no doubt, after their manner, would endeavour to overthrow the gospel by argument; whilft the magiftrates and priests laboured to destroy it, by perfecuting its preachers and abettors. The difficulty and danger of preaching to the Gentiles being fo great, the person who engaged in it certainly needed an uncommon strength of mind, a great degree of religious zeal, a courage fuperior to every danger, and a patience of labour and suffering not to be exhausted, together with much prudence, to enable him to avoid giving just offence to unbelievers. Befides these natural talents, education and literature were neceffary in the person who attempted to convert the Gentiles, that he might acquit himself with propriety, when called before kings and magistrates, and men of learning. All these talents and advantages Saul of Tarfus poffeffed in an eminent degree: and being a violent perfecutor of the christians, his teftimony to the refurrection of Jefus would have the greater weight when he became a preacher of the gospel. Him, therefore, the Lord Jefus determined to make his apostle in the room of Judas; and, for that purpose, he appeared to him from heaven, as he journeyed to Damascus, to perfecute his difciples. And having convinced him of the truth of his resurrection, by thus appearing to him in person, he commiffioned him to preach his refurrection to the Gentiles, together with the doctrines of the gospel, which were to be made known to him afterwards by revelation: faying to him, Acts xxvi. 16. I have appeared to thee for this purpose, to make thee a minifter and a witness, both of these things which thou haft seen, and of thofe things in the which I will appear unto thee; 17. Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I fend thee; 18. To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness, &c. Such was the commiffion which Jesus in person gave to Saul of Tarfus, who afterwards was called Paul: so that, although he had not attended Jefus during his ministry, he was, in respect both of his election to the office and of his fitness for it, rightly numbered with the apostles.

II. The apostles being ordered to tarry in Jerufalem till they were endowed with power from on high, they obeyed their mas ter's command: and, on the tenth day after his ascension, which was the day of Pentecolt, happening to be affembled in one place, with other difciples, to the number of about an hundred

and

and twenty; Acts, ii. 2. Suddenly there came a found from heaven as of a mighty rushing wind, and it filled all the house where they were fitting. 3. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues, like as of fire, and it fat upon each of them: 4. And they were all filled with the Holy Ghoft, and began to fpeak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance. The Spirit manifefted his prefence with the difciples, by enabling them to speak fluently a variety of foreign languages, of which, till then, they were utterly ignorant. By this, his firft gift, the Holy Ghoft prepared our Lord's witneffes to preach his fufferings and refurrection to all nations, agreeably to their commiffion, without being obliged to wait till they learnt to fpeak the languages of the nations to whom they were fent. By this gift, likewife, the disciples were enabled immediately to publish those farther revelations of the gofpel doctrine which the Spirit was afterwards to make to them, according to Christ's promise.

Although on the memorable occafion above mentioned, all the hundred and twenty disciples were filled with the Holy Ghoft, his gifts were bestowed more abundantly on the apostles, who had accompanied Jefus during his miniftry on earth, and who were made his witneffes, for the purpose of teftifying his fufferings and refurrection, and of preaching the gofpel to all nations. Thefe, by their commiffion and illumination, being authorised to direct the religious faith and practice of mankind, it was of great importance to the world to know, with certainty, who they were to whom that high honour belonged. To give us, therefore, full affurance in this matter, three of the writers of our Lord's history, by the direction of the Spirit, have not only recorded his election of the twelve to the apoftolic office, but each hath given a feparate catalogue of their names and defignations.

It is to be remarked, however, that, notwithstanding the higheft measures of inspiration and miraculous powers were beftowed on the apostles, they did not all poffefs these gifts in an equal degree. This we learn from Peter, one of the number, who tells us, 2 Peter iii. 15. that Paul wrote his epiftles according to the wifdem given to him. This Paul likewife has infinuated, by calling Peter, James and John, pillars, Gal. ii. 9. and chief

apoftles,

apostles, 2 Cor. xi. 5. xii. 11. Add, that if all the apofties poffeffed the gifts of inspiration and miracles in an equal degree, it will be difficult to understand how it has happened that only fix of the twelve have written the revelations which were made to them, and that, while the preaching and miracles of those who are called chief apofles, are recorded by Luke, in his hiftory of the Acts, nothing is faid of the preaching and miracles of the reit; which is the more remarkable, as the miracles and preaching of some of the inferior ministers of the word, such as Stephen and Philip, are there particularly related. The apostles, it would feem, had different parts affigned to them by Christ, and were qualified, each for his own work, by fuch a measure of illumination and miraculous power as was requifite to it. May we not therefore suppose that the work allotted to the apostles, who have left nothing in writing concerning our religion, was to bear witness to that display which their master made of his own character as the Son of God, by his miracles and refurrection; and to publish to the world thofe revelations of the gofpel doctrine which were made to them in common with the other apostles? So that, being favoured with no peculiar revelation, which merited to be committed to writing, they difcharged the apoftolical office both honourably and usefully, when they employed themselves in teftifying to the world Christ's refurrection, together with the things they had heard him fpeak, and feen him do, while they attended on him: efpecially if, as tradition informs us, they fealed their testimony concerning these matters with their blood.

The apostles having received their commiffion to preach the gospel to all nations, and, being furnished with inspiration and miraculous powers for that purpose, went forth and published the things which concern the Lord Jesus, first in Judea, and afterwards among the Gentiles: and, by the miracles which they wrought, perfuaded great multitudes, both of the Jews and of the Gentiles, to believe the gofpel, and openly to profefs themselves Chrift's difciples, notwithstanding by fo doing they expofed themselves to fufferings and to death. It is evident, therefore, that the world is indebted to the apostles for the complete knowledge of the gospel scheme. Yet that praise is due to them only in a subordinate degree; for the Spirit, who re.

vealed the gospel to the apoftles, and enabled them to confirm it by miracles, received the whole from Chrift. He therefore is the light of the world, and the Spirit who inspired the apostles shone on them with a light borrowed from him. So Chrift himself hath told us, John xvi. 13. When the Spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth; for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that he shall speak, and he will sher you things to come. 14. He ball glorify me; for he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you. 15. All things that the Father hath are mine; therefore, faid I, that he fhall take of mine, and

fball fhew it unto you.

But here it must be remembered, to the honour of the apostle Paul, that being made an apostle for the purpose of converting the idolatrous gentiles, he laboured in that department more abundantly than all the other apoftles. After having the gospel revealed to him by Christ, (Gal. i. 12.) and after receiving the power of working miracles, and of conferring miraculous gifts on them who fhould believe, (2 Cor. xii. 12, 13.) he first preached in Damafcus, then went to Jerufalem, where he was introduced to Peter and James. But the Jews in that city, who were enraged against him for deferting their party, endeavouring to kill him, the brethren fent him away to Cilicia, his native country. From that time forth, St. Paul spent the greatest part of his life among the Gentiles, vifiting one country after another with fuch unremitting diligence, that, at the time he wrote his epiftle to the Romans, (ch. xv. 19.) from Jerufa lem, and round about as far as Illyricum, he had fully preached the gofpel of Chrift. But, in the course of his labours, having met with great oppofition, the Lord Jesus appeared to him on different occafions, to encourage him in his work; and in particular caught him up into the third heaven. So that, not only in refpect of his election to the apoftolic office, but in respect of the gifts and endowments bestowed on him, to fit him for that office, and of the fuccefs of his labours in it, St. Paul was not inferior to the very chiefeft apostles, as he himself affirms. I may add, that, by the abundance of the revelations that were given him, he excelled the other apoftles as much as he exceeded them in genius and learning. He did not, it is true, attend

13

attend our Lord during his ministry; yet he had so complete a knowledge of all his transactions given him by revelation, that, in his epiftles, most of which were written before the evangelists published their hiftories, he has alluded to many of the particulars which they have mentioned. Nay, in his difcourse to the elders of Ephesus, he has preserved a remarkable faying of our Lord's, which none of the evangelifts have recorded. Upon the whole, no reasonable perfon can entertain the least doubt of St. Paul's title to the apostleship. As little can there be any doubt concerning that high degree of illumination and miraculous power which was beftowed on him to render his ministry successful.

III. Because the author of the christian religion left nothing in writing for the inftruction of the world, the apoftles and others, who were eye-witneffes of his virtues, his miracles, his fufferings, his refurrection and afcenfion, and who heard his divine discourses, befides preaching these things to all nations, have taken care that the knowledge of them should not be left to the uncertainty of a vague tradition, handed down from age to age. Four of these witneffes (who, I doubt not, were of the number of the hundred and twenty on whom the Holy Ghost fell at the firft) wrote, under the direction of the Spirit, hiftories of Chrift's miniftry, to which the name of gofpels hath been given; being the fame which are in our poffeffion at this day. In thefe excellent writings, every thing relating to the Lord Jefus is fet forth in a plain, unadorned narration, which bears the cleareft marks of authenticity. And because their master's character as the Son of God was most illuftrioufly difplayed in the conclufion of his miniftry, when he was arraigned before the highest court of judicature in Judea, for calling himself the Son of God, and was put to death as a blafphemer for fo doing, these historians are far more full in their accounts of that period than of any other part of his hiftory. In like manner, that the revelation of the gospel doctrines which was made to the apoftles by the Spirit, and which they delivered to the world in their difcourfes and converfations, might not be left to the uncertainty of tradition, but be preferved uncorrupted to the end of time, the Holy Ghost moved

certain