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could our apostle hope for fuccefs, in a natural way, when he preached fuch a doctrine to a people who had read in one of their infpired books, that God had threatened that foul fhould be cut off which neglected this rite? how, without the affiftance of God, could he who taught fuch a doctrine, ever think of making converts of Jews, whofe religion was fo much corrupted at our Saviour's coming into the world, that they held," that circumcifion was of fufficient virtue to render them accepted of God, and to preferve them from eternal ruin: that no circumcifed perfon goes to hell, God having promifed to deliver them from it, for the merit of circumcifion; and having told Abraham that when his children fell into tranfgreffion and did wicked works, he would remember the odour of their forefkins, and would be fatisfied with their piety." "They were prejudiced against feveral other doctrines he taught, which they imagined derogated from the perfection and honour of their law. Such was the doctrine of making the church Catholic, by receiving the Gentiles into the privileges of the true church, without fubmitting to the ritual law, and not being juftified by the works of the law, but by faith in the Meffiah. They were prejudiced in favour of their law, as unchangeable and eternal; or as neceffary means of juftifying a finner before God." Without the interpofition of God, the apoftle could never hope to perfuade them, who had been informed in their facred books, that the Meffiah was to have an everlasting kingdom, a throne for ever and ever; that he should be great unto the ends of the earth, and was to abide for ever, to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and reffore the preferved of Ifrael; to have a portion divided him with the great, and to divide the fpoil with the strong; to have dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages hould ferve him; that his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which hall not pafs away, and his kingdom

that which shall not be destroyed & Without the divine aid, I fay, the apofile could never hope to perfuade the Jews, who expected fuch a triumphant Meffiah, to believe that Jefus was the Chrift, who had fuffered that death, which by the law was counted execrable. The crucifixion of Chrift, as the apoftle himself has informed us, was unto the Jews a ftumbling block. And in Juftin Martyr, Tripho the Jew fays, your Jefus having by this fallen under the extremeft curfe of the law of God, we cannot but fufficiently admire, that you fhould expect any good from God, who place your hopes in a man that was crucified; for our law ftiles every one, is crucified, accurfed. Theophila&t informs us, that the Jews objected; How can he be God who did eat and drink with publicans and harlots, and was at laft crucified with thieves? hence by way of ignominy they ftill call our Saviour Talui, one hanged upon the tree. And, by way of reproach, they call Chriftians the fervants of him who was hanged.

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To all that has been faid I may ftill farther add, that the danger which attended the profeffion of Chriftianity would deter both Jew and Gentile from embracing it. A man no fooner became a Chriftian, than he expofed himself to all the miferies that human nature is capable of suffering. Had our apoftle therefore made ufe of all the eloquence he was master of, yet had not God been with him, he could not have perfuaded the Corinthians to become Chriftians. According to Jerome, St. Paul was no orator: and that he spoke truly when he said he was rude in fpeech, though not in knowledge. St. Jerome does not fpeak this to the difparagement of St. Paul. But from hence he argues, that God was with him. The inference, which this learned writer draws from thefe premifes, is certainly valid.

But fuppofe (which we believe to be true) that his premifes are not juft. Be it fo. Suppofe our apostle .

was

was a very great orator, yet he made no ufe of his eloquence in converting the Corinthians. He preached the gospel to them in the most plain and fimple manner : when I came to you, fays he, I came not with the excellence of fpeech, or of wisdom, declaring to you the teftimony of God; for 1 determined not to know any thing among you, fave Jesus Christ, and him crucified--and my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom.-For Chrift fent me to preach the gospel, not with the wisdom of words. It pleased God by the foolishness of preaching, to fave them that believe. For the Jews require a fign, and the Greeks feek after wifdom. But we preach Chrift crucified, unto the Jews. a ftumbling block, and to the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks, Chrift the power of God, and the wisdom of God; because the foolishness of God is wifer than men, and the weakness of God is ftronger than men: for you fee your calling, brethren, that not many wife men after the flesh, nor many mighty, nor many noble are called. But God hath chofen the foolish things of the world to confound the wife, and God hath chofen the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty, and bafe things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chofen; yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are, that no flesh fhould glory in his prefence.

In this plain and fimple manner did St. Paul deliver, to as wicked and debauched a people as any in the world, the most pure and heavenly doctrine, the ftrictest and fevereft precepts that had ever been taught mankind, and yet he confounded the mighty and the noble, and gained a victory over their orators and philofophers. We conclude, therefore, that this success must be attributed, not to a natural, but divine caufe, and confequently that the Gofpel is the word of truth.

W.

SCRIPTURE GEOGRAPHY.

AN HISTORICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT OF PLACES MENTIONED IN THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENT, IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER.

[Continued from page 45.

ALVARY is a fmall

eminency or hill on the greater Mount Moriah. It was antiently ap propriated to the execution of malefactors, and therefore fhut out of the walls of the city, as an execrable and polluted place. But fince it was made the altar on which was offered up the precious and all-fufficient facrifice for the fins of the whole world, it has recovered itself from that infamy, and has been always reverenced and reforted to, with fuch devotion by all Chriftians, that it has attracted the city round about it, and stands now in the midft of Jerufalem; a great part of the hill of Sion, being fhut out of the walls, to make room for the admiffion of Cavalry!-This mount is likewife honoured with a stately church, erected by Helena, mother to Conftantine the Great, called the church of the fepulchre, has been built over the place where our Saviour's fepulchre was. This church is enriched with abundance of magnificent ornaments; and Mount Calvary is more honoured by Chriftians, than old Jerufalem ever was by the children of the fynagogue.

Cana of Galilee, a little town where Jefus performed his firft miracle, John ii. 1. Nathanael was of Cana

in Galilee, where our Lord was invited three days after he had received Nathanael as a difciple. This is called Cana of Galilee, to diftinguish it from Cana or Shana, mentioned in Joh. xix. 28. belonging to the tribe of Afhur, and lying not far from Sidon, and fo fituated much farther north than Cana of Galilee, which lay in the tribe of Zebulun, and not far from Nazareth.

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A LIST OF THE LIVINGS IN THE PATRONAGE OF THE CROWN, [Concluded from page 46. VoL. J.]

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Engraved for The New Chriftian's Magazine

PSALM XXIII.

As fung at the MAGDALEN & FOUNDLING Chapels in LONDON

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Published by Alex. Hogg N? 15, Paternoster Row, London.

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