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 INSUFFICIENCY I .IBR.A IxY, 
 UNREYEALED RELIGTOK: 
 
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 AND ON THE 
 
 SUCCEEDING INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIANITY; 
 
 DELIVERED IN THE 
 
 ENGLISH CHAPEL AT ROME, 
 
 DURING THE 
 
 SUNDAYS OF ADVENT MDCCCXXX, AND OF LENT MDCCCXXXl. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. RICHARD BURGESS, 
 
 CHAPLAIN. 
 
 And Paul dwelt two whole years in his own hired house." — Jets xxviii. 30. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 PRINTED FOR J. G. & F. RIVINGTON, 
 
 ST. Paul's church yard, 
 
 AND WATERLOO PLACE, PALL MALL. 
 
 1832. 
 
LONDON : 
 
 GILIiEKT & RIVINGTON, I'UINTKKS, 
 
 ST. JOHN'S SQUARE. 
 
TO THE 
 
 REV. WILLIAM STEPHEN GILLY, M.A. 
 
 PREBENDARY OF DURHAM AND VICAR/OF NQRH(A^i^j _ \^\ XI I . 
 
 MyDearGilly, V '^' "^Oii 
 
 There are some reasons, inde- 
 pendently of the ties of friendship, which 
 induce me to lay the following pages before 
 you. The scene of a portion of your la- 
 bours has been in Italy, as well as mine ; 
 and your benevolent exertions, in behalf of 
 an interesting people (whom, by the by, 
 you have shown in your late publication to 
 be the connecting link between the primi- 
 tive churches and the Reformation), will 
 endear you to the friends of religious li- 
 berty, and to all those who pray for the 
 prosperity of our " Zion." In looking over 
 the following Preface, you will be reminded, 
 as I have been, of the circumstances which 
 first procured me the happiness of your ac- 
 quaintance. In the year 1823, you preached 
 
 A 2 
 
 21846 
 
IV DEDICATION. 
 
 at Rome, in the " Palazzo" I have named, 
 near the Mausoleum of iVugustus, and, m 
 pursuing the train of reflections to which 
 that incident gave rise, you anticipated my 
 hopes of a brighter gospel-day arising upon 
 the Continent of Europe. Some weeks after- 
 wards, when we separated on the Via Fla- 
 minia, you made your first visit to the Wal- 
 denses. An interval of nine years, and your 
 unwearied efforts, have realised, hitherto, 
 your most sanguine expectations in the val- 
 lies of Piedmont. The Preface of this work 
 will enable you to judge how far mine have 
 been realised under a different aspect. 
 
 Wishing that the Divine blessing may 
 repose upon all your endeavours, at home 
 and abroad, for the advancement of true re- 
 ligion, and the propagation of " the faith 
 once delivered to the saints," 
 
 I am, 
 
 Your sincere and affectionate Friend, 
 
 Richard Burgess. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 The existence of a Protestant chapel at Rome, 
 where the service of the Church of England is 
 regularly performed during six months of the 
 year, is of itself a circumstance worthy of atten- 
 tion ; for, whether it be viewed as a striking in- 
 stance of religious toleration, coming in an un- 
 expected direction, or as the means of softening 
 those prejudices which the comprehensive term 
 of heretic conveys to the vulgar, it cannot fail 
 to be an object of interest to every one who 
 espouses the cause of civil and religious liberty. 
 The institution is already known to a consider- 
 able number of British subjects, who will know 
 how to appreciate the concession which prepared 
 for them the privilege of joining in the public 
 worship of the Church of England at Rome ; 
 but it is far from being generally understood that 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 such an act of liberality has proceeded from the 
 councils of the Vatican. The author thinks, that 
 every example of religious toleration, come from 
 what quarter it may, is an accession to the cause 
 of truth; and, if there be any merit in those who 
 have overcome prejudice, or who have even made 
 their policy conformable to means which may 
 enable others so to do, it is due to them to 
 acknowledge and commend such liberality in 
 the face of civilised society; for religious toler- 
 ation, not otherwise than mercy, " is twice 
 blessed : " it blesses those that give, and those 
 that take. If it be necessary to declare a 
 motive for the publication of the following 
 Lectures, which were not originally intended 
 for the press, the author had rather such motive 
 were discovered in the sentiments he has just ex- 
 pressed, than in any opinion he might be sup- 
 posed to have of the merits of his composition ; 
 for the only thing remarkable he has to offer 
 in his Lectures is, that they were delivered in a 
 Protestant assembly at Rome. It might have 
 been thought too gratuitous in the author to 
 have put forth any statement of the following 
 
PREFACE. Vll 
 
 nature without some additional inducement ; 
 but, as an introduction to these Lectures, it will 
 hardly appear superfluous — perhaps it is neces- 
 sary. 
 
 The English chapel may now be considered as 
 having the sanction of the Papal government, 
 although no official grant has yet been made 
 which would ever acknowledge its existence. 
 
 As early as the winter of 1816-17, English 
 families began to reside in Rome in sufficient 
 numbers to require " an house" for public wor- 
 ship : considerable difficulty was then experi- 
 enced in procuring an apartment to be dedicated 
 to such a purpose : the object was new, alarm- 
 ing, and contrary to the existing laws ; but at 
 length, through the influence of Signor Luigi 
 Chiaveri, to whom the English have often been 
 indebted for his kind ofl&ces in this respect, a 
 private room was obtained, near the Column of 
 Trajan : and thus began the service of the re- 
 formed Church of England in the '' Holy City !" 
 The duties were discharged by any clergyman 
 who, happening to be present, had the zeal to 
 offer his gratuitous services : the necessary ex- 
 
Vlll PREFACE. 
 
 penses were defrayed by the voluntary contri- 
 butions of the congregation, and the slender 
 funds administered by the kindness of Lieute- 
 nant-General Ramsay. 
 
 As no permission had been obtained from the 
 authorities (for such a demand must necessarily 
 have been met by a refusal), the new " conventi- 
 cle" owed its existence entirely to the forbear- 
 ance of the government. But it was not clear 
 whether such mildness might not soon have to 
 yield to the more austere interpreters of the law, 
 and it is said, that the attention of a high dig- 
 nitary, attracted by the concourse of vehicles 
 during divine service, had nearly proved fatal. 
 There can indeed be no doubt that some repre- 
 sentation was formally made of the illegality 
 and danger of permitting such an unheard of 
 assembly, and a word from the Vatican at that 
 moment might have dissolved the elements of it 
 without doing much violence to the opinion of 
 any one. The enlightened and liberal Gonsalvi, 
 however, perceiving that the English were at 
 Rome in the nineteenth century, and Catholic 
 Ireland still laboured under civil disabilities, 
 
PREFACE, IX 
 
 would know nothing of an illegal assembly in the 
 Forum of Trajan, and that assembly duly appre- 
 ciated his liberality. 
 
 It is not to be supposed there was any inten- 
 tion, on the part of the civil authorities, to in- 
 troduce the principle of religious toleration into 
 the city of Rome : such a supposition would be 
 little less than an impeachment of the minister : 
 nor did the appearance of a new kind of worship 
 work wonders in the sentim-^^ts of the listless 
 multitude ; but it had the effect of making some 
 of them suspect that heresy, according to the 
 definition they had heard of it, might not be 
 altogether synonymous with infidelity, and the 
 very circumstance of choosing a " festival" 
 (Sunday) for the day of worship, showed at least 
 some traces of church authority. It was soon 
 discovered by the most intelligent of the lower 
 orders, to which, of course, these remarks apply, 
 that the English had a sort of mass of their own, 
 and the solemnity observable in their manner of 
 attending to it was archly compared with the 
 careless genuflections of the Roman signori. In 
 this manner the forbearance of the government was 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 transfused into the minds of such of the populace 
 as thought at all on the subject : it was not pro- 
 vided that it should be so, it was a natural con- 
 sequence. During the first two or three seasons, 
 such may be considered to have been the secret 
 moral influence of the English congregation ; and 
 the most zealous guardians of pontifical authority 
 had nothing to fear, and, it is to be hoped 
 never will have, from any overt acts of pro- 
 selytism on the part of the officiating ministers. 
 The protection afforded to the new congregation, 
 although but a negative one, had been hitherto 
 sufficient for all practical purposes ; but it was 
 still equivocal, and when the old apartment 
 could no longer be procured, it was not possible 
 to induce a private individual to incur the respon- 
 sibility of becoming the new landlord: the dis- 
 pleasure of the authorities might be incurred. — 
 There was something which still required explana- 
 tion, a public assembly of this nature, in the house 
 of a Roman citizen, might cause him to be placed 
 at the bar of the Inquisition* ; at the same time a 
 
 * This word must not be allowed to convey to the reader any 
 I'alse notions. The inquisition at Rome (although contrary in 
 
PREFACE. XI 
 
 semi-official intimidation was given, tliat great 
 caution and privacy should be observed by the 
 English in the exercise of their privilege. It 
 would, however, have required a very vigorous 
 execution of the law to prevent a foreigner, who 
 had already his "own hired house," from in- 
 viting his countrymen to a private assembly : 
 and under this form (it must be confessed a pre- 
 text) divine service was celebrated in a commo- 
 dious room in the Vicolo degli Avignonesi, situ- 
 ated near the site of the ancient circus of Flora ! 
 Thus did the Protestant congregation migrate 
 from Trajan's Forum to the opposite declivity of 
 the Quirinal Hill. The privacy suggested by 
 the secretary of state was, perhaps, the best me- 
 thod of co-operating with his benevolent inten- 
 tions ; a motive less dignified may not be imputed 
 to the virtuous mind of Pope Pius VII. At that 
 period it would not have been difficult to outrage 
 the feelings of many devout plebeians by an 
 
 jn'inci'ple to all our ideas of religious liberty) is, at this time, 
 a mild tribunal in its administration ; some cases of injustice 
 there must necessarily be, but it is of no use to deal in misre- 
 presentation. 
 
Xll PREFACE. 
 
 over-ready sanction of the nonconformity. Evi- 
 dent marks of pious indignation had been more 
 than once observed in tlie populace at the sight 
 of the Protestant bier ; and although the more 
 enlightened portion of the community were far 
 from joining in this display of superstition, it 
 shows that, if a less liberal policy with regard to 
 the English worship had been adopted by the 
 Government, it would not have been at variance 
 with the then popular feeling : that it was not 
 adopted does honour to the memory of Pius VII. 
 and his minister. But ten years have been 
 sufficient to change that feeling as much in 
 favour of the institution, as ever it could be 
 against the precarious assembly : and it is now 
 perhaps regarded by that same populace as the 
 surest pledge of those advantages which they 
 expect to reap from the presence of the English. 
 In the Autumn of the year 1822, the author 
 first took a share in endeavouring to promote the 
 welfare of the establishment. It was his good 
 fortune to meet on that occasion with a reverend 
 person, now, alas, no more I but whose name 
 is entitled to hold the chief place in this narra- 
 
 10 
 
PREFACE. X111 
 
 tion. Whatever benefit may finally result fnjni 
 the Institution in question (and it is only in- 
 tended to speak here of that benefit which con- 
 sists in a mutual removal of religious strife and 
 prejudice, in which Rome will surely be the 
 gainer), the name of the Rev. Joseph Cooke, is 
 continually to be kept in remembrance'. By 
 his zeal, tempered with discretion and judgment, 
 and by his exertions (in which the author of the 
 following Lectures took but a small part), two 
 essential steps were taken and secured : first, an 
 apartment was hired, avowedly for the celebra- 
 tion of Divine Service ; and secondly, the con- 
 nivance of the authorities was made equivalent to 
 a sanction. The English worship then first as- 
 
 ^ Mr. Cooke (late fellow of Christ's College, Cambridge,) 
 was a man of great literary accomplishments, mingled with 
 solid piety, and devotion to his profession. His ardent pursuit 
 of knowledge led him to undertake a journey into the East, in 
 1825, and he appears to have sunk under the fatigue of it : he 
 died suddenly whilst sitting upon his dromedary, in a moun- 
 tain-pass, called Ras Wady Hebran, about half way between 
 the Convent of St. Catherine and Tor, five miles north of 
 Mount Serbal. He was interred by a Greek Papas, in conse- 
 crated ground, near the Twelve Wells of Elim and the Palm 
 Grove. May this tribute of respect for the memory of a good 
 man survive the fleeting pages which contain it. 
 
XIV PREFACE. 
 
 sumed the nature of an establishment : it was 
 held in the Corea Palace, situated in the Via 
 Pontifice, close to the Mausoleum of Augustus. 
 The number of winter residents had now greatly- 
 augmented, the congregation consisting of not 
 less than 200 persons, and the assemblage of 
 equipages could not fail to attract the attention 
 of the public. 
 
 It was not long before a cry of alarm was 
 raised amidst these proceedings, and the infant 
 Institution again trembled for its existence. The 
 officiating ministers were accused of intemperate 
 zeal, a conference was held with an influential 
 personage, and a positive interference of the 
 executive power was now apprehended. This 
 led to the formation of a Committee, to be called 
 upon in case of necessity, to act in the name 
 and on the behalf of the English residents, there 
 being no diplomatic minister at the court of 
 Rome. But the policy and good sense of Car- 
 dinal Gonsalvi were proof against all weak re- 
 monstrances, and it was at length intimated to 
 the officiating ministers, that no obstacle would 
 be offered to their temperate proceedings. En- 
 
PREFACE. XV 
 
 couraged by this protection, Mr. Cooke, by 
 means of a public subscription, procured the 
 necessary appendages for a place of worship : 
 the church books could only be obtained through 
 the kindness of Mr. Hamilton, British minister 
 at Naples, a beadle was also appointed, with 
 authority to collect the subscriptions, and thus 
 the winter of 1822-3, may be regarded as the 
 commencement of the institution. 
 
 The attention of the Protestants resident at 
 Rome had already been directed to the waste- 
 ground allotted for burying their dead. Beyond 
 the Aventine Mount, and under the walls of the 
 city within, stood a few scattered tomb-stones, 
 exposed to the trampling of cattle grazing in the 
 Preta del Popolo, and to the still greater injury 
 of human footsteps. Decency seemed to require 
 that the graves which had just grown green, 
 should be secured from further encroachment, 
 and that the few monuments should not be al- 
 lowed to fall into ruins. A subscription to a 
 considerable amount was collected, for the pur- 
 pose of carrying the design into effect ; but 
 upon application to the competent authorities, it 
 
XVI PREFACE. 
 
 was alleged, that a wall would obstruct the view 
 of the pyramid of Caius Cestius ; and that the 
 trees, which the friends of the deceased loved 
 to plant round the tombs, had already begun 
 the mischief. This answer being received, and 
 no further hopes of success held out, the money 
 subscribed was returned to the original donors, 
 and the circumstance made an unfavourable im- 
 pression abroad, of the toleration of the Papal 
 Government. In a discussion of the catholic 
 claims in the House of Lords, a noble lord, an 
 opposer of those claims, was not slow to cite this 
 as a remarkable instance of Roman Catholic in- 
 tolerance. It is not clear that it was so ; but the 
 act of toleration in permitting the English ser- 
 vice which was evident, ought not to have been 
 passed over in silence : it, perhaps, might not 
 have been known. The discussion in the British 
 Senate was not, however, unheeded in the Va- 
 tican council ; for, during that very summer, 
 and entirely at the expense of the " Apostolic 
 Chamber," a sunk fence was dug round the old 
 burial-place ; another eligible spot of ground 
 beyond the Pyramid was surrounded by a solid 
 
PREFACE. XVn 
 
 wall, and henceforth assigned for the Protestant 
 cemetery. It only remained to secure and build 
 up the sunk fence, for which work permission 
 was now readily obtained, and the year following, 
 the English, in conjunction with the German 
 Protestants, not only secured the old burial- 
 ground, but also raised a fund of a thousand 
 dollars, which yields annually a sum sufficient to 
 keep the whole in repair, and procure the ser- 
 vices of a sexton. " The Senate and the Roman 
 people" have a prescriptive right over all that 
 ground about the Monte Testaccio, called the 
 Prata del Popolo ; a fee of about two pounds is, 
 therefore, demanded for every interment which 
 takes place. No one will be inclined to consider 
 this extravagant ; but the fine (amounting to an 
 equal sum) which is paid into the criminal court 
 of the Cardinal Vicar, awakens a different feeling, 
 and will, no doubt, be abolished, whenever the go- 
 vernment of Rome shall have leisure to attend to 
 minor abuses. In the mean time, the cemetery is 
 placed under the protection of the Prussian mi- 
 nister ; and those who have to lament the loss of 
 friends interred under the walls of Rome, may 
 
 a 
 
XVlll PREFACE. 
 
 at least have this poor consolation, that their 
 bones repose in a becoming security, and their 
 monuments excite a sympathetic sigh in the 
 breast of many a northern pilgrim^ ! 
 
 In the year following the grant of the new 
 burial-ground, the author had the great satis- 
 faction of again co-operating with Mr. Cooke, 
 in the service of the chapel : it was found im- 
 practicable to secure the same apartments for a 
 second season, the apprehension of giving offence 
 to the ecclesiastical authorities having not yet 
 been done away. The excellent Pius VII. was 
 now no more, and Leo XII. had only appeared as 
 a disciplinarian. After the two first Sundays of 
 the season, the term in the Corea Palace expired, 
 and the congregation of 1823-4, seemed to be dis- 
 possessed of all its former privileges. But the pre- 
 cedent having been established, should another 
 situation be to be found in any part of Rome, it 
 could not be thought a more rash experiment 
 than the former had been, were it put in the 
 
 ' Two English poets are interred in the Old and New 
 Burial-grounds respectively. John Keats and Bysshe Percy 
 Shelley : the ashes of the latter were sent by his poetical 
 friends from the gulf of Spezia. 
 
PREFACE. XIX 
 
 same requisition. After some difficulty, two 
 commodious rooms were procured in the Via 
 Rasella, a street which lies nearly under the 
 garden-wall of the Quirinal Palace, the occa- 
 sional residence of the Pope. The adopting of 
 this situation will appear nothing extraordinary 
 to those who are acquainted with Rome : and if 
 the new government had been capable of taking 
 offence at a meeting of heretics, because it had 
 approached so near the precincts of the Papal 
 gardens, it would equally have discovered the 
 blemish upon the " holy city" in a more remote 
 " rione;" but Leo XII., whose wisdom as a 
 sovereign has been too little appreciated, and 
 his piety too much disparaged, reasoned like a 
 statesman. " It is much better," said the Holy 
 Father, " to permit the continuance of this as- 
 sembly ; for, if it be prohibited, the English 
 cannot be prevented from meeting in small num- 
 bers at their own private abodes, and thus, instead 
 of one such congregation, we shall have twenty." 
 It had not, probably, escaped the notice of Leo 
 XII., that the English chapel had not yet shared 
 in those wholesome regulations which were in- 
 
 a 2 
 
XX PREFACE. 
 
 troduced by him, for preserving the internal 
 order of the city. The weekly assemblage of 
 carriages at a stated time and place, could not 
 fail to attract the curiosity of the Roman people, 
 which the presence of a police-officer might 
 easily restrain. Without any application on the 
 part of the officiating clergyman, and without 
 any previous intimation from any quarter, Mr. 
 Cooke and the author were not more surprised 
 than rejoiced to find, upon arriving to perform 
 the morning service, two sentinels stationed at 
 the chapel door. The carriages had all disap- 
 peared from their usual rendezvous, in conse- 
 quence of a general order of the police : a more 
 than common silence pervading the neighbour- 
 hood of the Via Rasella, it was now evident the 
 authorities had at length interfered ; but they in- 
 terfered for the protection of the English congre- 
 gation. To Pope Leo XII. then they are in- 
 debted for this great privilege, which may be said 
 to have thus received his sanction in January 
 1824. Thus encouraged, and being assured 
 from a private communication, that it was the 
 intention of the government to allow the English 
 
PREFACE. XXI 
 
 the free exercise of their worship, the officiating 
 ministers now performed Divine service in their 
 canonical robes. The propriety of making some 
 suitable return for this privilege was next sug- 
 gested, and hence the origin of the charitable 
 fund, which will be mentioned in the sequel. 
 
 The spiritual duties of the chapel were gra- 
 tuitously discharged, and all clergymen of the 
 Established Church, who happened to be at 
 Rome, were invited to contribute their services : 
 the rent of the apartment and incidental expenses 
 were supplied by voluntary subscription, the 
 administration of which fund gradually became 
 the business of the committee, which had been 
 originally formed for the purposes before men- 
 tioned. The author cannot let pass this oppor- 
 tunity of acknowledging the important and con- 
 tinued exertions of the Marquess of Northampton, 
 and the laudable services of Dr. James Clarke, 
 (author of the " Influence of Climate," &c.) 
 during his long residence in Rome, 
 
 The number of British travellers in Italy in- 
 creased so greatly, that the rooms in the Via 
 
XXll PREFACE. 
 
 Rasella were far from being sufficiently large for 
 the Protestant Anglo-Roman congregation, nor 
 was their site one of the most convenient. Accord- 
 ingly, in the year 1824-25, the committee exerted 
 itself to find a place at once more appropriate and 
 more permanent : it was desirable to fix the wan- 
 dering congregation, which had now almost made 
 the circuit of the Campus Martius. During the 
 first few weeks of the season, the anxiety of former 
 years was renewed ; but at length, after diligent 
 inquiry, the capacity of a chapel was discovered 
 in a large granary near the Porta del Popolo : it 
 became expedient to have a lease of a building 
 which must needs be fitted up at a considerable 
 expense, before it could answer the purpose. 
 The income, however necessary for defraying the 
 yearly rent, depending on the contingency of 
 future congregations, there were no funds to 
 answer any engagement beyond the year. The 
 committee was relieved from this embarrassment 
 by the generous and patriotic offer of a distin- 
 guished statesman, who guaranteed the payment 
 of the rent for three years in case of the English 
 
PREFACE. XXlll 
 
 ceasing, from any unforeseen cause, during that 
 period, to resort to Rome. The institution was 
 not less indebted on that occasion to the profes- 
 sional services of the Rev. J. Hugh Rose. 
 
 It has been supposed by many, that the chapel 
 was removed without the walls of the city at the 
 instance of the civil authorities, which is an 
 erroneous notion, and ought in justice to be 
 corrected. The government approved of the 
 situation, but the committee were not con- 
 trolled in choice of it. Indeed, it would have 
 been hardly possible to have procured, within 
 the city walls, a room sufficiently commodious, 
 and in every other respect so convenient for the 
 large congregation, which is now to be seen in 
 the English chapel, upon which, at different 
 periods, not less than a sum of £250 has been 
 expended in bringing it to its present form. The 
 author has witnessed as many as five hundred 
 and fifty persons within its walls ; and those 
 who have seen it since the year 1829, will agree 
 that there is nothing wanting in it for all the 
 purposes of a Church of England congregation. 
 During the two succeeding winters the duties 
 
XXIV PREFACE. 
 
 of the chapel were discharged, as before, by 
 the gratuitous services of clergymen casually 
 resident at Rome ; but in the year 1827, the 
 committee decided to ensure the performance 
 of the regular duty by erecting it into a chap- 
 laincy, their finances enabling them to offer a 
 salary of 100/. per annum. 
 
 In considering the happy influence gradually 
 effected in the minds of the common people by 
 the growth of this institution, the charitable 
 fund already alluded to is an important feature. 
 It consisted at first of the alms collected at the 
 holy communion, which, in the former seasons, 
 amounted to a comparatively small sum. In Mr. 
 Cooke's first year, the sum total w^as about 150 
 dollars, it increased every succeeding season, 
 together with the number of communicants, until 
 it reached, in the year, 1826 and 1827, the sum 
 of 100/. Cases of distressed British subjects 
 being very rare at Rome, the whole of this 
 fund was applied to the relief of the Italian 
 paupers ; in 1827 and 1828, it grew into still 
 greater importance. 
 
 The number of applicants, as may be easily 
 10 
 
PREFACE. XXV 
 
 imagined, was by far too heavy for the funds : 
 about 200 names were already inscribed in the 
 list, which reduced the monthly relief to a very 
 small pittance, so that, without either diminish- 
 ing the number of pensioners, or increasing the 
 funds for a more generous relief of the whole, 
 the charity was in danger of promoting mendi- 
 city, rather than adapted to the effectual succour 
 of the deserving indigent, and the encourage- 
 ment of honest industry. It was only necessary 
 to make the circumstances known to decide 
 upon the alternative. The chaplain had recourse 
 to the means of a charity sermon, which was 
 preached on the 30th of March, 1828, and was 
 the cause of nearly 120Z. being added to the 
 stock. The alms collected at the altar were 
 proportionally increased, so that in the course 
 of this season about 1200 dollars (270/.) was 
 distributed in monthly relief : and this, inde- 
 pendently of private donations, in some special 
 cases, which did not appear upon the charity 
 books. The rumour of English munificence 
 now ran through the habitations of misery, the 
 Parish priests were assailed for their ojfficial sig- 
 
XXVI PREFACE. 
 
 natures to the numerous petitions, which set 
 forth, in all the varied eloquence of the Italian 
 language, the miseries of poverty and disease. 
 The successful candidates extolled too highly the 
 " almsgiving nation," and gave the less fortu- 
 nate false notions of its eleemosynary deeds. 
 The rule to be observed by the administrators 
 of the funds was simple. It was to calculate 
 how many families might be eflPectually relieved 
 during the winter months, and then make the 
 selection from such recommendations and know- 
 ledge of the cases, as made out the best title to 
 their consideration, the names already on the 
 list having of course the first claim to investi- 
 gation ; but since written recommendations were 
 sometimes too easily procured, the chaplain, 
 whose business it had now become to dispense 
 the charity of his congregation, could hardly 
 discharge the duty conscientiously without a 
 personal verification of the varied pretensions, 
 to accomplish which task it was necessary to 
 visit one hundred and fifty abodes of poverty. 
 In this manner the charity books were made 
 conformable to the increased resources, and by 
 
PREFACE. XXVll 
 
 a careful distribution, the whole was adequate to 
 the relief of about two hundred and thirty fami- 
 lies. This may suffice, without entering into 
 " the annals of the poor," or the affecting nar- 
 ratives of decayed nobility, to give the reader an 
 idea of the nature and extent of British charity 
 at Rome. Let him not say that it " begins at 
 home;" for this will not add one gift more to 
 the domestic " treasury," and it might take one 
 from the " poveri vergognosi :" let him lament 
 (if it seems reasonable) the temporary absence 
 of his fellow-citizens ; but if the Samaritan does 
 *' journey in the wilderness," it is better not to 
 imitate the priest and the levite : and if it be 
 expedient for a strange community, enjoying the 
 advantages of a foreign country, and receiving 
 the hospitable protection of its government, to 
 make any return, there can be none more suit- 
 able than when partaking of the local privileges, 
 to share proportionally the burden of alleviating 
 the local distresses. 
 
 In the year 1828-29, the sum-total of the 
 charity-fund fell a little short of the preceding 
 
XXVIU PREFACE. 
 
 year, and since that period it has, from unavoid- 
 able circumstances, decreased, nor can it ever 
 be expected to exceed the year of the first cha- 
 rity sermon, if even it ever reaches an equal 
 amount. But it has already procured the only 
 recompense which was at all desirable for a Pro- 
 testant congregation — a number of grateful souls 
 have come to the conclusion, that the English 
 must really be Christians ; nor is it one of the 
 least remarkable things, that the Jews should be 
 admitted to a share of this charity. A learned 
 rabbi, encouraged by the impartial benevolence 
 of the English congregation, represented to the 
 author the misery and poverty of the Ghetto, and 
 wondered whether the despised Jews could ever 
 find a drop of pity in the breast of a Christian. 
 Upon being told, that in the dispensing of the 
 English charity there was no distinction of per- 
 sons, and that the superior claim only came from 
 the greater weight of misery, the Israelite re- 
 joiced, and considered the sum of five pounds 
 given during the week of the Passover as an 
 ample confirmation of '' the good report :" this 
 
PREFACE. XXIX 
 
 was repeated in subsequent years, and the Eng- 
 lish bounty was dispensed, in unleavened bread, 
 through the squalid habitations of this unprivi- 
 leged people. 
 
 If the incidents here related appear trifling, 
 the result is at least extraordinary — a Protestant 
 cemetery, a Church of England service, and a 
 charitable fund, dispensed at a reformed altar, 
 to the devoted subjects of the " Sovereign Pon- 
 tiff"." 
 
 Those who are curious about the signs of the 
 times, will easily admit these into the number ; 
 but the philosophical reader, who has contem- 
 plated the spirit of a Hildebrand, or even the 
 precocious tolerance of a Ganganelli, will rather 
 see in it this maxim, that neither kings nor 
 priests have power against the general opinion 
 of mankind : concession to that opinion may be 
 mere expediency, whilst the principle of opposi- 
 tion to it remains the same ; but such expediency 
 is, in matters of state-policy, wisdom ; and, in 
 religion, becomes — toleration. The object of this 
 memoir is to acknowledge the latter in four suc- 
 cessive pontiffs of Rome. Under these impres- 
 
XXX PREFACE. 
 
 sions, the author will not run the risk of offend- 
 ing either Rome or her " partisans." He will 
 only express a hope, that the emulation which 
 has been excited in the vicinity of the English 
 congregation, may never go beyond the only 
 legitimate means of opposition, viz. argument 
 and persuasion : nor will it, on the other hand, 
 ever be expected to restrain the weaker portion 
 of a community from gratifying an innocent cu- 
 riosity. 
 
 The subject of the First Series of the follow- 
 ing Lectures, was chosen from its appropriation 
 to the season of Advent : the latter Series seem- 
 ed a proper continuation of the argument. They 
 were written with very little aid except the au- 
 thor's common-place book, and, in many in- 
 stances, he was at a loss how to acknowledge 
 the source of his information. The notes and 
 illustrations were subsequently added. A desire 
 to preserve the Lectures as they were preached, 
 has caused them to be presented in a more im- 
 perfect form than they might have been, had 
 they been originally written for publication. 
 About fifty persons of the audience declared 
 7 
 
PREFACE. XXXI 
 
 they had received instruction from hearing, and 
 on that account desired to possess them : and 
 hoping that by the blessing of God, fifty more 
 might derive benefit from their perusal, the 
 Author determined to commit them to the press, 
 well persuaded, that the chance of drawing the 
 attention of one hundred persons, in the present 
 day, to the things which belong to their peace, 
 would require no apology. 
 
 Chatelaine, near Geneva, Feb. Wth, 1832. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 FIRST SERIES. 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 THE ATTAINMENTS IN PHILOSOPHY INADEQUATE TO THE RIGHT 
 KNOWLEDGE AND WORSHIP OF THE DEITY. 
 
 Men are forgetful of common Blessings, page, 1 — 3 — How this 
 subject should be treated, p. 4, 5 — Division of the Lectures, p. 6 — The 
 existence of a God, p. 7, 8 — Ancient Philosophers, p. 9 — Atheism of 
 Pagan Philosophers, p. 10, 11 — Opinions of Socrates, p. 12 — System 
 of Plato and Aristotle, p. 13 — Plato borrowed from Moses, p. 14, 15 
 — The Platonic Trinity, p. 16 — Aristotle's Doctrine of a Providence, 
 p. 17.— Aristotle's Doctrine of a Trinity, p. 18, 19 — Conclusions in 
 unrevealed Religion, p. 20 — Idolatry of Aristotle, p. 21, 22 — Insuf- 
 ficiency of Human Philosophy, p. 23 — Heathen Doctrines have no 
 Moral Influence, p. 24, 25 — Reasons of this Tendency, p. 26 — 28 
 — Scripture Attributes of the Deity, p. 29, 30. — Object and Nature 
 of Christian Worship, p. 31, 32. 
 
 LECTURE IL 
 
 HEATHEN MORALITY, ITS PRINCIPLES AND FINAL RESULTS. 
 
 Virtue in the Law of Nature, p. 34 — Virtue only secured by 
 Principle, p. 35 — Evil of defective Knowledge, p. 36— St. Paul's 
 Law of Nature, p. 37 — St. Paul's View of the Law of Nature, p. 38 
 — General Propositions, p. 39— Moral Precepts of the old Philoso- 
 phers, p. 40, 41 — Unsoundness of their Doctrines, p. 42 — Plato 
 
 b 
 
XXXIV CONTENTS. 
 
 teaches Immorality, p. 43, 44 — The Virtue of Stoics, p. 45 — The 
 Epicurean School, p. 46 — Selfish Motives of Private Virtues, 47 — 
 Great Operation of Christian Doctrine, p. 48, 49 — Moral Influence 
 the Gospel, p. 50, 51 — Consolation derived more from Motive than 
 from Actions, p. 52, 53 — Christian Piety triumphant, p. 54 — Con- 
 clusion to be deduced, p. 55. 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE ANCIENT PHILOSOPHERS AND THEIR 
 DOCTRINE OF FUTURE REWARDS AND PUNISHMENTS, COM- 
 PARED WITH THE REVEALED IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 
 
 The Gospel alone reveals a Future State, p. 58 — Misery con- 
 nected with Ignorance, p. 59 — Various Opinions concerning the 
 Nature of the Soul, p. 61 — Doctrines of Pythagoras, p. 62, 63 — A 
 future State imperfectly discerned by the Heathen, p. 64, 65 — 
 Doctrines of the Pythagorean School, p. 66, 67 — The Philosophers 
 and the Multitude, p. 68, 69 — That which is revealed, p. 70 — The 
 Separate State of the Soul, p. 71 — St. Paul's Method of Comforting 
 the Thessalonians, 72, 73 — St. Paul's Authority Umited, p. 74, 75 
 — Curiosity left unsatisfied, p. 76 — Mischief of Credulity, p. 77 — 
 General Resurrection revealed, p. 78, 79 — Practical Conclusion and 
 Consolation to be derived, p. 80, 81. 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 THE STATE OF RELIGION AMONG THE JEWS PREVIOUS TO THE 
 COMING OF CHRIST. 
 
 Responsibility of the Jews, p. 83 — The Advantages of the Jews, 
 p. 84, 85 — Their Idolatry and Depravity, p. 86 — Origin of the 
 Jewish Sects, p. 87— The Pharisees, p. 88, 89 — Pythagorean No- 
 tions, &c. p. 90— The Souls of the Dead, p. 91, 92— Fatalism of 
 the Stoics, p. 93 — Evil of Traditions, p. 94 — Perversion of Scrip- 
 ture by the Pharisees, p. 95, 96. — Pharisaical Hypocrisy, p. 97 — 
 Pharisaical Hypocrisy and Wicked Practices, p. 98, 99 — The Scribes 
 and Lawyers, p. 100 — The Sadducees — Epicurean Deists, p. 101 — 
 
("ONTENTS. XXXV 
 
 Origin of the Modern Karaites, p. 102, 103 — The Essenes — Refined 
 Pharisees, p. 104 — Egyptian Theology, p. 105 — Two Classes of the 
 Essenes, p. 106, 107 — The Herodians and the Galileans, p. 108 — 
 The Samaritans, p. 109 — Need of a Saviour apparent, p. 110. — 
 Inestimable Value of Revelation, p. Ill — Conclusion, p. 112. 
 
 SECOND SERIES. 
 
 ON THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY AND THE 
 PRIMITIVE CHURCHES, PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL 
 DURING THE APOSTOLIC AGE. 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FIRST CHRISTIAN CHURCH AT 
 JERUSALEM, AND THE SUBSEQUENT DISPERSION OF THE 
 DISCIPLES, IN CONSEQUENCE OF THE MARTYRDOM OF ST. 
 STEPHEN. 
 
 The earhest Eflfects of Christianity, p. 115 — Christ's Church to be 
 viewed spiritually, p. 1 16, 117 — Preliminary observations, p. 1 18 — 
 The Christian Church at Jerusalem, p. 119, 120 — Principles ofapos- 
 tohc Doctrine, p 121,122 — The Communion of the Saints, p. 123,124 
 — Scripture the only infallible Authority, p. 125, 126 — The Eucharist, 
 p. 127 — The Visible Church, p. 128, 129 — Rapid Increase of the 
 Primitive Believers, p. 130, 131 — Institution of the Seven Deacons, 
 p. 132 — St. Stephen the Proto-Martyr, p. 133 — Dispersion of the 
 Church, p 134 — Extension of the Church, p. 135 — First Persecu- 
 tion terminated, p. 136 — Caligula afflicts the Jews, p. 137 — The 
 Holy Cathohc Church, p. 138— Standard of Faith, p. 139— The 
 Genuine Influence of Christian Doctrine, p. 140, 141 — The Duties 
 and responsibihty of enlightened Nations, p. 142 — 144. 
 
 b2 
 
XXXVl CONTENTS. 
 
 LECTURE II. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH FROM THE ENDING OF THE FIRST 
 PERSECUTION [a. D. 39] TO THE APOSTOLIC COUNCIL HELD AT 
 JERUSALEM IN THE YEAR 49, INCLUDING THE OPENING OF 
 THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN TO THE GENTILES BY ST. PETER. 
 
 Agency of the Holy Spirit, p. 146 — The caUing of the Gentiles 
 by the mouth of St. Peter, p 147, 148— St Peter, his Name and Pri- 
 vileges, p. 149 — The Church built upon Christthe Rock, p. 150, 151 — 
 Christ istheRock, p. 152 — The Keys committed to Peter, p. 153, 154 
 — Peter's Fidelity, p. 155 — The Gospel preached to the Heathen, 
 p. 15d, 157— Christ's Charge to Peter, p. 158, 159— The Pastoral 
 Charge and Travels of Peter, p. 160-1 — His latter End, p. 162— Au- 
 thority of the Apostles, p. 163 — The Power of binding and loosing 
 exercised by the Apostles, p. 164 — 167 — The true Foundation of 
 Christ's Church and Kingdom, p. 168, I69 — Joy in its Extension, 
 p. 170. 
 
 LECTURE HI. 
 
 ON THE LABOURS OF PAUL AND BARNABAS, OR THE FIRST SPREAD 
 OF CHRISTIANITY AMONG THE HEATHEN NATIONS. 
 
 Subserviency of secondary Causes, p. 172 — Personal superiority of 
 Saul, a native of Cilicia, p. 173, 174 — His Education and Pharisaical 
 Zeal, p. 175, 176— The Effects of Conversion, p. 177— 179— The In- 
 spired Apostle appears at Jerusalem, p. 180, 181 — His Preparation 
 for the Ministr)', p. 182 — ^The Name and Qualities of the first Christ- 
 ians, p. 183, 184 — The Apostles teach all Nations, p. 185 — 187 — 
 Paul and Barnabas at Antioch, p. 188 — The first Mission to the 
 Gentiles, p. 189— 191— The EfFects of Preaching, p. 192, 193— 
 Antioch the Mother Church of the Gentiles, p. 194, 195 — HumanNa- 
 ture and Divine Grace always in the same Relation, p. I96, 197 — 
 Sovereignty of Di\dne Grace and Man's Responsil^ihty, p. 19S, 199 — 
 The Scripture Alternative, p. 200, 201 — Effects of Divine Grace from 
 the examples on record, p. 202, 203 — Trials for Spiritual Improvement 
 to be expected, p. 204, 205. 
 
CONTENTS. XXXVU 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 ON THE LABOURS OF PAUL AND SILAS. PAUl's SECOND JOURNEY 
 INTO ASIA AND THROUGH MACEDONIA, GREECE, &C., UNTIL HIS 
 VISIT TO JERUSALEM. [a. D. 50 tO 60.] 
 
 Moral Influence of Christianity, p. 207, 208 — Religious Conten- 
 tion to be avoided, p. 209, 210 — The Blessings of Religious Educa- 
 tion, p. 211, 212 — The Fore-knowledge of God, 213 — Paul and Silas 
 at Philippi, p. 214 — and at Thessalonica, p. 215 — The Fellow-la- 
 bourers separate, p. 216, 217 — The Epistles to the Thessalonians, 
 p. 218 — Paul Preaches at Athens, p. 219, 220 — Dionysius the Areo- 
 pagite, p. 221 — Paul's Residence at Corinth, p. 222, 223 — The Na- 
 zaritish Vow, p. 224 — Apostolic Zeal and Labour, p. 225 — Tumult 
 at Ephesus, p. 226 — St. Paul at Miletus, p. 227 — His farewell, a 
 proof of his integrity, and a model for Spiritual Pastors, p. 228, 
 229 — The Epistle to the Galatians, p. 230 — Judaizing Christians, 
 p. 231— The Doctrine of Justification not of Works, p. 232, 233 
 — Faith alone justifies, p 234 — Good Works follow Faith, p. 235, 
 236 — Application of the subject, p. 237, 238. 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 ST. Paul's visit to Jerusalem, after his labours in the 
 
 EAST, INCLUDING A REVIEW OF THE CHURCHES, AND THE 
 REST OF HIS ACTS UNTIL HIS DEPARTURE FOR ROME. 
 
 The Truth of Prophecy exemplified in the Events, p. 240, 241 
 — Christianity spread over the whole Roman Empire, p. 242, 243 — 
 The Church at Babylon, p. 244, 245 — Remote Vestiges of Christ- 
 ianity, p. 246 — St. Paul's Voyage towards Palestine, p. 247 — At 
 Cesarea, he tarries with Philip, p. 248 — The trying Prophecy of 
 Agabus, p. 249 — Lessons of Christian Piety for our Instruction, 
 p. 250 — 252 — Awful condition of Jerusalem, p. 253 — St. Paul 
 in Danger of his Life, p. 254 — Adopts the Jewish customs, 
 p. 255 — Tumult raised by the Jews at Jerusalem, p. 256 — 259 — 
 
XXXVlll CONTENTS. 
 
 Paul brought before Felix, p. 260 — Arrival of Festus at Cesarea, 
 p. 261 — Paul's conduct secures him respect, p. 262 — Character of 
 St. James the Less, p. 263, 264 — His Martyrdom, p. 265 — The last 
 days of the Holy City, p. 266 — Warnings and Exhortations, p. 267, 
 268 — Similar effects of Preaching, p. 269 — A Criterion of the true 
 Doctrine, and of its reception, p. 2/0, 2/1. 
 
 LECTURE VL 
 
 ST. Paul's voyage to italy — the state of Christianity on 
 
 HIS ARRIVAL AT ROME [a. D. 62.] THE REST OF THE ACTS 
 
 CONCLUDING OBSERVATIONS. 
 
 Active zeal in any cause a mark of sincerity, p. 273, 274 — The 
 Apostle's zeal ratified, p. 275 — The Power of God's Truth, p. 276 
 St. Paul's Departure, p. 277 — His Voyage to Italy, p. 278 — Pre- 
 destination consistent with human actions, p. 279 — Island of Malta, 
 p. 280 — Christian Meeting on the Via Appia, p. 281, 282 — Paul's 
 Arrival at Rome, p. 283 — State of Christianity at Rome, p. 284 — 286 
 — Believers of Distinction, p. 287 — Paul caUs the Leaders of the 
 Jews together, p. 288, 289 — The Apostohc Writings, p. 290 — The 
 Colossians and Laodiceans, p. 291 — The Epistle to the Hebrews, 
 p. 292, 293 — ^The sedentary Labours and extensive Journeyings of 
 Paul, p. 294 — 297 — The First Apostacy in Asia, p. 298 — Paul's se- 
 cond Imprisonment, p. 299 — His undaunted Testimony, p. 300 — 
 The dying Christian, p. 301 — The palm of Martyrdom, p. 302 — 
 Cruelty of Nero towards the Christians, p. 303 — 305 — Early Cor- 
 ruptions of Christianity, p. 306 — Scripture alone Infallible, p. 307 
 — Conclusion, p. 308. 
 
FIRST SERIES. 
 
LECTURE I. 
 
 THE ATTAINMENTS IN PHILOSOPHY INADEQUATE 
 TO THE RIGHT KNOWLEDGE AND WORSHIP OF 
 THE DEITY. 
 
 Romans i. 20 — 23. 
 
 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world 
 are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are 
 made, even his eternal porver and godhead; so that they are 
 rvithout excuse : because that when they knew God, they glo- 
 rified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain 
 in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 
 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and 
 changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image 
 made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four-footed 
 beasts, and creeping things. 
 
 It is perhaps the misfortune rather than the 
 fault of human nature, that when men have 
 been long in possession of a great and inestimable 
 blessing, especially when they have never en- 
 dured the risk of losing it, they grow insensible 
 to its value, and receiving it as a matter of 
 
 B 
 
2 MEN ARE FORGETFUL [lECT. 
 
 course, neglect to acknowledge the source from 
 whence It proceeds. A reflecting mmd, indeed, 
 will often arrive at a proper estimate of a privi- 
 lege by computing what its condition would 
 probably be without it : sometimes by observ- 
 ing and comparing the hard lot of others we 
 may learn to appreciate our own happiness ; and 
 the misfortunes of some frequently become the 
 means of awakening in others a grateful sense of 
 their exemption from them. The man whose 
 riches protect him from want, might never 
 reflect upon the favours of Providence, did he not 
 sometimes contemplate the many thousands who 
 wander upon the earth destitute and hungry : 
 the constitution which is in the enjoyment of 
 perfect health, might feel no cause for thankful- 
 ness, did not many a son and daughter of afilic- 
 tion languish before it in grief and pain ; and 
 even the light of heaven would scarcely be 
 esteemed a blessing, were it not for the alterna- 
 tion of darkness. But however obvious this 
 method of comparing our moral advantages 
 may appear, it is practised by a very small 
 portion of mankind, and it generally happens 
 that they who possess such advantages in a 
 high degree, have less of that feeling of gratitude 
 which really ought to be inspired. Now if this 
 be true of ' ' the things which are seen and tem- 
 poral," it is much more so of " the things that 
 
I.] OF COMMON BLESSINGS. 3 
 
 are eternal.' If there be so few who reflect 
 upon their moral condition, in order to recog- 
 nise and acknowledge the favours of Providence, 
 much fewer are they who ever bestow a thought 
 upon the blessings which result from their reli- 
 gious light and knowledge. The Gospel, which 
 like the sun in the natural world, is a fixed body 
 of light in the spiritual system, shines continu- 
 ally upon us ; but in our favoured country we 
 scarcely have the alternative of darkness to make 
 us sensible of the value of the light. We lie 
 down to rest, and we awake, without glorifying 
 God for this, and without being thankful ; or, 
 perhaps, following too closely the heathen of 
 whom the apostle speaks, we become vain in 
 our own imaginations, and our foolish heart is 
 darkened. But does this superior religious know- 
 ledge, in its general diffusion, exist among us ? 
 I suppose we are glad to lay claim to this national 
 distinction. The foundation of all our prosperity 
 as a people must be laid in something ; the invi- 
 sible influence which acts upon our social system, 
 and makes us prosper, not for our virtues, but in 
 spite of our vices, must be recognised in some- 
 thing : now I would place it in the influence, 
 more or less remote, which Christianity still 
 exercises over our land, so that I would say, it 
 is to the revelation of Jesus Christ that we owe 
 all that we have as men, and all that we are as 
 
 B 2 
 
4 HOW THIS SUBJECT [LECT. 
 
 candidates for a better world. Already T think 
 I hear the cold believer say, "perhaps," and 
 the philosopher whisper, " I doubt it." One I 
 know will talk of civilization ; another of civil 
 institutions and religious liberty ; a third of the 
 progress of human intellect ; and in short, 
 will link together a number of causes, just to 
 divert the mind, if it were possible, from the 
 grand cause ; but I have still to afhrm, my 
 brethren, that without being indebted to any 
 philosophy or civilization, whatever light and 
 knowledge we possess, which at all can affect 
 our probationary condition, this we owe entirely 
 to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Is 
 there any one who doubts it ? Is there any one 
 who has given the fact so little consideration, 
 that he hath hitherto omitted to appreciate duly 
 the blessings of Divine revelation ? Then is the 
 subject of these Lectures more especially adapted 
 for him ; for it is my intention to endeavour to 
 enhance the blessings of the Gospel light, by 
 showing, in some measure, what men have been 
 and are without it. I propose to inquire into 
 the degree of light and knowledge in religious 
 matters, which unassisted reason may attain to, 
 as exemplified in the case of the heathen phi- 
 losophers. I propose still further to inquire 
 into the state of religion among the Jews, 
 previous to the coming of Christ : the whole 
 
I.] SHOULD BE TREATED. 5 
 
 tending to show the expediency and the neces- 
 sity of a Divine revelation. In prosecuting these 
 inquiries, we are not to forget the apostolic in- 
 junction about giving heed to "fables and 
 endless genealogies, which minister questions 
 rather than godly edifying, which is in faith;" 
 I shall therefore avoid all those subtle refine- 
 ments, in which the strength of reason becomes 
 entangled as in a net, so that a word out of the 
 mouth of babes and sucklings may lead the 
 humbled giant captive. On the other hand, we 
 are not to be scared by the loud but unmeaning- 
 cry of some who would descant on the danger and 
 inutility of stepping out of the ordinary line of 
 pulpit instruction : on the contrary, as our Gos- 
 pel is able to stand the test of the most critical ex- 
 amination, and only acquires greater lustre by 
 comparing it with the dimness which will be 
 found over all other systems of religion, it be- 
 comes our duty, as the means of inquiry and 
 the capacity of our audience extend, to follow 
 that other positive injunction of the Apostle — 
 " Prove all things, hold fast that which is good :" 
 and if by a review of what the human mind has 
 been able to attain unto, in matters of religion, 
 unaided by the light of revelation, we can con- 
 vince ourselves, that so far under similar cir- 
 cumstances we might have gone and no farther, 
 then surely we shall be led to acknowledge the 
 
6 DIVISION OF THE LECTURES. [lECT . 
 
 grand source whence we have derived our su- 
 perior knowledge, and consequently adore that 
 " Saviour who hath brought life and immortality 
 to light by means of the Gospel." Then bre- 
 thren, the most sceptical and learned amongst 
 you will not be able to accuse us of demanding 
 your assent blindly to things of which we have 
 never proved to you the excellence, nor of dis- 
 missing from your faith the proper use of that 
 reason and discrimination with which it has 
 pleased God to endue you. 
 
 I propose to treat the subject which I have 
 chosen for this and the three succeeding Sun- 
 days, in the following order : — On the present 
 occasion, I shall examine what was the degree 
 of light and knowledge to which the ancient 
 philosophers attained ; and, consequently, to 
 which we might expect under like circum- 
 stances to attain, with regard to the nature of 
 the Supreme Being, and a Divine Providence 
 in human affairs, which is, strictly speaking, 
 their Theology. 
 
 My second endeavour shall be to point out 
 what they discovered as a system of relative and 
 social duties : upon what principle the practice 
 of virtue was generally inculcated : and how 
 their moral lessons operated in the good of the 
 community : and this will be to examine into 
 their system of Mtldcs. 
 
I.] THE EXISTENCE OF A GOD. 7 
 
 In the third place, I shall attempt to inves- 
 tigate their notions of the nature and faculties 
 of the soul : what they believed of its origin, 
 and immortality, and how they viewed rewards 
 and punishments in a world to come : and this 
 we may call their Metaphysics^ . 
 
 In my fourth Lecture, I propose to consider 
 how all these things were understood in the 
 Jewish state, previous to the coming of Christ, 
 and throughout the whole, continually to place 
 the result of our enquiries in the light of God's 
 word, so that the truth may appear manifest to 
 every sound and unprejudiced mind. 
 
 There are some men who, in order to insinuate 
 that revealed religion is so pure a matter of faith 
 that no reason is admissible in it, delight to assert 
 that the Scriptures alone prove the existence 
 of a God, and this they say, not to do homage 
 to the revealed word, but to set all reason at a 
 distance from it, as two things contrary to one 
 another. If they would say, that only in the 
 Scriptures do we find the nature and character 
 of the true God, and that although reason has 
 gone far in establishing the truth, " that there 
 is a God," it never could discover His nature and 
 attributes, they would argue rightly ; because 
 
 ' This is not the division which the Stoics and some other 
 sects made of their philosophy, but it will serve for our present 
 pui-pose. 
 
8 THE EXISTENCE OF A GOD. [lECT. 
 
 natural religion discovers the truth, that there is 
 a Supreme Governor of the universe, but only 
 revealed relig-ion teaches us the nature of the 
 Godhead and his relation to his intelligent cre- 
 ation ^ St. Paul, you see, assumes this very 
 position. The invisible things of him (that is to 
 say, nothing less than His eternal power and 
 divinity,) are clearly understood, and have been 
 so ever since the world was made, from the 
 visible works of creation ; so that if ever there 
 had been no written revelation, this great truth 
 would have been impressed on the natural mind, 
 insomuch that as far as this article of faith goes, 
 it stands revealed in the very visible creation. 
 The fact here assumed, as well as the charge 
 which St. Paul brings against the perverters of 
 this article of natural religion, will easily be 
 made apparent ; for we are enabled to show, 
 from the light and knowledge attained by some 
 heathen philosophers, that they really did under- 
 stand the eternal power and Godhead from the 
 visible works of His hands ; but this was their 
 condemnation, " that when they knew God, they 
 glorified him not as God, neither were thankful ; 
 
 ^ Since this sentence was written, I have found the same 
 idea more concisely expressed by a learned prelate : " The 
 power and majesty of God are recorded in the volume of 
 nature ; his will and mercy in the volume of revelation." — 
 Sermon at the opening of King's College, Sfc. p. 21. 
 
r.] ANCIENT PHILOSOPHERS. 9 
 
 but became vain in their imaginations, and their 
 foohsh heart was darkened." 
 
 Among the ancient philosophers, the names of 
 Socrates, Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, Demo- 
 critus, Zeno, Epicurus, stand pre-eminently dis- 
 tinguished : in their gigantic minds are concen- 
 trated all the contemplative efforts of unassisted 
 reason ^ ; each of them formed as it were a 
 dominion of his own, and exercised therein a 
 despotic sway over the human intellect. And 
 if a proof of the divine origin of Christianity 
 were required, it would have been enough to 
 have witnessed this mental despotism dissolve 
 before the unpretending and simple discourses 
 of a few unlettered fishermen : it would have 
 been enough to have seen the controversy of 
 corporeal and incorporeal substances set at rest, 
 and out of the chaos of an atomical physiology 
 and the doctrine of incorporeal s, a new world of 
 light arise in all the simplicity of truth and the 
 confidence of universal dominion. 
 
 If we pursue our inquiries beyond the ages of 
 
 ' In comparing the inferior attainments of the Greek philo- 
 sophers in science with their success in metaphysics, Mr. 
 Herschel remarks, " we are struck with their powers of acute 
 and subtle disputation, their extraordinary success in abstract 
 reasoning, and intimate familiarity with subjects purely in- 
 tellectual." Discourse on the Study of Natural Philosophy, 
 p. 105. 
 
10 ATHEISM OF PAGAN PHILOSOPHERS. [lECT. 
 
 the Greek philosophers, we shall find that it did 
 not require their wisdom to estahlish the truth, 
 that there is one intelligent Supreme Being, 
 self-existent, and distinct from all created and 
 visible objects ; but on the contrary, it was their 
 meddling with this grand truth, stamped on the 
 soul of man \ which caused them, and the world 
 after them to err, and, finally, to "to walk in 
 darkness and the shadow of death." For it would 
 be easy to trace the doctrine of the unity and 
 self-existence of God, that is. His eternal power 
 and Godhead, in every nation of the earth ; so 
 that, as St. Paul saith, it has been known from 
 the foundation of the world. 
 
 The effect of the visible things of God upon 
 the philosophical mind was, to force upon it 
 inquiry : that inquiry, proceeding by the feeble 
 light of human reason, ended in leading the 
 mind from the first principle, instead of con- 
 ducting it to conviction ; but still it was urged 
 on to confess the truth that the world must have 
 been formed by some intelligent Being. We 
 cannot say that Socrates and his disciples dege- 
 nerated into any degrading notions of God, 
 
 ' Ut porro firmissimum hoc afFerri vicletur, cur deos esse 
 credamus, quod nulla gens tarn fera, nemo omnium tam sit 
 immanis, cujus mentem non imbuerit deorum opinio * * * 
 omni autem in re cunsensio omnium gentium lex naturce jnUanda 
 est, — Cicero in Tuseulan. Quceslion. lib. i. cap. 13. 
 
I.] ATHEISM OF PAGAN PHILOSOPHERS. 11 
 
 because they took that side of the argument, 
 which led them to incorporeal substances ^ ; but 
 Democritus, Leucippus, and their followers, did 
 just that of which the apostle accuses them, 
 " they became vain in their own imaginations, 
 and their foolish heart was darkened." Their 
 object was, not to establish the truth of the ex- 
 istence of a God, but to get rid of that truth, and 
 they, therefore, had recourse to the atomical sys- 
 tem, pretending that " the visible things of the 
 world" were made up of atoms, of which they 
 called the whole substance, God. But since this 
 world seemed to be moved by some intelligence, 
 it necessarily became difficult to account for it 
 in the casual concourse of atoms ; either there- 
 fore the substantial world itself must be intel- 
 ligent, or else it must contain some incorporeal 
 agency, which pervades or actuates the whole 
 mass. To assert the former, were to make life- 
 less matter intelligent ; to maintain the latter, 
 were well nigh acknowledging a God. To 
 escape from this dilemma, and in so escaping, 
 not to admit an incorporeal being, they asserted 
 a kind of mechanical operation, which belonged 
 
 * It is plain to any one that hath had the least acquaintance 
 with Plato's philosophy, that the whole scope and drift of it 
 is to raise up men's minds from sense to a belief of incor- 
 poreal things, as the most excellent. — Cudrvorth's Intellectual 
 Sifstem, Sfc. chap. i. p. 19. 
 
12 OPINIONS OF SOCRATES. [lECT. 
 
 to the inanimate creation; thus "professing 
 themselves to be wise they became fools ;" but 
 they laid the foundation of the doctrine of incor- 
 poreal agency in spite of themselves. This was 
 taken up by the academic philosophers, at the 
 head of whom, stands Plato ; but as he differed 
 only a little from Aristotle on this subject, we may 
 consider the theology of these two astonishing 
 men as one system. Socrates had left them in 
 possession of some sublime truths, which he 
 might have inherited from the sages of more 
 remote antiquity. He had taught at Athens that 
 God is One — perfect in Himself — immutable, 
 the author of the existence, and the welfare of 
 every creature ^ ; that God, not chance, made 
 the world and all living creatures ^ ; but even in 
 the mind of this man, who gave his life for his 
 religious opinions, we have to deplore both igno- 
 rance and superstition. He said, he knew what 
 God was not ; but what he was, he was ignorant 
 of! He did not even know that God was "a 
 re warder of them that diligently seek him :" he 
 taught, agreeably to the Pythian oracle, that 
 the gods were to be worshipped according to 
 the law of the city wherein a man lives, and 
 
 ' Plato in Phcedon. torn. i. p. 78, edit. Hen. Stephan. 
 A. 1578, in folio. 
 
 - Idem in Timceo, p. 28 — 32. 
 
I.] SYSTEMS OF PLATO AND ARISTOTLE. 13 
 
 he thought them superstitious and vain who 
 did otherwise '. I am aware that this accom- 
 modating system is very congenial to the present 
 state of the civilized world, and to that boasted 
 liberality, which, whilst knowing God, glorifies 
 him not as God ; but I need not here stay to 
 show you this is not to be the principle of 
 Christian worship. Of the " religious Socrates," 
 who is sometimes profanely compared with the 
 founder of our holy religion, I shall merely 
 observe, that in his best words, he incurs the 
 censure of the apostle, along with the rest ^, 
 " that they changed the glory of the incorruptible 
 God to birds, and four-footed beasts, and creeping 
 things. " But to return to the academical doctrine. 
 I remarked that Plato and his school (ob- 
 serving perhaps the perplexity in which the 
 materialists were held) applied themselves more 
 
 * Xenophon Memorah. lib. iv. p. 803, edit. Lutet. Paris. 
 1625, in folio, and Conf. id. p. 722. 
 
 ^ Mr. Gibbon has insinuated, in his usual manner, that the 
 philosopher allowed no such repining words to escape his lips 
 as those of the dying Jesus, " my God, my God," &c. See 
 Decline and Fall. His comparison, somewhat profane, does 
 not surprise us ; but Dr. Butler's parallel between Christ 
 and Socrates, if it be truly reported, adds indecency. See 
 Christian Observer, vol. xi. p. 44. The philosopher's last 
 words were really these — O Crito, I owe ^sculapius a cock, 
 pay it — do not neglect ; it shall be done, says Crito. — Plato 
 in Phcedon. vers, finem. 
 
14 PLATO BORROWED FROM MOSES. [lECT. 
 
 especially to the study of incorporeal substances, 
 and although some of their expressions are re- 
 markable for their similarity to the Mosaic 
 writings, the result of their intense study and 
 superior intellect seems to have been this, that 
 God was the soul of the universe. I do not say 
 that a more favourable conclusion might not be 
 drawn from many passages in the writings of 
 Plato and Aristotle ; but the poet Virgil, who 
 evidently reproduces the sum of the Platonic 
 and Peripatetic theology, exhibits the Deity as 
 the Divine Spirit which is diffused through the 
 whole of nature \ But if it were possible to 
 assign to a god of this description the properties 
 of power and ubiquity, it would be impossible to 
 clothe him with any of those moral attributes, 
 which have an influence on men as responsible 
 agents ; and yet, if any one were required to pro- 
 duce the most striking examples of unassisted 
 reason attempting to search out ' ' the things of 
 God," he would doubtless bring forward Plato 
 and Aristotle. We have, however, something to 
 interpose here, with reference to the enlightened 
 doctrines of the Platonic and Peripatetic schools. 
 Plato, as we are certified by Josephus, obtained 
 much of his theological knowledge from the 
 
 ' totamque infusa per artus 
 
 Mens agitat molem, et magno se corpore miscet. 
 
 Mneid. vi. 724. 
 
 10 
 
I.J PLATO BORROWED FROM MOSES. 15 
 
 writings of Moses. " What is Plato," observes 
 Numenius, " but Moses speaking Greek V The 
 following passages to that effect are remark- 
 able : — " The Eternal Being created the world ; 
 and when this image of the eternal gods had 
 begun to exist, and have motion, God, pleased 
 with the works of His hands, wished to make it 
 still more like the original pattern, and to 
 assign it something of the imperishable nature ; 
 but since creation could not altogether resemble 
 the Eternal Mind, He made a moveable image 
 of eternity, and keeping for Himself the in- 
 divisible duration, He gave us the divisible 
 emblem which we call time — days, nights, 
 months, and years ; those fleeting portions of 
 mortal life." " We are wrong," observes this 
 same philosopher, " in speaking of the Divine 
 Essence, to say, it was — it shall be; these 
 forms of time do not suit Eternity. It is ; this 
 is its attributed" If we compare these sen- 
 tences with the writings of Moses, it can be 
 no longer doubted from what source Plato 
 
 ' See this subject discussed in Brucker's Hist. Critica 
 Philosoph. torn. i. j). 635, edit. Lipsice, 1742 ; and Stanley, 
 Hist, of Philosophy, p. 159, edit. London, 1701. 
 
 ^ Taura ck Travra fiepoc, ■^povov, Kal to, t i]v, to, t torai, 
 ■yjpovov yEyovoTOQ Eilr], <t>ipovTi.Q XavQavopw IttI t))v u'ihioi' 
 ovaiav, ovk opduJQ \iyo[X£i' yap o) otg ip', tan te kui torat* 
 Tr} ^e TO tfTTi jjoi'oy, kutci tov a\i]dT} \6yov, Trpoai'iKei. — Platon, 
 Timceus, p. 37, torn. iii. in edit. Stephan. 1587. 
 
16 THE PLATONIC TRINITY. [lECT. 
 
 derived his sublime knowledge — " God created 
 the heavens and the earth." " He saw that it 
 was very good." "He called the evening and 
 the morning the first day" or portion of time. 
 "I am that I am," &c. All these inspired ex- 
 pressions seem to have been adopted by the phi- 
 losopher, so then whatever argument the ration- 
 alist may wish to draw from the striking examples 
 of Plato or Aristotle, he is bound to add, — this 
 however they derived from another source ^ It is in 
 this manner we may account for the Platonic 
 Trinity. Having observed the plurality of the 
 Divine name, and seeing that the Deity spake 
 on earth to his servant Moses in a language im- 
 plying such plurality, Plato concluded that in 
 the essence of the Deity there were more 
 persons than one ; for he read of one being 
 sent, and another sending, and yet co-operating 
 for the same end, and with an equality of Di- 
 vine powers. He received, no doubt, much con- 
 firmation of his view from the Jewish Trinity or 
 
 ' Monsieur Champollion, in his Introductory Discourse on 
 Archaeology, at the French College, says, " L'ecole Plato- 
 nicienne n'est que I'Egyptianisme sorti des sanctuaires de 
 Sais et la vieille secte Pythagoricienne propagea des theories 
 psycologiques developpees dans les peintures et les legendes 
 sacrees qui decorent les tombeaux des rois de Thebes au 
 fond de la vallee deserte de Bibanel Molouk." We consider 
 this as absolutely leading us only nearer to Moses. 
 
I.] Aristotle's doctrine of a providence. 17 
 
 the ancient Cabala, and he made so near an 
 approach to the Christian doctrine, that his 
 three persons, or hypostases, are never by him 
 accounted as created beings, but are set above all 
 creatures \ In short, Plato, when properly un- 
 derstood in his three hypostases, which make 
 up his Godhead or entire divinity, knew the 
 nature of the true God so far, that he had con- 
 centrated and personified infinite goodness, in- 
 finite wisdom, and infinite vital energy in the 
 fountain of his divinity. These were the three 
 essences of his Trinity : so that if he and his 
 followers, knowing thus much of God, did not 
 glorify him as God, nor were thankful, they 
 were without excuse. 
 
 From the nature and existence of a God, we 
 pass on to a superintending Providence in 
 human affairs : a doctrine which, as it brings 
 the Deity into more immediate relation witli 
 man, goes far beyond the other as an article of 
 belief. In this Aristotle betrays much scepti- 
 cism. If there be any care, he observes, taken 
 of human affairs by the gods (as it seenis there 
 is) it is also deducible that they take pleasure 
 in that which is good, and bears the nearest 
 
 ' See Bishop Horsley's Letters to Dr. Priestley, Let. xiii. 
 p. 247, and consult Cudworth on Atheism, Sfc. chap. iv. p. 
 576, edit. London, 1678, in folio. 
 
18 Aristotle's doctrine [lect. 
 
 affinity to themselves ; and this is intelligence, 
 that they recompense those who love and 
 honour it the most, as persons who take care of 
 that which is dear to them, doing justly and 
 honestly \ How much the coldness and scep- 
 ticism of this passage (although remarkable) 
 would suffer by a comparison with the confi- 
 dence of the Christian in the revealed Word, 
 I need not stop to point out ; and yet, had this 
 great man glorified the Supreme Being accord- 
 ing to his light and knowledge, there was room 
 for his thanksgiving and praise ; for independ- 
 ently of the truths glanced at in the above pas- 
 sage, he established the leading truth, that 
 there was some being, eternal, self-existent, and 
 that can never fade away, a perfect mind or 
 intelligence ^, which sublime notion of the Deity 
 was adopted by many of the succeeding philo- 
 sophers. We have just been assuming the fact, 
 that some light borrowed from the Mosaic re- 
 cords partially shone in the Grecian academy. 
 
 ' Aristot. Ethic, ad Nicomach. lib. x. cap. 7. 9. This is 
 the only instance, I believe, wherein Aristotle expresses any 
 kind of belief in a providence ; and here he speaks of the 
 gods or intelligences, which has notliing to do with the doc- 
 trine of a Divine Providence. Plato does use the expression, 
 Qtov Trpovoia, (^Divine Providence) indeed he is the author 
 of it. 
 
 - Arist. Physic, lib. viii. cap. G, 7. 10. 
 
I.] OF A TRINITY. 19 
 
 In drawing our conclusions with this fact in 
 view, the advantage of Divine revelation is at 
 once acknowledged, without invalidating the ar- 
 guments of the insujfficiency of human reason. 
 But now let us resume the more particular feature 
 of our argument, and suppose these great men 
 to have received no such auxiliary light, but to 
 have arrived at their conclusions by the un- 
 assisted powers of reason. Then it must be 
 confessed, that in nothing has the Providence of 
 God been more manifest than in this : that these 
 wise and acute philosophers, following the dic- 
 tates of their own reason, and without being 
 influenced by any written word of revelation or 
 any prejudice, should discover a Trinity of Per- 
 sons or Hypostases in the Godhead, and so 
 prepare the way for the reception of the Christ- 
 ian doctrine, three Persons in one God ; and we 
 conceive this to be a complete answer to those 
 fastidious rationalists who talk of the doctrine of 
 the Trinity as being contrary to reason ; for by 
 the most sublime exercise of reason that the 
 human mind uninfluenced ever accomplished, 
 this very doctrine was the result, and even 
 formed the ground-work of the most rational 
 system of pagan theology and morality. 
 
 We are not anxious to pursue a subject of this 
 nature further than may be thought sufficient 
 to illustrate the truth of St. Paul's position ; 
 
 c 2 
 
20 CONCLUSIONS IN UNREVEALED RELIGION. [lECT. 
 
 already we have seen that, independently of the 
 doctrine of the Unity of God, and a Providence 
 exercised over all creation, and over man in 
 particular, it was concluded that there must be 
 a Divine Intelligence which was generated by 
 Infinite Goodness operating on itself: and then 
 again that there must be a creative spirit, which 
 proceeding from goodness and intelligence con- 
 jointly, performed its wonderful operations on 
 matter and spirit in the energy of Divine love : 
 and in this manner it was conceived the visible 
 things of creation were formed, as if the very 
 Spirit of God had been seen moving upon the 
 face of the waters : so that the Eternal Power 
 and Divinity, or Godhead, was really known 
 and set forth to the world by the great minds of 
 Plato and Aristotle. But although they were 
 thus without excuse, there was not that confi- 
 dence which enabled them to stay their minds 
 on the God they professed to believe. And if 
 at one time they seemed thus to elevate the 
 dignity of human reason, at another they 
 plunged it again in all the folly of unbelief, and 
 their foolish heart was darkened ; the light of 
 truth seemed to shine through their minds, but 
 not in them, and because they had no "sure 
 word of prophecy," nor any promise of "better 
 things to come," they did but wander from their 
 lofty conceptions to objects of the sense, until 
 
I.] IDOLATRY OF ARISTOTLE. 21 
 
 they worshipped all the host of heaven, " and 
 changed the glory of the incorruptible God into 
 an image made like to corruptible man," which 
 is the second position of the apostle we intend 
 briefly to maintain. 
 
 The sum and substance of Aristotle's creed 
 is contained in the following words. It has 
 been a tradition of very remote antiquity that 
 the heavenly bodies were gods, independently 
 of the Divinity which contains the whole of 
 nature ; but all the rest was fabulously ingrafted 
 upon this, for the persuasion of the multitude, 
 and for furthering the ends of legislature and 
 policy : such, for instance, as that these gods 
 were of human likeness, and resembling other 
 living animals, and other such things as are the 
 natural consequences of these fables \ The 
 philosopher did not of course believe the things 
 w^hich he considered as only invented for the 
 vulgar credulity, but he believed the two first 
 articles. The word by which he expresses the 
 Godhead or Supreme Being [to Bhov] which 
 contains the whole of nature, is the expression_ 
 used by St. Paul, when he declares, that from 
 the foundation of the world the Eternal Power 
 and Godhead [Oeiorrig] was known from the 
 visible creation. And this is a remarkable con- 
 
 ' Aristot. Metaphysic. lib. xiv. cap. 8. 
 
22 IDOLATRY OF ARISTOTLE. [lECT. 
 
 firmation of the apostle's assertion ; for Aristotle 
 says, it was an article of faith delivered down 
 from very remote antiquity \ But in the second 
 article of his creed, he incurs the censure which 
 belonged to all those who are charged with 
 worshipping all the host of heaven, because he 
 believes "the sun and the moon and the stars 
 which God hath ordained" to be themselves 
 gods : and if gods, then, for him, objects of wor- 
 ship. It is true he sometimes explained those 
 heavenly bodies to be so many immoveable 
 intelligences ; but to place wisdom in the stars, 
 or to suppose them actuated by an incorporeal 
 substance, was only the grossest idolatry upon a 
 larger scale ; for whether it be a graven image 
 or a heavenly body which becomes the object 
 of such veneration, the idolatry may differ in 
 degree, but in principle it is the same ; and if 
 it were possible to suppose the incorporeal sub- 
 stance apart from the gross material, to make it 
 an object of worship were perhaps more refined 
 but not the less idolatry ; "for the Lord our 
 God is a jealous God" and will not give his 
 glory unto another. And whether it be a 
 blessed spirit or a glorious luminary, which are 
 
 * Cudwortli has shown that in all the leading systems of 
 Polytheism there was a deioy, or Supreme Deity, taught as 
 being independent of the subordinate gods. Inlellcclual 
 System, p. 255. 
 
I.] INSUFFICIENCY OF HUMAN PHILOSOPHY. 23 
 
 both equally the created works of His hands, it 
 can have no more title to adoration than the 
 thunder-bolt and lightning, i. e. they are all 
 but visible specimens of His Omnipotence and 
 Wisdom. And behold, brethren, where this 
 doctrine of inferior deities or intelligences 
 ended ! it ended in the atheism of Epicurus, 
 and the catalogue of vices which the apostle 
 Paul enumerates to the Romans ; for when in- 
 stead of the great first Cause a number of infe- 
 rior causes were alleged \ and every season had 
 its god, and every element its deity, and every 
 vice as well as virtue its patron, then the 
 Supreme Being was lost in the clouds of gross 
 incense, and thus "they changed the truth of 
 God into a lie, and worshipped the creature more 
 than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen." 
 [And for this cause, for this perversion of the 
 truth they knew, for this multiplied number of 
 inferior beings to whom they addressed their 
 prayers, in that they seldom or never acknow- 
 ledged the great first Cause, " God gave them 
 over to a reprobate mind."j 
 
 The most learned and virtuous of the heathen 
 philosophers, such as Plato and Aristotle, do not 
 incur the whole of the charge brought against 
 
 ' God being one has thus received many names, according 
 to the variety of effects of wrhich he is the cause. Aristot. de 
 Mund. 6, 7. 
 
24 HEATHEN DOCTRINES HAVE [lECT. 
 
 the idolatrous world : we would not apply to 
 them more than they deserve, but only this : 
 that when they knew God, they glorified him 
 not as God, neither were thankful ; but to 
 others, by whom their doctrines were suffered 
 to degenerate, more especially to the priests and 
 ministers of their religion, the charge is ap- 
 plicable in its fullest extent ; for [" many of 
 their sfods were nothino; else but dead men or 
 the souls of men deceased, called by the Greeks, 
 Heroes, and by the Latins, Manes,"] and thus 
 "they changed the glory of the incorruptible 
 God into an image made like to corruptible 
 man." 
 
 It would lead us too far into a subject not the 
 most profitable, were I to attempt to trace the 
 degeneracy of pagan theology, the deifying of 
 the several parts of nature, and the personating 
 of the human faculties and passions. We have 
 already seen how the Eternal Power and God- 
 head was known and acknowledged by the 
 wisest of the heathen : how, again, in professing 
 themselves to be wise, or in the pride of their 
 reason, they became fools : so that we shall be con- 
 tent with now merely stating, that however any 
 one may feel disposed to admire and exalt this 
 light or knowledge, it had so transitory an in- 
 fluence over the human mind, that it served but 
 to indicate the path which led to error and 
 
I.] NO MORAL INFLUENCE. 25 
 
 corruption, and then became extinct. All the 
 discoveries, which so highly exalted human 
 reason, ended in the grossest idolatry, and that, 
 becoming the established worship, produced all 
 the vices which are so justly charged upon the 
 heathen world by St. Paul : all that the human 
 mind could invent, was of no effect in " turning 
 the hearts of the disobedient to the wisdom of 
 the just :" all the sviblime reasoning of a Plato or 
 an Aristotle, which then, and ever since, has cap- 
 tivated the philosophical mind, was but as water 
 spilt upon the ground, neither did it produce any 
 permanent good in the moral world. The simple 
 reason was this, that no one had '''' spoken from 
 heaven,'" there wanted the divine sanction which 
 belongs only to revelation. And however the 
 discoveries of the natural mind might sometimes 
 coincide with God's truth, they wanted that very 
 stamp upon them which alone could have re- 
 commended them to universal acceptance, viz. 
 the stamp of Divine authority. Now " this is a 
 true saying and worthy of all acceptation, that 
 Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners," 
 which is the sum and substance of the Christian 
 revelation. 
 
 If it be true, as the apostle asserts, and as we 
 have abundantly shown, that the unity of God 
 was a doctrine received from the beoinnino- of 
 time, and examined and approved by some of 
 
26 REASONS OF THIS TENDENCY. [lECT. 
 
 the most distinguished sages : if it be equally 
 true that this sublime truth was obscured and 
 mingled with the alloy of the corrupt imagina- 
 tions of the heart of man, and that not partially ; 
 but so generally, that all knowledge of the true 
 God gradually disappeared from the heathen 
 world : and if it be also true, as we shall after- 
 wards show, that even the Jews, who were so 
 highly favoured by special missions from heaven, 
 returned to the sin of idolatry and "■ made them 
 golden calves in Bethel," and "provoked the Lord 
 to anger" by their false worship ; then it is clear 
 that there is a tendency in the human mind to 
 idolatrous worship, since, under all circum- 
 stances, history informs us such has been the 
 case. A practice so universal, and seemingly so 
 congenial to the natural mind, ought certainly 
 to be accounted for : there must be some reason 
 to be assigned why men, instead of considering 
 God as a spirit, and so worshipping him in spirit 
 and in truth, have had recourse to those exterior 
 helps which end in dishonouring his holy name. 
 What is more obvious than the cause of this ? 
 To contemplate the Deity as a pure spirit, and 
 to elevate the powers of the soul to the study of 
 His glorious attributes, where all is matter of 
 faith and not of sight, is a work too great for the 
 human mind, before it be purified and fashioned 
 anew by the Spirit of God, and enlightened by 
 
I.] REASONS OF THIS TENDENCY. 27 
 
 His Holy Word. As the mind becomes more 
 gross and sensual : as ignorance and sin make 
 their way in every faculty thereof, so hath it re- 
 course to objects of sense for relief, and even in 
 the consciousness of its necessities it dare not, 
 neither can it elevate itself in prayer to the 
 Almighty Parent of all : it must thus have ex- 
 citements, and it must thus have an object of 
 sense which will diminish the intensity of 
 thought, and recall by the instrumentality of 
 the eye or ear, the wanderings of the soul, and 
 therefore it substitutes for the Highest, inferior 
 objects of adoration. If this were all, and by 
 this the great end could be effected, although 
 we might doubt the purity of the mind, as 
 most assuredly we should doubt its vigour, 
 still the honour of God is not much com- 
 promised, because it is clearly understood that 
 this object of sense, this exterior help, is only 
 meant to conduct the mind to the great first 
 Cause. But this was just the first step to that 
 degeneracy into which the Gentile worship fell, 
 whence it was soon found, that to inculcate so 
 refined a sentiment upon the minds of the 
 vulgar, as that the inferior deities, or repre- 
 sentations of them, were only designed to con- 
 duct the mind in the plenitude of devotion to the 
 supreme God, was more difficult than to direct 
 the worshipper at once to the Deity Himself. 
 10 
 
28 REASONS OF THIS TENDENCY. [lECT. 
 
 The matter, therefore, was either compromised 
 by the philosopher, who lowered the standard of 
 worship to the gross conception of the multi- 
 tude ; or else it was all declared to be a fable, 
 and too high for human reason to attain, — the 
 result of the one was the most degrading super- 
 stition — of the other, atheism. But, as we 
 have seen, from the words of Aristotle, that the 
 fabulous deities, and all the circumstances of a 
 pompous worship, were well adapted to serve 
 the ends of legislation and policy, so did the 
 philosopher and the magistrate, considering " all 
 religion as equally true or false, or equally use- 
 ful," providing it accorded with the conceptions 
 of the people, attracted their admiration, or 
 inspired their devotion, dignify the idolatry by 
 their sanction, while they smiled at the vulgar 
 credulity. Thus they, knowing or having the 
 power to know God, glorified him not as God ; 
 whereas the multitude completely changed the 
 glory of God into a lie. The philosopher, who 
 had any regard for wisdom and truth, would 
 have stemmed the torrent, ere it carried away 
 every vestige of good sense and virtue ; he 
 would no doubt have stopped short at the first 
 step to idolatry, and said "so far it is expe- 
 dient ;" but the ignorant multitude knew no- 
 thing of his discriminations, and he had re- 
 ceived no oracles of truth whereby to show 
 
I.] SCRIPTURE ATTRIBUTES OF THE DEITY. 29 
 
 them the great sin and danger of an idolatrous 
 worship. 
 
 From all these things, my brethren, we per- 
 ceive the great danger of departing from first 
 principles, and the still greater one of adapting 
 religion to the passions and to the natural con- 
 ceptions of men, that is, to corruption and error. 
 When ye pray, therefore, consider first the na- 
 ture of that Being to whom and the means 
 by which all your petitions are to be addressed 
 [take heed not only to the first commandment, 
 but let the second also be impressed upon your 
 minds'.] His nature and attributes are now 
 clearly revealed in such a light as to throw 
 back all the discoveries of the most refined 
 reason into comparative obscurity. We know 
 now that God is an infinitely holy and just 
 Being, a pure Spirit dwelling in light inacces- 
 sible from all eternity. Who delighteth in truth, 
 holiness, and justice, which the creatures He 
 has formed are capable of possessing in some 
 degree. All things in creation are the works of 
 His hands ; and He taketh care of all this lower 
 
 ^ In Bellarmine's Catechism, duly sanctioned, and in com- 
 mon use at Rome, the commandments run thus : — 
 
 I. lo sono 11 Signore Iddio tuo non avrai altro Dio avanti 
 
 di me. 
 II. Non Pigliare il Nome di Dio in vano. 
 III. Ricordati di sanctificare le Feste, &c. 
 
30 SCRIPTURE ATTRIBUTES OF THE DEITY. [lECT. 
 
 world contains, so that not even a sparrow 
 falls to the ground without his knowledge ; 
 He clotheth the grass of the field, and He 
 arrayeth the lily in more than Solomon's glory ; 
 there is nothing upon earth too little for His 
 superintending providence to watch over, nor 
 any thing in the heaven above too vast for 
 His infinite power and wisdom to control ; 
 He hath stretched out the heavens like a cur- 
 tain, and hath placed the stars in their spheres ; 
 He hath touched them all with the finger of 
 His omnipotence, and they run their course at 
 His command. May be He hath peopled worlds 
 and worlds unknown to us ; and when we ascend 
 up into the place where He manifesteth all His 
 glory, we shall see other things than these which 
 now call forth our limited admiration. Such is 
 a mere glance at the character of that God with 
 whom we have to do : all these His Attributes He 
 hath revealed in and by the person of His only 
 Son, who is the express image of His glory ; 
 and it is just this great revelation of which we 
 are anxious at this season to enhance the value ; 
 for without it ye see, brethren, we might have 
 attained to the mental stature of a Plato or an 
 Aristotle ; but we could never have compre- 
 hended with all saints what is the extent of the 
 love of God which passeth knowledge. Now 
 however, that it hath pleased Him to speak unto 
 
I.] OBJECT & NATURE OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP. 31 
 
 US by His Son, and to reveal His nature, and the 
 relation in which He chooses to stand with men ; 
 we are brought out of darkness into marvellous 
 light, if so be that we close not our eyes to the 
 brightness thereof. " Our Father which art in 
 heaven" is the sublime address which the Christ- 
 ian is taught to present at the throne of grace : 
 by the mediator Christ Jesus, Who taught and 
 revealed all we know of God, the Christian is 
 to approach Him, and he needeth no exterior 
 help, if his mind be fixed upon his Saviour, for 
 if any help be needed, there is this one offered, 
 "The Spirit of God helpeth our infirmities with 
 groanings that cannot be uttered." 
 
 When ye pray therefore, brethren, "use not 
 vain repetitions as the heathen do, for they think 
 they shall be heard for their much speaking," 
 [neither be ye captivated with the pomp of a 
 vain worship, which turneth the mind from the 
 Creator to the creature, and changeth the truth 
 of God into a lie.] The ears of the Lord of 
 Hosts are ever open to the prayers of His people, 
 and your God knoweth what things ye have 
 need of before ye ask Him. Let no objects of 
 sense intrude upon your devotion, nor any un- 
 worthy notions of that God ye address, worship- 
 ping Him with men's hands as though He needed 
 any thing ! " Ye ought not to think that the God- 
 head is like unto silver or gold, the work of men's 
 
32 NATURE OF CHRISTIAN WORSHIP. [lECT. I. 
 
 hands," or that any representation of him is 
 necessary or even expedient in prayer. " Let no 
 man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary 
 humility and worshipping of angels, intruding 
 into those things which he hath not seen ;" "be 
 ye not subject to ordinances after the command- 
 ments and doctrines of men ; which things have 
 indeed a shew of wisdom in will-worship, and 
 humility, and neglecting of the body;" but are 
 altogether destitute of the real spirit of Christian 
 prayer. " But thou when thou prayest, enter 
 into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy 
 door, pray to thy Father which is in secret, and 
 thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward 
 thee openly." And this, my brethren, is the 
 God of the Christians, and this is the manner 
 in which He is to be worshipped, in spirit and 
 in truth. 
 
LECTURE II. 
 
 HEATHEN MORALITY, ITS PRINCIPLES AND FINAL 
 RESULTS. 
 
 Romans ii. 14, 15. 
 
 For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the 
 things contained in the law ; these having not the law, are a 
 law unto themselves : which shew the work of the law written 
 in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and 
 their thoughts the mean ivhile accusing, or else excusing 
 one another. 
 
 In my last lecture I endeavoured to ascertain the 
 degree of light and knowledge which it was pos- 
 sible to arrive at, with regard to the nature of 
 God, and the manner in which He ought to be 
 worshipped, according to the powers of human 
 reason, as exemplified in the theology of heathen 
 philosophers. We were then led to conclude, 
 that unassisted reason was an insufficient guide 
 in a subject so far beyond the reach of its utmost 
 efforts, and hence the necessity of a divine re- 
 
 D 
 
34 VIRTUE IN THE LAW OF NATURE. [lECT, 
 
 velation. I shall now inquire, as I proposed, 
 into their system of ethics, especially their dis- 
 coveries in the relative and social duties of life, 
 upon what principles the practice of virtue was 
 generally enforced, and how their moral lessons 
 operated on the general good of mankind. 
 
 It is necessary to cultivate the practice of 
 many virtues for the simple maintenance of 
 social order, nor is it less indispensable to pursue 
 a certain course of morality in order to ensure 
 some tolerable share of personal welfare : and it 
 is evident that a principle of self-preservation, 
 amounting to something more than instinct, will 
 carry a community or an individual to such a de- 
 gree of morality as this; hence we may also dis- 
 cern that many excellent things will come within 
 the compass of that system which we may call 
 the law of nature. We cannot, therefore, be 
 surprised to find in the writings of those wise 
 men, who never knew any other law, specimens 
 of the purest morality, nor in their lives, exam- 
 ples of praiseworthy virtues ; nor is it impossible 
 that several amongst them might even surpass 
 some of us, who, although favoured with an ex- 
 emplification of the Divine law, despise and daily 
 transgress it. But partial contrasts like these, and 
 a cursory view of accidental results, will not affect 
 the general inquiry we are now about to institute ; 
 for we have to look to the general issue and to 
 
ir.] VIRTUE ONLY SECURED BY PRINCIPLE, 35 
 
 see how those moral lessons operated in promot- 
 ing the welfare of mankind. 
 
 It is not so much upon practical results that 
 men differ, as it is upon the means and prin- 
 ciples of arriving at them : hence, wherever 
 virtue is found, it receives the approbation of 
 mankind, who are not usually concerned in ex- 
 amining too closely the motive which has pro- 
 duced it. So long, for instance, as the outward 
 moral duties of life are decently discharged, we 
 are satisfied upon the principle which it may be 
 supposed dictates them, and it is only when these 
 are wanting that we begin to search for the radi- 
 cal cause of such deficiency. This holds equally 
 true of an individual and of a community at 
 large ; wherever much vice prevails we hesitate 
 not to ascend to real causes, and when we find 
 them in institutions, whether political or reli- 
 gious, we conclude, that until certain defects be 
 remedied in the system, it will be in vain to 
 expect any more favourable results. That which 
 is true of other things, must in this view be 
 equally true in the matter of religion : admitting 
 the universal depravity of mankind, or in less 
 evangelical terms, the general prevalence of evil, 
 and that certain portions of the multitude are 
 in a better moral state than the rest, we can 
 never rest satisfied, without inquiring into the 
 real causes of the difference, and we might 
 
 D 2 
 
36 EVIL OF DEFECTIVE KNOWLEDGE. [lECT. 
 
 pronounce, a priori, that system to be the best 
 which produces the greatest quantity of happiness 
 and prosperity in a people ; but all this concludes 
 with great force against those who pretend to be 
 indifferent to principle in religion, and who talk 
 of " modes of faith" as things of no conse- 
 quence ^ ; for the fact is, that in this principle 
 of religious creed generally consists the differ- 
 ence in the human condition here below, with- 
 out referring to a world to come. We have 
 already seen the source of all the immorality of 
 the heathen world, "they knew not God;" that is, 
 they had no fit object of worship : and secondly, 
 they " glorified him not as God ;" that is, they 
 adopted wrong and unworthy means of wor- 
 shipping Him. Two evils arose out of these things, 
 on the one hand infidelity, and superstition on 
 the other ; but the same evils will spring up 
 again from the same causes, and therefore, 
 even now that God has been revealed in his 
 Word, if He be not worshipped as a Self-existent 
 pure Spirit, clothed with moral attributes and 
 
 ' The most prevalent idea of religion amongst the educated 
 classes on the Continent is, that all religion is a mere senti- 
 ment, and whether in the Jew, Turk, Hindoo, or Christian 
 (each one according to his manner) it is all the same ; that is 
 to say, among the educated classes on the Continent, generally 
 speaking, there is no religious principle. Is this so worthy 
 the emulation of England ? 
 
II.] ST. Paul's law of nature. 37 
 
 perfections, practical atheism must be the con- 
 sequence : and again, if there be too much cere- 
 mony in His worship, for that is the meaning of 
 superstition, i.e. if Hebe not worshipped properly, 
 in spirit and in truth ; " but by men's hands, as 
 though he needed any thing;" by the fat of rams, 
 and by incense, and endless ceremonies, the 
 result must be an established superstition. Now 
 both tliese evils are the mortal enemies of truth 
 and morality, and it would perhaps be difficult 
 to decide whether infidelity or superstition have 
 caused most misery to the human race. The 
 morality of the heathen world, therefore, being 
 subjected to both these daemons of mental de- 
 pravity, necessarily lost whatever might have 
 been at first dictated by the law of Nature, until, 
 as the apostle saith, ' ' God gave them over to a 
 reprobate mind :" but the grand cause was the 
 DEFECT IN KNOWLEDGE of God and His truth. 
 
 According to St. Paul's view, as it stands 
 exposed in the verse placed at the head of our 
 lecture, there is an universal law of nature dis- 
 tinct from that law which may more properly 
 be called divine, and very far beneath the pure 
 standard of the Gospel. The natural conscience 
 is in unison with that law, and taketh cogni- 
 zance of it in its observance or infringement, 
 " their conscience also bearing witness, and their 
 thoughts the mean while accusing, or else excus- 
 
38 ST. Paul's view of the law of nature, [lect. 
 
 ing one another." When this is the only light 
 vouchsafed to the creature, he is to be judged 
 by it ; if he do by nature the things contained 
 in that law, he may be supposed to meet with 
 favour at the hands of God, without supposing 
 him to have the Christian's reward ; or, per- 
 haps, if such an one there be, as were Cornelius 
 or some others of whom we read, he may not be 
 left without a special visitation of God's grace. 
 This might be the case with some virtuous 
 heathens ; but at all events there is nothing in 
 this supposition at variance with the uncove- 
 nanted mercy of God, neither should the zealous 
 Christian take alarm at such an assumption ; 
 for it by no means invades his privileges, nor 
 renders his labours in extending the kingdom of 
 Christ less necessary. On the contrary, if we 
 could suppose the whole heathen world to be 
 in the condition of Cornelius previously to his 
 receiving the Gospel, it would be an additional 
 reason for endeavouring to impart to them the 
 knowledge of Christ and his salvation. 
 
 " By the law," says the great apostle, " is the 
 knowledge of sin ;" and again, " where there is 
 no law, there is no transgression ;" " nay, I had 
 not known lust, says he, unless the law had said, 
 thou shalt not covet." From these profound 
 sentences we deduce, that where that law, to 
 which he alludes, and by which he means the 
 
II.] GENERAL PROPOSITIONS. 39 
 
 moral law, as delivered by Moses, does not exist, 
 there can be no knowledge of sin by the trans- 
 gression of it ; and further, there can, properly 
 speaking, be no transgression ; for no man can 
 transgress that which is not forbidden : but still, 
 the same apostle says, the heathen were without 
 excuse, because, although they had no know- 
 ledge of what was sin by the application of the 
 moral law, they had that knowledge, as far as 
 the law of nature held it up to them ; and their 
 condemnation, which was general, was not in 
 what they did not know, but in their ignorance 
 of that which they might have known, and their 
 neglect of what they knew. In connexion with 
 these observations, the following deductions, in a 
 review of our subject, may be made. 
 
 1. Seeing that many heathen philosophers 
 uttered excellent words, and such as sometimes 
 agree with the Christian morality, there is a 
 proof that the light of nature alone, if duly 
 followed, apprehendeth something of God's law. 
 
 2. That inasmuch as their doctrine had no 
 influence over men's minds, but in the end God 
 gave them up to a reprobate mind, because 
 they followed not that to which their consciences 
 bore witness, it may be inferred that this light 
 of nature, however brilliant, was of itself in- 
 sufficient, and the necessity of a revelation from 
 heaven manifest. 
 
40 MORAL PRECEPTS OF [lECT. 
 
 3. The cause of this insufficiency did not 
 consist in their disapprobation of moral goodness 
 when it was apparent, but in the principles and 
 motives on which it was inculcated : and hence 
 the necessity of Christian doctrine as well as 
 Christian practice. 
 
 Among the precepts of the seven sages, as 
 they are called, collected by Sosiades \ we have 
 some which show the work of the law written 
 on the mind, as for instance, — Follow God, 
 relieve thy friends, practise generosity, curb thy 
 tongue : on the other hand, we have some which 
 betray the corruption of human nature, such as, 
 — Worship the gods, revenge thyself upon thine 
 enemies, repel injury, what thou joyest in quit 
 not, and such like. From the age of Thales 
 the Milesian to that of Socrates (about a period of 
 300 years), we seek in vain for improvement in 
 morality ; but when the Ionic philosophers had 
 exhausted their stock by subtle refinements ^, 
 we find Socrates introducing a better system. 
 
 ' See Stanley's History of Philosophy, &c. part i. p. 54. 
 chiefly extracted from Laertius and Stobaeus. 
 
 ^ The Tonic sect began with Anaximander, the disciple 
 of Thales, and ended with Archelaus. The whole stock of 
 morality in this school I find very slender ; it hardly seems 
 (to use a common phrase) " to have been in their line." 
 Stobaeus has collected some sentences of Anaximenes. Vide 
 Serm. CCLXIX. p. 870. which shows the folly of " Philowphy, 
 falsely so called.^' 
 
II.] THE OLD PHILOSOPHERS. 41 
 
 He considered that of all things which man can 
 call his own, the soul is the most important : 
 that He who purifies his soul from vice, is the 
 only happy man, and that the means for effect- 
 ing this is wisdom, &c. ' It is of little conse- 
 quence that we could select from the writings 
 of this great master of heathen morality many 
 sentences which would invalidate this eulogium. 
 He died, it is supposed, a martyr to the cause of 
 truth, as far as his conscience bore him witness. 
 It might seem ungenerous to refuse him the 
 palm ; and, perhaps, it was only the malice of 
 his enemies which prompted them to accuse 
 him of enormous vices. But as the instance 
 stands recorded in the monuments of letters, it 
 proves the Apostle's position, that having but a 
 heathen's light, the work of the law was exhi- 
 bited as written on his mind. Whether he did 
 by nature the things contained in the law, God 
 will judge. 
 
 The Ionic philosophy soon degenerated into 
 
 ' Such were the sentiments of Socrates, as Libanius states 
 them {Declamatio XXIX. Socrat. Apolog. p. 639, torn. i. 
 edit. Parisiis, 1606, in fol.) and they are generally in harmony 
 with his moral sentences, preserved by Plato and Xenophon. 
 Cicero speaks still more highly of him as a teacher of morality. 
 " Socrates autem primus philosophiam evocavit e coelo et in 
 urbibus coUocavit, et in domos etiam introduxit, et coegit de 
 vita et moribus rebusque bonis et malis quaerere." Tiisculan. 
 Qucest. lib. v. cap. 4. 
 
42 UNSOUNDNESS OF THEIR DOCTRINES. [lECT. 
 
 those sects which are enumerated by Paneetius, 
 and which were of very short duration ^ The 
 Cyrenaic sect, and others, at the head of which 
 stands Aristippus, asserted bodily pleasure to 
 be the ultimate end, and this they pretended 
 was manifest, because from our earliest infancy, 
 without any instruction from others, we seek 
 nothing else. In this, by the way, we observe 
 a remarkable though perverted testimony to the 
 revealed doctrine, "that every imagination of 
 the heart of man is only evil continually :" that 
 " the carnal mind is not subject to the law of 
 God, neither indeed can be." 
 
 The pleasures of the body, say these unholy 
 teachers, are much better than those of the soul, 
 and the pains or sorrows thereof much worse'*. 
 It is true these sentiments are disapproved of by 
 Cicero and many other moralists ; but the more 
 refined system of Epicurus, which was so gene- 
 rally adopted by the men of Rome, goes not be- 
 
 ' From the Socratic school descended these sects. The 
 Cyrenaic, Megaric, Eliac, Eretriac. Of the two former, Aris- 
 tippus and Euclid (not the mathematician) were the respec- 
 tive leaders : of the two latter, Phaedo and Menedemus ; 
 on which the learned reader may consult, Bruck. Hist. 
 Critic. Philosoph. Pars ii. lib. ii. cap. 3. p. 584. torn. i. 
 
 ^ Atque ab Aristippo Cyrenaici atque Anicerii Philosophi 
 nominati omne bonum in voluptate posuerunt, virtutemque 
 censuerunt ob earn rein laudandam, quod efficiens esset 
 voluptates. Cic. de Officiis, lib. ii. cap. 33. 
 
II.] PLATO TEACHES IMMORALITY. 43 
 
 yond this degenerated school of Socrates in purity 
 of principle. Of the philosophers of these sects, 
 Hegesias, with great eloquence, justified suicide' : 
 and Biori commended sensuality, when any one 
 made it his choice : it appears then we advance 
 not far in the history of Ethics before our two first 
 propositions are almost established. They first 
 show the work of the law written on their hearts ; 
 but because they do not by nature the things 
 contained in the law, they are given over to a 
 reprobate mind. The brightest ornament, and 
 the most unsullied example of the law of nature, 
 is yet, however, to be viewed in Plato. This great 
 man had all the advantages of the morality of 
 Socrates, and must have been disgusted with the 
 rapid degeneracy of some of his followers, and 
 if, as we said on a former occasion, he had 
 access to the law of Moses, it will be an addi- 
 tional reason for the greater purity of his senti- 
 ments ; but if, notwithstanding, they are still 
 deficient in purity, it proves more than any thing 
 else, the insufficiency of natural light and know- 
 ledge. Now Plato said, that to drink to intoxi- 
 cation was not allowable at any time, except upon 
 the festival of that god who gives the wine ! "Be 
 ye not drunk with wine (says St. Paul) wherein 
 is excess, but be filled with the Spirit" — this by 
 way of contrast. Again this philosopher holds 
 
 ' Cic. Tuscidan. Qiicesiion, lib. i. cap. 34. 
 
44 PLATO TEACHES IMMORALITY. [lECT. 
 
 it lawful, and even recommends governors, to 
 make use of falsehoods, both towards enemies 
 and citizens, whenever it may be convenient : 
 not so the apostle, — " Wherefore putting away 
 lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour ; 
 for we are members one of another." When 
 Plato observed the inhabitants of Agrigentum 
 luxurious in feasting, " These people," said he, 
 " eat as if they were to die instantly ^" What 
 then ? That heathen sentiment, the most de- 
 structive of all inward purity, was sanctioned in 
 principle by the divine Plato ! " Let us eat and 
 drink for to-morrow we die." Talk no more so 
 exceeding proudly, O ye who extol the natural 
 power of man ; it is time to do homage to the 
 word of Revelation, for Plato was a teacher of 
 immorality without it, yea, even when he would 
 not be so^ ! But to proceed : — 
 
 ' These sentences of Plato are chiefly to be found in Dio- 
 genes Laertius, the English reader may see Stanley's Hist, of 
 Philosophy, p. 171. 
 
 ^ In passing immediately to the Cynic sect, I omit to 
 notice the immediate successors of Plato, and the Peripatetic 
 philosophers ; they scarcely touch the subject of Ethics. The 
 school instituted by Arcesilaus, called the second or minor 
 academy, adopted the creed ofHesiod, "The gods have con- 
 cealed all knowledge from men ;" but yet they held Plato's 
 doctrines. They did not, like the Sceptics, take away true 
 or false from things, or hold that both were indifferent, and 
 might equally be defended by reason ! the Peripatetic school 
 degenerated in Strato, who attributed all divine power to nature. 
 
II.] THE VIRTUE OF STOICS. 45 
 
 The Cynic sect was instituted by Antisthenes, 
 who was followed by Diogenes, and others of 
 more obscure fame ; of these it may be said, 
 that ' ' they trusted in themselves that they were 
 righteous, and despised others." From the Cynics, 
 however, the sect of the Stoics had its origin, 
 of which Zeno was the author, and here we 
 arrive at some better sentiments. Neither is it 
 possible, brethren, at any time so to extinguish 
 the light of nature, as that it shall never re- 
 appear ; for although you may pull down the 
 branch of the tree, and incline it ingloriously to 
 the earth, still will it spring up again, and 
 point its blooming honours to the sky, whenever 
 the hand which forces it relaxes its grasp. 
 Let us hear for a moment the Stoics. They 
 said, that virtue is in itself virtue, and not for 
 expectation, or dread of any thing external : it 
 is desirable in itself: for which reason, when we 
 do any thing amiss, we are ashamed, knowing 
 that only to be good which is honest. Virtue is 
 therefore sufficient of itself to gain happiness : 
 so at least say, Zeno, Chrysippus, and others ; 
 but we find Panaetius and Posidonius denying 
 this, and teaching, that it requires health, 
 strength, and the good things of this life, in- 
 dependent of virtue, to gain happiness. No sooner 
 therefore do we again find some better sentiment, 
 than it is clouded with sensuality. Upon this 
 
46 THE EPICUREAN SCHOOL. [lECT. 
 
 Epicurus refined again, and although we might 
 detect many shades of difference in the morality 
 of the Greek sects, they will all, as far as 
 any principle is concerned, concentre in the 
 Epicurean school, which may be considered, 
 after all, as the established religion of Pagan 
 Rome. Epicurus, no doubt, taught a refined 
 indulgence, which, if followed up, ensured an 
 absolute temperance and continency : and all 
 those who had any pretensions to wisdom, spake 
 of what was honest and praiseworthy in con- 
 formity with his views : they followed the 
 law of nature (I speak of the wisest and 
 best of them, who were but few in number,) 
 upon the principle of more enlarged enjoy- 
 ment : justice was taught and recommended, be- 
 cause it was a bond of social union. Never- 
 theless we find Theodorus declaring, that a 
 wise man might, upon a proper occasion, com- 
 mit theft, adultery, and sacrilege, for that none 
 of those things were disgraceful in themselves, if 
 that opinion of them, which was agreed upon for 
 the sake of restraining fools, were taken away. 
 Truth, they further taught, was highly desirable 
 because it was useful ; nevertheless, we read in 
 some of their writings, that a man may speak 
 falsely, provided he select a fitting or a needful 
 season. So much for their social duties of life : 
 this was their public virtue ; but with regard to 
 
 10 
 
II.] SELFISH MOTIVES OF PRIVATE VIRTUES. 47 
 
 their morals of a more private nature, — excess 
 was to be avoided in every thing, because it 
 clogged the soul with vice and pollution, gave 
 cause for much uneasiness, and ended in misery. 
 Personal virtue was therefore highly desirable, 
 because in that consisted the most refined hap- 
 piness. In short, it is in vain to search for a 
 higher principle than that of self, in all the 
 virtue of the heathen world \ This accounts 
 for the absence of those excellent virtues incul- 
 cated by our religion, such as doing good to 
 others, and giving to those that need, not for 
 the sake of removing inconvenience from our 
 sight, but for the sake of " Him who loved 
 us, and gave Himself for us." But you will 
 easily perceive, brethren, that upon the heathen 
 principle of egotism, you might have a man of 
 soberness, temperance, and chastity : in truth, 
 we have many such in our own age upon the 
 epicurean or stoical principle, and upon no other. 
 It was at Athens, as we read, where Paul en- 
 countered some philosophers of those two sects, 
 who mocked, and said they would hear him 
 
 • The morality and physics of the Epicurean school may be 
 found in Lucian, in Catullus, and other poets of that class ; 
 and will be familiar to every reader of Horace. I forbear to 
 make any further references in illustration of the text ; but 
 the moral treatises of Cicero, if read in a proper spirit, will not 
 fail to enhance the value of the code of Christianity. 
 
48 GREAT OPERATION OF [lECT. 
 
 again when he preached unto them Jesus and 
 the resurrection. 
 
 It is not my intention to bring before you, in 
 the course of these lectures, more of '' the wis- 
 dom of the Greeks" than is necessary for estab- 
 lishing our positions, which we desire to main- 
 tain for a more important purpose ; we shall, 
 therefore, leave this wide field of heathen mora- 
 lity, and come to some general application. 
 
 If then it appear that there was a law of na- 
 ture, written in the hearts of the heathen, which, 
 if they had followed, would, as St. Paul saith, 
 have become the standard of their judgment, the 
 justice of God is manifest ; but if, on the other 
 hand, they became " vain in their imaginations, 
 and worked all uncleanness with greediness," 
 thereby extinguishing the light which glimmered, 
 however faintly, in their consciences, the con- 
 demnation of the world is just. " Let then God 
 be true, but every man a liar ; as it is written, 
 that thou mightest be justified in thy saying, and 
 mightest overcome when thou art judged." The 
 result of all this is, that either the world must 
 perish, or God must again exert His power, and 
 devise a remedy for the restoration of that cor- 
 rupt nature, which in its own strength had so 
 miserably failed. Two things were necessary, 
 the first was to be an act of universal applica- 
 tion, so that all the guilty world might at once 
 
II.] CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. 49 
 
 be lifted up from the depths of perdition to the 
 hope of salvation. " God therefore so loved the 
 world that He gave His only begotten Son, that 
 whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, 
 but have everlasting life," which is the substance 
 of Divine revelation. The second act was to be, 
 more properly speaking, of a moral nature, viz. 
 a work on the heart of man, by infusing into it 
 a pure principle to which he had hitherto been a 
 stranger ; for it would not have been enough to 
 have excited in the fallen man the hope of sal- 
 vation, unless also his spiritual condition had 
 been so changed, as to have enabled him, with 
 the new powers conferred, both to apprehend and 
 lay hold on it. The work of the new covenant 
 therefore is this, " I will put my laws into their 
 hearts, and write them on their minds," and 
 whatever there may be of virtue after this, it is 
 clearly of a totally different nature, because the 
 whole principle of action is changed ; and whilst, 
 in the heathen world, there could be no perma- 
 nent virtue, because there was no adequate motive 
 for producing and preserving it, the practice of 
 every virtue can now be ensured upon a higher 
 and more heavenly principle : egotism is for ever 
 excluded, and that expediency of action, which 
 only " counts its gains," can find noplace in the 
 genuine spirit of Christianity, " it is not I that 
 live, but Christ that liveth in me." 
 
50 MORAL INFLUENCE OF THE GOSPEL. [lECT. 
 
 Previously to the coming of Christ, the state 
 of the heathen world was truly deplorable, and 
 shows at once the total inefficiency of every 
 system of moral teaching which had, up to that 
 period, been proposed. But the pure morality 
 of the Christian dispensation, which so many, 
 who acknowledge not its Divine origin, admire, 
 is but a small part of the mystery of godliness. 
 We may easily conceive another Plato, who might 
 have improved on the system of his predeces- 
 sor ; but even Christian morality without Christ- 
 ian principles to enforce it, would have been a 
 dead letter : the precepts of Christianity published 
 without the doctrine of a crucified Saviour, 
 would have been of small avail ; and therefore, 
 in leading your minds, my brethren, to the 
 contemplation of the superior purity of Christian 
 virtue, I cannot do so without also pointing out 
 " the Lamb of God who taketh away the sins of 
 the world." This is the life of religion, this pro- 
 duces morality, but cannot be produced by it. 
 Faith, without works, is truly said to be dead ; 
 but works, without faith, are equally so, and the 
 heathen world is my witness. In this view St. 
 Augustine called the virtues of some pagans, 
 only splendid vices, because they were wanting 
 in this life-giving principle. The sanctification 
 of the heart, therefore, by the Holy Spirit, and 
 the purifying thereof, by the blood of sprinkling. 
 
II.] MORAL INFLUENCE OF THE GOSPEL. 51 
 
 bring' forth the morahty of the Gospel. We are 
 confident then of outward virtue when these right 
 principles prevail, as we are of the fruit of that tree 
 which is made good and blooms without fail in its 
 proper season Thus, in order to produce mo- 
 rality, on which all men are agreed, because it is 
 found connected with the welfare of mankind, we 
 must have more than the light of nature — we must 
 have more than the highest state of human reason 
 and philosophy— that is, we must have our moral- 
 ity, as well as every thing else, revealed in its prin- 
 ciple : " Blessed are the pure in heart, for they 
 shall see God." " If a man," says the Re- 
 deemer, ^' love me, he will keep my words;" 
 these are the shining lights by the side of pagan 
 doctrine, which teach us, that if any man would 
 take care of and love himself, he will restrain his 
 passions, and be moderate in his enjoyments. 
 
 The whole matter, then, stands clearly thus. 
 Upon the ruins of a false philosophy, which 
 teaches virtue because it is personally profitable, 
 and gives that false colouring to laudable ac- 
 tions, which dazzles, whilst it blinds the under- 
 standing, Christianity has established a principle 
 which is alone worthy to be the main spring of 
 human actions. The gospel insists that we 
 should be good because God is good, — that the 
 genuine motive to all good deeds is a love of 
 them for their own sake, as well pleasing to 
 
 E 2 
 
52 CONSOLATION DERIVED [lECT. 
 
 the Redeemer of our souls ; and however men 
 may be plied and exhorted to goodness by mo- 
 tives of a secondary kind, we must come at 
 length to the Christian principle, before the 
 service of God can be perfect freedom. We 
 may have known, indeed, instances of men 
 being stopped in their career of dissipation by 
 an assurance that inevitable ruin was coming fast 
 upon them ; we may have witnessed others pur- 
 suing a virtuous line of conduct, from being per- 
 suaded that important advantages might result 
 from it. Often, too often, our youth are instructed, 
 without the inculcation of higher motives than 
 these to the performance of their duty ; but this, 
 brethren, is not the morality of the Scriptures : 
 " My son, give me thine heart." " Sell that thou 
 hast, and give to the poor, and come and follow 
 me, and then thou shalt have treasure in heaven." 
 These, and such like, are the moral precepts with 
 which the Holy Gospel abounds : not only do 
 they contain vigour in principle, but disinterest- 
 edness in practice, — not only are they intrin- 
 sically superior to all others, but they contribute 
 most effectually to individual peace of mind ; 
 for not the performance alone of good actions 
 brings complacency to the reflecting mind, but 
 the motives which prompted them. If a man in 
 the course of his life can select a few good deeds, 
 upon which his recollection dwells with greater 
 
II.] MORE FROM MOTIVE THAN FROM ACTIONS. 53 
 
 satisfaction than the rest, it will be, because they 
 were performed in a purer spirit than the majority 
 of them, with less alloy of self-interest, with 
 more of the influence of unfeigned benevolence ; 
 other deeds may, perhaps, have been more bril- 
 liant, nay, may have even produced a greater 
 quantity of good to others, but because they were 
 wanting in the upright, disinterested principle, 
 they will not, in the retrospect, yield to the soul 
 that repose of which it is in search. Once they 
 were the virtues which placed the laurel on the 
 conqueror's brow, or threw the robe of state over 
 the eloquent senator, and perhaps the ambition of 
 both was laudable ; but now the gold is become 
 dim, the portals of eternity are seen in the dis- 
 tance, and the rod and staff' of consolation are yet 
 to be sought ; the active and brilliant career of 
 threescore years is summoned to aid the sinking- 
 spirit, and help her in triumph over the gates of 
 death ; but, alas ! for want of a single ingredient 
 in all the man has done — for want of the gospel 
 principle, which at once actuates and purifies, 
 the consolation expected from the great and flat- 
 tering deed is not found, nor can any specious 
 argument supply its place to the satisfaction of the 
 conscience. But if at this moment it were possible 
 to infuse the principle which ought to have dictated 
 every action, or if that, which the Scriptures call 
 the love of God, could be supposed to have been 
 
54 CHRISTIAN PIETY TRIUMPHANT. [lECT. 
 
 the ruling motive, — if the life had been one by 
 faith in the Son of God, from which all the 
 good works had sprung — then may ye judge, 
 brethren, of the inward consolation to be reaped 
 from Christian morality, — then may ye judge 
 of the joy of the sincere believer in Christ — ye 
 mav judge of the peaceful hours he often en- 
 joys, when the reward of his hands is given 
 him even in this world, — when it is lawful for 
 his enraptured mind to dwell upon the sweet 
 remembrance—" I wrought not for mine own, 
 but for the Gospel's sake ;" but above all, ye 
 may judge of his expiring moments, when, like 
 the Apostle, he can exclaim, " I have fought the 
 good fight, I have finished my course, hencefor- 
 ward there is laid up for me a crown of glory, 
 which the Lord the righteous Judge shall give me 
 at that day ; and not to me only, but to all those 
 who love his appearing." Thus it is that this life 
 is revealed to us as a state of probation — as a 
 preparation for a better world, of which the 
 joys will never fade away : thus it is that the 
 practice of Christian piety, the cultivation of 
 holiness in the soul, in short, all that is compre- 
 hended under the term "godliness," "is profit- 
 able unto all things, having the promise of the 
 life that now is, and of that which is to come." 
 
 And now, brethren, you will doubtless agree 
 with me, that the revelation of Jesus Christ, 
 
II, J CONCLUSION TO BE DEDUCED. 55 
 
 by the excellence of its precepts, is calculated 
 above all other systems to contribute to general 
 and individual happiness ; and you have no 
 doubt been led to adore the Author of that re- 
 velation, who, seeing the helpless condition of 
 mankind, condescended to teach us from hea- 
 ven. How refined then is the system of morality 
 which Christ inculcates, and how doth His 
 religion inspire the purest motives, viz. the 
 love of God, and of all men for His sake ; the 
 love of our neighbour even as of ourselves : in 
 these things are included all the law and the 
 prophets. " Ye know these things, happy are ye 
 if ye do them." We hold not up the purity of 
 the Gospel, merely, to be admired as a superior 
 system, but to the end, that ye practise its pre- 
 cepts, and desire its purity. Let us examine, 
 therefore, the secret springs of our actions ; let 
 us sift our motives, and let us canvass the whole 
 tenor of our lives. Good deeds, proceeding not 
 from the good treasure of the heart, are not 
 Christian deeds ; let not, therefore, a semblance 
 of morality deceive you. Love the Lord thy God 
 with all thy heart, and with all thy mind, and 
 with all thy strength, and thy neighbour as 
 thyself, for this is the spirit and substance of 
 the morality of the Gospel of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. » 
 
LECTURE III. 
 
 THE PSYCHOLOGY OF THE ANCIENT PHILOSOPHERS 
 AND THEIR DOCTRINE OF FUTURE REWARDS 
 AND PUNISHMENTS, COMPARED WITH THE RE- 
 VEALED IMMORTALITY OF THE SOUL. 
 
 1 Thess. iv. 13—18. 
 
 But I mould nut have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning 
 them rvhich are asleep, that ye sorrow not even as others 
 which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and 
 rose again, even so them, also, which sleeji in Jesus, will God 
 bring with Him. For this we say unto you by the ivord of 
 the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming 
 of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are asleep, for the 
 Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with 
 the voice of the Archangel and with the trump of God, and 
 the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we which are alive 
 and remain, shall be caught up together with them in the 
 clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we be ever 
 with the Lord. 
 
 Since it is said in the inspired writings, that 
 " our Lord Jesus Christ brought life and immor- 
 tality to light by the Gospel," there is evi- 
 
LECT. III.] THE GOSPEL ALONE 57 
 
 dently implied, that previously to such revelation, 
 neither Jew nor Gentile had any settled notions 
 of the doctrine of a future state ; for only that 
 which has been hid in obscurity can properly be 
 said to be brought to light. The Jews, no doubt, 
 from the writings of the prophets, could give a 
 much better reason for any hope there might be 
 in them on this subject, than the heathen, who 
 were without the " sure word of prophecy ;" but 
 so little were their souls capable of aspiring to 
 " the recompence of reward" in a world to come, 
 that we seldom find any thing more than a promise 
 of worldly prosperity annexed to the condition of 
 their obedience. "That it may go well with 
 thee, and with thy children after thee," was the 
 highest inducement that could safely be offered 
 to this gross and rebellious people. The pro- 
 mise, however, even of a temporal reward, made 
 by Jehovah Himself, is a sufficient pledge of an 
 incorruptible inheritance : this temporal promise, 
 at least, the Jews had : the heathen are empha- 
 tically said to be "without God in the world;" 
 so that they had no promise, no light whatever 
 afforded them on what was to be their future con- 
 dition. All they conceived on this head was 
 mere speculation and fancy ; even the light of 
 nature was in this article insufficient ; for no such 
 light can possibly remove the veil which covers 
 futurity ; nor in any instance that we know of, did 
 
58 REVEALS A FUTURE STATE. [lECT. 
 
 a heathen, however wise and good, derive any 
 consolation in the evils of life from the belief of 
 the souFs immortality : sometimes, indeed, they 
 derived it from the doctrine of annihilation, and 
 sometimes a faint glimmering of a future state 
 seemed to break in upon their minds. " There is 
 much ground to Aope," says Socrates, before his 
 judges, "that death is a blessing ; for it must 
 necessarily be one of these two things — either the 
 dead man is nothing, and has no more sense of 
 any thing, or else it is only a change or transition 
 of the soul hence to another place, according to 
 what we are told. If there be no sensation left, 
 and death be like a deep sleep, or a still repose, 
 without dreams, it is wonderful to think what an 
 advantage it is to die \ But if the things which are 
 told us he true" (this phrase he frequently repeats) 
 " that death is a migration to another place, this 
 is still a much greater advantage." The subject 
 we are now about to treat of will especially en- 
 hance the value of Divine revelation, not only for 
 the consolation which is now to be derived from it 
 " concerning those who are fallen asleep;" but 
 also, from the amazing influence which the doc- 
 trine of future rewards and punishments must 
 have on the moral conduct of men. I have 
 forborne to dwell upon the wickedness of the 
 
 ' Cic. Tusculan. Qucest. 41. (from Plato's Phaedo.) 
 
III.] MISERY CONNECTED WITH IGNORANCE. 59 
 
 Gentile world, so awfully depicted by St. Paul, 
 for it is rather my intention in these discourses to 
 show you the evils resulting from a lack of know- 
 ledge, than to point out the consequences of the 
 prevalence of wickedness. The one is but the 
 naked fact, which requires no comment but re- 
 probation, the other is an enquiry into the cause 
 of the evil. The corruption of the human heart 
 will, I am aware, at once account for all ; but 
 the natural evil which lurks in the heart, is drawn 
 out by the application of bad principles and the 
 want of knowledge to remedy them ; and let it be 
 remembered, that wherever we turn our eyes to 
 consider the condition of a people, if we find the 
 tone of moral feeling low and the prevalence of 
 iniquity too visibly displayed, it may always be 
 said of that people, as God said of Israel, they 
 are " destroyed for lack of knowledge." 
 
 We have already traced the immorality of the 
 heathen world to their ignorance of the true 
 God, and to their inefficient principles of virtue : 
 and I think these will ever be the melancholy 
 causes of vice and irreligion ; but a still greater 
 cause than these, is that of unbelief in the article 
 of the resurrection and the immortality of the 
 soul, with all the terrors of a judgment to come ; 
 consequently any erroneous belief or false notions 
 of a future world and of a never-dying soul, will 
 always have a similar effect upon the moral 
 
 10 
 
60 VARIOUS OPINIONS CONCERNING THE [lECT. 
 
 character. The heathen were not altogether 
 unbelievers in a future state, they only did not 
 know what to believe respecting it, and they 
 formed their notions of it as their imaginations 
 led them. It is now my intention to bring those 
 imaginations to bear upon the Christian assur- 
 ance, that therein the word of God may shine 
 forth in all its splendour, and compel us to do 
 homage to " the truth as it is in Jesus." 
 
 The universal consent of mankind, in which 
 the law of nature consists, is as strongly pro- 
 nounced in favour of the belief that ' ' there is 
 something after death," as it is in the existence 
 of a Supreme Being — the doctrine always existed 
 in the human mind, it only wanted " bringing to 
 light." It is true, that as unlimited speculations 
 upon the nature of the soul and its future exist- 
 ence were admitted, its very existence was 
 sometimes denied, and this not only by those sects 
 which made such denial part of their doctrine, 
 but also by those wiser and more excellent men, 
 who in solemn and remarkable language had 
 delivered an opposite opinion, as may be in- 
 stanced even in the works of Plato and of Cicero. 
 But the nature or substance of the soul afforded 
 speculations of a more metaphysical kind, and 
 therefore the diversity of opinion was greater. 
 
 Empedocles thought it was the suffusion of 
 blood over the heart: others fancied it was some 
 
111. J NATURE OF THE SOUL. (J I 
 
 portion of the brain : it was not unfrequently 
 confounded with animal life : Zeno believed the 
 soul to be made of fire : Aristoxenus, the musician, 
 thought it consisted in the general combination 
 of feelings which he designates harmony : Xen- 
 ocrates gave it no shape, but seems to have anti- 
 cipated the modern school of scepticism, by 
 making it consist in organization : Plato con- 
 sidered the soul as composed of three faculties — 
 intelligence, desire, and anger, which he places 
 respectively in the head, the heart, and the breast. 
 And hence I suspect the idea to have originated 
 in the theological schools of Rome, that the 
 soul was made up of three powers — the will, the 
 memory, and the understanding. There were 
 other philosophers who considered the soul to be a 
 substance of grosser materials ; but we will for- 
 bear to touch upon the material systems. None 
 of these definitions, however, satisfied the capa- 
 cious mind of Aristotle : he discarded all the four 
 elements as forming any portion of the human 
 soul, and imagined a fifth element, for which 
 he was obliged to invent a name, and, by induc- 
 tion, we perceive in his subtle inventions some- 
 thing of an immortality K 
 
 If, however, we assign the first place in pagan 
 
 ' Vide Ciceron. Tusculan. Quccstiones, cap. ix. &c. but con- 
 sult Brucker Hist. Critic. Philosophice. Par. ii. lib. ii. xv. 
 torn. i. p. 820. edit. Lipsic 1742. 
 
62 DOCTRINES OF PYTHAGORAS. [lECT. 
 
 theology to the schools of Plato and Aristotle : 
 in ethics, to the systems of Socrates and the 
 Stoics : we may safely consider the Italian sect, 
 founded by Pythagoras, as the great school of 
 that branch of heathen philosophy which we 
 designate, for the sake of convenience, their 
 metaphysics. This extraordinary man, in his 
 speculations upon a future state, seemed to refine 
 upon error until he touched the borders of truth. 
 He thought that man, in the acquisition of hap- 
 piness, should seek to be free from all impurity of 
 the flesh : — " The invisible Olympus, or Heaven, 
 admits nothing that is defiled ; therefore vices 
 are to be avoided, and virtues to be sought after 
 — man is preserved by the mercies of God ; there- 
 fore the Deity is to be worshipped, and the 
 superior powers to be invoked that they would 
 complete our imperfect work ; but since nothing 
 material or even corporeally mingled, can be re- 
 ceived into this abode of the blessed, it is neces- 
 sary first to die, and wholly to put off this body, 
 before we can be admitted to the society of the 
 gods ^" The nature of the soul, therefore, ac- 
 cording to this doctrine, is immateriate, and ca- 
 pable of such complete purification from bodily 
 defilements, as to be fitted for admission into the 
 
 ' Vid. Brucher Hist. Critic Philosoph. torn. i. p. 1091. 
 Edit, citat. ; and Stanley's History of Philoso'phy . Part ix. p. 
 427. Edit. London, folio. 1701. 
 
III.] DOCTRINES OF PYTHAGORAS. 63 
 
 presence of the Deity. We cannot but admire 
 this sublime effect of unassisted reason : we seem 
 to be bordering upon that life and immortality 
 which has been brought to light in the Gospel. 
 By these and similar passages to be found in the 
 Greek writers (reiterated by the Roman philoso- 
 phers, especially by Cicero), some have been 
 misled as to the general belief of the heathens 
 on this head. Plato informs us that the doctrine 
 taught by Socrates concerning the soul's im- 
 mortality, met with little credit among men : 
 through the theories of Aristotle it is easy to dis- 
 cover his incredulity : and even with Cicero, it 
 seems rather to have been a subject for his rhetoric, 
 than a source of consolation through belief of it in 
 his afflictions : Julius Caesar considered those 
 things to be fables, which are related concerning 
 the " Inferi,'' where evil men, far from the man- 
 sions of the good, are confined to dreary abodes 
 and places filled with horrors ^ : and Pliny desig- 
 nates all such speculations as childish and sense- 
 less fictions of mortals who aspire to an immortal 
 
 * " Bene et composite C. Caesar paullo ante in hoc ordine de 
 vita et morte disseniit ; falsa, credo, existumans qua3 de inferis 
 memorantur : diverso itinere malos a bonis loca tetra, inculta 
 fceda atque formidolosa habere (vel habitare.)" Sallust. Bell. 
 Cat, cap. li. (verba Catonis.) Compare Cicero s Letter to 
 Suljncius. 
 
64 A FUTURE STATE IMPERFECTLY [lECT. 
 
 existence \ These passages, however, prove in 
 some measure the popular credulity, as well as 
 the infidelity of the philosopher; and it was not, as 
 we have said, that they rejected altogether the doc- 
 trine of a future state, but that they were in error 
 and confusion as to how much of it they should be- 
 lieve. The foundation of this error was laid in the 
 Pythagorean notion of the nature of the soul, and 
 the disposal of it after death. It was imagined 
 that there was a Divine Spirit diffused through 
 the whole of nature, which was as it were the 
 soul of the universe \ From this immense 
 ocean of life, the soul of every man and animal 
 dropped as it were in a particle ; and, as it was 
 impossible to annihilate that particle, the soul in 
 its nature was immortal : it was immortal, there- 
 fore, both before its earthly existence and after ; 
 for according to this idea, the human soul was 
 like the soul of the universe, being a portion of 
 
 ' Plin. Hist. Nat. lib. vii. cap. 55. But on this subject, 
 see Dr. Whitby's commentary on 1 Timothy i. 10. 
 
 * Virgil, ^neid. vi. 713 et seq. Ovid. Metamorph. xv. v. 
 153. — But Ovid does not faithfully deliver the doctrines of 
 Pythagoras. Caesar found the doctrine of transmigration 
 among the Gallic Druids, " imprimis hoc volunt persuadere 
 non interire animas, sed ab aliis post mortem transire ad alios 
 atque hoc maxime ad virtutem excitari putant metu mortis 
 neglecto." — Ccesar de bello Gallic, vi. 
 
III.] DISCERNED BY THE HEATHEN. 65 
 
 it, iincreate. When this particle of divine life 
 had ceased to animate one body, it either re- 
 turned to its great Fountain, or passed into 
 some other body, which latter opinion, called 
 transmigration or metempsychosis, has gene- 
 rally been attributed to Pythagoras, but without 
 sufficient authority. It might rather be called 
 the doctrine of those who either misunder- 
 stood or wilfully misrepresented his system ; for 
 this philosopher delivers a more salutary doc- 
 trine. He taught, that the soul would return 
 to the elements from which it descended, after 
 first undergoing a purgatorial process. If a man 
 when he hath put off his body remain burdened 
 with vices, he begins to be miserable, which 
 misery after death, Pythagoras divides into two 
 kinds : the one is of a less degree than the other, 
 that is, it is nearer happiness, so that in the 
 regions below the earth there are two mansions, 
 the elysium or the purgatory possessed by those 
 who are in course of time to ascend to the 
 blessedness of heaven, and the Tartarus or Hell 
 wherein the torments are endless. He also 
 taught that it was possible for a man to live so 
 justly, that when he died his soul might as- 
 cend directly to the pure sky, and at all events, 
 the more a man could purifj^ his soul in this 
 life the less pain would he have to endure in 
 purgatory. Now it may appear from a system 
 
 F 
 
G6 DOCTRINES OF THE [lECT. 
 
 like this, that all practical purposes were an- 
 swered by the doctrine of rewards and punish- 
 ments ; whereas, in fact, it met with little credit 
 among the better informed heathens, and had no 
 practical influence on the great mass, and why ? 
 first, because, as a man might purify his soul in 
 another state of existence, he was not anxious to 
 begin the process earnestly in the present life ; 
 and secondly, because there was such a vague 
 notion of personal identity. No one considered 
 the soul as his own peculiar portion : it was 
 merely the substance of it that was immortal, 
 nor could any one be anxious about the welfare 
 of that substance which was to be mingled indis- 
 criminately with the soul of the universe, in 
 order to be restored at length to the same state in 
 which it had existed previously to birth. It was, 
 as far as all practical purposes were concerned, 
 a complete annihilation. The heathen immor- 
 tality is thus a totally different doctrine from 
 that of the Gospel, and the nature of the soul is 
 altogether differently set forth : and as to the 
 process of its purification, if it were now reason- 
 able to show how the doctrine of the atonement 
 and the sanctification of the spirit would operate 
 in comparison with the purgatorial fire, the ex- 
 cellence of our Gospel would be more and more 
 apparent, and the life which is in Christ would 
 shine as the sun in his meridian strength. Suppose 
 
III.] PYTHAGOREAN SCHOOL. 67 
 
 however this doctrine of the soul's immateriahty 
 and immortality to have been generally received, 
 or suppose the rewards and punishments, as 
 taught in the Platonic and Pythagorean schools, 
 to have been believed by the multitude (waving 
 the argument of the soul's identity) what was 
 there still wanting to bring the Gospel doctrine 
 to light? — The resurrection of the body, for 
 teaching which, at Athens, the Epicureans and 
 the Stoics called St. Paul a babbler and a setter- 
 forth of strange gods. But this is the doctrine 
 which alone presses upon man the responsibility 
 of his actions, and as this was the great truth 
 established by the resurrection of Christ from the 
 dead, it was especially in this article of our faith 
 that revelation shone conspicuously ; for, whilst 
 the heathen glanced at the doctrines, which re- 
 gard the immateriality of the soul, its capabilities 
 of happiness, the ill effects of vice upon it, and 
 the very punishments of the wicked ; for want of 
 that which the Gospel alone reveals, the whole 
 system was one of folly and uncertainty — the 
 wicked mocked the threatenings of future punish- 
 ments — the good had languid hopes of reward, 
 and they sorrowed as men without hope for those 
 of their friends who slept. The melancholy 
 language of Cicero, when bereaved of his daugh- 
 ter, shows us how little avails the highest phi- 
 losophy without the Christian's hope ; and the 
 
 f2 
 
68 THE PHILOSOPHERS [lECT. 
 
 consolation offered by his friend Sulpicius has 
 been justly cited \ to enhance the consolation 
 which is to be found in the Gospel. I have 
 hitherto confined my observations in this lecture 
 to the ideas which the men of Greece and Rome 
 conceived of the nature and faculties of the soul, 
 to what they believed or knew of its immortality, 
 and how they viewed the rewards and punish- 
 ments of a future state : the two first articles 
 were matters of curious speculation for the phi- 
 losophical mind, the latter furnished an abun- 
 dance of fable for the poets. The multitude 
 were thus taught to believe something ; but the 
 teachers could produce no sanction to enforce 
 their instructions : not believing much themselves, 
 they were imable to produce any wholesome 
 impressions upon others. Many passages indeed 
 might be cited from their writings, which would 
 serve to point out their creed ; but we shall not 
 find one of them in which some mistrust is not be- 
 
 ' The letters of Cicero and Sulpicius, are translated and 
 appended by Dr. Whately, (now Archbishop of Dublin,) to his 
 "Lectures." I am vastly indebted to one of those Lectures 
 for much that is here advanced, on the soul's separate state. — 
 Dr. Whately's book fell into my hands at Geneva, in the 
 summer of 1830; and I recollect making free use of it, 
 but as it is no longer in my possession, I cannot acknowledge 
 the full extent of my obligations. — I now give a general 
 reference to that original production. 
 
III.] AND THE MULTITUDE. ()9 
 
 trayed, whereas in many, an expression of greater 
 doubt than belief in the subject is exhibited : 
 they wanted the awful sanction of the rewards 
 and punishments which revelation alone fur- 
 nishes, — "these shall go away into everlasting 
 punishment, but the righteous into life eternal." 
 They wanted the light to discriminate between 
 time and eternity ; for they knew not, that now 
 is the day of grace and mercy, that this life is 
 our state of probation. The Gospel therefore 
 brought the light just where there was darkness ; 
 and surely it is only by walking in that light, 
 that we can be preserved from falling again into 
 similar errors. Hence then it becomes necessary 
 to inquire into that which is revealed, and to 
 separate it from that which is not ; for if we spe- 
 culate upon what is not revealed, it is evident we 
 shall become like the Heathen, vain in our imagi- 
 nations : and this brings me to the subject of the 
 soul existing in a separate state from the body, 
 to which the words I have read to you from St. 
 Paul immediately have reference. 
 
 The evils which had arisen from speculating 
 on the soul's abstract existence, and the mischief 
 likely to recur from a subject too refined for our 
 limited conceptions, may perhaps account for the 
 silence which the sacred writers have observed 
 upon it, insomuch that it cannot be gathered 
 from the Scriptures, with any degree of certainty, 
 
70 THAT WHICH IS REVEALED. [lECT, 
 
 whether the soul sleeps or is active in the inter- 
 mediate state between death and judgment. In 
 attempting to follow the soul in its actual separa- 
 tion from the body, arose all the errors of the 
 Pagan system : this was the groundwork of their 
 superstitious ceremonies about the dead, and 
 easily served to work upon the feelings of those 
 who survived. " I cannot but subscribe," says 
 Cicero, " to the authority of our ancestors, who 
 afforded religious honours to the dead, which cer- 
 tainly they would not have done, unless they had 
 had some idea of their consciousness." Now if 
 we wish to avoid the presumption of being ' ' wise 
 above that which is written," it seems as necessary 
 to ascertain what is not a subject of revelation, 
 as to know what is. Very little is said, in the 
 Scriptures, of the nature of a future state at all : 
 " it doth not yet appear," says St. Paul, " what 
 we shall be, but we know that when He shall 
 appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see 
 Him as He is." With whatever other revelations 
 the apostle might be favoured on this subject, 
 he did not think it advisable to speak of them ; 
 for being caught up into the third heaven, he 
 heard those unspeakable things, which it was 
 not lawful for him to utter ; and when he sets 
 before us the joys of the world to come, it is 
 merely by declaring, in the language of the pro- 
 phet, that " eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, 
 
III.] THE SEPARATE STATE OF THE SOUL. • 71 
 
 neither hath it entered into the heart of man to 
 conceive the things which God hath prepared 
 for those that love Him." How, therefore, we 
 shall exist in a world to come, " wherein dwell- 
 eth righteousness," we know not ; but only that 
 we shall exist, and our faculties will be so en- 
 larged " when He shall appear," that we shall 
 see the Almighty face to face. But whether the 
 soul immediately after death will be active in a 
 separate state, or sleep, until He shall appear in 
 judgment, is no where positively revealed ; we 
 only know, that whatever may be the condition 
 of the soul, it will be neither in a state of trial, nor 
 capable of any change ; but as death leaves it, 
 judgment will find it : if there be any thing clear 
 in the Scriptures, it is this ; and therefore they 
 invariably represent this life as the time allotted 
 to man for securing his eternal welfare. The 
 subject has been handled by many pious and 
 learned men, and those passages in Scripture, 
 which seem to favour the opinion of the soul's 
 activity in an intermediate state, have been 
 explained with sufficient clearness to show at 
 least, that they are not positive : whilst, on 
 the other hand, those who take alarm at this 
 state of repose, as approaching to annihilation, 
 and who think it would place retribution at too 
 great a distance to influence the present ex- 
 istence, are exhorted to consider, that many 
 
72 • ST. PAULS METHOD OF [lECT. 
 
 thousands of years are, in that case, the same as 
 a moment of time. — The soul may be hushed in 
 death, but will awake to judgment! — But let us 
 see what the apostle does declare unto the Thes- 
 salonians, " by the word of the Lord," that is 
 to say, by express revelation. 
 
 The Thessalonians, it appears, had been be- 
 reaved of some of their Christian brethren, and 
 this diffused a general sorrow through the 
 Church : their grief was much increased by the 
 apprehension, that those brethren, who had 
 thus gone before, would not partake of the be- 
 nefits of Christ's second coming, or in other 
 words, had been forestalled by death, of all the 
 privileges of the Christian profession. The 
 apostle, therefore, bids them not to be sorry, as 
 the Gentiles were in such cases, who had no 
 hope of another world ; but to consider the 
 doctrine they had been taught to believe, viz. 
 "that Jesus died and rose again:" and thus, 
 becoming the first-fruits of them that slept, 
 would bring with Him, at His second coming, 
 those that slept in Him. He then proceeds to 
 deliver as much as had been revealed to him 
 on this subject — -"this we say unto you by the 
 word of the Lord." He does not pretend to fix 
 the day of the Lord, nor does he rebuke the 
 Thessalonians for their erroneous speculations on 
 its early appearance; — but he says, "of the 
 
III.] COMFORTING THE THESSALONIANS. • 73 
 
 times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no 
 need that I write unto you, for yourselves know 
 perfectly, that the day of the Lord cometh as a 
 thief in the night : " thus waving the question 
 of the time when Christ should appear, he 
 applies himself to console the sorrowful Thessa- 
 lonians '^ by the word of the Lord." We which 
 are alive, and remain unto the coming of the 
 Lord, (he saith, we, not meaning that he should 
 be alive, but he personates the Christians, who 
 shall at that period be remaining,) as if he had 
 said, such of us Christians as shall remain unto 
 the judgment day, shall not prevent, that is, be 
 beforehand, or have any advantage over them 
 which are asleep ; but this will be the order of 
 that great and awful day, the Lord Himself will 
 visibly appear, descending from the heavens 
 with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, 
 and with the trump of God ; and so far from 
 the living saints having any preference, the dead 
 in Christ shall rise first. Then we (the Christ- 
 ians) which are alive and remain, shall be 
 caught up together with them in the clouds, to 
 meet the Lord in the air, and so shall we be 
 ever with the Lord : he then bids them comfort 
 and exhort one another with the words which 
 he thus spake by Divine revelation. Now since 
 the apostle's object was to console the Thessalo- 
 nians for the premature loss of their dear friends, 
 
74 ST. Paul's authority limited. [lect. 
 
 one mio'ht think that, had he been authorized, 
 he would have said, even now though their 
 bodies be asleep, their souls are in the enjoy- 
 ment of bliss ; for this would have been the 
 greatest consolation of all ; and instead of their 
 being deprived of a share of the blessedness to 
 come, those who had fallen asleep would ever 
 have surpassed in bliss those who remained 
 alive, being already in the full possession of their 
 reward. It is evident, therefore, St. Paul had 
 no authority to speak upon the separate state of 
 the soul ; for he only consoles the people with 
 that which shall happen at the judgment day ; 
 and he says, the dead in Christ sleep. I do not 
 affirm this proves the insipidness of the soul in 
 the intermediate state of separation from the 
 body ; but this I say, it proves St. Paul had no 
 distinct revelation on the subject, and conse- 
 quently, all that men may say upon it is pure 
 matter of speculation ; and it cannot be imposed 
 upon Christians, as an article of faith, either one 
 way or the other. Hence we see the real Church 
 of Christ is silent upon this point : in the three 
 Catholic creeds which our reformers retained, 
 the intermediate state is passed over in silence ^ 
 
 ' The compilers of our Liturgy seem, indeed, to have in- 
 clined to the opinion, that the good soul entered immedi- 
 ately after death into a state of happiness — but their senti- 
 
III.] ST. Paul's authority limited. 75 
 
 We read of no judgment in the Scriptures, ex- 
 cept that of the last day : the end of the world is 
 invariably pointed to, by the sacred writers, as 
 the time for men to give an account of the deeds 
 done in the body. Since then it hath not 
 pleased the Lord to reveal this secret unto the 
 children of men, why should man "intrude 
 into those things which he hath not seen, vainly 
 puffed up by his fleshly mind ? " 
 
 ments are only slightly seen, in one of the prayers at the 
 burial of the dead ; most of the Latin fathers entertained 
 a similar opinion ; but it was not imposed by our reformers 
 as an article of faith. If we consult the primitive Church we 
 shall find the authority for the popular opinion diminish. 
 Irenseus states the orthodox faith as follows : — 
 
 Manifestum est, quia discipulorum ejus animae abibunt in 
 invisibilem locum definitum eis a Deo, et ibi usque ad resur- 
 rectionem commorabuntur, sustinentes resurrectionem, post 
 recipientes corpora, et perfecte resurgentes, hoc est corporaliter, 
 quemadmodum et Dominus resurrexit, sic venient ad conspec- 
 tum Dei. Adv. Hceres. lib. v. cap. 31. And Lactantius, 
 though later, denies that souls are judged immediately after 
 death, but maintains they are kept in one common custody, till 
 the time arrives when the great Judge shall make a trial of 
 their merits. It is generally agreed among divines, that the 
 soul shall not enjoy the presence of God until the resurrection ; 
 but this state of custody, or negative happiness, differs but little 
 in its practical influence from the opinion of a state of sleep, 
 or unconscious repose. I conceive the Christian is at liberty 
 to derive his consolation from either \aew of the subject he 
 finds most consoling — but the council of Trent has made one 
 view alone of it the foundation of the invocation of saints ! — 
 
76 CURIOSITY LEFT UNSATISFIED. [lECT, 
 
 It seems to have been least of all designed in 
 revelation, to administer to the gratification of 
 the natural mind ; and in bringing to light the 
 immortality of the soul, the Spirit hath forborne 
 to speak to the fancy of the poet, to aid the 
 reveries of the philosopher, or to promote the 
 filthy lucre of the priest ; He hath left the 
 empty honours of the dead unsanctioned, He 
 hath not been pleased to raise the curtain which 
 conceals the destiny of a departed spirit from 
 the curious speculation of the survivor, so that 
 he can neither judge of its satiety of joy, nor of 
 despair ; at the same time that the living mortal 
 is left on the brink of eternity, whither he may 
 accompany the kindred soul, and whence he 
 may almost see her wing her flight to the un- 
 explored regions ; but after this he is to return 
 to his house with hope in his distress, and with 
 trembling in his hope. Still, however, the same 
 Divine Author of revelation hath informed the 
 responsible being, man, that there is "a new 
 heaven and a new earth, in which dwelleth 
 righteousness," and that there is a place of 
 "outer darkness, where there shall be weeping, 
 and wailing, and gnashing of teeth." He hath 
 pointed out, beyond the limits of nature, a bound- 
 less and untried ocean ; but he hath forborne to 
 make the man an angel, to track its immensity, 
 until he be clothed with an angel's nature : he is 
 
III.] MISCHIEF OF CREDULITY. 77 
 
 told to be content in this world with the know- 
 ledge of the fact, that when he awakes with the 
 Divine likeness, he will be satisfied with it ; 
 but how and when that glorious satisfaction will 
 be imparted, otherwise than at the general 
 judgment, remains untold. 
 
 But although our inquiries into the economy 
 of the world of spirits are thus restrained, the 
 weak and credulous mind is restless, except it 
 be gratified by some instruction relating to the 
 dead : it easily lends a willing ear to legendary 
 lore, and raises an imaginary spectre from the 
 tomb, to gratify the " superstitious horror," and as 
 this is not confined to the mere vulgar, but often 
 gains upon the most vigorous mind, there is 
 evidently something in it congenial to the na- 
 tural man. The sagacity of designing men has 
 not been slow to discover, in this tendency of 
 the human mind, the materials of a system at 
 once adapted to interest and domination : accord- 
 ingly, all the circumstances which may happen 
 after the soul's separation from the body, have 
 been as accurately described as if the inventors 
 had been eye-witnesses of the business of the 
 world to come. But it may be said, why did not 
 the Author of revelation put an end to these 
 doubts, by clearly unfolding the wonders of a 
 future world ? for then the imagination would 
 have been at once restrained ; the evils which have 
 
78 GENERAL RESURRECTION REVEALED, [lECT. 
 
 arisen from so abstract a question, would have 
 been prevented. The answer is easy : if in the 
 essential doctrines of Christianity, which are 
 clearly revealed, there be still doubt and per- 
 plexity to the natural mind, what proof is there 
 that it would not have been the same, if the myste- 
 ries of a separate state of existence had been 
 unfolded? It is very possible, that if it had 
 pleased the Almighty to reveal the secret, the 
 perverseness of mankind would have shown itself 
 to a greater extent than is now apparent in their 
 ignorance of the matter. It is not always that 
 the carnal mind submits to receive a truth, be- 
 cause " the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." 
 But when we reflect upon the errors and 
 superstition which have arisen in the Gentile 
 world, from their vain speculations on the se- 
 parate state of the dead, the silence of the in- 
 spired writers upon the subject may in some 
 measure be accounted for ; neither would the 
 discussion of the subject, if it were renewed, be 
 attended, as far as we can judge, with any other 
 effect than that of keeping alive the curiosity of 
 men. Following, therefore, the example of the 
 sacred penmen, we say nothing of those who are 
 fallen asleep, except that they must one day 
 " appear before the judgment-seat of Christ," 
 and there receive their everlasting sentence ; for 
 although we might dream with Pythagoras, and 
 
III.] GENERAL RESURRECTION REVEALED. 79 
 
 refine with Plato, and give to each departed 
 soul its lighter or darker shade of vice, and keep 
 it for different periods of time in a state of pur- 
 gation, until it were fit to re-ascend to the pure 
 aether, it might be good Pagan theology, but 
 Christianity knows nothing of it. "I know in 
 whom I have believed,"' is the language of in- 
 spiration, " and am persuaded that He is able to 
 keep that which I have committed to Him 
 against that day." " Henceforth there is laid 
 up for me a crown of righteousness, which the 
 Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that 
 day, and not to me only, but unto all them also 
 that love His appearing." In these expressions, 
 as to the fact of the resurrection to eternal life, 
 we cannot but remark the total silence of the 
 apostle on the subject of an intermediate state. 
 
 Revelation, then, has given us an assurance, 
 unknown to the heathen, that we shall live for 
 ever in another world : that the body, glori- 
 fied and re-united to the soul, shall ' ' stand be- 
 fore the judgment-seat of Christ :" that there, 
 whatever may be the intervening state, about 
 which it concerns us not to be curious, we 
 shall receive our final sentence — " these shall 
 go away into everlasting punishment, but the 
 righteous into life eternal." With this doctrine 
 we arrive at a great practical conclusion, "we 
 must work while it is day, for the night cometh 
 
 10 
 
80 PRACTICAL CONCLUSION [lECT. 
 
 when no man can work." Whatever may 
 happen immediately after death, this one thing 
 is sure, if the Scriptures have any meaning ; 
 there will be no room for repentance, no place 
 for amelioration, no more redemption, no more 
 forgiveness : those that are already fallen asleep 
 in Christ may be even now as the angels of 
 God, their disembodied spirits may be crowding 
 around the throne of the Almighty, but this 
 affecteth not our state of probation here . " God , ' ' 
 saith the apostle, " hath not appointed us to 
 wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or 
 sleep we should live together with him," Where- 
 fore, my brethren, comfort yourselves together, 
 and edify one another with words like these : 
 continually keep in view the end of this mortal 
 career, and realize the presence of the Judge, 
 before whom the spirit, " clothed upon with a 
 house" different to this of our earthly tabernacle, 
 shall one day stand : consider the redemption 
 which is in Christ Jesus, that if the soul, after 
 having been its day in this world of trial, shall 
 depart without securing a personal interest in 
 that redemption, it will be for ever lost, and the 
 gates of love and mercy eternally closed against 
 it. But if in a simple dependence upon the Sa- 
 viour's merits, and through the blood of sprink- 
 ling applied by faith, the soul is purified from all 
 
in.] AND CONSOLATION TO BE DERIVED. 81 
 
 filthiness of flesh and spirit, so that the seeds of 
 sin which may remain in the njortal body, are 
 not imputed as sin for the sake of Him on whom 
 that soul believes and depends ; then as soon as 
 the breath of life is gone, and the body is only 
 fit to be mingled with the dust, the spirit enters 
 into security and rest, to be kept by the power 
 of God (in what state He pleaseth, but unknown 
 to us) until that day ; then shall there be given 
 unto it " the grace that is to be brought at the 
 revelation of Jesus Christ," and so shall the 
 believer shine forth in the firmament of God's 
 glory as a star \ which shall twinkle in its proper 
 sphere throughout the ages of eternity. 
 
 ' Daniel xii. 3. 1 Cor. xv. 41. 1 Pet. i. 13. 
 
LECTURE IV. 
 
 THE STATE OF RELIGION AMONG THE JEWS PRE- 
 VIOUS TO THE COMING OF CHRIST. 
 
 St. Mark vii. 6—9. 13. 
 
 Jesus answered and said unto them, well hath Esais j^TOjohesied 
 of you hypocrites, as it is written, this peojjle honouretli me 
 with their lips, hut their heart is far fro7n me. Howheit, in 
 vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the command- 
 ments of men ; for laying aside the comviandment of God, ye 
 hold the tradition of men, as the washing of jwts and cups ; 
 and many other such like things ye do. And he said unto 
 them, full well ye reject the commandment of God, that ye 
 may keep your own tradition. * * * * Making the word 
 of God of none effect, through your tradition which ye have 
 delivered : and many such like things do ye. 
 
 If the Gentile world were sitting in darkness, and 
 in the shadow of death, and were ignorant of the 
 true God, it is no wonder, humanly speaking, 
 that they made to themselves gods after their 
 own inventions, and fell headlong into all manner 
 of superstition : if they knew not the law of God, 
 
LECT. IV. J RESPONSIBILITY OF THE JEWS. 83 
 
 but were directed only l)y the feeble light of the law 
 of nature, which fluctuated with their passions, and 
 was frequently lost in the defiled conscience, it is 
 no matter of great surprise that they were im- 
 moral : and if they were without hope, and knew 
 nothing of a life to come, it is no wonder that 
 they sorrowed even to despair at the thought of 
 leaving this world. But for the Jews, to whom 
 were committed the oracles of God, who had 
 heard of the " wonders in Egypt, and the 
 miracles in the field of Zoan," who had learned 
 His righteous statutes and judgments, which He 
 delivered by His servant Moses, and who had 
 heard that God was " not the God of the dead, 
 but of the living," how came they to fall into 
 such a state of depravity, as to be no less in 
 need of a new revelation than the rest of the 
 heathen world ? The answer is set forth in the 
 words of the Redeemer, which I have now read 
 to you. Although they were in possession of 
 the law of Moses and the prophets, and might 
 have learned better things, they had corrupted 
 that word of God, and substituted for it, or 
 mingled with it, the ordinances and traditions of 
 men, more congenial to their natural and de- 
 praved hearts. For inward purity, they had 
 substituted the external forms and ceremonies of 
 worship : they had laid aside the weightier matters 
 of the law, at the same time that they rigidly 
 
 G 2 
 
84 THE ADVANTAGES OF THE JEWS. [lECT. 
 
 adhered to the letter of their religious rites, 
 which might be performed with heartless service : 
 they were very scrupulous in observing a fair 
 outward show of religion, and purchasing the 
 good will of the priesthood, for they paid tithe 
 even " of mint, and anise, and cummin," but 
 they omitted " the weightier matters of the 
 law, judgment, mercy, and faith/' The Jews 
 therefore were justly in the same state of con- 
 demnation with the Gentiles, but from different 
 causes : the one having no law and following 
 their own corrupt imaginations, the other having 
 the law of God, but corrupting it to the standard 
 of their own depravity. The condemnation of 
 the Jew was as much increased as his means of 
 knowledge exceeded those of the heathen ; when, 
 therefore, the light did appear to lighten the 
 Gentiles as well as to be the glory of Israel, it 
 was said to be more tolerable for Sodom and 
 Gomorrah in the day of judgment, than for the 
 privileged city which, by rejecting the Lord of 
 glory, increased the measure of its guilt. 
 
 But in order to achieve our proposition, and 
 fully show the necessity as well as the ines- 
 timable blessing of Divine revelation, let us now 
 take a special view of the religious condition of 
 the Jews, whence we may discern how justly they 
 deserved the severe rebukes which our Lord so 
 often directed aaainst them. It will however be 
 
IV.] THE ADVANTAGES OF THE JEWS. 85 
 
 necessary to keep in view the three subjects on 
 which we have tried the heathen world, viz. 
 what was their theology ? what were their morals, 
 both in knowledge and practice ? and what hopes 
 they had of another state of existence ? 
 
 "What advantage then hath the Jew?" (asks 
 St. Paul, for the sake of argument) "or what 
 profit is there in circumcision?" "Much every 
 way, but chiefly because to them were com- 
 mitted the oracles of God :" and in no particular 
 was this advantage more apparent than in pre- 
 serving among them the knowledge of the true 
 God, so that they at least honoured Him with 
 their lips. Possessing the books of Moses and 
 the prophets, it was hardly possible they could 
 have any degrading notions of the Deity ; neither 
 do we find that the Jews had formed any specu- 
 lative ideas of the Divine Essence : they adhered 
 closely to the written word, pronounced the 
 name of Jehovah with profound reverence, and 
 read the sublime descriptions of His attributes 
 and His glory with fear and trembling. It was 
 not in the abstract view of the Godhead that they 
 erred : they never lost the name whereby the 
 Almighty was so awfully denominated, " I am ;" 
 nor was it in the object, but in the manner of their 
 worship, that they were mistaken. The severe 
 rebukes of our Lord do not fall upon their pure 
 theological faith as it respected the Deity ; butupon 
 
86 THEIR IDOLATRY AND DEPRAVITY. [lECT. 
 
 their degrading manner of doing Him service. 
 Frequently had the Almighty condescended to 
 reason with His rebellious people upon the nature 
 of Divine worship : frequently did He represent 
 to them, by the glowing language of His prophets, 
 how utterly inconsistent with His glory it was 
 that they put their outward ceremonies in the 
 place of inward and heart-felt devotion. " To 
 what purpose is the multitude of your sacrifices 
 unto me, saith the Lord. When ye come to ap- 
 pear before me, who hath required this at your 
 hand to tread my courts ? Bring no more vain 
 oblations, incense is an abomination unto me ; 
 the new moons and the sabbaths, the calling of 
 assemblies I cannot away with, it is iniquity, even 
 the solemn meeting." It was not so much the 
 first commandment they transgressed, as the 
 second : it was not that they really thought the 
 Godhead was to be represented by a graven 
 image, or that they were to fall down and wor- 
 ship the stock of a tree ; but by performing the 
 outward ceremony, they made a kind of com- 
 promise with their consciences, and derived 
 self-satisfaction from their external worship : 
 "Aha! I am warm, I have seen the fire," as 
 the prophet describes their delirious joy. It does 
 not appear that our Saviour ever upbraided any 
 of the Jews, of whatever sect they might be, with 
 corrupting the grand doctrine of the Unity of 
 
IV.] ORIGIN OF THE JEWISH SECTS. 87 
 
 God, as preserved in the Jewish canon of scrip- 
 ture ; but since they had descended to a degree 
 of moral depravity, which the Gentiles scarcely 
 surpassed, we discover no personal advantage to 
 them in their abstract orthodoxy. So long as the 
 leading truth remained upon earth, that God 
 Avas the first Cause and Creator of all things, and 
 was highly to be feared by all the creatures of 
 His hands, He was not left without witness 
 among the nations : and perhaps the Jews, dis- 
 persed, as they were, all over the world, were a 
 standing reproach to the idolatry and supersti- 
 tion of the Gentile world ; but in a general view 
 of their religious state, we shall find the superior 
 knowledge they possessed to be of no personal 
 advantage to them, because it did not tend to 
 the purifying of their hearts and lives. We 
 shall now, therefore, proceed to consider in what 
 their perversity mainly consisted, and why they 
 equally had need of a new revelation from 
 heaven, although possessing the ancient oracles 
 of truth. 
 
 After the return of the Jews from Babylon, 
 and the restoration of their church under the 
 administration of Ezra and Nehemiah, there 
 arose two leading parties among them : the 
 one adhered strictly to the written word, main- 
 taining its sufficiency in all that it concerned a 
 righteous man to know : the other added to 
 
88 THE PHARISEES. [lECT. 
 
 the written law, the traditions of the elders, and 
 adopted many rigorous observances, which gave 
 them, in the eyes of the people, a title to supe- 
 rior sanctity, and they are mentioned in the 
 book of Maccabees, by the name of Assidoeans '. 
 From these proceeded the Pharisees and the kin- 
 dred sects, such as the Scribes and Lawyers : from 
 the former, descended the Sadducees and the 
 Samaritans, and the more durable sect of the 
 Karaites ; besides these we read in the New 
 Testament of the Herodians and Galilseans, 
 The Essenes, though apparently an important 
 sect, are not mentioned by the sacred writers : 
 they are perhaps alluded to, and may be con- 
 sidered as a reformed portion of the Pharisees. — 
 I am not aware that any of these denied the 
 Unity of God : they all professed to know God, 
 it was only in works they denied Him. It was 
 not theoretical, but it was practical atheism : 
 it was not like the Gentile condition, being 
 " without God in the world ;" but it was living 
 without a sense of His presence and His power 
 upon their minds. 
 
 The Pharisees, to whom the words I have read 
 to you were particularly addressed, formed the 
 most numerous class amons: the Jews at the 
 
 ' 1 INlaccab. ii. 42, and vii. 13. But see Prideaux's Con. 
 &c. part ii. book v. 
 
IV.] THE PHARISEES. 89 
 
 coming of Christ. They originally existed in 
 the powerful party of the Assidceans, but they 
 do not appear as a separate body until about 
 one hundred and fifty years before Christ ; they 
 assumed the name of Pharisees, that word de- 
 noting, in the Hebrew language, something sepa- 
 rate, and set themselves apart with a display of 
 sanctity. They were not, as I have observed, 
 idolaters ; but, with regard to the immortality of 
 the soul, they were evidently imbued with the 
 doctrines of Pythagoras. I do not mean they 
 had recourse to the Italic sect of philosophers 
 for such doctrines, but they drew them, as is 
 probable, from the same source, viz. the Egyp- 
 tian theology. The Pharisee no doubt despised 
 the learning of Greece ; but if ' ' Moses were 
 learned in all the wisdom of the Egyptians," it 
 might not be thought altogether unworthy of the 
 Scribe, who sat in Moses' seat. Agreeably to the 
 Pythagorean notion, they imagined, that when 
 the soul was gone out of the body, it did not die, 
 but transmigrated from one, to some other body, 
 and through a succession of removals, lived to 
 infinity : hence we find that, when our Lord per- 
 formed those miracles, which they could not but 
 acknowledge, they began to speculate upon the 
 soul which most probably animated His body : 
 some said He was Elias, others Jeremiah ; but 
 certainly, as the least credulous of them thought, 
 
90 PYTHAGOREAN NOTIONS. SiC. [lECT. 
 
 He must be some one of the prophets. The same 
 doctrine appears to have been acknowledged by 
 Herod ; for, hearmg of Christ, his remark was, 
 that John the Baptist had risen from the dead : 
 that is, his soul had re-appeared in Christ ; and 
 therefore, he adds, " mighty works do show forth 
 themselves in him." Even the disciples were 
 not divested of similar notions, until after the 
 resurrection. The Pharisees appear further to 
 have entered into the Pythagorean system of 
 bodily defilements and purifications ; and hence 
 their scrupulous observance of washings, fastings, 
 and their choice of meats : they thought that the 
 soul was polluted by the nourishment necessary 
 for the support of the body ; but they did not 
 consider the body defiled from " that which 
 Cometh out of the man." Hence we observe in 
 the Pharisee, a sort of austerity and self-denial, 
 coupled with the most degrading vices — self- 
 righteousness, with all the pride which belongs 
 to it — and sin, without any of the shame which 
 should ever accompany it. These observations 
 are abundantly illustrated in the discourses of our 
 Lord with the Pharisees ^ But the doctrine of 
 Pythagoras did not stop here. After all the 
 purifying of the soul whilst it remained in the 
 body, there was still another state of purgation 
 
 ' St. Matthew, XV. 11. 17. Mark vii. 18—21. 
 
IV.] THE SOULS OF THE DEAD. 91 
 
 contemplated. In this, the Pharisee perhaps be- 
 lieved ; and the Jews have preserved a doctrine 
 of purgatory to the present day, which is not, 
 however, considered as a third place of existence, 
 but a place wherein the soul, by suffering a little 
 of the fire of hell, obtains redemption. They 
 limit the period of the purification to ' ' twelve 
 months," and pretend that on the Sabbath days 
 the soul has a respite from the pains of purga- 
 tion ^ This doctrine of the Jews depends entirely 
 upon the tradition of the elders, for neither Jew 
 nor Christian ever presumed to say it was found 
 in Moses or the prophets. Judas Maccabeus is 
 supposed to have believed in the efficacy of 
 prayers and sacrifices for the dead ; for we read 
 he sent two thousand drachms of silver to Je- 
 rusalem to defray the expenses of a sin oft'ering 
 for those who had fallen in the conflict with 
 Gorgias. " Now if he had not hoped," says the 
 apocryphal writer, " that they that were slain 
 should have risen again, it had been superfluous 
 and vain to pray for the dead^." And we may 
 
 ^ Vide Buxtorf. Synagog. Judaic, cap. xlix. and Basnage 
 Histoire des Juifs, liv. iv. chap, xxxii. § 9, 10. 
 
 ^ 2 Maccab. xii. 44,45. I consider the criticism of Bishop 
 Patrick and Mr. Lowth upon these verses very feeble, and not 
 the way I would choose to deal with Cardinal Bellarmine's 
 arguments thereupon : "La Religion Judaique," says a saga- 
 cious writer, " commen(,'a dc s'altcrer par le commerce qu'on 
 
92 THE SOULS OF THE DEAD. [lECT. 
 
 add, it would have been equally superfluous, if 
 he had not supposed the departed souls to be 
 in such a condition, as to be helped by the 
 prayers of the living to a better state of existence. 
 It is evident therefore the author of the books 
 of the Maccabees believed in something like a 
 purgatory ; that is, the doctrine, if such it can 
 be called, which is traced to the period in which 
 the Pharisaical sect began : at the same time 
 we remark, in the phraseology of the apocryphal 
 writer, the slight touching of an opinion not 
 GENERALLY RECEIVED. The comicxion whicli 
 the Jews had with Egypt, after their return 
 from Babylon, had given them, as I conceive, 
 these doctrines of the soul's separate existence, 
 in common with the Platonic and Pythagorean 
 schools ; and the Separatists or Pharisees pre- 
 
 eut avec les etrangers ; ce commerce fut beaucoup plus frequent 
 depuis les conquetes d' Alexandre qu'il n'etoit auparavant, et ce 
 fut particulierement avec les Egyptiens qu'on se lia, surtout 
 pendant que les Rois d'Egypte furent maitres de la Judee, 
 ({u'ils y firent des voyages et des expeditions, et qu'ils en 
 transporterent les habitans. On n'emprunta pas des Egyptiens 
 leurs idoles, mais leur metliode de traiter la theologie et la 
 religion ; les docteurs Juifs transportes ou nes en ce pays-la se 
 jetterent dans les interpretations allegoriques," &c. — Basnage 
 Hist, des Juifs, lib. ii. chap. ix. 
 
 This is the real origin of traditions, which we doubt not 
 every new discovery in Egyptian learning will tend to con- 
 firm. 
 
IV.] FATALISM OF THE STOICS. 93 
 
 served them by tradition until the coming of 
 Christ. They were in some measure revived in 
 the Talmud, and had not been unacceptable to 
 the schools of Alexandria \ But there was still 
 another way in which the Pharisees thought 
 lesser crimes might be punished : in the bodies 
 which were tenanted by souls that had before 
 committed crimes. The disciples, partaking of 
 this error, asked Christ whether the blind man 
 or his parents had sinned, that he was born 
 blind. This question supposes a state of pre- 
 existence : that it was possible for the man to 
 sin before he was born ; that is, that his soul had 
 sinned in some other body, and that this blindness 
 was an expiating punishment, which must be en- 
 dured for the soul's sake ^ Upon this notion was 
 founded their doctrine of predestination, which, 
 although carried as far as the fatalism of the Stoics, 
 was not esteemed to be inconsistent with the free 
 exercise of the will. In this, their distinction was 
 somewhat ingenious : they pretended that God, 
 before a man was born, decided upon his lot in 
 
 ' These notions were certainly taken up by Origen, and 
 after him by Lactantius. Of the ancient Ecclesiastical writers, 
 these are almost two of the last that should be taken as 
 authorities in matters of faith. 
 
 - In this instance the learning of Dr. Lightfoot appears to 
 me to obscure his penetration ; but see Hebrew and Talmudical 
 Exercitat. on John ix. 2. Vol. II. p. 568. 
 
94 EVIL OF TRADITIONS. [lECT. 
 
 life, whether he should be wise or ignorant, strong- 
 er weak ; but it was to depend entirely upon the 
 man whether he would be righteous or wicked. 
 The answer which our Lord gave to his disciples, 
 in the case of the blind man, shows at once the 
 difference between a heathen fatalism and the doc- 
 trines of Divine fore-knowledge and providence : 
 " Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents ; 
 but that the works of God should be manifest in 
 him." We shall now therefore conclude, that 
 in the nature of the moral government of God, 
 in the doctrine of the soul's immortal existence, 
 and the resurrection of the body, the Pharisees 
 had great need of a Divine revelation. 
 
 But independently of these things, which had 
 not yet been " brought to light by the Gospel," 
 if they had adhered to the word of God, as they 
 possessed it, they might at least have arrived at a 
 better moral condition ; for it was not by denying 
 the written oracles of truth, that they became so 
 degenerate ; but it was by substituting for them, 
 precepts of their own, " making the word of 
 God vain by their traditions." These traditions, 
 which they called the oral law, had been trans- 
 mitted, as they pretended, to Moses upon Mount 
 Sinai, along with the written law, and they had 
 been preserved in the Jewish Church, from one 
 generation to another. By the strict observance 
 of both the oral and written law, the Scribes and 
 
 10 
 
IV.] PERVERSION OF SCRIPTURE. 95 
 
 Lawyers taught, that a man might not only justify 
 himself before God, but also do meritorious 
 works of supererogation, and that fasting, giving 
 of alms, ablutions and confessions, sufficed to ex- 
 piate sin. The mass of the people knew but 
 little of the written word, it was left to the Scribes 
 and Doctors to expound, according to their oral 
 traditions, and they (our Lord says it of them,) 
 took away the key of knowledge : they entered 
 not into the kingdom of heaven by the door of faith 
 themselves, and they prevented those that had the 
 desire from entering therein. Our Saviour, in his 
 discourses with the Pharisees, produces an in- 
 stance of their wilful perversion of the holy law of 
 God, in their breach of the fifth commandment, 
 which is so agreeable to the best feelings, and the 
 plainest dictates of our nature : it had pleased 
 God to attach to the faithful discharge of it, the 
 promise of a long life in the land of Canaan, so 
 that it is said by St, Paul to be the first com- 
 mandment with a promise attached to it. The 
 precept itself is beautiful — " Honour thy father 
 and thy mother ;" no parent can be insensible to 
 its value — none who would not invoke its autho- 
 rity against the child of disobedience ; but the 
 Lawyers, pretending to sanctify the Divine pre- 
 cepts, added to this fifth commandment, that a 
 son was bound to nourish his father, to clothe 
 him, to lead him in and out, to wash his hands 
 
96 BY THE PHARISEES. [lECT. 
 
 and his feet, yea, and to beg for him. By such 
 a tradition as this, it might seem that the com- 
 mandment would be even more rigorously ob- 
 served ; for there is in it an appearance of sanctity 
 which goes beyond the written word. There is, 
 however, a point, my brethren, at which that 
 which seemeth to be virtue, ceases to be such, 
 and we read of the possibility of being ' ' righteous 
 over much." There is moreover a prescribed 
 path of duty which turneth neither to the right 
 hand nor to the left, by which our moral nature 
 must aim at the perfection required ; but if we 
 attempt to go beyond it, our presumption may 
 be expected to lead us to destruction. God hath 
 adapted his laws to that of which our nature is 
 capable : man can neither add to nor diminish 
 from them with impunity. But to return to the 
 teachers in the synagogue : the fifth command- 
 ment being thus rigorously enforced, there arose 
 another precept no less to be observed — it was 
 openly taught that a parent, in comparison with a 
 teacher of the law, was to be esteemed of no ac- 
 count, and therefore, whatever a person thought 
 proper to give for the use of the Rabbi, or to 
 dedicate for the general support of the altar, could 
 not possibly be applied to another purpose ; but it 
 was enough to make a vow, that such property 
 should ultimately belong to the Church, whether 
 for the reparation of the temple or the revenues 
 
IV.] PHARISAICAL HYPOCRISY. 97 
 
 of the priest. Property so consecrated was said 
 to be *' corban, it is a gift ;'' when therefore the 
 aged parent came to his wealthy son, pleading 
 the sanctity of the fifth commandment, and 
 appealed to the authority of the synagogue, and 
 the strict interpretation of the law, the answer 
 he generally received was this, " Whatsoever 
 I might have had, in which thou wert entitled to 
 a share, O my father, it is now a gift, it is sacred 
 to more pious uses," "and ye suffer him," 
 adds the Redeemer, ' ' no more to do aught for 
 his father and mother ;" for if the son, moved by 
 the parent's appeal, should have applied to the 
 Rabbi, for the desecration of a small portion of his 
 devoted goods, he would have incurred his dis- 
 pleasure. Observe the subtlety of the Pharisee, 
 and the impiety of his tradition : if he were 
 accused of perverting the law of God, his answer 
 was ready ; " On the contrary, I honour that 
 law, and by strict injunction the son is obliged to 
 nourish, yea, and beg for his father, to this he is 
 bound, but to have consecrated his whole estate 
 to pious uses he was not bound. '" This is but 
 one of the many instances recorded by the 
 Evangelists of Pharisaical doctrine and practice, 
 and yet we are told of the specious zeal and 
 sanctity displayed in their outward deportment, 
 
 ' See Dr. Lightfoot, as above cited, vol. ii. p. 20, or Matt. 
 chap. XV. ver. 6. 
 
 H 
 
98 PHARISAICAL HYPOCRISY [leCT. 
 
 their strict observance of the rites and ceremo- 
 nies prescribed by the law, their sprinklings, 
 their long prayers, not only in the synagogues, 
 but in the public streets, the sentences of the 
 law written on their robes, the ostentation of 
 their alms-deeds, their rigorous fasts and mor- 
 tifications, their paying of tithes and their prose- 
 lyting zeal. The accounts of the Evangelists are 
 more than confirmed by the Jews themselves : 
 we learn from the Talmud, that some of them in 
 order to appear plunged in deep meditation, 
 walked as if afraid to touch the ground : others, 
 that they might not be disturbed in their 
 reveries, enveloped their heads in a large hood, 
 so that nothino; could be seen but their feet : a 
 third class walked with their eyes closed, lest 
 the sight of any external object should excite 
 their passions : they composed their features to 
 an air of gloom and solemnity, and in short, the 
 whited sepulchre, to which Jesus compares them, 
 is but too faithful a picture of their vice and 
 hypocrisy. Notwithstanding all their errors and 
 wickedness, they were inspired with a wonderful 
 zeal for making proselytes, which our Lord thus 
 describes and condemns: "Woe unto you, 
 Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites ! for ye com- 
 pass sea and land to make one proselyte, and 
 when he is made, ye make him twofold more the 
 child of hell than yourselves." Upon the whole, 
 
IV.] AND WICKED PRACTICES. 99 
 
 therefore, we perceive that this, the most nume- 
 rous and influential sect of the Jews, had the 
 form of godliness, without any of its power, 
 which they even denied ; but by their pride and 
 self-righteousness, their want of the charity 
 which distinguishes the action of the real Chris- 
 tian, their neglect of the weightier matters of 
 the law, and above all their setting aside the 
 commandments of God, to make room for their 
 traditions, they had become the children of hell ; 
 so that not only did they, like the heathen, place 
 their virtues, such as they considered them, upon 
 a corrupt principle, but they even came short 
 of heathen morality. Therefore the publicans 
 and sinners, the most abject and despised 
 of the human race, went into the kingdom of 
 heaven before them. It is manifest then they 
 had need of a Divine teacher ! 
 
 We will not now dwell long upon the Scribes 
 and Lawyers : they are so often mentioned in the 
 Gospels along with the Pharisees, that we may 
 suppose them to have been of that sect, not 
 however without some exceptions, for we find 
 scribes and lawyers of the Sadducees. The busi- 
 ness of the former was to write out and expound 
 the law : the lawyers, whose office differed not 
 much, frequently came to Christ with some 
 subtle question, thinking " to entangle him in his 
 talk :" they were amazingly well read in all the 
 
 H 2 
 
100 THE SCRIBES AND LAWYERS. [lECT. 
 
 commentaries of the Rabbis. A person who had 
 not beforehand studied their logical distinctions 
 might easily be ensnared by their subtleties ; the 
 people referred all their difficulties to them as 
 the infallible expounders of the law : they, on the 
 other hand, boasted of their authority, and of 
 having, by an uninterrupted succession, preserved 
 the rites of the law and other orthodox sacrifices. 
 " We are Abraham's children," they said, " and 
 were never in bondage to any man." They 
 claimed precedence in the synagogue, and loved 
 to be greeted in public places : it would be hard 
 to suppose there were not among them many 
 well-intentioned men, of whom some afterwards 
 embraced the Gospel ; but speaking of them and 
 their system of doctrine as a whole, Christ posi- 
 tively said, " Except your righteousness exceed 
 the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye 
 shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven." 
 If the Pharisees may be supposed to have im- 
 bibed something of the heathen notions of incor- 
 poreal substances, the Sadducees had not less 
 adopted the system of materialism ; for this was 
 just the distinction between the two sects : " the 
 Sadducees say there is no resurrection, neither 
 angel, nor spirit; the Pharisees confess both." 
 Since, however, we find they acknowledged God 
 the Creator of the world, and even admitted the 
 doctrine of a Providence, they must have rejected 
 
IV.] THE SADDUCEES EPICUREAN DEISTS. 101 
 
 the atomical system of Democritus and his fol- 
 lowers, and there are consequently many things 
 in the doctrines of Epicurus which they could 
 not receive. Like the rest of the Jews, they had 
 preserved inviolate the unity of God, and his 
 providence in human affairs ; in all other things 
 they were as the heathen who knew not God : 
 they have aptly been denominated Epicurean 
 Deists, a title which combines their Jewish and 
 Pagan principles. Like Epicurus, they confined 
 all rewards and punishments to the present life, 
 and maintained pleasure to be the chief good, 
 consequently they indulged their appetites and 
 passions as they thought fit, and the only wisdom 
 (in which also consisted their virtue) was so to 
 economize their enjoyments, that there should 
 result the most pleasure and the least pain pos- 
 sible. In point of antiquity, they were before 
 the Pharisees, having their name and origin, as 
 some suppose, from Sadok, who was instructed 
 by Antigonus Sochseus : he merely taught that 
 men ought not to serve God for the sake of 
 reward, but to love virtue for its own sake. The 
 Jewish doctor might have borrowed a few things 
 from Zeno, with whom he must have been nearly 
 contemporary ; but his doctrine, which was, per- 
 haps, intended to lay the foundations of a better 
 system of morality, was perverted by his succes- 
 sors, until both rewards and punishments, toge- 
 
102 ORIGIN OF THE MODERN KARAITES. [lECT. 
 
 ther with virtue itself, were denied, as having no 
 place in the Divine or human economy. The 
 Sadducees rejected all traditions as of pure 
 human invention, and also all the written word 
 except the Pentateuch ; and it is to be remarked 
 that Christ invariably confines himself, in his 
 discourses with the Sadducees, to quotations 
 from the books of Moses. So far from holding 
 the predestination of the Pharisees, they asserted 
 that man was the sole master of his destiny and 
 his actions : their influence in the State rather 
 consisted in their wealth than in their numbers, 
 yet they were allowed to fill some of the most 
 important offices both in the Church and in the 
 State, and Caiaphas, the High Priest, at the time 
 of the Crucifixion, was a Sadducee. Since, then, 
 the teaching of Christ and his disciples was in 
 direct opposition to the vices and sensuality of 
 those men, we cannot wonder that, although they 
 differed from the Pharisees in almost every thing 
 else, they agreed in putting to death the Holy 
 Jesus. Impurity of heart and life was common 
 to them both ; therefore the Gospel condemned 
 them equally, and they had equal need of a 
 Divine revelation. 
 
 The sect of the Sadducees seems to have pe- 
 rished at the destruction of Jerusalem, but was 
 again revived in the beginning of the sixth cen- 
 tury. At that period all those oral traditions, 
 
 10 
 
IV. J ORIGIN OF THE MODERN KARAITES. 103 
 
 which had floated for ages amongst the dispersed 
 sons of Judah, were collected and written in a 
 book called the Talmud. The successors of the 
 Sadducees rejected them all ; the descendants 
 of the Pharisees contended for their authority : 
 a hundred and fifty years were spent in vain con- 
 tention, and the Rabbins had to lament that the 
 traditions had ever been committed to writing. 
 In the year 750, Ananus and his son Saul, two 
 learned Jews of Babylonia, stood forward as the 
 champions of the written word, and their follow- 
 ers were distinguished by the name of Karaites, 
 a word signifying their attachment to the " Scrip- 
 tures" — the rest of the Jews (by far the majority) 
 adhered to the teachers of tradition, and they 
 were called the Rabbinites — these are the two 
 parties into which the modern Jews are divided \ 
 But the Karaite must not be confounded with the 
 unbelieving Sadducee, the two only agree in 
 their rejection of tradition. The immortality of 
 the soul and the resurrection, the rewards and 
 punishments in a future state, are the avowed 
 doctrines of the Karaites ; and although inferior 
 in point of numbers to the Rabbinites, they excel 
 them in learning and piety ; and, in general, 
 are considered more respectable as members of 
 
 ' Johan. Buxtorf. Syiiagog. Judaic, ^-c. cap. 1. Prideaux's 
 Connection, ^'c. Part ii. Book V. 
 
104 THE ESSENES REFINED PHARISEES. [lECT. 
 
 society. It would have been foreign to our pur- 
 pose to have mentioned the Karaites, if they had 
 been altogether a modern sect : they probably 
 first appeared about thirty years before Christ, 
 at the time of the disputes between the schools 
 of Hillel and of Shammai \ The latter, who 
 was vice-president of the Sanhedrim, raised the 
 same standard which we have seen Ananus rear 
 ill the eighth century ; the disciples of Sham- 
 mai adhered to the Scriptures, and although 
 they respected the traditions as sayings of an- 
 tiquity, they denied their authority in matters of 
 faith. 
 
 In considering the Karaites under the head 
 of Sadducees, it was necessary to observe these 
 distinctions ; we shall now proceed to say a 
 few words upon another principal sect which pre- 
 vailed at the coming of Christ — the Essenians, or 
 Essenes. The most minute details of the life and 
 manners of the Essenes are to be found in the 
 writings of Josephus, and Philo the Jew ; but we 
 must here confine ourselves to a few general out- 
 lines of their doctrine and practice. This sect is 
 supposed by some to have been formed as early 
 as the Babylonish captivity ; by others, at the 
 period of the persecution of Antiochus, when the 
 people were reduced to seek an asylum in the 
 
 ' Vide Basnage Histoirc des JmJ's, Liv. ii. chap. 9. 
 
IV.] EGYPTIAN THEOLOGY. 105 
 
 woods and among the mountains. The analogy, 
 however, between their practices and those of 
 the Pharisees is, in many instances, so striking, 
 that it is natural to suppose they were merely 
 a party separated from the others, adopting 
 the Pharisaical system in a more rigorous form, 
 and we may safely add, with much more sin- 
 cerity, the connexion between their respective 
 doctrines is not less observable. The predesti- 
 nation of the Essenes was more absolute than 
 that of the Pharisees ; for they considered every 
 action of life to be overruled by a fatal necessity : 
 they believed in the rewards and punishments of 
 a future state, but only as they affected the soul ; 
 for they maintained that the soul, once released 
 from the body, which was but a miserable 
 prison, would never be reunited to any such 
 gross material ; consequently they denied the 
 resurrection. Their notions of an incorporeal 
 world partook of a more refined system of Pla- 
 tonism, or, more properly, of Egyptian theology, 
 than those of the Pharisees : they had imagined 
 an elysium, where the purified soul would enjoy 
 a soft and balmy air, beyond the Western ocean, 
 and thought the easiest way of arriving there 
 was to mortify the body by rigorous fasts and 
 austere discipline ; and the same regions which 
 had witnessed the emaciated forms of these 
 Jewish ascetics, at the time of Christ's coming, 
 exhibited about three centuries afterwards the 
 
106 TWO CLASSES OF THE ESSENES. [lECT. 
 
 more astonishing picture of the folly of the Sty- 
 lites \ The Essenes, of whom we are speaking-, 
 professed a great regard for the written law of 
 Moses, and we are not aware that they rejected 
 any part of the canon of Scripture : they had, 
 however, amongst them some other mysterious 
 writings of great antiquity, which, according to 
 Philo, they made constant use of ; they even con- 
 sidered the law of Moses as an allegory, under 
 which was concealed mysterious truths, and they 
 never interpreted the words literally. They were 
 distinguished in their retired life by their absti- 
 nence, their love of peace and solitude, and they 
 had their goods in common : their ablutions and 
 purifications, on account of cleanliness, were car- 
 ried to a ridiculous extreme ; their observance of 
 the Sabbath was such that they secluded them- 
 selves from the light of day ; they generally lived 
 in celibacy, and adopted the children of others, 
 educating them with care as their own ; every one 
 becoming a member of their society was sworn to 
 observe the rules of their religion, justice, fidelity, 
 and chastity ; to keep the secrets of their brethren 
 inviolate, to maintain their institutions, and 
 above all to commemorate the names of the 
 angels. Philo the Jew divides them into two 
 classes, the practical and the contemplative, 
 called the Therapeutae ; the former were chiefly 
 
 ' See Mosheim Ecc. Hist. vol. i. cajj. 3, sect. 12. 
 
IV.] TWO CLASSES OF THE ESSENES. 107 
 
 about Palestine and Syria, and their number is 
 estimated by Joseplius at four thousand ; the 
 latter dwelt near Alexandria, which gave Philo 
 so good an opportunity of describing them : they 
 made happiness to consist entirely in contem- 
 plation : retiring from the world, they gave up 
 all their earthly possessions to their relations and 
 friends, and lived as hermits in separate huts ; 
 in each of those huts was an oratory consecrated 
 to the uses of devotion. St. Paul undoubtedly 
 alludes to these Therapeutae in his Epistles to 
 the Colossians, where he warns the Christians 
 against their voluntary humility and worshipping 
 of angels, against that superstitious observance 
 of ordinances implied in the " touch not, taste 
 not, handle not," and where he censures that 
 kind of will-worship, and humility, and neglect- 
 ing of the body, which distinguished these 
 Egyptian ascetics. They were, notwithstand- 
 ing, rather objects of pity than of condemnation, 
 for we must at least suppose they were sincere; 
 and it cannot be denied, from the testimony we 
 have of them, that they were virtuous. They 
 are no where mentioned in the New Testament ; 
 nor does it appear that they ever came in the 
 way of our Lord, or if they did, He had not the 
 same cause for rebuking them as He had in the 
 case of the Pharisees. It is with good reason 
 supposed that John the Baptist had passed his 
 early life in the solitudes of the Essenes, and 
 
108 THE HERODIANS AND THE GALILEANS. [lECT. 
 
 perhaps many of them were waiting for the con- 
 solation of Israel. 
 
 The Herodians may rather be considered as 
 a political body ; but their religious tenets 
 were probably those of the Sadducees, for the 
 leaven of Herod and the leaven of the Phari- 
 sees seems to be identified by the Evangelists. 
 
 The Galileans or the Gaulonites were also 
 a political faction, raised by Judas Theudas, 
 a native of Gaulon, in the Upper Galilee : ten 
 years after the birth of Christ, this man excited 
 his countrymen to take up arms against the 
 Romans in order to free themselves from the pay- 
 ment of tribute, and an attempt seems to have 
 been made to implicate our Lord in the rebellious 
 acts of that party ; for although Theudas was 
 soon defeated, he left many admirers of that 
 independence which he desired to establish. The 
 religious opinions of the Galileans were in all 
 probability those of the Pharisees. 
 
 A glance at the Samaritans will now complete 
 our review of the religious condition of the Jews. 
 This is more especially a great national dis- 
 tinction, the Jews of whatever sect " have no 
 dealings with the Samaritans ;" they were origin- 
 ally heathens, who joined the worship of the 
 God of Israel with that of other gods, and it 
 was not until the high priest Manasses left Jeru- 
 salem with some other fugitive Jews, and carried 
 the Samaritans a copy of the law, that they 
 
IV.] THE SAMARITANS. 109 
 
 were considered as a Jewish sect. They l)elieved 
 themselves to be descended from Joseph, and 
 they considered that they alone were the favo- 
 rites of Heaven : their Mount Gerizim (they 
 thought) must one day become the very seat of 
 the Messiah, and only in that mountain could 
 God be worshipped with acceptance ; they looked 
 upon the prophet Ezra as an innovator and im- 
 postor, bearing in memory, no doubt, the reject- 
 ino; of their suit to be allowed to share in the 
 building of the second temple. They agreed 
 with the Sadducees in only considering the Pen- 
 tateuch as inspired, in other points of doctrine 
 they perhaps differed but little from the Phari- 
 sees ; in their outward forms there is some dis- 
 crepancy ; but they were not accused like the 
 Pharisees of having made the word of God void 
 by their traditions. Yet their notions of a future 
 state, and, if we may judge from the woman 
 that talked with our Lord, their moral condition, 
 were not less deplorable than those of the people 
 of Jerusalem ; they rather adhered to divers 
 washings and ceremonies than to the weightier 
 matters of the law, and if we were to investigate 
 closely the state of Samaria, we should but close 
 the mournful scene we have now depicted with 
 other instances of the depravity of human nature : 
 and thus it will appear, upon a recapitulation of 
 the state of " God's people," that the days had 
 
110 NEED OF A SAVIOUR APPARENT. [lECT. 
 
 come when the Lord, according to his promise, 
 must have visited them, or they must have for 
 ever perished. They had wrought themselves 
 into such impenetrable darkness that the sun of 
 righteousness was now required to give them 
 light, and in whatever way we view the dis- 
 pensations of Providence we must acquiesce in 
 this conclusion — that whilst the human race 
 (Jews and Gentiles) were " yet without strength, 
 in due time Christ [came and] died for the un- 
 godly." He visited this lower world, and now 
 at the end of eighteen centuries we celebrate his 
 advent; Heaven has conferred the boon upon a 
 perishing world, and no contempt or abuse of it 
 can change the fact. But, my brethren, as far 
 as we are individually concerned the necessity 
 of receiving the same Christ into the hearts and 
 affections still exists : no time nor circumstance 
 can change it so long as human nature is full 
 of sin and misery : without this inward opera- 
 tion we mio-ht as well have been of the schools 
 of Greece or of the Sanhedrim of Jerusalem, for 
 "■ this only is life eternal, to know God, and 
 Jesus Christ whom he hath sent." 
 
 If, upon a fair and candid inquiry into God's 
 dealings with us, as a nation, our hearts be 
 touched with gratitude for the inestimable gift 
 of revealed truth, and all the blessings which 
 follow in its train ; and if that grand scheme of 
 
IV.] INESTIMABLE VALUE OF REVELATION. Ill 
 
 salvation be consigned to those books whose 
 authority is abundantly proved, and which bear 
 internal evidence of their being divine — what 
 is our obvious duty in this important particular ? 
 surely to search and study, and take every 
 means of becoming acquainted with that blessed 
 word, of which a great philosopher has given 
 this eulogium, "It has God for its author, salva- 
 tion for its end, and truth without any mixture 
 of fable for its matter." Let us, therefore, hold 
 fast this word of truth, which alone can be our 
 infallible ofuide in all difficulties of doctrine and 
 practice. Let us take warning by those men 
 whom Christ rebukes for having dared to make 
 his words void by their traditions, and for teach- 
 ing for doctrines the commandments of men. 
 Let us, in admiring the institutions with which 
 we are blessed, take heed lest, by adding to, or 
 diminishing from, the written oracles of truth, 
 the candlestick be removed from the place where 
 it now standeth, and, like Belshazzar's kingdom, 
 it be given to another nation more worthy than 
 we. The night of ignorance of God's word, we 
 believe, brethren, to be now far spent; the day of 
 light and knowledge, we think to be at hand ; 
 let us therefore cast off the works of darkness and 
 put on the armour of light. What then would 
 our condition be in this life if we should let go 
 the hopes of immortality, which are given us 
 in Christ Jesus? Whither would our thoughts 
 
112 CONCLUSION. [lECT. 
 
 wander, and where would they find rest if we 
 could no longer turn them upon the revealed 
 word, and on " Jesus, the author and finisher of 
 our faith ?" And how can we pretend to feel 
 commiseration for the millions of our fellow 
 creatures, whose lot has been cast in darkness 
 or in dim twilight, if we ourselves feel not the 
 quickening power of God's word ? 
 
 The heart of the real Christian burns within 
 him to unfold the treasures of God's word to 
 those who never knew them, and he trembles for 
 those who wilfully put away from them the re- 
 vealed truth, and who prefer darkness to light; 
 for all which, yea for all who know not the Lord 
 Jesus, from whatever cause of misfortune, or 
 hardness of heart, we are bound to pray. The 
 love of Christ is liberal, and never becomes 
 inactive as lono; as there remains in the world 
 one poor benighted soul without a knowledge of 
 the redemption which is in Christ Jesus : and 
 hereby, brethren, we know that he abideth in us, 
 by that very spirit of love which he hath given 
 us. " And we know that we are of God, and the 
 whole world lieth in wickedness ; and we know 
 that the Son of God is come, and hath given us 
 an understanding that we may know him that is 
 true, and we are in him that is true, even in his 
 Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and 
 eternal life — little children, keep yourselves from 
 idols. Amen." 
 
ccsr..caij>, 
 LIBRARY 
 
 V 
 
 X. 
 
 N.TOI^Jl. 
 
 fc^ J WV—»^ -'-—-— ": 
 
 SECOND SERIES. 
 
 ON THE INTRODUCTION OF CHRISTIANITY AND 
 
 THE PRIMITIVE CHURCHES PROGRESS OF THE 
 
 GOSPEL DURING THE APOSTOLIC AGE. 
 
 avyyyaiq re Se uKaTaaTaaia twv iKK\i](nwy. 
 
 EUSEBIUS APUD SOCRAT. 
 
LECTURE I. 
 
 THE ESTABLISHMENT OF THE FIRST CHRISTIAN 
 CHURCH AT JERUSALEM, AND THE SUBSEQUENT 
 DISPERSION OF THE DISCIPLES, IN CONSEQUENCE 
 OF THE MARTYRDOM OF ST, STEPHEN. 
 
 Acts ii. 42. 
 
 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and 
 fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 
 
 Of all the changes and revolutions that have ever 
 taken place in the sentiments and institutions of 
 mankind, there is none which offers so intense 
 an interest as that which was effected by the 
 introduction of Christianity into the world ; for if 
 it be regarded as a mere portion of history, what 
 is there in the annals of our species which pre- 
 sents such important and permanent results ? 
 That a mild and benevolent religion should 
 " gently insinuate itself into the minds of men," 
 should gradually undermine the prejudices and 
 
 I 2 
 
1 16 Christ's church viewed spiritually, [lect. 
 
 preconceived notions of the greatest philosophers, 
 should overthrow the popular superstition, and 
 defeat the views of kings and rulers, and spread- 
 ing itself with wonderful rapidity, should finally 
 erect its banner triumphant in every part of the 
 civilized world, is such an event to contemplate, 
 as is not elsewhere to be found in the whole his- 
 tory of man. But when we find in these exterior 
 circumstances the eternal welfare of our souls to 
 be interwoven, and that in all this it was but the 
 hand of God making use of his creatures as 
 the instruments for accomplishing his mighty 
 designs : when we discover that the kingdom of 
 Christ was never intended to be of this world, 
 but to be set up in the hearts of men without 
 regard to their external policy : when we see 
 that " peace on earth and good-will towards men" 
 was the proclamation sent forth by the King of 
 kings, to gather from every corner of the world 
 the people whom He had chosen, then the history 
 of Christ's Church puts on a different aspect, and 
 we no longer regard it as a narrative which is to 
 be read or treated like a common history, but as 
 a faithful record of the dealings of God with His 
 people, and as a pure model of what they ought 
 to be with whom He has promised to remain by 
 His Spirit to the end of the world. But when I 
 speak of the Church of Christ and its history, 
 after this manner, I mean to confine myself to 
 
I.] CIIRISTS cm RCII VIEWED SPIRITUALLY. 117 
 
 that which is recounted of it in the Scriptures, 
 written under the immediate dictation of the 
 Spirit of God ; for we are assured that as many 
 as walk according to this rule — " peace resteth on 
 them and mercy, and upon the Israel of God." If 
 I am to treat of this subject before you, brethren, 
 I feel that to do any good to your souls and 
 to mine own, to impart any spiritual benefit to 
 you from the subject of "Christ's Church upon 
 earth," I must bring it before you in all its pri- 
 mitive simplicity, and in all its spiritual clothing : 
 I must hold it up to your view as a perfect pic- 
 ture, before it was sullied by the rash and ambi- 
 tious hand of man, before it was injured by the 
 worldly interests which, alas ! too soon stained 
 its innate beauty. It is on this account I have 
 purposed to discourse to you, during this and the 
 following Sundays of this holy season, upon the 
 first establishment and the real nature of the 
 Church of Christ, upon the rapid progress which 
 the Gospel made, and the impediments it was 
 liable to from within and without its pale, during 
 the first century, or the apostolic age. 
 
 The words I have placed at the head of this 
 lecture will naturally suggest, for our first in- 
 quiry, the establishment of the earliest Christian 
 Church at Jerusalem : this I shall now endeavour 
 to lay more fully before you, and then take a 
 
1 18 PRELIMINARY OBSERVATIONS, [lECT. 
 
 review of the dispersion of the disciples subse- 
 quent to the martyrdom of St. Stephen. 
 
 I must suppose, as I think I have a right to do, 
 that ye all come prepared to this subject with a 
 competent knowledge of the life, death, resur- 
 rection, and ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ ; 
 that ye are well acquainted with those " former 
 treatises (the Gospels) of all that Jesus began 
 both to do and to teach, until the day that he 
 was taken up into heaven." I will further sup- 
 pose that ye bear well in mind the first acts of 
 the apostles, in choosing Matthias to supply the 
 place of the apostate, and in waiting for the 
 promise they had received from Christ, that he 
 would send the Holy Ghost upon them. To 
 some of you I can even recal to mind what I 
 said on some former occasions with regard to the 
 relio-ious condition of the Jewish and the Heathen 
 world ; especially the national institutions at 
 Jerusalem, and the various sects of the Phari- 
 sees, Sadducees, Essenes, Herodians, Samari- 
 tans, Scribes, and others, which formed the ma- 
 terials for the first preachers of Christianity to 
 work upon. On the day of Pentecost, when 
 St. Peter had to execute his high commission, 
 not only must we consider all those sects, as 
 forming part of the population of Jerusalem, but 
 also those Jews " from everv nation under hea- 
 
I.] THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH AT JERUSALEM. 119 
 
 ven," who, through a spirit of devotion, thought 
 it proper to repair to the temple, had assembled 
 to celebrate the festival ; and it was on this 
 remarkable occasion, as you know, that no less 
 than three thousand souls were added to the 
 apostles and the brethren. There is an inti- 
 mation, that previously to this period the number 
 of the disciples in all was five hundred ; so that 
 we now see the full extent of the Christian com- 
 munity to which the words I have read to you 
 are to be applied^ — -" They continued stedfastly 
 in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in 
 breaking of bread, and in prayers." We here 
 have the first regular appearance of a Christian 
 Church, for by that term it is designated in the 
 last verse of the same chapter — ' ' the Lord added 
 to the Church daily such as should be saved." 
 
 Although it was afterwards found necessary, 
 on account of the great increase of the disci- 
 ples, and for the better administration of their re- 
 sources, to make additional regulations in the go- 
 vernment of this Church, still we have, in the sim- 
 ple declaration of the text, the Church of Christ 
 set forth in the full possession of all the privileges 
 of the Gospel, and of it there are four character- 
 istics : first, theapostles'doctrine: secondly, the fel- 
 lowship with them, and with one another : thirdly, 
 the ordinance of breaking of bread : and fourthly, 
 prayer or public worship. To all these things 
 
120 THE CHURCH AT JERUSALEM. [leCT. 
 
 the members of this first visible Church strictly 
 adhered ; for the words " they continued sted- 
 fastly" must be understood to apply to all the four 
 particulars. No one will attempt to deny that these 
 were intended to be the characteristics of Christ's 
 Church in every age and in every part of the 
 world, consequently they must be of universal 
 application. The question therefore is, not — are 
 they necessary to constitute a Christian Church? 
 but it is — in what, at this period of the world, do 
 they consist ? And with regard to the first points, 
 we must know where to find the apostles' doc- 
 trine, otherwise we cannot pretend to adhere to 
 what they taught. It happens, however, that 
 the very sermon which St. Peter preached to 
 the first converts, has come down to us in the 
 written word of God ; if, therefore, we had no 
 other words but these, we have the doctrine and 
 the appeal to the conscience which converted in 
 one day three thousand souls. It is indeed said 
 that, " with many other words did the apostle 
 testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from 
 this untoward generation ;" but I apprehend the 
 exhortations were not more earnest and nume- 
 rous, nor the testimonies more sure, than are to 
 be found in those writings which form the canon 
 of the New Testament ; nor had the speech and 
 preaching of St. Paul yet been heard, " in de- 
 monstration of the Spirit and of power," so that 
 
I.] PRINCIPLES OF APOSTOLIC DOCTRINE. 121 
 
 we may say, with reference to those first con- 
 verts, we have even more of the apostles' doctrine 
 than they had, and it is more fully developed. 
 I cannot do more on the present occasion, than 
 recapitulate and compare the principles of Christ- 
 ian doctrine, as declared in other places of 
 God's word, with those in which this primitive 
 Church is said to have continued stedfastly. The 
 author of the Epistle to the Hebrews enumerates 
 the elements of Christian doctrine in the follow- 
 ing order : " Laying the foundation of repent- 
 ance from dead works ; faith towards God ; the 
 doctrine of baptism ; the laying on of hands ; 
 the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judg- 
 ment. Now if these principles, which were taught 
 by St. Paul, are found to agree with the teaching 
 of Peter, who was the apostle of the circum- 
 cision, it is clear we have the acknowledged and 
 undoubted doctrine of the apostles as the pri- 
 mitive Church received it. Consider then, for a 
 moment, the words of St. Peter, and you will find 
 out of the six principles mentioned by Paul, four 
 most plainly to be set forth. For when convic- 
 tion was wrought in the hearts of those three 
 thousand, and they said unto Peter and the rest 
 of the apostles, who had equal authority to 
 answer them, " Men and brethren, what shall we 
 do?" Peter said unto them, "Repent, emd be bap- 
 tized every one of you, in the name of JesusChrist, 
 
122 PRINCIPLES OF APOSTOLIC DOCTRINE. [lECT. 
 
 for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the 
 gift of the Holy Ghost." In this comprehensive 
 answer are taught the doctrines of " repent- 
 ance towards God, and faith towards our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins: "^ — the doc- 
 trine of baptism is set forth as the initiative rite of 
 admission into the body of Christ's Church, spi- 
 ritually signifying the death unto sin, as it is 
 written — " Being buried with Christ by baptism 
 into death." And fourthly, " the gift of the 
 Holy Ghost," which was conferred by the laying 
 on of hands by the apostles — spiritually, the real 
 possession of the heart by the Divine influence ; 
 and so far there is a perfect agreement in Christ- 
 ian Doctrine as preached by the two apostles. 
 As to the other two points, the resurrection of the 
 dead, and eternal judgment, they had been suf- 
 ficiently pointed out, whilst Peter was proving 
 that the body of Jesus did not see corruption in 
 the grave. When, however, the same apostle 
 instructed the first Gentile convert in the true 
 faith, he testified that this Jesus, whom God had 
 raised up the third day, was ordained of God to 
 be the Judge of the quick and the dead. And thus 
 I conceive we know, to all intents and purposes, 
 what the apostles' doctrine is\ as well as those 
 converts on the day of Pentecost. 
 
 ^ Although there can be no doubt that the apostles believed 
 every article contained in that confession of faith called the 
 
1.] THE COMMUNION OF THE SAINTS. 123 
 
 The second grand feature in this new society 
 is the fellowship of its members with the apostles 
 as their spiritual guides, and with one another as 
 brethren in the same cause. We are to recollect 
 that the new converts were all Jews, devout men 
 out of every nation under heaven : they had come 
 to Jerusalem for the purpose of celebrating a 
 national festival, and in the ordinary course of 
 
 Apostles' Creed, it did not appear in its entire form, as we 
 have it, until towards the very end of the fourth century, and 
 even then not universally. (See Pearson's Notes upon the Ex- 
 position of the CreedfYol. II. p. 52 ; new 8vo. edit. ibid. p. 277.) 
 The two most ancient creeds extant are found in Irenaeus and 
 Tertullian ; they do not, however, contain so many points of 
 Christian doctrine as may be gathered from St. Peter's sermon 
 and St. Paul's elements. Irenaeus is more diffuse upon the 
 article of Christ's power in judging men and rebel angels ; but 
 his creed is essentially the same as Tertullian's, which is as fol- 
 lows : Unicum quidem Deum credimus sub hac tamen condi- 
 tione, quam oeconomiam dicimus, ut unici Dei sit et FiHus, 
 Sermo ipsius, qui ex ipso processerit, per quem omnia facta 
 sunt, et sine quo factum est nihil : hunc missum a Patre in Vir- 
 ginem, et ex ea natum hominem et Deum, filium hominis et 
 filium Dei, et cognominatum Jesum Christum ; hunc passum, 
 hunc mortuum et sepultum secundum Scripturas et resuscita- 
 tum a Patre et in coelos resumptum sedere ad dexteram Patris, 
 venturum judicare vivos et mortuos ; qui exinde miserit, se- 
 cundum promissionem suam, a Patre Spiritum Sanctum Para- 
 cletum, sanctificatorem fidei eorum qui credunt in Patrem et 
 Filium et Spiritum Sanctum. Advers. Praxeam^ s. 2. See 
 Jortin's Remarks on Ecclesiast. Hist. Book II. p. 2. Vol. II. 
 p. 26. 
 
124 THE COMMUNION OF THE SAINTS. [lECT. 
 
 things, after they had paid their vows, they would 
 doubtless have returned to their respective homes ; 
 but an influence, such as they little expected, 
 had taken possession of their minds, they desired 
 to remain together for their mutual edification 
 and support, " provoking one another to love and 
 to good works :" they did not, therefore, disperse 
 themselves abroad, but " continued stedfastly" 
 in this Christian fellowship. This fellowship did 
 not merely consist in the outward forms which 
 held the society together, for these they had 
 previously to their becoming Christians ; they had 
 been in " the temple with one accord," and 
 uniting in the public worship (for they were 
 devout men), they had exhibited an external 
 communion ; but it was not ' ' the communion of 
 saints." There wanted some more secret tie, 
 some secret influence whicli should knit together 
 their hearts in love ; for truly says an apostle, 
 ' ' our fellowship is with the Father, and with his 
 Son Jesus Christ ;" and so powerful was the hea- 
 venly bond which united the believing thou- 
 sands, that "the multitude of them were of one 
 heart and of one soul." 
 
 The forming of these primitive believers into 
 one body implies an appointed discipline to be 
 duly observed in constituting the visible Church 
 of Christ. We are not here informed, indeed, 
 what that form of discipline was, and it is evident 
 
1.] SCRIPTURE THE INFALLIBLE AUTHORITY. 125 
 
 that it must change with circumstances ; but the 
 spiritual bond of union must ever be the same. 
 If therefore we would seek for this second charac- 
 teristic of the primitive Church, which is implied 
 in the apostles' fellowship, we must look to the 
 principles of Christian doctrine, rather than to 
 the form of Church government ; and if we find 
 the former inculcated agreeably to the word of 
 God, there will be our fellowship with the apos- 
 tles ; for although the blessed apostles are dead, 
 and we can have no visible fellowship with them, 
 yet Christ has promised to be with them in their 
 successors to the end of the world. Now their 
 successors are those who preach their doctrine, 
 and the doctrine taught by them is no where to 
 be found but in the holy Scriptures ; and only 
 where those Scriptures are purely preached and 
 humbly received is there fellowship. " We must 
 attach ourselves," says Eusebius, " to those things 
 which are delivered in the Scriptures, but not 
 search into those which are not established in the 
 word of God ; because the Holy Spirit would 
 have put them in the Scriptures, if it had been 
 necessary for us to have known them, and we 
 must not imagine ourselves to be wiser than the 
 Holy Spirit : if certain things are not written, 
 they must not be even mentioned, whilst on the 
 other hand it is criminal to efface those which are 
 
126 SCRIPTURETHEINFALLIBLEAUTHORTTY. [lECT. 
 
 written, for we are not masters but disciples'. 
 At this early stage of Christianity the apostles 
 had no leisure to impress that form of government 
 upon the visible Church, which they intended to 
 be permanent : the fellowship here mentioned 
 partakes more of the nature of social and spiritual 
 intercourse than of ecclesiastical authority. It 
 therefore leaves the question of the Episcopacy 
 and the Presbytery, and the whole subject of 
 ecclesiastical polity untouched, as we are content 
 to leave it on this occasion ^. Whatever provi- 
 sional rules and regulations were adopted for 
 keeping together this first Christian community, 
 we are assured they were neither arbitrary nor 
 oppressive. And except in the instance of St. 
 Peter, who once attempted to compel " the Gen- 
 tiles to live as did the Jews '," we never find the 
 
 ' Euseb. advers. Sabellium. — Vide Sismond. varia Opera, 
 torn. I. p. 18. Edit. Parisiis, 1696, in v. torn. fol. 
 
 * *' That matters of Church polity are different from matters 
 of faith and salvation," is shown by Hooker in the third Book 
 of his " Laws of Ecclesiastical Polity ;" still we are at liberty 
 to plead for that which is the best, the most scriptural, and the 
 most ancient form of Church government — which is doubtless 
 the episcopal form — yet we do not say it is necessary to sal- 
 vation to belong to an Episcopal Church, only it is a safe 
 thing ; but we do say it is necessary to salvation to continue 
 stedfastly in the Apostles' doctrines. 
 
 * Some Nazarine Christians (propagated from the error of 
 
I,] THE EUCHARIST. 127 
 
 least disposition in the apostles to lord it over 
 God's heritage; but the infant Church, in this 
 respect, affords a glorious example both to ecclesi- 
 astical governors and the governed, for they con- 
 tinued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and 
 fellowship, and the apostles administered all 
 things to their joy and contentment. We come 
 now to the third characteristic — they continued 
 "in breaking of bread:" this expression, some 
 think, does not necessarily imply the celebration 
 of the Eucharist. The early Christians had their 
 " Agapae," or feasts of charity, which consisted 
 in taking a common meal together, accompanied 
 by prayer and thanksgiving. Of these very first 
 converts, it is said, that " breaking bread from 
 house to house, they did eat their meat with 
 gladness and singleness of heart." This is, no 
 doubt, an allusion to the daily feasts of charity ; 
 but our expression implies something more, and 
 no mischief can ever possibly arise from a full 
 and fair interpretation of the words of Scripture. 
 " The bread which we break," says Paul, "is it 
 not the communion of the body of Christ ?" 
 What then can this " breaking of bread," in 
 which the primitive Church continued, be, except 
 
 St. Peter) existed at the commencement of the fifth century, 
 which caused Augustin to accuse the apostle of being the 
 founder of a heresy ! — S. August, dc Baptismo contra Dona- 
 tislas, lib. 7. 
 
128 THE VISIBLE CHURCH. [lECT. 
 
 it be the celebration of the Lord's Supper ' ? 
 The due administration of the Sacrament is there- 
 fore a necessary mark of the visible Church of 
 Christ. Fourthly, they continued in prayers, 
 that is, they had meetings for public worship. 
 These and the celebration of the Sacraments, 
 according to Christ's institution, being visible and 
 outward acts, make the Assembly or Church, 
 wherever it is planted, visible to all men ; and 
 agreeably to all these things, our reformers de- 
 fined the visible Church of Christ to be " a con- 
 gregation of faithful men in which the pure 
 word of God is preached," — viz. the apostles' 
 doctrine and fellowship we have explained, "and 
 the sacraments be duly ministered, according 
 to Christ's ordinance, in all those things that 
 of necessity are requisite to the same," that is, 
 
 ' Some Protestant divines are afraid to admit " the breaking 
 of bread" here mentioned to be the Eucharist, lest it should be 
 turned into an argument for administering the communion to 
 the laity under one kind only ! The Jews began the meal with 
 the act of breaking of bread, but Dr. Lightfoot never found in 
 the Talmudists that ni^"'l{D breaking of bread denoted the 
 whole meal. — See Hebrew and Tahnudical Exercitat. vol. II. 
 p. 648. The account which Justin Martyr gives of a Christian 
 assembly in his time (not half a century after the apostles) 
 decides the question ; he represents the Eucharist as forming a 
 necessary part of Divine Service at all times, and describes the 
 use of bread and wine mingled with water. — Justin Mart, j^ro 
 Christian. Apnl, II. 
 
 10 
 
I.] THE VISIBLE CHURCH. 129 
 
 the breaking of bread and prayers — and no one is 
 properly a member of this visible Church who 
 does not thus join in her public worship and 
 her ordinances. No reason for such non-con- 
 formity can be considered valid, except it can 
 be shown that such ordinances and worship are 
 contrary to the apostles' doctrine and discipline ; 
 for if it be admitted they are not, then the 
 scruples which give rise to it, may be ascribed to 
 weakness, pride, or evil works, a spirit of schism, 
 or regard to useless distinctions. The apostles' 
 doctrine is always the same ; it therefore 
 admits of no compromise : their discipline varied 
 according to circumstances, and although in 
 successive ages and in different nations it has 
 been altered, yet can it never be so changed as 
 to militate against any thing the apostles ex- 
 pressly ordained as a lasting regulation', by the 
 power of binding and loosing on earth, which on 
 another occasion we shall have more fully to ex- 
 plain. And such, brethren, are the observations 
 I would offer for your improvement on the forma- 
 tion of the first Christian Church at Jerusalem. 
 It presents to us a body of people separated 
 
 '• Besides, in the matter of external discipline, or regiment in 
 itself, we do not deny but there are some things whereto the 
 Church is bound till the world's end. So as the question is 
 only, how far the bounds of the Church's liberty do reach." 
 Hooker s Ecclesiast. Polity ^ Book iii. sect. 10. 
 
 K 
 
130 RAPID INCREASE OF [lECT. 
 
 from the rest of their countrymen and adopting 
 a new rehgion, which struck at the root of 
 every prejudice, and entirely changed the way of 
 life to which they had been accustomed : there 
 was of course a great outcry raised against them 
 by the rulers and priests of the Jewish Church : 
 they were called a sect, or heresy, disturbers of 
 the peace, seditious, and what not : the high-priest 
 and those that were with him, were filled with 
 indignation at them ; and it was easy to foresee the 
 storm that was gathering over them, which, if they 
 had not looked to the promise of their Redeemer, 
 might have overwhelmed them with destruction 
 and despair. Their numbers, however, seem to 
 have increased rapidly in a few days, for after 
 Peter and John had healed the lame man at the 
 temple, it is said the number of the men was about 
 five thousand. And again it is said, that believers 
 were the more added to the Lord, multitudes 
 both of men and women : it is further intimated 
 that the number of disciples was so multiplied, 
 that the apostles themselves could no longer 
 attend sufficiently to the administration of the 
 resources contributed for the support of the 
 needy ; and it is said again, that the word of God 
 increased, and the number of the disciples multi- 
 plied in Jerusalem greatly, and a great company 
 of the priests were obedient to the faith. It 
 would not be too much to suppose from these 
 
 10 
 
I.] THE PRIMITIVE BELIEVERS. 131 
 
 several intimations, that before the persecution 
 arose in which Stephen suffered, there were not 
 less than 15,000 persons professing the Christian 
 Religion, most of them at Jerusalem. Such an 
 occurrence as this, considered merely in the light 
 of an historical fact, is unparalleled in the an- 
 nals of mankind : that within a few days no 
 inconsiderable portion of the population of a city 
 should, by the mere force of argument and per- 
 suasion, change their habits of life and their 
 religion, in opposition to all established institu- 
 tions, and at the risk of losing their personal 
 liberty and their lives. I offer this as an unde- 
 niable proof of the Divine origin of Christianity, 
 and as a mighty example of the power of the 
 Holy Ghost upon the human heart. 
 
 In consequence of this great increase of be- 
 lievers, the apostles found it necessary to insti- 
 tute a new order of ministers in the Church, 
 whose office should be to attend to the wants 
 of the poor. Seven men of honest report, full of 
 the Holy Ghost and of wisdom, were proposed by 
 the people as the candidates for this new office, 
 and accordingly, by the imposition of hands, the 
 apostles ordained them in the presence of the 
 congregation. Upon the appointment of those 
 seven men, whose names have come down to us, 
 and who, from their office of serving or adminis- 
 tering, were called deacons, we have to remark two 
 
 K 2 
 
132 INSTITUTION OF DEACONS. [lEC'T. 
 
 things : first, the apostles consulted the whole 
 body of the Church upon the choice of those men, 
 and it is expressly said, the multitude chose them, 
 and then brought them to the apostles; and se- 
 condly, there was a remarkable liberality displayed 
 in making the selection ; for the murmuring 
 arose on the part of the Grecians against the 
 Hebrews, because their widows were neglected in 
 the daily ministration ; and when they came to 
 choose persons to attend to the general wants of 
 the community, the Hebrews, who must have 
 formed the great majority, allowed the deacons 
 chosen to be all Greeks ; thus showing their 
 desire to concede every advantage to the party 
 who thought themselves aggrieved ; in which 
 proceeding there is something well worthy our 
 imitation and attention. The deacons were not 
 confined to the mere labour of serving tables ; 
 they had authority to preach the word of God 
 also. Of two of these only we particularly know 
 the acts — viz. Stephen and Philip. Some, in- 
 deed, suppose that Nicolas, the proselyte of 
 Antioch, was afterwards the author of that sect of 
 the Nicolaitanes \ which St. John so severely 
 rebukes in the Apocalypse ; but I can hardly 
 think that a man who was said by Divine inspi- 
 ration to be " full of the Holy Ghost and of 
 
 * Euseb. Ecclesiast. Hist. lib. iii. cap. 29. 
 
I.] ST. STEPHEN THE PROTO-MARTYR. 133 
 
 wisdom," could have ever fallen into such depths 
 of sin and error. The time had now arrived when 
 these words of Christ were to be fulfilled and 
 brought to the minds of the disciples: "You 
 shall be hated of all men for my name's sake, 
 and you shall be brought before kings and 
 rulers." " They shall put you out of the syna- 
 gogue : yea, the time cometh that whosoever 
 killeth you will think that he doeth God service." 
 Persecution has generally been employed on 
 the side which is conscious of the feebleness 
 of its cause ; and it is difficult in any case to be 
 intolerant towards the opinions of others, without 
 also exercising violence if we had it in our power 
 so to do. Thus it was, that when the Egyptian 
 and Asiatic Jews, unable to resist the wisdom 
 and the spirit by which he spake, when in the 
 synagogue, Philip, the deacon, had disputed 
 with them, were foiled in reason and argument, 
 they had recourse to the secular arm, alleging, 
 no doubt, that such a man as Stephen would 
 disturb the unity and peace of their religion, 
 violate every thing that ought to be held sacred, 
 and finally overturn their venerable institutions ; 
 they therefore accused him at once of speaking- 
 blasphemous words against Moses and against 
 God. The issue of this unjust accusation you 
 are all acquainted with : " they stoned Stephen, 
 calling upon God and saying. Lord Jesus, receive 
 
134 DISPERSION OF THE CHURCH. [lECT. 
 
 my soul." With the death of Stephen closes 
 the first year of the sacred narrative, and we are 
 brought to the year 34 of the Christian era, 
 according to the received chronology. This is a 
 distinguished epoch in the history of the infant 
 Church : it marks the rise of those persecutions 
 which began to scatter abroad the happy society 
 at Jerusalem. No longer are they permitted, as 
 before, to " break bread from house to house," 
 or to assemble together in peace to edify one 
 another, or to sing the praises of Him who 
 redeemed them with his own blood : already the 
 same weapons which struck the Shepherd, are 
 raised against the flock, and Saul of Tarsus, in 
 all the fury of misapplied zeal, is preparing to 
 drag them, both men and women, to prison. 
 St. Stephen had just left them a noble example 
 of Christian courage in death, and little did the 
 proto-martyr think that the young man who kept 
 the clothes of his executioners was ordained to 
 become the future apostle of the Gentiles. The 
 violence of this first persecution was such as to 
 disperse the believers abroad throughout allJudea 
 and Samaria, the apostles only, and probably a 
 few others with them, remaining at Jerusalem. 
 The undaunted resolution of these holy men is 
 uot less remarkable than the Providence which 
 shielded them, and preserved their lives in the 
 midst of their enemies : the rulers of the syna- 
 
I.] EXTENSION OF THE CHURCH. 135 
 
 gogue appear to have followed the advice of 
 Gamaliel with regard to the apostles, and the 
 miraculous interposition in favour of St. Peter, 
 which they had witnessed, perhaps insured, 
 through a salutary fear, respect for the persons 
 of himself and his associates. 
 
 But that which might seem to the limited 
 views of men as an irreparable injury to the 
 Church was, in fact, the very cause of its pros- 
 perity; for it is said, " they that were scattered 
 abroad, went every where preaching the word." 
 The success which attended the preaching of 
 Philip is especially remarked by the historian : 
 he was the means of planting the Gospel in the 
 district of Samaria, and of sending the glad 
 tidings to the distant country of Ethiopia ; and 
 after being thus blessed in his ministry, he was 
 found in a city on the sea coast (the Ashdod of 
 the Philistines), and passing through those parts, 
 he preached in all the cities till he arrived at 
 Ceesarea, which was to become his permanent 
 residence. The news of Samaria having received 
 the word of God was conveyed to the apostles at 
 Jerusalem, and they immediately dispatched two 
 of their number — viz. Peter and John — to do the 
 offices for which Philip was not duly qualified : 
 they laid their hands on the new converts, who 
 received the Holy Ghost. In returning to Jeru- 
 salem they took the opportunity of preaching the 
 
136 FIRST PERSECUTION TERMINATED. [lECT, 
 
 Gospel in many villages of the Samaritans ; and 
 these were the principal transactions of the second 
 year in the Scripture narrative. 
 
 The persecution which began with the martyr- 
 dom of St. Stephen lasted nearly five years ; 
 that is, until the year 39 (the conversion of St. 
 Paul having taken place in the second year of it, 
 the year 35). It was terminated by a circum- 
 stance which at first view might seem totally un- 
 connected with the Church of Christ, but which, in 
 fact, is a striking instance of the manner in which, 
 unknown to men, the Lord maketh all things sub- 
 servient to his will. It happened at this period, 
 that a person named Capito, of mean condition 
 and depraved morals, came into Judea, to collect 
 the tribute for the Romans' : at a town called 
 Jamnia, not far from Azotus, he induced some 
 strangers to erect an altar to the Roman emperor, 
 to which divine honors were to be paid by the 
 Jewish inhabitants. Capito was aware that this 
 insult to the national religion would give him an 
 opportunity of reporting to the emperor an act of 
 rebellion in the province, which would be at the 
 same time a cloak to his plunder, and a step in the 
 imperial favour. The Jews pulled down the altar 
 
 ' These particulars, which illustrate the " Acts of the Apos- 
 tles," are found in Philo Judaeus, a cotemporary historian, and 
 in the " Wars" of Josephus — hut see Fleury, Histoire Ecclesi- 
 ast'iquc, lib. xi. chap. 18. 
 
I.] CALIGULA AFFLICTS THE JEWS. 137 
 
 at Jamnia, and Caligula, who was then at the 
 height of his blasphemous folly, resenting this 
 insult to his pretended divinity, by a severe man- 
 date, sent an order to Petronius, governor of 
 Judea, to require that, in the room of the altar 
 torn down at Jamnia, a colossal statue should 
 be erected to his honour and worship in the temple 
 at Jerusalem. This involved the Jews in great 
 trouble with the Roman governor, and in the 
 midst of such calamities, they found themselves 
 engaged with other occupations than that of per- 
 secuting the Christians. This profanation of the 
 temple was averted by the seasonable death of 
 that abandoned emperor' ; but the Jews had not 
 less experienced a time of national distress, and 
 they ceased to disturb or harass the flock of 
 Christ. Of the state of the Christian world at 
 this period, we have only this short account 
 handed down in the holy Scriptures : " Then 
 had the Churches rest throughout all Judea and 
 Galilee and Samaria, and were edified, and walk- 
 ing in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort of 
 the Holy Ghost, were multiplied," which serves 
 to mark the extent of the Christian profession in 
 the year 39 ; and here for the first time we have 
 
 ' Sub Tiberio quies : dein jussi a C. Csesare effigiem ejus in 
 templo locare, arma potius sumpsere : quern motum Caesaris 
 mors dircmit. Tacitus, H tutor iar. lib. v. c. 19. 
 
138 THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH. [lECT. 
 
 mention of Clmrches. We discover, therefore, 
 that although the many thousands of believers in 
 the city of Jerusalem, who assembled in different 
 congregations, were considered as one Church, 
 yet when societies of Christians were formed in 
 the distant cities of Palestine, they were consi- 
 dered as distinct Churches : and even believers in 
 the house of a private individual were called a 
 Church, as the Church in the house of Priscilla 
 and Aquila, the Church in the house of Philemon 
 and others; and all these, in whatever part of the 
 world they might be, formed the Catholic' or 
 universal Church, being all united in the same 
 faith and under the same head, Christ Jesus ; but 
 it was not necessary they should all adopt the 
 same order of discipline, or even so much as 
 communicate with each other on ecclesiastical 
 forms and non-essential questions : ' ' my sentence 
 is," says St. James, in the apostolic synod, " that 
 we trouble not them which from among the 
 Gentiles are turned to God." The Churches in 
 Palestine were visited by St. Peter especially, 
 because he was the apostle of the circumcision : 
 
 ' The word " Catholic" was not originally in the creeds of 
 the western Churches ; the ninth article in the Apostles' Creed 
 was simply " Credo in Sanctam Ecclesiam." The " Roman 
 Church" borrowed the word " Catholic" from the oriental creed, 
 in which it was very anciently used. See Pearson's Exposi- 
 tion, Sfc. Vol. II. notes, p. 408. 
 
I.] STANDARD OF FAITH. 139 
 
 it is written of him, that he passed through all 
 quarters, that is through the three districts above 
 named, where Christianity was spread, and he 
 finally arrived at the saints which were at Lydda, 
 and remained at Joppa until he had executed 
 the rest of his high commission, with which our 
 Lord had entrusted him. This shall form part of 
 the subject of our next lecture. 
 
 We have thus, my brethren, taken a view of 
 the first Christian Church established at Jerusa- 
 lem, and of the dispersion of the disciples conse- 
 quent upon the martyrdom of St. Stephen, and 
 the substance of what we have said you will find 
 recorded in the first nine chapters of the book of 
 the Acts of the Apostles. 
 
 It is important for us, who have the knowledge 
 of these great truths, to examine ourselves by the 
 model herein exhibited of the primitive doctrines, 
 and see whether we be in the faith which was once 
 delivered to the saints. A profession of this faith 
 is easily made, and we may glory in a name, and 
 boast of belonging to a Church which continues 
 in the " apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in 
 breaking of bread and in prayers ;" but it is 
 another thing so to have really imbibed the prin- 
 ciple of that heavenly doctrine, as to say it has 
 taken hold upon our hearts and affections. It 
 ought to be a subject of our solemn inquiry, in 
 order that we may ascertain whether we have 
 
140 THE GENUINE INFLUENCE [lECT, 
 
 laid the foundation " of repentance from dead 
 works," as those believers did, who, being pricked 
 in their hearts, exclaimed, "men and brethren, 
 what shall we do ?" This is the conviction of 
 guilt which reduces the sinner to the alternative 
 of meeting his Judge without his Advocate Christ 
 Jesus, or seeking the reconciliation which has 
 been effected through the cross. Close upon this 
 conviction follows a second inquiry, viz, — Whe- 
 ther that gift of a holy and operative faith, which 
 worketh in the soul by love, has been so received 
 that with the new converts at Jerusalem, we may 
 trust in the name of Jesus, and that alone, for 
 the remission of sins ? They, you will observe, 
 trusted to no other source : they made mention of 
 no righteousness of their own, although they had 
 been devout men ; but they were only strong in 
 the strength of their Redeemer : whatever room 
 there had been found for boasting in a previous 
 righteousness, there was none to be discovered, 
 according to the reasoning of Paul, in the law of 
 faith. But what simplicity and singleness of 
 heart, what joy and peace in believing, did these 
 first-fruits of the Gospel harvest experience; and 
 is it no longer possible for those, who hear the 
 same glad tidings of salvation, to have a like 
 spirit ? Surely it is, if we continue, as they did, 
 stedfastly in the doctrine of Jesus Christ; if we, 
 like them, praise our God daily, and cleave unto 
 
I,] OF CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE. 141 
 
 the Redeemer with full purpose of heart : this is 
 to become a member of the real Church, and none 
 but characters such as these compose the living 
 Church of Christ ; for He hath ransomed the 
 Church, and bought it with his own blood, even 
 those who are his peculiar people, being " zea- 
 lous of good works." His blood avails not for 
 those who never laid the foundation of repentance 
 from dead works, nor faith towards God. Why 
 should we deceive ourselves ? Talk we of the Church 
 with a name to live, whilst we are spiritually 
 dead ? To what purpose do we flatter ourselves 
 with our national and religious privileges, if we 
 have not received and embraced the truth as it 
 is in Jesus ? We are indeed outwardl}'^ in full 
 possession of all the privileges of the New Testa- 
 ment ; we have in our hands the apostles' doc- 
 trine, of which so many of our fellow-creatures 
 are unfortunately deprived ; but if we receive 
 not the doctrine into our hearts, and it becomes 
 not the rule of our lives, then do we but resemble 
 those inhabitants of Jerusalem, who heard the 
 doctrine, but mocking said, " these men are full 
 of new wine." For let us observe, that if the 
 doctrines of the Gospel be not cordially embraced 
 in the full sense of " an inward and spiritual 
 grace," they are generally despised along with 
 those who preach them ; but such as do not so 
 embrace the doctrine, are not of the Church of 
 
142 TFIE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITY [ LECT. 
 
 Christ, by whatever name they may be called ; 
 neither shall we be so, unless we have the charac- 
 teristics of the real Christian. 
 
 But, my brethren, in the more general view of 
 the Church of God, in reliance upon His glorious 
 promises, we have a rightto hope, notwithstanding 
 the gloomy aspect of the times, that a day will 
 come when it shall be said of the Churches 
 throughout the world, as it was said of those in 
 Judea and Galilee and Samaria : they have rest 
 from all troubles without, they are edified, they 
 walk in the fear of the Lord, and in the comfort 
 of the Holy Ghost. Here, brethren, are exhi- 
 bited the unity of spirit, the bond of peace, and 
 the righteousness of life ; and it is only when all 
 those who profess and call themselves Christians, 
 shall walk according to this rule, that we can 
 expect a similar unity : in the mean time, it be- 
 hoves us who profess to be members of the holy 
 Catholic Church, and are in possession of the 
 oracles of truth, to promote and exhibit to the 
 world an example of that godly unity and bro- 
 therly love, which are the fruits of Christ dwell- 
 ing richly in the heart in all wisdom. It is our 
 duty, because Christ requires it of us : it is our 
 duty, because the times and the seasons call 
 aloud for it ; for who are they who must fight 
 the Lord's battles, and proclaim the reign of 
 peace, but those who have already felt and tasted 
 
I.] OF ENLIGHTENED NATIONS. 143 
 
 the blessings of it? Who are they who must 
 diffuse the apostles' doctrine wherever a door is 
 open, except those who know what that doctrine 
 is, and have had the privilege of being born in a 
 country where it is freely disseminated ? Upon 
 many of you who hear me in this place, brethren, 
 a great responsibility rests, because by the man- 
 ner in which you shall exhibit the apostles' doc- 
 trine, either by precept or example, may depend 
 the decision of thousands. You are in that station 
 of life which increases your responsibility and 
 your duties, and when ye are dispersed through- 
 out those places, where there is an access given 
 to the word of God — dispersed, not, fortunately, 
 by such a persecution as vexed the Church at 
 Jerusalem ; but under circumstances exceedingly 
 favourable to the cause of Truth, you will, if you 
 feel the blessings of grace upon your hearts, tell 
 to others perishing with hunger what great things 
 the Lord hath done for you ; and thus will ye 
 ' ' let your light so shine before men that they, 
 seeing your good works," may "glorify your 
 Father which is in heaven." In all our spe- 
 culations then upon the future destiny of the 
 nations, let us ever keep in view the great pro- 
 mise, referring every event, under Providence, 
 and every great change in the institutions of 
 mankind, to the same ; viz. " that the earth shall 
 be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the 
 
144 THE DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITY, SiC. [lECT. I. 
 
 waters cover the channels of the deep;" and in 
 this holy confidence may we every one of us 
 use the comprehensive supplication, " thy king- 
 dom come, thy will be done in earth, as it is in 
 heaven." 
 
LECTURE II. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF THE CHURCH FROM THE ENDING 
 OF THE FIRST PERSECUTION [a.D. 39] TO THE 
 APOSTOLIC COUNCIL HELD AT JERUSALEM IN 
 THE YEAR 49, INCLUDING THE OPENING OF THE 
 KINGDOM OF HEAVEN TO THE GENTILES BY ST. 
 PETER. 
 
 St. Matthew xvi. 16, 17, 18, 19. 
 
 And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the 
 Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto 
 him, Blessed art thou, Simon Bar-jona: for Jlesh and blood 
 hath not revealed it unto thee, hut my Father which is in 
 heaven. And I say also unto thee, that thou art Peter, and 
 upon this rock I will build my church ; and the gates of hell 
 shall not inevail against it. And I will give unto thee the 
 keys of the kingdom of heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt 
 bind on earth, shall he bound in heaven, and whatsoever thou 
 shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven. 
 
 It is evident, from the whole tenor of the Acts of 
 the Apostles, that the Holy Ghost was the sole 
 
146 AGENCY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. [lECT. 
 
 efficient agent in propagating the Gospel of 
 Christ, insomuch that the first rapid spread of 
 Christianity was nothing more than a signal dis- 
 play of His influence upon the human mmd : it 
 was intended thereby to show to all succeeding 
 generations, that whatever success might attend 
 the preaching of the Gospel, wherever hardness 
 of heart and contempt of God's word were over- 
 come, in whatever soul the principle of faith and 
 a simple dependence upon Christ crucified was 
 planted, it was ever to be attributed to the agency 
 of the Holy Spirit. If any preconceived notion 
 were to be removed from the minds of the apos- 
 tles, if any prejudice were to be eradicated, the 
 Holy Ghost was the immediate Power by whom 
 it was to be effected. But notwithstanding they 
 were under the powerful influence of the Spirit, 
 they were men " subject to like passions as we 
 are," yet being sensible of the wonders which 
 God had wrought in them and by them, on the 
 day of Pentecost, at Jerusalem, they could not 
 reasonably doubt that they were moved of the 
 Holy Ghost ; still it required a miraculous vision 
 to convince St. Peter of what might have seemed 
 before consistent with the mercy of God, viz. that 
 the Gentiles also (as well as the Jews) were to be 
 partakers of the blessings of the Gospel. 
 
 Of those who were scattered abroad about the 
 persecution of Stephen, we have seen how Philip 
 
II.] THE CALLING OF THE GENTILES. 147 
 
 the deacon went down to Samaria and preached 
 Christ unto them, and afterwards converted the 
 eunuch of Ethiopia. Of the others it is said, 
 that they travelled as far as Phoenice, and Cyprus, 
 and Antioch, preaching the word to none but 
 unto the Jews only. Nearly three years, there- 
 fore, elapsed from the celebrated day of Pente- 
 cost, before the apostles were suffered to make a 
 single Heathen convert in any part of the world. 
 That convert was, as you know, a Roman soldier 
 of the rank of a centurion, a man whose fervent 
 devotion and good works showed beforehand the 
 teachable disposition of his mind. As this was (to 
 use the language of Scripture) the opening of a 
 great and effectual door, the grand revelation of 
 the mystery which had been kept secret from the 
 Jews since the world began. It forms another most 
 important epoch in the history of Christianity ; 
 and as the principles on which the Heathen were 
 admitted to the privileges of believers, were sub- 
 stantially the same as those which applied to the 
 Jews, It is necessary to have a clear under- 
 standing as to what those principles were, in 
 order that we may know the foundation on which 
 stands the Church of Christ, in its universal cha- 
 racter. 
 
 The apostle chosen for making known this 
 universality of the Gospel was St. Peter. ' ' Men 
 and brethren," said he, in the synod of Jerusalem, 
 
 L 2 
 
148 THE CALLING OF THE GENTILES. [lECT. 
 
 " ye know that, a good while ago, God made 
 choice among us that the Gentiles, by my mouth, 
 should hear the word of the Gospel, and believe." 
 We have already had occasion to remark how 
 this same Peter preached the glad tidings of 
 salvation, first to the Jews only : and in like man- 
 ner how he opened the kingdom of heaven both 
 to the Jewish and the Heathen world. This brings 
 me to the portion of Scripture which has just 
 been read to you from St. Matthew's Gospel, the 
 force and propriety of which words of our Lord 
 will be more apparent, when compared with the 
 sacred narrative. 
 
 After our blessed Lord had been some time 
 engaged in His ministry on earth. He took an 
 opportunity of asking His disciples what men said 
 of Him, and whom they judged Him to be ? 
 They told Him in answer, that they had heard 
 some call Him John the Baptist, some Elias, and 
 others Jeremias, or one of the prophets. He then 
 put that question for the trial of their faith, which 
 stands upon record for our admonition. Whom 
 say ye that I am ? St. Peter was enabled to 
 bear that enlightened testimony which was ever 
 after to be the test of a real faith, " Thou art 
 the Christ, the Son of the living God." The 
 reply of our Lord amply confirms what has just 
 been observed, viz. that all true Christianity in 
 the heart is the work of the Holy Spirit : flesh 
 
II.] ST. PETER, HIS NAME AND PRIVILEGES. 149 
 
 and blood did not reveal this great truth to 
 Peter, " but,"saith the Redeemer, " my Father 
 which is in heaven." Our Lord, who knew the 
 personal qualifications, as well as the hearts of 
 all His disciples, had foreseen that Simon the 
 son of Jona, was of that ardent and zealous 
 character which, although it sometimes might 
 lead him into grievous error, would be most 
 essential on many occasions where the Gospel 
 was to be proclaimed. He, therefore, gave him 
 a name, in the first instance, significative of 
 his firmness and boldness : thou shalt be called 
 Cephas, He says, which is by interpretation, a 
 stone ; or, as it would be more strictly rendered 
 by interpretation, Peter ; for Peter does not 
 exactly signify a stone, but is as near as the 
 proper termination of a masculine noun will 
 come to the word stone \ It was customary both 
 among the Jews and Heathens to superadd to 
 their proper names such titles as designated 
 
 ^ Do the holy penmen of the Scriptures make Lexicons, 
 says Dr. Lightfoot, or play the schoolmaster, that they should 
 only teach that the Syriac word Cepha in the Greek language 
 signifies Trerpa, a stone ; and Tabitha, Dorcas, that is, a goat? 
 No, rather they teach what Greek proper name answers to 
 those Syriac proper names. (Talmudical Exercitat. upon 
 John. Chap. i. v. 42.) Our translation, therefore, ought not 
 to have been " a stone," but Peter. It is only in the French 
 language, as Mr. Gibbon observed, that the sound is perfect, 
 " tu es Pierre et sur cette Pierre." 
 
150 THE CHURCH BUILT [lECT. 
 
 either their peculiarities of mind and body, or 
 the acts by which any one had distinguished 
 himself; to the classical reader this must be 
 well known. In the Bible there are numerous 
 instances, and our Lord adopted the same custom 
 with regard to his apostles. John is generally 
 called the beloved, on account, no doubt, of his 
 affectionate disposition : at a later period he was 
 emphatically called " the elder." James, the 
 son of Zebedee, and John his brother, were sur- 
 named by our Lord, Boanerges, that is, sons of 
 thunder, in allusion perhaps to their powerful 
 manner of speaking. And not improbably the 
 rest of the apostles had all some special designa- 
 tion of this nature ; and so Simon Bar-jona, that 
 is son of Jona, was surnamed Cephas in the 
 Syriac, and Petros in the Greek, in allusion to 
 the zeal and natural firmness of his character. 
 The Redeemer, therefore, about to confer an 
 office upon him, in the. execution of which, his 
 zeal and firmness would be called into action, 
 reminds him first of the expressive name he had 
 given him, " I say unto thee that thou art 
 Peter," and having made this noble confession 
 of the faith, which is the foundation of my reli- 
 gion, upon this, as the rock stone, I will build 
 my Church. He saith not, I build it now, but 
 He promises what He will do at a future time, and 
 that time was to be when St. Peter executed the 
 
II.] UPON CHRIST THE ROCK. 151 
 
 high commission with which he was intrusted. 
 " Upon this rock that thou hast confessed," said 
 Jesus Christ to Peter, (such is the interpretation 
 of St. Augustine',) " upon this rock that thou 
 hast known by saying, Thou art Christ the Son 
 of the living God, I will build my Church, that 
 is to say, upon Myself, who am the Christ of the 
 living God : I will build upon Myself and not 
 upon thee, for those men who sought to build 
 upon men, said I am of Paul, I of Apollos, and 
 I of Cephas, which is Peter ; but they who would 
 not be built upon Peter, but upon the rock, said, 
 but I am of Christ. And the apostle Paul, seeing 
 that they would choose him and neglect Christ, 
 said, is Christ divided ? Has Paul been crucified 
 for you, or have you been baptized in the name 
 of Paul ? And it has not been in the name 
 of Paul, neither has it been in the name of 
 Peter, but in the name of Christ, in order that 
 Peter should be built upon the rock, and not the 
 rock upon Peter." In the same spirit, and nearly 
 in the language of St. Augustine, one of our 
 eminent reformers and martyrs spoke before his 
 judges, " This is the foundation and beginning 
 of all Christianity, with word, heart, and mind, 
 to confess that Christ is the Son of God. Who- 
 soever believeth not this, Christ is not in him, 
 
 ' Yide /fiigiislin. Opera, Serin. Ixxvi. in Tom. V. par. i. 
 p. 415. Edit. Paris, 1683. Dislrib. in xii. torn.- folio. 
 
152 CHRIST IS THE ROCK, [lECT. 
 
 and he is not in Christ. Therefore Christ said 
 to Peter, that upon this rock, that is, upon his 
 confession, that he was the Christ the Son of 
 God, he would build his Church, in order to 
 declare that without this faith, no man can come 
 to Christ ; so that this belief, that Christ is the 
 Son of God, is the foundation of our Christianity, 
 and the foundation of our Church. Here you 
 see upon what foundation Christ's Church is 
 built, not upon the frailty of man, but upon the 
 stable and infallible word of God'." As the 
 apostles were the first propagators of this great 
 doctrine, so they were the first stones laid upon 
 the foundation of the spiritual building, and to 
 this building every lively member of Christ's 
 Church is added in order, nor is there any thing 
 more beautiful to behold than it is, when fitly 
 framed together. St. Paul gives this animated 
 description of it : '' Now, therefore, ye are no 
 more strangers and foreigners, but fellow-citizens 
 with the saints, and of the household of God, 
 and are built upon the foundation of the apostles 
 and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief 
 corner stone, in Whom all the building, fitly 
 framed together, groweth into an holy temple in 
 the Lord. In whom ye also are builded together 
 
 ' Bishop Ridley's defence before the commission at Oxford^ 
 September 30th, 1355. See Wordsworth's Ecclesiastical Bio- 
 graphy, Vol, III. 
 
II.] THE KEYS COMMITTED TO PETER. 153 
 
 for an habitation of God through the Spirit," 
 This, my brethren, is worthy of our best atten- 
 tion, let us not trouble ourselves with other 
 foundations on which some build ; nor with the 
 combustible materials which others lay upon a 
 right foundation, but let this be our care, to 
 ascertain whether we form a part of that spiritual 
 edifice, which the apostle describes as built on 
 Christ, and as an habitation for the Spirit of 
 God in our hearts ; and thus much we have to 
 say concerning the rock and the building which 
 Jesus declared he would rear so firmly, that the 
 powers of hell and darkness should never prevail 
 against it. We shall now endeavour to explain in 
 what sense St. Peter received the keys of the 
 kingdom of heaven, and then compare the manner 
 in which he discharged his high functions. 
 
 To open the door of faith and to enter into 
 the fold by the door, and such like metaphor, is 
 familiar to every reader of the Scriptures, and 
 when any soul hath so entered in, and become a 
 faithful subject of the king Messiah, he hath 
 entered into His kingdom, which is not of this 
 world but of heaven, — there is only one way by 
 which any one may so enter. And this is pro- 
 claimed by the Redeemer himself, who saith, 
 ''I am the way, the truth, and the life." It 
 pleased God, by the foolishness of preaching, to 
 save them that believe ; that is to say, the instru- 
 
154 THE KEYS COMMITTED TO PETER. [lECT. 
 
 ment by which the kingdom of God is opened, 
 is the preaching of the word : this is the blessed 
 key of truth. Our Lord on one occasion thus 
 rebukes the Jewish teachers, " Woe unto you 
 lawyers, for ye have taken away the key of know- 
 ledge ; ye enter not in yourselves, and them that 
 were entering in ye hindered :" but to St. Peter 
 he saith, I will give unto thee the keys of the 
 kingdom of heaven. Those lawyers whom Christ 
 rebukes, had taken away the key, that is, they 
 kept the oracles of God to themselves, (they per- 
 mitted not the people to see them, they dealt 
 out sparingly as much of them as they thought 
 proper, and if any one attempted to go beyond 
 what they were pleased to dictate — them they 
 hindered from entering into the truth.) Far 
 otherwise did Peter act ; far otherwise did he 
 use the keys with which he was entrusted ; he 
 opened liberally and fully the truth as it is in 
 Jesus. It was an honour which the Saviour had 
 conferred upon him, "to handsel," asTertullian 
 saith, " the first key^" and to which he alluded 
 with pious delight in the synod at Jerusalem ; 
 
 ^ Qualis es evertens atque commutans manifestam Domini 
 intentionem personaliter hoc Petro conferentem. Super te, 
 inquit, aedificabo Ecclesiam meam et dabo tibi claves, non Ec- 
 clesiee, sic enim et exitus docet : inipsoEcclesiaexstnicta est, 
 id est, per ipsum, ipse clavem imbuil. Terlullian. de Pud. 
 cap. 21. 
 
II.] Peter's fidelity. 155 
 
 but this brings us to the Scripture narrative, to 
 see the prominent part he took in establishing 
 Christ's Church upon the rock of ages : I shall 
 merely recur to the sermon on the day of Pente- 
 cost, for the purpose of pointing out the boldness 
 and fidelity of Peter. Standing up with the 
 eleven, he had the courage to lift up his voice 
 against the mocking multitude, and after reason- 
 ing from the prophets, and making use of the 
 Hebrew Scriptures, you will observe, he came 
 to that very conclusion which constituted his 
 enlightened testimony to his Lord and Master. 
 " Therefore, let all the house of Israel know 
 assuredly that God hath made this same Jesus, 
 whom ye crucified, both Lord and Christ :" when 
 they heard this, they were pricked in their heart. 
 It will be enough to compare this with Peter's 
 confession, to judge of the foundation on which the 
 first assembly of believing Jews was built ; and 
 thus St. Peter opened the kingdom of heaven to 
 the dwellers at Jerusalem. In effecting this, he 
 made free use of the Scriptures ; for, be it remarked, 
 that his sermon, to prove that Jesus was the 
 Christ, is all grounded upon the prophets and 
 the Psalms ; and so he used well the keys of the 
 kingdom of heaven. After this, in conjunction 
 with all the apostles, he ceased not to exhort the 
 people to search the Scriptures, for they alone 
 were the infallible guides to testify of Jesus 
 
156 THE GOSPEL PREACHED [lECT. 
 
 Christ : much more do we say to you, hrethren, 
 search the Scriptures, for in them ye have eternal 
 life set forth. 
 
 I now recall to your recollection the state of 
 the Christian Church after the dispersion of the 
 disciples about the death of Stephen, when as yet 
 the Gentiles were not admitted to the privilege 
 of believing. It will not be forgotten that St. 
 Paul, who was the chosen vessel for carrying this 
 mighty purpose into effect, was converted in the 
 second year of the persecution [a. d. 35]. And at 
 the same time that he, the apostle of the Gentiles, 
 (whose labours will form the subject of our ensu- 
 ing lectures) was preparing himself for the great 
 work designed for him, St. Peter was again com- 
 manded "to open a door," where he had least 
 of all expected to find one. The Jews, as the 
 favoured people of God, had the first offer of sal- 
 vation tendered unto them ; and perhaps if the 
 apostles had known in the first instance, that the 
 Heathen were destined to be partakers of it, they 
 might have been induced to have given up their 
 fellow-countrymen before they had sufficiently 
 exhorted them to enter into the kingdom. But 
 by remaining at Jerusalem for nearly three years, 
 and by the travels of those disciples who went 
 into Asia preaching to none but the Jews only, 
 we see the Divine purpose admirably accom- 
 plished — viz. that first of all the lost sheep of the 
 
II.] TO THE HEATHEN. 157 
 
 house of Israel were to be gathered into the fold. 
 The time, however, speedily arrived wherein a new 
 and wide field was to be laid open ; and if there 
 be a time more delightful than another to the 
 faithful ambassador of Christ, if there be a joy- 
 more pure, if there be a sight on earth more 
 glorious, it is when the Lord in His wisdom and 
 in His good providence opens a field of usefulness, 
 which the obstinacy or hardness of the human 
 heart, or any worldly circumstance, had kept 
 closed ; and when He saith to the labourers, lift 
 up your heads and look upon the fields, behold 
 they are white already to harvest. Judge then, 
 my brethren, of the joy felt by the apostles when 
 Peter returned to Jerusalem with the news that 
 the Holy Ghost had been granted to some Hea- 
 then converts : it was at first scarcely believed 
 by the apostles and the brethren in Judea ; they 
 could hardly extend their views commensurate 
 with such abundant mercy ; but when they evi- 
 dently saw the hand of God, when they heard 
 the simple narration of St. Peter, they no longer 
 contended against the sovereignty of God's grace ; 
 " they held their peace and glorified God, saying, 
 then hath God also to the Gentiles granted re- 
 pentance unto life." 
 
 Let us now see, for a moment, whether those 
 first Gentile converts were built upon the same 
 foundation as the Jews ; or, in other words, whe- 
 
158 Christ's charge to peter. [lect. 
 
 ther St. Peter executed his high commission as 
 faithfully in the one case as in the other. Hap- 
 pily we can have recourse to his own words to 
 Cornelius, showing how God anointed Jesus of 
 Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power, 
 whom they slew and hanged on a tree ; whom 
 God raised up the third day openly, and testi- 
 fying that it was the same Jesus who was ordained 
 to be the Judge of quick and dead ; "to Him," 
 says the zealous apostle, " give all the prophets 
 witness, that through His name, whosoever be- 
 lieveth in Him, shall receive remission of sins :" 
 and thus did Peter open the kingdom of heaven 
 to the Gentiles also. On his return to Jerusalem, 
 they that were of the circumcision contended 
 with him, for having held intercourse with the 
 Gentiles, but the bare recital of his vision, and 
 the facts which followed upon it, abundantly 
 justified his conduct in the sight of all the bre- 
 thren ; and having now executed the commission 
 entrusted to him, he took his place among the 
 apostles at Jerusalem, from which time we hear 
 no more of him for about the space of four years. 
 We have thus endeavoured to illustrate the words 
 of Christ, by examining the very acts to which 
 they had reference. So far, therefore, as the 
 former portion of our Lord's address to St. Peter 
 may seem to you to be satisfactorily explained, 
 I would thus paraphrase the well known passage : 
 
 9 
 
II.] Christ's charge to peter. 159 
 
 I say unto thee, that thou art Peter ; thou hast 
 made this important confession of faith, which is 
 the ground-work of my holy religion, and I 
 therefore recal to thy mind the name which I 
 gave thee, expressive of thy character and thy 
 zeal for my cause, of which the present is a bright 
 example ; I pronounce thee blessed in thy spi- 
 ritual privileges, because no human wisdom or 
 power hath effected this in thy soul, but only 
 a Divine and spiritual agency : upon this foun- 
 dation, this faith, that I, the Christ, am the Son of 
 God, I will build up the whole body of believers, 
 as it were into one edifice, glorious to behold, and 
 lovely in the sight of heaven ; and this Church, 
 which I have ransomed with my blood, shall 
 stand firm upon this rock, throughout all time, 
 in spite of the means which evil men and evil 
 spirits shall employ against it : and forasmuch 
 as thou art the first to make this unfeigned avowal 
 of thy faith in me, I have reserved for thee an 
 honour above the rest of the apostles, viz. that 
 thou shalt preach my kingdom both to Jews and 
 Gentiles, and shalt make, through thy preaching 
 of the word, the first converts to the faith thou 
 hast confessed : for this purpose I commit to 
 thee the " keys of knowledge, that when the 
 proper time arrives, thou may est open the king- 
 dom of heaven, by the expounding of those Scrip- 
 tures, which are the keys of that kingdom." Such 
 
160 THE PASTORAL CHARGE [lECT. 
 
 was the discourse our Lord addressed to Peter 
 exclusively, the rest of the commission equally 
 regarded all the apostles : for it is said in the 
 same Gospel, a little after, " Whatsoever ye shall 
 bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven, and 
 whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed 
 in heaven." We shall be enabled to see the 
 true meaning of these words also, by further 
 attention to the apostolic narrative. Omitting 
 for the present the labours of Paul and Barnabas, 
 let us trace the remaining transactions of St. 
 Peter. 
 
 In the year 41, which was the first of the em- 
 peror Claudius, and within two years after the 
 first persecution had ceased, king Herod put to 
 death St. James the elder, he who was the brother 
 of John, and surnamed Boanerges : and seeing 
 this was acceptable to the furious persecutors of 
 the Church, he put Peter into prison, with the 
 intent of bringing him forth to the people, at a 
 fit opportunity, to be put to death publicly. His 
 miraculous deliverance from prison, and the 
 miserable end of the royal persecutor, are related 
 in the twelfth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles. 
 The next mention that is made of St. Peter is 
 in the apostolic council held at Jerusalem in the 
 year 48 — 49, and it is most probable that during 
 this interval of seven years, he went to visit the 
 diflferent churches in Palestine, and, perhaps. 
 
II.] AND TRAVELS OF PETER. 161 
 
 travelled as far as Antioch. There is not the 
 most distant allusion to any circumstance which 
 can justify the assertion that Peter had any pas- 
 toral charge of the churches of the Gentiles : 
 Christ had committed to him the care of His 
 lambs and His sheep, by which the apostle could 
 only understand the sheep of Israel, for he knew 
 not at that time that the Heathen would ever be 
 called by that endearing title. " The Gospel of 
 the circumcision was committed unto him, as the 
 Gospel of the uncircumcision" was unto Paul, 
 and, except in the case of opening the kingdom 
 of heaven to the believing Gentiles, it is almost 
 evident he had little to do with the Heathen 
 world. No more mention is made of him in the 
 sacred writings, except the notice which St. Paul 
 (in his Epistle to the Galatians) takes of his being 
 at Antioch. This period of Peter's being at 
 Antioch was at least seventeen years after St. 
 Paul's conversion, that is about the year 52, 
 about which time we read that Paul and Bar- 
 nabas "continued at Antioch." The apostolic 
 council took place about four years previously, 
 therefore Peter was at Jerusalem in the year 48 ; 
 he was thrown into prison by Herod in the year 
 41, or, as some will have it, in the year 44. St. 
 Paul, in his Epistle to the Galatians, says, he 
 saw him at Jerusalem three years after his (Paul's) 
 return from Arabia ; that is, about the year 39. 
 
 M 
 
162 HIS LATTER END. [lECT, 
 
 Cornelius was converted by him in the year 36, 
 until which period he had not left Jerusalem, 
 except to visit the churches in Palestine. By 
 these dates (all found in the Scripture account) 
 we see, that from the day of Pentecost to the year 
 53, that is, a space of twenty years, the apostle la- 
 boured principally in the districts of Judea, and 
 at Antioch, and if to this we add his travels in 
 Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 
 as it is fair to infer, from his epistle, he had 
 been there ^, we shall find his time entirely em- 
 ployed in the east, until the year 54, without the 
 most distant intimation that he ever came into 
 the west. The tradition at Antioch was, that 
 Peter had some time governed their church ; and 
 if the accounts of some ecclesiastical writers be 
 true, which however can with difficulty be re- 
 conciled with chronology, that St. Peter suffered 
 martyrdom in the persecution set on foot at Rome 
 by Nero in the year 64, then have we the last 
 ten years of the apostle's life to account for, with- 
 out any trace of him in the scriptures, or any 
 intimation whither he went. The prediction of 
 our Lord, however, with regard to his end, must 
 be borne in mind, " When thou shalt be old thou 
 shalt stretch forth thine hands, and another shall 
 gird thee and carry thee whither thou wouldest 
 
 * Compare also Eusebius Hist. Ecclesiast. lib. iii. cap. 1. 
 
II.] AUTHORITY OF THE APOSTLES. 163 
 
 not," which is not inconsistent with the tradition 
 that St. Peter was crucified at Rome, as it is re- 
 lated by Eusebius and others ^ Some also men- 
 tion the martyrdom of his wife, who suffered 
 before him^, from whose example he derived 
 courage and consolation. You are not ignorant 
 that [a more vague] tradition has pointed out the 
 very spot on the mount Janiculum, where the 
 memorable transaction is said to have taken 
 place. 
 
 In order to illustrate the remainder of our 
 Lord's address to Peter, it will be necessary to re- 
 cur to the apostolic decree delivered at Jerusalem 
 in the year 48 or 49. The apostles were invested 
 with authority not only to teach the doctrines of 
 Christianity, but to declare the Jewish dispen- 
 sation to be at an end. It sometimes happened, 
 however, that they were obliged to concede some 
 things to their Jewish converts for the sake of 
 conscience, and to forbid others, as utterly in- 
 
 ' Eusebii Pamphil. Ecclesiast. Hist. lib. ii. cap, xxv. Euse- 
 bius appeals, in support of the tradition, to the authority of a 
 certain Caius, who wrote a controversial book in the beginning 
 of the third century, and Caius appeals to the authority of some 
 monuments of the apostles Peter and Paul, which existed on 
 the Via Ostiensis and in the Vatican. 
 
 ^ Vide. Clemen. Alexandrin. Stromalum, lib. viii. p. 869. 
 
 Tom. ii. Edit. Oxon. 1715. tolovtoq, adds the learned father, 
 
 I'lv V Toil' fxaKupiiop yufxog kcu y jjie^pi tcHv (piXrariov reXela Sia- 
 Oeaic. 
 
 M 2 
 
1G4 POWER TO BIND AND TO LOOSE [lECT. 
 
 compatible with a profession of Christianity : they 
 had to maintain inviolate the moral part of the 
 law, but their aim was to abrogate the ceremonial 
 part, which prefigured the great sacrifice of 
 Christ : some things, therefore they permitted, 
 and some things they forbade ; and whatever 
 they, being under the immediate influence of the 
 Spirit, thought proper to do in this respect, their 
 decision was ratified in heaven — " whatsoever ye 
 shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven," 
 &c. The Gospel of St. Matthew having been 
 originally written in Hebrew, was afterwards 
 translated into Greek ; and perhaps this circum- 
 stance best accounts for the greater number of 
 Hebrew phrases found in it than in the other 
 Gospels. To bind and to loose was the com- 
 monest of all expressions in the Jewish schools, 
 as appears from numberless instances in the Tal- 
 mudical writings \ It was used in doctrines and 
 in judgments by the scribes and lawyers as to 
 things allowed or not allowed in the law : if a 
 thing was permitted, they said we loose it : if it 
 was forbid, the phrase was, we bind it. It is not 
 however spoken with reference to persons, whom- 
 soever ye bind ; but of things, whatsoever ye 
 bind : so that the authority committed to Peter 
 
 ^ See Light/oofs Talmudical E xercitations on St. Matthew. 
 Vol. II. p. 205. 
 
U.] EXERCISED BY THE APOSTLES. 165 
 
 and the apostles amounts to this, — whatsoever ye 
 shall think proper, guided by my Spirit, to abo- 
 lish of the Mosaic ceremonial law, or whatsoever 
 ye shall think it expedient to retain for conscience 
 sake, your acts shall be ratified in heaven. 
 Hence we find them exercising the power of 
 binding, by forbidding those of the circumcision 
 to eat of things offered to idols, &c. and by for- 
 bidding to the Gentiles the use of blood for a 
 time, and the power of loosing, by allowing puri- 
 fication to Paul and Barnabas for avoiding 
 scandal. " The apostles and elders, with the 
 whole Church, "at Jerusalem, were now consulted 
 respecting a question which had disturbed the 
 peace of the Gentile converts at Antioch ; it was 
 this : whether, in order to salvation, they must 
 necessarily be circumcised, and observe the law 
 of Moses, as the believing Jew did, or whether 
 they were to be freed from these obligations? 
 Now the believing Jews adopted the rite as a 
 national obligation, and not as a means of sal- 
 vation, which was insinuated in this question of 
 the Gentiles. We now, therefore, find the apostles 
 formally deciding upon this point, which was the 
 first public exercise of those powers committed to 
 them by Christ. Their decision is, no doubt, 
 known to you all : the liberty of the Gentile 
 converts was clearly asserted : the rite of circum- 
 cision was loosed with regard to them on earth, 
 
166 POWER TO BIND AND TO LOOSE [lECT. 
 
 and consequently in heaven ; and yet we find, 
 after this, that Paul took and circumcised Timo- 
 thy, "because of the Jews which were in those 
 quarters," and can we doubt that this act was 
 bound in heaven ? The assembly at Jerusalem 
 adopted, after much disputing, the sentence of 
 James, who, from various intimations, seems 
 evidently to have been first in authority among 
 them. It was agreed that the Gentile converts 
 should come out of the Pagan world, by publicly 
 showing their abhorrence of the pollution of 
 idols, and of those scenes of immorality which 
 the Heathen considered not as sin : subjects 
 these, which Paul in many places of his epistles 
 presses upon his Gentile converts ; and inasmuch 
 as the eating of blood and things strangled was 
 the strongest prohibition in the Levitical law, 
 the holy apostles thought proper, in consideration 
 of the Jewish believer, whose conscience would 
 have been offended, to bind upon the Gentiles 
 the abstaining from these things, as necessary 
 for the present : the reason alleged was, that in 
 every city where the books of Moses were read in 
 the synagogues, this prohibition (the strongest in 
 the ceremonial law) would continually strike the 
 ears of the Jews, to the prejudice of the Gentile 
 Christians. St. Paul, who was present at this 
 council, did not think it necessary to press the 
 two latter points upon the Corinthians when he 
 
II.] EXERCISED BY THE APOSTLES. 167 
 
 wrote to them ten years afterwards, whereas he 
 strongly urges the two former. '' Meat," saith he, 
 " commendeth us not to God ; for neither if we 
 eat are we the better, neither if we eat not are we 
 the worse;" and touching things offered unto idols 
 and meats in general, he reduces the prohibition 
 to a matter of conscience, as the apostles origi- 
 nally intended it should be, excepting as to the 
 first binding ; it was loosed by the same authority 
 which bound it — that is, by Divine inspiration. 
 Tlie result of the apostolic decision gave great joy 
 to the Gentile converts, but it did not effectually 
 stop " the leaven of the Pharisees," which was 
 now already infused into the Christian faith. 
 
 We have thus endeavoured to illustrate the 
 words of Christ by applying them to the acts to 
 which they referred ; and in so doing we have 
 reviewed the Christian Church from the period 
 when the first persecution ended, to the council 
 held at Jerusalem — that is to say, from the year 
 39 to 49 : in this interval we have considered the 
 opening of the kingdom of heaven to the Gentiles, 
 as in our former lecture we treated of the same 
 event with regard to the Jews, and we are now 
 prepared to recount, without interruption, the 
 apostolic labours among the Heathen nations, 
 especially those of St. Paul. 
 
 It must now be evident to all who hear me, 
 on what foundation the Church of Christ is 
 
168 THE TRUE FOUNDATION [lECT. 
 
 built, " and other foundation," saith Paul, " can 
 no man lay than thatis laid, which is JesusChrist." 
 It must further be manifest what the meaning is of 
 being built upon that foundation, or in the words 
 of St. Peter, to be " as lively stones built up a 
 spiritual house :" it is to believe with the heart 
 and confess " with the mouth," that Christ is the 
 Son of the living God, and that through His 
 name whosoever believeth in him shall receive 
 remission of sins. As there can be no misunder- 
 standing in these fundamental doctrines of Christ- 
 ianity, it is clear that whatever tends to subvert 
 them is by us to be avoided ; for, saith the great 
 apostle, " let every man take heed how he 
 buildeth thereupon." The first and chief thing 
 to be ascertained is, whether we have entered 
 into the fold of Christ by the door of faith, which 
 His word alone can open ? Have we taken that 
 word, yea, that very word which openeth as a 
 key to the entrance into Christ's kingdom ? for 
 recollect, my brethren, the awful effects which 
 have resulted in many parts of the world, and in 
 different ages, whenever and wherever the key 
 of knowledge has been taken away : and it is 
 taken away when men begin to neglect the oracles 
 of truth, and when they hate to be reformed. 
 Therefore it is enough to induce us to appreciate 
 the word of God, which we possess, if we simply 
 regard those places and kingdoms of the earth 
 
II.] OF Christ's church and kingdom. 169 
 
 which have it not, and if we remember the woe 
 denounced by Christ upon the doctors of the 
 Jewish Church, for taking away the key of know- 
 ledge (that is to say, the Scriptures, from the 
 people,) which hangs over the head of every 
 teacher who takes away the oracles of God from 
 the famished souls of men. The judgment indeed 
 may be slow in preparation, for God is long- 
 suffering ! yet the time will surely come, when 
 the cloud of vengeance shall burst over all those 
 who destroy men's souls for lack of knowledge. 
 But this shall not be so with us, brethren, if we 
 guard well the sacred trust of the Divine oracles 
 committed unto us : it is through these, and by 
 the light of these, that 1 this day preach, and 
 you perceive the solid foundation on which the 
 Church of Christ is built. But whilst we thus 
 speak and " boast ourselves a little," it is well to 
 take heed that we come not short of our ines- 
 timable privileges ; but that we show there is 
 much advantage to us every way, but chiefly 
 because unto us are committed these oracles of 
 God : and when we have entered into and become 
 real children of the kingdom, we shall not fail 
 to build up (every one according to his ability) 
 the Church and the walls of our Zion : we shall 
 feel a delight to pray for her prosperity, and to 
 love all those who wish her well, whilst we pity 
 but condemn not those who would do her evil. 
 
170 JOY IN ITS EXTENSION, [lECT. II. 
 
 For the days are coming when all those barriers 
 which have hitherto separated men and nations 
 shall be swept away, and all shall have an oppor- 
 tunity of knowing the Lord, from the least unto 
 the greatest ; and then, as when Philip preached 
 Christ in Samaria, and there was great joy in 
 that city, so shall this Gospel be preached and 
 cause great joy in all those solitary places where 
 the name of Jesus has not yet been exalted ; 
 until finally the heathen shall be given up to 
 the Messiah for an inheritance, and the utter- 
 most parts of the earth for his possession. 
 
LECTURE III. 
 
 ON THE LABOURS OF PAUL AND BARNABAS, OR 
 THE FIRST SPREAD OF CHRISTIANITY AMONG 
 THE HEATHEN NATIONS. 
 
 Acts xi. 26. 
 
 ^nd the Disciples were called Christians first in Antioch. 
 
 It is a study not unworthy of the faculties with 
 which we are endowed, nor at variance with the 
 rehgion we profess, to investigate and admire 
 the secondary causes by which tlie events of 
 Providence and grace, whether on a larger or 
 smaller scale, are accomplished. This, when 
 properly directed, becomes what may be called 
 the philosophy of Christianity ; but the true 
 Christian is bound to acknowledge the hand of 
 God in and through every circumstance which 
 affects or changes the moral condition of man- 
 kind, or operates upon his own heart and con- 
 science. The natural tendency of the mind is to 
 
172 SUBSERVIENCY OF SECONDARY CAUSES. [lECT. 
 
 dwell upon the secondary causes and forget the first 
 great Cause, or, if in the course of the inquiry the 
 Almighty Governor of the world be recognised, 
 it is too often for the mere purpose of calling in 
 His aid, to "untie a knot, "or to unravel a mystery, 
 for which the powers of the human mind, when 
 exerted to the utmost, are wholly insufficient. 
 In the first propagation of the Gospel, it seems 
 as if the Lord Jesus had provided that these 
 secondary causes should be put completely out 
 of sight. His own appearance was that of an 
 humble servant, the men whom He selected for 
 His companions and ministers, were without edu- 
 cation, and absolutely ignorant of letters and 
 philosophy ; and thus it appears that the two 
 grand human means for effecting any change in 
 the institutions of men, were entirely wanting : I 
 mean physical power, and superior attainments in 
 knowledge and civilization ; it was therefore the 
 immediate work of God. But there was one ex- 
 ception to this position, which, although an ex- 
 ception to the premises, w^ill not affect our con- 
 clusion ; for if Saul of Tarsus was endowed with 
 learning and other advantages, that same Saul 
 once destroyed the faith he afterwards preached ; 
 and if he overcame the Greek philosopher and the 
 Jewish doctor, by the force of his arguments and 
 learning, we are to recollect that he was himself 
 first overcome by the force of the Gospel reve- 
 
irr.] PERSONAL SUPERIORITY OF SAUL. 173 
 
 lation ; if Paul were strong, much stronger was that 
 which subdued his prejudices and attainments, 
 until he, with all his learning and abilities, 
 determined to know nothing amongst his con- 
 verts save Jesus Christ, and him crucified. " In 
 the infancy of the Christian Church," observes a 
 learned writer', " it seemed necessary there 
 should be some one who might be able to combat 
 the Jewish doctors and the Pagan philosophers 
 with their own arms ; and for this purpose Jesus 
 himself, by an extraordinary voice from Heaven, 
 called a thirteenth apostle to his service, whose 
 attainments, both in Jewish and Grecian learn- 
 ing, were very considerable." The apostle, speak- 
 ing of this the most important circumstance 
 of his life, humbly and modestly says, " last of 
 all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of 
 due time, for I am the least of the apostles, that 
 am not meet to be called an apostle, because I 
 persecuted the Church of God ; but by the grace 
 of God I am what I am." It is, my brethren, to 
 the labours of this extraordinary man chiefly that 
 I have now to invite your attention. In reading 
 his history, as it is related in the Scriptures, you 
 will see a man of the greatest natural endow- 
 ments, independent of the preternatural gifts 
 which God bestowed upon him ; you will see 
 
 ' Mosheim's Ecclesiastical History, part i. chap. iv. sect. 4. 
 
174 SAUL, A NATIVE OF CILICIA. [lECT. 
 
 the invincible courage he displayed on all suit- 
 able occasions, the unwearied patience with which 
 he bore all kinds of privation and suffering in pro- 
 moting his beloved object ; you will often see 
 him employing human means, and making use 
 of those temporal advantages he possessed, and 
 even sometimes pleading his civil rights and pri- 
 vileges as a Roman citizen ; but, through all these 
 things, you will perceive that the faith he preached 
 stood not in any of those external things ' ' not 
 in the wisdom of man but in the power of God." 
 Cilicia is a district of Asia Minor, situated 
 along the coast of the Mediterranean sea, opposite 
 the Island of Cyprus, and is bounded towards 
 the north by the long chain of Mount Taurus, 
 stretching towards the river Euphrates : it was 
 conquered and reduced to the form of a Roman 
 province by Pompey : and it fell to the lot of 
 Cicero to preside over it as pro-consul. The seat 
 of government was Tarsus, a city celebrated for 
 the learned men it produced, and was at one time 
 the rival of Alexandria and Athens in literature 
 and the study of the fine arts\ These advan- 
 tages allured many Roman citizens to take 
 
 • Vide. Straho, lib. xiv. p. 673. Tom. II. The famous 
 impostor, Apollonius Thyrseus, was also ediicatecl at Tarsus : 
 he was sent thither from Cappadocia at the age of fourteen, 
 and may have been cotemporary in that city with Saul. 
 Philostral. vit. ^potion, lib. i. cap. 3. 
 
HI. 
 
 TIIS EDUCATION. 175 
 
 up their residence in it, amongst whom were 
 several of Jewish extraction. In this city, 
 when it was at the height of its fame, was born 
 the great apostle of the Gentiles, according to 
 his own account : "I am a man which am a 
 Jew of Tarsus, a city in Cilicia, a citizen of no 
 mean city." He was of the tribe of Benjamin, 
 and his Hebrew name was Saul ; but being born 
 to the privilege of a Roman citizen, he had also a 
 Roman name, Paul, which he assumed and 
 always used after he had converted Sergius 
 Paulus in the Island of Cyprus. During the 
 early part of his life, he applied himself to the 
 study of Greek literature, in which he appears to 
 have made great proficiency, as we may see from 
 various quotations and allusions in his epistles, 
 and especially from his preaching at Athens'. 
 He was afterwards sent to Jerusalem for the pur- 
 pose of receiving his religious instruction, which 
 was effected under the direction of the most 
 celebrated doctor of that age, Gamaliel : and 
 amongst the various sects then existing at Jeru- 
 
 ' His quotation from one of the Greek poets rov ydp mi yi- 
 voQ co-jue^ is supposed by Clemens Alexandrinus to be taken 
 from Aratus, who was from Paul's native country of Cilicia ; 
 but others think the apostle referred to these words in the hymn 
 of Cleanthes, v. 5. etc auv yap yivoq ia^iv. See Dr. Grays 
 Connexion between Sacred and Profane Literature ; and/2o*en- 
 mii/ler Scholia in Acta Apostol. in locis. 
 
176 HIS PHARISAICAL ZEAL. [lECT. 
 
 salem he chose that of the Pharisees. He first 
 appears in the sacred narrative as a leader in 
 the persecution raised against the Christians; and 
 when the blood of St. Stephen was shed, he 
 kept the clothes of those who stoned him, and 
 he is then called a young man. Distinguished 
 by his youthful zeal for the institutions of his 
 country, and for the religion of the Pharisees, he 
 appeared to the chief priests a proper person to 
 entrust with the execution of their decrees 
 against the new sect, and they therefore readily 
 complied with his request in granting him a com- 
 mission to Damascus. Armed with this authority, 
 he set out with the intention of seizing by force as 
 many of the followers of Christ as he could find, 
 and of bringing them as prisoners in chains to 
 Jerusalem. But his own account of the matter 
 is more affecting, ' ' many of the saints [in Jeru- 
 salem] did I shut up in prison, having received 
 authority from the chief priests ; and when they 
 were put to death, I gave my voice against them, 
 and I punished them oft in every synagogue, 
 and compelled them to blaspheme ; and being 
 exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted 
 them even unto strange cities." It pleased the 
 Lord, who had reserved from the beginning a 
 different work for Saul, to stop him in his mad 
 career, whilst on his way to the capital of Ccelo 
 Syria. The account of his miraculous conversion 
 
 10 
 
III. J THE EFFECTS OF CONVERSION. 1/7 
 
 is found in the ninth chapter of the Acts of the 
 Apostles ; and this, as I have already said, took 
 place in the thirty-fifth year of the Christian 
 sera, that is, nearly two years after our Lords 
 ascension, being the last year but one of the 
 reio-n of Tiberius. From this time we have Saul 
 in the character of a follower of Christ, and his 
 career in that honourable capacity may be traced 
 through nearly thirty years. This period may 
 be divided into two portions, taking the apostolic 
 council at Jerusalem as the point of division, 
 which took place, if I mistake not Saint Paul's 
 own words, " fourteen years after" his conver- 
 sion, and consequently, in the year 49. We shall, 
 therefore, in the first place, bring up our account 
 of him to that important date^ in the apostolic 
 age, and then v/e shall be ready to proceed with 
 the whole of the sacred narrative. 
 
 I need not repeat to you how the ap9stle, after 
 his sudden conversion, was instructed to proceed 
 
 ' There can be no doubt that the fourteen years mentioned 
 in Gal. i. 1. ought to be reckoned from the period of St. Paul's 
 conversion, and not from the time he " came into the regions 
 of Syria and Cilicia," that is, when the first persecution ceased, 
 in 39. (Comp. Act.ix. 30, 31. Gal. i. 17 — 23.), for that would 
 place the apostolic council in the year 53, which is too late. 
 Without adhering servilely to any particular system of chro- 
 nology, I have endeavoured to fix the leading dates of the 
 sacred narrative from a general comparison of events, with the 
 best authorities in these critical matters. 
 
 N 
 
178 THE EFFECTS OF CONVERSION. [lECT. 
 
 to Damascus, nor how he was visited by Ananias, 
 who baptized him into the faith of Christ ; but 
 it may be profitable to reflect for a moment 
 upon the wonderful power of Divine grace upon 
 the human heart. What a change ! If the nar- 
 rative be true, the fact is evidently Divine : and 
 that the narrative is true, requires no greater 
 exercise of faith, than we are daily applying to 
 ordinary matters of history. The city of Da- 
 mascus might have witnessed the presence of a 
 furious though conscientious persecutor of the 
 flock of Christ ; men and women might have 
 been haled to prison and to death for the simple 
 profession of a pure and modest religion ; but 
 instead of this, we witness the demeanour of an 
 humbled and repenting sinner, who had seen the 
 liofht from Heaven above the brio-htness of the 
 sun, and his deadly hatred for the unoflending 
 followers of Jesus, turned into love. Now all is 
 changed, and the new convert is eager to bear his 
 testimony to the faith which he would have yes- 
 terday destroyed. Previously to this conversion, 
 he was learned, and according to the strictest sect 
 of the Jews, lived in the observance of his out- 
 wardly religious duties ; but what was all this 
 without the "faith which worketh by love:" 
 without the inward light which puts a new aspect 
 upon every feeling and every transaction of life ? 
 Thus, brethren, it will ever be — although our con- 
 
III.] THE EFFECTS OF CONVERSION, 179 
 
 version and the degree of our light may be 
 very different from that of Paul, still unless we 
 apprehend the blessed Redeemer of our souls by 
 a true and living faith, until we exclaim, from a 
 deep sense of our unworthiness, in some such 
 sort, "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?" 
 we may not, indeed, hale men and women to 
 prison, because the improved condition of society 
 hath happily rendered such fury vain ; but we 
 shall be enemies in our hearts to the truth as it 
 is in Jesus, and we shall verily think to do God 
 service by opposing ourselves to what is really 
 the doctrine of Christ. Let the conversion of St. 
 Paul then stand as an admonition to all those 
 who " speak evil of the things they know not," 
 and who talk and act, without having seriously 
 examined either what they oppose, or what they 
 would substitute in place of the rock of offence. 
 But to proceed with our narrative. The ministry 
 of St. Paul was not received, like his former 
 commission to persecute the saints, from human 
 authority ; but by an immediate revelation from 
 heaven : anxious to impress this fact upon the 
 wavering Christians of Galatia, he tells them that 
 he had no conference with flesh and blood im- 
 mediately after his conversion : he did not so 
 much as go up to Jerusalem, where he knew all 
 the apostles who had lived with Christ were at 
 that time residing: he asked no opinions of men : 
 
 N 2 
 
180 THE INSPIRED APOSTLE [lECT. 
 
 he consulted no one's views ; but he immediately 
 betook himself into an appropriate solitude, there 
 to be instant and earnest in prayer, that he might 
 be confirmed and strengthened in the knowledge 
 of the truth. The place he chose for this purpose 
 was somewhere in Arabia Petrea, not improbably 
 in the neighbourhood of Mount Sinai, where God 
 had once before condescended to speak with a 
 man face to face, as with a friend. Some suppose 
 it was during this retirement that the apostle had 
 his extraordinary visions, and being caught up into 
 Paradise, heard those unspeakable words which 
 it was not lawful for him to utter. This, how- 
 ever, is not possible ; for he himself fixes the period 
 of those visions at fourteen years before he wrote 
 his second Epistle to the Corinthians, that is to 
 say, not earlier than the year 45. After this 
 journey, undertaken for the purpose of com- 
 muning with his own heart and listening to the 
 Divine suggestions, he returned to Damascus ; 
 there he entered into the synagogues, and to the 
 astonishment of the Jews, preached the doctrine 
 of a crucified Saviour, and confounded them out 
 of those very scriptures they professed to receive 
 as from God. The Jews of Damascus not being 
 able to resist his arguments, formed a conspiracy 
 against him, and watched the gates of the city 
 by which they expected him to go out, both night 
 and day, to kill him ; they even engaged in their 
 
in.] APPEARS AT JERUSALEM. 181 
 
 enterprize the governor of the city, appointed 
 under king Aretas, and he put his whole garrison 
 inrequisitionto seek and to apprehend Paul : it was 
 only by the expedient of letting him down at night 
 in a basket by the city walls that he was enabled 
 to effect his escape. This event took place three 
 years after his conversion ; and then, for the first 
 time, in the character of a Christian, he appeared 
 at Jerusalem. The brethren, in the first instance, 
 were incredulous as to the fact of his conversion : 
 they could not believe that he who had so wasted 
 the Church of Christ, had now become a disciple ; 
 but being introduced by Barnabas, who gave his 
 testimony not only to the fact, but also to the 
 boldness with which he had preached Christ at 
 Damascus, they received him amongst them, and 
 it is said ' ' he was with them coming in and 
 going out at Jerusalem," His whole continuance 
 on this occasion did not exceed fifteen days, and 
 during that time he only became personally ac- 
 quainted with Peter and James. He took several 
 opportunities of disputing against the Hellenistic 
 Jews, and the subject of the debate was his 
 favourite theme — " the name of the Lord Jesus." 
 The same offensive doctrine produced a second 
 conspiracy against his life ; and the brethren, 
 having knowledge of it, conducted the apostle to 
 Caesarea, and from thence he went away to his 
 native city Tarsus. It seems most probable that 
 
18'2 Ills PREPARATION FOR THE MINISTRY. [lECT. 
 
 he effected this journey by land, for he intimates 
 that he visited at this time the churches of 
 Judea, which were in Christ, to whom he was 
 not personally known ; only they had heard that 
 he which once persecuted them, now preached 
 the faith in which they stood. He farther informs 
 us that he went into the regions of Syria and 
 Cilicia ; that is, in prosecuting his journey home- 
 wards he passed through Syria, and thus arrived 
 at Tarsus. At this period the churches are said 
 to have had rest through all Judea and Galilee 
 and Samaria ; that is, during the time Paul was 
 on his journey to Tarsus, the persecution (begun 
 about the matter of Stephen) ended. This event 
 took place in the last year but one of the reign of 
 the emperor Caligula, which answers nearly to 
 the year 39. Paul had now been four years 
 called to be an apostle. 
 
 What has just been related has reference to 
 the thirtieth verse of the ninth chapter of the Acts, 
 where it is said, "the brethren brought Paul 
 down to Caesarea and sent him forth to Tarsus." 
 In the eleventh chapter and the twenty-fifth 
 verse, we find that Barnabas departed from Anti- 
 och " to Tarsus, for to seek Saul ;" from which 
 we infer that he had remained in his native 
 country ever since his arrival from Csesarea : this 
 comprised a space of about two years ; whence it 
 will appear that before the apostle entered upon 
 
III.] NAME OF THE FIRST CHRISTIANS. 183 
 
 his public ministry, he spent nearly seven years 
 in suitable preparation. He was not indeed inac- 
 tive in his Master's service during that period, for 
 he was pressed with zeal to convince the Jews ; 
 but it is sufficiently intimated, that the preaching 
 of the Gospel is not to be taken in hand unad- 
 visedly, nor by any sudden calls or imaginary 
 inspirations ; for although Paul was called by a 
 miraculous conversion, and told of the mission 
 reserved for him, he does not appear in the 
 Church as a teacher and apostle until many 
 years of preparatory exercise, much of which 
 time was evidently spent in the study of the 
 Scriptures. Barnabas conducted the apostle to 
 Antioch, and there they assembled themselves 
 with the Church, and taught much people for the 
 space of a whole year. The disciples were now 
 for the first time (without any farther distinction 
 of Jew and Gentile) called Christians. 
 
 This honourable name, which has been long 
 eifaced in those regions where it originated, has 
 descended as an inheritance upon tlie nations of 
 the west ; but it may be very doubtful whether 
 the apostles would have allowed the name to 
 many who now claim it, or rather who use it as a 
 political expedient for the maintenance of des- 
 potic rule, or to subserve the schemes of private 
 interest. It is, however, my brethren, a name we 
 all bear, and we should feel some resentment 
 
184 QUALITIES OF THE FIRST CHRISTIANS. [lECT. 
 
 against any one who presumed to deny it to us. 
 I would fain hope that such resentment would be 
 honest ; but had we been at Antioch in those 
 days, and seen what it really was that constituted 
 a Christian, perhaps some amongst us would 
 ingenuously confess that the distinction hardly 
 belonged to us. To be a Christian at Antioch 
 was to have put away the pride of human nature 
 before God, was to have renounced all dependence 
 upon the righteousness of the law, and to have 
 received Christ in simplicity as the only means 
 of salvation : it was to live a life of purity, and to 
 be employed in doing good unto all men, espe- 
 cially those of the household of faith. The history 
 of the formation of the Church at Antioch is short 
 but forcible : when some of the dispersed be- 
 lievers were come thither, they spake unto Gre- 
 cians, preaching the Lord Jesus, and the hand of 
 the Lord was with them, and a great number 
 believed and turned unto the Lord. And when 
 Barnabas arrived, and had seen the grace of 
 God, he was glad, and exhorted them all, that 
 with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the 
 Lord. This is the whole account, my brethren. 
 These were the men who were first called 
 Christians ; they believed in the Lord Jesus 
 through the grace of God ; they turned unto the 
 Lord, and with purpose of heart they clave unto 
 Him. This, then, is to be a Christian in the 
 
III.] THE APOSTLES TEACH ALL NATIONS. 185 
 
 primitive sense. They surely were not troubled 
 with ceremonies, or Church authority, or won- 
 ders, or saints, or images, or clouds of incense, or 
 long processions, or hosts of angels and departed 
 spirits ; the first Christians believed in the Lord 
 Jesus, turned unto the Lord, and clave to Him with 
 full purpose of heart. If, therefore, we have these 
 characteristics, shall we not be owned as Christ- 
 ians by Him who knoweth the heart ? And oh 
 that we had them really, and could say, with 
 unfeigned lips, we are turned to the Lord ! Ac- 
 cording: to the traditional accounts of ecclesias- 
 tical writers, the apostles, after this general title 
 of Christians was adopted, went into different 
 parts of the world to make known the Gospel. 
 Although this agrees well with the extensive com- 
 mission given them by our Lord, when he com- 
 manded them to " go and teach all nations," 
 we must receive the detailed and marvellous 
 a*ccounts of uninspired writers with great cau- 
 tion. That Peter, after he had been miraculously 
 delivered from prison, and had gone (as it is 
 written) " to another place," came to Rome to 
 oppose the wicked heresies of Simon Magus, is 
 no longer seriously maintained by any man of 
 competent learning and judgment ^ ; it is indeed 
 
 ' The use which Justin Martyr makes of the inscription dis- 
 covered in the Iskmd of the Tyber (see Burgess's Topogrci'phy 
 and Antiquilies of Rome, Vol. II. p. 211, note 76,) shows how 
 
186 THE APOSTLES TEACH ALL NATIONS. [lECT. 
 
 evident, from what we have already said, that the 
 scene of his labours, until the year 54, was 
 chiefly confined to Judea and Samaria, with An- 
 tioch, unless he went for a time into those dis- 
 tricts of the lesser Asia mentioned in his epistle'. 
 Although the Church at Ephesus was established 
 by St. Paul, there can be little doubt that St. 
 John ultimately took the direction of it, and 
 passed the remainder of his life in that part of 
 Asia : he also exercised a pastoral charge over 
 those other churches mentioned in the Apoca- 
 lypse, as may be inferred from the messages to 
 each, with which the Spirit charged him. Saint 
 Andrew is said to have gone towards Scythia, 
 and from thence to have passed into Greece and 
 Epirus. Saint Philip, according to the same 
 tradition, laboured in upper Asia, and died at 
 
 cautious we should be in reading ecclesiastical history, even 
 where there is no intention to deceive. Several writers, con- 
 cerned for the dignity of the papal chair, have contended that 
 when St. Peter escaped from Herod's persecution, "and went 
 into another place," Acts xii. 17. he came to Rome and esta- 
 blished the Holy See ! As this would take place in the year 
 41, there is just room for the famous 25 years ; but this theory 
 is now exploded, by permission, even at Rome. In the last 
 edition of Nibbi's Fast, prefaced by a chronological table of the 
 sovereign Pontiffs, we read — S. Pietro di Bethsaide in Galilea 
 stabilisce la sede in Roma, anno 54. This date is possible, if 
 tYie fact be admitted. 
 
 ' Compare Lecture II. p. 1G2. 
 
III.] THE APOSTLES TEACH ALL NATIONS. 187 
 
 Hierapolis in Phrygia ; there is mention of seve- 
 ral daughters he had, holy virgins, some of whom 
 survived their father. St. Thomas chose Parthia, 
 and is even supposed to have gone as far as 
 India. St. Bartholomew preached in Armenia, 
 and about the Euphrates, having in his possession 
 the Gospel of Saint Matthew, which evangelist 
 is supposed to have preached in Ethiopia, and to 
 have written his gospel first for the use of the 
 Jews in Palestine, in the language then in use 
 among them. The other apostles, Saint Simon, 
 St. Jude, or Thaddeus, and St. Matthias, have 
 also their respective districts assigned to them 
 about Persia and Arabia. It is not my inten- 
 tion to examine into the authenticity of these 
 accounts^, because they would lead me beyond 
 the limits of the inspired history ; but we ought 
 to believe that the apostles did as they were com- 
 manded, and went and taught all nations ; nor 
 can the vestiges of Christianity which have been 
 found in remote parts of the east^ be easily 
 accounted for in any other manner. 
 
 * The reader may consult Fleury Histoire EccUsiastique, 
 Liv. prem. page 24, Tom. I, where he will find the references 
 to the original writers. 
 
 ^ The communication opened by Hippalus, between Berenice, 
 on the Arabian Gulf, and Musiris, a harbour on the east coast 
 of India (see Robertson's Disquisition on Ancient India, sect, 
 ii.), may account for the early introduction of Christianity on the 
 (now) Malabar coast. Eusebius relates, that towards the end 
 
188 PAUL AND BARNABAS AT ANTIOCH. [lECT. 
 
 It having been announced by a prophet, named 
 Agabus, who came from Jerusalem, that there 
 should be a great famine in every part of the 
 country, the disciples, in that spirit of Christ- 
 ian love which characterised the primitive 
 churches, determined to send relief, every 
 man according to his means, to the poor 
 Christians in Judea. Barnabas and Saul were 
 charged with the contributions; and it does not 
 appear they did more on that occasion than 
 simply execute their commission, for the next 
 time they are mentioned, it is in these terms, 
 " Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem 
 when they had fulfilled their ministry, or 
 charge;" "and" it is added, " they took with 
 them John, whose surname was Mark." It is 
 evident, from the whole tenour of this narrative, as 
 well as from what is to follow, that Antioch was 
 considered the mother church of the Gentiles, as 
 Jerusalem was that of the Jews ; it was, as it 
 
 of the second century, a learned philosopher, named Pataenus, 
 went to India to preach the Gospel, and it is said he found 
 Christians there in possession of the Gospel of St. Matthew — 
 the tradition was that St. Bartholomew had first planted Christ- 
 ianity in those countries. It is not indeed said by the ecclesi- 
 astical historian to what part of India Pataenus came, but as he 
 was from Alexandria, the ancient and only course of naviga- 
 tion then immediately suggests to us the Malabar coast. 
 Yide Euseb. Ecclcsiast. Hist. lib. V. cap. 10, but see Bucha- 
 nan's Christian Researches, pp. 128 — 234. 
 
 9 
 
III.] FIRST MISSION TO THE GENTILES. 189 
 
 were, the centre of the apostles' labours : from it 
 they were sent out, and to it they returned, bring- 
 ing; an account of their success. The time had now 
 come when the energies of St. Paul were to be 
 more fully called forth, and he was separated 
 from the Church of Antioch, together with Bar- 
 nabas, for the great work whereunto God had 
 called him, which is said to have been done 
 at the special suggestion of the Holy Ghost. 
 Now you will observe, that although called to the 
 ministry by the express command of God, the 
 two missionaries were both of them ordained to 
 their new office, by the laying on of hands : pre- 
 viously to this, I conceive Paul and Barnabas to 
 have been merely teachers and exhorters, or 
 (speaking in ecclesiastical terms) deacons^ ; the 
 circumstance of their being employed in carrying 
 the alms to Jerusalem is a proof of this, for the 
 proper office of a deacon was to administer to the 
 wants of the poor. In the third verse of the 
 
 ' The five persons, out of wliich Paul and Barnabas were 
 selected at Antioch, are all introduced, without distinction, as 
 "certain prophets and teachers." (Acts xiii. 1.) It does not 
 appear that Paul had yet been recognised in the Church in his 
 apostolical character : he, no doubt, knew his high calling 
 (1 Cor. XV. 8. Gal. 1. 15. 16.), but he submitted to the cere- 
 mony of ordination, by the laying on of hands, as Christ sub- 
 mitted to the rite of baptism, though he needed it not, (Matt. iii. 
 15.) Compare with those five teachers of Antioch, the mi- 
 nistry of Stephen. (Acts vi. 9, 10, and viii. 5. 35.) 
 
190 THE FIRST MISSION [lECT. 
 
 thirteenth chapter, you will find it said, "when 
 they (the elders and the assembly) had fasted 
 and prayed, they laid their hands on Barnabas 
 and Paul, and sent them away." This I conceive 
 to have been their ordination to the priesthood\ 
 They were now enabled not only to teach, but 
 also duly to administer the sacraments, and per- 
 form every other rite which a church might re- 
 quire for its regulation and discipline. The two 
 missionaries now went forth to preach the king- 
 dom of God, and they are particularly said to have 
 been sent forth by the Holy Ghost : whenever this 
 is the case, the word of Christ will always prosper ; 
 and whosoever goes forth in any other strength, or 
 with any other commission, will make no con- 
 verts to the faith of Christ. The country to 
 which the preachers directed their attention was 
 Asia Minor. Paul seems to have had more 
 than an ordinary concern for the souls of those 
 who lived in his native country. After planting 
 Christianity in the district of Seleucia, and sailing 
 to Cyprus, they preached in the capital of that 
 island, which was Salamis, with what success it 
 is not related ; but when thev arrived at the 
 city of Paphos, situated at the extremity of the 
 
 ' " A Presbyter, according to the proper meaning of the New 
 Testament, is he unto whom our Saviour Christ hath commu- 
 nicated the power of spiritual procreation" {Hooker s Ecclesi- 
 astical Polity, Book v. sec. 78.) 
 
III.] TO THE GENTILES. 191 
 
 island, they succeeded in converting the Roman 
 deputy-governor of the district, Sergius Paulus. 
 They then left the island, and arrived on the 
 coast of Pamphylia, and came to Perga ; and 
 here John, (surnamed Mark,) who had continued 
 with them during all their travels from Antioch, 
 returned to Jerusalem. It is evident he had not 
 sufficient courage for such a dangerous under- 
 taking' ; and on this account Paul refused to 
 take him with him a second time, which was 
 the cause of a dissension between him and 
 Barnabas. In the country of Pisidia, bordering 
 upon Pamphylia, was another city of the name 
 of Antioch ; here the preachers went into the 
 Jewish synagogue, and Paul made that discourse 
 which is preserved to us in the thirteenth chapter 
 of the Acts. Considerino; the contradiction and 
 blaspheming of the Jews, we are led to admire 
 the boldness and faithful sincerity of Paul and 
 Barnabas, the result of which was, that the 
 word of the Lord was published throughout all 
 the region. With good reason St. Paul once 
 said, that in every city bonds and afflictions 
 awaited him : he had sufficient experience that 
 the natural heart was enmity against God, and 
 that to preach salvation through a crucified 
 Saviour, and to condemn the self-righteousness 
 of men, by stripping them of their fancied merits, 
 was a sure way to raise up persecutors against 
 
192 THE EFFECTS OF PREACHING. [lECT. 
 
 him. But the importance of preaching the truth 
 was greater to him than the evasion of any per- 
 sonal insults. He did not resist unto death, nei- 
 ther did he show himself careless to the rage of 
 his enemies ; for we find at this city of Antioch, 
 when the Jews raised a persecution, and expelled 
 the Christian teachers out of their coasts, they 
 went away without resistance ; observing only 
 the command of their Master, as a testimony 
 that the kingdom of God had come upon these 
 Jews, '' they shook off the dust of their feet 
 against them." 
 
 From thence they advanced into the central 
 parts of Asia Minor, and took up their abode 
 in Iconium. This town, together with Derbe, 
 Lystra, and Csesarea Magna, were the prin- 
 cipal places in that province of Asia, called 
 Lycaonia : the labours of Paul and Barnabas 
 were now confined to this district. At Lystra, 
 the infatuated multitude believed the two mis- 
 sionaries to be gods descended from Olympus, 
 in the likeness of mortals ; but very soon they 
 turned upon them, and stoned Paul, who, with 
 his fellow-labourer also, planted the Christian 
 faith at Derbe, and had even the courage to 
 return by all those cities where they had preached, 
 and from which they had been expelled. It is 
 said, moreover, they ordained them elders in every 
 church, and prayed with fasting ; and they com- 
 
ITI.J THE EFFECTS OF PREACHING. 193 
 
 mended them to the Lord, on whom they be- 
 lieved. Here, then, we observe such order pre- 
 vailing among those primitive Christians, that 
 none presumed to be elders, except those who 
 were properly ordained ; but, being so ordained, 
 they were exhorted to continue in the faith of 
 Christ, and were left to govern their respective 
 churches. The fellow-labourers having returned 
 towards the sea-coast, by the districts of Pisidia 
 and Pamphylia, now sailed from Attalia, and 
 returned to the mother Church at Antioch, " from 
 whence," it is written, " they had been recom- 
 mended to the grace of God, for the work which 
 they fulfilled." The Church at Antioch was 
 now gathered together to hear the interesting 
 accounts of Paul and Barnabas, who rehearsed in 
 public all, not that they had done, but " that 
 God had done by them," as instruments; and 
 how with them, as keys, he had opened the door 
 of faith to the Gentiles. 
 
 How much the joy of those Christians was 
 increased, none can imagine but those who really 
 feel an interest in the eternal welfare of their 
 fellow -creatures : such will understand that a 
 great delight is inwardly experienced, whenever 
 it is ascertained that a sinner is converted from the 
 error of his way ; and even to the mansions above 
 does the soul of that man ascend, to minole with 
 
 o 
 
194 ANTIOCH THE MOTHER CHURCH. [lECT. 
 
 the joy which is there diffused among the angels 
 of God, over one sinner that repenteth. 
 
 Paul and Barnabas now " abode long time 
 with the disciples." We suppose their travels in 
 Asia to have occupied about a year. St. Paul 
 tells the Galatians, that he came up to Jerusalem 
 fourteen years after his conversion. He returned 
 from this journey into Asia, about the year 45 : 
 this, therefore, will leave for the expression of St. 
 Luke (" long time,") a space of three or four 
 years ; during which period, they would conti- 
 nually receive accounts at Antioch, from the 
 churches in Pamphylia, Pisidia, and Lycaonia ; 
 but none of these have come down to us. 
 It is further said, after the decision of the 
 apostolic council, that Paul and Barnabas con- 
 tinued in Antioch, teaching and preaching the 
 word of the Lord with many others also ; whence 
 it is evident, that they had not left Antioch, 
 except to go up to Jerusalem to the apos- 
 tolic synod, and to relate what God had done 
 by them in the heathen world. After this St. 
 Paul made a proposition to Barnabas to go again 
 and visit the brethren in every city where they 
 had preached the Gospel ; but since they could 
 not agree about the companions to be taken with 
 them, " they departed asunder, one from the 
 other;" Barnabas, with Mark, to the island of 
 
III.] OF THE GFNTTLES. 195 
 
 Cyprus ; Paul, with Silas, to Syria and Cilicia ; 
 and he went through those countries and con- 
 firmed the Churches in the faith they had received. 
 Having now brought the apostles' labours beyond 
 the epoch of the council of Jerusalem — that is to 
 say, to about the year 50, we will leave the nar- 
 rative for this time, and proceed to apply what 
 has been said to our spiritual improvement. 
 
 It may be assumed by the minister of the 
 Gospel that the spiritual condition of man is 
 by nature, in all ages, and in all places, almost 
 the same. Benevolent institutions, national pri- 
 vileges, and the benefits arising out of what is 
 termed civilization, may doubtless make a great 
 difference in the moral condition of society ; but 
 considering human nature in its general state of 
 enmity tow^ards God, and its reluctance to receive 
 the truth as it is in Jesus, it will be found to vary 
 little until converted and purified by the ope- 
 ration of God's Holy Spirit. Of the word of 
 truth, however, it may be confidently affirmed 
 that it is sure and stedfast ; and whatever change 
 the knowledge of it may effect in the minds of 
 men, still, like its Divine Author, it is "yesterday, 
 to-day, and for ever the same." " The grass 
 withereth and the flower fadeth, but the word of 
 our God abideth for ever." Now if any be dis- 
 posed, in taking a view of the first spread of 
 Christianity, to assume that there was so much 
 
 o 2 
 
196 HUMAN NATURE AND DIVINE GRACE [lECT, 
 
 difference between the cirenmstances of the world 
 at that period and those of the present, that the 
 ministers of the Gospel have not now the same 
 enemies to contend with, that the same doctrine 
 cannot now be applied with equal effect, nor the 
 same powers be available in its application, it is 
 at least incumbent upon them to show upon what 
 ground they would establish their position. The 
 difference must consist in one of three things : 
 first, the materials upon which the apostles had 
 to work ; secondly, the things they taught, or the 
 means by which they worked ; or thirdly, the 
 agency by which the operation was effected. 
 But, my brethren, with regard to the first, were 
 not the materials human nature ? Was not the 
 same carnal mind opposed to them with which 
 we are born as children of the fallen Adam ? Are 
 we naturally more disposed than they were to 
 embrace, with the whole heart, the doctrine of a 
 crucified Saviour ? or have we less need of recon- 
 ciliation with our offended God, because our civil 
 condition is improved ? There is neither Greek 
 nor barbarian, bond nor free, in this respect : 
 enmity to the Gospel in the heart still unhappily 
 prevails in the highest stage of civilization and 
 refinement ; wherefore it is not in this respect 
 that the difference can consist. Secondly, with 
 respect to the things taught, or the means by 
 which they worked, can any other doctrine be so 
 
III.] ALWAYS IN THE SAME RELATION. 197 
 
 forcibly applied ? Is there any other doctrine so 
 completely adapted to our wants or our capacities, 
 as that taught by the apostles ? Are our appeals 
 to the human heart at any time more powerful 
 than when we adhere to the very words which they 
 have left on record for our use and instruction ? 
 Surely then no one can reasonably object that 
 what we preach, though it be none other Gospel, 
 is without effect where we abide by the written 
 word. And thirdly, as to the agency by which 
 the operation was effected : if it be alleged that 
 our exhortations are comparatively feeble, and 
 that we want the gifts with which the first 
 preachers were endowed — admitting the superi- 
 ority of their powers — should we not recollect 
 that even Paul "came not with excellency of 
 speech or of wisdom ?" It was then, as it must be 
 now, the matter and not the manner — "Jesus 
 Christ and Him crucified." The word we preach 
 produces the effect of conversion and sanctifi- 
 cation only by the operation of the Holy Spirit : 
 neither can the manner in which His Divine in- 
 fluence acts upon the spiritual nature of man, be 
 changed, however it may differ in degree, any 
 more than the nature of God can change : for the 
 same God which caused the lij^ht to shine out of 
 darkness, hath also caused the spiritual light to 
 shine in the human heart : and surely, He ruleth 
 
198 SOVEREIGNTY OF DIVINE GRACE [lECT. 
 
 the spirits of all flesh as constantly as he ruleth 
 the whole of nature's elements. 
 
 So that, brethren, in every point of view, we 
 are but as the inhabitants of Cilicia, Pamphylia, 
 and Cyprus ; their condition may be safely taken 
 as a warning, or as an encouragement to our- 
 selves : we have seen that some received with 
 thankfulness and great joy the message of the 
 apostles, whilst others put away from them the 
 word of life, and even sought to destroy the 
 preachers of it. And yet all heard that word ; its 
 doctrine was as the light of heaven, freely ex- 
 tended unto all, as it is this day to every hearer. 
 The doctrine of salvation by Christ is proclaimed : 
 men are told that ' ' except they repent they shall 
 perish :"that " being by nature children of wrath, 
 even as others," there is now no alternative but 
 to " flee from the wrath to come :" they are told 
 that this cannot be eflfected by means of obe- 
 dience, such as they can render in outward act, 
 because God can accept nothing but a perfect 
 obedience, which none but Christ hath accom- 
 plished : that in consequence of this, they must 
 " submit to the righteousness of God," and lay 
 aside that pride which ill brooks an unconditional 
 offer of grace. What then ? The apostles said 
 none other things than these ; but what is the 
 result of this preaching of the Gospel, which 
 
III.] AND man's responsibility. 199 
 
 soundeth from day to day in our ears ? *' Some 
 believe the things that are spoken, and some be- 
 lieve them not," and it is certain that those who 
 do believe them are favoured with the manifes- 
 tation of God's grace and peace, for " the secret 
 of the Lord is with them that fear him," whilst 
 those who refuse the Gospel are as surely said to 
 bring upon themselves an increase of condem- 
 nation. Here then are two things established, — 
 the sovereignty of Divine Grace, and the respon- 
 sibility of man. The former is that election by 
 grace to eternal life, of which the sacred penmen 
 so often speak — this cometh of God ; the other 
 is that condemnation which sin and unbelief 
 produce, and this cometh of the fallen man. If 
 you ask me to reconcile these two things, you 
 require more than is within the power of the 
 human mind to compass ; and although it might 
 be urged that an incomprehensible position 
 can never be received into the mind, still we 
 maintain, that these two doctrines, taken in 
 their respective applications, must ever produce 
 a wonderful effect upon the heart of man. Upon 
 the sinner, his own responsibility weighs heavily, 
 nor can any thing ever shake it oft' : upon the 
 penitent believer, the sovereignty of grace acts 
 as a source of confidence and joy, nor can it 
 ever abandon that soul which humbly relies upon 
 it for strength to do the will of God. Suppose 
 
 9 
 
200 THE SCRIPTURE ALTERNATIVE. [lECT. 
 
 then, for a moment, that Paul and Barnabas were 
 proposing to us tlie very words they preached for 
 the people's acceptance at Antioch of Pisidia : 
 " Be it known unto you, that through this man 
 is preached unto you forgiveness of sin, and by 
 Him all that believe are justified from all things :" 
 in what number should we class ourselves, bre- 
 thren ? Amongst those who believed ? Or what 
 should we think of the doctrine announced ? 
 That it is true ? Say ye this ? Then, as all that 
 believe are justified from all things, ye are jus- 
 tified : then are your sins forgiven, and ye are 
 free to serve the living God. Here the spiritual 
 condition of the believer is positively set forth : 
 it is neither enthusiasm nor methodism, nor any 
 other of those names by which it is often called, 
 but it is Christianity. What ! shall we be in a 
 worse condition, or less confident than were the 
 first poor Christians of Asia ? — shall we have 
 " the witness in ourselves" less perfect, because 
 we have been admitted into the faith of Christ 
 by early baptism ?— shall we stand upon the 
 orthodoxy of a baptismal regeneration, seeking 
 for the foundations of a ruin, amidst the deplo- 
 rable wreck of faith and a good conscience ? 
 Vain strife of words ! Then, if this be not our 
 condition, if we cannot appeal to a conscience 
 void of offence, if we be indifferent or insensible 
 to the doctrine of the forgiveness of sins, if we be 
 
III.] THE SCRIPTURE ALTERNATIVE. 201 
 
 not oF those who believe with the heart, and 
 consequently be not justified in the sight of God, 
 I know of no alternative, brethren, — we are in 
 condemnation : prove we ourselves then ; for it 
 is fit that we should have some knowledge of 
 ourselves. Either Christ was received into the 
 heart, or He was not received, wherever Paul 
 and Barnabas preached ! These are important 
 inquiries, when pressed close upon the con- 
 sciences of men : it is in this way, or I am mis- 
 taken, that the truth of God is designed to search 
 the heart, and probe the sincerity of our pro- 
 fessions. I think these were the doctrines which 
 caused the kingdom of Satan to fall like light- 
 ning in the east, and which are destined ulti- 
 mately to govern the world ; for they belong to 
 all ages, and are applicable both to a rude and 
 civilized state of human society. It is for us, 
 therefore, brethren, to try whether the Gospel 
 has been planted in our hearts, as well as in our 
 island ; let this be the Asia over which our 
 reflections travel ; let this be the map which we 
 spread before our consciences : if we feel it has 
 not been planted there, it is for us to be alarmed 
 at our responsibility ; if we feel it has, it is for 
 us to magnify the grace of God, and not to live 
 as if we had received His grace in vain ; then 
 ma}'^ we look to the other words of the apostles, 
 which they spake to the faithful on their return 
 
202 EFFECTS OF DIVINE GRACE [lECT. 
 
 to Lystra, and Iconium, and Antioch, " con- 
 firming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting 
 them to continue in the faith, and that we must 
 throuo-h much tribulation enter into the king;- 
 dom of God ;" then it will be time, and not till 
 then, to apply and claim the promises which are 
 in Christ Jesus, " My grace is sufficient for 
 thee ;" " my strength shall be perfected in thy 
 weekness;" " sin shall not have dominion over 
 you." and the like. 
 
 The first journey of the apostle into Asia, ex- 
 hibits the effects of Divine grace upon the hearts 
 of those who had never before received or heard 
 the Gospel. Although there is evidently a dif- 
 ference in our own case, to whom at least it hath 
 been preached, yea, and who have been bap- 
 tized into the faith of it, yet if we be not real 
 Christians, like those of Antioch, but reject the 
 word of life, and put it away from our serious 
 consideration, we are certainly in a worse case 
 than those who refused to hear Paul and Bar- 
 nabas ; for they were visited once only by the 
 word, but the same word is pressed upon our 
 attention daily, and our opportunities are far 
 greater than theirs. 1 say, then, (in recurring 
 once more to the doctrines which have been 
 deduced from our subject,) that we equally ex- 
 hibit, in our respective conditions, the sovereign 
 power of God's grace and mercy, and the res- 
 
111.] FROM THE EXAMPLES ON RECORD. 203 
 
 ponsibility of the sinner. The sinner shoukl 
 consider the apostle in his first passage through 
 the regions of Asia ; and those who rely on the 
 sovereign power of God's grace and mercy, are 
 entitled to the consolatory words of St. Paul on 
 his return. The sinner, or the unbeliever in 
 heart, who is still responsible for all the pri- 
 vileges he possesses, should hear with fear and 
 trembling these words of the missionaries, when 
 at Pisidia : " It was necessary that the word of 
 God should first have been spoken to you ; but 
 seeing ye put it from you, and judge yourselves 
 unworthy of everlasting life, lo ! we turn to the 
 Gentiles." From this declaration of the apostle, all 
 those who, in a similar manner, on the one hand 
 repudiate the Gospel, may plainly perceive that 
 the condemnation rests with them ; they judge 
 themselves unworthy of everlasting life. The very 
 rejection of God's word, the non-receiving it, is 
 condemnation : and then behold it passes away to 
 another region ; the candlestick is moved from its 
 place, until both individuals and nations stumble 
 in darkness and fall deeper into all kinds of mi- 
 sery, because they know not the day of their visi- 
 tation. On the other hand, the Christian who has 
 embraced the truth, will hear what Paul and Bar- 
 nabas said to the brethren at Lystra, on their 
 return — " that we must, through much tribula- 
 tion, enter into the kingdom of God," in which 
 
204 TRIALS FOR SPIRITUAL IMPROVEMENT [lECT. 
 
 declaration is evidently set forth a kingdom into 
 which, though trouble intervene, the faithful shall 
 enter ; yea, even into that " rest which remain- 
 eth to the people of God." The tribulation 
 through which the saints must pass, may indeed 
 vary in its character, according to circumstances; 
 the Christians of Pisidia would, doubtless, have 
 to endure what none of us can ever be called 
 upon to suffer ; but of this, the sincere Christian 
 may rest assured, that he will have his share of 
 tribulation. I speak not of the bodily affliction, 
 or the events of Providence by which his faith 
 may be put to the trial (though these are often 
 sent upon him for his correction), but I speak 
 rather of the tribulation which ariseth because of 
 his infirmities, when he laments before God the 
 sins and imperfections which a conscience less 
 tender, or a heart not under the influence of the 
 Divine love, neither thinks of nor acknowledges." 
 What earnestness in prayer, what bitterness of 
 repentance, what self reproaches, for so often for- 
 saking the fountain of living waters ! These are 
 the inward tribulations ; but then, my brethren, 
 what joy and peace in believing, what assistance 
 from Divine grace and love, what consolation 
 in all the evils of life, what triumph in the 
 hour of death, what glorious prospects, after 
 all these trials, of being one day received into 
 the number of the blessed I Let us then be care- 
 
III.] TO BE EXPECTED. 205 
 
 ful that we be not found amongst the unbelievers 
 of Pisidia, who lost even the privilege of hear- 
 ing God's truth, but let us be found amongst 
 those of Lystra and Iconium, yea, notwithstand- 
 ing all their tribulations ; for be it known unto 
 the child of God, however much he may be 
 afflicted, that those light afflictions, which are 
 but for a moment, will work for him " a far more 
 exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 
 
LECTURE IV. 
 
 ON THE LABOURS OF PAUL AND SILAS. PAUL S 
 SECOND JOURNEY INTO ASIA AND THROUGH 
 MACEDONIA, GREECE, ETC., UNTIL HIS VISIT 
 TO JERUSALEM. [a.D. 50 TO 60.] 
 
 Acts xix. 21. 
 
 After these things were ended, Paul purposed in the Spirit, when 
 he had passed through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jeru- 
 salem, saying, after I have been there, I must also see Rome. 
 
 Whenever we take a comprehensive view of 
 Christianity, in the light of an estabHshed insti- 
 tution, it is important to make a distinction be- 
 tween its immediate and remote influence ; for 
 it is evident that many partake of the moral 
 benefits of the Christian religion, who neither 
 acknowledge its Divine origin, nor live under 
 the influence of its doctrines. An individual born 
 to the privileges of a Christian, and nurtured 
 or brought up, I will not say in the fear of 
 
IV.] MORAL INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIANITY. 207 
 
 the Lord, but in tlie principles of that high- 
 toned morality, which the religion of Christ 
 alone sanctions and proclaims, unconsciously 
 derives benefit from a source he never personally 
 arrived at ; and this is what I mean by the remote 
 influence of Christianity. We conceive this to 
 be that blessing of Divine Providence which rests 
 upon a nation or a place, for the sake of those 
 who live under the immediate influence of the 
 doctrine of Christ, and this to such an extent 
 that the whole community may be spared for the 
 sake of the ten righteous men that are found in 
 it. But whenever the period may arrive in which 
 there shall be no more any who are owned by the 
 Lord Jesus as His people, then the whole displea- 
 sure of the Almighty may be expected to go forth, 
 and, as in times of old, when He pronounced the 
 fatal sentence, " they shall not enter into my 
 rest," His wrath is manifest in the calamities 
 which sometimes fall upon whole nations, and in 
 the warning voice which crieth woe ! woe ! to the 
 inhabitants of the rebellious city, after which is 
 sent the last and most dreadful visitation of all. He 
 even taketh away the light which had cheered 
 its unconscious and ungrateful inhabitants, and 
 letteth out the vineyard to others. In this 
 manner it is that we may account for the de- 
 plorable state of those countries in which St. Paul 
 
"208 MORAL INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIANITY. [lECT. 
 
 first planted the Churches of Christ ^ : the moral 
 influence of which I speak has vanished, and men 
 have been left to follow their own imaginations 
 until their latter state has become worse than the 
 first, and they are to every good work reprobate. 
 Now what has happened to whole nations may 
 happen to individuals, which circumstance in- 
 duces us to turn to the immediate influence of 
 God's truth — that is to say, the spiritual influ- 
 ence as distinct from the moral, in order to show, 
 that if, whilst we hear we obey not the truth, or if, 
 having received it, whether with a degree of wil- 
 lingness or indiflerence, we hold it in unright- 
 eousness, the individual soul becomes the subject 
 of all the just judgments of heaven : neither 
 hardness of heart nor contempt of God's word 
 and commandments will be slow to succeed the 
 backslidings and departures from the light of 
 truth, until the evil heart is ready to receive the 
 seeds of every spiritual enemy which may arise 
 
 * The establishment of Islamism upon the ruins of Christi- 
 anity in the East, is, I think, a striking example of God's judg- 
 ments upon apostate nations. Not only is the faith of Maho- 
 met, as Professor White observed, wherever it is established, 
 united with despotic power, but it is destructive of all right 
 moral feeling. If the Turks be allowed the virtue of speaking 
 truth, it still leaves their character, like that of the Corsair, 
 " Link'd with one virtue and a thousand crimes." 
 
IV.] RELIGIOUS CONTENTION TO BE AVOIDED. 209 
 
 in the darkness of night to sow tares for its de- 
 struction. Clearly as these things may be exem- 
 plified in comparing the labours of Paul and Silas 
 with their subsequent results, yet will it be far 
 better to take heed unto ourselves, and consult 
 our own security — a spiritual exercise to which 
 the meditation upon these subjects is intended to 
 lead us. 
 
 It will not be forgotten by such of you as have 
 attended to our narrative, that whilst Barnabas 
 took Mark, and sailed away to the island of 
 Cyprus, Paul and Silas travelled into Syria and 
 Cilicia, confirming the Churches, which had been 
 there planted by Paul himself. This separa- 
 tion of Paul and Barnabas was caused by a 
 dispute which took place on the subject of their 
 former companion Mark. St. Paul considered 
 that he had shown too little zeal for the work of 
 the ministry in leaving them so abruptly in their 
 first journey into Asia : this Barnabas did not 
 think a sufl[icient reason for refusing to take him 
 with them ao-ain. The contention seemed to be a 
 subject of regret, but two great benefits resulted 
 from it : a larger field was opened to their mis- 
 sionary labours, the Gospel was more widely 
 diffused, Mark afterwards became more zealous 
 and faithful, and one of the most useful fellow- 
 labourers with St. Paul in his arduous and diffi- 
 
210 RELIGIOUS CONTENTIONTO BE AVOIDED. [lECT. 
 
 cult circumstances \ It is evident that such 
 events might have been produced without the 
 contention of these two inspired men : their con- 
 duct, therefore, is not to be an example for our 
 imitation ; but we may hence learn never to mix 
 our personal differences with the primary object 
 of our ministry, nor ever to betray the sacred 
 cause of our Lord and Master, nor fail to hold the 
 faith in the unity of the Spirit, however we may 
 differ in our opinion of one another's zeal. For, 
 as to the dispute, it was not about the salvation 
 which is only through a crucified Saviour, that 
 these primitive teachers differed ; but it was in 
 their opinion and private judgment of a brother, 
 into which, it being not a matter intended for 
 their judgment, God did not interpose by his 
 Holy Spirit to direct or guide them : it was left 
 for time and circumstances to decide. And thus 
 it will ever be, my brethren : our contentions will 
 be endless, if we inquire what this man or that 
 man shall do ; this is not the truth into which 
 the Spirit is pledged to guide us ; but whenever 
 our views may unfortunately differ in any thing 
 relating to the doctrines of the Bible, as surely 
 as we search the Scriptures for the truth, in all 
 
 * 2 Tim. iii. 11. This Mark must not be confounded with 
 the Evangelist. 
 
IV.] THE BLESSINGS OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. 211 
 
 humility, so surely will God enlighten us and 
 unite us more to Himself and to one another ; and 
 it is to this end that the promise is made, " ask 
 and ye shall receive." Let, therefore, that cha- 
 rity be in us, which " believeth all things, hopeth 
 all things ;" let there be no strife among us, nor 
 contention, for we are brethren, and "the Ca- 
 naanite is still in the land." — " I speak as to wise 
 men, judge ye what I say." 
 
 When Paul had arrived for the second time at 
 Derbe and Lystra, he found the believers stedfast 
 in the faith they had received. And here we have 
 a new character introduced to our notice, who 
 became an ornament and a champion of the new 
 religion : this was a young man named Timo- 
 theus : by his mother's side he was of Jewish 
 extraction, but his father was a Greek, and does 
 not appear to have ever embraced the Christian 
 faith. This youth was, however, well instructed 
 in the doctrine of the Gospel by his mother and his 
 grandmother, both of whom had been converted, 
 as is most probable, on the day of Pentecost. 
 Timothy was a person of considerable acquire- 
 ments, and no doubt very zealous in the cause of 
 the truth. St. Paul considered him therefore as a 
 fit companion of his missionary labours ; but in 
 order to give no offence to the Jews, who, as he 
 knew, would object to the teaching of a reputed 
 heathen, the apostle caused Timothy to submit 
 
 p2 
 
.212 BLESSINGS OF RELIGIOUS EDUCATION. [lECT. 
 
 to the rite of circumcision, — an expedient upon 
 which we shall shortly offer a remark. It must not 
 here be allowed to escape your notice, how great 
 a blessing it is to have religious parents ; and, in 
 the instance of Timothy, it is a point for the 
 especial consideration of mothers. Although the 
 father was a Greek, and probably knew not the 
 salvation of God, yet, by the tender care of 
 Eunice and Lois, the young man was formed to 
 godliness, to which St. Paul refers with confidence 
 as a pledge of the unfeigned faith which was in 
 him : he calls him frequently his own son, mean- 
 ing by that endearing title that he had adopted 
 him as his spiritual assistant, and had taught 
 him in the " way of the Lord more perfectly'." 
 From Lystra he began the journey with Paul and 
 Silas ; they carried with them the decrees of the 
 apostolic council, and it is added that the churches 
 were established in the faith, and increased daily. 
 The missionaries now bent their steps towards 
 the Euxine Sea, and traversed the countries of 
 Phrygia and Galatia. Their intention seems to 
 have been to retrace their steps, and to have de- 
 scended upon the western parts of Asia Minor ; 
 but they were forbidden by the Holy Ghost to 
 
 ' On the case of Timothy, and with reference to the preced- 
 ing remarks on John and Mark, consult the 34th Homily of St. 
 Chrysosfom on Act xv. xvi. But see Cave's Lives of the Fathers^ 
 p. 46. Tom. T. 
 
IV.] THE FORE-KNOWLEDGE OF GOD. 213 
 
 preach the word in Asia. It may be necessary 
 here to remark, that the country which is usually 
 called Asia in the apostolic writings, signifies the 
 district in which those seven churches were situ- 
 ated, to which St. John addresses his Revelation; 
 that is, the country lying between the Pro- 
 pontis and the Island of Rhodes, known to the 
 classical reader by the name of Ionia, because 
 originally colonized by Greeks. We might 
 wonder, at first sight, why the Spirit should for- 
 bid the apostle to go into this country; but the 
 sequel of the history shows that God in his wis- 
 dom foreknew the minds of the inhabitants. The 
 Gospel was introduced amongst them at a later 
 period, and some there were who believed unto 
 salvation. Lamentable, however, is the picture 
 of the seven churches which St. John has drawn, 
 and soon did they make shipwreck of that faith 
 which they received, as it was once delivered 
 to the saints. It seemed as if God only intended 
 to justify His mercy and the free offer of His grace 
 in the sight of all men : He knew they would 
 hardly believe : He foresaw what would be the 
 end of His interposing grace : still He suffered the 
 word to be propagated amongst them ; but not 
 until He had first called those who were a more 
 " willing people in the day of His power;" for 
 this cause also the Spirit suffered not the preach- 
 ers to pass into the district of Bithynia. The 
 
214 PAUL AND SILAS AT PHILIPPI, [lECT. 
 
 Providence of God is not less manifest in those 
 countries where His word has never yet been 
 allowed to penetrate ; the inference to be drawn 
 from which circumstance is, that " the time 
 is not yet come ;" and there are seasons and 
 places when and where it may be said, concern- 
 ing the preachers of the Gospel, " your strength 
 is to sit still." Happy is the man who can dis- 
 cern the times and the seasons, and who waits for 
 the unequivocal signs of God's Providence, show- 
 ing that now is the time to go forth, and " com- 
 pel them to come in." In consequence of this 
 prohibition, made manifest by some miraculous 
 communication, the apostle and his companions 
 came into the district of the once celebrated 
 Troy : and it would appear from the context of 
 the history, that St, Luke joined the sacred com- 
 pany here, for he says, in the 8th verse, they came 
 down to Troas' ; and then, after Paul had seen 
 the vision of the man of Macedonia, he says, we 
 endeavoured to go into Macedonia. The apostle 
 now, for the first time, enters the Peninsula of 
 Greece : he touched in a prosperous voyage at the 
 Island of Samothracia, and thence sailed to Nea- 
 polis. We immediately find him, with his faith- 
 ful companion Silas, at Philippi, and it may be 
 
 ' This port, not far from the Island of Tenedos, was more 
 anciently called Antigonia, according to Pliny. Vid. Hist. Nat^ 
 lib. V. cap. 30. It is now, I think, the Eski Stamboul of the Turks- 
 
IV.] AND AT THESSALONICA. 215 
 
 added that Timothy and Luke were there also. 
 The events which took place at this, the chief 
 city of that part of Macedonia, are recorded in the 
 sixteenth chapter of the Acts, wherein we have 
 the account of Lydia's cure, and the apostle's 
 sufferings by stripes and imprisonment, the con- 
 version of the jailer and his family, and the mi- 
 raculous deliverance of the preachers. The nar- 
 rative is most interesting : at midnight, amidst 
 the horrors of a prison, and suffering from bodily 
 pain, inflicted by the inhuman stripes they had 
 received, Paul and Silas sang praises unto God, 
 rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer 
 for Christ's sake. There was, however, nothing- 
 abject in these holy men, nor any want of that 
 independence of character which the men of the 
 world so much boast of : the same Paul who sang 
 praises at midnight in the prison, and who would 
 most assuredly have been set down in our day as 
 a madman and as a fanatic, made use of the most 
 powerful language, relative to the conduct of the 
 magistrates of Philippi, who, finding they had 
 exceeded their authority, were afraid : " They 
 have beaten us openly, being Romans, and have 
 cast us into prison, and now do they thrust us out 
 privily ? Nay verily, but let them come them- 
 selves and fetch us out." The Christian then is 
 humble before his God, and patient in afflictions; 
 but he exercises his civil rights and his political 
 
216 THE FELLOW-LABOURERS SEPARATE. [lECT. 
 
 privileges; he is not abject, but bold and dignified 
 above other men, because he doeth all things in 
 the strength of Him whose name is Truth and 
 Righteousness. The fellow-labourers now passed 
 through the cities of Amphipolis and Apollonia, 
 and arrived at Thessalonica, where they planted 
 another church, composed of some believing Jews, 
 but more Greeks, and many of them persons in 
 the higher ranks of society. It appears from the 
 epistles written afterwards to this church, and 
 to which we shall shortly recur, that the Thessalo- 
 nians were distinguished for their faith, and were 
 proof against all the persecutions stirred up against 
 them. Paul himself was the victim of the first 
 of those persecutions ; and it was only by es- 
 caping at night to the city of Berea, situated at 
 the entrance of the peninsula of Greece, that he 
 was saved, with his companions, from the fury of 
 the unbelieving Jews. But the circumstance 
 turned out for the furtherance of the Gospel ; 
 for at Berea, they received the word with all 
 readiness of mind, and " searched the Scriptures 
 daily, whether those things were so." Paul was 
 especially the person the Jews aimed to destroy ; 
 they followed him from Thessalonica to Berea, 
 and he was again obliged to withdraw himself. 
 The arrangements now made amongst the fellow- 
 labourers were, that Paul should go alone to 
 Athens by sea, and wait in that celebrated city, 
 
IV.] THE FELLOW-LABOURERS SEPARATE. 217 
 
 until Silas and Timothy could join him. It is 
 not related in the Acts that they ever did join 
 him at Athens ; but it is intimated by Paul him- 
 self, in his Epistle to the Thessalonians, that 
 Timothy came up to him ; for thus we read (in 
 1 Thess. iii. 1.), "Wherefore when we could 
 no longer forbear, we thought it good to be left 
 at Athens alone : and sent Timotheus, &c. to 
 establish you, and to comfort you concerning 
 your faith." And again (ver. 6.), " when Timo- 
 theus came from you unto us, and brought us 
 good tidings of your faith and charity, &c. we 
 were comforted over you in all our affliction and 
 distress, by your faith." From these passages, 
 therefore, it is argued, that Timothy must have 
 come up with St. Paul at Athens ; for he could 
 not say he was left at Athens alone, that he might 
 send Timothy to comfort them, unless Timothy 
 had been with him. On the other hand, it is 
 evident that Silas was not there, otherwise Paul 
 could not have said he was left alone, when 
 Timothy was gone : thus upon the whole, we do 
 not find that the three missionaries came together 
 again until they arrived at Corinth ; for after Paul 
 had left Athens, and had reached Corinth, we 
 have these words (Acts xviii. 5.), " When Silas 
 and Timotheus were come from Macedonia." 
 Timothy, then, did not rejoin the apostle at 
 Athens ; but went direct with Silas from Ma- 
 
*218 THE EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS, [lECT. 
 
 cedonia to Corinth, where we find them all three 
 together again ^ These particulars are impor- 
 tant, because they help us to ascertain from 
 whence the Epistles to the Thessalonians were 
 written. You are, perhaps, already aware, that 
 the postscripts found in our Testaments to each 
 epistle are not genuine, but merely the additions 
 of transcribers ; and, although in most cases cor- 
 rect, are not always to be depended upon * : for 
 instance, the Epistles to the Thessalonians are 
 said to have been written from Athens, whereas 
 they both begin with " Paul and Silvanus, (that 
 is Silas,) and Timotheus." Now, as they were 
 all three together at Corinth only, and not at 
 Athens, the epistles were written from the former 
 city ; and this could not well be later than the year 
 52. These were the first epistles which St. Paul 
 wrote, although they stand in the sacred canon 
 in a different order, the epistles being arranged 
 according to the importance of the cities to which 
 they were severally addressed. 
 
 It would be impossible for me, in the course of 
 these Lectures, to enter into an analysis of the 
 epistles. I shall merely observe of the two ad- 
 dressed to Thessalonica, that they were written 
 with a view to encourage and strengthen the new 
 
 ' See Palcy. Horce Paulines. 1 Thess. Nos. 3 and 4. 
 ' Ibid. Chap. xiv. 
 
IV.] PAUL PREACHES AT ATHENS. 219 
 
 converts in the persecutions and difficulties to 
 which they were exposed, and under which the 
 apostle feared they might shrink, and so fall away 
 from the faith. He puts them on their guard 
 against persons of a doubtful character, who had 
 formed some unwarrantable notions concerning 
 the speedy coming of Christ, and the destina- 
 tion of departed spirits ; and refers them to a 
 conversation he had held with them about the 
 man of sin, the son of perdition, and the mystery 
 of iniquity, which had already begun to work, 
 all which is very obscure to us, because we do 
 not know what that discourse was to which he 
 refers the Thessalonians, when he says, " Re- 
 member ye not, that when I was with you, I 
 told you these things ?" He charges them in 
 the most solemn manner, that the epistle be 
 read unto all the holy brethren ; nor can we 
 doubt but that it was frequently read in the 
 public assemblies, in a manner to be understood 
 by all : and so long as it was listened to with 
 reverence, and received as the word of inspi- 
 ration, the Church of Thessalonica stood firmly. 
 That there is now no such church, may be 
 attributed to the departure from the written word 
 of God, as is the case in all those places where 
 it has lost its ascendancy. But to return to the 
 tenor of our history. 
 
 The preaching of St. Paul at Athens, is another 
 
220 PAUL PREACHES AT ATHENS. [lECT. 
 
 striking example of the power of the Gospel, 
 whenever it is faithfully delivered. The zeal of 
 the apostle was stirred up : the polite and civilized 
 Athens being wholly given to idolatry, it had, as 
 Pausanias informs us, more images than all the 
 rest of Greece ^ The Stoics, who considered all 
 things to be over-ruled by an inexorable fate, and 
 the Epicureans, who placed all happiness in the 
 refined pleasure of sense, encountered the apostle, 
 who preached the mercy of God in Christ Jesus, 
 and the ' ' holiness without which no man shall 
 see the Lord." What but a miracle could have 
 induced men like these to renounce their car- 
 nal lusts and worldly maxims, in order to em- 
 brace a pure religion, like that of the meek 
 and lowly Jesus ? They reasoned and argued 
 with Paul, with all the subtilty, no doubt, for 
 which the schools of Greece were distinguished, 
 and the apostle met them upon their own ground, 
 showing that there was one great moving Cause, 
 the Maker of all things in heaven and in earth, a 
 self-existent intelligence, which their own Socrates 
 and other wise men had not scrupled to avow ; 
 endeavouring with zeal to counteract the pre- 
 sumption of man, that had presumed to liken to 
 an image the perfection of that God " Whose 
 
 ' The reader is here referred to the excellent notes of 
 Doddridge, in his Family Expositor. Acts, sect. xl. 
 
IV.] DIONYSIUS THE AREOPAGITE. 221 
 
 offspring* we are," in whom we live and move 
 and have our being. " We ought not to think," 
 says the eloquent preacher, " that the Godhead 
 is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by 
 art, and man's device : the times of this ignorance 
 God winked at." And ihink ye, my brethren, 
 that those times have passed away ? or that there 
 is not still need of a Paul to declare unto these 
 generations the God whom they ignorantly wor- 
 ship ? The zeal is wanting : the stirring up of 
 the spirit within is, I fear, the deficiency ; for 
 verily there want neither Stoics, nor Epicureans, 
 nor whole cities given to idolatry. The result of 
 Paul's preaching was the conversion of some of 
 those idolaters and philosophers, and amongst 
 them Dionysius, a member of the great council 
 called Areopagus. This man was probably the 
 first bishop, or overseer of the Christian Church 
 at Athens, and he is the St. Denys, of whom so 
 many fables and foolish legends are related, con- 
 cerning his journey into France, his extraordinary 
 martyrdom, &c. : the woman named Damaris is 
 supposed by St. Chrysostom to have been the 
 wife of Dionysius, and therefore it ought to be so 
 rendered as the original Greek will bear K Let 
 
 * See Cave's Lives of the Fathers, Tom. I, p. 69. Hilduin, 
 Abbot of St. Denys, was, it appears, the first retailer of the 
 obscure traditions concerning this saint, under the powerful 
 protection of Charlemagne. {Ibid. p. 71.) 
 
222 Paul's residence at corinth. [lect. 
 
 then the philosopher and the sceptic who think 
 themselves wise above that which is written, and 
 pretend to see no truth in the humble religion of 
 Jesus, contemplate the apostle standing in the 
 midst of Mar's Hill, and putting to silence the 
 learned men of Athens by the sublime but simple 
 declaration of a Great First moving Cause, Self- 
 existent and Intelligent : the responsibility and 
 dependence of the creature upon their Creator, 
 and the judgment which, by all that is just and 
 reasonable in our nature and our notions of 
 things, must one day take place : and herein he 
 will find subjects for his philosophy ; but if he 
 must needs believe that, which, to say the least, 
 seems a reasonable thing, then let him not re- 
 nounce the assurance which God has given of 
 the truth, in that " He hath raised up Jesus from 
 the dead." 
 
 We have now traced the apostle in his second 
 extensive journey through the whole length of 
 Asia Minor, and in other different directions of 
 that continent ; thence across the Greek sea to 
 the country of Macedonia, bordering upon 
 Thrace ; thence along the east side of the penin- 
 sula of Greece, and to that part of the present 
 Morea, which was called Achaia, the chief place 
 of which was Corinth. 
 
 It was here announced to Paul that the Lord 
 had much people in that city ; and consequently 
 
 10 
 
IV.] Paul's residence at corinth. 223 
 
 he continued there a year and a half, teaching 
 the word of God among them. His manner of 
 living takes away all suspicion from the most 
 fastidious mind, that he had in view any interested 
 motives in " preaching the kingdom of God." 
 It happened a little before his arrival at Corinth, 
 that the Emperor Claudius had banished all Jews 
 from Rome, and amongst them, all those Jews 
 who had embraced Christianity, concerning the 
 merits of whose religious tenets the heathen 
 emperors could not judge '. A man named 
 Aquila, a native of Pontus, and his wife Priscilla, 
 were amongst the banished : with these persons 
 Paul lived, following his occupation of a tent- 
 maker, in partnership with Aquila. " He rea- 
 soned in the synagogue every Sabbath-day, and 
 persuaded the Jews and the Greeks ;" so that it 
 should seem that during the week he had attended 
 
 * This edict of Claudius (alluded to by Suetonius in vit. 
 Claud, cap. 25) is supposed to have taken place in the ninth 
 year of that emperor's reign, a. d. 50, at the latest. It is said 
 in Acts xviii. 1. that Aquila and his wife had lately arrived at 
 Corinth ; in consequence this brings Paul from Athens to 
 Corinth in the year 50, or a short time after the edict. If we 
 suppose his stay at Corinth not to have exceeded two years, 
 his Epistles to the Thessalonians must have been written, as I 
 have already observed, before the year 53. This manner of 
 reckoning might still leave a space of nearly two years from the 
 apostolic council to Paul's arrival at Corinth. 
 
224 THE NAZARITISH VOW. [lECT. 
 
 to his occupation, and on the proper days for 
 public worship had preached the Gospel of Christ. 
 From his friend Aquila he would doubtless learn 
 many particulars of the slate of Rome ; and it was 
 probably during this intercourse that he first con- 
 ceived the idea of visiting the metropolis of the 
 world. After the matter which took place at 
 Corinth about Sosthenes, and the indifference 
 displayed by the Pro-consul Junius Gallio, it is 
 written, that Paul " tarried there yet a good 
 while," which period, added to the former year 
 and six months, will yield for the probable resi- 
 dence of the apostle at Corinth, in all about two 
 years. At length he took leave of the Corin- 
 thians, in company with Aquila and Priscilla, 
 and went by sea towards Syria. On this occasion 
 we are informed that Paul, having made a vow 
 according to the law of Moses, in conformity 
 with the custom of the Nazarites, in the port of 
 Cenchrea, shaved his head. Ever active, and 
 living for no other cause than that of the Gospel, 
 he touched on his voyage at the Ionian coast, and 
 suffered not the opportunity to pass by of going 
 up to Ephesus, and reasoning with the Jews. It 
 is not improbable but that the circumstance of 
 his having taken upon him this Nazaritish vow, 
 and expressing to them his wish to be at Jeru- 
 salem, by all means to keep the feast, might 
 have made that favourable impression upon the 
 
IV.] APOSTOLIC ZEAL AND LABOUR. 225 
 
 Jews who were at Ephesus, which is implied in 
 their pressing him ' ' to tarry longer time with 
 them." Such are the benefits resulting from 
 an outward conformity to the customs of those 
 we are anxious to win over to the truth, observing, 
 at the same time, that St. Paul made no compro- 
 mise either of principle or of the faith of Christ. 
 He refused to remain at Ephesus at that time, but 
 promised to return there, which he did after his 
 visit to Jerusalem. So little is said of this visit, that 
 it would appear he had no other object in it than 
 to keep his vow, and after this ceremony was 
 accomplished, he wentto the metropolitan Church 
 at Antioch, where " he spent some time." The 
 indefatigable apostle did not remain long before 
 he undertook another long journey : he travelled 
 again through all Galatia and Phrygia, in order 
 to strengthen the disciples. The joy with which 
 he was received on that occasion by the Galatians 
 may be seen in his Epistle written to them under 
 very different circumstances: "Where is the 
 blessedness ye spake of? For I bear you record, 
 that if it had been possible, ye would have 
 plucked out your own eyes, and have given them 
 to me." 
 
 The principal person who had succeeded to 
 the authority of St. Paul in the Church at 
 Corinth, was a native of Alexandria, a Jew by 
 birth, named Apollos ; and whilst he mightily 
 
 Q 
 
226 TUMULT AT EPHESUS. [lECT. 
 
 convinced the Jews out of the Scriptures that 
 Jesus was the Christ, the scene of Paul's labours 
 was confined to Ephesus. For the space of 
 three months he disputed in the synagogues, 
 offering the kingdom of heaven, first to the 
 Jews, as was his custom ; but when they hard- 
 ened their hearts and spake evil of the Gospel, 
 the apostle betook himself to one of the 
 schools of philosophy, at the head of which was 
 one Tyrannus. There he continued to deliver 
 his discourses for two years without interruption ; 
 and his ministry was sanctioned by miracles, 
 which he was enabled to work for the confirmation 
 of the truth. It is even said, that by this con- 
 tinued labour for so long a period, all they which 
 dwelt in Asia heard the word of the Lord, both 
 Jews and Greeks. The force of truth was irre- 
 sistible, notwithstanding the opposition of the 
 Jews, and the word of God mightily grew and 
 prevailed. From the farewell sermon of St. Paul 
 at Miletus, we learn that his ministry lasted alto- 
 gether for three years ; its success was witnessed 
 by the image-maker, Demetrius, who declared 
 that not alone at Ephesus, but almost throughout 
 all Asia, he had persuaded and turned away 
 much people from the gods made with hands : 
 the uproar that was raised in consequence of the 
 appeal of Demetrius to his townsmen, drove the 
 apostle from Asia. Again he took refuge in 
 
IV. J ST. PAUL AT MILETUS. 227 
 
 Greece, from the fury of the Jews, and there 
 remained three months. All this took place 
 before he was able to fulfil the intention expressed 
 in the words I have prefixed to this Lecture. It 
 was then his purpose to pass through Macedonia 
 and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem, and finally to 
 visit Rome. We have, therefore, still to trace 
 the apostles labours through these successive 
 scenes, with which the sacred narrative ends. 
 
 The great object of St. Paul now was to be at 
 Jerusalem, for the festival of Pentecost, knowing 
 that he would then have an opportunity of preach- 
 ing to the Jews assembled from all countries ; but 
 he did not wish to leave the scene of his labours, 
 until he had, in his own person, commended the 
 Churches to the grace of God. The sacred histo- 
 rian gives us a most accurate geographical account 
 of the apostle's voyage among the islands of the 
 Egean Sea, which may be traced in the xxth chap- 
 ter of the Acts. They finally arrived at Miletus, 
 and Paul having but a short time to spend in Asia, 
 sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the 
 Church, and made them the address which has 
 ever since been the model of a faithful minister's 
 duty to the flock committed to his charge. There is, 
 perhaps, no scene more interesting than that of a 
 faithful labourer in the vineyard of Christ ap- 
 pealing to the souls committed to his care, for a 
 testimony of his diligence and anxiety for their 
 
 Q 2 
 
228 HIS FAREWELL, A PROOF OF INTE(iRITY, [lECT. 
 
 eternal welfare : liappy the minister who can say 
 witli Paul, " 1 have not shunned to declare unto 
 you all the counsel of God." The sentiments 
 and the lant^uage employed in the farewell ad- 
 dress at Miletus, can never fail to make the 
 deepest impression upon the minister and the 
 conf^regation, wlio have been ])ound together by 
 the ties of mutual affection, which the inculcation 
 of the truth creates. But when the affecting words 
 were uttered, " 1 know that all ye among whom 
 I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, shall 
 see my face no more, "how can we pretend to paint 
 the tenderness and the feeling of sorrow which 
 broke out in that pious assend)ly ? The recital is 
 simple, but it contains a world of sympathy, such 
 as no sentiment of any other kind can excite or 
 produce : " they all wept sore, and fell on Paul's 
 neck, and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for 
 the words which he spake, that they should see 
 his face no more, and they accompanied him to 
 the ship." There we shall leave them standing 
 upon the shore, and watching with tearful eyes 
 the vessel on the waves which conveyed far from 
 their coasts their spiritual father and their friend. 
 We, my brethren, can have no such pretensions, 
 either on my part as the minister, or on yours, 
 as the flock which it is my lot to tend, even if I 
 could be supposed to be addressing you for the last 
 time. Can I bid you remember, that I have 
 
IV.] AND A MODEL 1-OU SPIRITUAL PASTORS. 2*29 
 
 not ceased to warn you day and night with tears ? 
 How I am put to confusion ! or can ye say, that 
 as faithful children ye have walked in the truth ? 
 But this I will call to your remembrance, that I 
 have not shunned to declare to you the only way 
 of salvation through a crucified Saviour, tlu; 
 grace of God which alone Ijringeth peace, and 
 the enmity against God which reigns in our 
 fallen nature. And when we are far asunder, 
 brethren, as we shall soon be (and many of you 
 shall probably see my face no more), still I may 
 so far say, remember that I warned you eaniestly, 
 at least in the public assembly, that unless ye live 
 a life by faith in the Son of God, having euibraced 
 the offer of mercy through the blood of the co- 
 venant, and become his children by adoption; 
 unless ye perfect holiness in the fear of the Lord, 
 coming out from the corrupt maxims and prac- 
 tices of this evil world ; remember, that I have 
 ever said, ye will have no peace with God ; and 
 let this be my witness, when you and 1 shall 
 appear before the tribunal of Christ, to answer 
 for the talents committed to our care. 
 
 The visit of Paul to Jerusalem, and the things 
 which befel him there, brings the sacred narra- 
 tive to the year 60 : this and the remaining part 
 of it we shall reserve for the next two Sundays, 
 there is a subject which it is of material import- 
 
230 THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. [lECT. 
 
 ance to examine at this stage of the apostolic 
 labours. 
 
 The Epistle which is next in chronological 
 order after those to the Thessalonians, is that to 
 the Galatians ; it is usually thought to have 
 been written in the year 58, and consequently 
 could not have been sent from Rome, as the 
 postcript declares. It was, in all probability, 
 written some time during the three years Paul 
 passed at Ephesus ; but it is the occasion on 
 which it was written, that especially demands 
 our attention. You will recollect the first 
 attempt that was made to intermix the leaven 
 of the Pharisees with the Christian faith, and 
 the consequent decision of the apostolic council 
 at Jerusalem. In the Churches of Galatia this 
 perversion appeared in a much more full and 
 dano;:erous form : " I marvel" saith Paul, "that 
 ye are so soon removed from him that called you 
 into the grace of Christ unto another Gospel." 
 And so nearly had this heresy prevailed, and so 
 completely were many of those professing Christ- 
 ians overcome by its deception, that he stands in 
 doubt of them, whether his labours had not been 
 in vain. The doctrine which the first teachers of 
 Christianity every where taught was justification, 
 as including a title to final salvation by faith 
 alone. Now there came amongst those Galatians 
 
IV.] JUDAIZING CHRISTIANS. 231 
 
 certain Jews who had embraced the Gospel as a 
 convenient system to be added to their own, and 
 they insisted that circumcision and other works of 
 the law were absolutely necessary to their justifica- 
 tion : these were the Judaizing Christians which 
 caused so much trouble in the infancy of the 
 Church. In order to establish their own autho- 
 rity, they had attempted to undermine that of 
 Paul, insinuating that he was no real apostle, 
 that he had never been with Christ, and could 
 therefore only know His religion through means 
 of others, having learnt it perhaps of some who 
 but imperfectly understood it. It was to rebut 
 this charge and to correct the error, that Paul 
 wrote this Epistle : he begins by showing that 
 his commission was directly from Heaven, that 
 he conferred not with man, but received all he 
 had taught them by immediate revelation, and 
 then he enters upon the main question. Justifi- 
 cation by works is opposed to the whole system of 
 the Gospel, and it is not less a stumbling-block to 
 the unbelievers of this than it was to the Jews of 
 St. Paul's day. The law of righteousness men 
 will not seek by faith, but as it were by the deeds 
 of the law. If a man be required to perform a cer- 
 tain duty, especially if it have the air of a religious 
 exercise, and he be promised, in return, a merito- 
 rious reward ; provided he can be persuaded that 
 such reward awaits him, he may perhaps set about 
 
232 THE DOCTRINE OF JUSTIFICATION [lECT. 
 
 the task, and in this way delight to seek his 
 justification ; but this the Scripture calls carnal, 
 for the obvious reason that the heart and affec- 
 tions are untouched by it — the Divine operation, 
 which is necessary to change the inner man, and 
 is the very essence of a spiritual religion, is 
 entirely omitted. A religion of this kind is very 
 easily established, because it disturbs not the con- 
 sciences of men, while it puts salvation into their 
 own power ; and if even the tasks allotted to them 
 were painful, or the exercise were tedious, they 
 would not shrink from doing it, and would hence 
 derive their self-complacency and fallacious peace. 
 But this is superstition, not the religion of the 
 Gospel. There is no extent to which such a sys- 
 tem as this may not be carried, and the more the 
 ignorance and the vice of man prevail, the more 
 readily are materials furnished for the practice 
 and the preservation of their self-delusion. This, 
 brethren, is the doctrine of justification by works, 
 to which the Gospel is so opposed, and it will 
 not in the least improve it, if a little portion of 
 faith be added : the system will still be erro- 
 neous. This was the Galatian heresy ; for you 
 cannot but observe that it makes no matter what 
 the works are, if they be put forward as a ground 
 of justification, the danger and the error are the 
 same. St. Paul argues the case thus : " I testify 
 to every man that is circumcised (who expects, 
 
IV.] NOT OF WORKS. 233 
 
 by his conformity to these rites, to be justified), 
 that he is a debtor to do the whole law :" that is, 
 if a man will take the law for his justification, he 
 must abide by the issue, but let him observe this, 
 if he does not keep the whole of it, but only 
 offends in one point, he is guilty of all, and con- 
 sequently comes under condemnation ; whereas 
 " there is no condemnation to them that are in 
 Christ Jesus," so that the apostle called this law 
 a yoke of bondage with which those Galatians 
 had again entangled themselves. In this erro- 
 neous view of a title to God's favour, the doctrine 
 of free grace cannot penetrate : Christ becomes of 
 no effect, if we think to justify ourselves, or even 
 partly to justify ourselves, we are certainly fallen 
 from grace. That which is an act of free mercy, 
 cannot at the same time be a reward of merit. 
 The Gospel admits of no compromise, brethren, 
 in this leading feature ; either Christ is a Saviour, 
 completely so, or else he is of none effect : once 
 let a man be persuaded that any work, however 
 good, avails to his justification, and then, to say 
 nothing of the pride which necessarily results 
 from such a thought, it must diminish so much 
 from the sovereignty of grace, and the value of 
 that redemption which is in Christ Jesus. Sup- 
 pose 1 were persuaded to go on a long pilgrim- 
 age, and gave all my goods to feed the poor, with 
 the view of saving my soul, how could I be per- 
 
234 FAITH ALONE JUSTIFIES. [lECT. 
 
 suaded at the same time that Christ was the only 
 Saviour, and that through His blood alone was 
 remission of sins ? If we be to be our own savi- 
 ours, which we should be if works availed for 
 justification, then verily, as St. Paul saith, Christ 
 is dead in vain. You will say then, wherein do 
 good works stand ? or in what place cometh the 
 moral law ? The law is fulfilled in one word, saith 
 the same apostle, " thou shalt love thy neigh- 
 bour as thyself." " This, then, I say," continues 
 he, "Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the 
 lust of the flesh ; if ye be led by the Spirit, ye are 
 not under the law." By all which expressions 
 we are to understand, that in order to be in a 
 condition to do good works, — we must first be 
 justified by faith alone ; out of which faith, 
 the good works are to spring : and what is this 
 but to contend for purity of principle, the only 
 safeguard of moral conduct ? And this will be the 
 difference — the works of the Spirit, which are 
 really good works, will spring up in rich abund- 
 ance, as the water bubbles in continued sup- 
 plies from the copious spring, — not works to be 
 ofi'ered unto God as a matter of merit, much less 
 of justification, for this would necessarily create 
 pride in the heart ; but as an ofl^'ering to God, 
 acceptable only through Christ — as the very pro- 
 duction of that grace or well-spring of life which 
 He hath given. This process you know, is fre- 
 
IV. J GOOD WORKS FOLLOW FAITH. 235 
 
 quently illustrated in the Scriptures, by the tree 
 and its fruit, whereby it is declared, that the 
 tree being good, necessarily produces good fruit ; 
 but the fruit maketh not the tree. I confess, it 
 has often surprised me, in the course of my 
 limited experience, to find men of strong minds 
 and pious dispositions, contending against this 
 wholesome and scriptural doctrine ^ ; as if it 
 were possible to " gather grapes of thorns, or 
 fio;s of thistles :" as if men did not work better 
 from disinterested than from selfish motives : in 
 short, as if it were not God's truth, that fallen 
 man must first be reinstated, and put into the 
 path of righteousness, before he can be expected 
 to walk in it. The Galatians, then, were tainted 
 with this fatal error, and this it is which has 
 been in all ages, in some shape or other, so 
 hurtful to the truth of the Gospel. It was evi- 
 dent in the circumcision of those Jews of Galatia : 
 it was the substance of the " vain talk" of the 
 Pelagians : it was shown in those ages of monkish 
 
 ' " It is a childish cavil," says Hooker, in his discourse of 
 justification, &c. " wherewith, in the matter of justification, 
 our adversaries do so greatly please themselves, exclaiming, 
 that we tread all Christian virtues under our feet, and require 
 nothing in Christians but faith, because we teach that faith 
 alone justifieth." The restoration of this Scripture doctrine, 
 was the grand theological feature of the Reformation, and is 
 still the secret spring of all genuine piety, and Christian 
 practice. 
 
236 GOOD WORKS FOLLOW FAITH. [lECT. 
 
 piety, when heaven was thought to be purchased 
 by bodily pain ; and the age of the greatest crime 
 has especially been the age of justification by 
 works : it is still evident in the man of more 
 refined merit, who thanketh God that he is not 
 as other men are, unjust, extortioners, nor as the 
 despised publican, and all because he fasteth 
 twice in the week, and pays tithes of all that he 
 possesses. Take heed, brethren, in whatever 
 form this pride of our fallen nature assaults you, 
 that you " go not about to establish your own 
 righteousness, without submitting to the righteous- 
 ness of God, which is by faith :" pray that ye 
 may " worthily lament your sins, and acknow- 
 ledge your wretchedness," and then ye will most 
 assuredly, as those that are sick, find the need of a 
 physician : then will open out to your astonished 
 view, the free mercy and the gift of God, in 
 Christ Jesus ; and ye will begin to acknowledge, 
 with all your boasted goodness, that if Christ 
 had not become unto you wisdom, and righte- 
 ousness, and sanctification, and redemption, ye 
 must for ever have perished, for not one, but 
 " all have sinned," and " the wages of sin is 
 death." 
 
 I have dwelt thus much upon this subject of 
 justification, because it is an important doctrine ; 
 and I think, if the Epistle to the Galatians be 
 read, bearing these things in mind, the mind of 
 
IV.] APPLICATION OF THE SUBJECT. 237 
 
 St. Paul will be understood therein, and ye, bre- 
 thren, will see for yourselves, that we speak 
 " the truth as it is in Jesus ;" and we know and 
 are persuaded, that " as many as walk according- 
 to this rule, peace resteth on them and mercy, 
 and upon the Israel of God ;" " for being justi- 
 fied by faith," says the apostle in another place, 
 " we have peace with God, through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord." 
 
 We would, therefore ask, my brethren, in con- 
 clusion, whether ye can conscientiously say, ye 
 have arrived at that peace ? For, if it be not a 
 mere fancy, which the Scriptures hold out to 
 us, but a reality, it must be possible to arrive 
 at it; and if it be capable of realization, the 
 question certainly admits of an answer, providing 
 we will but deal honestly with our consciences. 
 It may further be inquired, whether having laid 
 aside all our virtues, as a ground of recommen- 
 dation to God's favour, we have sought for our 
 justification, only in the redemption which is 
 through Christ ? If this be the case, ye know it 
 is said, that the blood of Christ cleanseth from 
 all sin : and it will be but needless striving 
 about words, to say that our doctrine annuls the 
 moral law ; for, if ye be dead to sin through 
 Christ, who liveth in you, how can ye be the 
 servants of sin ? Shall ye not rather be the ser- 
 vants of Him to whom ye obey, that is, Christ the 
 
238 APPLICATION OF THE SUBJECT. [lECT. IV. 
 
 Lord? and this, brethren, is the Gospel, which was 
 planted throughout all Asia and Greece, and Syria, 
 and Palestine ; this is the Gospel which we seek 
 to impart to such of you as have not yet arrived 
 at a competent and a heartfelt knowledge of it : 
 and these are the eternal truths which, through 
 the blessing of God, we will continue, " through 
 evil report and good report," to proclaim, accord- 
 ing to our ability, wherever it shall please the 
 Almighty disposer of all things to call us, testi- 
 fying to all men none other things than what the 
 apostles did preach, " repentance towards God, 
 and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ." May 
 the Lord attend us with his blessing, and to Him 
 be all the glory and the praise. Amen. 
 
LECTURE V. 
 
 ST. PAUL S VISIT TO JERUSALEM, AFTER HIS 
 LABOURS IN THE EAST, INCLUDING A REVIEW 
 OF THE CHURCHES, AND THE REST OF HIS ACTS, 
 UNTIL HIS DEPARTURE FOR ROME. 
 
 Acts xxi. 17 — 20. 
 
 /ind when we were come to Jerusalem, the brethren received us 
 gladly. And the day following Paul went in with us unto 
 James ; and all the elders were present. And when he had 
 saluted them, he declared jiarticularly what things God had 
 wrought among the Gentiles by his ministry. And when they 
 heard it, they glorified God. 
 
 When we come to compare attentively those 
 prophecies which relate to the Messiah's king- 
 dom with the first spread of Christianity in the 
 East, more especially with the labours of St. Paul, 
 we see the propriety of the apostle's invariably 
 referring the Jews to their own Scriptures^ in 
 
 proof of what they asserted concerning the king- 
 10 
 
240 THE TRUTH OF PROPHECY [lECT. 
 
 dom of God. More than seven hundred years be- 
 fore the period of its accomplishment, Isaiah had 
 foretold, when speaking of the Messiah's king- 
 dom, that " out of Zion should go forth a law, 
 and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem ;" and 
 in many other places of the prophetic writings we 
 find similar predictions. When the Redeemer 
 opened the understanding of his disciples, that 
 they might understand the Scriptures, He pointed 
 out to them, amongst other things, how it was 
 written, that repentance and remission of sins 
 should be preached in His name among all na- 
 tions, beginning at Jerusalem : and, agreeably to 
 these Scriptures, He gave His express command- 
 ment to them, that they should wait at Jerusa- 
 lem until they were endued with power from on 
 high ; they were then to bear witness of Him 
 first in Jerusalem, next in all Judea, after that in 
 Samaria, and finally unto the uttermost parts of 
 the earth. Now, supposing any one were to in- 
 stitute an inquiry into the external evidences of 
 Christianity, with a view to convince himself of 
 its Divine origin, the first question that would sug- 
 gest itself would be this : — Did the men who had 
 received their commission in so authoritative a 
 manner as to indicate a perfect knowledge of what 
 should come to pass, effect the task imposed 
 upon them ? Because, if a Being in the form of 
 a man, speaking in human accents, without any 
 
v.] EXEMPLIFIED IN THE EVENTS, 241 
 
 earthly power or authority, should command a 
 number of illiterate men to go forth, and, by de- 
 claring certain doctrines and precepts, to change 
 the views and practices of whole cities and coun- 
 tries, and they should really accomplish their 
 commission, since there never was, under all the 
 circumstances, a similar transaction upon earth, 
 as a mere matter of history, it is extraordinary. 
 But that this Being, who gave the commission, 
 should refer to what had been said by prophets, 
 on this subject, many hundred years before ; 
 and, taking up the spirit of these predictions, 
 should reduce them all into one grand scheme, 
 and unequivocally foretell the speedy accom- 
 plishment of the whole, as it actually came to 
 pass, it can never satisfy any well-conditioned 
 understanding, any reasonable and inquiring 
 mind', to say, that this was merely extraordi- 
 nary : if the whole be true, it is divine : it is the 
 work of no power, of no intelligence, less than 
 Supreme. In following with me the history of the 
 transactions which took place soon after Christ had 
 given His commission to the apostles, you have 
 seen how faithfully all things were done : first with 
 regard to Jerusalem, then in all Judea, and next 
 
 ' 11 est impossible d'envisager toutes les preuves de la reli- 
 gion Chretienne, ramassees ensemble, sans en ressentir la force 
 a laquelle nul homme raisonnable ne peut resister. Pense'es de 
 Pascal, ii. part. art. 4. 
 
 R 
 
242 CHRISTIANITY SPREAD OVER [hTLCT. 
 
 in Samaria. You have also contemplated the 
 glorious opening of the door of faith to the Gen- 
 tile world, which extends to the uttermost parts 
 of the earth. The former part of this commission 
 is geographically defined ; for Jerusalem, all 
 Judea, and Samaria, are known ; but the latter 
 portion of it is conveyed in a form of words which 
 can only be explained by the usual phraseology 
 of the inspired writers. The earth, as it was 
 then understood, signified little more than those 
 habitable parts of the globe which were under 
 the Roman dominion, and the Roman empire is 
 called, by St. Luke, all the habitable world ; in a 
 literal and restricted sense, therefore, the utter- 
 most parts of the earth implied no more than the 
 most remote limits of the Roman empire in the 
 east and in the west. It would not be difficult to 
 show that the words have an ulterior meaning, 
 nor yet that our Lord looked forward to a more 
 remote period, when the knowledge of His salva- 
 tion should be literally extended to the most 
 distant regions of the globe ; just as when pre- 
 dicting the fall of Jerusalem, He speaks of his 
 second coming to judgment, through the medium, 
 as it were, of His judgment upon that rebellious 
 city. That, however, which concerns our sub- 
 ject is the limited and more immediate sense, 
 in which the expression, the uttermost parts 
 of the earth, is to be understood ; and we are 
 
v.] THE WHOLE ROMAN EMPIRE. '243 
 
 already prepared to take a review of one half 
 of its accomplishment. I have already had 
 occasion to observe, that taking Jerusalem 
 as the point of his departure, the city of 
 Corinth was the most distant limit of Paul's 
 journey towards the west, until his voyage to 
 Rome. It is intimated, that he went a consi- 
 derable way to the north west, along the coast 
 of the Adriatic Sea. During his residence at 
 Corinth, he wrote his Epistle to the Romans, 
 and sent it by Phoebe, a deaconess of the neigh- 
 bouring Church of Cenchrea ; and, in enume- 
 rating the countries through which he had passed, 
 he tells them, that, from Jerusalem, and round 
 about unto Illyricum, he had fully preached the 
 kingdom of God ; so that he describes a wider 
 field of his labour than that recorded in the Acts. 
 St. Paul does not say he penetrated into Illyri- 
 cum, but merely that he arrived on the borders 
 of it\ In his Second Epistle to Timothy, he 
 says, that Titus had gone to Dalmatia, which 
 was doubtless for the purpose of visiting the 
 church in that country ; from which we infer, 
 that, by the borders of Illyricum, is to be un- 
 derstood, Dalmatia — where the apostle planted 
 Christianity. The Gospel, therefore, appears to 
 have been preached by Paul himself in much of 
 
 ' Paley, Horce Pmdince, No. IV. chap. i. 
 R 2 
 
244 THE CHURCH AT BABYLON. [lECT. 
 
 that country which is now known as Turkey in 
 Europe, even as far as the river Danube, which 
 was the proper limit of the Roman Empire to- 
 wards the north. The mission of St. Peter was 
 chiefly confined to the Jews, and we almost in- 
 variably find him concerned in some question 
 concerning the rite of circumcision, or other cus- 
 tom of the Mosaic law^ His Epistles were ad- 
 dressed to the Jews only, whom he calls *' stran- 
 gers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cap- 
 padocia, Asia, and Bithynia' — in most of which 
 countries churches were established ; but Peter 
 did not write to them — he wrote to the scattered 
 strangers of the tribes of Israel, dated his Epistle 
 from Babylon, and sent it round those countries 
 by Silas, St. Paul's former companion. He men- 
 tions Mark, whom Barnabas had taken to Cy- 
 prus, as being with him at Babylon. There is, 
 indeed, a diversity of opinion, as to whether the 
 Babylon here spoken of by St. Peter signifies 
 Rome ; and it appears to us that too much im- 
 portance has been attached, by all parties, to the 
 result of such a controversy. Certainly all those 
 countries enumerated by St. Peter, lay towards 
 the river Euphrates, the eastern boundary of the 
 empire, and consequently were nearer the Chal- 
 daean Babylon than to Rome ; besides, Silvanus 
 
 ' Gal. ii. 8. 
 
v.] THE CHURCH AT BABYLON. 245 
 
 seems to have remained in the east, nor is there 
 any reason to suppose that Mark did not travel 
 over Asia before he went to Rome' ; but without 
 
 ' 1 Peter v. 12, 13. This is supposed to be Mark the 
 Evangelist, and tradition says, he was at that time writing his 
 Gospel under the direction of St. Peter. If, by Babylon, the 
 apostle means Rome, (which, although not clear, I am not in- 
 clined to dispute,) his Epistle must have been written either 
 before Paul came to Rome, or after he was gone. It was not 
 written before, that is, before the year 62, or else he could 
 not have said (1 Pet. iv. 7.)j " The end of all things is at hand?" 
 meaning the destruction of Jerusalem (compare v. 17, 18.) ; 
 accordingly, we have not the least hint that St. Paul found 
 Peter at Rome on his arrival, nor that they were contempo- 
 raries during his first residence, for in none of his Epistles does 
 he ever deliver a salutation from Peter. In reading the 21st verse 
 of the 4th chapter of the 2d of Timothy, it is impossible to sup- 
 pose St. Peter was then in the same city with Paul, or even 
 had been lately there (compare 2 Tim. iv. 10 to 17.); and yet this 
 Epistle was written when Paul came the second time to Rome. 
 Peter's Second Epistle was evidently written after Paul's (see 
 chap. iii. 15, 16.) ; nor do I think there was any long space 
 between the two Epistles of Peter (ibid. chap. iii. verse 1.). 
 There is no finding St. Peter at Rome at all, upon Scripture 
 authority, which is rather opposed to the notion. Those who 
 contend for the fact, must rely entirely on ecclesiastical his- 
 tory, which is so very affirmative, that we must endeavour 
 to reconcile it with Scripture, and I can see no other way of 
 doing this, but by supposing St. Peter to have come to Rome 
 a little before his crucifixion, where (it is possible) he met 
 with St. Paul (2 Pet. iii. 15.) ; it is also just possible he 
 might have been at Rome in the interval between Paul's first 
 and second residence, when he wrote his first Epistle, which 
 
246 REMOTE VESTIGES OF CHRISTIANITY. [lECT. 
 
 pleading for a Christian church at Babylon, it 
 will be sufficiently apparent, from the Epistle of 
 Peter and other intimations, that Christianity was 
 established in all the coasts of the Euxine Sea, 
 until it bordered on what is now the Russian 
 empire. Among the converts, on the day of 
 Pentecost, we find some Medes and some Ela- 
 mites — the latter (according to the explanation 
 given by Josephus) being Persians ; there were 
 also some inhabitants of the places about Meso- 
 potamia, so that we may infer, from the whole, 
 that the Gospel was carried far beyond the Eu- 
 phrates, not by the apostles, but by their converts. 
 And there is every reason to suppose that those 
 signs of Christianity, which have been discovered 
 in India, and even in China, are the vestiges of 
 some communications made by the first converts 
 at Jerusalem. Besides these, there were some 
 from that part of Africa called, by the ancients, 
 Libya, and others from Egypt — hence sprung the 
 churches of Carthage, and Alexandria, which 
 produced such men as Augustine and Origen. 
 And, in short, by pursuing this inquiry into a 
 more extended detail, we might find the religion 
 of Jesus in very remote parts of the world in the 
 apostolic age. But to return to the narrative of 
 
 accommodation may adjust the suit of some Protestant writers 
 versus Baronius ! without detriment to cither side. 
 
v.] ST. Paul's voyage towards Palestine. 247 
 
 Paul's voyage from the coast of Asia to Jerusa- 
 lem. 
 
 We left the elders and brethren of Miletus and 
 Ephesus standing on the sea-shore, and watch- 
 ing, upon the waves of the Egean Sea, the ves- 
 sel in which the apostle had embarked, and 
 which was now steering, with a straight course, 
 to the island of Coos ; from thence he went to 
 Rhodes, and afterwards to Patara. Here he went 
 on board another vessel which was bound for Pa- 
 lestine, and, sailing to the south of the island of 
 Cyprus, and towards the coast of Syria, he 
 touched at the city of Tyre ; he was attended by 
 St. Luke and " a company" of other disciples, 
 and at Tyre they had an opportunity of remain- 
 ing seven days with their fellow-christians whom 
 they unexpectedly found there. We have here 
 another of those affecting scenes which show us 
 how religion can touch the finest feelings of the 
 heart, and excite the most tender sympathy. The 
 Christians of Tyre having a presentiment that 
 the apostle, in going up to Jerusalem, would 
 have to endure much suffering, and perhaps not 
 escape with his life, show their affectionate con- 
 cern for his welfare. The whole of this happy 
 society, not excepting their wives and their chil- 
 dren, accompanied the beloved disciples, till they 
 were out of the city, and then, without altar or 
 temple (for they knew that God dwelleth not in 
 
248 AT CESAREA, HE TARRIES WITH PHILIP. [lECT. 
 
 temples made with hands, but in the temple of 
 the body of true believers), they kneeled down 
 on the sea-shore, and there offered up their 
 prayers, with one accord, to Him who had wash- 
 ed and redeemed them with his own blood. They 
 finally bade each other farewell, the sorrowing 
 multitude of the faithful returning to the city, 
 and the missionaries sailing to the next port, 
 which was Ptolemais. Here also was a society 
 of Christians, with whom they spent a day, and 
 the day following they finished their voyage at 
 Caesarea, the seat of the Roman government in 
 Judea. We are here introduced anew to a cele- 
 brated Scripture character, which has been lost 
 sight of for many years in our narrative. In the 
 year 34, Philip the deacon, after converting the 
 eunuch of Ethiopia, and preaching along the 
 coast of Judea, took up his residence at Caesarea; 
 and now, at the end of 26 years, we still find 
 him in that city, a faithful labourer in the vine- 
 yard of the Lord. He is called the Evangelist, 
 or preacher of the Gospel, by which we are to 
 understand that he had not arrived at that supe- 
 rior order in the church which constituted an 
 overseer or bishop ; he probably did not travel 
 far from his place of residence \ having to " pro- 
 vide for his own household." He was a married 
 
 ' See Caves Lives of-lhe Primitive Fathers, Tom. I. p. 32. 
 
v.] THE TRYING PROPHECY OF AGABUS. 249 
 
 man, and his four daughters are mentioned as 
 being endued with the spirit of prophecy. He 
 received Paul and his fellow-travellers with hos- 
 pitality : and they remained for many days toge- 
 ther, speaking to one another in Christian love, 
 and enjoying the communion of the Holy Spirit. 
 During the period of their residence with him, 
 the fortitude of Paul was put to the proof, and 
 we cannot fail to admire the undaunted firmness 
 and zeal with which he prosecuted his calling. 
 A prophet named Agabus came from Judea, and, 
 by a significant representation, showed him the 
 evils and afflictions which, beyond doubt, would 
 liappen to him if he went to Jerusalem. The pre- 
 diction was eventually fulfilled, for the Jews 
 " bound him, and delivered him over to the Gen- 
 tiles;" but none of these things, in the prospect, 
 moved the man of God from his purpose : he 
 counted not his life dear unto himself, so that he 
 might finish his course and the ministry he had 
 received, with joy and success. His was not the 
 act of the unfeeling bigot, nor of the headstrong 
 zealot, regardless of the tender concern shown by 
 his friends for his welfare : there was no want of 
 sentimental affection in our great apostle : his 
 pathetic feelings responded to every sincere ap- 
 peal ; but his line of duty could not for a mo- 
 ment be abandoned. In the instance before us, 
 the whole company at Cesarea entreated Paul, 
 
250 LESSONS OF CHRISTIAN PIETY [lECT. 
 
 with tears in their eyes, to avoid those evils which 
 awaited him in the devoted city. " What, mean 
 ye to weep," says the tender-hearted servant 
 of Jesus, " and to break mine heart?" This 
 was the man of feeling, in all the exercise of 
 friendship and brotherly love ; but now is to be 
 exhibited the minister of Christ— the bold and 
 uncompromising witness of Him who became 
 obedient vmto death, that we might live. — " I 
 am ready not to be bound only, but also to die at 
 Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus." The 
 resignation of the audience is as admirable as 
 the fortitude of the speaker : " when he would 
 not be persuaded," says the historian, " we 
 ceased, saying the will of the Lord be done." 
 What lessons of Christian piety and holy con- 
 duct do we find in this simple and sublime his- 
 tory. Why are there now no scenes like these ? 
 no such disinterested affection ? no such meek 
 and heavenly resignation ? no such well-directed 
 zeal for the truth ? How do we feel humbled be- 
 fore such superior attainments in Christian for- 
 titude and piety as these primitive believers seem 
 to have arrived at ! For verily, brethren, matters 
 hardly ever appear to be on a right footing in this 
 our day of religious light; there are some of whom 
 we may bear record, that they have a zeal, but 
 it is without knowledge or prudence : and there 
 are others who have much knowledge, but 
 
v.] FOR OUR INSTRUCTION. 251 
 
 neither activity nor zeal. There is, moreover, so 
 much of apathy and inglorious ease in the christ- 
 ian cause, whilst even in the enjoyment of christ- 
 ian privileges, that one might think there were no 
 more of the Lord's battles to be fought ; or the 
 reign of Christ were no longer opposed, or the Gos- 
 pel had penetrated into the uttermost parts of the 
 earth ! And then, in the examination of private 
 character, even of those who profess to " love 
 the Lord Jesus in sincerity," what unsubdued 
 pride, what unevenness of temper do we find : 
 what dispositions to gainsaying and contention 
 about things which do not profit : what Co- 
 rinthian folly about Paul's party and Apollo's 
 doctrine, and Cephas's views ! Look, my brethren, 
 upon the sea shore of Tyre, and see what a goodly 
 company of apostles, teachers, men, women, and 
 children, were united in one solemn act of wor- 
 ship, all thinking the same thing, all devoted to 
 the same cause, all depending for their salvation 
 on the same Redeemer. Oh ! for the spirit of 
 love, unity, and concord, that we might once 
 more present, in the face of Heaven, a lovely 
 scene like that of Tyre, so that all, who are not 
 of us, might be induced to turn aside and say, 
 *^' come, let us see this thing which is come to pass 
 in our coasts, whereby many are become right- 
 eous ?" This we shall do, brethren, as soon as we 
 shall have fully comprehended with all saints, 
 
252 LESSONS OF CHRISTIAN PIETY. [lECT. 
 
 what is the height, and breadth, and depth ; and 
 known the love of God which passeth all under- 
 standing. 
 
 Paul and his company proceeded from Cesarea 
 to Jerusalem, where they were received with that 
 distinction which belonged to men who had 
 hazarded their lives for the name of the Lord 
 Jesus. Not more than a day had elapsed before a 
 general assembly of the elders took place, with 
 James at their head, to hear the interesting de- 
 tails of Paul's labours : his report of them was 
 confined to the Gentile converts : it was no mar- 
 vellous story about his own adventures, nor of 
 the manner in which he had gained distinctions, 
 nor of the number of influential persons with 
 whom he had been in intercourse ; but it was a 
 simple declaration of the things that " God 
 had wrought among the Gentiles," by his minis- 
 try. It was a question of men's souls, with these 
 servants of God, and of the increase and glory 
 of Christ's kingdom on earth, and not that they 
 gloried in the new system which had been com- 
 mitted to them, as to exalted authorities and 
 masters among their fellow-creatures. When 
 they had heard Paul's account, " they glorified 
 God," ascribing all the effects to the real cause, 
 not taking any honour to themselves : there was 
 a disinterested and unaffected humility in these 
 apostles and elders of the church, which is 
 
v.] AWFUL CONDITION OF JERUSALEM. 253 
 
 worth the consideration of all churchmen and 
 all preachers of the gospel — " they glorified 
 God." 
 
 Jerusalem, at this period, offers at once a glori- 
 ous and a melancholy spectacle. From that city, as 
 from the source of it, proceeded the light of truth, 
 which, like the beams of the sun, was to pene- 
 trate into every corner of the globe. The daugh- 
 ter of Zion was once more the glory and the joy 
 of the whole earth. The word of the Lord went 
 out from her, and the account of its success was 
 returned by " the company of preachers," to 
 whom God had given the word : that was the 
 last and loveliest blaze of its glory, which ap- 
 peared just before the twilight, and then sunk 
 into eternal night. The church of Jerusalem 
 bound and loosed, decided upon all matters of 
 the Levitical law, declared what might be done, 
 and what might not be done, by the professors 
 of the new religion : in short, the glorious things 
 which had been spoken by the prophets concern- 
 ing her were fulfilled. But on the other hand, 
 the awful predictions of our Lord were hanging 
 over her : the things that belonged to her peace 
 were now so hidden from her eyes, that all op- 
 portunity of repentance was lost for ever : a few 
 more years were but to expire, and the walls of 
 Zion were to be laid even with the dust : God had 
 done His own work by her, and had thus fulfilled 
 
254 ST. PAUL IN DANGER OF HIS LIFE. [lECT. 
 
 the prophecies, " for He is not a man that He 
 should lie :" nevertheless, He vindicated His 
 injured name and laws, and gave over to de- 
 struction the people who had crucified the Lord 
 of Glory, and shed the blood of so many righ- 
 teous men. (And shall it not be so with every 
 city which hath despised the true God, and made 
 to themselves gods after their own inventions ? 
 Shall not the measure of iniquity be filled up ? 
 Yea, have we not seen other places fall, which 
 are still trodden under foot, if not by the beasts 
 of the earth, yet by earthly tyrants : places 
 wherein the word of God once flourished, but 
 was afterwards abandoned ? It does not the less 
 excite our commiseration, for that we have no- 
 thing to do but to exercise pity and compassion 
 upon every measure of human suflering and de- 
 gradation. God alone knoweth His own designs ; 
 and, as the moral Governor of the world, He can 
 prevent a greater multitude of evils by a timely 
 interposition, although accompanied with His 
 judgment ; in this consisteth His mercy ; it is 
 for us to adore His inscrutable Providence.) 
 
 The proceedings of St. Paul at Jerusalem and 
 at Cesarea, before he finally sailed for Italy, 
 together with his celebrated defences and apo- 
 logies for the faith, are recorded in the 21st 
 and the five following chapters of the book of 
 the Acts of the Apostles : the greatest difficulties 
 
v.] ADOPTS THE JEWISH CUSTOMS. 255 
 
 he had to contend against, arose from the people 
 of his own nation ; of whose rage and mahce 
 he was the special object. There were at that 
 time thousands of believing Jews, and other apos- 
 tles besides Paul at Jerusalem ; but against no one 
 of them seems to have been excited the same de- 
 gree of hatred, as against him. The reason of 
 which was this : he insisted so strongly upon the 
 leading doctrine of justification by faith, of which 
 his views were most luminous, that he was consi- 
 dered on that account an avowed enemy to all 
 the Mosaical institutions ; whereas, had they 
 understood his doctrine, and arrived at that 
 humble dependence upon the atonement of 
 Christ for salvation, which he laboured to en- 
 force, they would have seen, that his only aim 
 was to divest the creature of his self-sufficiency 
 and pride, and of all his pretensions or claims to 
 the Divine favour, through any outward privileges, 
 or conformity to the law of Moses. At the sug- 
 gestion of James and the Presbytery, however, 
 he did not scruple to take upon him a Naza- 
 ritish vow, and go through all the forms required 
 in the ceremonious observance of it. Paul evi- 
 dently did not wish to exhibit any obstinacy in a 
 matter of no great importance in itself, and there- 
 fore he conformed with the request of the elders ; 
 although he no doubt knew, at the same time, 
 that unless the hearts of these Jews were con- 
 
 10 
 
256 TUMULT RAISED BY THE JEWS [lECT. 
 
 verted, and they were instructed In the new and 
 living way, a conformity of this kind would be 
 of little service, for it was not Paul but Jesus 
 they persecuted. The appalling question once 
 put to him, was, " Saul, Saul, why persecutest 
 thou me ?" and yet he was then persecuting men 
 and women ; but they were believers in Jesus. 
 And this, brethren, is the real state of the case : 
 the opposition which is exhibited against those 
 who sincerely and truly live unto God, and en- 
 deavour to keep a conscience void of offence, is 
 against the Gospel itself: it is not any outward 
 concession that will change that persecuting 
 spirit, so long as it is known the individual 
 pleads for spiritual-mindedness, as totally op- 
 posed to the spirit of the world. But this cha- 
 racter of the religion of Jesus, and of the indiffer- 
 ent and unthinking world, never changes ; as he 
 that was born after the flesh persecuted him 
 that was born after the spirit, even so it is now : 
 not in the same form, indeed ; for there are 
 worldly considerations, and different degrees of 
 zeal : there is serpent-subtilty and infidel indif- 
 ference, but the spirit is the same. No man will 
 sit easy under the tacit sentence which is pro- 
 nounced upon his want of religion by his neigh- 
 bour, who exhibits it in all words and actions : 
 ye may expect those things, brethren, if ye 
 resolve to dedicate yourselves lo the service of 
 
v.] AT JERUSALRM. '257 
 
 God, and to live as candidates tor eternity. 
 Scarcely had the seven days which were re- 
 quired for Paul's observance of his vow, elapsed, 
 before the truth of these remarks was verified. 
 When certain Jews of Asia, who had heard him 
 preach in their own country, and now saw him 
 with a Greek of the name of Trophimus, recog- 
 nised him in the temple, they stirred up the 
 people, and all the city was thrown into commo- 
 tion. The military commander, Lysias, was 
 obliged to interfere ; but so little did he under- 
 stand the occasion of the uproar, that he took it up 
 as a continuation of the sedition which had taken 
 place five years before, the circumstances of which 
 were these : There came to Jerusalem, in the 
 year 55, an impostor from Egypt, giving himself 
 out as a prophet ^ (Christ had said, false pro- 
 phets and false Christs should arise among them, 
 and there were several of that description pre- 
 vious to the destruction of Jerusalem.) This man 
 persuaded a number of persons to follow him out 
 of the city to the Mount of Olives, and from 
 thence he pretended they would see the walls of 
 Jerusalem fall down at a sign to be given by 
 him, so that they might immediately go in and 
 take possession of it as their own. Felix, the 
 
 ' Vide Joseph. Antiquitat. Lib. xx. c. 4. p. 886. Tom. II. 
 Edit. Oxon. 1720. lb. de Bell. Jud. Lib. ii. c. 13. Id. 
 p. 1075. 
 
258 TUMULT RAISED BY THE JEWS [lECT. 
 
 governor, having received intelligence of this 
 commotion, in which 4,000 persons were con- 
 cerned, went against them with a sufficient force, 
 killed four hundred, and took two hundred of 
 them prisoners, the rest fled, the leader himself 
 also making his escape. " Art thou that Egyp- 
 tian," said this ignorant officer to the apostle, 
 " which before these days madest an uproar, and 
 leddest out into the wilderness four thousand men 
 that were murderers?" Paul showed no marks 
 of rude indignation at so preposterous and unjust 
 a charge ; he answered with dignified simplicity, 
 never losing sight of his Master's cause. " I am 
 a man, which am a Jew of Tarsus, a city in 
 Cilicia — a citizen of no mean city^ ; and I be- 
 seech thee, suffer me to speak unto the people." 
 The request being granted, they heard him pa- 
 tiently, until he mentioned his mission to the 
 Gentiles, and then, they broke out into that pitch 
 of fury, which is betokened in the East, by throw- 
 ing dust into the air, on which occasion, the cir- 
 cumstance of Paul being a citizen of Rome, alone 
 saved him from the greatest indignities and tor- 
 ture. The day following he appeared before the 
 Jewish Sanhedrim : he was next rescued from a 
 horrible conspiracy formed against him by more 
 than forty Jews, who bound themselves by an 
 
 ' Comp. Diotu Cassius, Lib. xlvii. Tom. I. p. .501. TaUI. 
 Hamburs. Albert Fabric. 1750. 
 
v.] -AT JERUSALEM. 259 
 
 oath of execration, that they would neither eat 
 nor drink, until they had taken his life. But 
 the designs of wicked men are easily defeated by 
 an overruling Providence : and thus this most 
 formidable plot was brought to light by the pru- 
 dence and activity of a youth, an event which 
 caused a heathen soldier to take a peculiar in- 
 terest in the fate of this great Christian teacher, 
 and with a sufficient escort, to send him down to 
 Cesarea, where the governor, Felix, resided : 
 where Paul also was detained in the judgment- 
 hall of Herod, until his accusers arrived : of these 
 not only did the chief priest go down with their 
 elders, but they arrayed also against Paul, all 
 the subtil ty of a Greek orator, whose false accu- 
 sations were answered by Paul, in such sim- 
 plicity of truth, that Felix was even induced to 
 defer his decision, and to treat the apostle with 
 extreme indulgence. We might dwell with much 
 advantage upon the subsequent intercourse of 
 Paul with the Roman governor : Felix trembled 
 before the truth of God's word ; but it was through 
 fear of future punishment alone, and not repent- 
 ance for the sins of his life : he found no con- 
 venient season for troubling his heart or his con- 
 science' : nay, his avarice was tempted even by 
 
 ' Two Heathen writers bear unfortunate testimony to the 
 character of Felix. Vide Tacit. Annul. Lib. xii. cap. 54. 
 
 s2 
 
260 PAUL BROUCiHT BEFORE FELIX. [lECT. 
 
 his destitute prisoner, and he hoped that money 
 should have been given him of Paul, that he might 
 be loosed : silver and gold, however, the apostle 
 had none ; but he was rich in grace and wisdom, 
 and adorned with the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 
 From his arrival at Jerusalem, to his appearing 
 before Felix at Cesarea, only twelve days elapsed ; 
 but he was now to be kept a prisoner until a 
 new governor should arrive in the room of Felix, 
 which was not until two years after these trans- 
 actions : during his tedious imprisonment, we 
 hear nothing of the apostle, it must have been, 
 in all probability, a close confinement. Felix 
 is said to have left him bound, implying that he 
 had been so ever since his accusation : during 
 this time, the Jews had evidently not ceased to 
 clamour for his death ; for we learn, that Felix 
 left him a prisoner, to do an agreeable thing to 
 the Jews, on leaving his province : and even 
 Festus, when he arrived, was actuated by the 
 same motives. But Festus, however he might 
 have been disposed, had no authority to refuse 
 a Roman citizen's appeal to the emperor. This 
 was made by St. Paul at the conclusion of the 
 trial, which took place fourteen days after the arri- 
 val of the new governor; he was not, however, sent 
 
 Ibid. Historiar. Lib. v. cap. 9. and Sueton, in Vit. Claud. 
 chap. 28. 
 
v.] ARRIVAL OF FESTUS AT CESAREA. 261 
 
 to Rome until after his celebrated apology before 
 king Ag-rippa. As the time of his leaving Judea 
 depends upon the arrival of Fortius Festus, we 
 are here assisted in our narrative and chronology, 
 by collateral history. I shall not trouble you 
 with all the reasons and arguments for adjusting 
 the dates, but merely state, that upon the best and 
 most accurate calculation, St. Faul set sail for 
 Italy in the year of our Lord 62, and in the ninth 
 year of the reign of Nero. 
 
 Agrippa had been removed from his kingdom 
 to another province, by Claudius, whereby all 
 sovereignty among the Jews was brought to an 
 end : he was now, therefore, entirely under the 
 control of the Roman governor, and it was on 
 this account that he came to Cesarea with his 
 sister Bernice, to pay court to Festus. Paul 
 still honours him with the title of king, and at- 
 tributes to him considerable knowledge and ex- 
 pertness in the laws and customs of his nation. 
 The whole of the apostle's discourse is replete 
 with that wisdom, zeal, and dignity, for which he 
 was so distinguished ; and his general demeanour 
 on this, as on most occasions, appears to have 
 secured him respect, even as a prisoner, from 
 the Roman authorities : the chief captain, 
 Lysias, paid him great attention : the cen- 
 turion, Julius, courteously entreated him, and 
 gave him liberty to go and see his friends, 
 
262 PAULS CONDUCT SECURES HIM RESPECT. [lECT, 
 
 and refresh himself at Sidon ; he, and his com- 
 pany for his take, were honoured by the people 
 of Melita ; and at Rome he was permitted to 
 dwell by himself, with a soldier that kept him. 
 When pleading before Agrippa, we observe firm- 
 ness in his answers and appeals, but always tem- 
 pered with a courtesy of manner and expression, 
 which outward marks of a liberal education are 
 seldom without their influence in securing respect 
 for the persons of God's ministers, as they were 
 to St. Paul. The apostle was accompanied in 
 his voyage to Italy, by St. Luke, and by Aris- 
 tarchus, a Thessalonian Christian — but we shall 
 reserve, for our remaining Lecture, the subject 
 of the spread of Christianity in the west, with the 
 rest of Paul's ministry. By some it is supposed 
 that he returned yet once again to Jerusalem, 
 in which case he may have also revisited 
 Asia ; but of this we are not sure : if he did 
 return, he must have witnessed, with anguish 
 of soul, the defection which had already begun 
 in many of the churches. These melancholy 
 events it is not in our power to recount to you ; 
 but, before finally taking leave of the transac- 
 tions in the east, we may mention the things 
 which took place in the mother-church of Je- 
 rusalem after Paul's departure from Cesarea. 
 
 It was not long before Festus died in his 
 province : he was succeeded by Albinus ; and 
 
v.] CHARACTER OF ST. JAMES THE LESS. '263 
 
 Ananus was appointed by Agrippa to the office of 
 high priest. The malice of the Jews, being dis- 
 appointed in the safe departure of Paul, was now 
 turned upon James, who has been often men- 
 tioned, as holding the chief government of the 
 church at Jerusalem. Eusebius, in the language 
 of the fourth century, calls him the bishop of 
 the Church ; but, if this title be not admitted 
 in its fullest sense, it must be allowed, that, in 
 reading such expressions as " James and the 
 elders," combined with the authoritative manner 
 in which he spake in the Apostolic synod, the 
 outline of Episcopal government in individual 
 churches is sufficiently traced, to make that form 
 of ecclesiastical polity rest upon scriptural au- 
 thority. From Hegesippus, an ancient writer, 
 who immediately succeeded the apostles, and 
 from Clement the fellow-labourer of St. Paul, 
 Eusebius gathers some particulars relative to the 
 life and character of James, and his account is 
 supported by the concurrent testimony of Jose- 
 phus^ We are told, then, that the government 
 of the church at Jerusalem was committed to 
 him by the apostles : on account of his very 
 great strictness and zeal in the observance of 
 some particular ceremonies of the Jewish reli- 
 
 * Vide Euseb. Ecclesiast. Histor. lib. ii. cap. xxiii. ; and 
 Joseph. Antiq. Jud. lib. xx. cap. viii. p. 897. Tom. II. 
 
264 CHARACTER OF ST. JAMES THE LESS. [lECT. 
 
 gion, he was much less obnoxious to the Jews 
 than the rest of the Christian teachers ; it would 
 indeed appear that he had taken upon him the 
 vows of the ancient Nazarites, and this may ac- 
 count, in some degree, for the prompt manner in 
 which he especially suggested the same to Paul, 
 that he might avoid giving offence. Of the pro- 
 phetess Anna, it is said, and that with approbation, 
 that she departed not from the temple, but served 
 God with fastings and prayers night and day. 
 James was of a similar cast of devotion, he is 
 reported, by the writers I have just named, to 
 have frequented the temple alone, where he 
 might be found, on his knees, praying for the 
 sins of the people. These devotional exercises 
 acquired for him much respect and reverence 
 amongst a people who set such a high value 
 upon external acts of devotion, and served to di- 
 vert their malice, as it should seem, for awhile, 
 from the new doctrines he had embraced, which 
 had taught him the truth as it is in Jesus. This 
 was no doubt wisely done for the preservation of 
 " as many as were ordained to eternal life" in 
 Jerusalem, and consequently were yet to be 
 brought into the fold. His strict observance of 
 some Jewish ceremonies, and his attachment to 
 the law^ run through the style of his Epistle, 
 
 * Anointing the sick with oil (James v. 14.) was a Jewish 
 practice — (see Lightfoot Tahnuclical Exercitat. on Matt. vi. 17.) 
 
v.] HIS MARTYRDOM. 265 
 
 which has come down to us, and it is addressed 
 to the twelve tribes, amongst whom he acquired 
 the title of the Just. The rulers, at Jerusalem, 
 seeing in him a person of great influence among 
 the Christians, at the same time that he observed 
 the temple worship, thought they could prevail 
 with him by flattery to stop the people in their 
 error concerning " the crucified Redeemer." But 
 this experiment only drew him forth as the cham- 
 pion of the truth, and as a real and devoted dis- 
 ciple ; and, being publicly called upon, he scorned 
 to deny Jesus as the Saviour, but " confessed 
 him before men." In the midst of a large as- 
 sembly, he exclaimed, " Why ask ye me of 
 Jesus the Son of Man, since he sitteth at the 
 right hand of the Great Power in Heaven, and 
 shall come in the clouds of the air?" — a number 
 of voices, proceeding from his fellow-Christians 
 in the throng, re-echoed the confession, crying, 
 " Hosanna in the highest to the Son of David." 
 This led to his immediate destruction ; they took 
 him down from the elevated station on which they 
 had placed him for a different purpose, and 
 stoned him : having recovered himself a little, 
 
 — the apostles, on their first mission, employed the ceremony 
 in performing miraculous cures, (Mark vi. 13,) which the elders 
 of the church, in the apostolic age, also were enabled to do. 
 James principally advised Paul, at Jerusalem, to become 
 " unto the Jews as a Jew." (Acts xxi. 18 — 26.) 
 
266 THE LAST DAYS OF THE HOLY CITY. [lECT. 
 
 he prayed, on his knees, " I beseech thee, O 
 Lord God and Father, forgive them, they know 
 not what they do ;" upon these words, he was 
 struck on the head with a fuller's club, and died. 
 Josephus, as I have observed, confirms this ac- 
 count, calling him James the Just, the brother 
 of Jesus, whom they call Christ, and he adds, 
 that certain others were stoned with him ; this 
 violence he attributes to the high priest, who took 
 the opportunity of doing these things before the 
 arrival of the new governor, further adding, that 
 the people saw, in the calamities which soon be- 
 fel them, the Divine vengeance for the blood of 
 this just person. About this time Jerusalem be- 
 gan to be a prey to those factions which only 
 ended in that awful destruction which has ever 
 since appalled the posterity of Judah. If ever 
 Paul returned, this was the situation in which he 
 found his unhappy people. It belongs not to our 
 subject to relate the calamities which befel Je- 
 rusalem, which soon ceased to form any part of the 
 Christian world. Jesus had warned his followers 
 that when they should see certain signs, they 
 were to flee from the scene of God's wrath, 
 which they did accordingly : Josephus informs us 
 that many left the city as a sinking ship, and it is 
 probable no Christians remained in it, but that 
 they went and stationed themselves in a village 
 called Pella, situated beyond the River Jordan. 
 
V.J WARNINGS AND EXHORTATIONS. 267 
 
 The successor of James is said by many writers to 
 have been Simeon the son of Cleophas,with whom 
 ended the Church, which was the first fruits of 
 the Gospel, and thus perished the city which had 
 killed the prophets, and stoned them with stones. 
 The emperor Titus, though a Pagan, owned the 
 hand of God in his victory, and in the obstinate 
 madness of the enemy which rendered it so 
 destructive. I would fain have taken a glance 
 at the subsequent condition of the principal 
 churches in the East, but my limits are already 
 passed, and it is time to conclude this lecture. 
 You cannot but observe, my brethren, in all these 
 important incidents, that there were two princi- 
 ples directly opposed to each other, whether you 
 regard the general or the individual reception of 
 God's truth. At one place you see a pious mul- 
 titude engaged in prayer with the apostle Paul, 
 at another you see an inhuman conspiracy formed 
 to take away his life. Felix trembles, and Agrippa 
 is almost persuaded to be a Christian ; but the 
 struggle between conviction and the natural love 
 of sin, ended in favour of the latter, whence it 
 came, that their spiritual condition was no better 
 than that of the obstinate Jews who sought the life 
 of him who told them the truth. How came it that 
 the same individual was the object of affection at 
 Tyre, and the object of a murderous hatred at Je- 
 rusalem? We know Paid changed not the doctrine. 
 
268 WARNINGS AND EXHORTATIONS. [lECT, 
 
 he preached the truth : his theme was, " Jesus 
 Christ and him crucified," for he would know no- 
 thing else. Therewere then, as I observed, two prin- 
 ciples brought into action by applying the touch- 
 stone of God's truth : the principle of fallen, de- 
 graded human nature, and the principle of 
 Divine grace : at Jerusalem it was the former : 
 on the sea shore at Tyre it was the latter ; the 
 one of sinful man, the other of God's free mercy. 
 The object was fixed and conspicuous ; how was 
 it that some saw it with the eye of hatred, and 
 others with the eye of gratitude ? This object 
 was Christ suspended on the cross to expiate the 
 sins of man. The pride of the Jews would not 
 allow them to acknowledge their sins, much less 
 the necessity of such a ransom as that paid 
 for them : and, instead of the offer of mercy 
 awakening conviction of guilt, it only stung the 
 foes of Christ to wrath, until they fell upon the 
 messenger of the glad tidings. Now, brethren, 
 we would not have you ignorant, that whenever 
 these same eternal truths are held up to the view 
 of men, and pressed close upon the conscience, 
 there are the same two principles brought into ac- 
 tion, whatever may be the age of the world or the 
 condition of civilized life. There is the natural 
 resistance to the force of them, and there is the 
 humble reception of them by the grace given. 
 The resistance does not always show itself in the 
 
v.] SIMILAR EFFECTS OF PREACHING. 269 
 
 way the Jews showed theirs, by outward vio- 
 lence : on the contrary, it is sometimes, only a 
 half resistance, like that of Agrippa, almost per- 
 suaded, or it is rendered ineffectual through in- 
 difference. But how are we interested in the 
 trembling of Felix, or the amiable compliance of 
 Agrippa ? We wish to show you only that it is 
 the same spirit of " enmity against God," in 
 whatever modified shape it may appear : it is 
 the natural dislike to submit to the teaching of 
 God's Holy Spirit, and to receive " the mystery 
 of godliness" into the heart, which the strength 
 of reason cannot analyse. And the very circum- 
 stance, that the effect of preaching the Gospel is 
 the same now as it was in Paul's time, exciting 
 the hatred and contempt of some, and the grati- 
 tude of others, is to my mind a very strong proof 
 that it is Paul's doctrine ; for when a minister 
 of God's word has declared his message, in a 
 manner which pleases every one, he may almost 
 suspect that there is some part of the counsel of 
 God therein, which he has not fully declared, 
 since there is a carnal mind and there is a spi- 
 ritual mind ; and if these should be satisfied 
 with the same elements, it seems to me to show at 
 least, that the food is insipid. We speak not as 
 though we would have men's anger excited 
 against our Gospel : that were an unworthy no- 
 tion, but we speak of those consequences which 
 
270 A CRITERION OF THE TRUE DOCTRINE, [leCT. 
 
 seem so inevitable, that they may really become 
 the criterion of the existence of primitive Christ- 
 ianity. If ye, brethren, have embraced from 
 the heart, that form of doctrine, which sets forth 
 salvation through Christ alone, the necessary 
 renovation of the heart and affections, in order 
 to receive and appreciate the remedy provided for 
 human transgression, and the sanctification of the 
 spirit, in order to perfect holiness in the fear of 
 the Lord ; then these things will be felt and in- 
 wardly discerned, not as mere theories, but as 
 realities, (and it were a lifeless Christianity which 
 would seek to annul such feelings), then, I re- 
 peat, these doctrines will not be irksome, but 
 they will be music to your ears, and joy to your 
 hearts, " thanksgiving, and the voice of melody." 
 But, if ye are still far from God ; if ye can ill 
 bear the thoughts of relinquishing the vanities of 
 this world for the kingdom of heaven's sake ; if 
 ye cling to your own excellences, or if ye deny 
 or deride the Spirit's influence, as an idea to be 
 entertained only by the enthusiast, because it is 
 sometimes abused, — so surely will ye harbour in 
 your secret thoughts a rebellion against the word 
 of God, which does so unceasingly proclaim the 
 sinfulness and selfishness of man, whereby he is 
 condemned, and the free grace and mercy of God 
 in Christ Jesus, whereby alone he can be saved. 
 Let this then, brethren, be the criterion of your 
 
 10 
 
v.] AND OF ITS RECEPTION. 271 
 
 condition before God : and when ye have com- 
 pared God's own word with these our views of it, 
 and made yourselves as it were auditors of Paul's 
 preaching, and taken account of those who re- 
 jected his doctrines, and of those who received 
 them ; then be serious in your prayers to the 
 Giver of all grace, and He will direct your hearts 
 into a right discernment of the truth, that ye may 
 embrace it, and ever hold it fast, and so become 
 members of His true Church, which He hath 
 redeemed with His own blood ; and finally may 
 be made partakers of His glory in a world to 
 come, through His merits and mediation. 
 
LECTURE VI. 
 
 ST. PAUL S VOYAGE TO ITALY— THE STATE OF CHRIS- 
 TIANITY ON HIS ARRIVAL AT ROME (a.D. 62) 
 
 THE REST OF HIS ACTS CONCLUDING OBSER- 
 VATIONS. 
 
 Romans i. 15. 
 
 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel to 
 you that are at Rome also. 
 
 Wherever the great truths of rehgion are deeply 
 felt, and the benefits resulting from a sincere re- 
 ception of them, acknowledged and experienced, 
 there is a disposition to impart the inestimable 
 blessings to others, who know them not, and to 
 bring all mankind if possible under their imme- 
 diate influence. When David prayed for remis- 
 sion of sins and for sanctification, in the peni- 
 tential psalm which breathes the language of 
 deep humiliation, it was with the ultimate 
 view of imparting to others the knowledge 
 
LECT.VI.] ACTIVE ZEAL A MARK OF SINCERITY. 273 
 
 of true religion. " Restore unto me the joy of 
 Thy salvation, and uphold me with Thy free 
 Spirit, then will I teach transgressors Thy ways, 
 and sinners shall be converted unto Thee." We 
 may further add, that the more a person feels 
 the value of the blessings we allude to, the more 
 will he desire their propagation, until that which 
 was mere desire will grow into zeal and activity, 
 and will in some way or other so show itself in him, 
 that he may be truly said to be engaged in the ser- 
 vice of religion. It cannot, therefore be denied, that 
 Christianity is a proselyting system ; if it were 
 not so, then " would the children of this world 
 be always v^iser in their generation than the 
 children of light." We often see men, when im- 
 pressed with sentiments and opinions of a mere 
 worldly nature, (not to say that they are either 
 wrong or injurious), inflamed with such zeal for 
 instilling them into others, that they leave no 
 means untried, but are constant and indefati- 
 gable in endeavouring to accomplish their end, 
 and if their zeal be accompanied with evident 
 sacrifices, they generally obtain credit for sin- 
 cerity, notwithstanding their system itself should 
 be condemned. But, if the real Christian were 
 to sit still, and take no interest in the propagation 
 of his principles, then it would come to pass, 
 that the believer in Christ would be the only 
 person without those evidences of appreciating 
 
 T 
 
274 ACTIVE ZEAL A MARK OF SINCERITY. [lECT. 
 
 his own principles, which are requisite, in every 
 other subject, as a proof of sincerity. I do not 
 deny that there are many false teachers and false 
 prophets who are sincere in the profession of 
 their errors, and would " compass sea and land 
 to make one proselyte." Zeal is not, therefore, 
 of itself a sufficient indication of the truth ; but 
 this we say, that whenever we can satisfy our- 
 selves of the sincerity of the professor, we gene- 
 rally admire his zeal ; and if it be not an evi- 
 dence of the truth, it proves at least, that the 
 person believes what he advocates to be true, 
 because his zeal is sincere ; whereas without zeal, 
 or with that indifference which in our day marks 
 a large number of professing Christians, one can 
 hardly obtain credit for the belief of that which 
 is professed. St. Paul acted otherwise : he had 
 preached the unsearchable riches of Christ from 
 Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum ; 
 that is, in almost every part of the Roman em- 
 pire in the East : he had laboured for years, in 
 the same cause, in those places through which 
 we have traced him in our preceding lectures ; 
 but he was not yet satisfied, his zeal knew no 
 bounds, nay, he considered it as a necessity laid 
 upon him to propagate the Gospel. " I am a 
 debtor," he says, " both to the Greeks and Bar- 
 barians, the ignorant and the learned, so much 
 as in me is, I am ready to preach the Gospel to 
 
VI.] THE apostle's ZEAL RATIFIED. 275 
 
 you that are at Rome also." We are not to sup- 
 pose this to be an expression of mere compliance 
 with the wishes of others, it was Paul's earnest 
 desire to preach at Rome. You will recollect, 
 that about three years previously to the period we 
 are now about to touch upon, Paul purposed in 
 spirit to go to Jerusalem, saying, " After I have 
 been there, I must also see Rome." Now, it 
 was about the time he formed this resolution, 
 that he wrote the Epistle to the Romans, in which 
 he expresses his readiness to preach the Gospel 
 among them : his desire was confirmed by a 
 special message from Heaven ; for, in the night 
 which followed his trial before the Sanhedrim, 
 where the apostle bore witness to the sacred cause 
 of Christ, it is related, the Lord stood by him, 
 and said, " Be of good cheer, Paul, for as thou 
 hast testified of me in Jerusalem, so must thou 
 bear witness also at Rome." So far was his 
 wish to propagate the Gospel in the West ratified 
 by a miraculous interposition of heaven ; and 
 herein he had an assurance and a guide to his 
 zeal, to which we, with the ordinary helps of the 
 Spirit, can lay no claim. We must, therefore, 
 be content to feel our way by prudence and 
 well-tempered zeal, but still we must be mind- 
 ful we have the same cause to defend ; and I 
 trust, my brethren, that in these times of excite- 
 ment and general inquiry, we shall be endued 
 
 T 2 
 
276 THE POWER OF GOD's TRUTH. [lECT. 
 
 with a portion of Paul's spirit, as much as in us 
 lies, to preach the Gospel to them that are at 
 Rome also. There is a way of proclaiming that 
 Gospel, which no man can controvert, viz. hy 
 such a Christian deportment, and by such evan- 
 gelical graces, as may be visible to all who come 
 within their influence, so that it shall be said of 
 us as the damsel possessed with a spirit of divi- 
 nation said of Paul and Silas, " These men are 
 the servants of the Most High God, which show 
 unto us the way of salvation ;" and never, so 
 long as I acknowledge the power of God's truth 
 upon the mind, will I be persuaded that in every 
 place there will not be some " jailer" who will 
 fall down before the force of truth, whether 
 exhibited in words or in deeds, and tremblingly 
 exclaim, '' What shall I do to be saved?" With 
 our privileges therefore, brethren, as those to 
 whom are committed the oracles of God, there 
 is this great responsibility, that in all things we 
 show what the riches of God's grace and mercy 
 can effect in the outward conduct, and make 
 that faith we profess worthy of the compliment 
 which Paul once paid to the Christians of this 
 very city, whose faith was " spoken of through- 
 out the whole world:" — but it is time to take up 
 the sacred narrative. 
 
 Since our last lecture you will probably have 
 examined anew, in your private meditations, all 
 
VI.] ST. Paul's departure. *i77 
 
 that happened to the apostle at Jerusalem and 
 at Cesarea, and it will be borne in mind that in 
 consequence of his appeal to the emperor, which 
 was a Roman citizens privilege, the object of 
 St. Paul's desire was accomplished by providen- 
 tial circumstances over which he seemed to have 
 no control. It may also be remarked, that 
 Agrippa and Festus virtually acquitted the pri- 
 soner, and, as Pilate said to the multitude, " he 
 found no fault" in the spotless Jesus, so did these 
 judges of Paul's conduct declare, that " he might 
 have been set at liberty if he had not appealed 
 unto Caesar." It being determined that the apos- 
 tle and his company should sail into Italy, they 
 were consigned, along with other prisoners, to 
 the care of a centurion, and sailed towards the 
 coast of Asia, touching at the port of Sidon. At 
 that place Paul was enabled to confer with hi&> 
 brethren in Christ, and give them a parting ex- 
 hortation to continue stedfast in the faith. He 
 next sailed along the coasts of his native country, 
 Cilicia, and, arriving at Myra, a small port on 
 the Lycian coast, the passengers were all finally 
 transferred into an Alexandrian ship which was 
 bound for the shores of Italy. The whole account 
 of this voyage, as far as the island of Malta, is 
 given in the 27th chapter of the Acts, and it is 
 allowed by all those who have carefully examined 
 the details, that none but a person who had actu- 
 
278 HIS VOYAGE TO ITALY [lECT. 
 
 ally made the voyage could have written so accu- 
 rate a description, and that he must, moreover, 
 have had a considerable knowledge of geography 
 and the nautical affairs of that period. But 
 although this is the case (showing, indeed, internal 
 evidence of the authenticity of the history), St. 
 Luke seems ever to have had an object in view far 
 beyond the mere incidents which led to its ac- 
 complishment ; he continually refers to the words 
 and actions of Paul, tells us of the spirit of pro- 
 phecy with which he was endued, and of the 
 influence which he acquired over the ship's crew, 
 who were in all 276 persons. In their dan- 
 gerous course, from Crete to Malta, we have an 
 instance of that Divine protection which those 
 can best appreciate who " do business in great 
 waters :" it was mercy already designed and an- 
 nounced beforehand to the chosen instrument of 
 God ; but although Paul was thus assured that 
 he must stand at Cassar's judgment-seat, and 
 that God had given him all that sailed with him; 
 althouo;h he knew every circumstance that would 
 happen, by revelation, (for he told them they 
 must be wrecked upon a certain island), still he 
 spared no exertion, and called upon all the rest 
 so to act, as if every thing depended upon them- 
 selves ; whereas nothing depended upon them, 
 since it was already decreed. In this, brethren, 
 is not the sovereign will and fore-knowledge of 
 
VI.] HIS VOYAGE TO ITALY. 279 
 
 God discerned to be consistent with the utmost 
 freedom and energy of human action ? First, the 
 apostle says, " God hath given me all that sail 
 with me," and again, he saith, " except ye abide 
 in the ship, ye cannot be saved \" In all the in- 
 cidents of life, the Christian will ever recognise the 
 same Divine economy ; when the struggle is past, 
 and he revolves in his mind the active part he 
 hath taken in them, he discovers so little of his own 
 power, that it is utterly unworthy to be reckoned 
 with that " mighty working whereby the Lord 
 is able to subdue all things to Himself;" and 
 thus he sees nothing that hath brought him to 
 the haven of his desire, but the sovereign power 
 of God, and therefore to Him he ascribes all the 
 glory and the praise. 
 
 This voyage from Jerusalem to Italy was un- 
 dertaken at a season of the year when sailing 
 in the Mediterranean was the most dangerous^, 
 viz. about the time of the equinox — denoted by St. 
 Luke, " after the Fast." This was on the tenth 
 day of the seventh month, which answers to the 
 10th of October; and it would almost appear, from 
 
 ^ See this subject satisfactorily handled by Dr. Chalmers, in 
 his Sermon " on the Doctrine of Predestination." Sermons, 
 8fc. p. 294. 
 
 ^ In contemplating the apostle's voyage, we must dismiss 
 from our thoughts the modern improvements in the art of na- 
 vigation. 
 
280 ISLAND OF MALTA. [lECT. 
 
 the tenor of the history, that they were nearly six 
 weeks before they reached Malta. As their ship 
 was entirely destroyed, they were detained in 
 that island for three months, during which period 
 the things occurred which are set forth in the 
 former part of the last chapter of the Acts. We 
 find St. Paul was enabled to perform many mira- 
 culous cures, and thus to advance the interest of 
 Christ's kingdom ; it is not, however, said, that 
 the " barbarous people" were in a state to receive 
 the Gospel. The history of that island is indeed 
 such, that it may be doubted whether the real 
 truths of Christianity ever took root in it, the duty 
 of planting them there now devolves upon our own 
 country, to which (as a Christian traveller has 
 remarked) this celebrated island is entrusted, as 
 a portion of that mass of power, which Divine 
 Providence has committed to her, to be exercised 
 for the benefit of mankind ^ The apostle and 
 his companions left Melita at the end of the 
 winter, and landed at Syracuse in Sicily, where 
 they remained three days ; in which famed city 
 it does not appear there were any Christians. 
 After touching at Rhegium, on the straits of 
 Charybdis, now called Reggio, they arrived by 
 a prosperous voyage on the coast of Naples, and 
 
 ' See JowetCs Christian Researches in the Mediterranean, 
 " Advantages of Malta" p. 376. 
 
VI.] CHRISTIAN MEETING ON THE VIA APPIA. 281 
 
 finally landed at Puteoli : this was a town situ- 
 ated in the celebrated bay of Baise, the summer 
 residence of the great and wealthy men of ancient 
 Rome : it is, no doubt, familiar to many of you 
 under the name of Pozzuoli, and it still retains 
 many traces of its antiquity. We are here intro- 
 duced, for the first time, to the Christians of 
 Italy ; it is said they found brethren at Puteoli, 
 and were desired by them to remain awhile 
 among them, with which request they complied, 
 and abode seven days. 
 
 It is very probable, as the communications be- 
 tween this city and Rome were frequent, and as 
 there were already some persons of consequence 
 at Rome converted to the faith, that the religion 
 of Jesus went out to this part of Italy from the 
 metropolis itself. From them the apostle would 
 receive intelligence of the state of things in Rome, 
 and it appears the opportunity of his residence at 
 Puteoli was seized in order to announce his ap- 
 proaching arrival ; hence when he arrived at the 
 Pontine Marshes, he was met by some of the 
 brethren, who had gone out a distance of fifty- 
 one miles to meet him, at the station called Appii 
 Forum, which still preserves the name : others went 
 as far as the "Tres Tabernae,'' now called Le Cas- 
 tella, distant from the city thirty-three miles : such 
 was the anxious desire of those primitive believers 
 to pay their respects to the great apostle of the 
 
282 CHRISTIAN MEETING ON THE VIA APPIA. [lECT, 
 
 Gentiles. The Appiaii Way' had presented scenes 
 of magnificence, and the conquerors of the world 
 had moved thereon in all the pomp of a triumph ; 
 crowds of citizens had issued forth to meet the 
 patriotic Cicero returning from exile ^ ; but never 
 before did it present a scene at once so affecting 
 and sublime as this. When Paul saw the blessed 
 company, in a country wherein he must have 
 felt himself a stranger indeed, going in the 
 condition of an accused criminal to lay his case 
 before the master of the world, he felt all the gra- 
 titude and consolation which will ever accom- 
 pany the conscience void of offence, in similar 
 cases, and which will be drawn out by the accents 
 of sympathy to which accused innocence so ten- 
 derly turns itself, " he thanked God, and took 
 
 ' The stations on the Via Appia are adjusted with the ancient 
 Itineraries as follows : — 
 
 Via Appia. Modern Names. 
 
 Ah Urbe 
 Bobellas seu ad Nonum m. p. x. Boville 
 Ariciam . . . m. p. vi. Aricia 
 
 Sublaniivium . . m. p. vii. S. Gennarello 
 
 Tres Tabernas . . m. p. x. Le Castella 
 
 Ad Sponsas . . m. p. xi. For Vergata 
 
 Appii Forum . . m. p. vii. Foro Appio, 
 
 &c. &c. 
 
 See Dissertaz. de A. Nibbez, delle Vie Antiche, p. 130. 
 ' Compare the Letter of Cicero to Atticus, Lib. iv. Ep. 1. 
 
VI.] Paul's arrival at rome. 283 
 
 The centurion who had charge of the pri- 
 soners had, by this time, conceived a great respect 
 and even veneration for Paul : he had witnessed 
 his firmness in the dangers of the deep, had 
 seen his miracles at Melita, and now he witnessed 
 the affection which bound together those profes- 
 sors of the new religion. Owing to his report, 
 as it is probable, Paul, upon arriving at the city, 
 was not delivered up with the rest of the prisoners 
 to the public officer ; but was suffered to dwell 
 by himself with a single soldier as his guard. It 
 is evident he was left much at liberty to speak 
 and to act' ; partly, no doubt, from the respect- 
 ability of his character ; but much more because 
 of the indifference with which a private indivi- 
 dual was regarded, teaching among so many 
 others, what the Romans considered as a mere 
 system of philosophy : this will lead us to take a 
 review of Rome at that period as far as it would 
 affect the apostle's preaching. I do not mean in 
 these observations to trouble you with " the end- 
 less genealogies and old wives' fables" of the gods 
 of Pagan Rome, nor to involve your attention in 
 the intricacies of that philosophy and vain deceit 
 through which so many were spoiled. What- 
 
 ' Until persons accused were brought to their trial, they were 
 under the care of the magistrates called " in libera custodia." 
 See Adams' Roman Antiquities, p. 272, edit, of 1792; but 
 compare Acts xxviii. 31. 
 
284 STATE OF CHRISTIANITY AT ROME. [lECT. 
 
 ever Paul might have to contend with in his hired 
 house among the professors of Heathen doctrines, 
 he was already prepared for, from what he had 
 seen at Athens, and his education gave him an 
 immense advantage in combating those fancies 
 and corruptions of men. The Epicureans, who 
 thought that the true doctrine for them to teach 
 was the best method of enjoying this world, and 
 that this should be worked into a system of re- 
 fined morality, were the most prominent and 
 influential class of persons then at Rome. The 
 Stoics, who considered every thing regulated by 
 irrevocable fate, and consequently thought all 
 human actions indifferent, formed also another 
 large class ; still there is every reason to believe 
 that even out of these men, some were chosen 
 to show forth, to a benighted world, the power 
 and riches of Divine grace. 
 
 With regard to the state of Christianity, it is 
 chiefly from St. Paul's own Epistle to the Ro- 
 mans, that we gather our information. Of those 
 who were converted by St. Peter's sermon on 
 the day of Pentecost, some we find were stran- 
 gers of Rome, both Jews and proselytes, that is, 
 persons who had been Heathens, but were then 
 brought over to the Jewish faith, having sub- 
 mitted to the rite of circumcision : these, as is 
 
 ' Vide Cicero's Tusculan. Qucestion. lib. v. cap. 33. and com- 
 pare the second lecture of our first series. 
 
VI. J STATE OF CHRISTIANITY AT ROME. 285 
 
 probable, returning to the metropolis, first formed 
 themselves into a society or church ; and with 
 that zeal which particularly belonged to the first 
 converts, endeavoured to spread the religion of 
 Christ. This had now been in operation ever 
 since the year 33, that is to say, for upwards of 
 thirty years, there had been Christians in Rome ; 
 and they had by this time arrived at so great a 
 degree of distinction, partly from their strict ad- 
 herence to the faith, and partly because they 
 dwelt in the metropolis of the empire, that their 
 faith was renowned in every part of the Christian 
 world. They were all esteemed by the Romans 
 as Jews, and perhaps this mistake saved them 
 from persecution, until the age of Nero, when 
 their numbers became so augmented, as to at- 
 tract observation. The greatest number of them 
 lived in the district beyond the Tyber, and there 
 can be little doubt of that being the quarter of 
 Rome, wherein the earliest Christian assemblies 
 were publicly held \ In the time of Domitian, 
 
 * A Heathen writer informs us, that " when the Christians 
 had got possession of a certain public spot in Rome (for the 
 purpose of celebrating their worship), the low victuallers 
 claimed it as belonging to them. The Emperor, Alexander 
 Sevenis, decided the matter, by ordaining that, in whatever 
 manner God might be worshipped on that spot, it would be 
 better than giving it to the victuallers (Popinarii). — Lampri- 
 dius in Vit. Alex. Sev. cap. 48. Agreeably to this intimation, 
 
286 STATE OF CHRISTIANITY AT ROME. [lECT. 
 
 many of them (whom a poet perhaps comfounds 
 with the Jews) lived in the neighbourhood of 
 the Porta Capena', not far from the place where 
 we now see the immense ruins of the baths of 
 Caracalla, between the Ccelian and Aventine 
 Hills : there were others who, in the time of 
 Nero, were received into the houses of private 
 individuals, living about the Esquiline Hill ; 
 and, if there be any thing in the tradition of 
 localities, it is, perhaps, to this quarter we must 
 especially direct our attention, as to the scenes 
 of early Christian history ^ 
 
 Among the Christians which Paul found at 
 Rome were, doubtless, Aquila and Priscilla, with 
 whom he had lived at Corinth : such was the 
 regard they had for the apostle that, on one 
 occasion, they had already run the risk of losing 
 
 Anastasius, in his life of Calixtus I. (who was contemporary 
 with Alexander Severus, a. d. 222,) informs us, that a place 
 called the " Taberna Meritoria," or " Fons Olei," was ob- 
 tained by Calixtus, where he built a church. To this 
 the Basilica of S. Maria, in Trastevere, succeeded. See 
 Burgess s Topograj)hy and Antiquities of Rome, Vol. II. 
 p. 247. 
 
 ' Juvenal. Sat. III. v. 13. See Topograplnj, <^-c. A^ol. I. 
 p. 131, and compare Fleury. Hist Ecclesiast. Liv. II. 
 chap. 52. 
 
 ^ Such for instance, as the baths of Novatus, and the house 
 of Pudens, where the secret assemblies were held in the first 
 century. On which, see " Topography,'' SfC. Vol. I. p. 207. 
 
VI,] BELIEVERS OF DISTINCTION. 287 
 
 their own lives to save one so valuable as his : they 
 had a church (that is, a number of Christians 
 were accustomed to hold their stated assemblies) 
 in their house. The persons whom St. Paul 
 enumerates and salutes in the last chapter of his 
 Epistle, appear from their names to have been 
 for the most part Greeks ; and some of them 
 were even of lono;er standino; as Christians than 
 Paul himself. They must, therefore, have been 
 the very proselytes converted at Jerusalem ; 
 we have, for instance, Andronicus and Junia, 
 relations and fellow-labourers of Paul, persons 
 of note among the apostles, " who also," he adds, 
 " were in Christ before me :" two other persons 
 of some distinction are also enumerated, viz. 
 Aristobulus and Narcissus ; but, as the apostle 
 greets not them, but their " households" or 
 friends, it is probable they were dead when he 
 wrote his Epistle : the latter of these is supposed 
 to have been the celebrated freedman of the 
 Emperor Claudius, who was put to death by 
 Agrippina, at the commencement of the reign 
 of Nero\ As the Epistle to the Romans was 
 written three years before Paul's arrival in Italy, 
 some changes, amongst others, must have taken 
 place in the interval, for the better : it is very 
 probable those divisions and offences contrary to 
 
 * Vide Tacil. Annal. Lib. XIII. cap. 1. 
 
 10 
 
288 PAUL CALLS THE LEADERS [lECT. 
 
 the doctrine they had learned, were now healed ; 
 for, as the time of persecution drew nigh, they 
 drew nearer to their Redeemer, and consequently, 
 to one another : and when Paul did arrive 
 amongst them, he would, doubtless, become an 
 additional bond of union. Such, then, was the 
 state of Christianity at Rome, when Paul, three 
 days only after his arrival, sent and called the 
 leaders of the Jews together, to lay his case 
 before them, and to know their decision ; ob- 
 serving that he had committed nothing against 
 the people, nor against the customs of the fathers, 
 for which he ought to have been delivered up as 
 a prisoner to the Romans : nor had he on the 
 other hand, aught to accuse his nation of. It 
 appears, that when those Jews at Jerusalem had 
 caused the apostle to be expelled from their 
 coasts, they considered it better to give up their 
 prosecution of the case, which, at the best, it 
 miffht be difficult for them to sustain before a 
 Heathen tribunal. The Jews at Rome havino- 
 received no account either of Paul or of his accu- 
 sation, without inquiring into the doctrines which 
 he taught, at once condemned his sect; for " it 
 was every where spoken against." Curiosity, 
 however, prompted them to inquire what this 
 new doctrine was ; and, as Paul was glad of 
 every opportunity to preach the Gospel, a day 
 was appointed for the occasion, and many of 
 
Vr.J OF THE JEWS TOGETHER. 289 
 
 them came to his lodghig. For a whole clay, from 
 morning till evening, did the indefatigable 
 apostle expound and testify to them the na- 
 ture of the kingdom which Christ had come 
 to establish upon earth : he went through the 
 writings of Moses and the prophets, and pointed 
 out every thing relating to Jesus of Nazareth ; 
 and when he had ended all his arguments and 
 exhortations, he saw the same result as he had 
 witnessed in the east, from preaching the same 
 truths, " some believed, and some believed not." 
 But the faithful ambassador of Christ acquitted 
 himself boldly, and pointed out to the unbelievers 
 the prophecy of Isaiah, which had direct refer- 
 ence to this perverseness of heart ; and he then 
 proclaimed that the children of the heathen 
 world would receive that salvation which the 
 heirs of the promise refused, and thus would be 
 verified the saying of our Lord, " many shall 
 come from all quarters, and sit down with the 
 patriarchs in the kingdom of God, whilst the 
 children of the kins^dom shall be shut out." The 
 Jews went away when he spoke of the Gentiles, 
 and had great reasonings among themselves. It 
 was not so easy for them as it was for the unbe- 
 lievers in Jerusalem, to show their malignity to- 
 wards Paul in Rome ; he was therefore left in his 
 own hired house unmolested by them, and not 
 forbidden by any man to preach or to teach the 
 
 u 
 
290 THE APOSTOLIC WRITINGS. [lECT. 
 
 things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ. 
 Many persons came to hear, some, no doubt, 
 from curiosity, others with honest intentions, and 
 not a few of the upper classes of society ; for at 
 a subsequent period salutations for the Christians 
 in the east were tendered from Ca3sar's house- 
 hold. The apostle was considered as a prisoner, 
 although having this liberty, and in the whole, 
 continued for a space of two years, that is, until 
 the year 65, with which account the narrative of 
 the Acts concludes. We may now collect a few 
 particulars relative to Paul and the subsequent 
 state of the Christian world, from his Epistles. 
 
 During the two years of his residence at Rome 
 the blessed apostle wrote several of those letters 
 to the Churches of the east, which form part of 
 our canon of Scripture. Those to the Ephesians 
 and the Colossians were, in all probability, writ- 
 ten first. In the former he calls himself a pri- 
 soner of Jesus Christ, and an ambassador of the 
 Gospel in bonds : and we learn that Tychicus, 
 one of the Greek Christians, who had accompa- 
 nied him into Asia about three years previously, 
 had been in constant attendance and communi- 
 cation with him, and was the bearer of the 
 Epistle. He was also charged with the Epistle 
 to Colosse along with Onesimus, which shows 
 that the two were written at the same time, A 
 most able writer has pointed out the great simila- 
 
Vf.] THE COLOSSIANS AND LAOUTCEANS. 291 
 
 rity which appears in the composition of these 
 two Epistles', the very same sentences occurring 
 in both, except with that slight variation which 
 removes all suspicion of collusion. From the 
 Epistle to the Colossians, we learn that Aris- 
 tarchus, who had accompanied Paul in his 
 voyage, was made prisoner along with him ; 
 John, i. e. Mark, the nephew of Barnabas, about 
 whom the contention took place at Antioch, was 
 now with the apostle, so also was St. Luke, and 
 Demas, who afterwards fell away from his zeal, 
 through love of the present world ; there is also 
 honourable mention made of Epaphras, as a per- 
 son of great piety and zeal, who was also a pri- 
 soner for the Gospel's sake. St. Paul alludes to 
 an Epistle which appears to have been written to 
 the Laodicaeans about the same time, but which 
 has not come down to us. He exhorts the Co- 
 lossians to read it, and also to send a copy of his 
 Epistle to them of Laodicea : an evident injunc- 
 tion, laid upon all Christian Churches, to see 
 that the sacred Scriptures be read and expounded. 
 He cautions the Colossians against being spoiled 
 by philosophy and vain deceit, against voluntary 
 humility and worshipping of angels, which things, 
 of course, indicate that these errors had already 
 begun to appear in the Church of Christ ; and if 
 
 ' Paley's Horce Paulince, chap. v. 
 
 u 2 
 
292 THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. [lECT. 
 
 we had to treat of more recent periods of ecclesias- 
 tical history, they would occupy much of our atten- 
 tion, and impose upon us a still more melancholy 
 task. Onesimus was also the bearer of a short 
 letter to some private individuals, whose names 
 were Philemon, Apphia, and Archippus, toge- 
 ther with the assembly of Christians in the house 
 of the latter — these were all living at Colosse, in 
 which city Archippus appears to have had a pas- 
 toral charge. Onesimus was probably a Colos- 
 sian, and converted to the faith by St. Paul at 
 Rome : he had committed some fault against 
 Philemon, for which Paul entreats his indulgence. 
 He expresses some hopes of being set at liberty, 
 and so being enabled to visit Asia, and that with 
 such confidence, as to request Philemon to pre- 
 pare him a lodging. 
 
 St. Paul's next Epistle, to which, we shall 
 refer for an instant, is that to the Philippians, 
 written, as we may suppose from some expres- 
 sions in it, towards the end of his confinement. 
 He hopes to come to them shortly himself, and 
 says " he will send Timothy immediately, as soon 
 as he shall see how it will go with him." This 
 sentence helps to illustrate the date and writer of 
 the nameless Epistle to the Hebrews ; we find 
 therein the following words to compare with 
 those just cited, " Know ye not that our brother 
 Timothy is set at liberty, with whom, if he come 
 
VI.] THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. 293 
 
 shortly, I will see you." As this Epistle was 
 written for the purpose of showing the Jews the 
 real meaning of the Levitical dispensation, and 
 its reference to the great atonement made on the 
 cross for the sins of men, and as Paul was espe- 
 cially obnoxious to the Jews, because of his 
 frequent communications with the heathen, it 
 seemed expedient not to begin by the usual salu- 
 tations, lest by prefixing his name, the Jews might 
 have rejected it at once without a reading. It 
 intimates that Christianity was spread beyond the 
 limits of Rome, " They of Italy salute you." 
 From these indications the date and the com- 
 position of the Epistle may be inferred ; but 
 since the style so much resembles the Acts of 
 the Apostles, and we find St. Luke and Aris- 
 tarchus still continuing with Paul, it seems 
 very probable that the whole was the joint pro- 
 duction of these inspired men, written by the 
 pen of St. Luke, and approved or suggested by 
 PauP : it may, therefore, bear the date of the 
 year 63, or the beginning of 64. In recurring 
 
 ^ The current of tradition runs in favour of St. Paul having 
 been the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, and it bears 
 internal evidence of his superior mind and doctrine, besides 
 the texts which have a direct reference to local circumstances. 
 Nevertheless, Origen observed (and he lived little more than a 
 century after the apostles), oVt o ^apaKTi)p tT]q Xii,eio^ rijQ Trpug 
 'E/3pa/ouc i-jz iy i.ypa^fiivr]Q eTricrroXrJQ ou/c E^tt roy Iv Xoyf Iciw- 
 Tiicoy Tov cnroarvXov. {Euseb. Hist. Ecclcsias, Lib. vi. 
 cap. 25) As it was so far a matter of doubt with Origen, it 
 
294 THE SEDENTARY LABOURS, [lECT 
 
 for a moment to the Epistle to the Philippians, 
 we find that the Gospel had been wonderfully 
 promoted by Paul's residence at Rome, it had 
 even penetrated into the profligate court of Nero'. 
 The apostle had also given confidence to many 
 of the brethren, so that they began, after his 
 example, to speak the word more boldly. It is, 
 indeed, distressing to hear him say, that " some 
 preached Christ of envy, and strife, and conten- 
 tion, on purpose to add afiliction to his bonds;" 
 but even in this he could find cause for rejoicing; 
 for by these means the Gospel was more widely 
 diffused in the Gentile world. We might derive 
 much instruction by a closer examination of the 
 Epistles, if our time had allowed it ; at present, 
 however, we must be content with observing, 
 that such, in general terms, was the manner in 
 which St. Paul and his fellow-labourers employed 
 the two years they dwelt at Rome. We have 
 already enumerated five epistles, besides the one 
 to Laodicea, now lost : and we may well suppose 
 that he wrote many others, both to individuals 
 and to churches. Besides this, his constant preach- 
 ing and anxiety for the Christian world, or to 
 use his own language, " Besides these things 
 that came upon him daily, the care of all the 
 
 must remain so with us. The records of antiquity will be 
 found to bear most upon the conclusion, that the matter is 
 St. Paul's, but the style is St. Luke's. 
 ' Philip, iv. 22. 
 
VI.] AND EXTENSIVE JOURNEYINGS OF PAUL. 295 
 
 churches." Think of the energy and the won- 
 derful gifts of this prisoner of Christ, my bre- 
 thren. He had, as it were, to bear up against 
 the world : he was dependent upon the Christ- 
 ians in the east chiefly for his support, but he 
 abstained from speaking much in respect of tem- 
 poral wants. This was his great resource, as he 
 declared to the Philippians : " I can do all things 
 through Christ, who strengtheneth me." 
 
 After two years, the apostle was released, an 
 event which took place about the spring of the 
 year 64, and it has been made a question, into 
 what part of the world he then went. He had 
 announced his intention of visiting Spain, as you 
 will recollect, in these words to the Romans: 
 " Whensoever I take my journey into Spain, 
 I will come unto you ;" and St. Clement says, 
 " He went preaching righteousness throughout 
 all the world, even to the boundary of the west," 
 which would confirm the fact'. Some writers 
 
 ' Kijpv^ [^Y£vu]fievoc iv Tt rrj avaToXij icai £v\Tfj'\ Bvaei, to ytv- 
 valov Tf]Q iritTTeiDQ avTOv kXeoq iXafiev, CLKatoavvriv Sicut,a£ 6\ov 
 Tov Kva^iov K\_al £7rt] to ripfia Trjg ^vctecoq iXdibv, Kai fxapTv pi) aac 
 tTTi Tojv ijyovfxevtjv ovTcog dirrjWayt] tov Koa^ov. — Ad Corin- 
 thios, Epist. I. cap. 5. Coteler. Patres Apostolic'i, Tom. I. 
 p. 151. Edit. Amstelodam. 1724. 
 
 There are various opinions as to the real meaning of this 
 expression, (to Tep^a, &c.) Epiphanius (Haeres. 27), St. 
 Chrysostom (Homil. 70, in St. Matthew), St. Jerome (on 
 
296 THE SEDENTARY LABOURS, [lECT. 
 
 have even contended, that he went to " the 
 islands of the sea," and they number both the 
 Gauls and Britons among his disciples. This 
 latter journey seems to have been impossible ; 
 for, between his leaving Rome and returning to 
 it again, there was not more than a space of 
 about nine months ; and in the course of that 
 time, it is sufficiently evident he made a journey 
 into the east. In his epistle to Titus, he speaks 
 of his determination to winter at Nicopolis, which 
 was a city of Epirus : and in writing to Timothy 
 his last epistle, he says, he had left Trophimus 
 sick at Miletum'. He speaks of having left 
 
 cap. xi. Isaiah, and v. Amos), say, that St. Paul preached in 
 Spain : and we are to consider, that Paul himself had an- 
 nounced that intention ; but on the other hand, it is alleged, 
 that those Fathers only wrote in the fourth century, and 
 Eusebius is silent — it is further evident that the ancient 
 Fathers wrote Avtng for Rome and Italy, but ripfia cvuewq is 
 another thing. Bishop Pearson explains the expression of 
 Spain; Stillingfleet, of Britain. Bishop Fell sees nothing in 
 it but Rome simply: it is certainly a slight foundation to 
 build the conversion of Britain by Paul upon ; but I had 
 rather believe the apostle to have preached in Spain. 
 
 ^ Bishop Pearson thinks this is not meant of Miletus, near 
 Ephesus (mentioned in Acts xx. 17.)) for it does not appear 
 Paul had left Trophimus there at all. (See Acts xxi. 29.) 
 Certainly he did not the first time, but might he not have 
 returned after his liberation 1 St. Paul's farewell words at 
 Ephesus (Acts xx. 25.) are supposed to forbid this suppo- 
 sition ; but I do not see wliy they need be taken so literally — 
 
VI.] AND EXTENSIVE JOURNEYINGS OF PAUL. 297 
 
 Timothy behind at Ephesus : Titus he had left 
 ill Crete. Tt also appears he had passed by 
 Troas, and had visited Corinth. From these hints 
 we may gather, that St. Paul, after his libera- 
 tion, sailed first into Asia, taking the island of 
 Crete in his way : after going to Miletum and 
 Ephesus, he crossed the Egean Sea into Mace- 
 donia, and then went through the peninsula of 
 Greece by Nicopolis : thus visiting, as he had 
 expressed his intention, both the Colossians in 
 Asia, and the Philippians in Macedonia. Con- 
 sistently with this journey, which seems au- 
 thorised by the epistles, he could hardly have 
 visited the more remote parts of the west : it is, 
 indeed, just possible he might have gone or 
 returned by Spain ; but at all events he returned 
 to Rome, and was made prisoner a second time, 
 under far severer circumstances than before : this 
 was about the beginning of the year 65. 
 
 The Second Epistle to Timothy is, as we have 
 already observed, the last he wrote : in it we 
 see the fortitude of the real Christian displayed, 
 and his joy in the prospect of death. It is, in 
 point of incident, more replete with interest than 
 any other of the epistles, and it is difficult to 
 read it without emotion. The spirit of evil had 
 
 there was another Miletus in the ishind of Crete ; but then 
 we should have to explain how Timothy was left behind at 
 Ephesus. 
 
298 THE FIRST APOSTACY IN ASIA. [lECT. 
 
 begun to work even in the Church of Christ. 
 The apostacy in Asia was so extensive, that he 
 declares they were all turned away from his 
 doctrines ; and he specifies the names of Phy- 
 gellus and Hermogenes, of Hymeneus and Phi- 
 letus, who held some heretical tenets about the 
 resurrection, which appears to have been the 
 first introduction of that subtle disputing, which 
 afterwards exhibited such a loathsome spectacle 
 in the eastern Churches, and ended in battle 
 and murder, and finally put out the candle of 
 truth. Whenever we shall see similar evils arise, 
 and we ever feel disposed thereby to waver in 
 that faith which is of the Gospel, what can we 
 do better than take that comfortable sentence 
 which follows St. Paul's rebuke of those false 
 teachers? " Nevertheless, the foundation of God 
 standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth 
 them that are his." 
 
 We have now to contemplate the great apostle 
 in the last stage of his earthly career, when, after 
 all his exertions and services in the cause of 
 Christ, he was to exhibit to succeeding ages the 
 triumph of faith and hope over the bitterest evils 
 that man can inflict upon his fellow. At his re- 
 turn to Rome he was no longer permitted to re- 
 main as a prisoner at large, but was seized like 
 the worst of criminals, and thrown into a dun- 
 geon : this is implied in his words to Timothy, 
 
VI.] Paul's second imprisonment. 299 
 
 " I suffer trouble as an evil-doer, even unto 
 bonds." His friends had now become so scarce, 
 and so cautious, that he acknowledges it as an 
 act of great kindness in Onesiphorus, that he 
 sought him out very diligently, and found him. 
 This appears to intimate his close confinement in 
 some obscure place, not easy to be found' ; but 
 Onesiphorus was not ashamed of his chain, and 
 oft administered to his comfort. He had to mourn 
 over the apostacy of Demas, who was now no 
 longer with him ; and there was such a disper- 
 sion of all his former fellow-labourers, that only 
 Luke was then with him. He had been arraign- 
 ed once before the tribunal of the emperor, upon 
 which a general panic seems to have seized the 
 whole of the Christian community ; for although 
 he mentions some Romans of consequence, such 
 as Pudens, who was a senator, and Linus, and 
 Claudia, they all forsook him, and left him to 
 
 ' Church tradition has been very busy in assigning the lower 
 cell in the Mamerhne Prison, for the place of St. Paul's con- 
 finement, and a miraculous spring, and the column to which 
 both he and St. Peter were fastened, are exhibited. This pri- 
 son (an undoubted monument of great antiquity) still exists, 
 near the Arch of Septimius Severus, and the cell, consecrated 
 by tradition, was where the state criminals were thrown, and 
 those prisoners who had graced the Triumphs (see Burgess's 
 Topogra^ihy and Antiquities, Vol. I. p. 343.); but tliis was, of 
 all prisons in the world (see Juvenal Sat. iii. v. 314.), the most 
 renowned, and certainly required no diligence to find it out ! 
 
 10 
 
•300 HIS UNDAUNTED TESTIMONY. [lECT. 
 
 answer for himself. But, notwithstanding, says 
 the undaunted Paul, " The Lord stood with me, 
 and strengthened me, that by me the preaching 
 might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles 
 might hear," from which words we may infer, 
 that he had borne witness to the truth of the 
 Gospel before a large audience, not improbably 
 in the very imperial court. His narrow escape 
 from condemnation to death is expressed in these 
 words, '' I was delivered out of the mouth of the 
 lion." He is evidently, however, apprehensive 
 of not being long in this world, and he expresses 
 a strong desire to see Timothy, to be in some 
 measure comforted for the loss of the many com- 
 panions he enumerates. By alluding to his first 
 hearing, and expressing his apprehensions for 
 the future, it seems pretty clear that he had 
 been ordered to appear a second time at the 
 emperor's tribunal, and that with little hopes of 
 being spared. But what courage can compare 
 with that of the real Christian 1 Other men can 
 brave death and danger, and rush unthinkingly 
 into the battle, and walk carelessly on the brink 
 of eternity ; but, to contemplate with calmness 
 and resignation the prospect of death, and to see 
 death advancing slowly, as the messenger which 
 is to bear the soul before the tribunal of heaven 
 — to endure and to look stedfastly on this, I say, 
 you must be a Christian ; and happy is the man 
 
VI.] THE DYING CHRISTIAN. 301 
 
 who can say with our apostle, " I have fought 
 the good fight, I have finished my course, I have 
 kept the faith." Yes, verily, brethren, if there 
 be a time more interesting than another in the 
 life of a good man, if there be a more moral 
 lesson to be learned from his experience, or if the 
 inspiration of a brighter hope be to be derived 
 from his serenity of thought, it is when he is 
 about to put off this clay, and ascend to the re- 
 gions of eternity. First, he knows that nothing 
 can postpone the hour : "I am now ready to 
 be offered, and the time of my departure is at 
 hand :" here is no repining at the shortness of 
 life, nor any wistful eye cast back on all the man 
 is leaving ; here is no lamenting over the mouth 
 of the grave ; you hear not a murmur escape 
 the lips of the dying Christian. Secondly, there 
 is the complacency with which he regards his 
 past life ; not in the language of boasting, nor 
 in the pride of self-righteousness ; but, simply, 
 that the faith which, from the beginning, was 
 the gift of God, has been kept by him ; the 
 course which must necessarily be run is finished, 
 and all human things, like the shore in the dis- 
 tance, are fast receding from the sight. And, 
 thirdly, there is the blessed and cheering hope 
 of immortality : " henceforward there is laid up 
 for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, 
 the righteous judge, shall give me at that day, 
 
302 THE PALM OF MARTYRDOM. [lRCT. 
 
 and not to me only (for the Christian's feelings 
 are never selfish), but unto all them also that love 
 his appearing." These are the words of St. Paul; 
 and they are the words of a person evidently pre- 
 pared for and expecting death. There is every 
 reason to conclude, that it happened to Paul 
 according to his anticipation ; and that, on his 
 second appearance, he was condemned to die. As 
 a Roman citizen, he was beheaded. Tradition 
 says, he was taken three miles out of the city, 
 to a place called " Aquse Salvise," now named 
 the " Tre Fontane," and there put to death\ 
 Lucina, a Roman matron, burying him in her 
 field, by the side of the road to Ostia. Over 
 a sepulchral stone, bearing the inscription 
 " Paulo," Constantine is said to have reared 
 one of the first Christian churches, and I need 
 not describe to you the Basilica which is now 
 rising again from its ruins, in the solitude of a 
 district afilicted with the malarial However 
 
 ' As Baronius only cites the authority of the Roman Mar- 
 tyrology for the " Aquas Salviae" being the scene of St. Paul's 
 sufferings, I may despair of finding any other. — (See Annales 
 Ecclesiast. A. D. 69. Nero, 13.) The story of the " Three 
 Fountains" is, of course, not a matter of faith ! 
 
 ^ The great authority for the antiquity of the churches in 
 Rome is Anastasius Bibliothecarius, who wrote in the ninth 
 century ; but there is also a document in the Vatican Library 
 which mentions St. Paul's Church on the Via Ostiensis, as exist- 
 ing in the year 386, and affords further proof that it had existed 
 
VI.] CRUELTY or NERO, cNIC. 303 
 
 these things may be, the apostle must have 
 finished his course in the year 66 or the begin- 
 ning of 67, having been a preacher of the Gospel 
 for 32 years. He was probably involved in the 
 calamity that burst upon the Christians in Rome, 
 with which you are all doubtless acquainted ; 
 I mean the dreadful persecutions which took 
 place under Nero, upon pretext of the Christians 
 having set fire to the city. The evils which 
 Christ had foretold would happen to his faithful 
 followers, had now arrived : we have to contem- 
 plate the sheep of the flock in the midst of wolves. 
 This very city became the theatre in which in- 
 nocent blood was shed. It is not from the pen 
 of a Christian, but from that of a Heathen writer, 
 that we learn the end of those who were " the 
 beloved of God, and called to be saints." The 
 account which Tacitus has left us of this first 
 persecution of God's Church, although painful, 
 affords a testimony to the primitive faith which is 
 above all suspicion. " The persons suspected of 
 having burnt the city were," observes the histo- 
 
 for some time previous to that period. (See Itinerario di 
 Roma da A. Nibhy. Tom. II. p. 478. edit. 1830.) The more 
 modern but splendid Basilica was destroyed by fire in July 
 1823 ; and had it not been for the law of " praemunire," the 
 royal protector of St. Paul's at Rome (such was the king of 
 England in Papal times) might have contributed towards re- 
 storing it. 
 
304 CRUELTY OF NERO [leCT. 
 
 rian, " odious for their scandalous vices, and were 
 called, by the common people, Christians. This 
 name is derived from Christus their founder, who, 
 in the reign of Tiberius, had been put to death 
 as a criminal by the procurator Pontius Pilatus. 
 The baneful superstition, although checked for 
 the moment, broke out anew, and was not con- 
 fined to Judea, where the mischief originated, 
 but spread through Rome also, the place whither 
 every thing that is outrageous or disgraceful in 
 any part of the world is sure to come and be well 
 received. The first apprehended were those who 
 openly avowed themselves : and then, through 
 means of them, an immense number of others 
 were discovered. They were declared guilty, 
 not so much on the charge of setting fire to the 
 city, as for their hatred of mankind in general. 
 In being put to death they had also to endure 
 mockery : for instance, they were covered with 
 skins of wild beasts, in order to be torn to pieces 
 by dogs ; otherwise, they were fastened to crosses, 
 or wrapped up in combustibles, so that when 
 evening came on they might be burnt upon the 
 lamp-posts. Nero gave up his own gardens for 
 that exhibition, and he introduced the sports of 
 the circus, at which he appeared in the costume 
 of a charioteer, mixing with the populace, or else 
 exhibiting in the chariot race. Hence it hap- 
 pened," continues the historian, " that the suf- 
 
VI.] TOWARDS THE CHRISTIANS. 305 
 
 ferers, although guilty, and deserving the most 
 exemplary punishments, became objects of com- 
 miseration : for it was evident they were not 
 destroyed for the general good of society, but for 
 the sake of gratifying the cruelty of a single indi- 
 vidual. " It is not always that we have a proof 
 of the real character of the Christian, even by 
 the act of martyrdom ; but these are the per- 
 sons of whom Paul himself had said, but six 
 years previously, "that they had obeyed from 
 the heart that form of doctrine which was deli- 
 vered to them, and being then made free from sin, 
 had become servants of righteousness :" such 
 also were the persons of whom a writer, remark- 
 able in other respects for his candour and vera- 
 city, could say the things I have just read to you, 
 a melancholy example of the perversity of de- 
 graded human nature when ignorantly handling 
 the things of God ! Paul may probably have 
 wept over those dreadful scenes of carnage ; but 
 what would have been his feelings if he had seen 
 them repeated, by those professing Christianity, 
 against one another? Whether Heathen or Christ- 
 ian by name, however, it matters not; until all shall 
 know the truth as it is in Jesus, persecution will 
 never cease : and perhaps it is designed as a 
 means for stirring up the faithful people in God's 
 
 ' Tacit. Ann. lib. xv. chap. 14. 
 X 
 
306 EARLY CORRUPTIONS OF CHRISTIANITY. [lECT. 
 
 Church to bear a more signal testimony to the 
 cause of His truth. 
 
 During the first century, if we were to conti- 
 nue the history of the Church, we should find it 
 a still more melancholy task. The heresies of 
 the Gnostics, Ebionites, Cerinthians, and others, 
 soon sprung up \ Against whom St. John was 
 left to raise the last inspired voice' : in the next 
 persecution, which was begun against the Christ- 
 ians under Domitian, he was banished to the 
 island of Patmos, where he penned the book of 
 the Apocalypse [a. d. 96] : after his release, he 
 returned to Ephesus, and there died^ 
 
 My brethren, the task which 1 imposed upon 
 myself at the beginning of this holy season, is 
 now but imperfectly accomplished. I have, how- 
 ever, had the satisfaction to comprise, in these 
 few lectures, most of the events related in the 
 sacred narrative : and if even I could have car- 
 ried you beyond them, I doubt much whether it 
 would not have been rather for your information, 
 than your edification : for as soon as man be- 
 gins to intermeddle with the simplicity of the 
 
 ^ See Fleury Histoire Ecclesiast. liv. ii. chap. 42. with the 
 proper references to Epiphanms and Irenceus, and compare 
 Euseh. Hist. Ecclesiast. lib. iii. cap. 27 — 30. 
 
 * Consult Home's Introduction to the Scriptures, &c. Vol. IV. 
 p. 296—304. 
 
 ' Ibid. Vol. IV. p. 490. 
 
VI.] SCRIPTURE ALONE INFALLIBLE. 307 
 
 Christian faith, you woukl have found how 
 dreadfully it becomes disfigured : and if for 
 a moment ye were to dwell upon the cha- 
 racter of the primitive faith and worship, and 
 then carry forward your thoughts over a few 
 generations, you would scarcely know where to 
 look for that " faith which was once delivered 
 to the saints," or for the descendants of those 
 Romans, whose obedience and faith had per- 
 vaded the whole world. It is clear, then, we 
 must cleave to the doctrines of Christ and His 
 apostles, and never seek to know the truth of our 
 holy religion from any other source than that 
 of the Bible ; and though even a Paul should 
 plant, and an Apollos water, let it always be 
 remembered, that God alone can give the in- 
 crease. And if, my brethren, you have derived 
 any heartfelt interest and spiritual improvement 
 from the subjects to which I have hereby invited 
 your attention, recollect, I pray you, that they are 
 ever before you in the sacred volume, and that I 
 have scarcely ventured to draw out from any 
 other source. All other subjects wax old, and 
 become wearisome by repetition ; but the truths 
 of the Gospel, and their effects upon the human 
 heart, never fail to excite interest. Do ye, there- 
 fore, meditate upon the labours of the great 
 apostle, and take his doctrines as your infallible 
 guide, for he spake by the Spirit of God. Let 
 
308 CONCLUSION. [leCT. VI. 
 
 all your inquiries in history, and all your studies, 
 be brought to bear upon these things. Never 
 omit in your daily exercises to search that pre- 
 cious Word, which doth so effectually light up 
 the path to eternity. See how the influence of 
 the Spirit operated on the hearts and under- 
 standings of the first believers, " convincing them 
 of sin," conducting them to Christ the only sa- 
 crifice for sin, and sanctifying and purifying their 
 souls ; and pray ye fervently that the same Spirit 
 may direct and guide your hearts into the patient 
 waiting for the Lord, and finally consider what 
 the end of the Christian course is, when the good 
 fight has been fought : and let the crown of im- 
 mortality be ever kept in view, "that when 
 Christ who is your life shall appear, ye also may 
 appear with him in glory." 
 
 THE END. 
 
 •- - 'X"0->f •D'O'N-r ■ -^ — 
 
 GILBERT AND RIVINGTON, PRINTERS, 
 
 ST. John's square. 
 
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