faying, arife, and go toward the South, &c; and be arofe, and went; and behold a man of Ethiopia, an Eunuch of great authority under Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, &c, who had come to Jerufalem for to worship, was returning, and, fitting in his chariot, read Efaias the prophet. Then the Spirit faid to Philip, go near, &c. And Philip ran to him, and heard him read, &c, and said, understandeft thou what thou readeft? And he faid, how can I, except Some man fhould guide me? And he defired Philip that he would come up, and fit with him. The place, &c. which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the flaughter, &c. And the Eunuch faid, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? Then Philip began at the fame Scripture, and preached unto him Jefus. And as they went on their way they came to a certain water; and the Eunuch faid, fee, here is water ; what doth binder me to be baptized? And Philip faid, if thou believeft with all thy heart, thou mayeft. And he answered and faid, I believe that Jefus Chrift is the Son of God. And he baptized him. The history is as fuccinct as poffible: but why is it not as reasonable

to

to fuppofe, that, when Philip preached unto the Eunuch Jefus, he laid the whole mystery of Christianity before him, the grand scheme of human Salvation; and confequently that he believed Jefus Chrift to be the eternal Son of God, as that, when he baptized him, he did fo in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft? There was no manner of occafion to be more circumstantial, fuppofing the primitive readers of this history to have believed in our sense of the

term.

The next particular that meets us is the converfion of St. Paul. It will be proper to lay it before you. * Saul yet breathing out threatnings and flaughter against the Difciples of the Lord, went unto the high-priest, and defired of him letters to Damafcus to the Synagogues, that if he found any of this way, be might bring them bound unto Jerufalem. And as he journeyed, fuddenly there shined round about him a light from heaven. And he fell to the earth, and heard a voice faying unto him,

Saul, Saul, why perfecuteft thou me? And be Said, who art thou, Lord? And the Lord faid, I am Jefus whom thou perfecutest: it is bard for thee to kick against the pricks. And be trembling, and aftonished, faid, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord faid, Arife, and 80 into the city, and it shall be told thee; and Saul arofe, and when his eyes were opened, he faw no man ; but they led him, and brought him into Damafcus. And there was a certain difciple at Damafcus, named Ananias ; and to him said the Lord in a vifion, Ananias. And he faid, behold I am here, Lord. And the Lord faid, Arife, and go into the street which is called ftrait, and enquire in the house of Judas for one called Saul of Tarfus; for behold he prayeth; and bath feen in a vision a man named Ananias, coming in, and putting his hands on him, that he might receive his fight. Then Ananias anfwered, Lord, I have heard by many of this man, how much evil he hath done to thy faints at Ferufalem: and here he bath authority from the chief priests, to bind all that call on thy name. But the Lord faid unto him, go thy way; for he is a chofen vessel unto me. And

Ananias

Ananias went his way, and entered into the boufe; and putting his hands on him, faid, Brother Saul, the Lord (even Jefus that appeared unto thee) bath fent me, that thou mightest receive thy fight, and be filled with the Holy Ghoft. And be received fight forthwith, nd arofe, and was baptized. Then was Saul certain days with the difciples which were at Damafcus; and he preached Chrift in the fynagogues, that he is the Son of God. But all that heard him were amazed, and faid, is not this he that destroyed them which called on this name? But Saul increafed the more in ftrength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damafcus, proving that this is very Chrift. Upon this compendious narrative I remark, first, that throughout the whole we must understand by-the Lord— Jefus Chrift: fecondly, that whether Saul received the Holy Ghost by virtue of the impofition of the hands of Ananias, and previously to his baptifm, or after it; in either cafe, the whole mystery of the Gospel must have been communicated to him by immediate irradiation: and, thirdly, that therefore when he preached Chrift in the Synagogues that he is

the Son of God, he afferted him so to be by eternal generation. Occafionally indeed, when he confounded the Jews, by proving that this is very Chrift, his argument no doubt turned upon what he alledged to fhew that Jefus Christ was the true Meffiah, the prophet that fhould come into the world, and the king of Ifrael in a fpiritual fenfe, whom they had, and did expect under the idea of a temporal Saviour. It seems after this Saul fpake boldly in the name of the Lord Jefus at Jerufalem; and we are told, that upon his being fent forth to Tarfus, that he might be out of the reach of the Grecians, who went about to flay him, the Churches had reft throughout all Judea, &c, and were edified, and walking in the FEAR OF THE LORD, and in the COMFORT OF THE HOLY GHOST, were multiplied. I recommend the two last particulars of this paffage to the attention of every candid and intelligent hearer. I add too, in corroboration of what has been offered under this portion of the history, that as Jefus Chrift here tells Ananias, that Saul was a chofen veffel unto HIM, fo Ananias tells Paul, (according to the latter's account of