/^ ^r i£k s s;^^ £1^. s£^ s:^. '^Z' OF THE AT PRINCETON, N. J. SAMUEL AGNE\V, OK PHILADELPHIA, PA. QTo \ ^(pit/pton, Amicable Society at Mr. Jofeph Norville, London Mr. Rev. Mr. Richard Mr, Hugh Mr. George Mr. Samuel Capt. James Mr. George Mr. Thomas Rev. John xxu Mr. Robert Nutter, London O. : Ogden, London Mr. Rev. John Olding, Deptford Mr. John Olding, London Mifs Oldin?, London Mifs Elizabeth Olding, Londoji Mr. Samuel Olding, London Mr. Benjamin Olding, London Rev. fbor n , Kiddermmjicr P. Palmer, Hackney Rev. Samuel Mr. J. Kennet Parker, London Mr. Michael Pearfon, London Mr. Abel Peyton, London Mr. John Phillibrown, Hackney Rev. A. Phillips, Salijhury Mifs Philpot, Havant Mifs Sarah Phil pot, Chichejier Rev. S, R. Pittard, Rmgwood William Poch: in, Efq. Knight of the Shife* for the County of Leicejier Mr. Thomas Pole, jun. Oakham Mrs. Jane Pole, Oakham Rev. Rees Price, Chalfont Mr. Charles Pritchard, London, 2 copies' 6 Mr. Mr. William Rev. Simon Mr. John Rev. David Mr. Mr. William William Thomas Mr. Thomas JMr. Samuel Mr. Francis Mr. Pvlatthias Mr. Rev. John Mr. Thomas Thomas Mrs. Rev. Jofeph Mr. John Mr. Thomas Mr. William Mr. Mr. John [ xxiii ] Pritchard, Derby R. Reader, Wareham Reymcs, Norwich, 4 copies Richards, South Pethcrtoti Robarts, LondoUy 4 copies Robarts, London Roffey, Efq. Kingflon Rogers, 'Eic^.Nei.vington Green Rogers, Newington Green Rogers, Newington Green Rolles, hondon Royce, jun. Oakham Rutherford, London Ryland, M. A. Northampton S. Sadler, Derby Sanden, Efq. Chichejler Sarney, London Saunders, Cambridge Savillc, 6V. Neofs Scott, Efq. Norwich Scott, Norwich Scott, Havant Scott, liar borough Seager, Greenwich Mr. Mr. David Mr. William Mrs. Mr. Barthol. Mr. Daniel Mr. Thomas Mr. Walter Mr. Mifs Jofeph Rev. Richard Mifs Eliza Mr. Rev. Charles Mrs. Jane Mr. William Samuel Rev. Thomas Rev. Mr. George Rev. Samuel Jofeph Mrs. Mary Mifs Eliza Mr. Thomas Mr. Thomas [ xxiv ] Scale, London Searle, Greenwich Sergeant, London Sewell, Norwich Sharp, Havant Sharp, Rumfey Shirley, London Silver, Havant Silver, Havant Simms, Efq. Londoii Simpfon, Warley Simpfon, Londo?i Simpfon, Lofidon Skelton, LoJidon Sloman, Greemvicb Sloman, Deptford Smith, Efq. Claphani Smith, Bedford Smith, Camberwell Sothern, Norwich Stennett, D. D. Stevenfon,Efq. LondoUy 2 cop. Stevenfon, London Stevenfon, London Stevenfon, Loughborough Stiff, London Mr, Mr. Nathaniel Mifs Mr. Philip Mr. John Mr. Daniel Mr. Jofeph Mr. William Mr. John Mr. James Rich. Godman Rev. Thomas Mr. Abraham John Mrs. Mr. Abraham Rev. William Mr. William Mr. John Rev. Thomas Mr. Benjamin Rev. Thomas Mr. Thomas Mr. Benjamin Mr. Jofeph Rev. John [ XXV ] Stonard, London Stonard, London Stone, Egba?n Stubley, London Stump, London Sumner, London Surgey, Londo?i Symonds, Kidderminjier T. Talbot, Deptford Temple, Efq. Fortfmouth Thomas, Wellingborough Thorn, Hackney Thornton, Efq. Cla-phani Thornton, Clapham Thorp, Londoji Thoroughgood, Clapton Tice, Blanford Till, IJle of Wight Toller, Kettering . Tomkins, London Towle, B. D. London Towle, London Travers, Travers, Trotter, D. D. " b Mr, XXVI ' Mr. William Tutirjg, London W. Richard WainW fight, Efq. Homer ton Samuel Walker^ Efq. Rot her ham Jofhua Walker, Efq. Rot her ham Jonathan Walker, Efq. Rotherham Thomas Walker, Efq. Rotherham Mr. James Walke'r, Brijiol Mr. Jofeph Wallis, London Mifs Ann Ward, Hackney John Watfon, Efq. Kidderminficr Mr. Richard Watfon, Kiddermhifier Mr. John V/atts, Ringwo^d Mr. Richard Watts, IJlington Mr. James Webb, London Mr. James Webber, London George Welch, Efq. Ijl'mgton Mr. William Wells, London Mr. Robert Wells, London Mr. John Wenham, London Mrs. Ann Wed, liar borough Mrs. Sufanna Weft, London Mr. William Whiteman, Derby Mr. Jofiah Whiting, Lambeth Mr. Thomas Wllkie, Greenwich Mr. Thomas Wilkinfon, London 3 Mifs [ xxvii ] Mifs Wilkinfon, London Rev. David Williams, SklptoJi Mr. John Williams, Fortfmouth Mr. Thomas Williams, London Mrs. Mary W^ilfon, Coventry Thomas Wilfon, Efq. London Mr. John V/ilfon, London Mr. Stephen Wilfon, London Mr. Thomas Wilfon, London Mr. John Wilfon, Ringwood Mr. Samuel Wilton, London Rev. Richard Winter, B. D. London Mifs Winter, London Mrs. Winter, Wejl Bromwich Rev. Philip Withers, D. D. London Mrs. Wood, London Mr. John Wood, Harboroiigh Mrs. Worthington, NewingtonGr, Rev. Wren, D. D. Forijmouth Mr. George Wright, Stepney Z. Mr. Gerhard Zimmerman, Greenwich. LIFE [ xxix SuBscRiEE^is Names omitted. c. Mr. R. Cooke, IJle of Wight D. E. D. London F. Mr. William Fletcher, Hcmley, G. Mr. Jolin Godman, Chkhejlcr H. Rev. Mr. Hog, Norfolk John Howard, Efq. F. R. S, Bedford]}:. Mr. Thomas How, Norwich W. Mr. William Wilfon, Lo7idon Mr. William Wright, London E R R A T A. Page 20. 1. 12. fcr aij.b)^rb)\av read ay.a^r(ii\m 23. 1. 8. for charge r. change 72. 1. 23. for his r. the 83. note, for U7rwja([co r. UTrwTrja^oj 159. 1. 14. /(??' a9c«-'^/?,u£voj r. a{pot)^9 ] the council cited above, " I have lived in all good conlcience before God until this day." But to what period of his life did he then refer ? He fays nothing there of his ftate and character before his converfion to chriftianity. When intending a reference to that, he makes ufe of another term'; *' You have heard of my converfation in time paft, in judaifm :" and on a review of that, is far ffom attempting to juftify him- felf before God. In the inftance referred to, the charge from v^'hich he meant to clear hirafelf, was brought againft him by Jews, touching his condud:, not while he conti- rued a Jew, but in and after his becoming a chriftian. They had nothing to fay againft him while he remained among them. Never did they mean to call him to ac- count fof his attachment to the rites and ce- remonies of their church, but rather for leaving it; not for perfecuting the chrif- tians, but for appearing in the caufe of Chrift, and preaching the doctrines of his gofpel ; with reference to which, he fo- ' Gal, i. 13, C 2 lemnly [ 20 ] lemnly allures them, that he had a6lcd therein ever fince his converfion, from a confcientious regard to the will of God, and his duty to his fon Jefus. This he might do without afierting that he had maintained the fame tendernefs of confcience all his days. He cannot be underftood as meaning that here, without contradiding all that hath been faid of him., both by himfelf and others in the preceding pafTages. It has indeed been infmuated, that when Paul called himfelf a^wprwAaf TTpwTos ^ which we tranllate "the chief of linners ;" it (hould rather have been rendered the firjl of them; meaning that he was the iiril perfecutor of chriftians that ever obtained the mercy of Chriftj efpecially in the way in which it was mani- fefted to him ; and for the high office to which he was advanced by it." But it is obvious that he has no reference to his apoftolic office in the context ; nor could he fpeak of his obtaining that favour, as a pat- tern to all who iliould hereafter believe in Chrift, unlefs he had expedled that all ^ I Tim. i. 15. believers [ 21 ] * believers lliould be madeapoftles. He ufes the term (Trpwros) c.bitf, to exprefs the ag- gravation of his guilt, which then appeaVed to him i'o great, that he looked upon him- felfasone of the moil fignal monuments of pardoning mercy ^ Reviewing what he had been and done, he could not but be alloniilied tliat fuch a fmner againft Chrift fhould be forgiven. " Neverthelefs," fays s Primus is often ufcd in the Latin clafiics for prseci- puus&maximus, thcchief; and fo Poole tranflates TptyTo? here. The learned Stockius fays, " Pauliis, i Tim. i. J5. fe vocat rrftoTov peccatorum, non tempore, nequc ordine, fed qualitate & conditione. Dicit ( i) humili- tate, quia fe dignum haud aeftimat gratia qua potitus crat. (2) Enormitate peccati; et (3) Mifericordios confecutione, quia quo graviora & majora ejus erant peccata, co illuftriora mifericordiK divinsc in ipfoexta- bant documenta. Vid. Matt. xxii. 38. Mark xii. 28. 30. Luke XV. 22. Rom. iii. 2. — " Some think," (fays Dr. Goodwin on Ephcfians, Parti, p. igo, and Part ii. p. 239) ** that the apoftlc ufes the word (TpiwTo?) jirjly in relation to the calling of his own countrymen, who fliouM be found like him, injurious perfecutors, and thit bii converfion (hould be a type of that of his own nation ; many of whom they have fup^ pofcd from hence will be called in the fame extraordi- nary way in which he was." C ^ he. [ £2 ] he, ** though my character and condu(f% have been fo offenfive and provoking, I ob- tained mercy," &c. He was now wiUing to acknowledge his obligations to that, though he imagined he had no need of it before, even while committing a6ts of the moid violent outrage which could be offered againflichriflianity and chriftians. In thefe, while a Pharifee, he gloried, and upon what principle ? That on which a bigotted pa- pift perfecutes all whom he ftigmatizes as heretics, pretending therein to be ferving God and his church. But Vvill that juflify him before the tribunal of his righteous judge ? or even in the cool and impartial opinion of fober fenfe ? What fentiments muft Saul have entertained of the Divine Being, if he could fuppof^ him to be welj pleafed with a man who cuts another's throat, ftones him to death, burns him at a ftake, or tortures him. on a rack, becaufehis religious fentiments do not exadly coincide with his own ^ or on account of his wor- ihipping God in a place and pofture, in a mode and drefs different from thofe he has been m.cfl accufi:omed to. The [ ^3 ] The prejudices of education, however early imbibed, or ftrongly rivetted, cannot vindicate any man in fuch a fpirit and con- duel, much Id's one of Saul's talents and literary knowledge. Far from attempting to juliify himfelf herein, after his conver- sion, he owned his guilt, and wept over it. The particulars of that charge on his tem- per and views, and the means by which it was ettcvftcd, will be the fubjed: of enquiry in the following chapter. But before we enter upon that fubje(5V, (liall we paufe here a while to drop a tear with him over thefe ruins of the dignity of human nature j this memento of the deceit- fulnefs of the human heart, and of thefub- tilty of Satan, truly humbling and affedllng. With all the advantages that genius, educa- tion, and religious privileges could afford, fee one, who according to his own account was of the ftock of Ifrael, of the tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews, and touching the righteoufnefs which is of the Jaw blamelefs ; yet with refpect to the v/ay C 4 of [ 24 ] of life, like thofe gentiles he defcribes, Bpb. iv. 17. walking in the vanity of the mind, having the underftanding darkenedj beinp- alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in them occa- iioned by the blindnefs of the heart. Saul before his converfion remained ignorant of his real charader and ftate ; of Satan's de- vices ; of thofe depths of deceit and craft which that old ferpent difcovered in prac- tifing upon him the artifices of which he himfelf was taught afterwards to forewarn others, transforming himfelf into an angel of light. In that characfler he impofed upon Saui when he engaged him in oppofing the Redeemer's kingdom, under the artful pretence of doing God an acceptable and meritorious fcrvice, by attempting the per- petual eftablifliment of his ancient law, when fuperfeded by a new and better cove- pant. May every defcendant of religious parents, endued with natural talents and fpiritual gifts; and efpecially every zealot for mere names and forms, hear and be abafed, inftead of boafting of himfelf as fomething, when [ 25 ] when he is nothing, and worfe than no- thing ; remembering that oracle of eternal truth which proceeded from the mouth of him that has the key of David ; who opens, and no man fhuts, who {huts, and no man opens, Matt, xviii. 3. " Except ye be con- verted, and become as little children, ye iLall not enter into the kingdom of Jieaven." CHAP. [ 26 ] CHAP. II. THE TIME, PLACE, AND CIRCUMSTANCES OF Paul's conversion; with a SHORT ABSTRACT OF THE ARGU- MENTS IT AFFORDS IN CONFIRMATION! OF THE TRUTH OF CHRISTIANITY, HAVE thought," fays a noble and learned writer, ** that the converiion and apoftlefhip of St. Paul alone, duly con- £dered, wasof itfelfa demonfiiration fuffi-r Cicnt to prove chriflianity to be a divine re- velation'." And after reciting the paffages of fcripture in which that extraordinary event is recorded, he fubjoins the following remarks : " Jt muft of neceffity be^ that the perfon attefting thefe things of himfelf, and of whom they are related in fo authen- tic a manner, either was an impoflor, who faid what he knew to be falfe, with an in-r- tent to deceive 3 or he was an enthufiail; who, ' Vid. Obfervations on the ConvciTion and Apoftlc- fUip of St. jpdul. 6 by [ -^7 ] by the force of ?.n overheated Imagination, impofcd upon himfelf ; or he was deceived by the fraud of others ; or elfe, what he dechires to have been the caufc of his con- verfion, and to have happened in confe- quence of it, did all really happen, and therefore the chriftian religion is a divine revelation." And the fame author, having afterwards proved with great perfpicuity and itrength of reafoning, that Paul was neither a deceiving impoitor, nor a felf- deceived enthuliaft; and that he could not poffibly bs iiTipofed on by others, draws this important conclulion, *' therefore he was called by God to be a difciple and an apoftle of Chrift." Without purfuing the argument here, v/e v/ifli thefe hints may be kept in view, v/hile reviiing the feveral circumftances of that grand event by which his converlion is faid to have been effcclcd. Wc ihall firft examine the fcripture ac- counts of the event itfelf ; and then the change it produced upon Saul. The firit account we have of the fupernatural appear- ance [ 28 ] ance of Chrift to Saul, is that recorded by Luke in his Hiftory of the Ads of the Apoflles'': ** And Saul yet breathing out threatenings and Daughter againlt the difci- ples of the Lord, went unto the high priefl;, and defired of him letters to Damafcus to the fynagogues, that if he found any of this way, whether they were men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerufa- lem. And as he journeyed, he came near Damafcus : and fuddenly there fliined round about him a light from heaven. And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice faying unto him, Saul, Saul, why perfecutefh thou me ? And he faid. Who art thou. Lord ? And the Lord faid, I am Jefus whom thou perfecutefi: : // is hard for thee to kick againil the pricks. And he trembling and aftoniilied, faid. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ? And the Lord faid unto him, Arife, and go into the city, and it ihall be told thee what thou muft do. And the men which journeyed with him flood fpeechlefs, hearing a voice, but feeing no ^ Ads jx. I — 9. 5 man. [ 29 ] man. And Saul arofe from the earth ; and when his eyes were opened, he faw no man : but they led him by the hand, and brought him into Damalcus. And he was three days without fight, and neither did eat nor drink." This was afterwards recited by the apoftle himfelf, firft before the elders of the Jews in council, and a great multitude of people ailembled at Jerufalem ^ "'Asalfo the high prieft doth bear me witnefs, and all the eftate of the elders : from whom alfo I received letters unto the brethren, and went to Damafcus, to bring them which were there, bound unto Jerufalem, for to be punillied. And it came to pafs, that as I made my journey, and was come nigh unto Damafcus about noon, fuddenly there (hone from heaven a great light round about me. And I fell unto the ground, and heard a voice faying unto me, Saul, Saul, why perfecuteft thou me ? And I anfwered. Who art thou. Lord? and he faid unto me, I am Jefus of Nazareth whom thou per- fecuteft. And they that were with me, ^ A^$ xxii. 5— II, faw [ 30 ]' faw Indeed the light, and were afraid; biit they heard not the voice of him that fpake to me. And I faid. What fhall I do, LoYd? And the Lord faid unto me, Arlfe, and go into Damafcus, and there it fliall be told thee of all things which are appointed for thee to do. And when I could not fee for the glory of that light, being led by the hand of them that were with me, I came into Damafcus/' And then thu^ before Agrippa: " "Whereupon as 1 went to Da-^ niafcus, w^Ith authority and commifTion from the chief priefts : at mid-day, O king, I faw in the way a light from heaven, abov^ the brightnefs of the fun, fliining round about me, and them which journeyed with me. And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice fpeaking unto me, and flying in the Hebrew tongue, Saul-; Saul, why perfccuteft thou me ? It is hard for thee to kick againft the pricks. And I faid. Who art thou. Lord ? And he fard, I am Jefus whom thou perfecutefl. But rife, and ftand upon thy feet : for I have ap-^ " Acls xxvi, 12 — 1 6'. peared [ 31 ] peared unto thee for this purpofe, to make thee a minifler and a witnefs both of thefe tilings which thou haft feen, and of thofe things in the which I will appear unto thee." It is obfervablc that nothing is men- tioned, in either of thefe accounts, which exadly afcertains the jeraof this memorable event. But from comparing feveral cir- cumftances, both before and after it, par- ticularly from the apoftle's faying that he went up to Jerufalem three years after", as that is thought to have been in the year of our Lord 39 or 40, it is probable his con- verfionwas A. D. 36 or 37, and when Paul was only 24, or at moft 25 years of age ". All agree that it happened on the road, as he was going with a number of his com- " Gal. i. 18. *" Dr. Lardncr thought Paul's converfion took place within the fame year of Stephen's martyrdom, and that, as the firft mention we have of him is then, it is pro- bable he had made no very public appearance in the world before. pan ions [ 32 ] ^anionis from Jerufalem to perfecute ih6 chriftians at Damafcus, and not till he was very near that celebrated city. According to a tradition long preferved by the inhabi- tants, he was within half amile^ and in full view of it^. Saul vv^xnt thither with a comn:iiiIion to bring all Jews, whether fo by birth or education (for as it came from the P It may not perhaps be unacceptable to the reader, to perufe here the few following extracts from Mr. Maundrel's Account of Damafcus, in his journey from Aleppo to Jerufalem. ** Damafcus," fays he, *' was long the capital of Syria, and called by Julian the eye of the whole eaft. No place ever afforded more delicious profpec^sj it ap- peared two miles long, thick fetwith mofqufes and ftee- ples, and incompaffed with gardens near 30 miles round; beautifully watered with ftreams of the river Barrady, two of the branches of which are thought to be the Abana and Pharphar, called (2 Kings v. 12.) Rivers of Damafcus. The ftrects of the city are narrow, and the houfes in general built of mean materials, chiefly fun- burnt bricks, coarfely daubed over ; bat many of them are beautifully adorned v/ithin. There is a church de- dicated to John the Baptift, in which they fay his head and other relicks are preferved. On the eafl fide, about half a mile from the city, is the place which they fhew for [ 33 ] the Jewlfh high priefl, it could not extend to Gentile converts) that he found there of THIS WAY, men or women, and to take them in chains to Jerufalem. This way, or the WAY, Teems to have been a term of reproach, and applied as fuch to the fed: of the Naza- renes. They were called people of that WAY, with reference, probably, to their pe- culiar way of thinking, teaching, worfl:iip- ping, living, &c. See. which were all of- fenlive to the Jews. Hence the bitternefs of Saul againft them i — and he had carried his malignity fo far as to make no diftintftion of age or fex; treating all thefe Galileans with equal feverity and injuftice. for that on which Paul had his vifion ; it is clofe by the way fide, and has nothing more than a fmall rock to diftinguifh it." Mr. Maundrel was fhevvn, in a ftreet which they fay is that cz]kd Straight, (A<5ls ix. ii.) the houfe of Ana- nias, with his tomb in it. We fhali only add, that Damafcus was long cele- brated for its produclions both of nature and art: three of which, it is thought, have been tranfmitted hither, viz. the damafcene fruit tree, the damaflc rofe, and the filk well known in England by the name of damafk, D But ^ [ .'4 ] But he was flopped in his purfuit, and that juH: v/ithin fight of his prey : and Hopped by a very unexpected and extraor- dinary occurrence. *' Suddenly there Ihone round about him, and them that journeyed with him, a light from heaven, above the brightnefs of the fun," and evidently diilincft from it i occafioned not, as fome pretend, by a flalh of lightening (for its appearance v;as not of that fort) but rather " by bright rays," fays Dr. Doddridge, ** v/hich darted from the glorified body of our Lord." From what is faid by Ananias ^ it is pro- bable Saul difcerned amidfh the glory a hu- man form, though at firfl he did not know it to be that of Jefus. A circumflance which rendered this phae- nomenon the more extraordinary and con- vincinp- was, that it happened about noon, or, according to his own account, at mid- day. Both Saul and his companions were {o affeded by it, that they fell down upon the ground. While they were in that fituation, ** Saul heard a voice fpeaking to him in the 1 Acls xxii. Id.. Hebrew [ 35 ] Hebrew (his native) tongue, and faying^ Saul, Saul, why perfecuteft thou me ?" It is remarked, ** ' that thofe who wer« with him faw a light and perceived a found, but did not fo diftindly hear the voice as to underftand the meilligc delivered in it." Nor is that any thing flrangej becaufe, being intended for Saul, it was more immediately addrelTed to him; Witfius, and after him Dr. Doddridge, refers us to thatlimilar inftance recorded in the gofpel of John '^ when a voice came to Jefus from his Father, faying, *' I have glorified my name, and will glorify it." The people that flood by (as Saul's at* tendants did in the inftance before us) heard the found of the voice direcfted to him, but were fofar from underftanding it, that they faid it thundered; Saul, however, Underftood every word addreffed to him ; yet not knowing at firft from whom the meflage came, replied, ' Ads xxii. 8. * Ch. xii. 28, 29. D 2 " Who [ 36 ] " Who art thou Lord ?" apprehending it was feme divine perfonage, he wiflied for farther information concerning him. The anfwer he received was, ** lam jefus whom" thou revileft as a Nazarene, and whom "thou'* *' art "intentionally" perfecuting" in all this violence with which thou art oppofing thefe young converts to chriftianity. This pointed charge was followed with an admo- nition equally humbling and alarming, " It is hard for thee to kick againft the pricks." ** A proverbial expreffion," fays Dr. Ham- mond, " for impotent rage, which hurts onefelf, and not the objedt againfl: which it is levelled'." The ancient eafterns pudied on their oxen to labour, by pricking them- with goads ; and as fome of thofe beafts, inftead of quickening their pace^ might, though to their own hurt, kick at the in- ftrument which wounded them, and at thofe who followed them with it, in allufion to- ' The ingenious editor of Claude fuppofes the com- parifon taken from the frowardnefs of a vicious horfc that kicks when his rider fpurs him : but perhaps few then rode upon horfes in that country, and fewer ftill made ufe of fpurs 3 not to infifl: upon the impropriety of fuppofmg a horfe to kick againji the fpur of his rider. the [ 37 ] the conduct of thofe animals, Jefus thus expofes the foolifli and hurtful perverfenefs of linners who bring aggravated mifery upon themfelves by oppoling his counfels and operations. " Equally vain and hurtful," fays he to Saul, " wouldil thou find it, to refift thy great Lord in what he is doing to form thee for himfelf, and for ufefulnefs in his church; or to oppofe that work and caufe which he is efpoufing '." ^ The tranflator of Claude, referred to above, fuppofes cuMipov ffoi is put for (Xy.KiipsoTtii (7a, and would render it, *' It Is thy hardnefs that kicks againft the pricks ;" *' for," fays he, " it is nothing troublefome and pain- ful to Tinners to refift the grace of Chrifr." But if they do not fufFer in the attempt (though it feems wrong to aflert that as a general facl) yet, perfifting in it, they muft feel its confequence, which is, at Icaft, an impor- tant part of the truth intended. In this fenfe, as well as in many others, the pofition of Solomon (Proverbs xiii. 15) is verified i " the way of tranfgrelTors is hard." It is remarkable, that both Pindar and Euri- pides make ufe of the fame expreflion to denote the folly and danger of oppofing God. But Bochart thinks it an allufion toDeut, xxxii. 15. *' Jefliurun waxed fat and kicked, &c." Vid. Wliitby in Loc. D 3, It [ 38 ] It is faid, that upon receiving this ad^ monition, Saul, " trembling and aftonifhed, Cried out. Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?" Without entering into the fpirit and purport of this reply here, it is obvious to remark, on every incident thus far recorded in the ftory, that it was mod certainly the Lord Jefus Chrift who appeared to Saul. This is farther confirmed by his own words, *' He was feen of me";" and what Ananias faid to him ; ** The Lord, even Jefus that appeared unto thee in the way that thou cameft, hath fent me"*," &c. as well as by the words, of Barnabas to the apoftle, who, when he introduced him to his brethren at Jerufalem, *' declared unto them, that he had feen the Lord in the way." His new mafter's firfi: inftrudion to bis difciple was, *' Go into the city, i. e, Da^ mafcus, and it (hall there be told thee what thou fhalt do." « I Cor. XV, 8. " Aasix. 17. 6 He [ 39 ] He went, or rather was led thither im- mediately, being ftruck blind by the glory of the vifion. This blindnefs continuing three days (during which he likewife re- mained fading) gave him time for re- tired meditation, both on what had paiTed, 2nd the new fcene now opening upon him : and fome think it might likewife be in- tended to convey mental and fpiritual in- flruftion, as it was occafioned bv a vifion of the divine glory *, nnd continued upon him till admitted to an interview with a fervant of Chrift. He v/ns conduced to the houfe oi one Judas. While he remained there, Jefus appeared in vifion to Ananias, a devout difciple, and ordered him to go and enquire for one Saul of Tarfus. He went imme- diately, and finding him there, and in all refpects anfwering the defcription he had received of him, put his hands upon him and faid, " Brother Saul, the Lord hath fent me, that thou mayed receive thy fight and be filled with the Holy Ghoft ^" Upon this falutation of Ananias, it is faid, * Compare Jobxlii. 5, 6. and Rev. i. 17. y Ads ix, 17. D 4 ** imme- [ 40 ] ■ ' immediately there fell from his eyes, as it had been fcales ; and he received fight forth- with, and arofe, and was baptized^;" hav^- ing renounced his former principles, and publicly profefled his faith in Chrift, by this folemn rite he was initiated among his difciples. Thefe were the leading circumftances with which this divine vifion was attended. We will now examine its immediate effedts on his temper and con du (51. We hear little of his companions. No- thing more is faid of them, than that they flood aflonillied at the appearance and the found. It is not known whether they fo far recovered their fpirits as to purfue their journey, and perfift in their infidelity and oppofition to the chriftian caufc; or whe- ther any of them joined Saul in his ad- herence to Chrift. He had probably (een or heard of the change wrought upon fome of his near kinf- * Afts ix. iS. • men [ 41 ] men whom he fpoke of % as having been in Chrift before him : yet neither that, nor any- other event until now, made the leall ufeful impreflion upon his mind. But this was in demonftration of the fpirit and of power. He celebrates it as the happy moment in which the Lord called him by his grace, and revealed his Son in him, that he might ^ preach him among the heathen ". From that hour he confidered himfelf as an apoftle by the will of God, and the commandment of God our Saviour and the Lord Jefus Chrift^ The firjl; principles of that divine know- ledge and temper that fitted Paul for his high office in the chriftian church, he imbibed then ; and v/hat thefe were may be known, partly by the language he uttered when prollrate at the feet of Jefus, and partly by his fubfequent difcourfes and writings. *' Trembling and aftoniftied, he cried out there. Lord! what wilt thou have me to do ?" ^ Rom. xvi. 7. ^ Gal. i. 15. *= I Tim. i. I. 2 Cor. i. 1. The [ 42 ] The imprefiion immediately made upon his mind appears to have been very ftrong, and of a painful, humbling and alarming nature. If a man of aright fpirit, and of irreproach- able manners (as feme have reprefented him) before, whence this trembling ? It has been faid that " the change now wrought was merely in his underftanding." But both the agitation of his whole frame on the appear- ance of Jefus, and the language he ufed, indicate alfo an ^wakened confcience ; and teflify that (like other converts mentioned in the fame book) he was pricked in the heart. He had feen Jefus : had been admonifhed by him ; and felt a mixture of fhame, of grief, and of fear, which altoge^ ther overpowered him. Light broke in upon his pnderftanding ; and gonvidion, a humbling conviction of fin a^ the fametim^ made its way to his heart. Hence his afto- niiliment, as well at the vile part he had been ading, as at this gracious and conde- fcending appearance of his injured Lord. Contrition accompanied the difcovery; the turn of his mind was changed, and he makes [ 43 ] makes an unlimited furrender of himrdf to him. Other lords had had dominion over Saiilj his prejudices and paffions had enflavcd him ; the commiffion he had eagerly pro- cured, was to fcize, bind, and abufe all of his former brethren he fhguld meet with, converted to the faith of Ch rift ; but for- ^j-ettin^ the bufmefs became upon, and the authority under which he had been ading, belays himfelf at the feet of Jefus, *' Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?" Shall we compare the fpirit he breathes in this lan- guage with that which he had ever mani- felled before? He had thought himfelf perfedly acquainted with the divine will, and in all things exadly conformed to it ; at leafl:^ he would have fcorned to receive inftruc- tion from Jefus of Nazireth. The Jewifli fathers were his oracles ; nor would hecon^ fultany others in religious matters. What they taught he believed, and he did all they required. But now he refers himfelf to Je- fus, defires to iearn of him, as a difciple of bis mafter, and owns his fupreme authority as [ 44 ] «s his Lord and lawgiver; Speak, Lord, for thy fervant heareth ; I axn willing to do and to fufFer all thy pleafure. His lan- guage is that of a humble and lowly mind, confcious of the imperfedion both of his knowledge and obedience, and defirous of being taught of the Lord ; expreffive of a firm faith in Jefus as the Son of God, and the iinner's only Saviour and Sovereign ; as well as of the raoft cordial fubjedion to him, and eileem of him, under thofe characters. He fpeaks now as one glad to ferve the mailer he had oppofed, and willing both to preach the faith and to promote the caufe he had laboured to deflroy. Indeed he was changed throughout. In his religious fentiments- — his fpirit and temper-^his mode of v^^orfhip — his flrain of converfation— his governing views — his fa-^ vourite companions- — his manner of life. Hisjewifh prejudices fublide — his phari- faic pride is abafed — his carnal confidence {haken — his daring impetuofity reftrained — " and (which is more) his hard heart foften- 6 e4 [ 45 ] ej— yea, his fury and malignity exxhanged for love and tendernefs. And to what muft we afcribe fo extraor- dinary and univerfal a change ? *' To vir- tuous habits," fays the author referred to above*, " which qualified him for a ready acceptance of the gofpel, and the refult of his own reflexions in folltude during his three days blindnefs." If fo, Chrift and grace did little for him. But the language of faith and obedience which he uttered the moment he was flruck blind, could not be owing to the refledions of three fubfequent days : nor did he at any time claim the honour of that, or of any thing he ever faid or did. The enlightened Paul always fpoke of himfelf as a monument of mercy, of rich fovereign grace. It is plain, from many paflages in his writings, that he not only confidered his chriftian privileges and hopes as beftowed freely upon him by God, through his dear Son, but likewife every fpiritual principle in him and his brethren in Chrifl Jefus, as * The late Rev. Mr. Grove, of Taunton. the [ 46 ] the production of a divine power; or wrought in him and them by the Holy Spi- rit. " I pray God," fays he to the Ephe- liahs, *' ye may know what is the exceed- ing greatnefs of his power towards us who' believed" And again, " we are all his workmanfhip, created in Chrift Jefus unto good works" :" and (not now to mention atny other pafTages) whert fpeaking of the chriilian's hop'e, he fays, *' he that hath wrought us to the felf-fame thing is God^ "v^ho alfo hath given unto us the earneft of Iiis fpirit^' f }i It was in confequence of this, that he Was Enabled to give that evidence of his intereft in Chrift, which he lays down as a rule of judgment to others : " If any man be in Chrift Jefus, he is a new creature, old things are paffed away, behold all things are become new." From thefe, and many other finiilar paf-- fages, it is very evident, that more was done for Paul, when Jefus appeared to him^, * Epbef. i. 19. = Ch JI, xc ■ 2 Cor. v. 5. thai^ [ 47 ] than merely convincing him of the truth of the chriftian religion. The vifion was ac- companied with a divine energy which at once enlightened his underftanding, and transformed his heart. However fplendid or awful, it was not of itfelf fufiicient to effe6l his converfion to the chriftian faith and temper. Extraordinary appearances of that nature may alarm and diftrefs for a while, but can do little to impart fpiritual knowledge, very little indeed towards creating a foul anew in Chrift Jefus. A perfon of an inquifitive, and efpecially of a fceptical turn, would find no difficulty in Shaking off the impreffion made upon him by fuch occurrences, as mere vifionary de- ceptions: nor can we aflert the felf-fuffi- ciency of any external application to the fenfes, however uncommon and fuperna- tural, for fuch important purpofes, with- out contradicting a fentiment, as folid in itfelf as it is refps^Stable for its autho- rity, viz. " If they hear not Mofcs and the prophets, neither will they be perfuadcd, though one rofe from the dead ^" « Luke xvi. 31. Wc i 48 ] We muft therefore conclude, that in this inftance (to ufe our apoftle's own words in defcribing it) " The God who commanded the light to iliine out of darknefs, fliined into his heart, to give him the knowledge of his glory in the face of Jefus Chrifl^." Such were the ftriking and convincing exertions of a divine power which accom- panied this extraordinary event. We fhall trace with pleafure its abiding efFeds on his temper and condudl in a following chapter. This will be concluded with fome remarks on the evidences which his converlion itfeif affords, of the truth and divine origin of chriftianity'." And ^ 2 Cor. iv. 6. * I had intended pafling over the argument from Paul's converfion, in favour of chriflianity, vi^ith only the (hort hints fuggefted at the beginning of this chap- ter : referring my readers to the mafterly perform- ance there mentioned, for a fuller illuftration of it : but having fmce been induced 10 hope a fummary of that argument may not feem an unneceflary, or prove an ufelefs part of this dengn, I fhall make no farther apology for attempting it here ; only premifing that though I Ihould not exad^ly fullow the plan of that ingenious t 49 ] And it appears, I ft. That Paul believed his converfion truly miraculous, and his miffion divine. He aflerted this frequently, and in the flrongeft terms ; affigned his undoubted convidion of the truch, as the occafion of* that change which every one obferved in him ; and that with freedom and courage in the moft public and rcfpedable aiTemblies. In the introduction to moftof his epiftles to the churches, he wrote of himfelf as an apoille, not of men, or by men, but by Jefus Chrift, and God the Father. " I certify you, brethren,** fays he to the Galatians^ " of the Gofpel I preach, that I received it, not of men, but by the reve- lation of Jefus Chrifl." " And when It pleafed God, who feparated me from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace, to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach ingenious writer, I fhall take the liberty of inferting moft of his leading thoughts; and fomeof them, per- haps, in his own words, without marking every fuch fentiment or fentence as a quotation from him. *' Gal. i. 10, II. E him [ 50 ] him among the Gentiles, I conferred not with fieih and blood," &c. And fhall we, can we fuppofe him ci^ pable of uttering the moft infamous falfe- hood, and of a^^ting a part himfelf, which he univerfally condemned in the ftrongefl terms — that of a falfe witnefs of God ? His veracity is unimpeached, and the whole tenor of his conduct, from his firil interview with Jcfus, to his dying hour, was one continued and flriking confirmation of thefe truths. If not confcious of a divine direction and influence, why give up thofe religious principles, and relinquifli thofe rites of worihip in which he had been educated, and to which, through life, he had exprelled the warmefi; attachment ? After all the contempt he himfelf had poured on the doctrine of Jefus, nothing lefs than an undoubted perfuafion of its truth, and divine original, could ever induce him to embrace and preach it. He had no temptation to change his religion at the expence of his confcience. An [ 51 ] An afpiring Impoftor could not feek to gratify his ambition by refigning con- nections refpedable as his at Tarfus and Jerufalem, for the defpifed charac- ter of a Nazarene. ** Such a deceiver, in a fituation like Paul's, would have con- ilituted himfelf the head of the fed to which he acceded, or at leaft of the profelytes that were made by himfelf. This was no more than was done by every philofopher who then formed a fchool. It is no more than the bifhops of Rome (thofe impious ufurpers of the throne of God) have been continually doing, in claiming a monarchy over the church of Chrift.'" If influenced by a thirft for power, or the afFedlation of fuperiority, he mull: be mean indeed to facrifice his every other profpeCt, to that of exercifing an eccle- iiaftical dominion over a few poor fifher- ' See this part of his character, juftly and beautifully illuftratcd in a pamphlet, entitled Humility reprefented in the character of the Apoftle Paul ; written many years ago by Dr. Watts, who imbibed much of the fpirit of the apoftle, and was endued with no linall fhare of his abilities and talents, E 2 meri t 5Z 3 men. The whole of his behaviour amona them was a moft convincing proof that he fought no fuch dooiinion either over their perfons or their faith. His heart's defire was to be an helper of their joy, and a fel- low-labourer with them in promoting the great caufe of their common mailer^ and the falvation of their fellow-creatures. The known purity and humility of his fpi- fit, free him from all fufpicions of carnal and licentious motives. It would be doing him the vileft injuftice to infinuate that he em- braced chriilianity, from a difpofition to throw off the reftraints of reafon, morality,, or the ecclefiaftical laws of his country, and avowed himfelf a chriftian that he might adx in the chara(5ler of a libertine. The tenets- he openly profefled, as well as the rules of conduct he recommended to others, and by which he himfelf was uniformly actuated, fufficiently expofe the malignity of the in- iinuation. Nq man farther than Paul from- the very dangerous maxim, of " doing evil that good may come," or of ** finning that grace might abound."" Neither [ 53 ] Neither can he be fufpedled of interefted motives in his profelTion of chriflianity, A man of the world would not have relin- quifhed advantageous connections and prof- pedts like his, among his own countrymen, for an employment that he knew would cxpofe him to labour and poverty, and (to ufe his own emphatic language) to be madq as the filth of the world, and the off-fcour- ing of all things. Indeed, this choice would have indicated him little better than either a fool or a madman, unlefs confcious of a divine call and authority. Until, therefore, his enemies can prove him either an ideot, or infane, we will venture to affirm that candour, nay juftice, to one who uniformly maintained the charadter of an honeft m^n, obliges us to give him credit when he aflures us that he verily believed himfelf called of God to the office of the chriftian miniftry. And wc muft think, 2d, That great regard is due to the con- vidion of his judgment and confcience in this matter. No man more capable ot E 3 judging [ 54 ] judging rationally and juflly ii^ an affair of this nature, than the apoflle Paul. He had great mental powers, and was in full poireffion of them when the event hap- pened. Far from being prejudiced in favour of the chriftian caufe, his education and turn of mind had prepared him for every oppofition to it- But he who had ever fcorned to embrace a iingle tenet of chrifti- anity, now lays himfelf at the feet of Jefus, with a *' Lord, what v/ilt thou have me to do ?" How elfe will any account for it, but from a convidlion, on inconteftible evidence, that he was in truth the Son of God, and the Meffiah. If it be faid, ** he was then in an extacy, and therefore inca- pable of the calm exercife of his rational faculties," can it reafonably be fufpeded either that this extacy was of very long du- ration, or that while it continued, it was of fuch a nature as entirely to deprive him of his underftanding ? He was blind three days after this at Damafcus. In this retire- ment he had leifure to think — to review the fcenes through which he had pafTed, the 5 bufinefs [ 55 ] buiinels on which he fct out from Jerufalem, with all he had feen, and heard, and felt by the way. He could then realize the nature of his new lituation and calling — the juftice and propriety of that great alteration which had taken place in his temper and views ; and to weigh well the origin and defign of that extraordinary appearance and addrefs which had occafioned it. And what was the refult ? He determines to adhere to his new principles, and to perfevere in the cha- rad:er, not only of a difciple of Chrift, but likewife of a preacher of his gofpel ; and that in avowed obedience to (what in the hearing of Agrippa, he called) ** an hea- venly vifion.""' No one will fay he was perfuaded to fpeak of it as fuch by his former companions, unlefs they were con- vinced with him at the fame period, and by the fame means; nor can any juftly inli- nuate that he reprefented the change that had taken place in that light, under the in- fluence of his chriflian brethren. His views of it were the fame, long before he had any connexions with them. The only perfoa " Acls xxvi. 19. E 4 hs [ 56 ] he faw between the hour of his converfion, and that of his entering upon his public work, was Ananias, *' a man of good report among all the Jews who. dwelt at Damaf- cus." Such a man, therefore, would not concur with this young ftranger in an ap- parent fraud* Inflead of going to confult with the apoftles at Jerufalem ; or, in any way what-, ever, waiting to ** confer with fiefh and blood," he went forth immediately, as he himfelf affures us, to preach Chrifl and his gofpel among the heathen. He could not, therefore, be fufped:ed of coll u lion with them : his reafons were within hirafelf ; nor can any credulity of which fuch a man as Paul can be thought capable, account for his moving forward as he did, in a line of life, not only new, buf diametrically oppofite to that in which he had always appeared be- fore. He had long withftood the extraor- dinary evidences of a divine miffion, with which both the life and death of Jefus had been attended : but a vifion of his glory from the third heaven, accompanied with the [ 57 ] the mighty energy of his grace, convinces and conflrains him. He now fees and feels the truth, and triumphs in it, *' Verily this is the Son of God." He was once ridiculed in public court as befide himfelf, and told that much iludy had made him mad ; but his calm and manly reply fufficiently ex- pofed the futility and malice of the infmua- tion : ** I am not mad, moft noble Feftus, but fpeak. the words of truth and fober- aefs." " Paul had indeed a warmth of tem- per, and a lively imagination ; but he dif- covered in that anfwer a command of both, and ever afterwards even in the moft trying and delicate fituatioas. We have, therefore, every reafon to re- ceive his teftimony, not only as that of an honeft man, but of one who muft know well the grounds upon which he made the aliertion, when he declared (as he did again and again) that he received his commiflion and his gofpel from God. Moreover, 3d, He could not expeft fuccefs in an ifnpofition of this kind, if he had attempted ^ Acls xxvi. 24, 25. it. [ 58 ] it. Paul was no flranger to the dotflrineof a providence before his converfion to chrif-' tianity : his fe£l in general avowed their be- lief of it, and of a righteous retribution. And could he expecl?!: that the fearcher of hearts, and the God of truth, would pa- tronize an impious fraud ? That he would fupport and profper him in the afiumed cha^ raster of his fervant, and in claims to the credit of a divine infpiration to which he had nojuft pretenfions ? Might he not ra- ther be apprehenfive that both God and man would fpeedily detect and punidi him ? What were the fad:s on which he found- ed thofe claims ? They were not things done, or pretended to be done in a cor- ner. Paul afierted, that he had heard a voice from heaven, and fcen a fuper- natural vifion at noon day ; that this happened to him on the public road, and when travelling in company with a number of perfons who were going with him to perfecute the chriflians at Damafcus. Had he pretended to fuch an extraordinary ap-r pearance to confirm him and them in that undertaking, the whole party might have beeu [ 59 ] been fufpeded of a collufion. But in the light in which it was reprefented by Paul, as an appearance of Jefus to countcradl the whole defign, and engage him in his in- tereft; if the fad had not happened in the way he defcribed it, they certainly could and would have contradicted him. He pre- tended tobeftruck blind by this vifion. He was led as a blind man to Damafcus. The deception, if there had been any, mufl foon have been expofed there, and it was for his companions to fay if he was blind when he fet out from Jerufalem. He afterwards declared that he was put in truft with the gofpel of Chrift, and com- manded to preach it. Both the ftrain and efFed: of his public difcourfes would foon [hew whether he was infpired with the fpi- rit of truth, or ** under ftrong delufions to believe a lie." The leaft mifreprefentation of chriftian doctrines orfadts, would have expofed him to public cenfure. However defirous he might be of the patronage of the apofllesi and important as that was to pro- cure him a favourable reception as a chriff tian [ 6° ] tian preacher, he could not but be appre- henfive that his late public and violent at- tack on the dod'rines and followers of Jefus, would make them cautious of giving him the right-hand of feilowfliip without very clear and fatisfadory evidences of a divine miffion. Some recent inftances in which they had deted:ed and expofed others in their attempted impofitions upon them, might fufficiently convince Saul (as he could not but know them) that he, of all impoftors, had nothing to hope, but every thing to fear from that quarter. Nor could he reafon- ably expe(5l to fucceed better in attempts to eftablifh a feparate intereft on groundlefs pretenfions to fupernatural gifts ; efpecially on the unpopular plan upon which he fet out, and the artlefs manner in which he pur- fued it. No impoftor would feek to re- commend himfelf by the dodrines of the crofs either at Jerufalem, or at Corinth, Paul well knew that to the inhabitants of the former of thefe cities, that crofs was a tumbling block, and to thofe of the latter, foolifhnefs : yet he fledfaftly maintained it jn both; and, equally fuperior to low ambi- tion t 6> 1 tion and a fervile fear, gloried in it as the " wifdom of God and the power of God." As fuch he had reafon to adhere to it with confidence ; otherwife he, and all engaging in fuch an undertaking, might juftly be accounted, both by themfelves and others, of all men moft miferable. Yet wc muft know, 4th, That fuch eifeds were hereby pro* duced as cannot be accounted for but upon the acknowledgment of a divine agency. Some that were immediately apparent in the apoftie himfelf, have been remarked, and thofe afterwards produced on his habi- tual temper and life will be the fubje^ of the following chapter. We refer here to the power with which his word, in many inftances, was accompanied to others. Well inftru(^ed in the nature and defign of the gofpel ; embracing and honouring it as the word of truth and of life j and longing for fouls in the bowels of Chrift Jefus ; he went from city to city, and from one coun- 6 try i 62 i try to another, publifhing the glad tiding^^ ** not with the enticing words of man's wifdom, left the crofs of Chrift fliould be made of none efFed: ; but in demonftration of the fpirit, and of power." In no inftanee affed:ing popularity, either by Weak and cri- minal accommodations to the idolatrous rites and principles of the Gentiles ; or by tem- porizing meafures with his own country- men : but " warning every man, and teach- ing every man in all heavenly wifdom, that he might prefent every man perfed: in Chrift Jefus." Not a mover of fedition ; yet invariably faithful to the eaufe of his great Mafter, as the caufe of truth, of li- berty, of purity, and of true happinefs; and that in the face of all the oppofition which the fophiftry of philofophers, the craft of priefts, the power of princes, or the blind zeal of the populace could excite. And let us hear what he fays himfelf of the conteft : " The weapon^ of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of ftrong holds ; cafting down imaginations and every high thing which cxalteth itfelf againft the knowledge of God i. i 63 ] God; and bilnging into captivity every thought to the obedience of Chrift.*"' Multitudes were thus fubdued ; the ignorant were enlightened; the hard heart foftened, and bigotted perfecutors (like himfclf) con- verted into meek and affetftionate followers of the Lord. The prophane and impious became devout — the carnal heart was fpiri- tualized — the intemperate became fober — the paiTionate, mild — the proud, humble— the felfifh, beneficent — and thofe who here- tofore were always minding earthly things, were taught to fet their affedions on things above. And of thefe, not only here and there an inftance prefented itfelf, but there v/ere numbers fufficient to conftitute flourirtiing chriftian churches in many of the moft learned, polite, and populous cities in the Eafl : fo that it cannot juftly be faid that Paul endeavoured to make his way, and cftablifh his gofpel, merely in obfcure cor- ners, or among the moft illiterate and un- difcerning of mankind. Nor were fuch by * 2 Cor. X. 4, 5. anv t 64 ] any means his only profelytes. Among others in the lift, we read of Sergius Paulus^ the proconful of Paphos; Eraftus, cham^ berlain, or city-treafurer of Corinth, and Dionyiius the Areopagite ; not to mention Agrippa, from whom his fpirited defence of the gofpel, extorted that ingenuous con- feffion in open court, " Almoft thou per- fuadeft me to be a chriftian." I fliall clofe thefe remarks with an extrad: from the pamphlet referred to at the beginning of them, from p. 92 to 95. ** It is a much harder tafk for unbelievers to account for the fuccefs of St. Paul in preaching the gofpel, upon the fuppofi- tion of his having been an enthuliaft, than of his having been an impoflor. But neither of thefe fuppofitions can ever ac-^ count for it 5 but the impoffibility is more glaringly ftrong in this cafe, than in the other. I could enter into a parti- cular examination of all the miracles re- corded in the As XX. 9. ' Ads xxvii. ** barciis [ 6) ] *' barous illanders, to whom this apoftle '* was an abfolute ftfanger, prepared by *' enthufiafm, to exped and believe that " anyrairacle would be worked to preferve ** him ? On the contrary, when they faw *' the viper hang on his hand, they faid " among themfelves, *' No doubt this man ** is a murderer, whom though he hath " efcaped the lea, yet vengeance fuffereth " not to live." I will add no more in- ** fiances; thefe are fufficient to fliew that " the miracles told of St. Paul, can no more " be afcribed to enthufiafm than to im- *' pofture." '^ But, moreover, the power of working *' miracles was not confined to St. Paul, it " was alfo communicated to the churches " he planted in the different parts of the " world. In many parts of his firfl epiflle *^ he tells the Corinthians, that they had '* among them many miraculous graces and " gifts, and gives them diredions for the '* more orderly ufe of them in their affem- '• blies'. Now I afk whether all that he * I Cor. xli. 4, 5. F 2 *' faid [ 63 } " faid upon that head is to be afcribcd i6 ** enthufiafm ? If the Corinthians knew " that they had among them no fuch mira- " clulous powers, they muft have regarded '* the author of that epiftle as a man out of " his fenfes, inftead of revering him as art ''apoftleof God." But confcious of their pofleffing the fu- pernatural powers of which he wrote, and of having received them by the laying on of the apoftles' hands, they honoured him and them in that character ; and have concurred with many others in recommending them and the religion they taught, to the venera- tion of fucceffive ages as from God, and every way worthy of him. What then fhall we think of thofe who' are treating with negledl and fcorn thefe heavenly oracles, flrongly marked, as they are, with the finger of God ? Infidelity may have its excufes in a country where revealed truth is fupprefled, perverted, and difguifed, but muft be highly criminal in a land of knowledge and liberty, like our 6 own. [ 69 ] own. Here we have every advantage, both for knowing the genuine contents of the facred fcriptures, underftanding their true meaning, and examining into the various evidences of their divine original. The in- stances are very few, if any exill, in which they are reje6led, after an unprejudiced, impartial, and diligent enquiry. Inattention, diffipation of fpirit and man^ ners, an affediation of fingular difcern- ment, or a mean accommodation to favou- rite companions ; a licentious, debauched tafte and habit, and an utter contempt of everything ferious, are fome of the unhap- py, but fruitful fources of infidelity among us. Paul remarked the like in thofe of whom he fays, " Having put away a good confcience, concerning faith, they make fliipwreck'." But there is a practical, as well as a fpeculative infidelity. There are, who profefs that they know God, and be- lieve in his Son Jefus Chrifi: as the true Mefiiah, and the Saviour of finners; but ^n works deny him ; not only negled:ing to ' I Tim. i. lo. F 3 obey [ 70 ] obey his word ; but wilfully tranfgrefiing and counterading the fpirltual, divine, and holy requirements of his gofpel ; being abo- p:iinable, and difobedient, and to every good work reprobated Such are but too juftly charaflerized by the apoftle Jude", as " clouds without water ; trees, whofe fruit withereth ; w ithout fruit -, twice dead ; plucked up by the roots." And alfo by our apoftie''', " having a form of godlinefs, but denying the power thereof j" from whom, therefore, he exhorts real chriftians, as they defire^to maintain their purity, or reputa- tion, to turn away. In reciting his com- miffion before Agrippa", he fpake of him- felf as called, and fent out by Jefus, into the chriflian miniftry, to turn men from ^arknefs unto light, and, from the power of Satan, unto God. An end, every way wor- thy of its divine author, and of thofe exer- tions of power and grace, by which this his fervant was taught and enabled to promote it. We will beg leave to point out fomeof thofe inftrudions which this extraordinary " Titus i. i6. " Jude ver. 12. 2 Tim. iii. c. ■' AcSls xxvi. 2S exent; [ 71 ] event, and the manner in which it is' related, feem calculated and intended to fuggefl:. 'jefiis lives again, — A pleafing thought, and an important truth to his difciples : their deareit interefts are depending upon it. He once expired on a crofs, and lay inclofed in a tomb ; and had they heard no more of him, they might have wept over his fad flory, and their own hopelefs fitua- tion. But when they are not only afTured that he is rifen from the dead and afcended to heaven; but read of his coming down from thence, and appearing in power and great glory — when they refled, that the time, place, and circumilances of that his defcent; the words he uttered; and the perfons to whom he addreffed them; all teflify his perfcift knowledge of what is paf- fing in our world ; and his conftant atten- tion to every tranf:£ticn of his creatures ; it befpeaks their highefl veneration : is an abundant confirmation of their faith and hope in liim, and may well excite every pleafing and generous emotion of joy and gratitude in their hearts : efpecially as he F 4 has I 72 ] has hereby teftified that he is exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour ; to give repentance and remiffion of fins. And may it not be recolleded v^rith equal folemnity and plea- sure, that in this difplay of his divine power and grace to Saul, Jefus taught him the truth, which he afterwards delivered to the churches, viz. ** God hath exalted him, and given him a name above every name, that at the name of Jefus every knee {hould bow ; and every tongue fhould confefs that Jefus Chrift is Lord, to the glory of God the Father''." O my foul, fubmit hum- bly, willingly, and gladly to his fceptre^ for a fceptre of righteoufnefs, and a fceptre of grace, is the fceptre of his kingdom. Submit now, or the day is coming, when lie will fay of thee, among others, ** As for thofe mine enemies, who would not that I ihould reign over them, bring them forth, and flay them before me^" But, before that dread period arrives, he can convince the mofl furious foe of his folly and impotency of his rage, and fruftrate all its efforts employed againft his caufe and his ^ Phil. ii. 9, ic. ^ Luke xix, 27. people^ [ 73 ] people ; nay, either turn its Weapons upon itfelf, or ufe them as inftruments of ad- vancing what they were intended to deftroy. May his adverfarles hear and fear! de- fifl from their oppoiition, and turn unto the Lord. " It is hard for thee, ftub- born infidel, to kick againfl the pricks." But let all that are on the fide of this great conqueror take courage, nor be afraid to avow, or to approve themfelves faithfully his, even in feafons of ex- treme danger, and in the face of their moil formidable oppofers, when they recolle(ft the fignal interpofition of his hand on be- half of his dear difciples at Damafcus, ia that hour in which their cruel perfecutor? expeded to have made them their prey. Tender, endearing language that, when h« fpeaks of all theinfults and violence with which Saul had intended to treat them, as offered to him felf; *' Saul^ Saul, why per- fecuteft thou me." ** He in his meafure, feels afrefli, *' What every member bears." Well [ 74 ] , '- Well may the threatened, fufFerIng dif- ciple fay of a confolatlon like this, to his condefcending and fympathizing Lord, it is enough. And will not his and their enemies take the alarm ? or rather ihall not a conduct fo tender and cn2:22:in2: melt their malignity into tears, and lay them, like Saul, at the foot of compaflion fo divine with the fame enquiry, ** Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?'* In fine, equally inflrudlive and encou- raging were the fabfequent exprefTions of his Lord's care over this his young convert ^ and the caufe he had undertaken to fupport in that very city of Damafcus which he had deiigned and expected to enter for fuch very different purpofes. Now he was engaged with Jefus, his countrymen, on his return to them, employed all their fury againfl him. It is fald, v>-hen he had taken cou- rage in hisattemptG to convince the Jews AUL's GENERAL DISPOSITION, AND MANNER OF LIFE AFTER HIS CON- VERSION TO CHRISTIANITY. "IXZHEN our apoftle had been fpeaklng^ of the divine vifion, which was the fubjedt of the preceding chapter^ and of the grace with which it was attended, he added, ** His grace which was beftowed upon me was not in vain." He had enjoyed, in younger life, the advantages of a liberal education, and to good purpofe. He made proficiency above many of his age and Hand- ing in the Jewirti feminary at Jerufalem ; and during his abode there, he had, or might have had, many opportunities of becoming acquainted with the charader and do6lrinc of Jefus, and of examining the many fadls by which his divine original and mifHon were attefted : but retaining the prejudices of his Jewifl) education, he perfifted long ' I Cor, XV. 8, 10. in [ 78 ] in ignorance and infidelity. That graccj however, was not loft upon him, which Jefus manifefied when he was on the road to Damafcus. It is reafonabJe to think that an appear- ance fo extraordinary mud have been in- tended to aniwer fome very valuable and important purpofes. Jefus would not come in fuch a manner merely to alarm Saul and his companions; nor was it necefiary to fecure his own difci- ples from their rage : farther ends were to be anfwered, iirft upon Saul himfelf, and by him afterwards upon many others* It has been aikcd, Whv did he chufe fuch an inftrument ? To which it were no im- proper anfwer, Becaufe it feemed good in his fight. And who fhall fay unto him. What doeft thou ? P'.U Paul appeared in many refpeds a veflel fit for the mafler's ufe ; Jefus therefore manifefted his wifdom as well as his goodnefs in the choice of him. His di- flinguifhed improvements in fcience enabled ^ him [ 79 ] him to appear with advantage, as a public teacher of chrilHanity, in thofe learned and polite cities whither he was fent as the apoftle of the Gentiles : he was thereby ren- dered capable of defending the dodrines he taught, and of anfwering gainfiiyers ; and he would probably be heard by many with the greater attention, as it was univerfally known he had been educated in another re- ligion himfelfj efpecially confidering the unreferved freedom with which he re- nounced his former principles and vindicated his diffent. This likewife would lead the more thoughtful to remark the partial and temporary nature of the Jewi{h difpenfa« tion ; the fuperior excellency of the gofpel ; and to admire at once the goodnefs of its di- vine author, in pardoning fuch an enemy as Saul ; and the exceeding greatnefs of his po- v/er manifefted, not only in fubduing former prejudices, but in transforming his heart fo as to render his natural ardour and fortitude fubfervient to that caufe, which he had be- fore been ea?er to weaken and overthrew. Difmiir^ig this thought, however, for the prcfent. [ 8o ] prefent, we fliall now examine the more immediate efFeds of this grace. 1. They appeared in his perfonal and pri- vate character. As hereupon he difcovered/ I ft. That felf-acquaintance and felf-go= vernment which he had never acquired be- fore. He fays of himfelf, ** I was alive without the law, and iin was dead^ but when the commandment came, fin revived and I died^" Words thus paraphrafed by Dr. Doddridge ; ** While I was ignorant of the fentence the law denounced againft the tranfgreffor, and conlidered myfelf as with- out the law of God, fin was dead ; I was no more aware of any danger from it than if it had been a dead enemy : for I once was, as it were, alive without the law, conlidering myfelf as a man unacquainted with it ; I tnay fay I was comparatively chearful and happy i but when I became acquainted with it in its wide extent, unfpotted pu- rity, and awfiil fandions, then fin imme- diately came to life again j it fprung up ^ Rom. vii. 9. againfl [ S. ] againfl me as a living enemy, armed with inftruments of deflrudtion ; and I, as inca- pable of refifting it, fell down as dead, un- able to bear my miferablc doom." The pafTage thus underflood, fpeaks the language of a perfon who had been ignorant of his real condition and charadler as a lin- ner; and who, as long as he continued {o, was not only without fear and fliame, but vain and felf-coniident. He thought his heart good, and his flatefafe. Thefe were the charadteriftic features of his fe(5t, as delineated by an accurate and impartial pen — '^ trufting in themfelves that they were righteous." But Paul, after his converfion, was of another fpirit. He then talked and wrote in the language of a O CD penitent -, confelfed his fins, and wept over them. The iniquities of his youth pained and humbled him in the review ; all of them : but he appears to have felt moil for his obftinate oppofition to the evidences of divine truth, and the inveterate malignity of his heartj againft the followers and the G caufe [ 82 ] caufc of Jefus. As having been an ene-* my to the crofs of Chrift, he thought him- felf not worthy to be ever called an apoftle, but rather the chief of finners. Hence, when reminding the converts at Ephefus of their former flate, as children of difobedience, he includes himfelf in the reprefentation ; " Among whom we all had our converfation in times paft, in the lufts of the flefli, fulfilling the defires of the flelh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as others %*' Nor did he feel merely for the fins of that time of his ignorance : he maintained an humble fenfe of his remaining imperfections through life, and mourned over what he called *' a law in his members warring againft the law of his mind :" fo that he felt himfelf obliged to renounce his former dependance and glorying, and feek accept- ance with God, and eternal life, in a way different from that in which he had ex- pe6ted it before. " What things were gain to me, thefe I have accounted lofs, ' Eph, ii. 2- for [ 83 ] for the excellency of the knowledge of Chrill Jefus my Lord j for whom I have fuffered the lofs of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Chrift and be found in him j not having mine own righteoufnefs, which is of the law, but the righteoufnefs which is of God by faith^" Paul now looked for the mercy of God unto eternal life through Jcfus Chrift our Lord; he had no other hope. Grace was his darling theme ; the fove- reign freedom and exceeding riches of di- vine grace abounding to Unners in the great Redeemer. This \vas all his rejoicing. Yet did he not confider his moft humble and entire confidence in that grace, as fu- perfeding the neceffity of conflant watch- fulnefs, mortification, and felf-denial. ** I keep under my body', and bring it into f Phil.iii. 7,8,9. s Critics have remarked the flrong emphaHs of the word vTccnetl^co here ufed by the apoftle, alluding to the boxer's cuftom of ftriking violently on the yc7-«a-3-/oj' ; the part of the face immediately below the eye, at once both to disfigure and blind the antagoniil. Vid. B^o's Exercit. p. 138, &c. G 2 fubje^tion, [ 84 ] fubjecftion, left that by any means when I have preached to others, I myfelf fhould be a caft away^:" — '* left, after having made proclamation, as an herald, of the glorious rewards to be attained ; and endeavoured to animate the zeal of others in the purfuit of them ; 1 ftiould myfelf be difapproved of the great Judge, and finally declared un- worthy of obtaining a fhare in them*." Language this, ftrongly cxpreffive of a mind at once divefted of all felf-confidence ; and, at the fame time, happily guarded againft every the leaft tendency towards a difpofition to pervert the do(ftrines of grace to licentious purpofes. He was far other- wife minded; infomuch, that he confidered thofe difcoveries of the gofpel, as furnilh- ing the moft powerful motives to conftant and vigorous exertion in all the duties of pradical religion, and adminiftering the beft afliftance in them. After having intro- duced that beautiful allufion to the Olym- pic games'' (referred to above) by mention of the incorruptible ci-own which in the ^ I Cor. ix. 27» * Pam, Expof. in Loc. ^ I Cor. ix. 6 gofpel [ 8s ] gofpel is fet before the chrifllan combatant, he propofes himfelf as an example in thp glorious conteft, llriving to obtain that high honour ; " therefore," fays he, ** I fo run, not as one in obfcurity, and unno- ticed ; fo fight I, not as one that beats the air, or that is contending with a fhadow; but with the exertion of him who is com- bating a real enemy," &;c. And he exprefled the fame fpirit in his epiftlc to the chriftians at Philippi : " Bre- thren I 1 count not myfelf to have appre- hended, but this one thing I do, forgetting thofe things (whether duties or difEcuJ^ties, imperfedlions or attainments) that are be- hind; and reaching forward unto thofe things which are fet before me as the ob- jects of hope and purfuit, in the gofpel; I prefs towards the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Chrifl Jefus'." Not that he undertook any duty or fervice in his own ftrength. He had once thought his virtue alone equal to any labour or fuf- fering; but experience, and his divine ' Phil. iii. 13, 14. G 3 maflcr. [ 86 ] mader, had convinced him of his miflake, and taught him to rely humbly and entirely on him for affi fiance and fuccefs in every undertaking. ** The good that I would do, I do not; and the evil that I would not do, that I do. In me (that is, in my fiefh) there dwelleth no good thing; yet I can do all things through Chrift flrengthen- ing me." Under this convidtion he conti- nually fought his aid, and entreated his brethren to pray for him"'. " I befeech you brethren, for the Lord Jefus Chrifl's fakcj and for the love of the fpirit, that ye ilrive together with me, in your prayers to God for me"." To a divine influence in and upon him, he afcribed the honour of every right and good defign ; every becoming difpofition in his heart ; and every honourable and ufeful action of his life. *' By the grace of God I am what I am." And it ought to be re- marked here, that amidft a feries of the moft extenlive and important fervices in the caufe of Chrift, and the beft interefls of "^ Ephef. vi. 19. ''- Rom. xv. 30. manJcind^ [ 87 ] mankind, he fpake of himfelf in the loweft terms ; inventing a fuperlatively compara- tive diminitive (gAax^roTSps) by which to exprefs (no word known being fufficient to convey) the fenfe, the very humbling fenfe he felt of his own meannels ; '' lefs than the leaft of all faints." Nor was this a mere unmeaning: found of words : he lived the language he fpoke, and exemplified, in all circumltances, the lowly fpirit he recom- mended and expreffed. When a number of idolaters at Lyftra would have paid him divine honours, upon his healing a poor cripple, he reftrained them, faying, " Why do ye thefe things ? We are men of like paffions with your- felves°." So far was Paul from feeking or accepting the homage of deity, he often declined tokens of refped:, due to his cha- rader and rank as an apoflle of Chrift. When any received benefit from his inftruc- tions, he commanded them to regard him merely as an inflrument : nor did he ever \vifh for any higher honour, than that of " Acts xiv. II, G 4 *' a [ 8S ] ** a fervant of the church for Jefus' fake, and a minifter of his gofpel, by whom they believed, even as the Lord gave to every man-. He was diftinguifhed by his talents and zeal i his gifts and graces; but fays, that however numerous or brilliant thefe might appear, if without charity, he {hould be nothing''. He was indulged with divine vifions ; caught up into the third heavens ', faw and heard there, things which it was improper, and perhaps impoffible, to defcribe. His extacy was fuch, that he knew not for a while whether he was in or out of the body: and yet he forbore to mention them till fourteen years after, and then fpake of the honour as conferred upon a man he knew in Chrift ; without once introducing his own name; till mentioning the trial which he calls a " thorn in the iiefh," " a meffenger of Satan fent to buffet him ;" and which he confidered as appointed for this falutary P I Cor. i, 13. iii. 4 — 7. '^ i Cor. xiii. i, 3. [ S9 ] end, that " he might not be exalted above meafure'." He accounted every, the moH: painful trial, a mercy that kept him humble. Ne- verthelefs, when cenfured and reviled as a preacher of the gofpel, he boldly aflerted and maintained the dignity of this office, both to promote his ufcfulnefs in it, and to fe- cure the honour of his Lord who had called him to it. *' As \\\\ apoille of the Gen- tiles," fays he, " I magnify mine office'." But that he did with all meeknefs : indeed (as the ingenious author of theChriftiaa Hero juftly remarks) " the fiercenefs of his difpofition fell with the fcales from his eyes." Divine grace fubdued thofe paffions Vv'hich made his foul before like a troubled fea, and taught him, like his Mafter, to be '* meek and lowly of heart." His pharifaic brethren were notorious for a mean thirft of applaufe, while deftitute of every real excellence which might entitle them to it. But when Paul entered into ' 2 Cor. xii. I. ' Rom. xi. 13. the [ go ] the fplrit of the gofpel, this low ambition ceafed. The commendations of men did not make him vain j nor was he tranfported into any unbecoming Tallies of refentment when they reviled and injured him. Not that chriftianity debafed him into an abje6t meannefs, or the pretended apathy of the Stoics : he felt flrong, as we (liall have farther occalion to remark, wherever his Mafter's caufe or honour were affected, and whenever men appeared to be injuring either others fouls or their own. But, omitting particular evidences of that difpo- tion here, we proceed to remark, as an- other refpecftable part of the apoftle's cha- rader, that whether thofe around him were pleafed or not, his firfl care was in all he faid and did, to approve himfelf to God and his own confcience : and he laboured for that purpofe, not only to appear, but ac- tually to be, and that confidently, upright and without guile. ** Our rejoicing," fays he, *' is this, the teflimony of our con- fcience, that in fimplicity and godly fince- rity, not with flefhiy wifdom, but by the r. grace [ 9-' ] 'Trace of God, we have our converfation in the world, and in the church'." Hence he could appeal to thofe who knew moft of him, as witnelles ; yea, and to God alfo, how holy, andjuftly, and unhlameably he and his brethren had behaved among them. It has been fometimes Hiid, and perhaps very juftly, that a covetous man can hardly be honeft. Paul was happily fuperior to this temptation : he had learned, " in whatfoever ftate he was, therewith to be con- tent\" And his whole condu6t, after his converfion, was one conliftent and perfe^ vering confirmation of that language. I fay after his converfion, becaufe he acknow- ledges himfelf indebted, for this holy fupe- riority to the world ; to the crofs of Chrifl. God forbid that I fliould glory, fave in the crofs of our Lord Jefus Chrift, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world. Not that he was ignorant of his natural rights as a man, or rendered hereby univerfally indifferent to them. He could ailcrt them with due fpirit on all pro- ' 2 Cor. i. 12. *" Phil, :v. ii, 12. per I 92 ] peroccafions. When he and Silas had been unJLiftly imprifoned, and beaten by the nva- giftrates at Philippi, on the clamorous out- rage of a lavvlefs rabble, and they fent or- ders for their being releafed privately, as confcious of having taken a llep they could not vindicate, Paul replied to the keepers of the prifon, who delivered the meflage, " They have beaten us openly, uncon- demned, though Romans, and have caft us into prifon 5 and now do they mean to thruR us out privily ? Nay verily, but let them come themfelves and fetch us out"." Yet he delired neither liberty, nor life it- felf, any longer than they might be fubfer- vient to the great and good purpofes of his high and holy vocation. He flood ever ready to leave the world at the firft call of his divine Mafter ; having a defire to depart, and to be with Chrifl:, as by far much bet- ter'%" TToAAw fjiccXAov x,pei(ra-ov. He fpeaks in- deed in that context, of his having been in a flraight; but his only difliculty was to know whether he fliould wifh to continue in " Adls xvi. 37. ^' PhiL i. 23. the [ 93 i the fervice of his Lord here, or to he re- moved to enjoy him above : yet from thence it is very obfervable, that even in his warmefl, and mofi; elevated moments, he never expofed either his life or perfon rafhly in the fervice. A fad: jufily and beautifully reprefented to his advantage by the ino-enious author of Letters on the Con- verfion and Apofllefliip of St. Paul, p. 73. " Paul," fays he, "as a preacher of Chrift and the refurredion, was charged with be- ing a fetter forth of new gods, which by a law among the Greeks was a capital crime. Any impoftor in that cafe would have re- tracted his do6lrine to favehis life; and an enthufiafl: would have loll his life, without endeavouring to fave it by innocent means : but Paul did neither. He availed himfelf of an altar which he found in Athens, infcribed to the unknown god, and pleaded that he did not propofe to them the worihip of any new god ; but only explained to them one, whom their government had already received. *' Whom, therefore, ye ig- norantly woriliip, /jim declare I unto you." By that he avoided their law and the punilii- ment [ 94 ] itieht it cntiCccdj without departing in the ieail; from the truth of the gofpel, or vio- lating the honour of God. An admirable proof of the good fenfe and prudencej as well as good confcience with which he a6led." Yet, it ought to be remarked and remembered of him, that if he did not feek death, it was not becaufe he was afraid to die. Knowing whom he had trufted with his immortal interefts, and being perfuaded that he was able to keep what he had com- mitted to him againfl that day, he could meet death with compofure, even in its mofl horrible forms, and fay of chains, impri- fonment, and torture in the way to it, ** None of thefe things move me ; neither count I my life dear unto me." He was enabled to maintain the fame happy fpirit and exalted hope to the laft. His language in fome of the clofing fcenes of life, was in this view peculiarly inftrudtive and anima- ting. ** I have fought the good fight j I have finif]:ied mycourfej I have kept the faith i and now I am ready to be oiiered*." He was not only well affured of the realit}' of future blifs and glory, but had received " 2 Tim. IV. 6. from [ 95 ] from the great Lord of life himfelf many pleafing and exalted reprefentations of it. Thefe at once fupplied him with animating fubje(5ts of meditation, and excited his mofl earnefl defire after it. *' We look," faid he, ** at the things that are unfeen, which are eternal. We who are in this tabernacle groan earneflly, defiring to be cloathed upon with our houfe, which is from hea- ven ; for we walk by faith, not by fight. We are willino^ rather to be abfent from the body, and to be prefent with the Lord''." His treafure and his heart were there -, and he had been honoured with fuch difcoveries of the grace of God in Chrifl, as afforded him the mofl abundant encouragement to hope and believe, that when called hence, hefhould be received to glory. This hope he often exprefTed in very ftrong terms. In the context laft referred to, he faid, " We know that if our earthly houfe of this taber- nacle were diiTolved, we have a building of God, a houfe not made with hands, eter- nal in the heavens." And in his epifile to the Philippians% ** for me to live, is y 2 Cor, iv. 18. V. 1—8. ' Phil. i. 21. Chrifl, [ 9^ ] Chriil, and for me to die. Is gain ;" which he concluded with good reafon, knowing that whenever he departed, he fliould be with Chrift ; looking forward to the laft great day with triumphant expectations, as that in which his Lord, the righteous Judge, would give him the crov/n of glory, which he has ** laid up for all that love his ap- pearing." But whenever Paul fpeaks of this his hope for a better world, it Is always in coniiedion with the charad:er and offices of Chriil; as mediator of the new and better covenant : as a hope founded on the efficacy of his atonement, and the prevalence of his interceffion at the right hand of God. *' Who is he thaf condemneth ? It is Chrifl that died, yea rather that is rifen again, who is even at the right hand of God j who alfo maketh interceffion for us. Who fhall feparate us from the love of Chrifl r &c. he is our hope, &c/" Hence his Pi:rong jifredion for Jefus, and the difpofition he al- ways difcovered to introduce the mention of his name and grace both in his difcourfes and * Rom, viii. 33 — 39. writinjjs. [ 97 ] writings. Hence the high eflcem he felt and exprelled for his gofpel ; his zeal to tranfmit it, in its genuine purity and power, to fucceeding ages ; and his earnefl folici- tude that it might be thoroughly under- flood, and cordially embraced and obeyed in every place, and that to the end of time. Of this we fhall have occafion to fpeak more largely when illuftrating his minifterial clu- radter. In the mean while we proceed to examine, 2dly, His difpofition towards his fellow- creatures. This appeared in all refpeds truly amiable after his converfion to chrif- tianity. We recoiled here, that fome have thought he was an honeil man before : but unlefs thofe are hon .t principles which prompt a man to injure his fellow-creatures in their moft valuable interefts, Saul was very far from acting the part of an honeft man, while he was a Jew\ Perhaps we may ''Mr. Jofeph Hallet, in his fecond volume of Notes ahd Difcourfes, from p. 130, to 142, has illuftrated this thought with great perfpicuity and force, in a feries of remarks on the violence, injuftice, cruelty, H and [ 98 ] may fay, be was as honeft as a bigot and a perfecutor could be j but that is very little to fay of any one : however, when taught of the Lord, he became not only honeft, but in his own fenfe of the term% a truly GOon man. He frequently explained the duties of focial religion in his public inftrudions^ and enforced the pra(ftice of them by the moft pertinent and weighty motives. And well knowing that a preacher's pradlice would add the greateft weight to his pre- cepts, he ftudied to approve himfelf uni- formly a pattern of that righteoufnefs and true goodnefs which he recommended to others. It would be little to fay of Paul, that af- ter his converfion, he was no longer illibe- ral in his reproaches, or fevere in his accufa- tions; that he reviled no man; that he and blafphemy, which are recorded of Saul, and which:' be himfelf confeffed and lamented, after his conver-- fion. *= Rom. V. 7,. defrauded [ 99 1 defrauded no man ; that he oppreffed no man -, nay, that he preferved a confcience void of offence; or even that he adhered ll:ri(ftly to the laws of truth and juftice, inte- grity and faithfulnefs in the whole of his converfation and deoortment. He was more than inoffenfive : he had learned of his di^ vine Mafter leffons of meeknefs and for-^ bearance, gentlenefs and kindnefs; and im^ bibed much of his lowly and lovely fpirit^ He exemplified it in his patience, in the midfl of fevere affli(ftions, ** in neceflities, in diftreffes, in ftripes, in imprifonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in faftings''." Yea, he was ready to forego the moft in- nocent and lawful gratifications, rather than grieve or offend the weak. " If meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flefh while the world flandeth, lell: I make my brother to offend j" be an occafion either of his offending, or of his being of- fended : for the original word (o-?carcraAj^at>) *• 2 Cor. vi. 4 — 7. H 2 may [ lOO ] may perhaps be taken In either of thofe fenfes"* Paul avowed and approved himfelf the enemy of deceit and fraud in all their forms and degrees: more efpecially in the reli- gious life. The expreffion he makes ufe of to the chriflians at Corinth, ** ^ being craf- ty, I caught you with guile," is no ex- ception to the honefl fimplicity of his fpirit and views, either as a chrillian or a minifler. The fadt he there referred to, was merely his employing Titus, and another of his brethren, to colledl their contributions : and what he fays of that, is not exprelied in terms of his own, but in fuch as he appre- hended feme there might be inclined to make ufe of concerning it. Being crafty, he caught us with guile ^ Thus he calls the preaching * Scandalum fit datum qilando aliquis, male agendo, alteri fcandalo eft; peccandique occaflonem fciens ac volens fuppedltat. Stocklus. ^ 1 Cor. xii. i6. ^ 8 This was apparently his meaning, though he does not formally introduce it as their language. And this general remark is applicable to many paflages in the writings [ I°I ] preaching of the gofpel, ** fooliflinefs'';" but it was not becaufe he efteemed it fo him- felf, but becaufe he knew that was an epi- thet applied to it by many of the firft diflincftion at Corinth. As to the part he ad:ed with regard to the colledions made among the chriflians there, however the more worldly-minded among them might think and fpeak of it, he could appeal to God and their own confciences, that he had done nothing either to burden them, or enrich himfelf. It may llkewife be juftly remarked, to the honour of this very great and good man, that though he neither courted the fmiles, nor fhunned the frowns of men by any fer- vile or dilhonourable conceflions, yet he conficjered it as the part of v/ifdom and duty to accommodate himfelf in every thing (confident with truth, and a fupreme regard to the will of God) to the weaknefTes and writings of our apofll^, vvliofe conceptions and lan- guage were too flron^ and bold, to fubmit to the com- mon reftridtion*: of the fchoo!';. * I Cor. i. ?i. II 3 . prejudices [ 102 ] prejudices of thofe with whom he had to do. But this was merely to fecure oppor- tunities of ferving them ; manifefting here^ in that true philanthropy which is the ge^ nuine fpirit of the religion of Jefus. And in conned:ion with this remark, we muft do him the farther juftice to obferve, that his good fenfe and education, together with his truly elevated fpirit and fentiments, en-^ abled him to exprefs the benevolent affec- tions of his foul, with a decency and free- dom, dignity and pathos, that always raifed him above contempt ; yea, which did him great honour; where either his own per- fonal reputation, the credit of his public charader, or (what was ftill dearer to him) the glory of his divine Mailer was de-^ pending. We have a beautiful and flriking inflance of this in his fpeech before Agrippa', When the apoftle obfcrved, that what he was faying "^ made fome favourable impref- ^ Acls xxvi. ^ Other beauties of this, as the addrefs of a pub- lic fpeaker and minifler of Chrift, will be taken notice clfevyherc, fion [ I03 1 iion on the mind of his royal auditor, he improved the happy moment, not to ingra- tiate himfelf into his favour in order to prc- ferve his life, or obtain his freedom (though it did, in fad, fecure for him the intereft of this prince with the Roman governor) but his aim was to cherifli the convicftions he difcovered, and thus, by divine grace, fe- cure him to the chriftian caufe, and thb way of falvation. This he did with a fide- lity infpired by the gofpel and the fpirit of Chrift ; and in fuch a manner as difcovered great courage, confidering his fituation, and his audience. '* I will fpeak of thy teftimonies before kings, and will not be afraid \'' But he expreffed himfelf, at the fame time, with great modefty and caution, and in fuch terms as that none could re- proach him with taking liberties, unbe- coming one in his circumftances, or difre- fpedtful to the perfons and offices of thofe before whom he vvas convened. Upon Agrippa's faying to Paul, ** Almoft (gy oXiyca, within a little) thou hafl perfuaded ' Pf. i. 19—46. H 4 mQ [ 104 ] |iie to be achriftian," he replied, " Iwoulc| to God [ev^cci/xYiv ctv Tw ©SO), I would makq it my prayer to God) that thou waft both ahuoft [iv oXiyu)) and {iv ttoKKco) altogether fuch as I am." He does not exprefsly fay a chrifti'un; hut, in a manner more ftriking to his hearers, refers to the happinefs and hope he enjoyed as fuch ; and, from a prin- ciple of true benevolence, wifhes not only Agrippa, but every one around him, all the privileges annexed to the character of a faithful foilow*er of Jefus ; as bleffings which his own experience had taught him to pronounce of ineftimable value, mean and pitiable as his condition then might appear to them. He very civilly, and indeed politely, adds, ** except thefe bonds ;" in- timating, that what he wiihed was, that they might partake of his enjoyments ; not that they might fiiare his hardiliips and fufierings : he did not, he could not defire to fee any one of them, like himfelf, a prifoner in chains. But did our hero then repine at his lot, or envy theirs ? By no means ji it was enough, all his moil en- *iarged benevolence could afk for them, that thev [ 1^5 ] ^hey might be brought into the bonds of the gofpel ; underftand the nature and foundation of the chriftian faith, and feel its foul-enlightening and ti'ansforn^ing in- fluence. The language and fpirit this, of a truly great and amiable mind. And he prcferved it through life free from even the leafb tindure of that contraded partiality which had engroifed and debafed his whole foul before, when all his offices of humanity, and even his good wiflies, were confined within the narrow circle of his own fra- ternity. His foul, now bepome truly chriflian, was fufficiently enlarged to comprehend all mankind : and though himfclf a follower of Jefus, on principles never to be fliaken, he felt flrong and very tenderly for thofe whom he had left behind, entangled in the fetters of Jewifh prejudices. But why do we fay, though a chriftian ? We fhould ra- ther have faid, because a chriflian ; foritwas chriftianity that infpired him v/ith thefe ge- nerous [ io6 ] ncrous feelings. LanguagCj even the nervous and comprehenfive language of a Paul, could not exprefs in terms Sufficiently flrong and tender, the affedionate good wiilies of his foul on their behalf, " Brethren, my heart's defire and prayer to God for Ifrael is, that they may be faved™. I fay the truth in Chrift J I lye not ; my confcience alfo bear- ing me witnefs with the Holy Ghoft, that I have great heavinefs and continual forrow in my heart ; for I could vnfh that myfelf were accurfed from (or like) Chrift, for my brethren, my kinfmen, according to the iiefh"," Not that we are to fuppofe him capable of confenting, much lefs wifhing, on any conliderations whatever, to be him- felf finally feparated from his beloved Lord, and given up by him as accurfed, to everlaft- ing perdition. The fuppoiition is (hock- ing ^ and utterly inconfiftent with that re- gard to the fuul, and the bleffings of falva- tion, which Jefus has inculcated upon all his difciples ; as well as incompatible with that earned defire after, and fupreme de- light in it, which our apoftle always ex- " Rom. X, I. " Rom, ix, 3. preffed [ 107 ] prefled and manlfefted. Thofe critics, therefore, who think the proper meaning of the phrafe otvcc^Sfxoc cctto X^e«> to be accurfed from Chrift, not believing that Pauladtuallyconfented to it, have remarked that he only fiys, I coiild willi, if fuch a wifli were lawful and proper : but if he thought it neither, why fpeak of it in fuch a coanedtion at all ? It has been obferved by Dr. Waterland, Dr. Doddridge, and other learned expoli- tors, that our apoftle elfewhere" ufes the prepofition (aTro) in a fenfe different from that in which it is underftood in this pafTage; *' God whom I ferve," cciro roov TTpoyQvuu, after the manner ^ or after the example, " of my forefathers." If it be fo applied here, the purport of his de- claration, though ftrong, is perfectly con-r fiftent with his general fpirit and cha- racter. Such, fays he, is the affedlon I feel towards my brethren and kinfmen ac- cording to the flefli, that I could fubmit to ** viz. 2 Tim. i. 3. the [ io8 ] the accurfed death of the crofs^, after the example, or in the manner and fpirit of my great Mafter, who delivered his people from the curfe, by being therein made a curfe for them, if by thus fuffering in their flead, I could deliver them from the fatal confequences of their infidelity and difobe- dience -, and be inflrumental in fecuring to them the fpiritual and eternal bleflings of the chriflian covenant'^. He felt with great tendernefs and com^ paffion for the unbelieving in general. | ' Compare Deut. xxi. 23. and Gal. iii, 13. ' It is perfedlly agreeable both to the original mean- ing and application of the term avet^z/j.cf, anathema (viz. a perlbn or thing profcribed, or feparatcd from its common ufes and privileges) to fuppofe the apoftlc might intend no more by introducing it in this man- ner, than toexprefs his vvillingnefs to be cut oiF by an afHidive and difgraceful death, from the fervices and enjoyments of the church of Clirift here (fuppofing him to ufe the word Chrift, for his church, as he Teems t® do in 1 Cor. ;cii. 12. and Gal. iii. 27.) in the (lead of bis countrymen, whom he faw expofing thcmfclves to the cur'i'e of God, by their obftinate rcjetfilion of his dear ion. In this fenfc he makes ufe of the expreffion, of *' one dying for ?,ncfhpr>" Rom. v, 7. and elfe- wher t% poured poured out his foul in earneft expoftulations with them, and the moil fervent prayers to the Father of mercies and God of all grace on their behalf. Truly, concerning fuch> could Paul fay with David, " Rivers of waters run down mine eyes, becaufe they keep not thy law/' The apoflle's was ex- preflive language on the fame fad occaiion, in his epiftle to the Philippians, " Many walk of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the crofs of Chriil -, whofe end is deflrudion'." He followed fuch with free and faithful admonitions, in his difcourfes as well as in his writings; witnefs his addrefs to Ely- mas'. That deceiver (whofe real name was Bar-Jefus, having probably been the fon of one Jefus or Jofhua) was called Elymas, that is, a forcerer, or magician (o fj^ayos) im- pofing upon mankind by vain pretenfions to a fupernatural power of knowing diftant objedls and future events; and an influence over the perfons and property of others, ' Phil. iii. 18, 19. » Adsxin. 10. 5 through [ no i through a confpiracy with inviTible Ipirits^ It is faid of him, that when Sergius Paulus called Barnabas and Paul, defiring to hear the word of God, Elymas withstood them^ wishing to turn away the deputy from the faith ; for which purpofe he made ufe of every artful infmuation to prejudice the mind of the proconful, both in his own favour, and againil the apoftles and their doctrine. Paul obferving this, fet, or fixed his eyes fledfaftly upon him, and being filled with the Holy Ghoil, faid to him, ** Thou fon of the devil, who breathefl his fpirit, and art adting under his influence;, as an artful deceiver and inveterate enemy of mankind, and of all righteoufnefs, wilt thou not ceafe to pervert the right ways of the Lord ? and now behold the hand of the Lord is upon thee, and thou ihalt be blindy not feeing the fun forafeafon." In his epiftle to thofe young converts at Calatia, who were feduced from the fim- plicity of Chrift, by liflening to the ju-* daizing teachers that attempted to intermix the rites appointed by their law with the 6 more -# [ UI ] more plain and fpiritual inftitutlons of his gofpel, he wrote thus : " 'O foolifl-i Gala- tians, who hath bewitched you, that ye fhould not obey the truth ; before whofe eyes Jefus was crucified among you ? &c. Are ye fo foolifli ? having begun in the fpi- rit, are ye now made perfed in the flelh ?" Some of thofe, whom he had begotten unto God by the gofpel, had formerly ex- prelTed the warmefl affedion for him ; and were ready, if poffible, to have plucked out their own eyes, and given them to him : yet, under the influence of their new princi- ples and teachers, like them, thefe were be- come his enemies, becaufe he told them the truth. Neverthelefs, he not only patiently bore with them, but pitied them, and prayed tenderly for them. Mofl amiable indeed was the fpirit he difcovered towards fome who openly op- pofed him in their public miniflrations, with a defign, as he well knew, *' to add afflidtion to his bonds V' or to make the * Gal. iii. 1—3. V phjj^ i^ 6, fufferings t ii2 ] fufFerings of his imprifonments lie with accumulated weight upon him. *' Some/' iaid he, '* preach Chrift, even of envy and ftrife, and contention, defirous (as Dr. Doddridge paraph rafes it) to maintain in the church a party that fliall oppofe me, and willing to add as many abettors to it as they poffibly can ; confequently, not with any genuine iimplicity of intention^ but,. on the contrary, from the unkindefl and un- worthiell motives. Yet as, every way, Chrift is preached, and the great dodtrine of falvation by him, has a wider fpread, in this I heartily rejoice j for I had much ra- ther that fome v^ho are converted to chrifti- anity by my enemies, fliould think as ill of ine as they themfelves do, than that they fhould remain icrnorant of thofe funda- mental truths, on the knowledge of which their eternal happinefs depends." In his good-will to men, and affedionate concern for the fpiritual and eternal welfare of his fellow fmners, he was willing to forego his own intereft and reputation ^ if fo be thofc were brought to the knowledge of Chrift, and t n3 ] ind the way of life, who had been in the paths of the deflroyer. His affedlion and good- will were by no means confined to this or that family, or nation. " God is my record," fays he, ** how earneflly I long after you all in the bowels of Jefus Chrift"." All he faid and did, from his converfion to his death, was one beautiful and flrlking comment on that declaration. His heart felt tenderly and painfully for the ungodly every where, as finners againft their own fouls i but mofl of all for thofe who continued in that charatfler under the gof- fpel ; as incurring aggravated guilt by their contempt of its inedimable bleffings, and a pradlical difregard of its wife and falutary injuncflions ; knowing they were hereby bringing upon themfelves accumulated woes, either in this life, or at the day of righteous retribution. Nor was Paul infenfible to the prefent necefiities and diftrefies of his fellow-crea- " Phil. i. i8. I tures. [ IJ4 I tures. His circumilances were not fuffi-' cieiitly afii'uent to enabk him to contribute' largely to the relief of the poor ; but when- unable to fupply them himfelf, he affec- tionately recommended them to the com- paffion of others j and exhorted chriftians to labour, working with their hands the thing which is good, that they might have to give unto them that needed"^^ As a miniil'erof Chrift, he eonSdered him- felf entitled to a fu-pport from the churches in which he laboured^: neverthelefs, in con-- fideration of the difficulties, which he knew many were flruggling with,, in that infant il:ate of chriftianity,, he called upon one and another of them to bear witnefs, that nei- ther lie, nor his brethren in office, ** had- eaten other mens' bread ^" nay, ** they had- wrought with labour and travail, night and; day, that they might not be chargeable: to any\" He could fay, and appeal to fuch as were moil intimately acquainted with the v/hcle tenor of his conduct in confirma- "■ Eph. iv. 28- ^- I Cor. ix. throughout. " I TheiT. ii. g. 2 I'hef]'. iii. 7, 8. 6 tion j'.li'^VffV^fS^'if L "5 ] tlon of it, that ** he had coveted no man's filver or gold, or apparel ; Co far from it, his hands had miniflered, not only to his Own necefrities> but likewife to the fup- port of thofe that were with him'." Hence he was enabled, with greater freedom and fuccefs, to call upon others ** tollrengthen the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jefus, how he faid, It is more bleflcd to eive than to receive," to' He pitied all the neceffitous as fuch, and exhorted chriflians to do good unto them as they had opportunity ; but his bowels yearned with peculiat tendernefs over thofe who were of the houfehold of faith \- fuch he afFediionately commended to the conftant regard and generous fupport of chriftians, both in private life, and in their feveral fo- cietics'^j moft cordially win;iing every blef-* ling to all who loved the Lord Jefus Chrif^ in fmcerity. Yet we find him breathing a fpirit of diftinguin^ing tendernefs towards thofe whom he had begotten unto God by thegofpel. He felt for them as his children * AiSls XX. 33, 34, * GtA. vi. 10. ^ I Cor. xvi. I 2 in [ i'6 ] in all their weaknefTes and wants, and com- municated counfel, caution, encouragement and fupport to them as they needed, with a father's heart, and with a father's hand. But we fliall have occalion to recur to this thought when examining his fpirit and con- duct as a minifter ; and therefore difmifs it without farther enlargement here, to con- clude with fome remarks on the principles of this uniformly great and good man, as a member of civil fociety. In his choice of ccelibacy, Paul has been thought by fome to have difcovered a turn of mind illiberal and unfocial j and to have held up to mankind in general, and to the chriftian church in particular, an example injurious to both. But infinuations like thefe can only be thrown out by the preju- diced and partial ; or perfons unacquainted with the hi (lory and character of Paul. If he preferred the lingle life, it was partly becaufehe wiflied to avoid every conne(5tion that might in any way or degree impede him in his great work ; and partly becaufe his being. [ "7 ] being continually called out upon journies to different and very diftant fituations ; and having, confequently, no certain dwelling place, vi^ould be equally inconvenient and difagreeable to himlelf and any one whom he might other wife have chofen to marry. And as to what is faid of the unhappy in- fluence of his example, the in (lances in which it has proved fo, in fad, are perhaps very few. He does not appear to have in- tended that his condud: herein (hould be confidered as an example to his brethren, who are not in his peculiar fituation and cir- cumftances. He fays exprefsly, that even when he offered advice to fome individuals around him upon this fuhjea:, it was merely as matter of his own private opinion 5 and that he by no means wiOied to be confidered as therein fpeakingthe language of a divine oracle; fee 1 Cor. vii. 6, 12, 25. He expreffes his approbation of marriao-e as lawful in both fexes, ver. 28. In He- brews xiii. 4. he bears his teflimony for it as honourable in all : yea, i Tim. v. 14. commands young women to marry; and re- prefent.s It (i Tim. iv. i, -.) as one of the I 3 tenets [ uS ] tenets of perfons that in the latter times Hiould depart from the faith, giving heed to feducing fpirits, and do(5trines of devils ^ that they would forbid to marry. Paul and his brethren were frequently charged with fchifmatical tenets, fubverfive of the peace and good order of the feveraj cities and flates into v/hich they came on their divine commiffion. True it was, that when preaching Chrift and the refurredion, they were, in a fenfe, fetters forth of new <3o6lrines ; fuch as neither Rome nor Co- rinth had ever heard, and fuch as the mofl able of their philofophers, with all their pe- netration and learning, could never have difcoveredj and their dchgn was nothing lefs than to turn the world uplide down; but not in the way that- the Jevvifh rabble pretended at Thcffalonica". No man was ever more unjuftly pharaderized, than Paul by Tertullus when he called him a peitilent fellow, and a mover of fcdition arnong all the Jews throughout the world, &c/ He was of a meek and quiet fpirit, and the gofr ^ A(Ss xvii, 6, - A(Ss xxiv. 5. pel r U9 ] pel he preached, was tlie gofpel of peace. In preaching it, he not only I'emonftrated in general againfi thofc lufts and palfions from whence contentions fpring, and which unfit and indifpofe men for the duties of civil fociety ; but very exprefsly and fre- quently enjoined a lowly and fubmiflive fpi- rit upon all in every fituation and rank, as truly amiable in itfelf, and highly ornamental to the chriftian character ; requiring obedience and fubjedlion to their fuperiors, of all thofe whom Pro- vidence has placed in inferior Nations, viz. of fervants to their mafters, children to their parents, and efpeclally of fabjeds to their lawful fovereigns, in all fuch re-- quirements as were equitable and juft, if.id confident with the unrefervcd and univerfal obedience every chriftian owes to jefus as his divine Lord and Head. '* Let every foul be fubjedl unto th« higher powers. For there is no power but of God : the powers tliat be, are ordained of God. Whofoever therefore refifleth the power, refifleth the ordinance of God : and I 4 they [ 120 ] they that reiift, {hall receive to themfelves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power ? do that which is good, and thou fhalt have praife of the fame : for he is the minifter of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid 3 for he beareth not the fword in vain : for he is the minifter of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye muft needs be fubje(ft:, not only for wrath, but alfofor confcience fake. For, for this caufe pay you tribute alfo : for they are God's mini- ilers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues : tribute to whom tribute is due, cuftom to whom cuftom, fear to whom fear, honour to v/hom honour%" And that he ever adled himfelf upon the principles which he recommended to others, has already appeared, in part, from recited inftances of his behaviour before Felix, FeftuSj Tertullus, Agrippa, and the council: ' Ron;i. xiii. i — 7. and [ 121 ] and will yet be more fully proved whci> we cxatnlne his fpirit and behaviour in the duties of his minillerial fundtion. ^dly, We proceed now to enquire into Paul's difpofition towards his God and Redeemer. His fentiments of deity were juft, re- tined, and exalted; far more (o than any which that Jewidi fed profeiled, with which he had been connected before his converfion to chriftianity. f^ence his devo- tions were more humble and fpiritual ; and the habitual difpofition of his mind towards God, better fuited to his condition both as a creature and a finner, and to thofe divine perfections of which he was taught to en- tertain new and nobler conceptions. His afts of worfliip are now no longer perverted, cither in their form or end, by a fuperfti- tious attachment to the traditions of the fa- thers } but are all formed on a model of di- vine and heavenly original, and flow from principles with which he was immediately infpired by the fpirit of the Lord. He no 5 longer [ 122 ] longer fought the uppeniioll feats in the fynagogues, or made long prayers to be obferved of men ; but, acfting uniformly on the principle he recommended to his fon Timothy, he ftudied to fhow himfelf approved of God, and to approve himfelf to him. The form of godlinefs now no longer fatisfied Paul without the power ; but he engaged in all his facred tranfadlions with the Father of fpirits, as having to do with a heart-fearching and a iln-hating God: his fervice, therefore, is not performed as a mere cuftomary rite, or an impofed tribute, hut as an employment of whi^h hisJLid,g- ment approved, and in which his foul de- lighted. He bows the knee before God as his heavenly Father, whom he moft highly venerates, and affecflionately loves, and to whom he accounts it his honour and happi- nefs to be conflantly and entirely devoted, " Whofe 1 am, and whom I ferve," is the language in which he defcribes this his fiew-formed connedion; and his difpofition through life both illuftrated and confirmed it. Yet we never find him, in his addrefles, enlarging on his own excellencies as in any degree [ '2;^ ] degree fupcrior to others, or boaftingof hjs Services before God, as what he had per- formed by any Inherent virtues, or acquired abilities of his own. On the contrary, he repeats the humble acknowledgment again and again. " By the grace of God I am what I am*^;" expreffing a moil thankful fenfe of his obligations to that grace, both for ftrength and a will to ferve the Lord, ■'We are not," fays he, ■* fufficient of our- selves to think any thing as of ourfelves; but our fufficiency is of God"." To that divine agency he afcribed in the lowliell terms the fuccefs of all his labours \ and fpake of it as his peculiar honour and privi- lege that he had been employed in them^ It may be truly faid of Paul, that he walked with God, daily difcovering a deep fenfe of his dependance upon divine Provi- dence and grace. When he promifes, or determines, it is with this provifo,, ** If the Lord wilP." And he ever fpeaks and vvrites * I Cor. xi. 10. 8 2 Cor. iii. 5. ^ I Cor. iii. 5, 7. ' Eph. iii. 8- * 1 Cor. iv. 19. xvi. 7, Ad^s xviii. 4, as [ 124 ] as one defirous of impreiling upon his own heart, and upon the hearts of others, an habitual regard to him as the God in whom we live, move, and have our being. On this principle we find him breathing out his foul in expreilions of the warmefl: gratitude to the Father of all his mercies; more efpecially for the peculiar privileges and hopes of the gofpel covenant. " Blefled be the God and Father of our Lord Jefus Chrift, who hath blefled us with all fpiritual bleffings in hea- venly places in Chrift V *' Now unto God, even our Father, be glory for ever and ever""." *' Giving thanks unto God who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the faints in light"." *' To God only wife be glory through Jefus Chrift, for ever, amen." Pie owns his obligations to him for prefervation andfup- port in feafons of weaknefs and danger. Speaking of his perfecutions at Antioch, Iconium, and Lyftra, he fays, " Out of them all the Lord delivered me°:" and again, " Alexander did me much harm, and ' Epii. i. 3. ^ Phil. iv. 20. ^- Col, i. 12. * 2 Tim. iii. 11. no \ [ i^s i no man flood with me, but all men forfook me; notwithflanding the Lord ilood with me, and ftrengthened me, and I was deli^ vered out of the mouth of the lion''." Animated by his experience of the all- fufficiency of divine aid, and the riches of divine grace, he cafts all his care chearfully upon God, and hopes for his continued pro- teiflion and favour. " The Lord fliall deli- ver me from every evil work, and will pre- ferve me to his heavenly kingdom." This faith produced in him very amiable effects, and fuch as rendered him a diftinguifhed ornament and bleffing to the chriflian caufe, through all the various labours and difficul- ties of his life, and the painful folemnities of his laft moments. ** We had the fen- tence of death in ourfelves, that we (liould not trull: in ourfelves, but in God which raifeth the dead." Thus upheld and ani- mated, he could fay of imprifonments, ftripes and chains, " None of thefe things move me''." Nay, he triumphed in a piea- iing allurance, that " if the earthly houfe f 2Tim. iv, 14. 17. ^ Aclj XX. 24. [ 126 ] of this tabernacle were dillblved, he {hould have a building of God, an houfe, not made with hands, eternal in the heavens'." His attachment to his divine Mafter every one mufl have remarked who is converfant with his writings : he thought and fpoke of him with veneration, as " the brightnefs of his Father's glory, and theexprefs image of his perfon*," honoured him as ** God ma- iiifefl in the flefliV' '^^ whom " dwelt all the fuUnefs of the Godhead bodily";" and fuch was his eileem and afFecflion for him, he feldom mentioned the name of Jefus without enlarging on the glories of his per- fon, or the riches of his ijrace : ever think- ingof him with the higheil efteern as Crea- tor'^ and Lord" of all; who, after having fo " humbled himfelf as for our fakes to become poor, that we through his poverty might be made rich, was highly exalted, and has a name above every name, that at the name of Jefus every knee may bow^," ' 2 Cor. V. I. ' Heb. i. 3. * I Tim. iii. 6. " Col. ii, g. * Col. i. 16. / Eph. i, 21, yPM. ii. 10. With f ^27 ] With Inimility, and with a chearful mind, did our apoflle bow the knee before him, as at once his Saviour and his Sovereign -, de- Vote every power and talent to his honour and fervice, and fubjed: himfelf, foul and body, to his difpolal and government, making it his conftant aim and ambition that Chrift might be magnified in him, whe- ther by life or by death. " None of us," faid he, '* liveth to himfelf, and n-o man dieth to himfelf; for whether we live, we live unto the Ix)rd, or whether we die, we die unto the Lord." Nor did he and his bre- thren adopt this language as a matter of mere form, much lefs of eonflraint ; but from a mofl: ingenuous principle of grati- tude for all that Jefus had done and fuffered for them, '* The love of Chrift conftrain- eth us, becaufe we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead j and he died for all, that they which live, {hould not henceforth live unto themfelves, but unto him that died for them and rofe again^ From the firft moment in which he be- * 2 Cor. V. 14, 15. came t i2§ i came acquainted with the nature arid dengn of his undertakings, as Mediator between God and man, he expreffed the moft humble and entire confidence iii him in that character : looking for pardon,; juftification, and eternal life through his obedience unto death, and the interceflion which he ever lives to make at the right- hand of God : or, to convey his fentiment in his own emphatic language, he account- ed all things but lofs for the excellency of the knowledge of Ch rift Jefus his Lord* ** for whom," fays he, ** I have fuffered the lofs of all things; and do count them but dung, that I may win Chrift and be found in him, not having mine own righte- oufnefs which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Chrlft; the righte- oufnefs which is of God by faith'." To this great objedl of his defire and purfuit, he had happily attained, when he could fay,- *' I am crucified with Chrifl : neverthelefs I live; yet not I, but Chrifl liveth in me : and the life which I now live in the flefli, I live by the faith of the Son of God, ^ PhiJ, iii. 7—9. who [ 129 ] who loved me> and gave himfelf for b >* me . " One," fays the elegant Harvey, fpeak* ing of this apoftle, in his Refledions on a Flower Garden, " of the moft unqueftion- able judgesof whatever is valuable infcience, or perfedlive of our nature; a judge who formed his tafte on the maxims of paradife, and received the finilhings of his education in the third heavens : this judge determines to know nothing but Jefus Chriil, and him crucified. He polTeiTed in his own perfon the finefti the moll: admired accompliih- ments, and yet pronounces them no better than dung, in comparifon of the fuperemi- nent excellency of this faving knowledge." In a word, the whole of his difpofition towards Jefus, after his converfion, was a ilriking contrafl to that which he had al- ways difcovered before. He not only glo- ried in him as the objecft of his highefl efleem and unlimited confidence, but uni- formly and flrongly recommended him to '• Gal. ii. 20. K his [ 130 3 his fellow-linners as altogether worthy of every honour they could pay him, and equal to every trull they could repofe in him j re- fented every indignity and affront offered to his beloved Lord, and fpoke v^ath holy in- dignation even of a fpirit of indifference to him. If any man love not the Lord Jefus Chriil, let him be anathema, maran-atha. Such were our apoflle's fentiments of the Father, and of his Son Jefus Chrifl. To him likewife we are indebted for many in- terefting difcoveries concerning the Holy Spirit. He calls him Lord^ and God"", and evidently conceived of him as poffelfed of divine attributes and perfed:ions ; fuch as omnifcience", omniprefence^, omnipotence^ and eternity''. To the divine illuniination and heai^t-transforming influence of the fa- cred Spirit, he conflantly afcribes all his own faving knowledge and experience, and that of all v^'hofe underftandings are en- lightened, and who are renewed in the fpirit •^ 2 Cor. iii. 17. ^ 1 Cor. iii. 16. " I Cor. ii. 10, II. ^ Ephef. ii. 22. Rom. viii. 26, 27. 2 1 Cor. xii. II. ^ Heb. ix. 14. of E '31 ] cf their minds*. He reprefents believers as his living templcs\ and as having God himfelf in this holy fpirit, dv^^elling ia them. In fine, to do honour to the facred Spirit as united in the godhead with the Father and the Son, he pronounces that ever-memorable benedidion on all the faints in the name of the Sacred Three : " The grace of the Lord Jefas Chrift, the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghoft, be with you ail'." We (hall have occaiion to enter more fully into Paul's fcntiments on this and other do(5>rines of chiiftianity, in an examination of the favourite fubjeas of his public mi- nillratiofi? and epiftles to the churches. But can we difmifs this part of our fub- jecl without a pleafmg reflexion on the ef- fedis of the grace of Chriil, fo truly amiable and eminently great ? V/hat a change did it produce in the temper and views, in the language and conduct of this youth ! Per-^ h^ps a ftronger contraft never appeared in *2Cor.iv. 6. '^ iCor. iii, i6. ' 2 Cor. xiii. 4, K. r any [ 132 ] any two charadlers, than in thofe of Saul a difciple of Gamaliel, and Paul a follov/er of Jefus. The indecency of pride, the four feverity of the bigot, and the fury of the perfecutor characterized the former : a principle of undifTembled piety and fpiri- tual devotion ; love unfeigned and un- bounded i a converfation without guile, blamelefs, and uniformly honourable and endearing -, and that holy life adorned throughout with a humble mind, fhone in the latter. What cannot this grace effedt ! Well entitled it furely is to our higheft efleem and veneration 1 May what we have already feen of its mighty and endearing in- fluence on Paul engage us to yield ourfelves in all things to its dire38 ] To Simon he gave the additional name of Peter, lignifyinga rock, on account of his firm, intrep-id fpirit, and the ufe to be made of him and his brethren as, next to their Lord, the grand foundation of the chriflian church". The mighty power with whicii both their doctrines and miracles fliould bear dovv^n all oppofition, v/as figni- iied to them by the firname of Boanerges, fons of thunder. The other Simon is (ir- jiamed Zelotes, or the zealot, becaufe (as is conjectured) of his former bigotted at- tachment to the law of Mofes, and the traditions of the fathers; and alfo a Ca- naanite, mofl probably from Cana, the place of his nativity. The different names of Lebbeus, Thaddeus, and Judas, are given to the fame perfon by different evange-^ lifts ; and it appears that he was known by all of them'\ Thomas was called Didy- muSj " Compare Ephcf. ii. 20, and Rev. xxi. 14, "^ Luke vi. ]6. John xiv. 22. Ad^s i. 13. Lebbeus being derived from 1/, which fignifies the heart ; and Thaddeus (probably from ip, a Syro- chaldaic v/ord, which as fome critics tell us fignifies the breafr) feem equivalent names. Thefe perhaps were t' 139 ] mus, bclrig (as that word iignifies) a twin, Judas the traitor was dill:inguill:ied froni the other Judas by the additional appellation of Ilcariot, or a man of Carioth\ Ail of the twelve probably had their iinperfedions j but the vile treachery of the lad will tranf- mit his nrtine with infamy to the latefl poilerity. Our Lord has neither given his reafons for chufing twelve and no more'', nor for, were given him to diftinguKh him from the other Judas, whofe faithlefs head and foul heart had brought 2 kind of infamy on the name ; (o that neither Matthew nor Mark ufc it when fpeaking of this apofl:lc ; and John takes particular care to prevent the confufion which might arife from the ambiguity of it. John xiv. 22. Vid. Dod. Fam. Exp. in Loc. " One of the outermoft cities of Judah, towards Edom, mentioned in Jofliua xv. 25. ^ It has been ccnjeiflured, that he fixed upon tu'clvc, in reference to the twelve tribes of Ifracl, and therefore care was taken, on the death of Judas, to chufe an- other to make up that number. This might be a piece of refped to the Jews, previous to the grand ofFcr of the gofpel to them; whereas, when they had generally rc- je<5lcd it, two more (viz. Paul and Barnabas) were added to the nurr her. Dod. Fam. Exp. § 52. Note (r ). felc^ling [ I40 ] feledting thefe from among his other diTci- pies for the high office of the apofllefhip* And how fhall we account for his admitting one among them whom he calls a devil f Much as Tome may be aftonifhed, and even offended at it : an inftrudive and awakening premonition it certainly con- veys to all who appear in facred offices in the church of Chrift : enforced by what Jefus faid elfewhere to the faith- ful among thefe firfl minifters of his kingdom -, " Rejoice not that the fpirits are fubjedl unto you ^ but rather rejoice that your names are written in heaven*: for many will fay to me in that day. Lord, Lord, have we not prophefied in thy name, and in thy name have cafl out devils, and in thy name have done many wonderful works ; and then will I profcfs unto them,. I never knew you ; depart from me ye workers of iniquity\" Little is faid of the manner in which thefe twelve were introduced into office. Some time after they had obeyed the previous calls of Jefus to enter among his difciples, he ^ Luke X. 20. '^ Mait> vii. 22,23. fent [ HI ] fent for a number of them ; out of which, it is fiid, he chofe and ordained (as we render gTo/ucrg; but perhaps it might more properly be tranllated conjlkuted, or ap- pointed) thefe twelve. The word is ufed elfewhere for appoint- ing to an ofEce^ It does not appear that any particular form was made ufe of by our Lord, at his feparating thefe his difciples to the apoftlediip : we are only told, that he gave them their inftru(5lions and fent them forth. This inflitution was our Lord's firfl: pub- lic effort for eftablifhing and extending his kingdom. The Father had promifed him the heathen for his inheritance, and the ut- termofl ends of the earth for his pofleirion : hereby he openly declares his intention of making his claim. Thefe twelve were coni- manded to go and preach, faying, ** The kingdom of heaven is at hand." That king- ^ Heb. iii. 2. where fpeaking of Chrift Jefus as the high prieft of our profefTion, he fays he was faithful to him that appointed (tw 'TreinffxyTi) him. dom [ 14- ] clom of grace under Me Hi ah the prince, of whom the Father tellified, faying, -" He fhall have dominion from fea to fea, and from the river to the ends of the earth '5" '* of the increafe of his government and peace there ihall be no end''." In confirmation of this doctrine, they were empowered to heal the fick, clean fe- the lepers, raife the dead, &c. and were promifed feafonable prote6lion and fupplies In the profecution of this great defign. They were not indeed permitted at lirft to go either to the Gentiles or the Samaritans, but were commanded to confine their mini^ ftry for a while to the loft flieep of the houfe of Ifrael. Upon Ifrael's rejecftion of the grace, it was extended to all nations ^ and they were not only authorized, but or-^ dered to go into all the world and preach the gofpel to every creature. In aid of this great plan, two were afterwards added to their number, viz. Paul and Barnabas^ Jefus himfelf appeared from heaven to en- gage Paul in the undertaking, and honoured "■ Zach. ix. 10, ^ ^ Ifaiah ix, 6. him [ 143 ] him with that memorable teftimony, ** He is a chofen velTel unto me, to bear mv name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Ifraer." Thus extenfive was his commiffion. He is afterwards called the apoflle of the uncircumcifion*^, as being principally appointed to preach the gofpel to the uncircumcifcd heathens who had been ftrangers both to the rites and privileges of the people of God^ And this he did with fuch fuccefs, as to bean inftrument of found- ing large chriflian churches in many learned and polite cities, in which the one God, as well as the one Mediator between God and man, Chrlfr Jefus, had been utterly un- known before. SECT. II. Tihe ^lalificdtions of Paul and his Brethren for the apOjlolic Office. TN confequence of his beiiic^, as he fays of hinifelf, born out of due time, Paul had never enjoyed perfonal interviews with *A£tsix, 15. TGaLir. 8. s Rom. xi. 19. xv. 18, 19. Jefus [ 144 ] jefus in the fledi ; yet he had feen the Lord; who condefcended to appear to him from heaven to call him to the chriftian and mi- nifterial office and charad:er\ To that in- terview he frequently appealed, in con- firmation of his divine miffion'. But both he and his colleagues had likewife to refer their hearers to the very wonderful works which were performed by them : and might juftly fay with their Mafter, to all among whom they came, If ye believe not us, yet believe the works, for they teftify concern- ing us that we are fent of God. Thefc they performed through the power of the Holy Ghofl:, imparted, if not as to Jefus, without meafure, yet very abundantly unto them. Among the apoftolic gifts'' were, I ft, ** The word of wifdom," which, it ^ A£ts xxii. 17. * I Cor. xv. 4 — 8. ix. i. '^ The author acknowledges himfelf indebted for feme of the following remarks en the gifts and powers of theapoftles, to his late worthy tutor, the Reverend Dr. Doddridge, whofc Ledure upon the fubjeft, and the writers there referred to, the reader may confult for farther fatisfadlion upon it. is [ I4.S- ] is generally thought, was a capacity clearly and fully of undcriianding the chrifliaii fchcme', and of applying its fcvcral Inftruc- tions, caution Sj admonitions and encou- ragements properly In all cafes, 2dly, " The word of knowledge"" is not eafily diftinguiflied from the word of wif- dom, unlefs it related to an extraordinary talent for explaining the reference of Old Teilament pafTiges to the inflitutions of the New, and thereby illuflrating, more eipecially for the convidtion of the Jews, the nature and genius of the Meiljah's kingdom". This would likewife enable them to explain the nature of the gofpelj and enforce its great delign with convincing evidence to the minds of others", 3dly, *' The gift of difcerning fpirlts," or of knowing by what fpirit a man fpokcj who pretended to divine infpiratlon — of difcerning the fecrets of mens' hearts in ' I Cor. ii. 6, 7. "■ Eph. iii. JO. compared with 2 Peter iii. 15. " Rom. xvi. 25, 26. I Pet. ii. 11, 12. Rom. ii. 20i t Tim. vi. 20. " Rom. XV. 14 — 16. I Cor. i. 5,6. L fome [ t46 ] fomc inftances, and confequently judging of their fitnefs for this or that office in the church. 4thly, The apoflles had alfo" the gift of prophecy," not merely in that inferior fenfc in which the word is often ufed for officia- ting in public worfhip by preaching, prayer, 6cc.'' but in fuch a degree likewife as en- abled them, in fome inflances, to foretell future events not difcernible by human forelight ; and in others, to difcover diftant and fecret tranfacftions : as appeared in the remarkable narrative of Ananias and Sap- phira^ 5thly, Next to that may be mentioned ** the gift of tongues," by which they could readily and intelligibly fpeak a variety of languages which they had never learned. This was a very important and ufeful branch of furniture for an office that called them out into different countries, and among people of different languages. ^ I Cor. xir. "5 Ails v. Once [ '47 ] Once more, 6thly, They h.'.d likewife '* the power of interpreting tongues ;" io that in a mixed af- fembly, compofed of perfons of different nations, if one fpoke in a language under- ilood only by one pnrt, another could re- peat and tranilate what he faid into various languages underllood by others. This it is thought they did, either at the end of a difcourfe, or fentence by fentence'. Some have fuppofed that Paul had a gift peculiar to himfelf, viz. of knowing what pafTed (efpecially in churches) in his ab- fence, as well as if he had been prefent'j but it does not appear that he poflcfled this habitually, though he might be honoured with it on particular occafions : the unli- mited poiTefTion of this knowledge is one of the peculiar attributes of Deity*. The moft confiderable miraculous powers of the apoftles, were, ' 1 Cor. xiv. 5,6, 13. ' i Cor. v. 3. Col.ii. 5. ■ Compare John iii. 34. with ii. 24, 25. L 2 ift. [ 143 ] ift, " The power of punilTiIng, even unto death, bold and daring offenders by a word fpeaklng\" And as evil angels might fometimes be the inflruments of in- Aiding thefe temporal judgments, that cir- cumftance might pofTibly be referred to by the apoflle, when he fpeaks of delivering perfons unto Satan '. 2dly, '* They were enabled to perform very extraordinary cures, and even to raife the dead by a touch, and byawurd"^.'* 3dly, ** The apoflles had likevvife a power, which feems to have been peculiar to them, of imparting miraculous gifts to others by the laying on of their hands." It is ob- fervable, that there were very few inftances of perfons receiving the fpirit in any other way''. ^ A£lsv, 1. xiti. 10, II. 2Cor. X. 6— g. " I Cor. V. 4, 5. I Tim. i. 20. * Aclsiii. I, II. V. 15, 16. ix. 36, 42. xlx. 11, 12. XX. 12. ^ A6ts viii. 14, 19. John xiv. 12. Rom. i. 11, 12. aTim. i. 6. Gal.iii. 2,3,5. i ThefT. i. 5,19,20, Adsxix. I — 7. As [ H9 ] As to the power of binding and loofing, as it is called''; remitting or retaining iins: different writers have given very different explanations of it : but few in any fenfe have made it entirely diftind: from one or other of the gifts or powers mentioned above. If it confifled merely in being able to declare what was, and what was not lawful under the chriftian difpenfation, they were furniflied for that by the word of wif- dom. If it be underdood of inflidling mi- raculous punifhments of lin, or removing fuch fufferings after they had been incurred, it will coincide with the powers men- tioned in the preceding page. Or if it be thought declaring to particular per- fons that their fms were or were not for« given, they could only do that by virtue of the gift of difcerning fpirits. We cannot conclude our remarks on the fupernatural gifts and powers of the apoftles, without reminding our readers of the very extraordinary wifdom and meeknefs, pa- tience, fortitude, and zeal, with which y Matt. xvl. 19, xviii. 18. John xx, 23. L ^ they [ I50 ] they were enabled to perfevere in their ar- duous fervices; and to endure jChame, ex- treme fufferings, and the moft cruel deaths, in the caufe of their divine leader and Lord : as well as the aftonifliing propriety and rea- djnefs with which they anfwered their ac- cufers, when arraigned for their fentiments and condu6t before Jewifh and Gentile magi- ftrates. Herein the word of their Maflei* was made good, in which he had faid, *' Ye fhall be brought before kings and go- vernors for my fake, but take no thought, how or what ye Ihall fpeak ; for it fhall be given you in that fame hour what ye ihall fpeak : I will give you a mouth and wifdom, which all your adverfaries fhall not be able to gainfay orrefift''." This they uniformly afcribed, not to any inherent felf-^ fufficiency, but to conftant communica- tions of the fpirit from above j each faying, with our apoftle, by the grace of God I am what I am. * Matt. X. i8, 19. Luke xxi. 12 — 15. CHAP. [ '5' ] C H A P. V. THE APOSTLE PAUL's REPRESENTATIONS OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY; HIS CALL TO THE OFFICE, AND QUALIFI- CATIONS FOR IT. 'T^HE fupernatural talents recited in the preceding chapter, were admirably adapted to the peculiar fervices and trials of the apoflolic office. Called, as thofe good men were, to introduce the chriflian faith and worfhip among Jews and Pagans j and to defend and propagate the pure and hum- bling tenets of the gofpel, in oppofition to the united powers of fuperftition, learning, and the fword. But when that end was in a meafure an- fwered ; when chriftianity was known and received by multitudes j when numerous chriftian churches were planted in different and dillant parts of the world; and provi- fion made for the continuance and fpread of L 4 the [ 152 ] the Redeemer's intereft through fucceeding ages, thofe extraordinary powers were no longer neceflary : they ceafed, therefore, either with the apoftles and their cptempo- raries ; or, at far theft, with thofe who im- mediately fucceeded them. Paul diftin- gulflied thefe their fuccefibrs, from the apoftles and prophets, by the titles of paftors and teachers'*. They colkded focleties and planted churches ; thefe were fet over them in the Lord, for their f irther increafe and eftablilliment. The apoftles, fis fuch, had the care of all the churches ; cs naftor was an overfeer only of one. The cfnct of the former was temcorarv: that of the latter, vvas to continue to the end of the world. They were appointed to break up the fallow- ground; thefe, to cultivate the foil and fow the feed. The apoitles laid the founda- tion ; minifters in fucceeding ages were to raife the edifice. There are diverfities of gifts, but the fame fpirit ; diiferences of adminiftrations, or fervices, but the fame Lord ; and various operations, but it is the fame God who worketh all in all". * Ep. iv. ilj 12. ''J Cor. xli. 4—6. Embarked, [ 153 ] Embarked, as they all were, in the fame caiife ; all ferving the fame mafter ; and their work being, in many refpefts, the Amc, they all needed the aids of the fame fpirit : ordinary miniflers, in its divinely enlightening and quickening influences ; as well as the apoftles' in its miraculous agency. Paul earneftly entreats the one, when richly polfelTed of the other ; and, in all his re- prefentations of the chriflian minillry, has faid much to evince the importance of that heavenly unction. He conlidered it, not as a iinecure, but as an arduous fervice; a work, fufficicntly extenfive and momentous to employ the labour and fkill of the moft acftive and difcerning — to fill the heads and hearts, and hands oi the greatefl: and bed of men. In no charader did he efteem himfelf more highly honoured, than in that of a fervant of God and of Chj-iji" y yea, a fervant of the church for fefusfake^. He fought to approve himfelf truly and eminently fo in the fervices he undertook^ and the labour, ' Rom. i. I, ** I Cor. iv. 5. reproach. [ 154 ] reproach, and fuffering, to which he fub- mitted for their fakes. He teaches all his brethren to confider themfelves, not only as fervants, but as ^^ foldiers :' and hence, as a veteran cofximander, infpired with true virtue, and a generous zeal in the chriftian caufe, he called upon his beloved Timothy, when that young warrior was entering the field; "Thou, therefore, endure hardnefs as a good foldier of Jefus Chrift\'* Elfewhere he addrelles him with great fo- lemnity, • in the exalted charader of a " jnanofGod\" fet apart by him, and for him, to bear his image, receive his coun- fels, and ferve his intereft in the world. He fpeaks of all minifters, as *^ jlewards of God°^" and '' Jlewards of the my/leries of God^," put in truft with his gofpel : nor may any honoured with that confidential appointment ever forget the memento he fubjoins to the reprefentation : '* It is re- quired of ftewards, that a man be found faithful." Paul was truly a labourer him- felf, and has endeavoured to convince • 2 Tim. ii. 3. ^ I Tim. vi. II. « Tit. i. 7. ''I Cor. iv. i, 2. every [ '55 ] every one, who defires his Mafter's ap- probation in the facred office, that he muft be To Hkewife : exerting every pow- er, and improving every talent for his Lord's honour, and the fpiritual bene- fit of finful, perifhing men ; confider- ing himfelf likewife a watchman -y and ap- pointed as fuch to watch for fouls, as one that muft give an account. Thofe were, in this view, very folemn inftrudlions from God himfelf to one of his fervants in that charader. ***0 Son of man, I have fet thee a watchman unto the houfe of Ifrael ; therefore thou flialt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I fay unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou fhalt furely die; if thou doft not fpeak to, and warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man fhall die in his ini- quity : but his blood will 1 require at thine hand. Neverthelefs, if thou warn the wicked of his way, to turn from it : if he do not turn from his way, he fliall die in his iniquity; but thou haft delivered thy • Ezck. xxxiii. 7, 8, 9. foul." [ 156 ] foul." Tremendous charge ! who is fuffi- cientfor thefc thing^s ? o That kind word of Jefus which relieved Paul in an hour of trial, may afford fome encouragement to the lowly and felf-dif-^ iident, w*lien called by him to the fervice, ** My grace is fufficient for thee." But as fuch a call is fuppofed, we £hall here offer fome remarks upon it. Paul afferts of Jefus Chrift, that " he is head over all things to his church''." As fuch, the original appointment of minifters is undoubtedly with him ; — being afcended into the heavens, he gave fome apoflles, fome prophets, fome evangelifls, and fome paRors and teachers'. Confcious of this his divine prerogative, he exhorts his difciples to pray the Lord of the harvell: that he would fend forth labourers into his harveft'". Nay, he exprefsly aflerts, that no one can come regularly and acceptably into the office, but by authority and commiilion from him- fclf. '' Verily 1 fay unto you, he that en- •'- Eph. i. 21. ' Eph. iv. ii- "" Matt. ix. 38. s; tereth [ IS7 ] tereth not by the door, into the flieepfold, but climbeth up Ibme other way, the fame is a thief and a robber";" ** but he that cntereth in by the door, is the (hepherd of the ilieep." Paul fpoke of himfelf as called hereunto at his firll interview with his di- vine Lord : ** It pleafed God to call me by his prace, and reveal his fon in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles'. Jefus faid unto me, I have appeared unto thee for this purpofe, to make thee a minifter, to open the blind eyes, and to tutn them from darknefs to lights and from the power of Satan unto God^" Yet an expreffion he elfewhere ufed, feems to have been intended for the inftrudion and caution of all fucceeding ages, in which, fpeaking of minifters, he fays, *' Howlhall they preach, except they be fent"* ?" In the term preach, he probably meant to include the exercife of all the duties, or, at leaft, all the public fervices of the chrif- tian miniftry. Confidering the palTage in " Johnx. 1,2,9. " ^^^* '• ^5> ^^^♦ p Aits xxvi. 16,17. ^ Rom. X. 15. this [ iS« ] this light, it fpeaks this plain truth in very folemn terms ; — that there is a miffion, without which no one can appear with ho- nour and acceptance in the charad:er of a preacher of the gofpel. This almoft all ac- knowledge. But different chriftians think very differently concerning the effentials of that call which is authoritative and valid. We will beg leave to offer fome few re- marks here, on that of Paul, before we enter farther into this queflion. It is obvious, from his own words re^ cited above, that he received his miffion originally and immediately from the Lord. And having been fo called, it was ordered that he and Barnabas fliould be fet apart to their office by their fenior brethren at An- tioch, called prophets and teachers. As thefe his fervants were miniftering unto the Lord, fafting, the Holy Ghoft faid unto them, " Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work, whereunto I have called them'." And the facred hiftorian farther informs us, that when they had fafled and prayed, and * Ads xiii. 2. laid [ 159 .1 laid their hands upon them, they fent them away. Separate me {ccfo^o-acTe). It is obferv- able, that this word is ufed in the feptuagint tranflation of Numbers viii. 8. *' And Aaron fliall offer (feparate or fet apart) the Levitcs before the Lord for an offering for the children of Ifrael, that they might execute the fervices of the Lord." Perhaps the term might be chofen in this account of the feparation of Paul, in allufion to the manner of confecrating the Jevvifh priefls to the fervice of the tabernacle. The apoffle fays of himfelf, that he was a(pw^e/^gj'o$ en ev!x.yy€A^.iovj feparated to the gofpel. He had been feparated as a Pharifee (a term de- rived from iviQ paredi, which fignifies to feparate) to the ftudy and practice of the law in all the extent of its ceremonial infli- tutions ; but now rejoices in a new mailer, and a new fervice. His feparation was per- formed by laying on of hands. It may not perhaps be improper to remark here, the difference between xeipoicnx, holding up of hands, and xg/po6go-;a, laying on of hands : 3 a rite [ i6o ] a rite performed by priefts and elders, when feparating or fetting apart a young brother to the work unto which he had been before chofen. The former was ufed for a perfon's election or choice ; the latter, to iignify his folemn appointment or confecration to an office when chofen. The apoflle Paul, when fpeaking of Titus as fixed upon to be their companion, fays, ** he was chofen (xg/poTorwGg/s) by the lifting up of hands in the churches to travel with us';" and in another place* it is rendered ordainedy v/hen ufed for the choice of elders in the feveral churches. MInifters and other officers appear to have been ufually chofen in that manner, though when there were two candidates for that feat on the apoftolic bench, which was left va- cant by the apoftacy of Judas, Matthias was chofen by lot". We are told '% how- ever, that when the lot is cafl into the lap, the whole difpofal thereof is of the Lord : and if a divine providence ever interpofes * 2 Cor. viii. 19. * Afts xiv. 23. "•' Acts i, 23 — 26. "^ Prov. xvi. 23. for [ '6I ] for its diredion, mod certainly it is where the intercll of his church is depending. Neverthelefs, it is a queflion of no fmall difficulty and importance, how we are now to afcertain the evidences of a divine mifTion to the minillerial office. Peter, James and John, and the reft of the apoftles, received theirs immediately from Jefus. " As my Father," faid he to his difciples, ** hath fentme, even fo fend I you\" Thus called and fent forth by their divine Mafter, thefe his firft minifters chofe others and fet them apart to the like fervice, ex- horting them to commit the things, which they had heard from them among many witnefTes, to faithful men who were able to teach others alfo^. In this apoftolic charge we rnay remark, the perfons whom Paul authorizes his fuc- cefTors to ordain, viz. ** faithful men, who were able to teach others." The facred meffage with which they were to be en- ^ Jchn XX. ?i. >• 2 Tim. ii. 2. M trufted. [ l62 ] trufted, viz. the things which they had heard from him and his brethren ; and thofe who are commiffioned to undertake the office of their ordination, viz. fuch as had themfelves been ordained by the apoflles. Hence, fay the bifliops of Rome, we only have the right of ordination, or fend- ing out miniflers, as being the immediate and only fuccelTors of the apoflles. The vanity and arrogance of this claim, and the falfehood of the affertion on which it is founded, have been abundantly expofed by many learned writers on the fubjecft. " It is not lawful," fays the church of England% " for any man to take upon him the office of public preaching, or minifler- ing the facraments in the congregation, be- fore he be lawfully called to execute the fame." Nor can this be difputed by any, if that call alone be acknowledged lawful, ^ Art. xxiii. 6 which [ i6,1 ] which proceeds from the fupreme lawgiver and only head of the chriftian church. It is added, for the farther explanation of it in the fame article, " Thofe we ought to judge lawfully called and fent, which are chofen and called to this work by men who have public authority given unto them in the congregation, to call and fend minifters into the Lord's vineyard." And if, by lawful authority, nothing more be underftood, than the authority de- rived from Chrifl: the fupreme legiilator of the chriftian church, this is equally cer-* tain : but ftill the queftion returns, how is that to be afcertained P Shall we anfvver, in the words of the celebrated Claude'', " A call to the m.iniftry refults from the relation or concurrence of three wills, viz. that of God, that of the church, and that of the perfon called. The confent of thefe three make all the eftence of the call ; and the other things that may be added to it, as examination, election, and ordination, arc preambulatory conditions or figns, and ex- * Defence of the Reformation, Part iv. p. 59, 60. M 2 ternal I 164 ] ternal ceremonies, which more refpe(^ the manner of the call than the call itfelf." The importance of thefe criteria few fe- rious proteftants difpute, and their fuf- iiciencvy none that are confidentlv fo, can deny^ Satisfaclory evidences of the former (a divine million) will not be wanting, where there are the following preparatives or qua- lifications for the work ; if acknowledged, as they certainly are, the gifts of God. All of them evidently ajid eminently appeared in the aooftle Paul. He was diftinffuiflicd, jil, By good natural abilities. Thefe he difcovered early, and they wer^ iLudiouily cultivated in his youth. He pof- feffed fuch powers, both of body and mind, as greatly contributed to that aptnefs to leach, which he confidered as of the firft importance to a chriftian bifhop. We find liim indeed intimating that there waj ibmething difadvantageous both in his per- 6 fon [ >6S ] Ton and voice ; his letters, {:\y they, are weighty and povverfii], but his bodily pre- fence is weak, and his fpecch contemptible."* But, like a Grecian orator of the firfl: re- pute, in a like predicament (Dcmoflhenes), he feems to have taken pains, and that with good luccefs, to render his elocution both intelligible and graceful. At lead:, his ilrong icnCt ; comprehenfive knowledge; lively, but well governed imagination ; re- tentive memory, and great foul, comnen- fated for everything lefs pleafmg, either i;i the found of his voice, or the appearance of his perfon. Thefe fecured him attention in very refpe(flable alTemblies, and fuch as were frequently compofed of perfons by no means prejudiced in his favour. We will not fay that every veffel of honour, fit for the mafter's ufe in this facred office, muft, in all thefe refpe^fts, be as Paul. But this is certain, that every minifter's fit- nefs for it, will be in proportion to the degree in which he refembles him. Added, therefore, to what has been remarked of the faculties of this great preacher's mind, * 2 Cor. \-. 10. M 3 we [ 1 66 ] we will beg leave to fiiy, that an accurate ear, a flrong eye, a clear and diftind: voice judicioufly commanded, found lungs, and nerves well braced, every fervant of Chrift will find of importance to an eafy and aC" ceptable difcharge of the duties of his calling. *' Venture not raflily," faida diftinguifh- ed preacher of the lad century, ** on the great undertaking of the chriftian miniftry j common abilities will not be fufficient. We have feen fome private chriftians that were of great efteem as fuch, and might perhaps in thofe fituations have done God fervice, who have thought too highly of their abilities, and thruflino- themfelves into the minifterial office, have appeared weak and empty men there, and proved great burdens and a great difgrace to the church." We will remark, as a further qualifica- tion in Paul for the miniftry of the gofpel of Chrift, 2dly, A mind diverted of former preju- dices and attachments. The t 167 ] The principles he imbibed in younger life, and the connedlions he formed then, were highly flattering to a man of his ge- nius and tafte ; but he held them in no efteem as preparatives for the characfter in which we now regard him. There was, then, no ftation with which he was Icfs acquainted, or to which he was lefs difpofed ; nor any that he thought of (when he thought of it at all) with more indifference and contempt. He defpifed all who fuf- tained it; was their avowed opponent, and open perfecutor ; and that (as he fays) from principle : for he coniidered them, as hold- ing and propagating tenets fubverfive of that hierarchy for which he had been taught, from his infancy, the higheft veneration. ** But/' fays he, " when it pleafed God to call me by his grace, and to reveal his Son in me, that I might preach him among the Gentiles, immediately I conferred not with flefh and blood." It was no longer a quef- tion with him. What is the religion of my country, or the religion of my parents ? What have hitherto been my favourite principles, company and employments ? M 4 or [ i68 ] or what was the foundation of my hope to- wards God from my youth ? He confiders no longer how lliall I moft effectually re- commend myfelf to the wealthiefl;, mofl learned, and moft refpedtable of my coun- trymen. No. What things were gain to me, thefe I have been taught to account lofs for Chrift ; yea, doubtlefs, and I count all things but lofs for the excellency of the knowledge of Chrift Jefus my Lord; for whom I have fuffered the lofs of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Chrld*'. And was this peculiar to Paul ? In the fame fpirit and manner did Peter, and Matthew, and James and John, at the call of Jefus, leave all to follow him. And v/ithout a like principle of felf-denial; un- til the heart be thus detached from its for- mer mod: favourite objects and purfuits, no one will approach him with the language of our great apoflle : ** Lord, what Vv^ilt thou have me to do ?" None will otherwife be difpofed to comply with his injun<5lion con- ■ b Phil. iii. 7, 8. cerning [ i69 ] ccrning the fervices of the gofpel mlnlflry, and the proper preparatives for them : ■' Meditate upon thefe things ; give thyfelf wholly to them." A heart divided liere cannot but be found fciulty. Whatever foothing pleafures, or profitable employ- ments, may previouily have engaged the attention ; whatfoever liotions may have bten imbibed, or practices purfued, how- ever long maintained, or warmly adhered to, if inconfiftent with the character, princi- pies, and fervices of the minillerial capa- city, all mufl be refigned for it, on a well- known maxim, inculcated by Jefus himfelt on his difciplesi '* Ye cannot ferve two niaRers.'' And be it farther obferved, that Paul was qualified for his work; 3dly, By a knowledge of the gofpci he was called to preach. He feverely cenfurcs ibme who ignorant- iy, or through prejudice, affeded to be teachers of the law, and would intermix 1 the [ 170 ] the remains of that antiquated difpenfation with the purer, more fimple, and fpiritual inftitutions of chriftianity : " Underftand- ing," fays he, " neither what they fay, nor whereof they affirm'." The know- ledge of the gofpel was communicated to our apoflle, hy infpiration from Jefus; either immediately at his converfion, or during the three days he remained blind at Damafcus. Being appointed (as he fays he was) to preach the gofpel, it was neceflary he fhould be made acquainted with it; and it was accordingly revealed to him in all its glory and extent. Richly indeed was the pro- mife Jefus made to his other difciples, ful- filled to him ; '' when the fpirit of truth is come, he fliall guide you into all truth." He was enabled, under this divine teach- ing, to enter very fully both into the doc- trinal and pradical parts of it. And if it was required, under the Old Teftament, that the priefts lips fnould keep know- '^ I Tim, i. 7. ledge. [ '71 ] ledge"*, tliat he fliould labour to acquire and retain it, in order to impart it, both in public and private inftrudlions to the peo- ple, who were therefore direfted to feek the law at his mouth j it is at leaft of equal importance, that Chrift's miniftcrs be well furnidied with a knowledge of the gofpcl, that they may be able to impart from that divine treafure to every inquirer. Paul, we have obferved, was made acquainted with it *^- by immediate revelation from Jefus Chrifl:. Thofe who fucceed him are to obtain it, originally indeed from the fame fountain ; but by the humble and diligent ufe of his writings, and thofe of his infpired bre- thren ; in dependence upon the aids of the Holy Spirit, promifed by him in whom it refides, to attend his faithful fervants even to the end of the world. It will be remembered here, that we are fpeaking of a knowledge of the truth, as revealed in the gofpel of Jefus; but not in contempt ornegled: of other branches of fcience. A minifter muft appear with dif- ^ Malachi ii. 7. advantage [ 172 ] advantage who is grofsly ignorant of com- men life. His profellion fuppofes him con- verfant with books. It more efpecially be- fpeaks his attention to fuch as may improve hisknowledgeof divine things; of what he is to do and to teach : other branches of fcience may be ornamental^ and fome exceedingly ufeful ; but this is neceflary. It is little to fay of a minifter of thcgofpel, he is a goo4 claflic — an ingenious artift — a v/ell-read iiillorian — a Ikilful mathematician, or phi- lofopher. Is he mafter of his profellion ? He can demonftrate any proportion in Eu- clid — excels in mechanics — and is able to folve many of the phasnomena of nature. — But, alas ! as a preacher^^as a chriftian di^ vine-?- — r— — who does not fee the abfurdity of his appearing in that chara^er, which, of all others, he is the leaft fit for ? The knowledge of cattle and agriculture, all think necelTary to a good hufbandman. A merchant and tradefman fees the propriety of being acquainted with merchandize ani;! trade in general, and that in his own line in particular. Every one includes the knowledge of the. medicinal art in his idea of t '73 ] 'of a good phydclan ; and that of the law, in the charafter of an accompliflicd attor- ney. And is the knowledge of chriltian divinity lefs important to the charadler of a chriftian divine ?— lefs important to him- felf r — 'lefs in-)portant to his connections'? There was alfo in Paul, 4thly, A firm convidion of the truth of the gofpel, and a believing regard to its divine author. Called and appointed to preach the gof- pel, he fcrioufly examined the nature of his commiffion, and purport of the mefTage with which lie was entrufted — looked at- tentively into the evidences of its divine original and intrinlic excellence. The en- quiry afforded hifti fatisfacftion. He rejoices and exults in it, as indeed and in truth tiie gofpel of Chrift and of God; his gloriouii gofpel, every way worthy of him, and adapted to the character and condition of " Omnes in eo quod fcirent, fatis efle eloquentes, f»id 6ne heathen fhilofopher : aX\A omther^ Quibus fciatn poteroqur. ' man. t m ] man, for whofe benefit it vvas intended. He nioft cordially embraced its difcoveries of grace and truth as a folid foundation of hope, and abundant fource of confolation ; and renouncing every other confidence, feeks his own falvation in the way therein revealed and recommended ; viz. by a humble and cordial reception of Jefus Chrill, and dependence upon the merits of his undertaking for his juftification before God, committing his immortal all with chearfulnefs to his powerful and faithful care. ** I count all things but lofs and dung, that I may win Chrift, and be found in him ; not having mine own righteouf- nefs which is of the law, but the righteouf- nefs of faith ; the righteoufnefs which is of God by faith^'* ** I know in whom I have believed, and am perfuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him agalnll that day ^" Thefe comprehen- five views of the righteoufnefs and grace of Chrijfl; Jefus, and devout tranfad:ions oi foul v/ith him, prepared Paul for preach- ing him among the Gentiles. ^ Phil. iii. 8, 9. s 2 Tim. i. \i. [ 175 ] His knowledge of the character and under- taking of his Lord not only endeared him to his own foul, but made him glad, yea, im- patient to recommend him as a moll fuitable and fufficient faviour to his fellow-finners. Though he knew the dodtrine of the crofs was to the Jews a {tumbling block, and to the Greeks foolifhnefs, yet was he not afhamed of it ; nay, he gloried in it, as the *' power of God, and the wifdom of God*"*" He efteemed it his highefl honour to be authorized and appointed to preach it. " Unto me, who am Icfs than the leaft of all faints, is this grace given, that I fliould preach among the Gentiles, the unfearch- able riches of Chrift'." " I thank Chrift Jefus our Lord who hath enabled me j for that he accounted mc faithful, putting mc into the minil^:ry^" Each of his fucceHbrs in that office will do well to remember that charge to Timo- thy : '* ' The things that thou haft heard of me among many witnefles ; the fame com- ^ Rom. i. i6. I Cor. i. 24. ' Eph. iii. 8. ^ I Tim. i. 12. ' 2 Tim. ii. 2. mit E 176 ] mit thoa to faithful men who fliall be able to teach others alfo." To faithful men^ TTi^^oii ct\%^moi9 (men of faith and fidelity) who are true believers in Chrift Jefus ; and who, as fueh, may fafely be intruded with the melTage of his grace to others. Nor can' the great things of the gofpel of Chrift be properly, or indeed fafely, committed to any others. But we have further toobferve of Paul, 5thly, He entertained the bigheft cfleem of Chrift, and the ftrongeft affediion towards him. This has been already remarked in him as a drfciple : we could not, however^ omitfo important a charadteriftic of the mi- nifter. Paul and all his fellow-labourers were ever adluated by it"". He manifefted the governing influence of this divine prin-^ ciple in all he faid, from the firft moment he lay at the ftti of his Lord, to that in which he breathed out his expiring fpirit into his hands. His diicourfes and epiftles are full of ^ 2 Cor. V. xiv. Chrift. [ ^17 ] Chrift. He takes every opportunity of in- troducing the grateful theme, dwells upon it with fenfible pleafure, and feems never willing to quit it. His foul was filled with holy veneration in contemplating the divine glories of his perfon^ and melted intograti-^ tude on a furvey of the riches of his grace. And with fuch only, or men of the like fpirit, would the Lord entruft his beloved purchafe. Beautiful and truly inftruclive in this view was his converfation with Peter, before his afcenfion". Jefus was about to commit to him and his brethren, the care of his WltX^y but very dear flock. He, in the charader of the good il^epherd, had fo mani- iefted his love towards them, as to give his jife for the fheep : nor would he leave them with any who were ftrangers to his love. Peter had not approved himfejf the con- ilant, refolutc fervant his Lord wifbedhim, and that he expeded and promifed to be. Jefus knew that he had further fervices and further trials before him. He was folici- tousfor his appearing in both with honour; and therefore takes a very wife anji faiths " John xxi. 15. N ful, [ 178 ] ful, though an humbling method, to excite the emotions of an ingenuous contrition, and holy zeal in his breaft. Methinks I hear this his gracious Lord faying to him, ** I have not forgot thy frailty; I have not difcarded thee. I am about to depart from my beloved flock. I fhall leave them with thee and thy brethren j but I muft firfl afk thee, Simon, fon of Jonas, loveft thou me more than thefe ? Awhile ago, thou faidfl:, though all fhall forfake thee, yet will not I." A good refolution, though ill kept ; perhaps, becaufe made in hafte, and with too much felf-confidence. ** But what fayeil thou now ? Such an af- fed:ion becomes thee; an affedion, thus fervent, abiding, and fupreme. Not only have paft favours laid thee under the flrong- efl obligations to cultivate and exprefs this love, but future fervices will require it : thou haft much to do and to fuffer for thy Lord. I alk thee, therefore, what doft thou think ; how doft thou feel now ? Canft thou now fay, that thou haft a regard for me, not only equal, but fuperior to thy brethren ?" Paft experience had taught c him t 179 ] him the language of humility. He boafts not any liich diftinguifhing regard. All he fays, and that was not a little to fay, Yea, Lord, thou knoweft all things, thoU knoweft that I really love thee ; though I will not, I dare not aflert, that mine is a flronger, or a more abiding love than that of any of my brethren. This was fufficlent, and indeed more acceptable to his Lord, than if he had promifed greater things : therefore he entrufts him with a charge, to which he himfelf had always paid the moll conftant, tender, and condefcending atten- tion. If fo, fays he, feed my lambs, my young and moll feeble followers. Jefus repeats the quellion, and his difciple replies in the fame words, upon which he is com- manded to feed his ilieep. But he fays to him a third time, Simon, fon of Jonas, dofl thou indeed love me ? This exceed- ingly grieved him, that his love (hould be thus publicly and repeatedly called in quef- tion by his honoured Mafter. But con- fcious of his fincerity, he could perfevere in his anfwer, and made it a third time, if poflible, with greater earncilnefs : ** My N 2 ^ear t i8o ] dear Lord, tbc5u knovvefl; all things ; tlie hearts and the thoughts of the hearts of all men, therefore thou knoweil mine; and notwithflanding what has paffed, I can lliiH appeal to thee, I do love thee." On which Jefus confirms him in his office, and renews the folemn commitment of his flock to him, and in him, to every fervant of the like prin- ciple and fpirit, '* Feed my iheep." A fer- vicethat nothing but love to Jefus can render pleaOng to the ihep^herd, or in any way ad- vantageous to the {heep. So thought Paul : and if he could concur In denouncing an anathema on the man who loves not the Lord Jefus Chrill, with what indignation would he reprobate the bold intruder that fliould rulh into this facred work with a fpi^ rit of enmity, or even indilference to him tvhom he therein profeiies to ferve. Everyone convcrfant with the writings and difcourfes of Paul mull alfo have remarked^ 6thly, A principle of benevolence and Gompaffion for the fouls of men. An An amiable and efTential qualification this for the chriftian miniftry. Its fervices re- quire that felf-denial, befpeak that arduous labour, and frequently expofe to fuch re- proaches, hardOiips, and fufferings, as nothing can properly prepare and difpofe for, ffiort of fuch good-will to fellow- men, fuch pity to fellow- finners. A man may take the office upon himfelf, or be hurried into it by others merely for bread; he may be plcafed with it as an eafy and genteel profeflion ; or feek it in cortfequence of connections that afford him a flattering profped: of preferment, and be a mere drone, a cypher, nay, a curfe in his fitua- tion. He prefers that cure in which he has leaft duty, is infincere and unfleady in the little he does, and fecretly wilhes to be ex- cufed from that, — and why ? He knows not the worth of fouls, either others or his own ; is unapprehenfive of their danger ; and is ignorant of the excellency and im- portance of that Saviour, and that falvation, which he is appointed to preach. From fuch pallors, the Lord deliver his churches! and let all the people fay, amen, N 3 He [ l82 ] • He only is fit to take the overfight of them, who can cordially concur in the language of Paul : *' I feek not yours, but you. Yea, God is my record ; how ear- neflly I long after you all in the bowels of Jefus Chriil\" '* I long to fee you, that I may impart unto you fome fpiritual gift, to the end that you may be eftablifhed^" And again, ** Being affedlionately defirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you, not the golpel of God only, but alfo our own fouls;, becaufeyou were dear to us''." By fuch aifedllops and views, his work was rendered his delight. Labour, fatigue, watching, failing, reproach, and violence, whetted his facred ardour in the ?xercife of this divine philanthropy, rather than abated it. And he prefied forward through all, as one that rejoiced to approve himfelf a *' fer- vant of the church, for Jefus' fake." He faid of bonds and imprifonments, in the purfult of his great end, " None of thefe *' Phil. i. 8. P Rom. i. II. ''I ThcfT. ii. 8. things [ >83 ] things move me; neither count I my life dear unto myfelf, fo that I may finifli my courfe with joy, and the miniflry which I have received of the Lord Jefus, to teftify the gofpel of the grace of God'." And what a generous, importunate follcitude does he exprcfs, again and again, for the iuccefs of his miniftratlons ! ** We are ambalfadors for Chrift, as though God did befeech you by us ^ we pray you in Chrift's flead, be ye reconciled unto God'." " We, as in the Lord's name, and by the appoint- ment of God, labourers together in this important fervice, even befeech you, witli the tenderell and moft earneft importunity, that ye receive not the grace of God in vain." Various ways in which he manifefted this affection in the duties of his facred func- tion, will be remarked in another place. We are now only fuggcfting thefe hints on the principle itfelf, as one among many other preparatives he difcovered for the work whereunto he was called j and (hall now mention only one more, viz, ythly, A tafte and fitnefs for the pe- ' Acts XX. 24. ' 2 Cor. V, 20. N 4 culiar [ i84 ] culiar fervlces he was called to per^ form. The wifdom and goodnefs of the author of our frame are very appi^rent in that va- riety which is obfervable in the difpofitions and talents of mankind, fuited to their feve- ral iituations and employments, which are neceflarily various : hereby provifion is made for their being all tilled up with ad- vantage, both to individuals and the public. Happy the man who is called to fullain the chara(5ler for which he was apparently form- ed j or, in other words, is formed for the character he is called to fudain. This was eminently the lot of Paul. He was made for a niinifler. No part of facred fervice, but he had a turn and talent for. "Was he, for inftiance, called frequently to pray with and for others ? he was a man of prayer. Not only was his heart richly ftorcd with fentiments truly and evangelically devout, but he was capable of pouring out all its emotions in the moft pertinent, compre- henfive and pathetic language. No cafe could offer itfelf to his notice, or be recom- mended [ >% ] ineiiJed to his reinen\brance, but he was able to enter fully and properly into it. No condition or chara<£ter, but he had fuiN able petitions, confeffions or thankfgivings to preient before the throne of God upon it. No fituation or ilate, pleafing or painful, but he had a heart to rejoice witii them that rejoiced, and to weep with them that wept. Hence he was both prepared and difijofed to vifit all with advantage in their own houfes; and cither to be their mouth unto God there, or to intercede for theru in the af- femblyof the faints'. He was likewife endued with very fm- gular talents for writing and fpeaking of the great things of God and his glori- ous gofpel : being himfelf taught of the Lord, he was prepared and difpofed, with his great Mafter's afliflance and blefling, to defend, illuftrate, and enforce the oracles of eternal truth and life— or, to in{lru<^ the ignorant, alarm the felf-fecure, abafe the proud, convince gainfayers, dircA the * Eph. i. 15 — ig. iii. 14 — 19. Phil. i. 3,4,9,11. C^oi. i. 9 — 14. PhilcinOi-i 4, 5, 6, &c. enquiring [ 186 ] enquiring foul, and comfort them that mourned — to ftrengthen the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees — to quicken the indolent, and reclaim backlliders — to confirm the doubting — to fettle and efta- blidi the wavering and double-minded — and to improve the graces, and increafe the joys of the true believer. In a word, he was furnillied, from his excellent head, to give unto every one, of every age and every rank, in every condition, and of every cha- radler, a portion in feafon. Nor was there any fervice required of Paul in his minifte- rial function, but he approved himfelf in it, what he earneftly wiihed every one of his brethren might be, " a vefiel unto honour, fancflified and meet for the mafter's ufe, and prepared for every good work'." Thus was he eminently furniOied by his Lord with valuable and important qualifi- cations for the fervices of his facred func- tion, ^ 2 Tinrio ii. 2r. CHAP. [ 18? ] CHAP. VI. THE ENDS WITH WHICH THE CHraSTIATf MINISTRY WAS UNDERTAKEN BY IHE APOSTLE PAUL, AND WHICH HE HAS RECOMMENDED TO ALL WHO ENGAGE IN IT. ' I ''HE apoftle Paul difcovercd a ftrong fenfe of the vaft extent and f;ht as at times almoft to tremble under it. *' I keep under my body," fays he, *' and bring it into fub- je6tion ; left, after having been employed in the characfler of an herald, to proclaim the glad tidings of falvation to others, I myfclf ihould be a caft away ; difapproved of my great Judge, and fall fhort of the ho- nour and reward of his faithful fervants." Hence the frequent and earnelt entreaties and exhortations he addreffed to Timothy, jiis beloved fon,. to make full proof of his miniftry j [ i8S ] minifiry J to be inflant, in feafon and out of feafon, in the difcharge of its various du- ties ; and " to give attendance to reading, to exhortation, and to dodrine. Negled: not," fays he, *' the gift that is in thee ; meditate upon thefe things ; give thyfelf wholly to them, that thy profiting may appear to all men. Take heed unto thyfelf, and to thy dodlrine ^ continue in them; for in doing thefe things thou fhalt both fave thyfelf and them that hear thee. Thou, O man of God, flee thefe things," (re- ferring to pride, envy, llrife, evil fur- mizings, perverfe difputings of men of cor- rupt minds, the love of money, &c.) " Flee thefe things, and follow after righ- teoufnefs, godlinefs, faith, love, patience, meeknefs. Fight the good fight of faith -, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art aJfo called, and haft profefled a good pro- fefiion before many witnefTes, 1 give thee charge in the fight of God, that thou keep this commandment, v/ithout fpot, unre- vocable, until the appearing of cur Lord Jefus Chrift." And again, *' O Timothy, keep that which is comiriitted to thy truft : 6 ftudy Audy to fliew thyfelf approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be alhamed^ rightly dividing the word of truth." Let us now enquire how far he exempli- fied the fplrit and chara(5ler he recommend- ed, both in the ends he propofed, and the means by which he purfued them. As to his ends : it may be ufeful to others to remark what they were not, as v/cll as what thev were. I ft. What were not the apoflle's ends in undertaking the chriflian miniflry ? Kn impartial obferver of his condutSt could not miflake him, if he had not faid a word concerning his principles himfelf. Great honour and refped: are due to his memory for the noble fuperiority he main- tained through life to every principle and motive below the dignity and fanctity of his profeiTion. At fetting out in it he never attempted to confult his molt inti^ mate friends, or neareil relations : he well knew they were incompetent and partid iudgcs^ [ IQO ] judges. Having their undcrftan dings dat^ kened, and being of corrupt minds ; ftrong- ly prejudiced againft the caufe he had em- braced, and avowed enemies to that Jefus who had now engaged all iiis foul ; there- fore neither his judgment, nor his con- fcience, would permit him to confult them^ He certainly could not appear in this new charader, for a life of eafe and fenfual gra- tification. As a fervant of Ch rift, he mufl exped: employment ; and the firil word he uttered to his new mailer expreffed a chear- ful readinefs to undertake any fervices^ however laborious and mortifying to the flefli, which he (hould call him to per- form. From that moment he gave himfclf up to conftant exertion and fatigue, and denied himfelf thofe accommodations which are ufually fought and enjoyed even by per- fons in the loweft and moft fervile capaci- ties. " ** In journeyings often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils from mine own countrymen, in perils from the heathen, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderacfs, in perils at fea, m [ i9> ] in perils among falfe brethren, in weari- nefs and painfulnefs, in vvatchings often, in hunger and thirft, in faftings often, in cold and nakednefs ; befides thofe things without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of all the churches**." As to any afplring or ambitious views, he was fartheft from being a7 ] not to obtain the reputation of a popular and fuccefsful preacher of the faith he had once endeivoured to deftroy ; much lefs, to make himfelf the head of a fecfl, and gra- tify his ambition by lording it over God's heritage; but convinced of the worth of fouls, and apprchen(ive of their danger, when his Lord iliys, ** Wliom fliall we fend, and who fliall go for us, on this important errand ? to open the eyes of the blind ; to turn them from darknefs to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgivenefs of fins and an inheritance among all them that are ian(^ified ?" Paul replies, " Here am I, fend me ;" as under the deep impreffion of that ferious, weighty confideration, urged by his brother apoftle, James : *' * Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and one convert him, let him know, that he who converteth a finncr from the error of his ways, ihall fave a foul from death, and fliall hide a multitude of fins." * James v. 19, 20. CHAP. >- { 2i8 ] CHAP. VII. the duties of the ministerial func- tion, as recommended and prac- tised by the apostle paul, Prayer. ' I ^HE Lord's fervants, in all ages, have been men of prayer. The holy pa- triarchs thus walked with God. And his priefts and prophets maintained daily communion with him in this important duty. Paul excelled in it; both in the grace and gift of prayer, and always dif- covered a difpofition for it. He valued, and often entreated the prayers of others -, not to fuperfede the ncceffity of his own, but in aid of them : and every minifler who wiflies to maintain the life of God in his foul, to be properly prepared and difpofed for the other duties of his office, and who delires thebleffingof God upon them, will, jis-rceable to his advice to his chriilian bre- thren. [ 219 ] thren, ** continue inftant in prayer*." In the fecret exercifes of devotion. Thefe are recommended by Jefus to each of his difci- ples : " Thou, when thou prayeft, enter into thy clofct, and when thou haft iliut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in fecret, and thy Father which feeth in fecret, will reward thee openly ^" Our divine Lord has enforced the exhortation in his own con dud:, There were in Judea, in his time (and as fomc think, long before) Trpoaev^cci orato- ries or houfes of prayer, built in retired fituations, in the fields ; often furrounded by trees upon the tops of mountains. To one of thefe it is probable Jefus retired, when, as the evangelift Luke informs us% he went out unto a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer (or in this houfe appointed for prayer) to God. One important end which this great high priefl of our profefiion had herein, was to fet us an example that we may follow his fteps. He was thus as man and mediator, doing * Rom. xii. 12. ^ Matt. vi. 6. s Luke vi. 12. homage [ 220 ] homage to his Father in heaven, and pour- ing out his foul, which he is faid to have done'' in ftrong crying and tears, in the profpedl of his approaching fufferings. And when actually under the prefTure of them, he prayed more earneftly'. Confcious of this need of divine affiflance in the duties of our miniilry, and of fupport under its trials and difcouragements, may all his brethren herein follow his example. Paul lived under a conflant and deep im- preffion of the importance of communion with God. He maintained it, therefore, not merely in more convenient and agree- able retired apartments, but even in a dreary prifon; and that at midnight: with Silas his fellow- fufrerer, he prayed and fang praifes unto God''. He was prepared for fuch ex- crcifes in an hour of diflrefs, by an habitual regard to them through life. He knew, he felt his dependence ; and could not, therefore, but apply to the Fa- ther of lights and mercies for his daily ^ Hcb. V. 9. ' Luke xxii. 44. ^ Aclsxvi. 25. bread -, [ 211 ] breads for every natural and Ipirltual fup- ply he needed as a man, a chriilian, and a minifler. A devout man of God, vho lived ages before Paul, expreffed a ftrong fenfe of the importance of the duty, and his ftedfail re- folution to perform it, when he faid, *' As for me, I will call upon God, evening and morning; and at noon will I pray, and cry aloud, and he fliall hear my voice'." And an anecdote, expreffive of a fimilar fpint, is recorded of the prophet Daniel"", When he knew that the writing was figned which contained orders for carting every man into the den of lions, who fhould for thirty days afk any petition of any God or man, fave of Darius the king ; " he went into hishoufc, and his windows being open in his chamber towards Jerufalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks unto his God, as aforetime." It was not -an employment into which he was forced by the extrem.e danger of his prefent fituation; but his daily bufmefs, and his 1 Pf. iv. 17. ^ Dan. vi, 10. daily t 222 ] dally delight. He found his account In it : lb have all the fervants of God who have lleadily and confcientioully adhered to the pious praa:ice. But fuch are called to pray in public as well as in private; not by themfelves alone, but for and with others in their own houfes, and in thehoufe of God. Nor can a ferious, thoughtful minifler confider this as one of the leaft difficult, or lead important duties of his office — To ofi-er up fuch petitions, and fuch acknowledgments, both of fms and mer- cies,as fliall be at once acceptable to God, and fuited to the characters and conditions of thofe, in whofe names he is called to prefent them— To maintain, through the whole, an humble and believing regard, both to the interceffion of his common and only advo- cate with the Father, the Lord Jefus Chrift, and the aids of that Holy Spirit, who is promifed to help our infirmities.— To pour out his foul In words fuited to the folemnity of the fervice, adapted to the underftand- ings of fellow- worfliippers, and calculated, under God, to excite proper emotions in every part of the offering; requires ^ much. [ 223 ] much, both of the grace and of the gift of prayer. Yet not more of either tlian he can communicate to his fervants J in whom it has pleafcd the Father, that all fulnefs fhould dwell : nor more than he has been pleafed to impart to many who have ho- noured him, and been ornaments and blef- lings to the church, in the performance of this part of their facred fervice". " It will be taken for granted, that the author refers here to minifters who pray extempore (as it is called) or without a form. He is free to acknowledge, that he has his objeiSlions to the impofition and conf!;ant ufe of forms of prayer, as unprecedented in the primitive ages of chriftianity ; and, in many inftances, needlefs and hurtful ever fince. Neverthclefs, he is very far from intending the Icaft reflection on thofe of his brethren, who confcientioufly and devoutly ufe them in their ftatcd fervices, but occafionally pray without them. He efteems many fuch very highly in love, both for their work's fake, and for the fpirit and fuccefs with which they are purfuing it. May the Lord incrcafe their numbers, and ftill more abundantly profpcr their faithful labours ! And he fincerely wiflies that this important part of minifterial duty may be performed by all others, in a plain, fpiritual, fcriptural, and pro- fitable manner; or, to adopt the words of our apoftle, *' that they may be enabled to pray with the fpirit, and with the underftanding alfo." i Cor. xiv. 15. Another I 2^4 ] Another part of the ftated and public work of Paul, as a minifter of the gofpel. was, Preaching, and expounding the facred fcriptures. This was a very ancient ordinance in the church, and a fervice undertaken by per- fons of the firfl rank and character, long be- fore the inftitution of the apoftolic office. Noah, the eighth from Adam, is called a preacher of righteoufnefs. The patriarchs and prophets were entrufled with mefTages from heaven, which many of them were commanded to deliver publicly to the peo- ple of God. ** But the prefent cuftom of preaching on a text of fcripture," fays Monf. Claude, '* is derived from the time of Ezra; for as in the feventy years captivity the people had almoll loft the language in which their Pentateuch was written, it became neceflary to explain, as well as to read, the fcriptures to them. Accordingly we are told (Nehe- 3 miah [ 225 ] niiah vlil. 6 — 8.) that when Ezra opened the book, he read in the book in the law of God diflindly, and gave the fcnfe, and caufed the people to underftand the reading." ** In later times, the cuftom has been continued, and our Saviour himfelf adopted it. In the fynagogue at Nazareth read a pafiage in Ifaiah, and began to fliew them how exadtly that fcripture was then fulfilled in their ears*." Yea, he went up and down through the cities of Judah and Galilee, teaching in their fynagogues ; and preaching the gofpel of the kingdom : and no wonder, for he fpeaks of this as one great endof his miflion. " "The fpirit of the Lord is upon me, be- caufe he has anointed me to preach the gof- pel unto the poor j he hath fent me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of fight to the blind, and to fet at liberty them that are bruifed — to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." It is faid^ that " he ordained * Luke iv. i6 — 19. Vid. Claude, EfTay, p. i. note. • Luke IV. 18, ig. ? Mark iii. 14. Q^ twelve. ' [ 226 ] twelve, that he might fend them forth to preach." He took his leave of them, and of our world, with that commiffion of rich, extenfive grace : ** Go ye unto all the world, and preach the gofpel to every creature''." The readinefs and pleafure with which they accepted the commiffion, and executed the momentous trult, is apparent to every one converfant, either \Tith their own wri- tings, or the records of them in their hifto- ry'. We are there told, that when fcattered in confequence of the perfecuticn of Saul and his companions, they went every where, preaching the word'. And vv^hen that perfecutor of the church had been brought to the feet of his injured Mafler 3 was inftrucled in the nature and defign of the chriilian fcheme ^ when in- fpired with juil fentiments of Jefus, and becoming affedions towards him and his great falvation, and put in truil with ths "■ Mark xvi. 15. ' Vide the Acts of the Apoftles throughout^ ^ Acts viii.- 4. gofpel ', [ 227 ] golpel ; no one more willing to proclaim the glad tidings of his grace ; no one more ear- ned for the fpread of them. Fearlcfs of the terrors and difcouragements, that earth or hell might throw in his way, he fays, ** None of thefe things move me; neither count I my life dear unto myfelf, fo that I may finifli my courfe with joy, and the mi- niftry which I have received with the Lord Jefus Chrift, to teftify the gofpel of the grace of God." The particular fubjedls of his preaching, and the manner in which he handled them, will require a fuller difcuflion in another place; as well as the journies he undertook, and the fatigues and fufferings to which he fubmitted in the profecution of this great work. But let it be recollected here, that, in order to fecure the continuance of this ordinance, he and his brethren ordained elders in every church who received their charge (equally applicable to all their fuc- ceflbrs) in thofe very folemn exhortations and warnings our apoftle left with his be- Q^ 2 loved [ 228 ] loved Timothy : " ' I charge thcc, there- fore, before God, and the Lord Jefus Chrift, who (hall judge the quick and dead, at his appearing, and his kingdom -, preach the word ; be inftant in feafon, out of feafon, reprove, rebuke, exhort, with all long fuf- fering and doctrine." Preaching is an addrefs to the people, founded on fome palfage of the word of God. This text it is the preacher's bufinefs to explain or enforce, as the contents or pur- port of it may require. On moft fubjed:s, it is his wifdom and duty to attempt both. If his text is fliort, and made the ground of either dod;rinal or practical obfervations, applied by reflexions or inferences, his dif- courfe is called a Sermon. Difcourfes in which no fuch method is either explicitly pointed out or purfued, though delivered from the pulpit on texts of fcripture, fome would call orations, effays, or harangues, rather than fermons. Striking palTages in ' 2 Tim. iii. i, 2. fuch. [ 229 ] fuch, may be inilrumental of making ftrong and ufeful impreffions, though they do not fcem equally calculated to promote the fo- lid and lafting edification of the hearers. But there are herein diverfities of gifts, and the fame fpirit, under the wife and gracious diredlion of the church's excellent head, who is fitting and difpofing his different fervants for ufefulnefs in diiferent ways and in different (ituations. If the preacher fe- ledl a long paragraph, and explain it, fen- tence by fentence, either in a paraphrafe, or by critical remarks, it is ufually called an Expofition. Perhaps the latter method (I mean that of expounding larger portions, of fcripture) was moll: generally ufed by preachers in the primitive ages. And it comes recommended by the advantages, which, taking a whole paragraph in its connexion, affords both to fpeaker and hearers, for underftanding the word of God better than either could well do in fen- tences, detached from their connexion. This method of inflrudion likewife affords both opportunities of attending to fome very ufciul hiflorical fads, examples, .en- Q^-^ couragements. [ 230 ] couragements, counfels, cautions, and ad- monitions, that might not otherwife occur, or be equally proper and acceptable in the more ufual way of preaching : for thefe and other reafons it was frequently ufed by the apoftles, for explaining the prophecies of the Old Teftament; and affiiling their hearers in the proper application of them to that Jefus, and that new and better cove- nant which they were intended to foretell and to defcribe. It is faid of Philip, when he met with the eunuch reading thofe words in the pro- phet Ifaiah, ** He was led as a iheep to the ilaughter J and as a lamb dumb before his {hearers, fo he opened not his mouth; in his humiliation his judgment was taken away, and who fhall declare his generation, for his life is taken from the earth";" and was afked by him, of whom fpeaketh the prophet this ? of himfelf, or of fome other man ? that Philip opened his mouth, and began at the fame fcripture, and preached unto him Jefus Chrifi. A noble fubjed; ! ^ Ifaiah liii. 7. on [ 231 ] on which all his minillcrs would ever do well to open their mouths freely and fully 3 and a very happy and ufeful way this, among others, in which we have now from the Old and New Teftament many opportunities of introducing it. Again, Chrirtian minillers are likewife appointed to adminifter baptism and the Lord's SUPPER. By the ordinance of Baptifm the firft converts to chriftianity, and their houfe- holds, were folemnly initiated among the difciples of Chrift ; and in which, ac- cording to the appointment, and fpecial infl:ru6lion of the head of the church to his iirft miniflers, they were to bewaflied with water, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft. Paul indeed fays that Chrifl fent him, not to baptize, but to preach the gofpel", and declares, thatcon- lidering the difhonourable fpirit and walk of many in the church at Corinth, it af- forded him fatisfacflion to think he had bap- tized no more of them than Crifpus and " I Cor. i. 17, 0^4 Gaius, [ 232 ] Gaius, and the houfehold of Stephanas. As thefe firft-fruits of the gofpel had been defcendants of Jews or heathens, none of them could have been baptized in their in- fancy. Nor can any chriftian minifter ad- mit fuch, when adults, to an ordinance of Chrift, 'till they openly renounce their former principles, andprofefs their faith in Jefus Chrift, and fubje6tion to him. But on the profeffion of the faith of the parents, as in that inllance of Stephanas and others recorded in the Acls of the Apoflles, they baptized their houfeholds with them. Paul affigns two reafons for his declining to ad- minifter the ordinance there. One was, left any lliould infinuate, that as one of the chief of the apoftles, he baptized in his own name, in order to form a new fed:, and fet up himfelf at the head of it : and the other, becaufe of the many fufpicious characters there were among them. Being unwilling thereby, either to encourage the falfe hope pf hypocrites, or to injure and difgrace the church of Chrift by admitting unworthy members into it. It [ 233 ] It is thought by fome, that he refigned this part of minillerial fervicc to Timothy and Silas, becaufe they were not in equal danger of incurring fufpicion, and might have opportunities of knowing more than he could of the real charaders of perfons v/ho offered themfelves as candidates for chriftian baptifm, both by enquiry concern- ing them, and converfation with them. His more public office called him many ways, and to a greater variety of employ- ment. Nevcrthelefs, this is a fervice now required of all the miniilers of Chrifl who have not (as indeed none who are ading in charader as fuch can have) this apoflle's peculiar reafons for declining it at Corinth. And this, as one of the ordinances of pub- lic worship, ought to be adminiftcred in the public aflembly of the faints"'. '*' Though the author continues as thoroughly con- vinced as ever, of the propriety of baptizing the infants ©f God's profcfTing people, by fprinkling, or pouring of water, he wifhcs here to avoid every thing controvcrlial, and to be an inlrrumcnt of alTifting all his refpetS'ed bre- thren, into vvhofc hands this trcatife may fall, without &'vV;ng the leall offence to an v on« of them. The [ 234 ] The fame may likewife be fald of the Lord's fupper : an ordinance inflituted by Jefus J and by him adminiilered to his dif- ciples, the evening before bis crucifixion. An account of this tranfadtion is preferved by the evangehfts Matthew", Mark'', and Luke^. Their accounts are fo confiftent, and each fo plain and circumftantial, that all fuch of his fervants as are defirous of imitating their Lord, muil know in what manner they are to conduct the folemnity. But left from its being adminiflered only to the twelve (if to all them) any fiiould ima- gine it was not to be continued in the church, in fucceeding ages, Paul was in- fl:ru(fted to repeat the inftitution -, and that with fuch additional declarations concerning it, as plainly fhew he confidered this as a ftanding ordinance in the church ; and was taught to enjoin the perpetual celebration of at to the end of time. ** As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do fhew forth the Lord's death 'till he come.'^' It appears to have been attended upon by the * Matt. xxvi. 26 — 30. yJVIarkxiv. 22 — 26. ^ Luke xxii, ig, 20. difciples [ 235 ] difciples in their religious aflemblies, on the firft day of the week, as the chriftian fdh- bath ; and that (as Ibme have thought) every Lord's day. This is certain, that it made a part, and a very folemn and important part of their public worQiip, and was conduced by thofe who had alfo the diredlion of the other fervices of the church. Hence that exprelTion of the apoftle in reference to it : *''The cupofblefung v/hich -Lve blefs, is it not the communion of the blood of Chrift? The bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Chrift ?" The fscred hiftorian, who has preferved many ufeful anecdotes of the firft m.inifters and churches of Chrid, has recorded one in- fiance of Paul's adminiftering it : '* ' On the firft day of the week, when the difciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, &c. and when he had broken bread and eaten, and difcourfcd a long while, he departed." The fervants of Chrift in this, as in other parts of their condud, difcovcred an exem- "- I Cor. X. i6. * Acls XX. 7— ii. plary [ 236 ] plary regard to the authority of their beloved Mafter, who had faid, *' Do this in re- membrance of me." It is a tender and perfua(ive motive by which he has enjoined obedience upon all his difciples : ** If ye love me, keep my commandments." May its influence be ever felt and manifefted by his miniflers, as well as in the refpediful celebration of his dying love at this facred feftival ; and may all his difciples approve their grateful fubje ** ''And when this epiftle is read among; » Eph. V. ig. " Col. \. 16. yoUy. [ 243 ] you, taufc that itbereadalfo In tlie church t)f thcLaodiceans, and that ye likewile read the epiftle from Laodiceaj" meaning (as Ibme think) his epiitle to the Ephefians, which has been fuppofed to have been in- tended, though more immediately dire:xvHi. ig. ■ ""• Luke xxii. ig. " I Cor. XV i. 1,2. the fa f 245 ] thefe fervlces might, in feme inflances, in- terfere with the morcipiritual duties of the minillerlal fandiion, other officers were appointed in the churches under the name of Deacons, whofe more immediate bufmefs it was to fuperintend this and all other fecu- lar affairs. '' "Then the twelve faid, it is not reafonable that we fliould leave the word of God, and ferve tables ; wherefore, bre- thren, look ye out among you men of ho- nell report, full of the Holy Ghoft and wif- dom, whom ye may appoint over this buii- nefs ; but we will give ourfelvcs continually to prayer and to the miniflry of the word." As to that DISCIPLINE which the mi- nifters and churches of Chrifl: are required to maintain, it feems to confift in an atten- tion to the qualifications of perfons pro- pofed to their communion — to their fpirit and condudl in church fellowlliip, and the exclufion of fuch as walk diforderly. In order to preferve chrill:ian difcipline, it is neceffary that miniffers, and indeed ° Acls vi. 2 — 4. R 3 churches r 246 ] churches with them, pay a proper regard td the fpirit, principles, and lives of perfon? who offer as candidates for communion with them. We do not find that any were ad-- mitted into felfowfliip with the faints, until they had been initiated among the profeinng followers of Jefus by the ordinance of bap- tifm. But this they might be, and conti- nue unfit for the peculiar and diftinguidiing privileges of church members. It is men- tioned as highly criminal in fome profefiing chriPiians at Corinth, that they came to the Lord's table, and there partook of the me- morials of a dying Redeemer, not difcernhtg the Lord's body, upon which our apoftle gives that folemn declaration and v/arning ; " ^Whofoever fliall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, fhall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord." Hence the necefiity of fome ac- ouaintance with the nature and defign of J. o the inflitution, which ought certainly to be accompanied with faith in the Lord Jefus ; and a fincere principle of love and fubjedion to him i confirmed and manifefted by fach a p 1 Cor. xi. 27. converfation { 247 ] vonverfatloii as beeomcth the golpel of Chrirt; not only free from fcandalous im- moralities, but juft and holy ; humble and felf-dcnying; fpiritual and heavenly. And after having admitted thofe, of whom we hope, from evidence like this, that they arc the living members of that body, of which Chriil is the head ^ it becomes us to watch over them in love — to inflrucfl, en- courage, caution, or admoniih them, as there m.ay be occalion : yea, if having thus named the name of Chrift, they ncvcrthe- lefs fall away ; make fhipwreck of faith, and of a good confcience; caufe divifions; or walk diforderly ; we are authorifcd, both by the inftrudlion and condudt of our apoille, after the firfl and fecond admonition, un- lefs they repent and reform, not only to withdraw ourfelves from them% but like- wife to put away from ourfelves fuch evil perfons'. Neverthclefs the writings of Paul, and the genius of that gofpcl of which he was a rninifter, recomm.end long-fuifering and ^ I Tim. vi. 3 — 5. ^jCor. V. II — 13. 2 Tim. li. 17, 18. Titus iii. lO. R 4 for- [ 248 ] forbearance while any good is to be ex- pedted from it; and teach us, at laft, to feparate them, merely from a confcientious regard to the authority of Chrift, and the purity of his church, rather than with any appearance of afperity and triumph. And if, after all, fuch backflider difcover the genuine marks of repentance, he is to bo forgiven and reftored. Paul's charge to Titus* is exprefled in ferlous and flrong terms. " A man that is an heretic after the firft and fecond admoni- tion, rejed:, knowing that he that is fuch, is fubverted, and finneth, being condemned of himfelf." But different opinions have been advanced both on the character intend- ed, and the apoftle's fentiments and advice upon it. The word aipeais, herefy^ feems .to be ufed in the New Teftament, particu- larly in Gal. v. 20. in a fenfe nearly fimi- lar to that of our Englifh word, feB : and if fo, cciperixoi, heretic, may denote a perfon that breaks the peace of the church by unreafon- able and uncharitable divilions. It was probably applied in the firft ages of chrif- ' Ch. iii. ver. ic, 11. tianity r 249 ] tianity to thofe who occafioned fuch divi- iions by advancing dodrines generally ac- counted erroneous. The chief difficulty on this pallage, is to know whether it is ufed only for a^perfon fo erring from the faith, or one who perverfely maintains and pro- pagates fuch erroneous fentimcnts contrary to the convicftion of his own judgment and confcience. The term Avt oj<.ccrcx.y,piJ 09, con- demned of himfelf (fay fome) ufually im- plies the latter. Others apprehend that it refers not fo much to the upbraidings of his own mind, as the inconfiftency of his laneuase in difownino; and contra- dieting thofe very principles of which he had made a public profelTion. *' If any profeflbr of chriftianity," %s Dr. Guyfe in his paraphrafe upon the text, *' aflerts fuch errors as overthrow the foundation dodlrines of the gofpel, with an here- tical heart, to gratify his own pride, and make himfelf the head of a contrary fe(5t ; or out of prejudice agaiml: the truths them- f>;lves, becaufe they lie in dired oppofition to his own lufts ; let him be folemnly ad- tnoniilicd, and warned a firft and fccond time [ 250 ] time of his danger; and if, after this, he Hiall obflinately perfift in his deftruftive errors, reje(fl him and all communion with him, and have nothing farther to do with fuch an incorrigible herefiarch, or fecflary of his (lamp. For you may be well i^itisiied that fuch a man is utterly turned off from Chrift, the foundation, and from all good- nefs ; and that he fins againil his own foul, and the divine authority, light, and truth of thegofpel revelation. His own avowing and perfifting in thefe pernicious errors, is fuiiicient, without any farther proof to convict him of them ; and he is felf-con-. (demned, and practically palles judgment againfl himfelf, as not fit to itand in any re- lation to, or have any fellowfliip with the true church of Chrift." The Dodor refers to Job ix. 20. XV. 5, 6. Luke xix. 22. Markxiv. 62, 63, 64. as pafiages in which perfons are faid to be thus felf-condemned by their ov/n confeffion. But it may be queflioned whether any one can be convid:ed as makine this decla-^ ration with an heretical hearty, ^c. unlefa by [ 251 ] by pcrfons endued with the gift of difcern- ing fpirits ; and if {oy the whole was pecii- h'ar to the days of the apoillcs. Or if Paul be underftood as authorizing miniftcrs and churchesin fuccceding ages, to fcparatc from their comaiunion, all perfons liolding prin- ciples inconhftent with the fundamentals of the gofpel, it may ftill remain with fome art infuperable difliculty, exactly to afcertaia thofe fundamentals ; if by that term be meant, doctrines, the belief of which is eilential to falvation ; or thofe, without receiving and acknowledging which no one can be a true chriftian. But if, upon the whole, any perfon who has been admitted as a member into a.chriftian church, fhould be hardened enough, while profelTing hii. faith in the great principles of the gofpel, neverthelefs to oppofe them in a manner that evidently betrays a vain and contentious fpirit ; and labour to propagate peculiar notions of his own, with an apparent dafirc to fow clifcord among brethren, and to make himfelf the head of a party ; every mi- nifter and chriftian church would, perhaps, (pefufficiently authorized by this injundlicn, after [ 252 ] after proper admonitions, to feparate fuch an one from their communion as an heretic, in the plain meaning of the apoftle. As ORDINATION is rather an occaiional fervice, than any part of the minifter's ftated employ, we (hall only obferve, that younger brethren were introduced by Paul and the other apoftles into the pafloral office, or feparated thereunto by fading, prayer, and impofition of hands. But our apoftle cautions Timothy againft engaging haflily in this fervice, or without that previous confideration and enquiry, that fhould enable him to judge of the qualifica- tions of candidates for fo momentous a truft, adding, " The things which thou haft heard of me among many witneiTes; the fame commit thou to faithful men, who fliall be able to teach others." 2 Tim. ii. 2. For farther remarks on this; and 1 Tim. V. 22, ** lay hands fuddenlvi" fee Chap. vi. &c. C H A P. [ ^53 ] CHAP. VIII. THE MORAL AND RELIGIOUS CHARACTER OF A CHRISTIAN MINISTER, ILLUS- TRATED AND RECOMMENDED BY THE APOSTLE PAUL, IN HIS EPISTLES TO TIMOTHY AND TITUS : WITH REMARKS ON SOME OTHER PASSAGES IN HIS WRI- TINGS, FROM WHICH IT APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN EXEMPLIFIED IN HIMSELF. "IX7HAT has been already advanced on Paul's temper and life as a chriftian ; his qualifications for the miniilry; his de- fcriptions of the facred office, and the fer- vices required of thofe who engage in it, may feem to have fuperfeded the neceffity of entering upon the fubjedl of this chapter. Nor fliould we have undertaken it, but for the fake of reviewing feveral weighty injunc- tions in thofe epiftles which this infpired apofllediredied to Timothy and Titus j with others which, by his authority, they were commanded to give in charge to their fuc- ceflbrs. [ 254 J ceiiors. They confift partly in precautions againil various fins and follies, and the pro- hibition of them; and partly in exhorta- tions to the practice of duties, and the cul- tivation of difpofitions of mind, of the firil importance to the honour and ufefulnefs of the chrifiian miniftry. Some of thefe refer to The dire6lion and o;overnment of a mini- fler's own temper and condud:,cdnfidered as a man and a chriftian, as v/ell as a minifter. The keeping of his heart, tlie government of his tongue, and the regulation of his life. If inattentive to thefe, though he fpeak with the eloquence of an Apollos, or a Gabriel, he vs^ould be but as found- ing brafs, and as a tinkling cymbalo '' Take heed \.o thyfelf:' fays Panl to Ti- mothy ^ Pvlay every fervant of Chrifl^ fludy and live the comprehenfive charge. The apoftle does not, however, leave his fon vy;'ith merely this general exhortation ; but with a tendernefs, as well as authority, truly paternal, he gives him line upon linCj and precept upon precept. ' I Tim. iv. 15,' 6 As [ 255 ] As a young man, he entreats him to ** ilee youthful lufls'';" carefully to lliun all occaiions of exciting thofe paffions, into which young men are frequently betrayed; whether temerity, pride, vain-glory, the love of fenfual pleafures, or any others ; and all opportunities of gratifying them: yea, carefully to ihun every temptation to them. Nor would he, by any means, that his dear Timothy (hould fatisfy himfclf with that. He therefore extends his charge to him, and fays, ** Let no man dcfpife thy youth:}:." Give no one occafion to do it by a behaviour that fliould deferve contempt -, nay, put it out of the power of every one, however difpofed, fo much as to think dif~ jefpedfuily of you : or if any will fpeak of thee as an evil doer, fo behave thyfelf, that all may be a{l:iamed who falfely accufe thy good converfation in Chrift." For this purpofe, he calls upon him, and every one in his facred office, to be vigilant", refolutely (hakingoff all tendency towards a felf-fecure or indolent fpirit, and to look continually about him with a wakeful and a jealous eye, on the many furrounding ob- *■ 2 Tim. ii. 22. t I Tim. iv. 12, " il'im, iii. 2. ie(fts t 256 ] jedls by which he might otherwife be en- fnared and injured. Nor may any one, in a lituation, critical and important as his> ever forget the exhortation directed to him in the next word;— a bifhop mufl be fober, c-&)(pcpr(x,, thoughtful, prudent> and fleady in the general turn of his mind, and tenor of his converfation and deportment* Paul did not rrteari to countenance, much lefs to enjoin, the abfurd and fervile feveri-^ ties adopted by fome orders of ecclefiaftics in the church of Rome. But he was no friend to the contrary extreme of levity and diflipation in a chriftian, much lefs in a minifler. If it be expecfted of a deacon, moft certainly of the paftor, that he be grave : not merely that he forbear foolifli talking and jefting, efpecially on ferious fubjed:s ; that he fupprefs the laughter of fools, and, as becometh his ftanding and charad:er, put away childifh things j not only that he reftrain all intemperate fallies of paffion, and mortify thofe flefhly lufts which war againft the foul > but be an example to believers in word, in converfation, in cha- rity, 3 [ 257 ] rlty, in fplrit, in faith, in purity. His following prohibition he repeats in his epiflle to Titus'', viz. not given to wine, or allowing himfelf in the immoderate gratification of a carnal appetite. He meant not to enjoin a total abftinence from it, upon either of them, or any of their fucceflbrs ; but to prohibit the excef- five ufe of it, and a weak ungoverned in- dulgence of a tafte for it. Knowing Timo- thy's abftemious difpofition, and his need of refrefliment, he even exhorted him to drink, *' no longer water alone, but to ufe a little wine, as what might prove falutary to his ftomach, and afford him relief under the infirmities with which he knew him to be attended"." Neverthelefs, confidering the frequent and very folemn cautions addreffed to chriftians, in private life, againfl drun- kennefs'' ; recollecting his charge to the Corinthians, in one place, ** not to eat with a brother that is a drunkard^" and his " Titus i. 7. ''I Tim. v. 22. ^ Eph. V. 18, &c. ^ I Cor. V. II. S threatening [ 258 I threatening concerning fuch in another', that they (hall not inherit the kingdom of God ^ thofe his fervants that bear the velTels of the Lord, cannot be too cautious of the moft diftant approaches towards a conduft equally criminal and infamous ; and habits that dif- grace, not only the miniflerial and chriflian charad:er, but even human nature itfelf. The apoflle requires of his fellow-la- bourers, "that they endure hardnefs ; and having food and raiment, teaches them therewith to be contcnt\" He had learned the happy leflbn at the foot of his di- vine Mafter"; and in that fweet compofure, which an unreferved rciignation to his Lord's will continually afforded him, was not only fecured from thofe numberlefs temptations and difquietudes to which they who will be rich are continually expofed''; but pofleffed an enjoyment infinitely more folid and fublime, than the moft affluent circumflances could have adminiffered. I know how to be abafed, and how to abound : •" I Cor. vi. 10. ''I Tim. vi. 8. '■" Vhll. rv. II, 12. ** 1 Tim. vi. 8,9. every f ^S9 ] every where, and in all things, I am in- Ikudcd, both to be full, and to be hun'^ry, to abound, and to fuffer need. Hence his repeated cautions again ft covetoufncfs to his beloved brethren : *' A bilhop muft nuL be covetous — a biihop muft not be given to filthy lucre':" (/u« a/o-jde^j^fp^Tw). Poftiblythat term was intended to exprefs at once the balenefs of the object, and of a mind de- voted to the purfuit of it. As a prefervatlve agalnft an attachment fo mean and diihonourable ; as well as to fe- cure his brethren from all thofe difadvan tages in the profecution of their work, to which the temptations and incumbrances of worldly bufmefs v/ould expofe them ; he advifes that they be difengaged from them as much as pofiible, as they wifh to approve themfelves to him whom they are called to ferve^ The warrior entangleth not him- felf with the affairs of bufmefs, but refiens. or foregoes every other employment, how- ever advantageous, that he may pleafe him who has chofen him to be a foldier. Go " I Tim. iii. 3. Titus i. 7. f 2 Tim. i. 14. S 2 thou ^[ 260 ] thou (fays he) and do likewife. Give thy- felf wholly to thy profeffion — to whatever may contribute either to thy ufefuinefs, or improvement in it — purfue its duties with meeknefs and long-fuffering — fufter all dif- ficulties, and endure every difcouragement — > infl:ru(5ting thofe that oppofe, and bearing affronts and injuries offered. — ** A bifhop mufl not be foon angry ^, nor foon weary, nor faint in his mind." The apoflle thank- fully acknowledged it as his mercy, that he had been enabled to " endure all things for the ele(ft's fake^." All the various trials with which he had been exercifed, whether from the wife chaftizement of his heavenly Fa- ther, or the fe verity of wicked and unrea- fonable men. It concerns every one, who wiflies to be herein as Paul, to attend to that memento of his, to one for whom he felt with the bowels of a father : " ' Thou,. therefore, my fon, be flrong in the grace that is in Chrifl Jefus;" remembering alfo, that while maintaining a lowly fenfe of his conflant dependence upon that grace, he exhorted him by no means to negled the s Tit. i. 7. ** 2 Tim. ii. 10. ' 2 Tim. ii. i. gift [ 26l ] gift that was in him imparted by fuch as were endued with the fpirit of prophecy, with the laying on of hands of the pref- bytery''. " As this text," fays a learned and pious commentator, " ftrongly implies that Timothy was adorned with fome fuper- natural gifts ; fo it alfo proves, that the degree in which fuch favours were conti- nued, very much depended on the diligence and fidelity with which they were cultivated by the perfons who had received them." Thus attentive was the apoftle Paul to all the branches of perfonal religion ; and anxious to cultivate a growing regard to them, both in his brethren and in himfelf. V/e will remark, 2dly, His rules for a becoming behaviour in the church of God. The feveral parts of fervice required of him who is the minifter of Chrift, and of the church for Jefu's fake, have been already mentioned -, we are now to trace the fpirit '' I Tim. iv. 14, 15. S 7 and [ 262 ] and manner in which he is to perform them. The apoftle fpake of it as one great end of what he had written in his epiftles to Timothy, to inftruft that his dear fon how he fhould behave himfelf in the church of God'. As to the dodrine he taught there, he charges him, and de- fired he would repeat the injunction upon his brethren, that it be no other than that which he had received from him, un- der the teaching of the fpirit of divine truth""; and that they fliould adhere flridlly to that. *' Hold fafl the form of found words, which thou haft heard of me, in faith and love which is in Chrift Jefus".'* *' A bifliop muft hold faft the faithful word which he hath been taught, that he may be able, by found dodlrine, to exhort, and con* vince the gainfayers"." And again, *' fpeak thou the words which become found doc- trine;" meaning, probably, that which is according to the unerring ftandardof truth. In the holy fqriptures, as what is [vyiaiviia-n) ^ I Tim. iii. ii, "> i Tim. i. 3, ^ X Tim, i. 13. ° Tit, i, 9. falutary, I 263 ] falutary, and highly adapted to reftore the difeafed mind of man, to a healthy ftate, and toprererve and promote its profperity. All who reverence the fcriptures as the oracles of Cod, will attend to the charge in the former fenf?, in order to promote the benevolent end recommended in the latter. But it is required of every one who wiflies to pracflife it with advantage, that he ** be not a novice'';" a young convert of little knowledge, uneftablifiied, and un- experienced m the ways and truths of God. Such an one (fays our wife and faithful monitor) will be lifted up with pride; one of the fms of youth ; and a fin to which, of all others, an ignorant youth will be moft expofed, when introduced into public life, and an office of diftincftion in the church of God. But by fuch a fpirit, inftead of fav- ing himfcif and them that hear him, he would foon fall into contempt, and a con- demnation, like that into which the devil, having by the fame means involved himfelf, is affiduous to betray others. P I Tim. iii. 6. S 4 It [ 264 ] It is of importance, that every one em- ployed in this fervice, be (cTij^axTDcos) apt (both difpofed and fit) to teach ; not only able to communicate public inftrudion in that line of his duty, but qualified to fup- port the charadler of a teacher in the church, with reputation and fuccefs, in all its branches; fludying to ** approve himfelf unto God, a v^orkman that needeth not to be afhamed, rightly dividing the word of truth j" as a faithful and wife houfeholder, handing out to perfons of every age and cha- racier, in every fituation and rank, and through all the various conditions and fitua- tions in human life, " their portion in due feafon\" In fuch overfeers, may his flock long fee and enjoy a fulfilment of that in- eflimable promife which he himfelf made to it, long before the inflitution of the chrif- tian miniftry ' ; ** I will give you pafiors ac- cording to mine own heart, that fhall feed you ;" perform all the parts of the paftoral office for you, ** with knowledge and with ^ Luke xii. 42. 2 Tim. ii. 2. Tit. ii. 2, 6, 9, 15, " Jer. iii. 15, 3 underitanding. I 265 ] undcrftanding, both in the matter and man- ner of their miniftrations." Making full proof of their miniflry J and as thofe who have renounced all the hidden things of diflionefty, every bafe artifice by which men of corrupt minds might feek to impofe upon their fellow-creatures i not walking in craftinefs, nor handling the word of God deceitfully; but by maniieftation of the pure truth, and a faithful declaration of the whole counfel of God, commending themfelves to every man's confcience, as in the ficrht of him who now trieth the reins, and to whom they muft give account'. Wc » 2 Cor. iv. 2. "Paul," fays Dr. Fordyce, with great juftlce and eleo-ance, in his charge to his fuccef/or upon this text, «« commended himfelf to every man's confcience ; not to his caprice, or prejudices, or fmful pafTions, or fool iili humours, or itching ears, or love of flattery, or fond conceits of any kind. A popularity gained by foothing, or gratifying any of thefe, is poor, con- temptible, wicked, impious, below the wifh of an honeft man, odious in the eftimation of a faithful mi- nifter. But Paul became ail things to all ! Moft true ! And for this fpirit of acconmodation he has been re- proached with a triumphant air by thofe who had not the candour to ftudy his iuftory, nor the foul to com- prehend [ 266 ] We cannot difmifs our apoftle's ftricflures on this branch of minifterialduty, without remarking the very ferious and fpirited pre- cautions which he urged repeatedly both upon Timothy and Titus, againfl: indulging and affeding to difplay a turn for difputa- tion, efpecially on matters either intricate, or uninterefting. " Thou, oh Timothy ! avoid prophane and vain babblings (or vain janglings, as they are called in another place) and put others in mind, yea, charge them before the Lord, that they ftrive not about words to no profit, but to the fub- verfion of the hearers. Avoid foolirti quef- prehend his chara6ler. It was from motives equally pure and benevolent — To gain fome to the love and obedience of the truth, to the laws and privileges of the kingdom of God ; that kingdom which is not meats and drinks, but rightcoufnefs and peace, and joy- in the Holy GhoH:. With a warmth of ftyle thatarofe from the generous ardour of his foul, full of piety and humility, at the fame time, he fays, Who is Paul ? who is Apollos ? kc. '■*■ Where this exalted man could accommodate him- felf, without facrificing his fmcerity, or debafing his function, he was ready to fhew all the meeknefs and pliancy of the fweetcfl child, with all the courteoufnefs aiid liberality of the mofl accomplifhed man," -J tions [ 2^7 ] tions and genealogies, and contentions, and ftrivings about the law, for they arc unpro- fitable and vain*." The general purport and dcfign of the apoftle, in all thefe and other fimilar paf- fages, feems to have been, to guard his brethren againfl: a controverfial tafte ; and a difpofition to introduce into their public difcourfes, fubjects tending to embarrafs the minds of their hearers, and to fpread quar- rels among them, rather than to promote their fpiritual edification and falvation. A condu6l highly reprehenfible in the ambaf- fadors of the Prince of Peace, and the mef- fengers of the grace of thegofpel, whatever be their favourite fubje(5ts, while overlook- ing, or negle(fting the plain and momentous difcoveries of eternal life 3 or affeding to handle them in a manner, rather fubverfive of the great and good ends of their miniflry, than fubfervient to them. With a mind truly excellent and amiable * I Tim. i. 6,7, jv. 7. vi. 20, 21. 2 Tim. ii. 14. Tit. iii. 9. did [ 268 ] did this dillinguifhed preacher decline the enticing words of man's wifdom ; and that in a place, where, he knew, a philofophic ftrain was in the highell eftimation ; deter- mining to know nothing among them, fave Jefus Chrift, and him crucified; that nei- ther his own preaching, nor the faith of his hearers might ftand in the wifdom of men, but in the power of God''." By principles like thefe, may every chrif- tian miniller be aduated ; with fteadinefs and ardour, preffing towards this mark, in the fpirit of a Paul ! We will now examine, 3dly, Thofe rules of conduct which the apoftle has prefcribed to minifters in all their tranfadlions with their fellow-creatures. He flated the nature and obligations of relative duties very clearly and fully, in his epiftles to the churches : and, left any of his brethren in public fituations fhould think themfelves unconcerned in them, he ^ I Cor. ii. 2 — 4. has f 269 ] has introduced fimllar exhortations in his addrefles to them. Though he preferred a life of celibacy, for reafons (elfewhere mentioned) peculiar to himfelf, he by no means enjoined it upon others. That rule of condutit which he prefcribed, both in his epiftles to Timo- thy" and Titus", '* A bifliop muft be the hufband of one wife," has, indeed, been differently underflood and explained by dif- ferent expofitors : but all are agreed in con- fidering it as authorizing, if not enjoining, the marriage of a chriflian bifliop. It is thus paraphrafed by Dr. Doddridge . ** If he have more than one at a time, or have divorced a former without fufficient excufe, and taken another during her life, it is an irregularity, by no means to be counte- nanced in a perfon from whom it is natural to expert fuch exemplary purity of man- ners . So " I Tim. iii. 2. Tit. i. 6. " The fame learned writer adds, in a note upon this text, *' Some infer from it, that fecond marriages are unlawful to the clergy. The Mufcovites fuppofe that one wife is fo neceflary, that no man can become a bifhop [ ^1<^ ] So far was the apoftle from intending i(i countenance, in heads of families, a negledt of their temporal interefl, that he exprefsly declares, that if any provide not for his own relations in the befl manner he is able^ wherever they may be iituated j and efpe- cially for thofe of his own houfe, meaning either his nearefh of kin, or thofe who live continually with him j he has denied the faith, contradids and difhonours his chrif- tian principles, and is worfe than an infi- del ; — negle(5ts thofe duties, which the mere bifhop 'till he be married, nor continue to excrcife the office longer than his wife lives. But circumftances may be fo adjufted, that there may be as much reafon for a fecond marriage as there was for the firft, and as little inconvenience of any kind attending if. Upon the whole, therefore, it feems to be moft reafonable to believe, that the divine wifdom might judge it proper to fix fuch an infamy on the irregular practice of poly- gamy, by prohibiting any man, let his charadler be ever fo extraordinary, to undertake the miniftry, while he has more than one wife, and to difcourage it in all others*. His dire(5lions to every minifter, placed by Providence at the head of a family, not only fuppofes him married ; but are exprefled in terms that plainly fliew, the apoftle confidered him as therein placed in a fituation truly lefpeclable and important." * Compar: IM.itt. xix. 9. i Cor. vii. 2, prin- [ 271 ] principles of humanity teach many unen- lightened heathens. But it is not enough that the mailer of a family provide for the fupply of his houfehold -, it is his wifdom and duty to maintain good order in it. Paul fays of the chriftian bifliop that a0.s in cha- rader, he rules well his own houfe'; with a ferious and fteady care to prevent or fup- prefs all improprieties of fpeech or beha- viour in it ; to require of all, a diligent difcharge of the duties of their refpedlvc ftations, and a wife improvement of their religious privileges. This part of Abra- ham's charadler was marked by God him- felf, and the record of it is preferved, by his appointment, in terms that recommend it highly to the notice and imitation of all his fervants. And the Lord faid, ** Shall I hide from Abraham the thing which I do > fori know him, that he will command his children and his houfehold after him, and they (liall keep the ways of the Lord, to do juftice and judgment^" I Tim. iii. 4. r Gen. xvlii. 17 — 19. Equally t 272 ] Equally amiable was the zeal of holy David in the fupport of family difcipline, and his concern for prefervirig the purity of his houfehold : ** I will walk within my houfe with a perfed: hearty I will fet no wicked thing before mine eyes. He that worketh deceit, fliall not dwell within my houfe ', he that telleth lies, fhall not tarry in my fight'," On thefe honourable and amiable models will the conduct and the family of that fer- vant of Chrift be formed, who ruleth well his own houfe, having his children in fub- jedlion with all gravity. And this fubjec^ tion and good order will be greatly pro- moted, on the beft principles, by his religi^ ous inftrud:ions, and devotional exercifes j maintaining daily regard to the word of God, and to prayer ; thus adling on the pious refolution of Jofliua, " As for me and my houfe, we will ferve the Lord"";" not forgetting the neceflity of a conftant exam- ple, to fecure a proper regard both to his inftrudions and religious fervices ; and a condefcending, tender and refpedful per- ^ Pf. ci. ^ Jofli. xxiv. 15. formancc [ 273 ] formance of the duties oi every relation, according to thofe excellent precepts our npoftle has laid down, for the direction both of heads and members of chriflian houfe- holds, near the clofe of his epiflles to the churches at Ephefus andColoile. The thought is weighty and ftriking by which the apoftle urges the necef- fity of fuch a difpofition and capacity for family government in the chriftian minirter. ** If a man know not how to rule his own houfe, how fliall he take care of the church of God ?" *' For if a man," fays Dr. Guyfe on the paflage, *' has the charge of a family, whofe affairs are more eafy to be managed; and does not know how to govern it well, as the mafter of his own houfe ; how can it reafonably be ex- pecfled that he lliould have prudence, care and refolution to preiide in the management ©f the higher and more difficult affairs of the church of the living God, in which all things are to be done decently and in order, exactly according to the Lord's appoint- ment." 'T But [ 274 ] But Paul, as a faithful and wife father in Chrift Jefus, from the purefl: motives, has furniflied his beloved fons with maxims, both prudential and religious, to regulate their condud: in the world at large. Has taught them, that it concerns every one, in a ftation facred and confpieuous as theirs, to preferve a blamelefs and inoffenfive con- verfation^. Meaning by fuch injundiions, to forbid every oecaiion, as well as every delign of offending i every adion, and every word, that may excite refentment or grief without reafon. For this purpofe Ihould each of the Lord's fervants be cautious that he lay not a Humbling block in the way of a weak brother, or do that which may prove to any a temptation to fm i watch and pray^ that he may be enabled to avoid whatever would incur cenfure upon himfelf, or re- proach on his facred charader. Nay, Paul carries his apoftolic requirements of the chridian bifnop flili higher i *' he mufi have a good report of them that are with- out;" that is, of fuch as are out of the church, or not within the circle of his own *• I Tim. iii. 2. Tit. i. 5 — 7. 2 Cor. vi. 3. connexions [ 275 ] tonneiftions and influence ; afligning a very ferious realbn, viz. ** Left he fall into re- proach and the Ihare of the devil'." To fecLire him from which, he enjoins the ftric^teft attention to his own fpirit, and the inoft fteady and refolute government of his paffions. '' A bifliop muft be no ftriker, nor a brawler, but patient'." *' The fer- Vant of the Lord muft not ftrive, but be gentle and forbearing to all men'." " A bifliop muft be blamelefs as the fteward of God i not felf-willed, not foon angry, no ftriker'." Nor did Paul herein lay reftric- tions on others to which he refufed to fubmit himfelf. He could fay, with great iuftice, " We both labour and fuffer re- proach, enduring all things for the eled's fake; fuffering trouble, even unto bonds, and that while cenfured and opprefled unjuftly as evil doers^" He laboured hard, at once by his inftrudions and example, to infpire his brethren with an ambition to excel. It is little to fay of a man who appears in the charader of a fer- 'iTim. iii. 7. " I Tim. iii. 3. ' 2 Tim. ii. 24. f Xit, i. 6,7. 6 2 Tim. ii. 9, 10. X 2 vant [ 276 ] vant of Chrift, and of the church, that he is not greedy of filthy lucre ; it is requh-ed of him, that he be " given to hofpitality, a loverof good men''," and good things ; for the original term he makes ufe of (9iAa')/