occurred to change his opinions or feelings, it is incredible that he should have mistaken lightning for a supernatural brightness, or fancied that he heard in the thunder a voice reproaching him for perse- cuting the followers of one whom he believed to be a blasphemous impostor. It is also to be remembered, that he was not alone ; for he had companions who saw the light, and heard, though they did not understand, the words which were spoken. We may add, that the story could not have been a fabrication to account for Saul's entire change of character, for he publicly repeated the fact before the Jews in the Temple, and before King Agrippa, where, if an in- vention, it might have been refuted. German neological perverters of Scripture admit the fact, but deny the miracle, assuming that they were overtaken by a thunder storm, or beheld some extraordinary meteor ; but, as if in anticipation of such guesses, he tells Agrippa, that at noon- F G() ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. day, when even vivid lightning is scarcely visible, he saw a light above the brightness of the sun. It was, I conceive, that dazzling manifestation of the Deity, which had ap- peared to a favoured few of his nation in days of yore, as Moses and some of the Prophets ; nor can we wonder that Saul was subdued by this unexpected confirmation of the truth, which he had hitherto reviled and persecuted. We have not only Luke's narrative of this vision, com- municated to him, we may presume, by Paul, but also, as we have observed, his own repetitions of it ; and it is satis- factory to compare the three accounts. It is true that he mentions only the light and the speech, but it is positively affirmed by Ananias, who is an independent witness ; for on coming to restore his sight, he said to him, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus that ajjpeared unto thee in the way as thou earnest, has sent me. The Apostle himself, in his first letter to the Corinthians, (ix. 1.) writes, Am I not an Apostle? have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord? and afterwards, (xv. 8.) last of all he tvas seen by me also. I wonder therefore that so many divines should not reckon this as one of those appearances. It was as they were drawing nigh to Damascus that the light suddenly shone round about them, and in consequence they all fell to the ground. Then came the voice in Hebrew, intelligible to Saul alone, Saul, Saul, why persecuiest thou me? He summoned resolution to ask, Who art thou, Lord? and received the answer, 1 am Jesus, whom thou persecittest : it is hard for thee to kick ayahist the goad^. This is a pro- *> The phrase is proverbial in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. The following citations from the Attic Dramatists are interesting. OtjKovv, (noiye xp^h-^^''^ StSa(rKd\, Tlphs KfVTpa Kw\ov eKTtvels. Prom. 323. Uphs KfVTpa nil \dKTi^e, fii] TTTjffas ixoy^s. Agam. 1624. &voifi hi/ ai/TCj; /xuWov, f)f Ov/jLOvfiivos Upbs iiivrpa KaKri^oini Ovrjrhs Hiiv decji. Bacclise, 795. Nam qua? inscitia est, Adversum stiiiiulum calces? Terence, Phormio. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 67 verbial expression, taken from the behaviour of an un- tractable vicious animal, who, in resisting superior power, receives, instead of inflicting injury. The image occurs in the early Greek poets, and might be familiar to any language ; but the reference, I conceive, is to the complaint of Moses, Jeshurun loaxecl fat, and kicked against God. (Deut. xxxii. 15.) Saul overcome, and trembling, acknow- ledges the authority of the speaker. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? Rising up, in obedience to the command to proceed to Damascus, he found himself perfectly blind, and his companions were obliged to lead him to the city. In this condition he continued at least till the third day. Shut up in his own thoughts, and reviewing this instanta- neous and entire change of opinion, he had neither leisure nor inclination to attend to the concerns of the body. He neither ate nor drank. The process of conviction was carried on in solitude. He now made the painful discovery of the inadequacy of his boasted legal righteousness, and he was taught directly from above the Gospel doctrine of justifi- cation by faith, which he assures the Galatians he learnt not from man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ. (Gal. i. 11, IS.) Ananias, a disciple, is instructed to visit him ; and his change of character is emphatically expressed by his new occupation. Behold, he prayeth. No sooner is Ananias satisfied of the reality of the change, than he repairs to Saul's lodging. His bitter enmity and furious zeal are no more remembered ; he sees in him not the murderer of the saints, but a new creature, formed in Christ Jesus to new works, and salutes him with the appellation of Brother. By the imposition of his hands, there fell from his eyes as they had been scales, and he was immediately admitted by baptism into the company of the faithful. He then received food, and was strengthened. In judgment God now eminently remembered mercy ; for this blindness, an apt emblem of his mental darkness to others as well as f2 68 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. to himself, was like that which he afterwards called down upon Elymas, another opponent of the truth, was but a tem- porary visitation. Saul joined himself to the disciples, and straightway in the synagogues, from which he had intended to drag them, proclaimed Jesus of Na'zareth to be the Christ, the Son of God. He was strengthened more and more, amazing the believers, and confounding opponents. And after manij days xoere fulfilled, Luke continues, the Jews took counsel to kill him. The interval we might suppose should be reckoned by weeks, or months at most ; but a comparison with his own account to the Galatians will shew, that he had previously withdrawn for no less a time than three years to Arabia ; and that it was after his return that his preaching drew down upon him this persecution ; and then it was that Aretas's governor designed to arrest him, and that his fellow disciples let him down in a basket along the wall through the window of a contiguous house. He now after three years went up to Jerusalem, chiefly to see Peter ; but he abode with him no more than fifteen days. Here he had the mortification to find that he was shunned, and treated as an enemy, who had only exchanged violence for stratagem. Barnabas, however, who knew probably from himself as a former friend the vision which had converted him, satisfied the Apostles of his sincerity ; and he spake boldly, and disputed with the Hellenists, with whom he had formerly associated against the faith, till his life was here also in danger. He was therefore taken down to Csesai-ea, where he embarked for his own country Cilicia, in which he was comforted with the revelations of which the Corinthians compelled him to boast. (2 Cor. xii.) We know from himself, that the only Apostles whom he saw on this short visit were Peter, and James the Lord's brother. It was now that he was thrown into a trance, not like Peter privately, but in the court of the Temple, and was instructed to leave Jerusalem, because its inhabitants would not receive his ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 69 testimony. He pleaded the success that was likely to follow the preaching of one who had been so marked a persecutor, but he was commanded to depart, and informed that another office still more glorious was assigned to him, the proclaiming to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and the turning them from darkness unto light, and from the power of Satan unto God. He suffered fourteen years to elapse before he thought it prudent to appear again in Jerusalem. Ail we know of the intervening period is, that he was not known by face to the Churches in Judasa, but remained in Cilicia and Syria. It did not come within the plan of his friend and fellow-labourer to specify the way in which his now purified ardour of temper shewed itself, but we may conclude that many of the perils of which he himself speaks, of waters, of robbers in the city, wilderness, and sea, befel him in these journeys ; and that here as well as elsewhere he had to endure watchings, hunger and thirst, and fasting, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. The blindness with which he had been stricken was a sign both to himself and to the believers of Damascus of the reality of the vision. If it had been merely the effect of a natural phaenomenon, he would hardly have been the only sufferer. It was a significant chastisement, mercifully designed to bring him to his right mind. His restoration to sight through the agency of Ananias does not seem to be suffi- ciently considered, as an independent evidence of the truth of the narrative. Had Saul himself had any misgiving, the unexpected appearance of this stranger and the reason he would give for his coming, the appearance of the same Lord to himself as to him, which latter could only thus be known by Ananias, must have removed it, and both would be satisfied that these appearances could be no delusion of the senses, when they perceived that the events agreed with the prediction to both, and that the scales fell from the con- VO ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. vert's eyes when touched by the hands of the believer. Saul proved, as the Lord told Ananias, his chosen instrument to bear his name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the childrefi of Israel; and for this arduous office he was humanely qualified by his education, and his skill in the Jewish mode of interpreting Scripture. He spoke also (1 Cor. xiv. 8.) more tongues than the most highly gifted converts, and he was the most convincing witness for Christ, as the sole Apostle who had seen him in glory after his ascension. Thus, by a most unexpected dispensation of him, zvhose ivays are not as our ways, nor his thoughts as our thoughts, was Saul the blasphemer of Chi'ist, and the persecutor of his saints, made the first fruits of the dying martyr Stephen's intercession, and also the first voucher to tlie truth of his testimony of seeing Jesus Christ in glory at the right hand of God, by what he himself so soon after witnessed on the road to Damascus. The reality of Paul's conversion is established by his own frequent public confession, and the testimony alike of those who supported, and of those who persecuted, the cause which he henceforth lived to promote. It is confirmed by his change of character and conduct. An impostor would not have feigned a change so injurious to his profit or honour; an enthusiast could never have been misled to favour a system that was contrary to his national and party prejudices; nor would a man of sane mind have assumed a part, which could only subject him to privations, insults, and suflfering; and which, to use his own words, if in this life only he had hope, would make him the most miserable of men. The instantaneous change wrought in him by the interference of that Jesus whom he was about to persecute in his members, is justly considered the noblest triumph of Christianity, and affords the most satisfactory evidence of its truth. It aflfords also, according to the Apostle's own declaration, a most im- portant lesson to every subsequent age. To me, the chief ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 71 of sinners, did Christ Jesus show mercy ; and that this might not be dee red a solitary instance for the fulfihiient of a great object, he adds as a pattern to all who shall hereafter believe, an he introduces it by this consolatory general truth, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinnei's. Well may he from his experience, and his knowledge of human nature, declare, that it is a saying worthy of all ac- ceptation, since all without exception have come short of the glory of God ; and Christians who may not have run to the same excess of riot as the heathen, have sinned against greater knowledge. And not only is the fact of his conversion placed beyond the reach of doubt, but we know even in this late age its moral nature ; we know that the conviction of the understanding was followed by the conversion and renovation of the heart ; not indeed as in the case of some celebrated converts of modern times, as detailed by their biographers or by themselves, but as exhibited by the spirit which per- vades his Epistles, the tendency of which is not only to build up the reader in orthodoxy, but to constrain him from the generous motive of gratitude, to live piously, soberly, and honestly, to the glory of his Redeemer. It pleased the Lord to select Saul the persecutor to be his Apostle to the Gentiles, and such an one must be fitted for his office in a remarkable manner; but those whom He called upon to attend him in his lifetime were gradually prepared ; and Peter who denied him required a different kind of conversion, for his fall was caused not by want of faith, but of courage. It seems here proper to observe, that this conversion has been wrested to the injury, if not the subversion, of the faith of many, and consequences have been deduced from it destructive of the peace of timid believers. Happily the study of St. Paul's life and writings affords a confutation of this view. None indeed will deny, that there are presumptuous sinners who require a complete renovation of character; and if God, who now accomplishes in his pro- 72 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. vidence what he formerly effected by miracle, should will the conversion of such, that he can stop him in his mad career of sin, and flash upon his mind in a moment a conviction of his lost condition, and of the all-sufficiency of the sacrifice of his beloved Son for the salvation even of the chief of sinners. The annals of Christianity exhibit such instances, and the subsequent lives of these converts have silenced objectors, by showing that there was no delusion of the feelings in their case, but a real translation from the kingdom of Satan into that of God's dear Son. The period of such change some have been able to state with accuracy, and the change itself cannot be denied ; but the number of such is few indeed, compared with those who, having in infancy been received as the children of God, have never needed a second spiritual birth, though they have been all more or less polluted by the world, or have yielded to their own infirmities, and have had need of continual renewal to holiness. Certainly the doctrine of the instantaneous conversion of notorious sinners is not supported, as it lias been said, by the case of Paul, for he had been no profligate or sceptic, but exceedingly zealous for the Law, and striving to build up by his persecutions a legal righteousness. He sinned ignorantly, and in un- belief acted from a mistaken conscience, but he never pleads sincerity as an excuse; he confesses his guilt, and makes no attempt to extenuate it. A sinner, suddenly enlightened as to the spirituality of the Law, and of his inability to keep it, must, if left to himself, sink into despair ; but if in this depth of misery, the doctrine of forgiveness for the sake of a crucified Redeemer be made known to him, he will hail it with transport, as preeminently deserving the title of good news, and will find peace and joy in believing it. Such a transition from despair to peace is so innnense, that the new convert would be afraid to yield to it, lest he should wake from a delightful dream into a wretched reality. And he might distrust this un- ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 73 bought salvation as tidings too good to be believed, unless he read it as embodied in the conversion of this Apostle. He learns also from his subsequent history, that the pardoned sinner will not continue what he was, and. that the free mercy of the Gospel has been abused or traduced, when said to encourage transgressors, but that it is indeed a doctrine pro- ductive of holiness and virtue ; and that thus the problem is solved, which philosophy gives up in despair, of reconciling the justice and mercy of the Deity. Now God can be not only merciful, but just, in justifying the ungodly who believeth in Jesus. Behold he prayeth, is the first effect of Paul's conversion recorded ; and genuine prayer, the homage not only of the lips but of the heart, is one of the earliest and best proofs of repentance. His ardour was not cooled, but it took a new direction. He now preached the faith he had endeavoured to destroy, but his character was changed, and he would not, if he had the power, have promoted it by intolerance and bigotry. He is now characterised by dis- interestedness and gentleness. When obliged to reprove, it causes him pain ; he dwells more upon the good tlian the bad qualities of those whom he addresses, and shows that he would rather entreat than command. Happily there are few to whom the great Apostle can be in all respects ex- hibited as a pattern; still it is desirable, that as the narrative of the dying malefactor is preserved as an antidote against despair for the dying sinner, so this conversion of a blas- phemer is recorded, lest the awakened infidel of modern times should fear that he had committed the unpardonable sin. It conveys also to all the important lesson of the sovereign majesty of God, who as in nature he sets bounds to the waves which they cannot pass, however horribly they may rage ; so in providence he restrains the fury of the per- secuted, and, when he pleases, turns it into an instrument of his will. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. SECTION V. PETER OPENS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN TO CORNELIUS, THE FIRST FRUITS OF THE PROSELYTES OF THE GATE. The believers now enjoyed a brief season of tranquillity. This may be ascribed in part to the miracle which had turned their most vehement persecutor into a friend and advocate ; but it was also the result of political events. The young Caius, grandson of Augustus, had lately succeeded Tiberius, and presumed to arrogate to himself divine honours. By his heathen subjects, who had already erected temples to Rome and Augustus jointly during his life, and to the lale emperor after his death, the command was with- out scruple obeyed ; but the only nation that worshipped the true God shrunk as one man from an act of such awful profanation. He had dismissed Vitellius. Governor of Syria, for his indulgent treatment of the Jews; and com- manded his successor Petronius to set up his statue in the holiest of holies, which no mortal but the high priest was allowed to enter. The inhabitants with tlieir wives and children threw themselves at his feet, offering themselves as victims, and declaring that their Law was dearer to them than life. The petition of a nation is irresistible, and the Governor granted delay. They entrusted their cause to their celebrated countryman Philo, who was already at Rome as head of an embassy sent to complain of the Governor of Alexandria, who, after placing the imperial image in their synagogues, destroyed them. He could not obtain a hearing, and their worst fears would have been realised, had not Agrippa addressed a deprecatory letter to the Emperor. This descendant of Herod the Great was on the most intimate terms with Caius. He had been thrown into prison by Tiberius, on a charge of having ex- pressed a wish for his death ; and his friend on his accession ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 75 released him, and made him sovereign of Philip's tetrarchy. The tetrarch Herod, yielding reluctantly to his wife's ambition, soon after sailed for Italy, hoping by money to purchase the same royal dignity as his nephew. Agrippa, however, outwitted him, for he was banished to Lyons, and his tetrarchy was added, to the dominions of his successful rival. The procuratorial province was accordingly reduced to Judaea proper. Caius threatened to visit Alexandria, and set up there his own image, but it pleased God to cut short the life of this dissolute madman ; and thus, while Rome was freed from the disgrace of submitting to his tyranny, the merciful Petronius was spared, and the Jewish rebellion was for a season postponed. Peter now again takes the lead, being chosen to open the kingdom of heaven to the devout Gentiles. The com- mission had been given to the Apostles in the amplest terms. Go into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. Nevertheless, they had hitherto limited themselves to their own countrymen and the Samaritans; and such was still the force of their national prejudices, that a vision was required to satisfy Peter that he might preach Christ to one of Gentile birth, though he had abjured the religion of his fathers, and might therefore well be reckoned among those who were waiting for the kingdom of God. In my opinion, the arguments of the divines greatly preponderate who maintain that there were two kinds of proselytes, the first who were circumcised, and took upon themselves the yoke of the Law, and were absorbed, as it were, into the body of the nations. These, of whom the Ethiopian Eunuch is an example, were denominated proselytes of righteousness. The second, on renouncing idolatry and worshipping God according to the light of nature, or, in the language of the Rabbis, the seven precepts of the sons of Noah, were permitted to dwell in the land, and to pray in the outer court of the Temple, and were called from the fourth com- 76 ACTS or THE APOSTLES. mandment proselytes of the gate^ Of this number was the centurion, who loved the Jews, and built them a syna- gogue ; and this centurion of Caesarea. To him Peter was now sent, and he was himself instructed to send for Peter. But first the Apostle made a circuit through the country, visiting the places where the faith had been established by the disciples, whom the late persecution had scattered. We are informed of two miracles which he wrought. The first was the cure of ^neas, a disciple who had been con- fined to his bed eight years by the palsy ; and it seems to have been specified, because it was the means of turning to the Lord all who dwelt at Lydda. Peter's speech, Jesus the Christ maketh thee whole, shews that his care was every where to ascribe his miracles to their true Author. The second, still more astonishing, was the restoration to life of a woman full of good works and almsdeeds, when death was felt to be a misfortune to the widows and others whom she had clothed through her own industry. Her residence, Joppa, was distant ten miles, and Peter was sent for. In this case, he knelt down by the dead body, and her return to life was the reward of prayer. Her name was Tabitha, or antelope, an animal, the beaut}' of whose eyes is celebrated by the Arabian poets ; and to her heathen neighbours she was known by the Greek equivalent Dorcas. Peter now took up his abode at Joppa by the sea side, lodging with a namesake who was a tanner. Such a lodging a This distinction of proselytes is denied b}' Lardncr, whose arguments convinced Doddridge and Hales, but it has the support of Lightfoot, Spencer, Shotgcn, and others, who have drunk deepest of the Talmud, and owes its general reception to Lord Harrington. To me it seems confirmed by Solomon's prayer at the dedication of the Temple, when he states the case of a stranger, not of Israel, praying unto God's house, and th.\t it was for such devout aliens that the court of the Gentiles was formed. The proselytes of righteousness, though the Law was not binding upon them, were gladly received, if they wished to put themselves under its .yoke, and tliey were admitted by baptism as well as by__circumcision. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 77 could not be agreeable, and it seems also to be mentioned, because his trade was despised by the Jews. He was only thirty miles from Caesarea, the seat of the Roman government, and therefore more of a heathen than a Jewish city. God had, however, in it one faithful servant, who gave much alms to his people, and observed the temple hours of worship. He bore the noble name of Cornelius, and was a centurion of the Italian band, unattached apparently to any legion but the body guard of the Governor. As he was engaged in devotion at the hours of the afternoon sacrifice, an Angel assures him that his prayers and alms are come up for a memorial before God ; and he is instructed to send for Peter, who is to tell him what he ought to do. The Angel is so minute in his instructions, as to name the house in which Peter is to be found ; but he says not a word respecting the Gospel, which he leaves to Peter to communicate. And God's method of making his people instrumental to mutual teaching and edification, conduces greatly to their improve- ment. An Angel can only announce Jesus to be a Saviour, but men entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation, can not only vouch for the truth of the message, but can from experience speak of it as good news. Thus Peter, who had deeply, and to his own feelings distressingly, sinned, had been freely and fully forgiven ; he had indeed tasted that the Lord was gracious, and in every respect was fitter than an Angel to preach in his name faith and repentance. Cornelius was not disobedient to the heavenly vision. His example had been a blessing to his house- hold, and he had servants, and at least one soldier, called, like himself, devout, to whom he could venture to impart the heavenly message, and send to Joppa to invite Peter. When they departed, he was still under the influence of his Jewish prejudices, and might have refused to comply with the request. But while they were on their journey, the 78 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. next day at noon he had withdrawn to the housetop to pray, and being hungry, was disposed to eat ; but while . his meal was preparing, he fell into a trance, in which he was favoured with an emblematical exhibition to his senses of the Divine will. The vision of a sheet descending from heaven, filled with animals of all kinds, accompanied with leave to kill and eat, produced (it is true that it was in sleep) what seems a boastful answer, I have never eaten any thing common or unclean. And some reproof seems to be conveyed in the reply, What God hath cleansed^ call not thou common. Peter could no longer doubt, that the distinction of meats which had proved, as designed, so effectual an impediment to the friendly intercourse of Jews and Gentiles, was now abrogated ; but the secondary sense which it prefigured, the breaking down of the wall of partition, and then forming them into one redeemed people, was not so manifest, and Peter might not have discovered it, had not the Spirit told him, that three men were at the door, with whom he was to go, doubting nothing. He shewed his submission, by lodging and even eating with them. The next morning he returned with them, taking five of the brethren, to witness what God intended to do through him. Cornelius in expectation had assembled his kinsmen and near friends ; and humble as must have been the air and the attire of the Galilacan fisher of men, the Roman soldier went out to meet him, fell down at his feet, and worshipped him as his superior. This act of homage, paid by the Romans in Europe only to the gods, was not an uncommon mark of respect in the Asiatic provinces. Cornelius, we may be assured, did not mean to treat Peter as an idolater would one of his deities, but the reply, Stand up, I myself also am a man, indicates, that in the act of respect, there was a blameable excess of veneration. Cornelius related his vision, and expresses the readiness of himself and friends to hear the command of God. Peter, ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 79 who now first understood the comprehensive nature of Christianity, exclaiined, I perceive that God is no respecter of persons, but in every nation he that fea,reth him and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. This speech is perverted by designing men, who attempt to urge it as an acknowledgment from an Apostle's lips of the suffi- ciency of natural religion. It requires, however, little sagacity to perceive that it must be a perversion, for this sense would stultify the whole narrative, by making the two heavenly visions and the two journeys superfluous. The piety and charity of Cornelius recommended him as a fit subject not of simple approbation, but of mercy ; for something more than alms and prayers was wanting for his acceptance. Persevere in thy course of duty, go on as thou hast done, and it shall be well with thee, ought upon this hypothesis to have been the Angel's speech ; but it was, Call for Simon, surnamed Peter, ivho shall tell thee words wherehy thou and all thy house shall he saved. And Peter follows up this speech, with a brief summary of the Gospel. God is no respecter of persons, that is, of the external distinctions of race or profession, but looketh to the heart. The extraordinary gifts of the Spirit, as the speaking foreign languages, were usually bestowed after baptism, through the ministry of an Apostle ; but in this memorable instance, the order was reversed. Had Peter first baptized Cornelius and his friends, his companions of the circumcision might have remonstrated ; and the Jeru- salem brethren, who afterwards blamed him, might not have been so easily satisfied. But the Divine interposition removed all objections; God himself had baptized this Gentile company with the Holy Ghost and with power. Who should presume to resist him, who had thus manifested his pleasure ! Could any mail forbid tvater, that these (Gentiles) should not be baptized, who have received the Holy Ghost, as loell as we (Jews). Such was the speech 80 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. that must have silenced opponents ; it must have delighted Christians, that others were made sharers of their joy. The sign was readily administered to those who had shovm that they had received the grace the Sacrament signified. The admission of Cornelius into the Church was con- demned hy those who know not upon what warrant Peter had acted. He was therefore called upon to explain and vindicate his conduct. The Romanists maintain, that the Pope is successor to Peter in all his privileges, and as such, head of the Church, vicar of Christ, and the infallible judge of controversies. But Peter himself is far from thus lording it over the brethren; for instead of silencing them by his" authority, he patiently pleads his cause, and gives a circumstantial narrative of the whole transaction. As he did not deem explanation beneath his dignity, they were open to conviction. They not only held their peace, but glorified God for granting (contrary to their former belief) repentance unto life to the Gentiles. We have now considered three remarkable conversions, those of the Jew, and of the. two proselytes. The Gospel found Saul a determined enemy ; the Eunuch, an ingenuous though ignorant enquirer; Cornelius, prepared by some knowledge at least of the first dispensation. To all the doctrine was the same, by all it was alike needed, to all we may believe it was alike precious. SECTION VI. THE GOSPEL IS RECEIVED IN THE CAPITAL OF SYRIA. Antioch upon the Orontes, about twelve miles from the Mediterranean, had been erected as the capital of his dominions, with his father's name, by Seleucus, the first King of Syria. It was now the metropolis of the East, ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 81 and no provincial city, except Alexandria, could vie with it in commerce, population, and importance. The dis- persion caused by the persecution had brought believers even from Cyprus, and Cyrene, to this great city, who preached at first to its Jewish inhabitants only ; after- wards it should seem that they addressed the Greeks^, it may be in consequence of Peter's baptism of Cornelius, and a great number of these, seeing that the hand of the Lord (no doubt in miracles) tvas with them, believed. The mother Church, hearing of their success, sent Barnabas, probably to arrange the government of the congregation. Being a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost and of faith, he exhorted them all to cleave unto the Lord loith 'purpose of heart ; for he was not ignorant of their weakness, and of the devices of Satan, to discourage and to mislead them, and knew how much his exhortation was required, to keep them in the course on which they had entered. Much people was now added unto the Lord, probably in con- sequence of his preaching ; and feeling that some coadjutor was desirable, he went to Saul at Tarsus, and prevailed upon him to return with him. Here they laboured for a whole year, and now believers received the worthy name, by which they are still distinguished, of Christian. But who conferred the title ? not the Jews, who still called them Nazarenes. The text seems to favour, what is I believe the popular opinion, that it was given by divine suggestion ; but I think that it was invented by the people of Antioch, who were addicted to mockery ; and the termination of the word seems to indicate that it originated with those who spoke Latin. Certainly it is never afterwards used by Luke ; with him to the last, the disciples are called, of that way, or the saved, or brethren, or tliose that call upon the name of the Lord. We do not find it in any Epistle, " I follow Griesbach's reading, wliich is supported by the Vulgate, and by the Greek Fathers. 82 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. except the first of Peter, who, when admonishing the faith- ful not to suffer as violators of the Law, adds, if any suffer as a Cliristian, let him not he ashamed"" : and the only remaining place in which it occurs is Agrippa's exclamation. Almost thou persuadesf me to be a Christian'^. I take it therefore for a term of reproach, invented by enemies ; yet as significant, and in itself unobjectionable, gradually adopted by believers. Barnabas and Saul were soon interrupted in their work, and sent to the mother Church as almoners of the bounty of Antioch. This was occasioned by the prediction of Agabus, a prophet who had come down from Jerusalem, and signified by the Spirit, that there should he a great dearth throughout the loorld. The Greek work is ambiguous, being sometimes restricted to the empire, and even to the land of Judaea; and the last appears to be the meaning in this place, for this dearth, said by Luke to have occurred in the reign of Claudius, seems to be the one mentioned by Josephus, who says nothing of its extending to other countries, and tells of large quantities of corn imported into Jerusalem, He specifies particularly the liberality of a dis- tinguished Jewish^ proselyte, Helene, Queen of Adiabene, but none of her charitable contributions, her figs from Cyprus or corn from Alexandria, would reach the Christians. The converts of the capital of Syria would be more affluent than the believers of Jerusalem, who must have impo- verished themselves at the first preaching of the faith by their abundant distribution of their money, and still more by the sale of their property. And this explains both the readiness of the Christians of Antioch, in the present necessity, and St. Paul's subsequent collections not only in wealthy Corinth, but even among the poor believers in Macedonia, for the relief of the brethren at Jerusalem. They had reaped their spiritual things, and were willing •■ 1 Peter iv. 16. <= Acts xxvi. 28. " Ant. xx 2. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 83 to share with them tlieir carnal ; and this sympathy of a community, composed mainly of Gentiles, tended to re- concile the Jewish believers to their admission into the Christian Church. Having fulfilled this ministry, they returned, bringing with them John whose surname was Mark. SECTION VII. THE SECOND PERSECUTION UNDER KING HEROD AGRIPPA. A SECOND persecution now arose, in consequence of the removal of the Roman procurator, and the grant of the province to Herod Agrippa. His services to Claudius, who mainly owed to him the empire on the assassination of Caius, were rewarded with this large accession to the tetrarchies of Philip and of Lysanias, so that he now possessed the whole kingdom of Herod the Great. But he enjoyed it no more than three years. Josephus describes him as a munificent prince, who courted popularity, and was zealous for the Law. Both qualities fitted him for a per- secutor; and in the imperial palace, and when he came to take possession of one of his own, he had never had the opportunity, even like the second Agrippa, of becoming almost a Christian. To ingratiate himself with his new subjects, he beheaded with the sword James the brother of John, who thus, as had been foretold by his Master, drank " of his cup, and, like him, underwent the baptism of martyrdom. Perceiving that this murder answered his object, he proceeded further to take Peter also. This stroke, though most afilicting, was per- mitted to illustrate the fidelity and courage of the Apostles. It proved that their high office and endowment with miraculous power were no preservatives against persecution, but that they ventured and acted upon the same principles and faith as ordinary disciples. Peter, being designed, as ' Matt. XX. 23. G 2 84 ACTS OF THK APOSTLES. predicted, to grow old in his Master's service, though he seemed marked out as an immediate sacrifice, was secure in apparent danger. To the eye of sense his escape was im- possible, for his enemies, recollecting that on a former occasion he and his associates had been liberated from prison, though the doors still remained closed, took care, as they conceived, to prevent his deliverance ; for he was con- signed to the care of as many as sixteen soldiers, who watched him two and two by turns, two being stationed before the door, and he himself not being chained as usual to one but to two, so that both his hands were confined. He was the chief pillar of the infant Church which had just been deprived of one of the sons of Zebedee, and prayer without ceasing was made for him. The earnest fervent prayer of one righteous man availeth much ; and shall not God interfere for his own elect, when many join to cry unto him on their behalf day and night ! A miracle alone could rescue Peter, and a miracle was vouchsafed. Fastened to his two guards, neither the inconvenience of his position nor the fear of death prevented his sleeping. To him the king of terrors, as he has been called, was disarmed ; he had learnt from his Lord not to fear those who could only kill the body; and knew, though his abiding in the flesh was more needful for the faithful, the stroke that set him free from privations, cares, and sulferings, would be to himself by much far better, since it would bring him into the presence of his glorified Master and Friend. A light shone in his dungeon, and he w^as awakened by an Angel. His chains fell oiF while the soldiers were still asleep, he dressed himself as com- manded, and followed his guide. They passed urmoticed through two wards, and the prison gate opened of its own accord. Peter found himself alone in the street, and he then ascertained that it was no vision, and exclaimed, Now I know of a certainty, that the Lord hath sent his Angel, and delivered me out of the hand of Herod, and from all the ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 85 expectation of the Jews. He immediately repaired to the house of Mary, the sister of Barnabas and mother of John surnamed Mark, where many believers were gathered together praying, and soon received evidence that God is a hearer of prayer. So little however did they expect this early answer to their petition, that on his knocking, and Rhoda the > servant hastening in gladness to tell them that he was at the ^ ^ gate, they said that she was out of her mind; and when she \ , persevered in her asseveration, insisted upon its not being Peter himself, but a messenger from him. This seems to me to be the meaning, and I take the reference to a guardian Angel to have originated from forgetting the etymology of the word, and that to turn a messenger into an angel, in the English sense, requires the distinguishing addition of God, which it always has in the Greek. Peter having described to them his miraculous deliverance, which he desired them to communicate to James and the brethren, withdrew to some place of safety. The place is not named, but if it were beyond Judcea, it was more probably Antioch than the capital. The latter Romanists confidently maintain, but they can cite no ancient authority for their assertion, the earliest naming Paul and Peter as joint founders of the Roman Church ; the Epistle written to the Romans several years later shows, that they had not as yet enjoyed the presence of any who could have imparted to them spiritual gifts; and Peter attended the Council heli at Jerusalem respecting the obligation of the Law. The death of James seems to have essentially altered the constitution of the primitive Church. Hitherto it had been governed by the joint authority of the Apostles, who formed, as it were, a Senate, while the great body of believers, when required, met together in a popular assembly. They were now to depart to the respective provinces to which they were called by the Holy Ghost, and they appointed another James the superintendent, or in our language Bishop, of 86 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. Jerusalem. The modern Greeks understand him to be the person called the Lord's brother, the Latin Church to be the son of Alphseus, and this opinion seems supported by the Epistle to the Galatians. The vacancy made by the limitation of the authority of this James, and the martyrdom of the son of Zebedee, appears to have been supplied by the nominating- Saul and Barnabas extraordinary Apostles to the Gentiles^. This concurrent tradition of the earliest authorities seems borne out by the indirect testimony of this Book of Acts ; for at the commencement of the narrative, Peter and John jointly take the lead, but henceforth pre- eminence is assigned to James, even when Peter is present. Thus now on his liberation, Peter desires intelligence of it to be communicated specially to him ; and it was to the same Apostle that Paul went in, when he wished to repeat to the brethren his successful mission to the Gentiles. In the synod of the Apostles and the brethren respecting the observance of Jewish rites, Peter speaks at large, but it is James who announces the determination of the assembly. Paul places his name before those of Peter and John, (Gal. ii. 9.) and he calls the Jerusalem brethren who came to Antioch, certain that came down from James. (Gal. ii. 12.) Paul also on his last visit to Jerusalem, the day after his arrival, went in unto James, and all the elders tvere j)rese7it. Acts xxi. 18. In the morning, Herod had the vexation to find that he was unaccountably disappointed of his prey. The guards examined, could give no account of Peter's disappearance. As the Apostles had been delivered in a similar manner a few years ago, Herod or his officers might have suspected *• The word was then used with more latitude than it has been since, for Paul gives the title to a man and a woman, Andronicus and Junia. Rom. xvi. 7. It occurs also in the Epistle to the Philippiaus, ii. 25. as the title of his fellow-soldier T^paphroditus, though there translated viesssiiger, meaning, perhaps, the a^nt of that Church, commissioned by them as the twelve had been by Christ, and Christ himself by his Father ; who is called in the Epistle to the Hebrews, the Jposlle of our profession, iii. 1. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 87 a divine interposition ; but the guards were executed, as if they had connived at their prisoner's escape, and to an unscrupulous sovereign, their execution would appear the best method of stifling further enquiry, and any suspicion of a miraculous deliverance. Little did Herod, who from his age might anticipate a long reign, suspect that his own death was at hand, and that it would long precede that of his prisoner. He died, as he had lived, a monu- ment of the instability of human greatness. To conceal and to subdue his mortification, he retired to Cassarea, and inheriting his grandfather's taste for magnificence, and wishing to ingratiate himself with the Romans, by the indulgence of whom he reigned, he celebrated the games in honour of the Emperor. His vanity was at the same time gratified by an embassy from Tyre and Sidon. He had meditated war against them ; but as the limited territory of these enterprising merchants was dependent upon his dominions for food, they humbly solicited peace. He appointed a day to receive them, and showed himself in royal apparel, so curiously wrought with silver, that, struck with the beams of the rising sun, it emitted a dazzling lustre, which overawed the spectators. The 'peo'ple gave a shout, saying, It is the voice of a god, and not of a man ; and immediately the Angel of the Lord smote him, because he gave not God the glory, and he was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost. Such is the brief and simple statement of the inspired author, and it is interesting to compare it with the fuller narrative of the Jewish historian**. According to Josephus, he addressed the ambassadors, and we may presume that the oration was calculated to exalt their notion, both of his power and clemency. When he had ended, his praises resounded from all sides, and, Forgive us, they exclaimed, if hitherto we have only reverenced you as a man, but henceforth '' Aut. xix. 8. 88 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. we shall acknowledge you as more than mortal. We n)ay svippose that it was the speech of some of his heathen admirers. His vanity did not refuse the impious compliment, which indeed had been often offered to heathen sovereigns ; but when he, a worshipper of the true God, whose name is Jealous, and who does not give his divine honour to any created being, accepted this act of homage, he was instantly made an awful example of the just judgment of heaven. Herod did not reprove them, nor reject this impious flattery; and the avenging Angel instantly smote him with an invisible but irresistible stroke. Luke knew the agent, Josephus could only notice the disorder by which he fulfilled his master's command. Herod was seized .with pains in his bowels, he was carried immediately out of the theatre into his palace, and within five days expired. He acknowledged the justice of his sentence, and while surrounded with the symbols of majesty, and before their idolatrous acclamations had died away, he felt and confessed that he was but a man. 'Behold, I your god am commanded to surrender my life, and my fate convicts you of falsehood. I whom you styled immortal, am hurried to death.' With his premature decease, in the fifty-fourth year of his age, the persecution ended, and Juda?a, after a short nominal independence, became again a Roman province. Thus perished the second Herod, and was forgotten ; but, as Luke emphatically subjoins, the Word of Godgreio and multiplied. SECTION VIIL THE GOSPEL AT LENGTH COMMUNICATED TO THE IDOLATROUS GENTILES. The narrative is now transferred to Antioch, and, with the exception of the important Council held at Jerusalem, the mission of Paul to the idolatrous Gentiles ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 89 becomes its exclusive subject. A few of the leading members of this daughter Church are mentioned, who took an important part, we may well believe, in the progress of the faith ; but to us, though their works have followed them, they are mere names. From one, that of Manaen, the foster-brother of Herod the Tetrarch, we learn, that there were already, at least, some instances of persons, if not of the highest I'ank, yet connected with them, who had renounced the world, to take upon them the re- proach of the cross. They were ministering to the Lord and fasting, engaged it should seem in their ordinary public worship, but not, as far as appears, with any view to the enlargement of the infant Church. The Holy Ghost we are told said to them. Separate me Barnabas and Saul, for the work whereunto I have called them. And when they had fasted and prayed, and laid their hands on them, they sent them away. And this language strongly marks the per- sonality and the divinity of the third Person in the Godhead. The Mission therefore did not originate with any of these human teachers; who might have been content that they should spend and be spent in converting the people of An- tioch, a city which would have found them abundant work to the end of a protracted life. It was the Holy Spirit that sent forth these two extraordinary Apostles, to convert other lands from sin to godliness, emancipate them from the op- pressive yoke of Satan, and confer on them the glorious liberty of the children of God. Paul therefore might well tell the Galatians that he was an Apostle, not from men, nor through a ma7i, but by Jesus Christ, and God the Father. As Saul and Barnabas had both been for a considerable time Ministers of the word, this imposition of hands does not imply Ordi- nation, nor did it convey any spiritual gift. It seems only meant as an indication of the cordial acquiescence of these prophets and teachers in the Divine will, and their public recognition of them as Missionaries; and is afterwards called, 90 ACTS OF THE Al'OSTLES. a recommendation of them to the grace of God for the work which they had fulfilled^. The late persecution, and other providential circumstances, as the return to their respective homes of the pentecostal converts, had extended, as it were accidentally, the Gospel not only to Damascus and Antioch, but to cities more remote, and among them we may infer to the metropolis of the empire. But this journey of Paul and Barnabas, with his nephew as their attendant, was the first undertaken with this express object, and in an age and country like ours, where commerce and colonial empire are made available to extend the reign of our Lord, an increasing interest is reflected back upon Missions undertaken and recorded by inspired men. Vfe only regret that the annals cease so soon, and that they are no more expanded ; but we may be assured that we have a sufficient sample of the Apostolic mode of teaching, and that more was not expedient for us, or it would have been preserved. We may apply the aphorism of Hesiod, that the half is better than the whole ; and among other benefits of this brevity, such as the con- tracting into a small volume a book designed for the study of all mankind, we may perceive, that if the account was as particular as that of a modern Missionary, those who now devote themselves to the work might feel it their duty to copy too servilely conduct suited to the manners of an empire and period unlike their own, and might walk precisely in the steps of their inspired predecessors, instead of forming their practice according to their principles, by acting as they think Paul would have done if in their actual position. Though the Mission originated not with man, but with the Holy Ghost, the choice of place was probably that of Paul and Barnabas, and the isle of Cyprus was the scene of their first labours. In tlie lloman empire, when the Apostles wejit forth on •» Acts xiv. 2(j. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 91 their office of converting mankind, our attention is arrested by three great varieties of national life. We see in the Hebrew nation a divinely laid foundation for the super- structure of the Church ; and in the dispersion of the Jews, a soil made ready in fitting places for the seed of the Gospel. We perceive in the spread of the language of Greece appropriate means for the communication of Chris- tian ideas, and in the union of so many provinces, widely differing from each other under the law and government of Rome, a strong frameworV, which might keep together for a sufficient period those masses of social life which the Gospel was intended to pervad?. The peculiarity of the Hebrew civilization did not consist in the culture of the imagination and the intellect like that of the Greeks, nor in the organization of government like the Roman, but its distinguishing feature was the worship of the one true God. Even in the period of their greatest prosperity, the pious Hebrew was by a succession of prophecy kept in expect- ation of still greater natural blessings, not only of enjoyment but of triumph. The past was the golden age of Greece and Rome, but that of the Jew was the future. Every thing in individual and collective life was connected with revealed religion, and unlike the recondite philosophy of Greece, which could be only communicated to the in- tellectual or the popular theology of paganism, which they, while professing it, disbelieved, the religion preserved in the Law was for the use and benefit of all, for the peasant as well as the Rabbi, and they were expressly instructed to teach it to their children, and to meditate on it continually. One peculiarity in the history of this singular people is their dispersion, first compulsory, and afterwards voluntary. The removal to Babylon first settled them in the far east, and the destruction of Jerusalem scattered them over Europe ; yet we know from Philo, the contemporary of Paul, and from most heathen authors, that they had previously planted them- y» ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. selves for the sake of trade in foreign countries; yet they never lost their attachment to their own, and many of them . even from great distances occasionally fulfilled the duty of attending the great festivals at the Temple. They had settled in w^estern Asia even before Alexander, and that sagacious conqueror encouraged their coming to his new city in Egypt, where they were numerous enough to have a quarter to themselves, and where Onias the high priest set up a rival temple, which was destroyed, as well as the true house of God, by Vespasian. We find them in almost all the cities which Paul visited, and he always sought them in the first instance. They had formed chiefly at Alexandria, through the translation of their Scriptures, and the composition of the Apocrypha, out of Greek, a theological language, and this facilitated the Missionary's intercourse also with the heathen throughout the empire. Paul's Roman citizenship too gave him respectability, and as we learn from the narrative, was at critical periods the cause of his preservation, both at Philippi and at Cassavea. On the establishment of the empire, the frontier provinces on the Rhine, the Danube, and the Euphrates, where the Legions were principally stationed, had been reserved by Augustus, and were governed by his own Legates. The others, which were really equally under his control, were nominally left with the Senate, which continued to ad- minister them by Proconsuls. An insular province would fall naturally under the second class, in which we are expressly told<= that Cyprus was included; and on Paul's visit, we learn from Luke that it was under procon- sular administration. This large beautiful and productive island was devoted to the worship of Venus, who is called in consequence the Cyprian goddess, and enjoyed the epithet of Paphia from Paphos, the chief city in which she •> Couybeare and Howson's Life and Travels of St. Paul. « Dion Cassius, liv. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 93 had a celebrated temple. This fabled Queen of love did not attract, however, adoration from the charms bestowed upon her by the inimitable skill of the sculptor, exhibiting her as rising out of her birthplace the sea, the " bending statue which yet enchants the world," as the Venus of Florence has been called, or in any of the other attitudes on which the admirers of ancient art lavish their profuse praise. She was not represented as a beautiful mortal, but by a strange mysterious figure, described by Maximus Tyrius'' as resembling a white pyramid, and by Tacitus'' as the meta, that is, the conical boundary of the course, narrowing towards the summit, which will be understood by its appearance on the coins of Pergaraus^ under the Romans. The historian confesses his ignorance ; but those who have studied the philosophy, if so it may be called, of Greek polytheism, recognised in this symbolical image, what is more clearly exhibited in the Ephesian Diana, a representation of Nature, which under many names was the one great object of worship, Nor is this a fancy of modern speculation ; for the Pagan philosopher, Apuleiuss, introduces the Moon, declaring to her worshippers that she is the parent of all things, the sovereign of all elements, the uniform face of gods and goddesses, whom the Phrygians adore as Mother of them all, the Athenians as Minerva, the Cyprians as Paphian Venus, the Cretans as Diana, the Sicilians as Proserpine, the Eleusi- nians as Ceres, others as Juno, Bellona, Hecate, or Rham- nusia, and the Egyptians under the true name Isis. Cyprus recommended itself as a Missionary field to Barnabas, as his birth-place ; and many Jews were settled there, to some of whom Jesus had been already announced as the Christ by natives, who had been scattered by the first persecution, some of whom, as we have read, had even with ^ Max. xxxviii. "= Hist. ii. 3. f Spanheim de Usu Numii5matum, Tom. i. Dis. viii. 6. 8 Metamorph. xi. 94 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. the Cyrenians founded the Church of Antioch, and might have connections in the ishvnd whom they thought disposed to receive the Gospel. These Missionaries passed through the whole length of Cyprus, from Salamis to Paphos, the seat of government, preaching first the word of God in the synagogue of the former town, where they must have landed. They did not solicit an audience of Sergius Paulus the Proconsul, but he of his own accord sent for them, and this in spite of Ely mas a sorcerer, apparently a Jew, who sought to turn away the Governor from the faith of which he desired to hear. He is called (tvvstos, ijitelligent, and we may presume was dissatisfied both with the popular idolatry, and the speculations of the philosophers, and was an anxious seeker of truth. Saul sharply rebuked the pretended magician as a child of the devil, who perverted the right way of the Lord, and the language implies that he was acting against his conviction. He denounced on him for his crime the most appropriate judgment, such as had formerly fallen on himself. He who wished to keep another in spiritual darkness, was himself visited with a temporary blindness. This punishment, which he could neither foresee nor prevent, exposed the vanity of his pre- tensions, and convinced the Governor that the preacher of Christ was endowed with a power superior to his. This manner of teaching doctrine, confirmed by miracle, con- vinced Sergius. The Apostle henceforth assumes the name of Paul. A Roman one was generally adopted by Jews, who had much intercourse with the heathen ; thus Barnabas's nephew is called Mark, and the Apostle's fellow-traveller and fellow-sufferer Silas, Sylvanus. It was especially desirable for the Apostle of the Gentiles, and no name could be more honourable than that of his noble convert, which difiered so little from SauP. Other explanations are '' Jerome suggests, that as Scipio was called Africanus, from his con- quest, so the Ajiostle canied away his new name as a trophy over tlie ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 95 assigned, but none appear to me to be so probable as this. Hitherto Barnabas had taken precedence ; now it is Paul and Barnabas, (ver. 43.) and Paul and his company, (ver. 13.) As Paul is expressly said to have been filled with the Holy Ghost, the severity of his reprimand must be taken not as an intemperate sally of passion, but as a faithful exposure of his opponent's character ; and the miracle which followed proved by what impulse and by what authority he spake. From Paphos, Paul and Barnabas took a short voyage to Perga in Pamphylia, where, though we do not hear of any hardships endured by them, Mark deserted them, and returned to Jerusalem. They seem to have gone up the river to a city which bore the same name as the capital of the east, and was distinguished from it, and several others bearing the same name, as Antioch of Pisidia. Here, according to the Apostolic custom, they first delivered their message in the synagogue, which was also frequented by proselytes of the gate, called here and in other places, those who fear God. They probably sat down in the seats of the teachers, to which his education under Gamaliel would at least entitle Paul; and after the ordinary prayers, and the lessons from the Law and the Prophets, they were invited as a mark of civility to address a word of exhortation. He availed himself of this opening, and addressed them in a speech which bears a remarkable resemblance both in the quotations and its reasoning to the Pentecostal discourse of Peter. The first chapters of Deuteronomy and Isaiah are now read together in the synagogue, and were probably then. He commences with a reference to the former ; The God of this people of Israel chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they dioelt as strangers in the land of Egypt, and with a high hand hroughl he them out of it, and heatlien proconsul ; while others conceive that it was conferred on him by his noble convert himself. 96 ACTS OF THK APOSTLES. about the time of forty years suffered he their manners in the wilderness'^. He then, after the manner of Stephen, gives a brief sketch of his dealings with them, till the accession of David, preparing, by the enumeration of former temporal blessings, the way for the crowning mercy of Jesus, a spiritual Saviour, his seed according to promise. He, though proclaimed by the Baptist as Messiah, had been lately put to death at Jerusalem by their countrymen, who had thus unconsciously fulfilled predictions, which, though they heard them read out every sabbath, they did not understand. Paul now declared to these Jews and proselytes that God had raised him from the dead, and thus fulfilled the promise made to the fathers. As proofs, he refers to these predictions in the Psalms, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee : and, Thou tvilt not suffer thy holy one to see cor- ruption. He observed, that as it was well known that David had seen corruption, he could not be speaking of himself. He also referred to the sure mercies of David, in the everlasting covenant made with his Son, as the leader of the people, as recorded by Isaiah', and showed that they were of a spiritual nature, including in the forgiveness of sins a com- plete justification, such as the Law could not confer, being the doctrine which he afterwards proved and illustrated in various ways in the Epistles to the Galatians, Romans, and Hebrews. He concluded with an awful passage from Habakuk"^, warning them of the danger of neglecting so great salvation. Behold, ye desjiisers, and tvonder, and h The original, Deut, i. 31. The Lord thy God bare thcc as a man doth hare his son, is very different, and is thouglit by some critics more suitable than Paul's reading, which is from the Septuagint. But as the two diflfer only by a single letter, eVpot^Jprjo-e and fTpondp-na-f, both occur in the Sep- tuagint and in the Acts in diflfercut Mss. and Versions, and are both supported by eminent commentators. Griesbach rejects the common reading, which is retained in the \'ulgate. » Isaiah Iv. 3. "^ llabakuk 1. 5. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 97 perish ; for I loork a work in your days, a loork which ye will in no wise believe, tliough a man declare it unto you. The congregation on withdrawing, principally it should seem the proselytes, requested to have the subject again treated the next sabbath ; and many of both showed their respect to these preachers by following them to their lodging-; who, on dismissing them, exhorted them to remain in the grace of God, that is, in the state of salvation to which they had been brought. When the sabbath came, not only Jews and proselytes, but almost the whole city hastened to the synagogue, which excited the displeasure of the Jews, who began to revile and to contradict Paul. Emboldened instead of being dis- heartened by this opposition, Paul and Barnabas declared, that though it was proper that the word of God should be spoken first to his peculiar people, since they put it aside, judging themselves unworthy of eternal life, (for such is the inestimable message which they rejected,) they would turn to the Gentiles of Antioch ; and they justified themselves for an act so odious and so unpardonable, according to Jewish prejudice, by the authority of Isaiah i, who declared it to be a light thing that the Messiah should raise up the tribes of Jacob and restore the preserved of Israel, for Jehovah had also given him to be a light to the Gentiles, and his salvation unto the end of the earth. It followed, that it was lawful to announce him to those nations who had been so long in the shadow of death, and that they would welcome him as their Sovereign. The preceding verse showed, that though Israel (from pride and envy) were not gathered, the Messiah will still be glorious in the eyes of Jehovah ; a people lohom he hath not known shall serve him in the day of his power. Paul had declared, that the Jews had behaved as if they judged themselves unworthy of eternal life, and there- fore he now turned to the heathen inhabitants. These ' Isaiah xlix. 6. H 98 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. rejoiced, and glorified God for this saying, and as many of them as were disj)osed to receive this eternal life, believed. 1 accept this translation of Whitby, because he condemns the ordained of our version as unfairly favouring Calvinism ; yet there is no substantial difference, for we are told, that the preparations of the heart are from the Lord; we read after- wards, that the Lord opened the heart to believe the teaching of Paul ; and there seems to be no reason why his words to the Thessalonians™, God hath not appointed us unto ivrath, hut to the obtaining of salvation, should not be applied to the believers in Antioch of Pisidia by Luke. The Jews, ex- asperated by the success of Paul and Barnabas, for they had made converts in the adjacent country as well as in the town, stirred up the chief men and the devout and honour- able women, that is, the proselytes, so that they were able to drive them away. They left behind them, however, proofs of their ministry ; and though their disciples would regret that they could no longer listen to their instructions, still the doctrine they had been taught was so consolatory, that they were filled with joy, and justly, for they were also filled with the Holy Ghost. Paul and Barnabas, shaking the dust off their feet, (ac- cording to the Lord's command,) as a testimony against the obstinate infidelity of these Jews, proceeded to Iconium, the capital of Lycaonia. Here, as in Antioch of Pisidia, they opened their commission in the synagogue. We have no report of their discourses, but we are told that a great number both of Jews and proselytes believed. They made a considerable stay, discoursed much, and had signs and wonders granted to them. The unbelieving party notwithstanding prevailed upon the authorities to take part against them, and consequently, to avoid being stoned, they found it expedient to retire to Lystra. Among their hearers in this place was one wlio had been a cripple '" 1 Thess. V. 9. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 99 from his birth ; and Paul, observing this man's attention, and perceiving from his mamier some indication of belief, v^^as directed to confirm his doctrine, by granting him the use of his limbs. He, giving credit to Paul's command to stand upright, lept and walked. Peter and John, at the opening of the Gospel dispensation, had w^rought a similar miracle with the happiest result. But here a heathen population, struck, as they could not fail to be, with amaze- ment, explained the cure on their owai idolatrous principles, exclaiming. The gods have come doivn to us in the likeness of men : it is added, that they spoke in their own tongue to explain why their design Was not at first understood. This they might do the more readily, because, as one of their legends taught them, that in the border country Phrygia, Jupiter and Mercury thus disguised had been entertained by Lycaon the king. Nor was this feeling confined to the lower ranks ; for the priest of Jupiter, who had a temple beyond the gates, came forward with garlands and bulls to sacrifice. Barnabas they called Jupiter, pro- bably because he had a majestic and more commanding air ; Paul, Mercury, as the leader of the discourse, the title applied by Jamblicus to the god of eloquence. It might also be occasioned by his comparative insignificant appearance, for by his own testimony to the Corinthians, his bodily presence was contemptible, being, if we may trust a satirist, only three cubits high, yet tall enough, adds Chrysostom, in alluding to this tradition, to reach heaven". These faithful ministers of Jesus, who had patiently endured reproach and ill treatment, were distressed by these well meant yet excessive honours, and rushing into the crowd, assured them that they were only men" of like n Philopatris and Chrysostom, cited in C'ave's Life of St. Paul, 8. » Like nature, not like passions, is the true version of dixowiraQus here, and where St. James (v. 17.) speaks of Elijah. The pagans never denied H 2 100 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. nature with themselves, and directed them to that supreme unseen Benefactor, to whom their thanks were due, that living God, who Iiad created them, and fed them by his bounty, in giving them the rain, and fruitful seasons. Yet with all they could say, they with difficulty prevailed on them to give up their intention. The rapidity with which a disappointed populace will pass from one extreme to another, was evinced in the conduct of these Lystrans; for the Jews of Antioch and Iconium, inflamed by the same bigoted zeal which had once animated Paul himself, now came after these Missionaries, and so worked upon the susceptible minds of the fickle inhabitants, that they were persuaded to treat now as criminals those whom before they would have worshipped as gods. Paul as chief speaker was most obnoxious. He was stoned, and di-agged out of the city, as it should seem, in a state of insensibility, and supposed to be dead. Thus he nearly underwent the death he had assisted in inflicting upon Stephen; and it made a deep impression on his mind, for he tells the Corinthians p, that he was once stoned ; and he reminds his convert Timothy 1, a native of that very region, in his dying charge, of the persecutions awd afflictions which he had endured at Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. The Lord, to whom belong the issues of life and death, was pleased to restore his servant ; for he rose up while the disciples were in sorrow standing round him, and returned into the city, to show that he had not been killed. But though restored to life, there must have been a miraculous interference to remove the natural effect of his bruises ; for the next day he accompanied Barnabas to Derbe. At this town, the most distant that they reached, they continued that their gods had human passions, but they attributed to them a total exemption from mortality and disease, the only distinction they made between gods and men. 1' 2 Cor. xi. 25. q 2 Tim. iii. 11. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 101 some time, and taught many ; and then, regardless of personal danger, returned by the road they came, through Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, encouraging their converts, but warning them at the same time that it was only through much tribulation that they could enter into the kingdom of God. They oi'ganized them into congregations, appointing over them elders, taken of necessity out of their own body, and recommended them to the care of the Lord, in whom they believed. They now preached at Perga, which before they seem only to have passed through, and embarking at Attalia, returned to the brethren who had sent them, pro- bably four years before, on this mission. They then as- sembled the whole congregation, and gave them a particular account of all the Lord had done to them, and through them ; and in so doing showed how that it pleased God by their agency to open the door of faith to the idolatrous Gentiles. SECTION IX. THE MEETING OF THE APOSTLES AND ELDERS, WHICH DETERMINES THAT THE MOSAIC LAW IS NOT BINDING UPON THE BELIEVING GENTILES. Here Paul and Barnabas abode long, and might have remained longer, had not a difference of opinion, the first that arose in the Church, called them to Jerusalem. Some Pharisees who had been converted came down to Antioch, maintaining, that unless the Gentile believers were cir- cumcised, they could not be saved. The Epistle to the Galatians, which throws much light upon this transaction, says, that they were false brethren, unawares brought in, who came in privily to spy out the liberty which believers had in Christ Jesus, in order to bring them into bondage. The dispute was concerning a fundamental tenet. The ob- servance of the Mosaic Law by the Jewish believer was not 10,^ ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. unlawful, when it proceeded from a mistaken conscience, which regarded what was once binding as of perpetual obligation, provided that it did not lead them to put a stumbling block in the way of their Gentile brethren, for whom also Christ died. But these men taught, that obedience to this ritual was indispensable to salvation, that is, that circumcision and the works of the law were express conditions of acceptance by God. This assertion subverted the Gospel, which is gospel, that is, good news, because it announces salvation, independent of any works, ceremonial as well as moral, as purchased by Christ, to be embraced by faith. On this vital question Paul gave place to them by subjection not for the shortest period, which he showed by refusing to circumcise at their desire Titus, a converted Gentile^. As he was afterwards obliged to tell the Galatians^, he said unto them in substance, if ye he circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing ; for I testify to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law; Christ is become of no effect to you : whosoever of you are justified by the law, ye are fallen from grace ; for ive through the Spirit iv ait for the hope of righteousness by faith. After discussions which did not settle the question, the Antioch Christians determined to send up Paul and Bar- nabas to Jerusalem, that the Apostles and Elders might authoritatively decide the controversy, and peace and uni- formity of doctrine might be restored. They accordingly W3nt, accompanied part of the way by the brethren, fourteen, or as some think seventeen, years after Paul's short visit of fifteen days to Peter. He went up by reve- lation, made either to himself or some of the Prophets at Antioch, and on their way through Phoenice and Samaria, they caused great joy unto all the brethren, by declaring the conversion of the Gentiles. At the meeting there was much disputing on both sides by the Elders, before Peter " Gal. ii. 3—5. b Gal, v. 2—5. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 103 rose up to give his opinion. He, James, and John were probably the only Apostles present; for they alone are named in the Epistle to the Galatians. Peter reminded the assem- bly, that some years before God had chosen him to announce the Gospel to the devout Cornelius and his family ; and had borne testimony to the sincerity and acceptableness of their faith, by conferring upon them the miraculous gifts of the Spirit, thereby visibly showing that he made no difference between them and Israel. God, by imparting to the believing Gentiles that inward holiness of which circumcision and the legal purifications were but types, had himself settled the question. Why then should they presume to tempt God, by putting upon them a yoke, which he had not designed to impose on them ; a yoke too which they as well as their fathers had found too heavy to bear. He suggested also the inconsistency of requiring from them as a necessary condition, what they allowed was not the foundation of their own hope. We believe, that through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ we shall he saved even as they. Paul and Barnabas successively arose to support this confession, with many cases similar to that of Cornelius, which their recent mission enabled them abundantly to supply. The dis- cussion was closed by James, who presided apparently as Bishop even in the presence of Peter, who neither upon this or any other occasion recorded, claimed authority, or even pre- eminence, over the other Apostles. He confirmed Peter's judgment by the prophecy of Amos<=, which foretells that God will raise up again the fallen house of David for the pur- pose of converting the Gentiles ; and draws the conclusion, that as that was one of his secret designs from eternity, it was not for them to obstruct it by requiring, as a condition of their admission into the Church against their inclination, submission to the Law. He moderates however between the two extremes, by recommending as expedient, in order c Amos ix. 11, 12. 104 ACTS OF XHK APOSTLES. to avoid scandal, that the Gentiles should in a few parti- culars conform to the practice of the Jews. A letter was drawn up according to his view addressed to the brethren of the Gentiles in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, informing them, that it was decreed by the Holy Ghost and by them that they need neither be circumcised, nor keep the Law ; but that they would do well to abstain from meat which had been offered to idols, from the use of blood, and from strangled articles of food, and from fornication. The converts on reading it rejoiced, as well they might, in the consolation of being suffered to continue to enjoy their Christian liberty. Thus firmly, yet gently, did the Apostles and Elders check a deadly heresy, subversive of the faith, while they yielded to the innocent prejudices of some scrupulous brethren. This meeting has been called the first General Council ; and the form of the decree, It hath seemed good to the Holy Ghost, has been cited as evidence of the inspiration and consequent infallibility of such assemblies. There is, however, this essential difference ; this was a meeting to decide a question; Councils only profess to prove from Scripture what ought to be believed ; nor can a precedent be fairly drawn from the decision of inspired men. It may be, though rarely desii-able, as it probably was at Nice in the reign of the first Christian Emperor, that a General Council should be held ; but, to use the words of the XXIst Article of our Scriptural Church, " for- asmuch as they be an assembly of men, v.hereof all be not governed by the Spirit and Word of God, they may err, and sometimes have erred, even in things per- taining unto God. Wherefore things ordained by them as necessary to salvation have neither strength nor authority, unless it may be declared that they are taken out of Holy Scripture." But, according to Burnett even this decree is <: Burnet ou the XXI Id Article. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 105 misconceived, if regarded as the result of immediate inspira- tion ; for he considers, that the assembly, using their own judgment, weighing Peter's observation, concluded, that what God had done in the case of Cornelius, was to be extended to all Gentiles ; so that the words, it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, related to that Apostle ; and it seemed good unto us, imports that they resolved to make it a general rule. This, he says, gives the words a clear and distinct sense, agreeing with all that went before ; whereas it looks very strange that they should add their own authority to that of the Holy Ghost; nor will it be easy to give any other consistent sense to the words. "While sacrificial worship continued, that is, till the necessary extinction of the system by the destruction of the only authorized altar, these prohibitions would have been observed wherever the breach of them would have given offence. But as that season has long ceased, as they are not mentioned in the Apostolical Epistles, and as Paul after- wards declared that every creature of God was good and none to be refused, we conclude the restriction to have been temporary ; and the more so, because the Israelites were allowed by the Law to sell to their neighbours animals which had died a natural death ; which shows that such rules were only of a ceremonial character, as we cannot suppose that they would have been allowed to tempt the Gentiles to sin^ These prohibitions were already binding upon prose- lytes of the gate. And as such indulgences tempted to idolatry, and were the concomitants of it, they were justly forbidden to all permitted to live under the Mosaic Law, for that polity was framed to preserve the Jews from that sin, and to point out its evil to others. It was obligatory therefore on them as long as that Law continued in force, and it was an act of charitable forbearance in Gentile converts in every city in which they had synagogues in which Moses "^ Lev. xvii. Deut. xii. 106 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. was preached, by being read every sabbath day. St. Paul seems to have governed the Churches of his planting ac- cording to this decree, holding that things lawful were not at all times expedient, because not tending towards edification ^ According to Benson and Lord Barrington, this decree was designed only for proselytes of the gate, and for them only while the Temple services remained. The address is not to the Gentiles indiscriminately, but to the brethren of the Gentiles, in Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia. St. Paul in none of his Epistles to Churches, formed out of idolatrous Gentiles, even mentions this decree, and his argument with the Galatians*' expressly forbids compliance with the Jewish customs. His reasoning is, that if a Gentile con- sidered circumcision necessary to salvation, he laid a weight upon the Law incompatible with the mediation of Christ, and seeking to be justified by the works of that Law by which no flesh living could be justified. A Jew might keep the Law, and yet be faithful to Christ ; and so Paul con- tinued himself as a Jew, and bid the Jews continue, while he maintains the exemption from it of the Gentiles, and that all food was in its own nature clean. The Church of Antioch, the mother Church of the Gentiles, as Jerusalem was of the Jewish converts, had hitherto consisted only of Jews and proselytes, and had been formed before the Gospel had been preached to any idolater. Even at Jerusalem, Paul communicated only to James, Peter, and John, under seal of the greatest secresy that he had preached to any, and the reasoning of James and Peter refers only to such cases as that of Cornelius. If this be the true view, this decree was never binding upon the converts from idolatr}' to Christianity, and unless it be, abstinence from swine's flesh and other peculiarities of the Mosaic Law would have been enjoined. This solution enables us to reconcile this letter with our Saviour's declaration, that nothing which entereth into a '^ 1 Cor. vi. 12. X. 23. f Gal. v. 21. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 107 man defileth him ; and St. Paul's declaration, that he was persuaded by the Lord that nothing was unclean, unless to such as scrupled the lawfulness of eating it ; and he allowed the Christians at Corinth to eat meats offered to idols, provided they did not reverence the idols, harden idolaters, or offend weak brethren. The four prohibitions are, 1. meats offered to idols; 2. animals put to death without any effusion of blood ; 3. blood, whether in the meat or apart, as drunk or mixed with flour ; and 4. fornication : all closely connected with idolatry. These four prohibitions we can easily understand to be of temporary obligation ; but some perplexity has been occasioned by the addition of another, which being of a moral nature is, and must be, ever binding upon believers both of Jewish and Gentile extraction. To avoid the difficulty, violence has been done to the text; and while Bentley rashly suggests for Tropvsiu, without the authority of a single MS. ^oigsla, hogs' flesh, and Michaelis would translate it, flesh offered to idols and sold in the market, and some understand by it, spiritual fornication, that is, idolatry ; still the ordinary meaning must be retained; and as this sin was little regarded as such by the heathen, it might be expe- dient to exclude it by name from its frequent connection with the worship of heathen gods. The difficulty, says Bp. Marsh, consists in the seeming impropriety in the union of a moral precept with positive commands; and though a modern moralist would make a more accurate arrangement, we should observe the difference between popular and systematic teach- ing ; and may observe, that there is a similar union in the Decalogue, in which the moral command to abstain from adultery is united with the positive command to keep the Sabbath. We know that there have been, and probably still are. Christians who consider these restrictions as binding ; and it is understood that they are observed in the Eastern Churches. 108 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. We learn from the Epistle to the Galatians, that Peter visited Antioch, where, like Paul, lie ate with the Gentile converts; but when certain pei'sons came down from James, he conformed to the Law, so that many, even Barnabas included, were led away by his example. We learn, that his conformity was blameable from Paul, who had courage and faithfulness to withstand him publicly. This visit is generally placed after the decree, to the procuring which he was so instrumental. It does not even go so far as his speech recommended, but takes a middle course. Dr. Hales however, following Basnage, dates this act of duplicity as early as Herod's persecution, when he certainly left Jeru- salem, and might have retired to Antioch. This date would vindicate his conduct, and make his speech in the assembly a recantation of his former hypocrisy, and a proof of candour. And if it had been subsequent, he might have opposed the decree as a shield against the Judaizers. SECTION X. Paul's second mission. Peter now disappears from the narrative, and Paul becomes the exclusive subject. He and Barnabas had been accompanied to Antioch by Judas, surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men among the brethren, who being prophets (or preachers), exhorted and confirmed the body of believers. After some stay, the former had returned, when Paul proposed to Barnabas to visit the Churches which they had founded ; Let us see hoiv our hrethren do ; probably with a special reference to their conduct respecting the Law; for it is said, that as he went he communicated the decree, and the congregations were established in the faith, and increased in numbers. But his journey was not limited to their increase and edification ; he had already aspired to ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 109 proclaim a crucified Redeemer where he had never yet been named, and he was the Apostle who introduced Christianity into Europe. The proposal, however, came to nothing, because the latter determined that his nephew should accompany them ; and the former objected, because he had deserted them on their first mission as soon as they had quitted Cyprus, which was as a home to him. We are told that the contention was sharp, which shows a defect of temper in one or both ; but Providence, which shapes our ends, rough-hew them as we please, and educes good out of evil, in this instance overruled human infirmity, to the more extensive circulation of his word, for their separation spread it at once in two directions. Barnabas with his nephew sailed for his own country, where he had once (if not still) some land, and the Acts mentions them no more ; but the First Epistle to the Corinthians^ sliows, that at the time of writing it he was actively labouring in the cause ; and Mark, reconciled to Paul, had become his com- panion, and during his final imprisonment he desired Timothy to bring him to him, because he was profitable to him for the ministry^. Luke adds, that the brethren recom- mended Paul to the grace of God. His passing over Barnabas, seems to indicate that they took part with the former. Paul substituted for Mai'k, Silas, who is sometimes called Silvanus, under which name he joins him with himself as author of the Epistles to the Thessalonians ; and he appears to be the Tertius, (that being the Latin rendering of his name,) to whom he dictated the Epistle to the Romans. Pie seems to have been, like himself, a citizen of Rome, and is thought to be the brother to whom Peter, judging him faithful, entrusted the conveyance of his First Epistle. Instead of going by sea as before, he now passed by land through Syria and Cilicia, confirming the Churches. The ^' 1 Cor. ix. 6. " 2Tim. iv. 11. 110 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. latter was his own country, and probably the first scene of his Missionary labours. We next read of him at Derbe, and then at Lystra, where he found Timothy, then a j'outh, whom he had converted on his former visit. His father was a Gentile, who seems to have died during his childhood. As he had received a pious education from his mother Eunice, and his grandmother Lois, Paul chose this his own dearly beloved son in the faith, who had received mini- sterial gifts by the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery, to be his assistant ; and he circumcised him, not, as we know from himself, because he regarded circumcision or uncir- cumcision as any thing, hut faith zvhich icorketh hy love; but that he held it to be in a Jew an innocent conformity to custom, when not maintained to be necessary, and therefore would not, by omitting it, risk his exclusion from the synagogue, and so prevent his reading and expounding the Scriptures, which he had known from infancy. Thus he made himself to the Jews a Jew, in order to gain the Jews. Paul then set him apart to this office by the laying on of hands, and conferring upon him extraordinary gifts % which were accompanied with prophecies of his fitness and future usefulness. They proceeded through Phrygia and Galatia ; no particulars are recorded, but it must have been during this journey that he founded Churches in the latter, as the Epistle which he addressed to them could not have been long after, and was I think written at Corinth. His preaching there was, he observes in that Epistle, in the infirmity of the fiesh'^, referring to that bodily dis- order, most likely some imperfection in his articulation, caused some think by the visions of glory with which he had been favoured, which made his presence mean, and his person contemptible. In the Second Epistle to the Co- rinthians e, he calls it a thorn in the fiesh, a messenger of Satan to buffet him, lest he should he exalted above c 2 Tim. i. 6. " Gal. iv. 13. * 2 Cor. xii. 7—9. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. Ill measure. It has often been supposed to be some sinful propensity which easily beset him ; but this is confuted by his own statement, for he concludes with saying, not that he will combat, but that he will most gladly glory in this infirmity, that the power of Christ may rest upon him ; for having thrice prayed to him to remove it, his answer was, My grace is svfficieiit for thee, for my strength is made perfect in iveakness. Certainly, though it seems to have been objected to lum at Corinth, he found it no impedi- ment to his success among the Galatians, for they received him as an angel, nay, as Christ himself, and, to use his own emphatic words, would, had it been practicable, have plucked out their own^ eyes, and given them to him. He worked miracles among them, and also communicated to them the gifts of the Holy Ghost. Hitherto the Apostle's course had been regulated by his own judgment; but the Spirit now interfered to give it a new and unmeditated direction, forbidding him on this occasion to preach in (the Proconsular province of) Asia, and afterwards in Bitiiynia. In Ephesus, however, the capital of the former, he afterwards made a long residence ; and the latter seems to have been included within the sphere of Peter's labours, to judge from his Epistle, addressed to the strangers scattered through that and the other northern regions of Asia Minor. Paul in consequence waited for further instructions at Alexandria Troas, not the new Ilium which had succeeded ancient Troy, but a seaport divided from Mount Ida by a deep valley, and founded by Antigonus. It had become a Roman Colony, and its amphitheatre and other ruins attest its then magnificence, and justify the statement, that of the eighteen cities named after Alexander, this was after the former capital of Egypt the most flourishing. Here a man of Macedon appeared to him, entreating him to come over the sea and help them. This vision bears a striking f Gal. iv. 13—15. 112 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. analogy to the one which Josephus reports as appearing to the Macedonian conqueror. As Paul was entreated to come from Asia to bring Macedon into subjection to Christ, by one who had the air of a native ; so the king was invited to conquer the Persian empire and to liberate Jerusalem, by an apparition in the robes of the high priest. Paul and his companions, being satisfied that this was an intimation of the Divine will, were not disobedient to the heavenly vision. They embarked for Philippi, a chief city of the first of the four parts into which Macedonia was divided, on its conquest by Paulus ^milius. It derived its name from the first King Philip its founder; it is famous for the two battles in which the Roman Republic perished, with Cassius and Brutus, and was punished for its adherence to their cause, by being made a colony by the first two Em- perors, under the designation of Julia Augusta. A Roman colony was not like a modern mercantile factory, nor an offshoot, uTToixioc, from a parent state like a Greek settle- ment, which, though independent, retained a filial deference to the mother state. It was designed for the military protection of the frontier, or to keep in obedience a dis- contented province. It consisted of disbanded veterans, and therefore so many were settled by Augustus on the termination of the civil war. Thus each colony v.as a miniature of the capital, and, as it were, reproduced Rome amidst an alien population. It was free from the juris- diction of the governor, paid a capitation tax, was amenable to Roman law, and was under the administration of two magistrates, like the Consuls called Duumviri, who some- times bore the more imposing title of Praetors, ^TpaTrjyo/. Luke now begins to use the plural number, and we presume that he joined the party at Troas, and the narrative as we might expect becomes more circumstantial. Short as was the distance, they did not reach Neapolis, the port of Macedon, till the second day, having stopped at the island ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 113 of Samothrace. The Jews at Philippi must have been few, for they had only a house of prayer by the river side without the walls ; and here for the first time Paul pro- claimed Christ in Europe, seemingly to an audience ex- clusively of women. And by a mysterious providence, his first convert was no Macedonian proselyte, but a Vv^oman who came from the very Asia in which he had been forbidden to preach. She was a Lydian, and bore the name of Lydia. Her home was Thyatira, a city famous for dyeing the Tyrians purple, and she is described as a seller of purple garments. Though the Jews seem to have been a small and despised sect in this Roman colony, she was not ashamed of having turned from idols to worship the true God, and to be reckoned among his people, which, to say the least, could not have been favourable to her worldly interest. Her heart the Lord was pleased to open, so that she attended to the teaching of Paul. The result was the baptism both of herself and of her household, who we cannot doubt were also instructed in the truth ; and the reality of her conversion was shown, by her insisting upon their making her house their home. This she pressed so earnestly, that they could not refuse : though in providing them with a comfortable residence, she must have rendered herself unpopular in a heathen city, whose worship they condemned. Their residence there was very short, for a damsel possessed with the spirit of* divination, who brought her masters much gain by soothsaying, disturbed them several days, by following them in their walk, and exclaiming, These are the servants of the most high God, who shoio unto us the way of salvatioji. This declaration, as coming from a demoniac, could not be designed to promote the truth, for it had a tendency to check its progress among e An inscription in Spon Misc. iii. 93. shows that there was at Thyatira a Company of Dyers. •> The spirit of Python, so called from the Pythian Apollo. I J 14 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. the Jews, who would from this testimony infer that Paul was in league with evil spirits ; and the conse- quence was indeed the abrupt termination of his preach- ing; for when compassion induced him to eject the demon, whereby the damsel lost her power of foretelling, her owners in fury seized him and Silas, and dragged them before the magistrates, accusing them of troubling the city by teaching customs contrary to the Roman law, which Philippi, as a colony, was bound to observe. They, without any investigation, commanded them to be beaten, and committed them to prison. The cure wrought by Paul seemed at first sight injurious to the cause; but the result, though it ended in his departure, shed such a glory upon it, as must have fixed the attention of all the inhabitants, and produced a stronger and deeper im- pression than a longer stay with them could have done. In the inner dungeon into which they had been thrust, they were not resigned, but joyful ; for God geive them songs in the night. They not only prayed, but sung praises loud enough to be overheard by the other prisoners, although they must have suffered from their late scourging, and were then in a painful posture, having their feet fastened into the stocks. It pleased Divine Providence that very night by an earth- quake to burst open the prison doors, and to free the prisoners from their fetters. The jailor awoke, and con- cluding they were all escaped, in a fit of despair, anti- cipating a sentence of death from the magistrates, was upon the point of destroying himself, when Paul prevented him, by assuring him that they were all there. The jailor then brought them out, and falling at their feet, puts to them tlie all-important question. Sirs, what must I do to he saved? and immediately obtains the short yet comprehensive answer, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. The jailor no doubt had heard of the dispossession of the demoniac, which had led to their imprisonment; he rightly interpreted ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 115 the earthquake into a Divuie interposition, and he could not fail to be affected by that kindness which had saved him from self-destruction. His alarm began for his life, but under the influence of the Holy Spirit, it was turned into fear for his soul, a fear of which, as a pagan, he had a short time before most likely not a conception. What must I do to he saved? may be understood with a reference to his life, if we look only to the meaning of the words ; but as all the prisoners remained in custody, tliat danger was now at an end; and the sequel shows that he was a true convert, for he removed them to his house, washed their stripes, entertained them, and, professing his faith, was baptized, together with all his, who were also taught the way of salvation ; and though he had reason to fear the magistrates for his avowal of the cause which they punished, his trembling was turned into joy. Believe on the Lord Jesus, is all what Paul is specified to have said; but it is evident, that he must have communicated a sketch at least of the real office of the Messiah, to render his demand of faith in him intelligible ; and that the jailor must have been convinced of there being a future state of happiness, and of the necessity both of a fitness for it, and of a title to admission into it. The plan of the author of the Acts does not permit him to enter into particulars ; but he adds, that they spake the word of the Lord to him, and to all that were in his house. As soon as it was day, the magistrates sent their lictors, the very persons that had been employed by them to scourge Paul and Silas, to release them, thinking no doubt they had gone too far in punishing them without enquiry ; and it may be, having themselves some misgivings in consequence of the earthquake, that they might really be what the possessed damsel had called them, the servants of the most high God. Paul was never unwilling to suffer for his Master's sake, and he had no wish to avenge himself, but he felt it his duty i2 116 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. to obtain reparation for the wrongs he had suffered. He declared, that they had publicly been scourged, and had been imprisoned though uncondemned, and even citizens of Rome ; he therefore required that the magistrates them- selves should come and dismiss them honourably. In the tumult of the preceding day they had either not been able to plead their privilege, or the plea had been disregtirded ; but the magistrates, now it was stated, were seriously alarmed. The prisoners had been treated with a cruelty which would not have been exercised on any freeman, and which could only have been tolerated on the person of a slave. To a Roman citizen it was customary to allow bail, or detention in a magistrate's house, and he ought only to be imprisoned before trial on a charge of an heinous offence. An appeal to Rome would at the least procure the degra- dation of the magistrates ; they therefore obeyed the sum- mons of their prisoner, made an apology for their in- justice, and submissively entreated them to leave the city. Paul and Silas thought fit to comply with their request; but first they returned to the house of Lydia, and com- forted the brethren. The assumption of citizenship by one who did not possess it was a capital offence. The discretion of Paul in availing himself on this occasion, and afterwards at Jerusalem, of his privilege as a Roman citizen, is de- serving of notice, as it proves that his zeal was unalloyed with any portion of enthusiasm. He never, like some mistaken fanatics, courted persecution ; he used every lawful method of avoiding disgrace and suffering, and yet never shrunk from them when duty called upon him to endure them. His conduct on this occasion, in i"equiring the magistrates to come in person to release them, must have convinced the whole city, of their innocence, secured the jailor from any ill treatment in consequence of his kind behaviour, and raised in public estimation the respectability ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 117 of the new religion which they taught. The modern idea of nobility, which gives rank and privileges independent of office, was unknown in the Roman empire ; but this dis- tinction of citizen of Rome conferred, as we see in the case before us, a dignity in some respects similar, and which like that was hereditary. It was conferred as the reward of merit, and might be purchased, and was the birthright both of those who inherited it from their fathers, and of those who were born in particular places, as the colonial towns. The privilege was first extended to all natives of Italy ; then by Claudius to those of Gaul ; and finally abolished in fact by Caracalla, who communicated it to all his subjects. Scourging was an indignity that no degree of guilt could justify the inflicting upon a Roman citizen ; he could not be put to the torture, and he had in all cases a right of appeal to the supreme tribunal in the capital from tlie provincial courts. " To bind a Roman citizen is a crime, to scourge him impiety ; to put him to death, almost parricide. What shall I say of raising him on the cross ? such an impious act can by no means be called by an adequate word. Judges, a Roman citizen was beaten with rods in the midst of the forum of Messana ; mean- while no groan, no other expression of the unhappy wretch, was heard amidst the pain and sound of the blows, but this, I am a Roman citize7i, imagining that by this declaration of his citizenship he should repel all strokes, and remove this torture from his body. O, sweet name of liberty! O, excellent right of our city! O, Porcian law and Sempronian laws ! Are all things come at length to this, that a Roman citizen in a province of the Roman people should in the market place be beaten with rods ?" It is plain, from this splendid declamation of Cicero against Verrcsy, that in his own estimation, and in that of those whom lie addressed, the title of Roman citizen was 1 Orat V. 62, 63, 66. 118 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. superior to every other; and it is not likely that it should have sunk in dignity, when almost all the then world had -become subject to the Roman people. In Paul's Epistle to the Philippians, written many years after, in which he calls them his dearly beloved and longed for, his joy, and his crown', he showed that they were peculiarly dear to him, by accepting from them once and again, and even when so far from them as at Rome, pecuniary aid, which he would take from no other of his Churches. Of the many who there adorned the doctrine of God their Saviour in all things, that were true, honest, just, pure, lovely, and of good report, two alone are specified in the narrative, and they afford a delightful en- couragement, that all who seek the Lord shall find him. Few natural characters seem more opposite than those of Lydia and the jailor ; the one, a mild and gentle female, frequenting the place where prayer was wojit to be made; the other, a man whose office had at least a tendency to harden him. But when the Lord imparted his grace to each, there w^as a great resemblance. Both publicly confessed the name of Jesus, and both courteously received the Apostle". Paul and Silas, not discouraged by the insults and suiFei*- ings which they had encountered at Philippi, proceeded, accompanied certainly by Timothy and perhaps by Luke, along the great Roman road, through Amphipolis and Apollonia, probably without stopping, to Thessalonica. Therm £e had received that name either from a victory of ' Philippians iv. 1,8, 14—16. '> It is said both of Lydia and the jailor, that they were InjHized, with all their household; and infants it is assumed, by many paedobaptists, were in their families. This of course is a mere conjecture, and the doctrine finds stronger support from the Apostle's argument to the Co- rinthians, (1 Cor. vii. 14.) eke were your children tmclean, but noiv are they holy, being sanctified by the believing parent. But the decisive proof to my mind is, the analogy of circumcision, which was enjoined on the eighth day after birth. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 119 Philip's over the Thessalians, or from the name of liis daughter, who became the wife of King Cassancler. It was the capital of the second division of Macedonia, and the residence of the Proconsul, and was a commercial city, with a numerous and opulent population''. Paul, according to his custom, first proposed the Gospel to the Jews and the proselytes for three sabbaths. It was impossible that they should receive it until their erroneous preconceptions of the nature of the Messiah's reign were corrected. Their own ScrijDtures they allowed to be the infallible test of doctrine and rule of faith ; and Paul consequently, in imitation of his Master on the walk to Emmaus, proved out of these Scriptures that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen from the dead. From these premises he drew the conclusion, that Jesus whom he proclaimed was the predicted Messiah, showing how these prophecies had been accomplished in him. The result was, the conversion of some of the Jews, of many of the proselytes, and of a few of the chief women. The unconverted collected a mob, and attacked the house of Jason, who had received them. Paul and Silas were probably purposely concealed, for they could not be found ; but Jason and other converts were brought before the authorities on the charge of treason, for maintaining that there was another king beside Csesar, one Jesus. The magistrates it seems did not credit the charge, because they dismissed them without any investigation, only taking security for their peaceable behaviour. It was however no longer prudent, if safe, for Paul and Silas to remain, they were therefore that very night sent away to Berasa. If the narrative in the Acts was our only account of this visit to Thessalonica, we should have concluded that their b Under the name of Salonika; it is now the most flourishing city of modern Greece, with a population of 70,000 souls, half of which are Jews, who have the chief trade in their hands. Jexcish hdclligcnce for 1849, p. 374. 120 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. stay little exceeded three weeks ; but we learn from Paul's Epistles to the congregations which he had formed there, that he stayed long enough to receive assistance twice from the PhilippiansS which with his habits of being hungry as well as full, he would not have needed in so short a residence, especially as while there^ he worked for his own' maintenance, and that of those who laboured with him. Luke must therefore mean, that after these three sabbaths, he turned to the Gentiles, among whom his entrance was not in vain^. The Church was gathered out of them, for he reminds them^, that they had turned from idols to worship the true living God; and the Epistles have no allusions to the Law, or Judaizing believers. At Beraea Paul found Jews of a more ingenuous dis- position, who listened to him attentively, and daily com- pared his doctrine with the Scriptures, in order to form a correct judgment of it. But this promising opening was soon closed, for his persevering opponents followed him from Thessalonica ; and it was judged prudent that he, the chief object of their enmity, should retire to another city. He was accordingly taken along to the coast, as if he intended to embark, but was really conveyed by land to Athens, while Silas and Timothy remained behind. Luke so much studies brevity, that he notices few facts that do not lead to some observation. He therefore passes over the conversion of the Greek inhabitants of Thes- salonica, though we learn from Paul's first Epistle to them that the Gospel had come to them with power and with the Holy Ghost s. From this omission we infer, that miraculous signs followed believers in all the Churches of Paul's planting, and as an ordinary result were not mentioned, unless they led to remarkable consequences. Thus he takes no notice of those at Corinth, though St. "= Philip, iv. 14—20. ^ 1 Thess. ii. 9. 2 The>s. iii. 8. '' 1 Thess. ii. 1. f 1 Thess. i. 9. k 1 Thess. i. 5. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 121 Paul's Epistles show that the Church there abounded in spiritual gifts derived through himself. We have seen the Gospel triumphing over bigotry, and constraining Jews to accept it as the interpretation and completion of the Law ; and we have also seen it cordially embraced by idolaters, whose hearts God opened to wel- come it. We have now to notice its conflict with heathen wisdom, Athens, " built nobly on the Mgean shore," which distinguished itself far above all the cities of Greece, first by its spirit of independency, and then by its ambition, and its aspirations after intellectual preeminence. It soon became preeminent not only for statesmen and orators, but also for poets and philosophers. None have been more competent to judge of its claims to literary and moral supremacy than our great Poet, who in his immortal works has shown himself so well read in the " brief sententious precepts" of those, whom he designates as " teachers best of moral prudence, its lofty grave Tragedians." He entitles it, " the eye of Greece, mother of arts and eloquence, native to famous wits, or hospitable to others," who sought in it a home, in which they might devote themselves to philosophical study and discussion. After the struggles of its " fierce democracy" had failed, it yielded first to the Macedonian kings, and then to their conquerors ; and it was the boast of Athens, that though Rome had subjugated the bodies of men, Greece had subjugated their understanding, even that of those universal conqueror's themselves. Reduced to a provincial town, it remained the intellectual capital of the world, yet still it sought in vain by speculation to discover the most important truths. And this by the way shows us the superior accuracy of the scriptural division of mankind into Jew and Gentile, to the classical one into Greek and Barbarian. Athens, it is well known, has been praised by Cicero, who twice visited it, and sent his son to study there ; for it had become, and long continued to be, a kind of 12^ ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. University, in which the Roman youth were instructed in philosophy and oratory. About a century later, the Emperor Antoninus, who had studied there, established two Pro- fessorships of the four Philosophical Schools, as well as two of Rhetoric, and two of Law, under a President, called the Prefect of the youth, who commenced with philosophy, and proceeded through rhetoric to law. To the two latter teachers he assigned a salary of a talent, to the former of six hundred pieces of gold. Lucian describes Athens as swarm- ing with philosophers. Every where, says that satirical writer, you see a long beard and a book in the left hand, and the walks full of company, discoursing and reasoning. The Trihonium, the cloak common to them all, was in general dark ; only that of the Cynics was white, and often tattered. They and the Stoics, and even the Peripatetics, of whom they formed a section, were, he tells us, slovenly, but the Sophist was adorned with purple ; and the Professor ought, he said, to be handsomely clothed, and to have a flowing beard, to inspire those who approached him with the respect due to his office and salary. Athens continued to be a place of education under the Christian Emperors ; and the apostate Julian studied there at the same time with those two eminent Greek Fathers, Basil and Gregory Nazianzen, from whom we have a curious account "^ of the eagerness with, which pupils endeavoured to secure a new comer for their own tutor, and the ceremonies which preceded the assuming the Academic habit. The Professors were ori- ginally paid by their pupils ; but some property in houses and lands had been settled on them, for Epicurus had bequeathed his garden, and the patrimony of Plato afforded a considerable rent ''. The inscription over the yet remaining Temple of Jupiter below the Acropolis, " This is the city of Hadrian," shows ? Oration xx. '■ Dr. ChaiuUcr's Travels, v..l. ii. rli. 24. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 123 how much that Emperor, who founded a public library at Athens, had embellished that celebrated city. The imperial bounty may be traced even under the successors of Con- stantine, though the philosophers continued, to close their eyes against the light which had come into the world to enlighten it, and studied to uphold the falling system of the popular belief, by allegorising its indecent or ridiculous mythology. A century after Julian, Proclus argued against the Christian doctrine of Creation ; still he was allowed to occupy the Chair of the Academy ; and his successors may be traced from about fifty years after his death, till the Schools of Athens were finally closed by an edict of Jus- tinian. Plato, who deteriorated the common sense philosophy of his master Socrates, whose boast it was to have brought down philosophy from heaven to men's business and bosoms, with the obscure and as some think sublime mysticism of the followers of Pythagoras, was the founder of the first School. His pupil, Aristotle, whose close discriminating reasoning is strongly contrasted with his master's fanciful speculations, formed the second ; and after a considerable interval, Zeno and Epicurus, under the Macedonian kings, established their systems, which in the time of St. Paul seem to have nearly superseded the earlier ones. The four most approved in modern times are thus briefly yet graphically sketched by the historian of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'. " In the suburbs of the city, the Academy of the Platonists, the Lycaeum of the Peripatetics, the Portico of the Stoics, and the Garden of the Epicureans, were planted with trees, and decorated with statues ; and the philosophers, instead of being immured (like many of the Schoolmen, the admirers and imitators of Aristotle) in a cloister, delivered their instructions in spacious and pleasant walks, which at different hours were ' Vol. vii. cli. xi. 124 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. consecrated to the exercises of the mind and body. The systems which professed to unfold the nature of God, of man, and of the universe, entertained the curiosity of the philosophical student ; and according to tlie temper of his mind, he might doubt with the sceptics, or decide with the stoics, sublimely speculate with Plato, or severely argue with Aristotle." " Plato, unlike his master Socrates and his pupil Aristotle, who divided with him the ad- miration of future ages, enjoyed the public favour in life and in death ; while the former suffered as the martyr of his philosophy, and the latter by flight prevented the Athenians from committing a second crime against it. In Athens, the fame of Aristotle, who so long survived him, and who may be considered as the teacher of all the know- ledge, natural or moral, then extant, must have eclipsed his school, which was feebly sustained by his successors, who, more by the charm of his name than by their own abilities, kept it alive. It divided in time under Arcesilaus and Carneades, into the middle and new Academy, which owe their celebrity chiefly to Cicero, who though they did not, like the followers of Pyrrho, absolutely maintain that all opinions were equally uncertain, still determined that all truths have some falsehoods adjoined to them, so very like, that there is no certain mark to decide our judgment or assent." Not many years after, the voice of Plato had ceased to be heard amid the groves of Academus; a more enduring monument was raised to him in the School of Alexandria, where, as in a fitting temple on the confines of the eastern and western worlds, was enshrined the philosophy, which had moulded into one the inventions of Greece and the traditions of Asia. The disciples of this School, while they boasted of his name, exaggerated and disfigured his doctrines. But the system, though less satisfactory to the judgment than the cold reasoning of the Stagyrite, who is said to have dipped his ])en in pure intellect, was attractive ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 125 to the fancy ; and it alone of all the speculations of the philosophers, continued to flourish after the establishment of Christianity, among believers as well as their opponents ; who endeavoured to support and rationalise Paganism, by allegorising its fables as ingenious vehicles of physical facts or moral truths. Origen and succeeding Fathers maintain, that Plato was acquainted with the doctrine of the Trinity, and had derived his superior ethical views from the Hebrew Scriptures. Platonism, which was recom- mended by Augustine, the great Doctor of the Western Church, prevailed, till the argumentative character of Scho- lastic Theology gave the ascendancy to Aristotle ; still even the speculations of the Church continued to be for the most part Platonic in their principles, though they were con- ducted and modified by the dialectical method of his pupil. The works of this philosopher are so full of matter con- densed into the fewest possible words, that they seem not so much meant for the reader, as notes for his own use, to be expanded in oral instruction. His successor, Theophrastus, had the exclusive benefit of this precious legacy ; and his fame, afterwards so great in every department of knowledge, and so universal and so enduring, suffered a temporary eclipse ; for these manuscripts were removed to Scepsis in Asia, and selfishly secreted there, lest the king of Pergamus should seize them, to enrich the library which he was founding, and they were not restored for more than a century to the place in which many of them had been written. As time advanced, the Epicurean and Stoic Schools became the most popular. Pleasure, according to the former, the end and aim of life, recommended a system, which, as commonly understood, allowed the unrestricted gratification of the senses, to the great majority, who are naturally, as Horace exjDresses it, " hogs of Epicurus' stye ;" for though the founder was most abstemious, and placed enjoyment in a state of mind and body incompatible with a life of sensuality ; still. 126 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. as selfish indulgence was the motive, his arguments were as applicable to the contrary practice, since temperance - was recommended by him not as a duty, of which he could have no conception, but as best promoting a man's real en- joyment. . The Epicureans were practically atheists ; main- taining that the world was eternal, and had been brought out of chaos into form by a fortuitous concurrence of atoms. They allowed the existence of the gods, pro- bably not to give offence to the vulgar, for they excluded them from any concern for human affairs, and described them as enjoying the supreme good, a life of indolent contemplation, unruffled by care or desire. The few of nobler mind were attracted by the loftier pretensions of the Stoics; and their system, which was about this period digni- fied by the wealthy Seneca, and afterwards by the slave Epictetus and the Emperor Marcus Aurelius, who alike professed to be unaffected by external circumstances, was as gratifying to intellectual pride, as that of Epicurus was to the voluptuary. That philosopher's own notion of pleasure was the freedom of the body from pain, and of the soul from perturbation; but he allowed, that he had no higher principle than expediency, and recommends frugality and temperance, because favourable to health ; for a man is to do all things for his own sake. He is accordingly justly charged by Epictetus with having mutilated the duties of a master of a family, of a citizen, and of a friend. The Stoics professed to believe in one supreme Governor of the universe, and in the immortality of the soul. Their extant writings have a specious show of piety, but it is no more than show. Even a superficial examination will prove it to be Vaiu wisdom all, and false philosophy. Their language respecting the Deity is eloquent and sublime, but when analysed, we find it to be Pantheism, wiiich con- ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 127 founds the Avorkmaii with the work, and, unable to conceive creation out of nothing, considers all beings As only parts of one stupendous whole, Whose body nature is, and God the soul. Sympathy with man, their Deity upon their principles could not have, and his Providence was synonymous with Fate, the decrees of which, by some unexplained necessity, God as well as man was obliged to obey. They believed that the human soul was literally a particle of divinity, and its immortality, on which they expatiated, was only an absorption into the essence from which it had been severed ; an eternity without consciousness, differing but in name from annihila- tion, compared by themselves to a vessel floating on the waves, which when broken pours out its contents into its parent sea. Their morality was in some respects good, and superior to that of the other Schools ; but its basis was pride, and they dared to exalt their imaginary sage, their perfect man, their idea of human perfection, above God himself, since, according to them, the latter was wise from nature, the former from choice. All, however they might differ in their estimate of their respective Schools, indulged in the highest panegyric of Philosophy. They agreed, that nothing more excellent, nothing more beautiful, nothing more beneficial to human life, had been given by the gods, to use the language of Cicero'', nor, according to Plato i, could be given. It hath instructed us in the first place, says the former™, in what relates to religion ; next, in justice; and then, in sobi'iety and magnanimity of mind. The performance, hov/ever, fell lamentably short of the promise ; and because philosophers did not act up to their precepts, and often contradicted one another, they were little respected by the people, who preferred the teaching of the poets. Cicero confesses, that Philosophy was content with few judges; that it designedly shunned ^ Di: Legibus, i. 22, - ' Tiiuteus. '" Tuscul. D. i. 2(j. 128 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. the multitude, and was in time suspected and hated ; so that any one who set himself to abuse it, would have a -favourable audience. The philosophers affected to regard it as beneath their dignity to condescend to the masses. It is a work of difficulty, says Plato, to discover the Maker and Father of the universe, and to declare him to all impossible ; and few, we are told by a Origen, profited by his works, which were only in the hands of the learned. As the popular religion had its mysteries, so the philosophers kept back their real opinions, for an audience fit, and therefore few, and owed much of their reputation to this reserve. The more we, who have had the privilege of being taught by God, study their remaining works, the moi-e we shall be convinced, that they, Ignorant of themselves, of God much more, And how the world began, and how man fell, can only mislead, Talking much, and all awry, And in themselves seek virtue, and to themselves All glory arrogate, to God give none. The best that can be said of any is, that we may select from them precepts, which, detached from the context, are good, but if we endeavoured to conform our lives to them, we should find them to be blind guides. Nor indeed have we a right to expect more, since they searched as it were in the dark, with no other guide than the light within, which was only strong enough to show in what darkness they were wandering, but was no light unto their paths, nor lamp unto their feet. It is often assumed, that among the Greeks and Romans, though the nations were polytheists, their philosophers, though they might from fear or policy conform to the established worship, believed in one Supreme Being; yet Justin Martyr, who before his conversion had been one of them, observes, that their theology was more ridiculous than that of the poets. Passages might certainly be selected fro2n their writings, which, detached from the ACTS OF THE APOSTLKS. 129 context, would prove them to be rational ; yet a full investigation will show, that with the phrases of piety on their lips, they were pantheists or atheists, or still retained some attachment to the polytheism of the vulgar ; for in speculating on the Deity, they intermix with strange inconsistency the singular and plural numbers. With their ignorance of the only true God, they could have no correct or influential notions of his providential govern- ment. The doctrine, as we have seen, was altogether rejected by the Epicureans. Of the rest", some main- tained that gods and men were alike controlled by fate ; others, that their providence extended not below the Moon ; and none probably went beyond Seneca °, who represents it as exercising a guardianship over the race, but only sometimes taking care of individuals; and forgetting that God could never weary, the}^ thought he must be miserable if he troubled himself with the management of many concerns. To such a God, who at the best was but the primary mover of the universe, they did not hold themselves responsible ; and consequently they resolved all obligation into submission to the laws or to opinion. Personal purity could not be expected from a nation, which worshipped gods avowedly of the same passions with them- selves, to which they were fabled to give way without censure, and were consecrated by their example. Even philosophers ranked the gratification of animal desires among things indifferent, which did not detract from re- spectability. And though Plato banished the poets from his Republic, on account of their immorality ; yet he introduced into it a community of women, which even the most lax of modern moralists would be ashamed to advocate. Origen p had the philosophers in his mind, when he speaks of those who, like the vulgar, walked in uncleanness ; and " Cicero de Natura Deorura, iii. " Epist. 95. p Origeu contra Celsura, vii. 130 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. at this very time, Paul pressed upon his Thessalonian converts "^, that they should abstain from fornication, and every one possess his vessel in sanctijication and honour; not in the lust of concupiscence, as the Gentiles who know not God. This then is a prohibition peculiar to revealed religion. The earlier philosophers affirmed, that it was the duty of man to bear with fortitude and resignation the lot assigned to him; but the Stoic, instead of submitting to the Divine will as to a fatherly chastisement, armed himself with an arrogant boast, that pain and misery were no evils to the sage ; yet if he ever felt those to be such, he took it as a hint to retire out of the world. If, says Epictetus, the house is in a smoke, if it be moderate, I will bear it; if grievous, I will go out ; for you must remember always, that the door is open'^: and suicide is expressly recommended by him in other jDassages, as it is also by Marcus Aureliuss. Seneca* panegyrises the death of Cato, as most glorious; and the younger Pliny" makes the choice of life or death the sign of a great soul. The doctrine comes certainly with the worse grace from those who boast, that virtue under all circumstances is sufficient for happiness ; and that the sage is perfectly happy, even while enduring extreme torments. The virtues inculcated by these moralists are chiefly those of public life ; the duties of private, more important because more general, are scarcely noticed, because they wrote with the ambition of forming statesmen, not of making good husbands, fathers, or masters. Humility was not allowed to be a virtue ; none scruj)led to prefer an useful falsehood to an injurious truth; and the forgiveness of injuries was seldom practised, and not understood, either by the vulgar or by philosophers. The later Stoics, in recommending it, placed it on a wrong foundation, or pushed it to an injurious excess ; and some of '\ I Thess. iv. 3 — 5. "■ Epictetus, 1. xxv. 2. " Meditat. v. 29. ' Seneca, Ep. 70. " Ep. i. 22. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 131 them, as Seneca, maintained, that a wise man ought never to pardon, pardon being the remission of a punishment, which ought to be exacted'. Aristotle ^^ speaks of meekness as erring by defect ; and it is coldly that Cicero recommends forgiveness, if that can be called recommendation, which enjoins a measure to be observed in punishing''. Even granting philosophy a completeness, and an exemption from error, which it has never claimed, it is as a rule of life deficient in authority. The philosophers delivered their maxims, but they had no weight, because the de- terminations of uninspired fallible mortals and the early legislators were so sensible of this want of authority, that instead of attempting to prove the reasonableness of their laws, they enforced them by passing them off as commu- nicated from heaven. The literary associations connected with Athens, and its Acropolis commanding the town and neighbourhood, covered with temples abounding with the choicest works of the painter and the statuary, must have kindled then far more than even now, when so small a specimen, and that an imperfect one, of its grandeur remains, an en- thusiastic admiration in all susceptible of the sublime and beautiful, in the arts of design, whose hearts can be reached by eloquence in prose or verse, or whose minds can comprehend the lofty speculations of philosophy. Yet from our Apostle, who had had a learned education, and whose writings show him to have been a man of genius and feeling, there falls not the tribute of a momentary invo- luntary admiration. In his career of unprecedented philan- thropy, Paul had no time to step aside from the grand work which occupied his soul, and exercised all his faculties. Philosophy had not led the Athenians, as we have seen, to the first principles of natural religion, nor properly in- " De Clemeiiti;i, ii. 6, 7. «" Nic. F^thics, iv. 11. » De Officiis, i. 7. 13^ ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. structed them in the offices of private or social life. The emotion therefore produced in his breast by the sight was indignation of the sad perversion by this refined people of God's gifts of genius and reason, who, to use his own language to their conquerors, had, in professing themselves wise, become fools, by changing the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made (at the best) like to corruptible man^. His spirit was stirred within him, when he beheld this beautiful Athens, notwithstanding its boasted philosophy, wholly given to idolatry. So devoted indeed was it, that an ancient author^ sarcastically observed, it was easier to find there a god than a man, and it had more religious festivals than any other city of the Greeks. Paul however, as usual, proceeded with due caution. He began, according to his custom, with the Jews and proselytes, who acknowledged with him the true God, and looked forward in hope to the Messiah, whom he proclaimed as already come. Having thus made himself in a manner known, he frequented the places of public resort, where he was sure to be questioned; but a despised barbarian, and moreover a Jew, with per- sonal appearance little in his favour, was, notwithstanding all his prudent precaution, called, a picker up of seeds, (nrs§(js.oXoyoi, meaning, that he was a retailer of other men's opinions, instead of reasoning for himself; rendei'ed in our version, a babbler. Others, who seem not to have been mockers but enquirers, said, he seemeth to be a setter forth of foreign demons, for he proclaimed Jesus and the Resurrection. They apparently took them for two new objects of worship. He must therefore have spoken of his Master not only as the Man by wliom God would judge the world, but as partaking of his nature; and the Resurrection they must have mistaken for a female deity. Nor was this an extraordinary notion in heathens, who deified Hope, Jufitice, Concord, and other abstract qualities; J Romans i. 23. ^ IMnmius, Sat. 17. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 133 and these very Athenians had dedicated an altar to Pity. The only philosophers who are said to have encountered him were the Epicureans and Stoics ; nor is it easy to determine to which his doctrine would be least acceptable ; for while it forbad the criminal gratification of the senses, it mortified the proud moralist, by affirming human de- pravity, and ascribing salvation not to man's merit, but to God's free favour. To all indeed in every age, whose hearts have not been renewed, notwithstanding their baptism and Christian education, the Gospel is foolishness, and its preachers will be treated as babblers ; for the natural man cannot knoiv the things of the Spirit, because they are spiritually discerned^. Notwithstanding what moderns have said of the tolerant genius of Polytheism, for the purpose of indirectly wounding Christianity, all attempts of private persons to innovate in religion were resisted and punished. Thus one of the charges against Socrates in this very city was refusal to acknowledge the deities of the State; another, the intro- duction of new ones in words nearly the same as those in which these philosophers accused Paul. On this charge the Apostle was brought before the court, which was held in the open air on Areopagus, the hill of Mars, and had the general superintendence of morality and religion. Some distinguished commentators understand, that he was there, like Socrates, put upon his trial ; but we have neither accusation nor defence; and the narrative only conveys the idea, that Paul was called upon to explain his doctrine in the presence of those who were held to be the most competent judges. May we know what this new doctrine is ? was the commencement of the proceedings, and their conduct shows that they were not influenced by zeal for their own faith, or the desire of finding a better. Apparently they had in view no object more important than amusement, for all the citizens and the strangers » 1 Cor. ii. 14. 134 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. zvho tvere there S2)ent their time on nothing else than to hear or tell some neio thing. Demosthenes complained of this weak- ness at the very crisis of their fate; and no doubt since Athens had little commerce, and had long dwindled into a provincial town, this love of novelty 'must have greatly increased. In this assembly, Paul, without any compromise of the truth, or any overpowering display of superior knowledge, en- deavoured to conciliate them, by commencing with a com- pliment on their piety ; and by taking advantage of their confessed ignorance, shielded himself from the law, which treated the introduction of any new object of veorship as a capital offence, and naturally introduced his subject. The remark, that among their altars there was one to an unknown God, has exercised the learning of scholars ; because they find, that profane authors, as Pausanias, who has given a minute description of the buildings of Athens, including pictures and statues, make mention of such an inscription once in the plural number ; and Grotius and others think, that Paul referred to one of these. But by making such a change, even were it allowable, he would have stultified his observation. I see no improbability in supposing, that he really read upon one this very text, as I may call it, of his discourse, though no heathen writer had occasion to name it. His speech divides into two parts: in the first, he exposes the folly of idolatry; in the second, he enters upon the fundamental articles of the Resurrection and the final Judgment. It is comprised in a few sentences, though it is full of the weightiest truths, happily familiar to the unlettered Chris- tians, but unknown to the sages of antiquity. In opposition to the philosophers as well as to the vulgar, he lays down the position, that God is the Maker of heaven and earth, and all things therein; he proceeds to afiirm his government of what he has created ; that they had not, as they boasted, sprung out of the earth indigenous, but that they and all mankind were descendants from one common ancestor, and ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 135 that the time and place in which they lived had been determined by the will of their Creator. From these premises follows, that he is no local deity, confined within a temple ; self-sufficient, according to the acknowledgment of the Roman Epicurean Poet, requiring therefore nothing; and spiritual and invisible, and therefore not to be ade- quately represented by human art. He interposes the observation, that it is the duty of men to seek a know- ledge of him, which might be obtained in part from his works, and from his sustaining providence. In con- firmation of this, he cites an hemistich from two of their poets, his countrymen, Aratus, and the sublime hymn of Cleanthes. Yet, though it was God's will that they should seek him, they had not found him, and at their ignorance he had winked ; he had sent no inspired messenger (such as Plato seems to have expected) to reclaim them from worshipping his creatures, but he now called upon them as upon others to reform, because he had appointed a day of judgment after death ; and that all would appear at that tribunal, he had shown by the resurrection from the dead of that Man who was to be the Judge. *' Athenians," says this setter forth of the true God, " I observe that you are in all respects more addicted to religious worship than others ; for passing through your city, and inspecting your objects of devotion, I found among them even an altar on which was inscribed, To an unknown God, Him therefore whom ye ignorantly re- verence I announce to you, the God who made the world, and all things therein, he being Lord of heaven and earth, dvvelleth not in temples made with hands ; nor is he waited upon with sacrifices by human hands, as if he had need of any thing, he himself giving to all life and breath and all things. He has also made of one blood the whole human race, to dwell upon the face of the earth, (having fixed the foreordained seasons and bounds of their habitation,) in 136 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. order that they might seek after him, the Lord, if haply they could grope after and find him, though already really not far from any one of us, for through him we live and move ourselves, and have our existence ; for as even some of your poets have said, For from him v^^e have our birth. We then, having our birth from him, ought not to conceive that the Deity is like to gold, silver, or marble, sculptured by art, according to man's conception. The periods of this ignorance God has overlooked, but now he commands all men every where to change their minds, because he has appointed a day on which he is about to judge the world righteously, by the j\Ian wliom he has determined, and he has afforded proof of this to all by raising Him from the dead." Here he was obliged to leave off, from the ridicule of some and the indifference of others, which shows that it could not have been a trial. We may presume, that if he had been able to fix their attention, he would have gone on to proclaim through the same Man remission of sins, sancti- fication, and eternal life. We learn from Cicero, that the immortality of the soul had been taught by Pherecydes and his disciple Pythagoras, not as a discovery, but as a tradition ; and that Plato was the first who reasoned in behalf of the doctrine. And this reasoning he did not find very satisfactory ; for he says in another place, AVhile I read his treatise, I am convinced, but when I lay it side, my conviction instantly ceases ; nor is this surprising, for the stress of the argument for the soul's existence after its departure out of the body is laid upon its existence before its entrance into it. Such an argument is prejudicial, for those whom it did not satisfy of its preexistence, denied its surviving its companion ; for it was a received axiom, that whatever had a beginning would have an end. Its advocates did not speak with confidence ; for the last words of Socrates to his judges were, We now depart to our respective destination, you to live, and I to ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 137 die ; but which is best, no mortal can declare ! And Cicero confesses, that the doctrine, he knows not why, was despised by the majority : and even he himself, after enumerating several opinions, concludes with saying, that the gods must determine which is true. The doctrine, as treated by the philosophers, when received had no moral tendency, for they did not connect it with responsibility, regarding eternal life ; not as the reward of virtue, bestowed by a righteous Judge, but as a necessary consequence. Cicero would fortify the mind against the fear of death, by proving it to be no evil ; and he proposes this dilemma ; it will be extinguished, and then there will be no consciousness ; or it survives, (as he endeavours to prove,) and then it will be happy ; for the alternative of misery is rejected as an absurdity, because God cannot hurt, nor even be angry with any one. It was moreover happiness to which the mass of mankind must not aspire, it being the peculiar reward of sages, and the benefactors of mankind. Seneca found consolation in the hour of death in the thought, that he should soon be in the same state of insensibility as before his birth ; while his contemporary Paul could triumphantly exclaim, that to him to die was gain, and that to be with the Lord was hy far much better than life. Truly then may we repeat after him, that the Gospel has thrown light upon ^ immortal life, both by proving the fact by our Lord's resurrection, and by declaring that the wicked shall be punished with everlasting misery, and that the righteous, without respect to rank or talent, will go into eternal happiness. The immortality of the soul was believed by few of those whom Paul encountered on Mars' hill, but it could not have been regarded as a strange and absurd notion in a city, which had heard it from Plato and from Socrates. It was the doctrine of the resurrection of the body, which was believed by none, that exposed the ^ Philipp-ans i. 23. 2 Tim. i. 10. 138 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. teacher to ridicule. The soul was compared to a prisoner in the body, which cramped its intellectual energy, and debased its affections. Regarding death as its deliverer, and ex- pecting it to exist if it survived in a purer and astherial vehicle, the restoration of the body they considered im- possible and undesirable, and would not hear of its reunion with its former companion. Paul was at first treated with civility, and he was not afterwards persecuted ; but he appears to have been more unsuccessful than usual, for we do not read of a Church founded at Athens. A few, however, ordained to eternal life found his doctrine to be good news ; two are named, Damaris, a woman we may presume of influence, though this is the only record of her ; and Dionysius, a member of the court of Areopagus, who has obtained an unfounded celebrity as the reputed aiithor of the heavenly and ecclesiastical hierarchy, and other mistical writings, the sources of many superstitions respecting angels, formerly very popular, but which are quoted for the first time in the sixth century. He has been mistaken for a Bisliop of Paris of the same name, who suffered martyrdom by beheading, and is often represented with his head in his hand. Paul, finding no opening at Athens, proceeded to Corinth, which as the residence of the Proconsul was the political metropolis of Greece.- Its favourable position on the isthmus, which both made it the key of the Peloponnesus, and gave it ports on the east and west, raised it to com- mercial importance from the earliest times ; so that the epithets of wealthy, apsios, and opulent, wAoucrioj, are appro- priated to it by Pindar and Homer. The original city had been totally destroyed by its Roman conqueror Memmius, and it lay desolate till colonised by Julius Cassar in the same year with Carthage. Though like the rest of Greece reduced to political insignificance, it was still commercial and rich, though not to be compared with its former self, ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 139 and continued to enjoy its less creditable reputation of a city devoted to dissipation. The idolatry of the East was accompanied with " wanton rites," and lustful orgies, and philosophy had not attempted to banish them from Grecian temples. Their mysteries, which have been vaunted as schools of wisdom and virtue, in which the gross notions of the popular religion were said to be corrected and refined, consisted chiefly, if we may trust the Christian Fathers, in whose times their meaning seems to have transpired, of exhibitions which would not bear the light. Aristotle blames all lewd pictures, except those of the gods, which religion had sanctioned; and Cato was ashamed to be present at some of the religious ceremonies which took place in public. Several of their writers, as Terence and Lucian, bear witness to the immoral tendency of their legends, in which the gods, differing from men only in power, exert it for the gi'atification of their passions. If such was more or less the character of all the fabled inhabitants of Olympus, to whom their king and father set the example, what could be expected from Bacchus and Venus, the personifications as it were of debauchery and lust over which they presided, and which were there- fore consistently introduced into their worship, as an acceptable homage. Plato said, that intoxication was allow- able only on the festivals of the Giver of wine ; and it was a proverbial saying, that a chaste woman would not be corrupted at the Bacchanalia. Corinth had been celebrated for dissolute manners, and they must have been kept up in the Roman colony; for Venus, who presided over the Acropolis on the high mountain above it, was served by a thousand courtezans % who had been dedicated to her by her votaries, and exercised their profession in the name of religion. The inhabitants of such a city were no doubt similar to other Gentiles, who wondered that the followers of Jesus *^ Strabo, viii. 140 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. did not rim to the same excess of riot as themselves, and against whose concupiscence Paul'^ warned the Thessalonians; while Peter^ descrihes them as walking in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, and abominable idolatries. Corinth seemed to be as unpromising a station for a Missionary as Athens ; for if philosophy fosters a pride of under- standing, which revolts at the humiliating doctrines of the Cross, sensuality indisposes the heart to submit to the self-denying morality of the Gospel. In Corinth, however, it ]Di'oved mighty to the casting down of the strongholds of sin, and bringing the tlioughts of some at least of these sinners into captivity to the obedience of Christ. In vain would a heathen sage have dilated to such an audience with excellency of speech, and in the enticing ivords of mans ivisdom, on the intrinsic beauty of virtue. It is only the Divine power that forgives sin, that can cleanse from all unrighteousness. It was not reserved for an Epictetus, or a Seneca, or even an Antoninus, who could recommend his precepts by imperial favour, but for Paul, to be the Regenerator of Greeks and Romans. Through his instru- mentality, in the demonstration of spirit and of power, Christ crucified, though to the Jews a stumbling-block and to the Greeks foolishness, became to many of the dissolute, as well as of the j^roud of intellect, the piower of God and the wisdom of God. He came to them in weakness and in fear and in trembling, but he was much comforted by his Master's assurance, that among the dissolute Corinthians he had much 2)eo])le, whom he was to bring into the Church. How great must have been the profligacy of Corinth, when, afterwards writing to his converts, he tells them that they must needs go out of the tvorld, if they were altogether to abstain from associating with their heathen neighbours, who were fornicators, adulterers, drunkards, covetous, or extor- tioners. He adds the solemn warning, Be not deceived; '' 1 Tht'ss. iv. 3, .0. ^ 1 Tettr iv. j. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 141 neither fornicators, idolaters, or adulterers, nor persons guilty of unnatural abominations, (but venial faults at best in the estimation of their philosophy,) shall inherit the kingdom of God^. But such is the transforming efficacy of the love of his dear Son shed abroad in the heart, that he could add, and such were some of you; hut ye are washed, hut ye are sanctified, hut ye are justified in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, and hy the Spirit of our God^. At Corinth, Paul reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath day, and he had the comfort of a Christian home with Aquila, a Jew of Pontus, and his wife Priscilla, with whom he worked at tent making for a maintenance, and had them for helpers in Christ Jesus ; for they had been obliged to leave Italy on account of the imperial edict, which banished the Jews for their profession of Christianity, which was con- founded by the Romans at that early period uith Judaism^. He had also soon the satisfaction of receiving his friends, Silas and Timothy. The latter had come to him at Athens, but anxiety to hear of the state of the Thessa- lonian Christians, induced him to send him back again, as he had been himself suddenly torn from them, before he could set their Church in order. Timothy now rejoined him with a most satisfactory report ; and during his un- avoidable absence, he addressed to them two letters, which having been preserved, still edify believers in this distant age. As these are judged by many critics to be the earliest he wrote, and I accede to their opinion, I must here insert a summary of their contents, and will introduce them with some remarks on the Epistles, more especially on those of this Apostle. ' 1 Cor. V. 9, 10. s 1 Cor. vi. 9, JO, 11. 1' Suetonius is our authority for this fact, wliich he states in these ex- traordinary terms. *' He expelled from Rome the Jews, who were con- tinually exciting tumults at the instigation of Chrestos." We know from Tertullian (Ap. iii.) and Lactantius, that tliis is not the misspelling of a transcriber, hut was a common error of the pagans, who confounded Chrisivs, the anointed one, with the more common Creek word Chrestos, nviinhle. ON THE EPISTLES. A THOUGHTFUL reader cannot fail to be struck with the want of method in divine teaching, as compared with human systems of Ethics, and to recognise in this fact a resemblance between the works and the word of the Author of both. Still, this comparison must not be pressed too far; for we must not forget, that both the Old and the New Testament were not revelations to the ignorant heathen, but to those who were already the people of God. Thus it would have been superfluous to announce His Unity to those who had heard this great truth declared by his own voice from Mount Sinai ; or his Providence to those whom he had led for forty years in the wilderness with an out- stretched arm, and with signs and miracles, and fed with bread from heaven. We may also be sure, that the Gala- tians were not the only primitive Christians, before whose eyes Jesus Christ had been manifestly set forth as crucified, but that all to whom the Epistles were addressed, had been orally instructed in the blessed results of his propitiatory death, resurrection, ascension, and his intercessory life at his Father's right hand for his people. The Epistles only reminded them of the precious truths which sustained their spiritual life, and all, we may be sure, were, according to their capacity, fed with milk or with strong meat. Some commentators suppose, that the form of sound words which Paul enjoins Timothy" to hold fast, was a summary of leading doctrines arranged by the Apostle ; but this is no more than an ingenious conjecture. If there had been such a document, it would scarcely have been lost; and it » 1 Tim. i. 13. ON THE EPISTLES. 143 seems more likely, that such a wise master builder as Paul would vary such a statement, according to the state of each particular Church. The diversified v/isdom of God, 7roXu7roj croplu, delivered the Bible not at once as a whole, but in different portions, and at different seasons, according to the wants of respective ages. It was also revealed under a variety of forms. Some- times it instructs us by precepts, more often by a plain narra- tive of facts, which are left to speak for themselves, and may help us in following out the former. Again, it exalts the mind by the loftiest imagery, and opens to us the unseen future. Its leading truths are exhibited in every style, and from the harmony in their statement by several authors, some of different periods, and all having a peculiarity of manner, an additional evidence is afforded in proof of the Bible being what it professes to be, God's word. This variety also, by recommending it to persons of different intellect and taste, insures to it a more frequent perusal. The Epistles form the largest portion of the New Testa- ment, and are written by five of the Apostles ; but of these, the far greater number we owe to St. Paul, and his have much more than the rest the characteristics of familiar letters. The Epistolary form of composition admits the reader, as it were, into the confidence of the writer. The insight into his character which is thus acquired, makes the letters of any eminent person attractive, though they may have no other recommendation. The interest of course increases with the importance of the contents, and no subject can be compared in this respect with the truths of religion, in which each individual has the deepest concern. These Epistles supply us of these latter days with a sort of substitute for the acquaintance of the Apostles, which was enjoyed by contemporary believers. They were not merely inspired to reveal doctrines and to enforce precepts, but had been renewed in the spirit of their minds, and J44 ON THE EPISTLES. become living proofs of the influence of Christianity. Thus Paul's holy ardour and devoted self-denial, Peter's cou- rageous zeal, and John's tender affection, furnish us with powerful evidence of its truth. To secure this evidence for ever, it vv^as necessary that a description of their own feelings should be preserved, and that we might learn from the tone of their thoughts and expressions the nature of the effects produced on them by the grace of God. Orations would afford little opportunity for the introduction of their personal feelings, formal treeitises none. But in letters which partake of a public and a private character, being addressed to communities, the members of which were gene- rally known to the writer, and affectionately remembered by him, it is impossible to prevent his mind from blending with his matter, and thus being seen and read by all men^ And this applies peculiarly to St. Paul ; for through his letters we seem to be admitted into his confidence, and to know him, not as an historical character, but as a con- temporary. We thus are in a degree enabled, like those whom he addressed, to act upon his advice, of being imitators of his example, an example which he, and few beside him, could hold forth without presumption and without danger; for he could add, even as I am an imitator of Christ^. Our Lord is indeed our only faultless model, and this is a great though a subordinate advantage which we derive from his incarnation. Still his peculiar office places some of his actions beyond the sphere of our imitation, and there are others on which his conduct throws no light in which he may be guided by St. Paul's example. Thus as several of them were written under great trials, and some even when in danger of life, we see his principles put to the test. And what additional strength do exhortations to patience, >i Visitation Sermon by the late Rev. T. Byrth, of Magdalen Hall, before the Bishop of Chester. '- 1 Cor. xi. 1. ON THE EPISTLES. 14j and even to joy in tribulation, receive, when we know that they are not the advice of one at ease, but were written from a prison, and when he was deserted by his friends. Rejoice evermore'^, he writes to the Thessalonians, when driven from them by persecution, and not long after his being shamefully treated at Philippi. Again, this zealous Apostle calls upon the Philippians to rejoice * in the Lord, and declares that he does and will rejoice"-, though in bonds, because his imprisonment had fallen out to the furtherance of the Gospel; and he cares not for his own bonds, provided the tvord of God he not bound^. His exhortations to diligence derive weight from his example, who though busied in teaching, as at Thessalonica and Ephesus, in private as well as in public, still redeemed time to work for the maintenance of himself and his com- panions, that he might not be chargeable to any ; showing to the disciples, how labouring they might support the weak, and though proving that the preacher of spiritual blessings was entitled to partake in return of their tem- poral things, refraining from this right, that he might not thus check the progress of the Gospel. When we take into our hands his letters, we are struck with the air of reality which pervades them ; and the proof of their genuine- ness, which arises from this perception, is not to be deemed imaginary, because it is incapable of being drawn out into words, or to be communicated except by sending the reader to the letters themselves. Many of the illustrations which he employs are traceable to the circumstances of his life and times. Thus he frequently describes the life of a Chris- tian as a race, a wrestling s, a boxing ; the future reward he designates as the victor's wreath ; and he exhorts to self- denial, in terms borrowed from the practice of those who c 1 Thess. V. 16. ^ PhUip. iii. 1. iv. 4. e Philip, i. 12. 18. f 2Tim. ii. y. s 1 Cor. ix. 21—27. 146 ON THE EriSTLES. Strive for mastery at the Isthmian or Olympic games. As a Roman citizen, he illustrates our spiritual redemption from the phrases of the imperial law, and military images of course occur to a tent maker. Brought up in Judaism, in which he tells vis** that he had made great proficiency, he makes frequent use of the approved mode of explaining Scripture, by discovering under tlie obvious meaning a spiritual sense, which in the rabbinical commentaries we have reason to regard as fanciful accommodation, but which, as the deductions of an inspired expositor, must be accepted as the genuine interpretation. Thus we accept on his authority the allegorizing of the history of Sarah and Hagar, but his application of the nineteenth Psalm to the Ministers of the Gospel, and Moses's declaration concerning the Law transferred to justification, can hardly be taken for the primary meaning of these passages. His epistles show the very state of mind that must have been generated by the peculiar condition of the first propagators of Christianity, and are precisely such as might have been expected from a man of a vehement mind, brought up in the school of Jewish literature, converted by an overwhelming miracle, directed to preach to the Gentiles', and had every where met with the prejudices and persecuting spirit of his own nation. The authenticity of each portion of Scripture has been most satisfactorily established ; but that of the Epistles, from their nature, strikes us at first sight as being not formal statements of doctrine, but earnest communications to friends. Some are expressly ordered to be read to the whole congregation, and all necessarily imply the previous conversion of the Churches, or individuals addressed. Who then in Paul's lifetime could have forged an Epistle in his name, without the certainty of detection ? Take as an example that to the Romans, whom he had never visited. '■ (lal. i. 14. ' Channing on the F.vidcnces. ON THE EPISTLES. 117 The salutations show that he had already friends there, and that they must have kept up a frequent intercourse with other Churches, especially that of Corinth, from which he wrote. A forged Epistle therefore in his name would have been soon detected, and no impostor could have sent it by a deaconess, unless she too had been an impostor. We can still less easily conceive such a deception practised on a Church, where he was personally known ; and he guarded against the possibility, by writing some part himself, however small, though he generally employed an amanuensis. The very structure of some of these Epistles renders a forgery impracticable ; for no impostor could invent vsrritings which abound in allusions to persons and controverted doctrines, answer questions, and remind of previous instructions. Epistles above any other works exhibit the writer's feelings, and the genuineness of one is a guarantee for that of all, for all have the same character- istics. But his Epistles are more than genuine, they are authoritative. The fulfilled prophecies which they contain prove them dictated under the direction of Him who sees all things from the beginning, and the author speaks of him- self as delivering the will of God. In Paul's directions to the Corinthians respecting marriage, there is a variation in his language. I have not a commandment from the Lord, hut give my judgment as one to whom the Lord has shown mercy^ : and again. According to my judgment, and I think I have the Sj)irit of God. Such phrases are thought by many commentators not meant to lower his authority; but assuming, as they seem to do, that in such advice he claims no higher authority than that of a faithful minister, surely this very limitation implies the inspiration of all the rest. And this he occasionally positively claims, we speak the things of God, in the toords which the Holy Ghost teacheth; and, we have the mind, of Christ^. In writing to them concerning '^ 1 Cor. vii. 25, 10. 1 1 Cor. ii. 13, 16. L 2 148 ON THE EPISTLES. the Lord's Supper n\ and Christ's Resurrection", he declares that he derives his knowledge immediately from the Lord ; and he assures the Thessalouians", that God has given us the Holy Spirit. It is to be noticed also, that St. Peter ranks Paul's Epistles with the Scriptures p. Nevertheless, it is a popular notion, which those who maintain it can hardly have examined, that the Gospels have a higher authority than the Epistles, because they contain our Saviour's teaching ; as if the words of his inspired servants, ascending from the same source, liad not the same authority. They are indeed confuted out of their Master's mouth. / have yet many things to say unto you, hut ye cannot hear them now : howheit, when the Spirit of truth is come, he loill guide you into all the truths. If this distinction were possible, how could the Church be said to he huilt upon the foundation of the Apostles and Prophets'" ; and where could we find the whole counsel of God laid open, except in the writings of those who were commissioned by the Son, even as he had been by the Father ? We maintain accordingly, that whatever concerning doctrine and discipline is delivered in the Epistles, is as binding as what was taught by Christ himself, and is recorded in the Gospels. And this position is essential, because doctrines only inti- mated in the earlier revelation, are developed in the later, and their practical tendency is established by reasoning. The abolition of the Mosaic law, and the incorporation of Jew and Gentile into one Church, may be inferred from parables and certain dark sayings in the Gospels ; but the latter was a secret clearly revealed to the Apostles, and neither could have been borne even by themselves, if it had been announced to them by their Master. Their persuasion, in common with all their countrymen, that the Messiah would appear as a triumphant sovereign, made them over- ." 1 Cor. xi. 23. " 1 Cor. xv. .3 "1 Thess. iv. 8. I' 2 Pot. iii. 15. 1 St. John xvi. 13. ' Kphes. ii. 20. ON THE El'ISTLES. 149 look the predictions of his sufFerings and death, and the veil was only removed from their miderstandings by the promised illumination of the Holy Spirit. It is only in the Epistles, that the propitiatory nature of that death is disclosed as the foundation of the Christian's hope ; and we learn from St. Paul why we should glory only in the cross of Christ. It is from his condescension in consenting to die for us, that the Apostle deduces the constraining motives to live to him, and his right to our services as purchased by his bloods Hence our obligations to crucify the Jlesh with its affections and lusts\ to be patient under afflictions, and even rejoicing in tribulation", and to deadness to the world, and attachment to heavenly objects ==. Some duties too are first inculcated in the Epistles, as giving God thanks in Christ's name. Our obligations to rulers, only suggested by him in the saying, Mender unto Ccesar the things which are Ccesars, are enlarged upon in the Epistles to the Romans y, and to Titus, and in the first Epistle of Peter. The relative duties of husbands and wives, parents and children, and masters and' servants, scarcely touched on in the Gospels, are fully laid down in the Epistles^. And surely these remarks ought to convince us, that the latter were not written to meet the particular requirements of primitive believers, without a reference, intended by their inspiring heavenly Monitor, to the circumstances of all future Christians to the end of time. Paul's general plan is to begin with confuting error and affirming truth, which he follows up by enforcing the observance of duties, espe- cially such as arise out of the topics before him. Thus he suits his method to human nature, and shows that the 8 2 Cor. V. 15. Gal. ii. 20. Tit. iii. 1. t Gal. V. 24; vi. 14. Rora. vi. 6. 1 Pet. iv. 1, 2. u Pliil. iii. 10. 2 Tim. ii. 11. 1 Pet. ii. 19; iv. 13. >^ Col. iii. 1.2. y Rom. xiii. 1—7. "■ Ephes. ii. 22—33. iii. 1—9. Cdlos*. iii. 18—22. 150 ON THE EPISTLES. Christian scheme, which makes faith the basis of morality, is the only philosophical one, since the merit of conduct depends altogether upon its motives. His diction has given rise to much diversity of opinion. He himself in addressing the Corinthians disclaims the enticiiig^ words of mans wisdom, and allows that his op- ponents represented his bodily presence as weak, and his speech as co7iteniptihle^. His words have been pressed from his own times to ours beyond his meaning ; for it is now the general opinion, that he alludes chiefly to stammering, or some other defect in his elocution; and he adds, that they allow his letters to be weighty and powerful ; and certainly, if we regard the eloquence of ideas, and the happy arrange- ment of these rather than the words in which they are clothed, an eloquence which has the advantage of being transferable with little if any injury to other tongues, we need not go beyond these Epistles for specimens of the elegant, the pathetic, and the sublime, with which no un- inspired compositions can compare. They abound in weighty sentences, arranged with a care to their effect; as witness his discussion of the Resurrection ; his praise of Christian charity, to which tongue of man before or since has never done such justice; his contrast of a believer's strength and weakness, and his foolish confidence of boasting, as he is pleased to designate his noble vindication of himself. It is the fashion of modern writers to lower him as an author, it may be to magnify the power of the Spirit in making him, notwithstanding his imperfections and defect, so able a minister of the neio covenant. None, however, have gone to so objectionable a length as Cardinal Bembo, who, to mark his contempt of these Epistles as composition, calls them, by an Italian augmentative of ridicule, Episto- laccia, and conjures a friend not to read them, lest they should injure his style. South" reproves him for being as ■' 1 Cor. ii 4. ''2 Cor. x. 10. " South's Sermon, v. ON THE EPISTLES. 151 much a blockhead as an atheist, and to have as small a gust of the elegancies of expression as of the soundness of the matter. Those indeed who have any acquaintance with the life of this dissolute associate of the dissolute Pope Leo X, will suspect that it is the latter that leads him to condemn the former, from his enmity to their holy tendency, so alien to his own character and practice ; nor shall we now think much respect due to the literary taste of one, whose only object seems to have been to attain to a Ciceronian Latinity, and who was so much more attentive to style than meaning, as to speak of the Pope in lan- guage which could only suit the Pagan Pontiff. Of the Fathers, Jerome is the most severe in his censure of Paul's style, yet he is inconsistent; for at times he condemns him for the turnings in his phrases, leaving his period and* sense unfinished, from inability to express his con- ceptions in a way becoming the majesty of his meaning, so that his syntax is scarcely tolerable. At others, he says, he only spoke of his rudeness of speech ironically, and describes him as a great master of composition, who could use the most prudent artifices, employing simple words which seemed to convey nothing but plainness, but which nevertheless breathe force and thunder. He is apparently entangled in his cause, but catches all that come near him, and turns his back as if intending to fly, when it is only that he may overcome. This inconsistency is the more surprising, since Jerome's knowledge of the Hebrew as well as of the Septuagint, a qualification so rare among the Fathers, ought to have disposed him, as Simon ob- serves, to show the Hebraisms of his style, instead of accusing him of solecisms. Origen and Chrysostom are better judges of Greek ; yet they also greatly vary ; for while in one passage the latter'' reproves a person for preferring his eloquence to that of Plato, and pronounces "1 De Sacerdotio, iv. 7. 152 ON THE EPISTLES. him illiterate in the highest degree ; in another he declares, that he had no occasion for superfluous ornaments, and the jingling and sophistry of profane eloquence, since lie could vindicate the truth with resistless vehemence. " Whence, I pray, did he confound the Jews of Damascus, when he had not yet begun to work miracles ? How did he baffle the Greeks, and why was he sent to Tarsus ? Was it not that he mightily prevailed by elo- quence; and pressed them so close, that when they could not bear the disgrace of being conquered, they were pro- voked to murder him ? Against those who began to set up Judaism in Antioch, by what means did he contend ? Did the famous Areopagite of the most superstitious Athens adhere to him upon any motive than that of his preaching ? When therefore it appears, that before and while he worked miracles he used much eloquence, how then will men dare to call him rude, who was admired for his disputing ? For what reason did the Lycaonians suppose him to be Mercury, (for that Barnabas and he were esteemed to be gods, was to be ascribed to their miracles,) but upon account of his eloquence ? Whence had this blessed man the advantage of all the Apostles ; whence is it that he is admired above all, not only by us, but by Jews and Gentiles ? Is it not from the excellence of his admirable Epistles ?" Chrysostom, in his commentaries, continually admires his happy selection of the most expressive words, his vivacity and pathos, the suitableness of his expressions to persons and things, his resistless power of persuasion, his just consequences, and the closeness of his reasonings. Tarsus, where he was educated, was a school of elo- quence, which had its characteristic features as well as the Attic and the Asiatic. It is said to have been suitable to unpremeditated harangues, and that this style Paul transferred from Orations to his writings, and hence his bold metaphors and rapid transitions. The few passages from ON THE EPISTLES. 153 the Poets in his Epistles, are such as might have been picked up in conversations, and seem to me of themselves to prove nothing ; but we can hardly imagine, that though of Jewish birth, he had altogether neglected the most celebrated heathen writings; though his style was naturally formed on that of the Septuagint, with which as an Hellenist he must have been familiar from childhood, it must be allowed that he greatly improved upon it; and his language seems to me to have as much right to be regarded as a distinct dialect, as the ancient ones, or that of Macedonia then in ordinary use. Justly does Hemsterhusius ^ seem to me to settle the dispute, when he distinguishes the thoughts that breathe from the words in which they are communicated, saying, " that we should distinguish in every discourse with the utmost care the diction and form of style, and the order of the things of which they treat, one of which depends on the prudence and disposition of the writer, the other belongs to grammar and an anxious imitation of ancient examples. If I look to his words alone, and the junction of his phrases and discourse, I cannot deny that he has departed far from the correct eloquence of the Greek, and is such an one as cannot be called pure and polished ; and those who will compare in this respect Paul with Plato, never will prevail upon any who are acquainted with the classical language to subscribe to so unreasonable an opinion ; for what is more manifest, or attested by more witnesses, than that the Apostle followed as he ought the form of Greek introduced by the Hellenist Jews ? Suppose him the most skilful master not only of Grecian but of Attic graces, still he would justly have preferred the former idiom, since he had to address Jews, and Christianity had necessarily the closest connection with the Septuagint version. But if we leave style, which is but the shell of this health-bearing nut, and attend to the context of the Pauline discourses, '- Oratio tie Paulo Apostolo. lo4 ON THE EPISTLES. it must be confessed that nothing can be more sublime and exciting than his thoughts, and the sinews of his arguments. This eloquence then, which consists not in the flowers of words, but in the weight of things most solemnly pronounced, if it can be justly assigned to any, must be preeminently to Paul, since his great power of mind, and divine faculty of thinking, expresses in his writings the image of his mind. Hence in his Epistles no figures of the orators are wanting, not indeed those that are drawn from the coffers of rhetoricians; for such a laborious ambition of a cultivated composition, re- duced to a rhythmical arrangement, was far from him ; but inflamed with a heavenly ardour, he brings forth spontaneously these lights. And he so formed himself by a certain admirable temperament, that he was most ready for all kinds of speech ; for who is so hard, and as it were cased in iron, who can refuse him beseeching, not listen to him exhorting, not share in his indignation, not obey at his command ! In a word, I hesitate not to say, that never was Demosthenes more eloquent in his abundance of Attic eloquence, than Paul in his humble and vulgar diction, that genuine thunderbolt of the Christian faith." " When," says Beza, " I more nearly view his language, I find no grandeur of speech in Plato himself like unto him ; as often as he pleases to thunder out the mysteries of God, no vehemence in Demosthenes is equal to his, when he proposes to terrify with the fear of divine judgment, to warn to the con- templation of God's goodness, or to exhort to piety and charity." If we were to compare him to any of the ancients, it should be to Demosthenes, whose resistless eloquence (to use Milton's language) fulmined over Greece; but his object was only the temporal liberty of his country : the Apostle, whose citizenship is in heaven, endeavours by the terrors of the Law or the persuasion of the Gospel, to bring his hearers to the general assembly and Church of the first- born. Indeed, it is impossible thtit one who felt so ardently, ON THE EPISTLES. 155 could fail to be a consummate orator in the cause to which he devoted himself; and we may be confident, that if Longinus had been well acquainted with his writings, he would often have cited from them examples of the pathetic and sublime. His oratorical merits are now generally allowed, but he is treated too much by Paley and others as a careless and hasty writer. They speak of his unpre- meditated style as they would of an ordinary writer, forgetting, as it would seem, that he spake as he was moved by the Holy Ghost. " Thus," writes Dr. Powell ^ "little soli- citous about method, he is often drawn from his design by the accidental use of a word, and neither when he quits his purpose nor when he returns to it again, does he employ the usual forms of transition." I am, however, persuaded, that Paul was no hasty writer. He appears while at his work to have dictated them to an amanuensis ; he must have been conscious that he was writing not only to his own converts, but through them to all future ages ; and I am persuaded, that by the Spirit who always at least super- intended his compositions, and kept him from any erroneous statement, or any really inconsequential reasoning, though he has been charged with such by persons calling themselves Christians, in whom it would be more becoming to distrust their own judgment, than to blame a digression as out of place, and an interruption of the argument as a defect. The Gospels can only convey the translation of our Lord's discourses, but those who understand Greek can read the very words of Paul and the other Apostles. Much there- fore may be said in support of their plenary inspiration, and they are at times chosen with such felicity, and so skilfully combined, that they apjjear to me to be in many instances, as he told the Corinthians, the ivords which the Holy Ghost teacheth. The more his Epistles are studied, f Introduction to St. Paul's Epistlea. 156 ON THE El'ISTLES. the more I am persuaded they will be found to be elaborate compositions. Bishop Jebb ^ has shown, that the system of verbal parallelism, which we know to be the characteristic of Hebrew poetry, also pervades the New Testament ; and Mr. Boys'' extends the remark to a parallelism of subjects, and exliibits a most artificial arrangement of some of his Epistles. They are not numerous, nor generally speaking long, and were, I conceive, the result of much meditation. I would mention, in contradiction to the notion that his works were unpremeditated hasty effusions, that the Epistle to the Colossians is a careful abridgment of that to the Ephesians, though it has also matter peculiar to itself. And that the exordium of the latter, w^hich is to an inattentive observer obscure, will on examination be found by the repetition of the remark, that God's design redounded to the praise of his glory to be broken into three divisions. It is true that he sometimes starts off, as it seems, abruptly from his subject to pursue a new idea, but his digressions never cause him to lose sight of his mark; and from his most discursive flights, he brings homo strength to the truth with which he began ; and when longest on the wing, comes back to his subject with redoubled vigour. He knew how to address the hopes and fears of men, as well as to con- vince their reason and engage their affections ; and shows peculiar delicacy in stating unwelcome truths, and in soliciting as a favour what he might claim as his due. Some who do not lower the authority of the Epistles, still neglect them, as designed chiefly for a temporary purpose, and as hard to understand. The two objections nearly coincide, for their reference to local disputes is the principal cause of their obscurity. We must not however take up the notion, that the controversies they settle are obsolete, and do not, in spirit at least, concern us. Societies, and the individuals of which tlicy are the aggregate, are, in M lu his Sacred Literature. " Tactica Sacra. Loudon, 1824. ON THE EPISTLES. 157 fact, at all times substantially alike ; and while the points at issue are different, the feelings they excite, and the practical inferences to he drawn from them, are the same. Thus the spirit of St. Paul's decision respecting meats and drinks, and of the ceremonial law, is still applicable to cases of liberty of conscience; and the rule of abstaining from things in themselves innocent, if our use of them should tempt a weak brother to sin, is, as long as there are weak brethren, obligatory. But several of the errors which then distracted the Church continue to prevail, and are even countenanced by whole connnunities, which, notwithstanding, profess to submit to the authority of Scripture, Did the Gnostics forbid to marry, and command to abstain from meats; the Apostle in condemning them censures the Church of Rome. Did any then maintain the Son's inferiority to the Father ; the many passages which affirm or imply his equality, are our present preservatives against Arianism and Socinianism. And the same storehouse provides the texts which vindicate the fundamental doctrine of our Saviour's expiatory sacrifice of himself, and the necessity of a divine influence to enable any man to fulfil his duty. The topics are the uniformity of the doctrine of redemp- tion under the Patriarchal, Mosaic, and Christian dispens- ations ; the ruin of man in Adam, and his recovery in Christ ; the imperfection and abrogation of the Sinai cove- nant ; justification through faith, and sanctification by the Holy Spirit, with the resistance of indwelling sin; the resurrection, and the sacerdotal and royal offices of our Priest and King. These Epistles, independent of the knowledge which they convey, are inestimable from their practical tendency. They kindle our gratitude, they stimulate our obedience, and exhibit in the most attractive colours the beauty of holiness. Faith and works, justification by free grace, and sanctification by the Spirit, are so indissolubly united 158 ON THE EPISTLES. in the mind of the writers, that the one always suggests the other ; and while they unequivocally state that no works merit salvation, they afford the best antidote to Antinomianism of every description. They constantly affirm, that without faith it is impossible to please God, and that the faith which pleases will ever produce holiness and good works. "We learn from Paul himself, that there were believers in his day who said. Let us sin, that grace may abound; and Antinomians of later ages have sheltered themselves under the authority of his name ; and yet his main excellence is in his application of the doctrines of grace to the inculcation of holiness. Christ crucified he lays as the foundation of his system ; but he shows, that the faith that justifies necessarily produces sanctification, and is so far from subverting the moral law, that while he disclaims its entitling us to reward, he proves that it ought to regulate our practice. He has long paragraphs of exhortations to particular duties, and seldom enforces tenets, without deducing from them duties. He severely animadverts upon those who convert Christian liberty into licentiousness, and shows that the new covenant is more efficacious than the old in promoting righteousness, by suggesting more powerful motives. The Law deters from sin, by threats of punishment: the Gospel wins to obedience, by the constraining persuasion of Christ dying for us. We grant, indeed, that it is more difficult to understand the Epistles than the Gospels, though it is a difficulty much overrated by those who are unwilling to read them themselves, and who discourage their perusal by others. This arises out of the nature of that kind of composition. In a letter, things are altogether omitted, or only alluded to, because familiar to the persons addressed, which the reader in a distant age can only gather from a careful examination, and a comparison with other contemporary writings. There is also an obscurity arising out of ON THE EPISTLES. 159 the subjects which our understanding cannot fathom. This St. Peter confesses in the Pauline Epistles ; but we are not therefore in despair to close them according to the advice of the Church of Rome, and of inconsistent Pro- testants ; inconsistent, I say, for the sufficiency of Scripture as a guide, and the right of private judgment to interpret it, are the justification of our separation from that corrupt communion. Difficulties should not deter us, but, on the contrary, stimulate us to dig into this mine of heavenly treasure. With prayer for a blessing on your endeavours, bring the whole strength of your own faculties, with what- ever aid you can draw from the labours of others, to bear upon this study, and you will find difficulties disappear, and your exertions will be abundantly recompensed. St. Paul intended an indiscriminate perusal of his Epistles by all believers, as is evident from his addressing them not to the Pastors exclusively. Thus he charges hy the Lord, that his first .Ejrisile to the Thessalonians (thought by many to be the earliest) shoidd be read out to all the holy brethren'^. The second to the Corinthians is addressed to tlie Church of God in their city, with all the saints in all Achaia ; and the first, in terms still more comprehensive, to all who in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ. Even the Epistle to the Romans, which treats of the deep things of God, which have ever divided the Church, is addressed to all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saitdsK The practice of the Church from the beginning, of reading out the Epistles without a commentary, confirms my position. Still we must be mindful of St. Peter's caution'', not to wrest them or the other Scriptures to our destruction. It is not, however, the ignorant, if well disposed, but the unteachable and the unsteady, whose prejudices disqualify them, that are in danger of wresting the Bible, so as to force it to speak a non-natural language. Those are most liable to misunderstand, who will believe only what they '■ 1 Tiioss, V. 27. ' Ruiuaus i. 7. '' 2 Peter iii. 16. 160 ON THE EPISTLES. themselves approve ; and the remedy proposed by Peter is not to close the volume, but to groio in grace, and in the hnoivlechje of our Lord and Saviour ; and Paul himself in his final charge to Timothy >, after saying evil men and seducers will ivax ivorse and worse, refers him for guidance to the Scriptures, which are able to furnish him thoroughly to every good work. To enter fully into the spirit of the Epistles, we must try to place ourselves in the circumstances of those to whom they were written ; yet we must recollect, that the writer's mind was so overruled, as to render them an eternal possession to the Church of every age and of every land. To obtain this edification, we should endeavour first to ascertain the main scope of each ; and this may best be done by a continuous perusal of the whole, according to Locke's™ advice, disregarding the modern division into chapters and verses. The contrary practice has been a fruitful scheme of error. The insulation of a passage from the context has been promoted by preaching from a verse ; and it may be said of some, otherwise admirable discourses, that their doctrine, though true, does not naturally follow from the text, which is sometimes strained from the author's meaning. When the reasoning is to the general reader obscure, some striking doctrinal state- ment or some practical maxim is purposely interwoven, which fixes itself in the memory. His conciseness may sometimes diminish his clearness, but it is compensated by increased energy. Each sentence is pregnant with meaning. Witness the many sermons which have grown out of a few prolific seeds. Gratitude to the Redeemer has been brought forward by one ", himself governed by its constraining influence, to be ' 2 Tim. iii. 13—17. " Paraphrase, Preface. " Newtun's Review of Ecclesiastical History, book ii. chap. 2, from whicli, and from Hannah More's Essay on the Character of St. Paul, I have selected the most valuable of these observations. ON THE EPISTLES. 161 his characteristic influence. When his zeal made him appear to many as beside himself, he urged in his vindi- cation love of his Master, and is content to be despised if Christ be honoured. His sense of his suitableness and sufficiency as Author of justification and sanctification is so profound, that he is at a loss to express his emotions, and declares the inability of language to do justice to the subject. He was peculiarly affected by that arresting act of mercy, which changed him from a furious persecutor into an ardent Apostle, and attachment to his deliverer is in consequence his favourite topic. Another Apostle has said. Every one that loveth Him that begat, loveth also him that is begotten by Him °; and Paul's cordiality to such is apparent in all his writings. In sympathy with them, he forgets his own sorrows P; and in his confinement at Rome, deprived himself of the services of Epaphroditus, that by returning he might comfort the Philippians i. He was not even dis- couraged by ingratitude, for he could say, / will still gladly spend and be spent for you; though the more I love you, the less I am loved"^. He compares his conduct to the Thessa- lonians, with that of a mother nursing her own children'; and marks the pain of an abrupt separation by a term, denoting the breaking of the ties which unite parent and child'. Nor was this attachment confined to per- sonal friends ; those he had not seen had a share in his solicitude and his prayers"; and so strong was his desire to serve the Churches, that it balanced his habitual wish to depart to be with Christ ". Another characteristic is integrity, in not adulterating his doctrine to please a vitiated taste, but in feeding his converts with the unmixed milk of the Gospel. But though he would keep back no necessary truth, he exercised great o 1 John V. 1 . i> 2 Cor. vii. •< Philip, ii. 25—30. r 2 Cor. xii. 15. » 1 Thess. ii. 7, 8 ' Ver. 17. " Col. ii. 1. « Philip, i. 23. 162 ON THE EPISTLES. tenderness to weak consciences in non-essentials, as in the disputes concerning the obligation of the ceremonial Law. He asserted his liberty, yet he would relinquish it rather than cause a weak brother to stumble ''. He exhibits a rare disinterestedness, for who had such claims as he for a liberal maintenance from those to whom he had communicated the true riches ; but he could say with truth, we seek not yours, hut you^. To cut off the possibility of misconception, he worked with his own hands, that he might not be burthen- some. Yet he does not propose himself as a model in this respect, for he justifies the Minister's right to a proper provision, from the maxim, that the labourer is worthy of his hire". Still, in enumerating the faults that should exclude from the ministry, he names the love of gain. In sketching his character, we should not omit his proper care for his reputation. Thus when the Corinthians made a collection for the poor saints at Jerusalem, he proposes their appoint- ing persons to assist him in the distribution of it^. And we find from his second Epistle % that his proposal was accepted, that there might be no imj)utation against him of unfaithfulness in a pecuniary trust. I conclude this im- perfect outline with his unaffected humility, which led him to esteem himself not meet to he called an Apostle ^, because of his former persecution of believers, and ascribing his services, which he acknowledged to surpass those of others, entirely to the grace of God. The sublimity of his devotion and his affectionate faithfulness can be appreciated only by those to whom they have been rendered familiar by the study of these Epistles. In Cecil's words'^, there is in him a com- bination of zeal and love. Zeal alone may degenerate into ferocity, love alone into false tenderness, but Paul combined both, and realized the union of fortiter in re with suaviter in modo. y Romans xiv. 21. "^ 2 Cor. xii. 14. "1 Tim. v. 19. *> ICor. xvi. 34. " 2Cor. viii.8. "^ 1 Cor. xv. 9 — 11. "^ Remains. ON THE EPISTLES. 163 The Epistles of St. Paul, including that to the Hebrews, are fourteen, They have been arranged since the time of Epiphanius, according to the dignity of those to whom they are addressed. Thus the first place is assigned to Rome, the capital of the empire ; Corinth, a Roman colony, comes next ; and Galatia, a country , has precedence of Ephesus, a city. Individuals follow, and as the authorship of the Hebrews has been called in question, it closes the list. I copy Lardner's dates. Those to the Thessalonians, from Corinth, A.D. 53. That to the Galatians, from Corinth, 53. That to Titus and the first to Timothy, from Macedonia, 54. The first to the Corinthians, from Ephesus, 56. The second to the Corinthians, from Macedonia, 57. The Epistle to the Komans, from Corintli, 58. The Epistle to the Ephesians, ^ 61. The second to Timothy, 61. Pliilippians, y from Koine, 62. . Colossians, I 63. Pliilemon, J 62. The Epistle to the Hebrews, from Italy, 63. It will appear, however, that I prefer a different arrange- ment of several of them. These Epistles have fewer various readings than the Gospels, but the Manuscripts are fewer. From the writers of the Epistles, we turn by an easy transition to the receivers of them, and we are immediately struck by the terms in which they are addressed, which would certainly not be used by a pastor of our times to the most hopeful congregation. They are addressed as called to be saints, that is, holy persons, and that they not only professed to be such, but really were, speaking generally, appeal's from the eiddit{on,/aithf ulin Christ Jesus ; and not only are they described as putting him on, and renouncijig the work of darkness, but even as predestinated to the adoption M 2 164 ON THE EPISTLES. of children, through sa7ictificaiio?i unto ohsdience. In that age, none who were not earnest about their salvation would join themselves to a sect spoken against by Jews and Gentiles, and liable to frequent persecution. Under such circumstances, a congregation would be reduced in number and improved in quality, as would speedily appear in any age ; and yet under the most favourable circumstances, of how few even of such could a pastor speak as Ynsjoy, and crown^ of rejoicing ? The Apostles are continually calling upon their converts to rejoice in their spiritual privileges, whereas modern preachers are more apt to call uj)on their people to mourn as penitents and to confess their sins. I am unable to trace the change, but in the middle ages, especially after the establishment of the doctrine of Purgatory, the Almighty was no longer regarded as a loving Father, but as a severe Judge, till at last the Roman Catholic doctrine, that it is a duty to doubt of one's salvation, prevailed, and the belief of being in a state of acceptance was considered an unwarrantable and sinful presumption. Such a doctrine was not recognised by our Reformers, who maintained, that believers worked not for, but from salvation, and performed the good works for which they were created, to show their gratitude for re- demption. Still, though the doctrine may not be professed in words, its spirit is too prevalent ; this voluntary humility is even approved of as a sign of grace, and those are made sad whom God has not designed should be made sad. Paul, on the contrary, assures the Romans^, that the Spirit dwells in them, and hears witness ivith their sjnrit that they are the children of God, and joint-heirs with Christ : and the Ephesianss he treats as no longer strangers and foreigners, hut fellow-citizens with the saints, and not to he saved, but actually saved by faith; and he calls upon the Corinthians'', to examine themselves if they are not in the faith. Any e Philip. V. 1. ' Romans viii. 11 — 17. g Ephes. ii. 19. G. '• 2 Cor. xiii. 5. ON THE EPISTLES. 165 doubt he considers blameable ; for he adds, Know not your own selves that Christ is in you, except ye he reprobate ? He tells them, that while the extraordinary gifts of the Spirit are only temporary, faith, hope, and charity, are permanent abiding graces'. Of the first and last we read much in modern as well as in ancient divinity, but the second (which I think ought to be rendered expectation, for hope in modern language means little more than a wish) is too often confounded with the first ; and I have even heard Sermons on the Evidences on the text. Render to every man a reason of the hope that is in you, as if the Apostle were speaking of the truth of Christianity, not of an individual's interest in it. An important place is assigned to Hope in Scripture; for it is called the Christian's /«e/we^'', and the anchor'^ within the veil to which his vessel is fastened, so that it rides through the storm without anxiety ; and it is this grace that makes the believer not ashamed^'"-, I am persuaded that divines have abandoned, though with the best intentions, the encouraging and cheerful tone of the Apostles, and have taught believers to ascertain if they be in a state of grace, if not from their feelings, yet by a careful and rigid self- examination. Such examination may at times be beneficial to all, yet it has a tendency to generate a morbid scru- pulosity ; and we should recollect, that justification by faith has been pronounced by our Reformers to be not only full of comfort, but wholesome. The constraining motives to obedience, inseparably connected with faith, show, that meditation on it will, better than any ingenious schemes of human devising, promote growth in grace. If satisfied that we are God's adopted children, it would be better that we should, like the Apostle, forgetting the things that are behind, reach forward to those which are before, and -press towards the mark of the high calling in Christ Jesus''. i 1 Cor. xiii. 13. " 1 Thess. v. 9. ' Heb. vi. J 9. " Romans v. 5. " Philip, iii. 14. lOG ON THE EPISTLES. Another remarkable difference is, their personal attachment to a personal Saviour, whom, as well as ourselves, they have not seen, and to whose almighty energy they looked to transform them into his image. Modern believers are apt to rest on an abstract idea of salvation, and look forward to a future life not so much with joy, as resignation. We speak of it as a departure from the world ; but they expected the Lord to come, and to make this earth, renewed by fire, a home worthy of him, its King, and his purified people. It is true, that the faithful of that and subsequent generations have been taken to him, instead of his coming to them, and the two expressions may be deemed equivalent. Yet I think it will appear on examination, that the tendency of the former is to fix our thoughts mainly on our own fitness ; that of the latter to transfer them to his glory, though including our participation in it. In the former case, our personal happiness is the absorbing idea, connected it may be with the hope of enjoying the society of our friends, and of being admitted into a fuller knowledge of the wonders of creation and providence. In the latter, adoring gratitude is eager to offer the homage of the heart to that Saviour and Intercessor, who has perfected his people through sufferings, and by partaking of their nature, has exalted them above Angels, and made them his brethren, and so the children of his Father. THE FIRST EPISTLE THESSALONIANS. When Paul was compelled by the Corinthians to a confidence of boasting, he enumerates among his trials what comes upon him daily, the care of all the Churches^. This is strikingly illustrated by his conduct towards the Thes- salonians. Forced as he had been to leave them abruptly with pastors, who were themselves inexperienced converts, to be harassed by Jews zealous for the Law, and pagans no less zealous for the unconscious idols, from which they had lately turned to serve the living God; he felt for them as a nursing mother for her oiv7i offspring. This he showed by sending back to them Timothy, his brother and fellow-labom-er, to establish and comfort them^, though he would have been serviceable to himself at Athens, where, according to his own appointment, he had joined him. He returned to him at Corinth with such good tidings of their faith and love, and affectionate remembrance of himself, as filled him with joy and gratitude. He had exceedingly longed to see their face, and perfect that which was lacking in their faith, and would have come to them once and again, but Satan hindered him. He therefore dictated to them a letter, breathing the spirit of parental love, full of com- mendation, with scarce a reproof. » 2 Cor. xi. 28. ^ 1 Tim. iii. 2. 168 THESSALONIANS. This Church therefore was inferior to none in the fruits of faith, and consequently he declares his knowledge of their personal election to salvation ; a charitable conclusion, which he felt entitled to draw from their work of faith, their labour of love, and patience of hope, the only evidence of it to themselves or others, and which we must under- stand him to affirm only of such as, to use his own words to them, would be preserved blameless unto the coming of the Lord". No doctrine is formally treated in this Epistle, even the Resurrection is only incidentally introduced as a topic of consolation to surviving believers ; and the main purport of it seems to be to strengthen these recent converts, and to encourage them under trial, and even persecution, to abound more in their Christian walk. Joining Sylvanus and Timothy with himself, he begins with thanking God for their active faith, laborious love, and persevering hope, (the Christian graces, on which he dwells at more length in his first Epistle to the Corinthians,) and that the Gospel had not come to them merely in words as an amusing speculation, but in the power of the Holy Spirit, effecting such a conviction as caused them to embrace it with a full assurance of heart, though in much affliction, so that they became imitators'^ not of Paul alone, but of the e " Predestination to life, whereby God had constantly decreed by his counsel secret to us, to deliver from curse and damnation those whom he hath chosen in Christ out of mankind, and to bring them by Christ to everlasting salvation," is the language of our XVIIth Article; and the Church of Scotland expresses in still stronger terms the same doctrine; yet two celebrated co'nmentators of these Churches, Whitby and Macknight, resolve this into national election. An unbiassed reader will, I think, agree with me, that the signs of grace specified in these Thes- salonians, and their imitation of Paul, and of Him who was his and their Lord, show, that the writer referred to their personal election ; and surely it must be as individuals that he calls them his hope, joy, and croton of rejoicing, in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at hi^ coming. 1 Thess. iii. 19, 20. '' M(;u7)To), is more tha.n followers. THESSALONIANS. 169 Lord, and so patterns to all who believed in Greece,^ or, as he expresses it according to Roman political geography, Macedonia and Achaia. He reminds them of his labours among them, and his affection for them, shown by his refusing to burthen them with his maintenance, appealing to them as witnesses that his preaching had not been that of one who was mistaken, or would deceive, or had interested motives, but of one who spoke not to flatter men, but to please God. He now writes what he had told them when with them, that the will of God was their sanctification, for 'that God had called them not for impurity, but for holiness ; and that therefore none should pass beyond the bounds of chastity, or defraud his brother in this matter^, for the Lord will punish all such misdeeds. He praises their brotherly love, which he needed not to enforce as it had been taught them by God, and exhorts them to study to be quiet and diligent, and to work with their own hands, both that they might be respectable in the eyes of their heathen neighbours, and might not require to be helped by others. Timothy had probably informed him of the death of some whom they had loved, and he is anxious that they should, not give way to inordinate grief, like the other Thes- salonians who had no hope, but comforts them with a brief account of the resurrection of believers. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, so we must believe that God will bring to glory with Jesus those who sleep in him. We make known to you by the command of the Lord, that we who remain alive at the Lord's coming, shall not anticipate them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and tvith the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall e 'Ef T^ iTpdyixaTt. 1 Thess. iv. 6. Our Version, any matter, suggests other modes of injustice, and agrees with that of the Vulgate and Beza, but the Greek commentators seem more correct in limiting it to this one offence. 170 THESSALONIANS. rise jirst : afterwards toe who are alive shall he caught up in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we he ever luith him. He adds, that they need no warning, since they know that the day of the Lord cometh as a thief in the nighty hut that it will not so take them hy surprise, since they are not in darkness, for they are children of light, and children of the day. As such then they must watch and be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and the helmet of hope, intimating thereby that they would have enemies to encounter. He condenses much moral exhortation into a few sentences, admonishing them to abstain from every kind^ of wickedness, and prays that the God of peace may preserve their wholes person, spirit, soul, and body, unblameable, unto the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. In conclusion, he solemnly adjures them to read out the Epistle to all the holy brethren, an evidence of its authenticity and the writer's claim of inspiration, since it places it on the same footing as the ancient Scriptures ; and before he had expressly main- tained ifi, w^hen he affirmed, He that despiseth us, despiseth not man hut God, who hath given utito us his Holy Spirit; alluding apparently to our Lord's declaration, He that despiseth you, despiseth meK The divinity of Christ, and his unity with the Father, is implied in the prayer; Now God himself, even our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct our way unto you ; not to mention the ordinary wish of grace and peace from the Saviour as well as from the Father, with which the letter opens, and his grace with which it ends. { eZSos may he rendered as by our translators appearance, but I believe that I have given the true sense. e In modern ontology, man is considered as composed of body apd soul ; but the ancient philosophers maintained that the soul, ^vxht was possessed by him as the principle of animal life, in common with other living creatures, while the spirit or intellect, irvfvfia, was his peculiar characteristic. •• 1 Tbess. iv. 8. • Luke x. 16. thessalonians. 171 The Second Epistle to the Thessalonians. The Second Epistle to the Thessalonians was written while Silvanus and Timothy were still with Paul, and probahly after a short interval, and before he was dragged to the governor's tribunal, as he does not advert to that event, though he might see the storm approaching, and hint at it when soliciting their prayers, that the word of God might have free unobstructed course, and be glorified in its effects, as it had been among them, and that he might be delivered from wicked and irrational men^. He begins with saying, that he had reason to thank God always on their account for their growth in faith and love, notwithstanding their persecutions, which made him boast of them among the Churches, which he con- siders a proof of the just judgment of God, in counting them worthy of his kingdom, who while he will afflict those who afflict them, will grant them with himself refreshment in the day when the Lord Jesus shall be re- vealed from heaven, inflicting punishment on them who know not God, and on them who obey not the Gospel, when he shall come to be glorified by his angels''^, and admired by all believers. Thus he incidentally introduces his main topic, the rectifying their expectation of the speedy coming of the day of judgment, grounded in part on a misconception of his language in the former Epistle, (as reckoning himself among those then alive,) and as some think in part by a forged one circulated among them as from him". This would explain his adding the salutation " Acts xviii. 12. '2 Thess. ii. 2, 3. ™ Angels and saints are here contrasted; and this translation is justified by the declaration in the former Epistle, iii. 13. that the Lord ivill come with all his saints, i. e. holy ones ; and according to Enoch, quoted by Jude, ver. 14. Behold the Lord Cometh, with ten thousand of his saints. " 2 Thess. ii. 2. iiZ TIIESSALONIANS. of Paul with mine own hand, which is tlie sign in every Epistle. It is extraordinary that Grotius, Locke, and other commentators of note, should affirm, that the Apostles Believed that the day of judgment would happen in their time, a notion which infidels catch at with avidity, for a mistake in this point would go far to invalidate their autho- rity on all, for in no case is inspiration more peremptorily asserted. And Paul in his first Epistle to the Thessalonians thus introduced his notice of that day. We say unto you hy the word of the Lord". The historian p of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire assigns this expectation as one cause of the rapid progress of Christianity. " It was," he says, " universally believed, that the end of the world was at hand, and the near approach of this wonderful event had been predicted by the Apostles." And yet, however pre- valent this notion might have become, we know that Paul was not responsible for it, since, in his Epistle to the Romans 1, he speaks of the recovery of Israel as preceding the general conversion of the Gentiles, events which must occupy some time, and which he could hardly expect to outlive ; and the very Epistle we are now considering was written, that the Thessalonians should not be shaken in mind or troubled, as if the day of Christ was at hand". He, in fact, puts it off" to a remote futurity ; for he reminds them, how, even while with them he had taught that there must be the apostasy first, and that the man of sin and son of perdition (Hebraisms for a preeminent sinner destined to perish) should be revealed, not immediately, but in his season; for there was then an impediment to his appearance, which should be taken away, and which he did not think it prudent to specify. This obstacle, the Fathers inform us, was the Pagan Roman Empire ; and to have announced in plain terms the fate of the eternal city, as the Romans " 1 Thess. iv. 15. v Gibbon, ch. xv. T Romans xi. ' 2 Thess. ii. 2. THESSALONIANS. 173 proudly called their capital, might even have exposed him to the charge of treason. Prudence, therefore, and a proper regard to his own safety, forbade his vi^arning it in a letter which was to be read in the public assemblies of the Christians. Tertullian, about a century and a half later, ventures to reveal this secret during a period of persecution, but he does not affix his name to his Apology ^ After saying that their Scriptures command Christians to pray for their sovereigns, he adds, " we lie under a still stronger necessity, the awful apprehension vve entertain of the last day, and of the conflagration of the universe, which is deferred till the pompous and triumphant majesty of the Roman Empire ceases." What is this Apostasy, and who is the man of sin, are questions of more than learned curiosity. They have been variously explained, but the conjectures of eminent men have been unworthy of them ; and the Emperor Caligula or Simon Magus, which have occurred to Grotius and Hammond, were not men of sufficient note to impress im- portance on their age. Tertullian, and, what is of more im- portance, the writer himself, regards this defection as future. Augustine and Chrysostom also suppose the obstacle to be the predominance of a heathen civil power. As that declined, a new ecclesiastical one gradually grew up, and as it was unhappily accomj)anied with great corruption of faith and practice, and imitated heathen Rome in its persecuting cruelty, Protestant commentators generally apply the prophecy to the Roman Church, and believe that they have discovered the man of sin in the series of its Popes. Others explain it of Mohammed, or the spirit of modern infidelity. Certainly, however, the seat of this power is the temple of God, and as that material fabric has long perished, it must be figuratively transferred to the Christian Church; an interpretation justified by the passages in the Epistles', which represent Jew and Gentile as built up together for s Tert. Ap. xliv. ' Ephes. ii. 174 THESSALONIANS. a holy temple to the Lord*. This necessarily limits the interpretation to some person claiming spiritual authority .in the Church ; and looking hack down the long vista of past history, we find no corruption of the truth great enough to deserve these denunciations, except the system of the self-styled universal Bishop, and Vicar of Christ. This man of sin, or lawless one, as he is also called, appears to be the little horn of Daniel, who shall speak great words against the Most High, and wear out his saints"; and the Antichrist of St. John, a power which rises out of the Church, and is its decided enemy. But some consider, that though the Roman Church has neutralized by its grievous eri'ors the value of the Redeemer's sacrifice of himself and his mediation, it has not, because it retains in words at least the doctrine of the first four General Councils, actually apostatized, and that the Pope cannot be Antichrist, since though he claims an unchristian pre- eminence, and receives honours which ought not to be paid to men, still he professes to act not as the opponent but as the substitute of Christ. But the false miracles ascribed to him seem to fix the charge on that corrupt Church : and Benson, and Bishop Newton, (in his Dissertations dn the Man of Sin,) have satisfied most Protestants, that the charge has been established. Even those futurists, as they are called, who expect, like the Fathers, a personal Anti- christ, will hardly deny that the Popes have exhibited many features of this man of sin, and that at least the secret of iniquity, which was already working in the times of the Apostle, had been by them partially developed. Short as this Epistle is, it is very important, and it aflbrds in this memorable prediction an additional evidence to us, who have read its partial accomplishment, of the writer's inspiration. In earlier times it must have been taken upon trust, and must have been a hard sayiiig, for the ' 1 Tim. iii. 15. 1 Cor. iii. IH. 2 Cor. vi. 16. " Daniel vii. 25. THESSALONIANS. 175 principles and conduct of the man of sin are so contrary to those of the Gospel, that it would seem hardly credible that they should ever predominate in the Church. The weapon which is to destroy this enemy is a sharp sword proceeding out of the Lord's mouth, that is, the written word^. This lawless one, the Apostle assures us, the Lord will con- sume, and he will destroy by the manifestation of his presence. The Antichrist the Fathers expected was an individual, who was for a very short season to suppress the profession of Christianity ; and it must be allowed, that it may seem harsh to explain the title of a succession of men. Still the same objection might be urged against the animals by which Daniel symbolized empires, including in them of necessity a succession of sovereigns ; and the text seems to me to require a similar interpretation, for the secret iniquity was already working, and showed itself in some of its doctrinal corruptions in Gnosticism ; and if the obstacle to its full development was the Roman empire, it is so long since it passed away, that it ought to have shown itself by this time. I therefore acquiesce in the general interpretation of Protestant commentators, for it appears to me clear, that we are warned not against infidelity, but against a plausible insidious corruption of the truth, which it contrives by the invention of men to neutralize, and in some respects to pervert. The reader will judge from the Apostle's de- lineation of the man of sin, coming, according to the energy of Satan, with lying wonders and unrighteous deceptions. But he comforts them with the assurance, that those alone will be deceived, who love not the truth, but take pleasure in falsehood ; and God has called them through the Gospel to obtain the glory of Jesus Christ. He charges them to stand fast, and retain whatever he had taught them orally or by letter, and prays that the Lord Jesus Christ and God the Father will establish them iii every good word and work. He * Rev. xix. 15. 176 THESSALONIANS. solicits their prayers for himself, that the word of God may be glorified in other places as with them, and for his deliver- ance, declaring his confidence, that they do and will obey his commands ; and again prays that the Lordy may direct their hearts into the love of God, and the patient waiting for Christ. The Greeks had the character of being idle, and there were in Thessalonica converts, who would make religion a pretence for neglecting the obvious duty of industry. In this second Epistle, therefore, he reproves such in stronger terms, and calls upon them to withdraw from every brother who walketh disorderly. To counteract this evil, he proposes his own example ; for, though he had a right to be maintained by them, he had wrought day and night that he might not be chargeable to any. When with them he had commanded, that any who would not work, should not be maintained by the congregation ; and they were not to associate with such an one, that he might he ashamed. His tender dis- position causes him to add, yet account him not as an enemy, hut admonish him as a hrother. He concludes with a prayer, that the Lord of peace may himself give them peace ahoays hy all means. Tertullian's Apology'' shows, that in his time Christianity was chai-ged in making men useless and unsocial. The Apostle seems to have given up his design of re- turning to Thessalonica, and he did not revisit it till four or five years later. y The Lord thus mentioned seems to be distinguished both from God and from Christ, and if so, is an example of i:>rayer to the Holy Ghost. ' Ap. Iv. THE EPISTLE GALATIANS This Epistle was, I assume with many critics, written after those to the Thessalonians, during this same residence at Corinth, and sent to Ancyra the capital by Titus. The Galatai of the Greeks, better known to us under the Latin name, Galli, had long been formidable to their civilized neighbours. At an early period, they had possessed them- selves of the north of Italy, had once taken Rome, and after- wards endangered the Repviblic : and a division of them, which had overrun Greece nearly three centuries before the Christian eera, crossing the Hellespont, hired themselves to Nicomedes, king of Bithynia, who rewarded their services by the grant of an inland territory in the lesser Asia, which ob- tained from them the name of Gallo-Graecia, or Galatia. They retained their Celtic language, resembling the dialect spoken at Treves, in the time of Jerome. Still, like the natives of most of the countries subdued by Alexander, they under- stood Greek. Paul, on his second journey soon after the Council of Jerusalem, went through Phrygia and Galatia*. No particulars ^re recorded, but he seems to have been most successful. For they welcomed him as if he had been an angel, or even Christ himself, and would even have plucked out their eyes to give him''; and he had conferred upon them the miraculous gifts of the Spirit <=. After his * Acts xvi. G. ^ Gal. iv. 14. "^ Gal. iii. 2. N 178 GALATIANS. departure, these great corrupters of the primitive faith, judaizing Christians, who blended together Law and Gospel, maintaining that conformity to the first was an indispensable condition of justification, endeavoured to subvert his teach- ing, by maintaining that he had not the authority of an Apostle. It should seem that their motive was not a mis- taken attachment to the Law, but a desire of thus avoiding persecution, by conciliating the Jews ; for Paul tells the Galatians, that they did not themselves keep the Law Gal. vi. 13. = Gal. iv. 20. f Gal. iv. 1 1 . B "iSere irr)\lKots v/mv ypd/ifiatriv eypa\j/a. Our translation is iu conformity with that of Beza, and of Le Clerc and Boausobre, still it seems to me a forced one, and also that the letter can hardly be considered as long. I prefer Theodoret's rendering, which derives authority from hiskuowledge of the lan^-uage. ' la what large clumsy characters I have written,' meaning though he rould not write well, still he would write with his own hand. GALATIANS. 179 to Christ in the Article of Justification. Dependence on the Mosaic Law, was the heresy which Paul had to combat ; but good works, or any other substitute or addition, is in principle, though not in terms, the same fundamental error. If then Justification by Faith alone is the foundation of Christianity, and if Justification, at least in part by human agency, is a doctrine congenial to the unrenewed heart, as appears from its continual revival in various forms of self- righteousness, as in austerities or acts of worship of human device or philosophical theories of morals, it will be against this fundamental tenet that the adversary will mainly direct his attack ; and as scriptural knowledge is more diffused, he will direct it not so much by open assault, as in a covert and insidious form. To keep it pure from any mixture, we must represent in its just dimensions the extent and power of natural corruption. Convince the world of sin and judg- ment, and it will seek justification where alone it can be found. Reject God's own mode of acceptance, and you become bound to keep the whole law, and are fallen from favour {grace). This doctrine distinguishes Christianity from every other religion, which assumes that man is still under the covenant of works, and teaches him how to keep it, or to obtain forgiveness for its occasional violations. Adam was placed under it, and perfect obedience to it would have been his justification ; but his descendants inheriting his corrupt nature, and, like him, transgressors, require atonement for past disobedience, and divine aid to keep the Law in future. Man must be justified, or reckoned just, by a perfect righteousness, for the perfectly holy God requires perfect obedience to his perfect law. Such righteousness no sinner can possibly produce, but the mercy of God accepts it as exhibited in the man Christ Jesus. In him all who aspire to be saved must be found, not having their own righteo7isness, which is of the Law, but that which is N ^ ISO GALATIANS. through the faith of Christ, the righteousness ivhich is of God by faith ^. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might he made the righteousness of God in hiniK Consequently, as the sinner cannot plead merit, he brings nothing to recommend him, except the conviction of his lost and helpless condition, and a willing- ness to be saved in God's appointed way. So humiliating a doctrine, which leaves no room for boasting save in the cross of Christ, must, under all modifications of opinions and feelings, be odious to the carnal mind. It has been therefore, according to circumstances, openly denied, or frittered away by omissions and additions, till it became quite another Gospel than that which the Apostles preached. We find, that in many of the Churches of Paul's planting, false teachers endeavoured to establish their own righteousness. He was therefore continually opposing them, but in no Epistle so methodically as in those to the Romans and the Galatians. In the former he demonstrates, that neither Jews nor Gentiles can be justified by obedience; in the latter, that sinners, that is all men, must be justified not by the sacrifices and purifications of the Law, but by faith in the righteousness of God. The severity with which he rebukes these false teachers, shows that he considered the Gospel itself to be in clanger. He uses address and caution in counteracting the delusions of the Corinthians, because though they had built hay, wood, and stubble, still it was upon the true foundation. The perverters of the Galatians were laying another, and acquiescence in their teaching was a virtual renunciation of the Gospel. Augus- tine had vindicated the Scriptural doctrine against Pela- gianism, but it was revived with subtle distinctions by the Schoolmen, and prevailed till it was opposed by Luther, who called Justification through Faith the sign of a rising or falling Church. None maintains it more positively than '• Phil. iii. 9. ' 2 Cor. v. 21. GALATIANS. 181 our own, which not only affirms its truth, but declares it to be most wholesome, and very full of comfort^. The Epistle opens with a brief sketch of the writer's life, recording several particulars omitted in the Acts, in order to show his- independent Apostolical authority. He begins with saying, that he is an Apostle not from men, nor appointed through any man, but through Jesus Christ and God, who raised him from the dead ; and that he was not taught the Gospel which he preached (and was the only true one) by man, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ, of which they must have heard. To show that he had no human instruction, he observes, that without conferring with flesh and blood, he went immediately after his con- version into Arabia, and afterwards on his return to Da- mascus preached without any intercourse with Peter, whom he saw for the first time three years after at Jerusalem, and then only for a fortnight. His second visit was fourteen years after, when he proved his consistency by not allowing the circumcision of his Gentile convert Titus, and was treated by Peter, James, and John, as on the same footing as themselves. He afterwards showed his inde- pendence and faithfulness, by rebuking Peter to his face, because he was to be blamed for his undue compliance with the Law. He then passes on to arguments, and expresses his amazement at the fascination of these thoughtless Galatians, since the crucifixion of Christ had been as vividly brought before them as if they had actually seen it ; and they had their own experience of the miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit, which they must know they had not received from their judaizing teachers, but from himself through the hearing of faith, and not from the works of the Law. He states, that Abraham himself was accepted for his faith in the promised Saviour, who was to proceed from him, which ^ Art. xi. 182 GALATIANS. being accepted for righteousness, those who possess it (whether of Hebrew or of Gentile birth) are counted as his children, and are blessed with him according to the promise, In thy seed shall (not Israelites alone, his descendants after the flesh, but) all the nations of the earth be blessed. The Law, on the contrary, pronounces him cursed, who breaks it but in a single instance. No one therefore can be justified by it; and this Scripture confesses, for, as Habakkuk"^ wrote, the just shall live (not by works, but) by his faith. Thus Christ having bought us, by becoming for us accursed, this blessing of Abraham came on the Gentiles by Jesus Christ. Now this promise, had it been only a man's covenant, using popular language, could neither be disannulled or enlarged ; and this covenant, which was confirmed before by God, the Law, enacted more than four centuries after, cannot render void, and make the promise of none effect. But since the inheritance was a free gift to Abraham, and did not come from the Law, it was natural to ask the use of the latter. The answer is. It ivas added (to the covenant) because of transgressions, till the promised seed should come, and was ordained in the hands of a Mediator. Now his office implies mediation between two parties ; but God is one, the only party present when the Law was promulgated on Sinai through the intervention of Moses as a typical mediator, but he could not act for the Gentiles, nor even supersede the Abrahamic covenant with Israel. The Sinai cove- nant was distinct from the Abrahamic, as the standard of duty was distinct from the Gospel, the foundation of a sinner's hope, and the shadows of the ceremonies from Christ the substance, but they were not coiitrary to each other. Still it was never intended to give life, because all men have broken it, and are prone to break it ; for if so, justification would have been through it, and the plan of redemption would have been superfluous. But the Scrip- "' Ilah. ii. 4. i GALATIANS. 183 ture shut up all men as prisoners waiting for the revelation of the promised Deliverer ; yet this w^as intended to recom- mend the Gospel to those who in faith accepted it. Having compared the Lord to a jailor, the Apostle now changes the figure, not for a schoolmaster, but for a pedagogue, that is, the person whose duty it was to bring boys to the teacher. When brought to Christ, and baptized into his religion, all are alike children of God by faith, and reckoned as Abraham's seed, for there is no longer any national, or personal, or even sexual distinction. At the proper season, the promise made to Eve was at length fulfilled ; God sent forth his Son made of a woman, made under the Law, that ive might receive the adoption of sons. Before his coming they were under bondage, as an heir in his minority is under tutors and governors ; and he appeals to the Spirit of the Son dwelling in them, and moving them to address God as their Father, as evidence of their being through Christ heirs of God. He affectionately expostulates with them, on their perverseness in turning back again to weak and beggarly elements, (whether Jewish or Pagan,) and he declares his uneasiness about them, as they were now observing Jewish festivals. Fearing, however, to distress them by language too strong, he entreats them to be as cordial to him as he was to them ; reminding them, that he had been as zealous for the Law formerly as they were now, and had not been injured by them ; and refers to their reception of him, as kind as if he had been an Angel, or even Christ, notwithstanding they might have despised him, because of his temptation in the flesh. He then tells them, that though they desire to be under the Law, they do not understand it, which he shows from an allegorical" interpretation of the history " Bishop Marsh, in his Lectures, ohjects to the EngHsh version an allegory, which he justly remarks ought to have been allegorized, since the former implies that the history is not real, whereas the Apostle only draws out 184 GALATIANS. of the two sons of Abraham, showing that Hagar the mother of Ishmael was a type of the Jewish Church which is in bondage, while Sarah the freewoman is a type of the Christian, the Jerusalem which is above, and is the mother of all believers, whether originally Jews or heathen ; and he acconnuodates to his purpose the opening of the fifty-fourth chapter of Isaiah, Many more are the children of the deserted, (that is, Sarah the wife,) than of Hagar, she tvho had (co- habited, with) the husband. They were properly Ishmaelites, while all Christians were the children of promise like Isaac, and had been persecuted in like manner as he had been by his brother. Cast out, he concludes, in quoting Sarah's words, the bo?idwovian and her son, in- timating it should seem that they should separate them- selves from those judaizing perverters of the law. If they submitted to circumcision, they brought themselves under an obligation to keep the whole Law ; he therefore exhorts them to stand fast in tiieir Christian liberty, and explains that the faith which he had been magnifying was not a mere assent of the understanding, but a principle working by love ; and that he may be fully understood, he says, love is the fulfilling of the law, and he conti-asts the works of the flesh and of the Spirit. From the list of the former, comprehending envyings, murders, hatred, and heresies, as well as uncleanness and drunkenness, we perceive that he uses flesh, not in the restricted sense of modern times, but as comprehending all the vicious in- clinations of the unregenerate. The flesh, (in this large sense,) he says, fhei/ that are Christ's have crucified. After advising them to treat those who had erred in the spirit of meekness, remembering their own frailty, to provide of facts a secondary liiddeu meaning. 1 1 is clearly not an argument, but ail illustration. It is a mode of reasoning common with the Jews, but is obviously liable to abuse, and we can have no confidence in it, except when, as in this instance, it is suggested by the Holy Spirit. GALATIANS. 185 liberally for their teachers, and to avail themselves of the opportunity oi doing good unto all men, and especially to those who are of the household of faith, he tells us, that it was not for their sake that the false teachers urged them to be circumcised, but for their own advantage, that they might make a fair show in the flesh, (gain credit,) and make a boast of the circumcision of the Galatian believei's ; hut God forbid, he adds, that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom he is crucified to all worldly distinctions ; valuing neither circumcision nor uncircumcision, regarding a new creation as alone import- ant, and in all who walked according to this rule, even to the Israel of God, (not after the flesh,) he prays for peace and mercy. As what he had written was sufficient to satisfy reasonable enquiries, he desires to be no further troubled, for lie bears on his body the effects of stripes and blows, the marks (stigmata), as he calls them, of the Lord Jesus, which attest at once faithfulness, and his acknow- ledgment of him as the object of his worship". At Corinth Paul reasoned daily in the synagogue ; but he met with so much opposition and reviling from the Jews, that he gave them up as hopeless, and as a sign of his leaving them to themselves, shook his robe, and said. Your blood be upon your own heads, I am clean ; from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. He removed to the house of Justus, a proselyte, which was contiguous ; and though the Jews in general were obdurate, Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed with all his house. Many others also of the Corinthians were baptized. Nevertheless, the Apostle o Thus in the Apocalypse we read of those who receive the mark of the beast in the foreiiead, or in the liaiicl, xiv. 9; and ver. 1. of those who had the Lamb's Father's name on their foreheads. lS(i ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. seems to have been cast down by this opposition, and a con- sciousness of his own natural insufficiency and of his infirmities, for he afterwards confessed in his first Epistle to them, / was zoiih you in tveahiess, and in fear, and in much trenihling^' ; and in his second'', that his bodily presence was treated by some as weak, and his speech as con- temptible, and that he had a thorn in the fiesh"^ to humble him. What it was we are left to conjecture ; according to some, weakness of sight ; I think it was some impedi- ment in his speech ; certainly, though called a messenger of Satan, it could have been no sinful propensity, for when he prayed for its removal, he was told that the Lord's strength was perfected in his loeakness, which caused him even to glory in it. The Saviour consequently appeared to him in a vision, to encourage him, with the assurance that no one should injure him, and that he had much people in the town for him to convert. Paul therefore continued in Corinth a year and a half; during which period a new Proconsul arrived, M. Annaeus Novatus, who took the name of Gallio, his adopted father. It is interesting to know, that he was a younger brother of the famous philosopher Seneca, the tutor of Nero ; to which relationship no doubt he owed his elevation, and when his brother was disgraced, he also was condemned to death. According to his brother, he^ was much beloved for his gentleness and unaflected amiability, a character which is confirmed by less partial testimony S but it seems to have degenerated into weakness ; for when Paul was brought before him on the charge of worshipping God contrary to the Law, though he justly refused to take cognizance of such a subject, he suffered Sosthenes to be beaten in his presence; and it is observed, that he cared for none of those things. At length Paul sailed for Asia, taking with him Aquila and p 1 Cor. ii. 3. '• 2 Cur. x. 10. '2 <;or. xii. 7- > Qufpst. Nat. iv. pia-fat. ' :>tatius, Silva, ii. 7. 32. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 187 Priscilla, having shorn his head" at Cenchrea, probably in consequence of a vow made for some extraordinary deliverance. Paul left these companions at Ephesus, and took the opportunity of preaching once in the synagogue, but he could not be prevailed upon to lengthen his stay, being impatient to keep the passover in Jerusalem. He sailed therefore to Csesarea, went up to salute the believers at Jerusalem, and retvirned to Antioch, having accomplished his second Missionary journey in about four years. " The arrangement of the words leaves it douhtful who it was that shaved himself ; the Vulgate refers it to Aquila, and is supported by the opinion-of Chrysostom; but I think Luke would not have thought the faet worth mentioning, unless he meant to speak of Paul. THE EPISTLE TITUS The date of this Epistle has caused much perplexity, for neither Titus nor Crete, where he was left by the Apostle to set in order the things tvanting, are named in the Acts. We know however from himself, that he had made many voyages prior to the one described in that book, and I adopt the probable conjecture of Michaelis, that he availed him- self of this residence at Corinth to sail to that island, and that he wrote this charge to Titus on his return to that city. This Epistle and that to Timothy are so similar, not only in matter but also in words, like those to the Ephesians and Colossians, that our first impression is, that they must have been written at the same time. Still, as it appears from Paul's own words, that he had left Timothy at Ephesus, we must explain the resemblance by the supposition, that in composing the latter he consulted his copy of the former. They reflect so much light upon each other, that I have placed them together. The writer calls Titus as well as Timothy his own son in the faith, but their tempers seem to have been different, for Timothy is enjoined to rebuke with gentleness, Titus sharply, though more perhaps depended on the character of their congregations; for in Crete there were many unruly., vain talkers, and deceivers, whose mouths required to be bridled, because they subverted the faith of whole TITUS. 189 households, justifying the censure of one of their own poets, Epimenides, who called them, KpTjTis del xpevffTai, KaK^i, 6r]pla, yaarepes apyal. False Cretans, savage beasts, with bellies slow. The fables they gave heed to were Jewish, and therefore we presume that those which were hurtful to the Ephesians were the same. The instructions respecting the ministerial office, and the duties inculcated on the laity, in both Epistles substantially agree ; but it is in this required in addition of the presbyter, that he be not self-willed, or passionate, and must be just and Jioly. Speaking of the duties of servants, he observes, that they must not answer again, or purloin, but show all good faithfulness ; and as to Timothy he had given the negative reason, that their religion might not be reviled, he now positively writes, that they 7nay adorn the doctrine of God their Saviour, and thus introduces this' admirable epitome of Christian faith and practice. For the favour of God, which bring eth salvation to all conditions of men, that is, the Gospel, has appeared, teaching, that denying ungodliness and toorldly desires, we should live with sobriety, justice, and piety, waiting for the glorious manifestation of Jesus Christ, our great God and Saviour, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from our slavery to sin, and purify us to himself as a peculiar people, zealous of good works. Among the duties enjoined are, obedience to magistrates; and he gives a melancholy description of the wickedness of unregenerate men, which brings in another valuable epitome of Christianity, the effects of whicii he con- trasts with those of depraved nature, for the philanthropy of God appeared in saving such hateful beings; for not by any righteousness of our own, but according to his mercy he saved us, through the bath of regeneration, and renewal of the Holy Spirit, which he has poured out upon us richly, through our Saviour, that being justified by his 190 TITUS. favour, ive might be made heirs accord'mg to the hope of eternal life. This he calls a faithful saying, and he desires Titus to affirm as a consequence of it, that they who have believed in God should he careful to maintain good works. These he declares to be good and profitable ; and concludes with charging him to avoid as vain and unprofitable, foolish questions and strivings about the Law. He expects him to come to him at Nicopolis, where he intends to winter. The name meaning the city of victor)-, was common to several. Paul probably intended the one founded by Augustus, near Actium, to commemorate the battle which made him master of the Roman empire, and which the Apostle might have visited before he wrote to the Romans, that he had fully preached round about unto Illyricum\ " Romans xv. 19. THE FIRST EPISTLE TIMOTHY. The first Epistle to Timothy is supposed by a great majority of critics to have been written after Paul's com- pulsory retreat from Ephesus, in consequence of the riot; while some of the moderns, as Macknight and Paley, date it in the interval between his two imprisonments. I prefer the earlier date, as better suiting the admonition. Let no man despise thy youth^; and the instructions respecting the qualifications for the ministers of religion are more ap- propriate to an infant Church, than to one which had been founded several years. Grace and peace from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, is Paul's ordinary salutation, but in the Epistles to Timothy and Titus, he adds mercy. They may be regarded as inspired episcopal charges, and peculiarly deserve the study of the Clergy, who will observe the earnestness with which he impresses upon his beloved con- vert, whom he designates as his own son in the faith ^, the practical nature of religion, its end being love out of a pure heart, and a good conscience, and unfeigned faith '. He desires him to caution the Ephesian teachers against /a&fc* and end- less genealogies, which do not tend to edification. The context shows, that these were not those of the Gnostics, - 1 Tim. iv. 12 '■ 1 Tiin. i. 2. •= I Tim. i 5. 192 FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. then only in the bud, as some suppose, but of the Jews, for he adds, The Law is good, if a man use it lawfully , for it is not made for the righteous man, who is a law unto himself, but for notorious offenders, several of whom he enumerates, intermixing with criminals, sinners, such as whoremongers and liars, not amenable to human courts, and also whatever is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious Gospel committed to Ms trust. And here gratitude con- strains him to digress to express his thankfulness, that such a sinner as himself, a reviler and a persecutor, had not only been pardoned, but had through abounding favour been put into the ministry. The only extenuation he suggests of his guilt is, that it was a sin of ignorance. He generalizes his case into the weighty aphorism, that it is a faithful saying, worthy of being received by all, that Christ Jesus came into the ivorld to save sinners, of whom he declares himself to be the first^, that he might be the pattern to future believers of the Saviour's long suffering, patient endurance ; and he bursts forth into a doxology to the only zvise God, the in- corruptible, divisible King of ages. He begins with admonishing Timothy not to frustrate the prophecies which had preceded his ordination, but to war a good warfare, maintaining the faith and a good con- science, which some (specifying Alexander and Hymenaeus) having put away, have made shipwreck of the faith. He desires that prayer should be offered up for all men, especially for sovereigns and all in authority, that their subjects might lead peaceable lives in piety and virtue; and assigns as a rea- son, that there is only one God, who desires the salvation of all, and only one Mediator, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all. As the suitable appearance and behaviour of the whole congregation was important to the <• irpwTos, rendered here both chipfanA first, may mean first in degree or in time, and T prefer the latter sense. FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 193 credit of their religion, he desires that the women should adorn themselves with modest apparel, preferring, as women professing- godliness, modesty, sobriety, and good works, to broidered hair, gold, pearls, or costly array. He forbids their teaching in public, and so usurping authority over man, whose superiority he shows from his priority of creation, and from the deception by the tempter, not of Adam, but of Eve; but he comforts the sex by the assurance, that if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with sobriety, they shall obtain eternal salvation "^ through childbearing'', the suffering and danger of which was the penalty of their first mother's sin. As Timothy had to ordain presbyters or elders, Paul specifies their qualifications, which are the same as those in his Epistle to Titus. In both, the Presbyter is required to be the husband of one wife. This is a phrase of difficult interpretation, for it hardly conveys the popular notion that it prohibits second marriages, which were certainly very early regarded as unbecoming, if not unlawful, in the Church, though left an open question by the Bible. The obvious sense is, he should not be a polygamist ; but polygamy, except among the Jews, did not prevail in the Romanempire; and I prefer the ancient interpretation, that no second wife should have a moral claim upon him, as divorced, without the sole adequate reason, adultery. It is surprising, that in contradiction to this text, the Church of Rome pre- sumes to forbid marriage to the Clergy, which, by a rigidinter- pretation, the Greek Church pronounces in the parochial Ministers indispensable, though it inconsistently selects the * The sense of temporal salvation, though supported by Locke and Whitby, does not appear to me to be tenable. ^ The mention of Eve, and the insertion of the Article before childbearing, rris reKvoyovias, induced some of the early commentators to refer the text to the birth of the promised Deliverer; and they are followed by Macknight and others. IDl riUST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. prelates from monks. They must rule well their own house, and have their children obedient. They must not be new converts, lest, being lifted up with pride, they should sin like the devil; and they ought to be respected by their heathen neighbours, lest they should fall into reproach, and the snare of the devil. Vigilance, sobriety, order, hospi- tality, and aptness to teach, might be expected ; but we are astonished that ministers are expected not to be given to wine, not strikers, not hraiolers, for such persons we should hardly expect would be found even among private Chris- tians ; but the manners of the age w^ere coarse, for even the aged women of Crete^ are admonished not to be given to much wine; and St. Peter writes s, as if it were common for masters to buffet their servants. Not greedy of filthy lucre, meaning not simply covetous, which follows, but one who carries on some discreditable trade. The qualifications for Deacons are similar, and he intimates that those who had filled the office faithfully, ought to be promoted to the higher one of Elder. He adds, that women should he grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. The word is am- biguous, and means, it is supposed by many, in this con- nection, deaconesses ; for if we render it wives, it seems strange that those of the presbyters should have been altogether overlooked. He gives Timothy these instructions, that he may know how to act in the congregation of the living God, which he calls the pillar and foundation of the Truth. He declares, that confessedly great is the secret (now revealed) of godliness. The doctrine of the incarnate T)e'ny, justified by (the operations of) the Spirit, seen by angels, proclaimed to the Gentiles, believed on in the world, and received up into glory. It occurs to him that the truth would not be received by all, for the Spirit expressly declares, that in the latter days there would be apostates from the faith, who would speak ' Titus ii. 3. s^ 1 Peter ii. 20. FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 195 lies in hypocrisy, having their consciences cauterised, forbid- ding to marry, and commanding to abstain' from meats zvhich God had commanded to be thankfully received, all food being good, if sanctified by the word of God and by prayer. He cautions him to avoid profane and old zvives' fables, and to practise in preference to asceticism, which profiteth but little, godliness, which is profitable unto all things, having the promise both of the present and of the future life. To render his ministry successful, he exhorts him to maintain such sanctity and purity of manners, as would not only secure him from the contempt to which his youth would otherwise expose him, but render him a worthy example to the flock; and with this view he charges him till his own return to attend to reading^, to exhortation, to teaching, and to give himself wholly to his duties, in doing which he will save both himself and those who hear him. He admonishes him to reprove with gentleness the aged as a father, the young as a brother, and gives instructions with respect to such widows as subsisted on the bounty of the congregation. To guard against abuse, none are to be admitted on the list under sixty years of age, and young ones are to be refused, because they will resist the restraints which it is expedient to impose upon them, and marry, and so incapacitate themselves for their office, and incur con- demnation by breaking their engagements ; and while on the list, they will become idle, loandering from house to house, and not only so, but tattlers and busy bodies. In oi'der to give no occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully of religion, he wishes them to marry, and superintend their families. Though these are the regulations for an office that has passed away, they are still useful in their spirit. They show, that the Apostle did not favour the association of young females for works of active charity, and much less that '' This from the contest appears to be reading the Scriptures in the Congregation. 190 FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. he would have countenanced those for meditation and prayer, like nunneries. He would not even admit aged widows upon the list, unless destitute of friends, for he expected that their children ox grandchildren\ if they had any, should maintain them ; and those who neglected so obvious an obligation he regards as practically renouncing their religion, and as worse than the heathen, who, generally speaking, fulfilled these relative duties. These widows must be ivell reported of for good works, in which they were still to be employed, as far as they were able. From the relief of the poor, he proceeds to the maintenance of the Ministry, and re- commends a double alUnoance to those who preside well, especially if their department be teaching and preaching, and justifies their support at the public expense, both from the Old and the New Testament. The first is an inference from the oxJ being unmuzzled, so that he might eat of the corn which he trod out, an inference which he suggested to the Corinthians''; the second is a saying of our Lord, the labourer is worthy of hire, which seems to have been already recorded in the Gospel ^ He charges Timothy in the most solemn manner to an impartial discharge of his office, and to ordain none suddenly and rashly, lest he should share in the responsibility of their neglect of duty. The sins of some men, he observes, are manifest, as well as their good works, but others can only be detected by a diligent and careful examination. Drink no longer water alone, but use a little wine with it. on account of his frequent complaints, is a private injunction, supposed to have been originally a marginal note, introduced by an early transcriber into the context, which it interrupts. But though personal, it is of no private interpretation, and is still most valuable. Benson speaks slightingly of it ; but Macknight justly remarks, that it was inserted in an i "Znyova, not nepltrinn in tlie modern sense. J Deut. XXV. 1. "1 Cor. ix. 9. ' Luke x. 8. FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 197 inspired writing, to condemn the superstition of those who abstain from fermented liquors out of a notion of superior sanctity. We may in our day take it as an apostolic warning against those, who consider total abstinence as a duty, showing that no more is required than a temperate use of the food and liquoi's which God enables man to provide. Wine indeed our Lord has consecrated, as the emblem of his blood shed for us ; and this solemn appropriation of the product of the vine in his Supper ought to teach his people moderation in the use, as a wholesome refreshment, of what has been too frequently made to minister to sin, and degraded rational beings below the brute. Timothy, we may suppose, had some tendency towards an excessive abstemiousness, which his spiritual father would discourage ; but such as would abuse the advice should recollect, that tlie liquor which Timothy would drink is not so strong as beer, and that it was the ancient custom to dilute wine more or less with water. Believers under the yoke, that is, slaves become the Lord's freed men, had strong temptation to abuse the liberty with which he had made them free. This he checks by hinting, that disrespectful behaviour would cause their God and their religion to be reviled; he therefore enjoins them to regard their masters as worthy of all honour, and should the}' be believers, not to fail in proper submission, but to serve them, on the contrary, with the more assiduity, as partaking with them of so great a benefit as Christianity. He cautions Timothy to turn aside from teachers, who instead of the wholesome words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the doctrine of godliness, have a morbid taste for unprofitable questions and verbal disputations, which engender railings and evil surmisings, and originate in the desire of gain. And he corrects them by saying, that godliness, if accompanied by contentment, is properly speaking gain; and as man wants little here below, we should be content if we have food and raiment; warned by the example of 198 FIRST El'ISTLK TO TIMOTHY. those who, being determined to be rich, fall into temptation, and into the gratification of desires, tohich plunge them into perdition ; for the love of money is the root of all evil, and some by coveting it have pierced themselves through with viany sorrows, and have even erred from the faith. But thou, O man of God, flee these things, and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness. Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life. I charge thee before God, who giveth life to all things, and before Christ Jesus, who in the presence of the Roman Governor witnessed a good confession, that thou keep the command- ment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, tohich he shall in the apipobited time show, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords ; the sole possessor of immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, unseen, and incapable of being seen. The temptations of the rich had dwelt upon the Apostle's mind, and therefore he returns to the subject in a postscript, charging them not to be puffed up, nor to trust in fleeting riches, but in the Uviiig God, who giveth these and all other gifts to us richly for enjoyment; and points out the true use of riches, viz. to enable their possessors to be rich in good works, whereby they shall lay up for themselves a good found- ation, that they may lay hold on eternal life, (by lending them to the Lord.) I have observed, that the Pauline Epistles contain many weighty aphorisms, epitomes of faith and duty, which may be detached from the context, and treasured up in the memory. In these personal Epistles our attention is often drawn to them by this notice, This is a faithful saying, which generally precedes, but sometimes follows, the apho- rism. As in this Epistle, This is a faithful saying, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save siyiners"'. And in that to Titus, it follows a summary of Christian doctrine ". '" 1 Tim. i. 15. n Titus iii. 4—8. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 199 SECTION XL ST. Paul's third missionary journey. The Apostle, after some stay at Antioch, undertook a third journey. He travelled in order from Church to Church in Galatia, confirming in the faith those who had received the Gospel, but seemingly not attemjJting to form new congregations, being alone, and desirous of taking up a temporary residence at Ephesus, the capital of the Roman Proconsular province of Asia. Though the village w^hich now marks its site is at some distance from the sea, it was then the most flourishing port of Asia ; and its celebrity, which was of ancient date, arose out of the temple of Artemis, more familiar to the general reader under the Roman name Diana, which was regarded as a wonder of the world, and was one of the largest and most beautiful specimens of Ionic architecture. It is no more than a confused heap of ruins, but we may read a description of it in Pliny a, and its front may be seen on the imperial coins. Medals of it were formed to be sold to the worshippers of this great goddess ,• and it seems that not superstition, but mercenary motives, raised the tumult against those who said, that those loere no gods that were made with hands. The sanctity of the temple rendered it a safe bank of deposit, and in the earliest times at least, religion was strengthened by its connection with commerce. The temple was under the administration of the Asiarchs^, who bore the expenses of the festivals, and were chosen out of the wealthy citizens, and inhabitants of the province. The image of the goddess is transmitted to us on coins, and even in statues; but she is not the swift virgin huntress of the poets, whom the sculptor delights to bring before us pursuing * Hist. Nat. xvi. 40; xxxvi. 14. Strabo, xiv. "^ Acts xix. 31. 200 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. with a hound a stag, but a strange mysterious being, rolled up like a mummy, her body propped up by a pole on either side, represented with many breasts, and covered with delineations of quadrupeds, birds, insects, and flowers, showing that she is the personification of nature "=. At Athens, and wherever pliilosophy flourished, the national religion was yielding to a philosophy practically atheistic ; but Diana seems to have retained her hold on the affections of the Ephesians, who had named one of their months after her Greek name Artemisium, and gloried in the title of Nscaxogos, or Warden of, the goddess, which they stamped upon their coins. It was easy, as appears from the sequel, to raise a tumult in her honour, but as it has often happened since, among the professors of a purer faith, the feeling of jealousy for her honour was blended with self- interest ; but it is remarkable, that it showed itself not in the priests, but in the workmen, who gained their livelihood by making silver models of her temple. To understand this, we must recollect that the polytheists of Greece and Rome had not, like the Egyptians, or the eastern nations of our own days, a powerful hierarchy. The distinction of clergy and laity was unknown in the Roman Empire ; the Romans therefore were at the same time lawyers, senators, and ministers of their gods, and the Emperor was the supreme PontiflT. In fact, the priest was merged in the magistrate, who only valued religion, which he probably disbelieved, as an engine of government. It appears from the town clerk's speech, that no one presumed to doubt that this statue had been sent down from Jove; the same tale was told of the statue of Pallas at Athens, the shapeless stone which represented Venus at Paphos, and we may add, tlie celebrated black stone of Mecca ; and we who know that aerolites, as they are called, •-■ This image, copied from the Dissertatiou of Menetrius, may be seen in the Pictorial Bible. ACTS OF THK APOSTLES. 201 fall from heaven, may believe this of stone statues ; but we learn from Pliny, that the Diana of Ephesus was made of wood. As Athens gloried in philosophy, Ej^hesus may be regarded as the chief seat of magical studies, and be- came in after times the stronghold of Gnosticism, a system which attempted to dignify the mystical philosophy of the east by an union with Christianity; and it appears from Paul's Epistles to that city, and the neighbouring one of Colosse, that this mystery of iniquity was already de- veloping. Pretenders to divine wisdom, who resembled conjurors more than philosophers, abounded in this and the following centuries, such as the author Apnleius ; and Apollonius of Tyana, a contemporary nearly of our Saviour, who is reported to have lived on to a marvellous age, is described by his biographer as a worker of miracles ; and the later Platonists brought forth his miracles in opposition* to those of our Lord. During Paul's absence, his friends Aquila and Priscilla had rendered considerable service to Christianity, by in- structing fully in the truth Apollos, a native of Alexandria, who already taught in the synagogue frequently and dili- gently what he knew ; but it was no more than what could be collected from the preparatory dispensation of the Baptist, who announced the approach of the Messiah, and the necessity of being qualified for his kingdom by repent- ance. His conversion was of the more importance, because he was both eloquent and mighty in the Serif tures ; and going soon after to Corinth, before Paul's coming, he in a degree supplied the Apostle's place there ; for publicly proving hy the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ, he > 2 Cor. i. 1.5. « 1 Cor. iv. 18. •• 1 Cor. V. 9. SJUO FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. effectual door had been opened, induced him to postpone his journey till after Pentecost. The Epistle therefore must have been written before the riot which forced him to an abrupt departure, and it is conjectured a little before the Passover, from its allusion to unleavened bread. To give it more weight, he sent it, not by these messengers, but by Titus^, and it produced the effect which it desired. They expressed their regret after a godly sort, and cleared themselves as a body*'. In consequence, how^ever, of his hasty retreat from Ephesus, this intelligence did not reach him till he w-as in Macedonia, where he waited for Titus. The salutations of the Churches of Asia, and of Aquila and Priscilla, whom we know to have been then at Ephesus, and his own \vords, prove it to have been written from that city. The subscription, which is of no authority, dates it from Philippi, but this mistake might have arisen from translating ^isg^ojxut, I am passing , instead of, I shall (intend to) pass, through Macedonias. Sostlienes, whose name he joins with his own, is thought to be the ruler of the syna- gogue'^, who had formerly been active in persecuting him, and if he were, his name after his conversion would give additional weight to his own authority. The Epistle divides into two parts the condemnation of the prevalent abuses, 1. schism, 2. incest, 3. the re- course to the heathen tribunals, 4. and fornication: and answers to their inquiries. In speaking of these divisions, the writer observes, Every one of you saith, I am of Paul, and I of Cephas, and I of Christ. Is Christ divided F was Paul crucified for you ? or icere ye bajjtized into the name of Paul '^? "It has been thought with probability," says Scott, " that the Apostle does not mention these names as really the heads of the parties into which the Corinthians had divided, but in order to mark more emphatically the evil « 1 Cor. xvi. 17. 2 Cor. vii. * 2 Cor. vii. e 1 Cor. xvi. 5. ^ Acts xviii. ' 1 Cor. i. 12. FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 209 of the thing itself, and the absurdity of dividing the Church, out of a disposition inordinately to magnify some particular teacher, or to despise faithful ministers, under a pretence of honouring Christ. However respectable the names, the thing itself was indefensible, and it would give less umbrage to mention himself, ApoUos, and Cephas, than to name the false teachers that were the authors of the discord." A preference might be urged of Apollos for his eloquence, and of Peter as the Apostle of the Circumcision. The opinion originated with the Greek commentators, and to me appears far-fetched, and was probabl}^ suggested by a subsequent passage, these things I have in a figure trans- ferred to myself and to Apollos for your sakes, that ye might learn in us not to think of men above that ivhich is written^. Whitby, I think, satisfactorily refutes it, by observing, that upon that supposition Paul would not have thanked God that he baptized so few of them, nor would he have said. All things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas^. No Epistle is so full of local matters ; yet, as if it were to show that all Scripture is designed indirectly for the benefit of all believers, it is addressed not exclusively to the Corinthians, but to all ivho in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ, the Lord of all; so that Chrysostom calls it a Catholic Epistle. And here I would observe, that the Apostle's definition of believers, (which the Acts show to be their own appellation of themselves,) teaches us that the worship of their Lord was their characteristic. We may be assured that it was from no carelessness in writing, but from deliberate choice, or from a full heart, that the name of the anointed Saviour, "so sweet in a believer's ear," occurs more frequently than a critical taste may approve, in the opening of both the Epistles to the Corinthians. Paul opens the first with expressing his thankfulness ' 1 Cor. iv. 6. k 1 Cor. iii. 22. P 210 FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. that they came behind in no spiritual gift, waiting for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, ivho will also confirm them unto the end, that they may he blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. His design is to press upon them his great object, that there should be no schism, but that they might be joined together in the same mind, and in the same judgment. Commentators remark, that he thus pre- pares them for a favourable reception of his reproof: yet we cannot suppose that he praises them at the expense of truth; and therefore I presume that the censure was designed for the minority. He reproves this setting up one teacher in opposition to another as carnal; and shows the absurdity of magnifying those who ought to be re- garded only as the Lord's servants, through whom they believed ; for they owed no allegiance even to him, though their spiritual father, since he had not been crucified for them, and they had not been baptized into his name. One cause of these divisions was their estimate of eloquence and philosophy ; he therefore shows it was erroneous, since human genius could not discover, nor the natural man, whatever might be his intellectual sagacity, even receive, religious truth, which God had revealed through his Spirit ; and that his own success in preaching was not owing to these endowments, for he had not come to them with the enticing words of mans loisdoni or excellency of speech, that the wisdom of the world might be confounded by the foolishness (as they deemed it) of preaching. Such he allows it to be in the judgment of them who perish, but unto the saved it is the power of God; and he accommodates to his purpose the words of Isaiah', I will bring to nought the understanding of the jjrudent, as it is through the preaching of the cross that it pleases God to save those that believe. The Jews dema7id a miracle as evidence, while the Greeks seek after wisdom ; but the subject of our preaching is Christ Isaiah xxix. 14. FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 211 crucified, to the first a stumbling -hloch, to the second foolishness, but to the called of both, (what they both profess to seek,) the wisdom of God, and the 'poioer of God. He appeals to their own knowledge of the fact, that their call- ing^ did not comprehend many of the worldly wise, the ■powerful, or the noble, but that God had chosen, what the world deemed foolish, to confound the tvise, what the world deemed weak, to confound the mighty, and the base, the despised, and those who were esteemed as nought, to bring to nought the things that are ; that he who gloried should, as Jeremiah'' says, not glory in man, but in Jehovah, who had made Christ Jesus to believers wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. So Paul had made known unto them only Jesus Christ and him crucified, that their faith might stand not in the wisdom of man, but in the power of God. He guards this confession from misconception, by adding, that among the 'perfect, (that is, those able to bear it, for others were as babes, ivho must be fed with milk,) he does speak wisdom, not the ivisdom of the world, but the hidden wisdom of God, for the natural man cannot receive it, because it must be spiritually discerned, and God has revealed it unto us through his Spirit^. In the course of this expostulation, he warns them not to overrate their teachers, who were no more than labourers in God's field; he himself had planted, Apollos had watered, but the harvest came from God. He then changes the figure, and describes himself as a wise master-builder, who had laid the only foundation, Jesus Christ. Ujion this foundation, however, builders might erect different structures; a palace of marble, adorned with silver or gold and costly stones ; or a cottage of wood, thatched with hay and stubble, the value of which J Here is a remarkable ellipsis; rt?e called, as it is filled up by our translators, refers it to the taught. Macknigbt and other critics render it call you, thinking that it better suits the context to apply it to the teachers, but I prefer the sense which I have expressed above. ^ Jeremiah ix. 24, ' 1 Cor. ii. iii. U\2 FIRST F.PISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. the fire of the last day would test. So the teacher, who deduced such doctrine from the Gospel as built up the believer in the faith, would receive the reward he merited ; while he who had taught (not fundamental error, but) imperfect knowledge, and had spent his time and strength to little purpose, would be mulcted of the reward of his labours ; yet if he meant well, should himself through mercy be saved, yet with extreme" difficulty, as through a fire. He ends with saying, that they ought not to glory in man, for their teachers, and all things, whether life or death, if they were Christ's, were meant to be subservient to them. Having called their teachers Christ's servants, and dispensers of his secrets, he intimates the duty of faithfulness in such an office, and, referring to himself, leaves the judgment of his faithfulness to his Master, though his own conscience does not accuse him, briefly and delicately alluding to his privations, hardships, and disinterested working for his own maintenance ; and reminding them, that as their spiritual father he ought to be more valued by them than ten thousand teachers ; and he concludes this introduction, with declaring how much more agreeable it was to him to come to them in the spirit of meekness and love, than with a rod. He now descends to particulars, and sharply reproves them for bearing with a member of the Church, who was guilty of such licentiousness as was condemned by the heathen, and, as it wei-c, never practised among them. His offence was, liis living with his stepmother, whom he seems to have married, and must therefore have been divorced, for his father was alive". He requires them formally, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver the offender unto Satan. This was ™ It is disputed whether this superstructure refers to the doctrines or the persons taught, but on either supposition it seems to me to convey essentially the same meaning. The Roman Catholics are glad to find in some of the Fathers authority for transferring it to persons suffering in Purgatory. " 2 Cor. vii. 12. FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 'JIS excommunication; but the language shows that it was more, and that the decree (the Apostle being present with them in spirit though absent) conveyed with it some malady, which Paul had the authority to inflict; for he adds, for the destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved. The reformation of the offender being his object, no less than the removal of scandal, and the edification of the Church. He admonishes them, that under such circum- stances they ought not to be puffed up, but mourn; and reminds them of the consequence of bad example, since a little leaven leaveneth the whole mass; and as Clirist was their Paschal Lamb, they ought to keep the approaching feast, not with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but with the becoming qualities of integrity and truth. He then reminds them, that he had already written, that they should not associate with any brother who was in any respect a notorious sinner, as a fornicator, a railer, a drunkard, or extortioner p. It is remarkable, that he is less strict as to their associating with offenders who do not profess the faith ; and the reason is, such a separation would be impracticable, because then they could have no intercourse with any ; a distinction that depicts in a word the state of moi'als at Corinth. He adds, that he has no commission to judge those beyond the pale, whom he leaves to the judgment of God. The woman was, we presume, a heathen, there being no instructions respecting her. He next condemns their litigious spirit, which caused them who were hereafter to judge the world to sue their brethren before the heathen courts. If they must go to law, let them appoint judges of their own, even the persons least esteemed among them, (if they had none p In the list we have two classes of sinners, which create some per- plexit}'; the covetous, whom it is difficult to notice, because not guilty of a positive act, but only of vice, which admits of degree, and the idolater, which seems incomp.itihle with the profession of the faith. 214 FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. tvise and able,) as preferable ; but he recommends them rather to take wrong, and to suffer themselves to be de- frauded. But soiue of them were so far from showing this yielding- disposition, that they were not only tenacious of their right, but were even guilty of defrauding their brethren. He now returns to his former subject, charging them to flee fornication, to which Corinth, under the patronage of Venus, was preeminently addicted, and which heathen moralists seem hardly to have regarded as a sin. Yet the practice of this and other ofiences regarded as venial, are here declared by the inspired teacher to exclude from the kingdom of God. Still, such sinners, if repentant, will be accepted ; for he adds, such were some of you; but ye are washed (in baptism) by the Spirit of our God, and ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus. Fornication he condemns as injurious to the body, and incompatible with the profession of a Christian, his body being a temple of the Holy Ghost, and the purchased property of God. The remainder of the Epistle is an answer to their en- quiries, and affords him an occasion for general and permanent instruction on, 1. Matrimony, 2. on Food sacrificed to idols, 3. the proper mode of celebrating the Lord's Supper, 4. on the nature and use of spiritual gifts, and, 5. on the Resur- rection. St. Paul first speaks both of married and single persons ; and carefully distinguishes between the command of the Lord and his own judgment, as that of one who through the mercy of the Lord is faithful. The Church of Rome avails herself of his^ language, to exalt celibacy as merito- rious, encourages even vows of chastity in both sexes, and has long prohibited the marriage of the clergy. If the too common custom of arguing from verses detached from the context be admitted, we might adopt this con- clusion; yet, while Paul recommends widows and unmarried FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 215 men to remain as they are, he expressly declares, that they are at liberty to marry, and under certain circumstances ought. He also states, that if the single marry, they do not sin, but he forewarns them that they shall have trouble, and gives as a reason for celibacy the -present distress. Yet in this very Epistle he claims the right, exercised as he implies by other Apostles, not only to have a wife, but to have her maintained by his converts -i. In his first Epistle to Timothy, he enumerates the forbidding of marriage, as one of the doctrines of those who will apostatize in the latter times'"; and the Epistle to the Hebrews declares a virtuous married life to be honourable in all ^ Speaking not by command, he permits Christians to live with heathen wives and husbands, but if the unbelieving party breaks off the connection, in such a case, a brother or sister is not iti bondage, so as to seek reconciliation at the expense of religion. Widows he allows to form another marriage, but it must be in the Lord, that is, to a Christian. As the time is short, and the fashion of the world passes away, he recommends every man to continue in the same state in which he was called, as the circumcised and uncircumcised, the married and the single. He treats liberty and servitude as indifferent, the conwexted freeman being Christ's slave, and the converted slave the Lord's freedman; yet freedom* if it may be had, is preferable. The Coi-inthian believers were in the habit of partaking in the idol temples of the feasts with their unconverted countrymen on food offered in sacrifice. Some weak be- lievers were scandalized ; the others justified themselves, because a heathen deity had no existence. This Paul 1 1 Cor. ix. 5. I- 1 Tim. iv. 3. « Heb. xiii. 4. ' I have given the ordinary interpretation ; but I must confess, that the contrary one, which is supported by Chrysostom and other Greek com- mentators, is more in harmony with the context, and seems to be the correct translation. 2iG FIRST iz-PiSTLE 1 O THli COKIN TllIANS. admits ; but as this eating does not recommend the eater to God, he determines, that if he persevere, he will be a stumbling block to his weak brother, for whom also Christ died, and in sinning against him, he will sin against Christ. The language is most emphatic, as Theophylact observes ; he does not say, if my brother take reasonable cause of offence, but any cause ; and not only I will not eat meat offered, but any meat, and not for a day or two, but for the whole of life. The Apostle generalizes the maxim in harmony with a similar passage which occurs afterwards in the same connection, whether we eat or drink, or tvhatever we do, let us do all to the glory of GodK He asserts his dignity as an Aj)ostle, for he too has seen the Lord, and calls them his work in the Lord as the seal of his Apostleship. He argues both from equity, and from the Law, that the Christian minister is entitled to main- tenance from his congregation, while he declares his own determination to proclaim the Gospel gratuitously, lest he should hinder its progress, and so lose his reward. He de- clares, that he had made himself all things to all men, that he might hy all means save some; accommodating himself, as far as his conscience allowed him, to the prejudices both of Gentiles and of Jews. He ends with admonishing them, after his example, to press forward, without deviating from the course, in the race that was set before them ; not like their countrymen, for the withering Isthmian wreath, but for an enduring one which fadeth not away. And changing the metaphor for that of the pugilist, he says, he fights not like one who heats the air, instead of directing his blows at the right object, but keeps his body under subjection, lest having proclaimed the Gospel to others, he should be himself rejected hy the Judge; thus delicately hinting to them, that in striving for the mastery, they ought to have tlie seU'-rcstraint in which they were so deficient. ' 1 Cor. X. 31. FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 217 He warns them of their danger, from the history of God's ancient people, with whom He was not well pleased during their wandering in the wilderness, when they fell into the sins (then closely connected) of idolatry and fornication, though in passing through the Red Sea they had been bap- tize i into the Mosaic dispensation, and had been afterwards sustained by spiritual food. And he adds, that these events were types, that is examples, unto them. He cautions them against over-confidence, let him who thinketh he standeth, he careful lest he fall; and yet he would not have them dis- heartened, for God is faithful, and will not suffer them to he tempted heyond their strength. He enjoins them to flee from all approximation to idolatry, such as partaking of idol feasts, which would at least be construed into a toleration of it as a matter of indifference, though it be really an association in the worship of the god so honoured, and this position he illustrates by the example of the Jewish altar, and of the Lord's table. In consequence of the extraordinary and injurious heresy on the subject of the Church of Rome, the Holy Communion occupies a more prominent and important position in modern theology than in scriptural or even patristic ; for this is the only explanatory passage in the Epistles, and it has never, like Baptism, been named in any of the ancient Creeds. Certainly, this Article of Faith has undergone a marvellous change. In the Church of our ancestors, instead of the congregation being all partakers of one loaf, it became the custom at morning worship to be taken by the priest aloue, who taught that the benefit of it was en- joyed by the spectators, but not by them only, but also by the absent faithful, even if they were dead. Though a supper, the Roman Catholics take it fasting ; and we retain their practice, of eating it in the morning ; yet our Lord instituted it at night, and after another commemorative supper. Con- sequently, it was from the beginning connected with a substantial meal, which in some places preceded, in others 218 FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. followed it, and acquired the name of Aya7r>j, Love Feast, which from its liability to abuse was condemned by the local Council of Laodicea, and was ultimately abolished. At Corinth, in the Apostle's time, thovigh they assembled for the purpose in one place, they came not in one spirit, for there were divisions among them. It was usual at the Grecian public entertainments for diiferent members to bring their con- tributions to the common feast : and because the poor brought little and the rich indulged to excess, one was hungry and another drunken. He charges them to tarry for one another, and if any man hunger, to eat at home, that they might not come under condemnation. This con- demnation is clearly of a temporal nature, as he says, for this cause many are weak and sickly, and many sleep. He requires a man to examine himself, as to discerning in this feast the Lord's body, that is, as distinguishing it from a common meal, an error into which the mode of administering it in the Church of England, renders it impossible for its members to fall. It will be edifying sometimes to extend this examination to our state of belief and disposition ; but certainly this passage gives no countenance to the elaborate and superstitious weekly preparation recommended in many devotional works, which undertake to make the readers worthy communicants. The importance of this Sacrament appears from its having be6n a special revelation to Paul, and he proves its permanence by the observation, Ye do shoiv the Jjord's death till He come^. The miraculous gifts abundantly enjoyed by the Co- rinthians had been sadly abused, and had been exercised not for the edification of the congregation, but to gratify the vanity and spiritual pride of the possessors. He intro- duces the subject with this important announcement, which is one of the strongest affirmations of the Trinity : Now there are diversities of gifts, hut the same Spirit ; there arc ' I Cor. xi. 26. FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 219 differences of administration, hut the same Lord; and there are diversities of operation, hut it is the same God, who worketh all (these gifts) in all persons. He compares the Church to the human body, and seems to allude to the two Sacraments, when he says, that both Jews and Gentiles, bond and free, have been baptized into one body, and made to drink into one spirit. He shows the advantage of these several gifts, by a comparison with the human frame, which would not answer its purpose, if consisting of an eye or ear alone, or any single member; but God has so tempered the body that there should he no schism, but that all the members should sympathize together, and should contribute their share to the well-being of the whole*. The Apostle is led to specify the gifts bestowed, and their possessors, from which we learn, that in this mystical body of Christ, they were bestowed generally on different individuals ; and this introduced his well-known and justly -admired delineation of Love, (called from the Latin version Charity,) the supe- riority of which he at once demonstrates, by declaring, that possessing them all, — tongues of men and even angels, prophecy, mysteries, knowledge, faith, — he would without this grace be nothing. Even though he had the semblance of it without reality, as shown by giving all his property to the poor, or even his body to be burnt as a martyr, the highest external evidence of love, the first to man the second to God, it would not promote his own salvation. He describes the effects of Love, and shows t He repeats the illustration in the Epistles to the Romans, xii. 4, 5, and the Ephesiaus, iv. 16. The classical reader will recollect the ingenious apologue of the same kind, hy which Menenius Agrippa reconciled the Roman people to the government of the Senate. Livy ii. 32. A similar passage to the same purport occurs in Maximus Tyrius. The whole body is in a good state, when every part performs its office in behalf of the whole, the feet carry, the hands work, the eyes see, the ears hear; but should we have a fable telling us, that the feet or the teeth had quarrelled with the rest, and refused any longer to do their office, how rlo we think the story would close hut in the death of the man ? 220 FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. its superiority by its continuance after these temporary gifts had ceased. After their removal, Faith and Hojye would coexist with this superior grace, which is superior, because a time is coming when faith shall be swallowed up in vision, and hope in fruition ; while this from its nature will never fail. The Apostle, bearing in mind that the test of value is utility, shows, that of these spiritual gifts, prophesying or explaining is more to be desired than speaking with tongues, for by the first the congregation is edified, by the second only the individual ; and he declares for his own part, that though he spoke with more tongues than they all, he would rather speaJc Jive words that would teach others, than ten thousand in an imknown tongue. He gives regulations to prevent their interfering with one another, and ends with desiring that all tilings may he done decently and in order. Being about to censure some abuses in their public worship, he first conciliates their good will, by praising them for keeping the ordinances which he had delivered to them, so that we may conclude that he meant his censure to apply only to some. The habits of eastern society, which then as now separated the sexes more than in Europe, rendered female ministers of religion desirable. The province of these deaconesses, like that of the original deacons, seems to have been primarily of a temporal character, but still they had to teach the young, and visit the sick of their own sex. Paul tells Timothy", that he suffers not a woman to teach, (he must mean in public;) and in this Epistle" he writes, let your women keep silence in the church; aiid declares it a shame for them to speak. Here, however, he reproves them not for praying or prophesying, but for performing those functions with the head unveiled, which he represents as being as disgraceful as if they had had their head shaven, which was imposed as a mark of infamy upon women of bad character. This then is the exceptional case " 1 Tim. ii. 12. M Cor. xiv. 34. FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 221 of those who were influenced by the Spirit, and therefore not under the same restraint as the rest of their sex. He argues, that the man should be uncovered, and the woman covered, from his superiority, which he shows by observing, that at the creation she was formed out of him, and for him. Still there was no difference between them as to their acceptance by the Lord ; for as the woman was originally taken out of man, ever since men had been born from women ; and he gives us another reason for a veil, (called f^oux/a, power, as marking man's power over her,) the presence though invisible of the Angels^ in their assemblies, a thought which might restrain those who did not mind exposing themselves before men. When the Resurrection was proclaimed by Paul at Athens, it was treated by the Philosophers as an ab- surdity, but we are astonished that any professing Chris- tians should deny it, or explain it away. The Apostle here states it to be the very foundation of the faitli, declaring that it was the subject of his preaching, and if there were to be no resurrection of believers, the re- surrection of Christ would not be a fact. In that case his preaching and their believing would be in vain, and the Apostles would even be found false witnesses of God. He begins with showing, that the resurrection of their Lord was a fact sufficiently evidenced by witnesses, and that he rose as the first-fruits of them that slept, the pledge and proof of the future resurrection of all ; since as in Adam all die, in Christ all shall be made alive; and Christ must reign till he hath put all enemies under his feet, the last of whom is death, when he shall deliver up his mediatorial y The variety of interpretatioa of this difficult passage arises from the ambiguity of the word Angel, that is, Messenger, who may he sent either by God or man. If human messengers, they might he sent as spies hy enemies to find reason for censure ; or might he their own ministers, who might already have obtained that appellatiim, Rev. ii. 1. before whom they ought to be modestly apparelled; hut T believe Angels standing alone always means God's messengers. »J»» FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. sovereignty, having accomplished the object of his incar- nation, and then sJiall himself (as man) he subject to the Deity, who (without the intervention of his Son) shall be all things to all men. He asks, if the dead do not rise again, why are persons baptized as substitutes ^^ for fi'iends w^ho died without being admitted to that sacrament; and why should he and others daily expose themselves to danger ; for if their hope in Christ was limited to this life, they would be of all men the most miserable. He then answers the question, with which scoffers hoped to silence him. With what body shall the dead arise? and he argues from the analogy of God's works here, that as the seed sown and the plant which springs from it differ, so the believer's future body will not be the present natural corruptible one, but spiritual, immortal, incorruptible ; and yet though glorified, sufficiently the same, to secure the identity of the individual. The seed, be it of wheat, or any other grain, does not vegetate unless it die, and God giveth it the body that pleaseth him, so that it essentially retains its nature. Thus the body will be still a body, though far superior to what it is now, being raised in incorruption, and in power changed from a natural to a spiritual body, from the image of the earthly Adam into that of the heavenly, the Lord from heaveji. He notices the difference between the flesh of different races of animals, as beasts, and birds, and of degrees of brightness of sun, moon, and stars, and of the latter among themselves, not I apprehend as indicating » Such is the obvious meaning, and we learn from Epiphanius and Chrysostom, that such vicarious baptism was practised by certain heretics in tlieir time; but as it cannot be supposed that the Apostle would approve the custom, assuming it to prevail then, various other interpretations have been suggested, the most approved of which is that of Chrysostom, baptized on account of (the resurrection) of the dead. So harsh an ellipsis seems a most unsatisfactory mode of evading a difficulty: and I am the more inclined to acquiesce in the former interpretation, because Alford on the passage thinks that the mode in which Paul introduces it, does not commit him to the approval of it. FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 223 in the future life degrees of glory, but to convince the sceptic, that God, who has created such a variety of bodies in earth and heaven, can restore human bodies to life, and invest them with greater beauty; and that there may be incorruptible as well as corruptible bodies. Now as Jlesli and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of heaven, he reveals the secret, that those who are alive at the sounding of the last trump, shall be instantaneously changed, putting on incorruption without passing through death ; and so will Isaiah's declaration be fulfilled, Death is sioallowed up in victory. Connecting this with Hosea's exclamation % death, I ivill he thy plagues! O Hades, I will he thy destruction : he triumphantly breaks forth, death, where is thy sting ! O Hades, where is thy victory ! for the sting of death is sin, and the law is the stretigth of sin : and he gives thanks to God who has disarmed him, giving through the Lord Jesus Christ victory to his people. He accordingly enjoins his beloved brethren, to he stedfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that their labour ivould not he in vain in the Lord, since their recompense will be a glorious resurrection. It is observable, that here, and in other places, the Apostle speaks of those alone who are to bear the image of the heavenly Adam. Finally, he recommends, as he had done personally to the Galatians, that each, according as he had pros- pered in his trade, should lay up in store at the beginning of the week his contribution for the relief of the poor brethren in Jerusalem. The Jews abroad were in better circumstances than those who remained at home, and it was their custom to send them annual alms. Now as the Gentile Christians became brethren to the Jews, and partake of their spiritual riches, Paul thought it equi- table that they should contribute to the maintenance of the few believers in Judaea ; and when at Jerusalem, he had promised James and Peter, that he would collect for this ' Isaiiili XV. 8. * llosea xiii. 14. 224) ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. purpose. After salutations from the Churches of Asia, including Aquila and Priscilla, who had lived with him at Corinth, he concludes with an aweful anathema*" of tliose who love not the Lord Jesus Christ, and an assurance of his love to them, the more requisite, on account of their in- gratitude, and the necessity he had been under of reproving them on several points. During this period we learn from the Epistle, though Luke passes it over in silence, that Paul fought with tvild beasts", for it was previous to the tumult raised by Deme- trius which compelled him to retire soon after from Ephesus. The being thrown to the wild beasts was a different punish- ment, which caused inevitable death ; but this combat, though dangerous, was not of necessity fatal, since the person was allowed arms, and if he vanquished the animal that was let loose upon him, the judge of the games commonly granted him a pardon. Commentators of the highest name are divided, some supposing that Paul was literally exposed to such a combat; others, I think with reason, interpreting his language as metaphorical, especially since he introduces it with the phrase, after the manner of men. Thus we know he called Nero, or his prefect, a lion, and speaks of the Jews as dogs, and I cannot conceive that a real combat with beasts would liave been omitted by his biographer. The danger of whatever nature was extreme, for he seems to allude to it when he says to the Corinthians, in his second Epistle ^, that he would not have them ignorant of the calamity which hefel him in Asia, that he was pressed most exceed- ingly beyo7id his strength, so that he despaired even of life. Paul's plan was deranged, and his journey into Gi'eece hastened by an alarming tumult raised by Demetrius, a silversmith, who executed models of the celebrated temple <> Maranatha. Otir Lord cometk, that is, to judgment, and to confirm the anathema, or curse. « 1 Cor. XV. 32. " 2 Cor. i. S— 10. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 225 of Diana, the tutelary goddess of the city, which was considered as a masterpiece of architecture, and one of the wonders of the world. He persuaded the other work- men that Paul's preaching both dishonoured the great goddess, of whose favour and residence they boasted, and endangered their trade. The union of devotion and self- interest gave full effect to his speech, and produced a frenzy of religious zeal, and the craftsmen with one voice exclaimed, Great is Dia7ia of the Ephesians. They seemed to have rushed into the street where they raised this cry, as a signal to her worshippers to appear in her defence : the expedient succeeded, the whole city was filled with confusion, and the inhabitants coming forward, and seizing Gaiusand Aristarchus, Paul's travelling companions, dragged them into the theatre, either to bring them to trial, or, if the games were then carrying on, (as the mention of the AsiarcJis, the superintendents of them, seems to imply,) to throw them to the wild beasts. Paul at this critical moment would have come forward, disregarding danger, in his wish to save his friends, but the disciples would not allow him ; and some of the Asiarchs, who were favourable to him, sent to him to desire he would not expose himself to danger by appearing. The assembly in the theatre became tumultuous ; the greater part was ignorant of what brought them together, some cried one thing and some another, and amidst the universal uproar no one could be heard. An ineffectual attempt to restore order and to protect his countrymen was made by Alexander, a Jew, probably the coppersmith, who afterwards didV'AvA much evil at Rome. The Jews might be afraid that they were likely from their known abhorrence of idolatry to be supposed concerned in this affront on the Ephesian goddess, and would be desirous of turning aside the popular indignation from themselves to Paul and his companions. But the assembly was too much agitated to permit him to address them. Knowing him to be an enemy 226 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. of the religion which they had come together to support, they in a transport of zeal cried out, about the space of two hours, Great is Diana of the Ephesians. The uproar Was at length quelled by the good sense of the Fgaix-aaTevs, apparently the chief magistrate, who expostulated with them on their folly for proclaiming what every one allowed, and none was disposed to deny, that they were the guardians of the temple of their goddess, and of her image which had fallen from Jupiter. He then urged, that the men they were desirous of punishing had neither robbed their temples, nor spoken irreverently of Diana. He added, that if it arose out of a private quarrel of Demetrius, the courts of laiv were open; if any public offence had been committed, it should be determined in a lawful assembly. His last argument was addressed to their fears; We are in danger to be called in question for this day's uproar, there being no cause whereby we may give an account of this concourse. The penalty might extend beyond the individuals who had caused the dis- turbance, and the city itself be subjected to a fine, or the loss of privileges, from the jealousy of the Roman government, ever ready to repress with severity any movement tending to disturb the public tranquillity. There is no reason to suppose that this magistrate spoke out of friendship to Paul, but he was alarmed at the probable consequences of a popular tumult ; and while he interposed out of regard to the public peace, or it may be from motives of justice and humanity, Providence made use of him for the protection of Paul, who had yet many important services to perform. SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS, 221 The Second Epistle to the Corinthians. The Apostle had sent Titus and another Christian brother with him, to see in what spirit the Corinthians had received his letter. He had told them of his intention of con- tinuing at Ephesus till Pentecost, but this uproar raised by Demetrius caused him unexpectedly to retire to Troas ; and though a door was opened to him there hy the Lord, he had no rest to his spirit, because he did not find Titus. He therefore hastened into Macedonia, that he might be nearer, though he deemed it expedient to postpone his visit till he could ascertain the effect of his letter. His uneasiness was removed by the return of Titus, and, encouraged by his account of the obedience and repentance of the majority, and their anxiety to see him, he writes this second Epistle, to thank them, and to confirm the sound part, and to detach the rest from the false teachers, who had led them astray, and to add weight to it% sent it by Titus. There was a necessity of suiting it to two classes, jJiid he would appear inconsistent if all the remarks in both Epistles were applied to the same persons. He has himself taught us to make the distinction. Now if a certain person hath grieved me, he hath not grieved me, except by a fart of you^. The commendations belong to the sincere, the reproofs, the threatenings, and the irony, to the latter, especially to their leaders. In answering the calumnies by which the factious en- deavoured to discredit him as an Apostle, Paul is led into a narrative of his gifts and revelations, which we might otherwise have never known, but which to us at this day convey the fullest assurance of his acting under an immediate commission from God. He appeals unreservedly to the power of working miracles, which he had both ex- * 2 Cor. viii, 7. '' 2 Cor, ii. 5; i. 14. ^28 SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. ercisecl and conferred on others, declares his opponents to be the ministers of Satan, and menaces them with divine judgments. Surely there cannot be stronger internal evidence not merely of conscious integrity, but of inspiration. Paul's proposal to visit Corinth a third time'= occasions a chronological difficulty, as only one previous visit has been recorded ''. Micliaelis assumes that he stopped there on his return from Crete on his way to Nicopolis, but this is wholly conjectural. The Epistle is not drawn up systematically, but its main scope is to recover the esteem and affection of all, in order that at the judgment-day he niay present them to Christ as a bride unblameable, and perfect in doctrine and in practice. Absolute sinless perfection he could not mean, as the experience of the best in all ages, and his own con- fessions, attest; but perfection in aim, such as desires to perform whatever God commands, and to abstain from whatever he forbids, which though it will sometimes fail, never yields to sin the dominion. The Epistle may be arranged under three heads: 1. his defence of himself and of his Apostleship ; 2. his exhortations to reformation ; and, 3. his threatening to the obstinate and impenitent. Associating with himself Timothy, he begins with blessing God for the consolation bestowed on him in his affliction, because he is thereby enabled to console them, and refers to his recent affliction in Ephesus, where, humanly speaking, he despaired of life, yet still trusted in God, who raises the dead, hinting by the expression that he can deliver the living from the greatest apparent danger. He then declares, that his ground of boasting was the testimony of his own conscience ; that he had conducted himself in all places, and especially with them, in simplicity and con- sistency, always preaching the same doctrines, and vindi- cating himself from the charge of fickleness, in not coming <: 2 C(ir. xii. 14 : xiii. 1. '' Acts xviii. SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 229 before, as he had announced, saying, that though he might change his purpose, there was no variableness in what he taught concerning Christ, through whom God will fulfil all his promises. He then appeals by an oath to God for the truth of his assertion, that he delayed the censure he must have passed on them, that he might meet them not in heaviness but in joy, and that the excommunicated person might have repented, and been restored to the community before his return. To the chai'ge of severity on account of the sentence, he shows that he had been influenced by genuine regard both to him and to them, in enforcing this salutary act of discipline, which seems to have effected the designed reformation of the offender ; as evidence of which he states, that he had written the first time with many tears, and he now entreats them to forgive him, lest he should be swallowed up by overmuch sorrow, and Satan should gain advantage over them, by driving him to despair, and discouraging others from joining the congregation. He speaks of his triumphant discharge of his office, whether to the saved or to them who perish, and of his sufliiciency derived from God, who has made him a sitfficient minister of the new covenant of the spirit, not of the letter, thus designating the Christian and the Mosaic dispensations. He proceeds to contrast the ministration of death written on stone, with the ministration of righteousness tvritten on the heart, that is, the con- demning Law and the justifying Gospel, declaring that the brightness of the former was as it were extinguished by that of the latter. He shows also its superiority by its permanence, and the distinctness of the revelation, which was not veiled under types, for the veil which Moses had put over his face had been done away in Christ. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is lihertij ; and all we Christians with unveiled face, beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit, who is the Ijord. He declares, that having :230 SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. such a ministry he is not disheartened, nor does he discharge it unfaithfully, and that so bright a Gospel can be hid only from those who are blinded by the God of this world ; for God, who conmanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined into their hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. He describes himself as troubled, yet not distressed; though perplexed, yet not in despair; as cast down, yet not destroyed; and declares he is sustained by his expectation of future happiness, regarding his temporary afflictions as light, because they will work for him an exceeding and eternal weight of glory ; and he endeavours, both by the terrors of the Lord and the constraining motive of Christ's love, to animate them to the same zeal and fidelity ; since Christ died for all, that they who live should henceforth live not to themselves, but unto Him who died for them, and rose again : therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creation. And as God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing to them their trespasses, he as an ambassador for Christ, prays them to be reconciled to God, who hath made Him ivho knew no sin to be made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. He now, after a most ajffecting statement of his faithful- ness as a minister, in privations, and sufferings, and sorrows, entreats them to have no intimate connection with idolaters, but as God has promised to be their God, to come out from among them, and to cleanse themselves from all pithiness of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God. He expresses his comfort and joy in the effect produced by his first letter, which brings on a description of godly sorrotv, which worketh salvation not to be re- gretted, perfect, unlike remorse, which is that of the world, and worketh death. He stirs them up, by the liberality of the poorer Churches of Macedonia, to provide handsomely for the distressed brethren in Judiea, which reminds him of a topic seldom out of his tlioughts, the bounty of God SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 2ol in giving his own Son for their salvation, and thanks Him for this unspeakable gift / He then returns to his ovs^n justification, and answers the charge of mean attainments and contemptible speech, by showing, that though he had his treasure, as it were, in an earthen vessel, the weapons he used were able to cast down the fortifications which pride or learning could raise up to keep out the truth, and to bring the thoughts into captivity and obedience. He then reluctantly out of his natural modesty boasts foolishly, as he terms it, of his qualifications, which show him not to be a whit behind the very chiefest Apostles, much less then could these factious teachers presume to enter upon a comparison with him. For this purpose he speaks of his disinterestedness in preaching to them the Gospel gratuitously, being while serving them maintained by other Churches. He then enlarges upon his labours and sufferings by land and sea, which, unless he had been compelled to boast, we should never have known. Next he comes to his visions and revelations, and his view both of the highest heaven and of paradise, which had a natural tendency to exalt him above measure ; in mercy therefore it was accompanied by a thorn in the fleshy a messenger of Satan, which must have been some bodily infirmity. He entreated the Lord three times, that it might depart, we may presume because he thought it would impair his usefulness. But the Lord to \vhom he prayed said, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly then, he infers, will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me ; showing, that he was the Lord to whom he prayed. Therefore I take pleasure, he continues, in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake ; and he appeals to the signs of his Apostleship, wrought among them in signs and wonders and mighty deeds. Still he declares he is in 232 SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. himself nothing. He expresses his fear for some of them, whom he urges to repent, and threatens the impenitent with some miraculous judgment, which he has authority from Christ to inflict. So unwilling is he to give pain, that he delays, that they may amend their conduct. He takes leave of the Corinthians with three parting admonitions. Be of good comfort, be of one mind, live in peace, and concludes with the encouraging promise, the God of love and peace shall be with you. To these, as necessary to give ejlfect to them, he adds. Be perfect. He concludes with a wish, or rather prayer, which use has familiarized us with, The favour of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit, be with you all. We hear no more of these factions, and know from Clement, Bishop of Rome, forty years after, that his Epistles to these Churches were considered as inspired. " Take up, he says, the Epistles of the blessed Apostle Paul, which he wrote to you in the beginning of the Gospel. Truly he being inspired, admonished you concerning himself, Cephas, and ApoUos, for even then there were factions among you." Paul, after giving much exhortation in Macedonia, came into Greece, where he abode three months. No particulars are recorded, probably because Luke was absent ; but it appears ^ that he visited Corinth, and that it was during this visit that he wrote the Epistle to the Romans. f Rom. XV. 26. THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS There is no feature in the character of St. Paul more deserving of our admiration, than his ardent and unwearied love, which comprehended within its limits the care of all the Churches, even of those to which he was personally un- known. While proclaiming the Gospel to the Corinthians, his converted Thessalonians were not forgotten ; and when teaching at Ephesus, both publicly and privately, and work- ing day and night for his maintenance, he finds time to expostulate with the disorderly Church of Corinth. Re- turned to Corinth, though much of the three months he passed there must have been devoted to the concerns of Peloponnesus, a portion of his thoughts was given to the Roman believers, whom he incessantly remembered in his prayers, though as yet he had been unable to visit them. It is remarkable, that we have no account of the origin of the Roman Church, but this Epistle contradicts its claim to have been founded jointly by Peter and Paul. The Gospel was brought there probably by some of the converts of the day of Pentecost; for we read, that amongst those present at Jerusalem on that memorable day, there were strangers of Rome, both Jews and proselytes; and we know that Andronicus and Junia, members of that Church, were converted before Paul*. From them, with whom he had been once in prison, or from Aquila and Priscilla, with whom he had lodged on his first visit to Corinth, but who had now returned home, or from some of his other friends, saluted in the close of his Epistle, « Ruin. xvi. 7. 234 EPISTLK TO THE ROMANS. St. Paul must have been made acquainted with the flourish- ing state of the Roman Church. He had often intended visiting them, for their faith which was spoken of through- out the world made him desirous of seeing them, that he might both impart and receive consolation, and confer upon them by the laying on of his hands some of those miraculous gifts which an Apostle alone could bestow. This observation proves the falsity of the Tradition, that St. Petei', on his liberation by the Angel from jDrison, had founded the Roman Church. Circumstances how- ever rendered it expedient that Paul on leaving Corinth should travel in a contrary direction ; he saw no probability of his prayer being heard, not foreseeing the manner in which God would answer it by bringing him from Jeru- salem a prisoner, and therefore he dictated his celebrated Epistle to the Romans. Writing generally with a view to the establishment of some particular point, he introduces doctrines incidentally, not in a formal order. This elaborate Epistle and that to the Hebrews are the only exceptions. Being addressed to a Church which he had neither planted nor visited, it contains hardly any local or temporary allusions ; it concerns there- fore as deeply the Christians of this age and country, as those to whom it was addressed eighteen centuries ago, since the topics it discusses are of equal interest to all who are condemned in Adam and redeemed in Christ. Being the only Epistle that exhibits a systematic scheme of divinity, it is not surprising that its meaning should be contested by opposite Schools ; that the Calvinist deduces from it many of his strong texts in favour of irrespective personal election, while the Arminian maintains that the election is of nations to the knowledge of the Gospel ; yet election is only intro- duced incidentally in accounting for the rejection of Chris- tianity by the great body of God's ancient [)eople, and '' Rom. iii. 28. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 235 we ought not to be drawn aside into the discussion of this intricate and perplexing- question from the great scope of this Epistle, which the Author himself informs us is'', that a man is justified by faith tvithout the deeds of law. He does not say the law, and that designedly ; for though some commentators suppose he is speaking of the Mosaic law, it plainly appears from the opening, in which he speaks of the Gentiles, that he meant all moral law, and that in its widest acceptation, whether as revealed to Israel, or written by God on the hearts of the Gentiles. The Roman Church was a mixed body, formed out of Jews and Gentiles ; the former lived like a colony in the metropolis, enjoying their own laws, and are calculated by Josephus at upwards of 8,000". Paul's object in addressing the Roman Christians seems to be an apprehension, lest his deferring his visit to them should operate to the prejudice of the Gospel*^, and a desire of composing their dissentions. Several years had elapsed since, in cheerful obedience to the Divine command, he had journeyed through perils of every description, proclaiming among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ; still though he had given full proof of his ministry through Asia and Greece, from Jerusalem as far as Illyricum, it might be insinuated that he confined himself to places of comparative obscurity, at least that he did not dare to expose his opinions to be publicly canvassed in the capital of the world. To do away such an impression, he begins with saying, that he often intended coming to them, and had prayed to be enabled, and that he was as ready to preach at Rome as elsewhere, for he was not (as some might report) ashamed of the Gospel, which loas the power of God unto salvation to every one that believed, without any distinction of nation or personal character. Therein was revealed the righte- *• Rom. iii. 'iH. ••■ Ant, xvii. 11.1. •' Koin. i. 10. 236 EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. ousness of God through faith; but in vain might the Apostle magnify the blessing of a free salvation, the gift of God, until men were convinced that they conld not earn it by their own conduct, and claim it as a debt due to their merit. He first therefore establishes, as the found- ation of his doctrine, the corruption of human nature ; he shows that the wrath of Heaven had been revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness, and proves that all mankind had sinned, and had come short of what God had required, the Gentiles against the light of nature, the Jews against the express declaration of the Law. It follows, that every mouth that would attempt to vindicate itself, or excuse disobedience, would he stopjyed, and the whole ivorld be convicted at the tribunal of God. His delineation of heathen depravity is borne out by the testi- mony not of heathen satirists only, but also of their historians. He declares that they had not the excuse of ignorance for their wickedness, but that it sprung from the love of sin ; for God had not left himself ivithout a witness, and they might from the consideration of his works of creation and providence, and from the Law written in their hearts, have been led to discover and to worship Him ; yet even such as had found out the vanity of idolatry, kept hack this truth unrighteously, wilfully worshij^ping the creature instead of the Creator, and as they did 7iot approve of knowing the true God, He left them to their own unapproving mind, so that they not only yielded to every evil propensity, but were guilty, both men and women, of unnatural crimes, and sunk into the lowest depth of wickedness, since they not only sinned themselves, but delighted in the sins^ of others. c Thus Livy (Preface) says, " We can bear neither our vices, nor their remedy." And Paul's contemporary Seneca exclaims, De Ira: " The desire of sin increases daily, and shame is more and more extingui^^hed, vici- no longer hides itself, and innocence has ceased to exist." EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 237 Thus far the Jew would have cordially agreed with the Apostle ; but he turns round upon him, and shows that he is ixexcusahle, as sinning against the revealed law, of the knowledge of which he boasted, and which never- theless he broke, and that in so great a degree, that through their iniquity the name of God was reviled among the heathen; and he assures him, that the righteous judgment of God will not overlook his offences, because he is descended from Abraham ; for as many as have sinned without law^ shall perish without law ; and as many as have sinned under the law, shall be judged by the law, in the day when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus Christ; and he affirms, that circumcision is of no value to one who does not keep the Law, for he alone can claim the privileges of his nation who is a Jew, whose circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit and not in the letter. The Jew then naturally asks, what profit is there in circumcision ; the answer to which objection is, much every way, but chiefly, because unto them were committed the oracles of God. He then confirms the doctrine of their guilt and condemnation, which he knew they would not accept from him, by quotations from the Psalms ; addressed as he says to those who are under the Law, that every mouth (of Jew as well as Gentile) may be stopped, for by the deeds of the Law 7io flesh shall be justified in the sight of God. All have sin?ied and come short of the divine approbation, but they are not left in despair, for the righteousness of God, that is, his method of justification, which is not by obedience but by faith in the Saviour, is upon all who believe, a method by which he is (not merciful but) just, even in the very act of justifying him who believeth in Jesus. But the Jew would object, that Abraham was justified according to the Scriptures by circumcision ; but Paul cites David, to show the blessedness of the man to whom God imputeth righteousness without works, and declares ZQO epistlf: to the Romans. the faith was imputed to Abraham for righfeoustiess before his circumcision, which was the seal or attestation of his faith which he had already shown ; and this he adds was not written for his sake alone, but for all toho believe that Jesus our Lord was delivered up to death for our offences, and raised again for our justification ; the conclusion from which is, that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we are introduced by faith into the favour of reconciliation, in which we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory that God will in the end bestow. As the sufferings of believers from persecution might be urged as a deduction from their happiness, he selects these very trials as the cause of their joy, because the}' regard them as means of spiritual improvement, which enable them to make their calling and election sure. Thus tribulation worketh perseverance, and perseverance the divine approbation, and approbation hope, which does not disap- point, because God's love toward us is shed abroad i?i the heart through the Holy Spirit. He magnifies the love of Christ, who died for the impious, and for his enemies, while a man could not be found who would die for a righteous person, though possibly he might for a benevolent one. And therefore, since he has now reconciled them to his Father, it cannot be imagined that now they are his friends ; he will cease to uphold them through his powerful intercession, and the influence of the Holy Spirit. Having such a pledge in the love they feel towards God, they have joy in him (not like the Jews through the Law, but) through the Saviour. All boasting then being excluded even from Abraham, to whom the reward could not be reckoned as a debt but as a favour, he shows the cause of our helpless condition by tracing it up to the fall of Adam, who brought sin and death upon all his posterity, so that every man born into the world is of his own nature inclined to evil, and deserves God's EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 239 wrath and condemnation ^ The Apostle then draws a com- parison between Adam and Christ, the first the root and cause of sin, and its effect death to his natural seed, that is, the whole human race ; the second, of life and holiness to all his spiritual seed, that is, to all who receive the abundance of grace, and of the gift of righteousness ; and such he shows to be now placed in a better situation, than they would have been in if Adam had never fallen. Not only is man accounted guilty in consequence of Adam's fall, but he derives from him, his federal head, actual sin- fulness, as appears from positive transgression, and from the aversion of the mind from godliness. Reconciliation presupposes previous enmity, and this leads the Apostle to digress to explain the necessity of it, by stating the doctrine of original or birth-sin. Death was, we know, the penalty incurred by Adam, and as that reigned or prevailed from his time to Moses, that is before the promulgation of the Law, and over all, including infants and idiots, who had not actually transgressed, it must have been as his descendants, and in consequence of his sin. The comparison he institutes between the first and second Adam, between the evils brought upon the whole human race by the first, and the benefits derivable from the second, seems to esta- blish the doctrine laid down so fully in the XXXIst Article of our Church, Of Universal Redemption, that is, that Christ did not die for the elect alone, but that all men are capable of salvation, a doctrine most suitable to the Apostle's imme- diate object, the extension of the blessings of the Gospel to the Gentiles. The evil and the remedy are stated as commensurate ; As by one mans disobedience the many, i. e. the whole race, are made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall the many be made righteous. But where sin abounded, favour, i. e. the gift of righteousness, superabounded. The condemnation f Art. IX. 240 EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. ivas for one sin, the free gift of justif cation is of many. Still the Apostle guards his doctrine from implying universal salvation ; for though all to whom the gift is oiFered might, if they would, receive it, many from various causes decline it. If hy one mans sin death reigned hy one, much more shall reign in life hy one, not the whole human race, but they who receive the abundant favour, and the gift of righteousness. Having established the doctrine of justification by faith, and shown that it was needed by and intended for them as well as Jews, he proceeds to infer, that sanctification is its proper and necessary result. This he does in answer to the two most plausible abuses, attempted to be grafted on the doctrine of grace, and Christians' liberation from the law. Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound'^ Shall we sin because we are not under the lata, but under grace ? 1 . Let us, it is urged, continue in sin, that this grace or favour may abound; for if God take occasion from man's wicked- ness to display more conspicuously his mercy, may we not safely, and even upon principle, commit more and greater sins, in order that that mercy may be more exalted by our salvation? This sentiment he rejects with abhorrence, {let it not be entertained,) and treats it as an absurdity. Sancti- fication is, as he proceeds to show, the natural consequence of justification, and that the ordinance which admitted them into Christianity, baptism, that is, immersion into water, declared by a most significant sign that they were dead to sin and buried, and that they had emerged into a new life, in which being liberated from sin, who had tyrannised over them, they were to yield themselves up willing slaves to God, that all their faculties might be employed as weapons to fight his battles against the world, the flesh, and the devil. In answer to the second objection, he enquires if it be rational to suppose, that, as some did, they might sin because they are freed from the law, (which exacted perfect EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 24l obedience, without any offer of pardon for commission or omission,) and admitted into the dispensation of mercy. He affirms, on the contrary, that under Christianity, no less than under the law of Moses or that of nature, those who willingly continue sinners, are the slaves of sin, and become subject to eternal death as its ivages, and that those only who are obedient to the faith of the Gospel will receive the reivard of righteousness, the free gift of eternal life. The real Christian then will yield himself up as a willing slave to God, (as by his grace alive from sin,) that all his faculties may be employed as weapons consecrated to him to fight his battles against the world, the flesh, and the devil. Having affirmed their deliverance through Christ from the power and dominion of sin, he illustrates from the case of a widow the doctrine of their death to the Law as a covenant; but that he may not be supposed to cast an imputation upon it, as if intended or adapted to make men sinners, he shows, that sin and the law are so opposite in their nature, that the use of the one is to detect the other. The law as proceeding from a perfect being is holy, just, and good, and properly understood, is as it were a two-edged sword, which destroys at once self-righteousness and antinomianism ; for the reason why it cannot justify us is its perfection, but this very perfection renders it fit that we should obey it, though our obedience can only be partial. This leads to the well- known description of a man alive in his own estimation, till the spirituality and full extent of the commandment coming home to his conscience, his desire and ineffectual efforts to keep it cause his hopes from it to die away, and he feels himself to be a helpless sinner under merited con- demnation, till the Gospel revives him with the prospect of deliverance. Augustine, Calvin, and most commentators of their school, maintain, that the Apostle describes his own actual condition at the time, consequently that of all the regenerate who, though free from condemnation, still main- 242 EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. tain througli life a conflict with indwelling sin. The Greek and the Arminian commentators, and some Calvinists, hold, that though he speaks in the first person, he assumes the character of an unregenerate sinner, who is awakened by the law to a sense of his sin and misery. The former urge, that the regenerate alone can delight in the law of God; the latter, that the unregenerate alone can be said with truth to he sold under sin, and both are predicated of this person ; it seems better therefore, with Doddridge, to take a middle course, and to consider the character assumed not as that of himself, as of the confirmed Christian, which he then was, but as that of a man under the Law, first ignorant of its extent, and then endeavouring to fulfil it; but finally feeling his inability, with transport discovering the Gospel, from which he obtains pardon, and with it peace and joy. The conflict between the law of God, in which, after the inward man, this person delights, and the law of sin iti his members, which brings him into captivity, makes him exclaim, Who shall deliver me from this body which through sin leads to death f and he thanks God for his deliverance, effected by his Lord Jesus Christ ,• so that there is not only no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, but the law of the Spirit of life has made the believer /ree from the laio of sin and death, that the righteousness of the law might he fulfilled in those who walk not after the fiesh, but after the Spirit. He then expatiates on the privileges of real believers, who walk^ not after the flesh, hut after the Spirit; who are spiritually not carnally minded, and in whom dwells the Spirit of Him who raised up Jesus from the dead. They are released from the spirit of bondage, having received the Spirit of adoption into God's family, which the Holy Spirit witnesses to their spirit ; a7id if children, then heirs, and joint heirs loith Christ, they live to Christ, and mortify f Rom. viii. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. % their evil inclinations. Still their happiness is more in expectation than fruition; and while the whole human race^ earnestly longs for the manifestation of the sons of God, that they being delivered from the bondage of corruption, may themselves shai-e their glorious liberty, even Christians themselves who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan within themselves, waiting for the deliverance of the body from corruption at the resurrection. The Spirit also helps their infirmities, and as they know not what to pray for, makes intercession for them with groanings which cannot be expressed in words. Their privileges are inexpressibly great, they are justified by God, no man therefore can condemn them ; God is on their side, and makes all things cooperate for their advantage. If God be our justifier, who, he asks, can bring an accusation against us, who can pro- nounce sentence against us, if Christ our future Judge not only died, but makes continual intercession for us ? He declares in return that nothing can separate them from their love to Christ. He triumphantly asks, shall tribulation, or distress, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword ? Nay, on the contrary, they are even more than conquerors, in this contest, through him that loved them, for it strengthens their faith and love. / am persuaded, concludes Paul, that neither (fear of) death, nor (hope of) life, nor (evil) angels, nor (human ?) principalities or powers, nor things present or future, nor height (of prosperity), nor depths (of misery), can separate us from our love to God in Christ. Such is the happy lot of all who are called by God according to his purpose; and we naturally seek to discover our own title to this inestimable privilege ; but g The Greek and many modem commentators make ktjVjs, creation, to comprehend figuratively the whole, even irrational creatures ; hut 1 prefer limiting ii. to mankind, i. e. the Krlcns to whom the Gospel was to he preached. Mark xvi. 15. There is an ohscurity in our version, from Krims being rendered both creature and creation. r2 . I'l" EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. revelations cannot be expected, and impulses and feelings are delusive, and not to be trusted ; there is in fact but one evidence of God's love to us, that is, our love to him, and this is to be proved not by words, but by obedience to his commandments. Whatever may be the moving cause in the Divine mind of predestination, we should carefully note, that tlie predestination here asserted is not that of in- dividuals, but of characters ; that is to say, those who are elected to eternal happiness as the end, are elected to holiness as the mean, for they are predestinated to be con- formed to the image of Christ before they are predestinated to glory. And it is remarkable, that the Apostle applies to the same persons the terms, tJiem that love God, and them who are the called according to his purpose; thus explaining the harder by the easier, and showing that we have no warrant for deeming any elect who have not this mark of election. Whoever would enjoy the consolations with which the chapter closes, must fulfil the duties insisted upon in the beginning, for it is only to them who are in Christ Jesus, loho loalk Jiot after thefesh hut after the Spirit, that there is no condemnation; for if a man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. In the third chapter, Paul had brought in a Jew objecting to his doctrine of justification by faith, that the rejection of his nation, which it implied, would be a breach of faithful- ness in the Deity, who had promised to be the God of Abraham, and his seed for ever. Paul accordingly now explains God's dealings with the Israelites, and foreseeing that his statement would be ofiensive, he endea'«''Ours to soften it, by commencing it with an asseveration, that he himself would willingly have been cut off froim the Christian Church, if that would have preventecl their rejection ; for he loved his nation, and highly e-^teemed their privileges, which he enumerates, concluding -with the highest to which he wishes to draw their attention, the EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 245 birth, as to his human nature, of the Messiah, whose divinity he at the same time acknowledges in the cus- tomary form, who is over all, God blessed fur ever. He proceeds to prove, that God's promises to Abraham would not be broken, even if the whole of his natural seed should be cast off; and shows, by instances in the family of that patriarch, in which Isaac was chosen by mere favour in preference to Ishmael to be the parent of the visible Church, that God might without injustice admit the Gentiles to share in these 7iational privileges, which he had bestowed gratuitously upon Isaac instead of Ishmael, and on the descendants of Jacob in preference to those of Esau, though both the children not only of Isaac, but of the same wife. He tells them, that God exercises the same sovereignty, without giving the reasons of his government, in punishing nations as in conferring favours. Of those who have provoked his judgments, he makes examples of such as he pleases, as the Egyptians, passing over others no less guilty, and silences the objector by asserting the right of the Creator to do what he pleases with his creatures. Of Pharaoh, who is here spoken of not as an individual, but as the king of the Egyptians, God says, whom he will he hardeneth. Many who readily allow, that on whom he will he showeth mercy, and that those whom he chooses have no previous merit to recommend them, feel shocked at the former phrase, as if it made God the author of sin ; but we may be certain, that though God will be finally glorified as just and holy in the eternal damnation of the wicked, that he never made any one wicked. How is it indeed con- ceivable, that He who is the author of all excellence, and too pure to behold iniquity, so that it is only through the expiatory sacrifice of his Son that sinners can approach him, can have any thing to do with the production of sin. If any Scripture expression then seems to affirm or infer so shocking a proposition, the fault must be in the imperfection 240 EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. of language, or of our faculties unable to reconcile the divine attributes with the existence of moral evil. In this particular instance, the history of Pharaoh, as detailed in Exodus, shows, that the tendency of the miracles wrought by Moses was to soften the king's heart, which in fact he hardened himself, God only permitting him to make such an use of his forbearance as to draw upon himself de- struction. To use St. Paul's words in this very Epistle, he despised the riches of God's goodness and forbearance and long suffering, not knowing that the intention of it was to lead him to repentance ; hut after his hardness and impenitent hearty treasured up to himself wrath against the day of wrath^ and revelation of the righteous judgment of God^. The quotation from Exodus, and the allusion to Jeremiah's type of the potter, in the opinion of the most approved commentators, show, that the predestination here spoken of is not like that of the preceding chapter, of individuals to eternal life, but of nations to temporal advantages, which is confirmed by the prediction, Jacob I have loved, and Esau I have hated; which, if we read the whole passage, is, it is clear, applied not to themselves, but to their remote pos- terity. He proceeds to show, that the admission of the Gentiles to the privilege of being the people of God, while Israel was rejected, was so far from being at variance with God's design, that it had been foretold by Hosea'' and Isaiah'. That justification upon the gracious terms of faith had been offered to both Jew and Gentile, and was accepted by the latter, while the former, through a mistaken attach- ment to the Law, and through a spirit of self-righteousness, stumbled at that precious stone, which had been laid in Zion as the only foundation for salvation ; and whoever believed in him should not he ashamed. He next contrasts the two schemes of justification ; that of the Law, the man uho 1' Rom. ii. 4, 5. ' Jer. xviii. 1— 10. ^ Hosea i. 10. ' Isaiah x. 22. EPiSTLE TO THE ROMANS, 217 doeth these things shall live by them; and that of Faith, to which he accommodates the language of Deuteronomy", that it is neither in heaven, nor fn the deep, hut very nigh, m thy mouth, and in thy heart. He laments their blindness( he shows that there is but this one mo^e of justification for Jew and Gentile, and that the former might have known that upon their unbelief the latter would-be adopted; for Moses had foretold that God would excite their jealousy, by conferring on the Gentiles the benefits whicb they thought were exclusively their own"; and Isaiah" in still plainer language declares, / was found of them thaf sought me not ; and all day long I have siretchedj forth my hands to a disappointed and gainsaying people. He will not, however, close the subject with their rejection, but cheers them with a prophecy of restoration and conversion. He shows that it was not total, for he himself, and a remnant according to the election of grace, had embraced the Gospel, as a small number had been faithful during the general de- fection in the time of Elijah. He takes occasion to warn the Gentiles not to boast and insult over the Jews, since if they had been cut off from their own olive tree, that the Gentiles, a wild shoot, might be grafied in, they could not expect to be preserved, if they too should apostatize. He shows also, that the rejection of Israel was net final ; that their unbelief, by exciting preachers more speedily and more openly to ad- dress the Gentiles, had been the means of enriching them, and that hereafter in return, their adoption would stimulate the Jews, and end in their general conversion, the happy result of which would be, as it were, life from the dead, both to the Gentiles and to themselves, for God has shut up all in unbelief, that in the end he might have mercy upon all. He ends with breaking forth into admiration of the unfathomable depth of the wisdom and knowledge of God, evinced in making first the rejection of the Jews a m Deut. XXX. 12, 14. " Deut. xxxii. 21. " Isaiah Ixv. 1, 2. 248 EPISTLE TO THE ROMa'nS. means of calling the Gentiles, ai>d then working upon the contumacious Jews by his msrcy shown to the Gentiles. His decrees, however, cannot be fully investigated and com- prehended by finite beings, yet we know enough of his ways to have a full assurance that he is just and good, even when his proceedings are not in harmony with our notions of these qualities. Instead therefore of perplexing our minds with the secret things which belong unto him, let us walk in the light with which he has favoured us C9:itentedly, acknowledging that he is the Creator, Pre- server, and Governor of all things, and that to Him, as the ultimate end of all things, we ought to be unreservedly devoted ; for, in St. Paul's words, of Him, and through Him, and to Him, are all things. Having closed the doctrinal part of the Epistle, he beseeches the Roman believers to act in a manner worthy of the Gospel, on the excellence of which he had expatiated. With allusion to sacrifices, to which they had been accustomed, he adjures them by the mercies which he had enumerated to devote themselves, instead of bulls or goats, to God as living victims, which was a rational kind of worship, and not to he conformed to the world, but to religion, which would be a transformation, not only in outward appear- ance, but in the reneioal of the mind, which would enable them to ascertain the good and acceptable and perfect will of God; and he charges them on his Apostolical authority to think of themselves with sobriety, which will be done by considering themselves as members of the Chris- tian body, in which individuals have different offices to fulfil. He exhorts them to unfeigned philanthropy and brotherly love, and to diligence in their occupation, considering that in so doing they are to serve not themselves but the Lord; to joy in hope, to patience in tribulation, and to perseverance in prayer. Their love is to show itself in assisting neces- sitous believers, in hospitality, in blessing their persecutors. EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 249 and in sympathy in the joys and sorrows of others. He urges them, as far as possible, to live peaceably with all men, and to be so far from avenging themselves, as when wronged to leave the judgment to God ; and even to feed an enemy, if hungry, and so by kindness to overcome evil, by bringing him to a better state of mind. Submission to government is then enforced, and that in the widest acceptation of the term, the powers that be de facto not entering into the question de jure, and because they are ordained by God; and that rulers are not a terror to good hut to evil works. By declaring that the ruler beareth not the sword in vain, hut is a minister of God, he incidentally authorizes capital punishment, and shows that we must submit not only from the fear of punishment, but from duty to God. Under this head the Apostle includes the payment of taxes, and due respect to persons in office ; and this leads him to conclude, that the only debt we should owe to any one was that of Love, which is a debt continually recurring, and, by working no ill, meets all the requirements of the Law. He urges too as an additional motive, that now their salvation was nearer than when they first believed ; that the day of redemption was at hand ; let us therefore, he exclaims, cast off the works of darkness, and assume the weapons of light; let us walk neither riotously, nor in strife and envyings, but honourably as in the day, and put on the Lord Jesus Christ, taking no previous thought for the gratification of carnal lusts. As a mixed body of Jews and Gentiles, many of the former were weak brethren, who indulged in scruples respecting food and days, such as keeping the sabbath, and Jewish fasts and festivals ; and his charitable advice in such cases is to receive such as members of the congregation, but not to dispute with or to despise them, but ever to refrain from eating or drinking what they are satisfied they innocently might, rather than put a stumbling-block 250 EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. in a brother's way, for whom Christ died, for they had no right to judge a brother; the kingdom of God consisted not in such distinctions about food, but in righte- ousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost ; and even Christ pleased not himself, but was willing even to endure, as the Psalmist said, the reproaches of them who reproached God, out of kindness to his adopted brethren ; and he adds the important remark, that the whole of the ancient Scriptures were written for their instruction, that through 2)atience under affliction, and the consolation derived from the Scriptures, they might have hope ; and he prays, that the God of patience and of consolation may grant that they might he like-minded, according to the spirit and example of Christ, so that they might ivith one mind and with one mouth glorify God the Father through Him ; wherefore they should bear with one another. In conclusion, he says, that Jesus the Christ was a minister of the circumcision, to confirm the promises made to the fathers, which he shows from the Old Testament included the Gentiles over whom he was to reign'; whom Isaiah and even Moses'' call upon to rejoice together with his people; he therefore ventures to remind them, God had graciously made him the minister of the Messiah to the Gentiles, that the offering up of them might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost. He ex- presses his hope of being able to come to them on a future projected visit to Spain ; but now he is going to Jerusalem, and solicits their prayers, that he may be delivered from them who do not believe in Judcea, and that the contributions he was bringing with him might be accepted by the saints there. He then commends to them Phoebe, to whom he had entrusted this most valuable of letters. He then salutes no less than twenty-six members of their congregation, who were probably his only personal acquaintances among them. With the exception of his friends and fellow-labourers, ' Isaiah xi. 1.10. '' Dent, xxxii. 4.S. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 251 Aquila and Priscilla, we only know of their existence from this enumeration, but their record is no .doubt on high, among those who really deserve the much abused title of Saints. It should be noticed, that no less than nine of these are women. Junia and Priscilla are saluted like their hus- bands as fellow-labourers, and of three it is recorded that they laboured in the Lord: an important remark, as showing that the female sex is not restricted to domestic duties, and the education of their own families ; and happily in our days we find them eminently useful, promoting as district visitors, and in other departments, the cause of Christianity. He adds the salutations of his companions, of whom Timothy is the only one known to us ; Tcrtius his amanuensis, from the equivalent meaning of the word in Hebrew, is supposed to be the Silas who became Paul's companion instead of Mark, and whom, under the Roman appellation Sylvanus, he joins with himself in addressing the Thessalonians. He con- cludes with the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with an ascription of praise through Him to the only zvise God, who was to stablish them according to the revelation of the secret now made manifest to all nations, in order to produce obedience to the faith. Paul had intended to sail to Syria direct, but hearing that the Jews had contrived a plot either to murder him, or to rob him of the donations he was conveying to Jerusalem, which when the contributions of Macedonia and Greece were put together would amount to a considerable sum, he altered his plan, and returned by his former route, but was detained at Philippi till after the passover. He appears throughout the narrative to have lived much with his converts, and thus must have had continual opportunities of teaching them practical religion by his example. On his return to Asia, we are expressly told, that on this occasion he had seven fellow-travellers; and 252 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. there might be others that are not named, at least there can be little doubt that his biographer sailed with him from Philippi, and continued with him till the termination of the -narrative. His intention was to arrive at Jerusalem for the feast of Pentecost, in order probably that he might thereby have the opportunity of meeting a larger body of his country- men, and might be better enabled to distribute his collection of alms among the brethren, some of whom might be living at some distance. He therefore travelled with rapidity; he was, however, prevailed upon to pass a week at Troas, where on the Lord's day the brethren appeared to have partaken of the Eucharist, and discoursed till day break, as he in- tended to resume his journey on the morrow. This meeting was rendered remarkable b}' an accident. Eutyches, one of the congregation in the third story, having dropped asleep, while leaning against a window, fell through, probably on the outside, into the street. Paul went down, and in imitation of Elijah and Elisha in similar cases, stretched himself upon the body of the youth, and said. Trouble not yourselves, for his life is in him. From this ambiguity of language, arising out of modesty, some modern commentators infer that he only recovered from a swoon. The Greek text is ^g5») vsKgog, taken up dead, and unless Paul restored him by a miracle, the fact does not seem to have been important enough to be recorded. From Troas Paul proceeded alone by land to Assos, while his companions went by sea; he might thus enjoy for a little longer the society of his friends at Troas, and would avoid the tedious circumnavigation of the promontory of Lectrum, which made the distance a third longer. As he could not visit Ephesus without an inconvenient delay, he passed by that important scene of his labours, but stopped at Miletus, and summoned the Elders to meet him there, about fifty miles distant. His parting charge deeply affected them, especially as he assured them, that none of them should see ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 253 him again. He recalled to their remembrance his own faithfulness in the discharge of his ministerial functions in Asia in the midst of trials, from the lying in wait of the Jews,- for he had kept back from them no profitable in- structions, but had declared the whole counsel of God, and this to Jew and Greek at all seasons in public and in private, so that if any refused to receive his doctrine of repentance and faith, he was pure from their blood. He was led to make this solemn declaration, because he is going to Jeru- salem, where he anticipates if not death, at least bonds and afflictions, and is persuaded that he sees them for the last time. He warns them therefore to take heed, bofh to themselves and to the Church of God, purchased by his own blood, over which they have been placed as overseers, not merely by human ordinances, but by the Holy Ghost; and he intimates the necessity of this, because grievous wolves, that is, teachers of destructive heresies, would enter in to devour their flock, and even such would arise out of their own body. He commends them to God and to his gracious Word, as able to build them up, and to give them an inheritance among the saints. He reminds them of his disinterestedness, he having never coveted the property of his converts, though in cir- cumstances which obliged him to labour for the maintenance of himself and his associates ; giving them an example, and recalling to their remembrance a saying of our Lord, recorded no where else, that it is happier to give than to receive. His prediction of some of their own body teaching perverse things, we shall find was soon fulfilled, if we turn to the second Epistle of Timothy', where Hymenaeus and Philetus are mentioned, as saying the resurrectioji was already past, and thereby overthroioing the faith of some. His decla- ration that he should see them no more, is taken by some for a suggestion only of his own mind; and as he was afterwards, if not at Ephesus, yet in its vicinity, it is urged as im- proba])le that all these presbyters should be by that time ' 2Titn. ii. 17, 18. 254 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. dead. At Patara they embarked in another vessel, for the one which had conveyed them thus far seems to have been bound to that port. At Tyre, having found out some dis- ciples, they were prevailed upon to pass a week, and were accompanied by them and their families to the place of embarcation, where they knelt down and prayed. They then sailed to Ptolemais, where they abode with the bre- thren a single day, and proceeded to Cassarea, where they made some stay with Philip the Evangelist, who resided in that city with his four daughters, who were in the habit of prophesying. Both at Tyre and Caesarea he was entreated not to go up to Jerusalem; the disciples at the former city are said to have spoken through the Spirit, and at the latter the same Agabus, who had foretold the dearth in the reign of Claudius, now, in the style of the ancient prophets, by a significant emblem, indicated the nature of his reception at Jerusalem. Thus saith the Holy Ghost, So shall the Jeios at Jerusalem hind the man that owneth this girdle, and shall deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles. At first sight the Apostle seems to act in defiance of a divine warning twice given ; and the unfavourable ter- mination of his visit, which interfered with his schemes, and detained him for above two years in confinement in com- parative uselessness, might cause a suspicion that he was to blame in disregarding their entreaties. Yet as we find, that when he could not be persuaded they all ceased, saying, The Lord's will he done, they must have been satisfied that he was in the right. His natural feelings, and now, since he knew that he could be of no service, his judgment, would have been upon their side ; sve may therefore reason- ably assume that he acted in conformity with the Divine will ; and of this we can entertain no doubt, if his declaration to the Ephesian elders, that he went up hound in the Spirit to Jerusalem, may be referred, as it is by many commentators, not to the suggestions of his own mind, but that of the Holy Ghost. " The Spirit of God cannot contradict himself. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 255 We conclude therefore that they, understanding by the revelation of the Spirit what danger awaited Paul, out of love, and not by any special command of the Spirit, intreated him not to go up to Jerusalem, being ignorant of what the same Spirit had commanded Paul "■." The knowledge which he had now obtained of the future, greatly raises our notions of his magnanimity in resisting the solicitations of friends, and proceeding unmoved to meet the bonds that awaited him. In this journey they were attended by some of the Christians of Caesarea, who brought them to one Mnason, a Cypriot, who had been a disciple from the beginning, at whose house the Apostle and his companions might be con- veniently lodged during the feast. Paul the next day intro- duced them to James, the only one of the twelve resident at Jerusalem ; but all the elders were convened, and they glorified the Lord on hearing of his success in so many populous places. His arrival, however, occasioned some perplexity. The viany tens of thousands of Jewish con- verts, of whom a great number would attend the feast, had received an unfavourable impression of Paul, supposing that he not only maintained that the Mosaic ritual was no longer binding, but required that it should be rejected. James therefore and the Elders recommended, that as they had four persons among them bound by a vow, Paul should join them in their abstinence from wine, and pay their expenses for them, on their heads being shaved on its completion". This was not unusual, and of course popular; and we have a case in point in King Agrippa, who, ac- cording to Josephus, coming to Jerusalem, he ordered several Nazarites to be shaved °. Paul consented ; and "> Beza on the passage. " The charge would be the price of eight lambs and four rams, besides oil, flour, &c. " Ant. xix. 6. 256 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. certainly nothing seemed better calculated to answer the intended purpose, since this would be a public evidence that the reports concerning him were erroneous, and that he observed not only the written law, but their customs. It has been questioned whether on this occasion he and his advisers acted in strict consistency with Chris- tian simplicity ; and it should be remembered, that though the Apostle were infallibly preserved from mis- taking, corrupting, or mutilating the doctrine which they were entrusted to communicate to the Church, yet they were not rendered infallible in their personal conduct. Still I incline to think, especially as his compliance led to such important consequences, that his desire of becoming all things to all men, did not in this instance carry him too far, or it would have been blamed, either here, or by himself in some Epistles. We know, that to a certain extent his principle was to conform to prejudices, to the Jew I became as a Jew, and we are not, I conceive, competent to mark the line of demar- cation between customs unlawful and indifferent. He appears also himself at Cenchrea to have made a similar vow of his own accord, and James and the Elders avowed that they meant nothing contrary to their former de- termination concerning the Gentile converts. The next day he entered the temple with those persons, probably to give notice of his taking upon himself the obligation to abstinence for seven days, for every one was at liberty" to fix upon the period he chose. Towards the end of the time, some of the Asiatic Jews, who had before opposed him at Ephesus, and had seen Trophimus, a Gentile convert of that city, walking with him in the streets, raised a commotion, supposing that he had brought him into the second court of the temple, which no Gentile might enter under the penalty of death. They dragged him " Numbers vi. 5. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 257 out, and the priests closed the doors, that they might not appear to have taken part in the disturbance. Paul would probably have been murdered, had not the temple been commanded by a castle, once the residence of the Asmonaean princes, which had been rebuilt by Herod the Great, who called it after his first patron, Mark Antony, Antonia. One of its four towers communicated with the porticos of the temple by a double staircase, by which the garrison might come down on festivals, to keep the people in order. Apprized of the tumult, Lysias the commander, with soldiers and subordinate officers, hastened to his rescue ; the mob left off beating him, and the Chiliarch fulfilled the prophecy of Agabus, of which he was ignorant, by ordering him to be bound by two chains. He mistook him for an Egyptian impostor, who five years before had gathered together as many as 30,000 men, and had been put to flight by Felix ; but finding him to be a Jew, he granted the permission he had asked to address them, which he did from the stairs, the head of which, from its elevation, protected him from the fury of the crowd. He spoke in their own tongue, which procured him a more favourable hearing. He so defended himself as to show that he was no despiser of the Law, and that his total change of views and conduct could not be attributed to his feelings or interest, but proceeded from a divine interference. To prove this he began by stating, that he was by birth a Jew, and educated at Jerusalem under Gamaliel, one of the most eminent teachers of the Law, instructed in it in the most perfect manner, and as zealous for it as themselves, for, as the high priest and elders could bear him witness, he had persecuted Christians even unto death. He next related the appearance of the Saviour, which converted him. He then showed his wish and in- tention to have proclaimed him to his countrymen, but added, that while praying in the temple he fell into a trance, 258 ACTS OF THF, AlOSTLES. and again saw the Lord Jesus, who assured him that they would not receive his testimony, and commanded him to go unto the Gentiles. His speech altogether failed of ■producing the intended effect. When he made this avowal, not only that Jesus was the Messiah, but that the Gentiles were to be admitted into his kingdom, they found in it a confirmation of what had been reported against him, and shouted with fury, Away with such a fellow from the earth. On this the Tribune'', comprehending from the tumult the purport of the mob, and supposing that he must have been guilty of some misdemeanor, ordered him to be examined by scourging ; and while the executioner was binding his arms extended to a post, he was liberated on claiming his privilege of a Roman citizen, which he possessed, not as the tribune by purchase, but by in- heritance. On the morrow he loosed him from his bonds, and brought him before the Sanhedrim. Paul before this council maintained his perfect in- tegrity up to that present time. Upon this, Ananias, who acted as high priest, ordered them to smite him upon the mouth. This was iniquitous and illegal ; and the Apostle, though a prisoner, boldly denounced the judgment of God upon him, and declared him to be a ivhited wall, or hypocrite, adding, sittest thou to judge me after the laiv, and commandest me to be smitten contrary to law"* ? They that stood by said, Revilest thou God's high j^riest ? Then said Paul, I wist not that he was the high priest ; for it is tvritien hi the law, Thou shalt not speak evil of the ruler of thy people. The answer contained a just rebuke, and a pre- diction ; but he seems to have been too much carried away with indignation, and certainly he did not display the same v The chief captain, E. V. called in the original, Chiliarch, that is, ruinminander of a thousand men. '1 This is not an iinprecaliun but a jiiedictioii ; lor five years after, he was draprpred from a hidinir jjlacc duriui-- a tumult, and killed liy assassins. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 259 patience that his Divine Master had done under similar provocation. This his reply seems to acknowledge, and I wist not, ought probably to have been rendered, I did not consider or reflect that it was the high priest ; others take it in the more obvious meaning of acknowledging ignorance; and if we avert to history, it will surprise none that Paul should not know him, since he had been long- absent from Jerusalem, and could not ascertain him to be so by any distinction in dress, for the pontifical robe was only worn in the temple. It is doubtful if, strictly speaking, the office was not now vacant ; for this Ananias who had filled it had been sent a prisoner to Rome, to give an account of his administration to Claudius; and, through the intercession of the younger Agrippa, was acquitted. Jonathan, who had acted as his substitute, had been assassinated in the temple by the connivance at least of Felix, and Ananias now undertook to preside; whether by right, or in consequence of the vacancy of the office, we do not know. The Apostle must have personally known many members of the Sanhedrim, and he was aware that it was divided into two parties, very vehement in their contests with each other, though now agreed in persecuting him. As they would therefore attend neither to reasoning nor facts, he attempted to divert their violence against each other by declaring himself a Pharisee, crying out, that he was called in question for maintaining the resurrection of the dead. In one sense this was a truth, and as he was not questioned concerning new doctrines, he seems to be justifiable in thus dividing the assembly. The contest soon became so fierce, that Lysias began to apprehend that they would tear him in pieces, and therefore he ordered him to be conveyed back to the castle. Though rescued, he was probably under some discouragement, as the Saviour was pleased to appear to him, assuring him that he accepted of his testimony to him at Jerusalem, and that his desire of bearing witness to him at Rome also should be granted. s 2 ii60 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. This secured him from all enemies, who might fight but could not conquer him. The Jews, seeing Lysias was re- solved to protect him unless legally convicted of some crime, began to fear that their malice would be disappointed; forty therefore of the most zealous of them, supposing they should thereby do God service, conspired together, en- gaging by an oath, and an imprecation of divine vengeance on themselves, not to taste meat or drink till they had killed him. They had no scruple of making known their plan to the assembly, and assigning them their part in order to accomplish it. Paul's sister's son (we are not informed by what means) discovered the plot, and made it known to his uncle, who, though assured of Divine protection, thought it his duty to use all jiroper human means for his safety, and accordingly desired him to communicate the fact to Lysias. Had that officer kept him at Jerusalem, an insurrection might have been excited, or some opportunity might have occurred of murdering him. He therefore resolved to send his prisoner to the governor at his residence, Ca^sarea, seventy miles distant. The body appointed to escort him, consisting of 200 legionaries, 200 light armed foot, and 70 horsemen, would have sufficed to repel any tumultuary assault; but to prevent bloodshed, they were ordered to set out three hours after sunset, that they might be out of the reach of the zealots before morning. This prudent pre- caution was accompanied with one equally humane, they were ordered to provide beasts for the accommodation of Paul. Ijysias sent with him an explanatory letter, but he is careful not to intimate that he had bound Paul in order to scourge him, and was willing that Felix should conclude that his own interposition arose from a previous knowledge that he was a Roman citizen. When arrived there, he was not thrown into prison, but was ordered to be kept in Herod's palace. The high priest and elders considered the persecution ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 261 of Paul SO important, that they followed him to Caesarea, and availed themselves of the assistance of Tertullus, a pleader. Felix had been a freedman of the Emperor Claudius, and placed first over Samaria, and had been governor of the whole country for seven j'ears, which Paul in his reply states to be long, and which was in fact longer than the administration of any of his three predecessors. Tertullus complimented him on the great quietness which the nation enjoyed, and the very worthy deeds done through his providence. It is true that he had defeated and put to flight the Egyptian false prophet, for whom Paul had been lately taken, and had cleai-ed the country of robbers ; yet his government in other respects was oppressive ; he had pro- cured the assassination of Jonathan the high priest, who had remonstrated against his tyranny, and he is described by Tacitus'^ as exercising royal authority with the spirit of a slave, and indulging himself in cruelty and lust. Two years after, his enormities drew upon him a formal impeach- ment, but he was saved from ruin by the interference of his brother Pallas, who had great influence over Nero. The Apostle's defence, short as it is, cleared him from the three charges brought against him, sedition, heresy, and the profanation of the temple. He commenced with declaring his readiness to answer before one who had been many years judge of the nation, and stated that it was only twelve days since he had come up to Jerusalem, and that then his sole object was to worship. He vindicated himself from having made a disturbance, or given occasion for any, by disputing in the temple, the synagogues, or any part of the city. He observed, that he was so far from having committed an offence, that he came to bring offer- ings from foreign countries to his nation, and that some Asiatic Jews had found him in the temple in the per- formance of legal observances, and neither attended by a I' Hist. V. 9. Ann. xii. .50. 262 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. multitude, nor making a tumult ; and he added, that these Jews ought to have come if they had any charge against him, or that the high priest and his accusers present were at liberty to speak. He denied the charge of recommending a new religion, declared that he himself also worshipped the God of his fathers, and appealed to the same sacred writings, believing like them in a general resurrection, and that therefore he exercised himself to keep his con- science free from offence both towards God and man. This privilege of worshipping the God of their fathers had been secured to the Jews by many decrees of the Senate and the Emperors; unless therefore it could be shown that Paul had acted contrary to the Mosaic Law, the charge would fall to the ground, whereas he had been seized during an actual performance of it. Felix put off the further con- sideration of the case till Lysias should come, seeing no doubt that the charges could not be substantiated, and yet unwilling to give offence by liberating the prisoner. He therefore committed him to the custody of a centurion, and allowed his friends to visit him ; but though his treatment was more liberal, it appears from his speech before Agrippa that he was in bonds. Some time after, Felix sent for Paul to hear him speak of his religion, and his wife Drusilla, herself a Jewess, was present. We can hardly doubt that he embraced the opportunity of laying before them the Gospel scheme of salvation, but we are only informed that Paul reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come; they were therefore probably the main topics of his dis- course, and if he could have convinced them that they would have to answer at the tribunal of an heavenly Judge for their infraction of these two branches of their duty, they would have been more disposed to listen to the evidence he had to give of a religion which offered pardon to the penitent sinner, would bring peace to the awakened conscience, and which in justifying the ungodly, taught him in future ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 263 to deny all ungodliness and unrighteousness, and to en- deavour to 'perfect holiness in the fear of God. Righteous- ness and temperance, that is, self-government, were virtues in which we know thatthese persons were peculiarly deficient, for their characters are on record in the histories of Tacitus and Josephus. Drusilla, daughter to that Herod who beheaded James, and therefore Agrippa's sister, had abandoned her husband Azizus, a petty Syrian king, and had married Felix ; it is supposed by some, in the interval between the trial of Paul and this conversation. She and her son by Felix perished in the first eruption of Mount Vesuvius, which overwhelmed Pompeii and Herculaneum, a minute account of which we have from the younger Pliny. The bold and faithful exhortation of the Apostle was without effect. Drusilla, though acquainted with the holy and awful character of Jehovah, as exhibited in the Hebrew Scriptures, was unmoved, the heathen husband was alarmed, but unlike the trembling jailor, who throwing himself at the feet of Paul, enquired what he must do to be saved, he stifled his conviction, and showed that his was not that godly fear that worketh repentance unto reformation. He there- fore abruptly dismissed him, saying, that at a convenient season he would send for him. Probably he gave Paul no subsequent opportunity of admonishing him, though he sent for him frequently. He was so hardened, that his only motive was the love of gain, for he hoped to persuade him to purchase his release; for though the Apostle was poor, he judged from the alms which he had been able to collect, that it would be easy to raise among believers a sum for this purpose. He therefore still detained him in confinement for two years, but at the end of that period, being recalled, though he knew his innocence, he left him a prisoner, in the hopes of lessening the enmity of the Province against him- self. Festus, the new governor, immediately on his arrival, went 2G4 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. up to Jerusalem, and the high priest and rulers requested him to bring Paul to a trial there, meaning to have him way- laid and murdered. He stayed there but ten days, still long enough to have decided the cause, but he replied that he would try him at Caesarea. The scheme for assassinating Paul must have been unknown to him, and we do not see what inducement he could have for refusing to gratify the leading authorities of the nation, especially as soon after he himself had made this very proposal to Paul. Humanly speak- ing, Paul's life depended upon his decision, and that decision probably was founded upon some apparent trifle, which leads us to consider by what invisible springs God carries on the movement of events. At Caesarea then the trial was opened, when Paul affirmed his innocence, both with respect to the Jews and the Romans. The offer was now made him of a trial at Jerusalem, but he was aware that he could not anticipate a fair one, and therefore he availed himself of his privilege as a Roman citizen of appealing to Caesar. An appeal from the magistrate to the judgment of the People had been granted by Poplicola at the commencement of the Republic, and it continued in force under the Emperors, notwithstanding the addition to the empire of so many states, so that a freeman, at any distance, could remove his cause from a provincial tribunal to Rome, the seat of govern- ment. The method I have observed towards Christians is this, says Pliny, in his celebrated Letter to Trajan : " If they confessed, I repeated the question twice again, adding at the same time threats ; when if they still persevered, I ordered them to be immediately punished. There were others also brought before me, possessed with the same infatuation, but being citizens of Rome, I ordered them to be taken thither." King Agrippa, so called, because the Romans had made him Sovereign of the northern part of the Holy Land, came with his sister Ccrnice, to pay his respects to the new governor, and they as Jews would be ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 265 curious to hear one, whose zeal first against and now in support of Christianity, would make him an object of interest. It was equally natural that Festus, who was at a loss to know what he should write upon the subject of the apj)eal, should declare Paul's cause unto the King, whom Paul himself allowed to be expert in all customs and questions amongst the Jews, and to whom the Romans had given the superintendence of the Temple. Paul availed himself of the opportunity both of vindicating him- self, and of preaching Christianity ; and declared, that the only charge against him was the hope of the resurrection through the Messiah, of which he was satisfied by ocular demonstration when Jesus appeared to him on his way to Damascus, and appointed him an Apostle. He proceeded to show (probably at length) from Moses and the Prophets, that the Messiah, contrary to the expectation of the nation, 7mist suffer before he entered into glory, and that he was to be Saviour not of them only, but of all mankind. The effect produced on the governor is shown by the words with which he interrupted him, Paul, thou art beside thyself, much learning is turning thee to insanity ; and to him it was natural that the account of the vision and the doctrine of the resurrection of the body, of which perhaps he had never heard before, should appear too absurd to be believed by any one not disordered in his senses. Paul took care to correct him, and to declare that his words were true, and those of a man of a sound mind ; and he appealed, as it were, to the judgment of the king, who was more competent to form an opinion. Agrippa, who had read and believed the Scriptures, confessed that he was himself almost jiersiiaded to become'' a Christian; and his uneasy sens- ations seem to have caused him to rise abruptly, and '" eV oxiytfi fie ir^idns. The substantive to be supplied seems to be xp^vos, ill a short time thou iciUpemunde me; and those who would render it thus, must translate the corresponding reply, loheiher in a short or a long time, 8jc. »DO ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. interrupt a discourse, the consequences of which he dared not await ; for he must have known, that if convinced, and he declared his conviction, he must, like the prisoner before him, submit to contempt and ridicule, perhaps to the loss of his office and worldly greatness; and he had not, like him, learnt to cou7it all things hut loss for the knoioledge of Jesus, not only as a Sovereign, but as a Saviour. But before his departure, Paul had time to say, / would to God, that not only thou, hut also all that hear me this day, ivere hoth almost and altogether such as I am, except these honds. Agrippa's judgment on a case exclusively religious must have been decisive, and it was that the prisoner might have been set free, if he had not appealed to the Emperor. This judgment could not liberate him, yet we may reason- ably suppose that it contributed to Paul's kind treatment by the centurion during the voyage. About three years after, Festus died in his government. Agrippa had vainly endeavoured to prevent the Jewish war, and when it broke out, had the mortification of being obliged to take a part in the ruin of his country. After the capture of Jerusalem, he retired, with Bernice to Rome, and died there twenty years after in his seventieth year. Josephus enjoyed his patronage, and has preserved two of his letters, bearing testimony to the accuracy of his narrative of the war. This was confirmed by the chief actors in it, Vespasian and his son Titus. In this work, submitted to Agrippa's inspection, he is praised for his patriotism and piety; but in the Antiquities written after his death, he is described as acting irreligiously in respect to the temple, and the arrangement of the service. Ber- nice, he says, lived long, as the widow of her uncle Herod, the king of Chalcis, till, to remove the suspicion of her incestuous intercourse with her brother, she took another husband, Polemo, the king of Cilicia. He was tempted by her wealth, but soon left her, and renounced Judaism, which he had professed in order to please her. She then ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 267 returned to her brother. She had fascinated Titus, who promised marriage, but such an union would have lost him the attachment and respect of the proud citizens of Rome ; and therefore he unwillingly dismissed this foreign princess, who was as unwilling to leave him. Paul was now delivered to the custody of Junius, a centurion of the Augustan cohort, which probably formed the guard of the governor. His friends Aristarchus and Luke, and others, were allowed to accompany him, though the first only is named. There were also other prisoners who probably had appealed, since other- wise they would have been judged on the spot. There was no ship in the port bound for Rome, and therefore Julius was obliged to hire an Adramyttian vessel, meaning to remove them to any other he should find in the course of the voyage. The ship touched at Sidon, and the centurion kindly allowed Paul and his companions to pass a day with the members of the Church there. The wind being contrary, instead of taking a shorter course outside Cyprus, they sailed between it and the continent. At Myra he found what he wanted, an Alexandrian corn ship, which had been driven out of its course, and was capacious enough to take them all in ; and we find that the whole party, including crew and soldiers, was as many as 276. These merchant ships were large ; and we learn from Josephus, who embarked about the same time as Paul, and was also wrecked in the Adriatic sea, a name then not limited to the gulph, that his vessel contained near 600 persons. The weather was so unfavourable, that they were obliged to sail under Crete, and with difficulty found shelter in the Fair Havens, near the city of Lasea. Sailing was now dangerous, for the fast of Atonement, which occurs near the equinox, was past ; and Paul wished them to stay where they were, and admonished them of the danger not only of the sliip and its cargo, but also of ^bO ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. their lives. The centurion, as was natural, deferred to the opinion of the master and the ship owner. They too seem to have given up the notion of continuing the voyage, only recommending them to winter in the more commodious harbour of Phenice, (Lotro,) about forty miles to the west. This expectation was to be disappointed, for suddenly, as they were advancing towards it, the ship w^as caught by a Levanter, a wdnd blowing tremendously from ENE, called EuroclydonS and which threatened to blow them upon the African Syrtes. They ran under the small isle Clauda [Gozzo], hoisted up the boat, and undergirded the ship with ropes, a precaution still occasionally prac- tised". Being exceedingly tossed by the tempest, they next day lightened it, by casting out the lading, and on the third they were obliged with their own hands to throw over the tackling. Neither sun nor stars appeared, and the compass being then unknown, and the tempest un- abated, they gave up all hope. Probably the ship had. sprung a leak. Paul now came forward to save them from despair. He began with saying. You should have hearkened unto me, and not sustained this loss; but he did not merely blame them, as too often happens in cases of calamity ; he bade them he of good cheer, for the ship only should be lost; and to show that he did not speak on his own authority, he continued. There stood by me this night the Messenger of God, to ivhom I belong, and whom I serve, saying. Fear not, Paul, thou must be brought before Ccssar : and, lo, God hath given thee all who sail with thee. He added, they must be wrecked, and he specifies where, on an island, a remarkable prediction, ' The Vulgate instead of Euroc])Hloii, which seems to mean an east wind which raises a tempest, has Euro Aquila. " Walters, in Lord Anson's voyage, says of a ship in a storm, they took six turns of the cable round her to prevent her opening. See Horace i. 14. ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 269 the exact fulfilment of which must have raised their estimation of him. About midnight, on the fourteenth da}', thej perceived they were near land, and this was con- firmed by sounding, and finding first twenty, and then fifteen fathoms. Fearing lest we should fall upon rocks, they dropped four anchors from the stern. The sailors in despair, under the pretence of casting other anchors from the foreship, would have lowered the boat to escape, but Paul apprized the soldiers of this intention, who in consequence let the boat fall off. They had scarcely eaten since the storm, and Paul therefore now exhorted them to take food, and set them the example ; and they too were now of good cheer, for he assured them that not a hair of one of them should perish. They then having lightened the ship, hy throwing overboard their provisions, again lowered the chief sail, and run the ship aground in a bay in the island of Melite''. So hard-hearted were the soldiers, that they wished to /jm^ the prisoners to death, " Malta, according to antiquity and the tradition of the inhabitants ; but the patriotism of Father Georgi, a native of Meleda, off the Dalmatian coast, claims Melita for his own obscure island. Jacob Bryant and others have ingeniojsly supported his hypothesis, and have convinced Dr. Hales, but their arguments appear to me insufficient. Bryant endeavours to show, that the population of the well-known Melite could not with propriety be called Barbarous, forgetting that the Greeks and Romans gave that title to all other nations,' and that the Maltese were of Punic origin. Diodorus Siculus speaks, as does Cicero, of the inhabitants as rich merchants, and of its manufactures; and on examination nothing will be found contradictory to their account in this narrative. It is urged, that vipers are unknown in this island, but abundant in the other, and this, and the ship being in the Adriatic, are the only specious objections to the received opinion; but there is little force in the former fact, and the Adriatic, it has been shown by quotations from Strabo and authors near the time, thjn comprehended the whole sea between Greece and Italy; and their fear of the Syrtes may be said to establish this sense. The governor appears from Cicero, Verrem iii. 18. to have been subordinate to the Prfetor of Sicily ; and an altar has been dug up in this very island dedicated to Augustus, by a Roman Knight, who is entitled npwros Vli\iTat'j)v Ka\ UarpSiv. 270 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. lest they should escape; but the centurion forbade this, out of regard to Paul ; and all on fragments of the ship, or on barrels and boxes, came safe to land. The inhabitants are called barbarians, because of Punic origin, but were under the government of a Roman, who was called the Chief TrgcuTog of the island. They treated tliem with kindness, and immediately kindling a fire, Paul gathered some sticks to keep it up, but a viper out of it fastened upon his hand. Their first impression was that he was a murderer, uhom though he had escajjed the storm, Divine justice would not suffer to live. They expected to see him drop down dead, but as he cast it off and felt no harm, they passed into the other extreme, and pronounced him to be a god. Paul and his friends were courteously entertained three days by Publius, the chief, and he repaid his kindness by curing his father of a fever and bloody flux. They remained in the island three months, and Paul performed many miracles, which though we do not hear of their pro- ducing their desired eifect, at least excited gratitude, for they honoured their benefactor and his companions with many honours, and on their departure laded them with necessary articles. Their departure we may presume was as early as the weather permitted, for they were embarked in the Castor and Pollux, another Alexandrian vessel, which had wintered in the island. They crossed over to Syracuse, where they remained three days ; they then sailed for Rhegium, and the south wind springing up, arrived at the ordinary port Puteoli. Here the}^ found brethren, and were permitted to pass a week, and then proceeded to their place of destination. It was about three years after writing his Epistle to the Romans, that Paul's prayer to be allowed to visit them was granted, but in a manner different from his expectations, for he entered the capital of the empire as a prisoner. The brethren, to show the interest they took in him, came to meet ACTS OF THE APOSTLES. 5i