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of their sorrow. One of them answered him, that it was wonderful that he alone was unacquainted with the late momentous occurrences at Jerusalem; how Jesus of Nazareth, a prophet mighty in word and deed, before God and all the people, had been crucified through the malice of the chief priests and rulers: and how his disciples had trusted in his being the Messiah; but then this was the third day since it took place. Nevertheless that they had been surprised by the report of the holy women, and that those that had gone to the sepulchre to investigate the affair, had found their information true, and that in effect the body was not to be found. Our Saviour, admiring the disciples should tell him all that was necessary to induce them to believe, when as yet they were incredulous, exclaimed, O insensible and disbelieving all the prophets have foretold! Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and thus enter into his glory? And beginning with Moses, and going through with all the prophets, he expounded to them all that had been said of him. When they were come to Emmaus, they knew him by the breaking of bread; whereupon he vanished from their sight, leaving them overcome with astonishment and admiration. They immediately

returned joyfully to Jerusalem, and were constantly in the temple, praising and blessing God.

Ten days after Christ's ascension, on the day of pentecost, the Holy Spirit was sensibly

*The feast of pentecost, signifying fiftieth, was celebrated fifty days after the first ripe corn offered up to God during the feast of the passover, and was intended as a thanksgiving for the commencement of the wheat harvest. At the passover they offered up a sheaf of bar- . ley, but at pentecost two wheaten loaves.

The evangelists concur in making sin against the Holy Ghost unpardonable, thenceforth the Novatians and other sects asserted that repentance is not accepted of God for certain sins committed subsequent to baptism; and again, other fanatic sectaries contend that man after he has once received baptism, and has had the divine grace imparted to him, is in a state of absolute impeccability. But it is evident that sin against the Holy Ghost consisted in rejecting the final testimony of the truth of the gospel-(the gift of the Holy Ghost to the apostles," and the miracles they wrought through the extraordinary agency thereof in confirmation of their doctrine) and in perseveringly and blindly assigning these wonders to the influence of Satan; for if a man rejected finally the miraculous operations of the Holy Spirit, and ascribed them to an evil cause, nothing, consistent at least with man's free agency, could ever bring conviction to the mind of such a reprobate sinner, and therefore that he stood in certain danger of God's eternal wrath. With respect to impeccability, it is so manifestly absurd, so inconsistent with free will and human nature, so contrary to our experience, and to the express tenor of scripture, that it

imparted to the apostles, by the gift of languages; and on the same day, at the first preaching of Peter, 3000 souls were converted to the faith of Christ, and were baptized, in his. name. And by the assiduity, piety, and charity of its members the Christian community of Jerusalem was daily increased by the addition of new members. Some time after this St. Peter and St. John wrought the miracle of curing the man that had been blind forty years, even from the day of his birth.

Great zeal was exhibited by these primitive Christians in contributing their worldly goods and possessions for the support of the poorer brethren Barnabas the Levite, but born in Cyprus, and who afterwards was a zealous propagator of the gospel, especially signalized himself on this occasion, as many others also did, by disposing of their houses and lands, and delivering the price to the apostles, to dispose of it for the general welfare. But one Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, being guilty of heinous hypocrisy, were at Peter's word stricken with death by the hand of the Almighty.

needs no refutation. Nevertheless, this monstrous and impious doctrine was asserted by the believers in absolute predestination.

The high-priest, chief of the Sadducean party, and those of his faction, were alarmed at the success of the apostles in gaining converts, they therefore had them apprehended, and confined in the public prison, from which they were delivered in the night-time by an angel. In the morning they were found by the officer in the temple, and by him conducted before the council, but were finally released, (through the interference of Gamaliel, a Pharisee in authority,) with a charge, to speak no more in the name of Jesus; but they gave thanks unto God, for having suffered thus much for his glory, and continued firm in their duty. This was the nineteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, and the thirtyfourth of our Lord. In the thirty-fifth occurred the contention between the Hebrew Jews and the Greek Jews. To remedy this seven deacons were established, whose names were Stephen, Philip, Procorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicholas, who was a proselyte; these were to take care of the poor and widows of both sides and it appears from their names, that in this selection there was more regard for the Greeks than the Hebrews.

Stephen soon grew famous for his piety, his miracles, and his zeal; whereupon his enemies

suborned false witnesses against him, who accused him of blasphemy against Moses, against the temple, and against God. He defended himself by a long and earnest apology; but at the conclusion he was furiously dragged out of the town, and inhumanly stoned to death; Saul holding the garments of the witnesses who were to cast the first stones at him. The prayers that St. Stephen, during his martyrdom, offered up to Christ, being substantially the same as those which Christ addressed to his Father at his crucifixion, it would follow that, if Christ were not co-equal and co-essential with God the Father, Stephen, the first martyr, would have been guilty of idolatry and blasphemy, for he worshipped Christ as Christ worshipped his Father; but St. Luke says, that "Stephen was inspired with the Holy Ghost," which at once proves that such worship was lawful.

In the twentieth year of Tiberius, Philip, the tetrarch of Ituræa, died without issue, wherefore his tetrarchy was reduced to the government of Syria, which Vitellius obtained at that time. This Vitellius took away the high-priesthood from Caiaphas, and bestowed it upon John, his brother-in-law, who soon made way for Theophilus his brother. Pontius Pilate, being accused

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