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HOR^ PAULINtE; 
 
 GR 
 
 THE TRUTH 
 
 OF TUE 
 
 SCRIPTURE HISTORY OF ST. PAUL, 
 
 EVINCED BY A COMPARISON 
 
 or THE 
 
 EPISTLES WHICH BEAR HIS NAME 
 
 WITH 
 
 THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 
 AND WITH ONE ANOTHER. 
 
 TALEy7d. d. 
 
 BY WILLIAM 
 
 ARCHDEACON OF CARLISLE. 
 
 rjRSr AMERICAN PROM rME POVRtH LOKDON ELiriOV, 
 
 CAMBJilDVSy 
 
 l-RlNTfD AND SOLD BY WILLIAM HlLLIARi) ; SOLJD ALSO BT TfiS 
 
 BOOKSELLERS IN BOSTON, AND BY THOMAS AND 
 
 WHIPPLE, NEWEURYPORX. 
 
 1806. 
 
THE 
 
 TRUTH 
 
 SCRIPTURE HISTORY OF ST. PAUILt 
 EVINCED. 
 
 CHAP. I. 
 EXPOStTlON OF THE ARGUMJENT. 
 
 X HE volume of Christian Scriptures contains thir- 
 teen letters purporting to be written by St. Paul ; it contains 
 also a book, which, amongst other things, professes to deliv- 
 er the history, or rather memoirs of the history of this, ^ame 
 person. By assuming the genuineness of the letters, we may 
 prove the substantial truth of the history ; or, by assuming 
 the truth of the history, we may argue strongly in support 
 of the genuineness of the letters. But I assume neither one 
 nor the other. The reader is at liberty to suppose these 
 writings to have been lately discovered in the library of 
 Escurial, and to come to our hands destitute of any extrin- 
 sic or collateral evidence whatever; and the argument I 
 I am about to offer is calculated to show tliat a com- 
 parison of the different writings would, even under these 
 circumstances, afford good reason to believe the persons 
 and transactions to have been real, the letters authentic, 
 and the narration in the main to be true. 
 
 Agreement or conformity between letters bearing the 
 nameof aniwicient author, and a received history of tliat 
 
4 EXPaSITION OF THE ARGUMENT. 
 
 au:;hor*s life, does not necessarily establish the credit of 
 either ; because, 
 
 1. The history may, like Middleton's Life of Cicero, 
 or Jortiii's Life of Erasmus^ have been wholly, or in part 
 compiled from the letters ; in which case it is manifest that 
 the history adds nothing to the evidence already afforded 
 by the letters j or, 
 
 2. The letters may have been fabricated out of tlie 
 history ; a. species of imposture which is certainly practi- 
 cable ; and which, without any accession of proof or autho- 
 rity, would necessarily produce the appearance of consis- 
 tency and agreement ; ©r, 
 
 3. The history and letters may have been founded' 
 upon some authority common to botli j as upon reports 
 and traditions which prevailed in tlie age in which they 
 were composed, or upon some ancient record now lost, 
 which both writers consulted ; in which case also, the let- 
 ters without being genuine, may exhibit marks of conform- 
 ity with the history j and tlie history, without being true,. 
 may agree with the letters. 
 
 Agreement therefore, or conformity, is only to be re- 
 lied upon so far as we can exclude tliese several supposi- 
 tions. Now the point to be noticed is, that, in the three cases 
 above enumerated, conformity must be the effect o£ design, 
 AVliere tlie history is compiled from the letters, which is 
 the first case, the design and composition of the work are in 
 general so confessed, or made so evident by comparison, 
 as to leave us in no danger of confounding the production 
 Tvith original history, or of mistaking it for and independ- 
 ent authority. The agreement, it is probable, will 
 be close and uniform, and will easily be perceived 
 to result from tlie intention of the author, and from 
 the plan and conduct of his work. Where the let- 
 ters are fabricated from the history, which is the second 
 case, it is always for the purose of Imposing a forgery up^ 
 on the public ; and in order to give color and probabili- 
 ty ta the fraud, lumes^ places, and circumstances, found ia 
 
ITPOSITION OF THE ARGtJMENT* 5 
 
 the hiswrfy, tnay be studiously introduced into the letters, 
 as well as a general consistency be endeavoured to be main-* 
 tained. But here it is manifest, that whatever congruity 
 appears, is the consequence of meditation, artifice, and 
 design. The third case is tliat wherein the history and 
 the letters, without any direct privity or communication 
 With each other, derive their materials from the same 
 source ; and, by reason of their common original, furnish 
 instances of Accordance arid correspondency. This is^ a 
 situation in which we must allow it to be possible for anJi 
 cient writings to be placed ; and it is a situation in whiOT. 
 It is more difficult to distinguish spurious from genuine 
 Writings, than in either of the cases described in the pre- 
 ceeding suppositions ; inasmuch as the congruities observ- 
 able are so far accidental, as that they are not produced 
 by the immediate transplanting of names and circum- 
 stances out of one writing into the other. But although, 
 with respect to each other, the agreement in these wri- 
 tings be mediate and secondary, yet it is not properly or 
 absolutely undesigned ; because, with respect to the com- 
 mon original from which the information of the writers 
 proceeds, it is studied and factitious. The case of which 
 we treat must, as to the letters, be a case of forgery ; and 
 Vhen the ivriter, wliois personating another, sits do\vn to 
 his composition, whether he have the history with which 
 *we now compare the letters, or some other record, before 
 him ; or whether he have only loose tradition and reports 
 to go by, he must adapt his imposture, as well as he can, 
 to what he :fi:nds in tliese accounts ; and his adaptations 
 IxriU be the result of counsel, scheme, and industry 5 art 
 must be employed ; and vestiges will appear of manage- 
 mefnt and design. Add to thisi that, in most of the fol- 
 lowing examples, die crrcumstances in which the coinci- 
 dence is remarked are of too particular and domestic a 
 nature to have floated down upon the stream of general 
 tradition. 
 
 Of the three cases which wc have stated, ^ difference 
 
O EXPeSlTIOM OF THE ARGUMENT. 
 
 between tlie first and the two others is, that in the Srst 
 the design may be fair and honest, in the others it must 
 he accompanied with the consciousness of fraud ; but in 
 all tliere is design. Tn examining, therefore, the agree- 
 ment between ancient wiitings, the character of truth and 
 originality is undesignedness ; and this test applies to ev- 
 ery supposition ; for, whether we suppose the history to 
 be true, but the letters spurious j or die letters to be gen- 
 uine ; but tlie history false ; or, lastly, falsehood to belong 
 to both ; the history to be a fable, and the letters ficti- 
 tious ; the same inference will result, tliat either there will 
 be no agreement between them, or ihe agreement will bs 
 the effect of design. Nor will it elude the principle of 
 this rule, to suppose the same person to have been the 
 author of all the letters,, or even the author both of the 
 letters and the history ; for no less design is necessary to 
 produce coincidents between different parts of a man's 
 own writings, especially when they are made to take the dif- 
 ferent forms of a history and of original letters, than to ad- 
 just them to the circumstances found in any other writing.. 
 With respect to those writings of the New Testa- 
 ment which are to be the subject of our present consid- 
 eration, I think that, as to the authenticity of the epis- 
 iles,. this argument, where it is sufficiently sustained by 
 instances, is nearly conclusive ;. for I cannot assign a sup- 
 position of forgery, in which coincidencies of tlie kind 
 we enquire after are likely to appear. As to the history, 
 it extends to these points ; it proves the general reality 
 of the circumstances ; it proves the historian's knowledge 
 of these circumstances. In the present instance it con- 
 firms his pretensions of having been a contemporary, and 
 in the latter part of his history a companion of St. Paul. 
 In a word, it establishes the substantial truth of the 
 jaarration ; and substantial truth is that which, in eve- 
 ry historical enquiry, ought to be the first thing 
 sought after and ascertained ) it must be the groundwork 
 oi ev^ry other observation. 
 
ExyosmoN or the argument. *f 
 
 The reader then will please to remember thl^ word 
 vndesignednesSi as denoting that upon which the construc- 
 tion and validity of our argument chiefly depend. 
 
 As to the proofs of undesignedness, I shall in this 
 place say little ; for I had rather the reader's persuainoli 
 should arise from the instances themselves, and the sepa- 
 rate remarks with which they may be accompanied, than 
 from any previous formulary or description of argument. 
 In a great plurality of examples, I trust he will be 
 perfectly convinced that no design or contrivance what- 
 ever has been exercised j and if some of the coincidences 
 alledged appear to be minute, circuitous, or oblique, let 
 him reflect that this very indirectness and subtility is that 
 which gives force and propriety to tlie example. Broad, 
 obvious, and explicit agreements prove little ; because it 
 may be suggested, that ^the insertion of such is the or- 
 dinary ex|^ient of every forgery j and though they 
 may occur, and probably will occur, in genuine writings, 
 yet it cannot be proved that they are peculiar to these* 
 Thus what St. Paul declares in chap. xi. of i Cor. concern- 
 ing the institution of the eucharist, " For I have received 
 •< of the Lord that which I also delivered unto you, 
 ** that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was 
 " betrayed, took bread ; and when he had given thanks, 
 «< he brake it, and said. Take, eat ; this is my body, which 
 "is broken for you; this do in remembrance of me,*' 
 though it be in close and verbal conformity with the ac- 
 count of the same transaction preserved by St. Luke, is yet 
 a conformity of which no use can be made in our argu- 
 ment ; for if it should be objected that this was a mere 
 recital from the Gospel, borrowed by the author of the e- 
 pistle, for tlie purpose of setting oiF his composition by an 
 appearance of agreement with the received account of the 
 Lord's supper, I should not know how to repel the insin. 
 nation. In like manner, the description which St. Paul 
 
 gives of himself in his epistle to the Phiiippians (iii. 5.) 
 
 •* Circumcised the eighth day, of the stock of Israel, of the 
 
«» tribe of Benjamin, ran Hebietv of the Hebrews ; as 
 "touching the :law,a. Pharisee ; coneerning zeal perse- 
 «' cuting the church i touching the righteousness, which 
 <* is in the law, blameless" — is made up of particulars so 
 plainly delivered coficerning him, in the Acts of the Apos- 
 tles, the Epistle to. the Romans, and the Epistle to the Ga- 
 la tians, that. I cannot deny but that it would be easy for 
 an impostor, who was fabricating a letter in the name of 
 St. Paul, to collect these articles into one view. This 
 therefore is a conformity, \yhich we do not adduce. But 
 .when I read, in the Acts of the Apostles, that " when 
 *VPaul came to Derbe and Lystra, behold a certain disci- 
 <* pie was there, named Timotheus, the son of a certain 
 *' woman which was a Jewess ;" and when in an epistle 
 addressed to Timothy, I find him reminded of his *' hav- 
 " ing known the Holy Scriptures /row a child" which in> 
 plies that he must, on one side or both, have been brought 
 up by Jewish parents ; I conceive that I remark a coinci- 
 dence which shows, by its very obliquity, that scheme was 
 not employed in its formation. In like manner, if a coin- 
 cidence depend upon a <;omparison of dates, or rather of 
 circumstances f I om which the dates are gathered, the more 
 intricate that comparison shall be ; the more numerous 
 the intermediate steps tlirough which the conclusion is de- 
 duced ; in a word, the more circuitous the investigation is, 
 the better, .because the agreement which j&nally results is 
 thereby further removed from the suspicion of oontrivande, 
 sflPectation, or design. And it should be remembered, con- 
 cerning these coincidences, that it is one thing to be 
 minute, iuid another to be precarious ; one thing to be un- 
 observed, and another to be obscure j one thing to txe cirw 
 CUitous or oblique, and another to be forced, dubious, or 
 fanciful. And this distinction ought always to be retain- 
 ed in our thoughts. 
 
 The very particularity of St. Paul's epistles 5 the pei^- 
 petual recurrence of names of persons and places ; the 
 frequent allusioas to the incidents of his jprivate lif«, anti 
 
fiXPOSITlON OP THE ARGUMENT. 9 
 
 tlie Circumstances of his condition and history ; and the 
 connection and parallelism of these with the same cir- 
 cumstances in the Acts of the Apostles, so as to enable us, 
 for die most part, to confront them one with another ; as 
 well as the relation which subsists between the circum- 
 stances, as mentioned or referred to in the different epis- 
 tles J afford no inconsiderable proof of the genuineness of 
 the writings, and the reality of the transactions. For as 
 nO advertency is sufficient to guard against slips and con- 
 tradictions, when circumstances are multiplied, and when 
 tliey are liable to be detected by cotemporary accounts e- 
 qually circumstantial^ an impostor, I should expect, 
 would either have avoided particulars entirely, contenting 
 himself with doctrinal discussions, moral precepts, and 
 general reflexions* ; or if, for the sake of imitating St. 
 Paul's style, he should have thought k necessary to inter- 
 sperse his composition with names and circumstances, he 
 would have placed them' out of the reach of comparison 
 with, the history. And I am confirmed in this^ opinion 
 by an inspection of two attempts to counterfeit St. Paulas 
 epistles, which have come down to us ; and the only at- 
 tempts, of which wc have any knowledge that are at all de- 
 serving of regard. One of these is an epistle to-the Laodi- 
 ceans, extant in Latin, and preserved by Fabricius in his 
 collection of apocryphal scriptures. The ottier purports 
 
 * This however must not be misunderstood. A person writing 
 to his friends, and upon a subject in which the transactions of his own 
 life were concerned, would probably be led in the course of his letter, 
 specially if it was a long one, to refer to passages found in his histo- 
 ry. A person addressing an epistle to the public at large, or und€r 
 the form of an epistle delivering a discourse upon some speculative 
 argument, would not, it i& probable, meet with an occasion of allud- 
 ing to the circumstances of his life at all ; he might, or he might not ; 
 the chance on either side Is nearly equal. This is the situation of the 
 catholic epistle. Although therefore the presence of these allusions 
 and agreements be a valuable accession to the arguments by which 
 the authenticity of a letter is maintained, yet the want of thera cer* 
 Ulnly forms no positise objection^ 
 
rO EXPOSITION OF THE -ARGUMENT . 
 
 to be an epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, m answer 
 to an epistle from tlie Corinthians to him. This was 
 translated by Scroderus from a copy in the Armenian 
 language which had been sent to W. Whiston, and was 
 .afterwards, from a more perfect copy procured at Aleppo, 
 .published by his sons, as an appendix to their edition of 
 Moses Chorenensis. No Greek copy exists of either ; they 
 are not only not supported-by ancient testimony, but they 
 are negatived and excluded ; as they have never found 
 admission into any catalouge of apostolical writings, ac- 
 knowledged by, or known to, the early ages of Christiani- 
 ty. In die first of these I found, as I expected, a total 
 evitatlon of circumstances. It is simply a collection ©f 
 sentences from the canonical epistles, strung together witli 
 very little skill. The second, which is a more versute and 
 specious forgery, is introduced with a list of names of 
 persons who wrote to St. Paul from Corintli ; and is pre- 
 ceded by an account sufficiently particular of tlie manner 
 in which the epistle was sent from Corinth to St. Paul,.an'd 
 the answer returned. But they are names which no one 
 ever heard of ; and the account it is impossible to com- 
 bine with any thing found in the Acts, or in the other e- 
 pistles. It is not necessary for me t® point out the inter- 
 nal mark of spuriousness and imposture which these com- 
 positions betray j but it was necessary to observe, that 
 they do not afford those coincidences which we propose as 
 ■proofs of authenticity in the epistles which we defend. 
 
 Having explained the general scheme and formation of 
 the argument, I may be permitted to subjoin a brief ac- 
 count of the manner of conducting it. 
 
 Si have disposed the several instances of agreement un- 
 der separate numbers ; as well to mark more sensibly 
 the divisions of the subject, as for another purpose, viz. 
 that the reader may thereby be reminded that the instan- 
 ces are independent of one anotlier. I have advanced 
 nothing which I did not think probable ; but the degree 
 of probability, by which different instaaces are supported, 
 
EXPOSITION of THE ARGUMENT. II 
 
 is undoubtedly very different. If the reader, therefore, 
 meets with a number which contains an instance tliat ap- 
 pears to him unsatisfactory, or founded in mistake, he 
 will dismiss tliat number from the argument, but with- 
 out prejudice t© any other. He will have occasion also 
 to observe, that the coincidences discoverable in some e- 
 pistles are much fewer and weaka: than what are sup- 
 plied by others. But he will add to his observation this 
 important circumstance, that whatev^ascertains the ori- 
 guialof one epistle, in some measu^istablishes the au- 
 thority of the re^t. For, whether these epistles be genu- 
 ine or spurious, every thing about tliem indicates that 
 they come from the same hand. The diction, which it is 
 extremely difficult to imitate, preserves its resemblance 
 and peculiarity throughout all the epistles. Numerous 
 expressions and singularities of style, found in no other 
 part of the New Testament, are repeated in different e- 
 pistles'; and occur, in their respective places, without the 
 smallest appearance of force or art. An involved argu- 
 mentation, frequent obscurities, especially In the order 
 and transition of thought, piety, vehemence, affection, 
 bursts of rapture, and of unparallelled sublimity, are 
 properties, all or most of them, discernible in every letter 
 of the collection. But although these epistles bear strong 
 marks of proceeding from the same hand, I think It is 
 still more certain that they were originally separate pub- 
 lications. They form no continued story ; they compose 
 no regular correspondence ; they comprise not the trans- 
 actions of any particular period ; they carry on no con- 
 nection of argument ; they depend not upon one another 5 
 except in one or two Instances, they refer not to one anoth- 
 er. I will further undertake to say, that no study or 
 care has been employed to produce or preserve an appear- 
 ance of consistency amongst them. All which observa- 
 tions show that they were not intended by the person, 
 whoever he was, that wrote them, to come forth or be 
 
11 "EXPOSITION OF THE ARGUMENT. 
 
 read together ; that they appeared at first separately, and 
 have been collected since. 
 
 The proper purpose of the following work is, to bring 
 together, from the Acts of the Apostles, and from the dif- 
 ferent epistles, such passages as furnish examples of unde- 
 signed coincidence ; but I have so far enlarged upon this 
 plan, as to take into it some circumstances found in the 
 epistles, vvhic^^ contrlbmecr strength to the conclusion, 
 tliough not strictl y jibj ects of compaiison. 
 
 It appeared alsd^ij^art of the same plan, to examine 
 the difficulties which presented themselves in the course 
 of our enquiry. 
 
 I do not know that the subject has been proposed or 
 considered in this view before. Ludovicus Capellus, Bish- 
 op Pearson, Dr. Benson, and Dr. Lardner, have each 
 given a continued history of St. Paul's life, made up 
 from the Acts of the Apostles and the epistles joined to- 
 gether. But this, it is manifest, is a different undertak- 
 ing, from the present, and directed to a different purpose. 
 
 If what here is offered shall add one thread to tliat 
 complication of probabilities by which the Christian his- 
 tory is attested, the reader^s attention will be repaid by 
 the supreme importance of the subject j and my desigu 
 will be fully answered. 
 
CHAP. II. 
 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMAKS, 
 
 No. L 
 
 X HE first passage I ^(bfj^ produce from tl]|, epistle, 
 ^d upon which a good deal of obseria|ior!Vill be found- 
 ded, is the following : ^fRp 
 
 <' But now I go unto Jerusalem, to minister unto the 
 , *< saints i for it hath pleased them of Macedonia aij^ A" 
 ** chala to make a certain contribution for the poot^|aint5 % 
 «< which are at Jerusalem." Rom. xv. 25, 6. \ 
 
 lOrthis quotation three distinct circumstances are stat- * 
 cd ; a contribution in Macedonia for the relief of the 
 Christians of Jerusalem, a contribution in Achala for the 
 same purpose, and an intended journey of St. Paul to Je- 
 rusalem. These circumstances are stated as taking place 
 at the same time, and that to be the time when the epis- 
 tle was written. Now let us enquire whether we can find 
 these circumstances elsewhere; and whether, If we diO 
 luid tliem, they meet together in respect of date. Turn 
 to tlie Acts of the Apostles, chap. xx. ver. 2, 3, and you. 
 read the following account ; " When he had gone over 
 « those parts (yiz. Macedonia,) and had given diem much 
 ** exhortation, he came into Gr-eece, and there abode three 
 ** months } and when the Jews laid wait for him, as lie 
 ^ was about to sail into Syria^ he purposed to return 
 through Macedonia." From this passage, compared 
 with the account of St. PauPs travels given before, and, 
 from the sequel of the chapter It appears, that upon St. 
 Paul's second visit to the peninsula of Greece., his inten- 
 tion was, when he should leave the country, to proceed 
 from Achaia directly by sea to Syria ; but that, to avoid 
 the Jews, who were lying in wait to intercept him in his 
 route, he so far changed his purpose as to go back 
 
^4 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMAICS, 
 
 through Macedonia, embark at Phillippi, and pursue his 
 I'oyage from thence towards Jerusalem. Here therefore 
 is a journey to Jerusalem ; but not a syllable of any con- 
 tribution. And as St. Paul had taken several journeys to 
 Jerusalem before, and one also immediately after his frst 
 visit into the peninsula of Greece (Acts xviii. 21.), it 
 cannot from hence be collected in which of these visits 
 the epistle was written, or "^ with certainty, that it was 
 written in either. The silence of the historian, who pro- 
 fesses to have been with St. Paul at the time (c. xx, v. 6.), 
 concerning any contribution, might lead us to look out 
 for some different journey, or might induce us perhaps to 
 question the consistency of the two records, did not a 
 very accidental reference, in another part of the same 
 history, afford us sufficient ground to believe that thfe si- 
 lence was omission. When St. Paul made his reply be- 
 fore Felix, to the accusations of Tertullus, he alledged, 
 as was natural, that neitlier the errand which brought 
 him to Jerusalem, nor his conduct whilst he remained 
 tliere, merited th^ calumnies with which the Jews had as- 
 persed him. " Now after many years (i. e. of absence) 
 <* / came to Iring alms to my nation and offerings ; whereupon 
 " certain Jews from Asia found me purified in the temple, 
 ^ neither with multitude nor with tumult, who ought 
 *^' to have been here before thee, and object, if they had 
 *' ought against me.** Acts xxiv. i7-r-i9. This men- 
 tion of alms and offerings certainly brings the narrative 
 ia the Acts nearer to an accordancy witli the epistle ; yet 
 CO one, I am persuaded, will suspect that this clause was 
 put into St. Paul's defence, either to supply \i[i^ omission 
 m the preceding narrative, or with any view to such ac- 
 cordancy. 
 
 After all, nothing is yet said or hinted concemig the 
 ^lacc of the contribution ; nothing concerning Macedonia 
 *nd Achaia. Turn therefore to the First Epistle to the 
 Corinthians, chap. xvi. 1—4, and you have St. Paul deliv- 
 cring the following directions j « Concerning the collection 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS IJ 
 
 •* for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches 
 «• of Galatia, even so do ye ; upon the first day of the week 
 <* let every one of you lay by him in store as God hath pros- 
 ** pered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. And 
 •« when I come, whomsoever you shall approve by your let- 
 *« ters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jeru* 
 ** salem ; and if it be meet that I go also, they shall go 
 «* with me." In this passage we find a contribution car- 
 rying on at Coiinth, the capital of Achaia, for the Chris- 
 tians of Jerusalem ; we find also a hint given of the pos- 
 sibility of St. Paul going Up to Jerusalem himself, after 
 he had paid liis visit into Achaia ; but this is spoken of* 
 rather as a possibility than as any settled intention ; for 
 his first thought was, ** Whomsoever you shall approve 
 " b}r *your letters, them will I send to bring youi liberality 
 •< to Jerusalem j" and, in the sixth verse he adds, " That 
 •* ye may bring me on my journey luhlther soever I go.*' 
 This epistle purports to be written after St. Paul had 
 been at Corinth j for it refers throughout to what he had 
 done and said amongst them whilst he was there. The 
 expression therefore, ♦* When I come^" must relate to a 
 second visit ; against which visit the contribution spoken 
 of was desired to be in readinessv 
 
 But though the contribution in Achaia be expressly 
 jnentioned, nothing is here said concerning any contribu- 
 tion in Macedonia. Turn therefore,, in the third place to 
 the Second Epistle to the Corinthians, chap, viii.ver. i — 4, 
 and you will discover the particular which remains to be 
 sought for* " Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of 
 « the grace of God bestowed on the Churches of Macedo* 
 <* ma ; how that, in a great trial of affliction, the abun- 
 *< dance of their joy a^d their deep poverty abounded un- 
 «* to the riches of their liberality j for to their power, I 
 •* bear record, yea and beyond their power, they were wil- 
 ** ling of themselves ; praying us, with much entreaty, 
 ** that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the feU 
 <* lowsliip of the ministering to the saints.** To which 
 
X6 THE TFlSTtE TO TB^E ROMANS* 
 
 add chap. tx. vei. 2. " I Icnow the forwardness ofyxiut 
 ** miiidj-for which I boast of you to tliem of Macedonia, 
 >» tiuit Achaia was ready a year ago." In this epistle wx 
 find St. Paiil advanced as far as Macedonia,upon that j^» 
 £ond visit to Coiinth, which he promised in his formeT 
 epistle ; we find also, in the passages now quoted from it, 
 that a contribution was going on in Macedonia at the 
 same time with, or soon however following, the contribu- 
 tion which was made in Achaia ; but for whom tlic contri* 
 bution was made does not appear in this epistle at all j that 
 informatien must be supplied from the first epistle. 
 " Here therefore, at length, but fetched from three differ- 
 ent writings, we have obtained th« several circumstances 
 we enquired after, and which the Epistle to the Roman<{ 
 brings together, viz. a contribution in Achaia for the chris- 
 tians of 'Jerusalem ; a Gontribution in Macedonia for 
 the same ; and an approaching journey of St. Paul to 
 Jerusalem. We have these circumstances, each by some 
 hint in the passage in which it is mentioned, or by the date 
 of the writiug in which the passage occurs, fixed to a par- 
 ticular time ; and we have that time turning out, upon ex- 
 amination, t6 be in all the sarite ; namely, toward tlie close 
 of St. Paul's second visit to the penin-sula of Greece* 
 This is an instance of conformity beyond the possibility, I 
 will venture to say, of random writing to produce. I al- 
 so assert, that it is in the highest degree improbable that 
 it should have been the effect of contrivance and design. 
 The imputation of design ambtmts to this, that the forger 
 of the Epistle to the Romans inserted in it the passage upon 
 which our observations are founded, for the purpose of 
 giving color to his forgery by the appearance of conformi- 
 ty with other writings which were then extant. 1 reply, 
 in the first place, that, if he did this to coun tenance his 
 forgery, he did it for the purpose of an argument which 
 would not strike one reader in ten thousand. Coincidences 
 so circuitous as this ansWer not the ends of forgery ; are 
 seldom, I believe, attempted by it. In the second place 1 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS* fj 
 
 observe, that he must have had the Acts of the Apostles, 
 and the two Epistles to the Corinthians, before him at the 
 time. In the Acts of the Apostles, (I mean that part of 
 the Acts which relates to this period) he would have found 
 the journey to Jerusalem ; but nothing about the contrj* 
 bution. In the First Epistle to the Corinthians he would 
 have found a contribution going on in Achaia for the 
 Christians of Jerusalem, and a distant hint of the possibili- 
 ty of the journey ; but nothing concerning a contribution 
 in Macedonia. In the Second Epistle to the Corinthians 
 he would have found a contribution in Macedonia accom- 
 panying that in Achaia ; but no intimation for whom ei- 
 ther was intended, and not a word about tlie journey. It 
 was only by a close and attentive collation of the three 
 writings, that he could have picked out the circumstances 
 which he has united in his epistle ; and by a still more 
 liice examination, that he could have determined them to 
 belong to the same period* In the third place I remark, 
 what diminishes very much the suspicion of fraud, how 
 aptly and connectedly the mention ^of the circumstances 
 in question, viz. the journey to Jerusalem, and of the oc- 
 casion of that journey, arises from tlie context. " When- 
 •* jsoever I take my journey into Spain, I will come ta 
 " you;, for I trust to see you in my journey, and to be brought 
 " on my way thitherward by you, if first I be somewhat 
 •* filled with your company. But now I go unta yerusakntf 
 ** to minister unto the saints ; for it hath pleased them of Mace-- 
 *• donia and Achaia ta make a certain contribution for the poor 
 •* saints luhich are at Jerusalem, It hath pleased them veri- 
 ♦* ly, and their debtors they are j for if the Gentiles have 
 *' been made partakers: of their spiritual things, their duty 
 *' is also to minister unto them in carnal things. When 
 ** tlierefore I have preformed this, and have sealed them 
 •* to this fruic, I will come by you into Spain.^' Is the 
 passage in Italics lik^ a passage foisted in for an extraneous 
 purpose ? Does it not arise from what goes before, by a 
 junction as easy as any example of writing upon real busi* 
 
 U 2 
 
i^ TWE fel»l5TLt'T'0 THE ROMANS. 
 
 ness can furnish ? Could any thing be mote natural than 
 that St. Paul, in A^'Titing to the Rortians, should speak 
 of the time \di en he hoped to visit them ; should men- 
 tion the business which then detained him ; and that he 
 J>urposed to set foi'v.'ard upon his jourtiey tO them, t^'hen 
 that business was completed i 
 
 No. IL 
 
 By means of the quotation which- formed the subject of 
 the preceding number, ive collect, that the Epistle to the 
 iiomans was written at the conclusion of St. Paul's second 
 visit to tlie peninsula of Greece ; but this we collect, not 
 from the epistle itself, nor from any thiwg declared concern- 
 ing tTie time and place in any part of the epistle, but from 
 a comparison of circumstances referred to in the epistle, 
 ^th the order of events recorded in the Acts, and with 
 references to the same circumstances, though for quite dif- 
 ferent purposes, in the two Epistles to the Corinthians. 
 Now would the author of a forgery, who sought to gain 
 Credit to a spurious letter by congruities, depending upon 
 the time and place in which the letter was supposed to be 
 written, have left that time and place to be made out, in 
 a manner sO obscure and indirect as tliJs is ? If therefore 
 eOmcidences ©f circumstances can be pointed out in this 
 epistle, depending upon its date, or the place where it was 
 Written, whilst that date and place dre only ascertained by 
 other circumstances, such coincidences may fairly be stat- 
 ed as undesigned. Under this head I adduce 
 
 Chap. xvi. 21 — 23. " Timotheus, my workfellow, and 
 •» Lucius, and JasOn, anc? Sosipater, my kinsman, salute 
 ^ you. I, Tertius, who wrote this epistle, salnte you id 
 « the Loid. Gaius, mine host, and of the whole church, 
 «« saluteth you ; and Quartus, a brother." With this pas- 
 sage I compare Acts xx. 4. " And thei-e accompanied 
 •* him into Asia, Sopater of Berea ; and, of the Thessa- 
 «* lonians, Aristarchus and Secundus; and Gaius of Der- 
 *^ be, and TimotJbeus j and, of A^i% Tycbius, and Tro* 
 
« ^imus." The Ilphftk to the Romans; .WiellSiVe seen, 
 was written just before St. Paul's departure from Greece, 
 after hts second tistt to that pertinsala ; the persoiis men- 
 tioned in the quotation from thft Atts^ ske those wiio a«- 
 Companied him in that very departure. Of seven whose 
 flames are joined in the salutation of th6 charc^h of Rome>, 
 three, viz, Sosipater, Gaius, and Timothy, are proved^ 
 by this passage iii tile Acts, to have been with St. Paul 
 Stt the time. And this is perhaps as ititich coincidence a^ 
 could be expected from reality, thoi^gh less, I am apt to 
 ^ink, than would have been produced by design. Four 
 afe mentioned m the A<its who are not joined^n the salu- 
 tation ; and it is in the nature of the case probable that 
 there ^lould be many attending St. Paul in Greece who 
 knew nothing of the- converts at Rome, nor were fcnowti 
 by them. In like manner several are joined in the salutiai 
 tion who are not mentioned in the passage referred to in 
 the Acts. This also was to be expected. The occasion 
 ©f mentioning them in the Acts was their proceeding with 
 St. Paul upon his journey. But we ttiay be sure th^t 
 there were many eminent Christians with St. Paul in 
 Greece, besides those who accompanied him into Asia.^ 
 
 * Of these Jason is one, whose presence upon this occasion is very 
 Raturally accounted foi". Jason was an inhabita:nt of Thessalonica in 
 Macedonia, and entertained St. Paul in his house upon his first visit to 
 that country. Acts xvii. 7. St. Paul, upon> this his second visits pas- 
 sed through Macedonia on his way to Greece, and, from the situation 
 of Thessalonica, most likely through that city. It appears, from va- 
 rious instances in the Acts, to have been the practice of many converts 
 to attend St. Paul from place to place. It is therefore highly proba- 
 fjle, I mean that it is highly consistent with theadcount in the histofyt, 
 that Jason, according ta that account a zealous disciple, the inhabi- 
 tant of a city at no great distance from Greece, and through whict><,'*S 
 it should seem, St. Paul had lately passed, should have accompanied S^. 
 i*aul into Greece, and have been with him there at this time. Lu- 
 cius is another name in the epistle. A very slight alteration would 
 convert Aoy^ta? into Ao'jxcci;. Lucius into Luke, which would pro« 
 duce an additional coincidence j for, if Luke was the the author of tlie 
 
2# THE EPIS^TLE TO THE ROMANS. 
 
 But if any one shall still contend that a forger of the. 
 epistle, with the Acts of the Apostles before him, and hav- 
 ing settled his scheme of writing a letter as from St* 
 Paul upon his second visit into Greece, would easily 
 think of the expedient of putting in the names of those 
 persons who appeared to be with St. Paul at the time, as 
 an obvious recommendation of the imposture ; I then 
 repeat my observations ; first, that he would have made 
 the catalogue more complete ; and secondly, that with this 
 contrivance in his thoughts, it was certainly his busi- 
 ness, in order to avail himself of tlie artifice, to have 
 stated in the body of the epistle that St. Paul was in Greece 
 when he wrote it, and that he was there upon his second 
 visit. Neither of v/hich he has done, either directly, or e- ' 
 ven so as to be discoverable by any circumstance found in 
 the narrative delivered in the Acts* 
 
 Under the same head, viz. of coincidences depending 
 Upon date, I cite frcm the epistle the following salutation j 
 '* Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my helpers in Christ Jesus, 
 " who have for my life laid down their own necks ;. unto 
 ** wiiom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches 
 « of the Gentiles." Chap. xvi. 3. It appears from the 
 Acts of the Apostles, that Priscilla and Aquila had origi- 
 nally been inhabitants of Rome ; for we read'. Acts xviii» 
 2, that " Paul found a certain Jew, named Aquila, late- 
 •« ly come from Italy with his vnie Priscilla, because that 
 <* Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from RomeJ" 
 They were connected therefore with the place to which 
 the salutations are sent. That is one coincidence \. anoth- 
 is the following \ St. Paul became at;qiiainted with these 
 persons at Corinth during his first visit into Greece. 
 They accompanied him upon his return into Asia ; were - 
 settled ibr some time at Ephesus, Acts xviii. ^9 — 26, 
 
 liistory, he was -with St. Paiil at thi.s time ; inasmxich as- describ- 
 m^ the voyuge which took place soon after the writing of this e- 
 |x?tle, the historian uses the first person — " \Ve saikd away from Phijl- 
 ippi. Aas XX. 6» 
 
TH£ £?ISTLfi TO Trtfe JtOMANS. tt 
 
 and appear to have been with St. Fia\ when he wrote! 
 from that place his First Epistle to the Corinthians, i 
 Cor. xvt;^i 9. Not long after the writing of which epis- 
 tle Sc. P«l^ went from Ephesus into Macedonia, and, 
 ** after heiSfei gone over those parts,'* proceeded froiii^ 
 thence upon his second visit into Greece.; during Which 
 visit, or rather at the conclusion of it, 'the Epistle to the 
 Romans,' as hath been iShown, -was written. We havd 
 therefore the time of St. Paul's residence at Ephesus aftef 
 he had written to the Corinthians, the time taken up "bf 
 his progress through Macedonia (which is indefinite, and! 
 was probably considerable), and his three months' abode 
 lA Greece ; we have tlie sum of these three periods allow- 
 ed for Aquila and Priscilla going back to Ronie, so as to 
 be there when tlie epistle before us was written. Now 
 what this quotation leids as to observe is, the danger o£ 
 scattering names and circumstances in writing's like the 
 present, how implicated they often are with dates a'nd pla- 
 ces, and that nothing but truth can preserve consistency^ 
 Had tire notes of time in the Epistle to the Romans fiXecl 
 writing o^it to any date prior to St. Paul's first residence 
 at Corinth, the salutation of Aquila and Priscilla would' 
 hsfcVe contradicted the history, because it would have beeH 
 p^ridrtohrs acquaintance with these persons. If the notes of 
 time had fixed it to any period during flnit residence at 
 Corinth, during his journey to Jeru'salem when he first 
 rieturned out of Greece, during his Stay at Antroch, with- 
 er he went down from Jerusalem, or during his second 
 progress through Lesser Asia upon which he proceedeii 
 from Antioch, an equal contradiction would have been in- 
 curred ; because from Acts xviii. 2—^-18, 19^^26, it 
 appears, that during all this time Aquila and Priscillsl 
 were either along with St. Paul, or were abiding ^ 
 Ephesus. Lastly, had the notes of time in this epistle, 
 which we have seen to be perfectly incidental, coospared 
 with the notes of time in the First Epistle to the Corin- 
 tiiians, which are equally incidental, £xcd thi^ epistle to 
 
21 THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS^, 
 
 be either contemporary with that, or prior to It, a slmirar 
 contradiction would have ensued ; because, first, when the 
 Epistle to the Corinthians was written, Aquila and Pris- 
 cilla were along with St. Paul, as they joined in the salu- 
 tation of that church, i Cor^xvi* 19 ;• and because, sec- 
 ondly, the history does not allow us to suppose, that be-- 
 tween the time of their becoming acquainted with St.- 
 Paul, and the time of St.TauPs writing to the Corinthians, 
 Aquila and Priscilla could have gone to Rome, so as to 
 have been saluted in an epistle to that city ; and tlien, 
 come back to St. Paul at Ephesus, so as to be joined with- 
 him in saluting the church of Corinth. As it is, all things 
 arc consistent. TheEpistle to the Romans is posterior evea 
 to the Second Epistle to the Corinthians ; because it speaks 
 of a contribution in Achaia being completed, which the 
 Second Epistle to the Corinthians, chap vIii,isonly solicit- 
 ing. It is sufficiently therefore posterior to the First Epis- 
 tle to the Corinthians, to allow time in the Interval for 
 Aquila and Priscilia's return from Ephesus to Rome. 
 
 Before we dismiss these two persons, we may take no-- 
 tice of the terms of commendation in which St. Paul des- 
 cribes them, and of tlie agreement of that encomium with 
 the history. " My helpers in Christ Jesus, who have for 
 " my life laid down tlieir necks j unto whom not only I 
 «* give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles." 
 In the eighteenth chapter of the Acts,, we ai& informed 
 that Aquila and Priscilla were Jews ; tliat St. Paul first 
 met with them at Corinth ; that for some time he abode 
 in the same house with them ; that St. Paul's contention 
 at Corinth was with the unbelieving J^ws, who at first 
 •^ opposed and blasphemed,- and afterwards^ with one ac-- 
 <« cord- raised an insurrection against him ;■** that Aquila 
 and Priscilla. adhered, we may conclude, to St. Paul- 
 throughout this whole contest y for, when he left the city,, 
 they went with him, Acts vlii. 18. Under these circum- 
 stances, it is highly probable that they should be involved- 
 -ia the dangers and persecutions which St. Paul underwent 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 2t 
 
 from the Jews, being themselves Jews 5 and, by adhering 
 to St. Paul in this dispute, dcseners, as they would be ac- 
 counted, of the Jewish cause. Further, as they, though 
 Jews, were assisting to St. Paul in preaching to the Gen- 
 tiles at Goriath, they had taken a decided part in the 
 great controvei'sy of that day, the admission of the Gen- 
 tiles to a parity of religious situation with the Jews. For 
 this conduct alone, if there was no other reason, they may 
 seem to have been intitled to «* thanks from the churches 
 « of the Gentiles.'* They were Jews taking pait with 
 the Gentiles. Yet is all this so indirectly intimated, or 
 rather so much of it left to Inference in the account given 
 in the Acts, that 1 do not think it probable that a forger 
 cither could or would Jiave drawn his representation from 
 thence ; and still less probable do I think it, that, without 
 having seen the Acts, he coiild, by mere accident, and 
 without truth for his guide, have delivered a representa- 
 tion so conformable to the circumstances there lecorded. 
 
 Tl^e two congrui ties last adduced depended upon the 
 time, the two following regard the place, of the epistle. 
 
 1. Chap. xvi. 23. ** Erastus, the chamberlain of the 
 « city, saluteth you"— of what city ? We have seen, 
 that is, we have inferred from circumstances found 
 in the epistle compared with circumstances found in 
 tlie Acts of the Apostles, and in the tv/o Epistles 
 to the Corinthians, that our epistle was written during 
 St. Paul's second visit to the peninsula of Greece. Again, 
 as St. Paul, in his epistle to the church of Corinth, 1 Cor. 
 xvi. 3, speaks of a collection going on in that city, and of 
 his desire that it might be ready against he came thither j 
 and as in this epistle he speaks of that collection being 
 -ready, it follows that the epistle was written either whilst 
 he was at Corinth, or after he had been there. Thirdly, 
 ■since St. Paul speaks in this epistle of his journey to Jeru- 
 salem, as about instantly to take place ; and as we learn. 
 Acts XX. 3, that his design and attempt was to sail upon 
 that journey immediately from Greece properly so called, 
 
24 THl ZPISTLE TO TH« ItOMANd* 
 
 i. e. as distinguished from Macedonia ; it is probable that 
 he was in this country when he wrote the epistle, in which 
 he speaks of himself as upon the eve of setting out. If in 
 Greece, he was most likely at Corinth ; for the two Epis- 
 tles to the Corinthians shew that the principal env of hi« 
 coming into Greece was to visit that city, wheie lie bad 
 founded a church. Certainly we know no place in Greece 
 io which his presence was so probable; at least, the plac- 
 ing of him at Corinth satisfies every circumstance. Now 
 that Erastus was an inhabitant of Corinth, or had some 
 connection with Corinth is rendered a fair subject of pre- 
 sumption, by that which is accidentally said of him in the 
 Second Epistle to Timothy, chap. iii. 20. " Erastus a- 
 ** bode at Corinth,'* St. Paul complains of his solitude, 
 and is telling Timothy what was become of his compan- 
 ions. " Erastus abode at Corinth ; but Trophimus have I 
 ** left at Miletum, sick.'* Erastus was one of those who 
 had attended St. Paul in his travels, Acts xix. 22 ; and 
 when those travels had, upon some occasion, brought our 
 apostle and his train to Corinth, Erastus staid there, for no 
 reason so probable as that it was his home. I allow 
 that this coincidence is n©t so precise as some others, yet I 
 ^nk it too clear to be produced by accident ; for of the 
 9Xany places which this same epistle has assigned to diflFeri 
 ent persons, and the innumerable others which it might 
 bave mentioned, how came it to fix upon Corinth for 
 JErastus ? And, as far a$ it is a coincidence, it is certainly 
 undesigned on the part of the author of the Epistle to 
 the Romans ; because he has not told us of what city 
 Erastus was the chamberlain ; or, which is the same thing 
 from what city the epistle was written, the setting forth of 
 which was absolutely necessary to 'the display of the coinci- 
 dence,if any such display had been thought of; nor cculd the 
 author of the Epistle to Timothy leave Erastus at. Co- 
 rinth, from any thing he might have read in the Epistle 
 to the Romans, because Coiinth is no where in that epiSf 
 tie mentioned either by his name or description. 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. *S 
 
 It. Chap. xvi. I 3. " I commend unto you PhcEbe, 
 
 ** our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at 
 ** Cenchrea, that ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh 
 <* saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she 
 « hath need of you ; for she hath been a succourer of many 
 «« and of myself also." Cenchrea adjoined to Corinth ; 
 St. Paul therefore, at the time of writing the letter, was 
 in the neighbourhood jof the woman whom he thus recom- 
 mends. But, further, that St. Paul had before this been 
 ^t Cenchrea itself, appears from the eighteenth chapter of 
 the Acts ; and appears by a circumstance as incidental, 
 and as unlike design, as any that can be imagined. ** Paul 
 " after this tarried there (viz. at Corinth) yet a good while 
 ** and then took his leave of the brethren, and sailed thence 
 ** into Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila, having 
 ** shorn his head in Cenchrea, for he had a vow." xviii. 
 18. The shaving of the head donoted the expiration of 
 the Nazaritic vow. The historian therefore, by the men- 
 tion of this circumstance, virtually tells us that St. Paul's 
 vow was expired before he set forward upon his voyage, 
 •having 4eferred probably his departure until he should be 
 released from the lestrictions under which his vow laid 
 him. Shiill we say that the author of the Acts of the A- 
 postles feigned this anecdote of St. Paul, at Cenchrea, be- 
 cause he had read in the Epistle to the Romans that 
 ** Phoebe, a servant of the church of Cenchrea, had been 
 «* a succourer of many, and of him also ?" or shall we 
 say that the authoi of the Epistle to the Romans, out of 
 his own imagination, created Phoebe ** a servant of the 
 church at Cenchrea,''^ because he read in the Acts of the A- 
 postles diat Paul had " shorn his head" in that place I 
 
 No, III. 
 
 Chap. i. 13. «» Now I would not ha^^ you ignorant, 
 « that tftentimes I purposed to ^me unio]yo\Xy but was lethJth* 
 ** crto, that I might have some fruit amon^cf you alsO^ 
 
%ji THE EPISTLE TO THE EOMA^S. 
 
 •^ But now having no more place in these parts, and hav- 
 ** ing a great desire these many years (^«XA<», oftentimes) 
 " to come unto you, whensoever I take my journey into 
 ** Spain I will come to you ; for 1 trust to see you in my 
 ** journey, and to be brought on ray way thitherward by 
 ** you ; but now I go up unto Jerusalem, to minister to the 
 ** saints. When therefore I have performed this, and have 
 ** sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain." 
 
 With these passages compare Acts xix. 21. ** After 
 <* these things were ended (viz. atEphesus), Paul purpos. 
 ** ed in the spirit, when he had passed through Macedo- 
 ** nia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem ; saying, after I 
 *' have been there, I must also see Rome." 
 
 Let it be observed that our epistle purports to have 
 been written at the conclusion of St. Paul's second journey 
 into Greece ; that the quotation from the Acts contains 
 words said to have been spoken by St. Paul at Ephesus, 
 some time before he set forwards upon that journey. Now 
 I contend that it Is impossible that two independent fic- 
 tions should have attributed to St. Paul the same purpose, 
 especially a purpose so specific and particular as this, which 
 was not merely a general design of visiting Rome, but 
 a design of visiting Rome after he had passed through 
 Macedonia and Achaia, and after he had performed 
 a voyage from the countries to Jerusalem. The con- 
 formity between the history and the epistle is perfect. la 
 the first quotation from the epistle, we find that a de- 
 sign of visiting Rome had long dwelt in the apostle's mind; 
 in the quotation from the Acts we find that design expres- 
 ■^ sed a considerable time before the epistle was written. In 
 the history we find tliat the plan which St. Paul had form- 
 ed, was to pass through Macedonia and Achaia ; after 
 that to go to Jerusalem ; and, when he had finished his 
 visit there, to sail for Rome. When the epistle was writ* 
 ten, he had executed so much of his plan, as to have passed 
 through Macedonia and Achaia ; and was preparing to 
 ■pursue the remainder of it, by speedily setting out towards 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. tj 
 
 Jerusalem ; and in this point of his travels he tells his 
 friends at Rome, that, when he had completed the busi- 
 ness which carried htm to Jerusalem, he would come to 
 them. Secondly, I say that the very inspection of the pas- 
 sages will satisfy us that they were not made up from one 
 another. 
 
 " Whensoever I take iily journey into Spain, I will 
 ** come to you ; for I Irust to see you in my joumey, and 
 •* to be brought on my way thitherward by you ; but new 
 •* I go up to Jerusalem, to minister to the saints. When, 
 •* therefore, I have performed this, and have sealed to 
 ** them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain." This 
 &om the epistle. 
 
 ** Paul purposed in the spirit, when he had passed 
 « through Macedonia and Achaia, to go to Jerusalem ; 
 " saying, after I have been there, I must also see Rome." 
 This from the Acts. 
 
 If the passage in the epistle was taken from that in the 
 Acts, why was Spain put in ? If the passage in the Acts 
 was taken from that in the epistle, why was Spain left out ? 
 If the two passages were unknown to each other, nothing^ 
 can account for their conformity but truth. Whether we 
 suppose the history and the epistle to be alike fictions, or 
 the history to be true but the letter spurious, or the letter 
 to be genuine but the history a fable, the meeting with 
 this circumstance in both, if neither borrowed it from the 
 other, is upon all these suppositions, equally inexplica- 
 ble. 
 
 The following quotation I offer for the purpose of point- 
 ing out a geographical coincidence, of so much impor- 
 tance, that Dn Lardner considered it as confirmation of 
 the whole history of St. Paul's travek. 
 
 Chap. XV. 19. " So that from Jerusalem* and rounj 
 « about unto lilyrlcum, I have fully ppeached the gospel 
 « of Christ," 
 
2S THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 
 
 I do not think that these words necessarily import that 
 St. Paul had penetrated into Illyricum, or preached the 
 gospel ill that province ; but rather that he had come to 
 the confines of Illyricum {^tx^t m IXXv^ikv) and that these 
 confines were the external boundary of his travels. St. 
 Paul considers Jerusalem as the centre, and is here view- 
 ing the circumference to which his travels had extended. 
 The form of expression in the original conveys this idea ; 
 uTTo 'li^nToiMfJt' xxtt kvkXm (^ix^i Tn lx^.v^iKit, Illyiicum was 
 the part of this circle which he mentions in an Epistle to 
 the Romans, because it lay in a direction from Jerusalem 
 towards that city, and pointed out to the Roman readers 
 the nearest place to them, to which his travels from Jeru- 
 salem had brought him. The name of Illyricum no where 
 occuis in the Acts of the Apostles ; no suspicion, there- 
 fore, can be conceived that the mention of it was borrow- 
 ed from thence. Yet I think it appears, from these same 
 Acts, that St. Paul, before the time when he wrote his E* 
 pistle to the Romans, had reached the confines of Illyri- 
 cum J or, however, that he might have done so, in per- 
 fect consistency with the account there delivered. Illyri- 
 cum adjoins upon Macedonia ; measuring from Jerusa- 
 lem towards Rome, it lies close behind it. If, therefore, 
 St. Paul traversed the whole country of Macedonia, the 
 route would necessarily bring him to the confines of Illyri- 
 cum, and these confines would be described as the extrem- 
 ity of his journey. Now the account of St* PauPs second 
 visit to tlie peninsula of Greece, is contained in these 
 words : ** He departed for to go into Macedonia ; and 
 ** when he had gone over these parts, and had given them 
 «< much exhortation, he came into Greece.'* Actsxx. 2, 
 This account allows, or rather leads us to suppose that St. 
 Paul, ingoing over Macedonia {^ii\6av rufAi^n ixuvet), had 
 passed so far to the west as to come into those parts of the 
 country which v^ere contiguous to Illyricum, if he did not 
 enter into Illyricum itself. Tlie history, therefore, and the 
 epistle so far agree, and the agreement is much strength* 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. .2g 
 
 ened by a coincidence of time. At the time the epistle was 
 written, St. Paul might say, In conformity with the histo- 
 ry, tliat he had " come into lUyrlcum ;" much before 
 tliat time he could not have said so ; for, upon his for- 
 mer journey to Macedonia, his route is laid down from 
 the time of his landing at Philippi to his sailing from Co- 
 liHth. We trace him from Philippi to Amphipolis and 
 Apollonia ; from thence to Thessalonica ; from Thessa- 
 lonica to Berea ; fromBereato Athens; and from.Ath- 
 ans to Corindi ; which track confines him to the eastern sidd 
 ef the peninsula, and therefore keeps him all the while at a 
 considerable distance from Illyricum. Upon his second 
 visit to Macedonia, the history, we have seen, leaves him 
 at Hberty. It must have been, therefore, upon that sec- 
 ond visit, if at all, that he approached Illyricum ; and this 
 visit, we know, almost immediately preceded the writing 
 of the epistle. It was natural tliat the apostle should re- 
 fer to a journey which was fresh in his thoughts. 
 
 No, V. 
 
 Ghap. xv^ -JO* ** Now I beseech you, brethren, for 
 *♦ the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the Spir- 
 " it, that ye strive together with me in your prayers to 
 ** God for me, that I may be delivered from them that do 
 **'not believe in Judea.** With this compare Acts xx, 
 22, 23. 
 
 ** And now behold, I go bound In the spirit unto Jeru- 
 <• salem, not knowing the things that shall befal me there, 
 «* save that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city saying 
 •* that bonds and afflictions abide me." • ; 
 
 Let it be remarked that it is the same journey t* JerUp 
 salem which is spoken of in these two passages ; that the 
 epistle was written immediately before St. Paul set for- 
 wards upon this journey from Achaia ; that the words in 
 the Acts were uttered by him when he had proceeded in 
 that journey as far as Miletus, in Lesser Asi^. This te» 
 C2 
 
^^ THE EPISTLE TO THE R0MAK8. 
 
 mg remembered, I observe that the two passages, without 
 any resemblance between them that could induce us to 
 suspect that they were borrowed from one another, repre- 
 sent the state of St. Paul's mind, with respect to the event 
 of the journey, in terms of substantial agreement. They 
 both express his sense of danger in the approaching visit to 
 Jerusalem ; they both express the doubt which dwelt upon 
 his thoughts concerning what might there befal him. 
 When, in his epistle, he entreats the Roman Christians, 
 •♦ for the Lord Jesus Christ's sake, and for the love of the 
 <* Spirit, to strive together with him in their prayers to 
 «« God for him, that he might be delivered from them 
 «♦ which do not believe in Ju<iea," he sufficiently confesses 
 his fears. In the Acts of the Apostles we see in him the 
 same apprehensions, and the same uncertainty : " I go 
 •« bound in the spirit to Jerusalem, not hnoivlng the things 
 •< that shall befal me there.'* The only difference is, that 
 in the history his thoughts are more inclined to desponden- 
 cy than in the epistle. In the epistles, he retains his hope 
 ** that he should come unto them with joy by the will of 
 ** God ;" in the history, his mind yields to the reflection, 
 •• that the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city that bonds 
 '• and afflictions awaited him." Now that his fears should 
 be greater, and his hopes less, in this stage of his journey 
 than when he wrote his epistle, that is, when he first set 
 out upon it, is no other alteration than might well be ex- 
 pected ; since those prophetic intimations to which he re- 
 fers, when he says, " the Holy Ghost witnesseth in every 
 •♦ city," had probably been received by him in the course 
 of his journey, and were probably similar to what we know 
 he received in the remaining part of it at Tyre, xxi. 4 5 
 and afterwards from Agabus at Caes^ea, xxi. 1 1* 
 
 r. No. VL 
 
 There is another strong remark arising from the same 
 passage in the epistle j to make which understood, it will 
 
TKE 8F1STLE TO THE ROMAICS Jl 
 
 be necessary to state the passage over again, and somewhat 
 more at length. 
 
 « I beseech you, brethren, for the Lord Jesus Christ's 
 <« sake, and for the love of the Spirit, that ye strive togeth- 
 ** er with me m your prayers to God for me, that I may 
 « be delivered from them that do not believe in Judea ; 
 «• that I may come unto you with joy by the will of God, 
 « and may with you be refreshed." 
 
 I desire the reader to call to mind that part of St. Paul's 
 history which took place after his arrival at Jerusalem, 
 and which employs the seven last chapters of the Acts ; 
 and I build upon it this observation, that supposing the 
 Epistle to the Romans to have been a forgery, and the au- 
 thor of the forgery to have had the Acts of the Apostles be- 
 fore him, and to have there seen that St. Paul, in fact, " was 
 " not delivered from the unbelieving Jews,'* but on the 
 contrary, that he was taken into custody at Jerusalem, 
 and brought to Rome a prisoner ; it is next to impossible 
 that he should have made St. Paul express expectations 
 so contrary to what he saw had been the event ; and utter 
 prayers, with apparent hopes of success, which he must 
 have known were frustrated in the issue. 
 
 This single consideration convinces me, that no concert 
 or confederacy whatever subsisted between the Epistle and 
 the Acts of the Apostles ; and that whatever coincidencies 
 have been or can be pointed out between them, are unso- 
 phisticated, and are the result of truth and reality. 
 
 It also convinces me that the epistle was written not on- 
 ly in St. Paul's lifetime, but before he arrived at Jerusa- 
 lem ; for the important events relating to htm Which took 
 place after his arrival at that city, must have been known 
 to the Christian community soon after they happened ; 
 they form the most public part of his history. But had 
 they been known to the au hor of the epistle, in other 
 words, had they then taken place, the passage which v^ 
 have quoted from the epistle would not have been found 
 there. 
 
32 TH£ EMSTL* TO THrE ROMANS. 
 
 No, VJL 
 
 I now proceed to state the conformity which exists be- 
 tween the argument of this epistle and the history of its 
 reputed author. It Is enough for this purpose to observe^ 
 that the object of the epistle, that is, of the argumentative 
 part of it, was to place the Gentile convert upon a parity 
 of situation with the Jewish, in respect of his religious con- 
 dition, and his rank in the divine favour. The epistle sup- 
 ports this point by a variety of arguments; such as, that 
 no mian of either description was justified by the works of 
 the law, for tliis plain reason, that no man had preformed 
 them ; that It became tlierefore necessary to appoint anoth- 
 er medium or condition of justification, in which new me- 
 dium the Jewish pecufiarity was merged and lost ; that 
 Abraham's own justification was anterior to the law, and 
 independent of it ; that the Jewish converts were to con- 
 sider the law as now dead, and themselves as married to 
 another ^ that what the law in truth could not do, in that 
 it was weak through the flesh, God had done by sending 
 his Son } that God had rejected the unbelieving Jews, and 
 had substituted in their place a society of believers in 
 Christ, collected indifferently from Jews and Gentiles. 
 Soon after the writing of this epistle, St. Paul, agreeably 
 to the intention intimated in the epistle itself, took his jour- 
 ney to Jerusalem. The day after he arrived ihere, he was 
 Introduced to the church. What passed at this interview 
 is thus related. Acts xxi. 19: "When he had saluted 
 •* them, he declared particularly what things God had 
 ** wrought among the Gentiles by his ministiy ; and, when- 
 •« they heard It, tliey glorified the Lord ; and said unto 
 «< him,- Thou seest, brother, how many thousands of Jews 
 «* there are vv^hich believe ; and they are all zealous of the 
 <* law ; and they are informed of thee, that thou teachest all 
 « the Jews which are among the Gentiles to forsake Mo- 
 ^ ses, saying, that they ought not to circumcise their chil- 
 « dren, neither to walk after tlie customs." St. Paul dis- 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. 3J 
 
 chimed the charge ; but there must have been something 
 to have led to it. Now it is only to suppose that St. Paul 
 openly professed tlie principles which the epistle contains ; 
 that, in the course of his ministry, he had uttered the sen- 
 timents which he is here made to write ; and the matter 
 is accounted fon Concerning the accusation which pub- 
 lic rumour had brought against him to Jerusalem, I will 
 not say that it was just ; but I will say, that, if he was the 
 author of the epistle before us, and if his preaching was 
 consistent with his writing, it was extremely natural ; for 
 though it be not a necessary, surely ic is an easy inference, 
 that if the Gentile convert, who did not observe the law 
 of Moses, held as advantageous a situation in his religious 
 interests as tlie Jewish convert who did, there could be no 
 strong reason for observing that law at all. The remon- 
 strance therefore of the church of Jerusalem, and the re- 
 poit which occasioned it, were founded in no very violent 
 misconstruction of the apostle's doctrine. His reception 
 at Jerusalem was exactly what I should have expected the 
 author of this epistle to have met with. I am entitled 
 therefore to argue that a separate narrative of effects ex- 
 perienced by St. Paul, similar to what a person might be 
 expected to experience, who held the doctrines advanced 
 in this epistle, forms a proof that he did hold these doc- 
 trines ; and that the epistle bearing his name, in which 
 such doctrines are laid down, actually proceeded from 
 inm. 
 
 No. VIIL 
 
 This number is supplemental to the former. I propose 
 to point out in it two particulars in the conduct of the argu- 
 ment, perfectly adapted to the historical circumstances un- 
 der which the epistle was written ; which yet are free 
 from all appearance of contrivance, and which it would 
 not, I think, have entered into the mind of a sophist to con- 
 trive. 
 
 1. The Epistle to the Galatians relates to the same gen- 
 eral question as the Epistle to the Romans. St. Paul had 
 
34 "I""* E«»TLE TO THE ROMANS. 
 
 founded the church of Galati^ ; at Rome he had never 
 been. Observe now a difference in his manner of treat* 
 ing of the same subject, corresponding with this difference 
 in his situation. In tlie Epistle to the Galatians he puts the 
 point in a great measure upon authority : " 1 marvel that 
 ** ye are so soon removed from him that called you into 
 •* the grace of Christ, unto another gospel." Gal. i. 6. 
 •* I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preach- 
 " ed of me is not after man ; for I neither received it of 
 •* man, neither was I taught it but by the revelation of Je* 
 •• sus Christ.'* Ch. i. 1 1, 12. « I am afraid lest I have 
 ** bestowed upon you labor in vain." iv. 11, 17.. " I de- 
 <* sire to be present with you now, for I stand in doubt of 
 « you.", iv. 20. «* Behold, I, Paul, say unto you, that, 
 ** if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing." 
 V. 2. " This persuasion cometh not of him that called 
 ** you." V. 8. This is the style in which he accosts the 
 Galatians. In the epistle to the converts of Rome^ 
 where his authority was not established, nor his persoa 
 known, he puts the same point entirely upon argument. 
 The penisal of the epistle will prove this to the satisfaction 
 of every reader ; and, as the observation relates to the 
 i*fiole contents of the epistle, I forbear adducing seperate 
 extracts. I repeat therefore that we have pointed 
 out a distinction in the two epistles, suited to the relation 
 in which the author stood to his different correspondents. 
 
 Another adaption, and somewhat of the same kind, is 
 the following. 
 
 2. The Jews we know were very numerous at Rome, 
 and probably formed a principal part amongst the new 
 converts ; so much so, that the Christians seem to have 
 been kno\vn at Rome rather as a denomination of Jews, 
 than as any thing else. In an epistle consequently to the 
 Roman believers, the point to be endeavoured after by 
 St. Paul was, to reconcile the Jewish converts to die 
 opinion, that the Gentiles were admitted by God to a 
 parity of religious situation with themselves, and that 
 without their being bound by the law of Moses. The 
 
THl BPISTLE TO THF ROMANS. 35 
 
 Gentile converts would probably accede to this opinion 
 very readily. In this epistle, therefore, tliough directed 
 to the Roman church in general, it is in truth a Jew writ- 
 ings to Jews. Accordingly you will take notice, that as 
 often as his argunaent leads him to say any thing deroga- 
 tory from the Jewish institution, he constantly follows it 
 by a softening clause. Having (ii. 28, 29.) pronounced, 
 not much perhaps to the satisfaction of the native Jews, 
 *« that he is not a Jew which is one outwardly, neither 
 ** that circumcision which is outward in the flesh :" he 
 adds immediately, ** What advantage then hath the Jew, 
 <* or what profit is there in circumcision ? Much every 
 « nvay:^ Having in the third chap. ver. 28, brought his 
 argument to this formal <:onclusion, " that a man is justi- 
 •* fied by faith without the deeds of the law," he present- 
 ly subjoins, ver. 31, " Do we then make void the law 
 ** through faith ? God forbid ! Tea tue esiablish the law,** 
 in the seventh chapter, when in the sixth verse he had ad- 
 vanced the bold assertion, that " now we are delivered 
 *• from the law, that being dead wherein we were held ;" in 
 the very next verse he comes In with this healing question, 
 «* What shall we say then ? Is the law sin ? God forbid ! 
 *♦ Nay, I had not known sin but by the law." Having in 
 the fallowing words insinuated, or rather more than insin- 
 uated the inefficacy of the Jewish law, viii. 3, ** for what the 
 ** law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, 
 •* God, sending his own Son in the Hkeness of sinful flesh, 
 ** and for sin, condemned sin in the flesli ;" after a digress- 
 ion indeed, but that sort of digression which he could never 
 resist, a rapturous contemplation of his Christian hope, 
 and which occupies the latter part of this chapter ; w6 
 find him in the next, as if sensible that he had said some- 
 thing which would give offence, returning to his Jewish 
 brethren in terms of the warmest affection and respect. 
 •' I say the truth in Christ Jesus ; I lie not ; my con- 
 ** science also bearing witness, in the Holy Ghost, that I 
 \l liave great heaviness and «)ntinual sorrow in my heart ^ 
 
^ THE PPISTLB TO THE ROMANS. 
 
 ** for I could wish that myself were accursed from Chiist, 
 **/or my brethren, my kinsmen according to thejlesh, who are 
 " Israelites, to nvhom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, 
 ** and the covenants , and the giving of the law, and the ser* 
 ** vice of God, and the promise ; whose are the fathers / and 
 ** of whoniy as concerning the Jlesh, Christ earned* When, 
 in the thirty first and thirty second verses of this ninth 
 chapter, he represented to the Jews the error of even 
 the best of their nation, by teUing them that *• Israel, 
 ** which followed after the law of righteousness, had not 
 ** attained to the law of righteousness, because they 
 ** sought it not by faitli, but as it were by the works of 
 ** the law, for they stumbled at that stumbling stone," he 
 takes care to annex to this declaration these conciliating 
 expressions ; " Brethren, my hearths desire and prayer to 
 « God for Israel is, that they might be saved ; for I bear 
 «< them record that they have a zeal of God, but not ac- 
 <* cording to knowledge." Lastly, having, ch. x. 20, 21, 
 by the application of a passage in Isaiah insinuated the 
 most ungrateful of all propositions to a Jewish ear, the 
 rejection of the Jewish nation, as God's peculiar people ; 
 he hastens, as it were, to qualify the intelligence of their 
 fall by this interesting expostulation ; " I say, then, hath 
 *« God cast away his people (i. e. wholly and entirely) ? 
 " God forbid ! for I also am an Israelite, of the seed of A- 
 *' braham, of the tribe of Benjamin. G^d hath not cast 
 *♦ away his people which he forehnew ;" and follows this 
 thought, throughout the whole of the eleventh chapter. 
 In a series of reflections calculated to soothe the Jewish 
 converts, as well as to procur efrom their Gentile brethren 
 respect to the Jewish institution. Now all this is perfect- 
 ■ ly natural. In a real St. Paul writing to real converts, 
 It is what anxiety to bring them over to his persuasion 
 would naturally produce ; but tliere is an earnestness and 
 a personality, if I may so call it, in the manner, which a 
 cold forgery, I apprehend, would neither have conceived 
 nor siiprortrd. 
 
CHAF. in. 
 
 THE FIRST BPI'STLE TO THE CORINTmu5.NSo 
 No. I. 
 
 Jl5EF0RE we proceed to compare this epistle with 
 the history, or with any other epistle, we will employ one 
 number in stating certain remarks applicable to our argu- 
 ment, which arises from a perusal of the epistle itself. 
 
 By an expression in the first verse of the seventh chap- 
 ter, « now concerning the things whereof ye wrote unto 
 me," it appears, that this letter to the Corinthians was 
 written by St. Paul in answer to one which he had re- 
 ceived from them ; and that the seventh, and some of the 
 following chapters, are taken up in resolving certain 
 doubts, and regulating certain points of order, concern- 
 ing which the Corinthians had in their letter consulted 
 him. This alone is a circumstance considerably in favor 
 of the authenticity of the epistle ; for it must have been a 
 farfetched contrivance in a forgery, first to have feigned 
 the receipt of a letter from the church of Corinth, which 
 letter does not appear ; and then to have drav/n up a fic- 
 titious answer to it, relative to a great variety of doubts 
 and enquiries, purely economical and domestic; and 
 which, though likely enough to have occurred to an in- 
 fant society, in a situation and under an institution so 
 novel as that of a Christian church then was, it must Iiave 
 very much exercised the author's invention, and could 
 fcave answered no imaginable purpose of forgery, to in- 
 trod^uce the mention of it at all. Particulars of the kind 
 We refer to, are such as the follov/ing ; the rule of duty 
 and prudence relative to entering into marriage, as appli- 
 , cable to virgins, to widows ; the case of husbands mar- 
 ried to unconverted wives, of wives having unconverted 
 husbands ; that case where the unconverted party choos- 
 
,g THE FIRST EPISTIE 
 
 « to separate, where be chooses to continue the union ; 
 the effect^vhleh their couvcrsion produced upon the.r prt- 
 or state, of clrcumeision, of slavery ; the eating of th.ngs 
 offered to idols, as it ^.•as in Itself, as others ^vere affected 
 by it ; the joining in idolatrous sacrifices ; the decorum to 
 be' ob;ervei in fhelr religious assemblies, the order of 
 sneaking, the silence of women, the covermg or uncover- 
 ;. of L head, as it became men, as It became — . 
 These subjects, with their several subdmsions. are so par- 
 I kr. minute, and numerous, that, though they be e 
 actly a-reeable to the circumstances of the P«"°"^^« 
 whom\e letter .as written, nothing, I bel-e -^^e 
 existence and reality of those circumstances, could havv 
 suo-eested to the writer's thoughts. . 
 
 futthlsis not the only nor ^'^ rT'^^f'^^ 
 ^r,on the correspondence between the church of ConnJ. 
 and th apostle, which I wish to point out It appears 
 I d-ink In this correspondence, that, although tl,e Connth- 
 Hn; had wLnto s't. Paul, requesting his ans.jr and h.s 
 d"r cdons in the several points above enumerated yet that 
 iev had- said one sellable about the <=no-:mmes and 
 
 ^orderswhlch hadcreptin ^^--S^^-'^'^lf "f^n 
 
 which tb.ey all shared ; but that St. Paul's mform t - 
 
 concerning the irregtdaritles then p.eva.hng at Co,-* 
 
 had come round to him from other quarters. J^e ^^« 
 
 rels and disputes excited by their —t.ot^ adher^n« o 
 
 their different teachers, and by the.r pla^'"^^*^^ 
 mpetltlon with one another, were not ment.ov.ednU.r 
 
 1 J, but communicated to St. Paul by ^°" P^'^'^ ^i 
 lip-ence " It hath been declared unto me, my brethien. J 
 S:: wi an opk. W ./ CUoe, that there are conten- 
 .. tions among you. Now tWs I say, that every ne f , o 
 .. salth. I am of Paul, and I of ApoUos. and I ot Lepn , 
 
 JT fri,r;.t" fl II ,2 V Tne incestuous marnage 
 «' and I of Christ. U- "' '^'.. „ ,. , c, Paul repre- 
 .. of a man with his father's -fe,''wh'ch St. Pan P 
 
 ben^s with so much severity m the ««' f J^^^^j „„. 
 tplstle, and which was not the cume of. an md.vidua 
 
to THE COHINTHIANS. 57 
 
 ty, but a crime in which the whole church, by tolerating 
 and conniving at it, had rendered themselves partakers, 
 did not come to St. Paul's knowledge by the letter, but 
 by a rumour which had reached his ears ; *' // is report- 
 « ed commonly that there is fornication among you, and 
 " such fornication as is not so much as namcd among the 
 « Gentiles, that one should have his father's wife ; and 
 << ye are puiied up, and have not rather moureed that he 
 <* that hath done this deed might be taken away from 
 •* among you." (v. i, 2). Their going to law before 
 the judicature of the country, rather than arbitrate and 
 adjust their disputes among themselves, which St. Paul 
 animadveits upon with his usual plainness, was not inti- 
 mated to him in the lettery because he tells them his opin- 
 ion of this conduct, before he comes to the contents of the 
 letter. Their litlgiousness is censured by St. Paul in the 
 sixth chapter of his epistle, and it is only at the begin- 
 ning of the seventh chapter that he proceeds upon the ar- 
 ticles which he found in their letter ; and he proceeds up- 
 on tliem with this preface : " Now concerning the things 
 <* w^hereof ye wrote unto me,"^ (vii. i .) ; which introduc- 
 tion he would riot have used, if he had been already discus- 
 sing any of the subjects concerning v/hich they had writ- 
 ten* Their irregularities in celebrating the Lord's supper» 
 and the utter perversion of the institution which ensued, 
 were not in the letter , as is evident from the terms in which 
 St. Paul mentions the notice he had received of it ; " Now 
 •< in this that I declare unto youy I praise you not, that ye 
 •< came together not for the better, but for the worse ; for 
 •* first of all,, when ye come together in the church, / 
 •< hear that there be divisions among you, and I partly le-> 
 «* lleve it,** Now that the Corinthians should in their own 
 letter, exhibit the fair side of their conduct to the apostle, 
 and conceal from him the faults of their behaviour, v/as 
 extremely natural, and extremely probable ; but it was a 
 distinction which would not I think, have easily occurred 
 to the author of a forgery j and much less likely k it, thai 
 
40 TH^ rtUST EPlStLB 
 
 it should have entered into his thonghts to mate the dU^ 
 tinction appear in the way in which it does appear, viz. 
 not by the original letter, not by any express observation 
 upon it in the answer, biit distantly by marks perceivable 
 in the manner, or in the order, in which St. Paul takes no* 
 lice of their faults. 
 
 No. //. 
 
 0ur epistle purports to have bectt wi-ittefn after St. 
 Paul had already been at Gorinth : " I, brethren, 
 ^ytvhm I came unto you^ came not with excellency of 
 «* speech or of wisdom,'* (ii. i.); and Ui many other pla- 
 ces to the same eflPect. It purports also to have been writ- 
 ten upon the eve of another visit to that church : " I will 
 ** come to you shortly, if the Lord will," (iv. 19.); and 
 Sgain, " I will come to you when I shall pass through 
 •• Macedonia.'* (xvi. 5.) Now the history relates that 
 St. Paul did in fact visit Corinth tivlce ; once as recorded 
 at length in the eighteenth, and a second time as mention* 
 cd briefly in the twentieth chapter of tlie Acts. The same 
 history also informs us, Acts xv. i, that it v/as from Ephe- 
 sus St. Paul proceeded upon his second journey intoGreece. 
 Therefore, as the epistle purports to have been written a 
 short time preceding that journey ; and as St. Paul, the 
 history tells us, had resided more than two years at Ephe- 
 &US before he set out upon it, it follows thr.t it must havd 
 been from Ephesus, to be consistent with the history, that 
 the epistle was written ; and every note ©f place in the 
 epistle agrees with this supposition. " If after the man- 
 «* ner of men, I have fought with beasts at Ephesus, what 
 «< advantegeth it me, if the dead rise not?** (xv. 32.) 
 I allov/ that the apostle might say this, whereever he was 5 
 but it was more natural and more to the purpose to say it 
 if he was at Ephesus at the time, and in the midst of those 
 conflicts to which the expression relates. " The churches 
 « of Asia salute you." (xvi. 19. ) Asia, througliout the 
 
TO THE CORINTHIANS. 
 
 Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles of St. Paul, does 
 not mean the whole of Asra Minor or Anatolia, nor even 
 the whole of the proconsulor Asia, but a district in tlie an- 
 terior part of that country, called Lydian Asia, divided 
 from the rest, much as Portugal is from Spain, and of 
 which district Ephesus was the capital. *« Aquila and 
 ** Priscilla salute you." (xvi. 19.) Aquila and Priscilla 
 were at Ephesus daring the period within which this cpis- 
 tie was written. (Acts xviii. 18, 26.)—" I willtarry at 
 «* Ephesus until Pentecost." (xvi. 8.) This. I apprehend 
 is in terms almost asserting that he was at Ephesus at the 
 time of writing the epistle. " A great and effectual door 
 «' is opened uixo me." (xvi. 9.) How v^ell this decla- 
 ration corresponded with the state of things at Ephesus, 
 and the progress of the gospel in tliese parts, we learn from 
 the reflection witli which die historian concludes the ac- 
 count of certain transactions which passed there 5 *''• So 
 *« mightily grew the word of God and prevailed," (Acts 
 .^x. 20.) ', as well as from the complaint of Demetrius, 
 ** that not only at Ephesus, but also throughout all Asia, 
 ** this Paul hath persuaded and turned away much peo- 
 " pie." (xix. 26. " And there are many adversaries,"" 
 says the epistle,- (xvi. 9.) Look into the history of this 
 period, " When divers were hardened and believed not, 
 *' but spake evil of that way before the multitude, he de- 
 " parted from them, and seperated the disciples.'* The 
 conformity therefore upon this head of comparison, is cir- 
 cumstantial and perfect. If any one think tliat this is 3 
 conformity so obvious, that any forger of tolerable caution 
 and sagacity, would have taken care to preserve it, I must 
 desire such a one to read the epistle for himself; and, whea 
 he has done so, to declare whether he has discovered one 
 mark of art or design ; whether the notes of time and 
 place appear to him to be inserted with any reference ta 
 each other, with any view of their being compared with 
 each other, or for the purpose of establishing a visible 
 agreement with the history, in respect of thenu 
 D 2 
 
I^f THE FIRST EPISTDfc 
 
 No, III. 
 
 Chap. IV. 1 7 — 19. " For this cause I have sent unto yoi\ 
 «« Timotheus, who is my beloved son and faithful in the 
 *< Lord, who shall bring you into remembrance of my 
 ** ways which be in Christ, as I teach every where in every 
 «< church. Now some are puffed up, as though I would 
 *' net come unto you j but I will come unto you shortly, 
 •« if the Lord will." 
 
 With this I conrpare Acts xix. 21, 22 ; *' After these 
 •* things were ended, Paul purposed in tlie spirit, when he 
 "< had passed through Macedonia and jichaiUy to go to Je- 
 ** rusalem ; saying, after I have been there I must also 
 *' see Rome : so he sent unto Macedonia two of tliem 
 '* that ministered Uilto him, Ttmothras and Erastus." 
 
 Though it be not said, it appears I think with sufficient 
 certainty, I mean from the history, independently of the 
 epistle, that Timothy was sent upon this occaiion in- 
 to Achata, of which Corinth was the capital city, as well 
 as into Macedonia ; for the sending of Timothy and Eras- 
 tus is, in the passage where it is mentioned, plainly connec- 
 ted with St. Paul's own journey ; he sent them before him. 
 As he therefore purposed to go into Achaia himself, it is 
 highly probable that they were to go thither also. Neverthe- 
 less, tliey are said only to have been sent into Macedonia, 
 because Macedonia was in truth the country to which 
 they went immediately from Ephesus ; being directed, as 
 V7Q suppose, to proceed afterwards from thence into A' 
 chaia. If this be so, the narrative agrees with tl:ie epistle ; 
 and tlie agreement is attended with very little appearance 
 of design. One thing at least concerning it is certain; 
 that if this passage of St. Paul's history had been^taken 
 from his letter, it would have sent Timothy to Corinth by 
 name, or expressly however into Achaia. 
 
 But there is another circumstance in these two passa^ 
 ges much less obvious, in which an agreement holds with^ 
 
TO THTB CORIMTBIANS. 43^ 
 
 ont any room for suspicion that it was produced by de- 
 sign. We have observed that the seading of Timothy in- 
 to the peninsula of Greece wa^ connected in the narrative 
 with St. PauVs own journey thither ; it is stated as the 
 effect of the same lesolution. Paul purposed to go into 
 Macedonia ; " jyj he sent two of them that ministered un- 
 to him, Timotheus and Erastus." Now in tlie Epistle 
 slso you remark that, v/hen the apostle mentions his hav- 
 ing sent Timothy unto them, in the very next sentence he 
 speaks of his own visit ; " for this cause have I sent unto 
 ** you Timotheus, who is my beloved son, &c. Now 
 ** some are puffed up, as though T would not come to 
 " you ; but T will come to you shortly, if God will.*' 
 Timothy's journey we see is mentioned in the history, and 
 in the epistle, in close connection with St. Paul's own. 
 Here is the same order of tliought and intention ; yet con- 
 veyed under such diversity of circumstance and expres- 
 sion, and the mention of them in the epistle so allied to 
 the occasion which introduces it, viz. the insinuation of 
 his adversaries that he would come to Corinth no more, 
 that I am persuaded no attentive r eader will believe, that 
 tliese passages were written in concert with one another, 
 or will doubt but that the agreement is unsought and un- 
 contrived. 
 
 But, in the Acts, Erastus accompanied Timothy In 
 this journey, of v^^hom no mention is made in tlie epistle. 
 From 'what has been said in our observations, upon the 
 Epistle to the Romans, it appears probable that Erastus 
 was a Corinthian. If so, though he accompanied Timo- 
 thy to Corlwth, he was only returning home, and Timo- 
 thy was the messenger charged with St. Paul's orders. 
 At any rate, this discrepancy shews that the passages were 
 not taken from one another. 
 
 .No. JF. 
 
 Chap. xvi. 10, II. *' Now if Timotheus come, setf 
 *^ that he may be witli you without fear j for he worketli 
 
44 THE FIRST EPlSTtK 
 
 « tlie work of the Lord, as I also do ; let no man thcre- 
 « fore despise him, but conduct him forth in peace, that 
 «' he may come unto me, for I look for him with the 
 *' brethren." 
 
 From the passage considered in the preceding number, 
 it appears that Timothy was sent to Corinth, either with 
 the epistle, or before it ; *' for this cause have I sent unto 
 *' you Timotheus." From the passage now quoted, we 
 infer tliat Timothy was not sent 'with the epistle ; for had 
 he been the bearer of the letter, or accompanied it, would 
 St. Paul in that letter have said, " if Timothy come V* 
 Nor is tlie sequel consistent with the supposition of his 
 carrying the letter ; for if Timothy was with the Apostla 
 v/hen he wrote the letter, could he say, as he does, *< I 
 look for him with the brethren V* I conclude therefore 
 that Timothy had left St. Paul to proceed upon his jour- 
 ney before the letter was written. Further, tlie passage 
 before us seems to imply, that Timothy was not expected 
 by St. Paul to arrive at Corinth, till after they had re- 
 ceived the letter. He gives tliem directions in the letter 
 how to treat him when he should arrive : *' if he came,**" 
 act towards him so and so. Lastly, the whole form of ex- 
 pression is most natui'llly applicable to the supposition of 
 Timothy's coming to Corinth, not directly from St. Paul, 
 but from some otlier quarter ; and that his instructions 
 bad been when he should reach Corinth, to retum. Now> 
 how stands this matter in die history I Turn to the nine- 
 teenth chapter and twenty first verse ef the Acts, and yoa 
 will find that Timothy did not, when sent from Ephesus> 
 where he left St. Paul, and where the present epistle was 
 written, proceed by a straight course to Corintli, but that 
 he went round through Macedonia. This clears -up eve- 
 ry thing ; for, although Timothy was sent forth upon his 
 journey before the letter was v/ritten, yet, he might not 
 reach Corinth till after the letter arrived there ; and he 
 ¥^ould come to Corinth, when he did come, not directlf 
 
TO TRE COWHTrtlANS. 45 
 
 from St. Paul, at Ephesus, but from some part of Mace* 
 donia. Here therefore is a circumstantial and critical 
 agreement, and unquestionably without design ; for neith* 
 cr of the two passages in the epistle mentions Timothy's 
 journey into Macedonia at all, though nothing but a cir- 
 cuit of that kind can explain and reconcile the expreswons 
 which tlie writer uses. 
 
 m. V. 
 
 Chap. i. 12. " Now tiiis I say, that every one of ydit 
 <* saith I am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas^ 
 " and I of Christ," 
 
 Also iii. 6. " I have planted, Apollos watered, but 
 ** God gave the increase." 
 
 This expression, ** I have planted, Apollos watered^'" 
 imports two things ; first, that Paul had been at Corinth 
 before Apollos ; secondly, that Apollos had been at Co- 
 rinth after Paul, but before the writing of this epistle. 
 This implied account of the several events, and of the or- 
 der in which they took place, corresponds exactly with 
 the history. St. Paul after his first visit into Greece, re- 
 turned from Corinth into Syria by the way of Ephesus ; 
 and, dropping his companions Aquila and Priscilla at 
 Ephesus, he proceeded forwards to Jerusalem ; from Je» 
 nisalsm he descended to Antioch ; and from thence made 
 a progress through some of the upper or northern proviso 
 ces of the Lesser Asia, Acts xviii. 19. 23 ; during 
 which progress, and consequently in the interval between 
 St. Paul's first and second visit to Corinth, and conse- 
 quently also before the writing of this epistle, wJiich was at 
 Ephesus two years at least after the apostle's return from 
 his progress, we hear of Apollos, and we hear of him at 
 Corinth. Whilst St. Paul was engaged, as hath been said, 
 in Phrygia and Galatia, Apollos come down to Ephesus ; 
 and being, in St. Paul's absence, instructed by Aquila. 
 and Priscilla, and having obtained letters of recommend*. 
 
4^ THE FIRST EPISTLE 
 
 tion from the church at Ephesus, he passed over to Achaaa $ 
 and when he was there, we read that he " helped tliem 
 '* much which had believed through grace, for he mighd- 
 ^ ly convinced th^ Jews, and that publicly.*' Acts xviii, 
 27, 28. To have brought ApoUos into Achaia, of 
 which Corinth was the capital city, as well as the princi- 
 pal Christian church ; and to have shewn that he preach- 
 ed the gospel in that country, w^ould have been suffi-- 
 cient for our purpose. But the history happens also to 
 mention Corinth by name, as the place in which Apollos 
 after his arrival in Achaia, fixed hiaresidence; for, proceed- 
 ing with the account of St. Paul's travels, it tells us that 
 while Apollos was at Corinth, P.iul, having passed through 
 the upper coasts, came down to Ephesus, xix. ir What is 
 said therefore of Apollos, in the epistle, coincides exactly, 
 and especially in the point of chronology, with what is de- 
 livered concerning liim in the history. The only question^ 
 now is, whether the allusions w^ere made wkh a regard to- 
 this coincidence. Now the occasions and purposes for 
 which the name of Apollos is introduced in the Acts and 
 in the Epistles, are so independent and so remote, that it 
 is impossible to discover the smallest reference from one 
 to the other. Apollos is mentioned in the Acts^in imme* 
 diate connection whith the history of Aquila and Priscilla^ 
 and for the very singular circumstance of his " knowing. 
 « only the baptism of John." In the epistle, where nona 
 of these circumstances are taken notice of, his name first 
 occurs, for the purpose of reproving the contentious spir- 
 it of the Corinthians ; a?nd it occurs only in conjunction 
 with that of some others. *' Every one of you saith, I 
 ** am of Paul, and I of Apollos, and I of Cephas, and I 
 *• of Christ." The second passage in which Apollos ap» 
 pears, " I have planted, Apollos watered," fixes, as we 
 have observed, the order of time amongst three distinct 
 events j but it fixes this, I will venture to pronounce, 
 vnthout the writer perceiving that he was doing any such 
 thing. The sentence fixes this or4er in exact. conformity 
 
TO THE CORINTHIANS. 47 
 
 -with the history ; but it is itself introduced solely for the 
 sake of the reflection which follows ; " Neither is he that 
 " planteth any thing, neither he tliat watcreth, but God 
 " that giveth the increase." 
 
 No. VL 
 
 Chap. iv. 11, 12. *' Even unto this present hour 
 « we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and are buf- 
 « feted, and have no certain dwelling place ; and labour, 
 ** working with our own hands." 
 
 We are expressly told, in the history, that at Corinth St. 
 Paul laboured with his own hands : *' He found Aquila 
 «* and Priicilla ; and, because he was of tlie same craft, 
 « he abode widi them and wrought ; for by their occupa- 
 « tion they went tentmakers." But, in the text before us 
 he is made to say, that " he laboured ei^en unto the present 
 " houry* that Is, to the time of writing the epistle at 
 Ephesus. Now, in the narration of St. Paul's transaction 
 at Ephesus, delivered in the nineteenth chapter of the 
 Acts, nodiing is said of his working with his Q\m hands; 
 but in the twentieth chapter we read, that upon his retuni 
 from Greece, he sent for the elders of the church of 
 Ephesus, to meet him at Miletus ; and in the discourse 
 which he there addressed to them, amidst some other re- 
 ilections,which he calls to their remembrance, we find the 
 following ^ " I have coveted no man's silver, or gold, or 
 ** apparrel ; yea, you yourselves also know^ that these 
 « hands have ministered unto my necessities, and to tliem 
 ** that were -with me." The reader will not forget to re- 
 mark, that though St. Paul be now at Miletus, It is to 
 the elders of the church of Ephesus he Is speaking, when 
 he says, ** Ye yourselves know, that these hands have 
 " ministered to my necessities ;" and that the whole dis- 
 course relates to his conduct, during his last preceding 
 residence at Ephesus. That manual labour therefore, 
 which he had exercised at Corinth; he continued at Ephc" 
 
4^^ THE FMIST IH-STKE 
 
 5ttS; and not only so, but continued it during that pait- 
 ticular residence at Ephesus, near the conclusion of wliich. 
 this epistle was written ; so that he might with the strict- 
 est truth, say, at the time of writing the epistle, *' Even 
 ** unto this present hour we labour, working with our own 
 *■* hands/* The correspondency is sufficient then, as to 
 the undesignedness of it. It is manifest to my judgment* 
 that if the history, in this article, had been taken from 
 the epistle, this circumstance, if it appeared at all, would 
 have appeared in its place, that is, in the direct account 
 of St. Paul's transactions at Ephesus. The correspon- 
 dency would not have been affected, as it is, by a kind of 
 reflected stroke, that is, by a reference in a subsequent 
 speech, to what in the narrative was omitted. Nor is it 
 likely, on the other hand, that a circumstance which is not 
 extant in the history of St. Paul at Ephesus, should have 
 been made the subject of a fictitious allusion, in an epistle 
 purporting to be written by him from that place ; not to 
 mention that the allusion itself, especially as to time, is 
 too oblique and general to answer any purpose of forge- 
 ry whatever. 
 
 No, VIL 
 
 Chap. ix. 20. " And unto the Jews I became as a Jew 
 " that I might gain the Jews ; to them that are under the 
 •* law, as under the law.'* 
 
 We have the disposition here described, exemplified in 
 two instances which the history records j one. Acts xvi. 
 3. ** Him (Timothy) would Paul have to go forth with 
 ** him, and took and circumcised him, because of the Jenus 
 ** in thdse quarters ; for they knew all that bis father was 
 ** a Greek." This was before the writing of the epistle. 
 The other, Acts xxi. 23, 26, and after the writing of the 
 epistle ; *' Do this that we say to thee ; we have 
 ** four men that have a vow on them ; them take, and 
 ♦* purify thyself with them, that they may shave their 
 
TO THE CORINTHIANS. 4^. 
 
 *« -heads ; and all may know that those things,, whereof 
 «* they were informed concerning thee, are nothing; but 
 ** that thou thyself also walkest orderly, and keepest the 
 ** law. Then Paul took the men, and the next day, /«- 
 ** rifylng himself with them, entered into the temple-''^ Nor 
 does tliis concurrence between the character and the in- 
 stances look like the result of contrivance. St. Paul, in 
 the epistle, describes, or is made to describe, his own ac- 
 commodating conduct towards Jews and towards Gen- 
 tiles, towards the weak and over scrupulous, towards men 
 indeed of every variety of character ; to " them that are 
 *« without law as without law, being not without law to 
 " God, but under the law to Christ, that I might gain 
 '* them that are without law ; to the weak became I as 
 "weak, that I might gain the weak-; lam made all 
 ** things to all men, that I might gain some." This is 
 the sequel of the text which stands at the head of the 
 present number. Taking tlierefore the whole passage 
 together, the apostle's condescension to the Jews is men- 
 tioned only as a part of his general disposition towards 
 all. It is not probable that this character -should have 
 been made up from the instances in tlie Acts, which re- 
 late solely to his dealings vrith the Jews. It is not prob- 
 able that a sophist should take his hint from those instan- 
 ces, and then extend it so much beyond them ; and it is 
 still more incredible that the two instances in the Acts, 
 circumstantially i elated and Interwoven with the history, 
 should have been fabricated in order to suit the character 
 which Str Paul gives of himself in the epistle. 
 
 No, VIIL 
 
 Chap. J. 14—17. *' i thank God that I baptized none 
 " of you but Crlspus and Gains, lest any should say that 
 ** I baptized in my own name ; and I baptized also the 
 " household of Stephanas ; besides, I know not whether I 
 " baptized any other ; for Christ s^nt me not to baptize, 
 f but to preach the gospel.'* 
 E 
 
5^ THE FIRST EPISTLE 
 
 It may be expected, that those whom the apostle -bap- 
 tized with his own hands, were converts distinguished 
 from the rest by some circumstance, either of eminence, 
 or of connection with him. Accordingly, of the three 
 names here mentioned, Crispus, we find, from Acts xviii. 
 S, was a ** chief ruler of the Jewish synagouge at Co* 
 ** rintli, who believed in the Lord, with all his house.**" 
 Oaius, it appears from Romans xvi. 23, was St. Paul*s 
 host at Corinth, and tlie host, he tells us, " c^ the whole 
 ** church." The household of Stephanas, we read in the 
 sixteenth chapter of this epistle, " were the first fruits of 
 ** Achaia." Here therefore is th« propriety we expected; 
 and it is a proof of reality not to be contemned ; for their 
 names appearing in the several places in which they occur, 
 with a mark of distinction belonging to each, eowld hard- 
 ly be the efiect of chance, without any truth to direct it ; 
 and, on the other hand to suppose that they were picked 
 out from these passages, and brought together in the 
 text before us, in order to display a conformity of names, 
 is both improbable in itself, and is rendered more so, by 
 the purpose for which they are introduced. They come 
 »n to assist St. Paul's exculpation of himself, against the 
 possible charge, of having assumed the character of the 
 founder of a separate religion, and with no other visible, 
 cr, as I think, imaginitble design.* 
 
 * Chap. I r. " Paul called to be an apostle of Jesus Christ, 'through 
 «' the will of God, and Sosthenes, our brother, unto the church of 
 "'God, which is at Corinth." The only account we have of any 
 person who bore the name Of Sosthenes, is found in the eigh- 
 teenth chapter of the Acts. When the Jews at Corinth had brought 
 J>aul before Gallio, and Gallio had dismissed their complaint as un- 
 vorthy of his interference, and had driven them from the judgment 
 seat; " then all the Greeks," says the historian, " tcok Sosthenes, the 
 •» chief ruler of the synagogue, and beat him before the judgment 
 •* seat." The Sosthenes ?iere spoken cf was a Corinthian *, and if he 
 was a Christian, and with St. Paul when he wrote this epistle, was 
 likely enough to be jwned with him in the salutation of the Corinthi^ 
 m cbuK-h. But here occurs a difS^ulty. If Sosthenes was a ChiiS" 
 
TO THE COIWNTHIANS. 5« 
 
 No, /X 
 
 Cliap. xvi. 10, II. " Now, if Timotheus come, let no 
 ** man despise him." Why despise him ? This charge is 
 not given concerning any other messenger whom St. Paul 
 sent ; and, in the diiferent epistles, many such messengers 
 are mentioned. Turn to i Timothy, chap. iv. 12, and 
 you will find that Timothy was a young man^. younger 
 probably than those who were usually employed in the 
 Christian mission ; and that St. Paul, apprehending lest 
 he should, on tiiat account, be exposed to contempt, urges 
 
 tian at the time of this uproar, why should the Greeks beat him ! 
 The assault upon the Christians was made by the Jews. It was the^fttvf 
 who had brought Paul before tlie magistrate. If it had been the Jews 
 also who had beaten Sosthenes, I should not have doubted but that 
 he had been a favourer of St. Paul, and the same person who is join- 
 ed with him in the epistle. Let us see therefore whether there be 
 not some error in our present text. The Alexandrian manuscripC 
 gives TTtcvrti alone, without 01 'EAAn*!? and is followed in thif 
 reading by the Coptic version, by the Arabic version, publisded by 
 Erpenius» by the Vulgate, and by Bede's Latin version. Three 
 Greek manuscripts again, as well as Ghrisostom, giVe eilov^xioc 
 in the place of* o' EAAjgyeff. A great plurality of manuscripts au- 
 thorize the reading which is retained in our copies. In this variety 
 it appeals to me extremely probable that the historian originally wrote 
 v»9T9i alone, and that »< 'EXP^nng, and oi lov^aioi have been respec- 
 tively addtdas wcplanatory of what the word TirecvTig was supposed ta 
 moan. The sentence, without the addition of either name, would runt 
 very perspicuously thus, " Kow ccm^icAcriv eturovs xtfo rev fitiftcttoq" 
 ** 6'?rt?^.xtcf>c6vot ^6 TFxixiq 'LuKrhyvn* ta u^^icrvrxye^yovt iruTFTCf' 
 '* ucTT^ao'det rev fiijfAurc^* and he drove them away from the judg- 
 «* ment seat ; aad they all," viz. the crowd of Jews whom the Judges 
 bad bid begone, " took Sosthenes, and beat him before the judgment 
 ** seat." It is tertain thiit, as the whole body of the people were 
 Greeks, the application of aU to them is unusual and hard. If I wat 
 describing an insurrection at Paris, I might say all the Jews aU the 
 Protestants, or all the English acted so and so ; but I sliould scarcely 
 «ay all the French, whdn the whole mass of the community were oif 
 that description. As what is here offered is founded upon a various 
 reading, and that in opposition to the greater part of the macuscripts 
 that are extant, I have nor given it a place in the text. 
 
$2 THE FIRST EPISTLB 
 
 upon him the caution which is there inserted, " Let naxnacta 
 ** despise the youth»" 
 
 No. X, 
 
 Ghap. xvi. I, " Now concerning the collection for the 
 *' saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, 
 *' even so do ye." 
 
 The churches of Galatia and Phrygia were the last 
 churches which St. Paul had visited before the writing of 
 this epistle. He was now at Ephesus, and hexame thith^ 
 er immediately from visiting these churches. " He went 
 "** over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia, in order, 
 ** strengthening all the disciples. And it came to pass 
 ** that Paul having passed through the upper coasts," (viz* 
 the abovenamed countries, called the upper coast, as being, 
 tlie northern part of Asia Minor), , " came to Ephesus.'* 
 Acts xviil. 23 ; xix. i. These therefore, probably, were, 
 the last churches at which he had left directions for their: 
 public conduct during his absence. Although two years 
 intervened between his journey to Ephesus, and his writ- 
 ing this epistle, yet It does not appear that during that time, 
 he visited any other church. That he had not been silent, 
 when he was in Galatia, upon this subject of contribution, 
 for the poor, is further made out from a hint which he lets- 
 fall in his epistle to that church. " Only they (viz. the 
 *' other apostles) would that we should remember the 
 <* poor, tlie same also which I was forward to do." 
 
 No, Xh 
 
 Chap. Iv. 18. " Now, some are puffed up, as though! 
 **^ I would not come unto you." 
 
 Why should they suppose that he would not come? 
 Turn to the first chapter of the Second Epistle to the Co. 
 ri'nthlans, and you will find that he had zhtdidj disappoint' 
 ed them. " I was minded to come unto you before, that 
 ** you might have a second benefit ; and to pass by you. 
 
TOTHfe CdftllfTHlANSr- ^1 
 
 "imo Macedonia, and to come again Outdf Macedoniii 
 ** unto you, and of you to be brbught on my way toward 
 " Judea. When I, therefore, was thus minded, did I use 
 " lig'htness ? Or the things that I purpose, do I purpose ac- 
 " cording to the flesh, that with me there should be yea, 
 ** yea, and nay, nay ? But, as -God is true, our word to- 
 " ward you was not yea and nay.'* It appears from this 
 quotation, that he had not only intended, but that he had 
 pi^cMttised tliem a visit before ; for, otiier wise, why should- 
 li^ apologize for the cliange of his purpose, or express so 
 much anxiety le^t this change should be imputed to any 
 culpable iickkness in his temper:; and lest he should there- 
 by seem to them, as one whose word was not, in any sort, 
 to be depended upon? Besides which, the terms made 
 use of, plainly refer to a promise ;" Our word toward you 
 ** "Was not yea and nay." St. Paul therefore had signifi- 
 es an irttehtion which he -had not been able to execute St 
 and this seeming breach tif his word, and the delay df his 
 visit, bad, with some who were evil affected towards him> 
 given birth to a suggestion that he would come ao more 
 to Corinth. 
 
 No. XIL 
 
 Chap. V. 7, 8. " For even Christ, our passeveris sac- 
 " rificed for us ; therefore let us keep the feast, not with 
 " the old leaven, neither with the leaven of malace and 
 '* wickedness, but with the unleavened bread of sincerity 
 «* and truth." 
 
 Dr. Benson tells us, that from this passage, compared 
 with chapter xvi. 8, it has been conjectured that this epis- 
 tle was written about the time of the Jewish passover j 
 and to me the conjecture appears to have been very well 
 founded. The passage to which Dr. Benson refers us is 
 this ; " I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost." With 
 this passage he ought to have joined another in the same 
 eoatext \ « And it may be tliat I will abide, yea, and wia- 
 
^4 TBI rmST EPISTLE &C» 
 
 <« ter with you ;'* for, from the two passages laid togeth- 
 er, it follows that the epistle was written before Pentecost^ 
 yet after winter 5 which necessarily determines the d^tc 
 to the part of the year, within which the passover falls. It- 
 was written before Pentecost, because he says, " I will 
 «* tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost." It was written after- 
 winter, because he tells them, " It may be that I may 
 " abide, yea, and winter with you." The winter which , 
 the apostle purposed to pass at Corinth, was undoubtedly ; 
 the winter next ensuing to the date of the epistle ; yet it was 
 a winter subsequent to the ensuing Pentecost, because he- 
 did not intend to set forwards upon his journey till after the. 
 feast. The words, " let us keep the feast, not with old leav- 
 « en, neither with the leaven of malice and wickedness, but- 
 ** with the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth," loolc 
 ▼cry like words suggested by the season ; at least they 
 have, upon that supposition, a- force and significancy 
 which do not belong to them upon any other ; and it is. 
 n©t a little remarkable, that the hints casually dropped in, 
 the epistle, concerning particular parts of the year, should, 
 coincide with this supposition. 
 
CHAP. IV. 
 
 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS; 
 
 No. L 
 
 1 WILL not say that it is impossible, having seen the 
 First Epistle to the Corinthians, to construct a second 
 with ostensible allusions to the first ; or that it is impos- 
 sible that both should be fabricated, so as to carry on an 
 order and continuation of story, by successive references 
 to the same events. But I say, that this, in either case, 
 must be the effect of craft and design. Whereas, whoev- 
 er examines the allusions to the former epistle which he 
 finds in this, whilst he will acknowledge them to be such 
 as would rise spontaneously to the hand of the writer, 
 from the verjr subject of the correspondence, and the situ- 
 ation of the corresponding parties, supposing these to be 
 real, will see no particle of reason to suspect, either that 
 the clauses containing these allusions were insertions for 
 the purpose, or tliat the several transactions of the Co- 
 rinthian church were feigned, in order to form a train of 
 narrative, or to suppprt the appearance of connection be* 
 tween the two epistles. - . . 
 
 I. In the First Epistle, St. Paul announces his intention ■ 
 of passing through Macedonia, in his way to Corinth % 
 " I will come to you when I shall pass through Macedo- 
 ** nia." In the Second Epistle, we find him arrived in 
 Macedonia, and about to pursue his journey to Corinth. 
 But observe the manner in which this is made to appear ; 
 " I know the forwardness of your mind, for which I boast 
 " of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a 
 " year ago, and your zeal had provoked very many ; yet 
 •* have I sent the brethren, lest our hosting of you should 
 " be in vain in this behalf ; that, as I said, ye may be 
 " ready,, lest haply, if they of Macedonia come with me 
 1^ and find you unprepared; we (that we say not you) be 
 
56 THE SECOND EPISTLE 
 
 <« ashamed in this same confident, boa sting." (-Chap. ix. 
 2, 3, 4.) St. Paul's being in 'Macedonia at the time of 
 writing the epistle, is, in this passage, inferred only .from 
 his saying, that he had boasted to the Macedonians of the 
 alacrity of his Achaian converts ; and the fear which he 
 expresses, lest, if any of the Macedonian Christians should 
 come with him unto Achaia,they should find his boasting 
 unwarranted by the event. The business of the contribution 
 is the sole cause of mentioriing'Macedonia at all. Will it be 
 insinuated that this passage was framed merely to state that 
 St; 'Paul was now in Macedonia ; and, by that statement, 
 to produce an apparent agreement with the purpose of 
 visiting Macedonia, notified in the First Epistle? Or will 
 it be thought probable, that, if a sophist had meant to place 
 St. Paul in Macedonia, for the sake of giving countenance 
 to his forgery, he would h^ve done it in so oblique a man- 
 ner as through the medium of the eoutribution ? The 
 same thing may be observed of another text in iko epistle, 
 in which the name of Macedonia occurs ; ** Further- 
 « more, when I came to Troas to preach the gospel, and 
 ** a door was opened unto me of the Lord, I had no. rest 
 •* in my spirit, because I found not Titus, my brother ; 
 •« but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into 
 « Macedonia.'* I mean, that it may be observed of this 
 passage also, that there is a reason for mentioning Macedo- 
 nia, entirely distinct from the purpose of showing St. 'Paul 
 to be there. Indeed, if the passage before us show that 
 point at all, it shov/s it so obscurely, that Grotius, though 
 he did not doubt that Paul was now in Macedonia, refers 
 this text to a different journey. Is this the hand of a forg- 
 er, meditating to establish a false conformity ? The text, 
 however, in which it is most strongly implied that St. Paiil 
 wrote the present epistle from Macedonia, is found in the 
 fourth, .fifth, and sixth verses of the seventh chapter ; ** I 
 « am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our 
 <« tribulation j for, when ws "v^^ere come. into Macedonia^ 
 
Ta THE CORINTHIAWS* 57 
 
 "*our flesh had no rest; without were fightings, wlthia 
 ** were fears ; nevertheless, God that comforteth those that 
 *♦ are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus.** 
 Yet even here, I tliink,noone will contend, that St. Paul's 
 coming to Macedonia, . or being* in Macedonia, was the 
 principal thing intended to be told; or that the telling of 
 it, indeed, was any; part of, the intention with which the 
 text was written ; . or that the mention even of the name 
 of Macedonia was not purely incidental, in the descrip* 
 tion of those tumultuous sorrows with which the writer's 
 mind had been lately agitated, and from which he was 
 relieved by the coming of Titus. The five first verses of 
 tlie eighth chapter, which commend the liberality of the 
 Macedonian churches, do not, in ray opinion, by tliem-. 
 selves, prove St. Paul to have been in Macedonia at the^ 
 time of writing the epistle. . 
 
 2. . In the First Epistle, St. Paul denounces a seveie cen-* 
 sure against an incestuous marriage, which had taken place 
 amongst the Corinthian converts, with the connivance, not 
 to say with the approbation, of the church ; and enjoins the. 
 church to purge itself of this scandal, byexpelling the offen* 
 derfrom its society. ** It Is reportedcommonly, that there is 
 •< fornication among you, and -such fornication, as is not sa 
 " much as named amongst the Gentiles, that one should 
 <* have his father's wife ; and ye are puffed up, and have not 
 " rather mourned, that he that hath done this deed might 
 " be taken away from among you ; for I, verily, as absent 
 " in body, but present in spirit, have judged already, as 
 *< tlioug-h I were present, concerning him that hath sa 
 ** done tliis deed; in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, 
 " when ye, are gathered together, and my spirit, with tlie 
 <* power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such a one 
 « unto Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that the spir- 
 " it may be saved in the day of the Lord." (Chap^ v, 
 1—5.) In the Second Epistle, we find this sentence ex. 
 ecuted, and the offender to be so affected with the pun* 
 ishment, that St, Paul now intercedes for his restoration^ 
 
5? THE SECOND EPreTtt 
 
 " Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which was 
 <* inflicted of many ; so that, contrawise, ye ought rath- 
 ** er to forgive him and cbmfbrt him, kst perhaps such a 
 ** one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow ; 
 •* wherefore I beseech you,tliat ye would confirm your love 
 « towards him.'* ('2 Cor. chap. ii. 7, 8.) Is this whole busi- 
 ness feigned for the sake of carrying on a continuation of 
 Story through the two epistles ? The church also, no less 
 than the offender, was brought by St. Paulas reproof to a 
 deep sense of the impropriety of their conduct. Their 
 fyenitence, and their respect to his authority, were, as 
 might be expected, exceedingly grateful to St. Paul. " We 
 **^ were comforted not by Titus's coming only, but by the 
 ** consolation wherewith he was comforted in you, when 
 ** he told us your earnest desire, your mourning, yourfer- 
 ** vent mind towards me, so tiiat I rejoiced the more ; 
 ^ for though I made you sorry with a letteri I do not re- 
 ** pent, though I did repent ; for I perceive that the same 
 •* episde made you sorry, diough it were but for a season. 
 •* Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry but that ye 
 ** sorfowed to repentance ; for ye were made sorry after 
 ** a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us 
 ** in nothing." (Chap. vii. 7-^9) That this passage is to 
 be referred to the incestuous marriage, is proved by the 
 twelfth verse of the same chapter. "Though I wrote 
 ** unto you, I did it not for his cause that had done the 
 * wrbng, nor for his cause that suflFered wrong ; but that 
 •* oar care for you in the sight of God, might appear un- 
 ** to you. " There were, it is true, various topics of blame 
 noticed in the First Epistle ; but there was none, except 
 this of the incestuous marriage, which could be called a 
 transaction between private parties, or df which it could 
 be said that one particular person had "done the vrrong," 
 and another particular person *' had suffered it." Could 
 all this be without foundation ? or could it be piit into 
 the second epistle, merely to furnish an obscure sequel 
 
TO TBE COWNTHIAKS- fjl 
 
 •to what had been saiid^outan incestuausjiiarrlageinthe 
 .first? 
 
 3. Ip the sixteenth chapter of the First Epistle, a col- 
 lection for the saints is recommended xo be set forwards at 
 Corinth. " Now, concerning the collection for the saints* 
 «' as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, so da 
 *< ye." (Chap. xyi. i,.) In the ninth chapter of the SgC''^ 
 ond Epistle, such a. collection is spoken of, as in readl-. 
 ness to be received. *' As touching the ministering to 
 '* the saints, it is superfluous for me to ^write to you, for I 
 " know the forwardness of ypur mind, for which I boast 
 *' of you to tliem of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a 
 ** year ago, and your zeal hath provoked very many." 
 (Chap. ix. J, 2,') This is such a continuation of the trans- 
 action as might be expected; or possibly it w^il be said, 
 as might easily be counterfeited^ but there is a circum- 
 stance of nicety in the agreement between the two epistles, 
 which, I am convinced, the author of a forgery would not 
 have hit upon, or which, if he had hit upon it, he would 
 liave ^et forth with more clearness* The Second Epistle 
 speaks of the Corinthians as having begun this eleemosy- 
 nary business a year before-* ** This is expedient for you, 
 ** who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be 
 "forward a year ago." (Chap. viii. 10.) ** I boast 
 "* of you to them of Macedonia, that Achaia was ready a 
 <* year ago." (Chap. ix. 2.) From these texts.it is ev- 
 ident, that something had been done in the business a 
 year before* It appears, however, from other texts in the 
 epistle, that the contribution was not yet collected or paid ; 
 for brethren were sent from to Corinth, " to make up 
 « their bounty." ^Chap, ix. 5.) They are urged to 
 ** perform the doing of it." (Chap. viii. 11.) " And 
 ** every man was exhorted to give as he porposed in his 
 »* heart." (Chap, ix 7.) The contribution, therefore, 
 as represented in our present epistle, was in readiness, yet 
 not received from the contributors ; was begun, was for- 
 ward long before, yet not hitherto collected. Now this 
 
'60 THE SECOND EplSTHE 
 
 representation agrees with one, and only with one sup- 
 position, namely, that every man had laid by in store, had 
 already provided the fund, from which he was after- 
 wards to contribute — the very case which the First 
 Epistle authorizes us to supppse to have existed ; for in 
 that epistle St. Paul had charged the Corinthians, " upon 
 « the first day of the week, every one of them lay by in 
 «* store as God had prospered him."* (i Cor. chap. 
 xvi. 2.) 
 
 * The following observations will satisfy us con cerning the purity 
 of our apostle's conduct in the suspicious business of a pecuniary con» 
 tributlon. 
 
 1. He disclaims the having received any Inspired authority for the 
 directions which he is giving. " I speak not by the commandment, 
 " but by occasion of the forwardness of others, and to prove the sin- 
 *' cerity of your love." {z Gor. chap. viii. 8.) Who, that had a sin- 
 ister purposes to answer by the recommending of subscriptions, 
 would thus distinguish, and thus lower the credit of his own recom- 
 mendation ? 
 
 a. Although he asserts the general right of Christian ministers to 
 a maintenance from their ministry', yet he protests against the making 
 Hse of this right in his own person. " Even so hath the Lord ordain- 
 " ed, that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel ; but 
 " I have used none of these things, neither have I written these things 
 " that It should be so done unto me ; for it were better for me to die, 
 ** than that any man should make my glorying, i. e. my professions 
 " of disinterestedness, void." (i Cor. chap. ix. 14, ij.) 
 
 3. He repeatedly purposes that there should be associates with him- 
 self in the management of the public bounty ; not colleagues of his 
 cwn appointment ; but persons elected for that purpose by the con- 
 tributors themselves. " And when 1 Come, whomsoever ye shall ap- 
 " prove by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality un^ 
 •• to Jerusalem ; and if it be meet that I go also, they shall go with 
 •• me.'* (i Cor. chap. xvi. 3, 4.) And In the Second Epistle, what 
 is here proposed, -^'e find actually done, aftd done for the very purpose 
 Cf guarding his cbaractef agaJ-nst any imputation that might be brought 
 upon it, in the discharge of a pecuniary trust. " And we have sent 
 " with him the brother, whose praise is in the gospel throughout all 
 " the churches ; and not that only, but who was also chosen of the 
 *' churches to travel with us with this grace (gift) which is adminis- 
 f tered to Us to the glory of the samfc Lord, aird the declaration 6f 
 
 I 
 
1^ THE CORINTHIANS. 
 
 61 
 
 No. II. 
 In comparing the Second Epistle to the Corinthians 
 \7ith the Acts of tlie Apostles, we are soon brought to ob- 
 serve, not only that there exists no vestige either of the 
 .epistle having been taken from the history, or the history 
 from the epistle ; but also that there appears in the con- 
 tents, of the epistle positive evidence, tliat neither was bor- 
 rowed from the other. Titus, who bears a conspicuous 
 part in the epistle, is not mentioned in the Acts of the 
 Apostles at all. St. Paul's sufferings, enumerated, chap, 
 xi. 24, <^of the Jews five times received I forty stripes 
 ** save one ; thrice was 1 beaten with rods ; once was I 
 ** stoned ; thrice I suffered shipwreck j a night and a 
 ** day I have been in the deep," cannot be made out from 
 his history, as delivered in the Acts, nor would this ac- 
 count have been given by a writer, who either drew his 
 knowledge of St. Paul from that history, or who was -care- 
 ful to preserve a conformity with it. The account in the 
 epistle, of St PauPs escape from Damascus, though agree- 
 ing in the main fact with tlie account of the same trans- 
 action in the Acts, is related with such difference of cir- 
 cumstance, as renders it utterly improbable that one 
 should be derived from the other. Tlie two accounts, 
 placed by the side of each other stand as follow ; 
 
 2, Cor. chap. xi. 32, 33. 
 ** In Damascus, the gov- 
 ** ernor under Aretas the 
 ** king, kept the city of the 
 ** Damascenes with a gar- 
 ** rison, desirous to appre- 
 " hend me ; and through a 
 " window in a basket was I 
 ** let down by the wall, and 
 ** escaped his hands.*' 
 
 Acts, chap. ix. 23^—25'. 
 " And after many days 
 " were fulfilled, the Jews 
 " took counsel to kill him ; 
 " but their laying in wait 
 " was known of Saul, and 
 " they watched the gates 
 ** day and night to kill him ; 
 " then the disciples took 
 
 ** him by night, and let him 
 " down by the wall in a bas- 
 il u ket.'^ 
 
 ** your ready mind ; avoiding this, that no nlan should blame us in 
 " this abundance which is ajdministered by us ; providing for things 
 ^< honest, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the eight of 
 
62. 
 
 THE SECOND EPISTLS; 
 
 Now If we be satisfied in general concerning these two 
 ancient writings, that the one was not known to the wri- 
 ter of the other, or not consulted by him ; then the ac- 
 cordances, which may be pointed out between them, will 
 admit of ao solution so probable, as the attributing of 
 th^em to.tnith and reality, as their common fou^dation. 
 
 No. IlL 
 
 The opening of this epistle exhibits si connection 
 with the history, which alone would satisfy my mind, that 
 the epistle was written by St. Paul, and by St. Paul in 
 the situation in which the history places him. Let it be 
 rerasm.bered, that in the nineteenth chapter of the Acts> 
 St. Paul is represented as driven away from Epliesua, or 
 as leaving however Ephesus, in consequence of an up- 
 roar in that city, excited by some interested adversaries of 
 the new religion. The account of the tumult is as fol- 
 lows. " When they heard these sayings," viz. Deme- 
 trius's complaint of the danger to be apprehended from St. 
 Paulas ministry to the established worship of the Ephe- 
 sian goddess, ** they were full of wrath, and cried out^ 
 ** saying. Great is Diana of the Ephesians, and the whole 
 <* city was filled with confusion j . and having caught 
 ^* Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul's companions in travel, they 
 <' rushed with one accord into the theatre ; and when 
 ** Paul would have entered In unto the people, the disci- 
 ** pies suffered him not ; and certain of the chief of Asia, 
 <* which, were his friends, sent unto him, desiring that he 
 «' would not adventure himself into the theatre. Some, 
 «* therefore, cried one thing, and some another ; for the 
 ** assembly was confused, and the more part knew not- 
 << wherefore they were come together. And they drew 
 « Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him 
 
 " men ;** 1. e. " not refiting In the consciousness of our own Integrity, 
 "but, in such a subject, careful also to approve our integrity to the 
 (a Cor. chap. viii. i8— Zi.) 
 
TO THE CORINTHIANS. <^3 
 
 <* forward ; and Alexander beckoned with his hand, and 
 « would have made his defence unto the people ; but, 
 <^ when they knew that he was a Jew, all with one voice, 
 <* about the space of two hours, cried out. Great is Diana 
 <* of the Ephesians. And after the uproar was ceased, 
 <* Paul called unto him the disciples, and embraced them, 
 ** and departed for to go into Macedonia.'* When he 
 was arrived in Macedonia he wrote the Second Epistle 
 to the Corinthians which is now before us ; and he be- 
 gins his epistle in tills wise, ** Blessed be God, even the 
 ** father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the father of mercies 
 ** and the God of all comfort, who comforteth us in all 
 «< iour tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them 
 «« which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith 
 ** we ourselves are comforted of God. For, as the suf- 
 •* ferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also 
 ** aboundeth by Christ ; and whether we be afflicted, it 
 <* is for your consolation and salvation, which is effectual ift 
 ^* the enduring of the same sufferings, which we also suf- 
 <' fer; or whether we be comforted, it is for your consolation 
 « and sal-cation; and our hope of you is steadfest, know- 
 " ing that, as ye are partakers of the sufferings, so shall 
 « ye be also of the consolation. For we would not> 
 «< bretliren, have you ignorant of our trouble *iuhic/j camt 
 *' to us in Asm, that we were pressed out of measure, a- 
 ** -bove strength, insomuch that we despaired even of life; 
 *< but we had the sentence of death in ourselves, that we 
 " should not trust in ourselves, but in God which raises 
 « the dead, who delivered us from so great a death, and 
 " doth deliver ; in whom we trust that he will yet deliver 
 *< us.'* Nothing could be more expressive of the circum- 
 stances in which the history describes St. Faul to have 
 been, at the time when the epistle pur ports to- be written ; 
 or rather, nothing could be more expressive of the sensa- 
 tions arising from these circumstances, than this passage,'. 
 It is the calm recollection of a mind emerged from the 
 confusion of instant danger. It is tliat.devotbn aad so- 
 
^4 THE SECOND EPISTLE 
 
 lemnlty of thought, which follows a recent deliverance. 
 There is just enough of particularity in the passage, tO' 
 show, that It is to be referred to the tumult at Ephesus ;- 
 «' We would not, brethren, have you ignorant of our troub- 
 ** le which came to us in Asia/' And there is nothing 
 tnore ; no mention of Demetrius, of the seizure of St. 
 Paul's friends, of the interference of the town clerk, of the 
 occasion or nature of the danger which St. Paul had esca- 
 ped, or even of the city where it happened ; in a word, 
 no recital frorti which a suspicion could be conceived, ei- 
 ther that the author of the epistle had made use of the nar- 
 rative in the Acts ; or on the other hand, that he had' 
 sketched the outline, which the narrative in the Acts only 
 £Iled up. That the forger of an epistle, under the namer 
 of St. Paul, should borrow circumstances from a -history 
 of St. Paul then extant ; or, that the author of a history^ 
 of St. Paul should gather materiab from letters bearings 
 St. Paul's name, may be credited ; but I cannot believe 
 that any forger whatever should, fall upon an expedient scy^ 
 refined, as to exhibit sentiments adapted to a situation, 
 and to leave his readers to seek out that situation from- 
 the history ; still less, that the author of a history should 
 go about to frame facts and circumstances, fitted to sup- 
 ply the sentiments which he found in the letter. It may 
 be saidi perhaps, that it does- not appear from the history,- 
 that any danger threatened St. Paul's life in the uproar at- 
 Ephesus, so Imminent as that, from which in the epistle^ 
 he represents himself to have been. delivered. This mat- 
 ter it is true, is not stated by the historian in. form ; but' 
 the personal danger of the apostle, we cannot doubt must' 
 have been extreme, when the " whole city was filled with- 
 <« confusion f'*^ when the populace had *' seized his com* 
 <* panions ; when in the distraction of his mind, he insist- 
 ed upon " coming forth amongst them ;" when the 
 Christians who were about him " would not suffer him ;*' 
 when " his friends, certain of the chief of Asia, sent to him 
 «« desiring that he would not adventure himself in the tu% 
 
TO THl? eORIKTHlANS. 65 
 
 " mult ;'* ^vhen, lastly, he was obliged to quit immedi- 
 ately tlid place and tlie country, " and, when the tumult 
 *' was oeased, to depart into Macedonia." All whicht 
 paiticulars atefoani in the narration, and justify St. jPaul*s 
 own account, ** that he was pressed out of measure, above 
 " strength, insomuch that he dispaired even of life, that 
 *' he had the sentence of death in himself;** i. e. liiathe 
 locked upon himself as a man condemned to die» 
 
 No.ir. 
 
 It has already been, remarked, that St. Paul*s original 
 Intention was to have visited Corinth in his way to Mace- 
 donia. " I was minded to come unto you before, and to 
 ** pass by you into Macedonia." 2 Cor. chap. i. 15, i6. 
 It has also been remarked that he changed this intention, 
 and ultimately resolved upon going through Macedonia 
 Jii"sf> Now upon this head there exists a circumstance of 
 correspondency between our epistle and the history, which 
 is riot very obvious to the reader's observation ; but which» 
 when observed, will be found, I think, close and exact. 
 Which .circumstance is this; that though the change of 
 St. Paul's intention be expressly mentioned only in the sec- 
 ond epistle, yet it appears, both from the history 
 and from this second epistle, that the change had 
 tdktxi place before the writing of tlie first epistle ; that 
 it appears however from neither, otherwise than by an in- 
 ference, unnoticed perhaps by almost every one who doci 
 not sit down professedly to the examination. 
 
 First, then, how does this point appear from the histo- 
 ry ? In the nineteenth chapter of the Acts and the twen- 
 ty first verse, we are told, that " Paul purposed in the 
 " spirit, when he had passed tlirough Macedonia and 
 <•' Achaia, to go to Jerusalem. So he sent into Macedo- 
 " nia two of them that ministered unto him, Timotheus- 
 ** and Erastus ; but he himself stayed in Asia for a sea- 
 ** son." A short time after this, and evidently in pursu- 
 
 aace of the same intention, we find (chap, xx. .1.. 2.) that 
 F 2 ^ -r i 
 
65 THE SECOND EPISTLE 
 
 <« Paul departed from Ephesus for to go into Macedonia j. 
 *' and tliac, when he had gone over those parts, he camo 
 ** into Greece." The resolution therefore of passing first 
 through Macedonia, and from thence into Greece, was 
 formed by St. Paul previously to the sending away of 
 Timothy. The order in which the two countries are men- 
 tioned, shows the direction of his intended route, " when 
 ** he had passed tlirough Macedonia and Achaia." Tim* 
 othy and Erastus, who were to precede him in his pro- 
 gress, were sent by him from Ephesus into Macedonia. 
 He himself a short time afterwards, and, as hath been ob- 
 served, evidently in continuation and pursuance of the 
 same design, " departed for to go into Macedonia." If 
 he had ever therefore entertained a different plan of his 
 journey, which is not hinted in the history, he must have 
 changed' that plan before this time. But, from the i-yth 
 verse of the fourth chapter of the First Epistle to the Co- 
 rinthians, we discover, that Timothy had been sent away 
 from Ephesus before that epistle was written.. " For 
 *' this cause have I sent unto you Timotheus who is my 
 ** beloved son." The change therefore of St. Paul's res- 
 olution, which was prior to the sending awa/ Timothy^ 
 was necessarily prior to the writing of the First Epis- 
 tle to the Corinthians. 
 
 Thus stands the order of dates, as collected from the 
 history, compared with the First Epistle. Now let us 
 enquire, secondly, how this matter is represented in Uie 
 epistle before us. In the sixteenth verse of the first chap- 
 ter of this epistle, St. Paul speaks of the intention which 
 iie had once entertained of visiting Achaia, in his way to 
 M acedonia. " In this confidence I was minded to come 
 ** unto you before, that ye might have a second benefit ; 
 *« and to pass by you into Macedonia." After protesting 
 in the seveateenth verse, against any evil construction that 
 might be put upon his laying aside of this intention, in the 
 twenty third verse he discloses the cause of it ; " Moreover 
 *' I call God for a recgrd upon my soul, that, to spare 
 
TO THE C0R1NTH1AK9. $7 
 
 **■ you, I came not as yet unto Gorinth." And then he 
 proceeds as follows ; " But I determined this with my- 
 ** self, that I would not come again to you in heaviness ; 
 ** for if I make you sorry, who is he then that makethma 
 ** glad, but the same which is made sorry by me ? And 1 
 " tvrote this same unto you, lest when I came I should have 
 " sorrow from them of whom I ought to rejoice ; having 
 ** confidence in you all, that my joy is the joy of you all ; 
 *' for, out of much affliction and anguish of heart, I wrote 
 *• unto you ivith many tears ; not that ye should be grieved> 
 ** but that ye might know the love which I have more 
 ** abundantly unto you ; but if any have caused grief, he 
 ** hath not grieved me but in part, that I may not over- 
 ** charge you all. Sufficient to such a man is this punish- 
 " ment, which was inflicted of many." In this quotation, 
 let. the reader first direct his attention to the clause marked 
 by Italics, " and T wrote this same unto you ;''and let him 
 consider, whether from the context, and from the struc- 
 ture of the whole passage, it be not evident that this writ- 
 ing was after St. Paul had " determined with himself, that 
 ; ^ ** he would not come again to them in heaviness ?" wheth- 
 .icr, indeed, it was not in consequence of this determination, 
 or at least with this determination upon his mind ? And, 
 in the next place, let him consider, whether the sentence, 
 <* I determined this with myself, that I would not come 
 ** again to you in heaviness," do not plainly refer to that 
 postponing of his visit, to which he had aluded in the verse 
 but one before, when he said " I call God for a record 
 " upon my soul, that, to spare you, I came not as yet 
 ** unto Corinth;*' and whether this be not the vi-it of 
 which he speaks in the sixteenth verse, wherein he informs 
 the Corinthians, " that he had been minded to pass by them 
 ** into Macedonia ;" but that, for reasons which argued 
 no levity or fickleness in his disposition, he had been com- 
 pelled to change his purpose. If this be so, then it fol- 
 lows that the writing here mentioned was posterior to 
 the change of his intention* The only question. 
 
63 THE SECOND EPISTLE 
 
 therefore, that remains, \vill be, whether this writiUg rekte 
 to the letter which we now have under the title of the First 
 Epistle to the Corinthians, or to some other letter not ex- 
 tant ? And upon this question I tliiak Mr. Locke's obseri 
 vation decisive ; namely, that the second clause marked in 
 the quotation by Italics, " I wrote unto you with many 
 ** tears," a ad the first clause so marked, " I wrote this 
 ** same unto you," belong to one writing, whatever that 
 was ; and that the second clause goes on to advert to a 
 circumstance which is found in our present First Epistle 
 to the Corinthians ; namely, the case and punishment of 
 the incestuous person. Upon the whole, then, we see, 
 that it is capable of being inferred from St. Paul's own 
 words, in the long extract which we have quoted, that the 
 First Epistle to the Corinthians was written after St. Paul 
 had determined to postpone his journey to Corinth ; in 
 other words, that the change of his purpose, with res- 
 pect to the course of his journey, though expressly men- 
 tioned only in the Second Epistle, had taken place before 
 the writing of the First ; the point which we made out to 
 be implied in the history, by the order of the events there 
 recorded, and the allusions to those events in the First 
 .Epistle. Now tliis is a species of congruity of all others 
 the most to be relied upon. It is not an agreement be- 
 tween two accounts of the same transaction, or between 
 different statements of the same fact, for the fact is not 
 stated ; nothing that can be called an account is given ; 
 but it is the junction of two conclusions, deduced from 
 independent sources, and deducible only by investigation 
 and comparison. 
 
 This point, viz. the change of the route, being prior to 
 the writing of the first epistle, also falls in with, and ac- 
 counts for, the manner in which he speaks in that epistle 
 of his journey. His first intention had been, as he here 
 declares, to " pass by them into Macedonia ;" that in- 
 tention having been previously given up, he writes, in his 
 First Epistle, *' that he would not see them now by the 
 
TO THE CORINTHIANS. 6^ 
 
 *♦ way," 1. e. as he must have done upon his first plan ; 
 ** but that he trusted to tarrjr awhile witli them, and pos- 
 ** sibly to abide, yea, and winter with them." i Cor^ 
 chap. xvi. 5, 6. It also accounts for a singularity in the 
 text referred to, which must strike every reader ; " I will 
 ** come to you when I pass through Macedonia ; for I 
 ** do pass through Macedonia. The supplemental sen- 
 tence, " for I do pass through Macedonia," imports that 
 there had been some previous communication upon the 
 subject of the journey ; and also that there had been some 
 vacillation and indecislveness in the apostle's plan ; both 
 which we now perceive to have been the case. The sen» 
 tence is as much as to say, " This is what I at last re- 
 ** solve upon." The expression, " orxv MxKi^onxv hsxduy*' 
 is ambiguous ; it may denote either *' when I pass, or when 
 •* I shall have passed, through Macedonia ;" the consid- 
 erations offered above fix it to the latter sense. Lastly^ 
 the point we have endeavoured to make out, confirms, or 
 rather, indeed, is necessary to the support of a conjecture 
 which forms the subject of a number in our observation<;. 
 upon the First Epistle that the insinuanon of certain o£ 
 the church of Corinth, that he would come no more 
 amongst them, was founded in some previous disappoint- 
 ment of tlieir expectations.. 
 
 No. K 
 But if St. Paul had changed his purpose before the 
 writing of the First Epistle, why did he defer explaining- 
 himself to the Corinthians, concerning the reason of that 
 change, until he wrote the Second ? This is a very fair 
 question ; and we are able, I think, to return to it a sat- 
 isfactory answer. The real cause, and the cause at length 
 assigned by St. Paul fc«- postponing his visit to Corinth, 
 and not travelling by the route which he had at first de- 
 signed, was the disorderly state of the Corinthian church 
 at the time, and the painful severities which he should 
 have found himself obliged to exercise, if he had come a- 
 Kiongst them during the existence, of these inegularities. 
 
7a THE SECOND EPISTLE 
 
 He was willing therefore to try, before he cr^rne in per- 
 son, what a letter of authoritative objurgation woiild do- 
 amongst them^ and to leave time for the operation of the 
 experiment. That was his scheme in writing the First 
 Epistle. But It was not for him to acquaint them with 
 the scheme. After the epistle had produced its effect 
 (and to the utmost extent, as it should seem, of the apos- 
 tle's hopes) ; when he had wrought m them a deep sense 
 of their fault, and an almost passionate solicitude to re- 
 store themselves to the approbation of their teacher ; 
 when Titus (chap. vii. 6, 7, 11.) had brought him in- 
 telligence ** of their earnest desire, their mourning, their 
 •* fervent mind towards him, of their sorrow and their 
 <' penitence ; what carefulness, what clearing of them- 
 ** selves, what indignation, what fear, what vehement de-- 
 •« sire , what zeal, what revenge," his letter, and the gen- 
 eral concern occasioned by it, had excited amongst them ; 
 he then opeias^himself fully upon the subject. The affec- 
 tionate mind of tlie apostle is touched by this return of 
 zeal and duty. He tells them that he did not visit them 
 at the tim€ proposed, lest their meeting should have been 
 attended with mutual grief j and with *grief to him em- 
 bittered by the reflection, that he was giving paiii to those, 
 from whom alone he could receive comfort. " I detel*- 
 <* mined this with myself, that I would not come again 
 ** to you in heaviness ; for if I make you soiTy, who is 
 ** he that maketh me glad but the same which is made 
 ** sorry by me ?" (chap ii. 1,2.) that he had written his 
 former epistle to warn them beforehand of their fault 
 " lest when he came he should have sorrow of them. of 
 <* whom he ought to rejoice ;'* (chap. ii. 3.) that he had 
 the farther view, though perhaps unperceived by them> 
 of making an experiment of their fidelity, '* to know the 
 <* piro©f of them, whether they were obedient in all things," 
 (chap. ii. 9.). This full discovery of his motive came 
 very naturally from the apostle, after he had seen the 
 success of his measures, but would nothaveijeen a sea- 
 
TO THE CORTNTHIAMS, ^I 
 
 sonable communicacion before. The whole composes a 
 train of seucmient and of conduct resulting from real 
 circumstance, and as remote as possible from fictioa or 
 imposture. 
 
 No. VL 
 
 Chap. XI. 9. *< When I was present with you and 
 " wanted, I was chargeable to no man ; for that which 
 « was lacking to me, the brethren which came from Ma-' 
 « cedonia supplied." The principle fact set forth in ^is 
 passage, the arrival at Corinth or brethren from Mace- 
 donia^ during St. PauPs first residence in that city, is 
 explicitly recorded. Acts, chap, xviii. 1,5. '< After these 
 «* things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Co- 
 
 ^ rinth. And when Silas and Timotheus were come 
 « from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in spirit, and testified 
 
 " to tlie Jew^ that Jesus was. Christ.'' 
 
 No, VIL 
 
 The above quotation from the Acts proves that Silas 
 and Timotheus were- assisting to St. Paul in preaching 
 the gospel at Corinth. With which correspond the words 
 of the epistle (chap, i, 19.) «* For the son of God, Je- 
 •<sus Christ, who was preached among yon by us, even 
 -*< by me, and Sylvanus, and Timotheus, was not yea and 
 « nay, but in him was yea.*' I do admit that the corres. 
 pondency, considered by itself, is too direct and obvious ; 
 and that an. impostor with the history before him might! 
 and probably would, produce agreements of the same 
 kind. ^ But let it be remembered, that this reference is 
 found in a writing, which from many discrepancies, and 
 especially from those noted No. Tl. we may conclude, was 
 not composed by any one who had consulted, and who 
 pursued the history. Some observation also arises upon 
 the variation of i3i€ name. We read Silas in the Acts, 
 
•^2 THE SECOND IPISTLB 
 
 Silvanus in the epistle. The similitude of these two names, 
 irthey were the names of different persons, is greater than 
 could easily have proceeded from accident ; 1 mean that 
 It is not probable, that two persons placed in situations so 
 ^uch alike, should bear names so nearly resembling each 
 Other * On the other hand, the difference of the name 
 in the two passages negatives the supposition of the passa- 
 ges, or the account contained in them, being transcribed 
 dther from the otlier. 
 
 f P iV.. VIIL 
 
 Chap. ii. 12, 13. " When I came to Troas to preach 
 *< Christ's gospel, and a door was opened unto me of the 
 ^* Lord, I had no rest in my spirit, because I found not 
 <* Titus my brother ; but taking my leave of them, I went 
 «f from thence into Macedonia." 
 
 To establish a conformity between this passage and the 
 Jiistory, nothing more is necessary to be presumed, than 
 that St. Paul proceeded from Ephesus to Macedonia, up- 
 on the same course by which he came back from Mace- 
 donia to Ephesus, or rather to Miletus in the neighbour- 
 hood of Ephesus ; in oUier words, that in his journey to 
 the peninsula of Greece, he went and returned the same 
 way. St. Paul is now In Macedonia, where he had late- 
 ly arrived from Ephesus. Our quotation imports that m 
 his journey he had stopped at Troas. Of this, the histo- 
 ry says nothing, leaving us only the short account, " that 
 " Paul departed from Ephesus, for to go Into Macedonia. 
 But the history says, that in his return from Macedonia to 
 Ephesus, «' Paul sailed from PhUlppi to Troas ; and that, 
 •when the disciples came together on the first day of the 
 week to break bread, Paul preached unto them all night J 
 that from Troas he went by land to Assos ; from Assos, 
 taking ship and coasting along the front of Asia Mmof. 
 * That they were- the same person is further confirmed by I ThesJ, 
 chap.i, I, compared -with Acta. chap. xvii. la 
 
TO THE CORINTHIANS. 7$ 
 
 he came by Mitylene to Miletus." Which account proves 
 first, that Troas lay In the way by which St. Paul passed 
 between Ephesus and Macedonia ; secondly, that he had 
 disciples there. In one journey between these two places, the 
 epistle, and in another journey between the same places, 
 the history makes him stop at this city. Of the first jeur- 
 ney he is made to say, *' that a door was in that city opened 
 •« unto him of the Lord ;** in the second we find disciples 
 there collected around him, and the apostle exercising his 
 ministry, with, what was even in him, more than ordinary 
 zeal and labour. The epistle therefore is in this instance con- 
 firmed, if not by the terms, at least by the probability of 
 the history ; a species of confirmation by no means to be 
 despised, because, as far as it reaches, it is evidently uncon- 
 trived. 
 
 Grotius, t know, refers the arrival at Troas, to which 
 the epistle alludes, to a dijBTerent period, but I think very 
 improbably ; for nothing appears to me more certain, than 
 that the meeting with Titus, which St. Paul expected at 
 Troas, was the same meeting which took place in Mace- 
 donia, viz. upon Titus's coming out of Greece. In the 
 quotation before us, he tells the Corinthians, *' When I 
 «* came to Troas, I had no rest in my spirit, because I 
 " found not Titus, my brother ; but, taking my leave of 
 <« them, I went from thence into Macedonia." Then in 
 the seventh chapter he writes, " When we were come in- 
 " to Macedonia, our flesh had no rest, but we were troub- 
 ** led on every side ; without were fightings, within were 
 " fears ; nevertheless, God, that comforteth them that 
 •* are cast down, comforted us by the coming of Titus." 
 These two passages plainly relate to the same journey of 
 Titus, in meeting with whom St. Paul had been disap- 
 pointed at Troas, and rejoiced in Macedonia. And 
 amongst other reasons which fix the former passage to 
 the coming of Titus out of Greece, is the consideration, 
 that it was nothing to the Corinthians that St. Paul did 
 »Qt meet with Titus at Troas, were it not that he was to 
 
 G 
 
V4 The SECOND spistle 
 
 l»ring intelligence from Corinth. The mention of the dis- 
 ^ appointment in this place, upon any other supposition, is, 
 irrelative. 
 
 No. IX. 
 
 Chap. xi. 24, 25. " Of the Jews five times receiv- 
 ^* ed I forty stripes save one ; thrice was I beaten 
 with rods ; once was I stoned ; thrice I suffered ship- 
 ** wreck ; a night and a day I have been in the deep." 
 
 These particulars cannot be extracted out of the Acts 
 of the Apostles; which proves, as hath been already ob- 
 served, that the epistle was not framed from the history ; 
 yet they are consistent with it, which, considering how 
 numerically circumstantial the account is, is more than 
 could happen to arbitrary and independent fictions. When 
 I say that these particulars are consistent with the history, 
 I mean, first, that there Is no article in the enumeration 
 which is contradicted by the history ; secondly, that the 
 history, though silent with respect to many of the facts 
 here enumerated, has left space for the existence of these 
 facts, consistent with the fidelity of its own narration. 
 
 First, no contradiction is discoverable between the epis- 
 tle and the history. When St. Paul says, thrice was I 
 l^eaten w^ith rods, although the history records only om 
 beating with rods, viz. at Phillppi, Acts xvi. 22. yet is 
 tliere no contradiction. It is only the omission in one book 
 of what is related in another. But had the history con- 
 tained accounts o£ four beatings with rods, at the time of 
 writing this epistle, in which St. Paul says that he had 
 cnly suffered three, there would have been a contradiction 
 properly so called. The same observation applies gener- 
 ally to the other parts of the enumeration, concerning 
 which the history is silent ; but there is one clause in the 
 quotation particularly deserving of remark ; because, when 
 cociroatcd with tlie history, it fumlshesthe nearest approach 
 
TO XHE C0J11HTHIAMS._ 75 
 
 t3 a contradiction, wlthput a. contradiction being actually 
 incurred, of an/ 1 remember to have met with. "Once,"saith 
 «* S ^Paul, was I stoned."Does the history relate that St.Paul, 
 prior to the writing of this epistle, had been stoned more 
 than once ? The history mentions distinctly one occasion 
 upon which St. Paul was stoned, viz. at Lystra in Lyca- 
 onia. *' Then came thither certain Jews from Antioch 
 " and Iconium, who persuaded the people ; and, having 
 " stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, supposing he had 
 ** been dead." (Chap. xiv<. 19.) And it mentions also an- 
 other occasloain which " an assault v»'as made both of the 
 •' G^ntiles,ani also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them 
 ** despitefully, and to stone them ; but tliey were aware of 
 " It,'* the history proceeds to tell us, *' and fled into Lys- 
 ** tra and Djrbe." This happened at Iconium, prior to 
 the date of tlie epistle. Now had. the assault been com- 
 pleted ; had the liistory related that a stone was thrown^ 
 as it relates that preparadons, were made botli by Jews 
 and Gentiles to stone Paul and his companions ; or evea 
 had die account of this transaction stopped, without go^ 
 ing on to mtorm. us tliat Paul and his conipanions were 
 ** aware of their danger and fled," a contradiction be- 
 tween the liistory and the epistle would have ensued. 
 Truth is necessarily consistent ; but it is scarcely possi- 
 ble tliat independent accounts, not hav ing truth to guide 
 them, should thus advance to the very brink of contra- 
 diction without falling into it. 
 
 Secondly, I say, that if the Acts of the Apostles be si- 
 lent concerning miany of the instances enumerated ia 
 the epistle, this silence may be accounted for, from the 
 plan and fabric of the history. The date of the epistle 
 synchronises with tlie beginning of the twentieth chap- 
 ter of the Acts. The part, therefore, of tlie history, 
 which precedes the twentieth chapter, is the only part in 
 which can be found any notice of the persecutions to 
 which St. Paul refers. Now it does not appear that the 
 author of tlie history was with St. Paul until his depar- 
 
7^ THE SECOND EPISTLE 
 
 ture from Troas, on his way to Macedonia, as related 
 chap xvi. lo; or rather indeed the contrary appears. It 
 is in this point of the history that the language changes. 
 In tlie seventh and eighth verses of this chapter the third 
 person is used. *' After they w^ere come t^ Mysia, they 
 ** assayed to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit suffered them 
 •* not ; and they passing by Mysia come to Troas ;" and 
 the third person is in like manner constantly used through- 
 out the foregoing part of the history. In the tenth verse 
 of this chapter, the first person comes in. *' After Paul 
 *« had seen the vision, immediately ivg endeavouied to go^ 
 « into Macedonia j assuredly gathering that tlie Lord 
 «* had called vs to preach the gospel unto them.** Now, 
 from this time to the writing of this epistle, the history- 
 occupies four chapters ; yet it is in these, if any, that a 
 regular or continued account of die apostle's hfe is to be 
 expected ; for how succinctly his history is delivered in the 
 preceding part of the book, that is to say, from the time 
 of his conversion to the time when the historian joined him 
 at Troas, except the particulars of his conversion itself 
 which are related circumstantially, may be understood 
 from the following observations. 
 
 The history of a period of sixteen years is comprised in 
 less than three chapters ; and of tliese, a material part is 
 taken up with discourses. After his conversion, he con- 
 tinued in the neighbourhood of Damascus, according to 
 the history, for a certain considerable, though indefinite 
 length of time, according to his own words (Gal. i. i8.) 
 for three years; of v/hich no other account is given than this 
 short one, that «• straightway he preached Christ in the 
 »» synagogues, that he is the Son of God ; that all that heard 
 « him were amazed, and said, is not this he that destroyed 
 «< them which called on his name in Jerusalem > that he 
 *♦ increased the more in strength, and confounded tlie Jews 
 « which dwelt at Damascus ; and that, after many days 
 " were fulfilled, the Jews took counsel to kill him.** From 
 ♦Damascus he proceeded to Jerusalem j and of his resi- 
 
rO THE CORINTHIANS. 77 
 
 ^nce there nothing more particular is recorded than that 
 ** he was with the apostles, coming in and going out ; 
 •• that he spake boldly in the name of the Lord Jesus, and 
 ** disputed against the Grecians who w^ent about to 
 <* kill him.** From Jerusalem, the history sends him to 
 his native city of Tarsus.* It seems probable, from the 
 order and disposition of the history, that St. Paul's stay 
 at Tarsus was of some continuance ; for we hear nothing 
 •f him, until, after a long apparent interval, and much 
 interjacent narrative, Barnabas, desirous of Paul's assist- 
 ance upon the enlargement of the Christian mission, 
 *» went to Tarsus for to seek him.f " We cannot doubt 
 but that the new apostle had been busied in his ministry ; 
 yet of what he did, or what he suffered, during this peri- 
 od, which may include three or four years, the history 
 professes not to deliver any information. As Tarsus was 
 situated upon the seacoast, and as, though Tarsus was 
 his home, yet it is probable he visited from thence many 
 other places, for the purpose of preaching the Gospel, it 
 is not unlikely, that in the course of three or four years, 
 he might undertake many short voyages to neighbourino- 
 countries,in the navigating of which we may be allowed to 
 suppose that some of those disasters and shipwrecks befel 
 him, to which he refers in the quotation before us, " tlirice 
 ** I suffered shipwreck, a night and a day I have been in 
 ** the deep." This last clause I am inclined to interpret 
 of his being obliged to take to an open boat, upon the loss 
 of the ship, and his continuing out at sea in that danger- 
 ous situation, a night and a day. St. Paul is here re- 
 counting his sufferings, not relating miracles. From Tar- 
 sus, Barnabas brought Paul to Antioch, and there he re- 
 mained a year ; but of the transactions of that year no 
 other description is given than what is contained in- the 
 four last verses of the eleventh chapter* After a more 
 solemn dedication to the ministry, Barnabas and Paul pro- 
 
 * Acts, chap. Ix, 30. 
 t Chap* xi, aj. 
 
*}% THE SECON© EFISTLB 
 
 ceeded from Antioch to Cilicia, and from thence t2i^ 
 sailed to Cyprus, of which voyage no particulars arc men- 
 tioned. Upon their return from Cyprus, they made a 
 progress together through the Lesser Asia ; and though 
 two remarkable speeches be preserved, and a few incidents 
 m the course of their travels circumstantially related, yet 
 h is the account of this progress, upon the whole, given 
 professedly with conciseness ; for instance, at Iconi- 
 ura it is said that they abode a long time ;* yet of 
 this long abode, except cpncerning the manner in 
 which they were driven away, no memoir is inserted in the 
 history. The whole is wrapped up in one short summa- 
 ry, " they spake boldly in the Lord, which gave testimo- 
 *' ny unto the world of his grace, and granted signs and 
 *'' wonders to bo done by their hands." Having complet- 
 ed their progress, the two apostles returned to Antioch » 
 *' and there they abode long time with the disciples.*' 
 Here we have another large portion of time passed over 
 in silence. To this succeeded a journey to Jerusalem, 
 upon a dispute which then much agitated the Christian 
 church, concerning the obligation of the law of Moses. 
 When the object of that journey was completed, Paul pro- 
 posed to Barnabas to go again and visit their brethien in 
 every city where they had not preached the word of 
 the Lord. The execution of this plan carried our apos- 
 tle through Syria, Cilicia, and many provinces of the Les- 
 ser Asia ; yet is the account of the whole journey dispatch- 
 ed, in four verses of the sixteenth chapter. 
 
 If the Acts of the Apostles had undertaken to exhibit 
 regular annals of St. Paul's ministry, or even any contin- 
 ued account of his life, from his conversion at Damascus 
 to his imprisonment at Rome, I should have thought the 
 omission of the circumstances referred to in our epistle, a 
 matter of reasonable objection. But when it appears, 
 from the history itself, that large portions of St. Paul's 
 life were either passed over in silence, or only slightly 
 
 • Chap. xvi. 3, 
 
TO THE CORINTHIANS. 79 
 
 touched upon, and that nothing more than certain detach- 
 ed incidents and discourses are related ; when we observe 
 idso, that the audior of the history did not join our apos- 
 tle's society till a few years before the writing of the epis- 
 tle, at least that there is no proof in the history that he 
 did so ; in comparing the history with the epistle, we 
 shall not be surprised by the discovery of omissions ; we 
 shall ascribe it to truth that there is no contradiction. 
 
 Cap, iii. I. " Do we begin again to commend our- 
 " selves ? or need we, as some others, epistles of commen- 
 *< dation to you ?** 
 
 " As some others." Turn to Acts xvlii. 27, and you 
 will find that, a short time before tlie writing of this epis- 
 tle, Apollos had gone to Corinth with letters of commen- 
 dation from the Ephesian Christians ; " and when Apol- 
 ** los was disposed to pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, 
 <* exhorting the disciples to receive him." Here the words 
 of the epistle bear the appearance of alluding to some 
 specific instance, and the history supplies that in- 
 stance ; it supplies at least an instance as opposite 
 as possible to the terms which the apostle uses, and 
 to the date and direction of the epistle, in which they are 
 found. The letter which Apollos carried from Ephe- 
 sus, was precisely the letter of commendation which St. 
 Paul meant ? and it was to Achaia, of which Corinth 
 was the capital, and indeed to Corinth itself (Acts, chap, 
 xix. i.), that Apollos carried it; and it was about two 
 years before the writing of this epistle. If St. Paul's words 
 be rather thought to refer to some general usage which 
 then obtained among Christian churches, the case of Apol- 
 los exemplifies that usage ; and affords that species of con- 
 firmation to the epistle, which arises from seeing the man^ 
 ners of the age, in which it purports to be written, faith- 
 fully preserved. 
 
ta THE SrCOND EPISTLE 
 
 No. XI. 
 
 Chap. xiii. I. •* This is the third time I am coming to 
 ** you ;" r^iroi raro t^p^oj^eet. 
 
 Do not these words import that the v/riter had been at 
 Corinth twice before ? Yet, if thej import this, they over- 
 set every congruity we have been endeavouring to estab- 
 lish. The Acts of the Apostles record only two journeys 
 of St. Paul to Corinth. We have all along supposed, 
 what every mark of time except this expression indicates, 
 that the epistle was written between the first and second 
 of these journeys. If St. Paul had been already twice at 
 Corinth, this supposition must be given up ; and every 
 argument or observation which depend,upon it, falls to the 
 ground. Again, the Acts of the Apostles not only re- 
 cord no more than two journeys of St. Paul to Corinth,, 
 but do not allow us ta suppose that more than two such 
 journeys could be made or intended by him within the 
 period which the history comprises ; for, from his first 
 journey into Greece to his first imprisonment at Rome, 
 with which the history concludes, the apostle^s time is ac- 
 counted for. If therefore the epistle was written after 
 the second journey to Corinth, and upon the view and 
 expectation of a third, it must have been written after his 
 first im.prisonment at Rome, i. e. after the time to which 
 the history extends. When I first read over this epistle 
 with the particular view of comparing it with the history, 
 whicli I chose to do without consulting any commentary 
 whatever^ I own that I felt myself confounded by this text. 
 It appeared to contradict the opinion, which I had been 
 led by a great variety of circumstances to form, concern- 
 ing the date and occasion of the epistle. At length how- 
 ever it occurred to my thoughts to inquire, whether the 
 passage did necessarily imply that St. Paul had been at 
 Corinth twice ; or whether, when he says " this is the 
 ♦* third time I am coming to you," he might meao ©nly 
 
TO tHE CORtNTHlAKS. 
 
 St 
 
 that this was the third time that he was ready, that he 
 was prepared, that he intended to set out upon his jour- 
 ney to Corinth. I recollected that he had once before 
 this purposed to visit Corinth, and had been disappointed 
 in his purpose ; which disappointment forms the subject 
 of much apology and protestation, in the first and second 
 chapters of die epistle. Now. if the journey in which he 
 had been disappointed was reckoned by him one ©f the 
 times in which " he was coming to them," then the pres- 
 ent would be tlie third time, i. e, of his being ready and 
 prepared to come ; although he had been actually at Co- 
 rinth only once before. This conjecture being taken up, 
 a farther examination of the passage and the epistle, pro- 
 duced proofs which placed it beyond doubt. This is 
 the tliird time I am coming to you ; iw the verse following 
 these words he adds, "I told you before, and foretel you» 
 ** as if I were present the second time } and being absent, 
 •• now I write to them which heretofore have sinned, and 
 <* to all other, that if I come again I will not spare." In this 
 Terse, the apostle is declaring beforehand what he would 
 do in his intended visit ; his expression therefore, " as if I 
 ** were present the second time," relates to that visit. But, 
 if his future visit would only make him present among 
 them a second time, it follows that he had been already 
 there but once. Again, in the fifteenth verse of the first 
 chapter, he tells them, " In this confidence, I was mind- 
 ** ed to come unto you before, that ye might have a second 
 •* benefit." Why a second, and not a third benefit ? why 
 ^iVTi^xVy and not r^trfiv y/x-^iv^ If the r^irov i^^ofMciy in the 
 fifteenth chapter, m^ant a third visit ? fl)r, though the visit 
 in the first chapter be that visit in which he was disappoint- 
 ed, yet, as it is evident from the epistle that be had never 
 been at Corinth, from the disappointment to the time of 
 writing the epistle, it follows, that if it was only a sec- 
 ond visit in which he was disappointed then, it could on- 
 ly be a second visit which he purposed now. But the text 
 which I think is decisive of tl,ae question, if any question re* 
 
•|r THE. SE<?TTy^D EPISTLE 
 
 main upon the subject, is the fourteenth verse of the twelftli. 
 " chapter ; Behold the third time I am ready to come to 
 you.*' ih r^iTc* irei^ag tp^a i^Quv. It is very clear that the 
 rgiroi iroi^ui ^X" ^^^^^ of the twelfth chapter and the r^ktaf 
 rare i^x'^f^.ai of the thirteenth chapter, are equivalent expres- 
 sipns, were intended to convey the same meaning, and to 
 relate to the same journey. The comparison of these 
 phrases gives us St. Paul's own explanation of his own 
 words ; and it is that very explanation which we are con- 
 tending for, viz. that r^irov raro i^x^/axt doesnot mean that 
 he was coming a third time, but that this was the third 
 time he was in readiness to come, r^trov srcif^ejg ix^v. I 
 do not apprehend, that after this it can be necessary to, 
 call to our aid the reading of the Alexandrian manuscript,, 
 which gives iroif^uq i^a tx6uv in the thirteenth chapter as 
 v;;ell as in the twelfth ; or of the SyrLac and Coptic verslonsj 
 which follow that reading ; because I allow that this 
 reading, besides not being sufficiently supported by an- 
 cient copies, is probably paraphrastical, and has been in- 
 serted for the purpose of expressing more unequivocallj*- 
 the sense, v/hich the shorter expression r^irov mro ^^x^f.i*t 
 was supposed to carry. Upon the whole, the mattter is 
 sufficiently certain ; nor do I propose it as a new inter- 
 pretation of the text which contains the difficulty, for the 
 same was given by Grotius long ago ; but I thought it 
 the clearest way of explaining the subject, to describe the 
 manner in which the difficulty, the solution, and the 
 proofs of that solution, successively presented tliemselves 
 to my inquiries. Now, in historical researches, a recon- 
 ciled inconsistency becomes a positive argument. First, 
 because an. impostor generally guards against the ap- 
 pearances of inconsistency ; and secondly because 
 when apparent inconsistencies are found, it is seldom that 
 any thing but truth renders them capable of reconcilia- 
 tion. The existence of the difficulty proves the want, or 
 absence of that caution, which usually accompanies the 
 consciousness of fraud ; and the solution proves, that it 
 
TO THE CORINTHIANS. >l^3 
 
 is not the: collusion of fortuitous proposition which we 
 
 have to to deal with, but the thread of truth winds through 
 
 the whole, which preserves every circumstance in its 
 
 place. 
 
 No. XIL 
 
 Chap. X. 14 — 16. " We are come as far as to you al- 
 •« so, in preaching the Gospel of Christ ; not boasting of 
 •* things without our measure, that is, of other men's la- 
 « hours ; but having hope, when your faith is increased, 
 *♦ that we shall be enlarged by you, according to our rule, 
 *' abundantly to preach the Gospel in the regions beyond 
 ** you." 
 
 This quotation affords an indirect, and therefore un- 
 suspicious, but at the same time a distinct and indubitable 
 recognition of the truth and exactness of the history. I 
 consider it to be implied by the words of the quotation, 
 that Corinth was tlie extremity of St. Paul's travels hither^ 
 to. He expresses to the Corinthians his hope, that in some 
 future visit he might " preach the Gospel to the regions 
 *• beyond them i" which imports that he had not hith- 
 erto proceeded ** beyond them," but that Corinth was as 
 yet the farthest point or boundary of his travels. Now, 
 how is St. Paul's first journey into Europe, which was 
 the only one he had taken before the writing of the epis- 
 tle, traced out in the history ? Sailing from Asia, he land- 
 ed at Philippi ; from Philippi, traversing the eastern coast 
 of the peninsula, he passed through Amphipolis and Apol- 
 lonia to Thessalonica ; from thence through Berea to 
 Athens, and from Athens to Corinth, nvhere he stopped ; 
 and from whence, after a residence of a year and a half, 
 he sailed back into Syria. So that Corinth was the last 
 place which he visited in the peninsula ; was the place 
 from which he returned into Asia ; and was, as such, the 
 boan.^ary and limit of his progress. He could not have 
 said the same thing, viz. ** I hope hereafter to visit the 
 *< regions beyond you," in an epistle to the Phllippians, 
 or in an epistle to the Thessalonians, inasmuch as he 
 
S4 f^^ SECONB EPISTLK 
 
 must be deemed to have already visited the regions be- 
 yond thewf having proceeded from those cities to other 
 parts of Greece.' But from Corinth he returned home ; 
 every part therefore, beyond that city, might properly be 
 said, as it is said in the passage before us, to be unvisited. 
 Yet is this propriety, the spontaneous effect of truth, and 
 produced without meditation or design. 
 
CHAP. V. 
 
 THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANI* 
 
 No, /. 
 
 X HE argument of this epistle rfi soTfne meas* 
 lire proves its antiquity. It will hardly be doubted, but 
 that it was written whilst the dispute concerning the cir- 
 cumcision of Gentile converts was fresh in men's minds ; 
 for, even supposing it to have been a forgery, the only- 
 credible motive that can be assigned for the forgery, was 
 to bring the name and authority of the apostle into this 
 controversy. No design could be so insipid, or so unlike- 
 ly to enter into the thoughts of any man, as to produce an 
 epistle written earnestly and pointedly upon one side of a 
 controversytwhsn the controversy itself was dead, and the 
 question no longer interesting to any description of read- 
 ers whatever. Now the controversy concerning the cir- 
 cumcision of the Gentile Christians was of such a nature, 
 that, if it arose at all, it must have arisen in the beginning 
 of Christianity. As Judea was the scene oi the Christian 
 history ; as the author and preachers of Christianity were 
 Jews ; as the religion itself acknowledged and was found- 
 ed upon the Jewish religion, in contradistinction to every 
 other religion then professed amongst mankind ; it was 
 not to be wondered at, that some of its teachers should car- 
 ry it out in the world rather as a sect and modification of 
 Judaism, than as a separate original revelation ; or that 
 they should invite their proselytes to those observances, 
 in which they lived themselves. This was likely to hap- 
 pen ; but if it did not happen at frst ; if, whilst the re- 
 ligion was in the hands of Jewish teachers, no such claim 
 was advanced, no such condition was attempted to be im- 
 posed, it is not probable that the doctrine would be startecf, 
 much less that it should prevail in any future period. I 
 likewise ttiink, that those pretensions of Judaism weriJ 
 H 
 
S6 THE ZPISTLZ TO THE GALATIAN'S. 
 
 much more likely to be insisted upon, whilst the Jews 
 continued a nation, than after their fall and dispersion ; 
 whilst Jerusalem aijid the temple stood, than after tlie des- 
 truction brought upon them by the Roman arms, the fa- 
 tal cessation of the sacrifice and the priestliood, the humil- 
 iating loss of their country, and, with it, of the great rites 
 and symbols of their institution. It sliould seem there- 
 fore, from the nature of the subject, and tlie situation of 
 the parties, that this controversy was carried on in the in- 
 terval between the preacliing of Christianity to the Gen- 
 tiles, and the invasion of Titus ; and tliat our present epi§.- 
 tle, which was undoubtedly intended to bear a part m 
 th\s controversy, must be referred to tlie same period. 
 
 But, again, the epistle supposes that certain designing ad- 
 herents of the Jewish law had crept into the churches of Ga.- 
 latia ; and had been endeavouring, and but too successfully^ 
 -to persuade the Galatic converts, that they had been taught 
 the new religion imperfectly and at second hand ; that tlie 
 founder of their church himself possessed only an inferior 
 ^nd deputed commission, the seat of trutli and authority be- 
 ing in the apostles and elders of Jerusalem ; moreover, that 
 whatever he might profess amongst them, he had himself 
 -at other times, and in other places, given way to the doc- 
 trine of circumcision. The epistle is uninteUigible with- 
 out supposing all this. Referring therefore to this, as to 
 what had actually passed, we find St. Paul treating so 
 unjust an attempt to undermine his credit, and to introduce 
 amongst his converts a doctrine which''he had uniformly 
 reprobated, in terms of great asperity and indignatioii. 
 And in order to refute the suspicions which had been rais- 
 ed concerning the fidelity of his teaching, as well as to as- 
 sert the independency and divine original of his mission, 
 we find him appealing to the ^listory of his conversion, te 
 his conduct under it, to the manner in which he had con- 
 ferred with the apostles when he met with them at Jerusa- 
 lem ,• alledging, that so far was his doctrine from being 
 icriyed froin them, or they from exercising any supcxiori- 
 
THE tPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS, 87 
 
 ty over him, that they had simply assented to what ha 
 had already preached amongst the Gentiles, and which 
 preaching was communicated not by them to him, but by 
 himself to then! ; that he had maintained the liberty of 
 the Gentile church, by opposing, upon one occasion, an 
 aposde to the face, when the timidity of his behaviouc 
 seemed to endanger it ; that from the first, that all along, 
 that to that hour he had constantly^ resisted the claims of 
 Judaism ; and that the persecutions which he daily -un- 
 derwent, at the hands or by the instigation of the Jews» 
 and of which he bore in his person the marks and scars, 
 might have been avoided by him, if he had consented ta 
 employ his labors in bringing, through the medium of 
 Ghristianity, converts over to the Jewish institution, for 
 then " would the offence of the cross have ceased." Now 
 an impostor who had forged the epistle for the purpose 
 of producing St, PauPs authority in the dispute, which» 
 as hath been observed, is the only credible motive that 
 oan be assigned for the forgery, might have made the 
 apostle deliver his opinion upon the subject, in strong and 
 decisive terms, or might have put his name to a train of 
 reasoning and argumentation upon that side of the ques- 
 tion, which the imposljure was intended to recommend. I 
 can allow the possibility of such a scheme as that. But 
 for a writer, with' this purpose in viev;, to feign a series 
 of transactions supposed to have passed amongst the 
 Christians of Galatia, and tlien to counterfeit expressions 
 of anger and resentment excited by these transactions ; to 
 make the apostle travel back into his own history, and into 
 a recital of various passages of his life, some indeed direct- 
 ly, bat others obliquely, and others even obscurely bear- 
 ing upon the point in question ; in a word, to substitute 
 narrative for argument, expostulation and complaint for 
 dogmatic positions and controversial reasoning, in a writing 
 ■properly controversial, and o£. which the aim and design 
 was to support one side of a much agitated question, is a 
 method so intricate, and so unlike tlie methods pursued by 
 
S8 THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 
 
 all Other impostors, as to require very flagrant proofs of 
 imposition to induce us to believe it to be one. 
 
 In this number I shall endeavour to prove, 
 
 1. That the Epistle to the Galatians, and the Acts of 
 the Apostles, were written without any communication 
 with each other. 
 
 2. That th? epistle, though written without any com- 
 munication with the history, by recital, implication, or 
 reference, bears testimony to many of the facts contained 
 in it. 
 
 I. The epistle and the Acts of the Apostles were writv 
 ten without any communication with each other. 
 
 To judge of this point, we must examine those passages 
 in each, which describe the same transaction ; for if the 
 autlior of either writing derived his information from the 
 account which he had seen in the other, when he came to 
 «peak of the same transaction, he would follow that ac- 
 count. The history of St. Paul, at Damascus, as read in 
 the Acts, and as referred to by the epistle, forms an ir^ 
 stance of this sort. According to the A.cts, Paul (after 
 his conversion) was certain days with the " disciples which 
 <* were at Damascus. And straightway he preached 
 ** Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God. 
 *' But all that heard him were amazed, and said, is not 
 •* this he which destroyed them which called on this name 
 ** in Jerusalem, and came hither for that intent, that he 
 ** might bring them bound unto the chief priests ? But 
 « Saul increased the more in strength, confounding the 
 « Jews which were at Damascus, proving that this is very 
 *' Christ. And after that many days were fulfilled, the 
 ** Jews took counsel to kill him. But their laying wait 
 ** was known of Saul ; and they watched the gates day 
 '* and night to kill him. Then the disciples took him by 
 «* liight £^nd let him down by the wall in a basket. Aikd 
 
TH8 EPISTLE TO THE GALATlANS. S^ 
 
 *' when Saiil was come to Jerusalem, he assayed to join 
 « himself to the disciples." Acts, chap. ix. 19 — 26. 
 
 According to the epistle, " when it pleased God, who 
 « separated me from my mother's womb, and called mo 
 " by his grace, to reveal his own son in me, that I might 
 ** preach him among the heathen, immediately I confer- 
 <* red not with flesh and blood, neither went I up to Jeru- 
 ** sal.^m to them which were apostles before me ; but I 
 ** went into Arabia, returned again to Damascus j then, 
 ^ after three years, I went up to Jerusalem.'* 
 
 Beside the diiference observable in tlie terms and gene* 
 ral complexion of these two accounts, ** the journey into 
 ** Arabia," mentioned in the epistle, and omitted in the 
 history, affords full proof that there existed no correspon- 
 dence between these wTiters. If the narrative in the Acts 
 had bsen made up from the epistle, it is impossible that 
 this journey should have been passed over in silence ; if 
 tlie Epistle had been composed out of what the author had 
 read of St. Paul's history in the Acts, it is unaccountably 
 that it should have been inserted.^ 
 
 The journey to Jerusaleiti related in the second chapter 
 of the Epistle («' then, fourteen years after, I went up 
 ♦♦ again to Jerusalem," ) supplies another example of the 
 same kind. Either this v/as the journey described in the 
 fifteenth chapter of the ActSj when Paul and Eamabas 
 were sent from Antioch to Jerusalem, to consult the apos^ 
 ties and elders upon the question of the Gentile converts ; 
 or it was some journey of which the history does not take 
 notice. If the first opinion be followed, the discrepancy 
 
 * N. S. The Acts of the Apostles simply imforra us that St. Paul 
 left Damascus in order to go to Jerusalem, " after many days were 
 « fulfilled." If any one doubt whethei* the words " many days'* 
 could be intended to express a period which included a term of thre« 
 years, he will find a complete instance of the same phrase used with 
 the same latitude in the first book of Kings, ch. xi. 38, 39. " And 
 " ohimei dwelt at Jerusalem rtiany days .-" and it came to pass, at tba 
 *nd qI three ^ears^ « that two of the servants of Shimei Ian away»" 
 H 2 
 
<)0 THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATlAWy, 
 
 in the two accounts is so considerable, tliat it is not with- 
 out difficulty they can be adapted to the same transaction ; 
 so that, upon this supposition,, there is no place for sus- 
 pecting that the writers were guided or assisted by each- 
 other. If the latter opinion be preferred, we have then a 
 journey to Jerusalem, and a conference with the principal 
 members of the church there, circumstantially related in 
 the epistle, and entirely omitted in the Acts ; and we are- 
 at liberty to repeat the observation, which we before made, 
 that the omission of so material a fact in the history is in- 
 explicable, if the historian had lead the epistle ; and that 
 the insertion of it in the epistle, if the writer derived his- 
 information from the history, is not less so. 
 
 St Peter's visit to Antioch, during which the dispute a- 
 rose between him aad St^ Paul^ is not meritioned in the 
 Acts. 
 
 If we connect, with these instances, the general obser- 
 vation, that no scrutiny can discover the smallest trace of 
 transcription or imitation either in things or words, we 
 shall be fully satisfied in this part of our case ; namely, 
 that the two records, be the facts contained in them true 
 or false, come to our hands from independent sources. 
 
 Secondly, I say that the epistle, thus proved to have 
 "been written without any communication with the history, . 
 bears testimony to a great variety of particulars contained 
 in the history. 
 
 1 . St. Paul in the early part of his life had addicted 
 himself to the study of the Jewish religion, and was distin- 
 fTuished by his zeal for the institution, and for the tradi- 
 tions which had been incorporated with it. Upon this 
 part of his character the history makes St. Paul speak 
 thus ; " I am verily a man which am a Jew, born in Tar- 
 ,** sus, a city of Cilicia, yet brought up in this city, at the 
 •* feet of Gamaliel, and taught according to the perfect 
 . •* manner of the law of the fathers ; and was zealous to- 
 ** wards God, as ye all are Uiis day.*^ Acts, chap. 
 3txU. 3. 
 
THfc EPISTLE TG THE GALATIAN^. 9l 
 
 The epistle is as follows ; ** I profited in the Jews re- 
 ♦* ligion above many my equals in nine own nation, be-. 
 " ing more exceedingly zealous of tlie traditions of my fa- 
 *' thers." Chap. i. 14. 
 
 2. St. Paul, before his conversion, had been a fierce 
 persecutor of the new sect. '* As for Saul, he made hav- 
 *' oc of the church ; entering into every house, and, hal- 
 « ing men and women, committed them to prison." Acts, 
 chap. viii. 3, 
 
 This is the history of St. Fanl, as delivered in the Acts ; 
 in the recital of his own history in the epistle, " Ye have 
 *' heard," says he, " of my conversation in times past in 
 *' the Jews religion, how that beyond measure I persecut- 
 « ed the church of God." Chap. i. 13. 
 
 3. St. Paul was miraculously converted on his Vv^ay to 
 Damascus. " And as he journeyed he came near to Da- 
 *^ mascus ; and suddenly there shined round about him a 
 " light from heaven ; and he fell to the earth, and heard 
 " a voice saying unto him, Saul, Saul, why persecutest 
 " thou me? And he said. Who art thou. Lord ? And the 
 " Lord said, I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest ; it is 
 " hard for thee to kick against the pricks. And he, trem- 
 " bling 'and astonished, said, Lord, what wilt thou have 
 " me to do ?" Acts. chap. ix. 3 — 6. With these com- 
 pare the epistle, chap. i. 15 — ry. *' When it pleased 
 " God, who separated me from my mother's womb, and 
 *' called me by his grace to reveal his son in me, that I 
 *' might preach him among the heathen ; immediately I 
 «' conferred not with flesh and blood, neither went I up to 
 *' Jerusalem, to them that were apostles before me ; but 
 <* I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damas- 
 " cus." 
 
 In this quotation from the epistle, I desire it to be re- 
 marked how incidently it appears, that the affair passed at 
 Damascus. In what may be called the direct part of the 
 account, no mention is made of the place of his conversion 
 at all ; a casual expression tit the end, and an expression 
 
^t THS BPISTLl TO THE CALATIANS. 
 
 brought in for a diiFerent purpose, alone fixes it to hare 
 been at Damascus. " I returned again to Damascus." 
 Nothiiv^ can be more like simplicity and undesignedness 
 than this is. It also draws the agreement between the 
 twD quotations somewhat closer, to observe that they both 
 state St. Paul to have preached the gospel immediately 
 upon his call. " And straightway he preached Christ in 
 « the synagogues, that he is the son of God,'* Acts, ch»- 
 ix. 20. " When it pleased God to reveal his son in me, 
 ** that I might preach him among the heathen, immedi- 
 " ately I conferred not wldi flesh and blood." Gal. chap, 
 i. 15.^ 
 
 4. The course of the apostle's travels after his conver- 
 sion was this. He went from Dam.ascus to Jerusalem, and 
 from Jerusalem into Syria and Cllicia. " At Damascus the 
 disciples took " him by night, awd let him d yvvn by the wall 
 ** in a basket ; and when Saul was come to Jerusalem, he as- 
 " sayed to join himself to the disciples." Acts chap. ix. 25, 
 Afterwards, " when the brethren knew the conspiracy 
 " formed against him at Jerusalem, they brought him 
 "" down to Cassarea, and sent him forth to Tarsus, a city 
 ** in Cilicia." Chap. ix. 30. In the epistle St. Paul gives 
 tlie following brief account of his proceedings within the 
 same pericKl, " After three years I went to Jerusalem to 
 •• see Peter, and abode widi him fifteen days ; aftenvards 
 ** I came into the regions of S^ia and Criicia." The his- 
 tory had told that Paul passed from Caesarea to Tarsus. 
 If he took this journey by land, it would carry him through 
 Syria into Cilicia ; and he would come, after his visit at 
 Jerusalem, *' into the regions of Syria and Cilicia," in the 
 vety order in which he mtntlons them in the epistle. This 
 supposition of his going from Ciissarea to Tarsus ^y^ landy 
 clears up also another point. It accounts for what St. 
 Paul says in the same place concerning the churches of 
 Judea ; *' Afterwards I came into the regions of Syria 
 ** and Cllicia, and was Unknown by face unto the church- 
 «* es of Judea, wliich were m Clirist j, but tliey bad h^id 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALAT1AN$. pj 
 
 «* only that he which persecuted us in times past, now 
 « preacheth the faith, which once he destroyed ; and they 
 " glorified God in me." Upon which passage T observe, 
 first, that what is here said of the churches of Judea, is 
 spoken in connection with his journey into the regions of 
 Syria and Cilicia. Secondly, that the passage itself has 
 little significancy, and tliat the connection is inexplicable, 
 unless St. Paul went through Judea* (though probably by 
 a hasty journey) at the time he came into the regions of 
 Syria and Cilicia.. Suppose him to have passed by land 
 from Cassarea to Tarsus, all tliis, as hath been observed, 
 would be precisely truci. 
 
 5. Barnabas was with St. Paul at Antioch. " Theit 
 ** departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul ; and 
 " when he had found him, he brought him unto Anti- 
 ** och. And it came to pass that a whole year they assem- 
 <* bled themselves with the church." Acts, chap. xi. 25, 2&. 
 Again and upon another occasion, ** they (Paul and Bar- 
 ** nabas) sailed to Antioch ; and there they continued a 
 ** long tim.e with the disciples." Chap. xiv. 26. 
 
 Now what says the epistle? " When •Peter was come 
 •* to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was 
 *• to be blamed ; and the other Jews dissembled likewise 
 •* with him j insom.uch that Barnabas also was carried 
 •* away with their dissimulation." Chap. ii. 11. 13. 
 
 6. The stated residence of the apostles was at Jerusa- 
 lem. " At that time there was a great persecution against 
 " the church which was at Jerusalem ; and they were all 
 •* scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judea and 
 *' Samaria, except the apostles." Acts, chap* viii. i. 
 <* They (tlie Christians at Antioch) determined that Paul 
 ** and Barnabas should go up to Jerusalem, unto the apos- 
 
 * Dr. Doddridge thought that the Caesarea here mentioned w«g 
 not the celebrated city of tliat name upon the Mediterranean Sea, but 
 Caesarea Phillippi, near tlie borders of Syria, which lies in a much 
 more direct line from Jerusalem to Tar^us'than the other. The ob- 
 jection to this, Dr. Benson remarks, is, that Caesarea, without any addi- 
 tion, usually denotes C«5area,PaI.estins, 
 
^4 THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 
 
 ** ties and elders, about this question." Acts, chap. xv. 
 2. Vv^ich these accounts agrees the declaration in the epis- 
 tie ; *' Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were 
 apostles before me," chap, i: 1 7 ; for this declaration im* 
 plies, or rather assumes it to be known, that Jerusalem was 
 the place where the apostles Were to be met with. 
 
 7. There were at Jerusalem tVv'o apostles, or at the 
 kast two eminent members of the church, of the name of 
 James. This is directly inferred from the Acts of the 
 Apostles, which in the second verse of the twelfth chapter 
 relates the death of James, the brother of John ; and yet in 
 the fifteenth chapter, and in a subsequent part of the histo^ 
 ry, records a speech delivered by Jvtmes in • the assembly 
 of the apostles and elders. It is also strongly implied by 
 the form of expression used in the epistle. " Other apos^ 
 •' ties saw I'none, save James, the Lord's brother ;" i. e. 
 J*©^ distinguish him from James the brother of John. 
 . To us who have been long conversant in the Christian 
 history, as contained in the Acts of the Apostles, thesft 
 points are obvious and familiar ; nor do we readily appre* 
 hend any greater difficulty in making them appear in a 
 letter purporting to have been written by St. Paul, than 
 ^there is in Introducing them Into a modern sermon. Birt 
 to judge correctly of the argument before us, we must dis- 
 charge this knowledge from our thoughts. We must prow 
 pose to ourselves the situation of an author who sat down 
 to the writing of the epistle without having seen the histo- 
 ry ; and then the concurrences we have deduced will be 
 deemed of importance.. They will at least be taken for 
 separate confirmations of the several facts, and not only cxf 
 these particular facts, but of the general truth of the his*- 
 tory. ' 
 
 For, what is the rale with respect to corroborative testi- 
 mony wliich prevails -in courts of justice, and which pre-- 
 vails only because experience has pioved that it is an use- 
 • ful guide to truth ? A principal witness in a cause deliv- 
 ers his accou^ ; his narrative, in certain parts of it, is cony 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 9^ 
 
 firft-:<id by witnesses who are called afterwards. The cred- 
 it, derived from their testimony belongs not only to the par- 
 ticular circumstances in which the auxiliary witnesses agree 
 with the principal witness, but in some measure to the 
 whole of his evidence ; because it is improbable that acci- 
 dent or fiction should draw a line which touched upon 
 trutli in so many points. 
 
 In like manner, if two records be produced, manifestly 
 independent, that is, manifestly written without any par- 
 ticipation of.inttlligence, an agreement between them, even 
 in few and slight circumstances (especially if, from the 
 d-ifferent nature and design of the writings, few points on- 
 ly of agreement, and those incidental, could be expected 
 to occur, ) would add a sensible weight to the authority 
 of both, in every part of their contents. 
 
 The same rule is applicable to history, with at JfCast as 
 .much reason as any other species of evidence. 
 
 No. III. 
 
 'But although the references to various particulars in the 
 jepistle, compared with the direct account of tlie same par- 
 ticulars in the history, afford a considerable proof of the 
 ■trutli not only of these particulars- but of the narrative 
 which contains them ; yet they do not shew, it will be 
 said, that the epistle was written -by St. Paul ; for admit- 
 ting (what seems to have been proved) that the writer, 
 whoever he was, had no recourse to the Acts of the Apos- 
 tles, yet many of the facts referred to, such as St. Paul's 
 miraculous conversion, his change from a virulent perse- 
 cutor to an indefatigable preacher, his labors amongst the 
 Gentiles, and his zeal for the liberties of the Gentile church, 
 were so notorious as to ocCur readily to the mind of any 
 Christian, who should choose to personate his character, 
 and counterfeit his name ; it was only to write what eve- 
 ry body knew. Now I think that this supposition, viz. 
 that the epistle v%^as composed upon general information, 
 and the general publicity of the facts alluded to, and that 
 
pd THE EPISTLE TO THE CALATIAKS. 
 
 the author did no more than weave into his work what tJie 
 common fame of the Christian church had reported to his 
 ears, is repelled by the particularity of the recitals and ref- 
 erences. This particularity is observable in the follo\Ying 
 instances ; in perusing which, I desire the reader to reflect, 
 whether they exhibit the language of a man who had 
 nothing but general reputation to proceed upon, or of a 
 man actually speaking of himself and of his own history, 
 and consequently of things concerning which he possesed 
 a clear, intimate, and circumstantial knowledge. 
 
 1. The history, in giving an account of St. Paul after 
 his conversion, relates, *' that, after many days," effect- 
 ing, by the assistance of the disciples his escape from Da- 
 mascus, " he proceeded to Jerusalem." Acts, chap. ix. 
 25. The epistle, speaking of the same period, makes St. 
 Paul say that " he went into Arabia," that he returned 
 again to Damascus, that after three years he went up to 
 Jerusalem. Chap. i. 17, J 8. 
 
 2. The history relates, that, when Saul was come from 
 Damascus, " he was with the disciples coming in and gOr 
 ** ingout." Acts, chap. ix. 28. The epistle, describing 
 the same journey, tells us ** that he went up to Jerusalem 
 " to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen days." Chapv 
 i. 18. 
 
 3. The history relates, that, when Paul was come to 
 Jerusalem, " Barnabas took him and brought him to the 
 ** apostles." Acts, chap. ix. 27. The epistle, " that he 
 •* saw Peter ; but other of the apostles saw he none, save 
 •* James, the Lord's brother." Chap. i. 19. 
 
 Now this is as it should be. The historian delivers his 
 account in general terms, as of facts to which he was not 
 present. The person who is the subject of that account, 
 when he comes to speak of these facts himself, particular- 
 izes time, names, and circumstances. 
 
 4. The like notation of places, persons, and dates, is met 
 with in the account of St. Paul's jouniey to Jerusalem, 
 given in the second chapter of the epistle. It was fourteen 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 97 
 
 years after his conversion ; it was in company -^ith Bar- 
 nabas and Titus ; it was then that he met with James, 
 Cephas, and John ; it was then also that it was agreed 
 amongst them, that they should go to the circumcision, 
 and he unto the Gentiles. 
 
 5. The dispute with Peter, which occupies the sequel 
 of the second chapter, is marked with the same particu- 
 larity. It was at Antioch ; it was after certain came 
 from James ; it was whilst Barnabas was there, who was 
 carried away by their dissimulation. These examples nega- 
 tive the insinuation, that the epistle presents nothing but 
 mdefinite allusions to public facts. 
 
 No, IF. 
 
 Chap. IV. 11 — 16. " I am afraid of you, lest I have 
 •* bestowed upon you labor in vain. Brethren, I beseech 
 " you, be as I am, for I am as ye are. Ye have not in- 
 •* jured me at all. Ye know how, through infirmity of 
 «• the flesh, I preached the gospel unto you at the first ; 
 " and tmf tetnptattGny nvhich nvas in thefiesh^ ye despised not, 
 •* nor rejected ; but received me as an angel of God,, even 
 •' as Christ Jesus. Where is then the blessedness you 
 "** spake of ? for T bear you record, that, if it had been 
 " possible, ye would have plucked out your own eyes, and 
 ** have given them unto me. Am I therefore become 
 *• your enemy, because I tell you the truth ?'* 
 
 With this passage compare 1 Cor. chap, xii. i — 9. " It 
 « is not expedient for me, doubtless, to glory ; Ivlll come 
 <* to visions and revelations of the Lord. I knew a man 
 " in Christ above fourteen years ago '(whether in the body 
 " I cannot tell, or whether oiit of the body I cannot tell ; 
 " God knoweth); such an one was cau^-htup to the third 
 <* heaven ; and I knew such a man (whether in ths body 
 " or out of the body I cannot tell, God knoweth), how 
 '• that he was caught up intoParadise,and heard upspeaka- 
 I 
 
9^ THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIAKS. 
 
 ." ble \vorJs, which it is not lawful for a man to utter. 
 .« Of such a one will I glory, yet of myself will I notglg- 
 ** ry, but in mine infirmities ; for, though! would desire to 
 «* glory, I shall not be a fcbl.; for I will say the truth. 
 ** But now I forbear, lest any man should think of me 
 •* above that which he seeth me to be, or that he heareth 
 " of me. And lest I should be, exalted above measure, , 
 ** through the abundance of the revelations, there was giv- 
 '** en to me a thorn in thefesh, the messenger of Satan to huf- 
 ^ Jet me, lest I should be exalted above measure. For 
 " this thing I besought the Lord thrice, tliat it might de- 
 •* part from me. And he said unto me, my grace is suf- 
 •* ficient for thee ; for my strength is made perfect in weal^- 
 •* ness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my 
 ** infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon 
 ."me." 
 
 There can be no doubt but that ** the temptation which 
 ** was In the flesh," mentioned In the E^pistle to the Ga-» 
 latians, and " the them, in the flesh, the messenger of Sa- 
 -*tan to buffet him/* mentloHed in the Epistle to the Cq» 
 /mthians, were intended to denote the same thing. Eip 
 ther therefore it v/as, what we pretend it to have been, tlic 
 same person in both, alluding, as the occasion led him» 
 to some bodily infirmity under which he labored ; that is» 
 we arc reading the re?.l letters of a real apostle ; or, it wa^s 
 that 2 sophist, Vv'lio li?.il seen the cljcumstance in. one cpls- 
 de, contrived, for the sake of correspondency, to bring It 
 into another : or, lastly, It v;as a circumstance in St. Paul's 
 personal condition, supposed to be well known to those In» 
 to whose hands the epistle was likely to fall ; and, for that 
 .i;cason, Intreduced into a writing designed to bear -his 
 name. I have extracted the quotations at length*, in lOr- 
 ^er to enable the reader to judge accurately of th^e man- 
 ner in which the mention of this particular comes in, in 
 each ; because that judgment, I think, will acquit the au- 
 thors of the epistle of the charge of having studiously in- 
 ?5med it, either with a view of producing ;.an .apparent 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 99 
 
 agreement betw'cen them, or for any other purpose what- 
 ever. 
 
 The context, by which the circumstance before us Is 
 introduced, is in the two places totally different, and with- 
 out any mark of imitation ; yet in both places does the 
 circumstance rise aptly and naturally out of the context, 
 and that context from the train of thought carried on in 
 the epistle. 
 
 The Epistle to the Galatians, from the beginning to the 
 end, runs in a strain of angry complaint of tlieir defection 
 from the apostle, and from the principles which he had 
 taught them. It was very natural to contrast with this 
 conduct, the zeal with which they had once received him ; 
 and it was not less so to mention, as a proof of their former 
 disposition towards him, the indulgence which, whilst he 
 was amongst thdm, they had shewn to his infirmity. 
 " My temptation which was in the flesh ye despised not, 
 *« nor rejected, but received me as an angel of G«d, even 
 •* as Christ Jesiis. Where is then the blessedness you 
 *♦ spake of, u e. the benedictions which you bestowed up- 
 •« on me ? for I bear you record, that if it had been possi- 
 ** ble, ye would have plucked but your own eyes, and have 
 •« given them to me." 
 
 In the two epistles to the Corinthians, especially in thft 
 second, we have the apostle, contending with certain 
 teachers in Corinth/who had formed a party in that church 
 against him. To vindicate his personal authority, as well^ 
 as the dignity and credit of his ministry amongst them, he 
 takes occasion (but not without apologizing repeatedly for 
 the folly, that is, the indecorum of pronouncing his pane- 
 gyric)* to meet his adversaries in their boastings ; 
 
 * " Would to God you would bear with me a litde in my folly, and 
 *• indeed bear with me !'* Chap. xi. I. 
 
 " That which I speak, I speak it not after the Lord, but as it were ' 
 <• foolishly, in this cenfidence of boasting." Chap. xi. 17. 
 
 *** I am become a fool in glorying, ye have compelled me,'* Chap, • 
 xii. XI. 
 
100 THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATlANt. 
 
 •* Wherein soever any is bold (I speak foolishly) I aia 
 <* bold also. Are they Hebrews ? so am I. Are they Is- 
 «< raelites > so am I.. Are they the seed of Abraham ? 
 ** so am I. Are they the ministers of Christ (I speak as a 
 ** fool) I am more ; in labors more abundant, in stripes 
 <* above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft." 
 Being led to the subject, he goes on, as was natural, to 
 recount his trials and dangers, his incessant cares and la- 
 bors in the Christian mission. From the proofs which he 
 had given of his zeal and activity in the service of Christ, 
 he passes (and tliatwith the same view of establishing his 
 claim to be considered as " not a whit behind the very 
 ♦* chiefest of the apostles)" to the visions and revelations 
 which from time to time had been vouchsafed to himi 
 And then, by a close and easy connection, comes in the 
 mention of his infirmity. Lest I should be exalted, says 
 he, *' above measure, through the abundance of revela-^ 
 ** tions, there was given to me a thorn in the flesh,, the 
 «• messenger of ISatan to buffet me," 
 
 Thus then, in both epistles, the notice of his infirmity 
 IS suited to the place in which it is found. In the Epistle 
 to the Corinthians, the train of thought draws up to the 
 circumstance by a regular approximation. In the epistle 
 it is suggested by the subject and occasion of the epistle it- 
 self. Whick observation we offer as an argument to prove 
 that it is not, in either epistle, a circumstance industrious- 
 ly brought forward for the sake of procuring credit to aa 
 imposture. 
 
 A reader will be taught to perceive the force of this 
 argument, who shall attempt to introduce a given circum- 
 stance into the body of a writing. To do this without ab- 
 ruptness, or without betraying marks of design in the transi- 
 tion, requires, he will find, more art than he expected to 
 be necessary, certainly more than any one can believe ta 
 "have been exercised in the composition of these epistles^ 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. lOt" 
 
 No, V. 
 
 Chap, iv 29. "But as then he that was born after the 
 «« flesh persecuted him iliat was bom after tlie spirit, :;ven 
 •< so is it now." 
 
 Chap. V. II. " And I, brethren, if I yet preach cir- 
 <* cumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution ? Then is the 
 ♦♦offence of tlie cross ceased." 
 
 Chap. yi. 17. " From henceforth, let no man trouble 
 •* me, for I bear in my body the marks of the Loid Je- 
 
 « SMS.'* 
 
 From these several texts, it is apparent that the perse- 
 cations which our apostle had undergone, were from the 
 hands or by the instigation of the Jews I tliat it was not 
 for preaching Christianity in opposition to heathenism, but 
 it was for preaching it as distinct from Judaism, that he 
 had brought upon himself the sufferings which had attend- 
 ed his ministry. And this representation perfectly coia^ 
 cides with tliat which results from the detail of St. Paul's 
 history, as delivered in the Atts. At Antioch, m Pisidia^ 
 the ** word of the Lord was published throughout all the 
 " region ; but the Je'ws stirred up the devout and honor- 
 *< able women and the chief men of the city, and raised 
 «♦ persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled 
 *' them out of their coasts." (Acts, chap. xiii. 50). Not 
 long after, at Iconiura, " a great multitude of the Jews 
 ** and al-90 of the Geeeks believed ; but the mhiieving J^ews 
 ** stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affect- 
 « ed against the brethren." (Chap. xiv. 1,2.) <VAt 
 " Lystra there came certain Jews from Antioch and Ico- 
 ♦* nium, who persuaded the people ; and having stoned 
 ** Paul» drew him out of the city, supposing he had been 
 ♦* dead." (Chap. xiv. 19.) The same enmity, and from 
 the same quarter, our apostle experienced in Greece. 
 «* At Thessalonica, some of them (the Jews) believed, 
 <* and consoited with Paul and Silas 5 and of thv devout 
 I z 
 
102 THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATlAKS. 
 
 «« a great multitude, and of the chief women not a few f 
 «« but the Jeivs which believed notf moved with envy, took 
 " unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and 
 <• gathered a company, and set all the city in an uproar, 
 ** and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring 
 ** them out to the people." (Acts, chap. xvii. 4, 5.) 
 Their persecutors follow them to Berea ; ** when the Jews 
 «« of Thessalonica had knowledge that the word of God 
 ** was preached of St. Paul at Berea, they came thither 
 <* also and stirred up the people." (Chap. xvii. 13.) 
 And lastly at Corinth, when Gallio was deputy of Achaia, 
 ** the Jews made insurrection with one accord against Paul 
 " and brought him to the judgment seat." I think it does 
 not appear that our apostle was ever set upon by the Gen^ 
 tiles, unless they were first stirred up by the Jews, except 
 in two instances , in both which the persons who began 
 the assault were immediately interested in his expulsion 
 from the place. Once this happened at Philippi, after 
 the cure of the Pythoness. *' When the masters saw the 
 *« hope of their gains was gone, they caught Paul and Silas, 
 ** and drew them into the market place unto the rulers." 
 ^Chap. xvi. 19.) And a second time at Ephesus, at the 
 instance of Demetrius a silversmith which made silver 
 shrines for Diana, " who called together workmen of like 
 *• occupation, and said. Sirs, ye know that by this craft 
 ** we have our wealth ; moreover, ye see and hear that not 
 ** only at Ephesus, but almost throughout all Asia, this 
 •* Paul hath persuaded ^ay much people, saying, 
 »' that they be ho gods which are made with hands ; 
 ** so that not only this our craft is in danger to be 
 <• set at nought, but also that the temple of the great 
 •• goddess Diana should be despised, and her magnificence 
 <• should be destroyed, whom all Asia and the world wer- 
 ** shippeth." 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. loj 
 
 No, VL 
 
 I observe an agreement in a scmiewhat peculiar rule of 
 Christian conduct, as laid down in this epistle, and as ex- 
 emplified in the Second Epistle to the Corinthians. It is 
 not the repetition of the same general precept, which would 
 have been m coincidence of little value j but it is the gen- 
 eral precept in one place, and the application of that pre- 
 cept to an actual occurrence in the other. In the sixth 
 chapter and first verse of this epistle, our apostle gives the 
 following direction. " Brethren, if a man be overtaken 
 «* in a fault, ye, which are spiritual restore such a one in 
 ** the spirit of meekness.'* In 2 Cor. chap. ii. 6 — 8, he 
 writes thus. " Sufficient to such a man" (the incestuous 
 person mentioned in the First Epistle) <* is this punish- 
 *• ment, which was inflicted of many j so that, contrariwise, 
 " ye ought rather to forgive him and comfort him, lest 
 ** perhaps such a once should be swallowed up with over 
 ** much sorrow ; wherefore I beseech you that ye would 
 ** confirm your love towards him." I have little doubt 
 but that it was the same mind which dictated these two 
 passages. ; 
 
 No, VI L 
 
 Our epistle goes farther than any of St. Paul's epistles ; 
 for it avows in direct terms the suppression of the Jewish 
 law, as an instrument of salvation, even to the Jews them- 
 selves. Not only were the Gentiles exempt from its au- 
 thority, but even the Jews were no longer cither to place 
 any dependency upon it, or consider themselves as subject 
 to it on a religious account. *< Before faith came, we were 
 " kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should 
 ** afterwards be revealed ; wherefore the law was our 
 «* schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might 
 <* be justified by faith ; but, after that faith is come, nve are 
 ** no longer under a schoolmaster ^'^ (Chap. iii. 23 — 25. J - 
 
104 ^^^ EUSTtl! TO TWE OALATiAif3%' 
 
 This was undoubtedly spoken of Jews and to Jews. In 
 like manner, chap. iv. i — 5. " Now I say that the heir, 
 «* as long as he is a child, diflfer^th notliing from a $er- 
 ** vant, though he be lord of all i but is under tutors and 
 ^ governors until the time appointed of the father ; 
 ** even so we, when we were children, were in bondage 
 •* tmder the elements of the world , but, when the fulness 
 « of time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a 
 •• women, made under the law, to redeem them that were ua* 
 ** der the laio, that "we might receive the adoption of sons.'* 
 These passages are nothing short of a declaration, that the 
 obligation of the Jewish law, consickred as a religious dis- 
 pensation, the effects of which were to take place in anoth- 
 er life, had ceased, with respect even to the Jews themselves* - 
 What then should be the conduct of a Jew (for such St. 
 Paul was) who preached this doctrine? To be consistent 
 with himself, either he would no^ longer comply, in his 
 own person, with the directions of the law ; or, if he did 
 comply, it would be ibr some other reascwi than, any confi- 
 dence which he placed in its efficacy, as a religious institu-- 
 tion. Now so it happens, that whenever St. Paul's com- 
 pliance with the Jewish law is mentioned in the history, it 
 is mentioned in connection witli circumstances which point 
 out the motive from whicli it proceeded j and this motive 
 appears to have been always exoteric, namely, a love of 
 order and tranquility, or an unwillingness to give unne- 
 cessary offence. Thus, Acts, chap. xvi. 3. *' Him (Tim- 
 <« othy) would Paul have to go forth witli him, and took 
 ** and circumcised him, hecauie of the Je'uxs ivh'ich tuere in 
 ^* thosF quarters, '\ Again, Acts, chap. xxi. 26, "when 
 Paul consented to exhibit an example of public compli- 
 ance with a Jewish rite, by purifying himself in the ttm- 
 f^f it is plainly intimated tliathe did this to satisfy ma- 
 ny thousands of Jews who believed, and who were all 
 •zealous of tlie law.** So far the instances related in 
 one book, correspond wiUi tlie doctrine delivered in anoth- 
 ei\ 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 10^ 
 
 No. Fill. 
 
 Chap. i. 1 8. <* Then, after three years, I went up to 
 ** Jerusalem to see Peter, and abode with him fifteen 
 •< days/^ 
 
 The shortness of St. PauPs stay at Jerusalem, is what I 
 desire the reader to remark. The direct account of the 
 same journey in the Acts, chap. ix. 28, determines ncStb- 
 ing concerning the time of his continuance there. ** And 
 •• he was with them (the apostles) coming m, and going 
 ** out, at Jerusalem ; and he spake boldly in the name of 
 " the Xord Jesus, and disputed against the Grecians ; but 
 •* they went about to slay him ; which when the brethren 
 •* knew, they brought him down to Caesarea." Or rath- 
 €t this account, taken by itself, would lead a reader to sup- 
 pose that St. Paul's abode at Jerusalem had been no long- 
 er than fifteen days. But turn to the twenty second chapi. 
 tcr of the Acts, and you will find a reference to this visit 
 to J>;rusalem, which plainly indicates that Paul's continu- 
 ance in that city had been of short duration. ** And it 
 «* came to pass, that when I was come again to Jerusalem 
 «* even while I prayed in the temple, I was in a trance, 
 " and saw him saying unto mc, Make haste, get thee 
 " quickly out of Jerusalem, for they will not receive 
 *' thy testimony concerning me." Here we have the 
 general terms of one text so explained by a distant text 
 in the same book, as to bring an indeterminate expression 
 into a close conformity with a specification delivered in 
 another book ; a species of consistency not, I think, 
 usually found in fabulous relations. 
 
 No. IX. 
 
 Chap, vl. II. «< Ye see how Iarg?e a letter I have writ- 
 « ten unto you with mine own hand." 
 These words imply that he did not always wiite with 
 
•l^ THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIAKS. 
 
 his own hand ; which is consonant to what we find inttmat- 
 ed in some other of the epistles. The Epistle to the Ro- 
 mans was written by Tertius. '* I, Tertius, who wrote this 
 •* epistle, salute you in the Lord." (Chap. xvi. zi,) 
 The First Epistle to the Corinthians, the Epistle to the Co- 
 lossians and the Second to the Thessalonians, have all, near 
 the conclusion, this clause. " The salutation of me, Paul, 
 ** with mine own hand ;" which must be understood, and is 
 universally understood to import, that the rest of the epis- 
 tle was written by another hand. I do not think it im- 
 probable that an impostor, who had remarked this sub- 
 scription in some other ej>istle, should invent the same in a 
 forgery ; but that is not done here. The author of this epis- 
 tle does not imitate the manner of giving. St. Paul's signa- 
 ture ; he only bids the Galatians observe how lai^e a letter 
 he had written to them with his own hand. He docs not sSty 
 this was diiferent from his ordinary usage ; that is left to 
 implication. Now to suppose that this was an artifice to 
 procure credit to an imposture, is to suppose that the au- 
 thor of the forgery, because he knew that others of St, 
 Paul's were not written by himself, therefore made the 
 apostle say that this was 5 ■ which seems an odd tura to 
 give to the circumstance, and to be given for a purpose 
 which would more naturally and more directly have been 
 answered, by subjoining the salutation or signature in the 
 form in which it is found in other epistles.* 
 
 * The words 'PrnXix.cig y^etfiftxTiv may probably be meant to des- 
 cribe the character in v/hich lie wrote, and not the length of the letter. 
 But this will not alter the truth of our observation. I think howev* 
 er, that as St. Paul by the mention of his own hand designed to ex- 
 press to the Galatians the great cjjncern which he felt for them, the 
 words, whatever they signify, belong to the whole of the epistle ; and 
 not, as Giotius, after St. Jerom, intwprets it, to the few verses whick 
 fallow. 
 
.TH£ EFISTIS TO TWl OAIATIARS. I07L 
 
 No. X, 
 
 Ancjcact conformity appears In the maner in which a cer- 
 tain apostle or eminent Christian, whose name was Jamcs^ 
 IS spoken of in the Epistle and in the history. Both writings 
 refer to a situation of his at Jerusalem, somewhat different 
 from that of the other apostles ; a kind of eminence or pre- 
 sixiencw indie charch there, or at least a more fixed and sta- 
 tionary residence. Chap, ii. iz. ^* When Peter was at 
 " Antioch, before that certain came from James, he did 
 " eat with the Gentiles." This text plainly attributes a 
 kind of preeminency to James ; and, as we hear of him 
 twice in the sanrie epistle dwelling at Jerusalem, chap, u 
 1 9, and ii. 9, we must apply it to tbe ^tuation which he 
 held m that church. In the Acts of the Apostles divers 
 intimatioiw occur, conveying the same idea of James's sit- 
 uation. When Peter was miraculously delivered from pris- 
 , on, and had surprised his friends by his appearance among 
 -them, after declaring unto diem how the I^ord had 
 ^brought him out of priso^. '''Go shew," says he, " thes-e 
 ** things unto James, and to the brethren." (Acts, chap. 
 xii. 17.) Here James is minifestly spoken of In terms of 
 distinction. He appears >again with like distinction in the 
 twenty first <rhapter and the seventeenth and eighteenth 
 verses. *' And when we .(Paul and his company.) were 
 " ccme to Jerusalem, the day fcllowing, Paul went in 
 ** with us unto James, and all the elders -were present." 
 In the debate which took place upon the business of the 
 Gentile converts, in the, council at Jerusalem, this same 
 person seems to have taken the lead. It was he who clos- 
 ed the debate, and proposed the resolution in which the 
 council ultimately concurred ; ** Wherefore my sentence 
 •* is, that we trouble not them which from among the 
 <* Gentiles are turned to God." 
 
 Upon the whole, that there exists a conformity in the 
 compressions used concernmg jfamenj throughout the histo- 
 
J08 THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 
 
 ry, and in the epistle, is unquestionable. But admitting 
 this conformity, and admitting also the undesignedness of 
 it, what does it prove ? It proves that the circumstance it- 
 self is founded in truth; that is, that James was a 
 real person, who held a situation of eminence in a real so- 
 ciety of Christians at Jerusalem. It confirms also those 
 parts of the narrative which are connected with this cir- 
 cumstance. Suppose, for instance, the truth of the ac- 
 count of Peter's escape from prison was to be tried upon 
 the testimony of a witness who, among other things, 
 made Peter, after his deliverance, say, " Go show these 
 « things to James and to the brethren ;" would it not be 
 mateiial, in such a trial, to make out by other indepen- 
 dent proofs,or by a comparison of proofs, drawn from inde- 
 pendent sources, that there was actually at that time, liv- 
 ing at Jerusalem, such a person as James ; tliat this person 
 held such a situation in the society amongst whom these 
 things were transacted, as to render the words which Pe- 
 ter is said to have used concerning him, proper and natUr 
 ral for him to have used ? If this would be impertinent in 
 the discusssbn of oral testimony, it is still more so in appre- 
 ciating the credit of remote history. 
 
 It must not be dissembled, that the comparison of our 
 epistle with the history presents some difficulties, or, to 
 say the least, some questions, of considerable magnitude. 
 It may be doubted, in the first place, to what journey the 
 words which open the second chapter of the epistle, " then 
 <» fourteen years afterwards, I went unto Jerusalem," re- 
 late. That which best corresponds with the date, and that 
 to which most interpreters apply the passage, is the jour- 
 ney of Paul and Barnabas to Jerusalem, when they went 
 thither from Antioch, upon the business of the Gentile 
 converts ; and which journey produced the famous coun- 
 cil and decree recorded in the fifteenth chapter of Acts* 
 To me this opinion appears to be encumbered with strong 
 ©bjections. In the epistle Paul tells us that " he went up 
 " by revelation..** (Chap. ii. 2.) In the Acts, we read 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIASS. X0« 
 
 that he was sent by the church of Antioch. "After no 
 ** small dissension and disputation, they determined that 
 <* Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of them, should 
 ** go up to the apostles and elders about this question.'* 
 (Acts, chap. XV. 2.) This is not very reconcileable. In 
 the epistle St. Paul writes that, when he came to Jerusa- 
 lem, ** he communicated that Gospel which he preached 
 « among the Gentiles, but privately to them which were 
 « of reputation." (Chap. ii. 2. ) If by « that Gospel" 
 he meant the immunity of the Gentile Christians from the 
 Jewish law (and I know not what else it can mean). It is 
 not easy to conceive how he should communicate that 
 privately, which was the subject of his public message. 
 But a yet greater difficulty remains,viz.that in the account 
 which the epistle gives of what passed upon this visit at 
 Jerusalem, no notice is taken of the deliberation and de- 
 cree which are recorded in the Acts, and wlilch, accord- 
 mg to that history, formed the business, for the sake of 
 which the journey was undertaken. The mention of 
 the council and of its determination, whilst the apostle was 
 rtlatmg his proceedings at Jerusalem, could hardly have 
 been avoided, if in truth the narrative belong to the same 
 journey. To me it appears more probable that Paul 
 and Barnabas had taken some journey to Jerusalem, the 
 mention of which Is omitted in the Acts. Prior to the 
 apostolic decree, we read that - Paul and Barnabas abode 
 at Antioch a long time with the disciples,'^ (Acts 
 chap. xiv. 28.) Is it unlikely tliat, during this' long abode' 
 they might go up to Jerusalem and return to Antioch ^ 
 Or would the omission of such a journey be unsuitable ta 
 the general brevity with which these memoirs are written 
 especially of those parts of St. PauPs history which took 
 place before the historian joined his society ? 
 
 But, again, the first account we find in the Acts of the 
 Apostles of St. PauPs visiting Galatia, is in the sixteenth 
 chapter, and the sixth verse. '"Now when they had gone 
 r through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they assay. 
 
no THE EPISTLE TO THE GALA^1A»S* 
 
 *' ed to go Into Bithynia." The progress here recorded 
 was subsequent to the apostolic decree ; therefore that de- 
 cree must have been extant when our epistle was written. 
 Now, as the professed design of the epistle was to estab- 
 lish the exemption of the Gentile converts from the law 
 of Moses, and as the decree pronounced and confirmed 
 that exemption, it may seem extraordinary that no notice 
 whatever is taken of that determination, nor any appeal 
 made to its authority. Much however of the weight of 
 this objection, wliich applies also to som.e other of St.PauPj 
 epistles, Is removed by the following reflections. 
 
 1. It was not St. Pau?s manner, nor agieeable to it, to 
 resort or defer much to the authority of the other apotsles, 
 especially whilst he was insisting, as he does strenuously 
 throughout this epistle insist, upon his own original inspi- 
 ration. He who could speak of the very chiefest of the 
 apostles in such terms as the following, " of those who 
 *' seemed to be somewhat (whatsoever they were it ma- 
 '* keth no matter to me, God accepteth no man's person), 
 « for they who seemed to be somewhat in conference ad- 
 <« ded nothing to me," he, I say, was not likely to support 
 himself by their decision. 
 
 2. The epistle argues the point upon principle ; and it 
 is not perhaps more to be wondered at, that in such an 
 argument St. Paul sliould not cite the apostolic decree, 
 than it would be that, in a discouise designed to prove the 
 jnoraland religious duty of observing the sabbath,the writer 
 should not quote the thirteenth canon. 
 
 3. The decree did not go tlie length of tlie position 
 maintained in the epistle ; the decree only declares that 
 the apostles and elders at Jerusalem did not impose the ob- 
 servance of the Mosaic law upon the Gentile con- 
 verts, as a condition of tlieir being admitted into the Chris- 
 tian church. Our epistle argues that the Mosaic institu- 
 tion itself was at an end, as to all effects upon a future 
 9tate, €veji with respect to the Jews themselves. 
 
TiiE EPISTLE TO THE OALATlANS. l^t 
 
 4. They, whose error St. Paul combated, were not per- 
 sons who submitted to the Jewish law, because it was im- 
 posed by the authority, or because it was made part of 
 the law of the Christian church ; but they were peisons 
 who, having already become Giristiins, afterwards volun- 
 tarily took upon themselves the observance of the Mosaic 
 code, under a notion of attaining thereby to a greater per- 
 fection. This, I think, is precisely the opinion which St. 
 Paul opposes in this epistle. Many of his expressions ap- 
 ply exactly to it. « Are ye so foolish > having begun 
 ** in the spirit, are ye now made perfect in the flesh*?" 
 (Chap. iii. 3.) *' Tell me, ye that desire to be under the 
 <* law, do ye not hear tlie law V* (Chap. iv. 2 1 .) *' How 
 ** turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, where.* 
 *' unto ye desire again to be in bondage ?'* (Chap. iv. 9.) 
 It cannot be thought extraordinary that St. Paul should 
 resist this opinion with earnestness ; for it both changed 
 the- character of the Christian dispensation, and derogated 
 expressly from the completeness of that redemption which. 
 Jesus Christ had wrought for them that believed in him. 
 But It was to no purpose to alledge to such persons the 
 decision at Jerusalem, for that only showed that they 
 were not bound to these observances by any law of the 
 Christian church ; they did not pretend to be so bound. 
 Nevertheless they imagined that there was an efficacy in 
 these observances, a merit, a recommendation to fa- 
 for, and a ground of acceptance with God for those who 
 complied with them. This was a situation of thought to 
 which the tenor of the decree did not apply. According- 
 ly St. PauPs address to the Galatians, which Is through- 
 out adapted to this situation, runs in a strain widely differ- 
 ent from the language of the decree. *' Christ is become 
 " of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified 
 by the law;" (chap. v. 4.) i. e. whosoever places his 
 dependence upon any merit he may apprehend there to 
 be in legal observances. The decree had said nothing like 
 this ; therefore it would have been useless to have produc- 
 
 <. *< 
 
112 THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. 
 
 ed the decree In an argument of which tills was tiie bar^. 
 then. In like manner as in contending with an ancho- 
 rite, who should insist upon the superior holiness of a recluse, 
 ascetic life, and the value of such mortifications in-^the 
 sight of God, it would be to no purpose to prove that the 
 laws of the church did not require these vows, or even to 
 prove that the laws of the church expressly left every 
 Christian to his liberty. This would avail little towards 
 abatnig his estimation of their merit, or towards settling- 
 the point in controversy.* 
 
 ^^T- i>t. Paul, he says, « did not remind the Galatians of the 
 apostohc decree, because they already had it." la the first place, it 
 does not appear with certainty that they had it ; in the second place. 
 iriey had it, this was rather a reason, than otherwise, for referring 
 them to It. The passage in the Acts, from which Mr. Locke con- 
 cludes that the Galatic churches were in possession of the decree, i» 
 «je fourth verse of the sixteenth chapter. « And as they" (Paul and 
 iimothy) « went through the cities, they delivered them the decree. 
 « for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and elders whici* 
 were at Jerusalem." In my opinion, this delivery of the decree was 
 confined to the churches to which St. Paul came, in pursuance of the 
 plan upon which he set out, « of visiting the brethren in every city 
 where he had preached the word of the Lord ;" the history of 
 which progress, and of all that pertamed to it, is closed in the fifth 
 verse, when the history informs us that, « so were the churches estab- 
 " Lshed in the faith, and increased in number daily." Then the his- 
 tory proceeds upon a new section of the narrative, by telling us, that 
 *• when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, 
 " they assayed to go into Eithynia." The decree itself is directed to 
 « the brethren which are of the Gentiles at Antioch, Syria, and Cili- 
 " cia ;" that is, to churches already founded, and in which this ques- 
 tion had been stirred. And I think the observation of the noble au- 
 thor of the Miscellanea Sacra is not only ingenious, but highly prob- 
 able, viz. that there is, in this ;olace, a dislocation of the text, and that 
 the fourth and fifth verses of the sixteenth chapter ought to follow 
 the last verse of the fifteenth, so as to make the entire passage run " 
 thus. « And they went through Syria and Cihcia," (to the Chris- 
 tians of which countries the decree was addressed), « confix ming the 
 " churches j and as they went through the cities they delivered them 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE OALATIANS. 11^ 
 
 Another difficulty arises from the account of Peter's 
 eonducf towards the Gentile converts at Antioch, as 
 given in the epistle, in the latter part of the second chap- 
 ter J which conduct, it is said, is consistent neither with 
 the revelation communicated to him, upon the conversion 
 of Cornelius, nor vf'iih the part he took in the debate at 
 Jerusalem. But, in order to understand either die diiii- 
 culty er the solution, it v^^ill be necessary to state and ex- 
 plain the passage itself. " When Peter was come to An- 
 ** tioch, I withstood him to the face, because he v/as to 
 *• be blamed ; for, before that certain came from James, 
 ** he did eat with the Gentiles ; but when they were come, 
 *' he with(^rew and separated himself, fearing them which 
 ^* were of the circumcision ; and the other Jews dissembled 
 •* likev/ise widi him, insomuch that Barnabas also was car- 
 <* ried away with their dissimulation ; but when I saw 
 *' they walked not uprightly, according to the truth of the 
 *' Gospel, I said unto Peter, before them all, If thou, be- 
 ** ing a Jew, livest after the m.anner of Ge.itiles, and not 
 <* as do the Jev/s, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live 
 
 " the decrees for to keep, that were ordained of the apostles and el- 
 «' ders which were at Jerusalem ; and so were the churclies established 
 « in the faith, and increased in number daily." And then the sixteenth 
 chapter takes up a new and unbroken paragraph. " Then came he to 
 " Derbe and Lystra, &c." When St. Paul came, as lie did into Gala- 
 tia, to preach the gospel, for the first time, in a new place, it is not 
 probable that he would make mention of the decree, or rather letter, 
 of the church of Jerusalem, which presupposed Christianity to be 
 known, and which related to certain doubts that had arisen in some 
 established Christian communities. 
 
 The second reason which Mr. Locke assigns for the omission of 
 the decree, viz. " that St. Paul's sole object ii' the epistle was to ac- 
 " quit himself of the imputation that had been charged upon him of 
 " actually preaching circumcision," does not appear to me to be strict- 
 ly true. It v/as not the sole object. The epistle is written in gene- 
 ral opposition to the Judaizing inclincitions which he found to prevail 
 amongst his converts. The avowal of his own doctrine, and of hfi ■ 
 steadfast adherence to that doctrine, formed a necessary part of the d£- 
 sigo of ids IfcUcr, fcut was net the whole of it, 
 K 2 
 
114 THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATJANS. 
 
 *' as do the Jews >'* Now the question that produced the 
 dispute, to which these words relate, was notwliether tlic 
 Gentiles were capable of being admitted into the Christian 
 covenant ; that had been fully settled ; nor was it wheth- 
 er it should be accounted essential to the profession of 
 Christianity that they should conform themselves to the 
 law of Moses ; that was the question at Jerusalem ; but 
 it was, whether, upon the Gentiles becoming Christians, 
 the Jews might thenceforth eat and drink with them, as 
 with their own brethren. Upon this point St. Peter be- 
 trayed some inconstancy ; and so he might, agreeably 
 enough to his history. He might consider the vision at 
 Joppa as a direction for tlie occasion, rather than as uni- 
 versally abolishing the distinction between Jew and 
 Gentile ; I do not mean with respect to final acceptance 
 with God, but as to the manner of their living together in 
 society ; at least he might not have comprehended this 
 point with such clearness and certainty, as to stand out 
 upon it against the fear of bringing upon himself the cen- 
 sure and complaint of his bretliren in the church of Jeru- 
 salem, who still adhered to their ancient prejudices. But 
 Peter, it is said, compelled the Gentiles la^xt^nv — " why 
 *' compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews V* 
 How did he do that I The only way, in which Peter ap- 
 pears to have compelled the Gentiles to comply with the 
 Jewish institution, was by withdrawing himself from 
 their society. By which he may be understood to have 
 made this declaration. " We do not deny your right to 
 be considered as Christians ; we do not deny your title in 
 the promise of the Gospel, even without comphance with 
 our law ; but if you would have us Jews live with you, 
 as we do with one another, that is, if you would in all 
 respects be treated by us as Jews, you must live as such 
 yourselves." This, I think, was the compulsion which 
 St. Peter*s conduct imposed upon the Gentiles, and for 
 which St. Paul reproved him. 
 
 As to the part which the historian ascribes to St. Petcr^ 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS, 11^ 
 
 in the debate at Jerusalem, beside that it was a different 
 question which was there agitated from that which produc- 
 ed tlic dispute at Antioch, there is nothing to hinder us 
 from supposing that the dispute at Antioch, was prior to 
 the consultation at Jerusalem ; or that Peter, in conse- 
 quence of this rebuke, might have afterwards maintained 
 firmer sentiment?. 
 
CHAP. VI. 
 
 THE EPiSTJLE TO THE EPHgSIANS. 
 No. L 
 
 -i. HIS epistle, and the Epistle to the Colosslans, 
 appear to have been transmitted to their respective church- 
 es by the same messenger. ** But that ye also may know 
 ** my affairs, and how I do, Tychicus, a beloved brother 
 ** and faithful minister in the Lord, shall make known to 
 ** you all things ; whom I have sent unto you for the same 
 •* purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and that he 
 *' might comfort your hearts.'^ Ephes. chap. vi. 21, 22.- 
 This text, if it do not expressly declare, clearly I think In- 
 timates, that the letter was sent by Tychicus. T^he words 
 made use of in the Epistle to the Colossians are very sim- 
 ilar to these, and afford the same implication that Tychi- 
 cus, in conjunction with Onesimus, was the bearer of the 
 letter to that church. "All my state shall Tychicus declare 
 ** unto you, who is a beloved brother, and a faithful min- 
 ** ister, and fellow servant in the Lord, whom I have sent 
 " unto you for the same purpose, that he might know 
 " your estate, and comfort your hearts ; with Onesimus, 
 ** a faithful and beloved brother, who is one of you j they 
 " shall make known unto you all things which are done 
 ** here." Colos. chap. iv. 7 — 9. Both Epistles repre- 
 sent the writer as under imprisonment for the gospel ; and 
 both treat of the same general subject. The Epistle there- 
 fere to the Ephcsians, and the Epistle to the Colossians, 
 import to be two letters written by the same person, at or 
 nearly at, the same time, and upon the same subject, and 
 to have been sent by the same messenger. Now, every 
 thing in the sentiments, order and diction of the two writ- 
 ings corresponds with what might be expected from this 
 circumstance cf identity or cognation ia their original. 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPH8S1AHS. 117 
 
 The leading doctrine of both Epistles, is the union of 
 Jews and Gentiles under the Christian dispensation ; and 
 that doctrine in botli is established by the sanve argu- 
 ments, or, more properly speaking, illustrated by the 
 same similitudes* "one head,'' "one body," "one 
 « new man," « one temple," are in both Epistles the fig- 
 ures, under which the society of believers in Chiiist, and 
 their common relati4)n to him as such, is represented.f 
 The ancient, and as had been tiiought, the indelible dis- 
 tinction between Jew and Gentile, in both Epistles is de- 
 clared to be •* now abolished by his cross." Beside tliis 
 consent in the general tenor ot the two Epistles, and ia 
 the run also and warmth of thought, with which they are 
 composed, we may naturally expect, in letters produced 
 under the circumstances, in which these appear to have 
 been written, a closer resemblance of style and diction, 
 than between other letters of the same person, but of dis- 
 tant dates, or between letters adapted to different occa- 
 sions. In particular we may look for many of the same 
 expressions, and sometimes for whole sentences being alike; 
 since such expressions and sentences would be repeated in 
 the second letter (whichever that was) as yet fresh in the 
 
 * St. Paul, I am apt to believe, has been sometimes accused of in- 
 conclusive reasoning, by our mistaking that for reasoning which was 
 only intended for illustration. He is not to be read as a man, whose 
 own persuasion of the truth of what he taught always or solely de- 
 pended upon the views under which he represents it in his writings. 
 Taking for granted the certainty of his doctrine, as resting upon the 
 revelation that had been imparted to him, he exhibits it frequently to 
 the conception of his readers under images and allegories, in which if 
 an analogy may be perceived, or even sometimes a poetic resemblance 
 be found, it is all perhaps that is required. 
 
 CEphes. i. aa,-^ TColos. i. 18. 
 
 f Compared iv. i5,Cwith < ii. 19, 
 
 C ii. 15,3 C iii. 10, 
 
 TEphes. Ii. 14, 15,"^ TCoIos. ii. 14, 
 
 AliO< ii. 16, C with < i. 18 
 
 C ii. S3, > C il 7- 
 
 in. 10, tl. 
 
 llo 
 
rilR THE EPISTLE TO THE ErRESIANS. 
 
 / 
 
 author's mind from the writing of the first. This repe*- 
 tition occurs in the following examples.* 
 
 Ephes. ch. i. 7. *' In whom we have rederaptioa 
 <* through his blood, tl:e forgiveness of sins."f 
 
 Colos. ch. i, 14. *' In whom we have rederaptioa 
 through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.''^ 
 
 Beside the sameness of the words, it is further remarka- 
 ble that the sentence is, in both places, preceded by the 
 same introductory idea* In the Epistle to tlie Ephesians 
 it is the " beloved^* (nyxTn^tcBva) ; in that to the Colossians 
 It is " his dear Son,** (v« rn^ uyccTr,",? etvTUy) " in whom we 
 " have redemption." The sentence appears to have been 
 suggested to the mind of the writer by the idea which had 
 accompanied it before. 
 
 Ephes. ch. i. 10. ** All things both which are inheav- 
 ** en and which are in earth, even in him. "J 
 
 Colos. ch. i. 20. *' All things by him, whether they 
 " be things in earth, or things in heaven. ''|| 
 
 This quotation Is the more obsei-vable, because the con- 
 necting of things In earth with things In heaven is a very; 
 singular sentiment, and found no where else but in these 
 two Epistles. The words also are introduced and follow- 
 ed by a train of thought nearly alike. They are Introdu- 
 ced by describing the union, which Christ had effected, 
 and they are followed by telling the Gentile churches that 
 they were incorporated into it. 
 
 * When f^r^rt^ comparisons are relied upon, it becomes nesessary to 
 state the original ; but that the English reader may be interrupted as 
 little as may be, I shall in general do this in the note. 
 
 -{' Ephes. ch. i. 7, Ev ^ g^ojttsv tj)? oiTFoXvr^ao'iv ^tst rn 
 
 % Colos. ch. i. 14. E» » iXOfXAit Tjjv etTo'Kvr^eiiriv ^ta ru 
 tiifiuro^ avTiit ry,v u,(pi<riv tm k^a^Ttm. However, it must he ob- 
 served, that in this latter text many copies have not "htct. ra titftxroi 
 Mvra. 
 
 § Ephes. ch. i. 10. To, rs e» to<$ a^avoig kxi rx iTCi rm y)}?, 
 t* xvra. 
 
 il Colos. ch. i. 20. £it xvTu, an r» w* rn? y««> «<« "r* i» 
 
TPf EflSTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. I If 
 
 Eplies. ch. ill. 2. " The dispensation of the grace of God» 
 ** which is given me to you ward."* 
 
 Colos. ch. i. 25. " The dispensation of God, which 
 <' is given to me for you."f 
 
 Of tliese sentences it may likewise be observed, that 
 the accompanying ideas are similar. In both places they 
 are immediately preceded by the mention of his present 
 sufferings ; in both places they are immediately followed 
 by the mention of the mystery which was the great sub- 
 ject of his preaching. 
 
 Ephes. ch. V. 19. *' In psalm.s and hymns and spiri- 
 " tual songs, singing and making melody in your heart 
 « to the Lord/':{: 
 
 Colos. ch. ill. 16. " In psalms and hymns and spiri- 
 " tual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the 
 « Lord.»(J 
 
 Ephes. ch. vi. 22. *' Whom I have sent unto you for 
 ** the same purpose, that ye might know our affairs, and 
 *' that he might comfort your hearts." || 
 
 Colos. ch. iv. 8. " Whom I have sent unto you for 
 " the same purpose, that he might know your estate, and 
 ^* comfort your hearts."^ 
 
 In these examples, we do not perceive a cento of phra- 
 ses gathered from one composition, and strung together 
 in the other ; but the occasional occurrence of the same 
 
 * Ephes, ch. iii, 2. Tnv oixovofcixv rv)$ ;^<«giT05 ra ©«» rijs 
 f Colos, ch. i. 25". Tjjv Gizovofztxv TOW ©iov, rnv ^o&ucxi 
 % Ephes .ch, v. 19. -^a^uoig xxi v^.voig, kui ea^ccir, Trnvfcan-- 
 
 ^ Colos. Ctl. lii I 6. •4'<M,\«o;j KUi vf^vQig Koii ca^xig TTViVf^CCTl* 
 
 jl Ephes. ch. vi. 22. 'Ov «7rj,tt4'« tt^o? v^ccg itq avro 'rvn^ 
 ltd yyun rx TVi^i -^^.iuj, xai Trcc^oiXfiXicrvi rcc% x.x^^toig vfAU'9. 
 
 ^Colos. ch. IV. 8. 'Ov z'^i-.c^x TT^og if/^ug ug ccvra rcvTaj 
 
i20 THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIAN5. 
 
 expression to a mind a second time revolving the same ideas* 
 2. Whoever writes two letters, or two discourses, near- 
 ly upon the same subject, and at no great distance of time, 
 but without any express recollection of what he had writ- 
 ten before, will find himself repeating some sentences in 
 the very order of the words, in which he had already used 
 them ; but he will more frequently find himself employ- 
 ing some principal terms, with the other inadvertently 
 changed, or with the other disturbed by the intermixture 
 of other words and phrases expressive of ideas rising up 
 at the time ; or in many instances repeating not single 
 words, nor yet whole sentences, but parts and fragments 
 of sentences. Of all these varieties the examination of our 
 two Epistles will furnish plain examples ; and I should 
 rely upon this class of instances more than upon the last ; 
 because, although an impostor might transcribe into a 
 forgery entire sentences and phrases, yet the dislocation of 
 words, the partial recollection of phrases and sentences, 
 the intermixture of new terms and new ideas with terms 
 and ideas before used, which will appear in the examples 
 that follow, and which are the natural properties of writ- 
 ings produced under the circumstances in which these 
 Epistles are represented to have been composed, would 
 not, I think, have occurred to the Invention of a forger j 
 nor, if they had occurred, woul^ they have been so easily 
 cxeclited. This studied variation was a refinement in for- 
 gery which I believe did not exist j or, if we can suppose 
 It to have been practised in the instances adduced oelow, 
 wh^, it may be asked, was not the same art exercised up- 
 on those which we haVe colkcted in the preceding class ? 
 Ephes. ch. i. 19. ch. ii. 5.' " Towards us who believe 
 •* according to the worklngof his mighty power, w^ich he 
 ** wrought in Christ, when he raised him from the dead 
 ** (and set him at his own right hand, 'In the heavenly 
 " places, far above all principality, and power, and might, 
 •* and dominion, and every name that is named, not only 
 <' in this world, but in that which is to come. And hath 
 •* put all things under his feet j and gave liim to be tl>e 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 121 
 
 ** head over all things, to the church, which is his body, the 
 " fulness of all things, thatfilleth all in all); and you hath 
 " he quickened, who were dead in ti-espasses and sins, 
 *' (wherein in time past ye walked according to the course 
 •* of this world, according to the prince of the power of 
 ** the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of 
 <* disobedience ; among whom also we had all our con- 
 ** versation, in times past, in tlie lusts of our flesh ful- 
 '« filling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, 
 *< and were by nature the children of wrath, even as 
 " others. But God, who is rich in mercy, for his 
 ** great love wherewith he loved us), even when we 
 ** were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with 
 •« Christ."* 
 
 Colos. ch. ii. 12, 13. ** Through the faith of the ope- 
 ** ration of God, who hath raised him from the dead, 
 " and you being dead, in your sins and the uncircumcision 
 <* of tlie flesh, hath he quickened together with him."f 
 
 Out of the long quotation from the EphesiaTis,take away 
 the parentheses, and you have left a sentence almost in 
 terms the same as the short quotation from the ColossianSp 
 The resemblance is more visible in the original than in 
 our translation ; for what is rendered in one place *' the 
 <* working,'* and in another the " operation,'' is the same 
 Greek term ivspyux j in one place it is, rovs TrimuovTKi x«t« 
 T^y ivi^yii* 5 in the other, 3<« tik -riFrt:^ mi ivt^nxs* Hcrc 
 
 * Ephes. ch. i. 19, 20; ii. i. 5. Taw? mr«yo>r«j jmt« 
 T?}» ivi^')(U9V^ Toy K^ccrov? rm t(r^vo; ayray, viv tvn^y/ia-iv «» w 
 Y^tiiOy tyu^ct^ »uTO'i vc viK^m' KXi iKx9ia-iJ iv ^e'^ta xut«v W t««5 
 
 -f Colos. ch. ji, 12, 13. l^ict Tijj Tri^ico', T»? tn^yZMi rau 
 0i(jy ro'j iyu^zvTdg ccvTov in. ro>t viK^my. Kxi uuag nK^avi onobs 
 
 L 
 
122 THE lYlbTLS. TO THE E/HElilANS. 
 
 therefore v.'e have the same sentiment, and nearly in the 
 same words j but, in the Ephesians, twice broken or in- 
 terrupted by incidental thoughts, which St. Paul, as his 
 manner was, enlarges upon by the way,* and tlien returns 
 to the thread of his discourse. It is interrupted the first 
 time by a view which breaks m upon his mind of the ex- 
 altation of Christ ; and the second time by a description 
 of heathen depravity. I have only to remark that Gries- 
 bach, in his very accurate edition, gives the parentheses 
 very nearly in the same manner, in which they are here 
 placed ; and that without any respect to the comparison, 
 which we are proposing. 
 
 Ephes. ch. iv. 2 — 4. ** With all lowliness and meek- 
 *♦ ness, with longsuitering, forbearing one another in love; 
 •' endeavouring to keep the unity of the spirit, in the bond 
 ** of peace, there is one body and one spirit, even as ye 
 ** are called in one hope of your calling."-}- 
 
 Colos. ch. iii. 1 2 — 1 5. ** Put on therefore, as the elect 
 *» of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, 
 " humbleness, of mind, meekness, longsufFering, forbear- 
 «' ing one anothei and forgiving one another ; if any man 
 ** have a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, 
 *' so also do ye ; and, above all these things, put on char- 
 « ity, which is the bond of perfectness ; and let the peace 
 ••of God rule in your hearts, to the which also ye are ca4- 
 « led in one body." J 
 
 • • Vide Locke, in loc. 
 
 •^- Ephes. ch. iv. 2 — 4. MiTX ttug-^^ rcCTrUyoP^ea-vvyji Kott 
 
 Csit^cm^ rvjpiiv T/tv hcTmu rov Trvsvf^Arog iv ra (rvvoic-f^st rn? U(n- 
 »?;?. '-Ev <rciy.tc KtCi h Trvivuce, xx^wg xxi iK^hn sv w<ar- 6Air<^< rt: 
 xXi^(riag l^cu^. 
 
 :f: Colos. ch. iii. 12-^—15. hv^v^x<rh cvv aq inXiKret rov 
 ©loy kyitl Kcti TiycCTTfi^'.vci, (rx?.(fyx^» cacrt^fiay, y^ey^gorriru, rctr 
 
 X^pi^ofiivn UvTdic, ixv ri? T^Cf; 7ivx ix*'' f^ofi^nv* yyttug Kcti I'X^irec 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIAKS. 12^ 
 
 In these two quotations the words rccruvo<p^oirvvyii '7r^uoTyi(;p 
 ustx^odvfctu, tcnx.9^ivoi «AA»)A(wv, occur in exactly the same 
 ordjr ; «;r>} is also found in both, but in a diiFerent con- 
 nection ; (Tuvhc-f^oi rvii n^Yiv/i^ answers to (rwha-izoi t>j5 T6Ae<a- 
 TjjTof ; iKXrj&yiri iv Ivi TMfAscTt to Iv ffwfisc Kxdaii ksci iKMhri %9 
 fAict IxTTih i yet is this similitude found in the midst of sen- 
 tences otherwise very different. 
 
 Ephes. ch. iv. 1 6. '* From whom the whole body fit- 
 <* ly joined together, and compacted by that which every 
 " joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in 
 '• the measure of every part, maketh increase of the 
 " body."* 
 
 Col. ch. ii. 19. <' From which all the body, by joints 
 ** and bands, having nourishment ministered and knit to- 
 •♦ getlier, increaseth with the increase of God."f 
 
 In these quotations are read £| ov tx» to caux a-vfA^i^x^o- 
 ftivov in both places, tTri^o^yiyav^ivav answering to e5r<;^«^))y<- 
 x^ ; hx Ta» cs.(p<uv to ^ix 7rxTyi<; x<pvi^ i xv^ei t>jv «y|jjo-<v tO 
 ^o;i(Txf T>)» xv^nTiv i and yet the sentences are considerably 
 diversified in other parts. 
 
 Ephes. ch. iv. 32. <* And be kind one to another, ten- 
 " der hearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for 
 " Christ's sake, hath forgiven you."t 
 
 t^x^iTXTo vfAiVt ovTU x.xt vftiiq fTt TTXTi ^i rovtci^ TJjy XyXTfif, 
 nri<i i9t <rvv}iTuog rn? riXiicrytrci' xxi n u^nvn rov Qiov (igxZivi* 
 ru m rxti Kx^iXis hum, ug yiv kxi iKXnhrt t» in (rafMttu 
 
 * Ephes. ch. iv. 16, E| ow tfxv r& otuijuc a-wx^^tXcycvuivif 
 KXi (rvfcQiCx^of^evov ^ix 'rxrri^ x^m Tnig g7r<;^ogny<«j, kxt tvi^uxf 
 ur uir^a tvc^ Ixxgov fci^ovi T))» xv^iiriv rev crufMcro^ Troiurxs, 
 
 •f* Colos. ch. ii. 19. E| ov 'txh to (r»ftx ^ix ruv a^uf x«p 
 (TuwiTusiiv tTTt^o^yiyov^ivov KXI vv^^i^x^ounoV) xv\ii Tnv xv^n^if 
 rov Qiov, 
 
 X Ephes. ch. iv. 32. r;viTh h nc aXXnXav? AJC?*'* ff^- 
 
 9'7rXxy)(^V0t, ^X^t^OUiVO^ IxVTOl^.t Kx9ai kxi 3ii§ tV XeigM i%X9i' 
 
IZ^ THE £?ISTLE to THE EPHESIANS. 
 
 Colos. ch. iii. 13. « Forbearing one another and for- 
 " giving one another ; if any man have a quarrel against 
 1^ any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye."* 
 -. Here Vi'e have " forgiving one another, even as God, 
 " for Christ's sake (ev X^ittm), hath forgiven you," in the 
 first quotation, substantially repeated in the second. But 
 in the second the sentence is broken by the interposition 
 of a new clause, " if any man have a quarrel against 
 ** any ;" and the latter part is a little varied ; instead of 
 ** God in' Christ," it is *' Christ hath forgiven you." 
 . Ephes. ch. iv. 22 — 24. " That ye put off concerning 
 *' the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt 
 *' according to the deceitful lust and be renewed in the 
 " spirit of your mind ; and that ye put on the new man, 
 *« v.'hich, after God, is created in righteousness and true 
 ** holiness."f 
 
 Coles, ch. iii. 9, 10. *' Seeing that ye have put off 
 ^.** the old man with his deeds and have put on the neW 
 <' man, which is renewed in knowledge, after the image of 
 « him that created him."J 
 
 In these quotations, ** putting off the old man, and put- 
 ** ting on the new," appears in both. The idea is fur- 
 ther explained by calling it a renewal ; in the one, ** re- 
 ** newed in the spirit of your mind ;" in the other '* rc- 
 " newed in knowledge." In both, the new man is said to 
 
 * Colos, ch. iii. 15. Av6;^o/5«6ve< dX'kfiXmy xaii ;K<«§'<fo/e<Sna* 
 
 o-XTc' iffctVf ovru xkl tf^uq, 
 
 f Ephes. ch. iv. 22— -24. ATohtrGeci vfix^ Ketret rua T^d- 
 4e^xv etvx<f^o(pviVt T«y irxXxtov xyd^aTrav tov (pfiit^ofiivov tuirx rxq 
 tmSvfiixg TTii XTTxrm'^ xvxhovt^xi ^g ra vHvfixrt t» veo^ vf^atf 
 KXi iv^vTXT&xi ro¥ Kxtvav uv6^u7C6Vi rev KXTX ©gov Krichvrx iv ?<- 
 xxtoa-vvyi kxi oa-ioT^ri rr,<; xXtt^ux^. 
 
 \|l Colos ch. iii. 9, 16. AxeK^va-xf^ivat taI' TrxXxiov xvt^a- 
 vrov a-vv rxt? 7r^x%iTtv xvreu" kxi iwvrxfMvct tov vgov, rev xpxicxivov- 
 f^evo¥ 6<5 iTTiYvartv kxt i(K»vec rev *crtrxvroi «t/Tov. 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHEilANS. It^ 
 
 be formed according to the same model ; m the one he is, 
 " after God created in righteousness and true holiness ;** 
 in the other, " he is renewed after the image of him that 
 ** created him." In a word, it is the same person writing 
 upon a kindred subject, with the terms and ideas whicix 
 he had before employed still floating in his memory."* 
 
 Ephes. chap. v. 6-— 8. " Because of these things cometh 
 ** the ivrath of God upon the children of disobedience ; be not 
 " ye therefore partakers with them ; for ye were some- 
 «' times darkness, but now are ye light in the Lord ; walk 
 therefore as children of light. "f 
 
 ■■- Colos ch. iii. 6 — 8. " For lahich- things sake the nvrath 
 '* of God cometh on the children of disobedience ; in which ye 
 " also walked some lime, when ye lived in them ; but now 
 ** you also put off all these." J 
 
 These verses ajBTord a specimen of that partial resem- 
 blance which is only to be met with when no imitation is 
 designed, when no studied recollection is employed, but 
 the mind, exercised upon the same subject, is left to the 
 spontaneous return of such terms and phrases, as having 
 been used bfore, may happen to present themselves a« 
 gain. The sentiment of both passages is throughout a- 
 like ; half of that sentiment, the denunciation of God's 
 
 * In these comparisons, we often perceive the reason, why the writ- 
 er, though expressing the same idea, uses a different term ; namely, 
 because the term before used is employed in the sentence under a dif- 
 ferent form. Thus, in the quotation under our eye, the new man is 
 xxifoi etv^^&iTro^y in the Ephesians, and rov no* in the Colossians j 
 and then it is because r^v xxio» is used in the next word xyxxeayov" 
 
 f Ephes. ch. v. 6 — 8. Atu rccvrx yct^i^^irxi ^ e^yn tc» 
 
 rnv, Hts yec^Tori irKonroi^ vuv 5e (pai gv Kv^ico' a)§ rinvx <pejr«s 
 
 1^ Colos. ch. iii. 6 — 8. At u, t^^trxi ij o^yaj T«y 0eay im 
 rav<; hiov<; t))5 <x,7\riikix<i' «y ait; kcci uf4.u$ Tri^itTrxrntTxrt TTcrif or« 
 «^)jrg iv xvtok;, Nyyi ^g ctfrdh<rh xxi ituui rx Tvxrrx, 
 
126' TH* f PfSTLE TO THE EPHESIAKS. 
 
 #ratli, IS expressed in identical words j the other half viz, 
 the admonition to quit their former conversation, in 
 words entirely different. 
 
 Ephes. ch. v. t^r, i^. ** See then that ye walk circum- 
 « spectly ; not as fools, but as \vise, redeeming the time."* 
 
 Colo's, ch. iv. 5. «< Walk'iT^^ wisdom towards, them 
 « that are Without, redeeming the time."f 
 
 This is another example-df that mixture which we re- 
 marked of sameness and variety in the language of one 
 "ftrriter. " Redeeming the time,*' {i^xyo^x^ofovot roy kki- 
 |ey) is a literal repetition. *' Walk not as fools, but as 
 ^* wise" {'Trigi'nret'niri ^ii a? ccTcipoi «aa' as o-icpet) answers ex- 
 actly in sense, and nearly in ternis, to " walk in wisdom" 
 (tv o-oipux, TTSoiTt'etireni). Ui^trrxruri «xg<€&»? is a very deffer- 
 ent phrase, but is intended to convey precisely the same 
 idea as vi^i-Tt^'titrt w^oj tow? t%e>> i uK^iQ^fg is not well ren- 
 <lered " drcUhispectly.'* It means what in modem speech 
 *s<re should call " correctly j" and when we advise a per- 
 son to behave " conectly," our advice is always given 
 with a reference to ** the opinion of others." tt^o^ rayj «|a», 
 " Walk correctly, redeeming the time," i.e. suiting your- 
 -selves to the difficulty and ticklishness of the times in 
 which u'e live, *' because the days are evil." 
 
 Ephes. ch. vi. 19, 20. " And (praying) for me that 
 mterance may be given tmto me, that I may open my 
 ihouth boldly to make known the mystery of the Gospel, 
 ior which I am an ambassador in bonds, that therein I 
 may speak boldly, as I ought to speak." J 
 
 * Ephes. ch. V. 15, i6. BXiTrin cw 'rug «xgA;$ yn^i^K- 
 run' (i6n.a)i t^ro^oiy cc?\X^ ag troipoit i^ccyo^u^o/mvoi rov XMi^ov. 
 
 \ Coios. ch. iv. 5. £v (Todpiu, -ri^iTrccrtiTi TT^ci rovs s|(5i», toy 
 keti^by i^xyo^x^ofiivot. 
 
 ^ Ephes. ch. vi. 19, 20. Keci vfTi^ iy-ovy Ux yoi ^c^rjj 
 Aoydj £v xyoi^zt rov o-rofAxrc^ fC6V iv Trx^fvia-iXy yvu^iirxi to fivorH- 
 i^iov 70V ivxyyiT^ioVi VTTi^ ov tt^it^ivw iv ^^Kvnif im i¥ ecv'Tu «r«g- 
 f i»ff*i«ff-*'fc^<^ ft»5 hi fii hxMTXi' 
 
THE epi^ttE <rd rhft «)»hesians. 127 
 
 Golbs. ch. iv. 3,4. " Withal praying also for U6, that 
 " God Would open unto us a door of utterance to speak 
 ** the mystery of Christ, for which t am also in bonds, 
 ** that I may make it manifest as I ought to speak."* 
 • In these quotations, the phrase *' as I ought to speak*' 
 («i? ht fit XxMreii), the words " utterance" (A«y«?), *« mys- 
 ** tery" {fccvrrYi^tev) " open" («j'di||} and «? xni^u) are the 
 Same. ** To make known the mystery of the Gospel/* 
 (yva^iTxi TO ^v<rrm9v), answers to ** make it manifest" (/V« 
 ^ctte^wTD uuro); *♦ for which I am an ambassador in bonds" 
 (wTTs^ cu TT^ia-'^svu tv uXvrn), to ** for which I am also in 
 X bonds," {h* d Kxi ^shftxi). 
 
 Ephes. ch. v. 2 2 . '* Wives submit yourselves to your oivfi 
 " husbands^ as unto the Lord^ for the husband is the head 
 " of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, 
 ** and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore, as the 
 •* church is subject unto Christ, so let the w^ves be to their 
 •♦ own husbands in every thing. Hushandsy iove your 
 ** luives, even -as Christ also loved the church, and gave 
 ♦* himself for it, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with 
 ** the washing of water by the word ; that he might pr.e- 
 " sent it to himself a glorious church, not having spot or 
 " wrinkle,or any such thing ; but that it should be holy and 
 '* without blemish. So ought men to love their wives as their 
 ** own bodies. He that loveth his wife, loveth himself; 
 ♦< for no man ever yet hated his own flesh, but nourisheth 
 « and cherisheth, it, even as the Lord the church j for we 
 <* are members of his body, of his flesh, and of his bones. 
 *' For this cause shall a man leave his father and his moth- 
 ** er,.and be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be 
 one flesh. This is a great mystery j but I speak con- 
 ** ceming Christ and the Church. Nevertheless, let eve- 
 '* ry one of you in particular, so love his wife even as him- 
 
 Colos. ch. iv. '^ 4, n^o(r«y;^»^«yd< Ufitc KXt Tt^t jjpw», 
 
128 THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIAN3. 
 
 ♦* self; and the wife see that she reverence her husband. 
 ♦* Children^ obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right, 
 " Honor thy father and thy mother (which is the first 
 " commandment with promise), that it maybe well with 
 •* thee, and thou mayest Hve long on the earth. And ye 
 *•'' fathers, provoke not your children to ivrath, but bring them 
 *' up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Ser' 
 " vants, be obedient to them tljat are your masters according to 
 " the fleshy ivith fear and tremblings in singleness of your hearty 
 ** as unto Christ ; not with eye service, as men pleasers, bat 
 ** as the servants of Christ, doing the nvill of God from the 
 ** heart, nwith good 'will doing service, as to the Lord, and not 
 " to men ; knowing that nvLatsoevsr gooa thing any man doeih, 
 ** the same shall ht receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or 
 **free. And, ye masters, do the same things unto thenfi, 
 ** Forbearing threatening ; knowing that your master also is 
 «• in heaven, neither is there respect of persons with him."* 
 f Colos. ch. iii. 18. " Wives, submit yourselves unto 
 
 * Ephes. ch. v. 22. *A« yvy«»xt?, rot^ <5iJ<? fltv^^«(r»y v'xo- 
 
 + Colos. ch. iii, 18. "Ai yvvxi>tic, v7roruf<n<r9£ tois t^icii 
 
 Ephes. *0i «v5^£5 ecyxTTccTi rug yummcc^ tccvrcjv, 
 Colos. 'Oi <«y^§s?, xyctTfein t<*« yvm^aus* 
 Ephes. T<* riiivec, v^cCKovtri ton ydnv<rtv IfAm ivKv^ia' inv- 
 re yx^ i^i ^ixxioy* 
 
 Colos. Tx Tiftvx. vxxKoviTi To*$ yoyiviTt xxrx vxyrx' tovt« 
 
 yXP iTftV iVXpiirTOV Ta-Kv^tf, 
 
 Ephes. Kxt a« xxn^ig fin 'Kx^t^i^wi rx nxvx vf^m, 
 Colos. 'Oi TTXTS^ii fzn *i^i6f^irz rx riMx vf^<i;v. 
 
 Ephes. 'Ot ^0V^6h VTTXiCOViTi T<51$ >CV^(6ii KXTX (TX^KX fiitX 
 ^OWOtf KXl T^dfiOV, tV tftTT AOT)}T< T*)5 XX^OiX? V^O>V, A'i TO) Xgi^«* fX,ii 
 
 Kxr 0(pdxXicc>^cvMixf loi xv6^ioxx^is-xot, xXX* aig oovXoi rev X^i^ev, 
 Toievvri? ro hMy.x rov ©eoy ex "^v^viii' f>cir ivvotxg aevMv^vrtg 
 ag ro) Kv§<a», x.xi cvk xv^ocJTToig' u^crig ori ixv ri iKx^og vcit^i^ 
 xyxQaVy rovTc ico^mritL TFx'ex. rov Kv^iov, ini Sov^e5> «<« tMySi^og^ 
 * TTx^e^yt^in, lectio non spernenda. Griesb'ach. 
 
THE BflSTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. Tip 
 
 *• your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord. Husbands, 
 " love your wives and be not bitter against them. Chil- 
 **-dren obey y«ur parents in all things, for this is well 
 «* pleasing unto the Lord. Fathers, provoke not your 
 ** children to anger, lest they be discouraged. Servants, 
 ** obey in all things your masters according ta the flesh ; 
 ** not with eye service, as men pleasers, but in singleness 
 *' of heart, fearing God ; and whatever ye do, do it heart- 
 '* ily, as to the Lord, and not unto men, knowing that 
 " of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheri- 
 « tance, for ye serve the Lord Christ. But he that doeth 
 *' wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done j 
 " and their is no respect of persons. Masters, give unto 
 •* your servants that which is just and equal, knowing that 
 " ye also have a master in heaven." 
 
 The passages marked by Italics in the quotation frdiii 
 the Ephesians, bear a strict resemblance, not only in sig, 
 nification but in terms, to the quotation from the Colos- 
 siaas. Both the wdrds and the order of the wcyrds are in 
 many clauses a (duplicate of one another. In the Epistla 
 to the Colossians, these passages are laid together ; in that 
 to the Ephesians, they are divided by intermediate matter ; 
 especially by a long digressive allusion to the mysterious 
 union between Christ and his church ; which possessing, 
 as Mr.Locke hath well observe^ the mind of the apostle, 
 from being an incidental thought, grows up into tlie prin- 
 cipal subject. The aflSnity between these two passages in 
 signification, in terms, and in tlie order of the words, is 
 closer than can be pointed out between any parts of any 
 two epistles in tlie volume. 
 
 GoiOS, 0< d»vh9h VTmKoven «ukt« Tretrrcc rets tutrcc <r««x/» 
 
130 THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIAKS. 
 
 If the reader would see how the same subject is treated 
 by a different hand, and how distinguibhable it is from the 
 production of the same pen, let him turn to the second 
 and tliird chapters of the First Epistle of St. Peter. The 
 duties of servants, of wives, a:» d of husbands, are enlarged 
 upon in that epistle, as they are in the Epistle to the Ephe- 
 sians; but the subjects both occur in a different order, 
 and the train of sentiment subjoined to each is totally un- 
 like. 
 
 3. In two letters issuing from the same person, nearly 
 at tlie same time, and upon the same general occasion, we 
 may expect to trace the influence of association in the or- 
 der in which the topics follow one another. Certain ideas 
 univei sally or usually suggest otlieis. Here the order is 
 what we call natural, and from such an order nothing can 
 be concluded. But when the order is arbitrary, yet alike, 
 the concurrence indicates the effect of that principle, by 
 which ideas which have been once joined, commonly re- 
 visit the thoughts together. The epistles under consid- 
 eration furnish the two following remarkable instances of 
 this species of agreement. 
 
 Ephes. ch. iv. 24, " And that ye put on the new man 
 " which after God is created in righteousness and true ho- 
 " liness ; wherefore, putting away lying, speak every man 
 *' truth with his neighbour, for we are members one of 
 " another."* 
 
 Colos. ch. iil. 9. " Lie not one to another ; seeing 
 ♦' that ye have put off the old man, with his deeds ; and 
 •• have put on the new man, which is renewed in knowl- 
 « edge."t 
 
 * Ephes. ch. iv. 24, 25. K«« iv^vTX(r6xi r^ KXt^ov ccy- 
 
 XXli6uXi' ^(0 X7Fe$ifii¥0t TO ^l^iV^OSf AccAetTE XhlfSilXV iKX^Og UiTX 
 
 \ Colos. ch. iii. 9. Mn il^vha-6i uq «AA»jAtf$, xTCiK^vc-uf^i- 
 
 |rO( TdV 7rxXXl6V Xf^^UTTtfy CTW TXi^ TT^X^KTIV XVTCVt KXf tVdVTX^ii.i* 
 
 r^¥ V19V, rat »mKXtvitfUyo¥ 6*f tfrtyvunf'^ 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. I31 
 
 ■ The vice of « lying," or a correction of that vice, does 
 not seem to bear any nearer relation to the «* putting on 
 « the new man," than a reformation in any other article 
 of morals. Yet these two ideas, we see stand in both 
 epistles in immediate connection. 
 
 Eph. ch.v.2o,2i. « Giving thanks always for all things 
 
 ** unto God and the Father, in the name of our Lord Je- 
 
 *' sus Christ ; submitting yourselves one to another in the 
 
 I tear of God. Wives, submit yourselves unto your own 
 
 husbands, as uHto the Lord." * 
 
 Colos ch iii. 17. u Whatsoever ye do, In word or 
 
 deed do all m the name of the Lord Jesus, giving 
 
 "Lor?;'"'''''"' ,,,, husbands, as it is fit In the 
 In both these passages, submission follows ^Ivlnff of 
 
 tount7or r' -y.similltude in the ideas which shfuld 
 account for the transition. 
 
 It is not necessary to pursue the comparison between 
 ^e two ep,stles farther. The argument which results 
 fbm u stands thus. No two other epistles contain nK 
 cumstance wh.ch mdicates that they were written at the 
 ^ame, or nearly at the same time. No two other e- 
 p.st es exh,b,t so many marks of correspondency and re 
 semblance. If the original which we'asoribe 'to the" 
 two ep,stles be the true one. that is, if they were both r^ 
 aUy wntten by St. Paul, and both sent to their respective 
 destmafon by the same messenger, the simiHtude is in all 
 pomts, what should be expecte J to take place. K they 
 
 * 'Ephes. ch. V. 2n t-9 v ' 
 
 t coios. ch. iii. ,7/ K«, ;« i, „ „ „„„. „ ;^-,;, ^^ - 
 
132 T«E EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. 
 
 were forgeries, then the mention of Tychicus in both 
 epistles, and in a manner which shews tliat he either car- 
 ried or accompanied both epistles, was inserted for the 
 purpose of accounting for their similitude ; or else the 
 structure of the epistles was designedly adapted to that 
 circumstance ; or, lastly, the conformity between the 
 contents of the forgeries, and what is thus indirectly inti- 
 mated concerning their date, was only a happy accident. 
 Not one of these three suppositions will gain credit with 
 a reader who peruses the epistles with attention, and who 
 reviews the several examples we have pointed out, and the 
 observations with which they were accompanied. 
 
 No, IL 
 
 There is such a thing as a peculiar word or phrase 
 cleaving, as it were, to the memory of a writer or speak- 
 er, and presenting itself to his utterance at every turn.. 
 When we observe this, we call it a cant word, or a cant 
 phrase. It is a natural effect of habit ; and would appear 
 more frequently than it does, had not the rules of good 
 writing taught the ear to be offended with the iteration 
 of the same sound, and often times caused us to reject, on 
 that account, the word which offered itself first to^ oui 
 recollection. With a writer who, like St. Paul, either 
 knew not these rules, or disregarded them, such words 
 will not be avoided. The truth is, an example of this 
 kind runs through several of his epistles, and in the epis- 
 tle before us abounds; and that is in t^e Vford riches 
 {irxcvrcgy) used metaphorically as an argumentative of 
 the idea to which it happens to be subjoined. Thus, 
 " the riches of his glqrj,*' " his riches m glory,'* " rkhes 
 of the glory of his inheritance," " riches of the glory of 
 his mistery," Rom. ch.xi. 23, Ephes. ch. iii. 1.6, Ephes, 
 ch. i. 18, Colos. ch. i. 27 ; ** riches of his grace." twice 
 in the Ephesians, ch. 1. 7, and ch. ii. 7 ; « riiies of the 
 full assurance of understanding," Colos, ch. ii. 2 ; ''riches 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE £PHESIAN^. I33 
 
 o£ his goodness," Rom. ch. il. 4; ^^ riches of the, wis- 
 dom of God," Rom. ch. xi. 33 ; *' riches of Christ/' 
 Eph?s. ch. ill. 8. In a like cense th^ adjective. Rom. 
 ch. X. 12, " rich unto all that call upon him ;" Ephes. 
 ch. ii. 4, " rich in mercy ;" i Tim. ch. vi. 18, *' rich m 
 geod works." Also the adverb, Colos ch. iii. 16, *' let 
 tlie word of Christ dwell in you richly.** This figurative 
 use of the word, though so familiar to St. Paul, does not 
 occur in any part of the New Testament, except once in 
 the epistle of St. James, ch. ii. 5. " Kath not God cho- 
 **senthe/^or oftliis world, r/V;6 in faith?" where it is 
 manifestly suggested by the antithesis. I propose the 
 frequent, yet seemingly unaffected use of this phrase in 
 the epistle before us, as one internal mark of its genuine- 
 ness. 
 
 No. III. 
 
 There is another singularity in St. Paul's style, which, 
 /'herever it is found, may be deemed a badge of authen- 
 ticity J because, if it were noticed, it would not, I think, 
 be imitated, inasmuch as it almost always produces em- 
 barrassments and interruption in tlie reasoning. This 
 singularity is a species of digression which may probably, 
 I think, be denominated going off at a ivord. It in 
 taming aside from the subject upon the occurrence of 
 >Ome particular woi-d J 'forsaking the train of thought then 
 in hiand/and entering upon a parenthetic sentence in^vhich 
 that word is the prevailing term. I shall lay before the 
 reader some examples of this, collected frOm the other 
 epistles, hnd then propose two examples cf it which are 
 "fijundan the Epistle to. the Ephes'ians. 2 Cor. ch. ii. 14, 
 .■\t-Hi(?wofd scfoar, ' « Now thanks be unto God, which 
 **'al^i7}i causeth- us to triumph- in Christ, and m^kcth 
 *' manifest "the savor of His ki^owledge by* us 'n\ every pjace; 
 ** for we are^unto God a s>^vcet s'avor of Christ, in,,them 
 '^ that are sav^d,'ahd i"i"thQmthat,ptrish.;, to the one we 
 *• are tlic saver of death unto death, and to the other the; 
 M 
 
^34 "^^^ EPISTLE TO THE E?HES1ASS. 
 
 «* savor of life unto life ; and v.ho is sufficient of these 
 ** things ? For wc are not as many which corrupt the word 
 *' of God, but as of sincerity, but as of God ; in the sight 
 ** of God speak we in Christ." Again, 2 Cor. ch. iii. i, 
 at the word epstk. " Need we, as some others, ephlles of 
 •* ccnimendation to you ? or of commendation from you f 
 ** ye are our epIsfJe, written in our hearts, known and read 
 ** of all men ; forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to 
 ** be the epiyfk of Christ, ministered by us, written not 
 '" with ink, but with the spirit of the living God ; not 
 *' in tables of stone, but in the fleshly tables of the 
 *' he.lrt." The position of the words in the original, shews 
 more strongly than in the translation that it was the oc- 
 currence of the word txiaT^}iV) which gave birth to the sen- 
 tence that follows. 2 Cor. chap, iii. i . E; jLcn zi^^^^ih ^'? '^*J'«f> 
 
 ervirrccriKUV i7rt(rroXafv ^r^og v^ttfs?, tj i| vudJv c-va-Tocnxuv ^ jj stt^t- 
 r^Xyi tifiosv vnu^ is-re, iyyiy^eif^f^nvn «v ran; Koc^icnq iif^atv, yivua-' 
 
 C6X>.» Trvivf^cc&ri Giov ^avro^' ax. m TrXa^t Xt^ivxtg, «AA' sv 7;A«|< 
 
 Again, 2 Cor. ch. iii. 12, &c. at the wordi;*//. ** See- 
 ** ing then that \ve have such hope, we use great plainness 
 •* of speech ; and not as Moses, which put a vail over his 
 *< face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look 
 *« to the end of that ^a hich is abolished. But their minds 
 ** were blinded ; for until this day rcmaineth the same vail 
 *' imtaken away in the reading of the Old Testament, 
 " which 'Da'il is done away in Christ ; but even unto this 
 *' day, when Moses is read, the 'vall is upon their heart ; 
 « nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord, the vaU 
 «* shall be taken av/ay (now the Lord is that spirit ; and 
 « where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty). But 
 «< we all, with open face, beholding as in a glass the glo- 
 « ry of the Lord, are changed into the same image from 
 ■■^ ^loty to fiery, even as by the spirit of the Lord. There- 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIA^fS. 135' 
 
 " tore, seeing we have tliis ministry, as we have received 
 " mercy, we faint not." 
 
 Who sees not that this whole allegory of the vail arises 
 entirely out of the occurrence of the word, in telling us 
 that " Moses put a vail over his face," and that it drew 
 the apostle away from the proper subject of his discourse, 
 the dignity of the office in which he was engaged ; wliich 
 subject he fetches up again almost in the words with which 
 he had left it ; " therefore seeing we have this ministry, as 
 " we have received mercy, we faint not." The sentence 
 which he had before been going on with, and in which he 
 had been interrupted by the vail, was, " seeing then that 
 ** we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech/' 
 
 In the Epistle to the Ephesians, the reader will remark 
 two instances in which the same habit of composition ob- 
 tains ; he will recognize the sanae pen. One he will 
 find, chap. iv. 8 — 1 1, at the word ascended. *' Wherefore 
 " he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity 
 *' captive, and gave gifts unto men. (Now \}x3it'ht ascemU 
 *< ed, what is it hut that he also descended first unto the 
 " lower parts of the earth ? He that descended is the same 
 '•'also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he 
 ** might fill all things.) And he gave some apostles,'* 
 &c. 
 
 The other appears, chap. v. 12 — 15, at the word light. 
 " For it is a shame even to speak of those things which 
 ** are done of them in secret ; but all things that are re- 
 ** proved, are made manifest by the light ; (for whatsoev- 
 ** er doth make manifest, is light i wherefore he saith, a- 
 " wake, thou that deepest, and arise from the dead, and 
 *' Christ shall give thee light ;) see then that ye walk cir- 
 *' cumspectly." 
 
 No. IF, 
 
 Although it does not appear to have ever been disputed 
 that the epistle before us was written by St. Paul, yet it- 
 
t^6 THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIAi'.'i. 
 
 h well known that a doubt has long been entertained con- 
 cerning the persons to whom it was addressed. The qaes- 
 tion is founded partly in some ambiguity in the external 
 evidence. Marcion, a heretic of the second century as 
 quoted by TertuUian, a father in the beginning of the 
 third, calls it the Epistle to the Laodiceans. From what 
 we know of Marcion, his judgment is little to be relied 
 upon ; nor is it perfectly clear that Marcion was rightly 
 understood by TertuUian. If, however, Marcion be' 
 brought to prove that some copies in his time gave 6» Aeco- 
 ^iKtioc m the superscription, his testimony if it be truly inter- 
 preted, is not diminished by his heresy ; for, as Grotius 
 observes, "rwr mea re mentiretur nihil er at causa.^' The name eih 
 Bpia-a, in the first verse, upon which word singly depends the 
 proof, that the epistle was written to the Ephesians, is not 
 read in all the manuscripts now extant. I admit, however, 
 that tlie external evidence preponderates with a manifest ex- 
 cess on the side of the received reading. The objection there- 
 fore principally arises from the contents of the epistle itself^ 
 which, in many respects, militate with the supposition that 
 it was written to the church of Ephesus. According to 
 the history, St. Paul had passed two v»'hole years at Ephe- 
 sus, Acts, -chap. xix. lo. And in this point, viz. of St. 
 Paul having preached for a considerable length of time 
 at Ephesus, tlie history is confii-med by the two Epistles 
 to the Corinthians, and by the two Epistles to Timothy. 
 ** I will tarry at Ephesus until Pentecost." i Cor. ch. 
 xvi. ver. 8. " We w^ould not have you ignorant of our 
 ** trouble which came to us in j^siaJ* 2 Cor. ch. i. 8. 
 " As I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, when I went 
 " into Macedonia.'* i Tim. ch. i. 3. " And in how 
 " many things he ministered to me at Ephesus thou kaow- 
 *' est well." 2 Tim. ch. i. 18. I adduce these testi- 
 monies, becase, had it been a competition of credit between 
 the history and the epistle, I sliould have thought myself 
 bound to have preferred the epistle. Now, every epistle 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHEilAHS, I37 
 
 which St. Paul wrote to churches, which he himself had 
 founded, or which he had visited, abounds with referen- 
 ces, and appeals to what had pUssed during the time that 
 he vas present amongst them ; whereas thei'e is not a 
 tert in the Epistle to the Ephesians, from which we can 
 collect that he had ever been at Ephesus at all. The two 
 Epistles to the Corinthians, the Epistle to the Galatians, 
 the Epistle to the Philippians, and the two Epistles to the 
 Thessalonians, ate of this class ; and they are full of al- 
 lasions to the apostle's history, his reception, and his con- 
 duct, wliiist amongst them ; the total want of which, in 
 the epistle before us, is very difficult to account for, if 
 k was in truth written to the choirch of Ephesus, in which 
 city he had resided for so long a time. This is tlie first 
 and strongest objection, j&at further, the Epistle to the 
 Colosslans was. addressed to a clnarch, in which St^ Paul 
 bad never been. This we infer from the: first verse of 
 the second chapter. '* For I would that ye knew what 
 •* great conflict I have for you and for them at Laodicea, 
 *• and for as many as have not seen my face' in the flesh.** 
 There could be no propriety in thus joining the Coiossians 
 and Laodiceans with those " who had not seen his face 
 **in the liesh," if they did not also belong to the same 
 description.* Now, his address to the Coiossians, whom 
 Ke had not visited, is precisely the same as his -address to 
 the Christians, to whom he -v^Tote in the epistle, which we 
 are now considering. ** We give thanks to God and the 
 ** Father of our Lord J«sus Christ, prayi^ig always for 
 " you, since 'we heard of your faith in Christ Jesus, and of 
 ** the love w) ich ye have to all the saints." Col. ch. i. 3* 
 Thus he speaks to ^the Coiossians, in. the epistle before us* 
 as follows. « Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith 
 " in the Lord Jesus, and love unto all the saints, cease 
 *' not to give thanks for you in my prayers," chap. i. 15, 
 The terms of this address are observable. The words 
 
 * Dr. I.ardner contends against the valfdrty of this conclusion ; butj 
 I think v/ithcut success.- Lardner, vol. xiv. p. 475. edit. 1757. ' ' 
 M.2 
 
138 THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIAN3. 
 
 «•' having heard of your faith and love»" are die very words 
 
 we see, which he uses towards strangers; and it is notprob- 
 
 able that he should employ the same in accosting a church 
 
 in which he had long exercised his ministry, and whose 
 
 *' faith and love ," he must have personally knovvn.* The 
 
 Epistle to the Romans was written before St. Paul had 
 
 been at Rome ; and his address to them runs in the 
 
 same strain with that just now quoted ; ** I thank my 
 
 " God, through Jesus Christ, for you all, that your faith 
 
 ** is spoken of throughout the whole world." Rom. chap. 
 
 i. 8. Let us now see v/hat was the form in which cur 
 
 apostle was accustomed to introduce his epistles, when he 
 
 wrote to those with whom he was already " acquainted. 
 
 To tlie Corinthians it was this. *' I thank my God al- 
 
 ** ways on your behalf, for the grace of God which is giv- 
 
 " en you by Christ Jesus.'' i Cor. ch. i. 4. To the 
 
 Philippians. I thank my God upon every remembrance 
 
 "of you." Phil. ch.i. 3. To the Thessalonians. *' We 
 
 ** give thanks to God always for you all, making mention 
 
 •* of you in our prayers, remembering without ceasing 
 
 *' your work of faith, and labor of love.'* i Thess. chap. 
 
 i 3, To Timothy. *' I thank God, whom I serve from 
 
 ** my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceas- 
 
 ** ing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night 
 
 ** and day." 2 Tim. chap. i. 4. In these quotations, it 
 
 is usually his remembrance^ and never his hearing of them> 
 
 which he makes the subject of his thankfulness to God. 
 
 As great difficulties stand in the way of supposing the 
 
 * Mr. Locke endeavours to avo-iU this difficulty, by explaining 
 *< their faith, of which St. Paul had heard," to mean the steadfastness 
 of their persuasion that they were called into the kingdom, of God, 
 without subjection to the Mosaic icstitution. .But this interpreta- 
 tion seems to me extremely bard ^-^ fcr, in the manner in which faith 
 is here joined with Icve, in the expression, " your faith and love," it 
 cculd net be meant to denote any particular tenet whicli distinguish- 
 ed one set of Christians from others ; forasmuch as the expression 
 describes the general virtues of the Chri&tian proftstion. Vide Locke, 
 in loc. 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS. I ^^• 
 
 epistle before us to have been written to the church of 
 Ephesus, so I think it probable that it is actually the Epis- 
 tle to the Laodiceans, referred to m the fourth chapter 
 of the Epistfe to the Colossians. The text which contains 
 that reference is this. ** When this epistle is read among 
 *' you, cause that it be read also in the church of the La- 
 " odiceans, and that ye likewise read the epistle from La- 
 •* odicea, chap. iv. i6. The ** epistle from Laodicea" 
 was an epistle sent by St. Paul to that church, and by 
 them transmitted to Colosse. The two churches were mu- 
 tually to communicate the epistles they had received- 
 This is the way in which the direction is explained by the 
 greater part of commentators, and is the most probable 
 sense that can be given to it. It is also probable that the 
 epistle alluded to was an epistle which had been received 
 by the church of Laodicea /afefy. It appears then, with a 
 considerable degree of evidence, that there existed an epis- 
 tle of S'l. Paul's nearly of the same date with the Epistle 
 to the Colossians, and an epistle directed to a church (for 
 such the church of Laodicea was) in which St. Paul 
 had never been. What has been observed concerning the 
 epistle before us, shews that it answers perfectly to that 
 character. 
 
 Nor does the mistake seem very difficult to account for. 
 Whoever inspects the map of Asia Minor will see, that a 
 person proceeding from Rome to Laodicea would prob- 
 ably land at Ephesus, as the nearest frequented seaport' 
 in that direction. Might not Tychicus then, in passing 
 through Ephesus, communicate to the Christians of that 
 place the letter, with which he was charged ? And might. 
 not copies of that letter be multiplied and preserved at, 
 Ephesus ? Might not some of the copies drop the words- 
 of designation sv rri Axo^iKux,* which it was of no conse- 
 
 * And it is remarkable that there seem to have been some antient 
 copies without the words of designation, either the words in Ephesus, 
 or the words in Laodicea. St. Basil, a writer of the fourth certury, 
 speaking of the present epistle, has this vary singular passage. " And 
 
I3|X>^ THE tPXSTXE TO THE EP~HHS1ANS. 
 
 qiience to an Ephesian to retain ? Might not copies of 
 the letter come put into the Christian church at large 
 from Ephesus i and might not this give occasion to a be- 
 lief that the letter was written to that church ? And, last- 
 ly, might not tliis belief produce the error, which we sup- 
 pose to have crept into the inscription ? 
 
 No. V, 
 
 As our epistle purports to have been written during' 
 St. PauPs imprisonment at Rome, which lies beyond the 
 period, to which the Acts of the Apostles brings up his 
 history ; and as we have seen and acknowledged that the 
 epistle contains no reference to any transactions at Ephe- 
 sus during the apostle's residence in that city, we cannot 
 expect that It should supply many marks of agreement with 
 the narrative. One coincidence however occurs, and a coin- 
 cidence of that minute and less obvious kind, which, as 
 hath been repeatedly observed, is of all others the most to 
 be relied upon. 
 
 Chap. vl. 19^20, we read, "praying for me, that I 
 ** may open my mouth boldly, to make known tlie mys- 
 " tery of the gospeU for which I am an ambassador in 
 *' bonds.'* *' In honds^^^ £» kxvcru., in a chohu In the 
 twenty eighth chapter of die Acrs we ,are informed, that 
 Paul, after his arrival at Rome, was suffered to dwell by 
 
 «*^ writing to the Epbesians, js triUj* united to him who is through 
 *• knowledge, he (Piial) calletb tuefln iit a peculi-at sense smh iv^oarej 
 " saying, to the saints ii;ho arc and. (or even) the fyrthful in Christ Jjsus i 
 " fcr SO those before us hi.ve transmitted it^ and we have found it in 
 " ancient copies." Dr. Mill interprets (?.nd, notwithstanding some 
 oltjections that have been made to him in my opinion ri^itly inter- 
 prats) these words of Basii. as declaring that thislather had seen cer- 
 Ltin copies of the Epistle in which tha wordit " in Kpiaesus" were 
 •wanting. And the n;>.s3age, I think, must be coasidered as B. sil's fan- 
 ciful way of explviining" what wai; really a corrHpt and defective read- 
 ifjg ; for I do not believe it possible th^it the author of the Epistle 
 coidd have origin ;>i'y -written ayiop; ro^ ovTih witkoyt aoy name of 
 place to follow a. 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESTANS. I4I 
 
 himself with a soldier, that kept him. Dr. Lardner has 
 shown that this mode of custody was ia use amongst the 
 Romans, and that whenever it was adopted the prisoner 
 was bound to the soldier by a single chain ; in reference 
 to which St. Paul, in the twentieth verse of tliis chapter, 
 tells the Jews, whom he had assembled, ** For this cause 
 " therefore have I called for you to see y.ou. and to speak 
 ** widi you, because that for the hope of Israel I am bound 
 '* 'with this chain,'* r/iv eiXvcnv recvrn* 'xzoiKzif.t.cci, It is m ex- 
 act conformity therefore with the truth of St. Paul's sit- 
 uation at the time, that he declares of himself in the epis- 
 tle Tire^iAivif £v kxva-ii. - And the exactness is the more re- 
 markable, as kxvTi-, (a chain) is no where used in the sin- 
 gular number to express any other kind of custody. When 
 the prisoner's hands or feet were bound together, the 
 word was ^ix/Aoi (bonds), as in the twenty sixth chapter 
 of the Acts, where Paul replies to Agrippa, " T would to 
 « God that not only thou, but also all that hear me this 
 •« day, were both almost and altogether such as I am, ex- 
 *' cept these bonds,** -xxszKxaq rav hr^av rovrm. When the 
 prisoner was confiiied between two soldiers, as in the case 
 of Peter, Acts, chap. xii. 6, two chains were employed ; 
 and it is said, upon his miraculous deliverance, that the 
 « chains'' (^Ayre;?, in the plural) " fell from his hands." 
 LiT(A.o; the noun, and h^(4,xi. the verb, being general terms> 
 were applicable to this in common with any other species 
 of personal coertion ; but ci.xva-i<i, ia the singular number, 
 to none but this. 
 
 If it can be suspected that the writer of the present epis- 
 tle, who in no other particular appears to have availed 
 himself of the information concerning St. Paul delivered 
 in the Acts, had, in this verse, borrowed the word, which 
 he read in that book, and had adapted his expression to 
 what he found there recorded of St. Paul's treatment at 
 Rome ; in short, that the coincidence here noted was ef- 
 fected by craft and design ; I think it a strong reply to 
 remark, that, in tlie parallel passage of the Epistle to the 
 
fi42 TH.B EM«TfcE TO THE EPHESIANS. 
 
 Colcssians, the same allusion is not preserved ; the words 
 there arc; " praying also for us, that God would open un - 
 ** tOt us a door of utteraaice to speak the mystery of Christ, 
 ** for which / am also In bonds, ^* ^i o Kxt hfruott. After 
 what has been shown in a precedii^g number, there can bs 
 little douht but that these two epistles were written by the 
 same person. If the writer therefore sought for, and 
 fraudulently inserted, the correspondency into one epistle, 
 why did he not do it in the other I A real prisoner might 
 use either general words which comprehended this amongst 
 many other modes of custody ; or might use appropriate 
 words which ^eciSed this, and distinguished it from any 
 other mode. It would be accidental which form of ex- 
 pression he fell upon. But an impostor, who had the ait 
 in one place, to employ the appropriate term for the pur- 
 XK3se of fraud, would have vised it in both places. 
 
 i 
 
CHAP. VII. 
 
 FHE ETISTLE TO THE PHI'LIP^PIANS. 
 No. L 
 
 Wi 
 
 HEN a transaction Is referred to in such a 
 manner, as that the reference is easily and immediately 
 understood by those who are beforehand, or from other 
 quarters, acquainted with the fact, but is obscure, or im- 
 perfect, or requires investigation, or a tromparison of dif- 
 ferent parts, in order to be made clear to other readers, 
 the transaction so refen^ed to is probably real ; because, 
 had it been fictitious, the writer would have set forth his 
 story more fully and plainly, not merely as conscious of 
 the fiction, but as conscious that his readers could have 
 no other knowledge of the subject of his Tilliision than 
 from the information of which he put them in posses- 
 sion. 
 
 The account of Epaphrodiuis, in the Epistle to the 
 Philippians, of his journey to Rome, and of the business 
 which brought him thither, is the article to which I mean 
 to apply this observation. There are three passages in 
 the epistle which relate to this subject. The first, chap. i. 
 7. *' Even as it is meet ft)r me to tliink this of you all, 
 " because I have you in my heart, inasmuch as both in 
 *' my bonds, and in the defence and confirmation of the 
 " gospel, ye all are <rvyKoiv6Jvoi fta tn^ xot^iro^^ joint con- 
 " tributors to the ^ift -which T have received.*'* Noth- 
 ing more is said in this place. ^In the latter part of the 
 
 * Pcsrce, I believe, was the first commentator who gave this sense 
 to the expression ; and I believe also, that his exposition is now gen- 
 erally assented to. He interprets in the sair.e sense the phrase in the 
 fifth verse, which our translation renders, « yonr fellowship in the 
 '* gospel;" but which in -the original is not KOiv&'yicc rev ivxyyiXiov., 
 cr, x-iivmicc. iv Tea i'juyyiiiW ; 'but Kiiv^iiici u^ to fijxyyiXiov. 
 
144 """"^ BUSTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 
 
 second' chapter, and at the distance of half the epistle from 
 tlie last quotation, the subject appears again. " Yet 1 
 " supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my^ 
 " brother and corapanion in labor, and fellow soldier, but 
 " your messenger, and he that ministered to my 'wants ; 
 ** for he longed after you all, and was fell of heavi- 
 " ness, because that ye had heard that he had been 
 " sick ; for indeed he was sick nigh unto death ; but 
 " God had mercy on him, and not on him only, but on 
 " me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow. I sent 
 " him therefore the more carefully, that when ye see him 
 " again ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sor- 
 " rowful. Receive him therefore in the Lord with ail 
 ** gladness ; and hold such in reputation ; because for the 
 ** work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding 
 " his life to supply your lack of service toward me,'* Chap. 
 
 il. 25 30. The matter is here dropped, asd no further 
 
 mention made of it till it is taken up near the conclusion 
 of the epistle as follows. " But I rejoiced in the Lord 
 " greatly, that now at the last your care of me hath 
 ** flourished again ; wherein ye were also careful, but ye 
 " lacked opportunity j not that I speak in respect of want ; 
 /' for I have learned in whatsoever state I am, therewith 
 " to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I 
 ** know hov/ to abound ; every where and in all things J 
 ^* am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both tc 
 f* abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through 
 5* Christ which strengtheneth me. Notv/ithstandmg ye 
 ** have •^ell done that yc did communicate v/ith my afflic- 
 *' tion. Now ye, Phillpplans, know aho jthat inthe be- 
 «* ginping cf the gospel, when I departed fiom Macedo> 
 " nia, no church communicated with me as concerning 
 <* giving and receiving, but ye only j for even in Thess^- 
 •vlonica ye. sent once and again unto my necessity ; not 
 "because i desire a gift ; but I desire fruit that n: ay 
 " abound to your account. But I have all, and abound ; 
 ** I am full, having received of Epaphroditus th'j things 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THl PHIL !PP1 A VS. J4f 
 
 you.'* Chap. iv. lo — 18. Tp 
 
 tke Philipplan reader, who knew that contributions were 
 v^ont tobemade in that church for the apostle's subsistence 
 and rehefjthat the supply which they were atc'ustcmed to 
 send to him had been delayed by the want of opportunity, 
 thatEpaphroditus had undertaken the charge of conveying 
 their liberality to the hands of the apostle, that he had ac- 
 quitted himself of this commission at the peril of his llfe» 
 by hastening to Rome under the oppression of a grevious 
 sickness ; to a reader who knew all this beforehand, every 
 line in the above quotation would be plain and clear. 
 But how is it with a stranger ? The knowledge o£ these 
 several particulars is necessary to the perception and ex- 
 planation of the references ; yet that knowledge must be 
 gathered from a comparison of passages lying at a great 
 distance fi-ora one another. Texts must be interpreted 
 by texts long subsequent to tliem, which necessarily pro- 
 duces embarrassment and suspense. The passage quoted 
 from the beginning of the epistle contains an acknowl- 
 edgment, on the part of the apostle, of the liberality which 
 the Philipplans had exercised towards him ; but the allu- 
 sion is so general and indeterminate, that, had nothing 
 more been said in the sequel of the epistle, it would hard- 
 ly have been applied to this occasion at all. In the sec- 
 ond quotation, Epaphroditus is declared to have " minis- 
 " tered to the apostle's v/ants," and ** to have supplied 
 *' their lack of service towards him ;'*^ but Loiu, that is, 
 at whose expence, or from what fund he ** ministered," 
 or what was the '* lack of service" which he ?iipplied. are 
 kft very much unexplained, till we arrive at the third 
 quotation, where we find Epaphroditus, " rninistercd to 
 " St. Paul's wants," only by conveying to his hands the 
 contributions of the Phiiippians ; *' I am full, having re- 
 *« celved , of Epaphroditus the things which were sent 
 ** from you;" and diat " the lack of service v>'hich he 
 ** supplied" was a delay or interruption of tlieir accustom- 
 
 <.>d bcuntv, occasioned by the want of opportunitVj ** t 
 ■ ■ ■ '- ■ ■■ ^f- 
 
t^^' THE EFItJTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS. 
 
 ** rejoiced in the Lord greatly, that now at the last your 
 »' care of me hath flourished again ; wherein ye were al- 
 « so careful^ but yc lacked opportunity.'* The affair at 
 length comes out clear ; but it conies out by peacemeal. 
 The clearness is the result of the reciprocal illustration of 
 fiivided texts. Should any one chccre therefore to insinu- 
 ate, that this whole stoi-y of Epaphrcditus, of his journey, 
 Kis errand, his sickness, or even his existence, might, for 
 vt'hal we know, have no other foundation than In the 'n- 
 vention of the forger of the epistle ; I answeivthat a forg- 
 er would have set forth his story connectedly, and also- 
 more fully and more perspicuously. If the epistle be au- 
 thentic, and the transaction real, then every thing which is 
 said concerning Epaphrcditus and his commission, would 
 be clear to those into whose hands the epistle was expect- 
 ed to come. Considering the Phllippians as his readers, a 
 person might naturally write upon tlie subject, as the au- 
 thor of the epistle has written ; but there is no supposition 
 of forgery with which it will suit. 
 
 No. IL 
 
 The history of Epaphrcditus supplies another observa- 
 tion ; " Indeed he was sick, nigh unto death ; but God 
 " had mercy on him, and not on him oiily, but on me 
 <' also, lest I shoukrhave sorrow upon sorrow." In this 
 passage, no intimation is giv-en that Epaphroditus's recov- 
 ery w^as miiraculous. It is plainly, I think, spoken of as 
 a natural event. This instance, together with one in the 
 Second Epistle to Timothy, (*' Trophimus have I left' at 
 " Miletum sick,") affords a proof that the power of per- 
 forming cures, and, by parity of reason, of working oth- 
 er miracles, was a pov>-er which only visited the apostles 
 cccasionally, and did not at all depend upon their own 
 will. Paul undoubtedly would have healed Epaphrodi- 
 tus if he could. Nor, if the power of working cures had 
 awaited his disposal, would he have left bis fellow travel-. 
 
THE fcPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS, I47, 
 
 ler at Miletum sick. This, I think, is a fair observatioii 
 upon the instances adduced ; but it is not the observar 
 tion I am concerned to make. It is more for the pur- 
 pose of my argument to reniark, that forgery, upon such 
 an occasion, would not have spared a miracle ; much less 
 would it have introduced St. Paul professing the utmost 
 anxiety far the safety of his friend, yet acknowledging 
 iiimself unable to help him ; which he does almost ex- 
 pressly, in the case of Trophimus, for he " left him sick ;" 
 and virtually in the passage before us, in which he felici- 
 tates himself upon the recovery of Epaphroditus, in terms 
 which almost exclude the supposition of any superjiatural 
 means being employed to effect it. This is a reseive 
 which norhing bat trutli would have imposed. 
 
 No, IlL 
 
 Chap. iv. 15, 16. " Now ye, Phillppians, know also 
 «* that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed 
 " from Macedonia, no church communicated with me, as 
 ** concerning giving and receiving, but ye only ; for even 
 *' in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my necessi- 
 « ty." 
 
 It will be necessary to state the Greek of this passage, 
 because our translation does not I think, give the sense of 
 it accurately. 
 
 Kiihxxi oi yM,i vui(g, <Pi>.t7r'ry)<riotj on c,v ct^*^yi m syeiyf'Ajg, ore 
 
 ooa-iuq KUi Av5Y^^-'5) a ftr, v.uetg /xovoi' on xxi VJ Qs<rc-ciXovncy, Kxt 
 
 The reader wSH please to direct his attention to the cor- 
 lespondmg ' particles on and srt k^, which connect the 
 words s» x^x^ ra fvocyfiA^y, hn tgijA^ay xw Muxi^omx^, vAlh 
 the words tv <S^v(r«,^oyncy}, and denote, as I interpret the 
 passapfe, two disthict donations, or rather donations at ' 
 two distinct petrojj,' dne at Thessalonica, at^^l kxi h^y the 
 other (3/>^f bTs departure from Macedonia, en 4n^6ovu9r<t 
 
1^8 rns EpisTLE to the PHILIPPTAH?. 
 
 MxKitavtst-,.* T wauld render the passage, so as to mark these 
 different periods, thus. "Now yePhilippians,know also, that 
 « In the beginning of the gospel, when I was departed 
 ** from Macedonia, no church communicated with me a:? 
 ** concerning giving and receiving, but ye only ; and that 
 ** also 'in Thessalonica ye sent once and again unto my 
 *? necessity." Now wlih tliis exposition of the passage 
 co'mpare 3 Cor. ch. xl. 8, 9. ** I robbed other churches, 
 ** taking wages of them to do you' seivice ; and when I 
 **'\^'as' present Xvith you andVanted, I was chargeable to 
 **'no man i for that which was lacking to me the brethrea 
 ♦* which came from Macedonia supplied.'* 
 ' Pc app^rs from St. Paul's history, as related in tlie 
 Acta of the Apostle, that upon leaving Macedonia he pas-' 
 sed, after a very short stay at Athens, into Achaia. It 
 appears, secondly, from the quotation out of the Epistle 
 to the Corinthians, that in Achaia he accepted no pecu- 
 niary assistance from the converts of that country ; but 
 that he drew a supply for his wants from the Macedonian 
 Christians. Agreeably whereunto it appears, in the third 
 place, from the text which is the subject of the present 
 jiumber, that the brethren in Philippi, a city of Macedo- 
 nia, had followed him with their munificence, on tlriXSov 
 »^o MctKi^ovixg, when he was departed from Macedonia, 
 that i-s when he was cotne into Achaia, 
 
 The passage under consideration affords another circum- 
 stance of agreement deserving of our notice. The gift 
 alluded to in tlie Epistle to the Philippians is stated to 
 
 * Luke, ch. ii. 15. Kaci lyivire, ag cf^yiXSov octt uvnov ug roy 
 v^xviv ci »y{i7^oi, <' as the angels were gone away," i. e. after their 
 departure, 01 Trcifiivi;^ tiTrcv rr^og ccXXriXag. Matth. ch. xii. 43, 
 'Qtxv ^£ TO uxx6x^Tcv TfviVfMC ip^iXSvi UTTo TH civ&^oiTFH, " whcn the 
 <' unclean spirit is gone." i. e. after his departure, 5<2g;^8T«*. John, 
 ch, xiii. 3c, 'Org i\nXh ( lu^ccg) " when he was gone," i. e. after his 
 4ieparture, Aeyt: Urug, Acts, ch. x. 7, m h UTVYiXkv xyfiXog i' 
 XxXi>v. TO) K<5gv)jA(*, « and when the angel which spake unto him 
 *• was dcparied," l c. after his departure, <^i:yt-(t<; ^V9 rm <nKixm, 
 
T/lk EPlCYLf TO i'Ah. rHIlIPP£A»3. i J^() 
 
 havt bten made ** in the beginning of the gospel." This 
 phrase is most n>nurally explained to signify the first 
 preaching of the gospel in these parts ; viz. on that side 
 of the iEgean sea. The succours referred to in the Epis- 
 tle to the Corinthians, as received from Macedonia, are 
 stated to have been received by him upon his first visit to 
 the peninsula of Greece.^ The dates tlierefore assigned 
 to tlie donation in the two epistles agree ; yet is the date 
 in one ascertained very incidentally, namely, by the con- 
 siderations which fix the date of the epistle itself; and in 
 the other, by an expression (" the beginning of the gos- 
 " jpel") much too general to have been used, if the text 
 had been penned with any view to the correspondency we 
 are remarking. 
 
 Further, die phrase, "in the ^^j^«W«^ of the gospel," rais- 
 es an idea in the reader's mind that the gospel had been 
 preached there more than once. The writer would hard- 
 ly have called the visit to which he refers the " beginning 
 " of the gospel," if he had not also visited them in some 
 other stage of it. The fact corresponds with this idea. 
 If we consult the sixteenth and twentieth chapters of the 
 Acts, we shall find, that St. Paul, before his imprison- 
 ment at Rome, during which this epistle purports to have 
 been written, had beii iwice in Macedonia, and each time 
 at Philippi. 
 
 No. IF. 
 
 That Timothy had been long with St. Paul at Pliilippi 
 is a fact which seems to be implied in this epistle tv;icc. 
 First, he joins in the salutation with which the epistle 
 opens, •' Paul and Timotheus, the servants of Jesus Christy 
 •* to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi.'* 
 Secondly, and raor« directly, the point, is inferred from 
 vrhat is said concerning him, chap. ii. 19 : ** But I trust 
 **-iii the Lord Jasus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, 
 T' that Lalso may be of good cpnafort whea 1 know yonr 
 ^ N2 
 
l^Q T»li/»WSS:.*tft .TO THE PHILIPPIAWS. 
 
 *i, State ; for I have no man like minded, who will natur* 
 «* ally .car< for your state ; for all seek their own, not the 
 •V thiags -vyhkh are Jesu? Christ's ; but ye knew the proof ef 
 *< himy that as a son with the father, he hath served with 
 ♦^' jne in the gospel." Had Timotliy's presence with St. 
 P^ul at Philippi, when he preached the gospel theie, been 
 expressly remarked in the Acts of tlie Apostles, this quo- 
 tation might be thought to contain a contrived adapta- 
 tion to the history ; although, even in that case, the aver- 
 xnent, or rather the allusion in the epistle, is too oblique 
 to afford much>oom for such suspicion. But the truth 
 is, that in tlie history of St. Paul's transactions at Philip- 
 pi, which occupies the greatest part of the sixteenth chap- 
 ter of the Acts, no mention is made of Timothy at alL 
 What appears concerning Timothy in the history, so far 
 •as relates to the present subject, is this ; " When Paul 
 " came to Derbe and Lystra, behold a certain disciple 
 <' was there named Timotheus, whom Paul would have 
 <« to go forth with him." ' 'the narrative then proceeds 
 with the account of St. Paul's progress through various 
 provinces of the Lesser Asia, till it brings him down to 
 Troas. At Troas he was warned in a vision to pass over 
 liito Macedonia. In obedience to which he crossed the 
 »^gean sea to Sam.othracia, the next day to Neapolis, 
 and from thence to Philippi. His preaching,, miracles^ 
 and persecutions at Philippi follow next; after which 
 Paul and his company, v/hen they had passed through 
 Amphipolis and Apollinia, came to Thessalonica, and 
 from Thessalonica to Berea, From Berea the brethren 
 sent av/ay Paul ; " but Silas and Timotheus abode there 
 *« still." The itinerary, of which the above is an abl 
 stract, is undoubtedly sufficient to support an inference 
 that Timothy was along with St. Paul at Philipp'. We 
 find them setting out together upon this progress froni 
 P^rbe, in Lycaonia ; we find them together near the con- 
 clusion of it, at Berea, in Macedonia. It is highly prob- 
 able, therefore, thaV ibey came together to Philippic 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THP PHILF^PIAHS. l$t 
 
 through which their route between these two places lay. 
 If this be thought probable, it is sufficient. For what I 
 wish to be, observed is, that in comparing, upon this sub- 
 ject, the epislle with the history, we do not find a recital 
 in one place of what is related in another ; but that we 
 find, what is much more to be relied upon, an oblique al- 
 lusion to an implied fact. 
 
 . No, F, 
 
 Our epistk purports to have been written near the con- 
 clusion of St. Paul's imprisonment at Rome, and after a 
 residence in that city of considerable duration. These 
 circumstances are made out by different intimations, and 
 the intimations upon the subjectpreserve among themselves 
 a just consistency, and a consistency certainly unmeditated. 
 First, the apostle had already been a prisoner at Rome so 
 long, as that the reputation of hisbonds, and of his constancy 
 under them, had conj:ributed to advance the success of the 
 gospel. " But I would ye should understand, brethren, tliat 
 '* the things which happened unto me have fallen cut 
 ** rather unto the furtherance of the gospel ; so that my 
 ** bonds in Christ are manifest in ail the palace, and in all 
 " other places ; and many of ihe brethren in the Lord 
 •* waxing conSdent by my bonds, are mudi more bold to 
 " speak the word witliout fear." Secondly, the account 
 given of Epaphroditus imports, that St. Paul, when he 
 wrote the epistle, had been in Rome a considerable time ; 
 ♦* He longed after you all, and was full of heaviness^ be* 
 " cause that ye haJ heard that he had been sick." Epa- 
 phroditus was v/ith St. Paul at Rome. He had been sick; 
 The Philipplans had heard of his sickness, and he aj^aiiv 
 had received an account how much they had been afrecti 
 ed by tlie intelligence. The passing and repassing of 
 these advices must necessarOy have occupied a larg-e porw. 
 tion of time, and must have all taken place during 3t, 
 Paul's residence at Rome. Thirdly, after a residence a«j 
 
U^ TMS EPISTLE -rOTME PttJL! JPIANS. 
 
 Rome thiis proved to have been of considerable duration, 
 he now regards the decision of his fate as nigh at hand. 
 He contemplates either alternative, that of his deliverance, 
 ch. ii. 23. " Him therefore ('Timothy) T hope to send. 
 *^ preiently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me ; 
 ** but I tiust iu the Lord that T also myself shall come 
 <' shortly;*' that of his condemnation, ver. 17, "Yea, and 
 *' if I be offered* upon the sacrifice and service of your 
 ** faith, I joy and rejoice with you all.'* This consisten- 
 cy is material, if the consideration of it be confined to the 
 epistle. It is further material, as it agrees with respect.to 
 the duration of St. Paul's first imprisonment at Rome, 
 with the account delivered in the Acts, which, having 
 brought tlie apostle to Rome, closes the history by telling 
 us, ** that he dwelt there tivo whole years in his own hired 
 " house.*' 
 
 No. VL 
 
 Chap. i. 23. '* For I am in a strait betv/iit two, havi' 
 ** ing a desire to depart, and be with Christ ; which is far 
 "better.** 
 
 With this compare 2 Cor. chap. v. 8. " We are con- 
 •< fident and wiiiing rather to be absent from the body, 
 ** a.nd to be present wka the Lord." 
 
 The sameness of sentiment in these two q'ao'tations is 
 obvious. I rely however not so much upon thatt, as upon- 
 the similitude in the train of thought v/hich m each epistle 
 leads up to tliis sentiment, and upon the suitableness of 
 that tram of thought to the circumstances under which 
 the epistles purport to Lave been written. This, I con- 
 ceive, bespeaks the production of the same mind, and of 
 a niind <>peratiflg upon real circumstances. The senti- 
 aient is in botli .places preceded by the contemplation of 
 iiH9iiae:%t personal danger. To the Philippians he writes 
 
 Mood be poured out as a libation upon the r*crifice of your faith. 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE PHlLtPPlAN^, 155 
 
 in the twentieth verse 'of this chapter, " According to 
 " my earnest expectation and my hope, that in notliing I 
 " shall be ashamed, but that with all boldness, as always^ 
 <' so nonv also, Christ shall be magnified in my body,^ 
 ** whether it be by life or death.*' To the Corinthians, 
 *' Troubled on every side, yet not distressed ; perplexed, 
 <* but not in despair ; persecuted, but not forsaken ; cast 
 ** down, but not destroyed ; always bearing about in tlic 
 ** body the dying of the Lord Jesus.'* This train of re- 
 flection is continued to the place from whence tlie words 
 which we compare are taken. The two epistles, though 
 written at different times, from different places, and to 
 different churches, wetebotli written under circumstances 
 which would naturally recal to the author's mind the 
 precarious condition of his life, and the perils which con- 
 stantly awaited him. When the Epistle to the Philippi- 
 ans was written, the author was a prisoner at home, ex- 
 pecting his trial. When the Second Epistle to the Co- 
 rinthians was written, he had lately escaped a danger in 
 which he had given himself over for lost. The epistle 
 ©pens with a recollection of this subject, and tlie impres- 
 sion accompanied the writer's thoughts throughout. 
 
 I know that nothing is easier than to transplant into aforg- 
 €d epistle a sentiment or expression which is found in a true 
 one ; or supposing both epistles to be forged by the same 
 hand, to insert the same sentiment or expression in both. 
 But the difficulty is to introduce it in just and close con- 
 nection v.'ith a train of thought going before, and with a 
 train of thought apparently generated by the circumstan- 
 ces under which the epistle is written. In two epistles 
 purporting to be written on different occasions, and ia 
 different periods of the author's history, this propriety 
 would not easily be managed. 
 No, VIL 
 
 Chap. i. 29. 30 ; ii. 1, 2. ** For unto you is given in 
 •*the behalf of Christ, not only to believe on him, butal- 
 «* so to suffer for his sake, having the same conflict which' 
 
^' ye saw in nw, and »ow hear to be in me. If there bev 
 " therefore, any congolarion in Christ, if any comfort of 
 ** love, if aay feilowsliip of -the Spirit, if any bowek and 
 "mercies-: fulfil ye my joy ; tliat ye be liki: rniiided^ 
 ** Iiaving the jsame loTe,r being of one accord, of owe 
 " mind." ... 
 
 With thi&c<5mpare Acts xvi. 22 : " And the multitude 
 " (at Philippi) rose up against them (Paul and Silas) ; 
 ** and the magistrates rent off their clothes, and eom- 
 *^manded to beat them ; and when they had laid many 
 V stripes upon diem, they cast tliera into prison, charging' 
 " the jaiiei to keep them safely ; who, having received 
 ** snch a charge, thrust them into the imier prison, and 
 " made their feet fast in the stocks.*' 
 
 The passage in the epistle is very remarkable. I know, 
 not an example in any writing of a juster pathos, or 
 which more truly repiesents the workings of a warm and 
 aflEectionate mind, than what is exhibited in the quotation 
 before us.* The apostle reminds his Philippians of their 
 being joined with himself in the endurance of persecution 
 for the sake of Christ. He conjures them by the ties of 
 their common profession and tlieir common sufferings, 
 to " fulfil his joy ;'* to complete, by the unity of their 
 faith, and by their mutual love, that joy with which the 
 instances he bad received of their zeal and attach. 
 iTient had inspired his. breast. Now if this was the real 
 effusion of St. Paul's mind, of which it bears the strong- 
 est internal character, then we have in the words " tlic 
 *' same conflict which ye saw in me,'* an authentic con- 
 Srmtation of so much of the apostle's history in the Acts, 
 as relates to hifr transactions at Philippi ; and tlirough 
 that ofthiJ intelligence and general fidelity of the histori- 
 an. ,,.'-■ 
 
 * The priginalis very spirited E* t/? «# •7roi^ce.K>.r.Tii iv Xgir**, 
 
eHAP. vin. 
 
 THE EPISTI.E TO THE COLOSSXANg. 
 No. I. 
 
 1 HERE is a circumstance of conformity between 
 St. Paul's history and his letters, especially those which 
 were wntten during his first imprtsonmeht at Rome, and 
 more especially the Epistles to the Coiossians and Ephe- 
 sians, which, being too close to be accounted for 
 from accident, yet too indirect and latent . to be imputed 
 to design, cannot easily be resolved into any other 
 oinginal than truth. Which circumstance is thi.Sj 
 that St. Paul in these epistles attribute* his imprisonment 
 not to his preaching of Christianity, but to his assertinj^ 
 the right of the Gentiles to be admitted into it without 
 conforming themselves to the Jewish law. This was the 
 doctrine to which he considered himself as a martvr. 
 Thus, in the epistle before us, chap. i. 24. (I Paul) « who 
 " now rejoice in my sufferings for you" — *^ for you," i. e. 
 for those whom he had never seen ; for a few verses af- 
 terwards he adds, " I would that ye knew what great con- 
 *< flict I have for you, and for them in Laodicea, 
 *< and for as many as have not seen my jface in 
 " the flesh.'* His suffering therefore for them was, 
 in . their general capacity of Gentile Christians, agree- 
 ably to what he explicitly declares In his Epistle to the 
 Ephesians, iv. i . " For tihis cause, I Paid, the prisoner 
 «* of Jesus Christ, for you Gentiku'* Again in the epistle 
 now under consideration, iv. 3. *', Withal praying al.so 
 " for us, that Gpd would open unto us a door of utter- 
 **■ ance to speak the myitery of Christ, for wl:jich I am also 
 •*-in bonds." What tliat "mystery of Christ" was, the 
 Epistle to the Ephesiajis distiixctly ipfcrins us ; •< -v^reJby 
 
f$6 THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 
 
 •* when ye read ye may understand my knowledge in the 
 •* mystery of Christ, which, in other ages, was not made 
 ** known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto 
 " his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit, that the Gen- 
 " tiles should he felloiu heirs^ and of the same body, and partak- 
 ** ers of his promise in Christ by the gospd^ This, therefore 
 was the confession for which he declares himself to be in 
 bonds. Now let us enquire how the occasion of St. Paul's 
 imprisonment is'represented in the history. The apostle 
 had not long returned to Jerusalem from his second visit 
 hito Greece, when an uproar was excited in that city by 
 the clamour of certain Asiatic Jews^ who, " having seen 
 *•* Paul in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid 
 " hands on him." The charge advanced against him 
 was, that ** he taught all men every where against the 
 ** people and the law, and this place ; and further brought 
 ** Greeks also into the temple, and polluted that holy 
 *• place." The former part of the charge seems to point 
 at tlfe doctrine, which he maintained, of the admission 
 of the Gentiles, under the new dispensation, to an indis- 
 criminate participation of God^s f ivour with the Jews. 
 But what follows makes the matter clear. When, by 
 the interference of the chief captain, Paul had befen res- 
 cued out of the hands of the populace, and was permit- 
 ted to address the multitude who had followed him to the 
 stairs of the castle, he delivered a brief account of his 
 birth, of the early course of his life, of his miraculous 
 conversion ; and is proceeding in his narative, until he 
 comes to describe a vision which was presented to him, 
 as he was playing in the temple ; and which bid him de- 
 part out of Jerusalem, *• for I will send thee far hence 
 " urttdihe G<f«/iA3tf." -Acts xxii. 2f; :*♦ Tliey gave him au- 
 ** dienc^i" Bays the historian, " unto this word ; and then 
 •' lift- uf) 'their voices, and said, Away with such a fellow 
 ".from the earth !•" Nothing can show more strongly 
 than this account does, what was tlie ofteiice which drew 
 down -iijjoVi . Sts "Fasiithe vcageante- oi his countrym^q. 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE C0L0S31ANS. i Sf 
 
 His mission, to the Gentiles, and his open avowel of that 
 mission, was the intolerable part of the a-postle's crime. 
 But although the real motive of the prosecution appears 
 to have been the apostle's conduct towards the Gentiles ; 
 yet, when his accusers came before a Roman magistrate, 
 a charge was to be framed of a more legal form. The 
 profanation of the temple was the article they chose to re- 
 ly upon. ..This, therefore, became the immediate subject 
 of Tertullus's oration before Fejix, and of Paul's defence. 
 But that he all along considered his ministry amongst the 
 Gentiles as the actual source of the enmity that had been 
 exercised against him, and in particular as the cause of 
 the insurrection in which his person had been seized, is 
 apparent from the conclusion of his discourse before Agrip- 
 pa. " I have appeared unto thee," says he, describing 
 what passed upon his journey to Damascus, " for this pur- 
 <* pose, to make thee a minister and a witness, both of 
 ** these things which thou hast seen, and of those things 
 " in the which I will appear unto thee, deliverisg thee 
 *' from the people and from the Gentiles, unto whom now 
 *' I send thee, to open their eyes, and to turn them from 
 ** darkness to light, and from the power of satan unto God, 
 «* that tliey may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance 
 *^ among tliem which are sanctified by faith that is in me. 
 *« Whereupon, O king Agrippa, I was not disobedient unto 
 ** tlie heavenly vision ; but shewed first unto them of Da- 
 ** mascus, and of Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts 
 '' of Judea,, and then to the Gentiles, that they should re- 
 *« pent and turn to God, and do works meet for repent- 
 ** ance, ,For these causes the Jews caught me in the tern- 
 " pie, and went about to kill me." The seizing, there- 
 fore, of St. Paul's person, from "vchich he was never dis- 
 ciiarged till his final liberation at Rome ; and of which, 
 therefore, his imprisonment at Rome was the continuation 
 ,and effect, was not in consequence of any general persecu- 
 tion set on foot against Christianity ; nor did it befal him 
 simply, as professing or teaching Christ's relig;^ion, v/hick 
 O 
 
158 THE EPISTLE TO THE COLGSSIANS. 
 
 James and the elders at Jerusalem did as well as he (and 
 yet for any thing that appears remained at that time un- 
 molested) ; but it was distinctly and specifically brought 
 upon him by his activity in preaching to the Gentiles, and 
 by his boldly placing them upon a level with the once fa- 
 voured and still self flattered posterity of Abraham. How 
 well St. Paul's letters, purporting to be written during this 
 imprisonment, agree with this account of its cause and ori- 
 gin, we have already seen. 
 
 No. IL 
 
 Chap. iv. 10. " Aiistarchus my fellow prisoner salu- 
 " teth you, and Marcus, sister's son to Barnabas, touching' 
 '* whom ye received commandments. If he come unto 
 ** you, receive him, and Jesus, which is called Justus, who 
 ** are of the circumcision." 
 
 We find Aristarcus as a companion of our apostle in 
 ^e nineteenth chapter of the Acts and twenty ninth verse, 
 " And the whole city of Ephesus was filled with confu- 
 " sion ; and having caught Gains and Aristarchus, men, 
 "of Macedonia, PauPs companions In iraveU they rushed 
 "with one accord into the theatre." And we find him. 
 upon his journey with St. Paul at Rome, in tlie twenty 
 seventh chapter, and the second verse. " And when it 
 *' was determined that we should sail into Italy, they de- 
 *' livered Paul and certain other prisoners unto one nam- 
 " ed Julius, a ceri'turioh of Augustus's band ; and, enter- 
 " ing into a ship of Adramyttium, we launched, meaning 
 *• to sail by tlie coast of Asia ; one Jrlstardus, a Mace Jo- 
 ** man o/Tlessalonica, hetng ivlth us.^* But might not the 
 author of the epistle have consulted the history ; and, ob- 
 serving that the historian had brought Aristarchus along 
 with Paul to Rome, might he not for that reason, and. 
 without any other foundation, have put down his name 
 amongst the salutations of an epistle, purporting to be 
 wTitten by the apostle from that place ? I allow so much 
 of possibility to this objection; that I should not have pro- 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS* I59 
 
 ]^sed this in the number of comcidences clearly undesign^ 
 ed, had Aristarchus stood alone. The observetion that 
 strikes me in reading the passage is, that togetlier with 
 Aristarchus, whose journey to Rome we trace in the his- 
 tory, are joined Marcus and Justus, of whose coming to 
 Rome the history says nothing. Aristarchus alone ap- 
 pears in the history, and Aristarchus alone would have 
 appeared in the epistle, if the author had regulated himself 
 by that conformity. Or if you take it the other way ; 
 if you suppose the history to have been made out of the 
 epistle, why the journey of Aristarcus to Rome should be 
 recorded, and not that of Marcus and Justns, if the 
 groimdwork of tlie narratijrQ ^ wa^ i^, ,aj)pearajice , ,o£ 
 Aristarchus's najne i^ tli^r,^gi^9^,se^]^^tPjJg^e j^ 
 
 5ible. . ^,;,,, ^ r ,_, , , ;,; ,. , 
 
 " Marcus, shtsr^s son to Barnabas." Does not this hint 
 account for Barnabas's adherence to Mark in the contest 
 that arose v/ith our apostle concerning him ? " And some 
 " days after Paul said unto Barnabas, let us go again and 
 " visit our brethren in every city W'here we have preached 
 "the word of, the Lord, and see how. they do ; and Bar^ 
 " naBas determined to take ivlth them yohn^ whose surname <was 
 " Mark J but Paul thought not good to take him with 
 " theip, who departed fi om Pamphylia, and went not with 
 '*"tliem[ to the work ; and the contention was so sharp be- 
 ** tween them, that they departed asunder one from the 
 "other ; and so Barnabas took Mark and sailed unto Cy- 
 f'^prus.'* The history which records the dispute has not 
 preserved the circumstance of Mark's relationship to Bar- 
 nabas. It is no where noticed but in the text before us. 
 As far, therefore, as it applies, the application is certainly 
 uri designed. 
 
 ■ ** Sister^s son to Barnabas." This women, the mother 
 of Mark, and the sister of Barnabas, was, as might be ex- 
 pected, a person of some eminence amongst the Christians 
 of Jerusalem, ' It so happens that we hear of her in the 
 history. " When Peter was delivered from prison he 
 
l60 THE EPISTLE TO THE CDLOSSIAKS. 
 
 ** came to the house of Mary the mother of yohn, 'whose sur- 
 ^ name was Mark, where many were gathered together 
 <* praying." Acts xii. 12, There is somewhat of coin^ 
 cidence in this ; somewhat bespeaking real transactions 
 amongst real pei sons. 
 
 No. IIL 
 
 '^^^The following coincidence, though it bear the appear- 
 ^ce of great nicety and refinement, ought not, perhaps, 
 to be deemed imaginary. In the salutations witli which 
 this, like most of St. Paul's epistles, concludes, we have 
 " Aristarchus and Marcus, and Jesus, which is called Jus- 
 •^*- tus, <who art of the circumcision.,^* iv. lO, 1 1. Then fol- 
 low also, *' Epaphras, Luke the beloved physician, and 
 " Demas." Now as this description, *' who are of the 
 **. circumcision," is added after the three first names, it is 
 inferred, not without great appearance of probability, that 
 the rest, amongst whom is Luke, were not of the circum- 
 cision. Now can we discover any expression in the Acts 
 of the apostles, which ascertains whether the author of the 
 book was a Jew or not \ If w^e can discover that he was 
 not a Jew, we fix a circumstance in his character, which 
 coincides with what is here, indirectly indeed, but not very 
 uncertainly, intimated concereing Luke ; and we so far 
 confirm both the testimony of the primitive church, that 
 the Acts of the Apostles was written by St. Luke, and the 
 general reality of the persons and circumstances brought 
 together in this epistle. The text in the Acts, which has 
 been construed to shew that the vvriter was not a Jew, is 
 the nineteenth verse of the first chapter, where, in describ- 
 ing the field which had been purchased with the reward . 
 of Judas' iniquity, it is said, " that it was known unta all the 
 ** dv/ellers at Jerusalem" insomuch as that field is called 
 ** in their proper tongue, Aceldama, that is to say, the 
 ** field of blood." These words are by most commenta- 
 tors taken to be the words and observation of the historian, 
 and not a part of St. Peter's speech, in tlie midst of which 
 
THE EPISTLE TO THE CCLOSSlAl^^. l6l 
 
 they are found. If this be admitted, then it 13 argued 
 that the exjfression, *< in their proper tongue,'* would not 
 have been used by a Jew, but is suitable to the pen of a 
 Gentile writing concerning Jews.* The reader will judge 
 of tJie probability of this conclusion, and we urge the co- 
 incidence no further tlian that probability extends. The 
 coincidence, if jt be one, is so remote from all possibility 
 of design, that nothing need be added to satisfy the reader 
 upon.tliat part q£ the argument. 
 
 Kq: ir. 
 
 Chap. iv. 9. ** With Onesimus, a faithful and beloved' 
 ** brother, loho Is one of you. ''^ 
 
 Observe how it may be made out that Ohesimus ^^aS a 
 ' Golossian. Turn to the Epistle to Philemon^ and you 
 will find that Onesimus was the servant or slave of Phile- 
 mon. The question therefore will be to what city Phile- 
 mon belonged. In the epistle addressed to him this is not 
 declared. It appears only that he was of the same place, 
 whatever that place was, with an eminent Christian nam- 
 ed Archippus. <' Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ, and 
 *' Timothy our brother, unto Philemon our dearly be- 
 " loved and fellow laborer ; and to our beloved Ap- 
 ** phia, and Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the 
 *' church in the house." Now turn back to the Epistle 
 td the Colossians, and you will find Archippus saluted by 
 name amongst the Christians of that church.- " Say to 
 "Archippus, take heed to the ministry which thou hast 
 « received in the Lord that thou fulfil it," (iv, 1 7)^ The 
 necessary result is, that Onesimus also was of the same 
 city, agreeably to what is said of him, *' he is one of you." 
 And this result is the effect, either of truth which produ- 
 ces consistency without the writer's thought or care, or of 
 a contexture of forgeries confirming and falling in with 
 die onother by a species of fortuity of which I know no 
 
 * Vide Benson's Dissertation, vol. i. p. 318, of his works, ed. 
 
l62 TH^ FPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS. 
 
 example. The supposition of design, I think, is excluded, 
 not only because the purpose to which the design must 
 have bten directed, viz. the iverification of the passage in 
 our epistle, in which it is said concerning Onesimus, " he 
 ** is one of you," is a purpose which would be lost upon 
 ninety nine readers out of a hundred ; but because the 
 means made use of are too circuitous to have been the sub- 
 ject of affectation and contrivance. Would a forger, who 
 had this purpose in view, have left his readers to hunt it 
 out, by going forward and backward from one epistle to 
 another, in order to connect Onesimus with Philemon, 
 Philemon with Archippus, and Archippus with Colosse ? 
 all which he must do before he arrives at his discovery, 
 that it was truly s^d of Onesimu£|,, *« he f f I^^^^^^J^^^;'!. 
 
CHAP. TX. 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE 
 
 THESSALONIANS,' "''^'^^ ' 
 
 No. I. 
 
 IT is known to every Veader of Scripture, thattlic 
 First Epistle to the Thessalonians speaks of the coming 
 of Christ in terms which indicate an expectation of his 
 speedy appearance. *' For this we say unto you by the 
 ** word of the Lord, that ive 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 archan- 
 <* gel, and with the trump of God and the dead in Christ 
 ** shall rise first ; then w/? which are alive and remain^ shall 
 ** be caught up together with them in the clouds — But ye 
 " brethren, are not in darkness, that that day should over- 
 ** take you as a thief," (chap. iv. 15 16, 17. chap. v. 4.) 
 Whatever other construction these texts may bear^ the 
 idea they leave upon the mind of an ordinary reader, is 
 that of the author of the epistle looking for the day of 
 judgment to take place in his own time, or near to It. Now 
 the use which I make of this circumstance, is to deduce 
 from it a proof that the epistle itself was not the produc- 
 tion of a subsequent age. Would an impostor have giv- 
 en this expectation to St.Paul, after experience had proved 
 it to be erroneous ? or would he have put into the apostle's 
 mouth, or, which is the same thing, into v/ritings purport- 
 ing to come from his hand, expressions, if not necessarily 
 conveying, at least easily interpreted to convey, an opinion 
 which was then known to be founded in mistake > I state 
 this as an argument to shew tliat the epistle was contempo- 
 
.164 THE FIRST EPISTLE 
 
 rary with St. Paul, which is httle less than to shew that 
 it actually proceeded from his pen. For I question whether 
 any ancient forgeries were executed in the lifetime of the^ 
 person whose name they bear ; nor was the primitive ' 
 situation of the church likely to give birth to such on at- 
 tempt. 
 
 No. IL 
 
 Our epistle concludes with a direction, that it should ht 
 publickly read in the church to which it was addresssed. ' 
 ** I charge you by the Lord, that this epistle be read un- 
 " to all the holy brethren." The existence of this clause 
 in the body of the epistle Is an evidence of its authenticity ; 
 because to produce a letter purporting to have been public- 
 ly read in the church of Thessalonica, when no such let- 
 ter in truth had been read or heard of in that church, would 
 be to produce an imposture destructive of itself. At least 
 it seems unlikely that the author of an im.posture would 
 voluntarily, and even officiously, afford a handle to so plain 
 an objection. Either the epistle was publicly read in the 
 church of Thessalonica during St. Paul's lifetime, or it 
 was not. If is was, no publication could be more authen- 
 tic, no species of notoriety more unquestionable, no meth- 
 od of preserving the integrity of the copy more secure. 
 If it was not, the clause we produce v^^ould remain a stand- 
 ing condemnation of the forgery, and one would suppose, 
 an invincible impediment to its success. 
 
 If we connect this article with the preceding, we shall 
 perceive that they combine into one strong proof of the 
 genuineness of the epistle. The preceding article caiTies 
 up the date of the epistle to the time of St. Paul ; the pres- 
 ent article fixes the publication of it to the church of Thes- 
 salonica. Either therefore the church of Thessalonica 
 V7as imposed upon by a false epistle, which- in St. Paul's 
 lifetime they received and re;^d publicly as liis, carrying on 
 a communication with him all the while, and the €pi-:tle 
 referring to the continuance of that communication j or 
 
TO THE THES&ALrONlANS. 165 
 
 Other Christian churches in the sanae lifetime of the apos- 
 tle, received an epistle purporting to have been publicljr 
 read in the church of Thessalonica,. which nevertheless 
 had not been heard of in that church ; or lastly, the con- 
 clusion remains, that the epistl,^ ups^f in^^f^^ h^ds is gen- 
 uine. yi.^,i xicKud:: -lii 
 
 No. III. 
 
 Between our epistle and the history the accordancy in 
 many points is circumstantial and complete. The history 
 relates, that after Paul and Silas had been beaten with ma- 
 ny stripes at Philippi, shut up in the inner prison, and 
 their feet made fast in the stocks, as soon as they were 
 discliarged from their confinement they departed from 
 thence, and, when they had passed through Aniphipolis 
 and Apolonia, came to Thessalonica, where Paul opened 
 and alleged that Jesus was the Christ, Acts xvi. 23, 8ic, 
 The epistle written in the name of Paul and Sylvanus 
 (Silas), and of Timotheus, who also appears to have been 
 along with them at Philippi, (vide Phil. No. iv.) speaks 
 to the church of Thessalonica thus. " Even after that we 
 " had suffered before, and were shamefully entreated, as 
 " ye know, at Philippi, we were bold in our God to speak 
 ** unto you the gospel of God with much contention,'* 
 (ii. 21). 
 
 The history relates, that after they had been some time 
 at Thessalonica, " the Jews who believed not set all the 
 '•^clty In an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason where 
 " Paul and Silas were, and sought to bring them out to 
 ** the people.'* Acts x,vi!. 5. The epistle declares, " when 
 " we were with you, we told you bofbre that we should 
 *' suffer tribulation ; even as it came to pass, and ye knoiv,^^ 
 (iii. 4.) 
 
 The history brings Paul and Silas and Timothy togeth- 
 er at Corinth, seon after the preaching of the gospel at 
 Theesalonica. " And when Silas and Timotheus were 
 « come from Macedonia (to Corinth), Paul was pressed in 
 
l66 THE FIRST EPISTLE 
 
 <■' i . ' ■' ■'- ' — 
 
 " spirit." Acts xviii. 5. The epistle is written in the 
 name of these three persons, who consequently must have 
 been together at the time, and speaks throughout of their 
 ministy at Thessalonica as a recent transaction. ;** We 
 ** brethren, being taken from yoit for a short time, in presence 
 " not in heart, endeavoured the more abuiidanly to see 
 "your face, v/ith great desire." (ii. 17). 
 J. yhe harmony is indubitable ; but the points of history 
 in which it consists, are so expressly set forth in the narra- 
 tive, and so directly referred to in the epistle, that it be- 
 comes necessary for us to shew, that the facts in one Writ- 
 ing were not copied from the other. Now amidst some 
 minute discrepancies, which will be noticed below, there 
 is one circumstance which mixes itself with all the allusions 
 in the epistle, but does not appear in the histo- 
 ry any where ; and that is of a visit which St. Paul 
 had intended to pay to the Thessalonians during the 
 time of his residing at Corinth. Wherefore we would 
 *' have come unto you (even I Paul} once and again,' but 
 ** Satan hixdcred us." (ii. 1.) " Night and day praying 
 " exceedingly that we might see your face, and might per- 
 ** feet that which is lacking in your faith. Now God him- 
 ** self and our Father, and our Lord Jesus Christ, direct 
 " our way unto you," (iii. 10, 11). Concerning a design 
 which was not executed, although the person himself who 
 was conscious of his own purpose, should make mention 
 in^^ his, letters, nothing is more probable than that his his- 
 torian should be silent, if not ignorant. The au- 
 thor of the epistle « could not however have learnt 
 this circumstance from the history, for it is not there 
 to be met. with ;. nor, if the historian had drawn his 
 materials from the epistle„ i$ it likely that he would have 
 passed over a circumstance, which is amongst the most 
 obvious and prominent of the facts to be collected from 
 thatSQUrce of information. 
 
TO THE THFSSALONIANS. 
 
 ■^ .Ijivx a. 
 No, IF, 
 
 167 
 
 Chap. iiK 1-^7. «• Wherefore when we could no long. 
 " er forbear, we thought It good to be left at Athens alone, 
 «* and sent Timotheus,our brother and minister of God, to 
 " establish you, and to comfort you concerning your fai'th • 
 « but now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and 
 " brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, we 
 " were comforted over you in all our affliction and dis. 
 "tress by your faith." 
 
 5,3;he history relates, that when Paul came out of Mace- 
 donui to Athens, Silas and Timothy staid behind at Be 
 rea. « The brethren sent away Paul to go as it were to 
 the sea; but Silas and Timotheus abode there still ; and 
 "they that conducted Paul brought him to Athens'' 
 ^cts, ch .vi: 14, 15. The history further relates, that 
 alter Paul had tamed some time at Athens, and had pro. 
 ceeded from thence to Corinth, whilst he was exercising 
 his ministry in that city, Silas and Timothy came to him 
 from Macedonia, Acts, chap, xviii. 5. But to rconcile the 
 liistory with the clause in the epistle which makes St. Paul 
 s^ay, « I thought it good to be left at Athens alone, and 
 to send Timothy unto you," it is necessary to suppose 
 tliat lunothy had come up with St. Paul at Athens ; a 
 circumstance which the history does not mention. I re- 
 mark therefore, that, although the history do not expressly 
 notice tliis arrival, yet it contains intimations which render 
 It. extremely probable that the fact took place. First, as 
 soon as Paul had reached Athens, he sent a message back 
 to Silas and Timothy « for to come to him with all speed.'* 
 Acts, chap. xvii. 15. Secondly, his stay at Athens was 
 on purpose that they miglit join him there. «' Nov/ whilst 
 " Paul waited for them at Athens, his spirit was stirred in 
 " Iiim." Acts, chap. xvii. 16. Thirdly, his departure 
 from Athens docs not appear to have been in any sort 
 hastened cr abrupt. It is said, « after these things," viz. 
 
,^8 TH5 FIRST EPISTLE 
 
 his disputation with the Jews, his conferences with the phi. 
 losophers, his discourse at Areopagus, and the gaining of 
 some converts, " he departed from Athens and came 
 « to Corinth." It is not hinted that he quitted Athens be- 
 fore the time that he had intended to leave it ; it is not 
 suggested that he was driven from thence, as hewastrom 
 many cities, by tumults or persecutions, or because his 
 life was no longer safe. Observe then the particulars 
 which the history does notice ; that Paul had t)rdered Tim- 
 othy to follow him without delay ; that lie waited at A- 
 thens on purpose that Timothy might come up with him ; 
 that he staid there as long as his own choice led him to 
 continue. Laying these circumstances which the history 
 does disclose together, it is highly probable that Timothy 
 came to the apostle at Athens, a fact which the epistle, 
 we have seen, virtually asserts when it makes Paul send 
 Timothy back from Athens to Thessalonica. The smd- 
 Ing back of Timothy Into Macedonia accounts also fof his not 
 not coming to Corinth till after Paul had been fixed in 
 that city for some considerable time. Paul had found 
 out Aquila and Priscilla, abode with them and wrought, 
 being of the same craft ; and reasoned in the synagogue 
 every sabbath day, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks, 
 Acts. chap, xvlii. 1-5. All this passed at Corinth be- 
 fore Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedoma, 
 Acts, chap, xviii. 5. If this was the first time of their 
 coming up with him after their separation at Berea, there 
 is nothing to account for a delay so contrary to what ap- 
 pears from the history itself to have been St. Paul's plan 
 and expectation. This is a conformity of a peculiar spe- 
 pies. The epistle discloses a fact which is not preserved 
 in the history ; but which makes what is said in the h'lsto- 
 ry more significant, probable, and consistent. The history 
 bears marks of an omission ; the epistle by reference fur^ 
 nishes a circumstance which supplies that omission. 
 
TO THE TH2SSAL0NIANS. I^^ 
 
 No. V, 
 
 Chap. ii. 14. " For ye, brethren, became followers of 
 ** the churches of God which in Judea are in Christ Jesus ; 
 *' for ye also have suffered like things of your own country^ 
 « men, even as they have of the Jews." 
 
 To a reader of the Acts of the Apostles, It might seem 
 at fiist sight, that the persecutions which the preachers axd 
 converts of Christianity underwent, were suffered at the 
 hand of their old adversaries the Jews. But, if we attend 
 carefully to the accounts there delivered, we shall observe 
 that, though the opposition made to the gospel usually 
 originated from the enmity of the Jews, yet in almost all 
 places the Jews went about to accomplish their purpose, 
 by stirring up the Gentile inhabitants against their con- 
 verted countrymen. Out of Judea they had not power to 
 do much mischief in any other way. This was the case 
 at Thessalonica in particular. " The Jews which belicv- 
 ** ed not, moved with envy, set all the city In an uproar." 
 Acts, ch. xvii. 5. It was the same a short time after- 
 wards at Berea. " WHien the Jews of Thessalonica had 
 
 ' . , ** knowledge that the word of God was preached of Paul 
 " at Berea, they came thither also,and stiiTed up the peo- 
 " pie." Acts, ch. xvii. 13. And before this our apostle 
 
 \ ' tiad met with a like species of persecution. In his progress 
 through the Lesser Asia ; ** in every city the unbelievin^r 
 «* Jews stliTed up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil 
 « affected against the brethren." Acts, ch. xiv. 2. The 
 epistle therefore represents the case accurately as the his- 
 tory states it. It was the Jews always who set on foot the 
 perscutions against the apostles and their followers. He 
 speaks truly therefore of them when he says in this epistle, 
 «' they both killed the Lord Jesus and their ov/n pro^hets, 
 " and have persi^cuted us ; forbidding us to speak unto the 
 " Geatiles. (ii. 15, 16). But oat of Juvien it r«/^g at the 
 Lands of the Gentiles, it was ^'- of their own countrymen,'^ 
 F 
 
 Si 
 
t'JO THE FIRST EPISTLE 
 
 that the injuries ther underwent were Immediately sustain- 
 ed. " Ye have suiFered hke things of your own countrymen, 
 ** even as tliey have of the Jews." 
 
 No. VL 
 
 The apparent disci epancles between our epistle and the 
 histoiy, though of magnitude sufficient to repel the Impu- 
 tation of confederacy or transcription (in which view they 
 form a part of our argum.ent), are neither numerous, nor 
 ■very dllFicult to reconcile. 
 
 One of these may be observed in the ninth and tenth 
 verses of the second chapter. *' For ye remember, breth- 
 ** ren, our labor and travel ; for laboring night and day 
 ** because we would not be chargeable unto any of you, we 
 •* preached unto you the gospel of God. Ye are witnes- 
 *• ses, and God also, how holily, and justly, and unblame- 
 ** ably we behaved ourselves among you that believe." 
 A person who reads this passage is naturally led by it to 
 suppose, that the writer had dwelt at Thessalonica for 
 some considerable time ; yet of St. Pau?s ministry in that 
 city, the history gives no other account than the following ; 
 ** that he came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue 
 <« of the Jews ; that, as his manner was, he went in unto 
 *• them, and three sabbath days reasoned witli them out of 
 " the Scriptures ; that some of them believed and consort- 
 '* ed with Paul and Silas,'* The history then proceeds 
 to tell us, that the Jews which believed not set the city in 
 an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, where Paul 
 ^nd his companions lodged ; that the consequence of this 
 outrage was, that " the brethren immediately sent away 
 <« Paul and Silas by night unto Berea." Acts, cb. xvii. 
 I — lo. From the mention of his preaching three sabbath 
 days in the Jewish synagogue, and from tlie want of any 
 further specification of his ministry, it has usually been tak. 
 en for granted that Paul did not continue at Thessalonica 
 more than three weeks. This, however, is inferred with- 
 Oiitiieeessity. It appears to have been St. Paul's practice, 
 
TO THE THESSALONIANS. 171' 
 
 In almost every place that he came to, upon his first arrival 
 to repair to the synagogue. He thought himself bound 
 to propose the gospel to the Jews Jirst, agreeably to what 
 he declared at Antioch in Pisidia ; " it was necessary 
 *' that the word of God should first have been spoken to 
 " you." Acts, ch. xili. 46. If the Jews rejected his min- 
 istry, he quitted the synagogue, and betook himself to a,. 
 Gentile audience. At Corinth, upon his first coming 
 thither, he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath ; *' but 
 " when the Jews opposed themselves, and blasphem.ed, 
 *' he departed thence,'* expressly telling them, " from 
 " henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles ; and he remain- 
 *• ed in that city a year and six months.** Acts, ch.xviii, 
 6 — II. At Ephesus, in like manner; for the space of 
 three months he went into the synagogue ; but " when di« 
 « vers were hardened and believed not, but spake evil of 
 " that way, he departed from them and separated the dis- 
 " ciples, disputing daily in the school of one Tyrannus ; 
 ** and this continued by the space of two years.** Acts, 
 ch. xix. 9, 10. Upon inspecting the history, I see noth-i 
 ing in it which negatives the supposition, that St. Paul 
 pursued the same plan at Thessalonica \vhich he adopted 
 in other places ; and that, though he resorted to the syna* 
 gogue only three sabbath days, yet he remained in the city 
 and in the exercise of his ministry amongst the Gentile 
 citizens, much longer ^ and until die success of his preach- 
 ing had provoked the Jews to excite the tumult and in- 
 surrection by which he was driven away. 
 
 Another seeming discrepancy is found in the ninth versa 
 of the first chapter of the epistle. For they themselves 
 shovv' of us " what manner of entering in v/e had unto you, 
 " and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living 
 *• and true God.'* This text contains an assertion, that, 
 by means of St. Paul's ministry at Thessalonica, many 
 idolatrous Gentiles had been brought over to Christianity, 
 Yet the history, in describing the effects of that ministry, 
 only says, that « some of the Jews believed, and of the de- 
 
,17- THt FIRST EPISTLB 
 
 <' vout Greeks a great multitude, and cf the chief women 
 *' not a few." (ch. xvii. 4.) The devout Greeks were 
 these who already worshipped the one true God ; and 
 ilierefore could not be said, by embracing Christianity, 
 *' to be turned to God from idols." 
 
 This is the difficulty. The answer may be assisted by 
 the following observations. The Alexandrian and Cam- 
 bridge manuscripts read (for rav <nZc^ivay IhMvuv -ttoAw 
 9rA>j^o$) ruv Fioouivav Ksti Iaa>)v&>v ^roAy 7r>iii6og» In which read- 
 ing they are also confirmed by the Vulgate Latin. And 
 tliis reading is, in my opinion, strongly supported by the 
 considerations, first, that ot cnZof^ivci alone, i. e. without Ia- 
 Mvis, is used in this sense in this same chapter — Paul be- 
 ing come to Athens ^aXiyira iv tj7 cryvisywyji roig la'^cciot? xui 
 toig G-i^of/^voig i secondly, that (n<,oy.vm and lAAr^vsj no where 
 come together. The expression is redundant. The 0* o-£- 
 (^ofcivt must be lAAjjve^. Thirdly, that the xca is much 
 more likely to have been left out incuria manus than to 
 have been put in. Or, after all, if we be not allowed to 
 cliange the present reading, which is undoubtedly re- 
 tained by a great plurality of copies, may not the passage 
 in the history be considered as describing only the effects 
 of St. PauPs discourses during the three sabbath days ia 
 which he preached in the synagogue ? and may it not be 
 true, as w^e have remarked above, that his application ta 
 the Gentiles at large, and his success amongst them, was 
 posterior to tl^.is ? 
 
CHAP. X, 
 
 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIH 
 THESSALONIANS. 
 
 No. L 
 
 It may seem odd to allege obscnrity itself as an 
 argument, or to draw a proof in favor of a writing, from 
 that which is usually considered as the principal defect in 
 its composition. The present epistle, however, furnishes a 
 passage, hitherto unexplained, and probably inexplicable 
 by us, the existence of which, under the darkness and dif- 
 ficulties that attend it, can only be accounted for upon the 
 supposition of the epistle being genuine ; and upon that 
 s^ipposition is accounted for with great ease. The passage 
 which I allude to is in the second chapter. " That day 
 ** shall not come, except there come a falling away first, 
 *' and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition, 
 ** who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that iscal- 
 ♦* led God, or that is worshipped ; so that he as God sit- 
 " teth in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is 
 " God. Remember ye not that when I WAS YtT with' 
 " YOU I TOLD YOU THESE THINGS? And no'w ye hfiow 
 " luhat ivtthholdeth, that he mght be revealed in his time i for 
 " the mystery of iniquity doth already work, only he that 
 ** nonv ktteth iviU let, until he be taken out of the way ; and; 
 •* then shall that wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall 
 ** consume with the spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy 
 ** with the brightness of his coming." It were superflu- 
 ous to prove, because it is in vain to deny, that this passage 
 is involved in great obscurity, more especially the clauses 
 disthiguished by Italics. Nov/ the observation I have to 
 offer is founded upon this, that the passage expressly re-, 
 fers to a conversation which the author had previously 
 
 holdca v/ith the Thessalonians upoa the same subject 
 Pa ^ 
 
174 THE SECOND EPISTLE 
 
 " Remember ye not, that when I was yet with you / told 
 *' you these things ? And now ye hnonu what withholdeth.'* 
 If such conversation actually passed ; if, whilst he was yet 
 with them, " he told them those things," then it follows 
 that the epistle is authentic. And of the reality of this 
 conversation it appears to be a proof, that what it said in 
 the epistle might be understood by those who had been 
 present to such conversation, and yet be incapable of 
 being explained by any other. No man writes unintelli^ 
 gibly on purpose. But It may easily happen, that a part 
 of a letter which relates to a subject, upon which the par- 
 ties had conversed together before, which refers to what 
 had been before said, which is In truth a portion or con- 
 tinuation of a former discourse^ may be utterly without 
 meaning to a stranger, who should pick up the letter up- 
 on the road, and yet be perfectly clear to the person ta 
 who m It Is directed, and with w^hom the previous com- 
 munication had passed. And If, In a letter which thus 
 accidentally fell into my hands, I found a passage express-. 
 ly referring to a former conversation, and difficult to be 
 explained without knowing that conversation, I should con-- 
 sider this very difficulty as a proof that the conversation 
 had actually passed, and consequently tliat the letter con- 
 tained the real correspondence of real persons. 
 
 No. IL 
 
 Chap. ill. 8. " Neither did we eat any man's bread 
 ** for nought, but wrought with labor night and day, that 
 «* we might not be charp-eable to any of you ; not because' 
 ** we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensamiple 
 <* unto you to follow.'* 
 
 In a letter, pifr porting to have been written to another 
 of the Macedonic churches, we find the following decla- 
 ration. ,;- .,3^ >^ 
 
 <* Now ye, Phillpplans, know also that In the begin!- 
 *< jiing of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, ««, 
 
TO THE THESSALONIANS. l'Jf( 
 
 ** church communicated with me as concernivg giv'wg andreceiv* 
 ** ingy hut ye only." 
 
 The conformity between these two passages is strong 
 and plain. They confine the transaction to the same pe- 
 riod. The epistle to the Phillppians refers to what pas- 
 sed *' in the beginning of the gospel," that is to say, during 
 the first preaching of the gospel on that side of the iEgeaii 
 sea. The epistle to the Thessalonians speaks of the apostle*s 
 conduct in that city upon *' his first entrance in unto them," 
 which the history informs us was in the course of his first 
 visit to the peninsula of Greece. 
 
 As St. Paul tells the Philippians, ** that no church com- 
 ** municated with him, as concerning giving and receiv- 
 •' ing, but they only," he could not consistently with the 
 truth of this declaration, have received any thing from the 
 neighbouring church of Thessalonica. What thus ap- 
 pears by general implication in an epistle to another churchy 
 when he writes to the Thessalonians themselves, is noticed 
 expressly and particularly ; " neither did we eat any man's 
 « bread for nought, but wrought night and day, that we 
 •* might not be chargeable to any of you." 
 
 The texts here cited further also exhibit a mark of con- 
 formity with what St. Paul is made to say of himself in 
 the Acts of the Apostles. The apostle not only reminds 
 the Thessalonians that he had not been chargeable to any 
 of them, but he states likewise the motive v/hich dictated 
 ^this reserve ; ** not because we have not power, but to 
 '«f make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us." 
 (ch. iii. 9.) This conduct and, what is much more pre- 
 cise, the end which he had in view by it, was the very 
 '^ttife as that which the history attributes to St. Paul in a 
 discourse, which it represents him to have addressed to 
 the elders of the church of Ephesus. " Yea, ye yoursc-lv-es 
 «.* also know that these hands have ministered unto my ne- 
 " cessities, and to them that were with me. I have shozu- 
 ** edjou all things, how that so laboting ye ought to support 
 f't.be lueai:^ Acts, ch. xx. 34. The sentiment in the 
 
IJ$ THE SECOND BRISTLE 
 
 epistle and in the speech is in both parts of it so ittucb 
 alike, and yet the words which convey it show so lit- 
 tle of imitation or even of resemblance, that the agree- 
 ment cannot well be explained without supposing the 
 speech and the letter to have really proceeded from the 
 same person. 
 
 No. IIL 
 
 Our reader remembers the passage in the First Epistle 
 to the Thessalonians, in which St. Paul spoke of the com- 
 ing of Christ. " This we say unto you by the word of 
 " the Lord, that we which aie alive, and remain unto the 
 " coming of the Lord, shall not prevent them which are 
 ** asleep ; for the Lord himself shall descend from heaven, 
 " and the dead in Christ sliall rise first ; then we which 
 " are alive and remain, shall be caught up together with 
 " them in the clouds, and so shall we be ever with the 
 " Lord. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that 
 ** day should overtake you as a thitf." i Tliess, iv. 15 
 — 17, and ch. v. 4. It should seem that the Thessaloni- 
 ans, or some however amongst them, had from this pas- 
 sage conceived an opinion (and that not very unnaturally) 
 that the coming of Christ was to take place instantly, ort 
 ivis-T-^y^cv j* and that this persuasion had produced, as it 
 well might, much agitation in the church. The apostle 
 therefore now write.?, amongst other purposes, to quietv 
 this alarm, and to rectify the misconstruction tJiat hadq 
 been put upon his words. ** Now we. beseech you, breth,Tr{ 
 " ren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our 
 " gathering together unlo him, that ye be not soon shakep^^ 
 " in mind, orbe trdliblfe'dneFther by spirit, nor by word, ncrr. 
 ^^ hyhner'asjroni ' -'?eday of Chiist is at hand.'* ; 
 
 If the allusiof-'. - id for be admitted, namely, 
 
 if It be iiil: • =age in the second epistle re- 
 
 * 'Ormncnm^it, jaeui^i^ Hqc Rni^£»,'8ays Girotius, ?v?7Tjjx£y hlq^- 
 ckurji9vC8ijp?3588itjf.'iit-.lP^;j,v/i^,.^S^Jj-Cor, iii. a a. CA. 1,4, Hebr 
 ix. 9c 
 
TO THE THESSALONIANS. 1>^<J 
 
 lates to the passage in the first, it amounts to a considera- 
 ble proof of the genuineness of both epistles. I have no 
 conception, because I know no example, of such a device 
 in a forgery, as first to frame an ambiguous passage in a 
 letter, then to represent the persons to vi'liom the letter is 
 addressed as mistaking tlie meaning of tlie passage, and 
 lastly, to write a second letter in ordei to correct this mis- 
 take. 
 
 I have said that this argument arises out of the text, if 
 the allusion be admitted ; for I am not ignorant that ma- 
 ny expositors understand the passage in the second epistle 
 as referring to some forged letters, which had been pro- 
 duced in St. PauPs name, and in which the apostle had - 
 been made to say that the coming of Christ was then at 
 hand. In defence, however, of the explanation which we 
 propose, the reader is desired to observe, 
 
 1. The strong fact, that there exists a passage in the 
 first epistle, to which that in the second is capable of be- 
 ing referred, i. e. which accounts for the error the writer 
 is solicitous to remove. Had no other epistle than the 
 second been extant, and had it under these circumstances 
 come to be considered, whether the text before us related to 
 a forged epistle or to some misconstruction of a true one, 
 many conjectures and many probabiHties might have been 
 admitted in tlie inquiry, which can have little weight 
 when an epistle is produced, containing the very sort of 
 passage we were seeking, that is, a passage liable to the 
 misinterpretation which the apostle protests against. 
 
 2. That tlie clause Vv^hich introduces the passage in the 
 second epistle bears a particular affinity to what is found 
 in the passage cited from the first epistle. The clause is 
 this. " We beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our 
 ** Lord Jesus Christ, and l)y our gathering together unto him," 
 Now in tlie first epistle the description of the coming of 
 Christ is accompanied with the mention of this very cir- 
 cumstance of his saints "being collected round him." 
 " The Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a 
 
I'jS ' THE SECOND EPISTLE 
 
 ** shout,with the voice of the aichaiigel,aTid with the triimp 
 ** of God, and the dead in Christ shall rise first ; then we 
 " which are alive and remain shall be caught up togeth- 
 ** er with them in the clouds, io ined the Lord in the air." i 
 Thess. chap. iv. 16, 17. This I suppose to be the "gath- 
 ** cring together unto him" intended in the second epistle; 
 and that the author, when he used these words, retained 
 in his thoughts what he had written on the subject before. 
 
 3. The second epistle- is written in the joint name of 
 Paul, Silvanus, and Timotheus, and it cautions the Thes- 
 salonians against being misled " by letter as from us (&•$ 
 5/ jj^y). Do not these words * ^i r/t^av,' appropriate the 
 reference te some writing which bore the name of these 
 three teachers ? Now this circumstance, which is a very 
 close one, belongs to the epistle at present in our hands j 
 for the epistle which we call the First Epistle to the Thes- 
 salonians contains these names in its superscription. 
 
 4. The words in the original, as far as they are material 
 to be stated, are these ; g<? to f^a rot^wg a-etXsvhivcn vf^fi? aira 
 
 ^i iTTia-roXT)^, cog ^i y,^m, aq on tyivrnx.iv ri ^t^cc ra X^fffvs. 
 Under the weight of the preceding observations may not 
 the words /tsgre ^<«6 Aeys. ^»)T6 h' iTria-roM^i a)$ h' »f^<w)', be 
 construed to signify quasi nos quid tale aut dixeritnus aut 
 j^r//>jmw«j,* intimating that their words had been mistak- 
 en, and thatthey had in truth said or written no such thing. 
 
 * Should a contrary interpretation be preferred, I do not think that 
 It implies the conclusion that a false epistle had then been published 
 in the apostle's name. It will completely satisfy the allusion in the 
 text to allow, that some one or other at Thessalonica had pretend- 
 ed to have been told by St. Paul and his companions, or to have seen 
 a letter from them, in which they had said, that the day of Christ was 
 at hand. In like manner as Acts xv. i, ^4. it is recorded that some 
 had pretended to have received instructions from the church at Jeru- 
 salem, which had not been received " to whom they gave no such ccm-i 
 « mandment." And thus Dr. Benson interpreted the passage (W>IT« 
 B'^oiia-$eci, f/^nn ^m, ^vsVjttarfl?, /t«sr£ ^icc Acyy, jt«y;T8 ai £7r<roAj5?, 
 «; ^i fi{icm « nor be dismayed by any revelation, or discourse, or epis- 
 <♦ tie, which any one shall pretend to have heard or received from vh" 
 
CHAP. XL 
 
 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 
 
 X ROM the third verse of the first chapter, " a$ 
 <« I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus when I went in- 
 ** to Macedonia," it is evident that this Epistle was writ- 
 ten soon after St. Paul had gone to Macedonia from Ephe- 
 sus. Dr. Benson fixes its date to the time of St. Paul's 
 journey, recorded in the beginning of the twentieth chap- 
 ter of the Acts. " And after the uproar (excited by De« 
 *' metrius at Ephesus) was ceased, Paul called unto him 
 *' the disciples, and embraced them, and departed for to 
 " go into Macedonia." And in this opinion Dr. Benson 
 is followed by Michaelis, as he was preceded by the great- 
 er part of the commentators who have considered the ques- 
 tion. There is, however, one objection to tlie hypothesis, 
 which these learned men appear to me to have overlook- 
 ed ; and it is no other than this, that the superscription of 
 the Second Epistle to the Corintliians seems to prove, that 
 at the time St. Paul is supposed by them to have v^-itten 
 this Epistle to Timothy, Timothy in truth was with St. 
 p3ul in Macedonia. Paul, as it is related in the Acts, 
 left Ephesus " for to go into Macedonia." When he had 
 got into Macedonia he wrote his second Epistle to the 
 Corinthians. Concerning this point there exists little va- 
 riety of opinion. It is plainly indicated by the contents 
 of the epistle. It is also strongly implied that the epistle 
 was written soon after the apostle's arrival in Macedonia ; 
 for he begins his letter by a train of reflection, referring to 
 his persecutions in Asia as to recent transactions, as to 
 dangers from which he had lately been delivered. But in 
 the salutation with which the epistle opens Timothy h join- 
 ed w'lih Sl Paalf and consequently could not at that time 
 be <* left behind at Ephesus." And as to the only solu- 
 
f^O THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 
 
 tion of tlie difficulty which can be thought of^ viz. that 
 Timotliy, though he was left behind at Ephesus upon St. 
 Paul's departure from Asia, yet might follow him so 
 soon after, as to come up with the apostle in Macedonia, 
 before, he wrote his epistle to the Corinthians ; that sup- 
 position is inconsistent with tlie terms and tenor of the 
 epistle throughout. For the writer speaks uniformly of 
 Tiis intention to return to Timothy at Ephesus, and not of 
 'his expecting Timothy to come to him in Macedonia. 
 ** These things write I unto thee hoping to come unto thee 
 ** shortly ; but if I tarry long that thou mayest know how 
 " thou oughtest to behave thyself," (chap. iii. 14, 15). 
 " Till I come give attendence to reading, to exhortation, to 
 ** doctrine," (chap. iv. 13). 
 
 Since, therefore, the leaving of Timothy behind at Ephe- 
 sus, wlien Paul went into Macedonia, suits not with any 
 journey into Macedonia recorded in the Acts, I concur 
 with Bishop Pearson in placing the date of this epistle, 
 and tlie journey referred to in it, at a period subsequent to 
 St. Paul's first imprisonment at Rome, and consequently 
 subsequent to the era, up to which the Acts of the Apos- 
 tles brings his history. The only difficulty which attends 
 our opinion is, that St. Paul must, according to us, have 
 come to Ephesus after his liberation at Rome, contrary as 
 It should seem to what he foretold to the Ephesian elders, 
 ** that they should see his face no more." And it is to 
 save tlie infallibility of this prediction, and for no other 
 reason of weight, that an earlier date is assigned to tliis 
 epistle. The prediction itself however, when considered 
 in connection widi the circumstances under which it was 
 delivered, does not seem to demand so much anxiety. 
 The words In question are found in the twenty fifth verse 
 of the twentieth- chapter of the Acts. And now behold, 
 <* I know that ye all, among whom I have gone preach- 
 «* ing the kingdom of God, shall see my face no more." 
 In the twenty second and the twenty third verses of the 
 
THii FIRST EPISTLE TO 'flMOTHY, 3^'^ 
 
 ijaaic chapter, i. c. two verses before, die apostle makes 
 this declaration. " And now behold, i ^o bound in die 
 *' spirit unto Jerusalem, not knowing tJie things diat 
 *' shall bei'al me diere ; save diat the Holy Ghost witness- 
 *' eth in every city, saying, that bonds and afliictions a- 
 <' bide me." This ** witnessing of the Holy Ghost" 
 was undoubtedly prophetic and supernatural. But it 
 went no further than to fbretel thiit bonds and afflicdons 
 awaited hhn. And I can very well conceive, that this 
 might be all which was communicated to the apostle by 
 extraordinary revelation, and that the rest was the conclu- 
 sion of his own mind, die desponding inference which he 
 drew from strong and repeated intimations of approaching 
 danger. And the expression *' I know^," which St. 
 Paul here uses, does not perhaps, when applied to future 
 events aiFecting himself, convey an assertion so positive 
 and absolute as we may at first sight apprehend. In the 
 iirst chapter of the Epistle to the Philippians and the 
 twenty fifth vei-se, " I know'* says he, " that I shall a- 
 *' bide and continue widi you all for your joy and further- 
 ** ance of faith." Notwithstanding this strong decla- 
 ration, in die second chapter and twenty third verse of 
 this same epistle, and speaking also of the very same e- 
 vent, he is content to use a language of some doubt and 
 uncertainty. *' Him therefore I hope to send presently, 
 <' so soon as I shall see hoiv it will go "jjith me ; but / trust 
 " in die Lord that I also myself shall come shortly." 
 And a few Verses preceding these, he not only seems to 
 doubt of his safety, but almost to despair ; to contem- 
 plate the possibility at least of his condemnation and mar- 
 tyrdom. " Yea and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and 
 " service of )'our faidi, I joy and rejoice with you all." " 
 
 No. L 
 
 But can we show that St. Paul visited Ephesus after 
 ^is liberation at Rome ? or rathei', can we collect aa^ 
 
 Q 
 
lS2 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 
 
 hin^^ from his other letters which make it probable that 
 be 'did llt^etkn, then we have a'coincidcntfe^ li vr€' 
 cannot, w^' have only an unauthorized siippositioil, tcfi 
 Avhich the exigericy of ths Case compels us to resoi't;^' 
 How, for thii ^^Jrpos^; let hi fex'amine the Epikle tb'^thfe^ 
 P'hiHppianS and' the Eplstlb to P^hilemon. Th^se tsvoe- 
 pistles purport to be ' Vvritten whilst St. Paul \^^as vet a 
 prisoner at Rome. Td the Phillppians he writes as follow^' 
 « I triist in the Lord that I also myself shall come shorti- 
 '•^fy.^^ '-1*0 'Philemor, whb'wks i Colossian, he givd 
 this direction. « But withal, prepare me also a lodging^ 
 "for I tritst that through your prayers I shall be gi\Te!i? 
 •^'unto ydu." 'An inspection of the map will sho-v^-us 
 tfet<i6l6sse'wks a city of the Lesser Asia, lying easti^ 
 ward, and at no great distance from Ephesus. Philippi 
 was on the Other, i. e. the western side of the iEgean sea. 
 If the apostle executed his purpose ; if, in pursuance of 
 the intention expressed in his letter to Philemon, he came 
 to Cblosse soon after he was set at liberty at Rome, it is 
 very improbable that he would omit to visit Ephesu^ 
 which lay so near to it, and where he had spent three 
 years of his ministry. As he was also under a promise 
 to the church of Philippi to see them " shortly ;" if he 
 passed from Colosse to Philippi, or from Philippi to Co- 
 losse, he could hardly avoid taking Ephesus in his way. 
 
 !:;;Chap.tf ir^'^tet 'n^t--^ '^do^ ^^ "^r^-. 
 ^.number under threescore ye^rs old." . ,. ' , . .^ 
 
 .. This accords with the account delivered: in the sixth 
 ffhapter of the Acts. »* And in those days,- whfn the 
 number of the disciples Xvas multiplied, there arose a-mtrr- 
 rnuring of the Grecians agaiiist the Hebrt'WSf"' * Mi^au'si 
 ^^ihar. widows were neglected in the daily mhlit^dtton^^* It 
 appears, ^ac from ih^ (ir&% i^xTo^2L^o^.(;>i^l)^^^^ 
 tl«ireh,'provisioa was madt out^f 'th«, public iitods e^ih^ • 
 
THE FIRST CPISTLS TO TIMOTHY. iS^j 
 
 thlh C'id>>CM . -:^ :^i, .-. :^ 'M :;':<■ of! moil z^iid 
 
 SGcJety for the iadigeat w'JstuT who, b-loaged, to it. , T"$j 
 HUtoryr we have $eeri, distinctly records the exUtence ,of 
 such an institution at Jerusalem, a, ffw years after our, 
 Lrord's ascension ; and is led to the ii,iqntiojDLof it very inci* 
 dentally, vizi by a dispute, of whichr it'was ti^ ocpsion^ 
 ^d which produced important consequences to the ■chris- 
 tian cpmmunity. The epistle, without being suspected' 
 of borrowing from the history, refers, briefly indeed, but 
 de^cisively, to a similar establishment, subsisting sorac- 
 years afterwards at Ephesus. This agreement indicate^ . 
 that botli writings were founded upon real circumstances- 
 B'4t in this article, the material thing to be noticed is 
 the mode of expression. *t Let npta widow be taken into 
 the number.*' No previous account or explanation is 
 given, to which these words, " into the number," can re- 
 fer ; but the direction comes concisely and unpreparedly., 
 *:« X«et not a widow be taken into the number." Now 
 this is the vfay in which a man writes, who is conscious 
 t^at he is writing to persons already acquainted witli the 
 subject of his lettei: ;, and. who, he knovr;s, will readily 
 appreliend and apply: what hejsays by virtue of their be?., 
 ing so acquainted ; but it is not the way in which a man 
 writes "Upon any other occasion j and least of all, in which 
 a niar* would draw. .Pp a fejgped lettff^ .or-.fj^o^duQe,^ 
 supposititious fact.* 
 
 * It is not altogether unconnected with our general purpose to re- 
 n^jtji^^.^l^ y*?^^ t«Core up,th.e selection and, reserve which St.Pau! 
 recommends to the governors of the church ofEphesuSjin the bestowing; 
 relief up-sn the pfl»or, because it refu'tes a'caluh^hy which has been in- 
 ginu^ted, thdt Ihe liberality of the first Christiatis was an artifice' to 
 cirtch cbnvei-ts;: or one of the temptations, however, bj which the 
 idi?;an.d mendicant were 4ra\yn into this society. ," Let not.a widow b^ 
 *'j. Ukeiji:: into the numbjEr. under threescore yenrs old, having been the 
 **^wjfe of one man, v/ell r^eported of for her good works; if she have 
 ** brought up' children jHiihe have logdfed sti'anc^efrsiif she have washed 
 "^iRfe^ faints' fefet:,- ifih'^ havcreleived the afflicted, if she have dJ!iv 
 •'^iiij^y foUoWed'C's^^tTt goioid W)rk ; b«t the younger widoTtys refuafi." 
 (v. 9, 1 o, 1 1 ). And, in another place, «* If any man or woman that biy 
 
lH* Tiff! ^^i^rcf^^'^^^ Tft y^f^Q^^U^* 
 
 Chap.,.iiu 2, .3^. .. *ii^ bishap raast be Ijlapnejes^j^the 
 • ** husband of one wife^ vigilant, sober, of gQod bejiaviour, 
 " given to hospitality, apt to teach ; not given to winei no 
 <' striker, not greedy, of fiitl>y lucre, but,pa^^t^;aptja 
 *' brawler, not covetous ;; c^e thgt yuleth well his aw^' 
 ."house." . ,.,.:w.-.-;. :(-!jiii::,iL u.^i-v^i ■.■■,■■:. ;?■■£ 
 '* No itrjhr.": ^ Thdl s-is; the, aptide, y^hi^yli^^h ml 
 from the collection as Qvuicingtl^^.antifjw;:^ r*l;ile^^> 
 if not th-' genuineness, of the epistle, because it- i^ an arlii- 
 rcle which no man would have made the subject of cau.-. 
 tk)n who lived in aji advanced ^a of the church., Jt 
 agreed v*nth the infancy of the society, and with no Qtiier 
 itate of it. After the government ot the church had ac- 
 quired Uic dignified form which it soon and naturally as- 
 
 ■ sumed, this injunction could have no place. Would a 
 
 ■ person wlxo lived under a hierarchy, such as the Christian 
 hiearchy became vvhen it had settled Into a regular estab- 
 lishment, have thought it neoissary to prescribe concerning 
 the qualification of a bishop, " that he should be no strike 
 f* er r* And this injunction would be equally alien from 
 the imagination of the writeri. whether he wrote in his own 
 
 - character^ or personated that of an apostle.. 
 
 « lieveth have widows, let them relieve them, and let not the cKiirch 
 
 *• be charged, that it may relieve them that are widows indeed." 
 
 And to the same effect, or rather more to our present purpose, the 
 
 upostle writes in Kis Second Epistle to the Tiaessalonians. «'kven 
 
 -■ »* when we were with you, this we commanded you,that if aayRtmld 
 
 ■i**. not work, neither let him eat," i. e. at the public expense, 'yFo; 
 
 . «• we hear that there are some which walfe amon^ ypu dis^i^d^riy, 
 
 ^\^%uorUny. noi at,uU-, but are busy bodies ; now them that are sucli,^we 
 
 « command anji exKort, by oar l.ord Jesus Christ, that with quietness 
 
 « they work, and' eat their bwa bread." Could a designing- 'or HessO' 
 
 iwte poof* take advantage hi fedonty regulated 'ieith' so much' cautj'oa . 
 
 'br'*couldthe'riiiridlwhib^ dictated those so^ier^alrd prttdeiat dli-^irtionft 
 
 be influenced in his recdinpisii^atlons pf T>ubUc'(jhiu:if:y'l|y Aciy <^her 
 
 tkan the properett motives of bencficefic^f 
 
THE PIR.9T EPISTLE TO TiMOTrfr. 'it$ 
 
 No. IF. 
 
 Chap. V. 23. " Drink no longer water, but use a little 
 <* wine for thy stomach's sake, and thine often infirmities/' 
 Imagine an impostor sitting down to forge an epistle 
 in the name of St. Paul. Is it credible that it should come 
 into his head to give such a direction as this ; so remote 
 from every thing of doctrine or discipline, every thing of 
 public concern to the religion or the church; or to any sect, 
 order, or party in k, a:<d from every purpose with which 
 such an epistle could be written ? It seems to me that noth- 
 ing but reality, that is, the real valetudinary situation of a 
 real person, could have suggested a thought of so domes- 
 tic a nature. 
 
 But if the peculiarity of the advice be observable, the 
 place in which it stands is more so. The context is this ; 
 ♦* Lay hands suddenly on no man^ neither be partaker of 
 «< other men's sins ; keep tliyself pure ; drink no longer 
 <* water, but use a Httle wine for thy stomach's sake, and 
 ** thine often infirmities ; some men's sins are open before 
 ** hand, going before to judgment j and some men they 
 •* follow after." The direction to Timothy about his 
 diet stands between two sentencesj as wide from the sub- 
 ject as possible.- The train of thought seems to be brok- 
 en to let it in^ Now when does this happen ? It happens 
 ,, .when a man writes^ as he remembers ; when he puts down 
 ^jl^an article that occurs the moment it occurs, lest he should 
 fj3 .afterwards forget it. Of this the passage before us bears 
 ! ' strongly the appearance. In actual letters, in the negli- 
 gence of a real correspondence, examples of this kind fre- 
 quently take place ; seldom I believe in any other produc- 
 tion. For the moment a man regards what he writes as 
 a composttiont which the author of a forgery would, of all 
 j.qthers, be the first to do, notions of order, in the arrange- 
 ^.^nptaent and succession of his thoughts, present themselves 
 to his judgment, and guide his pen. 
 
 Q 2 
 
t^ Tli E rUl ST F? I ST t E; TO T«l»OT HTT ♦ 
 
 Chap. i. 15:, 16. *' This is a faithful saying, and wor- 
 *^ thy of all acceptation, tliat Chiist Jesus came iato the 
 •♦ world ta save sinners, o£ whem J. am chief. Hovrf>eit, 
 *• for thi^ cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus 
 ** Christ might show forth all longsufFering, for a pattern 
 ** to them v.'hich should hereafter believe in him- to life 
 ** everlasting." , 
 
 Wliat \Tas the mercy which St. Pau-l here ecmraeHio 
 rates, and what was the crime of which he accuses him- 
 self, is apparent from the verses immediately preceding^. 
 ** I thank Chrisi Jesus, our Lord, who hath enabled nrte, 
 ** for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the min- 
 •* Istrr, fo/ho tuai hefore a hlasphemeri and a persecutor and 
 '• injurious ; but I obtained mercy, because I did it igno- 
 *• rantly in unbelief, "^ (ch. i. 12, 15.) The whole quo- 
 tation plainly refers to St. Paul's original enmity to the 
 Christian name, the interposition of providence in his con- 
 version, and his subsequent designation to the ministry of 
 the gospel ; and by this reference affirms indeed the sub- 
 stance of the apostle's history delivered in the Acts. But 
 what in the passage strikes my mind most powerfully, is 
 the observation that is raised out of the fact. " For this 
 •* cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ 
 *» might show forth all longsnffering, for a pattern to them 
 ♦• which should hereafter believe on him to life everlast- 
 «• ing.** It is a just and solemn reflection, springing 
 from the circumstances of the author's conversion, or 
 rather fi-om the impression which that great event had 
 left upon his memory. It will be said perhaps, that an 
 fmpostor acquainted with St. Paul's history, may have 
 put such a sentiment into his mouth ; or, what is the 
 same thing, into a letter drawn up in his name. But, 
 where, we may ask, i^ such an impostor to be found ? 
 The piety, the truth, iJie benevolence of the thought 
 
THE FIRST EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 187 
 
 ought to protect it from this imputation. For though 
 we should allow that one of the great masters of the an- 
 cient tragedy could have given to- his scene a sentiment 
 as virtuous and as elevated as this is, and, at the same 
 time as appropriate, and as well suited to the particular 
 situation of the person who delivers it ; yet whoever is 
 conversant in these enquiries. \vi]l acknowledge, that to do 
 this in a fictitious production is beyond the reach of the 
 understandings which have been employed upon any /a3- 
 rlcations that have come down to us under Christian 
 names. 
 
 nr^ 
 
 jrfgrjoii? 
 
CHAP.xn. 
 
 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 
 No, /. 
 
 It was the uniform tradition of the primitive 
 church, that St. Paul visited Rome twice, and twice there 
 suffered imprisonment ; and tliat he was put to death at 
 Rome at tlie conclusion of his second imprisonment. This 
 opinion concerning St. Paul's two journeys to Rome t« 
 confirmed by a great variety of hints and allusions in the 
 epistle before us^ compared with what fell from the apos- 
 tle's pen in other letters purporting to have been written 
 from Rome. That our present epistle was written whilst 
 St. Paul was a prisoner, is distinctly intimated by die 
 eighth verse of the first chapter* ** Be not thou tliere- 
 •* fore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of 
 *' me his prisoner." And whilst he was a prisoner at Romey 
 by the sixteenth and seventeenth verses of the same chapter^ 
 ** The Lord give meicy unto the house of Onesiphorus j 
 ** or he oft refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my 
 ** chain ; but when he was in Rome he sought me out 
 ** very diligently, and found me." Since it appears 
 from the former quotation that St. Paul wrote this epistle 
 in confinement, it will hardly admit of doubt that the 
 word chain, in the latter quotation refers to tiiat confine- 
 ment ; the chain by which he was then bound, the custo- 
 dy in which he was then kept. And if the word chain 
 designate the author's confinement at the time of writing 
 tlie epistle, the next words determine it to have been 
 written from Rome. <* He was not ashama^ of my chain ; 
 •* but when he was in Rome he sought me out very dili- 
 ♦* gently." Now th:it it iva: not written during the apostle's 
 
TKE SECOND BPISTLE TO TIMOTHY I89 
 
 first imprisonment at Rome, or during the sarne imprisoii- 
 ment.in which the Epistles to the Ephesians, the Colossians^ 
 the Philippians, and Phi-kiaipnjs^.w^^^written, may be gath- 
 ered, with considerable evidence, "from a coniparison oi 
 tbese several epistles with the jw-esent. , ^_ ^ 
 
 I. In' the former episfles the author cbnfidl^ently' looked 
 forward to his liberation fr^m .eonhnement, and his s-p<^edvp 
 cteparture from Rome. He tells the Philippians (ch. ii. 24.) 
 «' I triist in the Lord that I also- myself shalt cogae short- 
 •*iy{''*"^^hifert>6rf^"fe6 4i'ds tS^ f>lieparg for' hwn'a lodging ; 
 **'f5rF' trust/' says'- he, <*^til? throwg^h your prayi&rg, I 
 ^ shall be gi-ren tirito you, ^* (^vev. 22.) In the epistk be?- 
 Ibre us he holds a language extremely diiferent. •.** I arsj 
 ** flow ready tJo be offered, artd the time, of my departure i$ 
 ''*-atbaiid. !■ have fought a good fight; I hav^e finished my 
 '*'- course ; I have kept the faith ; henceforth there is V^d 
 ^* up for me a crO'Wn of righteoasness-, which the Lord, the 
 ^tighteous Judge, shall gtre me at that day^'*(d4vir.6— 8w) 
 ' II. When the former epistles wet^e written from Rome, 
 Timothy was v^ith St. Paul ; and is joined with him ia 
 ■writing to the Colossians, the . Phvlippians, and to Piiik>. 
 moi"u The present epistle implies that he 'was absent. 
 
 III. in the former epistles. Demas. was with St. Pau) 
 
 ^ Rome. ^ Luke,, the beloved ph:)"sicraa, aad I>emas, 
 
 ** greet youj." la the epistk now before us;. " Demaa 
 
 : !♦ hath forsakea him, havisng loTed thispreseat worlds and 
 
 - •*« is gone to Thessalonica*" x , 
 
 •^ IV. In die former epiade, Mark w«s. with St Paulj. and 
 
 ' joifts^irt saluting the Colossians. In tlie present eptstfe, 
 
 Timothy is ordered to *' bring him wHth. him^ for hch-k 
 
 ** profitable tc> me for the ministry, '*' (ch. iv* ti.)i ^; 
 
 The case of Timothy and of Mark might be very well ac- 
 
 eourrted for, by supposing the present epistle to liare be«n 
 
 W^itt^ ^^^ the^ «feh6ri4 so; that Taaotby, who. is here 
 
 exhorted •*-to-'c<!kve' shortly iihto him," {chap. lv. 9,) 
 
 m^ht kaye- arritned, and th^ Mark,, •<' H8hfl«n. he wai»*t« 
 
n'' 
 
 Jt§p THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHr.- 
 
 «< bring wttU him," (chap. u'. 1 1,) might have als6 reach- 
 ed. Rome ia sufficient ,tinie to have been, with-. 3t« ,^aul 
 wlien the fow' epistles were written ; but tlien sucKa sujVf 
 position is inconsistent with what is said of Demas, ,bf ; 
 which the posteriority of this to the other epistles is strong- 
 ly indicated ; for in the other epistles Dcnias was with : 
 St. Paul, in the present he hath " forsakeR him, and. is 
 "gone to Thessalonica." The opposition also of senti-- 
 ment, with respect to the event of tlie perseculiq^, ..i*., 
 hardlf rec.oncileable to the same imprisonmer^t. . , ;, ,. 
 
 .(^.^Xiie two following considerations, which , were.fiist = 
 suggested upon this questiau by Laidovicus CapelUis,^rp , 
 still more conclusive. . , - .^ .^ . 
 
 I. la the twentieth verse of the fourth chapter, St, 
 Paul informs Timothy, *' thatErastus abode at Corinth," 
 E^oicrTCi e/Lcsn'iv i> K»^iv66t. The form of expression impliesj 
 tliat Erastus had staid behind at Corinth, when Si. Paul , 
 left it. But this could not be meant of any journey from ■ 
 Gorintji which St. Paul took prior to his first imprison- , 
 ment at Rome; for when Paul departed from Corinth, ^ 
 as related in the twentieth chapter of the Acts, Timothy 
 wasiwith him ; and; this was the last time the apostle left. 
 Corinth before his coming to Rome ; because he left it to 
 proceed on his way to Jerusalem, soon after his arrival^ 
 at which place he was taken into custody, and continued ► 
 in that custody till he was carried to Csesar's tribunal^:- 
 There could be no need therefore to inform Timothy that ^ 
 "* Erastus staid behind' at Corinth'* upon this occasion,., 
 because, if the fact was so, fit must have- been known t«, 
 Timothy who was^ present, as well as to St. Paul. ' : rjh 
 
 1, In the ' satne verse our ej-'i^tle also states the follow>£ 
 Ing afticle/ *< Trophimus have I left at Miletum sick.'*. 
 When St. Paiil passed through Miletum on his way to^^ 
 Jerusalem,'as telated Acts xx. Trophimus was not leftr 
 behin<?, btttaccorn^nied him to that city. He was Hi* 
 ceeKi- the oecasfeTv of 'iiie -uproar at Jerusaieni, in coiisc? . 
 ^uence of which St. Paul was apprehended ; for *' they 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. J^f 
 
 ** had seen," says the historian, " before with him in the 
 **'city-,TrOphimus, an Ephesian, whom they supposed that 
 " Paul had brought intb the temple.*' This Was evident- 
 ly tlie last time of Paul's being at Miletus before his firsf 
 imprisonment'; for, as hath been said, after his appreheh-i 
 sion at Jerusalem, he rerhaihed iil custody till he was sent'^ 
 t6 Rome. ■" ■ ■.■-.•...■v> ..^:^ .'a. ..^ .; .J 
 
 ' ' Tn tliese two' 'articles ' We'hatve- 'a- journey referred ' to,' ' 
 which must haVe taken place subsequent to the concia-' 
 sion of St. Luke's history, and of course after St. PaUptf* 
 liberation frotrt his first imprisonment. The epistle there-'' 
 for^ Which contains this reference, since it appears from 
 otiier parts of it to have been written while St. Paul was'' 
 a prisoner at Rome, proves that he had returned to -that* 
 city again and undergone thet-e'a second imprisonment. 
 
 I do not produce these particulars for the sake of the 
 support which they lend to the testimony of the fathers 
 concerning St. Paul's second imprisonment, but to remark 
 their consistency and agreement -with one another. They 
 are all resolvable into one supposition ; and altlwugh the. 
 supposition itself be in some sort only negative, viz. that^ 
 the epistle was not written during St. Paul's first residence 
 at Rome, but in some future imprisonment in that city j 
 yet is the consistency not less worthy of observation ; for 
 the epistle touches upon names and circumstances connect- 
 ed with the date and with the history of the first impris* 
 onment, and mentioned in letters written during that im-, 
 ptisonment, and so touches upon them, as to leave what; 
 is said of one consistent with what Is said of others, and • 
 consistent also with what is said of them in different epis- 
 tles. Had one of these circnmstances been so described: 
 as to have fixed the date of the epistle to the first impris- 
 onment, it would have Involved the rest in contradiction*;,. 
 And when the number and particularity of tjie articles^^/ 
 wfiich "have been brought together under his head, are f 
 considered ; hnd w1ien.it is ccnsidereti also, tliat 'the com-l 
 partsons we iiaVe fbriaed amongst Uiem> were in all prob«?»^ 
 
Ip^. T«E SECOND EPISTX^E TO TIMOTWV, 
 
 ability neither provided for, nor thought of, by the writer 
 of the epistle, it will be deemed something very like the 
 effect of truth, that no invincible repugnancy is perceived 
 between them. 
 
 Ng. II, 
 
 In the A^cts of the Apostles, in the sixteenth chapter, 
 and at the first verse, wq are told that Paul " came to 
 ** Derbe and Lystra, and behold a certain disciple was 
 ** there named TImotlieus, the son of a certain woman 
 «< which was a Jewess, and believed ; but his father was a 
 ** Greek." In the epistle before us, in the first chapter 
 and at the fifth verse, St. Paul writes to Timothy thus 5 
 ^ Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears 
 "that I may be filled with joy, when I call to remem- 
 ^ brance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, w^hich dwelt 
 " first In thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice ; and 
 « I am persuaded that in the also." Here we have a fair 
 unforced example of coincidence. In the history Timothy- 
 was the " son of a Jewess //j<2/ believed ;" in the epistle St. 
 Paul applauds " the faith which dwelt in his mother Eu- 
 " nice." In the history it Is said of of the mother, <' that 
 ^ she was a Jewess, and believed ;" of the father, " that 
 " he was a Greek." Now when It is said of the mother 
 alone *' that she believed," the father being nevertheless 
 mentioned in the same sentence, we are led to suppose of 
 tlie father that he did not belive, i. e. either that he was 
 dead, or that he remained unconverted. Agreeably here- 
 unto, whilst praise is bestowed In the epistle upon one par- 
 ent, and upon her sincerity In the faith, no notice Is taken 
 of the other. The mention of the grandmother Is the ad- 
 dition of a circumstance not found In the history ; but it is 
 a circiimstance which, as well as the names of ihe parties, 
 plight naturally be expected to be known to the apostle, 
 though overlooked by his historian. 
 
THE SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY I93 
 
 No. III. 
 
 Chap. Hi. 1 5. *' And that from a child thou hast known 
 *** the Holy Sciiptures which are able to make the wise 
 •" unto salvation." 
 
 This verse discloses a circumstance which agrees exact- 
 ly with what is intimated in the quotation from the Acts, ^ 
 adduced in the last number. In that quotation it is re- 
 corded of Timothy's mother, " that she was a Jewess.'* 
 This description is virtually, though, I am satisfied, unde- 
 signedly, recognized in the epistle, when Timothy is re- 
 minded in it, " that from a child he had known the Holy 
 " Scriptures." " The Holy Scriptures" undoubtedly 
 ■meant the scriptures of the Old Testament. The expres- 
 sioii Ipears that sense in every place in which it occurs. 
 Those of the New had not acquired the name, not to men- 
 tion, that in Timothy's childhood, probably none of them 
 existed. In what manner then could Timothy have 
 known " from a child," the Jewish scriptures had he not 
 been born, on one side or on both, of Jewish parentage ? 
 Perhaps, he was not less -likely to be carefully instructed 
 in them, for that his mother alone professed that relig- 
 ion. 
 
 No.. IV. 
 
 Chap. ii. 22. *' Flee also youthful lusts, but follow 
 ** righteousness, faith, charity, peace with them that call 
 " on the Lord out of a pure heart." 
 
 ** Flee aha youthful lusts." The suitableness of this pre, 
 cept to the age of the person to whom it is addressed, i» 
 :gathered from i Tim. chap, iv. 12. *' Let no man des- 
 « pise thy youth." Nor do I deem the less of this coln- 
 -cidcnce, because the propriety resides in a single epithet ; 
 .or because this one precept is joined with, and followed by 
 a train of others, not more applicable to Timothy -than 
 R 
 
194 THE FIRST EPISTJUE TO TIMOTHY. 
 
 to any ordinary convert. It Is in these transient and cur- 
 sory allusions that the argument is best founded. When 
 a writer dwells and rests upon a point in which some co- 
 incidence is discerned, it may be doubted whether he him- 
 self had not fabricated the conformity, and was endeavor- 
 ing to display and set it off. But Avhen the reference is 
 contained in a single word, unobserv^ed perhaps by most 
 readers, the writer passing on to other subjects, as uncon- 
 scious that he had hit upon a correspondency, or unsoli- 
 citous vv'hether it were remarked or not, we may be pret- 
 ty well assured that no fiaud was exercised, no umpdsition 
 intended. 
 
 No. V. 
 
 Chap. ill. 10, II. *' But thou hast fully known my 
 " doctrine, manner of life, purpose, faith, long sujffering, 
 " charity, patience, persecutions, a-fflictions, which came 
 ** unto me at Antloch, at Icomum, at Lystra ; what perse - 
 «' cutions I endured ; but out of them all the Lord deliv- 
 " ered me." 
 
 The Antioch here mentioned was not Antioch the 
 capital of Syria, where Paul and Barnabas resided " a 
 ** long time ;" but Antioch in Pisidia, to which place 
 Paul and Barnabas came in their first apostolic progress, 
 and where Paul delivered a memorable discourse, which 
 is preserved in the thirteenth chapter of the Acts. At 
 this Antioch the history relates, that *' the Jews stirred 
 ** up the devout and honorable women, and the chief men 
 •* of the city, and raised persecution against Paul and Bar- 
 *^nahas, and expelled them out of their coasts. But they 
 ^' shook off the dust of their feet against them, and came 
 « unto Iconium .... And it came to pass in Iconium, 
 «« that they went both together Into the synagogue of the 
 « Jews, and so spake that a great multitude both of the 
 Jews and also of the Greeks believed ; but the unbe- 
 ** lievlng Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their 
 ** roinds evil affected against the brethren. Long time 
 
THE SECO,NO EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. 195 
 
 «* -.therefore abode they speaking boldly in the Lord, which 
 ** gave testimony unto tlie word of his grace, and grant- 
 *< ed signs and wonders to b;; done by their hands. But 
 •'the multitude of the city was div^ided ; and part held 
 «» with the Jews, and part with the apostles. And when 
 *^ there was an assault made both of the Gentiles and also 
 f* of the Jews, with their rulers, io use them despitefully and 
 '■'^ to stone them> they were aware of it, and fled unto Lys- 
 " tra and Dcrbe, cities of Lycaonia, and unto the region, 
 *' that lieth round about, and there they preached the 
 ** gospel '. . . .And there came thither certain Jews 
 " from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, 
 " and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city, sup- 
 *' posing he had been dead. Howbeit, as the disciples stoo^ 
 *' round about him, he rose up and came into the city ; 
 ^* and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe ; 
 '• and when they had preached the gospel in that city, 
 ** and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, 
 " and to Iconium, and to Antioch." This account com- 
 prises the period to which the allusion in the epistle 
 is to be referred. We have so far therefore a con- 
 formity beweeii the history and the epistle, that St. 
 Paul is asserted in the history to have suffered persecu- 
 tions in the three cities, his persecutions at which 
 are appealed to in tlie epistle ; and not only so, but to 
 have suffered these persecutions bot;h in immediate suc- 
 cession, and in the order in which the cities are men- 
 tioned in the epistle. The conformity also extends to an- 
 other circumstance. In the apostolic history Lystra and 
 Derbe are commonly mentioned together ; in the quota- 
 tion from the epistle Lystra is mentioned, and not Derbe. 
 And the distinction will appear on this occasion to be ac- 
 curate ; for St. Paul is here enumerating his persecutions ; 
 and although he underwent grievous persecutions in each 
 of the three cities through which he passed to Derbe, at 
 Derbe itself he met with none ; " The next day he depart- 
 ed,'* says the historian, '* to Derbe ; and when they had. 
 ** preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many' 
 
1^6 THE SECOND EPISTLE TO/TI MOT H 7. 
 
 *' they returned again to Lystra.'* The epistle, therefore", 
 in the names of the cities, in the order in which they are 
 enumerated, and in the place at which the enumeration 
 stops, corresponds exactly with the history. 
 
 But a second question remains, namely, how these per- 
 secutions were "known" to Timothy, or why the apostle 
 should recal these in particular to his remembrnnce, rather 
 than many other persecutions with which his ministry had 
 been attended. When some time, probably three yeai'S, 
 afterwards (vUe Pearson's Annales Paulinas,) St. Paiil 
 inade a second journey through the same countr)-, *< in or- 
 ** der to go again and visit the brethren in every city where 
 ** he had preached the word of the Lord," we read, Acts, 
 chap. xvi. I. that " when he came to Derbe and Lystra, 
 •* behold a certain disciple was there named Timotheus.** 
 One or otiier therefore of these cities was the place of 
 Timothy's abode. We read moreover that he was well 
 reported of by the brethren that were at Lystra and 
 Iconium ; so that he must have been well acquainted with 
 these places. Also again, when Paul came to Der be and 
 Lystra, Timothy was already a disciple. '♦ Behold a cer- 
 *' tain disciple was there named TiEfiotheus." He must 
 therefore have been converted i>efore. But since it is ex- 
 pressly stated in the epistle, that Timothy was converted 
 by St. Paul himself, that he was " his own son in the 
 *' faith," it follows, that he must have been converted 
 by him upon his former journey into those parts ; which 
 was the very time when the apostle underwent the perse- 
 cutions referred to in the epistle. Upon the whole, then> 
 persecutions at the several cities named in the epistle are 
 expressly recorded in the Acts ; and Timotliy's knowledge 
 of this part of St. Paul's history, which knowledge is ap- 
 pealed to in the epistle, is fairly deduced from the place of 
 his abode, and the time of his conversion. It may further 
 be observed, that it is probable from this account, that St. 
 Paul was in the midst of these persecutions when Timothy 
 became known to liim. No wonder then that the apostle, 
 
THF SECOND EPISTLE TO TIMOTHY. I97 
 
 thouorh in a letter written long afterwards, should remind 
 his favourite convert of those scenes of affliction and dis- 
 tress under wliich they first met. 
 
 Although this coincidence, as to the names of the cit- 
 ies, be more specific and direct than many which we have 
 pointed out, yet I apprehend theie is no just reason for 
 thinking it to be artificial ; for had the writer of the epis- 
 tle sought a coincidence with the history upon this head, 
 and searched the Acts of the Apostles for the purpose, I 
 conceive he would have sent us at once to Philippi and 
 Thessalonica, where Paul suffered persecution, and where 
 from what is stated, it may easily be gathered that Timo- 
 tliy accompanied him, rather than have appealed to perse- 
 cutions as known to Timothy, in the account of which per- 
 secutions Timothy ^s presence is not mentioned ; it not be- 
 ing till after one entire chapter, and in the history of a 
 journey three years future to this, that Timothy's name 
 occurs in the Acts of the Apostles for the first time* 
 
 Ri 
 
CHAP. XIII. 
 
 THE EPISTLE TO TITUS. 
 .V^. /. 
 
 jl\. very characteristic circumstance m tliis 
 Epistle, is the quotation from Epimenides, chap. i. 12.. 
 ** One of themselves, even a prophet of their own, said, 
 ■** the Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, slow bellies." 
 
 T call this quotation characteristic, because no writer in 
 the New Testament, except St. Paul, appealed to heathen 
 testimony; and because St. Paul repeatedly did so. In. 
 his c^ebrated speech at Athens, preserved in the seven- 
 teenth chapter of the Acts, he tells his audience, that " in. 
 *« God we live, and move, and have our being ; as certain 
 " also of your own poets ha^e said, for we are also his q^ 
 ** spring." _ > ,p ,r^ ]p,..-;-,£.v^^ pp vr'hnr .rrjt/or^ fbvr H jT 
 
 -—TH yxp KUi yivo<; ty^iv. 
 
 The reader will perceive much similarity of manner in 
 these two passages. The reference in the speech is to a. 
 heathen poet ; it is the same in the epistle. In the speech 
 tlie apostle urges his hearers with the authority of a poetr 
 9f their oivn ; in the epistle he avails himself of the same 
 advantage. Yet there is a variation, which shows that 
 the hint of inserting a quotation in the epistle was not, as 
 it may be suspected, borrowed from seeing the like prac- 
 tice attributed to St. Paul in the history ; and it is this, 
 that in the epistle the author cited is called 2iprophett " one 
 *« of themselves, even a prophet of their own." Whatever 
 might be the reason for calling Epimenides a propjiet ; 
 whether the names of poet and prophet were occasionally 
 
THE EPISTLE TO TITUS. 
 
 199 
 
 convertible ; wliether EpimeniJes in particuliir had ob-- 
 tained that title, as Grotius seems to have proved ; of 
 uheLhcr the appellation was given to him, in this instance, 
 as having delivered a description of die Cretan character, 
 which the future state of morals among them verified ; 
 whatever was the reason (.and any of these reasons will ac- 
 count for tlie variation, suppossing St. Paul to have been 
 the author), one point is plain, namely, if the epistle had 
 been forged, and the author had inserted a quotation in it 
 merely from having seen an example of the same kind in a. 
 speech ascribed to Si Paul, he would so far have imitated 
 his original, as to have introduced his quotation in the 
 same manner, that is, he would have given to Epimenides 
 the title which he saw there given to Aratus, The other 
 side of the alternative is, that the history took the hint from 
 the epistle. But that the author of the Acts of the Apos- 
 tles had. not the epistle to Titus before him, at least that' 
 he did not use it as one of the documents or materials of 
 his narrative is rendered nearly certain by the observa- 
 tlan, that tlie name, of Titus does not onca^ occur in his 
 book. 
 
 It is well known, and'was remarked by St. Jerome, that 
 the apophthegm in the fifteenth chapter pf the Corinthians, 
 " evil communications corrupt good manners," is an Iam- 
 bic of Menander's. 
 
 fPki^HTif' rM ^JfJfrd* cfAihiXi xay.xt. 
 
 Here we have another unaffected. instance of the same 
 turn and habit of composition. Probably there are some 
 hitherto unnoticed ; and more, which the loss of the origi- 
 nal authors render impossible to be now ascertained. 
 
 No,. II: 
 
 There exists a visible affinity between the Epistle to Ti- 
 tus and the First Epistle to Timothy. Both letters were 
 addressed to persans left by the writer to preside in their 
 respective churches during his absence. Both letters were. 
 
200 THS EPISTLE TO TITUS. 
 
 principally occupied In describing the qualifications to be 
 sought for, in those whom they should appoint to offices in 
 the church ; and the ingredients of this description are in 
 both letters nearly the same. Timothy and Titus are like- 
 wise cautioned against the same prevailing corruptions, 
 and, in particular, against the same misdirection of their 
 cares and studies. Tnis affinity obtains, not only in the 
 subject of the letters, which, from the similarity of situa- 
 tion in the persons to whom they were addressed, might 
 be expected to be somewhat alike, but extends, in a great 
 variety of instances, to the phrases and expressions. The 
 writer accosts his two friends with the same salutation, 
 and passes on to the business of his letter by the same 
 transition. 
 
 " Unto Timothy, my own son in the faiths grace, mercy, 
 " and peace from God our Father, and Jesus Christ our 
 ** Lord ; as I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus^ ivhen I 
 ** went into Macedonia^^^ &c. i Tim. chap, i. 2, 3. 
 
 '* To Titus, mine otvn son after the common faith, grace, 
 " mercy, and peace from God the Father, and the Lord 
 " Jesus Christ our Saviour ; for this cause left I thee in 
 ^' Crete." Tit. chap. i. 4, 5. 
 
 If Timothy was " not to give heed to fables and endless 
 *^ genealogies, which minister questions," i Tim. chap. i. 4. 
 Titus also was to " avoid foolish questions, and genealogies^ 
 and contentions,'' (chap. iii. 9) ; " and was to rebuke 
 *' them sharply, not giving heed to Jewish fables " (chap. i. 
 14.) If Timothy was to be a pattern (rvTrag.) 1 Tim* 
 chap iv. 12 ; so was Titus, (chap. ii. 7.) If Timothy 
 was to " let no man despise his youth," i Tim. chap. iv. 
 12. Titus also was to *' let no man despise him," (chap, 
 ii. 15.) This verbal consent is also observable in some 
 very peculiar expressions, which have no relation to the 
 particular character of Timothy or Titus. 
 
 The phrase, ** it is a faithful saying," (T<(rr«? A«yd$,) 
 made use of to preface some sentence upon which the 
 writer lays a more than ordinary stress, occurs three 
 
THE EPISTLF TO TITUS, 2/Si 
 
 times in the First Epistle to Timothy, once in the Second, 
 and once in the epistle before us, and in no other part of 
 St. Paul's writings j and it is remarkable that these three 
 epistles were probably all written towards the conclusion 
 of his life ; and that they are the only epistles which 
 were written after his first imprisonment at Rome. 
 
 The same observation belongs to another singularity 
 of expression, and that is in the epithet, " sound,'' {vyi- 
 uivav,) as applied to words or doctrine. It is thus used, 
 twice in the First Epistle to Timothy, twice in the Sec- 
 ond, and three times in the Epistle to Titus, beside two 
 cognate expressions, vyionvowxc rv^TriTrii T^nd Xoyov vym, and 
 it is is found, in the same sense, in no other part of the 
 New Testament. 
 
 The phrase '* God our Saviour" stands in nearly the 
 same predicament. It is repeated three times in the First 
 Epistle to Timotliy, as many in the Epistle to Titus, and 
 m no other book of the New Testament occurs at all, ex- 
 cept once in the Epistle of JuJe. 
 
 Similar terms intermixed indeed with others, are em- 
 ployed, in the two Epistles, in enumerating the qualifica- 
 tions required in those who should be advanced to stations 
 of anthority in the churcli. 
 
 "A bishop must hQ hl^mdesSt the BusSand of one wife, 
 "vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, ^/W/j to hospitality, apt 
 ** to teach, not given to iviney no striker, not greedy 'f filthy 
 ** lucr£ ; but patient, not a brawler, not covetous, one that 
 " ruleth well his own house, having his children in sub- 
 ** jection with all gravity."* i Tim. chap. iii. 2 — 4. 
 
 " If any be blameless, the husband of one tvife, having 
 " faithful children, not accused of riot, or unruly ; for a 
 " bishop must be blameless as the stew-ard of God, not 
 
 * ** As; J<v TOD i'^io-KOTTov uviTiXriTrrov itven^ ^kx.^ yvvsiiKog etv^^c6y 
 vyiipet?\,iov, <rA>p^ovx, KOTfiioy, <l>iXo^ivov, ^i^tcKTiKoy^ /^yj Trec^oivoy, fcn- 
 
^02 THE EPISTLE TO TITUS. 
 
 ** selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to lulney no stri!:er, not 
 " given to filthy lucre ^ hut a lover of hospitality^ a lover of good 
 ** men, sober, just, holy, temperate/'f Titus, ch. I. 6 — B. 
 
 The most natural account which can be given of these 
 resemblances, is to suppose that the two epistles were writ- 
 ten nearly at the same time, and whilst the same ideas 
 and phrases dwelt in the writer's mind. Let us enquire 
 therefore, whether the notes of time, extant in the two 
 epistles, ia any manner favor this supposition. 
 
 We have seen that it was necessary to refer the First 
 Epistle to Timothy to a date subsequent to St. Paul's 
 first imprisonment at Rome, because there was no journey 
 into Macedonia prior to that event, which accoided with tlie 
 circumstance of leaving " Timothy behind at Ephesus." 
 The journey of St. Paul from Crete, alluded to in the epis- 
 tle before us, and in which Titus " was left in Crete to 
 ** set in order the things that were wanting," must, in 
 like manner, be carried to the period which intervened 
 between his first and second imprisonment. For the his- 
 tory, which reaches, we know, to the time of St. Paul's 
 first imprisonment, contains no account of his going to 
 Crete, except upon his voyage as a prisoner to Rome ; 
 and that this could not be the occasion referred to ih our 
 epistle is evident from hence, that when St. Paul wrote 
 this epistle, he appears to have been at liberty ; whereas 
 after that voyage, he continuejd for two years at least in con- 
 finement. Again, it is agreed that St. Paul wrote his 
 First Epistle to Timothy from Macedonia. *' As I be- 
 " sought the to abide still at Ephesus, v^hen I went (or 
 •* came) into Macedonia." And that he was in these parts, 
 i. e. in this peninsula, when he wrote the Epistle to Titus, 
 
 •j" " El t;? g',<y flSvgyxA'OTa?, ^ictc yvvetiKi? «fJ1^, TiKVX t^ay 7r<f«, 
 ^1) £v Kxruiyo^M ocruriccgi ij uyvTrorxKru. Ait yu^ rov iTTiTKOTTOf 
 *cviy}cXyiTov uvui, aq <s>icv OiKovof^oVj f^n ecv6ec^r., f^r) o^yiXov, fin 
 
THE EPISTLE TO TTTUS. 2O3 
 
 is rendered probable by his directmg Titus to come 
 to him to Nicopolis. " When I shall send Artemas 
 " unto thee or Tychicus, be diligent (make haste) to 
 *' come unto me to Nicopolis ; for I have determined there 
 " to winter." The most noted city of that name was in 
 Epirus, near to Actium. And i tliink the form of speak- 
 ing, as well as the nature of the case, renders it probable, 
 that the writer vras at Nicopolis, or in the neighbourhood 
 thereof, when he dictated this direction to Titus. 
 
 Upon the whole, if we may be allowed to suppose that 
 St. Paul, after his liberation at Rome, sailed into Asia, 
 taking Crete in his way ; that from Asia, and from Ephe- 
 sus, the capital of that country, he proceeded into Mace- 
 d6nia, and crossing the peninsula inhis progress, came into 
 the neighbourhood of Nicopolis ; we have a route which 
 falls in with every thxing. It executes the intention ex- 
 pressed by the apostle of visiting Colosse and Philippi as 
 soon as he should be set at liberty at Rome. It allows 
 him to leave " Titus at Crete," and " Timothy at Ephe- 
 V sus, as he went into Macedonia ;" and to write to both 
 not long after from the peninsula of Greece, and probably 
 the neighbourhood of Nicopolis ; thus bringing together 
 the dates of these two letters, and thereby account- 
 ing for that affinity between them, both in subject and lan- 
 guage, which our remarks have pointed out. I confess 
 that the journey which we have thus traced out for St. 
 Paul, is, in a great measure, hypothetic ; but it should be 
 observed, that it is a species of consistency, which seldom 
 belongs to falsehood, to admit of an hypothesis, which in- 
 cludes a great number of independent circtunstances with* 
 out contradiction. 
 
CHAP. XIV. 
 
 THE EPISTLE TO PHILEMON.. 
 No, L 
 
 X HE singular correspondency between this 
 epistle and that to the Colossians has been remarked al- 
 ready. An assertion in the Epistle to the Colossians, 
 viz, that " Onesimus was one of them," is verified 
 by the Epistle to Philemon ; and is verified, not by any 
 mention of Colosse, any the most distant intimation con- 
 cerning the place of Philemon's abode, but singly by stat- 
 ing Onesimus to be Philemon's servant, and by joining in 
 the salutaion Philemon witli Archlppus ; for this Archip- 
 pus, w^hen we go back to the Epistle to the Colossians, ap- 
 pears to have been an inhabitant of that city, and as it 
 should seem, to have held an office of authority In that 
 church. The case stands thus. Take the Epistle to the 
 Colossians alone, and no circumstance is discoverable which 
 makes out the assertion, that Onesimus was " one of theiji." 
 Take the Epistle to Philemon alone, and nothing at all 
 appears concerning the place to which Philemon or hi§ 
 servant Onesimus belonged. For any thing that Is said in 
 the epistle, Philemon might have been a Thessalonian, a 
 Phillpplan, or an Epheslan, as well as a Colosslan. Put 
 the two epistles together and the matter Is clear. The 
 leader perceives a junction of circumstances, which ascer. 
 tains the conclusion at once. Now, all that Is necessary 
 to be added in this place is,tha:t this correspondency evinces 
 the genuineness of one epistle, as well as of the other. It 
 is like comparing the two parts of a cloven tally. Coin- 
 cidence proves the authenticity of both. 
 
if 
 
 THF EPISTLE TO PHILEMON. 203' 
 
 No. II. 
 
 And this coInci'Jence is perfect ; not only in the main 
 article of showing, by implication, Onesimus to be a Co- 
 lossian, but in many dependant circumstances. 
 
 t. <* I beseech thee for my son Onesimus ; whom / 
 •' havs sent again/' (ver. lo — 12). It appeals from the 
 Epistle to the Colossians, that, in trutli, Onesimus was 
 sent at that time to Colosse. " All my state shall Tychicus 
 *' declare, whom I have sent unto you for the same purpose, 
 " with Oneslmiisy a faithful and beloved brother." Colos. 
 chap. iv. 7 — 9. 
 
 2. " t beseech thee for my son Onesimus, fivhom I have 
 " Begotten in my bonds ^^^ (ver. 10). It appears from the 
 preceding quotation, that Onesimus was with St. Paul 
 when he wrote the epistle to the Colossians ; and that he 
 wrote that epistle in imprisonment is evident from this decla- 
 ration in the fourth chapter and third verse ; " Praying 
 " also for us, that God would open unto us a door of ut- 
 " terance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am 
 " also in bonds. ^^ 
 
 3. St. Paul bids Philemon prepare for him a lodging. 
 " For I trust," says he, " that, through your prayers, I 
 <* shall be given unto you." This agrees with the expec- 
 tation of speedy deliverance, which he expressed. in another 
 epistle written during the same imprisonment. " Him," 
 (Timothy) " I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall 
 ** see how it will go with me ; but I trust in the Lord that 
 *' I also myself shall come shortly,** Phil. chap. ii. 23, 24. 
 
 4. As the letter to Philemon, and that to the Colossians, 
 were written at the the same time, and sent by the same 
 messenger, the one to a particular inhabitant, the other to 
 the church of Colosse, It may be expected that the same, 
 or nearly the same, persons would be about St. Paul, and 
 join with him, as was the practice, in the salutations of the 
 epistle. Accordingly We find the names of Aristarcbu?> 
 
 S 
 
206 THE IFISTLE TG PllILLMON. 
 
 Marcus, Epaphras, Luke, and Derr.as, in both epistles. 
 Timothy, who is joined with St. Paul in the superscription 
 of the Epistle to the Colossians, is joined witli ]iim in this. 
 Tychicus did not salute Philemon, because he accompani- 
 ed the epls^e to Colo&se, and would undoubtedly there see 
 him. Yet tlie reader of the Epistle to Philemon will re- 
 mark one considerable diveislty in the catalogue of salut- 
 ing friends, and which shows that the catalogue v/as not 
 copied from that to the Colossians. In the Epistle to the 
 Colossians, Aristarchus is called by St. Paul his fellow 
 prisoner, Colos. chap. iv. lo. in the Epistle to Philemon, 
 Aristarchus is mentioned without any addition, and the ti- 
 tle of fellow peisoner is given to Epaphras.* 
 
 And let it also be observed, that notwithstanding the 
 close and circumstantial agreement between the two epis- 
 tles, this is not the case of an opening left in a genuine 
 •RTiting, which an impostor is induced to fill up ; nor of a 
 refererice to some writing not extant, which sets a sophist 
 at work to supply the loss, in like manrier as, because St. 
 Paul was supposed, Colos. chap. iv. i6, to allude to an 
 epistle written by him to the Laodiceans, some person hzs 
 fi-om thence taken the hint of uttering a forgery under 
 that title. The present, I say, is not that case ; for Phil- 
 emon's name is not mentioned in the Epistle to the Colos- 
 sians ; Onesimus' servile condition is no where hinted at, 
 anymore than his crime, his flight, or tiie place or time of 
 his conversion. The story therefore of the epistle if it be 
 a fiction, is a fiction to which the autlior could not have 
 been guided, 'by i.tiy;tjiing he li!ad read "in St; t'auPs g^en- 
 uine writirigsr.' ' ^ -• - ^ 
 
 * Dr. Benson observes, ?.nd pv^rhups truly, that the appellation of 
 fellow prisou^r, as applied by St. Paul to Epaphras, did not imply thit 
 they wer e ia^.prisoned together at the iiax ; any more than your cai- 
 ling a perspB your fellp^ tray^lier, imcorts tliat you are then u|^p 
 your tray ela. . . If. hi^ i had, Vipon a;iy tpf^ier *tcc?!4on^ ^^^l^^}^^ i^^^ 
 you, yoy nxi^ht ^fteny^ray8pe^^cj^,l^ll^|^|i^^^^^ It i;^ 'v ' 
 
 ivith' '■he term fellow prisoner. ' ' . 
 
THE EPISTLE TO PHILEMON*. 207 
 
 No. Ill, 
 
 -l;iiiqrno3DK Dd jr.iLt.- , ^ , ,. 
 
 _Ver.4, ,|f»^ [" * tnj^^i^ iny, God, making mention of 
 
 " tjiee aly^ays in my pr^ye^s ; .Jiiearmg of thy love and 
 *' faith, which thou hast |6w^r^,^tJber!^^Qrd Jesus, and to- 
 ** ward all saints.'* ,,;, . ^ ■. , j' 
 
 ** Hearing of thy love and faith. '^^ This is the form of 
 speech which St. Paul was wont to use towards those 
 churches which he had not seen, or then visited ; see Rom. 
 chap. i. 8 ; Ephes. chap. i. 15 ; Col. chap. i. 3, 4. To- 
 ward those churches and persons, with whom he was pre- 
 viously acquainted) he employed a different phrase ; as, 
 ** I thank my God always on your behalf," i Cor. chap. 
 V„4 5 ^ Thess. chap i. 3 j or, <♦ upon every re7nembrance of 
 t* you,'' Phih chap. i. 3 ; i Thess. chap. i. 2, 3 ; 2 Tim. 
 chap. i. 3 ; and never speaks oi hearing of them. Yet, I 
 think, it must be concluded, from the nineteenth verse of 
 this epistle, tliat Philemon had been converted by St. 
 Paul himself; " Albeit, I do not say to thee, how thou 
 ^\^,q'Wp;stfiintQ me even thine ownself besides." , Here then is 
 a. peculiarity. Let us enquire whether the epistle sup- 
 plies any circumstance which will account for it. We 
 have seen that it may be made out, not from the epistle 
 kself, but from a comparison of the epistle with tliat to 
 the Colossians, that Philemon was an Inhabitant of Colos. 
 5,6 ; and it further appears, from the Epistle to the Colos- 
 sians, that St.Paul had never been in that city ; " I v/ould 
 " that ye knew what great conflict 1 have for you and for 
 " them at Laodicea, and for as many as have not seen 
 <* my face in the flesh. Colos. chap, ii, i. Although, 
 jlKeretbro, ■ n Sfc Paul had formerly xcisS, with Philemon 
 it some other place, and had been the immediate instru- 
 ment of his conversion, yet Philemon's faith and conduct 
 afterwards, inasmuch as he lived in a city which St. Paul 
 liad never visited, could only be known tp him by fame 
 and reputation. 
 
lOS THE rPISTLE TO PHILEMON}. 
 
 No, IV. 
 
 The tendenie^'an^Mfelicacy ctf* thts!- <ptstU havfe rlj^^ 
 long •admired. " Though I rright be iniich bold in 
 <* Christ to enjoin thee that which is convenient, yet for 
 " love's sake I ratlier beseech thee, being such a one as 
 « Paul the aged, and now also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. 
 " I beseech thee for my son Onesimus, whom I have be- 
 " gotten in my bonds.'* There is something certainly 
 very melting and persuasive in this, and every part of the 
 epistle. Yet, in my opinion, the character of St. Paul 
 prevails in it throughout. The warm, affectionate, au- 
 thoritative teacher is interceding w^ith an absent friend for 
 a beloved convert. Pie urges his suit with an earnestness, 
 befitting perhaps not so much the occasion, as the ardor 
 and sensibility of his own mind. Here also, as every 
 where, he shows liimself conscious of the weight and dig- 
 nity of his mission ; nor does he suffer Philemon for a mo^ 
 ment to forget it. " I mighi be much bold in Christ to 
 " enjoin thee that which is convenient." He is careful al- 
 so to recall, though obliquely, to Philemon's m.cmory, the 
 sacred obligation under which he had laid him, by bring- 
 ing to him the knowledge of Jesus Christ j *' I do not say 
 " to tliee, how^ thou owest to me even thine own self be^ 
 " sides." Without laying aside, therefore, the apostoHc 
 character, our author softens the imperative style of his 
 address, by mixing vtith it every sentiment and considei^- 
 tion that could move the heart of his correspondent. A- 
 ged a»d in prison, he is content to supplicate and entreat. 
 Onesimus was rendered dear to him by his conversion and 
 his services ; the child of his affliction, and ** minis- 
 " tering unto him in the bonds of the gospel." This 
 ought to recommend him, whatever had been his fault, to 
 Philemon's forgiveness. " Receive him as myself, as my 
 «' own bowels." Every thing however, should be volun- 
 tary. St. Paul WMS determined that Philemon's compli- 
 
, THE EPISTLE TO PHILEMON. 209 
 
 ance should flow 5"rom his own bounty. '* Without thy 
 '• mind would I do nothing, that thy benefit should not 
 " be as it were of necessity, but willingly ;" trusting nev- 
 ertheless to his gratitude and attachment for the perform . 
 ance of all that he requested, and for more. " Having 
 ♦* confidence in thy obedience, I wrote unto thee, knowing 
 " that thou wilt also do more than I say." 
 
 St. PauPs discourses at Miletus ; his speech before A- 
 grippa ? his Epistle to the Romans, as hath been remark- 
 ed (No. VIII) ; tliatto the Galatians, chap. iv. ii — 20 ; 
 to the Philippians, chap. i. 29 — ch. ii. 2 ; the Second to 
 the Corinthians, chap, vi, i — 13 ; and indeed some part 
 or other of almost exery epistle exhibits examples of a sim- 
 ilar application to tlie feelings and affections of the per- 
 sons whom hc/ addresses. And it is observable, that these 
 pathetic effusions, drawn for the most part from his own 
 sufferings and situations, usually precede a command, sof- 
 ten a rebuke, or mitigate the harshness of some disagreea^ 
 We truth. 
 
 S-2. 
 
 baaktnsijdb fi.> 
 
CHAP. XV. 
 
 THE SUBSCRIPTIONS OF TUB 
 EPISTLES. 
 
 OlX of these sulfscriptions are false or improbable ; 
 that is, they are either absolutely contradicted by the con- 
 tents of the epistle, or are difficult to be reconciled with 
 them. 
 
 I. The subscription of the First Epistle to the Corinthi- 
 ans states that it was written from Philippi, notwithstand- 
 ing that, in the sixteenth chapter and the eighth verse of 
 the epistle, St. Paul informs the Corinthians, that he will 
 ** tairy at Ephesus until Pentecost ;'* and notwithstanding 
 that he begins the salutations in the epistle, by telling them 
 " the churches of Asia salute you ;" a pretty evident in- 
 dication that he himself was in Asia at this time. 
 
 II. The Epistle to the Galatians is by the subscription 
 dated from Rome ; yet, in the epistle itself, St. Paul ex- 
 presses his surprise " that they were jo soon removing from 
 '* him that called them ;" whereas his journey to 
 Rome was ten years posterior to the conversion of the Ga- 
 latians. And what, I think, is more conclusive, the au- 
 thor, though speaking of himself in this more than any 
 other epistle, does not once mention his bonds, or call him- 
 self a prisoner ; which he had not failed to do in every one 
 of the four epistles written from that city, and during that 
 imprisonment. 
 
 Til. The First Epistle to the Thessalonians was written, 
 the subscription tells us, from Athens ; yet the epistle re- 
 fers expressly to the coming of Timotheus from Thessa- 
 lonica (chap. iii. 6) ; and the history informs us, Acts 
 xviii. 5, that Timothy came out of Macedonia to St. Paul 
 at Corinth, .■.--■ 
 
 IV. The Secon\J Epistle to the Thessalonians is dated. 
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS OF THE EPISTLES. 2ir 
 
 smd without any discoverable reason, from Athens also. 
 If it be truly the second ; if it refer as it appears to do, 
 (ch. ii. 2,) to the first, and the first was written from Co- 
 rinth, the place must be erroneously assigned, for the histo- 
 ry does not allow us to suppose that St. Paul after he had 
 readied Coi inth, went back to Athens. 
 
 V. The First Epistle to Timothy the subscription as- 
 serts to have been sent fromLaodicea ; yet, when St. Paul- 
 writes, " I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus, tto^sw*- 
 ** fiAv<^ UiMacKi^oviecv (when I set out for Macedonia,)" the 
 reader is naturally led to conclude, that he wrote the let- 
 ter upon his arrival in that country. 
 
 VI. The Epistle to Titus is dated from Nicopolis in 
 Macedonia, w^hilst no city of that name is kn^-^wn to have 
 existed in that province. 
 
 The use, and the only use, vi^hich I make of these ob- 
 servations, is to show, how easily errors and contradic- 
 tions steal in where the writer is not guided by or'ginal 
 knowledge. There are only eleven distinct assfp:nments 
 of date to St. Paul's Epistles (for the four written from 
 Rome may be considered as plainly eontempcrary) ; and 
 of these, six seem to be erroneous. I do not attribute any 
 authority to these subscriptions. I believe ihem to have 
 keen conjectures founded sometimBS upon loose traditions, 
 but more generally upon a consideration of some -partic- 
 ular text, without sufficiently a^mparing it with other parts 
 of the epistle, with different epistles, or with the history. 
 Suppose t]ien that the subscriptions had co-me down to us 
 as authentic pans of -the ef>tst:les, there woi^ld have been 
 moie contniriettes and difficulties arising out of these final 
 v-erses, than from all tlte test-of'the- volunie.' Ye:, if the 
 epistles had fee^fvii^feH^^^he^'hble'hi^ Inv^ been made 
 up of the same 'eterReiits ki ^os'e of which' the subscrip- 
 tions are camp >sf;ii, - k. tFadltlon, coiijecture, 'rnd infer- 
 ence ; and it w.'.vJ4 iiave ye^lfimed ^iiy'^' Accounted for, 
 kow, whilst so maviy errors v^'^ •- -'--'wdsd in the conclud- 
 
212 SUE-SCRIPT10N3 Cf THE EPISTLES. 
 
 mg clauses of the letters, so much consistency should be 
 preserved in otlier parts. 
 
 The same reflection arises from observing the over- 
 sights and mistakes which learned men have committed, 
 when arguing upon allusions which relate to time and 
 place, or when endeavoring to digest scattered circumstan- 
 ces into a continued story. It is indeed the same case; 
 for these subscriptions must be regarded a5 ancient scho- 
 lia, and as nothing more. Of this liability to error I can 
 present the reader with a notable instance ; and which I 
 bring forward for no other purpose than that to which I 
 apply the erroneous subscriptions. Ludovicus Capellus, 
 in that part of his Historia Apostolica Illustrata, which is 
 entitled De Or dine, Epist. Paul, writing upon the Second 
 Epistle to the Corinthians, triumphs unmercifully over the 
 want of sagacity in Baronius, who, it seems, makes St. 
 Paul write his Epistle to Titus from Macedonia upon his 
 second visit into that province ; whereas it appears from 
 the history, thatTitus, instead of being in Crete,where the 
 epistle places him, was at that time sent by the apostle from 
 Macedonia to Corinth. " Animadvertere est," says Ca- 
 pellus, " magnam hominis illius u^Xt^ixv, qui vult Titum 
 " a Paulo in Cretam abductum, illicque relictum, cum in- 
 " de Nicopolim navigaret, quem tamen agnoscit a Paulo 
 <* ex Macedonia missum esse Corinthum." This .proba- 
 bly will be thought a detection of inconsistency in Baro- 
 nius. But what is the most remarkable, is, that in the 
 same chapter in which he thus indulges his conteihpt of 
 Baronius's judgment, Capellus himself falls into an error 
 of the same kind, and more gross and palpable than that 
 which he reproves. For he begins the chapter by stating 
 the Second Epistle to the Corinthians and the First Epis^ 
 lie to Timothy to be nearly cotemporary ; to have been 
 both written during the apostle's second visit into Mace- 
 donia ; and that a doubt subsisted concerning tlie imme- 
 diate priority of their dates ; " Posterior ad eosdem Co- 
 « rinthios Epistola, es Prior ad Timotheum certant de. 
 
SUBSCRIPTIONS OF THE EPISTLFS. 21^ 
 
 ^f.,priontate et sub judice lis est ; utraque autem. scripta 
 " est paulo postquam Paulas Ephesp discessisset, adeoqu^ 
 **-,.duni Macedoniam peragraret, sed utra tempore praece- 
 ffdat, noa liquet." Now, in th^ first place, it is highly 
 improbable that the two epistles should have been written 
 either nearly togetlier, or during the same journey through 
 Macedonia ; for in tlie Epistle to the Corinthians, Timo- 
 thy appears to have been 'wltJj St. Paul ; in the epistle ad- 
 .dressed to him, to have -been left behind at Ephesus, and 
 not only left behind, but directed to continue there, till ^X, 
 Paul should return to tliat city. In the second place it is 
 inconceivable, that a question should be proposed concern- 
 ing the priority of date of the two epistles ; for, when St. 
 Paul, in his Epistle to Timothy, opens his address to hin-^ 
 by saying, " as I besought thee to abide still at Ephesiis 
 " when I went into Macedonia," no reader can doubt but 
 that he here refers to the last interview which had passed 
 between them ; that he had not seen him since ; whereas 
 if the epistle he posterior to that to the Corinthians, yet 
 written upon the same visit into Macedonia, this could not 
 be true ; for as Timothy was along with St. Paul when he 
 wrote to the Corinthians, he must, upon this supposition, 
 have passed over to St. Paul in Macedonia after he had 
 been left by him at Ephesus and must have returned to 
 Ephesus again before the epistle was written. What: 
 misled Ludovicus Capellus was simply this, that he 
 had entirely overlooked Timothy's^ name in the su- 
 perscription of the Second Epistle to the Corinthi- 
 ans. Which oversight appears not only in the quotation 
 which we have given, but from his telling us, as he dpes, 
 hat Timothy came from Ephesus to St, Paul at CQrinthf 
 whereas the. superscription proves that Timothy was al» 
 , ready with St. ?aul when h^ wrote to the CoriHthians from. 
 Macedonia* 
 
CHAP. XVI. 
 
 THE CONCLUSION, 
 
 Ii 
 
 N the outset of this enquiry, the reader was di-J 
 rected to consider the Acts of tlis Apostles and the thir-' 
 teen Epistles of St. Paul as certain ancient manuscripts, 
 lately discovered in the cloaet of some celebrated library. 
 We have adljered to this view of the subject. Externa! 
 evidence of every kind has been removed out of sight ;' 
 and our endeavors have been employed to collect the in- 
 dications of truth and authenticity, which appeared to ex- 
 ist in ^thewltings themselves, and to result- froni ^ c^ofe- 
 parison of their different parts. It is not however neces- 
 sary to continue this supposition longer. The testimony 
 which other remains of cotemporary, or die monuments of 
 adjoining ages afford to the reception, notoriety, and pub- 
 lic estimation of a book, form no doubt the first proof of 
 its genuineness. And in no books whatever is this proof" 
 more complete, tiian in those at present under our consid- 
 eration. ■ The enquiries of learned men, and, above all oF 
 the excellent Lardner, who never overstates a point of ev-^' 
 idence, and whose fidelity in citing his authorities has in" 
 no one instance beeen impeached, have establihed, coii-** 
 cerning these writings, the following propositions. 
 
 I. That in the age immediately posterior to that in ' 
 w^hich St. Paul lived, bis letters were publicly read and"^ 
 acknowledged. ' 
 
 Some of them are quoted or alluded to by almost eve- ' 
 ry Christian writer that followed, by Clement of Rome," 
 by Hermas, by Ignatius, by Poly carp, disciples or cotem- * 
 poraries of the apostles ; by Justin Martyr, by the church- ' 
 es of Gaul, by Irenaeus, by Athenagoras, by Theophilus, 
 by Clement of Alexandria, by Hermias, byTertullian, who 
 occupied the succeeding age. Now when ws find a book 
 
coNCLUSior*. 215 
 
 quoted or referred to by an ancient author, we are entitled 
 to concUide, tliat it was read and received in the age and 
 country in which that author lives. And this conclusion 
 dges not, in any degree, rest upon the judgment or char- 
 acter of the author making such reference. Proceeding 
 by this rule, we have, concerning the First Epistle to the 
 Corinthians in particular, within forty years after tlie epis- 
 tle was written, evidence, not only of its being extant at 
 Corinth, but of its being known and read at Rome. Cle- 
 ment, bishop of that city, writing to the church of Co- 
 rinth, uses these words. *' Take into your hands the E- 
 ** pistle of the blessed Paul the apostle. What did he at 
 ** first write unto youin the beginning of the gospel? Verily 
 ** he did by the Spirit admonish you concerning himself 
 " and Cephas, and Apollos, because that even then you 
 *' -did form parties.*'* 
 
 JJOiis was written at a time when probably some must have 
 been living at Corinth, who remembered St. Paul's minis- 
 try there and the receipt of the epistle. The testimony is 
 «^iU more valuable, as it shows that the epistles were pre- 
 served in the churches to -^tch t'-ey were sent, and that 
 they were spread and propagated from them to the rest 
 of the Christian community. Agreeably to which nat- 
 tual mode and order of their publication, 1'ertullian, a 
 cpntury afterwards, for proof of the integrity and genu-'' 
 inepess of the apostolic writings, bids " any one, v/ho is 
 **■ willing to exercise his curiosity profitably in the busi- 
 "^ness of their salvation^ to visit the apostolical churches, 
 *^«>.wliich their very authentic letters are recited, ipsas au- 
 ** thentics literjs eorum recitantur." Then he goes on ;* 
 *' Is Achaia near you ? You have Corinth. If you are 
 •' not far from Macedonia, you have Thessalonica. If 
 ** you can go to Asia, you have Ephesus ; but if you are 
 ** near to Italy, you have Rome."-f I adduce this pas-^ 
 sage to show, that the distinct churches or Christian So- ' 
 
 * , See^ Larc^er, vol^^xii. p., 7.1. 
 ' f ETardnerV v<^ 11* ^p. 598^ " 
 
2l6 CONCI-USION. 
 
 eltties, to which St. Paul's Epistles were sent, subsist«i4 
 for some ages afterwards; that his several epistles were 
 all along respectively read in those churches ; that Chris- 
 tians at large received them from those churches, and 
 appealed to those churches for their originality and avi- 
 thenticity. 
 
 Arguing in like manner frotn citations and allusions, we 
 liave, within the space of a hundred and fifty years from 
 the time that the first of St. Paul's Epistles was written, 
 proofs of almost all of them being read, in Palestine, Syria, 
 ^the countries of Asia Minor, in Egypt, in that part of Af- 
 rica which used the Latin tongue, in Greece, Italy, and 
 Caul.* I do not mean simply to assert, that, within the 
 space of a hundred and fifty years, St. Paul's Epistles 
 were read in those countries, for I believe that they 
 were, read and circulated from the beginning ; but that 
 proofs of their being so read occur within tliat period. 
 And v/hen it is considered how few of the primitive Chris, 
 tians wrote, and of w^hat was written how much is lost, 
 we are to account it extraordinary, or rather as a sure 
 proof of the extensiveness of the reputation of these writ- 
 ings, and of the general respect in which they were held, 
 that so many testimonies, and of such antiquity, are still 
 extant. *' In the remaining works of Irenasus, Clement 
 «* of Alexandria, and TertuUian, there are perhaps ii^ore 
 « and larger quotations of the small volume of tlie NeW 
 *« Testament, tJian of all the works of Cicero, in the writings 
 <« of ail characters for several ages."f We must add,; that 
 the Epistles of P<^i come in for their full sliare of this ob- 
 servation ; and that all the thirteen epistles, except th.at 
 to Philemon, which is. not quoted by Irenaeus or Clement, 
 and which probably escaped notice merely by its brevity, 
 are severally cited, and expressly recognized as St. Paul's 
 by each pf theseChristian writers. TheEbionites, an early, 
 though inconsiderable Chrlstiim sect, rejected St. Paul and 
 iiis epistles 4 that is, they rejected these epistles, not be- 
 
 * See Lardner's Recapitulation, vol. xii. p. k^, 
 
 f See Larvlner's Recapitulation, Vol. iii. p, jj 
 : I^ardner, vo;. ii. p. 803. 
 
CONCLUSION. 217 
 
 •fluse they were not, but because they were St. Paul's ; 
 and because, adhering to the obligation of the Jewish law, 
 they chose to dispute his doctrine and authority. Their 
 suffrage as to the genuineness of the epistles does not con- 
 tradict that of other Christians. Marcion, an heretical 
 writer in the former part of the second century, is said by 
 TertuUian to have rejected three of the epistles which we 
 now receive, viz. the two Epistles to Timothy and the 
 Epistle to Titus. It appears to me not improbable, that 
 Marcion might make some such distinction as this, that 
 no apostolic epistle was to be admitted which was not 
 read or attested by the church to which it was sent ; for 
 it is remarkable that, together with these epistles to pri- 
 vate persons, he rejected also the catholic epistles. Now 
 the catholic epistles and the epistle to private pesons agree 
 in the circumstance of wanting this particular species of 
 attestation. Marcion, it seems, acknowledged the Epistle 
 to Philemon, and is upbraided for his inconsistency in doing 
 so by TertuUian, who asks* " why, when he received a 
 " letter written to a single person, he should refuse two 
 " to Timothy and one to Titus composed upon the affairs 
 <* of the church ?" This passage so far favors our account 
 of Marcion's objection, as it shows that the objection was 
 supposed by TertuUian to have been founded in something, 
 which belonged to the nature of a private letter. 
 
 Notliing of the works of Marcion remains. Prol^ably 
 he was, after all, a rash, arbitrary, licentious critic (if he 
 deserved indeed the name of critic), and who offered no 
 reason for his determination. What St. Jerome says of 
 him intimates this, and is beside founded in good sense ; 
 speaking of him and Basilides, " If they had assigned any 
 " reasons," says he, " why they did not reckon these epis» 
 " ties," viz. the first and second to Timothy and the Episr 
 tie to Titus, " to be the apostle's, we would have endeav-* 
 " ored to have answered them, and perhaps might hav« 
 
 * liardner, vol xiv. p. 455. 
 
 T , 
 
2l5 CONCLUSION. 
 
 « satisfied the reader ; but when they take upon them> 
 « by their own authority, to pronounce one epistle to be 
 « Paul's, and another not, they can only be replied to m 
 « the same manner.'!* Let it be remembered, however, 
 that Marcion received ten of these epistles. His authority 
 tlierefore, even if his credit had been better than it is, form* 
 a very small exception to the unlfonnity of the evidence. 
 Of Basilides w^e know stiil less than we do of Marcion. 
 The same observation hov/evcr belongs to hira, viz. tliat 
 his objection, as far as appears from this passage of St. Je- 
 rome, was coniined to the three private epistles. Yet this 
 is the only opinion which can be said to disturb the con- [ 
 sent of the two first centuries of the Chistlan era ; for as 
 to Tadan, who is reported by Jerome alone to have reject- 
 ed some of St. Paul's Epistles, the extravagant or ratlier 
 delirious notions into which he fell, talce away weight and 
 credit from his judgment. If, indeed, Jerome's account 
 of this circumstance be coiTect ; for it appears from much 
 older writers than Jerome, that Tatlan owned and used 
 many of these epistles.f 
 
 II. They, who in those ages disputed about so many 
 other points, agreed in acknowledging the Scriptures 
 now before us. Contending sects appealed to them in 
 their controversies with equal and unresei-ved submission. 
 When they w^ere urged by one side, however they might be 
 
 - interpieted or misinterpreted by the other, their authority ' 
 was not questioned. " ReliquI omnes," says Irenaeus, 
 speakiag of Ivftirclon, " falso sclentlae nomine inflati, scrip* 
 *< turas quidem coafiterttiir, iiiterpretatioiies vero conver* " 
 
 III. When the genuineness of some other writings which 
 tfere In circulation, and even of a few w^hich are now re- 
 ceived into the canon, was contested, these Were neVer cak" 
 led into dispute. Whatever was the ol)jection, or wheth^ ' 
 er, in trutli, there ever was any real objection to the au- 
 
 ' , f XArdnjer,, yo\, ti j v.. p. 45 8, 
 
 '"^ Lardner, vol.!. p. 313. 
 ^- is&a. advers, Hser, (quoted by Lardner, '^pL kv. p. 4»i' 
 
CONCLUSION. 219 
 
 thenticlty of the Second Epistle of Peter, the Second and 
 Third of John, the Epistle of James, or that of Jude, or 
 to die book of the Revelations of St. John, the doubts that 
 appear to have been entertained concerning them, exceed- 
 ingly strengdien the force of the testimony as to tliose' 
 writings, about which there was no doubt ; because it 
 shows, that the m^uter was a subject, amongst the early 
 Christians, of examination and discussion ; and that, 
 where there was any room to doubt, they did doubt. 
 
 What Eusebius hath left upon the subject is directly to ? 
 the purpose of this observation. Eusebius, it is well 
 known, divided the ecclesiastical writings which were ex- 
 tant in his time into three classes ; the " civuvn^Arccj ^^'• 
 " contradicted," as he calls them in one chapter or " scrip* 
 " tures universally acknowledged," as he calls them in 
 afiqther-5 the; "cpntro verted, yet well known and approv- 
 " ed by many;** and ** the spurious." What were the 
 shades of difference in the books of the second, or in those 
 of the third class ; or what it was precisely that he meant 
 by the term spurlousi it is not necessary in this place to en- 
 quire. It is sufficient for us to find, that the thirteen epis- 
 tles of St. Paul are placed by him in the first class with- 
 out any sort of hesitation or doubt. 
 
 It is further also to be collected from the chapter in 
 which this distinction is laid down, that the method made- 
 use of by Eusebius, and by the Christians of his time, viz. 
 the <:lose of the third century, in judging concerning the 
 sacred authority of any books, was to enquire after and 
 consider the testimony of those who lived near the age of 
 tl:ie. apostle s.f 
 
 IV. Th^t no ancient writing, which is attested as tiiese 
 e^j^tle^.^j^rc, hath had its authenticity disproved, or is ja; 
 faci, qiiesuioned. The controversies which have been 
 mov,ed^(:oQcernii\g suspected writings, as the epistles, for 
 insta'iice, of Phalaris, or the eighteen epistles of Cicero, 
 begin by showing diat this attestation i& wanting. That 
 
 Lardner, vol. viii. p^ 106. 
 
220 CONCLUSION. 
 
 ■■ • . - ^ 
 
 being proved, the question is thrown back upon internal 
 marks of spuriousness or authenticity ; and in these the 
 dispute h occupied. In which disputes it is to be observ- 
 ed, that the contested writings arc commonly attacked by 
 arguments drawn from some opposition to v/hich they be- 
 tray to " authentic history," to " true epistles," to " the 
 ** real sentiments or circumstances of the author whom 
 ** they personate ;"* which authentic Kiistory, which true 
 epistles, which real sentiments themselves, are no other 
 than ancient documents, whose early existence and recep- 
 tion can be proved, in the manner in which the writings 
 before us are traced up to the age of their reputed author, 
 or to ages near to his. A modern who sits down to com- 
 pose the history of some ancient period, has no stronger 
 evidence to appesll to for the most confident assertion, or 
 the most undisputed fact, tliat he delivers, than writings, 
 whose genuineness is proved by the same medium through 
 which we evince the authenticity of ours. Nor, whilst he 
 can have recourse to such authorities as these, does he ap- 
 prehend any uncertainty in his accounts, from the suspi- 
 cion of spuriousnesG or imposture in his materials. 
 
 V. It cannot be shown that any forgeries, properly so- 
 calledjf that is, writings published under the name of the 
 person who did not compose them, made their appear- 
 ance in the first century of the Christian era, in which 
 century these epistles undoubtedly existed. I shall set 
 down under this proposition the guarded words of Lard- 
 ner himself. " There are no quotations of any books of 
 *• them (spurious and apocryphal books) in the apostoli- 
 <« cal fathers, by whom I mean Barnabas, Clement of 
 *« Rome, Hermas, Ignatius, and Polycarp, whose writ- 
 « ings reach from the year of our Lord 70 to the year 
 
 * See the tracts written in the controversy between Tunstal and 
 Middleton upon certain suspected epistles ascribed to Cicero. 
 
 f I believe that there is a great deal of truth in Dr. Lardner's ob- 
 servations, that comparatively few of those books, which we call 
 apocryphal, were stridly and originally forgeries. See Lardner, vcl 
 :ai. p. 16 f. 
 
COHCLUSlOSf. 22 1 
 
 <^ io8. / say this confukntlyy because I think it has been 
 ^ pro veil."'* 
 
 Nor whan they did appear w>iere they much used by 
 the primitive Christians. " Irenxas quotes not any 
 ♦♦ of these books. He mentions some of them, but he 
 ^ never quotes them. The same may be said of Tertul- 
 <* lian ; he has mentiond a book called * Acts of Paul 
 Mund Thecla ;' but it is only to condemn it. Clement of 
 ^«i* Alexandria and Origen have mentioned and quoted ^ev^ 
 -^* gral such books, but never as authority, and sometim€;s 
 *<,"\yith express marks of dislike. Eusebius quotes no sueh 
 L^. books in any of his works. He has mentioned them in- 
 Jfjdeodf but how? Not by way of approbation, but to 
 .J^show that they were of little or no value; and that they 
 "never were received by the sounder part of Christians,'* 
 Now, a with this, which is advanced after the most mi- 
 nute and diligent examination, we compare what the same 
 cautious writer had before said of our received scriptures, 
 « that in tjie works of three only of tlie above mentioned 
 «;*. fathers, there are raojr& and larger quotations of the 
 ..?V§.mall volume of the New Testament, than of all the 
 M work^ of Cicero in the writers of all characters for seve- 
 •^ f^ ages ;'* and if, wuth the mai'ks of obscurity or con- 
 «ig»mation, which accompanied the mention of the several 
 apocryphal Christian writings, when they happened to be 
 . ?i>eiitione4 at all, we contrast what Dr. Lardner's work 
 :gpmpletely and iji detail ma]^es out concerning the writ- 
 -Mgs whi<;h we defee4> an(} wh>f, having so made out, he 
 "t.^hpuglit himself authorized in his conclusion to assert, thg-t 
 ^ik^sQ books were not only received from the beginning, but 
 3[f€4|:eiv^d with the greatest respect ; have been publicly 
 and solemnly read in the as&emblies of Christians through- 
 m\t tiie world, in every age from that time to this ; early 
 translated into the languages of divers countries and ]^eQm 
 pie i cpipineptaxies writ;:en to explain and illustrate UwJttj. 
 
 ^ *Lirclner, vol.xii. p, 15^, 
 
 T^ 
 
222. CONCLUSION, 
 
 quoted by way of proof in all arguments of a religious na- 
 ture ; recommended to the perusal of unbelievers, as con- 
 taining the authentic account of the Christian doctrine ; 
 when we attend, I say, to this representation, we perceive 
 in it, not only full proof of the early notoriety of these 
 books, but a clear and sensible line of discrimination, which 
 separates these from the pretensions of any others. t 
 
 The Epistles of St. Paul stand particularly free of any 
 doubt or confusion that might arise from this source. Un- 
 til the conclusion of the fourth century, no intimation ap- 
 pears of any attempt whatever being made to counterfeit 
 these writings ; and then it appears only of a single and 
 obscure instance. Jerome, who flourished in tlie year 392^ 
 has this expression. " Legunt quidam et ad Laodicen- 
 " ses ; sed ad omnibus exploditur ;'' there is also an Epis- 
 tle to the Laodiceans, but it is rejected by every body.* 
 Tlieodoret, who wrote in the year 423, speaks of this epis- 
 tle in the same terms.f Beside these, I know not wheth- 
 er any ancient writer mentions it. It was ceitainly unno- 
 ticed during the three first centuries of the Church ; and 
 when it came afterwards to be mentioned, it was mention- 
 ed only to show, that, tliough such a writing did exist, it 
 obtained no credit. It is probable tlaat the forgery to which 
 Jerome alludes, is the epistle which we riov/ have under 
 that title. If so, as hath been already observed, it is noth- 
 ing more than a collection of sentences from the genuine 
 Epistles ; and was perhaps, at first, rather the exercise of 
 some idle pen, than any serious attempt to impose a for- 
 gery upon tlie public. Of an Epistle to the Corinthians 
 under St. Paul's name, which was brought into Europe in 
 the present century, antiquity is entirely silent. It was 
 unheard of for iilxteen centuries ; and at this day, though 
 it be extant, and was first found in the Armenian lan- 
 guage, it is not, by the Christians of that country, receiv- 
 ed into their scriptures. I hope, after this, that there is 
 
 * Lardner, vol. x. p. 103. 
 f Lardner, vol. xi. p. 88. 
 
CONCLUSION. 22 J 
 
 BO reader who will think there is any competition of credit, 
 or of external proof, between these and the received Epis- 
 tles ; or rather, who will not acknowledge the evidence of 
 autlienticity to be confirmed by the want of success which 
 attended imposture. 
 
 When we take into our hands the letters which the suf- 
 frage and consent of antiquity hatli thus transmtrted to us, 
 the first thing that strikes our attention is the air of reali- 
 ity and business, as well as of seriousness and conviction, 
 which pervades the whole. Let the sceptic read them. 
 If he be not sensible of these qualities in them, the argu- 
 ment can have no weight with him. If he be ; if he per- 
 ceive in almost every page the language of a mind actuat- 
 ed by real occasions, and operating upon real circumstan- 
 ces, I would wish it to be observed, that the proof which 
 arises from this perception is not to be deemed occult or 
 imaginary, because it is incapable of being drawn out in 
 words, or of being conveyed to the apprehension of the 
 reader in any other way, than by sending him to the books 
 themselves. 
 
 And here, in its proper place, comes in the argument 
 which it has been the office of these pages to unfold. St. 
 Paul's Epistles are connected with the history by their 
 particularity, and by the numerous circumstances, which 
 are found in them. When we descend to an examination 
 and comparison of these circumstances, we not only ob- 
 serve the history and the epistles to be independent docu- 
 ments unknovni to, or at least unconsulted by each o':her, 
 but we find the substance, and oftentimes very minute ar- 
 ticles, of the history, recognized in the epistles, by allu- 
 sions and references, which can neither be imputed to de- 
 sign, nor, without a foundation in truth, be accounted for 
 by accident, by hints and expressions, and single words 
 dropping as it were fortuitously from tlie pen of the writ- 
 er, or drawn forth, each by some occasion proper to.thfe- 
 place in which it occurs, but widely removed from any 
 view to consistency or agreement. . These, we know, are 
 
224 CONCLUSION. 
 
 effects which reality naturally produces, but which, with-r 
 out reality at the bottom, can hardly be conceived to 
 exist. 
 
 When therefore, with a body of external evidence,. 
 which is relied upon, and which experience proves may 
 safely be relied upon, in appreciating the credit of ancient 
 writings, we combine characters of genuineness and ong* 
 inality which are not found, and which, in the nature and- 
 order of things, cannot be expected to be found in spuri- 
 ous compositiong ; whatever difficulties we may meet with 
 in other topics of tlie Christian evidence, we can have lit*- 
 tie in yielding our assent to the following conclusions ; that 
 there was such a person as St. Paul ; that he lived ia 
 the age which we ascribe to him ; tliat he went about 
 preaching the religion of which Jesus Christ was the found* 
 er ; and that the letters which we now read were actual*' 
 ly written by him upon the subject, and in the course of 
 his ministry. 
 
 And if It be true that we are in possession of the very 
 letters which St. Paul wrote, let us consider what con^- 
 mation they afford to the Christian history. In my opinion 
 thev substantiate the whole transaction. The great ob- 
 ject of modern research is to come at the epistolary corres- 
 pondence of the times. Amidst the obscurities, the silence, 
 or the contradictions of history, if a letter can be found,, 
 we regard it as tlie discovery of a landmark ; as that by 
 which we can correct, adjust, or supply the imperfeGtioj>s 
 and uncertainties of other accounts. One cause of the ^ft' 
 perior credit v/hich is attributed to letters is this, that thfe 
 facts which they disclose generally come out incidental^, 
 and therefore without design to mislead the public by false 
 or exaggerated accounts. This reason may be applied to 
 St. Paul's Epistles with as much justice as to any letters 
 whatever. Nothing could be further from the intention 
 of the Vv-riter than to record any part of his history. That 
 his history was hi fact made public by these letterSj Un^ 
 has by tlie same means been transmitted to fatwr-e ag^4iB 
 
CONCLUSION. 
 
 a secondary and uthoughtof effect. The sincerity there- 
 fore of the apostle's declarations cannot reasonably hz dis- 
 puted ; at least we are sure that it was not vitiated by 
 any desire of setting liimself off to the public at large. 
 But tliese letters form a part of the muniments of Christ- 
 ianity, as much to be valued for tlieir contents, as for their 
 originality. A more inestimable treasure the care of an- 
 tiquity could not have sent down to us. Beside the proof 
 they ailord of the general reality of St. Paul's history, of 
 th^ knowledge which the author of the Acts of the Apos- 
 tles had obtained of that history, and the consequent prob- 
 ability that he was, what he professes himself to have been, 
 a companion of the apostle's ; beside the support they lend 
 to these important inferences, they meet specifically some 
 of the principiil objections upon which the adversaries of 
 Christianity have thought proper to rely» In particular 
 they show, 
 
 I. That Christianity was not a story set on foot amidst 
 the confusions which attended and immediately preceded 
 the destruction of Jerusalem ; v/hen many extravagant re- 
 ports were circulated, when men's minds were broken by 
 terror and distress, when amidst the tumults that surround- 
 ed them enquiry was impracticable. These letters show 
 incontestably that the religion had fixed and established 
 itself before this state of things took place. 
 
 II. Whereas it hath been insinuated, that our gospels 
 may have been made up of reports and stories, which 
 were current at the time, we may observe that, with res- 
 pect t;o the Epistles, this is impossible. A man cannot 
 write the history of his own life from reports ; nor, what 
 is the same thing, be led by reports to refer to passages 
 and transactions in which he states himself to have been, 
 immediately present and active. I do not allow that tliis 
 insinuation is applied to the historical part of the New Tes- 
 tament with any colour of justice or probability ; but I 
 say, that to the Epistles it is not applicable at all. 
 
 m. These letters prove that the converts to Christian- 
 
22(J CONCLUSION. 
 
 ity were not drawn from the barbarous, the mean, or the 
 ignorant set of men, whieh the representations of infideh*-/ 
 ty would sometimes make them. We learn from letters 
 the character not only of the writer, but, in some measure 
 of the persons to whom they are written. To suppose » . 
 that tliese letters were addressed to a rude tribe, incapable 
 of thought or reflection, is just as reasonable as to suppose ^ 
 Locke's Essay on the Human Understanding to have been,'' 
 "written for the instruction of savages. Whatever may be\ 
 thought of these letters in other respects, either @f diction ^ 
 or argument, they are certainly removed as far as possi- 
 ble from the habits and comprehension of a barbarous 
 people. 
 
 IV. St. PauPs history, I mean so much of it as may be 
 collected from his letters, is so impUcated with that of the 
 other apostles, and with the substance indeed of the Chris^'*^ 
 tian history Itself, that I apprehend it will be found Impos-' ., 
 sibie to admit St. PauPs story (T do not speak of the mi- ^ 
 raculouspart of it) to be true, and yet to reject the rest as 
 fabulous. For instance, can any one believe that there 
 was such a man as Paul, a preacher of Christianity intlie 
 age which we assign to him, and not believe that there 
 were also at the same time such men as Peter and James, 
 and other apostles, who had been companions of Christ 
 during his life, and who after his deatli published and 
 avowed the same things concerning him which Paul 
 taught I Judea, and especially Jerusalem, was the scene o{ 
 Christ's ministry. The witnesses of his miracles lived 
 there. St. Paul by his own account, as well as that of 
 his historian, appears to have frequently visited that 
 city J to have carried on a communication with tlie church 
 there j to have associated witli the rulers and elders of 
 that church, who were some of them apostles ; to have act- 
 ed, as occasions offered, in correspondence, and sometimes 
 in conjunction with them. Can It, after this, be doubted, 
 but that the religion and the general facts relating to it, 
 which St. Paul appears by his letters to have delivered to 
 
CONCLUSIOM. 227 
 
 the several churches which he establised at a distance were 
 at the same time taught and published at Jerusalem itself, 
 tlie place where tlie business was transacted ; and taught 
 and published by those who had attended the founder of 
 the Institution in his miraculous, or pretendedly miracu- 
 lous ministry ? 
 
 It is observable, for so it appears both in the Epistles 
 ^nd from the Acts of the Apostles, that Jerusalem, and 
 the society of believers in that city, long continued the cen- 
 tre from which the missionaries of the religion issued with 
 Which all other churches maintained a correspondence and 
 connection, to which they referred their doubts, and to 
 whose relief, in times of public distress, they remitted 
 their charitable assistance. This observation I think ma- 
 terial, because it proves tliat this was not the case of giv- 
 mg our accounts In one country of what is transacted in 
 another, without affording the hearers an opportunity of 
 knowing whether the things related were credited by any, 
 or even published, in the place where they at^ reported to 
 have passed. 
 
 y. St. Paul's letters furnish evidence (and What better 
 evidence than a man's own letters can be desired ?) of the 
 soundness and sobriety of his judgment. His caution in 
 distinguishing between the occasional suggestions of in- 
 spiration, and the ordinary exercise of his natural under- 
 standing, is without example in the history of human en- 
 thusiasm. His morality is every where calm, pure, 
 and rational j adapted to the condition, the activity, and 
 the business of social life, and of its various relations ; free 
 from the over scrupulousness and austerities of supersti- 
 tion, and from, what was more perhaps to be apprehend- 
 ed, the abstractions of quietism, and the soarings and ex- 
 travagancies of fanaticism. His judgment concerning a 
 hesitating conscience j his opinion of the moral indlfTeren- 
 ry of many actions, yet of the prudence and even the duty 
 of compliance, where noncompliance would produce evil 
 effects on the minds of persons who observed it, is "as cor- 
 
22$ CONCLUSION. 
 
 rect and just as the most liberal and enlightened moralist 
 could form at this day. The accuracy of modern ethics 
 has found notliing to amend in these determi nations. 
 
 What lord Lyttelton has remarked of the preference as- 
 cribed by St. Paul to inward rectitude of principle above 
 every other religious accomplishment is very material to 
 our present purpose. " In his First Epistle the to Corin- 
 " thians, chap. xiii. i — 3, St Paul has these words ; 
 " Though I speak iv'ith the tongue of men and of angels ^ and 
 ** ha'ue not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tink' 
 " ling cymbal. And though I ha'ue the gift of prophecy , and 
 ** understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have 
 *• all faith, so that I could remove mcuniains, and have not 
 " charity, I am nothing, And though I beJoiv all my goods 
 ** to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and 
 ** have not charily, it profiteth me nothing. Is this the lan- 
 ** guage of enthusiasm ? Did ever enthusiast piefer that u- 
 *' niversal benevolence^which comprehendeth all moral vir- 
 " tues, and which, as appeareth by the following verses, is 
 <* meant by charity here ; did ever entliusiast, I say, prefer 
 «* that benevolence" (which we may add is attainable by 
 every man) " to faith and to miracles, to those religious 
 *" opinions v^hich he had embraced, and to those super- 
 ** natural graces and gifts which he imagined he had ac- 
 *• quired ; nay even to the merit of martyrdom ? Is it not 
 ** tlie genius of enthusiasm to set moral virtues infinitely 
 " below the merit of faith ; and of all moral virtues to 
 " value that least which is most particularly enforced by 
 ** St. Paul, a spirit of candor, moderation, and peace ? 
 *' Certainly neither the temper nor the opinions of a man 
 " subject to fanatic delusions are to be found in this pas- 
 " sage." Lord Lyttelton's Considerations on the Con- 
 version, &c. ' 
 
 I see no reason therefore to question the integrity of his 
 understanding. To call him a visionary, because he 
 appealed to visions, or an enthusiast, because he pre- 
 tended to inspiration, is to take the whole question for 
 
CONCLUSION. 219 
 
 granted. It is to take for granted that no such visions 
 or inspirations existed ; at least it is to assume, contrary 
 to his own assertions, that he had no other proofs than 
 tliese to offer of his mission, or of the truth of his rela- 
 tions. 
 
 One thing I allow, that his letters every where discov- 
 er great zeal and earnestness in the cause in which he was 
 engaged ; that is to say, he was convinced of the truth of 
 what he taught ; he was deeply impressed,but not more so 
 than the occasion merited, with a sense of its importance. 
 This produces a corresponding animation and solicitude 
 in the exercise of his ministry. But would not these con- 
 siderations, supposing them to be well founded, have hold- 
 en the same place, and produced the same effect, in a 
 mind the strongest and most sedate ? 
 
 VI. These letters are decisive as to the sufferings of 
 the author ; also as to the distressed state of the Christian 
 church, and the dangers which attend the preaching of 
 the gospel. 
 
 "Whereof I Paul am made a minister, who now re- 
 « joice in my sufferings for you, and fill up that which is 
 " behind of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh, for his 
 *Vbody*s sake, which is the church." Col. ch. i. 24. 
 
 " If in this life only we have hope In Christ, we are of 
 « all men the most miserable,'* Cor. ch. xv. 19. 
 
 , "j,Why stand we in jeopardy every hour ? I protest by 
 ** your rejoicing, which I have in Christ Jesus, I die dai- 
 ♦* ly,. If after the manner of men, I have fought with 
 <* beasts at Ephesus, what advantageth it me if tlie dead 
 " rise not ?" i Cor. ch. xv. 30, &c. 
 
 ** If children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs 
 « with Christ ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we 
 " may be also glorified together. For I reckon that the 
 <* sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be com- 
 " pared with the glory that shall be revealed in us.'* 
 Rom. ch. viii. 17, 18. 
 
 " Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shaH 
 U 
 
23® CONCLVSIOH. 
 
 " tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or na. 
 " kedness, or peril, or sword ? As it is written, for thjr 
 «* sake we are killed all tlie day long, we are accounted as 
 " sheep for the slaughter." Rom. ch. viii. 35, 36. 
 
 " Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulationy continuing in* 
 " stant in prayer," Rom. ch. xii. 12. 
 
 " Now concerning virgins T have no commandment o£; 
 ** the Lord ; yet I give my judgment as one that hath ob* 
 " tained mercy of the Lord to be faithful. I suppose 
 ** therefore that this is good for the present distress $ I say 
 " that it is good for a man so to be." i Con ch. vii. 25, 
 « 26. 
 
 " For linto you it is given, in the behalf of Christ, not- 
 " only to believe in him, but also to suffer for his sake, 
 ** having the same conflict which ye saw in me, and now 
 " hear to be in me." Phil. ch. i. 29, 30. 
 
 " God forbid that T should glory, save In the cross of 
 *• our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified 
 *' unto me, and I unto the world." 
 
 " From henceforth let no man trouble me, for I bear 
 ** in my body the marks of the Lord Jesus.** Gal. chk 
 " vi. 14, lyv 
 
 ** Ye became followers of us, and of the Lord, having 
 ** received the word in much afHIctlon, with joy of tlie 
 '* Holy Ghost.** I Thess. ch; I. 6. 
 
 ** We ourselves glory in you in the churches of Gbd 
 '•■for your patience and faith in all your persecutions and 
 ** tribulations that ye endure.*' 2 Thess. ch. i. 4. 
 
 We may seem to have accumulated texts unnecessarily 5 
 but beside that the point, which they are brought to prove, 
 is of great importance, there Is this also to be remarked 
 in every one of the passages cited, that the allusion is 
 drawn from the writer by the argument or the occasion ; 
 that the notice which is taken of his sufferings, and of the 
 suffering condition of Christianity, is perfectly incidental, 
 and is dictated by no design of stating the facts them- 
 selves* Indeed they are not stated at all ; they may rath- 
 
CONCLUSION. 251 
 
 cr be sa.U to be assumed. This is a distinction upon 
 which we have relied a good deal in former parts of this 
 treatise ; and where the writer's information cannot be 
 doubted, it always, in my opinion, adds greatly to the 
 value and credit of the testimony. 
 
 If any reader require from the apostle more direct and 
 explicit assertions of the same thing, he will receive full 
 satisfaction in the following quotations. 
 
 *« Are they ministers of Christ ; (I speak as a fool) I 
 *« am more ; in labors more abundant, in stripes above 
 " measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft. Of 
 '* tlie Jews five times received I forty stripes save one ; 
 "thrice was I beaten with rods, once was I stoned ; 
 « thrice I suffered shipwreck, a night and day I have 
 '* been in the deep ; in journeyings often, in perils of wa- 
 *' ters, in perils of robbers, in perils by mine own coun- 
 <« trymen, in perils by the heathen, in perils in the city, 
 ** in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perik 
 " among false brethren ; in weariness and painfulness, 
 ** in watching s often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings of- 
 '* ten, in cold and nakedness." 2 Cor. ch. xi. 23 28. 
 
 Can it be necessary to add more ! *' I think that God 
 <* hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were anpointed 
 ** to death ; for we are made a spectacle unto the world, 
 «« and to angels, and to men. Even unto this present 
 ** hour we both hunger and thirst, and are naked, and 
 ** are buifeted, and have no certain dwelling place, and 
 ** labor, working with our own hands ; being reviled, 
 " we bless ; being persecuted, we suffer it ; being defam- 
 *' ed, we entreat ; we are made as the filth of the earth, 
 " and are tlie offscouring of all things unto this day.'' 
 I Cor.ch.iv.9 — 13. I subjoin this passage to the former, 
 because it extends to the other apostles of Christianity 
 much of that which St.Paul declared concerning himself. 
 
 In the following quotations, the reference to the au- 
 Aor's suffeiings is aceompanied with a specification of time 
 
2$2 CONCLUSION. 
 
 and place, and witli an appeal for the truth of what he 
 declares to the knowledge of the persons whom he ad- 
 dresses. « Even after that we had suffered before, and 
 « were shamefully entreated, as ye hioiu, at Philippic we 
 " were bold in our God to speak unto you the gospel of 
 " God with much contention." i Thess. ch. ii. 2. 
 
 ** But thou hast fully knoivn my doctrine, manner of 
 •' life, purpose, faitli, longsuffering, persecutions, afflic- 
 ** tions, which came to me at Antioch, at Iconiumy at Lystra ; 
 *< what persecutions I endured ; but out of them all the 
 ** Lord delivered me." 2 Tim. ch. iii, 10, 11. 
 
 I apprehended that to this point, as far as the testimo- 
 ny of St.Paul is credited, the evidence from his letters is 
 complete and full. It appears under every form in which 
 it could appear, by occasional allusions and by direct as- 
 sertions, by general declarations, and by specific examples. 
 
 VII. St. Paul in these letters asserts, in positive and 
 unequivocal terms, his performance of miracles strictly 
 and properly so called. 
 
 " He therefore that minlstereth to you the spirit 
 ** and worketh miracles (m^yuv dvm^n;) among you, doth 
 " he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of 
 « faith ?" Gal. ch. iii. 5. 
 
 " For I will not dare to speak of those things which 
 " Christ hath not wrought be me,* to make the Gentiles 
 ♦* obedient by word and deed, through mighty signs and 
 ** wonders (tv ^vvxf^ii a-ifinuv Kctt Ti^arm), by tlie power of 
 «« the Spirit of God ; so that from Jerusalem and round 
 <^ about unto Illyricum I have fully preached tlie gospel 
 « of Christ." Rom, ch. xv. 18, 19. 
 
 " Truly the signs of an apostle were WTOught among 
 ** you In all patience. In signs and wonders and mighty 
 deeds,*' («v o-vi^uoii kxi r^x<ri Kon ^yv«,fc6?<r<-|-),2Cor.ch.xii. 12. 
 
 ♦ I. e. " I will speak of nothing but what Christ hath wrought by 
 « me ;" or, as Grotius interprets it, " Christ hath wrought so great 
 ♦I things by me, that I will not dare to say what he hath not wrought. 
 
 f To those may be added the following indirect allusions, which.,. 
 
CONCLUSION. 233 
 
 These words, signs, wonders, and mighty deeds (<rjjjt68<«, 
 xxi n^ocrx, xxi ^vvet^ug), are the specific appropriate terms 
 throughout the New Testament, employed when public 
 sensible miracles are intended to be expressed. This will 
 appear by consulting, amongst other places, the texts refer* 
 red to in the note ;* and it cannot be shown that they arc 
 ever employed to express any thing else. 
 
 Secondly, these words not only denote miracles as op- 
 posed to natural effects, but they denote visible, and what 
 may be called external miracles, as distinguished. 
 
 First, from Inspiration, If St. Paul had meant to refer 
 only to secret illuminations of his understanding, or secret 
 influences upon his will or affections, he could not, with 
 truth, have represented them as " signs and wonders 
 " tvrought by him," of " signs and wonders and mighty 
 " deeds wrought amongst tliem." 
 
 Secondly, from visions. These would net, by any 
 means, satisfy the force of the terms, " signs, wonders, 
 " and mighty deeds ;" still less could they be said to be 
 
 though if they had stood alone, i. e. without plainer texts in the same 
 writings, they might have been accounted dubious; yet when con- 
 sidered in conjunction with the passages already cited, can hardly re- 
 ceive any other interpretation than that which we give them. 
 
 * ' My speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of 
 « men's wisdom, but in demonstration of the spirit and of power ; 
 " that your faith should not stand in the wisdom of man, but of the 
 « power of God." i €or. chap. ii. 4, 5. 
 
 " The gospel, whereof I was made a minister, according to the 
 " gift of the grace of God given unto me, by the effectual working of 
 * his power." Eph. ch. iii. 7. 
 
 " For he that wrought eifectually in Peter to the apostleship of the 
 " circumcision, the same was mighty in me towards the Gentiles.'* 
 Gal. ch. ii. 8. 
 
 « For our gospsi came not unto you in word only, but also in pow- 
 «^r, and in the Holy Ghost and in much assurance.'* i Thess. 
 ch. i. 5. 
 
 * Mark, xvi. 20. Luke, xxiil. 8. John, ii. XI. 23 ; Hi. a; iv. 48. 
 54; xi. 49. Acts, ii. %% ; iv. 30 J V. xa; vi. 8 ; vii. 1$ 5 xiv, 35 XT» 
 1%, Heb. ii. 4. 
 
 V2 
 
234 CONCLUSION, 
 
 " wrought bj him,*' or " wrought amongst them ;** nor 
 are these terms and expressions any where appUed to vis- 
 ions. When our author alludes to the supernatural com- 
 munications which he had received, either by vision or 
 otherwise, he uses expressions suited to the nature of the 
 subject, but very different from the words which we have 
 quoted. He calls them revelations, but never signs, won- 
 ders, or mighty deeds. " I will come,** says he, " to 
 ** visions and revelations of the Lord ;** and then proceeds 
 to describe a particular instance, and afterwards adds, 
 •• lest I should be exalted above measure through the 
 *« abundance of the revelations, there was given me a thorn 
 « in the flesh.'* 
 
 Upon the whole, the matter admits of no softening- 
 qualification, or ambiguity whatever. If St. Paul did not 
 work actual, sensible, public miracles, he has knowingly, 
 in these letters, borne his testimony to a falsehood. I need 
 not add, that, in two alsa of the quotations, he has ad- 
 ranced his assertion in the face of those persons amongst 
 whom he declares the miracles to have been wrought. 
 
 Let it be remembered that the Acts of the Apostles 
 describe various particular miracles wrought by St. Paul, 
 which in their nature answer to the terms and expressions^ 
 ■which we have seen to be used by St. Paul himself. 
 
 Here then we have a man of liberal attainments, and 
 m other psints of sound judgment who had addicted his 
 life to the service of the gospel. We see him, in the 
 prosecution of his purpose, travelling from country to 
 •ountry, enduring every species of hardship, encountering 
 •very extremity of danger, assaulted by the populace, 
 punished by the magistrates, scourged, beat, stoned, left 
 for dead ; expecting, wherever he came, a renewal of the 
 aame treatment, and the same dangers, yet, when driven 
 from one city, preaching In the next ; spending his whole 
 lUPOe ia the employment, sacrificing to it his pleasures, his 
 
CONCLUSION. 255 
 
 ease, his safety ; persisting in this course to old age, un- 
 altered by the experience of perverseness, ingratitude, pre- 
 judice, desertion; unsubdued by anxiety, want, labor, 
 persecutions ; unwearied by long confinement, undismay- 
 ed by the prospect of death. Such was St. Paul. We 
 have his letters in our hands ; we have also a history pur- 
 porting to be written by one of his fellow travellers, and 
 appearing, by a comparison with these letters, certainly 
 to have been written by some person well acquainted with 
 the transactions of his life. From the letters, as well as 
 from the history, we gather not only the account which we 
 have stated of him, but that he was one out of many who 
 acted and suffered in the same manner ; and that, of those 
 who did so, several had been the companions of Christ's 
 ministry, the ocular witnesses, or pretending to be such, 
 of his miracles, and of his resurrection. We moreover 
 find this same person refening in his letters to his super- 
 natural conversion, the particulars and accompanying cir- 
 cumstances of which are related in the history, and which 
 accompanying circumstances, if all or any of them be 
 true, render it impossible to have been a delusion. We al- 
 so find him positively, and in appropriated terms, assert- 
 ing, that he himself worked miracles, strictly and proper- 
 ly so called, in support of the mission which he executed ; 
 the history, meamvhile, recording various passages of his 
 ministry, which come up to the extent of this assertion. 
 The question is, wether falsehood was ever attested hj 
 evidence like this. Falsehoods, we know, have found 
 their way into reports, into tradition, into books ; but is 
 an example to be met with, of a man voluntarily under- 
 taking a life of want and pain, of incessant fatigue, of 
 continual peril ; submitting to the loss of his home and 
 country, to stripes and stoning, to tedious imprisonment, 
 and the constant expectation of a violent: death, for the 
 sake of carrying about a story of what was folse, and of 
 what, if false, he must have known to be so ? 
 
 FINIS. 
 
^ 
 
DATE DUE 
 
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 HIGHSMITH #45115 
 
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BS2650.4 .P15 1806 
 
 Horae Paulinae, or, The truth of the 
 
 Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 
 
 1 1012 00074 5986 
 
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