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LECTURES 
 
 SOME PASSAGES 
 
 OF THE 
 
 ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, 
 
 By JOHN DICK, A. M. 
 
 • NE OF THE MINISTERS OF THE ASSOCIATED CONGREGA- 
 TION, SHUTTLE-STREET, GLASGOW. 
 
 GLASGOW 
 
 miNTED BY CRAWFORD AND MACKENZIE, 
 
 •OR. M. OGLE, GLASGOW; OGLE ANDAIKMAN, EDINBURGH $• 
 
 AND R. OGLE, LONDON,. 
 
 1805. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 1 HE following'f Lectures are published in cont* 
 pliance with the solicitations of many of the 
 hearers. 
 
 To the selection of the subjects, it will perhaps 
 be objected, that it is not sufEciently comprehen- 
 sive ; and that passages have been admitted or 
 left out, without due attention to their intrinsic 
 importance. When a choice is to be made, it 
 would be vanity in any man to flatter himself, 
 that, amidst an endless variety of judgments and 
 tastes, he will be so happy as to give universal 
 satisfaction. With objections of this nature, the 
 
IV 
 
 Author does not think himself concernerl. With 
 out any view to publication, when the Lectures 
 were composed, he merely intended to illustrate, 
 for the benefit of his audience, those events in 
 the history of the Primitive Church, which ap- 
 peared to him to be the most remarkable ; and 
 the sole province of the reader is to examine, 
 whether he has placed them in a clear and inte- 
 resting hght. 
 
 If, in some instances, a recurrence of the same 
 thoughts should be observed, the reader is re- 
 quested to take notice, that, besides the occa- 
 sional similarity of the subjects, there was a re- 
 gular interval of two months between the times 
 of delivering the Lectures. In a course of such 
 length, as it was impossible to remember all that 
 had been said, incidental repetitions could hardly 
 be avoided. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE, 
 
 LscT. I. The Resurrection of Christ, his Last In- 
 terview with his Disciples, and his As- 
 cension to Heaven, 1 
 
 II. The Day of Pentecost, . . . 24- 
 
 III. The Formation and Order of the Primi- 
 
 tive Church, 44? 
 
 IV. The Lame Man cured by Peter and John, 7 1 
 V. Peter and John Examined by the Council, 9A< 
 
 VI. Ananias and Sapphira, 119 
 
 VII. The Counsel of Gamaliel, 143 
 
 VIII. The Institution of Deacons, and the His- 
 tory of Stephen, 167 
 
 IX.' The Martyrdom of Stephen, 192 
 
 X. The History of Simon Magus, 211> 
 
 XI. The Conversion of the Ethiopian Eunuch, 238 
 
 XII. The Conversien of Paul, 262 
 
 XIII. The Conversion of Cornelius, 287 
 
 XIV. Herod and Peter, 311 
 
 XV. Paul and Barnabas in Lystra, 337 
 
 XVI. The Council of Jerusalem, ........ 359 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page 92, line 'S, For, had learned, read, have learned. 
 125, 11, Before, been dismayed, Insert, have. 
 193, 28, For, words, read, word 
 — — 28, 29, /7?r, " to cut to the heart," read, " to cut." 
 228, 21, For, the last, read, a former. 
 306, 15, T^or, to the Gentiles, rf<2^, of the Geiitiles. 
 S52, 8, For, briars, ready briers. 
 
 I 
 
LECTURES, &c. 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST ; HIS LAST IN- 
 TERVIEW WITH HIS DISCIPLES ; AND HIS AS- 
 CENSION TO HEAVEN. 
 
 Acts. i. i— ii. 
 
 VV E are prompted by curiosity to inquire into 
 the origin of nations, to trace their progress from 
 rudeness to refinement, and to mark the steps 
 by which they rose to eminence in power, in 
 wealth, and in knowledge. To these subjects 
 the researches of profane history are directed j 
 and while its pages communicate instruction and 
 entertainment to every reader, they particularly 
 engage the attention of the statesman, who de- 
 rives from them more extensive knowledge of 
 mankind, and is enabled to add to his experience 
 the accumulated wisdom of ages. 
 
 To a Christian the history of the church must 
 appear more worthy of notice than the revolu- 
 
2 THE RESURRECTION 
 
 tions of empire. A society, about which Pro- 
 vidence has, in all ages, exercised a particular 
 care, presents an interesting object of inquiry ; 
 and must exhibit, in the detail of events, admi- 
 rable proofs of the power, and wisdom, and good- 
 ness of God. Its history is the history of reli- 
 gion ; of the accomplishment of a long series of 
 prophecies; of the execution of a scheme, to which 
 all the other parts of the divine administration 
 are subservient. 
 
 The early periods of the history of nations are 
 generally enveloped in fable ; and, although the 
 truth could be discovered through the vail in 
 which it is wrapt, would, for the most part, pre- 
 sent little that deserves to be known. The hu- 
 man race may be considered as then in a state of 
 infancy. Their ideas are few and gross, their 
 manners are barbarous, and their knowledge of 
 arts is confined to some simple operations per- 
 formed without elegance or skill. The history 
 of the first age of the Christian church is more 
 instructive and engaging than that of any subse- 
 quent period. ^ It is splendid, because it is mira- 
 culous ; it is edifying, as it records many noble 
 examples of faith, charity, patience, and zeal ; 
 it arrests the attention and touches the heart, by 
 displaying the triumph of the gospel over the 
 combined malice and wisdom of the world. 
 
 As a record of the acts, or proceedings of the 
 apostles, in collecting and modelling the church, 
 
OF CHRIST, &C. 3 
 
 this book forms a valuable portion of Scripture. 
 It contains information on subjects of great im- 
 portance ; the miraculous manner in which those 
 simple and unlettered men were qualified for their 
 arduous work ; the means by which the cliurch 
 was founded, and rose to a holy temple in the 
 Lord ; the rapidity with which the gospel was 
 propagated ; the opposition which' was made to 
 it by Jews and Gentiles ; and the causes to which 
 its unexampled success should be ascribed. The 
 narrative is written in a plain and artless man- 
 ner ; and our pleasure in perusing it suffers no 
 abatement from the suspicion of misinformation, 
 or partiality in the writer. 
 
 Tiie historian, as we learn from the introduc- 
 tory verses, was the same person who published 
 the gospel, which, from the earliest ages, has 
 been uniformly attributed to Luke. He was a- 
 live durins; the events which he records, was an 
 eye-witness of many of them, and inquired, we 
 may believe, into the rest with the same diligence 
 which he used in compiling his gospel *. Al- 
 though he was not one of the apostles, yet he 
 lived in habits of intimate correspondence with 
 them ; and the church has, from the beginning, 
 received his writings as of equal authority wdth 
 theirs. 
 
 I purpose to deliver a course of lectures on some 
 passages of this book, selecting such as relate the 
 
 * Luke i. 1 — 4, 
 A 2 
 
4 THE RESURRECTION 
 
 more remarkable, events which took place from 
 the ascension of Christ to the meeting of the first 
 Christian council at Jerusalem. Of these passa- 
 ges it is not my intention to give a minute ex- 
 planation, but to illustrate the principal topics, 
 and to deduce such instructions as they seem to 
 suggest. Conformably to this plan, I shall at 
 this time confine your attention to three points, 
 to which all the parts of the verses now read 
 have a reference ; the resurrection of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ from the dead ; his last interview 
 with his disciples ; and his ascension to heaven. 
 
 I. The first point which claims our notice in 
 this passage, is the resurrection of our Saviour, 
 of which Luke makes mention in the third verse. 
 " To whom also," that is, to the apostles whom 
 he had chosen, " he shewed himself alive after 
 *' his passion, by many infallible proofs, being 
 " seen of them forty days." The resurrection of 
 Christ is an article of great importance in our re- 
 ligion, the foundation on which its other doc- 
 trines rest, and by which the faith and hope of 
 his followers are sustained. " If Christ be not 
 " risen," says Paul, " then is our preaching vain, 
 " and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are 
 " found false witnesses of God ; because we have 
 " testified of God, that he raised up Christ ; 
 '?' vi^hom he raised not up, if so be that the dead 
 " rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not 
 
OF CHRIST, &C. 5 
 
 " Christ raised. And if Christ be not rair.ed, 
 " your faith is vain ; ye are yet in your sins. 
 " Then they also which have fallen asleep in 
 " Christ are perished *." Such evidence, as should 
 leave no doubt in the most cautious and inquisi- 
 tive mind, was necessary to establish a fact on 
 which so much depended. Luke afErms, that 
 Jesus shewed himself alive to his disciples, " af- 
 " ter his passion," that is, after his sufferings 
 and death, by many " infallible proofs." The 
 word signifies signs, tokens, or evidences, which 
 were so numerous and decisive, that it was im- 
 possible for those who saw them to be mistaken. 
 He refers to the frequent appearances of Christ, 
 of which not less than eight are recorded by the 
 evangelists, besides many more which may have 
 taken place during the forty days between his 
 resurrection and ascension ; and to the methods 
 which he used to convince the disciples, by call- 
 ing upon them " to handle him and see, that a 
 " spirit had not flesh and bones as he had," and 
 by eating, drinking, and conversing with them 
 in a familiar manner. 
 
 It is vain to insinuate, that the apostles might be 
 imposed upon by the power of imagination, which 
 the eagerness of their wishes and expectations had 
 heated, and might thus fancy that they saw what 
 had no real existence. It does not appear that 
 they actually expected the resurrection of their 
 * 1 Cor. XV. 14—18. 
 
G THE RESURRECTION 
 
 Master ; but, on the contrary, there is reason 
 to think, that they had ahiiost given over all 
 hope ot that event. When the women, who had 
 been at the sepulchre, told them of it, their 
 words seemed as " idle tales ;" and the two dis- 
 ciples on the road to Emmaus may be supposed 
 to have expressed the sentiments and feelings of 
 their brethren, when they said, " We trusted that 
 " it had been he which should have redeemed 
 '^^ Israel * ;'* manifestly using the language of 
 disappointment and despondency. In such a 
 state of mind, there was no room for imagina- 
 tion to operate. It will be still more evident, 
 that they were not under its influence, if we con- 
 sider, that some of the appearances were made, 
 not to a solitary individual, but to several of the 
 disciples at once, in one instance to five hundred 
 brethren, who could not all have been deluded 
 at the same moment by a phantom of their own 
 brain; that the appearances were not transient, but 
 lasted for a considerable time, so that the specta- 
 tors had full leisure to examine them ; that some 
 of them were sudden, or without warning, and 
 others were the consequence of previous appoint- 
 ment ; that they frequently took place, not in 
 the night when the mind is more subject to illu- 
 sion, but in the day when the disciples were 
 composed, and all their senses were awake ; and 
 that the interviews were not distant and silent, 
 
 * Luke xxiv, 21. 
 
OF CHRIST, S:C. 7 
 
 but Jesus mingled fainiiiarly with his apostles, 
 conversed freely with them, imd gave all the 
 satisfaction which the most incredulous among 
 them could demand. From all these circumstan- 
 ces there does not remain the slightest ground 
 to suspect that the apostles themselves were de- 
 ceived ; and the only question now to be deter- 
 mined is, v\'hether they have not deceived us. 
 
 Infidels object, that the apostles, who were in- 
 terested persons, were the only witnesses of the 
 resurrection, and that Jesus did not shew him- 
 self to the Sanhedrim and the inhabitants of Je- 
 rusalem, as he ought to have done, that the rea- 
 lity of the event might be placed beyond dispute. 
 They affirm, that on this account the whole nar- 
 ration is suspicious. There is one important cir- 
 cumstance, which, perhaps, they willingly forget, 
 that the enemies of Jesus were the first and im- 
 mediate M'itnesses of the resurrection, that event 
 having taken place, according to Matthew *, in 
 the presence of the Roman soldiers, not before 
 the eyes of the disciples. Sufficient reasons have 
 been assigned why he did not appear to the ru- 
 lers and people of the Jews, which your time will 
 not permit me fully to state. It may be remark- 
 ed, that although this demand had been complied 
 with, and our Tord had resorted after his re- 
 surrection to the temple, and walked in the 
 streets of Jerusalem, it is by no means certain 
 * Matthew xxviii. 
 
8 THE RESURRECTION 
 
 that the purpose which is pretended would have 
 been gained. We have little ground to think, 
 that the Jews, who would not believe the testi- 
 mony of Moses and the prophets, nor the evi- 
 dence of our Saviour's miracles, would have be- 
 lieved, although they had seen him risen from the 
 dead. But on the supposition, that they had been 
 convinced by this last and seemingly irresistible 
 proof, the truth of his resurrection would have 
 been as much perplexed as ever by the cavils of 
 free-thinkers. We should have been told of the 
 superstition and credulity of the Jews, and of 
 their national pride, which disposed them fondly 
 to embrace any story that seemed to realise 
 their boasted hopes of the Messiah ; and whereas 
 now the testimony of the apostles is corrobora- 
 ted by the trying and perilous circumstances in 
 which it was emitted, the whole would then have 
 been represented as an imposture, concerted be- 
 tween them and their countrymen, and first pro- 
 mulgated where it was sure to be received, and 
 none had inclination or power to detect it. I 
 shall only farther observe, that if there be satis- 
 factory proof that Christ did appear to the apos- 
 tles, we are bound to acquiesce in their solemn 
 testimony ; and that nothing can be more un- 
 reasonable than to demand more evidence than 
 is sufficient, or to reject sufficient evidence, be- 
 cause it is not presented in that form which we 
 prefer. 
 
OF CHRIST, &C. 9 
 
 After this general observation, I may appeal to 
 every unprejudiced person, whether there be any 
 thing in the narrative of this transaction, in its 
 general complexion, or its particular parts, which 
 gives countenance to the suspicion of imposture ; 
 or rather, whether it do not bear unequivocal 
 marks of simplicity, candour, and the sacred 
 love of truth. Let it be farther considered, that 
 the testimony of the apostles was emitted in pub- 
 lic, and before the persons who were above all 
 concerned to detect a falsehood, and had all the 
 means of detecting it ; that it was consistent and 
 uniform, there not being a single instance of re- 
 tractation or variation among the witnesses ; that 
 no motive can be assigned for their conduct if 
 it WMS false, as in that case they could not ex- 
 pect ever to be believed, and had no prospect 
 but of persecution and death in this world, with- 
 out any hope of a recompence in the next ; that 
 they did not require men to give credit to theif 
 simple testimony, but appealed, in confirmation 
 of it, to miracles wrought, as they affirmed, by 
 the power of him who was raised from the dead ; 
 and, finally, that this testimony was believed by 
 thousands of Jews and Gentiles, although their 
 prejudices against it were the strongest imaginable. 
 I challenge all the infidels in the world to pro- 
 duce a single fact, in the whole compass of his- 
 tory, supported by more decisive evidence. 
 I shall subjoin a remark on the qualifications of 
 
 B 
 
10 THE RESURRECtlON 
 
 the apostles. What made those babblers so elo- 
 quent those ignorant and illiterate, men so pro- 
 foundly skilled in the mysteries of redemption ; 
 those cowards so courageous, as to despise every 
 danger, and maintain the truth amidst the most 
 terrible sufferings ? The change could not have 
 been effected by their Master, if he u^as still lying 
 in the grave : it is a proof, therefore, that he had 
 risen from it, and performed that promise, which 
 we shall immediately proceed to consider. 
 
 II. Our attention is next called to the inter- 
 view, which took place between our Lord and 
 his disciples prior to his ascension. It is men- 
 tioned in the sixth verse : " When they there- 
 " fore were come together, they asked of him, 
 " saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore 
 '* again the kingdom to Israel." It seems to be 
 the same meeting to which the historian refers 
 •in the fourth verse. " And being assembled to- 
 " gether with them, commanded them, that they 
 " should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait 
 " for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, 
 *' ye have heard of me." We are informed, in 
 the third verse, that during the forty days which 
 lie spent on earth after his resurrection, he spake 
 to his disciples of " the things pertaining to the 
 " kingdom of God," explaining to them, as far 
 ,as they were able to bear it, the nature of that 
 dispensation which he was about to introduce. 
 
 1 
 
OF CHRIST, Sec. 11" 
 
 But Still the old leaven of Jewish prejudices and 
 carnal ideas of the Messiah's reign fermented in 
 their minds. Although they had beheld his po- 
 verty and humility, and seen him put to death 
 in the most ignominious manner, they had not 
 abandoned the fond and flatterins; thouQ;ht, that 
 he would assume the character of a temporal 
 monarch, and establish the dominion of his cho- 
 sen people over the tributary nations. Such were 
 the notions with respect to the purpose of his 
 mission and the nature of his kingdom, which 
 their countrymen had formed from the magnifi- 
 cent language of prophecy, describing his spiri- 
 tual power and glory by metaphors and simili- 
 tudes, borrowed from the wealth and grandeur 
 of earthly potentates. To the remaining influ- 
 ence of these notions on their minds, after all the 
 instructions of their Lord, we must attribute the 
 question which they put to him, " Lord, wilt 
 " thou at this time restore acrain the kinardom to 
 
 O o 
 
 " Israel ? Is the time now come, when thou wilt 
 " deliver thy people from the oppression of a 
 " foreign yoke, and give them the empire of the 
 « worlk r" 
 
 To this question Jesus did not return a direct 
 answer, but one which implied a reproof of that 
 vain curiosity which led them to propose it. " It 
 " is not for you to knov>' the times and the sea- 
 " sons, which the Father hath put in his own 
 " power." These words import, that all the re- 
 
 B 2 
 
12 THE RESURRECTION 
 
 volutions in the civil and religious state of the 
 world were predetermined by God, as they are 
 all brought to pass by his providence ; that he 
 only knows the order and series of events ; and 
 that, except in those instances in which he has 
 revealed them to us in the word of prophecy, 
 we should beware of attempting to discover his 
 secrets, and to draw aside the veil which hangs 
 over futurity. Let man remember the limited 
 nature of his faculties, and the dependent condi- 
 tion of his mind. Let him be thankful for what 
 he does know, and content to remain ignorant 
 of what his Maker has been pleased to conceal. 
 
 This answer, being a rebuke to their unhal- 
 lowed curiosity, tended to discourage the apostles. 
 That they might not be dejected, and no disa- 
 greeable impression might be left upon their 
 minds, our Lord subjoined a promise, well fitted 
 to comfort them. " But ye shall receive power, 
 ** after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you ; 
 " and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Je- 
 *' rusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and 
 " unto the uttermost part of the earth.'* In the 
 fourth verse, " he commanded them that they 
 " should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for 
 " the promise of the Father." What he teaches 
 them, in both verses, to expect, is the Holy Ghost, 
 in a more abundant measure of his influences than 
 they had yet received, to qualify them for the 
 duties of the apostleship. They were appointed 
 
OP CHRIST, &C. 18 
 
 to be " witnesses'* of Christ to the world ; to bear 
 pubhc testimony to Jews and Gentiles, concern- 
 ing his doctrine, his miracles, his death, and his 
 resurrection. With this view, they were ad- 
 milted to attend him from the commencement 
 of his ministry to the present moment ; and had 
 enjoyed frequent meetings, and intimate conver- 
 sation with him, since his return from the grave. 
 But now it was farther necessary, that they should 
 be furnished with more profound knowledge of 
 the mysteries of thekingdom than they yet possess. 
 ed, with higher capacity for reasoning, with a ta- 
 lent for public speaking, with the gift of tongues, 
 with a power to work miracles for the confir- 
 mation of their testimony, with zeal, courage, 
 meekness, prudence, and unwearied perseverance. 
 Without these qualifications, they would have 
 been perfectly unfit for the office which their 
 Lord had conferred upon them. This, then, is 
 a promise of " power," of such vigour of mind, 
 of such intellectual and spiritual endowments, as 
 should fully prepare them for their various and 
 difficult duties. 
 
 The promise, for which they were command- 
 ed to wait, our Saviour calls " the promise of the 
 " Father,'* to inform his disciples, that it is the 
 Father who sends the Holy Ghost, to give effect 
 to the death of his Son in the conversion and 
 sanctification of sinners ; but chiefly, because his 
 faithfulness was pledged for the mission of the 
 
14 THE RESURRECTION 
 
 Spirit in many passages of the Old Testament, 
 particularly in the following words, which were 
 iidfilled on the day of Pentecost : " And it shall 
 " come to pass afterward, that I will pour out 
 " my Spirit upon all flesh, and your sons and 
 " your daughtei'S shall prophesy, your old men 
 ^' shall dream dreams, your young men shall see 
 '• visions ; and also upon the servants, and upon 
 " the handmaids, in those days, will I pour out 
 " my SpuTt "." 
 
 From the mention of the promise of the Spi- 
 rit, Jesus takes occasion to point out to the dis- 
 ciples the difierence between his ow-n administra- 
 tion and that of his forerunner. " For John 
 *" truly baptized with water ; but ye shall be 
 " baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days 
 " hence.'* The Baptist, although greater than the 
 prophets, could do nothing more than sprinkle 
 his disciples with water, to signify their purifica- 
 tion from the guilt and defilement of sin ; but 
 Jesus was able to communicate the Spirit him- 
 self in his regenerating influences, and miracu- 
 lous gifts. To apply the means of salvation is 
 the province of the ministers of religion ; but 
 the wisest and holiest of them can contribute no- 
 thing to their efiicacy. The source of spiritual 
 life and power is the invisible Head of the church, 
 *' from whom all the body, by joints and bands, 
 " liaving nourishment ministered, and knit to- 
 * Joel il. 28, 29. 
 
OF CHRIST, &C. 15 
 
 " gcther, incrcasctli with the increase of God *." 
 The blessings of grace arc entrusted to his dispo- 
 sal ; and he gives or withholds them at his plea- 
 sure. 
 
 I'liat our Saviour, when he made this pro- 
 mise, claimed no power of which he was not 
 possessed, the disciples were soon to be convin- 
 ced by experience. They were commanded to 
 wait at Jerusalem till the promise was performed. 
 Accordingly, we know that more than ten days 
 did not elapse between this meeting and the day of 
 Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost descended upon 
 them. 
 
 The interview now described took place im- 
 mediately before his ascension ; and the histo- 
 rian, therefore, proceeds to relate that event. 
 
 III. " And when he had spoken these things, 
 " while they beheld, he was taken up, and a cloud 
 " received him out of their sight." Our Lord had 
 now fulfilled all the designs of his mission. He 
 had declared the counsels of God to mankind ; 
 he had ofi'ered himself upon the cross as a sacri- 
 fice lor sin ; and having triumphed over death, 
 he had given his disciples sufficient opportunity 
 to assure themselves of the reality of the fact. 
 " 1 have glorified thee on tjie earth ; I have fi- 
 *' nished the work v.hich thou gavest me to 
 *CoL ii. 19. 
 
16 THE RESURRECTION 
 
 " do *." There was no reason, therefore, why he 
 should prolong his stay. It was necessary that 
 the great High Priest of our profession, having 
 made atonement for his people, should go into 
 the most holy place, to present his blood, and 
 make intercession. It was necessary, that the 
 Lord and King of the church, having vanquish- 
 ed her enemies, after a hard and bloody conflict, 
 should ascend his throne, and receive the sceptre 
 of universal dominion. He had forewarned the 
 disciples of his departure, both before and after 
 his death ; and lest they should suppose, when 
 they heard of his resurrection, that he meant to 
 associate with them as formerly, he sent this mes- 
 sage to them by Mary Magdalene : " I ascend 
 " unto my Father, and your Father, and to my 
 '' God, and your God f." Accordingly, " when 
 " he had spoken these things," given them all 
 the instructions which they needed, or were able 
 to bear, *' he was taken up while they beheld, 
 " and a cloud received him out of their sight." 
 It appears from these words, v/hich represent 
 him as passive in his ascension, that it was ef- 
 fected by the power of his Father, who had en- 
 gaged to reward his humiliation, by exalting him 
 to glory ; that it was not sudden, but gradual, 
 the disciples having full leisure to observe his as- 
 cent from the earth ; and, lastly, that when he 
 had risen to a certain height in the air, a cloud 
 * John xvii. 4-. f John xx, 19. 
 
 ^ 
 
OF CHRIST, &C. 17 
 
 intervened, and concealed him from their sight. 
 They had seen enough to qualify them to be 
 witnesses of the fact. 
 
 This event, however honourable to their Lord, 
 and joyful to themselves, had they understood 
 its design, could not fail to affect the disciples in 
 a disagreeable manner, in the first moments of 
 surprise, and while they were not acquainted 
 with the important purposes to be served by 
 the ascension. To his personal presence they 
 had conceived a warm attachment, founded in 
 esteem of his excellencies, and experience of his 
 friendship. From his lips they had heard dis- 
 courses replenished with wisdom and grace ; and 
 by his hand they had seen works of tlic most 
 wonderful and beneficent nature performed. He 
 had been their counsellor in difficulties, and their 
 comforter in sorrow. To be deprived in a mo- 
 ment of his company ; to be left alone in the 
 midst of numerous and implacable enemies ; to 
 have the prospect of labours, and sufferings, and 
 death, without their Master at their head, with- 
 out their condescending and affectionate Saviour 
 to advise and spirit them up ; these were cir- 
 cumstances sufficient to discompose the firmest 
 minds, and would have almost excused the a- 
 postles had they given way to lamentation and 
 dejection. We are informed that they " looked 
 *' stedfastly toward heaven, as he went up," 
 continuing to gaze long after the cloud had con^ 
 
 c 
 
18 THE RESURRECTION 
 
 cealed him. It was a look of astonishment and 
 grief for the sudden loss of all that was dear to 
 theni ; it was a look of eager desire to be again 
 gratified with a sight of their Master. 
 
 They did not, however, remain long in this 
 uncomfortable state. " Behold two men stood 
 *' by them in white apparel ; which also said. Ye 
 " men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into 
 *' heaven ? This same Jesus, which is taken up 
 ''' from you into heaven, shall so come, in like 
 ** manner as ye have seen him go into heaven." 
 There is no doubt that these men in appearance 
 w^ere angels ; and the splendour of their dress 
 was a sign by which they must have been in- 
 stantly known to be heavenly messengers. They 
 were a part of that illustrious retinue, which came 
 from the celestiiil regions to attend our Lord in 
 his ascension, and to heighten the glory of his 
 triumph. Thousands, and ten thousands of an- 
 gels accompanied him, as he passed from earth to 
 heaven, celebrating his praises. " The chariots 
 " of God are twenty thousand, even thousands 
 *' of angels : the Lord is among them as in Si- 
 " nai, in the holy place. Thou hast ascended 
 " on high, thou hast led captivity captive *."• 
 The words of the angels were full of comfort to 
 the sorrowful disciples. They seem to suggest 
 a resemblance between the ascension of Jesus and 
 his second appearance, and in this way have 
 Psalm IxvIiL 17, 18, 
 
OF CHRIST, &C. 19 
 
 been frequently explained. But I rather think, 
 that nothing more is meant than to assert, thit 
 as certainly as he had ascended to heaven, he 
 would descend from it, at the time appointed by 
 his Father ; and that the apostles ought no more 
 to entertain any doubt of the one event tlian of 
 the other. Between the ascension and his comino: 
 at the end of the world, there is no great simi- 
 larity of circumstances, unless we should choose 
 to say, that as he departed in a cloud, so with 
 clouds he will return ; and that as he was now 
 accompanied by angels, so the same glorious 
 spirits will be his attendants and ministers, when 
 he appears in the character of universal Judge. 
 
 But the chief thins: to which the anorels called 
 the attention of the disciples, and which should 
 interest us, is the certainty of his second co- 
 ming : for this is an event, which, although an 
 object of dreadful expectation to the unbelieving 
 and impenitent, is fraught with hope and joy to 
 those who love and obey the truth. The person 
 who shall appear will be " that same Jesus who 
 " was taken up into heaven," clothed with the 
 same nature, sustaining the same relations to us, 
 animated with the same love, and carrying on the 
 same gracious design. Ten thousand tongues 
 will hail him with accents of exultation and 
 triumph. " Lo, this is our "God, v/e have wait- 
 " ed for him, and he will save us : this is the Lord, 
 " we have waited for him, we will be glad, and re- 
 
20 THE RESURRECTION 
 
 *' jolce in his salvation*.'* Then shall the disciples 
 be again gathered to their Master, and the sheep 
 to their shepherd. Oh ! how joyful the meeting, 
 so long promised, so eagerly expected ? It will be 
 the day of the gladness of his heart, to behold a- 
 round him all those for whom he died on the cross, 
 and ever since ministered in heaven : it w ill be 
 a source of ineffable felicity to them, to see him 
 whom 'their souls love, to be taken under his 
 immediate care, to be admitted to the most in- 
 timate fellowship with him, and to know that 
 no event shall ever again cause a separation. 
 
 Such was the comfortable prospect which the 
 words of the angels gave to the disciples ; and 
 we need not wonder, therefore, that their fears 
 and sorrows were dispelled, and that, as we are 
 informed in another place, " they returned to 
 " Jerusalem with great joy ; and were continu- 
 " ally in the temple, praising and blessing Godf." 
 
 I conclude with the following reflections on 
 the passage. 
 
 First, We follow no cunningly devised fable, 
 when we receive the gospel as an authentic re- 
 cord of the character and doctrine of Jesus Christ. 
 It is confirmed by " infallible proofs," by ample 
 and luminous evidence, which is sufficient to 
 convince every ingenuous mind, every man who 
 examines it with a candid, dispassionate temper. 
 You may be assured, my brethren, that it is not 
 * Isaiah xxv. 9. f Luke xxiv, 52, 53. 
 
OF CHRIST, kc. 21 
 
 Tor want of evidence that the gospel is in nr.y 
 instance rejected. Diliiculties, indeed, there may 
 be, which require to be solved, and are apt to 
 perplex ill-informed and superficial observers ; 
 but the chief objection to it, an objection level 
 to the comprehension of every depraveci lieart, 
 is its holiness. " Men hate the light, because their 
 " deeds are evil." And that this is no false charge, 
 will be manifest, if you consider, that tliere is 
 hardly any thing which infidels believe, for wliich 
 they have half the evidence that can be produ- 
 ced in iavour of the truth of Christianity. It is 
 not, therefore, to reason that their unbelief must 
 be attributed, but to some other cause ; a cor- 
 rupt taste, an impatience of restraint, a wish 
 to live without any law to controul them, any 
 fear to disturb them in their pleasures. 
 
 In the second place. Christians may place un- 
 boundeci confidence in their Redeemer, who ha- 
 ving conquered all their enemies, and triumphed 
 over death and the grave, has ascended, in the 
 most glorious manner, to heaven, where he 
 sways the sceptre of universal government, and 
 bearing his people, and all their interests on his 
 heart, makes continual intercession for them in 
 the presence of his Father. Why should you be 
 afraid to draw near to the throne of God, and 
 present your supplications ? Is not the merit of 
 our great High Priest sufficient to counterbalance 
 your demerit ? And will not the efficacy of his 
 
23 THE RESURRECTION 
 
 prayers ensure the acceptance and success of 
 yours, notwithstanding the imperfection which 
 adheres to your holiest duties? Why should 
 3^ou be discouraged by adverse dispensations of 
 providence, by the power and threatenings of 
 your adversaries, by the afilictions of the church, 
 by the uproar and confusion of the nations ? 
 Is not he who reigns the friend and patron of 
 the righteous, under whose protection they are 
 safe, and by whose almighty agency, and uner- 
 ring wisdom, the perplexities and turmoils of the 
 present scene shall issue in perfect order and eter- 
 nal felicity ? 
 
 Lastly, The attention and the hope of Christians 
 are now directed to the second appearance of 
 their Saviour. The ancient church looked for 
 his cominsj in the flesh ; we, accordins; to his 
 promise, look for his coming in glory. " Lift 
 up your heads with joy, believers ; for the day 
 " of your redemption draweth nigh." To them 
 only who are waiting for him, will he apj^ear for 
 salvation ; but there is not an eye which shall 
 not see him in the clouds, nor a knee which shall 
 not bow before him. How alarming will be the 
 sight, how mortifying the homage, to infidels and 
 blasphemers of his gospel, to the enemies of his 
 grace, to the despisers of his institutions, to the 
 transgressors of his laws ? Professed disciples of 
 the Son of Man, are you prepared to go forth 
 and meet him ? To what class of mankind do 
 
OF CHRIST, &C. 23 
 
 you belong ? to that which, standing on his right 
 hand, shall be invited to enter into his kingdom ? 
 or to that which, being ranged on the left, shall 
 be condemned to darkness and everlasting woe ? 
 Ask your consciences the important question; 
 and that the determination may be right, call in 
 the assistance of tlie infallible word, " Behold 
 " he Cometh \\ ith clouds, and every eye shall see 
 " him */' Happy are they who can say, with 
 holy desire, " Even so, come Lord Jesus f." 
 
 * Rev, i. 7. t Rev. xxii. 20. 
 
LECTURE IL 
 
 THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 
 
 Chap. II. 1 — IS, 
 
 1 HE promise of the Holy Ghost, which our 
 Saviour made to his disciples at the last interview 
 with them, was well fitted to reconcile their 
 minds to his departure, and to encourage them 
 in the view of the various and difEcult duties of 
 the apostolical office. There was but a short in- 
 terval between his ascension and the performance 
 of the promise ; an event of great importance 
 in the history of the church, and of which the 
 passage now read gives an account. 
 
 The first point which requires our notice, is 
 the time when " the promise of the Father," as 
 it is termed, was performed. We are told, in 
 the first verse, that it was when " the day of 
 " Pentecost was fully come." Pentecost is aGreek 
 word, signifying the fiftieth day, and is the name 
 of that grand festival which the Israelites were 
 commanded to observe fifty days after the passo- 
 vcv, in commemoration of the giving of the law. 
 
THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 25 
 
 God having delivered his people out of Egypt, 
 led them through the Red Sea into the wilder- 
 ness, where they were conducted, by easy 
 marches, to the spot which he had chosen for 
 di.spla) ing the tokens of his Majesty. There he 
 descended on the top of Sinai, a rugged and bar- 
 ren mountain ; and out of the darkness and the 
 devouring fire, proclaimed his law with a voice 
 which filled the immense multitude with terror. 
 At the same time, he enjoined, by the ministry 
 of Moses, that system of ordinances and statutes, 
 which was the basis of the civil and ecclesiastical 
 polity of the Jeus. That a law, published with 
 such solemiuity by God himself, would not pass 
 away like the transient institutions of men, but 
 would remain through all ages as a monument 
 of the divine goodness to their nation, and as 
 the rule of their worship and obedience, was an 
 idea natural enough to men, w ho could not, as 
 an apostle observes, " stedfastly look to the end 
 " of it * ;" who were ignorant of its typical de- 
 sign. But it was destined to give place to a new 
 and better dispensation. Aaron and his sons 
 were to retire from the altar, when a priest of 
 another order should appear, and by a more ex- 
 cellent sacrifice than that of rams and bullocks, 
 make a true atonement for the sins of the people. 
 That priest had now come, and by the oblation 
 of himi>elf, " perfected for ever them that are 
 *2Cor. iii. 13. 
 D 
 
 I 
 
26 THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 
 
 '* sanctified *." The vail had been rent from 
 the top to the bottom ; and the glory was de- 
 parted from the temple of Jerusalem. A law was 
 to go forth from Zion, by which the law from 
 Sinai should be superseded : the pompous ritual 
 of Moses was to be succeeded by a system of 
 worship, simple and spiritual. It was with a de- 
 sign to signify this change, that Pentecost was 
 chosen for the effusion ot the Holy Ghost on the 
 apostles of Christ. On the anniversary of the 
 promulgation of the ancient law, they were en- 
 abled to publish the good news of the reign of 
 the Messiah, not to the inhabitants of Jerusalem 
 alone, but, in their own language, " to men of 
 " every nation under heaven." And surely, to 
 every reflecting mind it is evident, that the in- 
 terposition of God himself, in a miraculous man- 
 ner, to enable the apostles, at this particular 
 time, to preach a new religion, was an unequi- 
 vocal declaration, that the old one, having ser- 
 ved its purpose, was to be no longer obligatory. 
 Thus Pentecost was again rendered illustrious 
 as the commencement of a new era. Besides the 
 reason now given for the choice of this day, we 
 may conceive Divine Wisdom to have pitched 
 upon it, with a view to the opportunity which 
 it afforded, of speedily conveying tidings of sal- 
 vation to many distant parts of the earth, by 
 means of the strangers who were assembled at 
 the feast. 
 
 * Hebrews z. 14. 
 
THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 27 
 
 Our attention is next called to the subjects of 
 this miracle, or the persons on whom the Holy 
 Ghost descended. " They were all with one ac- 
 " cord in one place.'* Some suppose, that the 
 historian refers to the hundred and twenty dis- 
 ciples mentioned in the fifteenth verse of the 
 preceding chanter, among whom there were se- 
 veral women ; and they add, that if the women 
 be included, the prophecy of Joel, afterwards 
 quoted, was literally fulfilled. " Your sons and 
 " your daughters shall prophesy : — and on my 
 " servants, and on my hand-maidens, I will pour 
 "out in those days of my spirit*." Others 
 maintain, that the reference goes no farther back 
 than to the last verse of the first chapter, in 
 which mention is made of Matthias and the ele- 
 ven apostles ; and they consider the fourteenth 
 verse of this chapter, which informs us that Peter 
 stood up with the eleven, as supporting this opi- 
 nion. It seems, indeed, to be more probable 
 than the other, because it was not to all the dis- 
 ciples, but to the apostles, that Christ made the 
 promise which was now performed ; and because 
 the gift of tongues, being intended as a quahfica- 
 tion for preaching the gospel, there is no ground 
 to imagine that it was bestowed on women, to 
 whom that office was never assigned by any but 
 some wild enthusiasts. 
 
 Let us now consider the account of the mi- 
 * Hebrews x. 17, 18. 
 
28 THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 
 
 racle. In the first place, we must take notice of 
 the symbols, or external signs of it, which were 
 two ; the one addressed to the eye, and the other 
 to the ear. We read, in the second verse, that 
 " suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as 
 " of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the 
 '" house where they were sitting/' It is remark- 
 able, that in the two languages in which the 
 Scriptures are written, as well as in some others, 
 the word which signifies spirit, signifies also 
 breath or wind. For the use of the same term 
 to denote two ideas so distinct, different reasons 
 may be assigned. Perhaps the men who spoke 
 those languages in remote ages, were so gross 
 and ignorant as to form no conception of an im- 
 material soul, or of any living principle in man 
 besides the air which he breathes ; or from the 
 penury of language, which obliges us to apply 
 words expressive of sensible objects to intellectual 
 and spiritual things, they gave the same name to 
 the soul, and to the breath or air, because it is 
 by the air that human life is sustained. Be this 
 as it may, we are authorised to consider air in 
 motion as a sort of emblem of the Holy Spirit 
 and his operations. When speaking on this sub- 
 ject to Nicodemus, our Lord used the following 
 comparison. " The wind bloweth where it list- 
 " eth, and thou licarest the sound thereof, but 
 " canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither 
 " it goeth : so is every one that is born of the 
 
THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 29 
 
 " spirit *.'* At a meeting with his disciples af- 
 ter his resurrection, " he breathed on them, and 
 " said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost -)-." 
 To the apostles, therefore, a wind from heaven 
 was a significant sign ; a sign which must have 
 immediately suggested the idea of the Spirit and 
 his influences, and led them to expect tliat now 
 the promise of their Saviour would be perform- 
 ed. 
 
 It may be thought that a gentle breeze would 
 have been a more proper emblem of the Holy- 
 Ghost than a loud and violent wind; that it would 
 have accorded better with the purpose of his de- 
 scent, and with the mild and gracious nature of 
 the new dispensation. But this fancy will be 
 laid aside as soon as we reflect, that his coming 
 was to be productive of the most astonishing ef- 
 fects, in endowing the minds of the apostles with 
 extraordinary powers, and in bearing down all 
 the opposition made to the truth, by ignorance 
 and prejudice, by the wisdom of philosophers, 
 and the policy of statesmen ; and that nothing 
 could more aptly represent the energy by which 
 these effects should be produced, than " a rush- 
 *' ing mighty wind.'* At the same time, the 
 noise served to collect together the people tO 
 witness the miracle. It was .confined to a parti- 
 cular spot, and filled the house in which the a- 
 postles were assembled. 
 
 * John iii. 8. f John xx. 22. 
 
so THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 
 
 The other si^n which accompanied this mira- 
 cle is described in the third verse. " And there 
 " appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of 
 " fire, and it sat upon each of them." When 
 John announced the approach of the Messiah, he 
 said to the people, " He shall baptize you w^ith 
 " the Holy Ghost, and with fire * ;" by w^hich 
 we are not to understand any thing distinct from 
 the Ploly Ghost, but his influences, which are re- 
 presented under the metaphor of fire, on account 
 of a resemblance between the properties of the 
 one and of the other. Fire, then, was an em- 
 blem equally significant as wind, which must 
 have likewise served to recal to the minds of the 
 apostles the promise of their Lord. The fire ap- 
 peared in the form of tongues, cloven, or divided 
 at the top ; and a flame of this figure rested on 
 the head of each of the apostles. Tlie shape oij 
 the flame was emblematical of the nature of the 
 miracle, which consisted in enabling the apostle^ 
 to speak " with other tongues," or to speak 
 languages which they had never learned ; and 
 the division of the flame pointed, out the variety of 
 those languages. But why, it may be asked, were 
 these tongues of fire ? To intimate, I answer, that 
 in the languages which the apostles were now ena- 
 bled to speak, they would communicate to the 
 world that heavenly doctrine, which, likefire,both 
 illuminates and purifiesj or rather to signify, that 
 
 * Mat. Hi. 11. 
 
THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 31 
 
 their tongues, touched as with alive-coal from the 
 altar, would pour forth the most fjrvid eloquence, 
 Eot fiishioned, it might be, according to the rules 
 observed by the orators of Greece and Rome, 
 but capable of producing far nobler eflccts ; elo- 
 quence, which would terrify the boldest, and a- 
 larm the securest, sinner ; which would humble 
 the proud, comfort the dejected, inspire the 
 timid \Aith invincible courage, and, with an ener- 
 gy unknown to philosophy, kindle the living fire 
 of devotion in the coldest and most unfeelinq; 
 heart. 
 
 After this account of the signs, wc proceed to 
 inquire into the nature, of the miracle. " And 
 " they were all filled \yirh the Holy Ghost, and 
 " began to speak with other tongues, as the Sp:- 
 '• rit gave them utterance." The general effect 
 is manifest ; namely, the communication of the 
 knowledge of languages, with which the apos- 
 tles were formerly unacquainted ; but it does not 
 appear whether the same languages were impart- 
 ed to them ail, or to one was given the know- 
 ledge of some, and to another, the knowledge of 
 others. The Holy Ghost could " divide to every 
 **• one of the apostles severally as he pleased ;'* 
 but as they were all destined to preach to diffe- 
 rent nations, there can be no doubt that they were 
 all furnished with a diversity of tongues. 
 
 Language is composed of articulate sounds, 
 which, when uttered by the mouth, or repre- 
 
32 THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 
 
 sented by characters or letters, signify certain ideas. 
 The connection between these sounds and the 
 things which they signify is arbitrary, not found- 
 ed in nature, but in convention ; and, consequent- 
 ly, a sound can convey no information to the 
 hearer till he had learned its meaning. Hence the 
 jicquisitkm of a foreign language requires great 
 application and frequent practice. Much time 
 must be spent before a person can be acquainted 
 with the signification of the great variety of 
 sounds which are used in any country, and be 
 able to understand them as soon as they are 
 pronounced. It is still more difficult to attain 
 the power of speaking a foreign language fluently 
 and accurately ; or to become so familiar with 
 its words, as instantly to call them up, to ex- 
 press the ideas, which arise in the mind. What 
 increases the difficulty is, that, in all languages, 
 the same word has sometimes a variety of mean- 
 ings, so that, if it be not skilfully used, it may 
 suggest a sense very different from that which 
 it was our intention to express ; and that there 
 is a mode peculiar to every language of com- 
 bining and arranging its words, without ob- 
 serving which, a stranger will speak unintelligi- 
 bly to the natives. Those who have applied to 
 the study of languages can attest, that it is an 
 arduous task, when one aims at a thorough ac- 
 quaintance with them ; and although, after much 
 labour, some may be able to understand, with 
 
THE DAY OF PENTECOST. S3 
 
 considerable ease, a book written in a foreign 
 tongue, yet there is not one in twenty who is 
 capable of carrying on conversation in it with fa- 
 cility. It may be added, that the sounds of a 
 foreign language are, in some instances, so dif- 
 ferent from those to which we have been accus- 
 tomed, that we feel ourselves at a loss to pro- 
 nounce them ; and that, unless we begin to learn 
 in an early period of Hfe, when our organs are 
 flexible, we can hardly ever speak in such a man- 
 ner as to please the ear of a native. 
 
 These remarks are intended to shew you the 
 astonishing: nature of the miracle which was 
 wrought on the day of Pentecost. The apostles 
 were illiterate men, who understood no language 
 but that of their own country, and could speak 
 it only according to the rude dialect of Galilee. 
 They had never thought of learning the langua- 
 ges of foreigners ; and it is probable, that of son^e 
 of the nations, mentioned in the following ver- 
 ses, they had not so much as^ heard the names* 
 Yet, in a moment were these men inspired with 
 the knowledge of an immense number of words, 
 which they had never heard before, and not only 
 of the words, but of the connected ideas ; and be- 
 sides, of the structure, the arrangement, and the 
 peculiar phrases of the languages to which they be- 
 longed. At the same time, their organs were ren- 
 dered capable of adapting themselves to sounds 
 different from each other, as well as from those to 
 
34 THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 
 
 which they had been familiarised from their infan- 
 cy. Notwithstanding all this diversity, there was 
 not the smallest confusion in their minds, nor were 
 they liable to mix the words of different langua- 
 ges together ; but they spoke each as distinctly, 
 as if they had been acquainted with it alone. 
 
 It may be safely affirmed, that there is not a 
 more remarkable miracle recorded in the New 
 Testament. It will not, however, appear incre- 
 dible to any person, who considers, on the one 
 hand, that the cause was adequate to the effect, 
 for it was produced by that God who made 
 the tongue of man, and was the original Author 
 of language ; and, on the other, that it was ne- 
 cessary to qualify the apostles for executing their 
 commission to preach the gospel to every crea- 
 ture. Without the gift of tongues their ministra- 
 tions must have been confined to their own coim- 
 trymen; for it is not probable, that at their time 
 of life, and with their habits, they could have 
 acquired, by ordinary means, a single foreign 
 language so perfectly, as to be able to deliver a 
 discourse in it on the subject of religion. We 
 have lately been informed, by the missionaries 
 in (^taheite, that after a residence of several years 
 among the natives, in a situation the most ad- 
 vantageous of all for learning a language, they 
 have not yet ventured to preach or pray pub- 
 licly in the language of the country. 
 
 In the following verses, the historian relates 
 
THE DAY OF PENTECOST. oS 
 
 the impression which the miracle made upon the 
 multitude. " And there were dwelling at Jeru- 
 " salem, Jews, devout men, out of every nation 
 " under heaven. Now when this was noised a- 
 " broad, the multitude came together, and were 
 " confounded, because that every man heard 
 " them speak in his own language. And they 
 " were all amazed, and marvelled, saying one to 
 " another. Behold, are not all these which speak 
 " Galileans ? And how hear we every man in 
 " our own tongue wherein we were born ? Par- 
 " thians, and Medes, and Elamites, and the 
 " dwellers in Mesopotamia, and in Judea, and 
 " Cappadocia, in Pontus, and Asia, Phrygia, and 
 " Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Li- 
 " bia about Gyrene, and strangers of Rome, Jews 
 " and proselytes, Gretes and Arabians, we do 
 " hear them speak in our tongues the wonderful 
 " works of God." It is probable, that the sound 
 of the " rushing mighty wind" alarmed the per- 
 sons in the neighbourhood, and drew them to 
 the place from which it proceeded ; and the re- 
 port having spread through the city, a great num- 
 ber of spectators was speedily assembled. The 
 apostles immediately began to exercise the gift 
 of tongues, as they observed in the crowd stran- 
 gers from very distant parts of the earth. These 
 had now come to Jerusalem to celebrate the feast 
 of Pentecost, or, as the original term may im- 
 port, had taken up their residence in it, in the 
 
36 THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 
 
 expectation, as some think, of the appearance of 
 the Messiah. After the Babylonish captivity, 
 many of the Jews remained in the countries in 
 which they, had sojourned during its continu- 
 ance ; and by subsequent revolutions, they were 
 dispersed over all the East, and through almost 
 every province of the Roman empire. Hence, 
 while they retained their religion and theirpeculiar 
 manners, they unavoidably adopted the languages 
 of the natives. Together with the Jews of the dis- 
 persion, there were present also, on this occa- 
 sion, several persons of heathen extraction, who, 
 being convinced of the unity of God, and of the 
 divine authority of the law of Moses, had recei- 
 ved the seal of circumcision, and were incorpo- 
 rated with the peculiar people. These were the 
 proselytes mentioned in the end of the tenth 
 verse. 
 
 How great must have been the astonishment 
 of this mixed multitude, to hear themselves un- 
 expectedly addressed in the languages of the 
 countries from which they came ! The assembly 
 was composed of strangers from at least fourteen 
 different nations ; and every man heard the a- 
 postles speak in his own tongue. The speakers, 
 they perceived, were Galileans, common men, 
 from a part of the country reputed the most un- 
 polished and illiterate. The sacred historian uses 
 three words to describe the state of their minds. 
 They were " confounded " they were " ama- 
 
THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 37 
 
 " zed ;'• and they " marvelled.'* At first they 
 were so affected with the extraordinary nature 
 of the event, that they could only gaze with si- 
 lent wonder ; but afterwards they gave vent to 
 their feelings in words ; and they began to in- 
 quire into the meaning of the miracle. " They 
 " were all amazed, and were in doubt, saying 
 " one to another, What meaneth this ?'* It was 
 manifest that the hand of God was in the event, 
 and that there must be some end worthy of so 
 unusual an interposition. What that end was^ 
 they were at a loss to conceive ; but perhaps 
 some suspicion, some confused apprehension of 
 it arose in their minds. They heard the apostles 
 speaking " the wonderful works of God ;" pro- 
 claiming the incarnation, the doctrine, the death, 
 the resurrection, and the ascension of the Lord 
 Jesus. Comparing this account with the miracle, 
 of which they were now witnesses, they began to 
 doubt whether he might not be the promised 
 Messiah, and this extraoi-dinary scene might not 
 be a preliminary step to the establishment of his 
 kingdom. In this perplexity they were desirous 
 to know the real desi^in of it. 
 
 But a part of the audience did not discover so 
 favourable a disposition. They attempted to 
 turn the affair into ridicule, and imputed to in- 
 toxication what was manifestly the effect of su- 
 pernatural influence. " Others mocking, said, 
 ** These men are full of new wine.*' Some corn- 
 
S8 THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 
 
 mcntators suppose these mockers to have been 
 inhabitants of Jerusalem, who understood no fo- 
 reign language, and represent them as acting 
 from ignorance rather than from m.alice. But 
 the testimony of the strangers was sufficient to 
 have convinced such persons that there was a 
 real miracle in the case; and it m.ight have been 
 easily known, that the apostles were sober, from 
 the gravity of their appearance and gestures. 
 The true reason of this calumnious charsfe is to 
 be found in their opposition to Christ and his 
 religion, which they heard the apostles proclaim- 
 ing : for it appears from the ninth verse, that 
 besides the languages of foreigners, they spoke 
 likewise that of Judea. As the Pharisees, when 
 they saw the miracles of Jesus, malignantly ascri- 
 bed them to the assistance of Satan ; so these 
 men sought to evade this proof of his resurrec- 
 tion and ascension, by pronouncing all that pass- 
 ed to be the effect of intemperance. The evi- 
 dence for the truth of the gospel may be so 
 strong as to convince the understandings of 
 some men, while their hatred to it may be so 
 great, that they v/ill neither acknowledge its divine 
 authority, nor abstain from impertinent cavils. 
 Infidels sometimes tell us, that it is vain to appeal 
 to the miracles of the New Testament, of which 
 we have no knowledge but by questionable tes- 
 timony ; and that miracles should be wrought 
 in every age, to give men an opportunity of see- 
 
THE DAY OF FENTECOST. 39 
 
 ing and examining them. But there is no rea- 
 son to expect, that if this demand should be 
 complied with, their hostility to our rehgion 
 would cease. The infidels in our Saviour's days 
 are a specimen of tlie unbchevers of our own age. 
 With the most splendid proofs of divine inter- 
 position before their eyes, the former continued 
 to contradict and blaspheme ; and what ground 
 have we to tliink that the latter would be more 
 ready to yield P Their opposition proceeds, not 
 from want of evidence, but from want of can- 
 dour ; a temper of mind on which arguments 
 and demonstration are thrown away. A mind 
 full of prejudice, a heart attached to the world 
 and its pleasures, will always find something to 
 object to a religion which teaches the purest mo- 
 rality, and requires, from all who embrace it, 
 the sacrifice of their corrupt propensities, and 
 unhallowed gratifications. 
 
 I shall close this discourse with the following 
 reflections : 
 
 Let us, sinners of the Gentiles, consider our 
 interest in this miraculous dispensation, and the 
 obligations which we are under to be thankful 
 for it. It was preparatory to the accomplishment 
 of the gracious designs of heaven towards the 
 nations of the world, who were perishing with- 
 out a vision, but to whom the salvation of God 
 was now to be revealed. When the law was 
 
40 THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 
 
 published from Sinai, it was delivered to the Is- 
 raelites in their own language, because they only 
 were to enjoy the benefit of it ; but the new law 
 from Sion was promulgated in a diversity of lan- 
 guages, to signify that it was intended to be 
 universal. '^ Every man was now to hear in his 
 " own tongue, the wonderful works of God." 
 " Let us sing a new song to the Lord, because 
 " he hath done marvellous things. The Lord 
 " hath made known his salvation : his righteous- 
 *"' ness hath he openly shewed in the sight of the 
 " heathen *.'* 
 
 The event, recorded in this passage, leads us 
 to reflect on the means by which the Christian 
 religion was established in the earth. " Not by 
 " might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith 
 " the Lord f." The first missionaries were des- 
 titute of all natural qualifications for their ardu- 
 ous work ; and the world was adverse to the re- 
 ception of the faith. But the same Spirit, who 
 furnished them with supernatural gifts, subdued, 
 by his secret influence, the prejudices, and pu- 
 rified the hearts, of their hearers. The obstacle 
 to the propagation of the gospel, arising from a 
 diversity of languages, was removed when there 
 rested upon each of the apostles " cloven tongues, 
 " hke as of lire ;" but there remained other 
 obstacles of a moral nature, more formidable, 
 
 * Psal. xcviii. 1, 2. . f Zech. iv. 6. 
 
THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 41 
 
 which It was still less in the power of human 
 mekns to surmount. Had the Holy Ghost ope- 
 rated only in a miraculous manner upon the 
 minds of the apostles, the new reli,5ion would 
 not have made its way in the earth, opposed as it 
 was by superstition, by philosophy, by the power 
 of the state, and by all the corrupt passions ot the 
 soul. But the gospel was the niinistraticm of the 
 Spirit, in his graces as well as in his gifts ; in his 
 regenerating as well as in his miraculous virtue. 
 Hence it was " mighty through God to puU 
 " down strong holds, and bring every thought 
 " into captivity to Christ *." 
 
 Lastly, " If the word spoken by angels was 
 " stedfast, and every transgression and disobc- 
 " dience received a just recompencc of reward ; 
 " how shall we escape if we neglect so great sal- 
 " vation, which at the first began to be spoken 
 *' by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by 
 " them that heard him ; God also bearing them 
 " witness, both with signs, and wonders, and with 
 " divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, ac- 
 •' cording to his own will fi"* These words are 
 full of alarm to open infidels and to secret un- 
 believers. To the former they announce the 
 certainty, and the dreadful nature of the pu- 
 nishment which awaits them, if they persist in 
 rejecting and vilifying a religion, stamped with 
 
 ^* 2 Cor. X. 4<, 5. f Heb. ii. 2— 1-. 
 
 F 
 
42 THE r)AY OP PENTfiCOSt. 
 
 such characters of truth. Your sneers and ca- 
 vils cannot make that false which is true ; and 
 if the gospel be true, as we know it to be, and 
 the best and most enlightened men, in all ages, 
 have believed, think for a moment what will be 
 ybui* doom ! If the gospel be true, so are its 
 threatenings ; and they are awful beyond all 
 conception. To the other class of persons, who 
 are secret unbelievers, but call themselves dis- 
 ciples of Jesus, the words of the apostle furnish 
 matter of serious consideration. You profess to 
 give credit to the gospel, but you do not cordially 
 assent to its doctrines, nor embrace its promises, 
 nor submit to its authority, nor cultivate that 
 holiness of heart and life which it enjoins. Shall 
 a salvation, in its nature so desirable, in the means 
 of its accomplishment so wonderful, be safely 
 despised ? Shall the Son of God be rejected with 
 impunity ? Shall men trample on his blood, and 
 refuse the testimony of his Spirit, and yet run 
 no hazard ? Is it nothing to call the God of 
 truth a liar ! nothing to disregard the vonders 
 of his grace, and power ? Of all sins, unbelief is 
 the greatest ; and perseverance in it will termi- 
 nate in unavoidable and irretrievable ruin. Be 
 persuaded to reflect seriously on your guilt and 
 danger, and to seek from God the influences of 
 his Holy Spirit, to enlighten your minds and 
 regenerate your hearts, that receiving the Lord 
 
THE DAY OF PENTECOST. 43 
 
 Jesus Christ, and " setting to your seal that 
 '* God is true/* you may now have an interest 
 in the " great salvation," and may fully enjoy 
 it through eternity. Amen. 
 
LECTURE IIL 
 
 THE FORMATION AND ORDER OF THE PRIIvIITIVJS 
 CHURCH. 
 
 Chap.' II. 37—47. 
 
 J\ S the passage now read refers to the prece-^ 
 ding part of the chapter, it is necessary to take 
 a summary view of its contents. Our Lord ha- 
 ving, according to his promise, poured out, on 
 the day of Pentecost, the Holy Ghost on the a- 
 postles, a mixed multitude of natives and stran- 
 gers was collected, to whom they published, in 
 their respective languages, " the wonderful works 
 " of God." Some were astonished, and eagerly 
 inquired into the cause of such an extraordi- 
 nary event ; while others, from malignity against 
 Jesus, affirmed that the apostles were intoxicated. 
 To satisfy the inquiries of the one class, and to 
 repel the accusation of the other, Peter rose with 
 his brethren ; and having first shewn, by a refe- 
 Tence to the national manners, that the supposi- 
 tion of drunkenness at so early an hour was des- 
 titute of all probability, he informed the audience, 
 that the event which had now taken place was 
 the accomplishment of a prophecy long since de- 
 
THE FORMATION AND ORDER, Scc. 45 
 
 livcred by Joel. He then proceeded to the niahi 
 purpose of his speech, to prove that Jesus of Na- 
 zareth is the Messiah. Witli this view, havinj^ 
 reminded them of the miracles performed by our 
 Saviour during his public ministry, which were 
 the seal of heaven aflixed to his commission, 
 he boldly charges his hearers with the atrocious 
 crime of putting him to death ; but asserts, at the 
 same time, that God liad restored him to life, and 
 that it was not possible that death should retain 
 him under its dominion. This fact, wliich w'as the 
 point at issue between the Jews and the apostles, 
 he establishes by an argument, the validity of 
 which they would hardly venture to dispute ; by 
 an appeal to a prophecy of David. After some rea- 
 soning, intended to convince them that the passage 
 which he had cited could not be applied to the 
 prophet himself, he again afilrms with confidence 
 the resurrection of Christ ; and he calls upon the 
 house of Israel, who had been favoured with 
 sensible evidence of his exaltation, to acknow- 
 ledge " that God had made that same Jesus, 
 ^" whom they had crucified, both Lord and 
 " Christ." The effect produced by this discourse 
 is worthy of notice. 
 
 It awakened compunction, and an eager in- 
 quiry with respect to the course which it was 
 necessary for them to pursue. " Now when 
 " they heard this, they were pricked in their 
 
46 THE FORMATION AND ORDER 
 
 *' hearts, and said unto Peter, and to the rest of 
 " the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we 
 " do ?'* The sentence of death was reluctantly- 
 passed upon our Lord by the Roman governor, 
 whose conscience attested the innocence of the 
 prisoner at his bar, but who was prevailed upon, 
 by the clamours and menaces of the multitude, 
 to disregard its admonitions. The people, the 
 dupes of their priests and rulers, had conceived 
 the most violent prejudice against Christ as an im- 
 postor, and were persuaded that they discovered 
 fervent zeal for the glory of God, and the ho- 
 nour of their holy religion, when they demand- 
 ed his crucifixion. Some w^omen followed him 
 in the way to Calvary with tears and lamenta- 
 tions ; but the deluded, infuriated crowd, beheld 
 his cruel sufferings without pity. In how differ- 
 ent a light did their conduct now appear to them, 
 when the evidence of the Messiahship of Jesus 
 flashed conviction on their minds ! If ever con- 
 fusion, remorse, and terror, rushed at once into 
 the bosom of a sinner with irresistible force, it 
 w-as at this moment, when the Jews learned, that 
 the deceiver whom they had nailed to the cross, 
 the blasphemer whose blood they had shed, was 
 the Redeemer promised to the church, the Son 
 of the living God, the Lord of heaven and earth. 
 What a crime had they committed ! The annals 
 of human guilt could, not furnish another of e- 
 qual atrocity. What a punishment had they 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 4? 
 
 reason to expect ! Now they remembered their 
 own imprecation, " His blood be on us, and on 
 our children *;" and they trembled lest its weight 
 should press them down to the lowest hell. A- 
 larmed and perplexed, tortured with a conscious- 
 ness of guilt, and dreading the just vengeance of 
 heaven, from which they knew not how to e- 
 scape, they cry to Peter and the rest of the apos- 
 tles, " Men and brethren, what shall we do?'* 
 They were anxious to hear from these ambassa- 
 dors of Jesus, whether there w^as any hope of 
 pardon for such a crime, any method of fleeing 
 from the wrath which was ready to overwhelm 
 them. 
 
 To this question, Peter, in the name of his 
 brethren, returned the following answer : " Re- 
 " pent, and be baptized every one of you. in the 
 *' name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, 
 *' and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy 
 *' Ghost." One general remark must occur to 
 every person who considers this answer, that the 
 Jews are directed to the Lord Jesus himself for 
 the remission of their sins. That blood only, 
 which they had impiously shed, could wash them 
 from guilt ; and thus what Is true in reference 
 to sinners in general, was particularly illustrated 
 in the case of those Jews, that. " his blood speak- 
 " eth better things than that of Abel f," crying, 
 to God for the pardon, not for the punishment, 
 * Matt, xxvii. 25. f Heb. xii. 24. 
 
48 THE FORMATION AND ORDER 
 
 of his enemies and murderers. The particular 
 course which he directs them to take, is repen- 
 tance and baptism. Repentance cannot here sig- 
 nify remorse and sorrow for sin, for these feel- 
 ings were already working in their breasts. Nor 
 can it mean the relinquishment of their sins, and 
 the amendment of their lives, because, although 
 reformation will be the undoubted result of con- 
 trition of heart, yet there was not time to carry 
 good resolutions into effect prior to baptism, to 
 which the repentance here enjoined was a previ- 
 ous step. The penitent Jews appear to have 
 been immediately baptized. In the present case, 
 therefore, repentance is equivalent to that com- 
 plete change of views and dispositions which is 
 implied in a cordial reception of the gospel, and 
 consists in a perception of the excellencies of the 
 character of Christ, an approbation of the me- 
 thod of salvation by his righteousness, and a re- 
 liance on his obedience and blood as the founda- 
 tion of our acceptance and our hopes. Such senti- 
 ments and exercises of mind are very different 
 from those to which the hearers of Peter were 
 accustom.ed, who had " gone about to establish 
 " their own righteousness;" different from those, 
 wliich are famihar to a natural man, who sees 
 no comeliness or beauty in the Saviour for which 
 he should be desired, and scorns " to submit to 
 " the righteousness of God." Yet,till this change, 
 to which the heart is so adverse, and which can 
 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 49 
 
 be effected only by supernatural power, be ex- 
 perienced, we have no interest in the redemption 
 of Christ : for althousjh God has " set him forth 
 *' as a propitiation for sin,'* he becomes actually 
 such to a sinner only " through faith in his 
 « blood." 
 
 With repentance, the apostle conjoins baptism 
 in the name, that is, by the authority of Christ ; 
 and he required it from his hearers for the three 
 following reasons: first, as a solemn and public de- 
 claration of the change of their views and disposi- 
 tions,the baptism of Christ being,like that of John, 
 a baptism of repentance ; secondly, as a testimony 
 of their subjection to the Lord Jesus, by whom 
 this ordinance was appointed ; and, lastly, as a sign 
 and seal of the new covenant, by which the re- 
 mission of sins is represented to all, and confirm* 
 ed to those who belong to that covenant. 
 
 To encourage his hearers to comply with this 
 exhortation, he subjoined the following declara- 
 tion or promise. " And ye shall receive the gift 
 " of the Holy Ghost." When in this book the 
 Holy Ghost is said to be given, the meaning fre- 
 quently is, that his extraordinary gifts were com- 
 municated. This is evident from the cases of 
 those in Samaria who received the word ; of Cor- 
 nelius and his company ; arici of the disciples of 
 John, who were baptized at Ephesus * : and it is 
 -observable, that in two of these cases, the per- 
 
 * Acts viii. 15-— 17. Acts x. 4'1- — 1-6. Acts xix. 6. 
 
50 THE FORMATION AND ORDER 
 
 sons immediately began to speak with tongues. 
 From these instances, as well as from the consi- 
 deration, that the words were spoken just after 
 the descent of the Spirit, we may conceive Peter 
 to assure the Jews, that they should participate of 
 the same miraculous gifts which had been con- 
 ferred upon the apostles. Yet, as we have no 
 reason to think, notwithstanding the liberal dis- 
 tribution of such gifts in the primitive church, 
 that they were imparted to all who believed ; it 
 seems proper to interpret the words as referring 
 likewise to the gracious influences and comforts 
 of the Spirit, and to consider the apostle as 
 holding out a promise of these influences and 
 comforts to all, and of extraordinary endow- 
 ments to such among them as God should be 
 pleased, in this manner, to qualify for the mani- 
 festation and establishment of the truth. 
 
 " For the promise," he adds, " is unto you, 
 " and to your children, and to all that are afar 
 " off, even as many as the Lord our God shall 
 '• call." Many commentators suppose, that he 
 alludes to the promise which God made to Abra- 
 ham, that " he would be a God unto him, and 
 "to his seed after him*," with a design to 
 shew the Jevv^s, that, by embracing the new reli- 
 gion, they would lose none of the privileges 
 which they enjoyed under the old. The same 
 promise was continued, and gave them and their 
 * Gen. xvli. 7, 8. 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCIT. .G 1 
 
 children a np;Iit to kipiism, tlic present seal of 
 the covenant, as botli had formerly received 
 the seal of circumcision. If, however, we should 
 rather understand the promise to be that of the 
 Holy Ghost, which the connection seems to sug- 
 gest, the same ar_a;ument may be deduced from 
 it : for if the Spirit is promised, not to believers 
 alone, but to their seed ; it follows that their seed 
 are taken into the covenant of God, and, conse- 
 quently, are entitled to that ordinance which re- 
 presents our participation of its blessings. «' Can 
 *' any man forbid water, that these should not be 
 " baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as 
 " well as we * ?" The Jews were phanly given to 
 understand, that the new dispensation, in which 
 they were required to acquiesce, was of an en- 
 larged and liberal nature. Its ample treasury of 
 grace was opened to enrich them and their fa- 
 mines ; and it is farther suggested, that the Gen- 
 tiles, although they were now " afar off,'* should 
 be admitted to a share, when, in his own time, 
 " the Lcrd their God should call them." 
 
 To this exhortation he added " many other 
 " words;'* the purport or which was to excite 
 them " to save themselves from that untoward 
 " generation." Tliis characteris descriptive ofthe 
 perverseness with wiiich tlie uubclieving Jews op- 
 posed all the methods of divine grace. Our Sa- 
 viour had formerly illustrated their conduct by 
 * Acts X. 4-7. 
 
52 THE FORMATION AND ORDER 
 
 the capriciousness and pettishness of children. 
 *' Whereunto shall I liken this generation ? It is 
 " like unto children sitting in the markets, and 
 " calling unto their fellows, and saying, We 
 " have piped unto you, and ye have not danced ; 
 " we have mc^urned unto you, and ye have not 
 " lamented. For John came neither eating nor 
 " drinking, and they say. He hath a devil. The 
 *' Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they 
 " say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a wine-bib- 
 " ber, a friend of publicans and sinners *.'* They 
 were offended with the austerity of the Baptist, 
 and imputed it to the influence of an unsocial, 
 melancholy demon ; they were equally displeased 
 with the more open and familiar manners of our 
 Lord, and brought against him a charge of in- 
 temperance and licentiousness. A more com- 
 plete description of frowardness was never given 
 than the following, in the first epistle to the 
 Thessalonians. " The Jews,'* says Paul, " both 
 " killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, 
 " and have persecuted us ; and they please not 
 " God, and are contrary to all men t" What- 
 ever means were employed for their good, the 
 effect was still the same, obstinate resistance, or 
 sullen contempt. Over this incorrigible race the 
 judgments of heaven were impending. There 
 was, indeed, a space allowed for repentance, an 
 interval, during which the precious were separa- 
 * Matt. xi. 16—19. t Matt. H. 15. 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 53 
 
 ted from the vile ; but when it expired, im- 
 mingled vengeance would overwhelm the un- 
 godly nation. Peter exliorts the awakened Jews 
 to flee from the wrath to come. Joel had lont^ 
 ago foretold the terrors of the day of the Lord, 
 and the salvation of those who should believe. 
 " I will shew wonders in the heavens, and in 
 " the earth, blood and fire, and pillars of smoke. 
 " The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the 
 " moon into blood, before the great and the tcr- 
 " rible day of the Lord. And it shall come to 
 *' pass, that w^hosoever shall call on the name of 
 " the Lord shall be delivered : for on mount Zion 
 *' and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the 
 " Lord hath said, and in the remnant whom the 
 « Lord shall call *." 
 
 The success of Peter's sermon is stated in the 
 next verse. " Then they that gladly received 
 *' his word were baptized : and the same day 
 " there were added unto them about three thou- 
 *' sand souls." Their " receiving his word glad- 
 " ly,*' signifies their beheving, and embracing, 
 with joy and gratitude, the tidings of salvation 
 through the crucified Jesus. Such is the recep- 
 tion, which the gospel will not fail to meet with 
 from those who are awakened to perceive their 
 need of its comforts. A philosopher, a specula- 
 tist, who looks "upon it merely as a theory, may 
 coolly sit down and discuss its evidence ; but the 
 * Joel ii. 30—32. 
 
54t THE FORMATION AND ORDER 
 
 bosom of a convinced and trembllns: sinner throbs 
 with emotions of desire and transport" when he 
 hears its gracious declarations ; and he hastens to 
 lay hold on the offered mercy with the same ea- 
 gerness, with which a criminal, shuddering un- 
 der the suspended axe of the executioner, seizes 
 on the unexpected pardon of his prince. Their 
 obedience to the gospel was manifested in their 
 submission to the ordinance of baptism ; by 
 which they at once expressed their faith in Christ, 
 and recognised him as the Lord of their con- 
 sciences. 
 
 We may stop, for a few moments, to consi- 
 sider this transaction as a proof of the sincerity 
 of these converts, of their full conviction of the 
 truth of the gospel. To an acknowledgment of 
 Christ and his religion, the prejudices of educa- 
 tion, the example of their friends, the authority 
 of their rulers, and the sacred institutions of 
 Moses, as they were then explained, all stood in 
 opposition. They could not, therefore, become 
 his disciples, without the renunciation of early 
 and favourite opinions, and without a sacrifice of 
 principle ; and it was easy to foresee, that they 
 would incur the reproaches of their countrymen, 
 as apostates, and perhaps feel, in their persons, 
 the effects of their intolerant bigotry. Yet these 
 considerations did not deter them from assuming 
 the badge of Christianity ; from standing forth 
 as the marked objects of the hatred and scorn of 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 55 
 
 their brethren. And how shall we account for 
 their conduct ? It can be explained on no other 
 principle than an irresistible conviction of the 
 truth, a firm belief in the threatenini^sand promi- 
 ses delivered by the apostles, an experience of that 
 almighty energy, which " brings every thought 
 into captivity to Christ." To these causes we 
 attribute their conversion ; and we perceive to 
 what extent they operated from the number of 
 the converts. By the accession of three thou- 
 sand persons, our Saviour was pleased to encou- 
 rage the apostles, at their outset ; and to give a 
 specimen of the rapid success v/hich should after- 
 wards attend the publication of the gospel. 
 
 We have seen how the Christian church was 
 formed. We are next presented with a view 
 of the conduct of its members, with regard 
 to the doctrines and institutions of the gospel. 
 " And they continued stedfastly in the apostles* 
 " doctrine, and fellowship, and in breaking of 
 " bread, and in prayers." Each of these parti- 
 culars deserves to be distinctly considered. 
 
 The first is their continuance in "• the doctrine 
 " of the apostles." It sometimes happens, that 
 by an artful representation of an object, and a 
 dexterous appeal to his passions, a person is in- 
 duced to adopt an opinion which he formerly re- 
 probated, and which, on calm reflection, he will 
 reject. In the midst of a multitude, a man is 
 hardly master of himself, and is often hurried 
 
56 THE FORMATION AND ORDER 
 
 away by a sympathetic feeling with those around 
 him, to form resolutions, which, in his cool mo- 
 ments, he may see reason to retract. There are 
 instances, too, in which sentiments are embraced, 
 ill the hope that they wiU be held without trouble 
 or inconvenience, but are abandoned as soon as 
 they are found to be incompatible with reputa- 
 tion and personal safety. The converted Jews 
 had undergone a very sudden change of their 
 views. At the same meeting, at which the pa- 
 thetic address. of Peter operated so strongly upon 
 them, they solemnly declared themselves dis- 
 ciples of Jesus. Yet neither the reflections which 
 they afterwards had leisure to make upon their 
 conduct, nor the difficulties which they soon ex- 
 perienced to be inseparable from their new pro- 
 fession, created any regret at the step which they 
 had taken. The gospel, the more they examined 
 it, appeared the more worthy of all acceptation. 
 Its evidence was strengthened every day by the 
 miracles vv^hich were performed before their eyes; 
 and from what passed in their own minds, they 
 felt the same need of its comforts as ever, the 
 same delightful calm, the same ineffable happi- 
 ness, arising from the belief of its declarations ■ 
 and promises. They continued, therefore, sted- 
 fast in the doctrine of the apostles, convinced of 
 its truth, and assured by experience of its excel- 
 lence. * 
 
 Luke mentions, in the second place, their sted- 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 51 
 
 fastness " in fellowship;" by which is meant the 
 communion of saints in the exercise of evan2;e- 
 lical love. The gospel is not a selfish religion. 
 It requires, indeed, every man to take care of his 
 own salvation, and shews it to be of such impor- 
 tance, as to be truly worthy of his care ; but it 
 teaches him, at the same time, to interest him- 
 self in the temporal and spiritual welfare of his 
 Christian brethren. On the basis of brotherly 
 love is reared a system of duties, from the cheer- 
 ful and conscientious discharge of which there 
 results much benefit to the church, and much 
 honour to religion. By exhorting one another 
 daily, by instructing, by counselling, by repro- 
 ving, by comforting, by aiding one another in all 
 good things, Christians fulfil the law of Christ, 
 and act as partakers of the same Spirit, and chil- 
 dren of the same Father. In these labours of love 
 the new converts were employed : for, together 
 with the truth, they had imbibed that pure spi- 
 rit of benevolence, which is now so little known, 
 but in those days made the Gentiles say, " Be- 
 " hold how the Christians love one another." 
 
 Farther, they continued stedfastly in " the 
 " breaking of bread." This phrase does not ne- 
 cessarily mean the Lord's supper, as we shall af- 
 terwards see ; but being introduced among the 
 religious duties of the primitive church, it seems, 
 in this instance, to signify that institution, the 
 whole being denominated from a part. Perhaps 
 
 H 
 
58 THE FORMATION AND ORDER. 
 
 the celebration of that solemn ordinance is parti-- 
 cularly mentioned, because it was a public and 
 explicit testimony of their attachment to the Sa- 
 viour, a recognition of their baptismal engage- 
 ments, a declaration that they gloried in the 
 death of Christ, which was a stumbling block to 
 their unbelieving countrymen. It is evident from 
 the passage that they frequently commemorated 
 that event ; but how often they were thus em- 
 ployed, it is impossible, from any thing here said, 
 to ascertain. No man in his senses can suppose, 
 that they observed the ordinance as often as they 
 performed the duties of fellowship, and offered 
 up either secret or social prayer. I can find no- 
 thing in the New Testament from which any 
 determinate rule can be collected. The argu- 
 ments for the weekly celebration of the sacred 
 supper, founded on some incidental expressions, 
 are too feeble to authorise the strong and pe- 
 remptory conclusions M'hich have been forcibly 
 drawn from them. Evidence much more ample 
 and decisive would be requisite to justify any 
 religious party, in pronouncing this practice to 
 be a mark of apostolic purity, and erecting it into 
 a standard, to which other Christians are bound 
 to conform *. 
 
 * Nothing more can be inferred from this passage, than 
 that the Lord's supper was one of the evangeUcal institu- 
 tions which the disciples were stedfast in observing. The 
 words of Christ, *' As often as ye eat this bread, and drioJ: 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 5[) 
 
 In the last place, we are informed that they con- 
 tinued stedfastly " in prayer.'* The gospel hum- 
 bles man, by shewing him liis meanness and in- 
 firmity. It draws him oif from presumptuous 
 
 this cup," mean only, " When ye cat and dilnk, ye shew 
 ♦< fortJi my death ;" as if I should say to a friend. As ol'-» 
 •* ten as you come to this part of the country, I will he 
 happy to see you in my house ;" I mean, W^i-n he comet;, 
 without any reference to the number of times. The chief 
 argument for the weekly celebration of it is drawn frnni 
 tliese words, " And upon the first day of the week, when 
 ** the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preach- 
 " ed unto them." Acts xx. 7, from which it is manifest, 
 say die advocates for this opinion, that the Lord's supper 
 was a stated part of the worship of the church, and that 
 there is the same evidence for the weekly celebration of it 
 as for the obserA^ance of the Christian Sabbath. Nay, so 
 distinguished a place did this ordinance occupy in the re- 
 gular service, that it is mentioned as the main purpose of 
 the meeting. I acknowledge, that the words do imply 
 that it was the main purpose ; but for this very reason I con^ 
 elude, that it was not the usual design of coming together : 
 for I have yet to learn, that the Lord's supper is so much to 
 be preferred to prayer, and praise, and the preaching of 
 the word, as to be the principal cause of holding religious 
 assemblies. Where does the Scripture say or insinuate any 
 such thing ? If there be any purpose more than others for 
 which Christians should meet on the first day of the week, 
 it is to hear the gospel, the great appointed means of pro-, 
 moting the life of God in the soul. Scripture will bear me 
 out in this assertion. When men begin to be zealous a-, 
 bout any thing, they often grow extravagant, ar..d are not 
 satisfied till they have put it out of its place, and exalted it 
 ;ibove all other things. Since then it is agreed, tluit^ 
 
60 THE FORMATION AND ORDER 
 
 confidence in himself, and directs him to place 
 his trust and hope in God. Prayer is therefore 
 the natural exercise of ^ genuine Christian. It is 
 the language of his necessities. It is the voice of 
 his faith imploring relief from the all sufficiency of 
 God. It is the means of bringing almighty power 
 to his aid ; of deriving from the infinite stores of 
 
 ** to break bread" was the chief intention of the meeting 
 at Troas, I conclude, that the intention was special, not 
 common ; because it cannot be proved from Scripture, or 
 history, or th~e nature of the ordinance, that to eat the 
 Lord's supper ever was, or ever ought to be, at all times the 
 principal reason for assembling on the Sabbath. The dis- 
 ciples at Troas probably embraced the opportunity of com- 
 memorating the death of Christ, while they enjoyed the 
 presence and ministrations of Paul ; and hence this ordi- 
 nance is represented to have been, because it really was the 
 design of this meeting. From the words of Paul to the 
 Corinthians, 1 Cor. xi. 17, 20, " You come together not 
 •' for the better, but for the worse," compared with what 
 he afterwards says, " When ye come together, — this is not 
 *' to eat the Lord's supper," it has been inferred, that al- 
 ways when they met, they observed this ordinance, be-» 
 cause otherwise tliere would be no force in his argument, 
 thai their coming together was for the worse. This is very 
 feeble reasoning. Join the two passages together, and the 
 - meaning obviously is, " When you come together, and eat 
 *' in the riotous manner afterwards described, you come to-. 
 ** gether for the worse." Nothing is asserted but the per-r 
 nicious consequences of such assemblies : there is not a 
 word about their frequency. I do not, at present, inquire 
 what was the practice of the church after the death of the 
 apostles, as I am examining only the arguments from Scrip- 
 ture. 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. G\ 
 
 divine goodness the supply of all his wants. Hence 
 the prayer of a Christian is not an occasional 
 exclamation in a moment of alarm, the efferves- 
 cence of transient desire : it is founded in a lia- 
 bitual disposition of mind, a permanent sense of 
 weakness and dependence. It constitutes a parr 
 of his daily exercise, without which his spiritual 
 life could no more be preserved, th.m his natu- 
 ral life could be sustained without food. By con- 
 tinuing in prayer, the new converts discovered 
 the ardour of their piety, and were enabled to 
 persevere, amidst difiiculties and dangers, in the 
 profession of the truth, and in obedience to the 
 institutions of Christ. 
 
 I have given what appears to me to be the ge- 
 nuine sense of this passage ; and in doing so, have 
 paid no regard to the opinion of some writers, 
 that it is a description of the proceedings of the 
 first Christians in their religious assemblies. The 
 opinion has no countenance from the passage it- 
 self, would never occur to an impartial reader 
 unacquainted with the theories of disputants. 
 and is chiefly adopted with a view to establish a 
 favourite point, that the Lord's supper was a 
 stated part of the worship of the primitive church. 
 But if we are at liberty to explain the Scriptures 
 as we please, there is no doubt that we may prove 
 from them any fancy however extravagant. 
 
 Let us now consider the love of the primitive 
 Christians, displayed in the liberality with which 
 
62 THE FORMATION AND ORDER 
 
 they supplied the necessities of their brethren. 
 "•And all that believed were together, and had 
 " all things common, and sold their possessions 
 ^' and goods, and parted them to ail men, as 
 ^' every man had need." The expression, " all 
 '^' that believed were together," does not mean 
 that they were assembled in one place, but that 
 they were united in mind and affection, accord- 
 ing to the sense of it in some other places of 
 Scripture. " They had all things common." It 
 has been supposed, that there was a real commu- 
 nity of goods among the Christians of Jerusalem ; 
 or that every man, renouncing all right in his 
 property, delivered it over to a public stock, to 
 which all had an equal claim. It appears, how- 
 ever, from the story of Ananias and Sapphira, 
 that the disciples v^^ere under no obligation, or 
 bound by no positive law, to dispose of their 
 property for the benefit of the church ; and 
 that, after it was sold, they could retain the 
 whole, or any part, of the price, provided that 
 they did not, like those unhappy persons, 
 practise dissimulation and deceit : and it is 
 farther evident from the passage before us, that 
 although in many instances they laid down 
 the price at the apostles' feet, entrusting them 
 with the distribution, yet they sometimes reser- 
 ved it in their own hands, and gave it to the in- 
 digent, according to their own ideas of their 
 need. These considerations seem to prove, that 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 03 
 
 there was not an actual community of goods in 
 the primitive church, but that, in consequence of 
 the fervent charity which united their hearts and 
 interests, " no man," as Luke informs us in 
 the fourth chapter, '• said that ought of the 
 things which he possessed was his own," or ap- 
 propriated them to his own use, but readily part- 
 ed with them for the supply of his brethren. 
 " They parted them to all men, as every man 
 ** had need." All things were common, because 
 they were at the service of every man who want- 
 ed them. On this ground, one of the Fathers 
 said long after, " Among us Christians all thing-j 
 " are common," although the practice of selling 
 possessions, and distributing the price to the 
 poor, was discontinued. There is no evidence 
 that the conduct of the church of Jerusalem was 
 followed by any other church, even in the apos- 
 tolic age ; but as far as it is an example of gene- 
 rous love, triumphing over the selfish affections, 
 and exciting men to pursue the welfare of others 
 as their own, it is worthy to be imitated to the 
 end of the world. 
 
 The words, on which I shall next make some 
 "observations, are contained in the forty-sixth 
 verse, where we are told, that " they continued 
 " daily in the temple, and breaking bread from 
 *' house to house, did eat their meat with gladness 
 " and singleness C)f heart." Attempts have been 
 made to prove, that *' breaking bread" here signi- 
 
64! THE FORMATION AND ORDER, 
 
 fies the celebration of the Lord's supper ; and 
 hence it has been inferred, that there was not only 
 a weekly, but a daily observance of that solemn 
 rite in the primitive church. This, indeed, is 
 sometimes the meaning of the phrase ; but par- 
 taking of the Lord's supper is nowhere denoted 
 by the familiar expression of " eating our meat." 
 I am persuaded, that to a plain reader, who had 
 no darling notion to support, it would never oc- 
 cur that any thing more was intended, than to 
 inform us how the first Christians conducted 
 themselves in their private intercourse with one 
 another. Prompted by brotherly love, they em- 
 braced opportunities of frequently meeting toge- 
 ther at their common meals ; and, on such oc- 
 casions, they discovered the influence of the gos- 
 pel, as well as in the more solemn services of reli- 
 gious worship. Joy and innocence presided at 
 their frugal repasts. But it was joy different 
 from that which wine inspires ; flowing from 
 an assurance of the favour of God, a sense of his 
 love, which gives a relish to the homeliest fare, 
 and the triumphant hope of immortality. " Go 
 " thy way, eat thy bread with joy, and drink 
 " thy wine with a merry heart ; for God now 
 *^' accepteth thy works *.** At these happy meet- 
 ings, envy and jealousy did net rankle in the 
 bosoms of the guests, nor were purposes of re- 
 venge concealed under the deceitful smile ol 
 * Eccles. ix. 7. 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. G5 
 
 friendship. All duplicity was banished, and their 
 hearts, purified by divine grace, admitted no sen- 
 timents but those of honest, undissemblcd affec- 
 tion. At their tables they sealed their mutual 
 love, and anticipated the pure felicity, which shall 
 circulate from breast to breast in the blessed 
 company, who shall eat bread in the kingdom of 
 God. 
 
 I shall farther take notice only of the senti- 
 ments with which the rising church was regard- 
 ed by the Jews. It was at once the object of 
 veneration and of esteem. It is said, in the 
 forty-third verse, that " fear came upon every 
 " soul." With respect to external circum- 
 stances, the disciples were a despicable com- 
 pany, composed of persons, for the most part, 
 in the lower classes, and headed by some illite- 
 rate fishermen and publicans. Yet tJiere were 
 such tokens of the presence and power of God 
 with this assembly, that the spectators could not 
 avoid being impressed with awe. The miracles 
 performed by the apostles astonished the behold- 
 ers ; and although they did not always produce 
 conviction, made them afraid to treat the dis- 
 ciples with disrespect. " Mnny wonders and 
 *' signs were done by the apostles." At the same 
 time, the character of the first "professors of the 
 faith was so amiable, their manners so pure, and 
 their charity so unbounded, that they conciliated 
 the good-v\ill of all around them. " They were in 
 
 I 
 
66 THE FORMATION AND ORDER 
 
 *' favour with the people." Their faith the people 
 might not approve, but their virtues they could 
 not refuse to commend. " He is a good man," 
 said the heathens of a peaceable, beneficent neigh- 
 bour, " but he is a Christian." The doctrines 
 of our religion may seem mysterious and per- 
 plexed, and some of its precepts may be account- 
 ed severe ; but when it is embodied, if I may 
 speak so, in the conduct of its genuine friends ; 
 when it puts on the lovely aspect of meekness, 
 gentleness, and goodness, the hearts of its ene- 
 mies bear an unequivocal testimony in its fa- 
 vour, and sometimes their lips unwittingly pro- 
 nounce its eulogium. 
 
 Such were the sentiments v/ith which the Jews 
 beheld the primitive Christians ; and the im- 
 pressions made upon their minds contributed, 
 through the divine blessing, to bring many of 
 them to the knowledge of the truth. The church 
 was a growing society. It received daily acces- 
 sions. The power of God was exerted to carry 
 into effect his purpose of grace with respect to 
 such of the Jewish naiion as he had chosen to 
 eternal life. " The Lord added to the church 
 " daily such as should be saved." 
 
 I shall conclude with two or three reflections 
 on the passage. 
 
 First, We liave before us the pure and perfect 
 model of a Christian church. The primitive 
 
OF THE PRIMITIVE CHURCH. 67 
 
 church was composed of persons awakened and 
 enhghtened by the truth, who, Iraving entered 
 into its communion by baptism, continued regu- 
 lar and stedfast in the ordinances and command- 
 ments of Christ, and were united by sincere and 
 ardent love. How dissimilar are those societies, 
 the members of which are associated from the 
 mere accident of local situation, or from caprice 
 and prejudice, without knowledge, and without 
 principle ; societies made up of such loose and 
 light materials, that a breath of novelty shall blow 
 them asunder, and the most frivolous offence 
 shall occasion their disunion ; societies, which 
 having no common purpose, no mutual bond of 
 • connection, may be compared to a chaos of dis- 
 cordant elements, in which envy, jealousy, pride, 
 selfishness, calumny, and evil surmisings, produce 
 perpetual agitation and war ? Alas ! my brethren, 
 we have all departed, more or less, from the apos- 
 tolic standard ; and we are not likely ta return 
 to it, notwithstanding the schemes of meliora- 
 tion which the fertile invention of the present 
 times is almost daily suggesting, till, as in for- 
 mer days, the spirit be poured out from on high. 
 Then *' the wilderness and the solitary place 
 " shall be glad, and the desert shall rejoice and 
 " blossom as the rose *." 
 
 In the second place, the mighty efficacy of the 
 word of God is manifest in the sudden and com- 
 plete conversion of the Jews., " Is not ray word 
 . * Isaiah xxxv. 1. 
 
68 THE FORMATION AND ORDER 
 
 " like as a fire ? saith the Lord : and like a ham- 
 " mer, that breaketh the rock in pieces * ?'' Let 
 it not be supposed, that as the occasion was pe- 
 culiar, the power employed was unusual, and 
 ought not to be looked for again. " The Lord's 
 " hand is not shortened that it cannot save.'* 
 " The residue of the Spirit is with him ;" and 
 tlie same effects are still produced in the conver- 
 sion of every sinner. Some of the prejudices 
 which influenced the Jews may not be entertain- 
 ed by persons educated in a Christian country ; 
 but there are other prejudices equally effectual in 
 blinding the mind, and fortiiying the heart a- 
 ffainst conviction, which it is therefore as difii- 
 cult to overcome. Did we consider how power- 
 ful is the dominion of pride, how firmly the in- 
 terests of sin are established, and how fascinating 
 is the influence of the world, we would be con- 
 vinced that the same energy is exerted in modern 
 conversions, as in those which took place in the 
 beginning of the gospel. Hence, in the most 
 unpromising times, we may hope that the inte- 
 rests of religion shall be maintained ; and we ought 
 never to despair of the ultimate triumph of truth 
 over error. The gospel is " mighty through 
 " God" to subdue all opposition. " When the 
 " Lord shall send the rod of his strength out of 
 " Zion, the people shall be willing in the day of 
 " his power f." 
 
 * Jer. xxiii. 29. • f ex. 2, 3, 
 
Ol- THE PRIMITIVE CliUHCII. CD 
 
 In the Inst place, wc arc presented with a pow- 
 erful arecumcnt for vhe truth of the resurrection 
 and exaltation of Jesus. Let it only be admitted, 
 that many of the Jews were converted to Chris- 
 tianity soon after its publication ; and this is a 
 fact \\ hich no man will venture to dispute. By 
 what means, I adv, was their conversion effected ? 
 The apostles, who addressed them, were men of 
 no learning, of no influence, unskilled in the arts 
 of sophistry and eloquence. And what did they 
 require their hearers to believe ^ Did they not tell 
 them, that the man whom they had crucified a few 
 weeks before was the Son of God ; that there 
 was no way of salvation but by his blood ; and 
 that God had raised him from the grave, and 
 exalted him to his rigjht hand in heaven ? These 
 were not palatable truths. The Jews could not 
 receive them, without acknowledging themselvei> 
 to be the vilest wretches upon earth, guilty be- 
 yond all other men, and deserving severer pu- 
 nishment ; and without giving up all their agree- 
 able dreams, all their soothing prospects of world- 
 ly grandeur. We cannot suppose, then, that 
 they would receive them without evidence, with- 
 out overpowering evidence, evidence wliich for- 
 ced conviction on their minds. That they did 
 receive them, we know ; and we learn from thii 
 chapter on what grounds they were satisfied. 
 The account is consistent and probable. Infide- 
 lity can give no other, which wiU not be liable 
 
70 THE FORMATION AND ORDER, $CC. 
 
 to unanswerable objections. Assuming, then, 
 that the Holy Ghost was poured out on the 
 apostles, and that they were enabled to speak 
 with new tongues, and to work miracles before 
 the eyes of their countrymen, we may demand, 
 by whom the Spirit was sent. Was it not, as 
 the apostles affirmed, by Jesus of Nazareth, who 
 had suffered as a malefactor without the gates of 
 Jerusalem ? And could he have done all this if 
 he had been still lying in the grave ? Was it not 
 manifest that he had triumphed over death, and 
 was now proceeding to establish on earth that 
 kingdom which he had shed his blood to obtain ? 
 Yes ; Christians, the Lord is risen indeed. " He 
 " has ascended up on high, and led captivity 
 " captive." Come, then, and let us fall down 
 and worship him. Infidels may cavil and blas- 
 pheme ; but assured by evidence, from which 
 they perversely turn away their eyes, that he lives 
 and reigns, we hail him Lord of all. " And he 
 " must reign, till all his enemies be put under 
 " his feet.'* " Arise, O Lord, and let thine ene- 
 " mies be scattered ; but let them that love thee 
 " be as the sun, when he goeth forth in his 
 <' might." 
 
LECTURE IV. 
 
 THE LAME MAN CURED BY PETER AND JOHN. 
 
 Chap. III. 1—16. 
 
 1 HE apostles were commissioned to promulgate 
 a religion, which, notwithstanding its intrinsic 
 excellence, the world was ill disposed to receive. 
 To the Jews, superstitiously attached to the ri- 
 tual of Moses, and persuaded of its perpetuity, 
 it appeared in the light of an impious heresy ; a 
 bold attempt to substitute the crude notions of 
 an upstart teacher in the room of the oracles of 
 heaven. On the part of the Gentiles, accustom- 
 ed to pompous ceremonies, and the unrestrained 
 licence, in which the ancient systems of idolatry 
 indulged their votaries, its pure doctrines, and 
 simple institutions were calculated to excite senti- 
 ments of aversion and contempt. The prejudi- 
 ces, with which the gospel had to contend, were 
 not hkely to be removed by the character and 
 quaUfications of its first preachers. They were 
 not men who could command respect by their 
 talents and their rank. They were poor and il- 
 literate y they had sat at the feet of no Jewish 
 
72 THE LAME MAN CURED 
 
 doctor, and frequented the school of no heathen 
 philosopher. Coming from the lips of such men, 
 the religion of Jesus must have presented itself 
 under new disadvantages, in consequence of the 
 awkward manner, and unpolished style, in which 
 they may be conceived to have delivered it. 
 Whence, then, did it succeed ? What precau- 
 tions were taken to prevent it from being rejec- 
 ted by universal consent ? To the ftshermen and 
 publicans of Galilee, on whom was devolved the 
 important olnce of converting the world, Jesus 
 communicated powers of an extraordinary kind, 
 by which they were better qualified for their 
 work than if they had possessed all the treasures 
 of human learning and eloquence. While, by 
 the descent of the Holy Ghost, they were inspired 
 with the knowledge of foreign languages, and 
 could address every man in his own tongue on 
 the subject of their mission, they were enabled to 
 perform such wonderful works as awakened the 
 attention of the spectators, and were undoubted 
 evidences of the divine authority of their doc- 
 trine. Incidental mention is made of their mi- 
 racles towards the close of the preceding chapter. 
 '• Many wonders and signs were done by the 
 " apostles.'* In the passage now read, one is se- 
 lected as a specimen ; and as it was accompanied 
 with several important circumstances, which 
 throw light on the general design of miracles, and 
 
BY PETER AND JOHN. 75 
 
 on the character of the apostles, it deserves to be 
 particularly considered. 
 
 The occasion of working this miracle was a vi- 
 sit paid by two of the apostles, Peter and John, 
 to the temple, for the purpose of devotion. 
 " Now Peter and John went up together into 
 " the temple, at the hour of prayer, being the 
 " ninth hour." The Jews had stated hours of 
 prayer, the third, the sixth, and the ninth, cor- 
 responding to nine in the morning, twelve at 
 noon, and three in the afternoon, according to 
 our division of the day. Two of these hours co- 
 incided with the appointed times of offering the 
 daily sacrifices, when those pious Israelites, who 
 resided in Jerusalem, resorted to the temple, that 
 while the smoke ascended from the altar and the 
 censers of the priests, they might present the no- 
 bler oblation of holy supplications and thanks- 
 givings. The apostles, in this instance, complied 
 with the practice of their country, without any 
 intention to bind Christians, in succeeding ages, 
 to fixed hours of religious worship, or to repre- 
 sent any particular place as rendering prayer 
 more acceptable to God. Our churches are quire 
 different from the temple, which was a consecra- 
 ted house, the chosen habitation of the God of 
 Israel. It is probable, too, that they had another 
 reason for going up to it at this time, namely, 
 to embrace the opportunity of addressing the 
 
 K 
 
7^ THE LAME MAN CURED 
 
 people when a considerable number was assem- 
 bled. 
 
 The person, on whom the miracle was per- 
 formed, was afflicted with a lameness, incurable 
 by any means which human skill could employ : 
 for it did not proceed from an accidental dislo- 
 cation of the joints, w hich might have been re- 
 duced, nor from temporary debility, which would 
 have been gradually removed as he regained his 
 strength, but from an original defect, or derange- 
 ment of the parts. He was therefore a fit sub- 
 ject for displaying the supernatural power with 
 which the apostles were furnished by their Mas- 
 ter, because, among those who were acquainted 
 with the case, there could be no question, if a 
 cure was performed, whether it had been effect- 
 ed by ordinary or miraculous means. There 
 was no room for discussion about what nature 
 itself could do, or what surprising effects might 
 be produced upon the bodily frame, by the force 
 of imagination, by sudden and violent emotions 
 of fear and joy, or by hope calling forth some 
 latent energy, and dissipating, as by magic influ- 
 ence, the languor or infirmity which had long 
 oppressed the patient. The interposition of hea- 
 ven was too evident to be obscured by plausible 
 theories and sophistical cavils. Even if his lame- 
 ness might have been healed in infancy, it had 
 now acquired an inveteracy which the most per- 
 fect art would have striven in vain to subdue. 
 
BY PETER AND JOHN. 75 
 
 His situation was well known to the inhabitants 
 of Jerusalem : for being unable to work for 
 his subsistence, and having no friends who 
 could or would support him, he was carried dai- 
 ly to one of the gates of the temple, where he 
 lay imploring the compassion and charity of the 
 passengers. The place was well chosen, as it may 
 be justly expected, that if our hearts shall ever 
 be disposed to relieve the necessities of our bre- 
 thren, it will be in those moments when they 
 are awake to religious sentiments, and we are go- 
 ing to implore from our heavenly Father mercy 
 to ourselves. " And a certain man, lame from 
 " his mother's womb, was carried, whom they 
 " laid daily at the gate of the temple, which is 
 *' called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that en- 
 *' tered into the temple." 
 
 It is not a matter of any importance to inquire 
 on what gate of the temple the epithet Beautiful 
 was bestowed. It was probably a gate, of v/hich 
 Josephus informs us, that it surpassed all the rest 
 in the richness of its materials, and the splen- 
 dour of its ornaments; and, from the purpose for 
 which it was chosen by the lame man, it seems 
 to have been the principal entrance. The men- 
 tion of its name, however, suggests some obser- 
 vations, which it may be useful to state, on the 
 marks of truth to be found in the record of the 
 miracles of the gospel. When a story is told in 
 general terms, without date, or place, or any cir- 
 
76 THE LAME MAN CURED 
 
 cumstance which an inquirer might lay hold 
 upon to ascertain its reality, there is reason to 
 suspect it to be a fiction, or, at least, that the 
 writer knows nothing about it but by vague and 
 uncertain tradition. But when any event is re- 
 lated with a detail of particulars, with a specifica- 
 tion of the time when, and the spot on which, it 
 happened, and of the witnesses who were present, 
 we are induced to believe that the narrator was 
 thoroughly acquainted with it, and considered it 
 as capable of bearing the strictest investigation. 
 There is always some truth, it has been remark- 
 ed, where there is considerable particularity *. 
 If we apply this remark to the miracles recorded 
 in the New Testament, we shall perceive, at 
 least, a strong presumption of their credibility. 
 The time when, and the persons on whom, they 
 were performed, are mentioned ; the witnesses 
 are described by their names, by their station, or 
 by some other circumstance which sufiiciently 
 distinguishes them, and even the enemies of Jesus 
 Christ and his religion are appealed to for the 
 truth of the relation; and all this was done, 
 while the witnesses, whether friends or enemies, 
 were alive. In the present instance, Luke does 
 riot content himself with saying, that on a cer- 
 tain occasion, the apostles, somewhere in Judea, 
 cured a certain lame man ; but he points out the 
 * Paley's View of the Evidences of Christianity, vol. i. 
 
 3 
 
BY PETER AND JOHN. 77 
 
 indivulual by such marks as are equivalent to 
 giving his najiie. He is represented as a sort of 
 public person, having been ohen seen by those 
 who frequented tlie temple ; the gate at which 
 he was wont to lie is particularised ; and thus an 
 opportunity was given to every reader at that 
 time to bring the narrative to the test. No rea- 
 son can be conceived why Luke has inserted, in 
 a history so concise, a circumstance apparently 
 of so little importance, as his being laid at the 
 gate of the temple called Beautiful, but his know- 
 ledge that w hat he was writing was true, and his 
 willingness to subject it to the most scrupulous 
 examination. Impostors do not write in this 
 manner. They dread inquiry, and U3C every 
 precaution to elude it. 
 
 The lame man begged alms from all the pas- 
 sengers, from the poor as well as from the rich ; 
 and perhaps he often found, that the former 
 were more ready to give their mite than the lat- 
 ter to bestow their larger sums. The mitred 
 priest might have passed him without notice, 
 while the humble mechanic stopped to share with 
 him the scanty earnings of his industry. There 
 was nothing in the appearance of Peter and John 
 to encourage him to expect much, for in their 
 dress and manner they were evidently persons of 
 the lowest rank ; yet the cripple, as soon as he 
 saw them, began the wonted tale of distress, en- 
 treating them, 110 doubt, to help him for the 
 
78 THE LAME MAN CURED 
 
 sake of the God whom they were about to ad<^re. 
 And as their attention was attracted by his pite- 
 ous story, he hoped to see them draw forth 
 from their little store something to relieve his 
 necessities. His expectation was the more exci- 
 ted by the words of the apostles, requiring him 
 to look upon them, which he construed as an 
 intimation of their purpose to give alms ; where- 
 as their design was to fix his attention on the 
 miracle which they were going to perform. 
 ^' Who seeing Peter and John about to go into 
 " the temple, asked an alms. And Peter fasten- 
 " ing his eyes upon him, with John, said, Look 
 " on us. And he gave heed unto them, expect- 
 " ing to receive something of them." 
 
 But how must the poor man have been sur- 
 prised and disappointed on hearing the follow- 
 ing declaration from Peter ? " Silver and gold 
 " have I none.'* " What,*' he might have said, 
 " have you indeed no money ? Why, then, did 
 " you excite my expectation ? Might you not 
 " have passed on, as many others have done, 
 " without giving any heed to my petition ? Sure- 
 " ly it is enough if misery be left to pine away 
 " in neglect ; it is the wantonness of cruelty to 
 *' pour into its cup the bitter ingredient of mock- 
 " ery.'* " No j" said Peter, " I have neither 
 " silver nor gold ; but I have something better 
 " to give : in the name of Jesus Christ of Naza- 
 " reth, rise up and walk." Tiiis was a new sort 
 
BY PETER AND JOHN. 79 
 
 of alms, for which the cripple did not look. All 
 the physicians in Judea could not have imparted 
 vigour to his limbs : and how could he presume, 
 that these plain, uneducated men, were possess- 
 ed of superior skill. But it is not by their own 
 skill that they accomplish the cure ; the miracle 
 is performed in the name of Jesus of Nazareth. 
 *' Who is he ?'* might the lame have replied. 
 " Is he not the same person who was lately cru- 
 " cified without the gates of the city ; over 
 " whose fall the priests and rulers exulted ; and 
 *' whose name is never mentioned but in terms 
 " of reproach and execration ?'* The impotent 
 man had not leisure to reason in this manner ; 
 for no sooner had Peter commanded him to rise, 
 than '• he took him by the right hand, and lift 
 " him up ; and immediately his feet and ankle- 
 " bones received strength.'* Observe the simple, 
 yet authoritative manner in v/hich the miracle is 
 performed. No solemn preparations are made, 
 no mystical ceremonies are used, which might 
 work on the im.agination of the patient, and ex- 
 cite his reverence and admiration of the persons 
 of the apostles. By a few words, pronounced in 
 a serious unaffected manner, the effect is pro- 
 duced. It is thus that divine power is exerted. 
 It stands in no need of any artifice to set it off", 
 of any ostentatious display to raise the wonder 
 of the beholders. Its works are sufficient to a- 
 
80 THE LAME MAN CURED 
 
 waken, by their own grandeur, the strongest 
 emotions of astonishment and awe. 
 
 " Silver and gold have I none." The apostles 
 were poor when they connected themselves with 
 Christ ; and it was not in the hope of bettering 
 their circumstances that they became his disci- 
 ples ; for what could they expect from a Master, 
 who had not " where to lay his head ?** They 
 were, indeed, furnished with powers of an ex- 
 traordinary nature, which, in the hands of per- 
 sons of different views, would have been con- 
 verted into means of accumulating wealth. Wil- 
 lingly, we may believe, would those have loaded 
 them with gifts, whom they had rescued from 
 the languor of sickness, and the agonies of pain ; 
 and those, to whose arms they had brought back 
 their beloved friends from the grave. But their 
 Lord enjoined a disinterested exercise of their 
 miraculous powers. " Freely ye have received, 
 " freely give *." The missionaries resembled 
 the Aiathor of our religion, who wrought many 
 miracles to relieve the distresses of others, and 
 sometimes to supply their bodily necessities, but 
 never exerted his power to provide for his own 
 wants, except in a single instance, when Peter 
 was sent to draw a fish out of the sea, with a 
 piece of money in its mouth, to be applied to the 
 payment of tribute f. There were other oppor- 
 tunities of acquiring riches, which the apostles 
 * Matu z. 8. t Matt. xvii. 27^ 
 
BY PETER AND JOHN. «1 
 
 might have improved, if these had possessed any 
 charms in their eyes. The new converts to Chris- 
 tianity, under the influence of the most gene- 
 rous love to their brethren, sold their possessions, 
 and laid the price at the feet of the apostles. 
 Thus they became sole trustees of large sums of 
 money. Their characters were free from suspi- 
 cion ; and such was the confidence placed in their 
 integrity, that no disciple would have ever thought 
 it necessary to demand an account of their ma- 
 nagement. Here, then, was an occasion, which 
 private interest, had any regard to it lurked in 
 the breasts of the apostles, would not have ne- 
 glected. And how often, my brethren, has ava- 
 rice, carefully concealing itself under a cloak of' 
 religion and disinterested zeal, secretly stretched 
 out its hand to appropriate that wealth which it 
 affected to despise ? " My vow of poverty," said 
 a monk, " has brought me a revenue of a hun- 
 *' dred thousand crowns." How great do the 
 apostles appear ! how high do they rise in the es- 
 timation of every man who can appreciate mo- 
 ral worth, when they hold up hands which no 
 bribe had touched, no unlawful gain had pollu- 
 ted ! Dispensing the treasures of the church un- 
 der the controul of no superintendent, and with- 
 out any apprehension of a reckoning, they could 
 say with a clear conscience, " Silver and gold 
 *' have we none." Certainly, such men were 
 sincere ; it was from conviction that tliey preach • 
 
 I. 
 
S2 THE LAME MAN CURED 
 
 €d the resurrection of Jesus ; dnd if they be sus- 
 pected of a design to deceive, there is an end to 
 all confidence in human testimony. 
 
 I cannot pass on to the sequel of the story, with- 
 out calling your attention, for a few moments, to 
 a heathen miracle, which has been confidently 
 brought forward to confront the miracles of the 
 gospel *. Let us compare it with the miracle 
 now under consideration, that we may perceive 
 on w^hich side the strength of the evidence lies. 
 It is related by a celebrated Roman historian, that 
 when Vespasian was in Alexandria, a lame man 
 applied to him for a cure, pretending that he had 
 been directed to make the application by Serapis, 
 one of the gods of the Egyptians. The emperor 
 at first treated the request with derision ; but be- 
 ing urged by the earnest petitions of the man, 
 and by the flattery of his followers, he com- 
 manded some physicians to inquire into the case, 
 who reported, that the lameness was such as 
 might be removed by m.eans of a due degree of 
 force ; and added, that if the attempt should not 
 succeed, the laughter of the public would not be 
 turned against him, but against the credulous 
 sufferer. By these representations, Vespasian 
 was induced to make a trial, and a cure imme- 
 diately ensued f. But what is there in this silly 
 
 * Hume's Essays, vol. ii. 137. 
 
 f T.ici . Hist. iv. 81. Both Tacitus and Suetonius, in 
 whose life of , Vespasian we find the same account, relate 
 
BY PETER AND JOHN. ft3 
 
 Story, wliich can be reasonably opposed to the 
 miracle before us. The performer was a mighty 
 prince, by the terror of whose power any exact 
 inquiry into the transaction was prevented. I'he 
 spectators were his friends and partisans, who 
 were eager to have his title to the throne con- 
 firmed by the gods, and a superstitious poi)uIacc, 
 disposed implicitly to believe whatever reflected 
 honour on their favourite deity. The lamencr.s 
 itself was doubtful. It was confessed by compe- 
 tent judges to be curable by ordinary means ; 
 and there is reason to suspect that it was a mere 
 pretence. The whole seems to have been an im- 
 posture, contrived and carried on for political 
 purposes. Is it necessary to state the diflcrence 
 of the miracle which we are now considering ? 
 As the subject of it had been a cripple from his 
 birth, there could be no deception in the case. 
 The persons who wrought it were poor unfriend- 
 ed men ; and the cause, which it was meant to 
 serve, was unpopular. It was performed at the 
 gate of the temple, which was under the juris- 
 diction of the enemies of Christ -, and the priests 
 and rulers were interested, for the credit of their 
 religion, and the vindication of their own con- 
 duct in putting our Saviour to death, to detect 
 the fraud, if any had been practised. Every cir- 
 cumstance renders the one miracle suspicious ; 
 
 another miracle, performed' upon a blind man, which is Ha- 
 ble to the same objections. In vita Vespas. cap. 7. 
 
S4 THE LiAME MAN CURED 
 
 every circumstance demonstrates the truth of the 
 other. No person, I will venture to say, would 
 ever think of bringing the former into competi- 
 tion with the latter, except one who is so blinded 
 by his malice against the gospel, as to be incapa- 
 ble of distinguishing the degrees of evidence, or 
 is determined to contend against it in spite of 
 his convictions. 
 
 The following description is very picturesque. 
 ^' And he leaping up, stood, and walked, and 
 " entered with them into the temple, walking, 
 " and leaping, and praising God.V The sacred 
 historian writes without art ; but by following 
 nature, by drawing from the life, he has finish- 
 ed a painting, in which the emotions of the 
 soul, in a moment of sudden joy, are represent- 
 ed with truth. Some men, however, can ad- 
 Diire nothing of this nature, unless they find it 
 in a heathen or a profane author : their taste is 
 partial as well as their judgment. We see the 
 lame man trying his new powders. He stands, he 
 leaps, he walks, he follows his benefactors into 
 the temple, and mingles with the demonstrations 
 of his joy the praises of God, by whose power he 
 had been healed. He felt a pleasure in the use of 
 his limbs, which he could not conce;^il. His ges- 
 tures and motions were those of a man, whom 
 unexpected happiness has almost rendered fran- 
 tic. Thus the words of the prophet were lite- 
 
BY PETER AND JOHN. 85 
 
 rally fnliillcd. " Then shall the lame miin leap 
 *' as an hart *." 
 
 He was instantly recognised by the people in 
 the temple. " And all the people saw Iiim walk- 
 *' ing and praising God. And they knew that 
 *' it was he who sat for alms at the beautiful 
 " gate of the temple : and they were filled with 
 " wonder and amazement at that which had hap- 
 *' pened unto him.*' They were not long in sus- 
 pense with respect to the persons by whom this 
 unquestionable miracle was performed : for the 
 man " held Peter and John," with a design to 
 point them out to the people, or, perhaps, in 
 the present tumult of his mind, not well know- 
 ing what he did. A crowd was immediately 
 collected, and gazed upon them with wonder 
 and reverence, as men high in favour with 
 heaven, w^ho had rendered themselves v/orthy, 
 by the piety of their lives, to be invested witli 
 extraordinary powers. This was a situation 
 which would have been hazardous to most men, 
 and from which few would have; made their e- 
 scape with safety. Admiration is apt to make us 
 forget ourselves and our duty, and often stimu- 
 lates vanity to advance the most arrogant preten- 
 sions, and to act with extravagance. Almost on 
 every mind it exercises some degree of influ- 
 ence ; but it operates, with peculiar force, upon 
 those to whom it is new, v/hose condition in life 
 
 * Isaiab XXXV. 6. 
 
86 THE LAME MAN CURED 
 
 seemed to preclude them from any hope of dis- 
 tinction, and who find themselves suddenly 
 brought out of obscurity to be the objects of 
 public notice and applause. This was exactly 
 the temptation to which the apostles w^ere expo- 
 sed. Men, who had spent the former part of 
 their lives in a humble station, and in manual 
 labour, are looked upon as beings of a superior 
 order ; and the wondering populace are disposed 
 to give them all the glory of the miracle. Had 
 there been any latent spark of vanity in tlicir bo- 
 soms, the breath of admiration would have kind- 
 led it into a flame. But they, w'ho had already 
 resisted the allurements of avarice, now triumph 
 over the charms of ambition. Instead of appro- 
 priating the respect and homage of the multitude, 
 they instantly transfer them to their Master. 
 " And when Peter saw it, he answered unto the 
 " people. Ye men of Israel, why marvel ye at 
 " this ? or why look ye so earnestly on us, as 
 " though by our own power or holiness we had 
 " made this man to walk ?" He rcpcls the sup- 
 position that they had w^-ought tliis miracle by 
 their own power, or had obtained power to per- 
 form it by their holiness. Their office was mere- 
 ly ministerial ; and it was not in consideration 
 of their personal merit, or from an intention to 
 exalt them in the eyes of others, that authority 
 Avas delegated to them. Miraculous powers were 
 not conferred for show, or as the reward of obe- 
 
BY PETER AND JOHN. 87 
 
 dience ; but solely for the purpose of verifying a 
 divine commission, or attesting a revelation from 
 heaven. 
 
 Tlie design of the present miracle is stated by 
 the apostle himself. " The God of Abraham, 
 " and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fa- 
 " thcrs hath glorified his son Jesus ; whom ye 
 " dehvered up, and denied him in the presence 
 " of Pilate, wlien he was determined to let him 
 " go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, 
 " and desired a murderer to be granted unto 
 " you, and killed the Prince of Life, whom God 
 " hath raised from the dead ; whereof we are 
 " witnesses. And his name, through faith in his 
 " name, hath made this man strong, whom ye 
 " see and know ; yea, the faith which is by him, 
 " hath given him this perfect soundness, in the 
 " presence of you all.'' Jesus of Nazareth lately 
 appeared among them, calling himself the Mes- 
 siah, and the Son of God. liis claims were not 
 admitted by the Jsvvish nation. They were op- 
 posed with viglence; and the contest issued in his 
 death, under the imputed crimes of imposture 
 and blasphemy. God had interposed to vindi- 
 cate the character of Christ, and had reversed 
 the sentence of his unjust and impious judges, by 
 raising him from the dead. It was to prove 
 the truth of this event, -»to attest it in such 
 a manner, that those who had not seen it might 
 have sulTicient ground to believe it, that the 
 
88 THE LAME MAN CURED 
 
 power of working miracles was granted to the 
 apostles. Hence they did not perform them in 
 their own name, nor by a simple invocation of 
 the God of Israel, but in the name of Jesus ; 
 pointing him out as the Author of those won- 
 derful works, the source of the power by which 
 they were effected. It was in this way that the 
 use of his limbs was restored to the lame man. 
 Was it not an obvious inference from this view 
 of the case, that Jesus of Nazareth was the very 
 person whom he had given himself out to be, the 
 expected Saviour of Israel ? Had he been still in 
 the state of the dead, he could have imparted no 
 extraordinary powers to his disciples ; nor would 
 there have been more virtue in his name than in 
 that of any other deceased malefactor. It being 
 manifest, then, that he had triumphed over death, 
 and was invested with sovereign authority, the 
 house of Israel were bound to acknowledQ:e him 
 as the Messiah, and to embrace his religion. 
 Thus the apostles acted the part of faithful ser- 
 vants, concerned only for the glory of their Mas- 
 ter, and willing to retire from view, that he a- 
 lone might be contemplated and admired. " Look 
 " not earnestly on us ; but consider Jesus, whom 
 " the God of your fatiiers hath glorified." 
 
 But why does Peter, when addressing the Jews 
 on the, subject of the miracle, introduce the men- 
 tion of their crime ; mixing reproaches with 
 his reasoning ? This is not the manner of a cun- 
 
BY PETER AND J.")HN. 89 
 
 ninc^ deceiver. He would have soothed and flat- 
 tered his audience, and by avoiding every offen- 
 sive term, by using soft and palHating language, 
 would have endeavoured to remove their preju- 
 dices, and render them favourably disposed. 
 What but a conviction of the truth, and firm 
 confidence in the patronage of heaven, could, 
 have induced the apostle to bring forward a sub- 
 ject so unwelcome and ungrateful to the feeling*? 
 of his hearers ? " Jesus of Nazareth was the Son 
 " of God, but ye delivered him up, and pur- 
 " sued him, with unrelenting hostility, against 
 " the remonstrances of his judge : he was the 
 " Prince of Life, but ye killed him." It was not 
 merely from zeal for his beloved Master, thit 
 this unseasonable and dangerous honesty, as po- 
 liticians would have called it, proceeded, but from 
 a concern for the best interests of his country- 
 men. They were chargeable with a crime of the 
 most aggravated nature, of which their conscien- 
 ces did not at present accuse them, because they 
 were unacquainted with the real character of him 
 whom they had nailed to the cross. It was the 
 wish of Peter to make them sensible of the atro- 
 city of that action, to apprize them of the danger 
 to which they were exposed, and, while they 
 trembled at the thought of divine ven2;eance, to 
 conduct them for safety to that blood which they 
 had shed. And w^hat fitter opportunity could he 
 have chosen for his purpose than the present, 
 
 M 
 
90 THE LAME MAN CURED 
 
 when they were astonished at the miracle wrought 
 in the name of the crucified Jesus, which de- 
 monstrated, that, although condemned and exe- 
 crated by misguided men, he enjoyed the ap- 
 probation of God ? The hearts of the Jews were 
 in a state susceptible of the feelings of remorse 
 and fear. Now, their guilt could be urged upon 
 them, with the best prospect of alarming their 
 consciences ; and it might be hoped, than an ex- 
 hortation to repentance would be tendered with 
 effect. Accordingly, we find that Peter did not 
 speak to them in vain ; for we are informed, in 
 the next chapter, that " many of them which 
 '^ heard the word believed ; and the number of 
 ** the men was about five thousand *." 
 
 And now, my brethren, since the God of A- 
 braham, Isaac, and Jacob, has glorified his Son ; 
 since he has testified his approbation of him by 
 many " infallible proofs," let us consider, that 
 we are under an obligation to embrace his gos- 
 pel with the full consent of our minds. Our 
 persuasion of its truth should be in proportion 
 to the evidence. Why were so many miracles 
 performed, and for what reason were they re- 
 corded, but that they who saw them, and we 
 who read the account, should believe that Jesus 
 is the Christ, the Son of the living God f. That 
 a man shall be savingly convinced of the truth 
 of the gospel by external evidence, it would be- 
 * iv. 4'. f John xx. 21. 
 
BY PETER AND JOHN. 91 
 
 tray ipjnnrance of the Scriptures to afUrm ; but 
 that evid^iiice is suflicient to produce a rational 
 conviction of the divine origin of Christianity, 
 to prove that the gospel is indeed the testimony 
 of God, which ought to be bcheved, and to e- 
 stabhsh our faith aofainst the suafjestions of Sa- 
 tan, and the objections of his coadjutors among 
 men. Let us pray, that the account of the evi- 
 dence with which our religion was confirmed at 
 its pubUcaiion, may have its due effect upon our 
 minds ; and that what has been fully attested, 
 we may be disposed to receive with an undoubt- 
 ing assent. 
 
 Let us learn from the passage now explained, 
 to join together prayers and alms, that both may 
 come up as a memorial before God ; to do good 
 to our brethren with the means which we pos-^ 
 sess, distributing our worldly substance to relieve 
 their necessities, or, if we have none, bestowing 
 upon them our sympathy,' attendance, consola-^ 
 tions, and instructions, in imitation of the apos- 
 tles, who gave what they had ; and, finally, to 
 ascribe to Jesus Christ the glory of all our qua- 
 lilications and all our good actions, never daring 
 to arroarate to ourselves any portion of the praise, 
 or to thrust ourselves forward as objects of notice 
 and commendation, but endeavouring to fix our 
 Ovvn attention, and that of others, upon his grace, 
 which has wrought all our works in us. Do 
 we profess firmly to believe, and cordially to em- 
 
92 THE LAME MAN CURED 
 
 brace the gospel ? It is only by submitting to its 
 institutions, by obeying its laws, by displaying 
 its spirit in our temper and conduct, that we 
 can shew our regard to it to be sincere. It will 
 be evident that we have received the truth in 
 the love of it, \^h n we imitate the noble exam- 
 ^es which are set before us, and above all, that 
 of our Redeemer ; v\ hen Vv^e cultivate the dispo-* 
 sitions which our religion requires ; when devo- 
 tion, humility, and charity, exert their united 
 influence on our hearts. Let us then go forth 
 and practise in the world what we assemble o 
 learn in the church. In the present age, when 
 the distinguishing truths of the gospel are bold- 
 ly called in question, and its evidence is rejected 
 by many as defective, let us come forward d£> its 
 friends, not only by argumentation, which often 
 fails to convince, because the heart is indisposed ; 
 but by exhibiting in our lives its amiable cha- 
 racter, by cultivating those mild virtues which 
 it inspires. The apostles enf( reed their instruc- 
 tions by example ; made proselytes by the purity 
 of their manners and their deeds of beneficence, 
 as well as by their miracles. Let us do likewise ; 
 and while re igion will be recommended, repre- 
 sented in its native excellence, and shewn to be 
 worthy of its author Jesus Christ, and of God, 
 who is said to have patronised it, in a visible 
 manner, when first published, we shall enjoy the 
 esteem of the wi^e and good, the testimony of 
 
BY PETER AND JOHN. 93 
 
 conscience in our favour, and, what is best of 
 all, the approbation of our Saviour and Lord. 
 " Whosoever shall confess me before men, him 
 " will I confess also before my Father which is 
 *' in heaven *." 
 
 * Matt. X. 32. 
 
LECTURE V. 
 
 PETER AND JOHN EXAMINED BY THE COUNCIL. 
 
 Chap. IV. 1-— 22. 
 
 In the last Lecture, I considered the miracle per- 
 formed by the aposties upon a lame man, who 
 lay at the gate of the temple called Beautiful, and 
 illustrated part of the discourse which they de- 
 livered, on that occasion, to the people. Al- 
 though the opportunity was tempting to vanity, 
 as it would have been easy to pass themselves for 
 extraordinary persons upon the wondering mul- 
 titude ; yet these honest and humble disciples of 
 Jesus disclaimed the honour of the cure, and 
 transferred all the glory of it to their Master. 
 Their minds were too strongly convinced of his 
 excellence and dignity, and their hearts were too 
 sensible of his love, to permit them to harbour 
 any purpose but that of exalting him in the eyes 
 of their countrymen, and gaining them over to 
 his religion. With this view, they boldly affirm- 
 ed, in the presence of his murderers, that he 
 was the Holy One and the Just j and called upon 
 
PETER AND JOHN EXAMINED, &C. 95 
 
 tliera to acknowledge him as the great Prophet, 
 whom the church was bound implicitly to obey. 
 
 In the mean time, intelligence of these pro- 
 ceedings was conveyed to the men in power, by 
 some of their zealous partisans, who had mingled 
 with the crowd, and in whom the miracle and 
 doctrine of the apostles had awakened no senti- 
 ments but those of hostihty. Alarmed at the in- 
 formation, the priests, the captain of the temple, 
 and the Sadducees came in ha.^te, and laid .violent 
 hands on Peter and John, and committed them 
 to prison. - The situation of aff.iirs was so serious 
 as to call for some prompt and decisive measure. 
 We are told, that " they were grieved, because 
 *' the apostles taught the people, and preached 
 " throuo-h Jesus the resurrection from the dead." 
 
 o 
 
 On looking back to their discourse, we do not 
 observe this doctrine mentioned ; but the resur- 
 rection of Jesus himself is expressly affirmed, and 
 that of his followers is an obvious and necessary 
 inference from it. Both were alike offensive to 
 the rulers of the Jews ; the one, because it dis- 
 closed a secret which they had taken great pains 
 to conceal, and defeated their cL^sign in putting 
 our Saviour to death ; the other, because it was 
 opposed to the doctrine of the Sadducees, who 
 maintained, that death termiiiatrs ^ he existence 
 of man, and, consequently, that his body is con- 
 signed to the srrave, under a sentence of eternal 
 
96 PETER AND JOHN EXAMINED 
 
 imprisonment. It is not improbable that Peter 
 and John had introduced the latter subject in 
 their address to the people ; for their discourses 
 are not always given at full length, but, in some 
 cases at least, we have only the principal topics, 
 or an abridgment of what they delivered. 
 
 But the priests and Sadducees, although they 
 fiew to the place with all the speed of affronted 
 pride, and irritated zeal, came too late to pre- 
 vent the effect which they dreaded. The seeds 
 of heresy, as these churchmen would have said, 
 were already sown, and had taken deep root in the 
 hearts of many of the Jews. The apostles had 
 infused their own sentiments into the breasts of 
 their hearers. The word of God, delivered by 
 these Galilean fishermen with much simplicity, 
 but with the earnestness of conviction, and in 
 the demonstration of the Spirit, had made an 
 impression, which not all the arts of sophistry, 
 nor all the terrors of persecution, could ever af- 
 terwards erase. " Howbeit, many of them which 
 " heard the word believed ; and the number of 
 " the men was about five thousanu;" This num- 
 ber is perfectly distinct from the three thousand 
 converted on the day of Pentecost ; and it would 
 be idle to spend time in proving what is plain to 
 every reader. These are all the remarks which 
 I think it necessary to make on the four intro- 
 ductory verses. Let us proceed to the account of 
 
BY THE COUNCIL. 97 
 
 the appearance of Peter and John before the 
 council. 
 
 ," And it came to pass on the morrow, that 
 " their rulers, and elders, and scribes, and An- 
 " nas the high-priest, and Caiaphas, and John, 
 " and Alexander, and as many as were of the 
 " kindred of the high-priest, were gathered toge- 
 " ther at Jerusalem." This seems to be a des- 
 cription of the Sanhedrim, or the supreme coun- 
 cil of the Jewish nation, which was composed of 
 the high-priest, as president, the elders of the 
 people, and the Scribes who were learned in the 
 law. As its jurisdiction extended to all cau- 
 ses relating to religion, we perceive for what rea- 
 son it was assembled on this occasion. A new 
 sect had appeared, which threatened to over- 
 throw the estabhshed faith, and purposed to erect 
 upon its ruins the doctrines and institutions of 
 Jesus of Nazareth. When the members of this 
 council condemned him to be crucified, they flat- 
 tered themselves that his, cause would be buried 
 in the same g,.ave with himself. But three full 
 days had not elapsed, when the report of his re- 
 surrection, brought by the very men whom they 
 had stationed to watch his sepulchre, filled them 
 with perplexity and terror. Yet instead of yield- 
 ing to the evidence, of which it was impossible 
 to entertain any suspicion, these obstinate sin- 
 ners, resolved, it would seem, to brave heavea 
 
 N 
 
98 PETER AND JOHN EXAMINED 
 
 itself, contrived a story, which, they hoped, 
 would retain the people in their error. " Say 
 " ye, His disciples came by night, and stole him 
 " away while we slept *." Thus their minds 
 were again at rest. At rest, did I say ? No ; 
 they might force their countenances to be cheer- 
 ful, and repeat, with an air of confidence, the 
 charge of imposture against Christ.; but their 
 hearts misgave them, and they secretly trembled 
 at the name which they publicly blasphemed. 
 
 The time passed on, and for several weeks 
 nothing more was heard about him, or his disci- 
 ples, till suddenly it was rumoured abroad, that 
 they had appeared in Jerusalem on the day of 
 Pentecost, and were addressing, in their respec- 
 tive languages, strangers from every country un- 
 der heaven. This surprising information must 
 have stirred up afresh all the fears of the Sanhe- 
 drim, whose minds were ill at ease ; but as wc 
 hear of no measure adopted by them on the oc- 
 casion, they perhaps persuaded themselves, that 
 it was only a sudden burst of zeal on the part of 
 the followers of Jesus, which had been magnified 
 into a miracle by the creduHty of the populace. 
 But now, finding that the apostles persisted in 
 maintaining the resurrection of their Master, 
 that they were attracting the attention of the 
 public, that they were becoming popular, that 
 converts to their cause w^ere fast multiplying, 
 * Matt, xxviii. 13. 
 
BY THE COUNCIL. 99 
 
 and that they were actually performing miracles 
 in confirmation of their doctrine, they judged it 
 high time to bestir themselves, and make some 
 great effort to save their honour and interests^ 
 which were in imminent danger. 
 
 The council was assembled ; and the apostles 
 having been brought out of prison, and placed 
 at the bar, the president demanded, with a stern 
 countenance, we may suppose, and in an auiho- 
 ritative tone, " By what power, or by what 
 " name, have ye done this ?" The question was 
 not necessary for the information of the judges, 
 who knew well that they were the disciples of 
 Jesus J but they wished to draw from their own 
 lips a confession on which they could found their 
 proceedings ; or they hoped, that, overawed by 
 the presence of so high and venerable an assem- 
 bly, they would make a retractation. And had 
 fear induced the apostles to dissemble, and to at- 
 tribute the miracle, not to Jesus of Nazareth, but 
 to the God of Israel, their declaratioa would 
 have been triumphantly published, as an ever- 
 lasting check to the progress of Christianity. 
 But Peter and John were not- to be intimidated. 
 They knew that they had truth on their side ; 
 and, according to the promise of their Saviour, 
 they received, on this trying occasion, extraor- 
 dinary assistance *. " Then Peter, filled with 
 *< the Holy Ghost, said unto them, Ye rulers o£. 
 * Matt. X. 19, 20, 
 
100 PETER AND JOHN EXAMINED 
 
 " the people, and elders of Israel, if we this day 
 " be examined of the good deed done to the im- 
 " potent man, by what means he is made whole ; 
 " be it known unto you, and to all the people 
 " of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of 
 " Nazareth, whom ye crucihed, whom God rai- 
 " sed from the dead, even by him doth this man 
 " stand here before you whole.'* " The ques- 
 '* tion relates to the cure of the lame man ; and 
 '' you inquire by what means it has been effect- 
 " ed. Know, then, that we have performed it 
 " by no power or holiness of our own, by no de- 
 " moniacal or magical influence, nor simply, like 
 " the prophets, in the name of Jehovah, the 
 " God of our fathers ; but in the name, and by 
 " the authority, of Jesus our Master, with a de- 
 " sign to prove that he is the Son of God, and 
 " the promised Messiah.'* You observe no eva- 
 sion in this answer, no reluctance to bring out 
 the truth, no attempt to palliate it, although Pe- 
 ter knew that it was in the hisfhest desjree of- 
 fensive to his hearers. There is a studied plain- 
 ness and explicitness in his words, manifestly in- 
 dicating a mind, which, instead of being asha- 
 med, gloried in the truth, and was careless about 
 the personal consequences which might flow from 
 the publication of it. Hence, not content with 
 simply avowing it, he ventures on a direct accu- 
 sation of his judges. It was not a time to flat- 
 ter : the glory of his Master, the dignity of the 
 
BY THE COUNCIL. ]01 
 
 ar>03tolic:\l office, and the real interest of thos3 
 whom he addressed, forbade such complaisance. 
 " Whom ye crucified." " Yes, by that same man, 
 " with whose innocent blood your hands are yet 
 " stained, has this incontrovertible miracle been 
 " performed. We arc only his ministers. In 
 " vain did you combine against him. In vain, 
 " while Providence permitted you to carry your 
 *' malice so far, did you nail him to the cross. 
 " You could not defeat the purposes of heaven ; 
 " you could not prevent his enterinj;- into his 
 " glory and his kingdom. The right hand of 
 " his Father restored the life which you wickecl- 
 " ly took away, and has invested the insulted 
 " and rejected Saviour with all power in heaven 
 " and earth.'* Every word was a sharp arrow, 
 piercing the hearts of those enemies of the 
 King. Oh ! the torture which they must have 
 felt, while these contemptible men braved them 
 to the face, and compelled them to hear their 
 own shame and condemnation. The order of 
 things is reversed. The prisoners at the bar are 
 the accusers ; and the judges on the bench are 
 the self-convicted crirmnals. 
 
 " This is the stone, which was set at nought 
 " of you builders, which is -become the head of 
 " the corner.'* The priests and rulers had often 
 sung these words of the Psalmist, and felt, or 
 thought that they felt, holy indignation against 
 the froward and impious men, whose conduct 
 
102 PETER AND JOHN EXAMINED 
 
 they describe *. They never suspected, that the 
 portrait, which they surveyed with so much de- 
 testation, was drawn for themselves. " But 
 " you," says the apostle, " are the builders, who 
 *-' have refused to admit into the building that 
 *' stone which is now the head of the corner." 
 It was incumbent upon them, as ministers of 
 God, and workers together with him, to con- 
 tribute their endeavours to carry on that struc- 
 ture, which he purposed to erect for the glory 
 of his mercy and wisdom. In prosecution of 
 this design, they were required, when Jesus 
 Christ, who was described in prophecy as " the 
 '' stone which God would lay in Zion f," came 
 into the world, to assign him his proper place in 
 the building, by acknowledging him to be the 
 ?ylessiah, and calling upon the people to believe 
 in him, and submit to his authority. But with- 
 out regarding the evidence of his divine mission, 
 without inquiring into his qualifications for sa- 
 ving them from sin and death, they opposed his 
 pretensions, because he wanted external splen- 
 dour, because he promised neither wealth nor 
 worldly honours to his followers, because he did 
 not offer to deliver the nation from the Roman 
 yoke, and to give them the empire of the world. 
 For these reasons the builders threw this stone 
 aside as useless. '* But God's thoughts were not 
 *' as their thoughts ; neither were his ways as 
 * J'sal. cxviii. 22. \ Isaiah xxviii. 16. 
 
BY THE COUNCIL. 103 
 
 <' their ways." The despised and neglected stone 
 he raised to the most elevated and important 
 place in the building. On the crucified Saviour 
 he conferred glory and authority, constituting 
 him the head of the church, the centre of union 
 to all his people, the bond which connects Jews 
 and Gentiles, and composes of both one holy 
 temple in the Lord. " Tlic man," says the a- 
 postle, " whom you treated with contempt, and 
 " put to death in an ignominious manner, is 
 " seated at the right hand of the Father, and is 
 " entitled to the homage and obedience of angels 
 " and men." 
 
 It was manifest, then, that Jesus was the only 
 Saviour ; and, consequently, that none could re- 
 ject him but at their peril. " Neither is there 
 " salvation in any other : for there is none other 
 " name under heaven given among men, wherc- 
 *' by we must be saved." Some suppose the 
 meaning of these words to be, that the name of 
 Jesus was the onlv name which had virtue, when 
 pronounced, to effect miraculous cures ; and that 
 there is a literal reference to the question of the 
 Sanhedrim, " By what name have ye done this ?" 
 They think that the council in their question, 
 and Peter in his answer, had respect to a notion, 
 which prevailed among the Jews, and some other 
 nations, that there was a power in certain names 
 to heal diseases. We find that this foolish opi- 
 nion, was adopted by some of the more superstj- 
 
104 
 
 PETER AND JOHN EXAMINED 
 
 tious fathers of the church *. Although, how- 
 ever, it be true, that the use of any other name 
 than that of Jesus would have proved inefficient 
 in an attempt to work a miracle ; yet I appre- 
 hend, that the words before us contain a higher 
 and more important sense. Salvation signifies 
 something greater than deliverance from bodily 
 affliction, namely, the redemption of the whole 
 man from sin and death ; and it is the design of 
 Peter to declare, that it is only through faith in 
 Christ that this redemption can be enjoyed. This 
 is a truth, which, although opposed with viru- 
 lence by the Jews, is believed by Christians on 
 satisfactory evidence. Disputes have arisen a- 
 mong us with respect to the extent of redemp- 
 tion, that is, with respect to the situation and 
 character of the persons to whom its benefits are 
 applied ; but no doubt remains with those, who, 
 in forming their opinions, are determined by the 
 express authority of Scripture, that the future 
 happiness of men must, in one way or other, be 
 attributed to his mediation. His name is the 
 only one which gives hope and joy to the guilty. 
 It is in his blood that we see the price of our par- 
 don ; in his grace, the means of our restoration 
 to the divine image ; in his promises, the sure 
 ground on which we expect immortality. The 
 gospel exhibits liim only as the object of our 
 
 * Orlgen. contra Celsum, lib. i. 18—20. iv. 183, 184. 
 V. 2G1, 262. 
 
BY THE COUNCIL. 105 
 
 faith ; and no other was pointed out by the pro- 
 phets. 
 
 Let us proceed to consider the effect of Peter's 
 speech upon the council. The most furious pas- 
 sions, we may well believe, boiled in their breasts j 
 but such was the force of truth, that they were 
 confounded and silenced. " Now when they saw 
 " the boldness of Peter and John, and peixeived 
 " that they were unlearned and ignorant men, 
 " they marvelled, and they took knowledge of 
 " them that they had been with Jesus. And be- 
 " holding the man which was healed standing 
 " with them, they could say nothing against it." 
 The men, whom our Saviour chose to be the 
 preachers of his religion, and the advocates of 
 his cause, seemed, from their want of natural and 
 acquired qualifications, to be altogether unfit for 
 so important an office. They were not acquainted 
 with the subtilties of logic and the arts of elo- 
 quence. They could not compose discourses, in 
 which the artful disposition of the arguments, the 
 plausible representation of facts, and the beauties 
 of style, would steal upon their hearers, and, ere 
 they were aware, disarm their resentment, and 
 conciliate their good will. The utmost of which 
 publicans and fishermen were capable, was to 
 speak a few sentences, probably not well con- 
 nected, and expressed in homely and; inaccurate 
 language. They had never addressed magistrates 
 and priests 5 they had conversed only with their 
 
106 PETER AND JOHN EXAMINED 
 
 equals, and in the presence of persons famed for 
 their sanctity and learning, it would not have sur- 
 prised us, if they had been abashed and embarrass- 
 ed, and perhaps experienced a total suspension of 
 their powers. But our Lord promised " to give 
 " them a mouth and wisdom, which all their ad- 
 " versaries should not be able to gainsay nor re- 
 " sist *." He would supply, by the gifts of the 
 Spirit, their want of talents and education j he 
 would inspire the ignorant with knowledge, and 
 enable " the tongue of the stammerer to speak 
 " plainly." In the present case, we see this pro- 
 mise performed. Peter and John now stood be- 
 fore the supreme council of the nation, in which 
 were present the high-priest, with his attendants, 
 the principal persons in authority, and the scribes, 
 well versed in the law, and practised in the arts 
 of perplexing an antagonist. Yet they felt no 
 perturbation, but pleaded the cause of their mas- 
 ter with such precision, such energy, and such 
 boldness, that their judges were astonished. 
 
 It was evident that the apostles were " un- 
 " learned and ignorant men," not only from 
 their appearance, which discovered the mean- 
 ness of their condition, but likewise from their 
 speech ; for although our Lord promised to en- 
 able his disciples to plead his cause with irresis- 
 tible efficacy, yet he did not promise to qualify 
 them to speak their native language, or that of 
 * Luke xxi. 15. 
 
BY THE COUNCIL. 107 
 
 any foreign country, with propriety and ele- 
 gance. Accordingly, their writings are not mo- 
 dels of purity of style, but, in not a few instan- 
 ces, must have offended the fastidious ears of a 
 Greek. It was not by the wisdom of words 
 that the gospel was to be propagated. Their elo- 
 quence was the eloquence of truth, delivered 
 with authority and earnestness, but without the 
 decorations of art. 
 
 We are told, that " they took knowledge of 
 " them that they had been with Jesus." This 
 remark has been understood to mean, that the 
 rulers of the Jews recognised them to be his dis- 
 ciples, or remembered to have seen them in com- 
 pany with him ; for some of the priests and 
 great men occasionally attended our Saviour as 
 spies upon his conduct, and with a design to per- 
 plex and ensnare him. I apprehend that some- 
 thing different is intended, namely, that they 
 perceived a resemblance between their manner 
 and that of their Master ; the same intrepidity of 
 spirit, the same dignity and energy of address. 
 And when they saw, at the same time, the lame 
 man standing before them, they were confound- 
 ed. Not one in all the assembly could find any 
 thing to reply. A sullen silence reigned through 
 the court ; and the proud doctors of Jerusalem 
 felt their inferiority in the presence of two fislv 
 ermen of Galilee. 
 
 What, then, was to be done in these humilia- 
 
108 PETER AND JOHN EXAMINED 
 
 ting circumstances ? To confess before the a- 
 postles that they were vanquished, would have 
 been mortifying in the extreme ; and to sit still 
 and say nothing, would have subjected them to 
 contempt and derision. They ordered the pri- 
 soners, therefore, to retire, that without restraint 
 they might consult together about some expedi- 
 ent for extricating themselves from their pre- 
 sent embarrassment. " But when they had com- 
 " manded them to go aside out of the council, 
 " they conferred among themselves, saying, 
 " What shall we do to these men ? for that a 
 *' notable miracle hath been done by them, is 
 " manifest to all them that dwell at Jerusalem, 
 " and we cannot deny it. But, that it spread no 
 " further among the people, let us straitly threat- 
 ^' en them that they speak henceforth to naman 
 ^' in this name." Here, my brethren, a very ex- 
 traordinary scene is presented to our view. Wc 
 see an assembly of men, professors of the true 
 religion, high in office in the church, and pre- 
 tending to be animated with fervent zeal for the 
 glory of God, deliberating, not how they shall 
 prevail upon their countrymen to embrace Chris- 
 tianity, of the divine origin of which they had 
 before them undeniable evidence, but what would 
 be the most effectual measure to hinder its re- 
 ception. Tliey do not startle at their own im- 
 piety ; they do not blush to reveal to one an- 
 other their atrocious purpose. Not a single voice 
 
BY THE COUNCIL. lO'J 
 
 is heard in behalf of the truth ; there is not a 
 Nicodemus to speak a word, or even suggest a 
 doubt, in favour of the Messiah. Where was 
 conscience during this consultation ? Was it si- 
 lenced by the clamours of passion ? It was 
 impossible that they should not have been con- 
 scious of the wickedness of their design, and ex- 
 perienced some uneasiness from the remonstran- 
 ces of the inward monitor ; but their example 
 shews us the unhappy and dangerous situation 
 of men, who have openly and decidedly embark- 
 ed in a bad cause. Their passions are all inte- 
 rested in its success. Their pride is engaged to 
 go on ; and they cannot recede without incur- 
 ring the reproach of inconsistence, and exposing 
 themselves to the scorn and persecution of the 
 associates whom they have abandoned. 
 
 The resolution adopted by the council was to 
 charge the apostles, with threatenings, " to speak 
 " henceforth no more to any man in this name." 
 " And they called them, and commanded them 
 " not to speak at all, nor teach in the name of 
 " Jesus.'* Foolish men ! How could they per- 
 suade themselves, that they should be able to 
 stop the progress of the new religion, which was 
 patronized by God himself ? • Could their devices 
 baffle his wisdom ? or their authority prevail a- 
 gainst his power ? On the supposition that Peter 
 and John had been terrified into silence, was there 
 no other disciple of a more undaunted spirit, who 
 
110 PETER AND JOHN EXAMINED 
 
 would raise his voice in behalf of his Master I 
 AlthouGfh these men had alt02:ether held their 
 peace, surely in such a cause " the very stones 
 " would have cried out *." But the specimen 
 which the council had already seen of the cha- 
 racter of the apostles, afforded no reasonable hope 
 that they would pay any regard to their mena- 
 ces. When they hrst came into the presence of 
 the Sanhedrim, they shewed themselves superior 
 to fear, and dared to publish the truth in a man- 
 ner the most offensive. It was vain to expect 
 that their courage would fail, after they had wit- 
 nessed the confusion of their judges ; that they 
 would be intimidated by some big words, which 
 they could consider in no other light, than as an 
 ebullition of impotent rage, an expression of ob- 
 stinate but dismayed hostility. 
 
 Accordingly, when they were again brought 
 into court, their behaviour was such as might 
 have been looked for, in these circumstances, from 
 me.i firm to their purpose. " But Peter and 
 *' John answered, and said unto them. Whether 
 " it be right in the sight of God, to hearken unto 
 " you, piore than unto God, judge ye. For 
 " we cannot but speak the things which we have 
 " seen and heard." This is an explicit declara- 
 tion that they would not obey them j and in 
 justification of this refusal, they appeal to their 
 judges themselves. God is the supreme Iaw» 
 * Luke xix» 40. 
 
BY THE COUNCIL. 11 1 
 
 giver, the King of kings, and the Lord of lords, 
 by delegation from whom earthly rulers hold 
 that authority which they lawfully exercise over 
 their subjects. There can be no power, there- 
 fore, against the truth, but for the truth. In 
 the empire of the universe, as in the kingdoms 
 of men, a deputy has no right to repeal the laws 
 of the sovereign, and to call upon the people to 
 cnojaefe in acts of rebellion and treason. From 
 that moment conscience ceases to recognize him 
 as a representative of the monarch, and can re- 
 gard him only as an usurper. Hence we per- 
 ceive the limits of the obedience which we ou-^c 
 to our superiors in the church, or in the state. 
 In all those cases which are agreeable to the laws 
 of heaven, made known by the light of nature, 
 and by revelation, or which, at least, are not 
 inconsistent with those laws, we are bound ^ but 
 in every other instance we are free. God has a 
 prior claim to our obedience, which no hun an 
 interference, no relation which may be formed 
 between us and others, no promise or contract 
 can invalidate. Those, therefore, who refuse 
 to comply with the unlawful orders of their su- 
 periors, are not disobedient subjects. In such 
 cases they are not subject. Their refusal may 
 indeed be stigmatised as criminal, and be pu- 
 nished by tyrants and wicked rulers, who can 
 brook no opposition to their imperious mandates ; 
 but God approves of it, and all good men will 
 
112 PETER AND JOHN EXAMINED 
 
 commend it, as a noble stand for the rights of 
 truth and conscience. 
 
 The principle which we are now considering 
 is so obviously just, that we may submit to the 
 most partial judges, whether it ought not to be 
 steadily acted upon, on all occasions in which 
 the authority of God and that of man interfere. 
 It is a principle, which the light of nature teaches j 
 •and, accordingly, we find Socrates declaring to 
 his judges, that he would not, to save his life, 
 desist from fulfilling the will of God, by teach- 
 ing philosophy. " O Athenians, I will obey God 
 " rather than you *." It may indeed be al- 
 leged in defence of the most irregular and un- 
 justifiable actions. Enthusiasm may fancy, and 
 hypocrisy may pretend, a divine commission for 
 the wildest excesses. The clearest and most va- 
 luable principles are liable to be abused. But in 
 the present instance, the Jewish rulers themselves 
 could not question the application of it. What 
 had the apostles done ? They had not taught a 
 set of notions calculated to excite tumult and 
 insurrection among the people ; nor promulga- 
 ted a system of impious and extravagant doc- 
 trine, for which they could produce no satisfac- 
 tory evidence. They spoke " the things which 
 " they had seen and heard." Fully assured of 
 the truth of the religion which they preached, 
 they could give undoubted proof of it, and had 
 * Socrat. Apolog. xi. 
 
BY THE COUNCIL. 119^ 
 
 given such proof, by the miracle performed upon 
 the impotent man. To be silent, therefore, would 
 have been to offer violence to their convictions, 
 to conceal from others what they were interest- 
 ed to know, and to betray the trust reposed in 
 them, when they were appointed to the apostoli- 
 cal office. 
 
 This bold answer, which must have been con- 
 sidered by the council as an open contempt of 
 their authority, was sufficient to have roused 
 their anger to fury, and prompted them in- 
 stantly to adopt violent measures. For tlie pre- 
 sent, however, they contented themselves with 
 renewing their threatenings, not from real mo- 
 deration, or an aversion to proceed to extre- 
 mities, but because they were apprehensive, that 
 a severer exercise of their autliority would be fol- 
 lowed by disagreeable consequences. The truth 
 of the miracle performed upon the lame man 
 was manifest beyond contradiction. He had pass- 
 ed his fortieth year, when the disorder in his 
 joints, although it could have been remedied at 
 an earlier period, was become incurable by hu- 
 man means. The people, therefore, glorified God, 
 by acknowledging the cure to be an immediate 
 effect of his power; and regarded, with reverence 
 and affection, the apostles, as his favourites and 
 ministers -At this crisis it would have been dan- 
 gerous to punish them. The populace, capable 
 of being cabily enflamed, and hurried on to the 
 
 p 
 
114? PETEPv AND JOHN EXAMINED 
 
 most dreadful outrages, might have forgotten their 
 usual respect for their rulers, and sacrificed them 
 in a paroxysm of rage. For this reason, the 
 council dismissed Peter and John, although they 
 knew that they would return to their former 
 employment, and preach, through Jesus, the re- 
 surrection from rhe dead with redoubled zeal 
 and courage. " So v/hen they had further threat- 
 " ened them, they let them go, finding nothing 
 "" how they might punish them, because of the 
 *' people ; for all men glorified God for that 
 " which was done. For the man was above forty 
 *' years old on whom this miracle of healing was 
 " shewed.'* 
 
 Thus did our Saviour, at this time, deliver his 
 faithful servants out of the hands of his enemies, 
 and preserve them for the important purposes 
 which they had yet to fulfil. 
 
 To this illustration of the passage I shall sub- 
 join the following observations. 
 
 First, When God is carrying on any design 
 for the manifestation of his glory, great opposi- 
 tion will be made to it. Satan, his implacable 
 adversary, will not remain a quiet spectator ; and 
 the men, over whom his influence extends, will 
 be stirred up to his assistance. In this combina- 
 tion, it ought not to surprise us, to find, not on- 
 ly persons of profane principles and wicked lives, 
 but some, who, in consequence of their apparent 
 
BY THE COUNCIL. 1 1 J 
 
 attachment to religion, might have been expect- 
 ed to range themselves on the opposite side. 
 When God was setting his Son on his holy hill 
 of Zion, not only did the " Heathen" rage, who 
 \vere ignorant of prophecy, and had not seen the 
 miracles of Jesus, but the " people ' imagined a 
 vain thing; the favoured, people^ to whom the 
 oricles of God were committed, and among 
 whom the Messiah had appeared Boih said, 
 " Let us break their bands asunder, and ca^t a- 
 " way their cords from us *." 
 
 In the second place, God may expose Iiis peo- 
 ple to much discouragement, when they are walk- 
 ing in his own way, and when the undertaking, 
 in which they are engaged, is patronised by him- 
 self. The apostles preached Christ in consequence 
 ot an express commission from heaven ; and on 
 their success depended the aco)mplishment of the 
 divine purposes relative to the establishment of 
 the church, and the conversion of the world. 
 Yet in the outset they were opposed by the su- 
 preme authority in the nation. In the course of 
 their ministry, they were subjected to many dan- 
 gers and grievous sufferings ; and most of them 
 lost their ;ives in the cause. Superacid rea^oners 
 may conclude, that God is at, variance with him- 
 self, embarrasang and retarding the execution of 
 his own plans ; and may complain, tiiat, instead 
 of rewarding, he punishes men for their zsiil and 
 * Psalm ii. 3. 
 
115 PETER AND JOHN EXAMINE© 
 
 fidelity. " But the foolishness of God is wiser 
 " than men." By such dispensations, he exer- 
 cises the faith of his servants, and makes known 
 the power of his arm in carrying on his designs 
 in spite of the utmost efforts of his adversaries ; 
 while, in the behaviour of his people, such ex- 
 amples of courage, patience, and disinterested 
 love are exhibited, as afford no slight testimo- 
 ny to the truth of religion. Thus he makes ''the 
 " wrath of man praise him ; and the remainder 
 '^' of it he restrains */' Converts are made by 
 the sufferings of the saints as well as by their doc- 
 trine. It was a saying among the Christians of 
 antiquity, founded in experience, that " the blood 
 '' of the martyrs was the seed of the church." 
 
 In the third place, Jesus Christ requires no 
 service from his disciples, for which he does not 
 furnish them with necessary aid. He is no hard 
 task master. ^' His yoke is easy, and his burden 
 " is light t ;" for as his commandments are rea- 
 sonable, so his grace strengthens us to obey 
 them. "When Peter and John were called to 
 plead his cause before the Jewish council, they 
 were "filled with the Holy Ghost." Hence did 
 cowardly fishermen become undaunted apostles ; 
 hence have sim'ple and uneducated men put learn- 
 ing to silence ; hence have feeble and delicate 
 women endured, with unshaken firmness, cruel 
 ^ Psalm Lxxvi. 10. f Matt. xi. 30. 
 
BY THE COUNCIL. 1 1 7 
 
 tortures, and death in its most terrible forms. 
 *' As thy days, so shall thy strength be *.'' 
 
 In the fourth place, Great is the truth, and It 
 will prevail. It confounded and silenced tlic 
 Jewish council ; it made foolish the v\ i-dom of 
 the world, vanquishing its vain philosophy and 
 sophistical eloquence by the plain doctrine of tlic 
 cross ; it will, in like manner, triumph over the 
 petulant and malignant opposition of infideliry ; 
 and a future age shall see superstition in all its 
 modifications, delusions of every kind, enthusi- 
 asm, heresy, error, and licentiousness, vanish be- 
 fore it as the shades of nisrht before the sun. 
 From what it has already done, we may calcu- 
 late the effects which are yet to be expected from 
 it. " When the Lord shall send the rod of his 
 *' strength out of Zion, the people shall be will- 
 " ing in the day of his power ; and he shall rule 
 ** in the midst of his enemies f." 
 
 Lastly, Let us be careful to maintain a good 
 conscience in our religious profession. This was 
 the constant study of the apostles; and hence they 
 considered not what was honourable in the eyes of 
 the world, what was advantageous, what was safe, 
 but solely what was right. It was God only whom 
 they were resolved to obey ; and they mintled not 
 the contrary commands andthreatcj^iings of men. 
 You will never enjoy peace of mind ; you will 
 liever act uprightly and consistently, till you learn 
 * Deut. xxxiil. 2.5. f Psaim ex. '2. 3. 
 
118 PETER AND JOHN EXAMINED, ScC. 
 
 to regulate your conduct by the fixed standard 
 of truth and rectitude, and not by the shifting 
 opinions and fancies of men. There is one thing, 
 in particular, of which you should beware ; the 
 vain attempt to serve two masters, God and the 
 world, conscience and inclination. The result of 
 such an attempt will be, that you will serve nei- 
 ther of them fully, and will lose the reward pro- 
 mised by both. Choose your side, and be ho- 
 nest and uniform in adhering to it. " If the 
 " L'Tdbe God, follow him ; but if Baal, then fol- 
 " low him *." Know neither father nor mother, 
 neither sister nor brother, in your choice of re- 
 ligion. " Hearken, O dau j^hter, and consider, 
 " and incline thine ear : forget also thine own 
 " people, and thy father's house f.'* The lan- 
 guage of our lips and of our hearts should be, 
 " Speak, Lord, for thy servants hear. We re- 
 *^' nounce our own will ; we desire only to know 
 " thine ; and through thy grace we will do it, 
 '• without startling at the consequences. Our 
 *' souls and our bodies are thy property, for thou 
 " hast redeemed them ; and we therefore dedi- 
 " cate them to thy service. O Lord our God, 
 " other lords besides thee have had dominion over 
 " us : but by thee only will we make mention 
 " ot thy name }." 
 
 * Kings xviii. 21. f Psalm xlv. 10, 
 
 If. Isaiali XXV, ly. 
 
LECTURE Vf. 
 
 ANANIAS AND SAPPKIRA. 
 
 Chap. V. 1— II. 
 
 vV E have seen the success of the apostles in per- 
 suading many of the Jews to acknowledge Jesus 
 of Nazareth, to whose crucifixion they had late- 
 ly consented, to be the Messiah promised to their 
 fathers. These converts were formed into a new 
 society, different from other societies, not only 
 in its external aspect, and the design of its in- 
 stitution, but likewise in the principle by which 
 its component parts were united. In associations 
 for political or commercial purposes, all the indi- 
 viduals retain a regard to their private interest 
 in its full strength, and concur in measures for 
 the general good, because they will contribute to 
 their personal advantage. But the first Chris- 
 tians were animated by a nobler spirit. Pure 
 disinterested love was the soul of the rising 
 church, and gave birth to such expressions of 
 benevolence, as have been rarely equalled in suc- 
 ceeding ages. 
 
220 ANANIAS AND SAPPHlRA. 
 
 Among those who in the beginning embraced 
 Christianity, it may be supposed that there were 
 many persons in indigent circumstances. Few 
 of the rich and great are, at any time, attracted 
 by the humble and spiritual religion of Jesus 
 Christ ; and a profession of it was less likely to 
 be adopted by many of that description, when 
 the church was not established by law, and nei- 
 ther honours nor emoluments were attached to 
 the faith. It appears, however, that the primi- 
 tive believers were not all in the lov/er ranks of 
 life. Some of them, as we learn from the pre- 
 ceding chapter, had possessions of lands and hou- 
 ses, which, with generosity hitherto unexampled, 
 they devoted to the supply of their brethren in 
 need. " They sold them, and brought the prices 
 " of the things that were sold, and laid thera 
 " down at the apostles' feet," that a common 
 stock might be formed, out of which distribu- 
 tion should be made to the widow, the father- 
 less, and the orphan. Thus the new religion 
 infased its best spirit into the breasts of the Jewish 
 converts. Among its earliest effects, we see it 
 prevailing over selfishness and want of feeling ; 
 the baneful influence of which often poisons the 
 comfort of our social relations. It did not, how- 
 ever, operate in this manner upon every person 
 who joined himself to the apostles. The passage 
 now read presents an instance, in which base pas- 
 sions were detected under the mask of pretended 
 
ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA. 121 
 
 piety, and the semblance of disinterested good- 
 ness. 
 
 " But a certain man, named Ananias, with 
 " Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, and kept 
 " back part of the price, his wife also being privy 
 " to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it 
 " at the apostles' feet." It is evident, that Ana- 
 nias and Sapphira were reckoned among the 
 disciples ; and there is no reason to doubt, that 
 they were admitted to enjoy all the external pri- 
 vileges of the church. Hence, as their conduct 
 shews them not to have been sincere, we are led 
 to inquire by what motive they were induced to 
 connect themselves with a society, which held 
 out nothing to tempt the worldly passions ; and 
 the inquiry may be extended to many others, who, 
 without experiencing the saving power of the 
 truth, have since assumed the Christian profes- 
 sion, and even affected, on some occasions, no 
 common zeal for religion. The same account may 
 be given of all such cases. There are different 
 motives, which may be conceived to operate 
 upon diiTerent minds, yet all terminating in the 
 same effect ; such a conviction of the truth as 
 commands the assent of the understanding, and 
 overawes conscience, but does not subdue the 
 aversion of the heart ; a general persuasion of the 
 necessity of some religion, in consequence of 
 which we embrace that which is best recoiT' 
 
122 ANANIAS AND 3APPHIRA. 
 
 mended ; the example of others, which we im» 
 pUcitly follow ; the authority and solicitations 
 of friends ; and sometimes a design to conceal, 
 under a show of piety, the moral defects of the 
 character. 
 
 It will be granted, perhaps, that these causes 
 operate with great force in ordinary cases ; but 
 it will be oDJected, that their efficacy could not 
 be the same in the days of Ananias and Sap- 
 phira, when contempt and persecution were the 
 portion of the disciples of Jesus. This represen- 
 tation is not perfectly accurate. The rulers, the 
 priests, and the scribes, looked upon the apostles, 
 and their adherents, with detestation and scorn ; 
 but the people at large entertained more favour- 
 able sentiments. Luke informs us, that " they 
 " were in favour with all the people ; and that 
 '' the people magnified them *." The apostles 
 had been lately summoned before the council, 
 but they were dismissed without punishment ; 
 and as yet, through the care of providence, the 
 church had sustained no rude assault from its 
 enemies. The religion of the gospel, it must be 
 acknowledged, was new, was contrary to the in- 
 veterate prejudices of the Jews, and was discoun- 
 tenanced by the persons of the highest authority 
 and learning in the nation. But to these disad- 
 vantages, under which it laboured, were opposed 
 the discourses of the apostles, w^hich were earnest 
 * ii. 47. V. IS. 
 
ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA. ]23 
 
 and impressive, and the miracles which they per- 
 formed in confirmation of their doctrine. It is 
 no just ground of surprise, that in such circum- 
 stances some were induced to associate with 
 them, whose minds had not been " brought into 
 " captivity to Christ," by the converting power 
 of the truth. We learn from the history of the 
 following ages, when Christians held their pro- 
 perty and their lives at the caprice of every ty- 
 rant who swayed the Roman sceptre, and were 
 exposed to frequent persecution, that many in- 
 truded themselves into the church, whose con- 
 duct betrayed the baseness of the motives in 
 which their profession was founded. 
 
 Ananias, with the consent of his wife, sold his 
 possession. This was the common practice a- 
 mong the believers. It was tlie fashion of the 
 time ; and this couple could not but comply with 
 it. Had they done otherwise, their character 
 might have been suspected ; and although the a- 
 postles would not have called them to an account, 
 because the sale of possessions was entirely vo- 
 luntary, there being no law which obliged to it, 
 there was a probability that their reputation 
 would suffer in the public estimation. They would 
 not be behind the most distinguished of the dis- 
 ciples ; they would imitate Barnabas himself*. 
 Example has a powerful influence upon hypo- 
 crites, not, indeed, in exciting them to the sin- 
 cere practice of that holiness which they see in 
 * iv. 36, 37. 
 
124- ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA. 
 
 the saints, but in producing a studied imitation 
 of their most distinguished actions, that their tin- 
 sel may pass for gold. To the rivalship of excel- 
 lence, to the love of praise, must be attributed 
 many of those deeds which have a fine show of 
 goodness and generosity ; the zeal of religionists, 
 the charities of the ostentatiously liberal, the 
 grimace and fervours of the devotee* 
 
 But Ananias and Sapphira, when they sold 
 their possession, did not, after the example of 
 the other disciples, bring the whole of the price 
 to the apostles. Had they been influenced by a 
 sincere faith, and by that generous love which 
 animated their brethren, they would have made 
 the same sacrifice to the public good, and made 
 it with the same promptitude and cheerfulness. 
 But the absence of pure principle in this transac- 
 tion, left room for opposite passions to contend 
 in their breasts. A regard to reputation required 
 the sale of their possession ; but avarice consider- 
 ed it as too valuable to be exchanged for fame. 
 Between the two passions, the dexterity of hypo- 
 crisy suggested a compromise. Avarice was con- 
 tented with the retention of a part ; and vanity 
 was gratified with the surrender of the rest, un- 
 der the pretext that it was the whole. In this 
 manner, I think, their conduct ought to be ex- 
 plained. They had two purposes in view ; and 
 in endeavouring to accomplish both, they were 
 engaged in a train of meanness, deceit, and im- 
 
ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA. 12.'7 
 
 piety, M'lilch merited the severe reprehension 
 of Peter, and the dreadful punishment which di- 
 vine justice inflicted. 
 
 Ananias and Sapphira,- never doubting tliat the 
 plan, which they had concerted, and executed 
 with so much privacy, was secure from detec- 
 tion, expected to be welcomed by the apostles 
 witli higli commendations of their zeal and libe- 
 rality. How much, then, must the unhappy 
 man, who came alone with the unhallowed of- 
 fering, been dismayed, when Peter saluted him 
 with these terrible words ! " Ananias, why hath 
 " Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, 
 *' an-d to keep back part of the price of the land ?" 
 His crime is traced to the instis^ation of Satan, 
 who had filled his heart with vanity, covetous- 
 ness, dissimulation, and an impious disregard 
 for the omniscience and justice of heaven. This 
 is not to be understood as a figurative expression, 
 denoting the turpitude and atrocity of his con- 
 duct ; but as a true account of the manner in 
 which he was drawn into the commission of so da- 
 ring an action. The human heart is itself suffici- 
 ently wicked to originate very aggravated crimes ; 
 but some sins are so heinous in their nature, 
 and are marked with such -characters of audacity 
 and profligacy, that they seem to have been sug- 
 gested by a spirit more completely depraved even 
 than man. It is a fact ascertained by the Scrip- 
 tures, that Satan does tempt the children of men ; 
 
226 ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA. 
 
 that is, does excite their corrupt principles to ac- 
 tion, by stimulating the imagination and the 
 senses, and by perverting the reasoning faculty, 
 although it is impossible to explain the mode ot 
 his agency. He is the " spirit, who works in 
 " the children of disobedience *.'* 
 
 The sin, to which Satan had successfully soli- 
 cited Ananias, consisted " in lying to the Holy 
 " Ghost, and keeping back part of the price." 
 Some have represented it as the sin of sacrilege, 
 which is the diverting of a consecrated thing 
 from the service of God, the reservation of what 
 has been previously dedicated to him for our 
 own use, or the application of it to any worldly 
 purpose. This seems to be a mistake, for there 
 is not a hint in the narrative tliat Ananias and 
 Sapphira had devoted their possession to God; 
 and Peter expressly says, that after, as well as be- 
 fore, it was sold, it was in their own power to 
 do with it what they pleased. The nature of the 
 sin is distinctly pointed out as a lie to the Holy 
 Ghost. As the construaion of the original lan- 
 guage is here different from that in the end of 
 the fourth verse, where he is said, " not to have 
 " lied to men, but to God," some choose to read 
 the words thus ; " Why hath Satan filled thine 
 " heart to belie the Holy Ghost ?'* " Why hast 
 *' thou pretended to be moved by the Spirit of 
 " God, to express sincere and generous love t® 
 * Eph. ii. 2. 
 
ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA. 127 
 
 ** the brethren, by giving the whole price of the 
 *' possession for their use ; while it appears, from 
 " the keeping back of a part of it, that thou art 
 " influenced solely by vanity and covetousncss ?'* 
 But I see no reason for altering our translation, 
 as according: to the one construction of the words 
 as well as the other, they may be transhitcd " to 
 " lie to the Holy Ghost." 
 
 That the charge brought by Peter against A- 
 nanias may appear to be well founded, it is ne- 
 cessary to recollect, that the apostle and his col- 
 leagues acted under tlie direction, and by the 
 assistance, of the divine Spirit, who not only in- 
 structed them in the mysteries of religion, but 
 besides other extraordinary gifts, endowed them 
 with the power of discerning spirits ; that is, 
 with the occasional knowledge of the thoughts, 
 purposes, motives, and spiritual condition of cer- 
 tain individuals, for the regulation of their con- 
 duct in particular emergencies. When Ananias 
 laid down part of the price at the feet of tlic a- 
 postles, saying, by this action, which was meant 
 to be understood according to the general prac- 
 tice, that he laid down the whole of it, he un- 
 questionably told a falsehood ; and although his 
 intention went no farther than to deceive the a- 
 postles, yet the lie was ultimately told to the Ho- 
 ly Ghost, who resided in them. As the apostles 
 were his ministers and agents, what was done to 
 them was virtually and intcrprctatively done to 
 
128 ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA- 
 
 Iiim. Those who rejected their doctrine, reject- 
 ed the Holy Ghost ; those who lied to them, 
 lied to the Holy Ghost. 
 
 Of this sin there were two aggravations. First, 
 it was a sin of choice, committed with perfect 
 freedom of will, and not under the influence of 
 compulsion, or the terror of punishment. " Whiles 
 *' it remained, was it not thine own ? and after 
 " it was sold, was it not in thine own power ? 
 " why hast thou conceived this thing in thine 
 " heart ?" Ananias could have avoided this sin 
 in different ways. He might have let his posses- 
 sion remain unsold j he might have retained the 
 price ; or he might have contributed to the pub- 
 lic stock as much, or as little of it, as he pleased, 
 provided that he had stated the amount of the 
 donation, and not attempted to make a part pass 
 for the whole. So far is the example of the 
 Christians of Jerusalem, in selling their posses- 
 sions, from being obligatory on succeeding ge- 
 nerations, that it was not binding in their own 
 age. Every man was then, as much as at pre- 
 sent, absolute master of his property ; and the 
 only positive obligation, to which the Jewish 
 converts were subject, is common to all the dis- 
 ciples of Christ to the end of the world ; namely, 
 to devote a just proportion of their substance ta 
 the use of the poor, and the service of the 
 church. It is evident, from the words of Peter, 
 that the extraordinary oft'erings then made were 
 
ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA. 129 
 
 entirely voluntary. No huv was enacted on the 
 subject by the apostles ; no requisition was maile; 
 nor do we find in the New Testament any traces 
 of the practice beyond the time to which this 
 history refers. It was a spontaneous expression 
 of charity, occasioned, wc may suppose, by some 
 peculiar circumstances of the church, with which 
 we are unacquainted. There was nothing, there- 
 fore, to alleviate the guilt of Ananias. He could 
 plead no external motive of such force as to con- 
 stitute what is called an irresistible temptation. 
 It was his own wicked heart to which the whole 
 blame was imputable. He sinned wkli a willing 
 mind. 
 
 The conduct of Ananias was farther aggrava- 
 ted by the dignity of the person against whom it 
 was an offence. " Thou hast not lied unto men, 
 " but unto God." He had, indeed, lied to 
 men, in attempting to deceive the apostles ; but 
 Peter means, that he had not lied only to them. 
 It is observable, that whereas he afErms, in the 
 preceding verse, that Ananias had lied to the 
 Holy Ghost, he now charges him vi-ith having 
 lied to God. It follows, that the Holy Ghost 
 is not a creature, nor a rhetorical name for a di- 
 vine operation or influence, but a person possess- 
 ed of proper divinity. It is to no purpose to ob- 
 ject to this inference, that an equivalent phrase 
 is used, where it is manifest that the same C(m- 
 clusion cannot be drawn from it. When the Is- 
 
 R 
 
130 ANANIAS AND SAPPHlRA. 
 
 raelites, murmured for want of flesh against Mo- 
 ses and Aaron, they are said to have murmured 
 against God *. The instances are not parallel. 
 In the latter case, the IsraeHtes were guilty of 
 murmuring against God, because they fretted at 
 Moses and Aaron his ministers ; but in the for- 
 mer, Ananias is said, not only to have lied to 
 the Holy Ghost, because he lied to the apostles, 
 who were inspired by him, but to have lied to 
 God in lying to the Holy Ghost ; a charge, which 
 would not have been true, unless both designa- 
 tions, had belonged to the same person. In this, 
 then, consisted the greatness of his sin, that it 
 was an insult offered to the Spirit of truth and ho- 
 liness, speaking and acting in the ambassadors of 
 Christ. Every lie which is told to man is an of- 
 fence against God, of whose law it is an express 
 violation ; but the proper object of this he was 
 the Holy Ghost, who was present with the a- 
 postles in a manner totally different from the 
 mode of his presence with any other person. 
 
 The expostulation of Peter with Ananias was 
 terrible, because every word was re-echoed by 
 liis conscience ; but still more terrible was the 
 event which immediately followed. " Ananias, 
 " bearing these words, fell down, and gave up 
 '• the ghost ; and great fear came on all them 
 " that heard these things.'* The suddenness of 
 his death is not to be attributed to the violent agi- 
 * Exod. xvi. 8. 
 
ANANIAS AND SAPPHIR A. 131 
 
 tatlon of his mind, as instant dissolution has been 
 known to be the effect of paroxysms of joy and 
 grief. The stroke was inflicted by the hand of 
 God, who was pleased; for reasons which will be 
 afterwards stated, to give this example of his ho- 
 liness and severity. In this case, we see an in- 
 stance of those visible and alarming judg-ments, 
 which, contrary to his usual procedure, he some- 
 times executes upon distinguished transgressors. 
 In general, " no man knoweth love or hatred by 
 " all that is before him. All things come alike 
 *' to all : there is one event to the righteous and 
 ** to the wicked ; to the good, and to the clean, 
 " and to the unclean*." But on certain occa- 
 sions, God steps aside from his ordinary course, 
 when, by such deviation, some great end of his 
 moral government will be gained. x\s it disco- 
 vers rashness and presumption to construe com- 
 mon calamities as proofs of the peculiar guilt 
 and demerit of the sufferers ; so not to observe 
 the clear tokens of the divine displeasure at in- 
 dividuals, which appear in the nature and circum- 
 stances of their punishment, indicates a high de- 
 gree of stupidity, a temper approaching to athe- 
 ism, under whatever pretences of caution and, 
 charity it may be disguised. There is a pani- 
 cular providence ; and, consequently, there are 
 particular interpositions of wrath as well as ojC" 
 mercy. 
 
 * Eccles. Lx. I, 2. 
 
IS2 AKANIAS AND SAPPHIRA. 
 
 Let it not be supposed, that the seventy of 
 Peter, on this occasion, was ill suited to the mild 
 genius of the gospel, and to the character of an 
 ambassad(^r of peace. He only rebuked Ananias 
 for his crime with the severity which it deser* 
 ved. It was not he who inflicted the punish- 
 ment ; nor is there any evidence that he knew 
 that it would immediately follow. When he af- 
 terwards denounced the same judgment upon 
 Sapphira, he might be directed by a supernatural 
 suggestion, or he might infer it from the doom 
 of her husband. Whether he was apprized, or 
 not, of the event, Ananias died by the visitation 
 of heaven ; and Peter is vindicated from any sus^- 
 plcion of having carried his zeal and resentment 
 to excess. 
 
 The next verse relates the burial of Ananias. 
 ** And the young men arose, wound hiin up, 
 " and carried him out, and buried him.'* I have 
 no remarks to make upon this verse ; and shall 
 not trouble you by inquiring who the young 
 men were, by whom the last office was perform- 
 ed to the dead, as I could only am^use you with 
 conjectures, and the subject is of no importance. 
 Let us proceed to the sequel of the story. 
 
 " And it was about the space of three hours 
 " after, when his wife, not knowing what was 
 '* done, came in.'* For what reason she did not 
 come along with her husband, we are not told ; 
 but as three hours had passed since he hk her. 
 
ANANIAS AND SAPPIIIRA. 133 
 
 she had leisure to reflect on her conduct, and 
 there was a favourable opportunity for conscience 
 to remonstrate. It has sometimes happened, 
 that solitude, by leaving a person to his own 
 thoughts, and leading him to review his pur- 
 poses, with their aggravations and probible con- 
 sequences, has made him startle at the projects 
 of guilt which he had concerted with others, 
 and tremble to execute what in company he had 
 cordially approved. The presence of associates, 
 the courage which they assume, the arguments 
 which they employ, and the flattering hopes 
 which they hold out, conspire to krep fear and 
 remorse at a distance. It is not commonly till 
 sinners have become hardened in iniquity by re- 
 peated acts, or by long indulging it in their 
 hearts, that they are able to bear their own re- 
 flections. Sapphira, however, in the absence of 
 her husband, continued steady to her purpose ; 
 and having received no intelligence of his fate, 
 came, as soon as her affairs permitted her, to the 
 place where the apostles were assembled. Sup- 
 posing, no doubt, that Ananias was already en- 
 joying the reward of their pretended generosity, 
 she made haste to share in the admiration and 
 applause, bestowed by the bystanders on a pair, so 
 distinguished by their zeal and charity. But 
 their dissimulation was detected and exposed ; 
 and nothing awaited her but stern reproof and 
 exemplary punishment. 
 
iS4f ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA. 
 
 *' And Peter answered unto her. Tell me 
 " whether ye sold the land for so much. And 
 " she said, Yea, for so much." This question 
 was sufficient to suggest a suspicion of something 
 unfair in the transaction, as it is not probable 
 that she had ever heard any of the disciples in- 
 terrosrated in the same manner. Peter does not 
 
 o 
 
 abruptly charge her with dishonesty and impiety, 
 as he had done in the case of her husband. He 
 simply inquires, whether they had sold the land 
 for the sum presented as the full price. The un- 
 expected question would have disconcerted an 
 ordinary transgressor. Finding his plan dis- 
 covered, he would have been overwhelmed with 
 confusion, and have either confessed his crime, 
 or stood speechless. A guiky mind is naturally 
 timid ; the utmost precaution cannot render it 
 perfectly secure and quiet ; a look, a whisper, a 
 casual expression, which seems to glance at the 
 purpose of which it is conscious, will stir up all 
 its fears. Happy would it have been for this 
 woman, if the question had staggered her ill- 
 founded courage, and led her, with unfeigned 
 repentance, to acknowledge her wickedness. We 
 have no authority to say, that her sin was un- 
 pardonable. She might not, indeed, have esca- 
 ped the temporal judgment which was executed 
 upon her husband, for God sometimes takes 
 vengeance on the inventions of those whom he 
 
Ananias and sappiiira. 135 
 
 pardons * ; but slie would have died, like A- 
 clum, glorifying God by making confession f. 
 But she affords an awful example of obduracy 
 in sin. Still i^rnorant of the miserable end of 
 
 o 
 
 her husband, experiencing no uneasiness from 
 conscience, and intent on consummating the 
 base design in which they were engaged, this 
 audacious w^oman was determined to brave the 
 apostle to his face. With a composed counte- 
 nance, and an unfaultering tongue, she answer-, 
 ed, " Yea, for so much ;" aggravating her dis- 
 simulation by a deliberate and resolute falsehood. 
 " Then Peter said unto her, How is it that ye 
 " have agreed together, to tempt the Spirit of 
 " the Lord r" To tempt is commonly used by 
 us in a bad sense for soliciting a person to evil. 
 " But God cannot be tempted with evil ; neither 
 " tempteth he any man |." The word has some- 
 times a different meaning in Scripture, signify- 
 ing to make trial of a person. Thus, when God 
 *' tempted" Abraham, he did not entice him to 
 sin, but proposed a very difficult act of obedi- 
 ence, and, in this manner, tried the strength of 
 his faith and love §. Concerning the Israelites in 
 the wilderness, we are informed that they tempt- 
 ed the Lord ; and we learn from their own words 
 what was the nature of their crime. " They 
 " tempted the Lord, saying. Is the Lord among 
 
 * Psalm xcix. 8. f Joshua vii. 19. 
 
 i James i. 13. § Gen. xxii. I. 
 
136 ANANIAS AND SAPPI^IRA. 
 
 " US, or not *?'* Notwithstanding all the evi- 
 dences which they had already seen of the pre- 
 sence of God, they presumptuously demanded a 
 new proof of it. When Peter therefore charges 
 Sapphira with having dared, in concert with her 
 husband, " to tempt the Spirit of the Lord," the 
 meaning obviously is, that their sin was a bold 
 experiment, whether the Floly Ghost, by whom 
 the apostles were inspired with the gifts of tongues 
 and of miracles, was a discerner of spirits, or 
 could know the thoughts and intentions of the 
 heart. As the Israehtes called in question the 
 power of God when they said, " Can he furnish 
 " a table in the wilderness f ?" so did they call in 
 question the omiiiscience of the Spirit, by their 
 attempt to impose upon his ministers. They ven- 
 tured to make the trial, and flattered themselves 
 that they should escape with impunity. The 
 plan was the result of mutual counsel ; and it 
 was no small aggravation of it, that they had a- 
 bused the intimacy and confidence of the conju- 
 gal relation, to stimulate one another to so nefa- 
 rious a deed. 
 
 Then follows the sentence pronounced upon 
 the unhappy woman, which divine justice im- 
 mediately executed. " Behold, the feet of them 
 " which have buried thy husband are at the door, 
 " and shall carry thee out. Then fell she down 
 " straightway at his feet, and yielded up the 
 * Exod. xvii. 7- f Psalm Ixxviii. 19. 
 
ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA. IS'J 
 
 ** ghost : and the young men came in, arid found 
 *' her dead ; and carrying her forth, buried her 
 *' by her husband.** Both were alike guilty. 
 Whoever suggested the plan, the other party 
 heartily concurred. The superior prudence aiid 
 caution of the husband did not check the for- 
 wardness of the wife ; nor did the wife, from 
 the timidity natural to her sex, oppose any ob- 
 stacle to the boldness of her husband. The same 
 unhallowed love of reputation, the same base 
 hypocrisy, the same disregard for the all-seeing 
 eye of heaven, influenced bc-th. They were hate- 
 ful in their lives, and in their death they were 
 not divided. They perished by the same doom ; 
 and their end ministers a solemn warning to o- 
 thers, that they may hear, and fear, and do no 
 more wickedly. 
 
 Ihis was the design of the signal vengeance 
 executed upon these sinners, and was the effect 
 which it actually produced. " And great fear 
 " came upon all the church, and upon as many 
 " as heard these thinsis." The first and o^rcat 
 end of miracles, is to attest the divine commis- 
 sion of the person by whose ministry they are per- 
 formed. Nicodemusexpressedthe dictateof sound 
 reason, when he said to our Saviour, " Rabbi, 
 " we know that thou art a teacher come from 
 " God : for no man can do these miracles that 
 " thou dost, except God be with him *." But 
 
 * John iii. 2, 
 S 
 
138 ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA, 
 
 besides this general end,' they may be subservient 
 to subordinate purposes, and be employed as sym- 
 bols or representations of spiritual things, and as 
 characteristics of a particular dispensation. The 
 Mosaic economy, which was dark and awful, 
 *^ the way into the holiest of all being not yet 
 " made manifest *,'* was ushered in by terrible 
 displays of the divine power. The gospel was 
 conhrmed by miracles of mercy well fitted to 
 express its gracious nature. Yet, as all the mi- 
 racles of the old dispensation were not of the ter- 
 rific kind, so those of Christ and his apostles 
 were not all gentle and beneficent. Some of them 
 were indications of the just severity of God a- 
 gainst sinners. In this mixture, we observe a 
 contrivance of divine wisdom, for correcting the 
 natural propensity of men to take encouragement 
 from mild and lenient proceedings to venture on 
 acts of disobedience. By occasional discoveries 
 of the hohness and justice of God, sinners are 
 intimidated, and the saints feel a salutary fear. 
 The fiite of Ananias and Sapphira was a solemn 
 admonition to the disciples of Christ, to take 
 heed to their hearts and ways, lest they also 
 should provoke the Spirit of the Lord ; and to 
 others, to beware of entering into the church, 
 unless their conviction of the truth was sincere, 
 and their motives were upright. Hence it con- 
 tributed to promore the same end with the or- 
 * Heb. ix. 8. 
 
ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA. 139 
 
 dinanccs of tlie gospel, tlic purification of the 
 body of Christ. One design of divine punisli- 
 mcnts in this life, is the good of tliose who sec 
 them, or hear of them : what other purpose, be- 
 sides satisfaction to incensed justice, tliey will- 
 serve in the world to come, we have no means 
 of knowing. To thoughtless and secure sinners 
 they cry, " Except ye repent, ye shall all like- 
 " wise perish * ;" and on believers they inculcate 
 the exhortation of Paul, " Let us have grace, 
 " whereby we may serve God acceptably, with 
 " reverence and godly fear. For our God is a 
 " consuming fire f.'* 
 
 I shaD conclude with the following reflections 
 on the passage. 
 
 It is vain to expect, that in this world the 
 church will ever be perfectly pure. I mean, not 
 only that imperfections will always adhere to 
 the members of the church, because " there ig 
 " not a just man upon earth, that doth good, 
 " and sinneth not I ;" but farther, that hypocrites 
 will be found intermixed wath the saints. The 
 wheat and the chaff lie together on the barn-floor« 
 No precautions, however strict, can prevent their 
 admission ; no discipline, however vigorous, no 
 doctrine, however faithful, will be able to expeJ 
 
 * Luke xiii. 3. - f Heb. xii. 28, 29. 
 
 X Eccles. vii. 20. 
 
140 ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA. 
 
 them. There were an Ananias and a Sapphira in 
 the society over which the apostles presided. 
 
 We ought to guard against the predominance 
 of any sinful passion, whether it be avarice, anir 
 bition, sensuality, envy, pride, or any other lust of 
 the flesh or of the spirit. As " one sinner destroys 
 ^' much good," so one sin reigning in the heart, 
 counteracts the efficacy of the best means, and 
 may carry us to a very great length in depravity. 
 If the restraints of providence be removed, and a 
 strong temptation be presented in favourable cir- 
 cumstances, it will precipitate us into such exces- 
 ses, as shall dishonour us in the eyes of men, and 
 provoke God to pour out upon us the fury of 
 his wrath. You see the dreadful effects of vani- 
 ty and covetousness, in the conduct of Ananias 
 and Sapphira. 
 
 Impenitent sinners are always in danger of pe- 
 rishing by the vengeance of heaven. Judgment, 
 indeed, is God's " strange work;'* but it is a 
 work which a regard to his glory sometimes calls 
 upon him to perform. And when one victim 
 falls, it is impossible to tell who shall be the next, 
 A sentence of death is passed upon all unbelie- 
 vers, the execution of which is delayed only by 
 the long-suffering and patience of God. Let not 
 men presume upon his patience ; for, although 
 divine, it has its limits, beyond which it will not 
 extend. " Let sinners in Zion be afraid; let 
 ^' fearfulness surprise the hypocrites : who among 
 
.'INANIAS AND SAPPKIRA. 141 
 
 '* US shall (Kvell witli thr devouring fire? Wlio a- 
 " mor.Gf us shall dwell with the everlasting burn- 
 " ings*?" Such is theGod with whom you have to 
 do. He is afire to consume the workers of iniquity; 
 it flames around you, and is ready to kindle upon 
 you ; and there is no possibility of escaping from 
 it, but by calling for help to him who brought 
 the three Jewish confessors out of the king of 
 Babylon's furnace. 
 
 Let us, above all things, study to be sincere in 
 religion. What will hypocrisy avail ? Can our 
 artifice impose upon God ? Can we conceal from 
 him, under a mask of piety and goodness, the 
 real features of our character ? Do not " hi« 
 *' eyes see, and his eye-lids try, the children of 
 " men ?'* " There is not any creature that is 
 *' not manifest in his sight ; but all things are 
 *' naked and opened unto the eyes of him with 
 *' whom we have to do f.'* In vain did Ana- 
 nias and Sapphira secretly concert their plan, 
 and assume the confidence of conscious integrity 
 to quash any suspicion of their baseness. A good 
 name, the esteem and friendly offices of Chris- 
 tians, and even worldly advantages, may be the 
 recompence of dissimulation in this world ; but 
 what awaits it in the next ? " What is the hope 
 *' of the hypocrite, though he hath gained, when 
 " God taketh away his soul { ?'* One faint spark 
 
 * Isaiah xxxili. 14. f Heb. iv. 13. 
 
 i Job xxvii. 8. 
 
142 ANANIAS AND SAPPHIRA. 
 
 of genuine religion is more acceptable to God 
 than the ardent flames with which he offers up 
 his devotions. Let it then be your constant and 
 earnest prayer, that through grace you may be 
 what you profess. " Let integrity and upright- 
 '• ness preserve me ; for I wait on thee * '* The 
 time will come, when, stript of every disguise, 
 men shall appear in their real character ; and, 
 the false-hearted shall be exposed to the scorn 
 of those whose admiration they are now so 
 eager to obtain. But then undissembled good- 
 ness shall be brought to light. Often concealed 
 by modesty, by indigence, by reproach, and by 
 obscurity of station, it shall be displayed at the 
 tribunal of God, to the praise of his grace which 
 inspired it, and to the honour of the possessor. 
 " Thy Father, O Christian, who seeth thee in 
 " secret, will reward thee openly.** 
 
 « Psal. XXV. 21. 
 
LECTURE Vir. 
 
 THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL. 
 
 Chap. V. 34—42. 
 
 IT pleased God, as we read in this chapter, to 
 enable the apostles to work many miracles in 
 confirmation of the gospel. But the stronger 
 the light is, it is the more offensive to a diseased 
 eye. The high priest and his adherents were 
 filled with indignation at the apostles, who pre- 
 sumed, in defiance of their express prohibition, 
 to preach Jesus of Nazareth as the promised. 
 Messiah ; and by the wonders which they per- 
 formed, were gradually undermining the autho- 
 rity of the rulers, in the opinion and affections of 
 the people. They belonged to the sect of the 
 Sadducees, who being a sort of free-thinkers, and 
 holding principles subversive of all religion, might 
 have been supposed to view with indifference 
 and contempt, contests about articles of faith, 
 and modes of worship. Bat the experience of 
 late years has convinced us by the scenes trans- 
 acted in a neighbouring cnuntry, that infidelity 
 and bigotry may be ciosely aLicd j and that the 
 
144* THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL. 
 
 persecuting fury of the philosopher was never 
 surpassed by the intolerant zeal of the most san- 
 guinary religionist. There was, indeed, a parti- 
 cular cause for the violence of those impious 
 men, the opposition made to their favourite doc- 
 trine, that there was no resurrection of the body ; 
 for the great theme of the apostles' discourses 
 was the illustrious manifestation of divine power 
 in bringing Jesus from the grave, to establish the 
 truth of his rehgion, and to give his followers 
 the hope of a triumph over death *. The pride 
 of authority, and the pride of wisdom, could iU 
 brook an insult so public, offered, too, by men, 
 in their eyes, of despicable talents and character. 
 *' They laid hands, therefore, on the apostleSp 
 *' and put them in the common prison." 
 
 At this crisis, God miraculously interposed in 
 favour of his suffering servants, to encourage 
 them to persist in their duty, and to convince 
 their persecutors, that all their endeavours were 
 vain to arrest the progress of the rising religion. 
 " The angel of the Lord opened the prison doors, 
 " and brought them forth, and said. Go, stand 
 '' and speak in the temple to the people, all the 
 *' words of this life.'* But the rulers of the Jews 
 were not diverted from their purpose by this un- 
 equivocal declaration of heaven against them. 
 Having received information where the apostles, 
 would be found, they brought them again be- 
 * Iv. 2. 
 
THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL. 145 
 
 fore the council, and asked, why they presumed 
 still to preach, and to persuade the people, that their 
 priests and magistrates were guilty of innocent 
 blood. The answer of the apostles was firm and 
 manly, and discovered a spirit which ought to ani- 
 mate every Christian minister, and cvxry Chris- 
 tian man ; a supreme regard to the authority of 
 God. " We ought to obey God rather than 
 " men." Not content with having disclaimed 
 the jurisdiction of the Sanhedrim, they proceed- 
 ed, without fear of the consequences, to repeat 
 the charge which had given so. much offence, " to 
 " bring this man's blood upon them," to accuse 
 them to their faces of having put to death the 
 Messiah ; and, at the same time, to affirm, that 
 " God had exalted him with his ri2:ht hand to 
 " be a Prince and a Saviour." It is not easy to 
 conceive the feelings of those haughty rulers, 
 when they were addressed with such boldness by 
 some vulgar men, who should have been abashed 
 in their presence, and received their mandates 
 with awe. Luke expressively says, that they 
 were " cut to the heart." In this state of mind 
 they were purposing to proceed to violence, when 
 the rising tempest was calmed by the wise and 
 moderate counsel of one nran, who remained 
 cool and temperate amidst the general fermenta- 
 tion. 
 
 *' Then stood there up one in the council, a 
 " Pharisee, named Gamaliel, a doctor of law, 
 
 T 
 
146 THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL. 
 
 " had in reputation among all the people, and 
 " commanded to put the apostles forth a little 
 *' space." This man has acquired reputation a- 
 mong Christians also, by his prudent and ra- 
 tional counsel at this conjuncture, and in con- 
 sequence of the relation in which he once stood 
 to the great apostle of the Gentiles. Paul was 
 brought up at the feet of Gamaliel *. He is said 
 to have been the son of that venerable old man, 
 ** to whom it was revealed by the Holy Ghost, 
 " that he should not see death before he had 
 " seen the Lord's Christ ;" and who took up the 
 infant Saviour in his arms, and said, " Lord, 
 " now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, 
 " according to thy word : for mine eyes have 
 " seen thy salvation f.'* By profession he was 
 a doctor of law, that is, one of those who ex- 
 pounded the law of Moses to the people, and, ac- 
 cording to the fashion of the times, carefully in- 
 structed them in the traditions of the elders, as 
 the best commentary on his writings. Hence we 
 may remark, by the way, what was the nature 
 of that learning which Paul acquired under this 
 master, and which has been greatly over-rated. 
 It is sufficient to observe that it was Jewish learn- 
 ing, to convince those who are acquainted with 
 the history of that age, that as it could not re- 
 commend him to the Gentiles, so it was of very 
 little value in itself, consisting chiefly in the know- 
 
 * AcLs xxil. 3. t Luke ii. 26, 29, 30. 
 
THE COUNSEL OF GAMALltL. 147 
 
 ledge of the supcrstitiou.^ notions, and idle dreams 
 of men, forsaken by sound reason, and the Spirit 
 of God. The sect, to whicli he was attached, 
 was that of the Pharisees, which was distinguisli- 
 ed by the overstrained strictness of its precepts, 
 and its minute attention to religious ceremonies. 
 Intolerance was natural to such a sect. But Ga- 
 maliel was an honourable exception. History 
 occasionally points out individuals who have been 
 preserved from the narrow, violent spirit of tlicir 
 party, by mildness of temper, a strong feeling of 
 humanity, and the suggestions of a well regu- 
 lated judgment. In the bosom of a persecuting 
 church, and^among the proud domineering mem _ 
 bers of an establishment, gentle measures some- 
 times find an advocate, and dissenters, an apolo- 
 gist and patron. We perceive, then, on what 
 account Gamaliel was held in reputation by the 
 people. His station, his learning, and his piety, 
 recommended him to their esteem j and must 
 have given weight to the counsel which he now 
 offered to the Sanhedrim. 
 
 We are not able to point out with certainty 
 the motive, which induced him to stand up in be- 
 half of the apostles. It has indeed been affirmed, 
 that he secretly £ivoured the hew religion, and 
 afterwards openl)' professed it. He has been re- 
 presented as a second Nicodemus, who, when the 
 rulers were taking counsel against Jesus, ven- 
 tured to say, " Doth our law judge any man be- 
 
.148 THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL, 
 
 '^' fore it hear him, and know what he doth * ?'* 
 But this is one among many instances, in which 
 men have permitted their wishes and hopes to 
 supply the place of evidence. There can be no 
 better foundation for the opinion, if we give 
 credit to a tradition of the Jews, who shew, in 
 their Hturgy, a prayer said to have been compo- 
 sed by him, imprecating divine vengeance upon 
 the heretics, by whom are meant the followers 
 of Jesus. Others have attributed his interference, 
 not to any generous principle, but to the spirit 
 of party. As those, who persecuted the apostles, 
 were Sadducees, this Pharisee felt himself engaged 
 by interest to support them. We do indeed 
 meet with a case, which gives some plausibility to 
 this conjecture. When Paul was brought before 
 the Sanhedrim, and avowed his hope of the re- 
 surrection of the dead, the Pharisees arranged 
 themselves on his side, and used nearly the same 
 language, which was employed on this occasion 
 by Gamaliel!. It is possible, however, that this ad- 
 vice was dictated by a mind, which, although not 
 free from prejudice against the truth, disapproved 
 of compulsion in matters of conscience, and was 
 willing that the new religion should be allowed 
 a fair trial. It seems, indeed, to express a doubt, 
 whether the cause of Christianity might not be 
 the cause of God ; but notwithstanding the cau- 
 tious nature of his language, Gamaliel might b^ 
 * John vii. 51. f Acts xxiii. 6—9. 
 
THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL. 1 1-9 
 
 persuaded that It was an imposture, and ^^'Ou]J 
 soon come to nothinGj. He mioflu think that 
 force was unnecessary, where tlie intrinsic weak- 
 ness of the cause would Speedily prove its ruin ; 
 or, as we have already hinted, he might, from 
 principle, be averse to employ it in the determi- 
 nation of controversies, which should be sub- 
 mitted to the decision of reason and Scripture. 
 On this supposition, the Pharisee was more en- 
 lightened than some, who profess a religion which 
 breathes a more liberal spirit. But our business 
 is not with his motives, but with his counsel. 
 
 Having desired the apostles to be removed for 
 a short time, he addressed the council in the fol- 
 lowing words : " Ye men of Israel, take heed to 
 '.' yourselves what ye intend to do as touching 
 " these men. For before these days rose up 
 " Theudas, boasting himself to be somebody, 
 *' to whom a number of men, about four Iiun- 
 " dred, joined themselves : who was slain, and 
 " all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered, 
 " and brought to nothing. After this man rose 
 *' up Judas of Galilee, in the days of the taxing, 
 *' and drew away much people after him : h.z 
 " also perished, and all, even as many as obeyci 
 " him, were dispersed." The opinion of Gama- 
 liel on the present case was not hastily formed, 
 but was the fruit of mature thought, and was 
 founded in the wisdom of experience. Accord- 
 ingly, he quotes in support of it two cases, re- 
 
150 THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL. 
 
 corded in the annals of the nation, with which 
 all vA^ho heard him must have been acquainted. 
 I shall not trouble you with the chronological 
 difficulties in this passage. Josephus, in his Jew- 
 ish antiquities, mentions one Theudas, who made 
 an insurrection, and perished by the arms of the 
 Romans, some years after the meeting of the 
 council. This Theudas, of whom he takes no 
 notice, is said to have appeared before it. There 
 is no reason to suspect that Luke was mistaken, 
 and consequently that it is a forged speech, which 
 he has put into the mouth of Gamaliel. As 
 Theudas was a common name among the Jews, 
 it might easily happen to belong to more sediti- 
 ous leaders than one. The silence of Josephus 
 ought no more to invahdate the testimony of 
 Luke, than the silence of Luke would invalidate 
 the authority of Josephus. It must have been 
 about thirty or forty years before this time, that 
 the Theudas, of whom Gamaliel speaks, was the 
 leader of a party : for Judas rose up after him 
 *' in the days of the taxing,'* which probably 
 means the taxing or assessment made by Cyre- 
 nius, governor of Syria, several years after the 
 birth of our Saviour, when Archelaus, the son 
 of Herod, was deposed, and Judea was reduced 
 into the form of a province. 
 
 The Jews, who were a turbulent people, sub- 
 mitted with great impatience to the Roman yoke. 
 They were indignant at the thought, that the cho- 
 
THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL. 151 
 
 sen people, who hoped under the Messiah to pos- 
 sess the dominion of the world, should be enslaved 
 and oppressed by foreigners and idolaters. Hence 
 demagogues arose in frequent succession, and 
 erecting the standard of liberty and religion, col- 
 lected a number of followers, inflamed with rage, 
 and animated with the prospect of glory and in- 
 dependence. Of this description were Theudas 
 and Judas. The former *' boasted himself to be 
 " somebody ;'* pretended to be the Messiah, or 
 a prophet sent by God for the deliverance of his 
 people. As the latter rose up " in the days of 
 " the taxing," he probably assumed no higher 
 character than that of a patriot, who wished to 
 emancipate his country from an ignominious and 
 cruel subjection to strangers. But these, and all 
 similar attempts, terminated in the destruction 
 of such as were engaged in them. The»wratli of 
 God pursued the unbelieving, impenitent people. 
 Their doom was fixed; and their repeated efforts, 
 to withdraw themselves from the domination of 
 their conquerors, only served to bring down upon 
 them the full weight of their vengeance, by which 
 both church and state were overwhelmed. 
 
 On these instances of unsuccessful insurrection 
 and imposture, Gamaliel founds the following 
 advice, which he gave to the council. " And 
 '* now I say unto you, Refrain from these men ; 
 " and let them alone : for if this counsel or this 
 " work be of men, it will come to nought : but 
 
l32 THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL. 
 
 " if it be of God, ye cannot overthrow it ; lest 
 " haply ye be found even to fight against God." 
 He dissuades them from violent measures as un- 
 necessary, or impious. If the new religion was 
 of God, its progress could not be retarded by 
 their opposition, which would involve them in 
 the guilt, and ruinous consequences of contending 
 with heaven ; if it was a human contrivance, it 
 could not long maintain itself against the evidence 
 of truth. Such is the counsel of Gamaliel ; but 
 justice is not done to it, if it be considered as a 
 general rule, applicable to every case which may 
 arise. Neither Scripture nor experience will war- 
 rant us to affirm, that a work or imposture of 
 man will always come speedily to nought ; or 
 that a work of God will always prosper, what- 
 ever obstacles are opposed to it ; not, indeed, 
 from any w^ant of power to remove those obsta- 
 cles, but from causes to us, perhaps, unknown, 
 which may induce him to desist. Christianity 
 itself has, in some instances, been overthrown 
 by the united activity of error and force. Wit- 
 ness those countries, in which there were once 
 many flourishing churches, but where Mahome- 
 tism is now the established religion. The re- 
 formation from popery is regarded by every 
 protestant as a work of God ; but it was suc- 
 cessfully resisted in some nations of Europe, in 
 which it had met with a favourable reception, 
 and promised ultimately to prevail. On the other 
 
THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL. 153 
 
 hand, wc can produce works undoubtedly not 
 of God, of which the success has been extensive 
 and permanent. I'he reign of Antichrist, the 
 adversary of God and his Son, the patron of er- 
 ror, idolatry, and wickedness, once extended 
 over a great part of Europe, and is to last, ac- 
 cording to prophecy, during twelve hundred and 
 sixty years. The religion of Mahomet was con- 
 trived by the impostor himself, who at first 
 persuaded, with some difficulty, his own rela- 
 tions to embrace it ; but having been, by vari- 
 ous means, disseminated among the neighbour- 
 ing tribes, it passed the limits of Arabia, and, 
 spreading over the eastern countries with the ra- 
 pidity of hghtning, it is now established through- 
 out the whole extent of the Greek empire, the 
 former seat of Christianity. It has already sub- 
 sisted during the long period of nearly twelve 
 hundred years. 
 
 From these incontrovertible facts, it is evident 
 that the observation of Gamaliel cannot be adopt- 
 ed as a maxim which will hold universally, but 
 must be received with certain limitations, which, 
 indeed, are suggested by himself. By attending 
 to his words, you will find that he does not lay 
 down a general rule, but strictly confines him- 
 self to the present subject of discussion. " If this 
 " counsel or this work be of men, it will come 
 " to nought." And however rash and presump- 
 tuous it would be to pronounce, iji this decisive 
 
 u 
 
154 THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL. 
 
 manner, concerning every system of religion, 
 which may arise, the judgment of Gamaliel was 
 well founded with respect to the religion preach- 
 ed by the apostles. On the one hand, if this 
 work was divine ; if Jesus was the Messiah, and 
 the gospel was his law sent out of Zion, Gama- 
 liel was authorised, by the express declarations of 
 Scripture, to predict, that all the opposition of the 
 Jewish rulers, and the combined efforts of earth 
 and hell, to obstruct it, would prove abortive. 
 God had promised " to set the hand of his first- 
 " born in the sea, and his right hand in the ri- 
 " vers ; to beat down his foes before his face, 
 " and plague them that hate him ; and to give 
 *' him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, 
 " that all people, nations, and languages, should 
 " serve him *.'* On the other hand, if this work 
 or counsel was of men, it required neither the 
 spirit of prophecy, nor uncommon sagacity, to 
 foresee, that its duration would be transient. 
 Let us for a moment suppose, that Christianity 
 was merely a contrivance of the apostles ; and 
 then let us inquire, whether every thing about it 
 was not calculated to hinder its success in the 
 world. 
 
 The doctrines which the apostles taught were 
 ill fitted to attract the attention, and to concili- 
 ate the approbation, of mankind. To tell the 
 Jews that the Messiah was of mean parentage, 
 * Psalm Ixxxix. 25, 26. Dan. vii. 14. 
 
THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL. 155 
 
 lived in poverty and aflllclion, died on a cross, 
 had now returned to heaven, without achieving 
 any thing for the deliverance of his country from 
 the power of the Romans, and promised nothing 
 to his followers but happiness beyond the grave, 
 was to offend their pride, to disappoint their car- 
 nal expectations, to dissipate their dreams of glo- 
 ry and pleasure on the earth. To preach con- 
 cerning the Messiah to the Gentiles, was to speak 
 about a subject on which they entertained no 
 ideas at all, to recommend a person altogether 
 unknown, and whom they must have despised, 
 both as a malefactor and a Jew. His resurrec- 
 tion, to which the apostles referred as the dtci- 
 sive proof of his divine mission, was calculated 
 only to excite their derision, because they consi- 
 dered the resurrection of the body as neither cre- 
 dible nor desirable. Indeed, to the Gentiles, ac- 
 quainted only with their vain philosophy, and 
 attached to its erroneous dogmas, the gospel must 
 have seemed to be the wildest, most uncouth, 
 and most unintelligible system, which ever insult- 
 ed the human understanding. 
 
 The duties which this religion enjoined were 
 repugnant to the preconceived notions, and the 
 passions of all classes of men. Fairh in Christ 
 for justification, was a subject of which a Gen- 
 tile could form no conception, and which, if h& 
 did understand it, must have provoked his ridi- 
 cule, educated, as he was, in a proud dependsnci 
 
156 THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL, 
 
 Upon his own virtue as the only means of re- 
 commending him to God. Nothing could give 
 more offence to a Jew, than to be told, that he 
 must renounce his own righteousness, account 
 |iis painful and scrupulous obedience to the law 
 mere loss, and expect salvation from a person, 
 whom the supreme court in the nation had put 
 to death as an impostor and blasphemer. Pre- 
 cepts of humility, self-denial, chastity, tempe- 
 rance, justice, love to our enemies, and the for^ 
 giveness of injuries, are not such as will be ge- 
 nerally relished at any time ; and were particu- 
 larly ill-suited to the corrupt and luxurious 
 age in which the gtispel was promulged. A- 
 bove all, the command to take up the cross, to 
 renounce worldly enjoyments, and to submit 
 to all sorts of sufferings for the sake of Christ 
 and a good conscience, had a direct tendency to 
 deter men from becoming his disciples. We 
 may be persuaded to assent to speculative prin- 
 ciples, and may even be prevailed upon, through 
 indolence, inattention, and sophistry, to swallow 
 speculative absurdities ; but the heart revolts 
 when practical lessons are inculcated ; when we 
 are called upon to perform difficult duties, and 
 to part with favourite gratifications. 
 
 Christianity avowed an intention to overthrow 
 all the religions of the earth, and had therefore 
 to contend with the strong attachment, which 
 men generally entertain, to the religion in which 
 
THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL. 157 
 
 they have been educated. Of the zeal of the 
 Jews for their rehgion, we have abundant pioi)f 
 from Scripture. They gloried in the law of 
 Moses, believed that it would be perpetual, and 
 rested their hope of the divine favour upon the 
 observance of it. The regard of the Gentiles to 
 their superstitions was equally strong. Besides 
 being handed down to them from their remote 
 ancestors, whose authority commanded profound 
 respect, and being considered as intimately con- 
 nected with private and public prosperity, they 
 allured their senses and their passions by splen- 
 did spectacles, by licentious festivals, by the 
 charms of the fine arts, and by the unbounded 
 toleration of the corrupt propensities of the heart. 
 Christianity came to set aside those religions. It 
 had nothing of the accommodating spirit of paga- 
 nism, which easily adopted the gods and rites of 
 other nations ; it claimed to be the only true re. 
 iigion, and commanded its own institutions to 
 be exclusively observed. 
 
 Lastly, The preachers of this unsocial religion 
 were not fitted to diminish the prejudices of man- 
 kind against it. They were not illustrious by 
 their birth, distinguished by their talents, famed 
 for their wisdom and learning, and able to over- 
 awe and persuade others by their authority and 
 eloquence. On the hypothesis that this work 
 was of men, which is the foundation of our pre- 
 sent reasoning, they were destitute of every qua- 
 
158 THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL. 
 
 lification, natural and supernatural, for the un- 
 dertaking in which they were embarked. Not 
 having received the Holy Ghost, they could speak 
 no language but their own, and that, too, in a 
 clumsy, inaccurate manner ; they could work no 
 miracles ; they could compose no regular dis- 
 courses ; they could only render themselves and 
 their system contemptible, by their confusion and 
 vulgarity. They were Jews, and on this account 
 were held in contempt by the Gentiles, who 
 looked down upon the whole nation as a super- 
 stitious, bigotted, unlearned, and unphilosophi- 
 cal people. It was sufficient to injure the repu- 
 tation of any set of opinions, that it had ori- 
 ginated in a country, the supposed seat of igno- 
 rance and barbarism. 
 
 Such were the improbabilities, that this reli- 
 gion, if it were a human contrivance, would suc- 
 ceed ; or rather they were sure grounds, on which 
 any man might have predicted, as Gamahel did, 
 that it would not succeed. It could hardly have 
 supported itself for any length of time in Judea ; 
 it could not have made its way at all into hea- 
 then countries. We know, however, that it did 
 maintain itself in Judea, and gained over thou- 
 sands and myriads of the inhabitants ; that it 
 spread over the whole extent of the Roman con- 
 quests, and found access to regions which their 
 arms had never reached ; that it humbled the 
 proud philosopher, purified the slave of vicCj 
 
THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL. 1.59 
 
 tamed tlic fierce barbarian, and established tlie 
 empire of truth and hoHness over the fairest por- 
 tion of the earth. " There is not a nation," says 
 one of the fathers in the second century, " whc- 
 " ther of Greeks or of barbarians, in vvliich pray- 
 " ers and thanksgivings are not offered up to the 
 " Father and Maker of all things, in the name of 
 " the crucified Jesus *." " We are but of yes- 
 " terday," says another, addressing himself to 
 the magistrates of the empire, " and we have fill- 
 " ed every place, your cities, islands, garrisons, 
 " free towns, camp, senate, and forum : we have 
 " left nothing empty but your templesf." What, 
 then, is the inference which sound reason will 
 authorise us to draw ? Is it not, that the religion 
 of Jesus Christ, which, in the circumstances now 
 detailed, was published with incredible success, 
 was from God, and not from man ? Infidels may 
 torture their invention to account, on natural 
 principles, for this strange fact, this moral phe- 
 nomenon, the establishment of a religion so un- 
 gainly, so repugnant to the ideas, feelings, and 
 favourite pursuits of mankind, by the diligence 
 and exertions of such weak instruments, on the 
 ruins of all the systems of philosophy and super- 
 stition which then existed ; but their abortive 
 malignity can only excite the pity, or the scorn, 
 of every enUghtened and impartial mind. 
 
 * Justin. Mart. Dialog, cum Tryph. 
 t Tertul. Apol. 
 
160 THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL. 
 
 Thus far the reasoning has proceeded on the 
 supposition, that the Sanhedrim had adopted the 
 counsel of Gamaliel, and that the gospel had 
 been quietly suffered to work its own way in the 
 world. But, although the rulers of the Jews 
 listened at this time to the voice of reason and 
 moderation, yet it was not long till they recur- 
 red to violence, and began a furious persecution 
 of the Christians. Their example was followed 
 by the Gentiles ; and for nearly three centuries, 
 the disciples of Jesus were subjected to severe 
 hardships, and cruel sufferings, on account of 
 their religion. Every motive of prudence and 
 policy conspired to make men decline assuming 
 the Christian name. The Heathens shewed none 
 of that tolerating spirit towards the new religion, 
 which was exercised towards their different forms 
 of idolatry : it was proscribed as a pestilent su- 
 perstition, hateful to the gods, and hostile to the 
 peace and prosperity of the empire. If the sea- 
 sons proved cold and barren ; if fire consumed 
 any of their cities ; if earthquakes desolated the 
 provinces ; the Christians were accused as the 
 cause of those calamities, and their punishment 
 was demanded by the clamours of the people. 
 The unresisting victims were driven into exile, 
 doomed to perish amidst the unwholesome la- 
 bours of the mines, exposed in the amphitheatres, 
 to be torn in pieces by wild beasts, that the eyes 
 of their savage persecutors might be feasted with 
 
THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL. IGI 
 
 the spectacle, consumed at stakes, executed on 
 scaffolds, or put to death by slow tortures ; in 
 devising which, human barbarity, exasperated by 
 hell, exhausted its ingenuity. Emperors and 
 magistrates, forgetting the dignity of their cha- 
 racter, philosophers their boasted moderation, re- 
 latives the sentiments of nature, and men their 
 feelings of humanity, continued for ages to em- 
 brue their hands in the blood of the inoffensive, 
 and patient martyrs of Jesus. They hoped to 
 subdue their courage, or to exterminate them 
 from the earth. But all their efforts were baf- 
 fled. Like the Israelites in Egypt, the more the 
 Christians were afflicted, the more they grew *. 
 The blood of the martyrs was the seed of the 
 church. The places of those who fell were spee- 
 dily supplied. The example of their virtues, and 
 the power of the truth, induced many to become 
 followers of their faith, at the hazard of all that 
 •was dear to them in the world. Hence, at the 
 close of a long period of trial, when the church 
 might have been expected to exist only in the 
 records of its enemies, the number of its mem- 
 bers was so great, that Constantine found his in- 
 terest united with his duty^ when he declared 
 himself its protector. The banner of the cross 
 was displayed on the Capitol of Rome j and the 
 religion of one, who died the death of a slave, 
 in a distant province, was embraced by the mighty 
 * Exod. i. 12. 
 
162 THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL, 
 
 conquerors of the earth. " The work was of 
 " God, and men could not overthrow it." Its 
 enemies were found " to fight against God ;" 
 and they perished in the impious and unequal 
 contest. 
 
 This event is quite different from the success 
 of the Antichristian and Mahometan rehgions. 
 These systems arose in a dark and ignorant age; 
 were dexterously accommodated to the preju- 
 dices, the superstitious temper, and the licen- 
 tious inclinations of men ; and were propagated 
 by the artifice of imposture, and the terror of 
 the sword. In the success of Mahomet, there is 
 nothing extraordinary more than in the success 
 of any other conqueror, who flies, from province 
 to province, at the head of a victorious army, 
 and compels the subjugated, terrified inhabitants, 
 to submit to his law. Christianity made its ap- 
 pearance in an age of science and literature, and 
 professed an open hostility to aU the sinful pas- 
 sions of men ; but although unaided and un- 
 friended, calumniated and opposed by the whole 
 force of the Roman empire, it went forward in 
 its course, like the sun, who sometimes cchpsed, 
 and sometimes darkened with clouds, steadily 
 advances to his meridian altitude, from which 
 he pours a full tide of light and glory on the 
 earth. 
 
 Thus I hive considered, at some length, the 
 celebrated counsel of Gamaliel. We have seen. 
 
THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL. IGli 
 
 that if the powers of tliis world had let the new 
 reli;^ion alone, it was of such a nature, that, had 
 it originated from man, it could not have suc- 
 ceeded. Its success, therefore, would, in these 
 circumstances, Iiave been a dew proof of its di- 
 vinity. But since the rulers ot the earth did not 
 let it alone, the evidence acquires new strength 
 from the formidable opposition against which it 
 prevailed. Here we perceive the linger of God ; 
 and no man, who will listen to the suggestions 
 of reason, can refrain from saying, '*■ Behold 
 *' this hath the Lord wrought." 
 
 We learn from the following verses, that the 
 rulers of the Jews complied so far with the coun- 
 sel of Gamaliel, as to desist from their inteniion 
 ot putting the apostles to death. They contented 
 themselves with scourging them, and dismissed 
 them with a command, not " to speak in the 
 name of Jesus.'* To this command they paid na 
 regard ; and the punishment inflicted upon them, 
 instead of depressing their courage, served, to 
 animate their zeal. " And they departed from 
 " the presence of the council, rejoicing that they 
 *' were counted worthy to sulfer shame for his 
 *' name. And daily in the temple, and in every 
 " house, they ceased not to. teach and preach Je- 
 " sus Christ.'* 
 
 I conclade with the three following reflec- 
 tions. 
 
164 THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL. 
 
 First, It was no easy task, in which the apos- 
 tles engaged, when they went forth to preach 
 among the nations the gospel of the kingdom. 
 Their situation was very different from that of 
 the old philosophers, who delivered their lectures 
 at their ease to an admiring audience ; and from 
 that of ministers of the gospel in the present times, 
 who enjoy the protection of the laws. They were 
 men, " who hazarded their liv^es,'* who rose su- 
 perior to fear, and shame, and pain, who look- 
 ed for nothing in this world, but sufferings and 
 death. How high does their character rise ? It 
 may be compared with that of the most distin- 
 guished patriots, and eminent benefactors of man- 
 kind. Who would have expected to find such 
 philanthropy, such noble and disinterested sen- 
 timents, in persons taken from the lowest ranks 
 of society, and bred to the meanest occupations ? 
 To what respect and gratitude is their memory 
 entitled ; respect for their illustrious virtues, and 
 gratitude for their generous exertions to promote 
 the best interests of the human race ? How should 
 we admire the grace of God, who called them 
 to the arduous work, inspired them with the 
 love, and zeal, and patience, and fidelity, Vv'-itli 
 which they performed it, supported them under 
 all their difficulties, and crowned their labours 
 with success ! 
 
 Secondly, God can always find the means of 
 preserving his servants in the discharge of their 
 duty. He can make their deliverance come from 
 
THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIIiL. 1 G J 
 
 an unexpected quarter. He saved tl^e apostles, 
 on tlws occasion, by the interposition of Gama- 
 liel, a Pharisee, and an enemy to the gospel. 
 History furnishes many instances of persons, who 
 have favoured and forwarded the cause of reli- 
 gion from motives of worldly policy, in pur- 
 suit of their schemes of ambition, love, av;irice, 
 and rivalship ; and we cannot but admire the 
 wisdom and power of God, in " restraining the 
 ". remainder of the wrath of the wicked," by the 
 wrath, or some other passion, of men as wicked 
 as themselves. He makes the earth help the 
 woman *. He has the hearts of kings and of all 
 men in his hands, and turns them *' as the ri- 
 " vers of water f." 
 
 In the last place, From the success of the gos- 
 pel in past times, wc may confidently hope for 
 the accomplishment of the predictions relative to 
 its diffusion and establishment throuerhout the 
 
 o 
 
 earth. i\fter its rapid progress under the apos- 
 tles and their successors, in the hrst ages, Chris- 
 tianity began to decline. Several countries, in 
 which it was professed, were subdued by the 
 Mahometan arms ; and its light was almost ex. 
 tinguished in Europe, and the eastern church, by 
 a dark cloud of superstition and idolatry. At 
 the Reformation, it shone forth again ; but how 
 small a part of the civilized world enjoys the be- 
 nefit of its salutary rays ! And if we look to other 
 regions of the earth, " behold darkness and sor- 
 * Rev. xii. 16. f Prov. xxi. 1, 
 
166 THE COUNSEL OF GAMALIEL. 
 
 " row, and the light is darkened in the heavens 
 " thereof *." Ihe success of Christian missions 
 has not equalled the examples of former times, 
 and the eager hopes of those who projected them. 
 A few converts, collected, after long labour, out 
 of many thousands, give no animating prospect 
 of the speedy triumph of our rehgion. If the 
 husbandman should gather two or three strag- 
 gling stalks of corn, who would call this a har- 
 vest ? But let us not despond. The Lord Jesus 
 lives, and " the residue of the Spirit* is with 
 him. The gospel has nothing more formidable 
 to encounter than the opposition which it has 
 already subdued. When we see the mighty em- 
 pire of Rome prostrate at the feet of Jesus Christ, 
 and presenting its homage to him as its sovereign 
 Lord, ue cannot despair, that the time will come, 
 when India and China, and the islands of the 
 sea, shall be added to the trophies of the cross. 
 Let us " remember the years of- the right hand 
 " of the Most High ;" and let us pray, that he 
 would again " make bare his holy arm, and 
 *' openly shew his salvation in the sight of the 
 « Heathen.** " Then shall all the ends of the 
 *' earth see the salvation of our God f.'* 
 
 * Isaiah v. 30. f Psal. xcviii. 3, 4. 
 
LECTURE VIII. 
 
 THE INSTITUTION OF DEACONS, AND THE HIS- 
 TORY OF STEPHEN. 
 
 Chap. VI. 
 
 *' 1 E have the poor always with you, but me 
 *' ye have not always *." These words were 
 spoken by our Lord in vindication of a woman, 
 who had poured a box of precious ointment upon 
 his head, and was accused by the disciples of 
 having profusely wasted what might have been 
 devoted to a charitable use. They might well 
 bear with this occasional testimony of respect for 
 their Master, of whose presence they were soon to 
 be deprived, since the poor, for whose interests 
 they seemed to be so zealous, would always re- 
 main with them. To the poor the gospel was 
 preached. Our Lord did not address himself 
 exclusively to persons in the higher ranks, whose 
 names would reflect honour on their teacher, and 
 whose munificence would reward him ; but he 
 selected, as the particular objects of his gracious 
 instructions, those who were suffering the incon- 
 veniences and hardships of life. " God has cho- 
 * Matt, XXV i. IL 
 
168 THE INSTITUTION OF DEACONS, 
 
 " sen tlie poor of this world, to be rich in faith, 
 " and heirs of the kingdom *." In this choice, 
 ve see an instance, not only of the sovereign- 
 ty of God, who, in distributing his favours, dis- 
 res^ards those distinctions which are so much va- 
 laed among men, but also of wise provision for 
 the trial and improvement of his people. If they 
 were all rich and prosperous, few occasions would 
 occur for performing the offices of charity ; 
 whereas, while some possess, and others want, 
 the comforts, and often the necessaries of life, 
 there are constant calls to the exercise of conde- 
 scension, sympathy, and beneficence. Thus a 
 strong bond of union is formed between the gi- 
 ver and the receiver ; and the church " makes 
 " increase unto the edifying of itself in love/' 
 
 Amons; those who first turned to the Lord in 
 Jerusalem, there seem to have been many in ne- 
 cessitous circumstances. But large as was the 
 demand for the relief of so numerous a class, it 
 was cheerfully and liberally supplied, by the for- 
 ward zeal, and unbounded charity, of the more 
 wealthy believers, who " sold their possessions, 
 *' and laid the price at the apostles* feet, that dis- 
 " tribution might be made to every man, accord- 
 " ing as he had need f." In a society so distin- 
 guished by the love which prevailed among its 
 niemibers, we would have expected, that the ut- 
 most harmony would reign, and that jealousy 
 * James ii. 5. f iv. 34, 35. 
 
AND THE mSJORY OF STEPHEN. 169 
 
 and discontent would be unknown. It is, there- 
 fore, uith surprise, that we find this chapter 
 opening with an account of the same complaints, 
 which we are accustomed to hear among persons, 
 whose principles are not so pure and disinterest- 
 ed. 
 
 " And in those days, when the number of the 
 *' disciples was multipled, there arose a murmur- 
 " ing of the Grecians against the Hebrews, be- 
 " cause their widows were neglected in the daily 
 " ministration." These Grecians were not Greeks, 
 but Jews born in foreign countries, who used the 
 Greeli language in common conversation, and in 
 the service of the synagogue. Having taken up 
 their residence in Jerusalem in consequence of 
 their conversion, or for other reasons, they 
 composed a part of the church. They are dis- 
 tinguished, in this passage, not from Jews, for 
 under this appellation both they and the inhabi- 
 tants of Judea were comprehended, but from 
 Hebrews, by whom are meant such Jews as 
 spoke the Hebrew language, or the mixed 
 dialect, which went under that name. These 
 were accused by the Grecians of neglecting 
 their widows, " in the' daily ministration," 
 while they seem to have attended to their 
 own. The distribution of the public charity, 
 it was alleged, was not made on fair and 
 equitable terms. How weak a being is man ; 
 
170 THE INSTITUTION OF DEACOKS, 
 
 How apt to be turned aside from the path of 
 rectitude and honour ! Instead of acting on grand 
 and liberal principles, he often permits selfishness 
 to cramp the best affections of his heart, and draws 
 around himself a narrow circle, of which he is 
 the centre. Whatever he can, by any means, 
 connect with himself, acquires importance in his 
 eyes ; whatever is distant or detached from him, 
 is undervalued. The comparatively insignificant 
 circumstances of being born in the sam.e coun- 
 try, of speaking the same language, or of de- 
 scending from the same remote ancestors, will 
 recommend a person more to our good will and 
 friendly assistance, than the best qualities of the 
 heart, and the strongest claims of necessity, in 
 an absolute stranger. Thus, in the primitive 
 church, some widows were overlooked because 
 they spoke Greek, and others were punctually 
 supplied because they spoke Hebrew; or, to give 
 a more accurate statement, the former were ne- 
 glected, because they were the widows of stran- 
 gers; and the latter were attended to, because they 
 were the widows of fellow-citizens and acquaint- 
 ance. The administration was in the hands of 
 the Hebrews, who allowed this low consideration 
 to bias them in the execution of their trust. 
 
 But how could any just ground for this com- 
 plaint exist under the management of the apos- 
 tles, to whose care the contributions of the faith- 
 ful were committed ? Were not the wisdom, the 
 
AND THE HISTORY OF STEPHEN. 17i 
 
 piety, the zeal, the independente of mind, for 
 which they were so eminent, suilicient to pre- 
 serve them from the influence of local and vul- 
 gar prepossessions? If we admit, that they were 
 chargeable with partiality in this business, how 
 does it appear, that they were worthy of their 
 ofllce, or proper persons to be employed in pro- 
 multTatinjr a rcli2;ion, intended to abolish all na- 
 tional distinctions, and to make of Jews and 
 Greeks, bond and free, " one new man in 
 Christ ?" In answer to these questions, I ob- 
 serve, that there is no evidence, that, at this 
 time, the apostles did manage the affiiirs of the 
 poor ; but having found the time and attention 
 which they required to be more than could be 
 spared from the immediate duties of their office, 
 they had devolved them upon others j and it is 
 to these deputies that the blame of partiality at- 
 taches. 
 
 This conclusion is supported, I think, by the 
 second verse. Having called the disciples toge- 
 ther, to propose an expedient for terminating the 
 present dissension, and preventing any future 
 cause of complaint, the apostles begin with ob- 
 serving, that it was not reasonable, " that they 
 " should leave the word of God, and serve ta- 
 " bles." The expression, " to serve tables,'* is 
 of the same import with ministring to the neces- 
 sities of the poor. Their tables were to be sup- 
 plied with food convenient for them ; such things 
 
172 THE INSTITUTION OF DEACONS, 
 
 as they wanted, were to be provided ; and it 
 would have been neither right nor becoming, 
 that the apostles should be so much engaged in 
 this service, as to omit the more important du- 
 ties of their office. Jesus Christ sent them to 
 prer.ch thv. gospel ; and no inferior design, how- 
 ever useful and urgent, should interfere with 
 the great object of their commission. The words 
 of the apostles have much the appearance of re- 
 ferring to a complaint, that if they had cared for 
 the poor as they ought to have done, the widows 
 of the Grecians would not have been neglected j 
 nr to a suggestion, that if they would now take 
 them under their inspection, the evil would be 
 redressed. To this complaint or suggestion, the 
 apostles reply, that as their past conduct was 
 justifiable on the principles of reason and duty, 
 so they were determined still to confine them- 
 selves to their appropriate work, the dispensation 
 of the word. They at once vindicate themselves 
 from the charge of criminal neglect, and state 
 the ground, on which they would not even now 
 become the stewards of the property of the church. 
 If this view of their words be just, it follows, 
 that as they did not distribute the public stock, 
 they could not be blamed for the mismanage- 
 ment, which occasioned the murmuring of the 
 Grecians. 
 
 The remedy for the present disorder, which 
 was proposed by the apostles, and adopted by 
 
AND THE HISTORY OF STEPHEN. 1 73 
 
 the multitude, was the institutinn of a new or- 
 der of oflice-bearcrs, who should make tlic care 
 of the poor the sole object of their attention. 
 " Wherefore, brethren, look yc out among you 
 " seven men of honest report, full of the Holy 
 " Ghost and wisdom, whom we may appoint 
 " over this business. But we will give ourselves 
 " continually to prayer, and to the ministry of 
 " the word.'* The institution accords with tlie 
 compassionate, benevolent spirit of the religion 
 of Christ. We fmd nothing similar in any of 
 the superstitions which prevailed in the Heathen 
 world ; no peculiar provision for the poor ; no 
 order of men appointed to rchcve the fatherless, 
 the widow, and the orphan. These unhappy 
 objects, the rehgions of Greece and Rome left to 
 perish in their aflliction, or to drag out an un- 
 comfortable existence on the precarious bounty 
 of those, whom nature had inspired with some 
 sentiments of humanity. It is the amiable cha- 
 racter of the Messiah, that, in a temporal as well 
 as a spiritual sense, " he delivered the needy when 
 " he cried, the poor also, and him that had no 
 " helper *'* The charitable spirit of the gospel 
 excited the wonder and the envy of the Gen- 
 tiles ; and Julian, the mortal foe of Christianity, 
 reluctantly confessed its unrivalled excellence, 
 ^hen he attempted to graft upon the decay td,, 
 * Psal. Ixxii. 12, 
 
174 THE INSTITUTION OF DEACONS, 
 
 sapless trunk of Paganism, its fairest fruits of love 
 and beneficence *. 
 
 The design of creating these new oflice-bear- 
 ers, who are known by the appellation of dea- 
 cons, was to distribute to the necessities of the 
 indigent members of the church. To preach the 
 gospel was no part of their duty. The apostles 
 say, that they would appoint the persons whom 
 the people should choose, " over this business.'* 
 If one of the deacons, Phihp, did afterwards 
 preach, it was in consequence of his being raised 
 to the office of an evangelist t- Stephen did not 
 preach, but only disputed, as any private mem- 
 ber of the church might have done, with the 
 enemies of the faith. The office was instituted, 
 because the preaching of the gospel, and the re- 
 quisite attention to the poor, were found to be 
 inconsistent. 
 
 As the trust, implied in this office, was im- 
 portant, and the peace of the church, as well as 
 the private good of not a few of its members, 
 depended on the manner in which it was execu- 
 ted, the qualifications of those to whom it should 
 be committed were pointed out by the apostles. 
 The choice of the people was confined to such 
 persons among them, as were of " honest re- 
 '' port, full of the Holy Ghost and wisdom.'* 
 
 * Julian. Epist. ad Arsacium apud Socrat. lib. v. cap. 
 15. 
 
 f Acts viii. 5. xxi. 8. 
 
AND THE HISTORY OF STEPHEN. 1 7 J 
 
 They must be men of " Iionest report," that is, 
 of tried integrity and blameless reputation, that 
 tlie members of the church might place full con- 
 fidence in them, and enemies might find no oc- 
 casion of reproach. They must be "full of the 
 " IToly Ghost ;" an expression which imports, 
 that they should be richly furnished with his 
 sanctifying influences, as Christians in general 
 are exliorted to be " filled with the Spirit * ;'* or 
 that they should possess his extraordinary gifts, 
 agreeably to the meaning which the phrase bears, 
 in other passages of this book. Both senses may 
 be admitted. The sanctifying grace of the Spirit 
 was necessary to inspire them with the love, the 
 fidelity, the zeal, the activity, which their ofEcc 
 required ; and his extraordinary gifts, although 
 not indispensable, might be considered as highly 
 expedient in men, who sustaining a public cha- 
 racter, \X^ould have frequent opportunities of de- 
 monstrating the truth of the gospel by signs and 
 miracles. In the last place, they must be " full 
 " of wisdom," to distinguish real, from pretend- 
 ed, cases of necessity, to judge of the proportion, 
 and the manner, in which the public charity 
 should be distributed, and to administer com- 
 fort and seasonable advice to the needy and af- 
 flicted. Such were the qualifications required 
 in the first deacons, which rendered them wor- 
 thy substitutes of the apostles, in the superin- 
 * Eph. V. 18. 
 
176 THE INSTITUTION OF DEACONS, 
 
 tendence of the poor. To them they could safe- 
 ly entrust the whole charge, and consequently 
 " give themselves continually to prayer, and to 
 " the ministry of the word.'* 
 
 There are two particulars, which deserve at- 
 tention in the appointment of these men to their 
 ofiice. The choice of them was committed to 
 the people. " Look ye out among you seven 
 " men.'* Thus the right of the people to elect 
 the oiiice-bearers in the church was recognised. 
 It is a right founded in the positive institution 
 of Jesus Christ, made known, in this instance, 
 by the apostles, and agreeable to the dictates of 
 reason. To choose their own teachers and rulers 
 was, for many ages, regarded by the church as 
 a sacred privilege of Clfristlans ; and there are 
 on recG.rd decrees of bishops, and councils, and 
 popes, confirming it, and declaring the invalidi- 
 ty of such ordinations as had taken place in vio- 
 lation of it. It v/as in the progress of corrup- 
 tion that this right began to be questioned, and 
 was at length set aside. The advantaQ;es result- 
 ing from it are a proof of the wise care of Jesus 
 Christ for his church, and call upon Christians 
 to maintain it with zeal against the usurpations 
 of men. The choice which the people have made 
 of their pastors and governors ; the considera- 
 tion that they have freely and deliberately com- 
 mitted themselves to their inspection, is calcula- 
 ted to keep alive an attachment to their persons. 
 
AND THE HISTORY OF STEPHEN. 177 
 
 and to ensure respect to their instructions and 
 reproofs. The esteem, which the people have 
 expressed for their spiritual guides, by voluntarily 
 placing themselves under their care, must con- 
 ciliate their affection, and stimulate them to ac- 
 tive exertions for the good of their charge. Thus 
 a foundation is laid for that harmony and mu- 
 tual good-will, without which the interests of 
 religion cannot be expected to prosper. When 
 pastors are set over the church without its 
 consent, both parties will regard each other 
 with the indifference of strangers ; or, what is 
 worse, the people will hate the teacher, as an 
 unhallowed intruder, and he will hate them, as 
 insurgents against what he deems lawful autho- 
 rity. 
 
 But the right of the people extended no far- 
 ther than to the election of the deacons. They 
 had no power to exercise in their appointment 
 to office. Their separation to it, their investi- 
 ture with authority to discharge its duties, was 
 the province of the apostles. " Look ye out 
 " seven men, — whom we may appoint over this 
 " business.'* It is the ordinance of Christ, that 
 to those who sustain any office in the church, au- 
 thority shall be transmitted from himself, its 
 original source, by the medium of its ministers 
 and rulers. The exclusion of the private mem- 
 bers of the church from any share in the trans- 
 mission is clearly marked in the passage before 
 
 z 
 
173 THE INSTITUTION OF DEACONS, 
 
 US. The limits are distinctly drawn. The peo- 
 ple elected, and the apostles appointed. We 
 never read in the Scriptures, that there is a 
 power lodged in the church at large, to preach 
 the gospel, administer the sacraments, and go- 
 vern itself. This power was committed to apos- 
 tles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers, 
 helpers, and governments, whom Jesus Christ has 
 given to the church, as an absolute sovereign 
 delegates his authority to certain persons, bear- 
 ing such titles, and exercising such functions as 
 he Is pleased to confer upon them *. When a 
 voluntary society is to be formed, the members 
 first meet and determine what shall be the form 
 of government, and who shall be the governors. 
 But in the case of the church, the governors were 
 before the society. The Christian church did 
 not exist when the apostles received their commis- 
 sion ; and those who at present bear rule in it, 
 are their successors in every thing pertaining to 
 their office, which was not extraordinary. It is 
 manifest, therefore, that their power does not flow 
 from the people, unless an express law can be 
 produced, altering the original constitution, and 
 ordaining, that, although the apostles received 
 the " keys of the kingdom" immediately from 
 Christ, and the first oilice-bearers derived their 
 power from the apostles, it should be afterwards 
 communicated by the church in its collective 
 capacity. 
 
 * Eph. iv. 12. 13. 1 Cor. xii. 28. 
 
AND THE HISTORY OF STEPHEN. llO 
 
 The measure proposed by the apostles was una- 
 nimously approved, and was executed vviihout 
 delay. " And the saying pleased the whole mul- 
 *" titude ; and they chose Stephen, a man full of 
 *• faith and of the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and 
 "• Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Par- 
 *' menas, and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch : 
 *' whom they set before the apostles ; and when 
 " they had prayed, they laid their hands on 
 " them.*' The imposition of hands was a rite 
 used on different occasions ; in blessing a person, 
 in healing diseases, in imparting spiritual gifts, in 
 setting one apart to an ofiice*. For the last of these 
 purposes, it may still be practised, although the a- 
 postles be dead, and miraculous communications 
 have ceased. Prayer, which preceded the im- 
 position of hands, was offered up for the divine 
 blessing upon the new institution, and the 
 persons elected, that they might be enabled to 
 perform their duty with lidelityj and to the sa- 
 tisfaaion of the church. 
 
 The names of the seven deacons being Greek, 
 it has been thought, that, with the exception of 
 Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch, a Gentile for- 
 merly converted to Judaism, they were all Gre- 
 cians, or Jews of the' dispersion, who spoke the 
 Greek language. No persons were so likelv to 
 quiet the jealousies and murmurs of the Gre- 
 
 * Gen. xlviii. 14-. Matt. xix. 13. Mark xvi. 18. Acts vilL 
 F7 — 19. Numb, viii, 10. Acts xjii. 3* 
 
3 80 THE INSTITUTION OF DEACONS, 
 
 clans, because, being of their own number, they 
 could not be suspected of neglecting their wi- 
 dows. How noble was the conduct of the He- 
 brews, who, with a view to remove every ground 
 of discontent on the part of their foreign brethren, 
 were willing that the entire management of the 
 funds of the church should be confided to some 
 of themselves ! And how high must have been 
 the character of the deacons for integrity, when, 
 although they were all of one party, the He- 
 brews apprehended no partiality in their conduct, 
 and cheerfully entrusted them with the care of 
 their poor ? 
 
 We arc informed. In the next verse, that " the 
 " word of God increased ; and the number of 
 " the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly ; 
 '^ and a great company of the priests were obe- 
 " dient to the faith." Without stopping to make 
 any remarks on this verse, although the conver- 
 sion of so many priests, who were engaged in 
 opposition to the gospel, by their prejudices, 
 their pride, and their secular interest, might be 
 illustrated as an evidence of its wonderful effica- 
 cy, I shall proceed to consider the history of 
 Stephen. 
 
 In the fifth verse, he is described as a man 
 " full of faith and of the Holy Ghost ; " a firm 
 believer of the gospel, and a person possessed not 
 only of the graces, but likewise of the extraor- 
 dinary gifts, of the Spirit, Accordingly, it is. 
 
AND THE HISTORY OF STEPHEN. 181 
 
 said, in the eighth verse, that " full of faith and 
 *' power, he did great wonders and miracles a- 
 " mong the people." By these he established 
 such as already believed, and presented evidence 
 to others, by which some were undoubtedly 
 gained over to the gospel. A person so eminent 
 and active, would not long remain unnoticed by 
 the adversaries of the church. Hence we find, 
 that " there arose certain of the synagogue, 
 " which is called the Synagogue of the Liber- 
 " tines, and Cyrenians, and Alexandrians, and 
 " of them of Cilicia, and of Asia, disputing with 
 '' Stephen." They challenged him to a public 
 disputation about the new religion, of which he 
 was so zealous a partisan, in the hope that they 
 would be able to confute his arguments, or, at 
 least, to draw from him some unguarded words, 
 for which they might accuse him to the rulers. 
 But " they were not able to resist the wisdom 
 *' and the spirit by which he spake." We have 
 no ground to think, that Stephen was a learned 
 man, instructed in the arts of reasoning, and 
 practised in controversy ; and his eloquence was 
 of the same kind with that of the apostles, sim- 
 ple and unadorned. But he was endowed with 
 heavenly wisdom, which sophistry could not 
 withstand, and assisted by the suggestions of the 
 divine Spirit, who can overwhelm the proud po- 
 lemic by irresistible conviction. When Stephen 
 spoke, his antagonists were confounded. In vain 
 
182 THE INSTITUTION OF DEACONS, 
 
 did they rack their invention to devise objections 
 to the gospel ; they were instantly repelled. la 
 vain did they attempt to reply to his arguments ; 
 to his reasoning from prophecy and miracles they 
 could find nothing to oppose. Their ingenuity 
 was exhausted ; and they stood abashed and si- 
 lent in his presence. A mortifying situation for 
 men who had provoked the contest, and entered 
 upon it, in the full confidence of victory ! 
 
 But, when arguments failed, their malice fur- 
 nished an inexhaustible resource. " Then they 
 " suborned men, which said. We have heard 
 " him speak blasphemous words against Moses, 
 " and ag;iinst God." They hired witnesses, and 
 instructed them what to swear ; not scrupling to 
 make use of any means, however dishonourable 
 and unjust, of effecting their purpose ; and contri- 
 ving, perhaps, to conceal the baseness of their con- 
 duct even from their own consciences, by the pre- 
 text of zeal for the glory of God. The charge, 
 which the witnesses were directed to bring against 
 Stephen, was, that " they had heard him speak 
 *' blasphemous words against Moses, and against 
 *' God.'* Blasphemy strictly signifies any thing 
 spoken with a design to vilify the character of 
 God, or to injure him in the opinion of others, 
 by creating unfavourable thoughts of his attri- 
 butes, his commands, or his dispensations. It 
 conveys, therefore, the idea of the most atroci- 
 ous and daring sin of which a creature can be 
 
AND THE HISTORY OF STEPHEN. 183 
 
 guilty. The term has an odious sound, and 
 awakens our abhorrence of the crime, and of the 
 criminal. Hence it has been frequently employ- 
 ed, by religious controvertlsts, with great ad- 
 dress, and with much latitude of application, to 
 stigmatize the opinions and the character of their 
 opponents. Honest indignation may have some- 
 times had recourse to it, to brand those impious 
 tenets, which subvert the foundations of our 
 faith ; but in not a few instances, it has served 
 insidious malignity as an admirable expedient for 
 discrediting a particular doctrine, and stirring up 
 clamour and persecution against its author and 
 abettors. It was evidently with this intention, 
 that the charge of blasphemy was now advanced 
 against Stephen ; and it had all the success which 
 his enemies wished. The people, the elders, and 
 the scribes, were alarmed ; and hastening, v/itli 
 common consent, to bring to condign punish- 
 ment the man, who had dared to revile the God 
 of Israel, and Moses, his illustrious minister, 
 they apprehended him, and arraigned him be- 
 fore the council. This was the Sanhedrim, which 
 had authority to take cognizance of cases of blas- 
 phemy. 
 
 In the following verses, and in the nest chap, 
 ter, we have an account of his trial, v^hich com- 
 menced with perjury, was abruptly terminated by 
 the impatient zeal of his accusers and judges, and 
 was succeeded by the cruel murder of this righte- 
 
184> THE INSTITUTION OF DEACONS, 
 
 ous man. It was begun with perjury : for the 
 witnesses, being suborned, accused him, upon 
 oath, of a crime, of which, for aught which they 
 knew, he was innocent* " They set up false wit- 
 " nesses, which said, this man ceaseth not to speak 
 " blasphemous words against this holy place, and 
 *' the law." It was his constant practice to speak, 
 in threatening and disrespectful terms of Jerusa- 
 lem, the holy city, and of the temple, the habitation 
 of God, and of Moses, the most eminent of his 
 servants. On this account, he was guilty of blas- 
 phemy, according to the loose sense, in which 
 that crime was then understood. No accusa- 
 tion could have been contrived, which would 
 more certainly raise the indignation of his judges: 
 for notwithstanding their extreme degeneracy, 
 the Jews still pretended to feel, and actually 
 felt, an ardent zeal for the honour of their God 
 and their religion. In support of this charge, it 
 was farther affirmed by the witnesses, that they 
 had heard him say, " that Jesus of Nazareth 
 " would destroy that place, and change the 
 " customs which Moses delivered them." Such 
 assertions were shocking to a Jew, who believ- 
 ed that Jerusalem would be the capital of the 
 Messiah's kingdom on the earth ; that the temple 
 would always be the place for offering victims 
 and incense ; and that the institutions of Moses 
 would retain their authority and sanctity through 
 all generations. 
 
AND THE HISTORY OF STEPHEN. 185 
 
 On the supposition, Iiowevcr, tliat Stephen did 
 say what the witnesses testified against Jum, as 
 perhaps he had done on the authority of Chrisc 
 and the prophets, what crime had he committed ? 
 In what did the alleged blasphemy consist ? Had 
 not Shiloh, where the tabernacle once stood, 
 been laid desolate ? Was not the first temple de- 
 stroyed by the Chaldeans ? Why, then, should 
 the second temple be permitted to stand, if it 
 was turned into a " den of robbers ;" and espe- 
 cially, if the Messiah was come, and had made 
 the " sacrifice and oblation to cease," by offer- 
 ing himself upon the cross ? With respect to the 
 law, it was indeed framed by the wisdom, and 
 enacted by the authority, of God ; but it was 
 subservient to a better dispensation, and was no 
 longer useful when that dispensation was intro- 
 duced. Why should the shadow be retained 
 when the substance was enjoyed ? Of what value 
 was the image to those who possessed the ori- 
 ginal ? In the sacred writings of the Jews there 
 were many intimations, that the religion of the 
 Messiah should be universal ; and nothing more 
 was necessary than dispassionate consideration, 
 to convince any man that its universality was 
 inconsistent with the perpetuity of the law. The 
 temple of Jerusalem could not be a sanctuary to 
 the whole earth ; nor could the solemn feasts, 
 which were celebrated thrice a-year, and at which 
 aU the males wxre commanded to be preseot^ bt 
 2 a 
 
186 THE INSTITUTION OF DEAQONS, 
 
 observed by persons living in distant continents 
 and islands. But these reflections never occurred 
 to the Jews. They could not conceive, and they 
 had no wish to enjoy, a more perfect system of 
 worship than their own. As they had long been 
 the peculiar people, the idea of abolishing the 
 distinction between them and other nations, and 
 placing them all on a level in respect of spiritual 
 privileges, was so mortifying to their pride, that 
 they could not hear it mentioned without im- 
 patience and rage. " It is blasphemy," they ex-. 
 claimed, " against the holy place and the hw, 
 *^' The fall of our temple, and the abrogation of 
 ^* our ritual^ would be a failure of God's pro- 
 '' mises, and the utter ruin of religion.'* 
 
 Under the charge of having vented sentiments, 
 so offensive and impious, Stephen had every 
 thing to fear from the furious zeal of his judges. 
 Nothing but his blood could atone for a crime of 
 such magnitude. Yet his confidence did not for- 
 sake him, nor was his tranquilhty disturbed. 
 Conscious innocence, firm faith in his Saviour, 
 and the hope of immortality, supported and 
 cheered his mind in this trying hour. " All that 
 *' sat in the council, looking stedfastly on him, 
 *' saw his face as it had been the face of an an- 
 " gel." The precise meaning of these words 
 cannot perhaps be ascertained. They seem to 
 signify, that on this occasion there was some- 
 thing preternatural in his countenance, a divine 
 
AND THE HISTORY OF STEPHEN. 187 
 
 splendour, like that which appeared on the face of 
 Moses when he came down from the mount, 
 and which was a manifest token of the presence 
 and approbation of God ; or that there was such 
 a mixture of majesty and mildness in his looks 
 as may be imagined in the face of an angel, if 
 he should become visible to men, and indicated 
 the perfect composure of his mind, and the mag- 
 nanimity with which he disregarded the malice 
 and rage of his adversaries. He was as a rock 
 in the midst of the ocean, on which the tem- 
 pests blow, and the waves dash themselves in 
 vain. 
 
 The remainder of this interesting history will 
 be the subject of the next Lecture. In the mean 
 time, I shall conclude with a few observations. 
 
 First, All the institutions of the gospel bear a 
 relation to the exigencies of the church. There 
 is nothing superfluous, nothing intended merely 
 for show, nothing which could have been want- 
 ing without inconvenience and detriment. In 
 the kingdoms of men, we observe offices, which 
 serve no purpose but to augment the splendour 
 of the sovereign, to increase his influence, and 
 to provide honours and emoluments for his fa- 
 vourites. In corrupt churches, superstition has 
 introduced an expensive and useless appendage of 
 bishops, archbishops, patriarchs, cardinals, and 
 popes. But in the church modelled after the 
 
188 THE INSTITUTION OF DEACONS, 
 
 Scriptural plan, we see no office without its ap- 
 propriate duties, of which the beneficial tendency 
 is obvious. There are pastors to " feed the peo- 
 " pie with knowledge and understanding," there 
 are elders to rule over them with vigilance and 
 love ; there are deacons to supply the necessities, 
 and soothe the sorrows, of the poor. Every thing 
 has evidently proceeded from him, " who is 
 *' wonderful in counsel, and excellent in work- 
 ii ing*." 
 
 I observe, in the second place, that the best 
 method to promote the glory of God, and the 
 public good, is for every man to attend to his 
 peculiar duties. " Let every man abide in his call- 
 *' ing, and study to do his own business f." This 
 is the sphere in which providence has appointed 
 him to move. To grasp at something farther, 
 " to stretch ourselves beyond our measure," is to 
 violate the order which God has established, and 
 to forget the limited nature of our faculties, which 
 are distracted and embarrassed by a multiplicity 
 of objects. The care of the poor would have 
 been a specious apology for interfering with the 
 management of their affairs ; it had the appear- 
 ance of great diligence, and great humanity. Yet 
 the apostles declared, that it would have been 
 unreasonable and indecent in them to have ne- 
 glected, for this service, the proper duties of their 
 
 -* Isaiah xxvili. 29. f 1 Cor. vii. 20. 1 Thess. iv. 11. 
 
AND THE HISTORY OF STEPHEN. 180 
 
 oflicc. Men never go out of their way without 
 going wrong. They either mismanage the af- 
 fairs with which their inconsiderate zeal has in- 
 cited them to intermeddle, or they leave the 
 work of their station unperformed. " As we 
 " have many members in one body, and all mem- 
 " bers have not the same ofiice ; so we being 
 " many, are one body in Christ, and every one 
 " members one of another.'* On this ground, 
 the apostle addresses the following exhortation 
 to Christians : " Having then gifts, differing ac- 
 " cording to the grace that is given to us, whe- 
 " ther prophecy, let us prophecy, according to 
 *•' the proportion of faith ; or ministry, let us 
 " wait on our ministering ; or he that teacheth, 
 " on teaching ; or he that exhorteth, on exhor- 
 " tation ; he that giveth, let him do it with sim- 
 " pHcity ; he that ruleth, with diligence ; he 
 " that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness *.'* 
 
 In the last place, We are admonished by the 
 conduct of the enemies of Stephen, to examine, 
 with care, the nature and motives of our religi- 
 ous zeal. It may be an unhallowed fire, kindled 
 by hell, or by our own passions ; not a pure 
 flame, proceeding from love to God and to man. 
 " It is good to be zealously affected always in a 
 " good thing f ;" but zeal in a bad cause is the 
 worse, the keener and more vehement it is. 
 " The Jews had a zeal for God, but it was not 
 * Rom. xli. 4—8. f Gal. iv. 18. 
 
190 THE INSTITUTION OF DEACONS, 
 
 *' according to knowledge * ;'* and hence it hur- 
 ried them on to the most dreadful excesses ; to 
 crucify the Lord of glory, to blaspheme his reli- 
 gion, to murder his servants, to add crime to 
 crime, till, in the righteous judgment of God, 
 they perished in their rage. How little are we 
 acquainted with the spirit by which we are ac- 
 tuated ! How apt are we to mistake error for 
 truth, to be misled by fair appearances in our- 
 selves as well as in others, to fancy that our 
 hearts glow with ardour for the glory of God, 
 when it is pride, or self-love, or party affection, 
 which is stirring within us ! We may be certain 
 that our zeal is false, when it is excited by mat- 
 ters of less, but is indifferent to such as are of 
 greater, moment ; when it is violent against the 
 sins of strangers, but indulgent to those of our 
 friends ; when it extinguishes love to the persons 
 against whose opinions or practices it is directed ; 
 when it takes pleasure in exaggerating their 
 faults, in expatiating on their blemishes, in hold- 
 ing them up to public detestation ; when it is 
 disposed to curse rather than to bless, not to save, 
 but to destroy. May the spirit of gentleness and 
 love descend into our hearts ! The man, in whose 
 bosom he resides, is not the sport of the selfish 
 and malignant passions. He only is a man of 
 disinterested benevolence. He loves the persons 
 whom duty commands him to oppose j his heart 
 * Rom. X. 2. 
 
AND THE HISTORY OF STEPHEN. I9l 
 
 melts with tenderness, while he reproves and ad- 
 monishes them ; and the only triumph which he 
 seeks, is the triumph of truth and grace in the 
 salvation of their souls. 
 
LECTURE IX. 
 
 THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 
 
 Chap. VII. 54—60. 
 
 In the last Lecture, I entered upon the history 
 of Stephen. We have seen, that, rendered con- 
 spicuous by his office, his gifts, and his activity, 
 he was regarded with a jealous eye by the un- 
 believing Jews ; that their hostility was exaspe- 
 rated by the ill success of the disputation to 
 which they had challenged him ; and that, with 
 the revenge natural to base and little minds, they 
 were impatient to destroy by violence, the man 
 whom they could not vanquish by argument. I 
 shall pass over his speech before the Sanhedrim, 
 recorded in the preceding part of the chapter, 
 because, being an abridged narration of the his- 
 tory of the Jews, it does not fall within the li- 
 mits of this course, which is intended to illus- 
 trate the principal events connected with the 
 rise and progress of the Christian church. There 
 is one observation, which must occur to every 
 reader, namely, that the speech is incomplete. 
 He sets out with a detail of the divine dispensa- 
 
THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 193 
 
 tions towards the patriarchs and their seed, and 
 goes on, in regular order, till he come down to 
 the days of Solomon, when he suddenly breaks 
 off the relation, and addresses his audience in the 
 language of accusation and reproach. It is pro- 
 bable that his hearers gave signs of impatience ; 
 and Stephen, perceiving that they were about to 
 interrupt him, seized the moments which re- 
 mained, to tell them a few unwelcome truths, 
 which, if they did not arrest them in their head- 
 long career, would serve as his dying testimony 
 against the incorrigible enem.ies of his Saviour. 
 From the strain in which he speaks of the tem- 
 ple towards the close of his discourse, we may 
 collect, that he would have proceeded to shew, 
 that that magnificent structure was a typical and 
 temporary building ; that there was no blasphe- 
 my in ailirming that it would be destroyed ; and 
 that its fall might now be expected, as, by the 
 incarnation and death of the Messiah, the end of 
 its erection was accomplished. His audience seem 
 to have perceived his design ; and their zeal was 
 roused to fury at the most remote hint, which 
 appeared disrespectful to their sacred institu- 
 tions. 
 
 " When they heard these things., they were cut 
 " to the heart, and they gnashed upo'n him with 
 " their teeth.** The words rendered, '• to cut to 
 " the heart,'* has been chosen to express, in the 
 strongest manner, the effect of tlie speech upon 
 2 3 
 
.194 THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 
 
 his accusers and judges. It signifies to saw a^ 
 sunder, and alludes to that cruel mode of put- 
 ting criminals to death. The men, in whose 
 presence Stephen now stood, entertained lofty 
 ide:is of their o^vn character, and were fully per- 
 suaded, that they were the favourites and devo- 
 ted servants of heaven. With what indignation 
 must they have heard, from one whom they so 
 much hated, that they were " uncircumcised in 
 " heart,'* hypocrites, who had the seal of the co- 
 venant in their flesh, but wanted all the qualities 
 of which it was a sign ; that they " always re- 
 " sisted the Holy Ghost," by whom they behe- 
 ved themselves to be moved ; and that they had 
 now filled up the measure of the iniquity of their 
 fathers, by betraying and murdering the Mes- 
 siah ? Such accusations inflicted a wound on their 
 pride, the pain of which goaded them on to mad- 
 ness. When a good man is unjustly reproached, 
 he will feel the injury, and will vindicate him- 
 self with the dignity of virtue ; but, at the same 
 time, he will, with all meekness, commit him- 
 self to him " that judgeth righteously." But 
 when a bad man is charged with his crimes, 
 wanting the support of a good conscience, and 
 that steady confidence in heaven, which is the 
 reward only of innocence, he frets and rages a- 
 gainst those who have insulted his honour, and 
 dissipated the pleasing illusions of self-love. Per- 
 haps, his heart, for a moment, misgives him 5 a 
 
THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 195 
 
 sudden ray of conviction, darting into his mind, 
 discovers the hoUovvness of his pretences, and the 
 baseness of his motives ; stung by transient re- 
 morse, he is impatient of the anguish ; his pas- 
 sions become ungovernable ; and he bursts into 
 fury, which torments himself, while it seeks to 
 destroy the disturbers of his peace. Such were 
 the feelings, and such was the behaviour, of the 
 enemies of Stephen. " They were cut to the 
 " heart, and they gnashed on him with their 
 " teeth ;" expressing at once the torture which 
 they suffered, and the ferocity of their temper. 
 They resembled beasts of prey, eager to devour 
 the man who has dared to attack them. 
 
 The situation of Stephen was critical. Ev^cry 
 look and gesture of those who surrounded him 
 menaced him with death ; and had he betrayed 
 symptoms of perturbation and alarm, we must 
 have pitied the weakness of humanity thus se- 
 verely tried, and condemned him with a sigh. 
 Trembling for his life, an ordinary man would 
 have had recourse to tears and supplications to 
 melt the hearts of his persecutors ; or, pale with 
 fear, and stupified with despair, he would have 
 sullenly submitted to his fate. How different 
 was the conduct of the saint ! With that calm 
 dignity which religion inspires, he observed the 
 rage of his enemies ; and turning away from a 
 scene, which exhibited the malignant passions 
 in all tlieir horrors, he lifted his eyes tQ-heavea> 
 
196 THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 
 
 in testimony of his resignation and his hope. In 
 the moment of danger, and in the agony of dis- 
 tress, nature itself teaches man to appeal to his 
 Maker. The first cry which he utters is a pray- 
 er ; and his eyes are directed to his sanctuary on 
 high, fi-om which he beholds the children of 
 men. But it is only the Christian, who feels 
 that confidence of protection, who is cheered 
 with that hope of sympathy and aid, with which 
 a son runs to shelter himself in the arm.s of his 
 father. 
 
 How transporting was the prospect which was 
 presented to Stephen ! In this world, good men 
 walk by faith ; and are supported under their 
 suflerings, by a well-founded assurance of the in- 
 visible glories and joys of eternity. They see 
 nothing more than others ; they only believe 
 more, and believe on better grounds. By an ex- 
 traordinary dispensation, the evidence of sense 
 was, in the present case, superadded to the evi- 
 dence of faith. Pie, who was first called to seal 
 the truth of the gospel with his blood, was fa- 
 voured with a particular testimony of the divine 
 iipprobation, to encourage others to follow him 
 in the same arduous service. The interest which 
 Jesus Christ takes in his faithful servants, who, 
 for his sake, love not their own lives, was made 
 manifest, to assure them in every age, that al- 
 though they may not see him, as Stephen did, 
 yet he looks on, while they are suffering in his 
 
THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 1 97 
 
 cause, and opens his arms to receive their spi- 
 rits, as they rise from the scaflTold and the stake. 
 *- But he being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up 
 " stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of 
 " God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of 
 " God." 
 
 The whole of this dispensation was miracu- 
 culous. Stephen was probably in the hall in 
 which the Sanhedrim was assembled, and his 
 natural sight was bounded by the roof. Even 
 in the open air, the human eye, which per- 
 ceives the sun and stars at the distance of ma- 
 ny millions of miles, could not, in its ordina- 
 ry state, have discerned the throne of God^ 
 placed beyond the limits of the visible creation. 
 But, as we read in the next verse, " the heavens 
 " were opened." Shall we say, that, by divine 
 power, a representation of the celestial glory was 
 made to his senses, in the same manner as ob- 
 jects, which were not really present, were shewn 
 to the prophets in vision ; or that his eyes were 
 supernaturally strengthened to penetrate through 
 the im.mense space which separates heaven from 
 earth, and the vail which conceals the mansions 
 of the blessed ? To form conjectures on a sub- 
 ject, of which we are ignorant, is idle ; let us, 
 therefore, content ourselves with the simple 
 statement of Luke. He saw " the glory of God." 
 God himself is invisible. " No man hath seen 
 *' him j" and it is physically impossible that any 
 
198 THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 
 
 man should see him, because eyes of flesh are ca- 
 pable of seeing only material objects. The glory 
 of God must therefore signify some symbol of 
 his presence, perhaps a brightness surpassing that 
 of the sun, which pointed out the place where 
 he reveals himself to angels and saints, who con- 
 template with admiration his infinite perfections, 
 and at the uncreated source itself, imbibe the de- 
 licious draught of Immortality and joy. Such 
 a view of heaven revives the spirits of a dying 
 saint ; and he would vi^illingly pass through a 
 sea of blood to participate of its bliss. 
 
 But this was not the only sight which glad- 
 dened the last moments of the martyr. He saw 
 *' Jesus standing on the right hand of God." 
 The Saviour ascended to heaven in our nature, 
 which he will wear for ever, and in which the 
 righteous will behold and admire the perfection 
 of beauty. There he sits at the right hand of 
 the Father, invested with the highest honours, 
 and exercising sovereign authority. But on this 
 occasion Stephen saw him standing. And why 
 does he appear in this unusual posture ? One of 
 the apostles, with a design to demonstrate his 
 superiority to the Levitical priests, observes, that 
 they " stood" when they ministered ; but he, 
 having offered his sacrifice for sin, " for ever sat 
 " down on the right hand of God *." A saint 
 was surrounded with enemies thirsting for his 
 *Heb. xii. 11, 12. 
 
THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 199 
 
 blood, and in a few moments was to fall a victim 
 to their rage. Jesus Christ rose up from his 
 throne to observe tlie courage, the patience, and 
 the faith of his disciple ; to meet and welcome 
 his spirit as soon as it had escaped into the peace- 
 ful asylum of heaven ; and to introduce him 
 into the presence of his Father, that he might re- 
 ceive from his hands the crown of glory. " When 
 " the heathen rage, and the people imagine a 
 " vain thing, he sits still and laughs at them *." 
 Their wild uproar does not disturb liis tranquil- 
 lity. But when a poor saint, despised and out- 
 raged by tlie world, is dying under its murder- 
 ous hands, he rises ; his heart is interested ; his 
 compassion is excited ; he makes haste to suc- 
 cour the forlorn sufferer, and waits to embrace, 
 and to solace him in his arms. How comfort- 
 able to Stephen was the sight of Jesus, standing 
 on the ric^ht hand of God ! How it elevated iiis 
 *soul ! how it animated his resolution ! how it en- 
 flamed his love ! how it stript death of all its ter- 
 rors ! " Let the flesh," he could say, " feel only 
 " a few short pangs, and then I shall be with my 
 " Saviour, whose hand will wipe away all my 
 " tears." 
 
 In such a state of mind, Stephen could not be 
 silent. Pleasurable emotions of the lighter or 
 gentler kind may be suppressed, as pride or pru- 
 dence shall direct ; but wlien the heart is strong- 
 * Psalm ii. I — i. 
 
200 THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 
 
 ly affected, and overcome by sudden and exces- 
 sive joy, it breaks through all restraints, and 
 gives unequivocal signs of its sensations. " Be- 
 " hold,*' exclaims the martyr, " I see the hea- 
 " vens opened, and the Son of Man istanding 
 " on the right hand of God." Although none 
 were near him who feared God, yet he could 
 not forbear to declare " what God had done for 
 " his soul *." But his words are not to be con- 
 sidered merely as expressive of his triumph. 
 They were a new testimony to the truth of the 
 religion for which he was to lay down his life, 
 and to the glory of his Saviour ; and in this 
 view, they were fitly spoken in the presence of 
 his enemies. " It is no cunningly devised fable 
 ' which I follow, when I believe, that Jesus of 
 ' Nazareth is the Messiah, and that he has a- 
 ' scended from the cross to the throne. It is 
 ' no longer the subject of my faith. I see it with 
 my eyes ; I behold him reigning with his Fa- 
 ' ther, far above all principaUty, and power, and 
 ' might, and dominion. The sentence which 
 ' you dared to pronounce upon him as a blas- 
 ' phemer is reversed. There stands the Son of 
 ' Man, whom you persecuted under that hum- 
 ' ble title, placed, as he foretold to you, on the 
 ' right hand of power. Over me it will be easy 
 ' to prevail j but know, that you are contend- 
 
 * Psalm. Ixvi. 16. 
 
THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 201 
 
 " ing with liini, who can dash his enemies in 
 " pieces as a potter's vessel." 
 
 The passions of his audience, ah'cady wound 
 up to the highest pitch, now burst forth with 
 ungovernable fury. " They cried out witli a loud 
 " voice,'* to drown the voice of the blasphemer, 
 and " stopped their ears," lest they should hear 
 any more of his words ; and disregarding the so- 
 lemnity of the place, and the gravity and delibera- 
 tion-, with which all judicial proceedings should be 
 conducted, they " ran upon him with one ac- 
 " cord," and " cast him out of the city," which 
 his presence profaned, and " stoned him." Yet, 
 notwithstanding the excess of their rage, they 
 could so far command themselves as to observe 
 some of the forms of law. They did not mur- 
 der Stephen with the first weapons which they 
 could find, but stoned him, as God had com- 
 manded the blasphemer to be punished. • " He 
 " that blasphemeth the name of the Lord, he 
 " shall surely be put to death, and all the con- 
 " gregation shall certainly stone him *." They 
 did not execute this sentence upon him in the 
 streets of Jerusalem, but first dragged him out 
 of the city, because God had said concerning the 
 son of an Israelitish woman, who blasphemed in, 
 the wilderness, " Bring forth him that hath cur- 
 " sed without the camp f." Although they were 
 all eager to testify their zeal, by taking a part in 
 
 * Lev. x>;Iv. 16. f Lev. xxiv, 14» 
 
 2 c 
 
202 THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 
 
 his death, yet they waited till the witnesses had 
 throv n the first stones : for the law required, 
 that " the hands of the witnesses should first be 
 " upon him to put him to death, and afterward 
 " the hands of all the people *.'* It seems, there- 
 fore, that, amidst the disorder with which the 
 trial was conducted, the council had regularly 
 pronounced sentence upon him. But the obser- 
 vance of legal forms could not atone for the ne- 
 glect of material justice in condemning him on 
 false evidence, and interrupting his defence. A- 
 las ! this is not the only instance, in which 
 Jaw has been perverted to the destruction of the 
 innocent, and the most nefarious deeds have 
 been coloured over with an appearancs of respect 
 to order and equity. 
 
 ^^ And the witnesses laid dov/n their clothes at 
 " a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.'* 
 Saul was neither a witness nor a judge ; but his 
 furious zeal brought him to the place ; and he 
 expressed his approbation, we may suppose, by 
 his gestures and his words. I see him standing, 
 with the rage of bigotry depicted on his counte- 
 nance, encouraging the witnesses to avenge the 
 honour of Moses upon the wretch who had dared 
 to revile him, himself hurling a stone at his head, 
 and relaxing into a vindictive smile, w^hen the 
 blessed martyr fell lifeless to the ground. In the 
 school of Gamaliel, he had imbibed no portion of 
 the moderate spirit of his teacher. The fire of 
 * Deut. xvif. 7. 
 
THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 203 
 
 youtli, blown up into aflame byrcligious prejudice, 
 could not be repressed by the calm lessons of rea- 
 son and humanity. A career whicli commenced 
 with such unfavourable symptoms, promised to 
 be marked, in its progress, with violence and 
 blood. A young man, v/ho could thrust him- 
 self forward as an accomplice in sucli a transac- 
 tion, seemed to discover a mind too arrogant 
 and overbearing to be convinced, and a heart 
 too callous to relent. The fervour of his pas- 
 sions might abate as he advanced in years ; but 
 the same dispositions would continue ; and the 
 impetuosity of zeal would be exchanged for 
 more deliberate and systematic cruelty. Who 
 would have rccoGfnised in this man " a vessel of 
 *' mercy ?'* Who would have supposed, tlint 
 ere lonGf his zeal w^ould be transferred to the ser- 
 vice of Jesus of Nazareth ; that It would glow 
 with equal ardour, but with a purer flame, for 
 the advancement of that religion, which it now 
 sought to consume ; that the persecutor would 
 become an apostle ; and that he wlio joined in 
 the murder of a disciple, would, in the same 
 cause, willingly submit his neck to the stroke of 
 the executioner*s sword ? 
 
 Let us return to Stephen, whom we left in 
 the midst of his enemies. His couras^e was un- 
 shaken, and his mind was calm. " And they 
 " stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, 
 " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." God is a sup. 
 
204 THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 
 
 plemcnt, which would have been better omitted ; 
 and the verse should have been rendered thus : 
 " They stoned Stephen, calling upon Jesus, and 
 " saying," &c. Whether we adopt the one trans- 
 lation or the other, the verse furnishes an in- 
 stance of religious worship, offered to Jesus 
 Christ by one of the primitive disciples, standing 
 on the verge of the eternal world, and under the 
 inspiration of the Holy Ghost. There is not a 
 higher exercise of faith, nor a more solemn act 
 of religion, than to commit our departing spi- 
 rits to the care of him whom we address. This 
 is the last and most important step ; our ever- 
 lasting well-being depends upon it ; and the con- 
 sequences of a mistake would be irretrievable. 
 And to whom should this homage be paid, but 
 to our faithful Creator ? In whose hands can we 
 safely entrust our souls, but in those of him who 
 made them ? Here, then, is a proof that our 
 Lord Jesus Christ is a divine person, entitled to 
 tlie same worship with the Father, unless Ste- 
 phen died an idolater, and the Holy Ghost sud- 
 denly abandoned him ; a proof, which the ad- 
 versaries of his deity cannot evade, except by 
 such pitiful shifts, as are sure indications of a des- 
 perate cause. 
 
 " Lord Jesus, receive my spirit." His eai'thly 
 tabernacle was battered and broken, and ready 
 to fall down into the dust. But Jesus had taught 
 his disciples, " not to be afraid of them that kill 
 
 1 
 
THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 205 
 
 " the body, and after that have no more tliat 
 " they can do *." The immortal spirit cannot 
 be pierced with the sword, nor consumed with 
 the flames. It eludes the rage of persecutors ; it 
 escapes from the murdered body, and rises to 
 heaven. Of the soul, as a substance distinct from 
 the body, the light of nature gives some no- 
 tices ; and hence the celebrated saying of the 
 philosopher Anaxarclms, when he was condemn- 
 ed by the tyrant of Cyprus, to be brayed to death 
 in a mortar. " Beat the caj.j of Anaxarchus j 
 " but thou dost not strike Anaxarchus him- 
 " self f." But surer are the liopcs of the Chris- 
 tian, who knows, by infallible evidence, that al- 
 though his body claims no higher origin than 
 the dust, and in its frailty resembles the dust, 
 which every wind may scatter ; yet his soul is a 
 vital spark, kindled by the breath of the Almigh- 
 ty, and destined to glow for ever in the pure and 
 serene atmosphere of heaven. The soul of Stephen 
 was about to leave this world, and pass into eter- 
 nity. How dark and doubtful is tlie passage to 
 those, who have nothing to guide their steps but 
 the inconsistent twilight of reason ! '• Whither art 
 " thou going ? Into what region shalt thou en- 
 " ter ? Art thou doomed to sink into insensibili- 
 " ty and non-existence, or to wander for ever in 
 " darkness and sorrow ?" A bright ray, pier- 
 cing through the gloom, shines upon the dying 
 * Luke xii. 4. -f DIog. Laert. in vita Anaxarch. 
 
206 THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 
 
 saint, and leads his eye to those glorious man- 
 sions, in which he shall enjoy eternal repose be- 
 yond the reach of calamity and death. He be? 
 holds by faith what Stephen saw with his bodily 
 eyes, " Jesus standing at the right hand of 
 " God," and expires with this prayer upon his 
 lips, " Lord Jesus receive my spirit.'* " Lord,'* 
 said the holy martyr, '- 1 am dying for the ho- 
 " nour of thy name. I willingly part with 
 " this mortal life at thy command. Now, Lord, 
 " while I yield up my body to be bruised and 
 *' mangled by these men, take my soul to thy- 
 " self, in whose presence it will speedily forget 
 " all its sorrows." With the same language of 
 faith and hope did Jesus himself close his agonies 
 on the cross. " Father, into thy hands I com- 
 " mend my spirit *." And thus, after having 
 received, during the course of his life, many plea- 
 sing testimonies of the favour and guardian care 
 of heaven, does a good man, supported by the 
 consolations of religion, pass without fear into 
 another world, where the same protection will 
 be continued, and the same love w^ill bestow its 
 blessings in greater abundance. 
 
 Ihe few moments of life which remained, 
 Stephen spent in prayer for his murderers. Calm 
 amidst their fury, full of charity, while they 
 breathed revenge and blood, " he kneeled down, 
 " and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not 
 * Luke xxili. 46. 
 
THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHLN. 207 
 
 *' this sin to their charge." Human nature, in 
 such circumstances, is apt to liarbour very cliii'c- 
 rent sentiments. To be persecuted for no fault, 
 to be loaded with foul imputations which we do 
 not deserve, to be deprived of life by the hand 
 of injustice, and, instead of being pitied under 
 such sufferings, to be insulted ; these are wrongs 
 too irritating; to be borne by an ordinarv measure 
 of patience. The victim exclaims against the un- 
 lenting cruelty of his enemies. Finding no re- 
 dress upon earth, he appeals to the tribunal of 
 heaven, and dies invoking its vengeance. Our 
 natural feelings concur in the appeal, and ap- 
 prove of the prayer : for, is it not right that the 
 cry of blood should be heard, and that the vio- 
 lence of the wicked should recoil upon their 
 own heads ? But how much nobler are the sen- 
 timents which religion inspires ? It teaches us 
 " to render blessing for cursing," and to seek the 
 good of those who are . inflicting upon us the 
 o^reatest evils. Christian heroism is not of a 
 
 o 
 
 stern and unrelenting character ; it is associated 
 with the milder virtues ; the same bosom, which 
 is fortified by invincible courage, cherishes all 
 the tender affections ; and while the saint en- 
 counters danger with the firmness of a philoso- 
 pher, he melts with compassion towards his per- 
 secutors, on whom the wrath of heaven is ready 
 to fall. " Lord," cries exasperated nature, " let 
 ** their sin be remembered, and do thou reward 
 
208 'THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 
 
 " them according to their deeds.'* " Lord," 
 says the heaven-born soul, " lay not this sin to 
 " their charge." 
 
 Such language, indeed, is now so common, in 
 consequence of the example set by Stephen, and 
 our Lord upon the cross, and the general strain 
 of the doctrines and precepts of our holy reli- 
 gion, that we hear it without much admiration. 
 Almost every profligate, who is brought to the 
 EcaiTold for his crimes, professes to forgive his 
 enemies, and to die in peace with all the world. 
 But the difference is great between the unmeaning 
 cant of virtue, and the real practice of it. It is 
 no vulgar attainment to love the man who hates 
 us ; to divest oursei*v^es of any wish to retaliate 
 upon him who has poured bitterness into our 
 cup ; sincerely to desire the salvation of those, 
 who, if their power wxre equal to their malice, 
 would consign us to the flames of hell. Such 
 benevolence never lodged in a soul, whose ideas 
 and affections the Spirit of love had hot first ex- 
 alted and purified. 
 
 " Lord, lay not this sin to their charge." Ste- 
 phen was fully apprized of the atrocious nature 
 of the conduct of his persecutors, which implied 
 the comphcated guilt of murder and impiety; and 
 of the dreadful punishment which was prepared 
 for them by the justice of the insulted Saviour. 
 Yet to that Saviour he makes intercession in 
 their behalf. The words must be understood as 
 
THE MARTVRDOM OF STEPHEN. 209 
 
 a prayer, that they might receive repentance un- 
 to life, and be pardoned through tiiat blood, 
 which they now despised as a common thing. 
 
 The melting charity of this prayer was suf- 
 ficient to have softened the hearts of savages. 
 Yet it did not suspend the rage of the murderers 
 of this holy man ; but as he closed it, the mor- 
 tal blow was inflicted, which filled up the mea- 
 sure of their guilty and dismissed the saint to 
 everlasting rest. " And when he had said this, 
 " he fell asleep." Nature had suffered violence ; 
 its frame had been forcibly torn asunder ; but 
 the struggle was over, and its convulsive agita- 
 tion was succeeded by a calm. *' He fell asleep.'* 
 The word is happily chosen, to express'the peace- 
 ful nature of the death of the righteous, who, 
 worn out with labour, aiid exhausted with sor- 
 row, sink down upon the bed of dust to enjoy 
 sweet repose. There let the blessed martyr rest, 
 till the last morning dawn, when, awaked by the 
 voice of his Saviour, he shall rise to receive an 
 unfading crown, and to join in the triumph of 
 truth, which, by patience, by meekness, and by 
 blood, shall have overcome the rage of the world, 
 and the malice of hell. 
 
 To this Lecture I shall subjoin the following 
 improvement. 
 
 First, None are more violent and implacable 
 2 D 
 
210 THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 
 
 enemies of the truth, than those who live in an 
 insincere profession of rehgion. They have pe- 
 culiar reasons for disliking it. It detects their 
 hypocrisy, reproves their backslidings, condemns 
 their innovations and corruptions, and disturbs 
 their proud confidence and presumptuous hopes. 
 With what indignation and fury do they rise tip 
 against such ungrateful doctrine ? They hate it, 
 because " it never speaks good concerning them, 
 '' but evil *." We have a pertinent example in 
 the conduct of the Jews towards Stephen. The 
 apostate church of Rome has faithfully trodden 
 in their steps. The most ferocious savages never 
 exercised greater cruelty upon their deadly foes, 
 than the followers of Antichrist have inflicted on 
 the genuine disciples of Jesus. And what evil 
 had the victims of their barbarity done. Had 
 they blasphemed the God of Heaven ? Had they 
 committed crimes against the peace of society ? 
 No ; the Scripture informs us, that they " tor- 
 " mented them who dwelt on the earth f," not 
 by fires and racks, and other infernal engines, 
 but by " prophesying," that is, by publishing 
 truths, which disquieted their consciences. This 
 is the true history of persecution. It is the war 
 of the seed of the serpent against the seed of the 
 woman ; the effect of that hatred which holiness 
 excites in the unregenerate heart. 
 
 In tlic second place, Jesus Christ will not be 
 
 * 1 Kings xxii. 8. f Rev. xi. 10. 
 
THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 2\ I 
 
 wantin!T to his servants under those sufTcrlngs 
 which they endure for his sake. He is too mucli 
 pleased with their zeal in ofTcrinoj themselves as 
 a sacrifice to his glory, to leave them unpiticd 
 and unfriended in distress. Docs any man af- 
 fiici a poor, helpless saint, who passes for a mere 
 cipher in the world's arithmetic ? He says, 
 " Thou hast touched the apple of mine eye *. I 
 " feel the pain, and will avenge the injury." 
 Are his disciples reproached, tortured, and put 
 to death, by the wanton cruelty of the wicked ? 
 A voice cries to them from heaven, " Why per^ 
 " secute you me f ?" Our exalted Redeemer has 
 a fellow-feeling with his people ; and his hand is 
 always ready to obey the suggestions of his sym- 
 pathising heart. Invisible to mortal eyes, he 
 stands in the heavenly sanctuary, praying for 
 grace to help them in time of need. Hence hu- 
 man nature has been often supported, so as to 
 astonish the spectators. It has not startled at 
 the sight of death in its most horrid forms ; it 
 has shed no tears, and uttered no groans, when 
 it was slowly consumed by fire, and torn in 
 pieces by instruments of iron. Delicate women 
 and children have tired their persecutors by their 
 patience under tortures ; and it was only when 
 nature could hold out no longer against the ap- 
 proaches of death, that they yielded with a smile* 
 
 * Acts ix. ^i * Zech. iL 8. 
 
"212 THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 
 
 ^' My grace is sufficient for thee ; for my strength 
 " is made perfect in weakness *.'* 
 
 in the third place. In whatever form death 
 may befal a Christian, his latter end is peace, 
 "What ! is it peace if he should expire in agony, 
 in indigence, and in solitude, without a friend to 
 watch his bed, or a physician to administer cor- 
 dials ; or should die by the hands of the public 
 executioner ? Even in those cases, my brethren, 
 it is peace, because he dies in the Lord, and falls 
 asleep in the hope of a resurrection to life. He 
 may be carried away by a whirlwind ; but it 
 conveys him, like Elijah, to heaven. Do you 
 think rather of the rich and honourable man, 
 who is stretched upon a bed of down, surround- 
 ed with weeping relatives, and attended by men 
 of skill, who exhaust their art to alleviate his 
 pain ? Ah ! you do not consider, that perhaps 
 remorse embitters his last hours ; he shudders, 
 at the approach of death, and quits life in horror 
 and despair. How much happier was Stephen, 
 although bruised, and broken, and aching in, 
 every limb ? The joy of hope refreshed his soul. 
 Looking up to heaven, he beheld his Saviour 
 waiting to receive him ; and he committed his, 
 spirit to the care of this faithful and affectionate 
 friend. 
 
 Who, then, will not say, " Let me die the death 
 " of the righteous ; and let my last end be like 
 
 * 2 Cor. xii. 9. 
 
THE MARTYRDOM OF STEPHEN. 213 
 
 *' his* ?'* Who would not wisli to leave the world 
 with the same inward peace, and the same ani- 
 mating prospect ? Remember that this will be the 
 privilege only of those who resemble Stephen in 
 faith and holiness. It is faith in the atonement 
 and intercession of Jesus, and the testimony of 
 conscience to the sincerity of faith, which u^ill 
 cheer the evening of our days, and make the 
 grave appear under the image of a place of rest ; 
 a blessed refuge from the malice of men, and all 
 the calamities of life. 
 
 * Numb, xxiii. 10. 
 
LECTURE X. 
 
 THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGUS. 
 
 Chap. VIII. 1—24. 
 
 In the observations on the martyrdom of Ste- 
 phen, we have anticipated the'remark with which 
 this chapter begins. " And Saul was consenting 
 " untohis death/' His approbation ofthatmurder- 
 ous deed was attested by the activity with v/hich 
 he engaged in the persecution, carried on that at 
 time asrainst the church in Jerusalem. " As for 
 " Saul, he made havock of the church, entering 
 " into every house, and haling men and women, 
 " committed them to prison.'* The death of Ste- 
 phen did not appease the fury of the Jews; but ha- 
 ving once tasted blood, they thirsted for it with 
 insatiable eagerness. The immediate effect of their 
 violence was the dispersion of many persons be- 
 longing to the church, who, not finding it safe to 
 remain in Jerusalem, followed the direction given 
 by our Saviour. " When they persecute you in 
 " this city, flee ye into another." The remote 
 effect, of which Saul and his accomplices were not 
 aware, but which was one design of providence 
 
THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGJS. 215 
 
 in permitting the persecution, was the propaga- 
 tion of the gospel, not only in Judea and Sama- 
 ria, but, as \vc learn from the sequel of the his- 
 tory, in more distant regions, inhabited by the 
 Gentiles. God is continually bringing good out 
 of evil. He makes " the wrath of men to praise 
 " him ;" and turns the most adverse events into 
 the means of promoting the cause, which they 
 threatened to destroy. 
 
 I should pass on to the history of Simon the 
 magician, without any other observations on the 
 introductory verses of the chapter, had they 
 not been lately brought forward, and, I think, 
 misrepresented, in the controversy with regard 
 to the persons, who have a right to preach the 
 gospel. " They were all scattered abroad, ex- 
 " cept the apostles ; and they that were scattered 
 " abroad went everyvt'here preaching the word." 
 On these passages thus connected, the following 
 argument is founded. If the disciples, without 
 exception, preached the gospel in the places to 
 which they went during their dispersion, they 
 musit have proceeded upon this principle, as re- 
 cognised and acted upon in the primitive church, 
 under the eye of the apostles, that a right to 
 preach is not exclusively vestf^d in a particular 
 order of men, regularly called and authorised, 
 but belongs to Christians in general. The ar- 
 gument is not new : let us examine whether it be 
 good. 
 
216 . THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGUS. 
 
 The strength of the argument depends upon 
 the truth of this assumption, that the church of 
 Jerusalem was completely dispersed, all the pri- 
 vate members, as well as the office-bearers, being 
 driven from the city. This is supposed to be the 
 manifest import of the words, " they were all 
 scattered abroad." It is questionable, however, 
 whether this interpretation be just. Furious as 
 the persecution was, it is not credible that it 
 compelled so large a body, consisting of many 
 thousands, to leave their homes. Who ever 
 read of a persecution, which caused, in so short 
 a time, the dispersion of such a numerous socie- 
 ty ! Persecution may oblige the pastors and ru- 
 lers of a church, against whom it is chiefly di- 
 rected, and such of the members as are distin- 
 guished by their rank or their zeal, or are more 
 easily intimidated than their brethren, to seek 
 an asylum in some distant place ; but history 
 will support me in affirming, that, in such cases, 
 the greater part have remained, sheltered by 
 their obscurity, or by their friends, and that a 
 church was never completely scattered but by 
 a long and uninterrupted course of cruelty and 
 blood. Besides, if the whole church was driven 
 into exile, so that neither man nor woman was 
 left behind, except the few who were committed 
 to prison, for what purpose did the apostles con- 
 tinue in Jerusalem ? During so dreadful a storm, 
 they durst not have appeared in public, unless 
 
THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGUS. 21? 
 
 they came forth merely to be murdered ; they 
 must have kept themselves concealed. There was 
 no church to which they could mhiister ; and 
 this certainly was not the time when there was 
 any hope, or indeed any opportunity, of ma- 
 king converts. By staying, therefore, in Jeru- 
 salem, they exposed themselves to danger, with- 
 out being able to perform any service wdiich 
 would counterbalance the hazard; and they spent 
 that time in inactivity, which, had they gone a- 
 broad with their brethren, might have been em- 
 ployed in a more extensive publication of the 
 gospel. This supposition is consistent neither 
 with the prudence nor with the zeal of the apos- 
 tles ; but we must have recourse to it, if we un- 
 derstand the passage to mean, that the persecu- 
 tion was so violent as to cause the flight of all 
 the disciples. 
 
 Whoever attentively considers what has now 
 been advanced, will, 1 trust, be convinced, that 
 the words of Luke do not refer to the whole body 
 of the people. At the same time, the universal 
 term which he employs, points out some class of 
 persons to which it ought to be applied. And 
 whom can we so reasonably presume to be meant 
 as those who were joined with the apostles in 
 preaching the gospel, and dispensing the ordi- 
 nances of religion, evangelists, pastors, and teach- 
 ers ? This idea, 1 am disposed to think, w^ould 
 occur to a careful reader from the words them- 
 
 2 E 
 
21 S THE HISTORY Of SiMON MAGU5. 
 
 selves. " They were all scattered abroad, ex- 
 " cept the apostles." Why are the apostles ex- 
 cepted, if not with a design to intimate that the 
 rest were of the same description, persons, who, 
 as well as they, laboured in word and doctrine ? 
 How the apostles could remain in the city, while 
 others found it necessary to flee, 1 am not able 
 to say. In a narrative so concise, the omission 
 of several circum.stances renders it impossible to 
 explain every particular. Perhaps they had more 
 courage than their brethren ; or, being willing to 
 expose themselves to all the danger, they advi^-ed 
 the other ministers of the word to retire, for a 
 season, to those places in which they could freely 
 employ themselves to the advantage of the com- 
 mon cause. 
 
 It is not a mere conjecture, that those who 
 Avere scattered abroad were authorised preachers 
 of the gospel. The supposition is confirmed by 
 two facts afterwards recorded. The first person 
 among the dispersed disciples, who is said to have 
 preached, \\,as not a layman, to employ a term 
 of ancient use in the church, not a self-created 
 teacher, who judged himself qualified, and there- 
 fore, called, to commence a public instructor. 
 The preacher, as we shall soon see, was Philip, 
 an evangelist, that is, an extraordinary office- 
 bearer, inferior only to the apostles *. The next 
 of whom we have any account, were men of 
 * Acts xxi. 8- 
 
THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGUS. iM 9 
 
 Cyprus Jind Cyrene, who h:\ving gone to An- 
 ti(}c!i, preiichcd to the Grecians *. We arc r.')t 
 informed, on this occasion, whether they heid 
 any office in the church ; but wlicn Antioch is 
 again mentioned, we read, that there were pro- 
 phets and teachers in the church of that city, a- 
 mong whom we find Lucius, a man of Cyrene f. 
 It is highly probable, that he was one of those 
 Cyrenians by whom it was founded ; and it is a 
 natural inference, from his' being a prophet or 
 teacher, that the rest were Hkewise prophets, or 
 persons invested with some ecclesiastical office. 
 It may be presumed from these facts, that all 
 those, who went everywhere preaching the word, 
 were possessed of the same authority. 
 
 These remarks will at least shew, that the ar- 
 gument for lay-preaching, which has been dedu- 
 ced from this passage, will not justify all that 
 confidence with w^hich it has been advanced. It 
 is an instance, in which, by mistaking the sound 
 of Scripture for the sense, an opinion has been 
 adopted or confirmed, which is contrary to its 
 clear declarations in other passages. He who shall 
 consider, that it was not to the church at large, 
 but to the apostles, that Jesus gave the keys of 
 the kingdom of heaven ; that they, and not all 
 the disciples, of whom there were more than five 
 hundred, received a commission to go into all 
 the world, and prea(;h the gospel to every crea- 
 * Acts xi. 20. t Acts xili, L 
 
220 THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGUS. 
 
 ture ; that, when they planted churches, they 
 ordained elders in every city to instruct and go- 
 vern them ; that there is not, in all the New Tes- 
 tament, a single case fairly made out, of a person 
 who preached without authority, nor in all the 
 history of the church, during the first century, 
 as one, profoundly learned in Christian antiqui- 
 ty, and unbiassed by any particular interest, has 
 assured us * ; that Timothy was directed to com- 
 mit the preaching of the gospel to faithful men, 
 who should be able to teach others, and, conse- 
 quently, that those, to whom it was not com- 
 mitted, had no right to teach ; and, not to mul- 
 tiply particulars, that an apostle expressly affirms, 
 that men cannot preach, that is, have no autho- 
 rity to preach, except they be sent f - he who 
 shall seriously and dispassionately consider all 
 these things, will reject as unscriptural the no- 
 tion, however confidently and plausibly main- 
 tained, that every man who is qualified, or, in 
 other words, judges himself qualified, may com- 
 mence a preacher of the gospel ; a notion mani- 
 festly calculated to foster vanity, ambition, and 
 enthusiasm, and, when acted upon, to diflfuse 
 among the people ignorance, error, contempt 
 for a regular ministry, and all the wild and per- 
 
 * Mosheim. de rebus Christian, ante Constantln. p. 151, 
 152. 
 
 f Matt. xvi. 19. John xx. 23. Matt, xxviii. 19. Acts 
 xiv. 23. Tit. i. 5. 2 Tim. ii. 2. Rom. x. 14-, 15. 
 
THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGUS. 221 
 
 nicious cfTects of uncnliirlTitcncd zeal. Those wl.o 
 are acquainted with the history of religion in 
 this island, have no need to be told what disor- 
 ders it caused in the century before the last ; 
 and it is vain to expect that we shall ever " ga- 
 " ther grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles." 
 
 We proceed to the account of the labours of 
 Philip, the evangelist, in Samaria. "Then Philip; 
 *' went down to the city of Samaria, and prc.ich- 
 ** ed Christ unto them." 
 
 Samaria was the ancient capital of the ten 
 tribes, who revolted from the family of David ; 
 and was now inhabited by the descendants of the 
 mixed people, whom the king of Assyria, when 
 he carried those tribes into captivity, planted in 
 their room. At their first settlement, these foreign- 
 ers practised the idolatry of the countries from 
 which they respectively came ; but afterwards, 
 in consequence of the instructions of an Israeli- 
 tish priest, who was sent to teach them " the 
 " manner of the God of the land;'* they associ- 
 ated with their own rites the worship of Jeho- 
 vah *. It was probably from his hands that they 
 received the five books of Moses ; and these, cor- 
 rupted in several places, were the only books of 
 Scripture which they acknowledged. They built 
 a temple on mount Gerizzim, in which thev of- 
 fered sacrifices, observed the Jewish festivals, 
 * 2 ICings xvii. 24 — il. 
 
222 THE HISTORY OF SIMON* MAGUS. 
 
 practised circumcision, and expected the Messiah. 
 Of their system ofrelisfion. as it existed in the 
 da3-s of our Saviour, it is difficult to obr.iln i dis- 
 tinct and satisflictory account, because the im- 
 placable enmity of the Jews led them to repre- 
 sent it in the most unfavourable ligrht. From 
 
 o 
 
 the words of Jesus to the Samaritan woman, it 
 « appears to have been extremely corrupt. " Ye 
 *' wcrship ye know not what *." Yet, as they 
 professed the same religion with the Jews, how 
 much soever they differed in some material points, 
 they are classed with them in the style of the 
 New Testament, and not reckoned among the 
 Gentiles. Hence the honour of havins; beo:un the 
 conversion of the Gentiles is not ascribed to Phi- 
 lip, who preached with success to the Samaritans, 
 but to Peter, by whose ministry Cornelius, a 
 Roman centurion, was brought to the know- 
 ledge of the truth. 
 
 From this imperfect view of the religious state 
 of the Samaritans, it is evident that they were 
 not better disposed than their rivals the Jews, to 
 embrace the doctrine of Christ. Their system 
 was more erroneous, their prejudices were equal- 
 ly great, and their knowledge was less. When 
 Philip visited them, there was less hope than 
 ever that they would lend a favourable ear to 
 the gospel, because their attention and affections 
 were pre-engaged by one of those impostors, who, 
 * John iv. 22. 
 
THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGUS. 223 
 
 in all ages, have sported with the credulity of man - 
 kiiul. " There was a certain man called Sijnon, 
 " which before-time in the same city used sorcery, 
 " and bewitched the people of Samaria, giving our 
 " that himself was some great one: to whom they 
 " all gave heed, from the least to the greatest, 
 '• sa) ing, This man is the great power of God." 
 IMagic, which he professed, v/as held in liigh es- 
 timation by the Chaldeans, Egyptians, and other 
 eastern nations. It was an imaginary science, 
 founded in a supposed intercourse with demons, 
 a sort of intermediate beings between the gods 
 aiid men, who were believed to possess great in- 
 fluence upon human affairs. Magicians pretend- 
 ed to be able, by their aid, to cure or to indict 
 diseases, and to perform many other wonder- 
 ful works. In most cases, their miracles were 
 undoubtedly of the same kind with the jug- 
 gling tricks of professed conjurors among our- 
 selves. In some instances, tlicy may have been 
 effected by means of an acquaintance with the 
 secret powers of nature. By a dexterous use of 
 sucli knowledge, it v/as easy for an unprincipled 
 man to raise the wonder of the ignorant, and to 
 make himself pass for a superior being, or a per- 
 son who was favoured witli the im.mediate as- 
 sistance of heaven. The opinion that magicians 
 were assisted by evil spirits, although it could 
 not perhaps be proved to involve any absurdi- 
 tv, is clo[j:a;ed with too manv difficulties to be 
 
224 THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGUS. 
 
 hastily admitted. It is an opinion, however, 
 which has been generally entertained from cer- 
 tain principles in the human mind, which have 
 Sfiven encourag:ement to the whole race of ma- 
 gicians, conjurors, necromancers, and fortune- 
 tellers ; the credulity of a great part of men, in 
 both the higher and the lower ranks, their love 
 of the marvellous, their desire to penetrate into 
 futurity, their hope of obtaining deliverance from 
 calamities, and that success in their schemes of 
 ambition, wealth, and pleasure, which it was 
 vain to expect from their own prudence and abi- 
 lity. 
 
 To this class of deceivers Simon belonged. He 
 " used sorcery" in Samaria, or, as the word sig- 
 nifies, exercised the magical art ; and he " be- 
 '"' witched" the people, astonished them, and cap- 
 tivated their hearts. In the usual style of such 
 impostors, he gave himself out to be "some 
 " great one." We are not told what character 
 he assumed. Perhaps he avoided any specific 
 claim, and asserted his dignity in general and 
 mysterious terms, calculated, by their indefinite 
 nature, to work upon the imagination of the 
 crowd, and to raise their admiration to the ut- 
 most height of extravagance. The Samaritans, 
 the dupes of his artifice, exclaimed, "■ This man 
 " is the great power of God." They were at a 
 loss by what title to distinguish him ; but they 
 regarded him, with reverence and awe, as a mes- 
 
THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGUS. 225 
 
 sensrer from the God of heaven and earth, whom 
 he had invested with his own ahnighty power. 
 
 Notwithstanding, however, the veneration in 
 which Simon was held by the Samaritans, no 
 sooner did the evangeUst appear, than the mimic 
 wonders of macric shrunk before the genuine 
 works of omnipotence. " What is the chaff to 
 " the wheat ? saith the Lord." Magic, wdth all 
 its spelis and incantations, all its mystic rites and 
 vaunted powers, could not bear to be contrasted 
 with that splendid train of miracles by which 
 the gospel was confirmed. Unclean spirits, the 
 pretended agents in this diabolical art, crying 
 out with terror, fled from the bodies of the pos- 
 sessed ; the limbs of those who were afflicted 
 with palsy in a moment recovered their vigour ; 
 and the lame, throwing away their crutches, or 
 rising from their beds, leaped for joy. By these 
 real wonders, the charm which attached the 
 Samaritans to Simon was broken ; their atten- 
 tion was turned to the evangelist ; and they were 
 prepared to give his doctrine a patient and fa- 
 vourable hearing. They believed him to be an 
 ambassador from God, whose instructions they 
 were bound to receive. " And the people with 
 " one accord G:ave heed unto those thino-s which 
 " Philip spake, hearing and seeinj," the miracles 
 " which he did.'* 
 
 The labours of Philip were attended with great 
 success. " The power of the Lord was present, 
 
 2 F 
 
226 THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGUS, 
 
 " to heal the Samaritans," to enlighten their 
 jnindsj and to render them obedient to the faith. 
 Their conversion must be ascribed to the influ- 
 ence of divine grace upon their souls, and not 
 to the external evidence of miracles addressed to 
 their senses, or to the arguments and eloquence of 
 the preacher. " Neither is he that planteth any 
 '' thing, neither he that watereth ; but God that 
 *' giveth the increase *.'* *' The light shineth in 
 '' darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it 
 *' not, till God, who commanded the light to shine 
 " out of darkness, shine in our hearts, to give 
 " t;he light of the know^ledge of the glory of God, 
 *' in the face of Jesus Christ f." " The Samaritans 
 " believed Philip preaching the things concern- 
 *' ing the kingdom of God, and the name of Je- 
 '' sus Christ, and were baptized both men and 
 " women.'* " How did Simon behave on this oc- 
 casion ? He also believed and was baptized, won- 
 dering at the miracles of Philip, which so much 
 surpassed the feats that the art of magic enabled 
 liim to perform. As it is manifest, however, 
 from his subsequent conduct, that he was not 
 a partaker of the true grace of God, from which 
 he would have nev^r fallen, it is necessary to re- 
 mark, that it is not always in the same sense that 
 rncn are said, in the New Testament, to believe. 
 Sometimes the meaning is, that, under the influ- 
 ence of the divine Spirit, they unfeignedly re- 
 * 1 Cor. iiU 7. t Joiitt '• 5' 2 Cor. iv. 6. 
 
THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGUS. 22? 
 
 ceived the testimony of God concerning his Son ; 
 and at other times, taith impHcs no more than 
 such an assent to the gospel upon external evi- 
 dence, as we !:!;ive to propositions in philosophy.,, 
 or historical facts, of whicii we see satisfactory 
 proof. Ofiliis nature was the faith of Sluion. 
 It is excessive refinement, therefore, or rather a 
 pitiful quibble, to maintain that none can be said 
 to believe the gospel, but those who have been 
 savingly illuminated. It is right to study the 
 greatest accuracy in our expressions on the sub- 
 ject of reli<jion ; but when it is strained beyond 
 the standard of Scripture, and impeaches the lan- 
 guage of inspiration, we must be excused for 
 neither adopting nor admiring it, and shall be 
 content to blunder on with an apostle or an evan- 
 gelist. 
 
 Simon was admitted to baptism because he- 
 made a credible profession of faith, and Philip 
 perhaps did not suspect his sincerity. He might 
 have long continued to sustain the character of a 
 believer, had not an event taken place, which 
 presented a temptation too strong for him to re- 
 sist. " Now when the apostles, which were- at 
 " Jerusalem, heard that Samaria had received 
 " the word of God, they sent unto them Peter 
 *' and John. Who, when they were come down^ 
 " prayed for them, that they might receive the 
 •'^ Holy Ghost. (For as yet he was fallen upon 
 *' none of tkem : only they Wjcre baptized in tte 
 
228 THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGUS. 
 
 " name of the Lord Jesus). Then laid they their 
 *' hands on them, and they received the Holy 
 *' Ghost.'* Peter and John were sent by their 
 brethren to assist Philip in his labours, to con- 
 firm those who believed, and, in particular; to 
 impart spiritual gifts. Philip, it would seem, 
 did not possess the power of conferring them, 
 which appears to have been exclusively granted 
 to the apostles, to distinguish ihem as the imme- 
 diate ambassadors of Christ, and the first minis- 
 ters in his kingdom. " As yet the Holy Ghost 
 *^ was fallen upon none of them ;" that is, his 
 extraordinary gifts had not yet been communica- 
 ted. They had already received his regenerating 
 influences, for they already believed, and faith 
 is one of the fruits of the Spirit *. Peter and 
 John therefore prayed, that Qod would bestow 
 upon them the same supernatural gifts, which 
 had been so liberally imparted to the Jewish con- 
 verts ; and then " laid their hands on them." 
 This solemm rite, as we observed in the last Lec- 
 ture, was used in the primitive church, both in 
 setting apart a person to a spiritual ofiice, and in 
 conveying miraculous powers. In the present 
 case, and in all others of the same nature, it was 
 merely a sign, with which the thing signified 
 was connected, not by the authority of the apos- 
 tles, but by the will of the Spirit. 
 
 It is not necessary to suppose, that the Holy 
 ♦ Gal. V. 22. 
 
THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGUS. 229 
 
 Ghost, in the sense already explained, was c^i- 
 vcn to all the Samaritans who believed, and were 
 baptized. It does not appear, that, even in the 
 church of Jerusalem, which we may conceive to 
 have been at least as highly favoured in this re- 
 spect as any other, there was an indiscriminate 
 distribution of his extraordinary gifts. When 
 an election was to be made of persons to take 
 care of the poor, the apostles commanded the 
 multitude to look out among them men " full of 
 " the Holy Ghost ;" a direction, which obvious- 
 ly imports, that every man was not so qualified. 
 In that age, wdien the spirit was poured out 
 upon all flesh, upon persons of all ranks and con- 
 ditions, it is certain that in some cases he w-as 
 communicated to private members of the church ; 
 but it is probable, that the distribution was more 
 commonly made to such as sustained a public 
 character. " To one was sjiven the workins: of 
 ** miracles ; to another prophecy ; to another dis- 
 *' cerning of spirits ; to another divers kinds of 
 " tongues ; to another the interpretation of 
 " tongues. But all these wrought that one and 
 *' the self same spirit, dividing to every man se- 
 " verally as he willed *." In this manner pro- 
 vision was made for the edification of the church, 
 as well as for the conviction of unbelievers. The 
 first Christians were, for the most part, unlearn- 
 ed J and the pastors were on a level, ia this re- 
 * 1 Cor. xii. 10, 11. 
 
2S0 THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGUS. 
 
 spect, with their flocks. But the w^int was am- 
 ply supplied, \^ hen " to one was given, by the 
 *' Spirit, the word of wisdom ; to anc-ther, the 
 " word of knowledge by the same Spirit f." 
 Were there any per.wn stil! in the church, 
 who could confer the H.'ly Giiost by the iinpo- 
 sidon of his hands, he might dispense with a re- 
 gular education for the ministry, and employ 
 missionaries recently taken, like Matthew, from 
 the receipt of custom, and Peter, from the trade 
 of a fisherman. It is a surprising mistake to ne- 
 glect the ordinary means of preparation as un- 
 necesary, when those of an extraordinary na- 
 ture have ceased. But to preach the gospel seems 
 now to be accounted by some men an underta- 
 king so easy, that almost any person may en- 
 gage in it. 
 
 The character of the apostles never appears 
 more august, than when we consider them as 
 possessed of the power which was exercised, at 
 this time, by Peter and John. It seems to exalt 
 them above the standard of human nature, and 
 to throw around them some desrree of the lustre 
 of divinity. To see men, who could controul 
 the laws of nature by a word, or a sign, and were 
 able to impart a portion of their authority to 
 others, excites our veneration for them, as be- 
 ings raised above all that wealth and grandeur 
 can bestow* How insignificant is the philoso- 
 * I Cor. xii. 8. 
 
THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGUS. 231 
 
 pher with his boasted science, the statcsmun 
 with his political wisdom, or the monarch v ith 
 his sceptre, which he sways over a hundred pro- 
 vinces, when compared with men, whose com- 
 mand could alter the established order of the uni- 
 verse ! Here ambition might have beheld an ob- 
 ject which would gratify its most exfravai^^nt 
 wishes. By being furnished with the same power 
 which the apostles enjoyed, the possessor uould 
 be raised far above all his competitors for f rme ; 
 or, if avarice were his predominant passion, 
 would find an easy way to the acquisition of 
 rich'^s. Simon was unable to withstand the 
 temptation. His pretended wonders were echp- 
 sed by the real miracles which the apostles per- 
 formed ; and, if he could prevail upon them to 
 invest him with their power, and, above all, to 
 enable him to communicate it to others, he Cat- 
 tered himself that he had discovered a certain 
 road to distinction. He therefore offered them 
 money, saying, " Give me also this poA er, that 
 " on whomsoever I lay hands, he may leceive 
 " the Holy Ghost." It was the proposal of a 
 base and impious mind, which supposed that spi- 
 ritual gifts might be bartered for gold, and that 
 others were governed by the same low motives, 
 of which it was conscious, 
 
 Simon was speedily undeceived with respect 
 to the character of Peter and John. With what 
 confusion and dismay must he have he^,rd this 
 
232 THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGUS, 
 
 answer ! " Thy money perish with thee, because 
 " thou hast thought that the gift of God may 
 **' be purchased with money." It is not to be 
 understood as an imprecation of divine venge- 
 ance upon Simon. Notwithstanding the form 
 of the words, which seem to contain a prayer or 
 a wish, they amount to no more than a strong 
 expression of abhorrence. " Let thy money pe- 
 " rish as thou wilt, unless God give thee re- 
 " pentance." It is the indignant language of re- 
 ligious principle, resisting a nefarious attempt to 
 corrupt it. It is zeal foir God, kindled into a 
 fiame at the avowed wickedness of a man, who 
 sought to prostitute the most sacred tilings in 
 the service of his passions. Peter proceeds to re- 
 prove and admonish him in very solemn and a- 
 larming terms. " Thou hast neither part nor 
 " lot in this matter : for thy heart is not right 
 " in the siarht of God.'* He had thrown off the 
 mask, and discovered his character in its genuine 
 features. It was no violation of charity, but the 
 judgment of truth, to pronounce him, notwith- 
 standing his late profession, to be still in an un- 
 rec^enerate state. Yet Peter did not consider him 
 as guilty of .an unpardonable sin'j and as the 
 grace oF God is ricli and free, and is often exer- 
 cised to notorious transgressors, he concludes 
 with the following exhortation. " Repent, there- 
 " fore, of this thy wickedness, and pray God, 
 " if perhaps the thought of thy heart may be for- 
 
THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGUS. ^C9 
 
 " given thee. For I perceive that thou art in 
 " the gall of bitterness, and in the bond of ini- 
 " quity." 
 
 The spirit of Simon was appalled at the ter- 
 rible words of the apostle ; and for a moment he 
 trembled at the sight of his danger. Hence he 
 entreated Peter and John " to pray to the Lord 
 " for him, that none of these things which they 
 ** had spoken should come upon him." But the 
 favourable symptoms were not of long duration : 
 for we are assured, by the testimony of ancient 
 writers, that he afterwards apostatised from the 
 Christian religion, and stated himself in open op- 
 position to the apostles. I shall conclude the 
 account of him, by Inlying before you a summary 
 of the blasphemous ahd licentious doctrines which 
 he is said to have propagated, extracted from 
 L'enzeus, who, in the second century, composed 
 a learned work against heresies. " This man," 
 he says, speaking of Simion, '* was honoured by 
 " many as a God, and taught th^t it was he 
 *' who had appeared among the Jews, as the Son, 
 " among the Samaritans, as the Father, and a- 
 " mong other nations, as the Holy Ghost ; and 
 " that he was the most sublime virtue, or the 
 " Father of all, by whatever name he was known 
 " among men. Having brought from the city 
 " of Tyre an infamous woman called Helena, he 
 " carried her about with him, affirming that 
 " she was the first conception of his mind, thp: 
 2 G 
 
£34 THE HISTORY OP SIMON MAGUS. 
 
 " mother of all beings, by whom in the begin- 
 " ning he formed angels and archangels. He 
 *' persuaded those who believed in him and this 
 " woman, that they might live as they pleased, 
 " because m.en were saved by his grace, and not 
 " by good works ; and that works are not good 
 " by nature, but by accident ;" or, in other 
 words, that virtue and vice are arbitrary and 
 unfounded distinctions. Hence the same Father 
 goes on to inform us, '* that his followers led 
 "• flagitious lives, that they practised magic, and 
 " that they adored the images of Simon and He- 
 " lena *.** It is plain from this account, that it 
 is inaccurate in ecclesiastical writers to call Simon 
 the first heretic, and the father of heresy : for if 
 a heretic signifies a person v/ho corrupts, while 
 he professes and teaches, the Christian religion, 
 the appeHation does not properly belong to one 
 who explicitly abandoned it, and endeavoured to 
 establish an impious system of his own. It is 
 farther related by some of the Fathers, that a 
 statue was erected to him at Rome with this in- 
 scription, " To Simon, the holy God ;'* and that 
 an encounter having taken place in that city, 
 between him and Peter, and the magician by his 
 art having ascended into the air, the apostle, by 
 his prayers, made him fall to the ground f. But 
 
 * Iron, contra hasres. lib. i. cap. xx. 
 'f Justin. Martyr., A polog. ii. Euseb. lib. ii. cap. 14. 
 Constit. Apostol. lib. vi. cap. 9. 
 
THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGUS. 23'j 
 
 these stories are, with good reason, now explo- 
 ded as fabulous. 
 
 The example of Simon admonishes us not to 
 be hasty in the conclusions which we draw from 
 the impressions made upon the hearers of the 
 gospel. We must not, like some persons of easy 
 belief, reckon every man, who seems to be a- 
 wakened, a convert, and account a few tears, 
 shed in a moment of compunction, an evidence 
 of genuine repentance. In this way a long list 
 might be speedily drawn up ; but a short time 
 would compel us to make many erasures. Let 
 us never forget, that a profligate sorcerer, when 
 he heard the gospel preached by Philip, renoun- 
 ced the magical art, came forward to confess his 
 sins and be baptized, and for a time v/as num- 
 bered among the disciples of Christ. The con- 
 science of a very hardened sinner may be distur- 
 bed with temporary terror ; and the passions of 
 the most careless may, by peculiar circumstances, 
 be interested and agitated* But the emotion sub- 
 sides ; the world again prevails by its allure- 
 ments ; sin regains the empire of the heart ; and 
 it happens to them according to the true pro- 
 verb, " The dog is turned to his own vomit a- 
 *' gain ; and the sow that was washed, to her 
 *' wallowing in the mire *." 
 
 Let those, who, like Simon, have disappoiated 
 * 2 Pet. ii, 22. 
 
236 THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGUS, 
 
 the good hopes which were entertained of them, 
 by turning away from the truth, beware lest 
 *' their hearts be hardened through the deceitful- 
 *' ness of sin." Having suppressed their convic- 
 tions, violated the fidelity which they solemnly 
 pledged to Jesus Christ, renounced the friend- 
 ship, and forfeited the esteem, of good men, 
 they are placed in very perilous circumstances. 
 Conscience has sustained an injury by which it 
 may be rendered insensible ; God is provoked to 
 give them up to themselves j and pride, shame, 
 habits of depravity, and the counsels of their 
 wicked companions, are obstacles in the way of 
 their return. How rarely are such persons re- 
 claimed ! How often do they proceed, by a slower 
 or more rapid progress, till the devout penitent 
 become an outrageous transgressor, and with the 
 infidel or the atheist, " set his mouth against the 
 *' heavens !" Stop, thou who hast strayed from 
 the path of righteousness. Whither art thou 
 going ? Is not destruction before thee ? Dost 
 thou not see, at every step, the melancholy 
 wrecks of those who have fallen and perished ? 
 And wilt thou, although forewarned of thy fate, 
 press onward to ruin ? Hear the voice of mercy, 
 which calls to thee. " Return, O backslider, and 
 " I will heal thy backshdings." " Repent of this 
 *' thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps thy 
 *' sins may be forgiven thee." The Saviour, 
 \vhom thou hast forsaken, prayed for his mur- 
 
THE HISTORY OF SIMON MAGUS. 237 
 
 ilcrers ; and why shouldst thou despair ? His 
 blood, which thou hast slighted, cleanses from 
 all sin. Prodigal ! hasten back to thy Father's 
 house, which thou vvouldst have done well not 
 to have left. Thou wilt find him, although of- 
 fended, not inexorable. He is gracious and com- 
 passionate ; he will run to meet thee and to em- 
 brace thee in his arms ; and " there shall be joy 
 *' in heaven over one sinner that repenteth *." 
 
 * Jgvke XV. 
 
LECTURE XL 
 
 THE CONVERSION OF THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH. 
 
 Chap. VIII. 26—40. 
 
 1 HE preceding part of the chapter contains an 
 account of the labours of Philip in Samaria, 
 where he triumphed over the arts of magic, and 
 prevailed upon the infatuated followers of a spe- 
 cious impostor to become the disciples of Jesus 
 Christ. The passage now read presents him in 
 a different scene, which, although much more 
 contracted than the former, is not less worthy 
 of attention, from the extraordinary means by 
 which he was conducted to it, the distinguished 
 rank of the person whose conversion was the re- 
 sult, and the remarkable display of the power of 
 divine grace in that event. 
 
 It is evident, from the history of the Acts, that 
 the apostles were not entirely left to their own 
 zeal and prudence in the choice of places for 
 preaching the gospel. We are certain, that they 
 were, at all times, under the special guidance of 
 providence j and several instances are recorded of 
 
THE CONVERSION OF, &C. 239 
 
 immediate interpositions of heaven for tlieir di- 
 rection. The Spirit hindered them from going 
 to some places, which they were purposing to 
 visit, and pointed out others, which were not 
 comprehended in their plan *. In the case be- 
 fore us, " the angel of the Lord spake unto Phi- 
 *' lip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south, 
 ** unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem 
 *' unto Gaza, which is desert." Only the wis- 
 dom of the Author of the gospel was competent 
 to determine what spots were the most favour- 
 able for first sowing the seeds of divine truth ; 
 and to him the book of the decrees of heaven 
 was unfolded, in which are written the names of 
 those who are predestinated to eternal life, and 
 the order in which each is to be called to the en- 
 joyment of it. 
 
 The person, for whose sake the evangelist was 
 sent on this mission, is thus described : " Be- 
 " hold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great 
 *' authority under Candace, the queen of the 
 " Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her trea- 
 *' sure, and had come to Jerusalem for to wor- 
 ** ship, was returning, and, sitting in his cha- 
 " riot, read Esaias the prophet." In ancient 
 times there were two countries known by the 
 name of Ethiopia ; the one lying south-east from 
 Jerusalem, and the other situated in Africa, be- 
 yond Egypt and Nubia. That it was the iast of 
 these countries, of which this devout eunuch was 
 * Acts xvi. 6—10. 
 
|M 
 
 240 
 
 THE CONVERSION OF 
 
 a native, is manifest both from constant tradi- 
 tion, and from the name of his mistress : for the 
 queens of the African Ethiopia, now called Abys- 
 sinia, were distinguished by the name of Candace,- 
 in the same manner as the kings of Egypt, during a 
 long succession, were denominated Pharaoh. This 
 man was a proselyte to the Jewish religion. It 
 is evident that he had ceased to be considered as 
 one of the Gentiles, because, notwithstanding 
 his conversion, they are not said to have been 
 called till Peter afterwards preached the gospel to- 
 Cornelius. 
 
 It may excite your surprise, that a person, 
 born and residing in a country so distant from 
 Judea as Ethiopia, should have enjoyed opportu- 
 nities of gaining such an acquaintance with the 
 law of Moses, and the proofs of its divine autho- 
 rity, as persuaded him to submit to it. But at 
 this time the Jews were dispersed among all 
 nations ; and many thousands of them resided in 
 Egypt, to which they were attracted by the pri- 
 vileges conferred upon them by Alexander the 
 Great, and his successors, to whose government 
 it was subject. F] om Egypt some of them might 
 have passed into Ethiopia, and communicated 
 tlieir religion to the inhabitants. Acceding to 
 the account of the Abyssinians themselves, the 
 queen of Sheba, who came to see the glory of 
 Solomon, reigned in their country. Having em- 
 braced the rclisrion of that illustrious monarch. 
 
THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH. 241 
 
 she introduced it into her own dominions ; and 
 it continued to be professed by their ancestors 
 till they were converted to Christianity. The 
 prevalence of Jewish customs among that people 
 at present, gives some countenance to this rela- 
 tion ; and certainly proves, that, from whatever 
 cause, the religion of Moses was once generally- 
 adopted by them. 
 
 The Ethiopian eunuch was a per<;on of distin- 
 guished zeal and devotion. Notwithstanding the 
 multiplicity of business attached to his ofEce, and 
 the high rank which he held as treasurer of the 
 queen, circumstances which generally divert the 
 minds of the great from religion, and make them 
 regard its institutions with indifference or con- 
 tempt, he had travelled many hundred miles 
 through sandy deserts, to worship God in the 
 temple of Jerusalem. At the passover, pentecost, 
 and the feast of tabernacles, all the males in Is- 
 rael were commanded to appear before the Lord 
 in the place which he had chosen. Obedience to 
 this command was not practicable, except within 
 the limits of a small country such as Judea. Yet 
 some of the Jews and proselytes, in distant re- 
 gions, who were zealous for the law, and were 
 permitted by their circumstances, occasionally 
 visited the holy city at those stated times, to join 
 with their brethren in the celebration of the fes- 
 tivals, and to offer sacrifices of atonement and 
 thanksgiving. We read of Greeks who had come 
 2 H 
 
'J42 THE CONVERSION OF 
 
 to worship at the feast * ; on the day of Pente- 
 cost, there were assembled devout men " out of 
 " every nation under heaven ;" and it was with 
 the same design that this man had come from 
 the kingdom of Ethiopia. 
 
 The manner in which he was employed in his 
 return, is a farther proof of his piety. " Sitting 
 " in his chariot, he read the prophet Esaias." It is 
 not commonly by this expedient that men of rank 
 relieve the tediousness of their journeys. They 
 amuse themselves with the shifting scene before 
 their eyes, or with meditating schemes of ambi- 
 tion and pleasure, or with perusing some flimsy 
 production, the offspring of a superficial under- 
 standing and corrupt imagination, which min- 
 gles poison with the entertainment, and while it 
 stimulates the .passions, silently undermines the 
 fortresses of virtue. The Bible is proscribed, as 
 too grave and too precise, to be the companion 
 of those who wish to enjoy life as it passes a- 
 way. Yet it is the best enlivener of solitude, the 
 most faithful guide in perplexity, the fortifier of 
 every good principle, a never-failing auxiliary in 
 temptation, the monitor of youth, the comforter 
 of old age, the light of life, and the only survi- 
 ving hope in death. The sentiments which it 
 inspires ennoble the mind, give dignity to the 
 character, and conduct to true happiness in this 
 world and the next. The fulness of Scripture 
 * John xil. 20. 
 
THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH. 24,3 
 
 presents a pleasing variety ; and the events which 
 it records are better fitted to awaken the great 
 and tender emotions of the soul, than the tran- 
 sactions of human society, or even the contem- 
 plation of the scenery of nature. To a mind ca- 
 pable of perceiving and relishing its excellence, 
 the word of God will be a subject of meditation 
 night and day. In the intervals of business, It 
 will recur to this favourite study with eagerness ; 
 and in imbibing its instructions and consolations, 
 will forget the cares and troubles of the world. 
 
 While the eunuch was reading Esaias the pro- 
 phet, •' the Spirit said unto PhiHp, Go near, and 
 " join thyself to this chariot. And Philip ran 
 " thither to him, and heard him read the pro- 
 " phet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou 
 " what thou readest ?'* In our age, when the 
 pride of rank exacts from inferiors distant re- 
 spect, and repels every attempt to approach nearer 
 as an insult, such a question would be consider- 
 ed as rude and impertinent, and would be an- 
 swered with a frown, or contemptuously disre- 
 garded. But in ancient times there was a more 
 familiar intercourse among the diiFerent classes of 
 men ; and the great were addressed in a style of 
 freedom very remote frrtm modern manners. 
 The passions of mankind are at all times the 
 same ; but the artificial forms of society are per- 
 petually changing. It was owing to the simpli- 
 city of manners, which still prevails among the 
 
244 THE CONVERSION OF 
 
 eastern nations, that this blunt question, propo- 
 sed to a courtier riding in his chariot, by a stran- 
 ger walking on foot, and probably appearing by 
 his dress to be a common man, was heard with- 
 out surprise, and was answered with mildness. 
 *' How can I," said the eunuch, " except some 
 " man should guide me ?" 
 
 There is something very amiable in this an- 
 swer. It indicates a mind humble and docile. 
 By a proud man the question would have been 
 resented as an impeachment of his understand- 
 ing ; fi^r the great must be treated by others as 
 their superiors in wisdom, as well as in rank and 
 authority. The Ethiopian eunuch frankly ac- 
 knowledges his ignorance ; and instead of endea- 
 vouring to palliate it by the pretext that he had 
 not considered the passage, confesses his inabili- 
 ty to discover its meaning without assistance. A 
 mind thus conscious of its infirmity was not dis- 
 posed, like the self-conceited Pharisees and Scribes, 
 to cavil at the doctrines of the gospel, but would 
 receive instruction, as the thirsty earth drinks in 
 the rain. The same unassuming temper must h€ 
 formed in us all, before we will receive the law 
 from the mouth of Jesus as obedient disciples. 
 " Verily I say unto you. Except ye be converted, 
 ** and become as little children, ye shall not enter 
 ^' into the kingdom of heaven *.'* 
 
 It is not uncommon to meet with persons, 
 
 * Matt, xviii. 3. 
 
THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH. 2 t J 
 
 "W'ho aim at gratifying their pride by an appear- 
 ance of humility, and make a show of ignor-uice, 
 that the rapidity with which they seem to learn 
 may excite admiration. Ihat the ignorance of 
 the Ethiopian eunuch was not aaectcd, is cviJent 
 from his question in the tliirty-fourth verse. 
 " I pray thee, of whom speakcth tJic prophet 
 *' this ? of himsdf, or of some other man r" 
 With a view to evade the argument from this 
 prophecy for the sufFcrings of the Mes-^iah, the 
 Jews have laboured to wrest its sense ; and have 
 applied it sometimes to one person, and some- 
 times to another. I am ignorant whether atiy 
 comments of this nature were then current a- 
 mong them, and will not therefore affirm, that 
 the eunuch had learned from them to speak in 
 this doubtful manner of the prophecy. There is 
 no reason to suspect that he was inflaenccd by 
 prejudice against Christ. Perhaps he was unac- 
 quainted with his history and his name. In the 
 companies which a man of his station may be sup- 
 posed to have frequented in Jerusalem, the sub- 
 ject would not be often introduced, especially as 
 Christianity was not now a new thing. But from 
 whatever cause his ignorance proceeded, it must 
 excite the surprise of every reader. It seems 
 strange and unaccountable, that a passage, v;hich 
 so minutely describes the humiliation and sor- 
 rows of our Saviour, should have been so unin- 
 telligible to a devout professor of the Jewish re- 
 
246 THE CONVERSION OF 
 
 ligion, that he could form no conjecture about 
 the person to whom the writer referred. We 
 should reflect, that prophecies, which are per- 
 fectly plain after their fulfilment, may have been 
 attended with a considerable degree of obscurity 
 before they were accomplished. While the event 
 has not yet taken place, we see the prediction 
 only by its own light, which discovers indeed 
 the object, but so indistinctly, as not to shew 
 its exact shape and features. Besides, it should 
 be considered, that the Jews, resting too much 
 upon the figurative language of the prophets, had 
 conceived erroneous ideas of the Messiah as a tem- 
 poral prince, and of his kingdom as a worldly state. 
 They never dreamed of his sufferings, and the 
 passages which foretold them they could not 
 understand. When our Lord informed his dis- 
 ciples, that he should be delivered into the hands 
 of men, " they understood not that saying, and 
 " it was hid from them, that they perceived it 
 " not *.** And when on another occasion they 
 discovered his meaning, they were offended. 
 " Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke 
 " him, saying, Be it hr from thee. Lord ; this 
 ■^^ shall not be unto thee f." It is no wonder that 
 this proselyte could not comprehend the sense 
 of the prediction, since the disciples were equal- 
 ly ignorant of the general subject, till they were 
 instructed by their Master, and by the event. 
 * Luke ix. 44, 45. f Matt. xvi. 22. 
 
THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH. 247 
 
 The p:issagc which he was reading when Phi- 
 lip joined him, was the most proper which could 
 have been found in the Old Testament, for ex- 
 plaining to him the character and the religion of 
 Christ. It is impossible to believe that he light- 
 ed upon it by accident ; he was secretly directed 
 to it by that invisible hand, which was stretched 
 out for his salvation. He might have opened 
 the sacred volume at another place ; and perhaps 
 he was not conscious of any motive for choosing 
 this prophecy in particular. But what men call 
 accidents, are firm links in the chain of provi- 
 dence. There is no such thing as contingence in 
 the world ; chance is only a name for our igno- 
 rance of the process by which effects are produ- 
 ced. The series of events proceeds according to 
 the plan settled in the counsels of heaven. The 
 lot tossed in the lap, and drawn at a venture, 
 assigns to us that portion which God has ap- 
 pointed ; an arrow shot at random pierces tlic 
 bosom which he has destined to death ; the spar- 
 row killed by the thoughtless cruelty of children, 
 does not fall to the ground unnoticed by his eye ; 
 nor can a hair of our heads perish without his 
 permission. If his interference extends to mat- 
 ters so minute, can we think that it had no con- 
 cern in the selection of the portion oF Scripture 
 which the eunuch was reading? Certainly it 
 was God who pointed out the text, as it was he 
 who provided a preacher to explain it. 
 
24-3 THE CONVERSION OF 
 
 The place of the Scripture which he read 
 was this : " He was led as a sheep to the slaugh- 
 " ter, and like a Iamb, dumb before his shearer, 
 " so opened he not his mouth : in his humilia- 
 *' tion his judgment was taken away : and who 
 '' shall declare his generation ? for his life iv ta- 
 " ken from the earth.** There is some dif- 
 ference between the quotation and the origi- 
 nal passage in Isaiah, owing, it is probable, to 
 the former beinsr taken from the Greek version of 
 
 o 
 
 the Old Testament. The design of this Lecture 
 does not require a particular explanation of it. 
 It may suffice to observ^e, that it describes the 
 sufferings of tlie Messiah, which he endured with 
 meekness and resignation, like a sheep quietly 
 following the person who leads it to death, or a 
 lamb submitting in silence to be robbed of its 
 fleece ; and declares, that through the injustice 
 of men, he was condemned for no fault, and by 
 violence Vv-as deprived of his life. 
 
 Such was tlie passage which the eunuch was 
 reading ; and the chapter in which it is contain- 
 ed, is one of the clearest and most affecting pro- 
 phecies of the sorrow^s and death of our Re- 
 deemer. An occasion so favourable, so evident- 
 ly furnished by heaven itself, the evangelist 
 could not suffer to pass unimproved. " Then 
 " Philip,'* who at the desire of the eunuch had 
 ascended his chariot, " opened his mouth, and 
 " began at the same scripture, and preached un- 
 
THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH. 249 
 
 " to him Jesus.'* The sermon was worthy of 
 tlic text, fraught with heavenly wisdom, and 
 recommended by simple, but pathetic eloquence. 
 It was dictated by a mind enlii^htencd, and a 
 heart animated, by the Spirit of truth and love. 
 It was the effusion of a soul descanting on its fa- 
 vourite topic, and desirous to excire in another 
 the same sentiments of affection to the vSaviour, 
 which were so strongly felt by itself. Ke shew- 
 ed that the prophv^t speaks neither of himself nor 
 of another man, but of the Messiah ; that al- 
 though his reign was described in spLndid ima- 
 gery, he v/as first to suffer before he entered into 
 his glory ; and that th;. prophecies were fuirillcd. 
 in Jesus of Nazareth, who having died upon the 
 cross for the salvation of men, rose from the 
 grave, and was now exalted " as a Prince and a 
 " Saviour, to give repentance to Israel, and for- 
 " giveness of sins." These we may conceive t3 
 have been the principal subjects of discourse ; 
 and the preacher was not more interested in them 
 than the he^.rer. With what earnestness did he 
 listen to these new and surprising truths ! How 
 did he wonder at his former ignorance, and re- 
 joice in the light which now shone into his mind ! 
 We read of no doubt.^, of no objections, of no 
 unseasonable questions ; but with silent acqui- 
 escence he hears and believes. The spirit of God 
 was working in his heart. The courtier receives, 
 with devout humihty, the .instructions of the 
 
 2 1 ' 
 
250 THE CONVERSION OF 
 
 evangelist. He hears his voice as the voice of 
 an angel, and blesses the day which brought them 
 together. 
 
 The efiect produced by the discourse of Philip, 
 is evident from the words of the eunuch. " And 
 " as they went on their way, they came to a cer- 
 " tain water ; and the eunuch said, See, here 
 " is water ; what doth hinder me to be bapti- 
 " zed ?" The evangelist had given a full detail of 
 the religion of Christ, comprehending its insti- 
 tutions as well as its doctrines. Hence the new 
 convert was already acquainted with baptism. 
 The preacher was wise, the hearer was prompt 
 to learn, and che Holy Spirit, by illuminating 
 his mind, and affecting his heart, enabled him 
 to make rapid advances in the knowledge of the 
 truth. To every person in similar circumstances, 
 baptism will recommend itself on several accounts. 
 It is the rite by which we publicly recognise Je- 
 sus Christ as our Saviour, and dedicate ourselves 
 to his service. It is the sign of our admission 
 into the society of his disciples, in consequence 
 cf which we visibly become " fellow-citizens 
 " with the saints, and members of the household 
 " of God." It is a seal of the covenant of grace, 
 a confirmation of its promises, by which those 
 who receive it in faith are assured of the remis- 
 sion of their sins, and of their right to all the 
 blessings which it signifies. He, therefore, who 
 has experienced the power of the truth, will set 
 
THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH. 25i 
 
 a high value upon this ordinance, for the autho- 
 rity vvliich enjoins it, and the important purpo- 
 ses which it is intended to serve. He will come 
 forward with alacrity to profess that fiiith, which 
 is the source of his peace and comfort, and to de- 
 vote himself for ever to the Saviour, who redeem- 
 ed him with his blood. He will esteem it a high 
 honour to be numbered with the children of 
 God, and to be admitted to communion with 
 these excellent ones of the earth. He will thank- 
 fully accept of this token of divine love, this sup- 
 port of his faith, of which he may afterwards 
 experience the benefit, amidst the temptations of 
 Satan, and the misgivings of his own mind. By 
 such considerations was the Ethiopian eunuch 
 influenced, when he said to Philip, " See, here 
 " is water : what doth hinder me to be baptized." 
 There is a becoming m.odesty in hii manner of 
 soliciting baptism. He docs not demand it as his 
 right ; but while his question is expressive of 
 earnest desire, he leaves the evangelist to deter- 
 mine whether he was worthy of so high a pri-* 
 vilcgc. 
 
 " Philip said, If thou believest with all thine 
 " heart, thou mayest.'* Faith is the qualification 
 for baptism prescribed by our Saviour. " He 
 *' that belicveth, and is baptized, shall be saved*.'* 
 To adult persons, this ordinance should not be 
 dispensed till they be instructed in the principles 
 * Matt. xvi. 16. 
 
252 THE CONVERSION OF 
 
 of the Christian religion, and solemnly profess 
 that they believe them. It is only faith unfeign- 
 ed which gives any man a right to the ordinance 
 in the sight of God. It is incumbent, therefore, 
 upon tliose to whom the administration of it is 
 committed, to act with much caution, lest they 
 should be imr-osed upon by the arts of hypocrisy, 
 to compare the profession of faith with the prac- 
 tice, the only criterion by which we can judge 
 of its nature, and never to proceed without sa- 
 tisfactory evidence of the sincerity of the candi- 
 date. Of the prudence which ought to be exer- 
 cised to preserve the fellowship of the church in 
 purity, and to guard the institutions of the gos- 
 pel against profanation, we have an examiple in 
 the conduct of Philip. " If thou believest with 
 " all thine heart, thou mayest." This was an 
 appeal to his conscience, as there was not leisure 
 to ascertain the genuineness of his faith in any 
 other way. 
 
 The eunuch replied, " I believe that Jesus 
 *' Christ is the Son of God." This confession of 
 faith is short, but comprehensive. It may be 
 resolved into two propositions j that Jesus is the 
 Messiah, and that he is the Son of God. The 
 first is implied in his calling our Saviour Christ, 
 which is of the same import with Messiah ; for 
 although that word has been since used as a pro- 
 per name, it was then always employed as a title 
 of office. The li^ncient church believed in the 
 
THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH. '255 
 
 Messiah, expecting solvation through a person, 
 whom God would send in his own time, to re- 
 deem them from sin and death. This general 
 faith was no longer sufficient. The promised 
 Redeemer had come into the world ; and a par- 
 ticular acknowledgment of him, to the exclusion 
 of every other, was required from all to wl\om 
 the gospel was published. The second proposi- 
 tion is delivered in express terms, " Jesus Chrif.t 
 ",is the Son of God.'* The divinity of the Mes- 
 siah is a fundamental doctrine in the rcliG;ion of 
 Christians, and was an article of faith under the 
 former dispensation. The blood of a man could 
 not have washed away the sins of the world ; the 
 wisdom of a man could not have enlightened the 
 church ; the power of a man could not have res- 
 cued us from the yoke of our enemies, and defend- 
 ed us against their assaults. This truth, so impor- 
 tant iji itself, and so intimately connected with all 
 the other truths of the gospel, is now denied 
 and blasphemed by the Jews ; and tliere is evi- 
 dence in the New Testament, that, so early as 
 the time of our Saviour, they were beginning to 
 abandon it *. Manhood and divinity seemed to 
 them to be incompatible. The faith of this new- 
 convert, with respect to the person of the Mes- 
 siah, was sound. He bcHeved the Son of Mary 
 to be the Son of God, a partaker of the divine 
 nature, as well as of the human ; and assented to 
 the creed of the ancient church, expressed in the 
 
 * Matt. xxli. 41 — 45. John x. 33. 
 
254 THE CONVERSION OF 
 
 following terms of joy and triumph. " Lo! this 
 " is our God, we have waited for him, and he 
 '' will save us : this is the Lord, we have waited 
 " for him, we will be glad, and rejoice in his 
 " salvation *." 
 
 The confession of faith made by the Ethiopian 
 eunuch is remarkable for its simplicity. The ar- 
 ticles are few, and are expressed without circum- 
 locution, or variety of phrase. It would have 
 been well for the church, if her creed could have 
 remained equally plain and unembarrassed. But 
 the introduction of heresies has rendered it ne- 
 cessary to state the opposite truths v/ith preci- 
 sion ; and the dishonest arts of heretics have 
 compelled their antagonists to counteract their 
 attempts to corrupt and disturb the church, by 
 a full and guarded exposition of the faith. They 
 who are loudest in exclaiming against creeds and 
 confessions, as encumbered with unnecessary ar- 
 ticles, and a restraint upon freedom of inquiry, 
 are the very persons who have caused the evil of 
 which they complain. We must lengthen our 
 line as that of the enemy is extended, that we 
 may encounter him on equal terms, and wrest 
 the victory out of his hands. 
 
 The confession now made being satisfactory, 
 " they went down both into the water, both Philip 
 " and the eunuch ; and he baptized him." Those 
 who understand the original language need not to 
 
 * Isaiah xxv. 9. 
 
THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH. 255 
 
 be told, that the phrase, translated " to go down 
 " into the water," docs not import that they wa- 
 ded into it, for the purpose of baptizing the eu- 
 nuch by immersion. It necessarily implies no 
 more than that they w^ent close to it. With 
 whatever confidence some aiUrm, that immersion 
 was the primitive mode of baptizing, there is 
 no evidence in the New Testament in favour of 
 that practice. Cases are mentioned, in which it 
 seems incredible that the body was dipped in wa- 
 ter, as when thousands were baptized in the 
 midst of a city, and fiimihes were baptized in 
 their own houses at midnight *. This, however, 
 is not the only instance in which some men rea- 
 dily believe that things might have been done 
 long ago, which they would not hesitate to pro- 
 nounce impracticable in the present times. The 
 water in baptism is intended to be a sign of the 
 Spirit. Now, among all the passages which de- 
 scribe, in metaphorical terms, the communica- 
 tion of the Spirit, there is not one which alludes 
 to immersion. We never read of men being 
 dipped, or immersed, in the Holy Ghost. Such 
 a phrase is uncouth, and would shock us as in- 
 decent. The language of Scripture uniformly 
 refers to that mode of applying water which is 
 practised in our churches. The Holy Ghost is 
 said " to fall upon men," " to be poured out 
 " upon them," " to be shed upon them," " to 
 * Acts ii. xvi. 33. 
 
256 THE CONVERSION OF 
 
 " be sprinkled upon them *." God has fixed up- 
 on these expressions as the most proper to signify 
 the communication of his injB.uence3.' Does it 
 not then discover a perverseness of mind to ima- 
 gine, that a religious rite, and the language of 
 Scripture, although both intended to convey in- 
 formation on the same subject, are so different 
 as to have no resemblance to each other, or ra- 
 ther are in direct contradiction ? According to 
 the practice of sprinkling, Scripture and the sym- 
 bolical action, harmonise : according to the prac- 
 tice of immersion, Scripture suggests one idea, 
 and the action, another perfectly opposite. Such 
 discordance should not be hastily imputed to 
 him, who is " wonderful in counsel, and excel- 
 " lent in working." With relation to the pre- 
 sent case, tradition and modern travellers inform 
 \is, that the water, to which Philip and the eu- 
 nuch went down, was a spring or well, at which 
 baptism could be administered only by sprink- 
 ling. 
 
 It would have been natural for so young a 
 disciple, to wish that his spiritual teacher should 
 remain with him, to instruct him more fully in 
 the truths of the gospel, and to fortify his mind 
 against temptations to abandon the faith. A 
 person just initiated, seemed too inexperienced 
 to be trusted alone. But the wisdom of Jesus 
 
 * xVcts vlii. 16. Joel ii. 28. Acts ii. 32. Ezek. xxxvi. 
 
THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH. 257 
 
 Christ determined otherwise. He was able, with- 
 out the ministry of Phihp, to carry on and to 
 perfect the good work which he had begun. The 
 eunuch was now possessed of that faith, which, 
 terminating on the Saviour himself, maintains 
 an intercourse with him, by which the life of the 
 soul is preserved and cherished. " When they 
 ** were come up out of the water, the Spirit of 
 " the Lord caught away Philip, that the eunuch 
 " saw him no more.'* We are not able, per- 
 haps, to assign the reason of this sudden separa- 
 tion ; but the event served to establish the faith 
 of the Ethiopian, to which, at the first view, it 
 seems not to have been favourable. As a mira- 
 cle, it added the sanction of heaven to the doc- 
 trine of Philip, and exhibited ocular demonstra- 
 tion of the truth of all that he had said relative 
 to the miracles of Christ, and the extraordinary 
 powers conferred upon the apostles and evange- 
 lists. 
 
 Accordingly, the faith of the new convert was 
 not shaken, nor was his mind in any degree 
 disquieted, by the unexpected loss of the com- 
 pany of Philip. We are informed, that " he 
 " went on his way rejoicing." And surely no 
 man ever had better reason to be happy. He 
 had found the Messiah, the desire of all nations ; 
 he had been admitted to partake of the blessings 
 of salvation ; his soul was full of the consolations 
 of God, and of the hope of immortality. No 
 
 2 K 
 
26S THE CONVERSION OF 
 
 doubts now perplexed his mind. The Scriptures 
 were unveiled ; and the wonders of redemption, 
 which were unfolded to his view, transported 
 him with admiration and gratitude. His lips, 
 we may believe, gave utterance to the feelings of 
 his heart ; and the desert, through which he 
 passed, was enlivened with the songs of salvation. 
 In this happy frame, " he went on his way,*' 
 hastening back to his own country, to impart 
 the joyful tidings to his friends, and to recom- 
 mend his new faith by the practice of every vir- 
 tue. Had he returned to Jerusalem, he would 
 have enjoyed the society of the apostles and dis- 
 ciples ; but Ethiopia was the theatre on which 
 providence had appointed him to act; and no man 
 can so effectually prove the sincerity of his conver- 
 sion, and so successfully promote the cause of re- 
 ligion, as by acquitting himself, in his proper sta- 
 tion, with the spirit and temper of a Christian. 
 " Let every man abide in the same calling where- 
 " in he is called. Brethren, let every man where* 
 " in he is called, therein abide with God *.'* 
 
 I conclude with the following observations. 
 
 First, the Lord knows " them that are his," 
 and will in due time call them to the enjoyment 
 of salvation. Whatever obstacles are opposed to 
 4;heir salvation, and however far they have wan- 
 dered from God, his grace will overtake them. 
 * 1 Cor. v«. 20, 24:. 
 
THE ETHIOPIAN EUNUCH. '250 
 
 and accomplish its designs. This observation 
 is illustrated by the history before us. It docs 
 not appear, that in Jerusalem the Ethiopian eu- 
 nuch heard any thing at all about Christ. He 
 bad now left that city, and advanced so flir on 
 his journey, that he was entering into countries 
 where the good news of salvation had not been 
 published. He was passing the boundary which 
 separated light from darkness, and returning 
 without the knowledge of the Saviour, to his 
 own land, where he never could have obtained 
 it by ordinary means. At this critical moment, 
 a minister of Jesus was sent, by the special direc- 
 tion of the Spirit, to speak words by which liis 
 soul should be saved. " The election shall ob- 
 " tain, although the rest be blinded." God will 
 either cause the gospel to be preached in the pla- 
 ces where his elect reside, or he will bring them 
 into a new situation, in which they shall enjoy 
 the dispensation of it. 
 
 The second observation suggested by this pas- 
 sage, relates to the irresistible efficacy with which 
 the word of God, accompanied with the influ^ 
 ences of the Spirit, operates upon the soul. " It 
 " is quick and powerful." It may be compared 
 to the Hghtning, which, in the twinkling of an 
 eye, flies from one end of heaven to the other. 
 Sudden conversions, indeed, ought to be care-^ 
 fully examined, lest they be only deceitful ap-i 
 pearances j but they should not be considered a^ 
 
'260 THE CONVERSION OF 
 
 impossible. In every case, the transition from 
 death to life is instantaneous, although in some 
 there may be a long preparatory process. This 
 moment, the man of Ethiopia is so ignorant, 
 that he cannot determine whether Isaiah, in one 
 of the clearest passages of his writings, speaks of 
 himself or of some other man. The next, he 
 perceives the prophecy to be a description of the 
 Messiah, fulfilled In the sorrows and death of Je- 
 sus of Nazareth, v/hom he instantly acknowledges, 
 with faith and joy, as his Saviour. The works- 
 Of God do not, like those of man^, require time 
 to bring them to perfection. His almighty word 
 creates, or makes something start out of nothing. 
 " He speaketh, and it is done ; he commandeth, 
 " and it standeth fast." 
 
 It is worthy of our attention, in the last place, 
 that the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ will dis- 
 pose such as are possessed of it to submit to his 
 authority. No sooner did the Ethiopian eunuch 
 believe, than he professed a desire to dedicate 
 himself in baptism to the service of his Redeemer. 
 Thou beUevest that Jesus is the Christ. Thou 
 therefore believest, that he is not only a Priest to 
 die for thy sins, but a Prophet to teach thee the 
 way of God, and a Lord to govern thee. In 
 all these offices thou wilt acknowledge him, if 
 thy faith be sincere. But if there be any of 
 them with which thou art dissatisfied ; if thou 
 WQuldst disjoin one from another, seeking, for 
 
THE ETHIOPIA'M EUNUCH. 561 
 
 example, to be saved from wrath by his blood, 
 while thou hast no desire to be delivered from 
 the dominion of sin by his power, know that 
 Christ is not divided, and that the impious at- 
 tempt betrays ignorance or hatred of his chanic- 
 ter. He who comes to Jesus, must resolve " to 
 " take his yoke upon hira ;" and if any of you 
 say in your hearts, or in your practice, " We 
 « will not have this man to reign over us," pre- 
 pare to suffer the vengeance with which he will 
 vindicate his insulted authority. " Those mine 
 « enemies, which would not that I should reign 
 « over them, bring hither, and slay them be- 
 <* fore me *." 
 
 * Luke xlx. 27« 
 
LECTURE XII. 
 
 THE CONVERSION OF PAUJ 
 
 Chap. IX. 1—22. 
 
 i HE man, whose conversion is the subject of 
 the present Lecture, has been already mentioned 
 in this history ; and the incidental hints respect- 
 ing his sentiments and conduct, give a very un- 
 favourable idea of his character. Young in years, 
 he discovered none of that generous spirit, and 
 that tenderness of feeling, which are expected 
 before the heart be narrowed and hardened by 
 commerce with the world ; but with an insensi- 
 bility, which is the ordinary result of confirmed 
 prejudices, and repeated crimes against humani- 
 ty, he beheld, with approbation, the cruel death 
 of a righteous man. His zeal hurried him on to 
 take an active part in the persecution of the 
 church ; and " entering into every house, and 
 ** haling men and women, he committed them 
 " to prison." From this specimen, what could 
 the disciples prognosticate but hostility protracted 
 during life, and augmenting in fury, as its ob- 
 jects multiplied, and its sanguine hopes of sue- 
 
THE CONVERSION OF PAUL. 263 
 
 cess were disappointed ? The most perspicacious 
 eye could perceive no trait in his character, from 
 which a change might be predicted. It could 
 still less have been forseen, that this man would 
 ere long be a preacher of the faith, which he was 
 so eager to destroy. But in the plastic hands of 
 the Almighty, the powers of mind, and the qua- 
 lities of matter, are passive and pliant. Out of 
 the rudest and most untoward materials, he cari 
 rear a fabric, admirable in its contrivance, beau- 
 tiful in its construction, and accommodated to the 
 most valuable purposes. It is his glory still to 
 call a magnificent world out of chaos : it is his 
 pleasure to display the sovereignty and power of 
 his grace, upon the most unlikely and forbidding 
 subjects. 
 
 When we read, in the beginning of this chap- 
 ter, that " Saul, yet breathing out threatenings 
 " and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord, 
 " went unto the high-priest, and desired of him 
 " letters to Damascus to the synagogues, that if 
 " he found any of this way, whether they were 
 " men or women, he might bring them bound 
 " unto Jerusalem ;" we recognise the same spi- 
 rit which had cordially consented to the murder 
 of Stephen. The expression used by Luke is de<. 
 scriptive and animated. " He breathed out threat- 
 " enings and slaughter.'* The persecution of the 
 inoffensive disciples was the continual subject of 
 
264 THE CONVERSION OF PAUL, 
 
 his thoughts ; his conversation was filled with in- 
 vectives and menaces against them ; and to ha- 
 rass and destroy them was the chief pleasure of 
 his life. Jerusalem, populous as it was, furnish- 
 ed too narrow a range for his impatient and in- 
 defatigable zeal. The havock which he had al- 
 ready made, served only to whet his eagerness ; 
 and he longed for an opportunity of more exten- 
 sive mischief, that he might diffuse the fame of 
 his implacable hatred to the religion of Christ. 
 
 In Damascus, the capital of Syria, it appears 
 that the gospel had made considerable progress. 
 There the disciples multiplied under the protec- 
 tion of the laws, or, at least, not disturbed by 
 the civil authority. It could be only the flou- 
 Tishing state of Christianity in Damascus, which 
 attracted the notice of Saul to a place so remote. 
 Hence he apphed to the high-priest for letters to 
 the synagogues, empowering him to demand 
 the surrender of such Jews as, by embracing the 
 new doctrine, had incurred the guilt of aposta- 
 tising from the religion of Moses. Damascus 
 was in a foreign country, and under a distinct 
 government ; but the high-priest claimed a juris- 
 diction over all persons belonging to the Jewish 
 church, wherever they resided, and seems to 
 have been permitted to exercise it, by Aretas the 
 king. The offenders Saul was to bring to Jeru- 
 salem, because only there it was competent to 
 the high-priest tp punish them, or because it was 
 
tHE CONVERSION OF PAUL. 265 
 
 necessary that they should be tried by the San- 
 hedrim, and tlicir example, it was hoped, would 
 terrify those in Jerusalem who yet remained ob- 
 stinate heretics. 
 
 Having procured such letters as he wished, 
 Saul set out on his journey, and, we may be cer- 
 tain, suffered neither curiosity nor indolence to 
 detain him on the road. His heart was too deep- 
 ly interested in his commission to admit of any 
 delay in executing it. Already he had approach- 
 ed near to Damascus, and perhaps was within 
 sight of its walls, when, in a very unexpected 
 manner, his progress was arrested. God often 
 permits the wicked to carry on their designs till 
 they are on the eve of being accomplished, when 
 he suddenly interposes to defeat them, in judg- 
 ment or in mercy. He either overwhelms the 
 builder under the ruins of his edifice, or makes 
 him abandon his impious project, and consecrate 
 his time and talents to the service of the sanctu- 
 ary. 
 
 Before we consider the account of the conver- 
 sion of Saul, it will be proper to make a few ob- 
 servations on the extraordinary means by which 
 it was effected. Jesus Christ did not call him by 
 the ministry of any apostle or evangelist ; and 
 he called him, when instead of attending upon 
 the ordinances of religion, he was engaged in a 
 scheme of persecution. The laws of nature and 
 of grace are nothing but the order, according to 
 2 L 
 
266 THE CONVERSION OF PAUL. 
 
 which God exerts his power in the production 
 of physical, moral, and spiritual effects. Crea- 
 tures are obliged to conform to that order ; but 
 the Creator may step aside from it, when any 
 end, worthy of his wisdom, is to be gained. 
 Miracles are deviations from the laws of nature ; 
 and such conversions as that of Saul, are devia- 
 tions from the laws of grace. When the world 
 was created, the power of God was necessarily 
 exercised in a different manner from that in 
 which it is exercised in the ordinary government 
 of it. It is not surprising, therefore, that when 
 the Christian church, which is represented in 
 the Old Testament as a new and more glorious 
 creation, was founded, divine grace should have 
 adopted some unusual methods of accomplishing 
 its designs. But as no man of a sound mind 
 will infer from miracles, that he may safely disre- 
 gard the established order of nature, and expect, 
 for example, to be cured of an inveterate disease 
 by a word, or to be fed with manna from hea- 
 ven ; so the history before us gives no encou- 
 ragement to hope, that while men are neglecting 
 and despising the instituted means of salvation, 
 God will employ visions and revelations to awa- 
 ken and convert them. The case of Saul affords 
 no precedent, except as it shews the freeness of 
 divine grace, to preserve the convinced sinner 
 from despair. This is the only use which we 
 are directed to make of it. ** Howbeit, for this 
 
THE CONVERSION OF PAUL. ^G7 
 
 " cause I obtained mercy, that in mc first, Jesus 
 " Christ might shew furth all long-sulTcring, for 
 " a pattern to them which should hereafter bc- 
 " licve on him to life everlastins; *." 
 
 " And as he journeyed, he came near Damas-. 
 " cus ; and suddenly there sliincd round about 
 " him a light from heaven." The light was in- 
 stantaneous ; not like that of the sun, for the full 
 splendour of which we are prepared by the gra- 
 dual illumination of the atmosphere, as he ap- 
 proaches the horizon, but like the lightning, 
 which, bursting from the clouds amidst the dark- 
 ness of the night, dazzles and confounds us. Its 
 brightness was unusal, as Paul himself informs 
 us in his speech to Agrippa. " At mid-day, O 
 " king, I saw in the way a light from heaven, 
 " above the brightness of the sun, shining round 
 " about me, and them that journeyed with mcf.'* 
 It must have been different from any light with 
 which we are acquainted ; for when the sun is 
 in the meridian, and shining in a cloudless sky, 
 lightning itself would hardly be perceptible. It 
 was a signal of the approach of the Son of God, 
 " who looketh on the sun, and it shineth not, 
 " and sealeth up the stars.'* 
 
 Paul tells us, in one of- his epistles, that " last 
 *' of all, Christ was seen of him also, as of one 
 " born out of due time ;'* and asks, in anotiier 
 place, " Have I not seen Jesus Christ our Lord J?" 
 * 1 Tim. i. 16. f Acts xxvi. 13. t 1 Cor. xv. 8. li. I.. 
 
268 THE CONVERSION OF PAUL. 
 
 In the seventeenth verse of this chapter, Ananias 
 says, that " Jesus appeared unto him in the way 
 " as he came." From these passages we con- 
 clude, that it was on this occasion that he was 
 favoured with a sight of the human nature of 
 our Saviour, by which he was qualified to be a 
 witness, with the other apostles, of his resurrec- 
 tion and exaltation. We are isrnorant of the 
 
 o 
 
 means by which Saul was enabled to see him. 
 
 Such was the effect of the vision, or- of the 
 dazzling brightness with which he was surround- 
 ed, that he fell to the earth. The shock was too 
 violent for his bodily frame, and his mind v/as 
 seized with terror. A flash of lis^htnins: strikes 
 awe into the stoutest heart. Man is alarmed at 
 any occurrence which reminds him of a power 
 superior to his own, that could crush his puny 
 strength ; he looks with dismay at those appear- 
 ances, which, being out of the ordinary course of 
 nature, seem to portend the interference of the 
 Deity to inflict vengeance on the guilty. Thus 
 we see the proud and unrelenting persecutor ly- 
 ing prostrate on the earth. What now can we 
 expect, but that a sentence of perdition shall 
 be issued against him, and a thunderbolt of wrath 
 shall instantly execute it ? But mercy had cast 
 him down, that it might raise him up again. 
 We hear therefore only the language of expos- 
 tuhtion. " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou 
 ^* me ?" How much must he have been surpri- 
 
THE CONVERSION OF PAUL. 2G9 
 
 sed and confounded at tliis address ! Never could 
 he have suspected, in the pride of self-rightcijus- 
 ness, that a voice from heaven would accuse him 
 of an atrocious crime, or that hi:^ present con- 
 duct, which was applauded as ardent zeal for the 
 glory of God, would subject him to the charge 
 of impiety. 
 
 Saul was guilty of persecuting Jesus, because 
 he defamed his name, and made every eftbrt to 
 extirpate his religion. We say that a man is 
 persecuted after he is dead, when his memory is 
 loaded with reproaches, and his friends meet 
 with ill-usage on his account. Malignity some- 
 times continues, in the blindness of its fury, to 
 pursue those who have escaped beyond its reach, 
 and cannot be disturbed by it in the sanctuary 
 of the grave. But something more is implied in 
 the charge brousfht a2;ainst Saul. Between Jesus 
 and his people there subsists an intimate union. 
 They are one body and one spirit. Their inte- 
 rests are reciprocal ; their joys and afflictions arc 
 common. What is done to them, he reckons to 
 be done to himself, whether it be an act of bene- 
 ficence or of malice. All the contempt and cru- 
 elty, of which they are the objects, he considers 
 as directed against himself. " He tlj.it toucheth 
 "you, toucheth the apple of his eye*." His 
 love to them makes him feel u\c injury j and the 
 
 * Zech. ii. 8. 
 
270 THE CONVERSION OF PAUL, 
 
 Iiead complains when any man treads upon the 
 foot. " Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ?" 
 
 While Jesus accuses Saul as his persecutor, he 
 deigns to expostulate with him. " Why perse- 
 " cutest thou me ? Whence this furious zeal ? 
 " What have I done to provoke such determined 
 " hostility ?" " Lord ! why didst thou condes- 
 " cend to reason with this man ? It was with 
 " the same gracious intention, which induces thee 
 " still to reason with us, whom thou mightest 
 •" overwhelm at once with confusion and ruin ; 
 " to make the guilty reflect upon their conduct, 
 " and to excite them, from the fear of thy jus- 
 " tice, to supplicate that mercy which thou art 
 " willina: to exercise.** 
 
 Saul heard the voice, but did not know from 
 whom it proceeded. He therefore said, " Who 
 *' art thou. Lord ?'* It was a question not of cu- 
 riosity, but of anxiety and terror. " Who art 
 " thou whom I have offended ?'* It could not 
 be the God of Israel, for whose law he was zea- 
 lous even above his countrymen ; who then was 
 this person whom he was accused of persecu- 
 ting ? The voice answered, " I am Jesus whom 
 " thou persecutest.** Never did information 
 more unexpected and alarming burst upon th« 
 startled ear. Jesus, whom the Jews had crucified 
 as the vilest of malefactors, without the gates of 
 their city ; Jesus, whom Saul believed to be an 
 impostor, and whose name he had never men- 
 
THE CONVERSION OF PAUL. 271 
 
 tioncd but in terms of execration ; Jesus, whose 
 helpless followers he had, on all occasions, treat- 
 ed with the utmost indignity and cruelty ; this 
 Jesus now appeared in heavenly glory, and was 
 recognised by his furious persecutor, in the act 
 of going to Damascus to plague and destroy his 
 disciples, as the Son of God, and the exalted 
 Messiah. 
 
 His own mind would immediately suggest the 
 dangerous and hopeless nature of his underta- 
 king, which is pointed out in the following 
 words : " It is hard for thee to kick against the 
 " pricks." This is a proverbial expression, sig- 
 nifying, that the design in which a person is en- 
 gaged will prove abortive, and will terminate in 
 his ruin. There is an allusion to a fierce ungo- 
 vernable animal, which kicks at sharp spikes of 
 iron, and while it vents its impotent rage, de- 
 stroys itself. What, my brethren, has been the 
 result of the frequent persecutions to which the 
 church of Christ has been exposed ? Some hy- 
 pocrites have apostatised ; some faithful men 
 have fallen by the hands of their enemies ; others 
 have been grievously harassed, and compelled to 
 leave their country and their kindred ; but the 
 immortal race of believers- remains, and will con- 
 tinue, in defiance of the utmost exertions of the 
 world. What has been the fate of their perse- 
 cutors ? They have fallen and perished, and left 
 their names for a proverb and a curse. " God 
 
272 THE CONVES.SION OF PAUL. 
 
 " is known in her palaces for a refuge. For lo^ 
 '' the kings were assembled, they passed by to«> 
 " gether. They saw it, and so they marvelled ; 
 " they were troubled, and hasted away. Fear 
 " took hold upon them there, and pain, as of a 
 *' woman in travail *.'* Had Saul been permit- 
 ted to go on in his career, the disciples in Da- 
 mascus might have been imprisoned, spoiled of 
 their goods, banished, and murdered ; but Chris- 
 tianity would have maintained itself against him, 
 and all his confederates. He would have been 
 foiled in the unequal contest ; and, sinking into 
 eternal perdition, would have felt how vain it is 
 to contend with superior power. 
 
 Astonished at the unexpected discovery, and 
 trembling from a consciousness of his crimes a- 
 gainsc the glorified Saviour, Saul said, " Lord, 
 " what wilt thou have me to do ?** Where is 
 now the fierceness of the perseciltor ? Where 
 his haughty defiance of Jesus of Nazareth ? These 
 sentiments are exchanged for profound submis- 
 sion. The disarmed foe lies at the feet of his 
 omnipotent antagonist, and throws himself upon 
 his mercy. He bows to his sovereign authority. 
 Any thing which the supreme arbiter of his des- 
 tiny shall command, he is ready to do ; any thing 
 which will atone for his past unprovoked oppo- 
 sition. All his strong holds are cast down ; all 
 his lofty imaginations are abased. Formerly he 
 
 * Psalm xlviii. 3 — 6. 
 
THE CONVERSION OF PAUL. 273 
 
 believed that he was contending with the follow- 
 ers of an impostor, who had paid the forfeit of 
 his crimes with his life ; but he finds that he was 
 fighting against that almighty Lord, to whom 
 men must submit or perish. " The Lord said 
 " unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it 
 " shall be told thee what thou must do." Per- 
 haps, in the present state of his mind, he could 
 not have ociven attention to the instructions of 
 the Saviour ; and his situation on a public road, 
 and in the midst of his unconverted companions, 
 was unfavourable. It was in the calm and leisure 
 of privacy, that he was to be prepared for the 
 important services in which Jesus purposed to 
 employ him. 
 
 In the mean time, " the men which journeyed 
 *' with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, 
 *' but seeing no man." There seems to be a con- 
 tradiction between this account, and that which 
 is given by Paul himself in the twenty-second 
 chapter ; for he there says, that " they that were 
 " with him sav/ indeed the light, and were a- 
 " fraid ; but they heard not the voice of him 
 " that spake to him." The accounts are easily 
 reconciled, by supposing the one to mean, that 
 they heard the sound of. the voice, and the other, 
 that they did not distinguish the words. This 
 circumstance amazed them, particularly as whUe 
 they heard a voice, they " saw no man ;" and 
 they were speechless with astonishment. It ap- 
 2 M 
 
274 THE CONVERSION OF PAUL. 
 
 pears from the twenty-sixth chapter, that they, 
 too, fell to the ground ; but they recovered more 
 speedily than Saul, on whom a stronger impres- 
 sion was made by the words which were address- 
 ed to him. 
 
 " And Saul arose from the earth ; and when 
 *' his eyes were opened, he saw no man : but 
 " they led him by the hand, and brought him 
 " into Damascus. And he v/as three days with- 
 " out sight, and neither did eat nor drink." 
 Had this blindness been the natural effect of the 
 dazzhng hght, his fellow-travellers would have 
 been affected in the same manner. It was a tem- 
 porary punishment, inflicted by the power of 
 Christ, which shewed how easily he could have 
 struck him dead upon the spot, and cast his 
 guilty soul into hell ; and taught him. to admire 
 and praise the gracious Redeemer, who, in the 
 midst of wrath, remembered mercy to the worst 
 of his enemies. Shut up to his own reflections, 
 under this blindness, he was engaged in exercises 
 so solemn and interesting, that he had neither 
 inclination nor leisure to attend to the concerns 
 of his body. It w^as during this period, that that 
 process of conviction was carried on, which he 
 has described in one of his epistles. " I was a- 
 " live without the law once ; but when the com- 
 " mandment came, sin revived, and I died. And 
 " the commandment, which was ordained to life, 
 " I found to be unto death. For sin, taking oc- 
 
THE CONVERSION OF PAUL. '21S 
 
 " casion by the commiindment, deceived me, nnd 
 " by it slew me *." When he compared his for- 
 mer life with the holy law of God, which he now, 
 for the lirst time, understood, sins past reckoning 
 rose to his view ; he discovered the most fright- 
 ful depravity in his heart ; and his Pharisaical 
 notions, his proud confidence in his own righte- 
 ousness, perished as a dream. Full of remorse, 
 and shame, and fear, he cried with the penitent 
 publican, " God, be merciful to me a sinner f.** 
 It was during this period that it pleased God 
 " to reveal his Son in him J" as the Messiah, who 
 had broug^ht in an everlastinjr rio-hteousness, bv 
 which he obtained, through faith, that peace of 
 mind which he ever afterwards enjoyed. It was 
 at this time that he was instructed in the know- 
 ledge of the gospel immediately by Christ, and 
 was qualified in the same extraordinary manner, 
 in which he was called to be an apostle. " But 
 " I certify you, brethren, that the gospel whicli 
 *' was preached of me is not after man. For I 
 " neither received it of man, neither was I taught 
 '* it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ §.'* 
 Amidst such distress and such joy ; amidst such 
 new and astonishing views as presented them- 
 selves to his opening mind, Saul forgot the ne- 
 cessities of the body. All his time was spent in 
 tears, and prayers, and thanksgivings. 
 
 * Rom. vll. 9 — 11. f Luke xviii. 13. 
 
 JGal. i. IG, ^ Gal. i, 11, 12... 
 
276 THE CONVERSION OF PAUL. 
 
 The following verses relate the cure of his 
 blindness, his admission into the fellowship of 
 the disciples by baptism, and the Zealand courage 
 which he displayed in the service of Christ. 
 
 " And there was a certain disciple at Damas- 
 " cus, named Ananias, and to him said the Lord 
 ** in a vision, Ananias. And he said. Behold, I 
 " am here, Lord." This is the language of a 
 faithful disciple, who only waits for the com- 
 mands of his Master, that he may instantly obey 
 them. " And the Lord said unto him. Arise, 
 ^' and go into the street which is called Straight, 
 " and inquire in the house of Judas, for one 
 *• called Saul of Tarsus : for behold he prayeth." 
 He no lonQ;er breathed out threatening^s and 
 slaughter against the disciples ; nothing proceed- 
 ed from his lips but earnest supplications for 
 mercy. This circumstance is mentioned to en- 
 courage Ananias to visit him. However wicked 
 a man may have formerly been, we may pre- 
 sume that he is changed, as soon as we learn that 
 he is frequent and fervent in prayer. The spirit 
 of devotion cannot reside in the same bosom with 
 the spirit of pride, dissimulation, injustice, and 
 cruelty. The one will expel the other. " He 
 *' hath seen in a vision a man named Ananias, 
 *' coming in, and putting his hands on him, that 
 " he might receive his sight." This vision was 
 intended not only to comfort Saul in his distress. 
 
THE CONVERSION OF PAUL. 277 
 
 but to prepare him to receive Ananias, as a mes- 
 senger of Christ. 
 
 Ananias, when first addressed by his Lord, 
 answered, " I am here,'* expressing the utmost 
 readiness to execute his orders ; but he hesitates 
 when he hears his commission. " Lord, I have 
 " heard by many of this man, how much evil he 
 " hath done to thy saints at Jerusalem : and here 
 " he hath authority from the chief priests, to 
 " bind all that call on thy name." " Is it to Saul 
 " that thou sendest me? Is it thy v/ill that I sliould 
 " go and deliver myself into his hands r" The 
 good man does not refuse to obey, but humbly 
 states his apprehensions, which were too well 
 justified by the past conduct of Saul. Ananias 
 knew nothing of what had befallen him in the 
 way. 
 
 " But the Lord said unto him. Go thy way : 
 '' for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my 
 " nanae before the Gentiles, and kings, and the 
 " children of Israel. For I will shew him how 
 " great things he must suffer for my name's 
 " sake." " Lord ! how unsearchable are thy 
 " judgments, and thy ways past finding out ! 
 " There were Pharisees in Jerusalem, who were 
 " not guilty of such crimes as Saul ; men who 
 " disbelieved thy religion, but did not persecute 
 *' thy followers ; who were restrained by a sense 
 " of justice and humanity from i'^juring their 
 ** persons, although they detested their error. 
 
278 THE CONVERSION OF PAUL. 
 
 " These thou didst pass by, and leave to perish 
 " in their ignorance ; while to this man, com- 
 *' pared with whom they were innocent, a man 
 " who impiously waged war with thyself, and 
 " w^ould have rejoiced in the utter ruin of thy 
 *' cause, thou wast pleased to exercise pardoning 
 " mercy. We adore the sovereignty of thy 
 " grace. Thou makest of the same lump one 
 " vessel to honour, and another to dishonour. 
 " Thou choosest the very worst of mankind as 
 " the fittest objects on whom to display thy 
 " goodness, that the disappointed, confounded 
 " pride of man, may never more dare to stand 
 " forth as the rival of thy glory. What art thou 
 " not able to do, who couldst transform one of 
 " the most active agents of Satan into a zealous 
 *' and successful minister of thy kingdom ; and 
 " couldst make the lips which blasphemed thee, 
 " become the eloquent heralds of thy praise ? 
 " Never will we despair of any man, however 
 *' far advanced in the career of impiety, after 
 " we have seen this example of the wonders 
 " which thy grace can perform." 
 
 This information removed the doubts of Ana- 
 nias, who hastened, with a joyful heart, to exe- 
 cute his commission. " And Ananias went his 
 " way, and entered into the house ; and putting 
 *' his hands on him, said. Brother Saul, the Lord 
 " (even Jesus that appeared unto thee in the way 
 " as thou earnest), hath sent me, that thou might- 
 
THE CONVERSION OF PAUL. 279 
 
 *=* est receive thy sight, and be filled with the 
 " Holy Ghost.'* Grace makes a man soon for- 
 get injurious treatment ; and most willingly does 
 a Christian pardon those whom his Lord has 
 forgiven. The blasphemies and cruelties of Saul 
 are remembered no more. Ananiiis sees in him, 
 not the murderer of the saints, but " a new crea- 
 " ture, created in Christ Jesus to good works ;'* 
 and he salutes him by the compellation of bro- 
 ther, bidding him welcome to the privileges of 
 the heaven-born family. By the imposition of 
 his hands, Saul recovered his sight, and received 
 the gifts of the Spirit, which were necessary to 
 qualify him for the apostolical office. " And im- 
 " mediately there fell from his eyes as it had been 
 " scales ; and he received sight forthwith, and 
 '* arose, and was baptized." Thus he was re- 
 ceived into the communion of the church, and 
 dedicated to the service of Christ. 
 
 Saul immediately joined himself to the dis- 
 ciples, and openly appeared as the friend and 
 champion of the truth. " And straightway he 
 '= preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is 
 " the Son of God ;" in the same synagogues to 
 which he carried letters from the high priest, re- 
 quiring them to deliver up to punishment those 
 by whom this truth was avowed. So powerful 
 were his arguments, that the Jews v\'^ere con- 
 founded. Saul was acquainted with all their ob- 
 jections, which had been often urged by himself; 
 
280 THE CONVERSION OF PAUL. 
 
 but he was now able to point out their futility. A 
 change so sudden and so great was beheld with 
 astonishment. "All that heard him were ama- 
 " zed, and said, Is not this he that destroyed 
 " 'hem which called on this name in Jerusalem, 
 *' and came hither for that intent, that he might 
 *' bring them bound unto the chief priests 1" 
 Some would be content to wonder ; others were 
 stimulated, by offended pride and disappointed 
 bigotry, to revenge ; but a few, we may believe, 
 carefully inquiring into the cause of an event so 
 extraordinary, perceived in his conversion such 
 evidence in favour of the gospel, as prevailed 
 upon them to imitate his example. 
 
 The conversion of Paul, considered in all its 
 circumstances, presents an argument of great 
 strength for the truth of Christianity. About 
 the fact itself there can be no dispute; and.. the 
 only question between us and the enemies of re- 
 velation respects the conclusion to be deduced 
 from it. I acknowledge, that a change from 
 one system to another does not, in every case, 
 afford any evidence against the first, and in fa- 
 vour of the second, because the change is often 
 the effect of fickleness, of passion, of self-interest, 
 or of vanity. But when a man forsakes a reli- 
 gion, which he has long and zealously support- 
 ed, and goes over to a religion which he has 
 long and zealously opposed ; when every mo- 
 tive of honour, profit, and personal safety, is on 
 
THE CONVERSION OF PAUL. 281 
 
 the side of the former, and all those motives ope- 
 rate against the latter ; and when his character 
 is such, as to obviate any supicion that he was 
 deceived by others, or imposed upon by his own 
 imagination ; the presumption is strong, that the 
 evidence in favour of the religion which he has 
 adopted is at least probable, and deserves to be 
 carefully examined. The zeal of Paul for the 
 law of Moses was equalled only by his antipathy 
 to the gospel. Yet we find him suddenly chan- 
 ging sides, commencing one of the boldest and 
 most active propagators of the gospel, and em- 
 ploying all his powers of reasoning to prove, that 
 the obligation of the law of Moses was annulled, 
 and that no man could be saved by the obser- 
 vance of it. How shall we account for this re- 
 volution in his sentiments and conduct ? It can- 
 not be explained by any of the ordinary princi- 
 ples which influence the determinations of men. 
 The reasons for continuing in the Jewish religion 
 were various and weighty. It was the religion 
 of his fathers, which they had received from God 
 himself; it was the religion of his country, of the 
 rulers and great men, of his companions and 
 friends ; it was the religion which opened to 
 him the only path to reputation and preferment j 
 it v/as the religion in which he had made great 
 proficiency, and on which were founded his hopes 
 of acceptance with God ; it was the religion to 
 which he had, in the most decided manner, 
 2 N 
 
'282 niE CONVERSION OF PAUL. 
 
 given the preference, and which he could not 
 renounce without acknowledging himself to have 
 been in an error, and incurring the censures and 
 reproaches of the v/orld. Christianity was con- 
 trary to all his Jewish and Pharisaical -prejudices 
 with respect to the character of the Messiah, the 
 nature of his kingdom, and the plan by which a 
 sinner is justified ; was embraced chiefly by per- 
 sons in the lower ranks, and was taught by illi- 
 terate men ; was proscribed by the laws, and 
 persecuted, so that whoever professed it must 
 give up all hope of living quietly and safely, and 
 reckon upon ill-usage of every sort, and probably 
 in the end, a violent death ; and would be the 
 cause of peculiar trouble and danger to him,whom 
 all the Jews would unite to persecute as an apos- 
 tate and a traitor. 
 
 In a worldly point of view, the change from 
 Judaism to Christianity was highly imprudent, 
 or rather would have been a certain indication 
 (jf madness. But Paul was not mad ; he labour^ 
 cd under no disorder of mind, which might have 
 led him to extravagance of conduct ; he was not 
 a visionary, who is the sport of the illusions of 
 flmcy, nor a weak man, who is the dupe of the 
 artifice of others. All his writings, and all his 
 actions subsequent to his conversion, discover 
 him to have been a man of sound judgment, of 
 strong intellectual powers, of consummate pru- 
 dence, and of steady principles. He was not one 
 
THE CONVERSION OF PAUL. 2S:i 
 
 of tliosc inconstant, restless beings, who run 
 through every form of rehgion. He never made 
 but one change, and he persevered in it amidst 
 the severest trials. At the time wlicn lie was 
 converted, his mind was not in a state which 
 disposed it to receive strange and unaccountable 
 impressions. He was not troubled with remorse 
 for any crime ; he was not apprehensive of -dan- 
 ger ; he was not labouring under bodily infir- 
 mity ; he was not in solitude. He was on a 
 journey, in the midst of his friends, and in open 
 day ; he was confident of the goodness of his 
 cause ; his disbelief of Christianity, and hfs de- 
 termination to oppose it, were never more deci- 
 ded. At this moment his views of the gospel 
 underwent a total change. His hostility to it 
 ceased. He acknowledged Jesus Christ to be the 
 Son of God, devoted himself to his service, ac- 
 cepted of one of the highest and most dangerous 
 offices in his church, and commenced an avowed 
 and indefati2;able advocate of his cause. 
 
 It is impossible, I think, when all the circum- 
 stances are considered, to account for this con- 
 version, except on such grounds as will clearly 
 establish the truth of the gospel. Nothing could 
 have effected a change so great, so sudden, so 
 much opposed by all the feelings of human na- 
 ture, but evidence, which the mind of Paul was 
 unable to resist. Had the gospel not been truCj 
 it would have never counted Saul of Tarsus :.p 
 
28 4< THE CONVERSION OF PAUL. 
 
 mong those who have believed it. Not only 
 does his conversion demonstrate the truth of 
 Christianity, but it gives a high degree of credi- 
 bility to this particular history. Such a conver- 
 sion evidently required such an extraordinary 
 interposition. Paul was out of the reach of or- 
 dinary means. He would have disdained to 
 hear an apostle; he wou'd not h^ve listened with 
 patience to any arguments in favour of the gos- 
 pel ; and we cannot suppose that he would have 
 carefully and dispassionately investigated the sub- 
 ject by himself. It was almost necessary to em- 
 ploy miraculous means to bring this man to the 
 acknowledgment of the truth ; and if we believe 
 his conversion to have been sudden, we must al- 
 so believe that it was accomplished in the man- 
 ner described in this chapter. 
 
 The case of Paul deserves the serious conside- 
 ration of infidels, who should eitlier give a satis- 
 factory solution of it, in consistency with their 
 own principles, or admit the force of the argu- 
 ment which it affords in behalf of the gospel. It 
 is an instance of an unbeliever, a man of some 
 learning, and considerable abilities, who, yield- 
 ing to conviction, publicly adopted our religion, 
 after having virulenily and pertinaciously oppo- 
 sed it. Their refusal to imitate his example, 
 must proceed from their not having considered 
 tlie evidence, or from their having found it de- 
 
THE CONVERSION OF PAUL. 12.S5 
 
 fcctlve. Among those who have examhicd the 
 subject, there can be no doubt to which of these 
 causes it should be ascribed. Cliristianity will 
 stand the test of the strictest inquiry. We have 
 nothing to fear from fair discussion. Unbelief 
 is not the consequence of just reasoning, but of 
 sophistry, prejudice, presumptuous ignorance, 
 and licentious dispositions. Infidels' sometimes 
 maintain, that God ought to work miracles in 
 every age for the confirmation of the gospel ; and 
 may, on this ground, insinuate, that ihey have 
 the same right as Paul to have their doubts re- 
 moved by a supernatural interposition. But the 
 demand is noc reasonable. If the ordinary evi- 
 dence be suiiicient to satisfy those who will can- 
 didly attend to it, God is not obliged, at the re- 
 quest of every caviller, to break in upon the e- 
 stablished order of providence. Let them first 
 shew, that it is impossible at present to know 
 the gospel to b. true without a new revelation j 
 and it will then be time to examine, whether 
 such a revelation should be s:ranted. 
 
 o 
 
 To the friends of Christianity, the conversion 
 of Paul is fraught with instruction. It confirms 
 their faith by a new proof of the divinity of the 
 gospel. It illustrates the power and grace of their 
 Redeemer. It shews them, that his religion is 
 safe amidst the most vigorous and best directed 
 attacks of its enemies, since he is able to change 
 them into friends, or to crush them and their 
 
2Si) THE CONVILPvSION OF PAUL. 
 
 designs. The conversion of such persons as Paul 
 is indeed extremely rare. Infidels commonly die 
 as they lived, especially when they have signa- 
 lized themselves by their unhallowed zeal. None 
 of the most noted characters of this description, 
 in our times, has glorified God by a recantation 
 of his error. Christianity does not need their 
 aid. It would have succeeded in the beginning, 
 although Paul had continued to persecute it ; 
 it will go on without them, and in spite of their 
 exertions. The Lord Jesus rules " in the midst 
 " of his enemies." But divine grace could sub- 
 due the proudest and most determined unbelie- 
 ver ; and instances are not wanting, in which 
 its power has been displayed in opening their 
 blind eyes, and turning them from darkness to 
 light. Let us rejoice that the truth will be ul- 
 timately victorious ; and let us conclude with 
 this prayer of the church to her almighty Re- 
 deemer. " Gird thy sword upon thy thigh, O 
 " most mighty ; with thy glory and thy majes- 
 " ty. And in thy majesty ride prosperously, 
 " because of truth, and meekness, and righte- 
 *' ousness ; and thy right hand shall teach thee 
 *' terrible things. Thine arrows are sharp in the 
 *' hearts of the king's enemies ; whereby the peo- 
 *' pie fall under thee *." 
 
 * Psal. xlv. 3—5. 
 
I 
 
 LECTURE XIII. 
 
 THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS: 
 
 Chap. X. 
 
 1 HE conversion of Cornelius, who was the first- 
 fruits of the Gentiles, is supposed to have taken 
 place about seven or eight years after the ascension 
 of our Saviour. Yet before he left his disciples, 
 he gave them a commission to go " into all the 
 " world, and preach the gospel to every creature." 
 The terms in which it was expressed were perspi- 
 cuous : and as there could be no dispute about 
 their duty, so there ought to have been no he- 
 sitation in performing it. During all this time, 
 however, the apostles confined their labours to 
 their own countrymen, and to the Samaritans. 
 If they did not understand their commission, we 
 see a remarkable instance of the povv'er of preju- 
 dice in preventing the mind from perceiving 
 what is perfectly obvious ; if they understood, 
 but did not execute it, their conduct shews with 
 what difficulty inveterate opinions and habits are 
 renounced. To whatever cause we impute the 
 delay, it is manifest, that although wq should 
 
288 THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 
 
 venerate the apostles as the ambassadors of Christ, 
 and gratefully remember their pious labours, the 
 benefit of which we at this moment experience, 
 yet we are not indebted to their liberality for 
 the interest which we possess in the new dispen- 
 sation. The comprehensive scheme, which asso- 
 ciated the Gentiles with the Jews in the enjoy- 
 ment of the divine favour and the blessings of 
 redemption, was not suggested by their enlight- 
 ened benevolence. 
 
 But the prejudices and the reluctance of men 
 cannot defeat the purposes of heaven. The gos- 
 pel was ROW fully preached to the Jews, and the 
 foundation of the church was laid among the 
 children of the covenant. The time was come, 
 when the designs of mercy to those who were 
 *' aliens from the commonwealth of Israel,'* 
 should be accomplished. To ensure the execu- 
 tion of the plan, extraordinary measures were 
 adopted. By a new revelation, that apostle, who 
 was chosen to break down " the middle wall of 
 " partition," was prepared for the service ; and 
 all the circumstances were disposed in such a 
 manner as to remove the scruples which he felt, 
 in consecjuence of his national and religious ha- 
 bits. 
 
 Of the person whom divine grace selected to 
 be the first amono: the Gentiles who should re- 
 ceive the knowledge of the truth, the following 
 
THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 289 
 
 account is given in the beginning of the chapter. 
 " There was a certain man in Ccsarea, called 
 " Cornelius, a centurion of the band, called the 
 " Italian band, a devout man, and one that feared 
 " God with all his house, which gave much alms 
 " to the people, and prayed to God alway." By 
 birth he was probably a Roman ; by profession 
 he was a soldier ; and he resided in Cesarea, 
 with the part of the army under his command. 
 Among military men, examples of piety are rare. 
 They are too commonly distinguished by their ir- 
 religion and profligacy. The precariousness of 
 life, amidst the dangers of war, instead of exci- 
 ting them to prepare for eternity, is grasped at 
 as an argument to justify a course of dissipation. 
 " Let us eat and drink : for to-morrow we die.'* 
 Too thoughtless to reflect on any serious subject, 
 and too much the slaves of their passions to sub- 
 mit to the discipline of virtue, they acknowledge 
 no law but the law of honour, which does not 
 restrain from baseness, but resents even to blood 
 the injputation of it ; which permits without re- 
 proach the seduction of the innocent, the deso- 
 lation of families, and the murder of a friend, 
 who, in an unguarded moment, has offended 
 them ; which prescribes the exterior forms of 
 politeness, and leaves the heart polluted and de- 
 graded by the most odious vices. 
 
 Cornelius was an honourable exception ; for 
 " he was a devout man, and one that feared 
 2 o 
 
290 THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 
 
 " God." He appears from this account to have 
 been a proselyte of the gate, which was the de- 
 signation bestowed by the Jews upon a heathen 
 living among them, who acknowledged and wor- 
 shipped the God of Israel, but did not submit to 
 circumcision. Such proselytes remained Gen- 
 tiles in the estimation of the Jews ; whereas pro- 
 selytes of righteousness, who were circumcised^, 
 and kept the whole law, were incorporated with 
 the nation. The character of a devout man, 
 given to Cornelius, is illustrated and confirmed 
 by several particulars. " He feared God with all 
 " his house." The pious sentiments which he 
 entertained towards Jehovah, he was succcessful 
 in inculcating upon his family. Although not a 
 descendant of Abraham, he imitated his example, 
 which God so highly commends. " I know him, 
 *' that he will command his children and his 
 " household after him, and they shall keep the 
 " way of the Lord, to do justice and judgr 
 *' ment *." The personal religion of that man 
 may be justly suspected, who suffers his children 
 and domestics to live in ignorance and vice, with- 
 out usinsr his best endeavours to instruct and re- 
 
 o 
 
 form them. " He gave much alms to the peO" 
 *' pie." This circumstance is the more decisive 
 in favour of his character, as he was, by birth 
 and education, a Gentile, and consequently had 
 not been trained to sentiments of kindness and 
 compassion. Among the ancient heathens, the 
 
 * Gen. xviii. la 
 
THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 291 
 
 claims of the indigent and afflicted were little re- 
 garded. Corrupt nature had hardened tlie heart, 
 and a vain philosophy coiild not soften il. The 
 charities, which are now so common in Chris- 
 tian countries, that they scarcely excite any ad- 
 miration, result directly, or indirectly, from 
 that principle of love to man, which revealed re- 
 ligion alone inculcates and inspires. "He prayed 
 " to God alway." It is almost unnecessary to 
 observe, that nothing more is meant than that 
 he prayed frequently, or at all the stated hours 
 of the Jews, who offered up their supplications 
 and thanksgivings in the morning, at mid -day, 
 and in the evening. Thus Daniel " prayed, and 
 " gave thanks before his God three times a-day*;'* 
 and the Psalmist says, " Evening and morning, 
 " and at noon, will I pray, and cry aloud : and 
 *' he shall hear my voice f.'* 
 
 One of the hours of prayer was the ninth hour, 
 or three o'clock in the afternoon, when the even- 
 ing sacrifice was offered. At this time, the piety 
 of Cornelius was rewarded with a divine com- 
 munication, by which we are encouraged to imi- 
 tate his example, in the hope of enjoying fellow- 
 ship with God. " He saw in a vision evidently, 
 " about the ninth hour of the day, an angel of 
 " God coming in to him, and saying unto him, 
 " Cornelius." Some of the vibions recorded in 
 Scripture, were representations made to the mind 
 * Dan. vi. 10, f Psal. Iv. 17. 
 
292 THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 
 
 in sleep, but with such characters of their celes- 
 tial origin, as easily distinguished them from the 
 wild creations of fancy. When Cornelius saw 
 this vision, he was awake. The objects which fie 
 beheld had a real existence, and the words which 
 he heard were actually pronounced. The mini- 
 ster of the divine will was an angel, who enter- 
 ing into the place where the good man was pour- 
 ing out his soul before God, saluted him by his 
 name. The suddenness of his appearance, his 
 majestic form, and that consciousness of inferio- 
 rity and guilt, which man is apt to feel when any 
 event takes place out of the ordinary course, 
 caused a perturbation of his mind. " When he 
 " looked on him, he was afraid, and said. What 
 " is it, Lord i"* It is a question proceeding from 
 reverence and fear. " Have I offended ? or hast 
 " thou any command to deliver ? Here I am, 
 " ready to obey.*' The angel immediately re- 
 lieved his anxiety, by saying, " Thy prayers 
 " and thine alms are come up for a memorial 
 *' before God." In the Levitical law, the in- 
 cense burnt before tlie Lord, and the handful of 
 fine flower for a sin-offering, which the priest 
 threw into the fire of the altar, are both termed 
 a memorial *. By applying the same designation 
 to the prayers and alms of Cornelius, the angel 
 intimates, that they were spiritual sacrifices, with 
 which God was well-pleased. Cornelius was i?ot 
 * Lev. V. 12. xxiv. 7. 
 
THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 293 
 
 a Jew, nor even a proselyte of lighteousness ; 
 but he believed in the true God, and by this 
 faith Ills religious services were rendered accept- 
 able. 
 
 But if the prayers and alms of the devout cen- 
 turion ascended as incense, what more did he 
 want ? Was there any defect to be supplied in 
 his religion, by which he was already interested 
 in the favour of God ? It cannot be doubted, 
 that Cornelius was at present in a state of salva- 
 tion, and that, if he had resided in Rome, or 
 some other distant place, where the gospel was 
 not published, he miight have lived and died in 
 peace and safety, without ever knowing tliat Je- 
 sus Christ was come into the world. Hi> faith 
 in the Messiah was sincere. But he was now in 
 the country which had been the scene of the in- 
 carnation, miracles, death, and resurrection of 
 the Son of God ; and it was not fitting, that, in 
 this situation, any good man, who was waiting 
 for his manifestation, should have remained ig- 
 norant of that important event. An angel, there- 
 fore, descended from heaven, as on another oc- 
 casion a star had appeared, to conduct this pious 
 Gendle to Christ. Besides, by the knowledge 
 of the Saviour, his views- v/ould be enlarged, and 
 his spiritual joy would be increased ; ai?d this 
 stranger, who, although a fearer of Gocl, was 
 excluded by uncircumcision from die commu- 
 nion of the Jewish church, would be adir.itted 
 
294 THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 
 
 by baptism to be a fellow -citizen of the saints. 
 Hence the angel gave the following direction. 
 *' And now send men to Joppa, and call for one 
 " Simon, whose surname is Peter. He lodgeth 
 " with one Simon a tanner, whose house is by 
 " the sea-side; he shall tell thee what thou ought- 
 '' est to do.'* Cornelius might have received this 
 information from one of the disciples, whom pro-' 
 vidence could have introduced to his acquaint- 
 ance ; or an apostle might have been sent to Ce- 
 sarea, to preach the gospel lo the centurion. But 
 the case required an unusual procedure. It was 
 a new era in the history of the church. No 
 longer bounded by the circumscribed limits of a 
 small country, it was to extend " from sea to 
 " sea, and from the river unto the ends of the 
 " earth.'* To this change, which could not be ac- 
 complished without the abrogation of the ancient 
 law, even the believing Jews would with diffi- 
 culty be reconciled. An angel, therefore, was 
 employed to direct Cornelius to call for one of 
 the apostles, that he might, with full confidence, 
 engage in his new and unprecedented mission, 
 and others might -be prevented from objecting to 
 his conduct, which God himself had expressly 
 authorised. 
 
 It is worthy of observation, that, although 
 God was pleased, for wise purposes, to deviate 
 fi'om his ordinary plan, in order to warn Corne- 
 lius of his duty j yet he was, at the same time. 
 
THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 295 
 
 careful to maintain tlic authority and honour of 
 his own institution for the conversion of sinners. 
 The angel did not preach the gospel to Corne- 
 lius, but informed him where he would find one 
 to preach it. God has not employed as the mes- 
 sengers of his mercy, superior beings, whose 
 greatness would have made us afraid, and to the 
 charms of whose eloquence the success of his 
 word might have been ascribed. " He hath put 
 " the treasure in earthen vessels, that the excel- 
 *' lency of the power may be of G(^d, and not of 
 *' men*." We are addressed by mortals like our- 
 selves, to whom we can listen without terror, 
 and who being sinful, v/eak, and i-iriperfectly en- 
 lightened, can be considered only as instruments 
 of the divine operations. This contrivance, so 
 admirably calculated to secure the glory of God 
 in the salvation of men, no dispensation proceed- 
 ing from himself will ever disparage. Angels 
 may sometimes summon sinners to hear the joy- 
 ful tidings, but they will be proclaimed by one 
 of themselves. The expectation of immediate re- 
 velations to awaken the careless, is not justified 
 by any promise of Scripture, or any recorded 
 example ; and it could not be realised without 
 weakening the authority', and diminishing the 
 importance, of the niinisTv of reconciliation. 
 
 As soon as the vision was past, Cornelius call- 
 ed two of his servants, and a devout soldier, who 
 * 1 Cor. iv. 7, 
 
29^6 THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 
 
 waited on him continually ; and having related 
 the message of the angel, which was alike inte- 
 resting to them all, dispatched them to Joppa. 
 Let us proceed to consider in what manner Peter 
 was prepared to comply with the invitation of 
 Cornelius. 
 
 " On the morrow, as they went on jtheir jour- 
 " ney, and drew nigh unto the city, Peter went 
 " up upon the house-top to pray, about the sixth 
 " hour. And he became very hungry, and would 
 " have eaten : but while they made ready, he 
 " fell into a trance.'* In the eastern countries, 
 the roofs of houses are flat ; a circumstance ne- 
 cessary to be known, in order to understand se- 
 veral passages of Scripture. They afforded a con- 
 venient place for prayer, being removed from 
 the noise and interruptions of the family. At 
 the sixth hour, or noon, which was one of the 
 hours of prayer among the Jews, Peter having 
 retired to the house-top, and being hungry, while 
 they made ready some food for him, he fell into 
 a trance. A trance, or ecstacy, signifies a state 
 of mind, in which a person is so much engaged 
 with a particular subject, that the exercise of his 
 senses is suspended, and he is insensible to every 
 thing which passes around him. Whether the 
 objects which Peter saw had any real existence, 
 or were merely represented to his mind, it is im- 
 possible to determine. We are certain, that the 
 vision was not the offspring of imagination, but 
 
THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 297 
 
 an effect of the power of God, and an authentic 
 revelation of his will. He beheld " heaven open- 
 " ed," or an appearance as if the heavens had 
 parted asunder, and a vessel, " like a great sheet,'* 
 let down, which contained all sorts of quadru- 
 peds, tame and wild, and reptiles, and birds. At 
 the same time, he heard a voice saying, " Rise, 
 " Peter; kill, and eat.** As many of the ani- 
 mals were such as were forbidden by the law of 
 Moses, he objected to the command, saying, 
 " Not sOj Lord : for I have never eaten any thing 
 " that is common or unclean." He probably 
 considered it not as authorisinq; him to transg^rcss 
 the ceremonial law, but as a trial of his respect 
 for it ; for it does not appear, that at this time, 
 either he, or any of the apostles, expected a change 
 of that law. " But the voice spake unto him a- 
 " gain the second time, What God hath clean- 
 " sed, that call not thou common." The pro- 
 hibited animals w^re not unclean from any natu- 
 ral impurity, but in virtue of a positive institu- 
 tion, in consequence of which an Israelite could 
 not use them for food without contracting de- 
 filement. They were cleansed when the institu- 
 tion was revoked ; and might henceforth be eaten 
 without any other scrupls than what arose from 
 a regard to health, or to taste. " This was done 
 *' thrice, for the same reason that the dream of 
 Pharaoh was doubled, " because the thing was 
 2 p 
 
298 THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 
 
 " established by God, and God would sliordy 
 " bring it to pass *.'* 
 
 That we may understand the import of this 
 vision, it is necessary to remember, that the Jews 
 were a holy people, separated from all the other 
 nations of the world, and consecrated to the ser- 
 vice of God. The separation was in part effec- 
 ted by circumcision, which was a token of the 
 covenant of God with the seed of Abraham ; but 
 the same rite was practised by the Arabians, the 
 descendants of Ishmael, and adopted from them, 
 or from the Jews, by some other tribes. A more 
 complete distinction was made by the laws re- 
 specting meats, and is, in fact, assigned as the 
 intention of those laws. " I am the Lord your 
 " God, which have separated you from other 
 " people. Ye shall therefore put difference be- 
 " tween clean beasts and unclean, and between 
 " unclean fowls and clean : and ye shall not make 
 '* your souls abominable by beast, or by fowl, or 
 " by any manner of living thing that creepeth on 
 " the ground, which I have separated from you 
 *' as unclean. And ye shall be holy unto me : 
 '' for I the Lord am holy, and have severed you 
 " from other people, that ye should be mine f." 
 In consequence of this injunction, it was impos- 
 sible for a Jew to mingle on familiar terms with 
 the Gentiles, without contracting pollution, be- 
 cause at their tables he would meet with some 
 * Gen. xli. 32. f Lev. xx. 2i-'^6. 
 
THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 299 
 
 kinds of food, which his rdigion taught him to 
 hold in abhorrence. Wliilc Jews and Gentiles 
 retained their peculiar usages, they were objects 
 of mutual aversion and contempt. The voice 
 from Iieaven declared, that the distinction of 
 meats into clean and unclean was abolished ; that 
 every animal proper for food might be used with 
 a good conscience ; and, consequently, that the 
 principal ground of separation between Jews and 
 Gentiles was removed. For it is evident, that 
 the intention of the vision was not merely to de- 
 clare, that under the new dispensation the pre- 
 cepts concerning meats ceased to be obligatory, 
 but to shew, that these being repealed, the sepa- 
 ration, which was the ultimate end of them, was 
 also repealed, and the Jews might now freely 
 associate with the Gentiles. Hence Peter says in 
 the twenty-eighth verse, " Ye know, how that 
 " it is unlawful for a man that is a Jew, to keep 
 *' company, or to come unto one of another na- 
 ** tion : but God hath shewed me, that I should 
 " not call any man common or unclean." The 
 vision was admirably contrived, in all its circum- 
 stances, by divine wisdom. Occasion was taken 
 from the hunger of Peter to represent to him 
 an assemblage of all sorts of animals which 
 might be used for food ; and the command to 
 eat of any of them at pleasure implied such a 
 change of system, as allowed the Jews to keep 
 company with the Gentiles, of whose entertain- 
 
300 THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 
 
 I ments they might now partake without any dan^ 
 
 ' ger of impurity. 
 
 The literal meaning of the vision was perfect- 
 ly obvious. How much soever Peter was sur- 
 prised, he must have understood it to be the will 
 of God, that the precepts with regard to things, 
 clean and unclean, should be abrogated ; and that 
 the disciples of Jesus should not be burdened with 
 a yoke, which the disciples of Mo;ses had felt to 
 be uneasy. But the ultimate design of it would 
 not so readily occur to his mind. To a Jew it 
 was not a natural thought, that the Gentiles 
 should no more be considered and treated as im- 
 pure. Hence it was necessary that the mind of 
 
 .. the apostle should be farther enlightened on this 
 
 f nev/ and important subject ; and this was done 
 
 by the arrival of the messengers of Cornelius, 
 and by a suggestion of the Spirit. " While Pe- 
 " ler doubted in himself, what this vision which 
 " he had seen should mean," messengers came 
 to inviie him to visit a Gentile, and instruct him 
 in the way of the Lord. And " v/hile he thought 
 " on the vision, the Spirit said unto him, Behold, 
 *' three men seek thee. Arise, therefore, and get 
 , *' thee down, and go with them, doubting no- 
 " thing : for I have sent thee." Thus he learn- 
 ed, that what God had cleansed, no man should 
 call common, whether the subject were an ani- 
 mal or a man. The Gentiles were cleansed by 
 the annulling of those laws which distinguished 
 
THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 301 
 
 them from the people of G(k1, nnci excluded them 
 from the communion of the church. 
 
 The scruples of the apostle being in this man- 
 ner removed, he descended from the roof of tlie 
 house, and welcomed the messengers of Corne- 
 lius, although it is probable, that they also were 
 uncircumcised. On the morrow, he set out 
 with them for Cesarea, where the centurion wait- 
 ed for him, having assembled his kinsmen and 
 friends, to hear the good news of salvation. 
 " And as Peter was coming in, Cornelius met 
 *' him, and fell down at his feet, and worshipped 
 " him. But Peter took him up, saying, Stand 
 " up ; I myself also am a man." From the sim- 
 ple narration of this fact, it cannot be determi- 
 ned whether Cornelius meant to offer religious 
 worship, or civil homage to Peter, because a- 
 mong some nations, both were expressed by 
 kneeling, or by prostrating one's self upon the 
 ground. He seems to have been overpowered 
 by a strong sentiment of veneration for the apos- 
 tle ; and was unable, in this state of mind, to 
 fix with precision the boundaries of respect. It 
 is evident that he was guiliy of some excess ; 
 and although we can hardly conceive him to 
 have honoured Peter as- a god, because this Gen- 
 tile was no polytheist, but a woi shipper of Jeho- 
 vah, yet the reverence which he felt for him was 
 greater than was due to a man. 
 
 There is one feature in the character of all ihe 
 
302 THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUb. 
 
 apostles, which must attract the notice of every 
 attentive reader of their history ; namely, their 
 disinterestedness. We discover, on no occasion, 
 any symptoms of selfishness. Advantages they 
 undoubtedly enjoyed, in the admiration and zea- 
 lous attachment of their followers, for personal 
 aggrandisement ; but they never yielded to the 
 solicitations of ambition. The glory of their 
 Master, and the salvation of souls, were the great 
 objects which they steadily pursued. They were 
 content to be overlooked and forgotten ; and if 
 they sometimes magnified their office, their sole 
 purpose was to promote the ends of their minis- 
 try. Instead of encouraging, they instantly 
 checked, any disposition in others, to fix upon 
 them that admiration which was due to Jesus 
 Christ, from whom their miraculous powers, and 
 all their talents, were derived. How marked is 
 the difference between them and their pretend- 
 ed successors at Rome, who, by a long train of 
 artifice and hypocrisy, rose to a proud domina- 
 tion over the Christian world ; or Mahomet, 
 whose imposture rewarded him with an empire ? 
 Their disinterestedness is an evidence that they 
 were sincerely persuaded of the truth of the gos- 
 pel ; and the gospel must therefore be true : for 
 as their circumstances were such as to prevent 
 the possibility of being deceived, so it is manifest 
 that they had no intention to deceive. 
 After this seasonable admonition to Cornelius, 
 
THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. uQ'3 
 
 Peter talked with him in a friendly manner, and 
 went into the house, where he found a large 
 company assembled. He was aware that the 
 Gentiles would be surprised at his conduct, whicli 
 was so different from that of his countrymen, 
 and was forbidden bv the Jewish rcli£>;ion. He 
 informed them, therefore, tliat God himself had 
 abolished the distinction between the Jews and 
 other nations. " Therefore," he says, " came I 
 " unto you, without gainsaying, as soon as I was 
 " sent for : I ask, therefore, for what intent ye 
 " have sent for me." In return to this question, 
 Cornelius related his vision ; and concluded with 
 declaring to the apostle, that they were met to 
 receive, with entire submission, the word of God 
 from his lips. 
 
 " Then Peter opened his mouth, and said. Of 
 " a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of 
 " persons ; but in every nation, he that feareth 
 " him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted 
 " with him." These words have been grossly 
 perverted. They have been represented as a de- 
 claration, by the highest authority, that heathens 
 may be saved if they worship the true God, the 
 maker of heaven and earth, and practise virtue 
 according to the dictates of conscience. It is ma- 
 nifestly supposed, we are told, that persons fear- 
 ing God, and working righteousness, may be 
 found in every nation. For the refutation of 
 this pernicious comment, wc need go no farther 
 
304f THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 
 
 in quest of arguments, than to the passage itself, 
 in connection with the preceding verses. Cor- 
 nelius, we have seen, was directed by a vision to 
 send for Peter, who would tell him " what he 
 " ought to do.'* Can we believe, that the first 
 words which the apostle speaks are, in fact, a de- 
 claration, that the gospel, which God had inter-^ 
 posed in a miraculous manner to make known 
 to the centurion, was not necessary, since a per- 
 son may obtain the divine favour, although he 
 should never hear it ? Surely,, there never was 
 so imprudent a missionary as this man, who, 
 vi'ith his first breath, disappoints the expectation 
 of his audience, by informing them, that the 
 great end of religion may be accomplished with- 
 out the aid of his instructions. Besides, Peter 
 evidently refers to the case of Cornelius, who 
 was not a heathen left to the conduct of the light 
 of nature, but one, who having access to the 
 Scriptures, had learned from them " to fear God, 
 ^'' and work righteousness." Before the words 
 can be applied to mere heathens, it must be pro- 
 ved, that a person, by the simple exercise of his 
 reason, may attain the knowledge of the true 
 God, and perform, without the assistance of di- 
 vine grace, such works as the unerring Judge, 
 '• by Vv'hom actions are v/eighed," will accept. 
 He who should prove this, would overturn the 
 whole scheme of Christianity. 
 
 The real meaning of the passage is so obvious^ 
 
THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 505 
 
 that it is not easy to conceive how any person 
 could have missed it. To respect persons, is to 
 be influenced in our treatment of them, by par- 
 tial considerations, and not by a fair and equi- 
 table view of their cause ; receiving one on ac- 
 count of his nation, his parentage, his condition, 
 or his rehition to us, and rejecting another equal- 
 ly Nvorthy, because his circumstances are diffe- 
 rent. " I perceive," says Peter, " that in this 
 " sense God is not a respecter of persons ; for al- 
 " though he chose the Jews to be his peculiar 
 *' people, yet if any man be found among the 
 *' Gentiles, Vv-ho fears him, and works rightc- 
 " ousness, he is accepted. Piety and holiness are 
 *' equally pleasing to God in the un circumcised 
 " as in the circumcised." Of this impartiality 
 the case of Cornelius was a proof. He was not 
 one of the seed of Abraham ; but his prayers and 
 his alms went up as a memorial before God. The 
 Most High did not reject his offerings, because 
 he could not boast of a descent from the patri- 
 archs. His Gentile extraction was no obstacle 
 to the success of his religious services, since they 
 proceeded from a pure heart, which alone God 
 regards. There is not a single word spoken a- 
 bout the acceptance of virtuous Gentiles, who 
 have not enjoyed the advantages of revCiation, 
 This question was not at present before the apos- 
 tle. The only subject of inquiry was, whether 
 the gospel might be preached to the Gentiles, 
 2q 
 
306 THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 
 
 and they, on believing it, might be receix'cd, 
 without circumcision, into the fellowship of the 
 church, A decision was given by God himself, 
 who had shewn, that in distributing his favours, 
 he is no respecter of persons, by approving of 
 Cornelius in an uncircumcised state, and sending 
 Peter to instruct him in the way of salvation. 
 
 After this introduction, the apostle proceeds 
 to give a summary of the gospel, which it does 
 not fall under the desiQ;n of this Lecture to con- 
 sider. I shall therefore pass on to the last 
 part of the chapter, which records another mira- 
 culous interposition, the manifest intention of 
 v^'hich was to obviate all objections Jo the ad- 
 mission to the Gentiles to a full participation of 
 the privileges of the gospel. 
 
 In the first age of Christianity, the extraordi- 
 nary gifts of the Spirit were frequently bestow-, 
 ed upon the disciples of Jesus ; and they were 
 usually imparted, after baptism, by the ministry 
 of the apostles. In the present case, the order 
 and the mode were changed; for the Holy Ghost 
 fell upon Cornelius and his company before they 
 were baptized, and without the imposition of 
 hands, " While Peter yet spake these words, 
 
 tlic Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard 
 '^ the word." We cannot tell, whether this new 
 event was necessary to remove some remaining 
 <loubts in the mind of Peter himself; but we 
 may presume., that if he had proceeded, without 
 
THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 30? 
 
 \ 
 
 this interposition, to baptize and lay his hands 
 on the Gentiles, the Jews who accompanied him 
 would have remonstrated ; and their brethren in 
 Jerusalem, who afterwards called him to an ac- 
 count, would not have been so easily satisfied. So 
 unexpected was the event, and so contrary to 
 their narrow notions, that " they of the circui"^- 
 *' cision which believed, were astonished, as many 
 " as came with Peter, because that on the Gen- 
 *' tiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy 
 " Ghost. For they heard them speak with 
 " tongues, and magnify God.'* As the case now 
 stood, all objections were precluded. God him- 
 self had baptized the Gentiles %\ith the Holy 
 Ghost ; and who, then, could hesitate to admit 
 them to the baptism of water ? The question of 
 Peter must have carried conviction to the most 
 prejudiced Jew who was present. " Can any 
 " man forbid water, that these should not be 
 " baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost 
 '' as well as we ?'* " Shall the sign be denied to 
 '' those, to whom the thing signified hr.s been 
 " already granted ? Will any of us dare to ex- 
 *' elude from our communion, persons between 
 " whom and us God has put no difference, im- 
 " parting to us all the same spiritual gifts ?" The 
 acquiescence of the Jews was testified by their 
 silence ; and Peter commanded Cornelius and 
 his company to be- baptized in the name of the 
 Lord. " And thus by revelation God m:idi 
 
308 
 
 THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 
 
 ** known the mystery, which in other ages was 
 " not made known unto the sons of men, as it is 
 *^' now revealed unto his holy apostles and pro- 
 " phets by the Spirit ; that the Gentiles should 
 ••' be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and par- 
 ■^^ .takers of his promise in Christ, by the gos- 
 ^«pelV' 
 
 How happy was the change which now took 
 place in the condition of the Gentiles 1 Their 
 own v/ritings contain many melancholy proofs of 
 the ignorance and profligacy into which they 
 were fallen. In genius and taste they may be 
 allowed to excel ; but a peasant, in a Christian 
 country, is more enlightened, on the subject of 
 religion, than the first of their philosophers; and 
 any illiterate man, who sincerely believes the 
 gospel, surpasses them all in the knowledge and 
 practice of virtue. Nothing can be conceived 
 more childish and corrupt than their supersti- 
 tions ; nothing more abandoned than their man- 
 ners ; nothing more cold and unprofitable than 
 their most refined speculations. In this situa- 
 tion, " the day spring from on high visited the 
 **= heathen world, to give light to them that sat 
 " in darkness, and in the shadow of death. The 
 altars of idolatry were overthrown ; the hopes of 
 the guilty were revived by the revelation of a 
 Saviour ; the prospect of immortal happiness be- 
 yond the grave was exhibited ; the soul was pu- 
 * Eph. iii. 3, 5, 6. 
 
THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 209 
 
 rifled by faith ; and, in tlie beautifal langUcbi;e 
 oi prophecy, " the wilderness and the sohtai y 
 " place was made glad, and tlie desert rejoiced,, 
 " and blossomed as the rose *." We shouLl iT!- 
 ver think of the call of the Gentiles, without the 
 liveliest gratitude. *' God hath remembered us 
 *' in our low estate : for his mercy endureth for 
 *' ever." 
 
 Let us Gentiles be careful to improve the pri- 
 vileges which were transferred to us from the 
 Jews. " The kingdom of God was taken from 
 " them, and given to a nation bringing forth 
 *' the fruits thereof f." These words contain an 
 intimation, that God intended to form a people, 
 %vho should make a better return for his favours 
 than the Jews ; and we know with what faitli 
 and joy the gospel was received by the Gen- 
 tiles. But if they shall prove as perverse as 
 the Jews, is there any reason to expect that 
 they will be trea ed with greater lenity than the 
 seed of the patriarchs ? We are certain, indeed, 
 that they will never be cast off in a body ; 
 but there is no promise ensuring the continu- 
 ance of the gospel in any particulaf nation. Re- 
 member the once flourishing churches of As!a 
 and Africa, which are now either extinct, or re- 
 tain a faint existence amidst ij-norance and su- 
 
 O 
 
 perstition, under the dominion of their Maho- 
 metan oppressors. Our privileges infer an a^'- 
 * Isaiiih xxxY. 1. f Matt, xxi. 43, 
 
SIO THE CONVERSION OF CORNELIUS. 
 
 ful responsibility. An account will be demand- 
 ed by him, who is " no respecter of persons," 
 and will not suffer his grace to be despised. Let 
 these words of the apostle sink down into your 
 ears. " Thou wilt say, then, The branches were 
 *' broken off, that I might be graffed in. Well ; 
 " because of unbelief they were broken off, and 
 " thou standest by faith. Be not high-minded, 
 " but fear ; for if God spared not the natural 
 *' branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee. 
 *' Behold, therefore, the goodness and severity 
 *' of God : on them which fell, severity ; but to- 
 "'^ wards thee, goodness, if thou continue in his 
 ** goodness 5 otherwise thou also shalt be cut 
 « off*.*' 
 
 ♦Rom. 31. 19—22. 
 
LECTURE XIV. 
 
 HEROD AND PETER. 
 
 Chap. XII. 
 
 After the persecution, which arose upon the 
 death of Stephen, the disciples enjoyed an inter- 
 val of repose. The rage of their enemies was 
 exhausted, or suspended by some cause, of which 
 this history does not inform us *. Perhaps the 
 conversion of Saul had some influence, by disarm- 
 ing a furious adversary, who stimulated the 
 zeal and activity of others. But the church was 
 destined, in the early stages of its existence, to 
 pass through scenes of sorrow and blood, to il- 
 lustrate, by its effects in sustaining the sufferers, 
 and ultimately prevailing against the most formi- 
 dable opposition, the divine origin of our reli- 
 gion, and the almighty power of its Author. It 
 was impossible that the Christians, living among 
 the men who had crucified their Master, and 
 
 * According to Dr Lardner, it was at this time that the 
 Emperor Caligula proposed to erect his statue in the tem- 
 ple ; and it was owing to the consternation into which the 
 Jews, were thrown, that the persecatioa was suspended. 
 Vol. I. 121—125, Cd editioA. 
 
312 
 
 HEROD AND PETER. 
 
 professing a system of doctrine which was abhor- 
 red as an impious attempt to set aside the insti- 
 tutions of Moses, could long remain unmolested. 
 During the restraint which providence sometimes 
 iii .poses on the wicked, they may seem to be fa- 
 vourably disposed towards religion, and may 
 tieat good men with apparent respect and kind- 
 ress ; but the enmity of their hearts to truth and 
 }.( liness is unimpaired, and waits only for a fa- 
 vcmrable opportunity to discover itself. For a 
 short time, the sun may shine, and the sky wear 
 tl e aspect of serenity ; but the clouds will return, 
 and the storm again beat upon the heads of the 
 righteous. 
 
 The chapter now read records a second perse- 
 cution to which the rising churcli was exposed. 
 *' Now about that time, Herod the king stretch- 
 " ed forth his hands to vex certain of the 
 " church.'* The persecutor was grandson of 
 Herod the Great, who attempted to destroy our 
 Saviour in his infancy, and nephew of that He- 
 rod, by V hose command the Baptist was behead- 
 ed. Notwithstanding the praises lavished upon 
 him by Josephus, for his munificence and the mild- 
 ness of his dispositions, he appears, from this ac- 
 count, to have inherited a portion of the cruel- 
 ty, as well as the honours and dominions, of 
 his grandfather and uncle ; and he has transmit- 
 ted his name to posterity, as one of those bloody 
 
HEROD AND PETER. 313 
 
 tyrants, who have abused then* power for the op- 
 pression of innocence and truth. After the death 
 of the first Herod, the royal title of the family ex- 
 pired ; but it was restored in th° person of this 
 man, whom the Roman emperor constituted 
 king of Judea. Having been educated in the re- 
 ligion of Moses, he is represented by the Jewish 
 historian as so zealous for the law, that hardly 
 a day passed in which he did not offer sacrifices. 
 He might be prompted, therefore, by his own 
 bigotry, to persecute the disciples of Jesus ; and 
 in his court, which would be frequented by 
 the priests and rulers, there were not wanting 
 enemies to the Christians, who improved the 
 royal favour, to gratify their private resentment, 
 or their religious intolerance. " He stretched 
 '' forth his hands to vex certain of the church.'* 
 The first sufferers were persons of less note 
 than the apostles ; probably some of the mem- 
 bers of the church, who were distinguished by 
 their station, or their activity ; and as Herod is 
 said only to have vexed them, it would seem 
 that they were not put to death, but punished 
 by fines, imprisonment, and stripes. But a no- 
 bler sacrifice was necessary to appease the rage of 
 the king, and to satisfy the demands of his san- 
 guinary counsellors. " He therefore killed James, 
 " the brother of John, with the sword." James is 
 called the brother of John,to distinguish him from 
 another James, the son of Cleophas, who is styled 
 2 R 
 
314 HLROD AND PETtR, 
 
 the brother of our Lord, because his mother was 
 sister to the Virgin. When the two sons of Ze- 
 bedee came to our Saviour, soliciting seats in his 
 kingdom, on his right and left hand, he refused 
 their request, but told them that " they should 
 " drink of his cup, and be baptized with his 
 " baptism */* We see the prediction fulfilled 
 with respect to the elder brother, who tasted 
 the bitter cup of affliction, and was baptized with 
 a baptism of blood, when he suffered a violent 
 death. 
 
 The apostolical office was the highest and most 
 honourable in the church ; but it offered no prize 
 to tempt the ambition of worldly men. In their 
 eyes, it was the pre-eminence of shame ; and in 
 consequence of the -situation of the church, it 
 was the post of danger. The apostles were hated 
 above the other Christians as the ringleaders of 
 the apostasy ; the men who had kept alive the 
 memory of Jesus, and prevailed on many thou- 
 sands to be his disciples. What courage, what 
 resolution, what disregard of life, what superio- 
 rity to those terrors, which operate with so much 
 force upon common minds, were requisite as 
 qualifications for so dangerous a station ! Those 
 who actually filled it, were men of low birth and 
 no education, and, as some parts of their conduct 
 indicate, of a timid and cowardly temper. Yet 
 they displayed a spirit of heroism, which was 
 * Mark. x. 35—40. 
 
HEROD AND PETER. 315 
 
 never surpassed. " They jeoparded their Hves 
 *' unto the death, in the high places of the field." 
 We venerate their memory ; but let us not for- 
 get to admire the grace of God, which " gave 
 *' power to the faint, and to them who had no 
 " might, increased strength." 
 
 The death of this risrhteous man involved the 
 
 o 
 
 church in deep affliction ; but it was highly gra- 
 tifying to the blood-thirsty Jews. " Ye shall 
 *' weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice*." 
 They exulted in the just punishment of an irre- 
 claimable heretic ; they flattered themselves, that 
 the example w^ould terrify others into a recanta- 
 tion of their error ; and they hoped, that the 
 sword would not be sheathed, till it had execu- 
 ted justice on all the leading men in the church. 
 These sentiments v/ere openly expressed ; and 
 Herod, eager to ingratiate himself still more with 
 the people, readily complied with their wishes. 
 " And, because he saw it pleased the Jews, he 
 " proceeded further, to take Peter also." From 
 whatever motive the persecution was begun, it 
 was continued from policy. This indeed is the 
 principle, which has commonly directed the ex- 
 ercise of that power, which civil governments 
 claim of interfering in matters of religion. It is 
 not truth, but expediency, which, in most cases^ 
 has regulated its operations. Hence forms of re- 
 ligion, not merely differing in some particulars 
 * John xvi. 9'o. 
 
316 HEROD AND PETER, 
 
 of inferior importance, but contrary, and destruc- 
 tive of each other, have been successively patro- 
 nised by the same legislature, or even established, 
 at the same time, in different provinces ; plainly 
 because nothing was thought of but to secure the 
 authority and influence of government, by com- 
 plying with the wishes of the people. The al- 
 liance betv-zeen church and state is conceived to 
 be so close, that if the one fall, the other cannot 
 long be supported. The church, therefore, is 
 upheld for the sake of the state ; and in defence 
 of the former, some men display the most furi- 
 ous zeal, v/ho give evidence, by their general 
 profaneness and profligacy, that they hold reli- 
 gion, considered in itself, in absolute contempt. 
 Non-conformity is accounted a certain indication 
 of disaftection, as if no man could be a good sub- 
 ject, who presumed to exercise his own judg- 
 ment, and refused to be controuled by the opi- 
 nion of others neither wiser nor better than him- 
 self, in a matter infinitely more important than 
 all temporal concerns, and the design of which 
 is utterly lost, if it do not proceed upon exami- 
 nation and choice. Every loyal man should em- 
 brace that faith, to which the state has given its 
 sanction ; and the state has preferred it to any 
 other, because it serves better as an engine of 
 political influence. The appeal is never made to 
 the Scriptures, by which alone aU questions of 
 this nature should be decided. Force is an easier 
 
HEROD AND PETER. 211 
 
 and more compendious method of silencing tlic 
 objections of dissenters. It is acknowledged, that 
 persecution has often originated in sincere, but 
 mistaken zeal for what was conceived to be the 
 truth ; but in many instances, especially with 
 persons in power, religion is merely a pretext ; 
 and the real causes are to be found in the jea- 
 lousy of governments, the avarice, ambition, and 
 resentment of ministers, or the machinations of- 
 a corrupt, interested priesthood, exerting them- 
 selves to maintain that craft by which tliey have 
 their gain. Such is the history of a power, 
 which has been represented as the gift of God to 
 the rulers of nations, and contended for with 
 as great vehemence of argument, and bitterness 
 of zeal, as if Christianity itself, deprived of its 
 protection, would speedily perish from the earth ! 
 " Then were the days of unleavened bread." 
 The Israelites were commanded to eat unleaven- 
 ed bread for seven days at the time of the passo- 
 ver. The season is mentioned, to shew the rea- 
 son why the king did not immediately put Peter 
 to death. He was more scrupulous than the 
 priests, at the time of our Saviour's crucifixion, 
 and would not profane the feast by a public exe- 
 cution ; or he was afraid, lest the friends of Pe- 
 ter should have contrived to stir uo the people, to 
 make use of their rigrht to demand tne release of 
 
 O 
 
 a prisoner, for obtaining his pardon. 
 
 '' When he had apprehended Peter, thercforcj 
 
SIS HEROD AND P£TER. 
 
 '• he put him m prison, and delivered him to 
 " four quaternions of soldiers," that is, to six- 
 teen soldiers, four of whom guarded him by- 
 turns ; " intending after Easter to bring him 
 ^' forth to the people." The term, Easter, de- 
 notes, in this country, the day observed by ma- 
 ny churches, in memory of our Saviour's resur- 
 rection. But the Greek word signifies the pass- 
 over, and should have been exactly translated, 
 because the historian speaks not of a Christian, 
 but of a Jewish festival. With the execution of 
 Peter, Herod purposed to close the solemnity. 
 The time was come, when they who killed the 
 disciples of Jesus, thought '' that they did God 
 " service." By the infatuated Jews, the murder 
 of this righteous man would be deemed a sacri- 
 fice not less acceptable to him than that of the 
 paschal lamb. 
 
 " Peter, therefore, was kept in prison ;" and 
 while he was so strictly watched, there was no 
 prospect of his escape. " But prayer was made, 
 " without ceasing, of the church unto God for 
 " him." The danger of Peter must have excited 
 particular interest, as his services had been so 
 valuable to the church, and his loss would be se- 
 verely felt. But hope is the hfe of prayer, for 
 who would ask what he knew to be unattaina- 
 ble ? and in the present case, hope seemed to be 
 destitute of any foundation. The death of the 
 apostle was fixed for the next day j and during 
 
HEROD AND PETER. 31!? 
 
 the short interval what could occur to prevent 
 it ? The first Christians were persuaded that no- 
 thing is impossible to him who believes, because 
 nothing is impossible to God. Daniel was pre- 
 served in a den of hons, and the three children, 
 in the midst of a fiery furnace. God could bend 
 the heart of the tyrant to mercy, or defeat his 
 purpose by his death, or incline the people to in- 
 tercede for the life of his servant, or deliver him 
 by a miracle. They did not limit the Holy One 
 of Israel and say, " How can this thing be !" 
 Reflecting on his power, they overlooked the 
 obstacles to the answer of their prayers, and 
 " being strong in faith, gave glory to God." 
 
 The event shevv'ed, that the prayer of faith is 
 effectual, and encourages us to trust in God, in 
 times of the greatest perplexity. " And when 
 *' Plerod would have brought him forth, the 
 " same night Peter was sleeping between two 
 *' soldiers, bound with two chains ; and the keep- 
 '■ ers before the door kept the prison. How 
 liappy, my brethren, is the man who is at peace 
 with God ! Assured of his favour, and resign- 
 ing himself to the disposal of infinite wisdom 
 and goodness, he enjoys an inward calm amidst 
 the fiercest storms of adversity. It was the last 
 night of Peter's imprisonment, and on the mor- 
 row he was to suffer a violent death ; yet he 
 sleeps more soundly, perhaps, than Herod in liis 
 palace, not because nature was exhausted by anx- 
 
320 HEROD AND PETER 
 
 iety and long watching, but because he felt no 
 fear. To him death, although styled the king* of 
 terrors, was not terrible. He had learned from 
 his Saviour " not to be afraid of them that kill 
 ^'^ the body, and after that have no more that 
 " they can do *.*' Death is but a sharp pain, 
 past in a moment ; and why then should it ter- 
 rify a Christian ? It is probable, that he has suf- 
 fered more in some acute disease ; and, if the 
 conflict were more dreadful, it will instandy be 
 forgotten, amidst the joys of heaven. Give a 
 man the testimony of a good conscience, and the 
 lively hope of immortality, and you transform 
 him into a hero, who will smile on the rack, and 
 trium.ph in the flames. Peter was sleeping be- 
 tween two soldiers, bound with two chains, 
 which were fastened to his hands, and to the 
 right and left hand of the soldiers, according to 
 the manner in which prisoners were secured. 
 The keepers stood before the door, so that it 
 v/as impossible, by any artifice, to make his es- 
 cape. 
 
 In the account of his deliverance, there is hard- 
 ly any thing which requires illustration. The 
 minister of providence was an angel, to whom 
 the gates and guards presented no obstruction. 
 As soon as he entered, a light shone in the pri- 
 son, which shewed him to be a heavenly messen- 
 ger, and assisted Peter to li.nd his way without 
 * Luke xii. 4. 
 
 i\ 
 
HEROD AND PETER. 321 
 
 difficulty. When he awaked the apostle, and 
 commanded him to rise, the chains fell from his 
 hands, and the words of the Psalmist were lite- 
 rally fulfilled, " The Lord looscth the prison- 
 " ers *.'* He then ordered him to gird himself> 
 and bind on his sandals, and cast his garment 
 about him. Tliese things would be needed when 
 he left the prison. There were two wards to be 
 passed, at which guards were stationed ; but there 
 they met wdth no opposition. All the soldiers 
 were cast into a deep sleep. It is evident from 
 the stir among them in the morning, that they 
 were is^norant of the transactions of the ni2:ht. 
 The iron-gate, which led into the city, was open- 
 ed by an invisible hand. The angel and Peter 
 went out, and both walked together through one 
 street, when the angel departed. The miracu- 
 lous interposition terminated, where ordinary 
 means were sufficient. The presence of the an- 
 gel was no farther necessary to Peter, who could 
 easily find a place of safety from the pursuit of 
 his enemies. 
 
 The age of miracles is past. Angels do not 
 now come, in a visible manner, to perform servi- 
 ces to the saints ; but their agency is as real and 
 beneficent as ever. " They are all ministermg 
 " spirits, sent forth to minister for them, who 
 " shall be heirs of salvation f." They defend 
 the people of God against the incursions of their 
 
 * Psal. cxlvi. 7. t Heb. i. 14. 
 
 2 s 
 
3-22 
 
 HEROD AND PETER. 
 
 Spiritual adversaries, and preserve them from 
 dangers which ■ are often unperceived. " The 
 " angel of the Lord encampeth round about them 
 " that fear him, and delivereth them *." These 
 glorious creatures do not disdain to minister to 
 man, who was made a little lower than they. 
 His nature, united to the Son of God, reigns a- 
 bove ail principahties and powers, on the throne 
 of the universe ; and every believer can call the 
 Lord of angels his friend and brother. Per- 
 haps those remarkable events, which sometimes 
 occur in the history of the saints, and for which 
 it is dilEcult to assign any satisfactory cause j 
 those wonderful escapes, those inexplicable im- 
 pressions on the mind, those unexpected revolu- 
 tions in their favour, the sudden and unlooked 
 for patronage of the wicked, the unaccountable 
 failure of the designs of their enemies, the sur- 
 prising accomplishment of their hopes, when all 
 the ordinary means had been tried in vain, and 
 every appearance seemed to justify despair, may 
 be referred to the secret operations of their pow- 
 erful and vigilant guardians. 
 
 Peter was suddenly awaked out of a sound 
 sleep ; his eyes were dazzled with the light whicli 
 shone in the prison ; the deliverance was altoge- 
 ther unexpected ; and the mode of effecting it 
 was miraculous. All these circumstances con- 
 spired to agitate his mind, and render him inca- 
 
 * Psal. xxxiv. 7. 
 
HEROD AND PETER. 323 
 
 pable of calm and regular tliouglir. Hence, " Jic 
 " wist not that it was true which was done by 
 " the angel : but thought lie saw a vision." But 
 when he was. left alone, " he came to himself," 
 or recovered from his surprise ; and finding him- 
 self freed from his chains, and in one of the 
 streets of the city, he said, " Now I know of a 
 '* surety, that the Lord hath sent his angel, and 
 " hath delivered me out of the hand of Herod, 
 " and from all the expectation of the people of 
 *' the Jews." His grateful heart would send up 
 ejaculations of praise to the Saviour, and be in- 
 spired \vith new ardour to serve so gracious a 
 Master. 
 
 He then reflected on the course which it would 
 be proper to pursue, both for his own safety, as 
 a strict search would be made for him, and for 
 the relief of the anxiety of his friends, ; " and 
 '* when he had considered the thing, he came to 
 " the house of Mary, the mother of John, whose 
 *' surname was Mark, where many were gather- 
 " ed together praying." In those days, there 
 were na churches, or buildings appropriated to 
 religious worship. The disciples met in private 
 houses, and frequently, in times of persecution, in 
 less convenient places. This assembly was con- 
 vened in the night, principally because the next 
 day was fixed for the execution of Peter, but 
 partly from fear of the Jews. In the first ages, 
 the Christians often held their meetings in the 
 
o24 HEROD AND PETER. 
 
 night ; and from this precaution, to which they 
 were compelled by the danger of discovery, their 
 enemies ungenerously stigmatised them as per- 
 sons who fled from the light, and chose the vail 
 of darkness to cover the abominable crimes which 
 were committed in their assemblies *. If they 
 appeared in open day, they were assaulted, and 
 dragged to prison and to death ; if they sought 
 concealment, they were loaded with the foulest 
 imputations. In the house of Mary, prayers 
 were offered up for the deliverance of Peter. 
 Even at this late hour, his friends did not de- 
 spair. God v/as able to disappoint the designs of 
 Herod, and the hopes of the Jews, on the eve of 
 accom plishment. 
 
 At this moment. " Peter knocked at the gate ; 
 " and a damsel came to hearken, named Rhoda. 
 " And when she knew Peter's voice, she opened 
 " not the gate for gladness, but ran in, and told 
 " how Peter stood before the gate." The de- 
 scription of this young woman, forgetting, in a 
 tumult of joy, to open the gate to admit him, 
 although this was the first step which cool re- 
 flection would have dictated for his safety, is 
 perfectly natural, and would be injured, instead 
 of being improved, by a commentary. " They 
 " said unto her. Thou art mad." So much did 
 the answer of their prayers exceed their hopes, that 
 they could not believe it ; and the person who 
 * Minuclus Felii, ix. 
 
HEROD AND PETER. 325 
 
 told them of their success, appeared to be out of 
 her senses. " But she constantly aflirmed that 
 *' it was even so. Then said they. It is his an- 
 *' gel." As the word, translated angel, is used 
 also for an ordinary messenger, some have thought 
 that they supposed the person at the gate to be 
 a messenger come with intelligence from Peter. 
 But Rhoda knew him by his voice ; and from 
 this circumstance they must have concluded that 
 it was either Peter himself, or some being who 
 could personate him. The Jews believed, that 
 every good man was attended by a particular an- 
 gel, to whose care he was entrusted. Judging 
 it impossible that it was Peter himself, the dis- 
 ciples assembled in the house of Mary said, " It 
 *>' is his angel ;'* imagining that the angel, who 
 constantly waited upon the apostle, was com.e to 
 give some notice of him to his friends. But, 
 althou2:h the notion of Q-uardian anoels seems to 
 have been adopted, at least by some persons in 
 the primitive church, it does not follow that it 
 is true ; for their private opinions are not the 
 standard of our faith, any more than the private 
 opinions of good men in the present times. It 
 is not confirmed by the authority of our Saviour, 
 or of any of the apostles. 
 
 " But Peter continued knockincr : and when 
 
 O 
 
 " they had opened the door, and saw him, they 
 *' were astonished. But he, beckoning unto 
 *' them with the hand to hold their peace, de- 
 
326 IIEROD AND PETER. 
 
 " clared unto them how the Lord had broua'ht 
 " Mm out of prison." The joy of this meeting 
 must have been great, to see their beloved bro- 
 ther snatched by divine power from impending 
 death, and their prayers answered in so surpri- 
 sing and seasonable a manner. " And he said, 
 " Go shew these things unto James, and to the 
 *' brediren," that they also might admire the 
 goodness of the Saviour, and turn their prayers 
 into praises. " And he departed, and went 
 " into another place" of greater security. Ha- 
 ving been delivered by a miracle, he was to save 
 himself from the pursuit of his enemies by the 
 exercise of his prudence. 
 
 The two following verses give an account of 
 the consternation and bustle of the soldiers, when 
 they found, the next day, that their prisoner was 
 gone. Neither their search, nor the diligence of 
 Herod, could find him. Disappointed in his de- 
 sign against the life of the apostle, and mortified 
 at not being able to gratify the expectation of 
 the people, he wreaked his vengeance on the sol- 
 diers, who were guilty, in his eyes, of an unpar- 
 donable offence. And, indeed, as they could 
 give no account of the matter, he would suspect, 
 either that they had slept upon guard, a crime 
 not to be forgiven, or that they had connived at 
 the escape of the prisoner. 
 
 After these events, Herod went to Cesarea, to 
 celebrate games in honour of Ccesar. The death 
 
HEROD AND PETER. 327 
 
 of James ^vas forgotten ; or if he remembered ir, 
 k was with regret that he had been prevented 
 from sacrificing this other victim to liis bigotry 
 or policy. He was supported by the approba- 
 tion of the people ; and there was no earthly tri- 
 bunal to which he was amcna]:)le. But there was 
 a God in heaven, who makes inquiry after blood, 
 and whom the death of a righteous man, how 
 much soever undervalued by the world, interests 
 more than the fall of a mighty monarch. His 
 justice sometimes pursues tJie guilty with a 
 quick pace ; and forces to their lips tlie same cup 
 which they have given to others, mixed up with 
 the bitter ingredients of his wrath. 
 
 Tyre and Sidon were maritime cities, in the 
 vicinity of the dominions of Herod. The inha- 
 bitants, being employed in trade, had perhaps 
 neglected agriculture ; and their territories were 
 too small to yield what was sufficient for the an- 
 nual consumption. With the profits of trade, 
 or with the wares which they nianufactured and 
 imported, they purchased corn and cattle in Ju- 
 dea, or in some of the provinces belonging to the 
 king. Hence, when by some cause not mention- 
 ed, they had incurred the displeasure of Herod, 
 they were anxious to pacify him. They dreaded 
 his resentment, which they were unable to re- 
 sist, and by which they might be deprived of the 
 necessary supplies. To ensure the success of their 
 embassy, they had made Blastus, the chanibv^riain, 
 
S28 HEROD AND PETER, 
 
 their fiiend. Kings, who are regarded as inde- 
 pendent sovereigns, the arbiters of nations, ar6 
 often mere pageants, moved by persons of infe- 
 rior rank behind the curtain. When war and 
 peace are traced to their sources, they are found, 
 in many instances, to proceed, not so much from 
 the ambition and caprice of the ostensible lords 
 of the world, as from the passions of their mi- 
 nisters, and the secret influence of women and 
 favourites. The springs and wheels, which move 
 the mighty machine, are not seldom constructed 
 of the vilest and most contemptible materials. 
 
 The favour of the king being gained by the 
 mediation of his chamberlain, Herod, on the se- 
 cond day of the games, as Josephus informs us, 
 sat upon his throne, arrayed in royal apparel, cu- 
 riously wrought with silver, which being struck 
 by the beams of the rising sun, emitted a daz- 
 zling lustre, that inspired the spectators with 
 awe. The oration, which he delivered to the 
 ambassadors of Tyre and Sidon, might be wor- 
 thy of admiration for its eloquence and wisdom; 
 but the applause of the people is an equivocal 
 proof. Truth seldom reaches the ears of kings. 
 They are addressed in the smooth language of 
 flattery, which exaggerates, with unrestrained li- 
 cense, any good qualities of which they are pos- 
 sessed, and blushes not to adorn the most stupid 
 and worthless, with the Iiighest endowments of 
 intellect, and the noblest attributes of virtue. The 
 
HEROD AND PETER. 329 
 
 grossest adulation is eagerly received by men 
 whom power and splendour have intoxicated. 
 ** The people gave a shout, saying, It is the voice 
 " of a god, and not of a man." Such extrava- 
 gant flattery, to which the heathens were accus- 
 tomed, was altogether unprecedented among the 
 Jews. Perhaps they were heathens who join- 
 ed in this idolatrous exclamation. It might 
 seem incredible, that beings possessed of com- 
 mon sense should have ever been so complete- 
 ly blinded and degraded, as to exalt into a god 
 a man like themselves ; but this folly was not 
 greater than the Gentiles had already committed, 
 in worshipping stocks and stones, the works of 
 their own hands, or in taking a tree, as the pro- 
 phet says, in a style of bitter irony, and making 
 a lire of the one part of it, and a god of the 
 other *. We, at this late period of the world, 
 have our belief in the wildest excesses of poly- 
 theism confirmed by facts, which have passed 
 before our eyes, and have fixed an indelible stain 
 on the age and on human nature. Amidst the 
 light of revelation, and the improvements of 
 philosophy, have we not heard one of the most 
 unprincipled and sanguinary adventurers, who 
 was ever raised up by providence to be a scourge 
 of the human race, addressed by his detested 
 slaves, in language sacred to the Divinity, and 
 hailed as another Messiah, sent by Heaven to 
 * Isaiah xliv. 14' — 17. 
 2 T 
 
330 HEROD AND PETER 
 
 emancipate mankind ? It is still more unaccount- 
 able, that any man in his senses, and conscious 
 of his infirmities, should have quietly suffer- 
 ed a compliment so manifestly excessive and ri- 
 diculous, that it might have been justly resent- 
 ed as an insult. Did not Herod feel that he was 
 a man, and nothing more ? He needed food and 
 rest as well as other men ; his head ached ; his 
 pulse beat with feverish quickness ; his heart 
 q.aked at the thought of death, which would 
 lay his honours in the dust. How then could 
 he think himself a God ? 
 
 In the fulness of his pride, he overlooked these 
 monuments of his frailty. No reprimand, no 
 frown checked the madness of the people. Ele- 
 vated on his throne, the puny wretch snuffed 
 up, with self-com.placency, the incense offered 
 by his worshippers. " But he was a mian, and 
 " no god in the hand of him that slew him *.'* 
 " Immediately the angel of the Lord smote him, 
 " because he gave not God the glory : and he 
 *' was eaten of worms, and gave up the ghost." 
 The angels are always ready to execute the or- 
 ders of their Lord ; and fly, with equal speed, 
 to confer benefits on the righteous, and to inflict 
 punishment on the wicked. Herod did not give 
 glory to God, by checking the idolatrous flattery 
 of his subjects, and referring to him all his pow- 
 er and greatness. The measure of his iniquity 
 * £zek. xxviii. 9. 
 
HEROD AND PETER. 331 
 
 was full. To injustice and cruelty he now added 
 blasphemous pride. The divine honour,thus open- 
 ly insulted, demanded his destruction. In the 
 midst of the acclamations of the multitude, and 
 the impious triumph of ihe king, he was seized 
 with a loathsome and mortal distemper, and ex. 
 pired, in a few days, a signal monument of the 
 righteous judgment of God, and a solemn lesson 
 of humility to the great men of the earth, whom 
 the Almighty can dash in pieces as a potter's ves- 
 sel. Josephus, whose account exactly agrees with 
 that of the inspired historian, represents him as 
 acknowledging, amidst his torments, the justice 
 of his doom, and exclaiming to his friends who 
 surrounded him, " Behold, I, your god, am 
 " commanded to surrender my life. My fate 
 " convicts you of falsehood. I, whom you styled 
 " immortal, am hurried to death. I must sub- 
 " mit to the sentence of God *.'* 
 
 Thus perished this impious persecutor ; and 
 the hand of God has since been visibly displayed 
 in the destruction of others, who had distinguish- 
 ed themselves as the enemies of his church. '• No 
 " weapon that is formed against thee shall pros- 
 " per ; and every tongue that shall rise against 
 " thee in judgment thou' shak condemn. This 
 ^' is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and 
 '• their righteousness is of me, saith the Lordf-" 
 
 * Joseph. Antiq. xix. 7. f Isaiah llv. 17- 
 
3S2 HEROD AND PETER. 
 
 I shall conclude with a few reflections suggest- 
 ed by this passage. 
 
 First, self-denial and courage arc qualities 
 which enter into the composition of the Christian 
 character. Self-denial is necessary, because there 
 are many privations, to which the follower of 
 Jesus must submit, many acts of mortification 
 which he must perform, many hardships, un- 
 pleasant to human nature, which he must under- 
 go. Without courage, he could not face the for- 
 midable obstacles which lie before him in the 
 path of obedience, nor endure the trials to which 
 his faith and patience are subjected. Neither a 
 selfish nor a timid man is fit to be a Christian. 
 He only is worthy of this character, who, entire- 
 ly devoted to his Saviour, is willing to sacrifice 
 every personal consideration for his glory, and 
 is resolved that nothing shall stop him in the 
 course of his duty. Such were the Christians of 
 the apostolic age. Such was James, who laid 
 clown his life for the gospel ; and such was Peter, 
 v>'ho cheerfully consented to follow his Lord to 
 prison and to death. Our circumstances, indeed, 
 through the goodness of providence, are differ- 
 ent fiora theirs ; we enjoy peace and security in 
 the profession of religion. But in the most tran- 
 quil season, we must bear the world's scorn, and 
 resist the v/orld's solicitations ; and the hour of 
 temptation may come suddenly upon the church, 
 that they who are approved, may be made ma- 
 
HEROD AND PETER. 333 
 
 nifest. The following words of Christ are appli- 
 cable to every period. " If any man will come 
 *' after me, let him deny himself, and take up 
 " his cross, and follow me *." 
 
 In the second place, when we reflect upon the 
 terrible sufferings of the primitive Christians, and 
 of the faithful in succeeding ages, let us submit, 
 without repining, to the comparatively slight in- 
 conveniences, which we may incur in the cause 
 of religion. Perhaps we have been obliged by 
 our consciences to adopt a form of religion which 
 is not fashionable, and, consequently, are depri- 
 ved of some advantages which we would enjoy by 
 conforming to the established faith. We may 
 be a proverb of reproach among fools, and among 
 pretenders to wisdom. It may occasionally be 
 our lot to encounter the sneer of contempt, and 
 to be the butt of ridicule, and wit embittered by 
 malignity. Our familiar friends may forsake us j 
 and by the companions of our former folly wc 
 may be branded as hypocrites or madmen, be- 
 cause we will no longer run to the same excess 
 of riot. These, it must be owned, are trials 
 which will be keenly felt by every honest and de- 
 licate mind. But we have not yet *' resisted 
 " unto blood, striving against sin." Our lives 
 have not been endangered ; our property has 
 not been spoiled j nor have we been compelled 
 to exchange the sweets of liberty for the gloom 
 * Matt. xvi. 24. 
 
334! HEROD AND PETER. 
 
 of a prison. With the history of the martyr* 
 before our eyes, shall we not be ashamed to com- 
 plain ? Surely, if we escape thus, let us be thank- 
 ful that our passai^e to heaven is so easy, while 
 to others it has been difficult and boisterous. 
 
 In the third place, let us proceed with confi- 
 dence in the performance of our duty, since we 
 are assured, " that the Lord knows how to deli- 
 " ver the godly out of temptation." The case 
 of Peter slicws, that no earthly power cm ob- 
 struct their deliverance. God can restrain the 
 fury of their enemies, or, permitting it to ope- 
 rate, afford protection to its intended victims. 
 " Why art thou afraid of a man that shall die, 
 '' and of the son of man, that shall be made as 
 " grass ?" Is he not in the hands of the Lord? 
 And if he blow upon him, shall not his goodness 
 wither, and his might and glory be laid in the 
 dust ? Know, Christian, that thou art safe in the 
 path of duty : when thou hast left it, thou hast 
 no promise of divine protection. The wisest and 
 most comfortable plan, is to commit ourselv^es to 
 God, to resio-n the manaoement of our affairs to. 
 his unerring wisdom, to confide in his power, 
 and to believe, that in obeying the dictates of 
 'reason and religion, it shall ultimately be well 
 with us. 
 
 In the last place, all the enemies of the church 
 shall perish. Defended by omnipotence, the 
 church is invincible. Assaulted by the mightiest 
 
HEROD AND PETER. 335 
 
 potentates of the eartli, she remains, while they 
 have fallen, and not a vestige can be seen of 
 their kingdoms and empires. " In that day will 
 *' I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all 
 " people ; all that burden themselves wi Ii it shall 
 " be cut in pieces, though all the people of the 
 " earth be gathered together against it*." An 
 eloquent Father of the church has left a treatise 
 on the deaths of persecutors, which records ma- 
 ny instances of the miserable end of those wlio 
 distinguished themselves by their opposition to 
 the gospel f. Since his time, other examples of 
 ■divine vengeance have appeared, from which v. e 
 are led to say, " Verily, there is a reward for the 
 " righteous : verily he is a God that judgeth In 
 " the earth |. " Upon this rock," says Jesus, '• I 
 *' will build my church : -and the gates of hell 
 " shall not prevail against it §." In this attempt 
 even the power and policy of the spirits of dark- 
 ness shall be bafHed. Let not the hearts of Chris- 
 tians despond when the ungodly prosper, and 
 the earth is filled with their violence. While Grd 
 permits them to pursue their career, th.y are ful- 
 filling his designs, and shall not be able to ac- 
 complish their own. The Assyrian may be the 
 rod of God's anger for "the correction of his 
 people ; but when this purpose is effected, the 
 
 * Zech. xii. 3. 
 
 f Lactan. de mortibus persecutorum. 
 
 t Psal. Ivlii. 11. § Matt. svi. IS, 
 
336 HEROD AND PETER. 
 
 rod will be broken, and thrown into the fire. 
 '« God is in the midst of her ; she shall not be 
 '« moved : God shall help her, and that right 
 *' early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were 
 " moved : he uttered his voice, the earth melt- 
 '' ed. The Lord of hosts is with us, the God of 
 " Jacob is our refuge *." 
 
 * Psal. xlvi. 5—7. 
 
LECTURE XV. 
 
 PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LYSTRA. 
 
 Chap. XIV. 8—18. 
 
 xTlNTIOCH of Syria was the first city, in which 
 the gospel was pubHcly preached to the Gentiles. 
 " The hand of the Lord was with his ministers : 
 " and a great number believed, and turned unto 
 *' the Lord." In the same city the disciples re- 
 ceived the appellation of Christians, by which 
 they have ever since been distinguished. By 
 these remarkable events, Antioch has acquired ce- 
 lebrity in the annals of the church ; and it far- 
 ther appears to have been chosen by providence 
 as a central spot, from which the rays of divine 
 truth should be diffused throughout the heathen 
 world. In the beginning of the thirteenth chap- 
 ter, there is an account of the separation of Bar- 
 nabas and Paul, to the work of preaching to the 
 Gentiles, by a command of the Spirit, addressed 
 to the prophets and teachers in Antioch. The 
 opposition which they encountered was not 
 strange, as their doctrine was new, and adverse 
 to the opinions and corrupt passions of mankind 5 
 2 u 
 
358 PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LYSTRA. 
 
 but it seems to have chiefly proceeded from the 
 jews. That incorrigible race discovered in eve- 
 ry country, the same hostile spirit to Chifistianity 
 and its Author. Justin Martyr affirms, that they 
 not only did not repent of their wickedness in 
 crucifying the Messiah, but sent chosen messen- 
 gers from Jerusalem to all nations, to inflame 
 the minds of men against his religion *. It is re- 
 lated, in the preceding chapter, that the Jews in 
 Antioch of Pisidia, not content with contradict- 
 ing and blaspheming the things which were spo- 
 ken by Paul, " stirred up the devout and ho- 
 " nourable women, and the chief men of the 
 " city, and raised persecution against him and 
 " Barnabas, and expelled them out of their 
 " coasts." The same part was acted by the Jews 
 of Iconium, who " stirred up the Gentiles, and 
 " made their minds evil-affected against the bre- 
 " thren. And when there was an assault made 
 " both of the Gentiles, and of the Jews, with 
 " their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to 
 *' stone them, they were ware of it, and fled 
 '• unto Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lycaonia, and 
 ••' unto the region that lieth round about : and 
 " there they preached the gospel." 
 
 The passage which I have read, begins with 
 the account of a miracle, wrought in the first of 
 those cities. " And there sat a certain man at 
 
 * Dialog, cum Tryph, 
 
PAUL AND BARNABAS IN I.YSTRA. 339 
 
 " Lystra, Impotent in his feet, being a cripple 
 " from his mother's womb, wlio never had walk- 
 *' ed." His case resembles that of the man, who 
 was cured by Peter and John at the gate of tlie 
 temple ; and a particular statement of it is given, 
 to shew the reality, and the greatness of the mi- 
 racle. It was not an incidental, but a radical in- 
 firmity, which was removed. He was impotent 
 in his feet ; he had been lame from his birth ; 
 and the disorder was such, that at no period of 
 his life had he been able to walk. His situation, 
 rendered him the proper object of a miracle. No 
 person of humanity could look upon him without 
 pity ; and his cure would appear to all to be the 
 effect, not of superior skill, but of supernatural 
 power. Thus, the design of the miracle would 
 be gained, which was not only to relieve the pa- 
 tient, but to demonstrate to the inhabitants of 
 Lystra, that God was present with Paul and Bar- 
 nabas, and consequently that their doctrine was 
 true. 
 
 Miracles are a sign '• to them that believe 
 " not." They are not merely prodigies, or 
 strange sights, intended to raise the wonder of 
 the spectators, and draw their attention to the 
 person who performs them', but tokens, or proofs, 
 of the divine approbation of him, and of the re- 
 ligion which he teaches. To the Jews, the ar- 
 gument from prophecy was sufficient to prove 
 that Jesus was the Christ ; and accordingly, we 
 
o40 PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LYSTRA. 
 
 find the apostles insisting much upon it, in tlieir 
 discourses to that people. But to the Gentiles, 
 it would not have been addressed with propriety, 
 or any hope of success, because they were not 
 acquainted with the prophecies, and had no evi- 
 dence, that the books containing them, were 
 written prior to the event. Miracles were an ob- 
 vious and easy species of evidence. It required 
 no search or discussion ; it pressed upon the 
 senses ; and the right inference could be drawn 
 by the plainest understanding. " Rabbi, we 
 *•' know, that thou art a teacher come from God ; 
 " for no man can do these miracles that thou 
 ^' dost, except God be with him *.'* The pur- 
 pose, then, for which the apostles were furnish- 
 ed with the power of working miracles, was to 
 prove to the ignorant, the illiterate, and the un- 
 thinking, who are the great majority of man- 
 kind, the divine authority of the gospel. 
 
 Paul perceived that the lame man had " faith 
 " to be healed." This faith seems to signify 
 either a general belief of the power of Barnabas 
 and Paul, or rather of Jesus Christ, whose mi- 
 nisters they were, to cure his infirmity ; or a 
 persuasion, that a cure would be performed upon 
 himself in particular. In the former case, his 
 faith was founded on the account which he had 
 heard of the character and miracles of Christ, and 
 of the gifts of heaUng, which he had bestowed on 
 
 * John iii. 2. 
 
PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LYSTRA. 3tl 
 
 his apostles ; in tlic latter, it was the effect of a 
 supernatural impression on his mind. This £ii[h 
 Paul perceived by the power of disccrninj^ spirit;-, 
 that is, the power with which the apostles were 
 occasionally endow^ed, of discovering the thoughts 
 and dispositions of men. " If thou canst be- 
 " lieve," said our Lord to a father deeply afHict- 
 ed with the sufferings of his son ; " if thou canst 
 " believe, all things are possible to him that be- 
 " lieveth *." The expectation which the promi- 
 ses of God, or the suggestions of his Spirit have 
 excited, shall not make him ashamed. " Paul 
 " therefore stedfastly beholding this man, said 
 *' with a loud voice. Stand up right on thy feet. 
 " And he leaped and walked." The cure in- 
 stantly followed the command. The disorder in 
 his joints was removed ; his limbs recovered 
 strength ; and with the fondness so natural to a 
 man who has just acquired a new faculty, which 
 he had long and earnestly desired, but despaired 
 of ever enjoying, he tried it in every way, leap- 
 insj and walkingf. 
 
 Paul said, " with a loud voice," Stand up right 
 on thy feet. The miracle was WTought for the sake 
 of the inhabitants of Lystra, as well as of the im- 
 potent man ; and for this reason it was publicly 
 announced. The circumstances in which the mi- 
 racles of the gospel were performed, leave no 
 room for suspecting that they v/ere dexterous 
 
 . * Mark ix. 23. 
 
S42 PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LYSTRA. 
 
 impositions on the credulity of mankind. That 
 they were real miracles is evident from this im- 
 portant fact, that they were not done in a cor- 
 ner, but in the chief places of concourse ; in the 
 streets of cities, in the midst of assembled mul- 
 titudes, in the presence of enemies as well as of 
 friends. The miracles of false religions were per- 
 formed, or are said to have been performed, in 
 distant ages, of which we have only fabulous re- 
 cords, in remote countries, where any thing 
 may be feigned to have been done, in temples, 
 where the priests could securely practise all the 
 arts of deception, or in some obscure retreat, 
 sheltered from every inquisitive eye, before wit- 
 nesses, select, and favourably disposed. " If they 
 " shall say unto you. Behold he is in the desert, 
 " go not forth : behold, he is in the secret cham- 
 " bers, believe it not *.*' Truth courts the light, 
 that it may be made manifest. The juggHng 
 tricks of heathenism and popery need only to be 
 strictly examined, to be rejected with contempt ; 
 whereas, the miracles of Christianity are displays 
 of omnipotent power, which will be the more 
 admired, the more closely they are considered. 
 
 The evidence of miracles is not irresistible, but 
 may be counteracted by the power of prejudice. 
 The Jews attributed the miracles of our Saviour 
 to Satanical influence j the Gentiles believed, that 
 those of the apostles were operations of magic ; 
 * Matt. xxiT. 26. 
 
PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LYSTRA. 343 
 
 and the inhabitants of Lystra were disposed to 
 turn this miracle into an argument in favour of 
 their own idolatrous religion. '' And when the 
 '* people saw what Paul had done, they hft up 
 " their voices, saying, in the Speech of Lycao- 
 " nia, The gods are come down to us in the like- 
 " ness of men." The Gentiles had corrupted 
 the fundamental doctrine of the unity of God ; 
 and their various systems of religion were found- 
 ed in the supposition of a plurality of deities, 
 male and female, differing in their rank, their 
 attributes, and the provinces or functions assign- 
 ed to them. These imaginary beings were con- 
 ceived to superintend the affairs of the earth. 
 There was, indeed,- one sect of philosophers, the 
 disciples of Epicurus, who, while they admitted 
 their existence, denied their providence ; but 
 they were justly suspected of atheism *. Other 
 sects of philosophers, and the common people, 
 believed that men were objects of attention and 
 care to the gods, who observed their conduct, 
 and interfered in their transactions, and, for this 
 purpose, descended, on some occasions, to the 
 earth in a visible form. Their histories and poems 
 are full of such appearances. When the inhabi- 
 tants of Lystra, therefore", cried out, " The gods 
 " are come down to us in the likeness of men ;" 
 they did not express their surprise at the event 
 as unusual, but rather their joy that the gods had 
 * Cicer. de natura Deor. i. 43. 
 
344 PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LYSTRA. 
 
 deigned to favour their city with a visit. They 
 have come down to us, "in the hkeness of 
 men.'* They commonly appeared in the human 
 form, which was believed to be their real shape; 
 for the gods of the Gentiles were clothed with 
 bodies like ours, and differed from men only in 
 their immortality, and the extent of their power. 
 As soon as the idea was adopted, that Paul 
 and Barnabas were gods, the people assigned to 
 them their respective names. " They called Bar- 
 " nabas Jupiter, and Paul Mercurius, because he 
 " was the chief speaker." Jupiter was the su- 
 preme divinity of the heathens, whom they call- 
 ed the Father of gods and men, and represented 
 as swaying his sceptre over heaven and earth. 
 Sometimes they speak of him in a style not 
 unworthy of the true God, describing him 
 as shaking heaven with his nod, and terrify- 
 ing the w^orld by his thunder ; but, at other 
 times, they degrade him below the dignity of a 
 man, by pourtraying him with the basest pas- 
 sions, and foulest crimes, of a profligate. There 
 is something mysterious and unaccountable in 
 the creed of the heathens, affording a lamentable 
 proof of the astonishing, and, were it not attest- 
 ed beyond the possibility of doubt, incredible, 
 blindness and stupidity of the human mind- 
 This Jupiter, whom they placed at the head of 
 the universe, they believed to have been a man, 
 who was born, reigned, and died, in the island 
 
PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LVSTRA. 345 
 
 of Crete. There is an inextricable confusion in 
 the Pagan mythology ; it is full of inconsistencies 
 and absurdities, which, one should think, could not 
 have been digested by the most barbarous nation, 
 and still less by the learned Greeks and Romans j 
 and there is no way of accounting for the fact . 
 that they did believe it, but by the information 
 of Paul, *' that because they did not like to re- 
 " tain God in their knowledge, God gave them 
 " over to a reprobate mind *.'* Mercury was 
 one of the sons of Jupiter. Among the various 
 offices with which he was invested, it is necessary 
 to mention only, that he was reputed the mes- 
 senger of the gods, and the interpreter of their 
 will. Hence Paul was called Mercury, because 
 he most frequently addressed the people. If he 
 was a god, there was none v^'hose character so 
 exactly suited him, as that of tlic deity who 
 conveyed the messages of Jupiter to mankind. 
 Barnabas was supposed to be Jupiter, because he 
 was older than Paul, or of a more dignified ap- 
 pearance. 
 
 If the gods had condescended to visit the city 
 of Lystra, religion required that they should 
 be received with appropriate honours. " The 
 " priest of Jupiter, therefore, which was before 
 *' their city," or had a temple without the walls, 
 or in the suburbs, " brought oxen and gar- 
 *' lands unto the gates, and would have done sa-. 
 * Rom. i. 28. 
 2 X 
 
346 PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LYSTRA. 
 
 " crifice with the people.'* Sacrifices were a dis- 
 tinguished part of the worship, which the hea- 
 thens offered to their divinities ; and in this ge- 
 neral feature, their religion resembled that of the 
 Jews. The practice was undoubtedly derived 
 from traditionary accounts of the original insti- 
 tution of sacrifices ; for the death of irrational 
 animals vi'ould have never occurred .to the unin- 
 structed human mind, as an expedient for pro- 
 pitiating the Deity. The victims w^ere generally 
 crowned with garlands of flowers. The religion 
 of the Gentiles was of a cheerful nature. The 
 eye w-as captivated Vvith magnificent spectacles ; 
 the ear vt^as charmed with the sound of musical 
 instruments, and the melody of songs ; and at 
 some festivals, the grossest debauchery was per- 
 mitted in honour of their licentious divinities. 
 
 The sacrifice was prevented by the zeal of Bar- 
 nabas and Paul. " Which, when the apostles, 
 " Barnabas and Paul, heard of, they rent their 
 " clothes, and ran in among the people, crying 
 " out, and saying, Sirs, why do ye these things ?'* 
 In the proper sense of the term, Barnabas was 
 not an apostle ; but it literally signifies a person 
 sent, a messenger, or missionary ; and the title 
 is probably given to him in reference to his mis- 
 sion from Antloch, to preach the gospel to the 
 Gentiles. Paul, in one of his epistles, speaks of 
 certain brethren, w^ho were " the messengers 
 "' or apostles of the churches, and the glory of 
 
PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LY3TRA. 347 
 
 " Christ*." AVhen Paul iind Barnabas v/crc in- 
 formed of the intention of the people, they " rent 
 " tlieir clothes." This was a custom of the Jc^vs, 
 at the death of their friends, in tiir.cs of public 
 calamity, and when they heard blasphemy, or 
 witnessed any great transgression of the law. The 
 apostles therefore expressed, after the manner of 
 their country, their m-ief at the conduct of the 
 people, and their abhorrence of their idolatry. 
 " They ran in among them, saying, Sirs, why do 
 " ye these things ? We also are men of Uke pas- 
 " sions with you." It has been remarked, that the 
 word translated, " of like passions," properly sig- 
 nifies, subject to the same infirmities and suffer- 
 ings, or fellow-mortals. Their being of " like pas- 
 " sions" with tliemselvcs would not have appeared 
 to the Gentiles a good reason why Paul and 
 Barnabas should not be worshipped : for Jupiter 
 and Mercury, and all the gods and goddesses of 
 Paganism, were supposed to be actuated by the 
 same passions with men ; and, if history might be 
 credited, had given many shocking displays of 
 wrath, revenge, envy, and lust. But if they were 
 fellow-mortals, beings subject, like others, to dis- 
 ease and death, it was evident that they were 
 not gods : for the heathen deities were accounted 
 immortal, and were chiefly distinguished by this 
 privilege from their worshippers. Mortals, in- 
 deed, there have been, who demanded religious. 
 ^ 2 Cor. viii. 23. 
 
848 PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LYSTRA. 
 
 honours ; and base flatterers have not been want- 
 ing to comply with the extravagant request. 
 Some of the Roman emperors were deified du- 
 ring their lives. But, surely, the worshippers and 
 the worshipped must have secretly regarded one 
 another v\ ith mutual contempt; the former scorn- 
 ing the inflated worm, who dreamed of di- 
 vinity, because accident had raised him to a 
 throne ; the latter despising the abject slaves 
 who courted his favour bv such de^radinff 
 homage. The remains of his reason must have 
 nauseated their incense, while it gratified his 
 vanity. " Sirs, why do ye these things." Jea- 
 lous of the glory of the true God, the apostles 
 rejected, with abhorrence, any honour offered to 
 themselv^es which intrenclied on his prerogative. 
 " We are mere mortals like yourselves, and wish 
 *' for no other token of respect, than that you 
 " would listen to us, while we call upon you to 
 " renounce your idolatry. We preach unto you, 
 *' that ye sliould turn from these vanities unto 
 « the living God." 
 
 In the Old Testament, the heathen gods are 
 frequently styled vanities. It is a contemptuous 
 title, and, at the same time, is perfectly expres- 
 sive of their nature. Of the deities, whom the 
 blinded nations adored, some had no existence, 
 except in thejmagination of their worshippers ; 
 and the rest were dead men and women, whom 
 the gratitude and admiration of posterity had 
 consecrated. Their images, in which a divine 
 
PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LYSTRA. 343 
 
 virtue was supposed to reside, were constructed 
 of stone, and wood, and the precious metals ; 
 and were alike unworthy of religious honours, 
 and incapable of doing either good or evil, a^ in- 
 animate matter in any other shape. " They had 
 " eyes, but they saw not ; and ears, but they 
 *- heard not. They that made them were like unto 
 " them; so was every one that trusted in them*.** 
 All was vanity. These pretended gods, and their 
 unprofitable service, the apostles call upon the 
 men of Lystra to forsake, and henceforward to 
 worship " the living God.'* The living God is 
 Jehovah, the self-existent being, who compre- 
 hends in himself the past, the present, and the: 
 future, and is the source of life to all who breathe 
 and think. His existence only is neces'^ary and 
 immutable ; that of all other beings is contingent 
 and fluctuating. He is opposed to the gods of 
 the Gentiles, who were dead men, or imaginary 
 beings, and whose lifeless images, enveloped in 
 clouds of smoke, and adored with profound re- 
 verence, were as insensible of their unmerited 
 honours, as the walls of their temples. " Choose 
 *' now," said the apostles, " whether you wiU 
 " serve the llvinsr or the dead.** *' None of the 
 " vanities of the Gentiles could give rain ;'* they 
 liad less power even than the men who implo- 
 red their protection. " But the living God made 
 " heaven and earth, and the sea, and all things 
 " that are therein.*' The universe arose out of 
 nothing at his command, was arranged by his 
 * Psalm cixxv. 16—18. 
 
3.50 PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LYSTRA. 
 
 wisdom, and is sustained by his power. It de- 
 monstrates his existence and attributes ; and, in 
 language understood in every nation, calls upon 
 the spectators of his glory to adore and serve 
 him. 
 
 But if the God, whom Paul and Barnabas 
 preached, was the true God, the Creator of the 
 world and its inhabitants, why was he so late in 
 assertinfi; his claim to their homa2:e ? Whence 
 had he remained unknown for many ages, while 
 other beings were suffered to usurp his place 
 and his honours ? To obviate this objection a- 
 gainst the Christian doctrine as a novel system, 
 which laboured under the great disadvantage of 
 being opposed to the ancient established opinions 
 of mankind, the apostles subjoin the following 
 remark. " Who in times past suffered all na- 
 " tions to walk in their own ways." The cause of 
 the recent introduction of his worship was not 
 that he was an upstart god, a divinity of yes- 
 terday, but that, for wise and holy reasons, he 
 had permitted the nations, for a long succession 
 of ages, to apostatise from himself, and follow 
 the suggestions of their vain imaginations. Al- 
 though, as we shall afterwards see, he did not 
 leave himself altogether without a witness, yet 
 he laid no restraint upon them in their deviations 
 from truth; he employed no extraordinary means 
 to stem the torrent of apostacy. No prophet a- 
 rose among them to reprove their errors, and re- 
 
PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LYSTRA. 351 
 
 Store the knowledge and service of the Crc.itcr. 
 " The times of this ignorance lie winked at," 
 seeming to take no notice of it, as a man closes 
 his eyes, that he may not observe what is pass- 
 ing around him. Every nation was suffered to 
 adopt whatever form of religion was most agree- 
 able to its taste. Gods were multiplied by the 
 creative power of superstition ; temples rose in 
 every city, and altars in every grove ; so that 
 the true God was banished from the greater part 
 of his own world. The duration of this period 
 of darkness and impiety is expressed by the in- 
 definite terms, " times past." Idolatry seems to 
 have begun early after the flood. It was practi- 
 sed in the family of Abraham prior to his call *. 
 But the true God continued to be known and 
 worshipped long after, by incUviduals and fami- 
 lies, amidst the general corruption. The cove- 
 nant with Abraham and his posterity, by whicli 
 they were constituted the peculiar people of God, 
 did not operate to the exclusion of other na- 
 tions till about the time of the deliverance of the 
 Israelites from Egypt. The oracles of heaven 
 were then committed to them, and the rest of 
 mankind were abandoned to their own conduct. 
 Notwithstanding the rejection of the Gentiles, 
 their idolatry was inexcusable, because " God 
 *' did not leave himself without a witness, in that 
 *' he did good, and gave them rain from heaven, 
 * John xxiv. 2. 
 
252 PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LYSTRA. 
 
 " and fruitful seasons, filling their hearts with 
 " food and gladness.'* Canaan was a land " ilow- 
 " ing with milk and honey/* and it is called 
 *' the glory of all lands"* But notwithstanding 
 the high character bestowed upon it, in conse- 
 quence of the divine blessing, which rendered it 
 uncommonly fertile, the rest of the earth was not 
 a desert, yielding nothing but briars and thorns. 
 Some of the countries, which were inhabited by 
 the Gentiles, abounded in the choicest produc- 
 tions of the vegetable kingdom. The rain fell 
 upon their fields, and the year was crowned with 
 the sfoodness of the Lord. There is not a more 
 agreeable prospect than a country smiling under 
 the influences of heaven, presenting to the eye 
 vallies covered with corn, and mountains cloth- 
 ed with pasture, or shaded with forests. As 
 such a scene charms us with its beauties, and 
 cheers our hearts with the hope of plenty, so it is 
 fitted to raise our thoughts to the source of aU 
 good, the almighty and beneficent Parent of the 
 universe. A reflecting mind learns wisdom from 
 trees, and flowers, and every thing. 
 
 No man, who consults his reason, can consider 
 the productions of the earth as the result of 
 chance, because chance signifies no cause of any 
 kind, but merely expresses our ignorance. It is 
 not less irrational to imagine, that vegetation is 
 the effect of certain independent qualities, or 
 powers of matter. Men may impose upop them- 
 
PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LYSTRA; 3o3 
 
 selves by words and theories ; but it is impossi- 
 ble to conceive what is lifeless and inert to act, 
 without being acted upon by some external cause, 
 or an unconscious substance to work according 
 to a regular and uniform plan. Wherever we 
 observe design ; wherever we sec an end aimed 
 at, and a series of means employed to accomplish 
 it, reason and experience point to an intelligent 
 agent. It was never supposed by any man in 
 his senses, that a watch was made by itself, or 
 that a house was reared by the accidental meet- 
 ing of wood, and stones, and mortar. The pro- 
 cess, by which " our hearts are filled with food 
 " and gladness,'* consists of so many steps, all con- 
 ducting to a specific termination, that no person 
 can survey them without an immediate convic- 
 tion of the existence and providence of God. 
 From the surface of the ocean, of rivers, and of 
 lakes, and from every part of the earth, water is 
 raised, in the form of vapour, to the sky. There 
 it is condensed by cold, and falls down by the 
 law of graviiation. The rain penetrating the 
 soil, cherishes the seeds deposited in it, and en- 
 tering the roots of vegetables, ascends by the 
 stem or trunk, and is circulated through the 
 branches and leaves. At-tlie same time, plants 
 imbibe nourishment from the air and the sun ; 
 and arriving at maturity, by slower or more rapid 
 progress, according to their nature, present their 
 
 'I Y 
 
354 ?AUL AND BARNABAS IN LYSTRA. 
 
 fruits to man, as a gift of the bounty of his Crea- 
 tor. 
 
 This process is so often repeated, that it at- 
 tracts little notice. Many a careless spectator of 
 the varied scenes of spring, summer, and autumn, 
 never extends his thoughts beyond the objects 
 before his eyes. But the changes produced upon 
 the face of the earth, by the vicissitudes of the 
 seasons, are unquestionable proofs of divine wis- 
 dom and beneficence. The heathens, amidst all 
 their ignorance, v/ere not so atheistical as some 
 modern philosophers, who would confine the at- 
 tention of others, as well as their own, to the ope- 
 ration of natural causes. They erred only in 
 overlooking the true Author of their enjoyments, 
 and returning thanks for their fruitful seasons to 
 Jupiter, and Ceres, and Pomona, instead of ac- 
 knowledging the various productions of the earth 
 to be the work of one God, " from whom co- 
 '^' meth down every good and perfect gift.'^ The 
 uniformity amidst variety, which is observable 
 in the system of nature, the regularity of the 
 seasons, the connection and combination of the 
 causes which contribute to the fertility of the 
 earth, and the sameness of the result, afford evi- 
 dence on which we may safely rest this conclu- 
 sion, that there is one First Cause, " who work- 
 " cth ail in all." Thus, in the darkest times of 
 heathenism, there were not wantins: testimonies 
 to the existence and perfections of God. " The 
 
PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LYSTRA. 355 
 
 " invisible tilings of him were clearly seen from 
 " the creation and government of the world, 
 " even his eternal power and godhead ; so that 
 " the Gentiles were without excuse." This h 
 the point, which it was the intention of Paul and 
 Barnabas to prove. 
 
 It was, however, with difficulty, that they pre- 
 vailed upon the people to abstain from offering 
 sacrifice to them. The men of Lystra were ad- 
 dicted to idolatry, in which they had been train- 
 ed from their earliest .years ; and so fully were 
 they persuaded of the divinity of the two apos- 
 tles, that their own testimony hardly sufficed to 
 convince them of their error. It was with reluc- 
 tance that they renounced the flattering idea, 
 that their city had been honoured with a visit of 
 the gods. 
 
 We learn from this passage, that the contem- 
 plation of nature should be rendered subservient 
 to the purposes of piety. God did not place so 
 many glorious luminaries in the heavens, nor di- 
 versify the surface of the earth with mountains 
 and vallies, nor collect the immense mass of wa- 
 ter in the ocean, merely to furnish us with the 
 pleasures of imagination. Man is delighted with 
 the view of what is sublime and beautiful, and 
 with instances of curious contrivance, and exqui- 
 site workmanship ; but the ultimate design of 
 this delight is to conduct him to the knowledge 
 
356 PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LYSTRA. 
 
 and love of its Author. All the objects around 
 us bear witness to the existence of God. Philo- 
 sophy will afford us much entertainment, by un- 
 folding the secret operations of nature ; but the 
 pleasure of the unlettered Christian, who knows 
 scarcely any thing about the laws of the material 
 system, about the structure of plants, and the 
 mechanism of animals, is incomparably greater, 
 W'hen he traces, in the grand outlines of creation, 
 the footsteps of his Father, and sees, in its vary- 
 ing scenes, the wonders of his power, and the 
 smiles of his goodness. 
 
 Let us give thanks to God for our deliverance 
 from that gross idolatry, which once prevailed 
 among all nations except the Jews. It is not to 
 reason that we are indebted for this deliverance. 
 We indeed find no difficulty in proving that 
 there is only one God, who ought to be wor- 
 shipped ; but to demonstrate a truth already 
 known, is a m.uch easier task than to discover a 
 truth buried under the rubbish of prejudice and 
 superstition. The wisest and greatest men of 
 antiquity were polytheists. They adored, with 
 the vulgar, the gods of their country. The doc- 
 trine of the unity of God has never been public- 
 ly professed by any people, who had not been 
 previously enlightened by revelation. The Ma- 
 hometans have learned this fundamental truth 
 from our Scriptures. Notwithstanding the ig- 
 norant declamiations of infidels concerning the 
 
PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LYSTRA. 2^7 
 
 powers of reason, and the discoveries whicli may- 
 be made by its assistance, experience will justify 
 us in affirming, that, without the gospel, we 
 would have been as gross idolaters as our fore- 
 fathers. Were Chribtianity banished from the 
 earth, as some men earnestly wish, the a!:)surd 
 and exploded systems of Paganism would be re- 
 stored ; or some modification of folly not less 
 cxtravag:ant u'ould be substituted in their room. 
 No sooner had the French nation, a few years 
 ago, renounced, in their madness, the religion of 
 Christ, than they began to revive the antiquated 
 rites of Greece and Rome, and publicly adored 
 a prostitute, under the title of the Goddess of 
 Reason. It is the gospel which has turned us 
 " from vanities, to serve the living God." 
 
 In a word, as we profess to be the servants of 
 the living God, let us remember, that it is a pure 
 and spiritual worship which he requires. He 
 must not be treated as one of the idols of the 
 Gentiles, to whom their votaries presented the 
 empty homage of ceremonies and oblations. Then 
 only do we serve him, in a manner worthy of 
 his character and attributes, when we present to 
 him the offering of our hearts ; when we love 
 him above all things, confide in his power and 
 faithfulness, commit ourselves to the direction 
 of his u isdom, submit to his authority, and re- 
 gulate our thoughts ana actions by his law. Hiea 
 only do we acceptably serve him, when wg oii'cr 
 
S58 PAUL AND BARNABAS IN LYSTRA. 
 
 up praises from a grateful heart, and prayers ex- 
 pressive of holy desires; and when we perform all 
 our religious duties in the name of the great Me- 
 diator, the High-Priest of our profession. " For 
 " though there be that are called gods, whether 
 " in heaven or in earth (as there be gods many, 
 " and lords many), but to us there is but one 
 " God, the Father, of whom are all things, and 
 " we in him ; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by 
 '' whom are all things, and we by him */* 
 
 * 1 Cor. viii. 6, 7. 
 
LECTURE XVL 
 
 THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 Chap. XV. 1— 31. 
 
 1 HE important nature of the transaction, re- 
 lated in this passage, and the discussion into 
 which we will be unavoidably led, in consequence 
 of the different systems which it has been brought 
 to support, might draw out this discourse to an 
 inconvenient length. I shall therefore consume 
 no part of our time with any introductory re- 
 marks, and shall study the greatest possible bre- 
 vity, while I endeavour to explain, as distinctly 
 as I can, the three parts into which the chapter 
 naturally divides itself ; the dispute in Antioch, 
 which was the occasion of a reference to the a- 
 postles and elders at Jerusalem ; their dehbera- 
 tions and decision on the question ; and the let- 
 ter containing their decree, which was sent to 
 the churches of Syria and Cilicia. 
 
 The origin of the dispute is stated in the first 
 verse. " And certain men, which came do- n 
 " trom Judea, taught the brethren, and sai^. Ex- 
 
360 THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 " cept ye be circumcised after the manner of 
 " Moses, ye cannot be saved." It appears from 
 the fifth verse, which I consider as referring to 
 those teachers, and not to any abettors of their 
 doctrine in Jerusalem, that, prior to their con- 
 version, they were Pharisees ; and they seem to 
 have retained the pecuHar opinions of their sect, 
 with regard to the justification of a sinner. The 
 law of Moses was virtually abolished by the death 
 of Christ, in which its design was accomplish- 
 ed ; but few among the Jewish believers were 
 apprized of the expiration of its authority. The 
 simple observance of its rites, however, was not 
 yet unlawful, if it proceeded from a principle of 
 conscience, mistaken, indeed, but revering what 
 was still supposed to be obligatory ; or from a 
 charitable intention to avoid giving offence to 
 the weak. But these men taught, that obedi- 
 ence to the law of Moses was indispensably ne- 
 cessary to salvation ; or that circumcision, and 
 the other duties, ceremonial and moral, which 
 It enjoined, were an express condition of our ac- 
 ceptance with God. Hence they urged it with 
 the utmost rigour upon the Gentiles. As they 
 professed Christianity, they must have assigned 
 some efficacy to faith ; and their system proba- 
 bly resembled that absurd and pernicious doc- 
 trine, whicli is still current in the church, that 
 our ovv^n good works, and the righteousness of 
 Christ supplying their defects, are conjunct causes. 
 
THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 361 
 
 of our justification ; a doctrine which robs grace 
 of its honour, impeaches the merit of the Savi- 
 our as imperfect, and subverts the foundation of 
 the gospel. We perceive, then, the reason that 
 Paul, although he circumcised Timothy out of 
 respect to the prejudices of the Jews, writes to 
 the Galatians in the following terms. " Behold, 
 " I Paul, say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, 
 " Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify 
 *' again to every man that is circumcised, that 
 " he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is 
 " become of none effect unto you, whosoever of 
 " you are justified by the law ; ye are fallen from 
 " grace *." We discover, at the same time, the 
 cause of the zeal with which the men from Ju- 
 dea were opposed by Paul and Barnabas, whose 
 regard to the truth of the gospel, and concern 
 for the souls of the disciples, would not suffer a 
 doctrine so dangerous to be quietly dissemina- 
 ted. " They had no small dissension and dispu- 
 *' tation with them.'* That their arguments were 
 more powerful than those of their opponents, it 
 is impossible to doubt ; but controversies, both 
 in religion and in politics, are not always determi- 
 ned by superior evidence, but are often prolong- 
 ed by pride and obstinacy, "by ignorance and pre- 
 judice. 
 
 Some, perhaps, are surprised that the men 
 from Judea should have dared to contend with 
 
 * Gal. V. 2—4. 
 2 z 
 
S62 THE COUNCIL Or JERUSALEM. 
 
 Paul and Barnabas, of whom the one was an 
 apostle, and the other a prophet. Were any per- 
 son now alive invested with the same authority, 
 and endowed with the same extraordinary gifts, 
 we are apt to think that we would willingly sub- 
 mit to the decision of this infallible judge. But 
 we impose upon ourselves, by not attending to 
 the difference of our circumstances. We look 
 back to Barnabas and Paul with veneration, un- 
 abated by any personal quarrel, or by a near in- 
 spection of their frailties. We view them only 
 at a distance, and in the august character of 
 ambassadors of Christ. But were they living, 
 and associating with us, we would be familia- 
 rised to their presence, and, amidst a conflict of 
 opinions and interests, would be ready enough 
 to forget the respect, to which, in our calm mo- 
 ments, we thought them entitled. The opposition 
 made to them on this occasion, is not a proof 
 that their inspiration was not generally acknow- 
 ledged by the Christians of their own age. The 
 Israelites rebelled against Moses, whom they be- 
 lieved to be the minister of God. Under the in- 
 fluence of temptation, men often transgress the 
 precepts of our religion, the divine authority of 
 which they will not venture to dispute. 
 
 The controversy might have been determined 
 in Antioch. The authority of Paul was as great 
 as that of any other apostle ; Barnabas was a pro- 
 phet ; and there were other inspired men in the 
 city, as we are informed in the thirteenth chap- 
 
THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 3G3 
 
 tcr, as well as ordinary teachers, who had power 
 to rebuke and exhort, and to reject heretics, 
 after a first and a second admonition. But such 
 was tlie violence of party, that a decision on the 
 spot was not likely to terminate the difference ; 
 and it was expedient to refer the question to a 
 higher assembly, in whose authority all would 
 acquiesce. Besides, it was not a local, but a ge- 
 neral question, which might be agitated in any- 
 other part of the world ; so that it was necessa- 
 ry to obtain a final sentence, which would be 
 alike respected in Antioch, and in all tlie cities 
 of the Gentiles. " They determined, therefore, 
 " that Paul and Barnabas, and certain other of 
 " them, should go up to Jerusalem unto the 
 " apostles and elders about this question." 
 
 Different opinions have been formed v^ith re- 
 spect to the persons by whom this resolution was 
 adopted. The supposition that Paul and Bar- 
 nabas were commissioned by the £ilse teach- 
 ers, is, on many accounts, highly improbable. 
 There is as Httle ground to think that the deter* 
 mination was made by the brethren, or private 
 members of the church, mentioned in the first 
 verse. The structure of the passage does not 
 give countenance to this idea. Zeal for the pre- 
 tended authority of the church in its collective 
 capacity, is carried to excess, when an apostle 
 and a prophet are represented as receiving and" 
 executing its commands. We know that there 
 
S64f THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 were in Antioch prophets and teachers, with 
 whom Paul and Barnabas associated in their or- 
 dinary ministrations ; and it is consonant to all 
 our ideas of propriety and order, to conceive the 
 determination to have been their deed. They 
 alone were concerned, by the express command 
 of the Spirit, in the separation of Paul and Bar- 
 nabas to the work of preaching the gospel to the 
 Gentiles* ; and no satisfactory reason can be given 
 for imagining, that their authority was inade- 
 quate to the present purpose, or that it w^as sus- 
 pended to make way for the interference of the 
 people. 
 
 The history of this transaction is very short, 
 and several particulars are undoubtedly omitted. 
 It is by no means an improbable opinion, that as 
 this controversy was not confined to Antioch, 
 but had caused disturbance in the churches of 
 Syria and Cilicia, they concurred in this deter- 
 mination ; and that their delegates were among 
 the persons who accompanied Barnabas and Paul. 
 This is not a mere assumption to serve the pur- 
 pose of a party, by providing a sufficient number 
 of members to render the assembly at Jerusalem 
 a council. It is supported by the following ar- 
 gument, that if they had no immediate concern 
 in that assembly ; if they made no reference to 
 it, and had no delegates present in it, it is not 
 easy to conceive on what principle they were 
 * Acts xiii. 1 — 3. 
 
TJ-E COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. CGj 
 
 bound by it. decree, unless it should be afiirmed, 
 that the- apostles were representatives of the ca- 
 tholic church, and consequently of the Syrian 
 and Cilician churches. This answer, I acknow- 
 ledge, would be satisfactory ; but it should be 
 observed, that on this supposition we have here 
 an example of a representative assembly of the 
 church, which authorises the holding of similar 
 assemblies for determining controversies, and de- 
 liberating on affairs of general concern. If tu 
 evade the consequence, this solution be rejected^ 
 I know not how we shall get rid of the difficulty, 
 without admitting that the representatives of 
 those churches were present, and acted in their 
 name. A decree of the apostles, it must be al- 
 lowed, would have been obligatory upon all 
 Christians throughout the world ; but the de- 
 cree was also enacted by the elders ; and what 
 right the elders of Jerusalem had to make laws 
 for other churches, no man is able to tell. The 
 abettors of Independency must be above all others 
 perplexed to account for the fact ; for they sure- 
 ly will reject the idea, that one church may im- 
 pose its decisions upon another, its equal in pri- 
 vileges and power. If any man should think 
 that the sentence of the elders was obligatory 
 upon other churches, because it was conforma- 
 ble to the mind of the Spirit, he is requested to 
 observe, that, on this hypothesis, it was not at 
 all binding as their decree j and that the Scrip- 
 
'S66 THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 tural sentence of any private man, oc of a child, 
 would Iiave had the same obligation. But the 
 transaction cannot be thus explained away with- 
 out manifest absurdity. 
 
 Whatever opinion is formed upon the subject, 
 it is evident that the reference was made to the 
 apostles and elders. When the apostles are con- 
 sidered as the immediate ambassadors of Christ, 
 the highest oiBce-bearers in his church, they ap- 
 pear in a character peculiar to themselves, and 
 exercise functions, in which no person could co- 
 operate with them. But, on some occasions, 
 we see them acting in a subordinate character, 
 placing themselves on a level with the ordinary 
 pastors and governors of the church, assuming 
 the designation of presbyters or elders, joining 
 with them in setting persons apart to the minis- 
 try, and receiving from them commissions for 
 particular services *. That the reference was not 
 made to them as inspired men, the infallible 
 judges of controversies, is evident, because it 
 was made at the same time to the elders ; for 
 the wisdom of the elders could not improve the 
 dictates of inspiration, and there was no defect 
 in the apostolical power, which their concurrence 
 could supply. But their public character re- 
 mained ; and as they stood in no peculiar rela- 
 tion to any particular church, we must conceive 
 
 * 1 Peter v.l. I.Tim, iv. 14. 2 Tim. i. 6. Acts 
 xiii. 1 — 3. 
 
THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. SG7 
 
 them to have acted, not in a private capacity, 
 .but in the name of all the churches on the earth. 
 Although it is commonly presumed, yet it would 
 be difiicuk to prove, that the elders, to whom 
 the reference was made, were those alone who 
 statedly resided in Jerusalem. That city is per- 
 haps mentioned only as the place of meeting. 
 Without, however, contesting this point, let us 
 suppose that none but the elders of Jerusalem 
 are meant. Had the church of Antioch in- 
 tended that the controversy should be decided 
 by imm.ediate revelation, or by, apostolical autho- 
 rity, there was no cause for sending so fiir, as 
 Paul, who was not behind the chief of the apos- 
 tles, was among them ; or if expediency requi- 
 red a deputation to Jerusalem, it would have 
 been an affront to the apostles, to consult, at the 
 same time, the elders, who were not inspired. 
 TJie purpose, therefore, of the church of An- 
 tioch, seems to have been to submit the question 
 to a larger assembly than could be collected in 
 their own city ; and we cannot imagine any rea- 
 son why the apostles admitted the elders to de- 
 liberate along with them, but to establish a pre- 
 cedent for calling councils, in cases of emergency. 
 Let it be observed, that no reference was made 
 to the church of Jerusalem, or the brethren at 
 large. Accordingly, they took no part in the 
 discussion ; and we shall afterwards see, that 
 
368 THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 from them the decree derived no portion of its 
 authority. 
 
 Some, with a view to prove that the present 
 case does not furnish an example of a reference 
 from an inferior to a superior court, assign as 
 the sole cause of submitting the question to the 
 elders, as well as the apostles, that as the men 
 from Judea pretended to have received authority 
 from the elders, it was necessary to apply to 
 them for the knowledge of the fact. But the 
 truth could have been ascertained with much less 
 trouble by a single messenger, and without a so- 
 lemn and public consultation. Besides, when 
 the apostles and elders assembled, the subject of 
 inquiry was not a question of fact, but of doc- 
 trine ; not whether the men from Judea had au- 
 thority to teach, but whether the observance of 
 the law of Moses should be urged upon the Gen- 
 tiles. 
 
 There are no remarks, connected with the 
 main design of this Lecture, suggested by the 
 next two verses, which indeed are so plain, as 
 to require no illustration. In the fifth verse, we 
 are informed, that " there arose up certain of the 
 " sect of the Pharisees which believed, saying, 
 " That it was needful to circumcise them, and to 
 *' command them to keep the law of Moses." I 
 am inclined to consider these words as part of the 
 speech of Paul and Barnabas, in which they re- 
 late the cause of their coming to Jerusalem, ra- 
 
THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 369 
 
 thcr than as the statement of a new fact, that the 
 doctrine, which had caused so much disturbance 
 in Antioch, was espoused by some persons in Je- 
 rusalem, 
 
 Let us now attend to the proceedings of the 
 assembly which met to discuss the important 
 question, on which the peace and enlargement 
 of the Gentile churches depended. " And the 
 " apostle3 and elders came together for to consider 
 " of this matter," to canvass the arguments on 
 both sides, and to pass a final sentence. In the 
 form of procedure, there was nothing different 
 from what may be practised, and often is prac- 
 tised, in other assemblies. No person rose and 
 pronounced the dictates of inspiration, by which 
 the rest were overawed ; but apostles and elders 
 consulted together on equal terms, and the de- 
 cree was the result of their united deliberations. 
 It was founded upon a well-known fact, corro- 
 borated by other facts, which were brought for- 
 ward in the course of the inquiry ; and upon an 
 argument drawn from the Scriptures. 
 
 It appears from the following verses, that there 
 were other persons present, besides the apoitles 
 and elders, and the cojnmissioners from Antioch, 
 who are called " the multitude,'* and " the whole 
 " church." Nothing, however, can be plainer, 
 than that they were present to hear, not to de- 
 liberate and judge ; for besides that the reference 
 was not made to them, Luke expressly affirms, 
 3 a 
 
S7<5 THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 that none came together to consider this matter 
 but " the apostles and elders." As the question, 
 however, was of the greatest importance, affect- 
 ing the interests of the Gentile believers, and 
 prescribing the terms of their admission to the 
 privileges of the gospel, it could not but excite 
 creneral attention. " The whole church'* can 
 
 o 
 
 mean only the whole assembly present, not all 
 the members of the church in Jerusalem : for as 
 we are certain that there were in that city many 
 thousands who believed, it is utterly improbable 
 that so great a multitude would have been per- 
 mitted to meet in public, by a government ill- 
 affected to them and their cause. Besides, as 
 what would be impossible now, was equally im- 
 possible then, although some men seem to forget 
 this very obvious truth, and to beheve any thing 
 to have been practicable, if it is said to have ta- 
 ken place at the distance of a sufHcient number 
 of centuries, all the disciples could not have met 
 in one place, except perhaps the temple (and even 
 this is doubtful), from which such a concourse 
 of suspected persons would have been excluded, 
 especially when their design was to set aside the 
 institutions of Moses ; or some square or market- 
 place, the supposition of which is absurd. To 
 evade this objection to the idea, that this was a 
 church-meeting, some enter into calculations, by 
 which the believers in Jerusalem are reduced to 
 the smallest possible number. In the same spirit 
 
THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 371 
 
 \rc see an eagerness to shew, that, in the apos- 
 toHcal times, there were not so many disciples in 
 any city, as could not have conveniently met in 
 one place of worship, from an apprehension, lest, 
 if there should be found to have been several 
 congregations in the same city, and these were 
 all reckoned one church, it should follow, that 
 churches were not then independent, but were 
 united, according to the Presbyterian or Episco- 
 palian plan, under one general government. 
 While every unprejudiced reader of the New 
 Testament must be convinced, that this hypothe- 
 sis is not true with respect to Jerusalem, and ap- 
 pears to be equally erroneous with regard to some 
 other cities, there is one thing, of which these 
 inconsiderate reasoners have need to be reminded, 
 that the tendency of their calculations is to prove, 
 that the success of Christianity, in the first ages, 
 was by no means so great as we have been always 
 taught to believe ; and that, if the gospel, as they 
 pretend, collected only scanty handfuls here and 
 there among Jews and Gentiles, the argument 
 for its divinity, founded on its rapid and exten- 
 sive progress, is divested of its splendour, and 
 loses much of its force. If, by the same means 
 which support a party, the cause of religion be. 
 injured, the advantage is dearly purchased. 
 
 When the apostles and elders came together to 
 consider this matter, there was " much dispu- 
 ^' ting j" not, we may presume, among the apos- 
 
072 THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 ties themselves, but among the other members 
 of the council, some of whom retained a strong 
 predilection for their ancient institutions. I 
 would not, however, willingly believe, that any 
 of them went so far as to maintain the obser- 
 vance of the law of Moses to be necessary to jus- 
 tification ; but, imagining it siill to be in force, 
 they contended, that obedience to its precepts 
 should be required from the Gentiles as well as 
 froiYi the Jews. To terminate the dispute, w^hich 
 betrayed ignorance, and might generate strife 
 Peter rose, and addressed the assembly to the fol. 
 lowing purpose : That, as they all knew, God 
 liad employed him, a considerable time before, 
 to preach the gospel to the Gentiles ; that he, to 
 whom the state and dispositions of the heart are 
 manifest, gave testimony to their sincerity in be- 
 lieving it, and his acceptance of them, by the de- 
 scent of the Holy Ghost ; and that, to those who 
 were originally uncircumcised and unclean, he 
 had imparted, by means of faith, that holiness of 
 heart, of which circumcision and the legal puri- 
 fications were typical. " Now, therefore," he 
 adds, " why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon 
 " the neck of the disciples, which neither our 
 *' fathers nor we were able to bear ?" To impose 
 the law of Moses upon the Gentiles was to go 
 contrary to the will of God, who had plainly de- 
 clared, that they ought not to be subjected to it, 
 \>Y receiving them, when uncircumcised, into his 
 
THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 375 
 
 favour. Peter calls it " a yoke, wliich neuhcr 
 *• their fathers nor they were able to bear," to 
 admonish his brethren, not to brinp; otheis un- 
 der an obligation which they had felt to be into- 
 lerable. The multiplied, expensive, and trou. 
 blesome services of the law would justify this 
 description ; but its propriety will farther ap- 
 pear, if we consider, that the law " could not 
 " make him that did the service perfect, as per- 
 *' taining to the conscience," which it did not 
 free from a sense of guilt ; that the repetition of 
 its sacrifices reminded the worshippers of sin, 
 and shewed that they~%vcre iasuilicient to ex- 
 piate it ; and that its whole contexture was cal- 
 culated to create and cherish a spirit of bondage 
 and fear. There could be no reason for wishing 
 to retain, and to enforce upon others, so imperfect 
 a system of religion. In the following words, 
 the apostle suggests another argument against 
 imposing the law of Moses upon the Gentiles, 
 namely, that it would be inconsistent to urge 
 that upon others as necessary to salvation, which 
 was not the foundation of their own hopes. 
 " The Gentiles expect salvation, without obser- 
 " ving the law ; we, who do observe it, trust 
 " not in our own works, but in the merit of the 
 " Saviour ; and why should any man require 
 *' that from another, on which himself places 
 *' no dependence ?'* We believe that, through 
 
574* THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 *' the Errace of our Lord Jesus Christ, we shall 
 " be saved even as they." 
 
 When Peter had finished his speech, Barnabas 
 and Paul successively rose to support it, by the re- 
 lation of many similar facts ; and they were heard 
 with that profound attention which the novelty 
 and importance of the detail naturally excited. 
 " Then all the multitude kept silence, and gave 
 " audience to Barnabas and Paul, declaring what 
 " miracles and wonders God had wrought among 
 " the Gentiles by them." 
 
 The last person who delivered his sentiments 
 on the subject was James. Having recapitulated 
 the speech of Peter, he adds, " And to this agree 
 " the words of the prophet, as it is written, Af- 
 " ter this I will return, and will build again the 
 " tabernacle of David, which is fallen down ; and 
 " I will build again the ruins thereof, and I will 
 " set it up : that the residue of men might seek 
 *' after the Lord, and all the Gentiles, upon 
 " whom my name is called, saith the Lord, who 
 "^ doth all these things." I shall lay before you 
 the original passage in the prophecies of Amos. 
 " In that day will I raise up the tabernacle of 
 " David that is fallen, and close up the breaches 
 " thereof, and I will raise up his ruins, and 1 will 
 " build it as in the days of old : that they may 
 " possess the remnant of Edom, and of all the 
 ** heathen which are called by my name, saith 
 «* the Lord, that doth this." There is a consi- 
 
THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 375 
 
 derable difference between the two passages ; and 
 to reconcile them has caused no small perplexity 
 and labour to commentators. The Greek trans- 
 lation comes very near the words of James ; 
 but it is evident that it could not be cited at 
 this time, when the apostle was addressing an 
 assembly of Jews in their own language. Some 
 have recourse to the supposition, that the pas- 
 sage in Amos has been since corrupted by the 
 Jews, who are accused by some of the Fathers, of" 
 having vitiated other parts of Scripture which 
 most expressly militated against them. This, 
 however, is an idea which ought not to be has- 
 tily admitted. Perhaps we may account for the 
 difference, by saying that James meant to give 
 the sense, not the exact viords, of the prophecy ; 
 and in respect of the sense, the two passages per- 
 fectly harmonize. In both, God promises " to 
 " raise up the fallen tabernacle of David ;'* that 
 is, to raise his family, when sunk into obscurity, 
 to greater glory than ever, by the birth of Jesus 
 Christ, who should ascend the throne of that 
 monarch, and enjoy everlasting dominion. What 
 would be the consequence, or rather, what was 
 the design of this dispensation ? It is thus ex- 
 pressed by James : " That the residue of men 
 " might seek after the Lord, and all the Gen- 
 " tiles upon whom my name is called ;'* in which 
 words, the conversion of the Gentiles is plainly 
 foretold. It is thus expressed by the prophet : 
 
sis THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 " That thev may possess the remnant of Edom, 
 " and of all the heathen which are called by my 
 " name ;'* that is, in consequence of the exalta- 
 tion of the family of David, they shall " possess 
 " the remnant of Edom, and of all the heathen ;" 
 an event which was accomplished, when, in the 
 words of the Psalmist, " the heathen were given 
 " to Christ for his inheritance, and the utter- 
 " most parts of the earth for his possession *," 
 and being converted to the faith, were called by 
 the name of the Lord. The passages differ only 
 in sound, but in sense they are the same ; and 
 they may be reconciled without the dangerous 
 charge of corruption, and the desperate expedi- 
 ent of conjectural emendation. " Known unto 
 " God are all his works from the beginning of 
 " the world." The divine prescience accounts 
 for the prediction of the conversion of the Gen- 
 tiles so long before it took place. God acts ac- 
 cording to a plan settled from eternity, and ex- 
 ecuted in the revolutions of time. In calling the 
 Gentiles, he was doing only what his counsel had 
 determined before to be done. The argument 
 from the prophecy is plainly this, that since it 
 appeared to have been the will of God, from the 
 earliest ages, to admit the Gentiles into his church, 
 the believing Jews should beware of opposing it, 
 by requiring their subjection to the law of Moses, 
 to which they would not be willing to submit. 
 * Psalm ii. 8. 
 
THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 377 
 
 " Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble 
 " not them which from among the Gentiles are 
 " turned to God : but that we write unto them, 
 " that they abstain from all pollutions of idols, 
 *' and from fornication, and from things stran- 
 " gled, and from blood." " Pollutions of idols," 
 are explained in the twenty -ninth verse, to be 
 " meats offered to idols." The Gentiles believed, 
 that, in partaking of their sacrifices and other 
 consecrated meats, they had fellowship with their 
 gods. On this account, meats offered to idols were 
 an abomination to the Jews. With a view, there- 
 fore, not to shock the feelings of the Jews, and that 
 the believing Gr^ntiles might not symbolize with 
 idolaters, and lay a stumbling block before their 
 weaker brethren, the participation of such meats 
 was forbidden, although it appears, from the rea- 
 sonings of Paul on the subject, that in all cases 
 it was not unlawful *. *' Fornication" was a 
 crime, not only much practised among the Gen- 
 tiles, but generally reputed to be harmless. It 
 was connected, too, with their idolatrous wor- 
 ship ; and prostitution in their temples and sa- 
 cred groves, was a part of the homage which they 
 offered to some of thejr execrable deities. In 
 writing to the Gentiles, therefore, it was neces- 
 sary to take particular notice of a crime, to which 
 the temptation was strong, from its frequency, 
 and the opinion of its innocence, " Thingst 
 
 * I Cor. viii, 
 SB 
 
J78 THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 " Strangled and blood" may be conjoined ; the 
 former signifying the bodies of animals, which 
 have been put to death by suffocation, and in 
 which the blood is retained ; and th-e latter, blood 
 taken from an animal, and separately used. 
 
 Whether this was only a temporary prohibi- 
 tion, or was intended to be binding upon the 
 church in every age, is not a question connected 
 with the religious principles of any party. Chris- 
 tians, in different communions, have been divi- 
 ded in their sentiments. It is affirmed by some, 
 that " things strangled, and blood,'* were pro- 
 hibited, because they were used by the Gentiles 
 in their idolatrous sacrifices. The Psalmist speaks 
 of their " drink-offerings of bk)od *." Accord- 
 ing to this opinion, the prohibition must be con- 
 sidered as occasional and local. In a Christian 
 country, where such idolatrous rites are not prac- 
 tised, the reason of it does not exist, because 
 the use of blood gives no countenance to the wor- 
 ship of idols, and, consequently, cannot be a cause 
 of offence. It is maintained by others, that the 
 prohibition was not founded in any temporary 
 cause, but has the same permanent authority un- 
 der the gospel which it had under the law, and 
 even from the time of the deluge, when the 
 command to abstain from the use of blood was 
 given to Noah and his sons. No argument can 
 be drawn in favour of this opinion, from its be- 
 * Psalm XV i. 4. 
 
THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 37D 
 
 ing Introduced in the same decree with fornica- 
 tion, which is always unlawful, because duties 
 ceremonial and moral are often mingled in the 
 same general precept, without any distinction 
 of their nature. It is not a proof of the perpe- 
 tuity of the prohibition, that it was not peculiar 
 to the Mosaic covenant, but was in force from 
 the period of the flood. That tliere were cere- 
 monial ordinances before the law was given from 
 Sinai, is evident from the institution of sacrifices 
 and circumcision, and from the distinction of 
 animals into clean and unclean, which already 
 existed when Noah went into the ark. As these 
 rites, some of which were of a still more ancient 
 date, are confessedly abolished, the antiquity of 
 the precept concerning blood can throw no light 
 "upon the question respecting its duration. It is 
 a groundless fancy, that there is a moral reason 
 for abstinence from blood, or that it was origi- 
 nally enjoined in order to restrain men from 
 shedding the blood of their brethren. Between 
 these two things, there is no conceivable connec- 
 tion. It is not from a literal thirst for blood 
 that murder is committed ; and they who most 
 plentifully use the blood of animals, are conscious. 
 of no greater propensity to kill their neighbours, 
 than those who abhor it. Had men been for- 
 bidden to take away the life of the inferior ani- 
 mals, it might have been asserted with morq 
 plausibility, that the design of the Creator was 
 
380 THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 to guard human life against violence. Under 
 the law, blood was forbidden, because it made 
 atonement for sin *. It was then sacred ; it was 
 appropriated to the service of God. But now, 
 when the consecration is at an end, and the legal 
 sacrifices have ceased, blood is not more sacred 
 than water, and may be used with as little risk 
 of profanation. 
 
 It is surprising, if this precept was intended to 
 continue in force to the end of the world, that 
 there is no mention of it in any of the epistles, 
 nor so much as a distant allusion to it. Paul 
 seems to teach a very different doctrine, when 
 he condemns those who command to abstain 
 from meats, which " God hath created to be re- 
 " ceived with thanksgiving of them which be- 
 '* lieve and know the truth." " For every crea- 
 ^'* ture of God ;'* that is, unquestionably, every 
 creature fit for food, for of others he cannot be 
 supposed to speak ; '* every creature of God is 
 *' good, and nothing to be refused, if it be re- 
 " ceived with thanksgiving *.'* If blood be ex- 
 cepted, why does the apostle say '' every crea- 
 " ture ?'* Why does he not, to prevent mis- 
 takes, rather say, every creature, ^' except such 
 as God has reserved out of the general grant ?" 
 As he was warning Christians against the doc- 
 trine of those who would afterwards introduce 
 a superstitious distinction of meats, we cannot 
 * Lev. xvii. 10, n. t 1 Tim. iv. 3, 4. 
 
THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. S81 
 
 but wonder that he has taken no notice of a dis- 
 tinction, which, if it exist at all, is an important 
 part of religion. No accurate writer would lay 
 down a general rule without stating the excep- 
 tions, especially when he was bringing forward 
 the rule, in opposition to those who subjected 
 it to arbitrary limitations. 
 
 Let it not be objected, that in the twenty- 
 eighth verse abstinence from blood is called " ii 
 *' necessary thing," as well as abstinence from 
 fornication and pollutions of idols. Things arc 
 necessary on different accounts ; some, because 
 they are of moral obligation, aud others, because 
 they arc enjoined by positive command ; some, 
 because they are always useful, and others, be- 
 cause they are useful for a season. If any thing 
 be connected with a particular end, as an indis- 
 pensable means of accomplishing it, it is necessa- 
 ry to that end. The end which James proposed, 
 in requiring the Gentiles to refrain from things 
 strangled, and from blood, was to promote con- 
 cord and peace between them and the Jews, who, 
 when they saw the Gentiles, from respect to 
 them, who held blood in abhorrence, denying 
 themselves the use of it, would be the more ea- 
 sily reconciled to their exemption from the otiier 
 precepts of the ceremonial law. This, I think, 
 may be collected from the words which he im- 
 mediately subjoins. " For Moses Qi old time 
 
382 THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 " hath in every city them that preach him, be- 
 " ing read in the synagogues every Sabbath 
 " day." They may be thus parapln-ased. " The 
 " writings of Moses are read in the rehgious 
 " assembhes of the Jews, who are dispersed a- 
 " mong the cities of the Gentiles. In this man- 
 " ner, they are well acquainted with the precepts 
 " of his law. Having been accustomed, from 
 " their earliest years, to regard them as divine, 
 " they cannot at once be persuaded to renounce 
 " them. It is necessary, therefore, that the Gen- 
 " tiles, who are now united with them in the 
 *' same society, should be required to concede a 
 " little to their prejudices ; and that, wdiile they 
 " abstain from fornication as a crime, and from 
 " pollutions of idols, as criminal in their nature 
 >' or their consequences, they should likewise ab- 
 " stain from things strangled, and from blood, 
 " which are abominable to the disciples of 
 " Moses.*' 
 
 On these grounds, I consider the precept as a 
 temporary expedient, adapted to a particular 
 state of the church. Its obligation has long since 
 ceased ; and " to liim that esteemeth any kind 
 " of meat to be clean, to him it is clean.'* But 
 let every man be fully persuaded in his own 
 mind. " Let not him that eateth, despise him 
 " that eateth not ; and let not him that eateth 
 " not, judge him that eateth *." 
 
 It was, then, the judgment of James, that the 
 
 * Romans xiv. 3, 
 
THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 383 
 
 yoke of the ceremonial law should not be impo- 
 sed upon the Gentiles ; and that, with the ex- 
 ceptions already considered, they should enjoy 
 perfect liberty. In this judgment the whole coun- 
 cil acquiesced. " Then pleased it the apostles 
 " and elders, with tlie whole church, to send 
 " chosen men of their own company to An- 
 " tioch, with Paul and Barnabas ; namely Ju- 
 " das surnamed Barsabas, and Silas, chief men 
 " amono: the brethren : and wrote letters bv 
 " them after this manner. The apostles, and el- 
 " ders, and brethren, send greeting unto the 
 " brethren which are of the Gentiles in Antioch, 
 *' and Syria, and Cilicia.'* It is observable, that 
 the brethren are mentioned in the superscrip- 
 tion of the letter ; and that the whole church 
 or assembly concurred in the mission of Judas 
 and Silas. From these facts it has been con- 
 cluded, that the decree was enacted by the au- 
 thority of the brethren, as well as by the apos- 
 tles and elders ; and, therefore, that to exclude 
 them from all concern in the government of 
 the church, is a violation of their orircinal and 
 inalienable privileges. But let us not judge ac^ 
 cording to appearances, but judge righteous judg- 
 ment. Let us remember, that the reference of 
 the controversy was not made to the church, 
 but to the apostles and elders ; that the apos- 
 tles and elders alone came together to consid r it ; 
 that we do not find a single member pf the church 
 
S84 THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 rising up, in the course of the discussion, to de- 
 liver his sentiments ; and that the sentence is cal- 
 led in the next chapter, the decree that was or- 
 driined of the apostles and elders, without any 
 mention of the church, or rather to the express 
 exclusion of the brethren. These facts, I presume, 
 are sufficient to convince a cool and dispassionate 
 inquirer, that there is some other way of ac- 
 counting for their interference, than the suppo- 
 sition that tliey exercised judicial authority ; a 
 supposition particularly perplexing to those who 
 are most disposed to adopt it, the friends of In- 
 dependency, because, while they maintain the 
 equahty of churches, and their entire exemption 
 from all subjection to any society or court upon 
 earth, this would be an example of the members 
 of one church exercising jurisdiction over the 
 members of another. Upon their principles, 
 therefore, as well as ours, nothing more can be 
 implied in the concurrence of the brethren, than 
 that they approved of the deed of the apostles 
 and elders ; in the same manner as in succeeding 
 ages, the laity, although they had no concern in 
 enacting the decrees of councils and synods, some- 
 times expressed their consent by subscribing 
 them*. If, as we have already shewn, this was 
 only a partial assembly of the believers in Jerusa- 
 lem, whatever was the power of the church, a part 
 had no right to exercise it ; and the interference 
 * Grotii Anotat. a J Acta Apostol. xv. 22. 
 
THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 3S5 
 
 of the individuals wlio happened to be present, 
 could not therefore be an act of authority, but 
 was a simple testimony of approbation. The a- 
 postlcs and elders might the more readily allow 
 them this privilege, and perhaps request then* 
 concurrence, because, although their sentence 
 stood in no need of confirmation by the suffrage 
 of the people, it would, when accompanied with 
 it, be more cordially received. The Gentiles 
 would rejoice to learn, that the Jewish believers 
 in Jerusalem were willing, that they should not 
 be encumbered with the yoke of the ceremonial 
 law ; and the converted Jews of the dispersion 
 would acquiesce with less reluctance when they 
 found, that the exemption of the Gentiles was 
 agreeable to their brethren in Judea. This ex- 
 planation is satisfactory, because it is consis- 
 tent ; whereas the opposite opinion represents 
 Luke as guilty of great inaccuracy and confusion, 
 in first repeatedly defining the members of the 
 council, and then, at the close, abruptly intro- 
 ducing a new party, which he had before studi- 
 ously excluded. 
 
 In the letter of the council, there is scarcely 
 any thing which has not been already considered ; 
 and I shall therefore pass it over with a few re- 
 marks. It contains a censure of the doctrine of 
 the false teachers, who " troubled the churches 
 *' with words, subverting their souls." It denies 
 that they had received authority from the apos- 
 
 3c 
 
3S6 THE COUNCfL OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 ties and elders, as they appear to have pretended. 
 ^' To whom we gave no such commandment." 
 It names the messengers sent by the council, to 
 deliver their decree, and more fully explain it. 
 " It seemed good unto us, being assembled with 
 " one accord, to send chosen men unto you, 
 '' with our beloved Barnabas and Paul ; men that 
 ^^ have hazarded their lives for the name of our 
 ^' Lord Jesus Christ. We have sent therefore 
 " Judas and Silas, who shall also tell you the 
 " same things by mouth." It declares the exemp- 
 tion of the Gentiles from the law of Moses, and 
 points out the limitations, to which they were 
 required to submit, in the exercise of their liber- 
 ty. " For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, 
 *' and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden 
 " than these necessary things ; that ye abstain 
 " from meats offered to idols, and from blood, 
 " and from things strangled, and from fornica- 
 *' tion." It recommends obedience to the de- 
 cree as conducive to their personal holiness, and 
 to the peace of the church, " From which if ye 
 " keep yourselves, ye shall do well." Lastly, it 
 concludes with a wish, or prayer, for the welfare 
 of the churches. " Fare ye well." 
 
 The decree is announced with great solemnity, 
 " It seemed good to us, and to the Holy Ghost ;" 
 that is, it; seemed good to the council, because it 
 seemed good to the Holy Ghost. This ought 
 not to be considered a& a, claim of inspiration. 
 
THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 387 
 
 but as a simple assertion, that their sentence was 
 not expressive of their private opinion, but of 
 the mind of the Spirit, which they had collected 
 from Scripture, and from his recent dispensations 
 to the Gentiles. On this acount they were war- 
 ranted to assume the style of authority, and to 
 demand obedience from the churches. The sen- 
 tence was not, as some wish to represent it, a 
 mere advice, such as one Independent church 
 may give to another. That it was an act of ju- 
 risdiction, an authoritative deed, is evident from 
 its being called in the next chapter a decree. The 
 word is used, in other places of the New Testa- 
 ment, to signify the commands of princes, and 
 the ordinances of the ceremonial bw ; and in its 
 present apphcation must bear a similar sense *." 
 Language so solemn ought to be cautiously adopt- 
 ed by other councils ; but I see no reason for po- 
 sitively asserting, that it would be arrogant to 
 speak in the same style, unless they could refer 
 to some miraculous operation confirming their 
 sentences. If the Scriptures have not been given 
 in vain, miraculous operations are not necessary 
 to assure us of the truth. They are written with 
 such plainness and perspicuity, as all Protestants 
 acknowledge, that in matters relating to faith and 
 practice, their meaning may be certainly known. 
 The decree of a council, which is cle.irly found- 
 ed upon Scripture, undoubtedly seems good to 
 * Luke ii. 1. Acts xv'il 7. Eph. ii. ].'. Col. ii. 14'. 
 
38S THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 the Holy Ghost ; and what should hinder it from 
 saying so, I confess myself unable to compre- 
 hend. 
 
 In the two following verses we are informed, 
 that the messengers of the apostles and elders 
 repaired to Antioch, and delivered the epistle to 
 the multitude, who " rejoiced for the consola- 
 " tion." The controversy was satisfactorily ter- 
 minated ; and their privileges were established 
 by such authority, as would preclude the danger 
 of future disturbance. 
 
 From the preceding illustration it appears, that 
 the church, in the apostolic age, was not broken 
 down into small parts, detached and indepen- 
 dent, but was united, not only by love and a 
 common profession, but by the external bond of 
 a general government. The assembly which was 
 held in Jerusalem, may, with propriety, be call- 
 ed a council or synod ; between which words 
 there is only this difference, that the CHie was 
 used by the Latins, and the other by the Greeks. 
 It was an assembly summoned to decide upon a 
 cause, which affected not itself alone, but the 
 whole Christian w^orld. The members of whom 
 it was composed, were the apostles, the repre- 
 sentatives of the Catholic church, the elders, 
 and the delegates from Antioch, among whom 
 there probably were deputies from the churches 
 of Syria and Cilicia. A controversy, which could 
 not be determined in the place where it origina- 
 
THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. S89 
 
 ted, was submitted to their judgment ; they pro- 
 ceeded in the ordinary way, by reasoning upon it; 
 and finally pronounced a sentence, by which all 
 parties were bound. This is the model of Presby- 
 terian synods, and the Scriptural warrant which 
 we produce for holding such assemblies. 
 
 In all past ages, the meeting at Jerusalem has 
 been considered as a council. Modern Indepen- 
 dents, indeed, generally object to this opinion 
 for obvious reasons ; but it was adopted and 
 maintained by some of their wiser and more en- 
 lightened predecessors. In this number was the 
 celebrated Dr Owen, whose distinguished piety, 
 extensive learning, and profound knowledge of 
 the Scriptures, have placed him in the first 
 rank amonsr Christian divines. I shall conclude 
 
 o 
 
 this argument with the following quotation, 
 which is worthy of particular attention. " No 
 " church is so independent, as that it can always, 
 *' and in all cases, observe the duties it owes un- 
 " to the Lord Christ, and the church Catholic, 
 " by all those powers which it is able to act in it- 
 " self distinctly, without conjunction with others. 
 *' And the church that confines its duty unto 
 " the acts of its own assemblies^ cuts itself off from 
 " the external communion of the church Catho- 
 " lie ; nor will it be safe for any mari to com- 
 " mit the conduct of his soul to such a church*." 
 
 * Owen's True Nature of a Gospel Church, chap. xi. 
 
S90 THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 
 
 I have now executed the design with which I 
 undertook to explain some select passages of the 
 Acts of the Apostles. I proposed to consider the 
 more remarkable events in the history of the 
 church, from its commencement on the day of 
 Pentecost, to its final settlement. At that period 
 we have now arrived; for the constitution of 
 the church, as arranged by the council of Jerusa- 
 lem, was to continue unaltered to the end of the 
 world. From that time, Jews and Gentiles were 
 to compose one holy people in the Lord. The 
 law of Moses, which was abrogated by the death 
 of Christ, was gradually forsaken by the belie- 
 ving Jews ; and, after the destruction of Jerusa- 
 lem, the observance of its rites was entirelv aban- 
 doned by all who professed Christianity, except 
 a few obscure heretics, who were excluded from 
 the communion of the Catholic church. 
 
 We have seen by what signs and miracles God 
 went to take a people to himself, from the seed 
 of Abraham, and the sinners of the Gentiles. We 
 have seen the zeal, the activity, the disinterest- 
 edness, the courage, of the Apostles, who decli- 
 ned no labours, and feared no dangers, in the 
 service of their Master. We have seen the won- 
 derful success of the gospel at its first pubhca- 
 ion, among Jews, Samaritants, and Heathens. We 
 Jiave seen the blessing of Abraham come on the 
 Gentiles through Jesus Christ ; and those, who 
 were strangers and foreigners, invested with all 
 
THE COUNCIL OF JERUSALEM. 391 
 
 the privileges of the children of God. Let us 
 stand fast in the liberty with which Christ has 
 made us free ; and beware of entangling our- 
 selves with the yoke of bondage, by subjecting 
 our consciences to the authority of men, and sur- 
 rendering: ourselves to the dominion of sin. 
 
 What has been delivered in this course of Lec- 
 tures, has not, I trust, been altogether useless. 
 If any thing has been said to confirm the faith, 
 and promote the consolation, of the people of 
 God ; to repel the assaults of infidelity, to re- 
 move the doubts of the perplexed, and to settle 
 the minds of the wavering ; to enable Christians 
 to give a reason of their hope, and to excite them 
 to tread in the footsteps of the saints ; let the 
 praise be given to Him, from whom all our 
 knowledge is derived, and by whose blessing our 
 imperfect endeavours are crowned with success. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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