the whole of this paffage to every judicious and impartial reader's thorough confideration.

We will now attend this great Apostle to Jerufalem; where we find him violently attacked by the Jews which were of Afia, who ftirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, crying out, men of Ifrael help, this is the man that teacheth all men every where against the people and the law, &c. The accufation brought here against our Apostle is plainly in fubftance the same with that alledged by the Jews of Achaia, who accused him of perfuading men to worship God contrary to the law. I fhall therefore refer you to what was said on that occafion. Only I will add here, that the obfervation then made is much confirmed by the circumftance of St. Paul's purifying himself at Jerufalem with the four men who had a vow on them, agreeably to the advice before given by the judaizing Chriftians, and in exact conformity to the Mofaic conftitution. But if we turn to what the Apostle has to fay in his own defence, we shall find

* Acts xxi. 27, &c.

his apology to contain an account of his converfion, and of his Apoftolical commiffion in confequence of it; which strengthens much what has been remarked relative to the charge brought against him. It is obfervable, that St. Paul calls himself here a few in the very fame breath almost in which he avows himfelf a Chriftian. He admits his hearers to be zealous towards God, according to the perfect manner of the law of the fathers, though he plainly intimates all the while that they were erroneously or blindly zealous, or, as he elfewhere expreffes it, that their zeal of God was not according to knowlege. He does not undervalue or vilify the law, and much less pronounce it to be void, and of none effect, though he profeffes himself a preacher of the Gospel. Neither the Jews of Jerusalem, nor thofe of Afia, could poffibly be ftrangers to the NEW DOCTRINE which he taught under that character: fo that we are not at a lofs to know the nature and import of the teftimony which he bore concerning his Divine Master. Befide, we are to remember, that he was in

terrupted in the course of his harangue, and precluded from enlarging his fpeech, or expatiating on his doctrine, (which otherwife perhaps he might have done,) by the clamours and outrage of a giddy and incensed multitude.

We see him next before the chief priests and council; in which fituation he politicly takes advantage of the difference of fentiment between them that composed it: the one part being Sadducees, and the other Pharifees. The Apostle openly declares himself a Pharifee; in which plea his immediate view was manifeftly to his own prefervation; though ultimately he had doubtless an eye to the converfion of the most confiderable and respectable part of his audience, by tacitly at least referring to the refurrection of Jefus Chrift, and the important confequences neceffarily resulting from it.

In much the fame light we may regard his apology for himself before Felix in the

+ Acts xxiii.

1, &c.

following

following Chapter. Under one article of his accufation he is charged with being a ringleader of the fect of the Nazarenes; or, as the Afiatic Jews had expreffed themselves, with teaching men every where against the law; or, in the words of the Jews of Achaia, with perfuading men to worship God contrary to the law; and under another article he is traduced as a mover of Sedition, and a disturber of the public peace. Now there is fomething obfervably dexterous in our Apoftle's reply to all this; in which he partly denies the charge, profeffes his innocence, and defies them to prove the things whereof they accufe him; and partly afferts the cause he had espoused, and in general terms acknowleges his Christian principles. In this, as in the preceding cafe, there is fine addrefs in the Apoftle's endeavour to intereft his auditors. on the fide of Chriftianity, by representing its profeffors as holding one common tenet with the ftraiteft and most popular sect of the Jewish religion; while at the fame time he was indirectly preaching through Jefus the + Acts xxiv. 5, &c. I 2

refurrection

refurrection from the dead, and by neceffary implication maintaining the great mystery of the Chriftian Faith. Felix, we find, was far from being unacquainted with at least fome of the doctrines of Christianity, and reserved the matter for a farther hearing; but in the interim he, with his wife Drufilla, which was a Jewess, fent for Paul privately, and heard him concerning the faith in Chrift.‡ It does not appear that our Apoftle on this occafion difcourfed on any one article of faith, strictly and peculiarly Chriftian. He reafoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, till this iniquitous governor trembled; and probably had proceeded to the full difplay of all evangelical truth, had he not been abruptly difmiffed. However, if there be any difficulty here, it is such as affects not our argument in particular; because the very fame difficulty will fubfift, whether we suppose that Jefus whom Paul preached to be "very God of very God," or to be the Son of God in a secondary sense only, or indeed barely the prophet that was to come into the world.

↑ Acts xxiv. 24, &c.

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