their foundation. All the motives to right action, all the arguments for holiness of life, are drawn from this source; all the lines of duty converge to this centre. If Paul censures, he points to this only spring of hope; if he laments, he turns to this only true source of consolation; if he insists that the grace of God hath appeared, he points to its practical object, teaching us to live soberly, righteously, and godly. When he determines to know nothing but his Saviour, and even him under the degrading circumstances of crucifixion, he includes in that knowledge all the religious and moral benefits of which it is susceptible." Integrity, tenderness of heart, disinterestedness, heavenly-mindedness, profound knowledge of human nature, and delicacy in giving advice or reproof, are the leading characteristics of Saint Paul's writings; in which, while he every where maintains the utmost respect for constituted authorities, he urges and unfolds the various social and relative duties in the most engaging and impressive manner. VIII. "All the writings of Saint Paul bespeak him to have been a man of a most exalted genius, and the strongest abilities. His composition is peculiarly nervous and animated. He possessed a fervid conception, a glowing but chastised fancy, a quick appehension, and an immensely ample and liberal heart. Inheriting from nature distinguished powers, he carried the culture and improvement of them to the most exalted height to which human learning could push them. He was an excellent scholar, an acute reasoner, a great orator, a most instructive and spirited writer. Longinus, a person of the finest taste, and justest discernment in criticism and polite literature, classes the Apostle Paul among the most celebrated2 orators of Greece. His speeches in the Acts of the Apostles are worthy the Roman senate. They breathe a most generous fire and fervour, are animated with a divine spirit of liberty and truth, abound with instances of as fine address as any of the most celebrated orations of Demosthenes or Cicero can boast; and his answers, when at the bar, to the questions proposed to him by the court, have a politeness and a greatness, which nothing in antiquity hardly ever equalled."3 At the same time, this great preacher adapted his discourses to the capacities of his respective audiences, with an astonishing degree of propriety and ability, as is evident from the difference of his reasoning with the Jews at Antioch in Pisidia, with the Gentiles at Lystra, with the polished Athenians, and with Felix the Roman governor, as also from the handsome apology which he makes for himself before king Agrippa. 1. As the Jews had the Old Testament in their hands, and (it is well known) at this time expected a deliverer, from their study of the prophetic writings, Paul takes occasion, in his discourse to them (Acts xiii. 13-42.), to illustrate the divine economy in opening the Gospel gradually, and preparing the Jews, by temporal mercies, for others of a yet more important nature. This afforded him a very handsome and unaffected opportunity of showing his acquaintance with their Scriptures, which they esteemed the highest part of literature, and object of science. His quotations are singularly apposite, and the whole of his discourse (one would think) must have carried conviction to their minds. The result is well known; though a few embraced the despised Gospel of Christ, the majority rejected the benevolent counsel of God towards them. topics of creation and providence. The works of creation are a demonstration of the being of a God, the living God who made heaven and earth and the sea, and all things that are therein. In times past he suffered all nations, all the heathens, to walk in their own ways, without any particular revelation of himself like that which he made to the people of Israel. But yet his general providence afforded ample proofs of his power and goodness: nevertheless he left not himself without witness, in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven ana fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness. These arguments are as forcible as they are plain and obvions to the meanest capacity; He is the creator and preserver of us and of all things, he is the author and giver of all the good that we enjoy, and he therefore is the only proper and adequate object of our worship. The people were so transported, that with these sayings scarce restrained they them that they had not done sacrifice unto them. But such is the fickleness and uncertainty of the multitude, that him whom they were now for worshipping as a god, soon after, at the instigation of certain Jews, they suffered to be stoned, and drawn out of the city, supposing he had been dead. The apostles, however, had sown some good seed among them; for we read, that within a little time they returned again to Lystra, confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith. 3. Our apostle's conduct and behaviour among the learned and polite Athenians (Acts xvii. 16-34.) we shall find to be somewhat different from what it was to the rude and illiterate Lycaonians, but both of equal fitness and propriety. He did not open his commission at Athens in the same manner as at Lystra, by working a miracle. There were, doubtless, several cripples at Athens (for it is well known that such cases abound in that climate); but it does not appear that any of them had the good disposition of the cripple at Lystra, or faith to be healed. Besides, the Greeks did not so much require a sign (1 Cor. i. 22.) as seek after wisdom. Accordingly, we find the apostle disputing not only in the synagogue with the Jews and the devout persons (Jewish proselytes), but also in the forum or market-place, daily with them that met with him. Here he encountered certain philosophers of the Epicurean and Stoic sects; some of whom treated him as a babbler, while others regarded him as a setter forth of strange gods, and, consequently, a violator of the laws of Athens, because he preached unto them Jesus and the Resurrec tion. At length they conducted him to the Areopagus (or Mars'-hill), the seat of the highest court of judicature in that city for matters concerning religion, and also the place of greatest resort: and with that curiosity and thirst of news, for which (it is well known) the Athenians were at that time notorious, they requested him to give them an account of his new doctrine. What a glorious scene was here for the manifestation of the truth before such a promiscuous and numerous assembly of citizens and strangers, of philosophers of all sects, and people of all conditions; and with what exquisite skill and contrivance is every part and member of his discourse so framed and accommodated, as to obviate some principal error and prejudice in some party or other of his hearers! Most of the false notions, both of their vulgar and philosophical religion, are here exposed and refuted. If there was nothing else remaining, yet this sufficiently testifies how great a master he was in the learning of the Greeks. 2. With the idolatrous Lycaonians at Lystra (who were Most of the fundamental truths, both of natural and revealed little better than barbarians, like most of the inland nations religion, are here opened and explained; and all within the of Asia Minor), the great apostle of the Gentiles pursued a compass of a very few verses. From an altar with an indifferent course. (Compare Acts xiv. 6-22.). Such persons scription to the unknown God (and that there were altars at are apt to be struck and affected more with signs and won- Athens with such an inscription, we have the attestation of ders than with arguments; he, therefore, at his first preach- several ancient heathen authors), he takes occasion to reing among them, very seasonably and fitly confirmed his prove them for their great plurality of gods, and him whom doctrine, by a signal miracle in healing a man who had been they ignorantly worshipped to declare unto them. It might be a cripple from his birth. And when Paul and his fellow- contrary to the laws of Athens for any one to recommend labourer Barnabas had with difficulty restrained the people and introduce a new or strange god; but he could not well of Lystra from offering sacrifice to them as deities, who be subject to the penalty of the law only for declaring him (agreeably to the fables believed among the ancient heathen), whom they already worshipped without knowing him. The they supposed, had appeared in the likeness of men, their dis-opportunity was fair, and he improves it to the greatest adcourse is admirably adapted to the capacity of their auditors. vantage. He branches out his discourse into several particuThey derive their arguments from no higher source than lars.-That God made the world and all things therein which natural religion, and insist only upon the plain and obvious proposition, though agreeable enough to the general belief Mrs. More's Essay on St. Paul, vol. i. p. 109., to which the reader is and opinion, was yet directly contrary both to the Epicureans, referred for an ample and beautiful account of the character and writings and to the Peripatetics; the former of whom attributed the of that illustrious apostle. On the subject of his "preaching Christ cru- formation of the world to the fortuitous concourse of atoms cified," the reader will find some instructive remarks in pp. 44-51. of Mr. without any intervention of the Deity, and the latter mainWilks's able vindication of Missionary exertions, entitled "Christian Mis-tained that the world was not created at all, and that all sions an Enlightened Species of Christian Charity." 8vo. London, 1819. 2 Longinus, p. 268. Pearce, 8vo. Harwood's Introduction, vol. i. p. 199. • See this character of the Athenians illustrated, in Vol. I. p. SO, things had continued as they now are from all eternity. That seeing he is Lord of heaven and earth, he dwelleth not in temples made with hands, neither is worshipped with men's hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life and breath and all things; which was levelled not so much against the philosophers as against the popular religion of Athens; for the philosophers seldom or never sacrificed, unless in compliance with the custom of their country, and even the Epicureans themselves admitted the self-sufficiency of the Deity; but the people believed very absurdly that there were local gods, that the Deity, notwithstanding his immensity, might be confined within temples, and notwithstanding his all-sufficiency was fed with the fat and fumes of sacrifices, as if he could really stand in need of any sustenance, who giveth to all life and breath and all things.That he hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation: which was not only opposed to the Epicureans, who derived the beginning of the human race from the mere effects of matter and motion, and to the Peripatetics or Aristotelians, who denied mankind to have any beginning at all, having subsisted in eternal successions; but was, moreover, opposed to the general pride and conceit of the people of Athens, who boasted themselves to be Aborigines, to be descended from none other stock or race of men, but to be themselves originals and natives of their own country. That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us; for in him we live, and move, and have our being which fundamental truth, with the greatest propriety and elegance, he confirms by a quotation from one of their own poets, Aratus, the Cilician,1 his own countryman, who lived above three hundred years before, and in whose astronomical poem this hemistich is still extant. As certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. An evident proof that he knew how to illustrate divinity with the graces of classical learning, and was no stranger to a taste and politeness worthy of an Attic audience. That forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold or silver or stone, graven by art and man's device: which was plainly pointed at the gross idolatry of the lower people, who thought the very idols themselves to be gods, and terminated their worship in them.-That the times of this ignorance God winked at or overlooked; as he said before to the people of Lystra, In former times God suffered all nations to walk in their own ways; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: which doctrine of the necessity of repentance must have been very mortifying to the pride and vanity of the philosophers, and especially of the Stoics, whose wise man was equal if not superior to God himself.-Because he hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead: till now they had heard him with silence and attention, because though every period of his discourse glanced at some of his hearers, yet it coincided with the notions of others, and he had not before touched and offended them altogether; but when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked (the Epicureans, and the men of wit and pleasure), and others said (the Platonists, and the graver sort of his audience), We will hear thee again of this matter, putting it off to a more convenient season. So Paul departed from among them, leaving them as they deserved to themselves. Howbeit certain men clave unto him, and believed (a diminutive expression to signify that he made but very few converts); among whom the principal were Dionysius the Areopagite (who is said to have been afterwards constituted the first bishop of Athens), and a woman of rank named Damaris. with so much address, as not to offend his person, an example, the most worthy of our imitation; as it would greatly contribute to make the bitter portion of reproof, if not palatable, at least salutary and successful. How artfully, then, does St. Paul insinuate himself into the soul of this great sinner, and shake his conscience at the remembrance of his vices!-not by denouncing vengeance against him, for his lust and injustice, but by placing in the strongest point of light the opposite virtues, showing their reasonableness in themselves, and their rewards at the day of judgment. For he reasoned, not of unrighteousness,— not of incontinence, but of righteousness and chastity;-and by holding forth a beautiful picture of these necessary virtues, he left it to Felix to form the contrast, and to infer the blackness of his own vices. A masterly stroke! and it effectually succeeded: for, as the prisoner spake, the judge trembled. 5. The last instance, which we shall notice of this apostle's fine address and politeness, is to be found in his celebrated reply to king Agrippa, who publicly declared to him that he had almost persuaded him to be a Christian. Would to God that not only THOU but also ALL that hear me this day, were both ALMOST, and altogether, such as I am—EXCEPT THESE BONDS. (Acts xxvi. 29.) What a prodigious effect must this striking conclusion, and the sight of the irons held up to enforce it, make upon the minds of the audience! To his singular attainments in learning the Roman governor publicly bore an honourable testimony, imagining that the intenseness of his application to his studies, and his profound erudition, had disordered his understanding, and occasioned his supposed insanity. The writings of Paul show him to have been eminently acquainted with Greek learning and Hebrew literature. "He greatly excelled in the profound and accurate knowledge of the Old Testament, which he perpetually cites and explains with great skill and judgment, and pertinently accommodates to the subject which he is discussing. Born at Tarsus, one of the most illustrious seats of the muses in those days, initiated in that city into the learning and philosophy of the Greeks, conversing, in early life, with their most elegant and celebrated writers, whom we find him quoting, and afterwards finishing his course of education at the feet of Gamaliel, the learned Jewish rabbi, he came forth into public and It is universally acknowledged that Paul had read the Greek poets, and has quoted Aratus, Epimenides, and Menander; though it is scarcely sus pected by any one, that he quotes or refers to schylus, Sophocles, and Euripides. There is, however (Dr. A. Clarke observes), such a similarity between the following quotations and the apostle's words, that we are alınost persuaded that they were present to his comprehensive mind; and if they were, he extends the thought infinitely higher, by language incomparably 1 Tim. vi. 25. Ο μακάριος και μόνος Δυναστης, ὁ Βασιλευς των βασιλευόντων, και Κύριος των κυριευοντων. The blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords. The Supreme Being is also styled the King of kings, and the Blessed, by Eschylus in his tragedy of the Supplicants: more exalted. Αναξ ανακτών, μακάρων Μακαρτάτε, και τελέων Τελειότατον κράτος. Ver. 520. Ed. Porson. "O King of kings, most Blessed of the blessed, most Perfect of the perfect." 1 Tim. vi. 16. Ο μόνος έχων αθανασίαν, φως οίκων απροσιτον.—Who only In the Antigone of Sophocles, there is a sublime address to Jove, of which hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can come unto. the following is an extract: Αγήρως χρόνῳ Δυνασίας Κατέχεις Ολυμπου Μαρμαροίσσαν αίγλαν. Ver. 608. Edit. Brunck. "But thou, an ever-during potentate, dost inhabit the refulgent splendour of Olympus!" "This passage," says Dr. Clarke, "is grand and noble; but how insignificant does it appear, when contrasted with the superior sublimity of the of heaven; but the God of Paul inhabits light, so dazzling and so respleninspired writer! The deity of Sophocles dwells in the dazzling splendour dent, that it is perfectlly unapproachable!" Once more, in 2 Tim. iv. 7. we read, Tov ayu тov xxλov ny aviomas, Toy There is a passage in the Alcestis of Euripides, in which the very expressions used here by the apostle are found, and spoken on the occasion of a wife laying down her life for her husband, when both his parents had refused to do it. Ουκ ηθέλησας ουδ' ετολμησας θάνειν Του σου προ παιδος" αλλα την δ' ειώσατε υναικ' ούνοιαν, ην εγω και μητέρα Πατέρα τι γ' ενδίκως αν εγοι μην μόνην Και τον καλόν γ' αν τονδ' αγων ηγωνίσω, Του σου προ παιδος κατόπνων. 4. In St. Paul's discourse to Felix (Acts xxiv.), he had. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course. for his hearer a Roman governor, who was remarkable for his lust, and injustice;-a man who was very unlikely to bear, much less to reform by, a pointed reproof from his own prisoner. This, then, was a case, which required great art as well as great courage; and accordingly we find our apostle mingled the wisdom of the serpent with the innocence of the dove. He had honesty enough, to rebuke the sins; and yet prudence enough, not to offend the sinner. He had the courage to put even his judge in mind of his crimes; yet 1 Bp. Barrington conjectures that this quotation was taken from the cele brated Hymn of Cleanthes, in which the words spoken by Saint Paul are also to be found. See Mr. Townsend's New Test. arranged in Chronological Order, &c. vol. ii. p. 249. Alcest. v. 644. "Thou wouldest not, neither darest thou to die for thy son; but hast suffered this strange woman to do it, whom I justly esteem to be alone m father and mother: thou wouldest have fought a good fight had'st thou died for thy son." The xv xywv, good fight, was used among the Greeks to express a contest of the most honourable kind: and in this sense the apostle uses it. (Dr. A. Clarke, on 1 Tim. vi. 16., and on 2 Tim. iv. 8.) active life, with a mind stored with the most ample and various treasures of science and knowledge. He himself tells us, that the distinguished progress which he had made was known to all the Jews, and that in this literary career he left all his co-equals and contemporaries far behind him. I profited in the Jewish religion above my fellows. A person possessed of natural abilities so signal, of literary acquisitions so extensive, of an activity and spirit so enterprising, and of an integrity and probity so inviolate, the wisdom of God judged a fit instrument to employ in displaying the banners and spreading the triumphs of Christianity among mankind. A negligent greatness, if we may so express it, appears in his writings. Full of the dignity of his subject, a torrent of sacred eloquence bursts forth, and bears down every thing before it with irresistible rapidity. He stays not to arrange and harmonize his words and periods, but rushes on, as his vast ideas transport him, borne away by the sublimity of his theme. Hence his frequent and prolix digressions, though at the same time his all-comprehensive mind never loses sight of his subject; but he returns from these excursions, resumes and pursues it with an ardour and strength of reasoning that astonishes and convinces." What a treasure of divinity and morality is contained in his epistles! which, "as examples of a nervous, invigorating, commanding style, have seldom been equalled, never excelled. The instructions they contain are delivered with a simple gravity and concinnity that commands the attention, and is as much superior to high-wrought ornaments of professed rhetoricians as the native uncut diamond, to the furbished, glittering paste. Yet are they not deficient in those beauties which captivate the refined taste. Although professedly didactic, there are few pieces of composition that afford a richer variety of appropriate figure. There is scarcely a species of trope that has been noticed by rhetoricians that may not be found in one part or other of these books, and always in an apposite situa tion. of delight in the Gospel, and thankfulness for the glorious Another excellence in Saint Paul's writings is presented to our notice in the admirable art with which he interests the passions, and engages the affections of his hearers. Under the present depravity of human nature, our reason being enfeebled, and our passions consequently grown powerful, it must be of great service to engage these in the cause we would serve; and therefore, his constant endeavour was,― not only to convince the reason of his hearers, but to alarm and interest their passions. And, as hope and fear are (with the bulk of mankind) the main-springs of human action, to these he addressed himself most effectually, not by cold speculation upon abstract fitnesses, but by the awful assurances of a resurrection of the dead to an eternity of happiness or misery. With respect to the latter, who can hear heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on the ungodly; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power! And the happiness of heaven he describes by words so strong, as to baffle the expression of all language but his own,-by a weight of glory infinite and eternal beyond all hyperbole or conception. "Nor are there wanting instances of a strength of figure only to be equalled by the importance of the sentiment ex-without trembling, that, the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from pressed. As such, the description of the powerful efficacy of the promises and threats of God may be produced. The word of God is living and energetic, and more cutting than any two-edged sword, dividing even to the separation of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. Again, when the apostle expresses his desire to be useful even to the death, to his Couverts; how noble and appropriate to men accustomed to the sacrificial rites is his expression! Yea, and if I be poured out as a libation (do) upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all.' And how full of affection and exultation is his figurative appellation of the Philippians; My brethren, beloved and longed for, my joy and my crown!' Is there any thing in any of the heathen moralists comparable to that fine description of charity in the thirteenth chapter of the first epistle to the Corinthians? Speaking with the tongues of men and of angels is nothing in comparison of charity; and the tongues of men and of angels can never exceed this description. All the powers of logic and rhetoric are to be seen and felt in the fifteenth chapter of the same epistle; and what affecting solemnity does it add to that most solemn service of our liturgy, the burial of the dead! But it is not in the use of figures only that the excellence of the apostle's style consists. For appropriate diction he is unrivalled, and occasionally he rises into a sublimity of expression that carries his readers above themselves, and, while it astonishes, convinces or persuades with a delightful violence. When he undertakes to describe the goodness of our Maker in providing for us the means of salvation, the reader is transported with gratitude, and overwhelmed with self-abasement. When he exultingly depicts the excellences of the Gospel dispensation, he commands the enraptured mind, and we are lost in wonder, love, and praise! When he concisely describes his sufferings, the constancy, the joyous triumphing in the midst of tortures, of the primitive propagators of Christianity, we require a new idea of the human mind; we are tempted to imagine the persons he speaks of to be superior beings, and to render them our humble adoration, till recalled by the assurance that it is by the might of the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, by the aid of the Holy Spirit, that these holy men so nobly won their heavenly crown. When we read his exulting and fervent expressions Harwood's Introduction, vol. i. pp. 200.202. Thus the apostle secured the passions of those to whom he directed his epistles: and he equally engaged their affections by his endearing manner of address. Has he occasion to introduce any subject, which he is afraid will prejudice and disgust his bigoted countrymen the Jews? He announces it with a humility and modesty that secures the attention, and with an insinuating form of address to which nothing can be denied. "This appears particularly in his Epistle to the Romans, where we see with what reluctance and heartfelt grief he mentions the ungrateful truth of the Jews' rejection of the Messiah, and their dereliction by God for their insuperable obstinacy. How studious is he to provoke them to jealousy and emulation by the example of the Gen tiles, and how many persuasive and cogent arts and argu ments does he employ to win them over to the religion of Jesus! In these delicate touches, in these fine arts of moral suasion, Saint Paul greatly excels. Upon occasion, also, we find him employing the most keen and cutting raillery in satirizing the faults and foibles of those to whom he wrote. With what sarcastic pleasantry does he animadvert upon the Corinthians for their injudicious folly, in suffering themselves to be duped by a false judaizing teacher! A more delicate and poignant instance of irony, than the following passage, is perhaps nowhere to be met with: What is it, says he to the Corinthians, wherein you were inferior to other churches, except that I myself was not burthensome to you (by taking any acknowledgment for my labours)? do forgive me this wrong. (2 Cor. xii. 13.)-To his eloquence, as a public speaker, we have the testimony of the Lycaonians, who (as we have already remarked) foolishly imagining the gods to have descended from heaven among them in the persons of Barnabas and Paul, called the former Jupiter, and the latter Mercury, because he was the chief speaker. And though it a Gospel Advocate, vol. iv. p. 364. (Boston, Massachusetts, 1824.) See an instance in his epistle to Philemon, which is particularly illustrated in Sect. XV. §§ III. V. infra. See p. 326. supra. is said his bodily presence was mean, and his speech contemp- | monarchy. This opinion was so deeply rooted in the minds of tible, yet it ought to be remembered, that this was the aspersion of his enemies, the effusion of malignity, to defame and sink him, and ruin his usefulness." SECTION II. OBSERVATIONS ON THE APOSTOLICAL EPISTLES IN GENERAL, the apostles, that Jesus Christ did not think proper to eradicate it all at once, but rather chose to remove it by gentle and easy degrees. Accordingly, in compliance with their prejudices, we find him describing his kingdom, and the pre-eminence they were to enjoy in it, by eating and drinking at his table, and sitting on thrones, and judging the twelve tribes of Israel. (Luke xxii. 30. Matt. xix. 28.) But after the Holy Spirit had given the apostles clear and distinct apprehensions of the spiritual nature of Christ's kingdom, and the real nature of its happiness, we find what noble repre 1. Importance of the Epistles.-Nature of these writings.-sentations they give of the glories which are laid up in Heaven II. Number and order of the Epistles, particularly those of Paul.-III. Of the Catholic Epistles and their order.-IV. General plan of the apostolic Epistles.-V. Causes of their obscurity considered and explained.—Observations on the phraseology of Paul in particular. for true Christians, and what powerful arguments they derive thence, in order to persuade them not to set their minds upon the things of this world. They describe the happiness of the world to come by an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away (1 Pet. i. 4.); by a new heaven, and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness (2 Pet. iii. 13.), I. THE EPISTLES, or letters addressed to various Christian where God shall be all in all (1 Cor. xv. 28.): he shall reign communities, and also to individuals, by the apostles Paul, with an absolute dominion, and it shall be our honour and hapJames, Peter, John, and Jude, form the second principal di- piness that God is exalted; and they exhort us not to set our vision of the New Testament. These writings abundantly minds upon the things that are seen, and are temporal, but on confirm all the material facts related in the Gospel and Acts those things which are not seen, and are eternal. (2 Cor. iv. 18.) of the Apostles. The particulars of our Saviour's life and Again, it was the same prejudice concerning the temporal death are often referred to in them, as grounded upon the un- glories of Christ's kingdom which caused his disciples to misdoubted testimony of eye-witnesses, and as being the foun- understand the meaning of his various clear and explicit disdation of the Christian religion. The speedy propagation courses concerning his sufferings, death, and resurrection. (See of the Christian faith, recorded in the Acts, is confirmed be- Mark ix. 10. Luke ix. 45. xviii. 34.) They vainly expected yond all contradiction by innumerable passages in the Epis- that their master would gain earthly conquests and triumphs, iles, written to the churches already planted; and the mira- and they could not apprehend how he should become gloculous gifts, with which the apostles were endued, are often rious through sufferings. In consequence of these mistaken appealed to in the same writings, as an undeniable evidence ideas, the doctrine of the cross and its saving effects were not of the divine mission of the apostles.2 Though all the essential doctrines and precepts of the understood by the apostles (Matt. xvi. 22.), until our Saviour Christian religion were unquestionably taught by our Saviour had opened their understandings by his discourses on this subject himself, and are contained in the Gospels, yet it is evident after his resurrection; and therefore we cannot expect so perfect an exposition of that great and fundamental article of Christo any person who attentively studies the Epistles, that they are to be considered as commentaries on the doctrines of the tianity in the Gospels as in the Epistles, in which Christ's dying Gospel addressed to particular Christian societies or persons, for our sins, and rising again for our justification, is every in order to explain and apply those doctrines more fully, to where insisted upon as the foundation of all our hopes; and the confute some growing errors, to compose differences and doctrine of the cross is there spoken of as a truth of such imschisms, to reform abuses and corruptions, to excite Chris-portance, that Saint Paul (1 Cor. ii. 2.), in comparison of it, tians to holiness, and to encourage them against persecutions. despises every other kind of knowledge, whether divine or human. And since these Epistles were written (as we have already Hence it is that the apostles deduce those powerful motives to shown) under divine inspiration, and have uniformly been obedience, which are taken from the love, humility, and condereceived by the Christian church as the productions of in-scension of our Lord, and the right which he has to our service, spired writers, it consequently follows (notwithstanding some having purchased us with the price of his blood. (See 1 Cor. vi. writers have insinuated that they are not of equal authority 20. 2 Cor. v. 15. Gal. ii. 20. Tit. ii. 14. 1 Pet. i. 18, 19.) Hence with the Gospels, while others would reject them altogether) they derive those great obligations, which lie upon Christians to that what the apostles have delivered in these Epistles, as exercise the duties of mortification and self-denial; of crucifying necessary to be believed or done by Christians, must be as the flesh with the affections and lusts (Gal. v. 24. vi. 14. Rom. necessary to be believed and practised in order to salvation, vi. 6. 1 Pet. iv. 1, 2.); of patience under afflictions, and rejoicing as the doctrines and precepts delivered by Jesus Christ him- in tribulations (Phil. iii. 10. 2 Tim. ii. 11, 12. 1 Pet. ii. 19. &c., self, and recorded in the Gospels: because in writing these iv. 13.); of being dead to this world, and seeking those things Epistles, the sacred penmen were the servants, apostles, am- which are above, where Christ sitteth at the right hand of God. bassadors and ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mys-(Col. iii. 1. &c.) Thus, as our Saviour spoiled principalities teries of God, and their doctrines and precepts are the will, and powers, and triumphed over his enemies by the cross the mind, the truth, and the commandments of God himself.3 (Col. ii. 15.), so the believer overcomes the world by being cruOn account of the fuller displays of evangelical truth con- cified to it; and becomes more than conqueror through Christ tained in this portion of the sacred volume, the Epistles have that loved him. by some divines been termed the DOCTRINAL BOOKS of the New Testament. That the preceding view of the Epistles is correct, will appear from the following considerations. In the FIRST place they announce and explain DOCTRINES, of, which our Saviour had not fully treated in his discourses, and which consequently are not clearly delivered in the Gospels. Once more, it is in the Epistles principally, that we are clearly taught the calling of the Gentiles to make one church with the Jews. Our Lord, indeed, had intimated this glorious event in some general expressions, and also in some of his parables (see Matt. viii. 1. xx. 1. Luke xv. 11. &c.); and the numerous prophecies of the Old Testament, which foretell the calling of the Gentiles, were sufficient to convince the Jews, that in the times of the Messiah, Thus there were some things which our Saviour did not fully God would reveal the knowledge of himself and his will to the and clearly explain to his disciples (John xvi. 12.), but accom- world more fully than ever he had done before. But the extraormodated his expressions to those prejudices in which they had dinary value which they had for themselves, and the privileges been educated. Of this description were his discourses concern-which they fancied were peculiar to their own nation, made ing the nature of his kingdom; which, agreeably to the erroneous notions then entertained by their countrymen, the apostles expected would be a temporal kingdom, and accompanied with the same pomp and splendour which are the attendants of an earthly 1 Dr. Harwood's Introd. to the New Test. vol. i. p. 202. See also Michael is's Introduction, vol. i. pp. 149-159. Bp. Newton's Dissertation on St. Paul's Eloquence. (Works, vol. v. pp. 248-271.) Dr. Kennicott's Remarks on the Old Testament and Sermons, pp. 369–379. Dr. A. Clarke on 1 Tim. vi. 15. and 2 Tim. iv. 8. them unwilling to believe that the Gentiles should ever be fellowheirs with the Jews, of the same body or church with them, and partakers of the same promises in Christ by the Gospel. (Eph. iii. 6.) This Saint Peter himself could hardly be persuaded to believe, till he was convinced by a particular vision vouchsafed to him for that purpose. (Acts x. 28.) And Saint Paul tells us that this was a mystery which was but newly revealed to the apostles by the Spirit (Eph. iii. 5.): and therefore not fully discovered by Christ before. Lastly, it is in the Epistles chiefly that the inefficacy of the law to procure our justification in the sight of God, the cessation of the law, and the eternal and unchangeable nature of Christ's priesthood are set forth. Compare Rom. iii. 20. 25. Gal. ii. 21. iii. 16. v. 2. 5. Heb. ix. 10. vii. 18. v. 5, 6. vii. 24, 25 SECONDLY, in the Epistles only we have instructions concerning many great and necessary DUTIES. Such are the following, viz. that all our thanksgivings are to be offered up to God in the name of Christ. The duties which we owe to our civil governors are only hinted in these words of Christ-"Render unto Cæsar the things that are Cæsar's," but are enlarged upon in Saint Paul's Epistles to the Romans (xiii.), and to Titus (iii. 1.), and also in the first Epistle of Saint Peter. (ii. 10. 17.) In like manner the duties, which we owe to the ministers of the Gospel (our spiritual governors), are more expressly taught in Saint Paul's Epistle to the Galatians (vi. 6.), the Thessalonians (1 Thess. v. 12, 13.), and to the Hebrews. (xiii. 17, 18.) Lastly, all the duties belonging to the relations of husbands and wives, parents and children, masters and servants, are particularly treated in the Epistles to the Ephesians (v. 28-33. vi. 1-9.), and the Colossians (iii. 11— 25.); but are scarcely ever mentioned in the Gospels. This is a convincing argument that the Holy Spirit, who influenced the pens of the apostles, not only regarded the particular exigencies of the Christians who lived in those times, but also directed the sacred writers to enlarge on such points of doctrine and practice as were of universal concern, and would be for the benefit of the faithful in all succeeding generations. It is true that the immediate occasion of several of the epistles was the correction of errors and irregularities in particular churches :3 but the experience of all succeeding ages, to our own time, has shown the necessity of such cautions, and the no less necessity of attending to the duties which are directly opposite to those sins and irregularities, and which the apostles take occasion from thence to lay down and enforce. And even their decisions of cases concerning meats and drinks, and the observation of the ceremonial law, and similar doubts which were peculiar to the Jewish converts, in the first occasion of them:-even these rules also are, and will always be, our surest guides in all points relating to church liberty, and the use of things indifferent; when the grounds of those decisions, and the directions consequent upon them, are duly attended to, and applied to cases of the like nature by the rules of piety and prudence, especially in one point, which is of universal concern in life, viz. the duty of abstaining from many things which are in themselves innocent, if we foresee that they will give offence to weak Christians, or be the occasion of leading others into sin. II. The Epistles contained in the New Testament are twenty-one in number, and are generally divided into two classes, the Epistles of Saint Paul, and the Catholic Epistles. Of these apostolical letters, fourteen were written by the great apostle of the Gentiles; they are not placed in our Bibles according to the order of time when they were composed, but according to the supposed precedence of the societies or persons to whom they were addressed. Thus, the epistles to churches are disposed according to the rank of the cities or places whither they were sent. The Epistle to the Romans stands first, because Rome was the chief city of the Roman empire: this is followed by the two Epistles to the Corinthians, because Corinth was a large, polite, and renowned city. To them succeeds the Epistle to the Galatians, who were the inhabitants of Galatia, a region of Asia Minor, in which were several churches. Next follows the Epistle to the Ephesians, because Ephesus was the chief city of Asia Minor, strictly so called. Afterwards come the Epistles to the Philippians, Colossians, and Thessalonians; for which order Dr. Lardner can assign no other probable reason than this, viz. that Philippi was a Roman colony, and, therefore, the Epistle to the Philippians was placed before those to the Colossians and Thessalonians, whose cities were not distinguished by any particular circumstance. He also thinks it not unlikely that the shortness of the two Epistles to the Thessalonians, especially of the second, caused them to be placed last among the letters addressed to churches, though in point of time they are the earliest of Saint Paul's Epistles. Among the Epistles addressed to particular persons, those to Timothy have the precedence, as he was a favourite disci1 Compare Eph. v. 8. 20. 1 Thess. v. 18. Heb. xiii. 14, 15. Whitby, vol. ii. p. 1. Lowth's Directions for the Profitable Reading of the Scriptures, pp. 199–211. Such were the corrupting of Christianity with mixtures of Judaism and philosophy, apostacy from the faith which they had received, contentions and divisions among themselves, neglect of the assemblies for public worship, and misbehaviour in them, the dishonouring of marriage, &c. &c. ple of Saint Paul, and also because those Epistles are the longest and fullest. To them succeeds the Epistle to Titus, who was an evangelist; and that to Philemon is placed last, as he was supposed to have been only a private Christian. Last of all comes the Epistle to the Hebrews, because its authenticity was doubted for a short time (though without any foundation, as will be shown in a subsequent page); Dr. Lardner also thinks that it was the last written of all St. Paul's Epistles. Some learned men, who have examined the chronology of Saint Paul's Epistles, have proposed to arrange them in our Bibles, according to the order of time: but to this classification there are two serious objections, viz. 1. The order of their dates has not yet been satisfactorily or unanimously settled; and, 2. Very considerable difficulty will attend the alteration of that order which has been adopted in all the editions and versions of the New Testament. This was the received arrangement in the time of Eusebius, who flourished in the beginning of the third century, and probably also of Irenæus, who lived in the second century. Consequently it is the most ancient order: in Dr. Lardner's judgment it is the best that can be adopted ; and therefore we have retained the received order in the subsequent part of this work. As, however, a knowledge of the order in which Saint Paul's Epistles were written, cannot fail to be both instructive and useful to the biblical student, we have deemed it proper to subjoin a TABLE of their CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER (as established in the subsequent pages), which exhibits the places where, and the times when, they were in all probability respectively written. The dates, &c. assigned by Dr. Lardner and other learned men, are duly noticed in the following pages. III. The Catholic Epistles are seven in number, and contain the letters of the apostles James, Peter, John, and Jude. They are termed Catholic, that is, general or universal, because they are not addressed to the believers of some particular city or country, or to individuals, as Saint Paul's Epistles were, but to Christians in general, or to Christians of several countries. The subjoined table exhibits the dates of the Catholic Epistles, and also the places where they were written, agreeably to the order established in the following pages. or early in 69 64 or 65 IV. The general plan on which the Epistles are written is, first, to discuss and decide the controversy, or to refute the erroneous notions, which had arisen in the church, or among the persons to whom they are addressed, and which was the occasion of their being written; and, secondly, to recommend the observance of those duties, which would be necessary, and of absolute importance to the Christian church in every age, consideration being chiefly given to those particular graces or virtues of the Christian character, which the disputes that occasioned the Epistles might tempt them to negfect. In pursuing this method, regard is had, first, to the nature and faculties of the soul of man, in which the understanding is to lead the way, and the will, affections, and active powers are to follow; and, secondly, to the nature of us that we are not to be determined by superstitious fancies, religion in general, which is a reasonable service, teaching Dr. Lardner's Works, 8vo. vol. vi. pp. 646-649.; 4to. vol. iii. pp. 407, 408. On the origin and reasons of this appellation, see Chapter IV. Scct. I. 1. infra. |