unto Seleucia, &c. The passage has been introduced before, and I leave it to the confideration of every attentive and impartial hearer. The next occurrence is the conversion of the Deputy S. Paulus, who, we are informed, was a prudent man, and called for Barnabas and Saul, and defired to hear the word of God. And we may reasonably suppose that our Apostles preached it to him at large, and laid before him the great mysteries of the Gospel; and that he believed in the most extensive sense, and was confirmed in his faith by the judgment which he saw miraculously inflicted by the hand of the Lord upon Elymas the forcerer; being, as the sacred text expresses it, astonished at the doctrine of the Lord: the doctrine just above styled the word of God. After this we find St. Paul preaching in the synagogue of the Jews at Antioch in Pifidia*. Now these Jews, though they were * Acts xiii, 16, &c. not not immediately concerned with them that dwelt at Jerufalem in the proceedings against our blessed Lord, were yet in all probability confenting unto his death; as they could not all this while be unacquainted with his story, or strangers to his pretenfions. The Apostle therefore adopts the same mode of argumentation which St. Peter had used before, in his speech to the council, and lays the main stress on the fundamental article of the refurrection of our Lord from the dead. From the admission of this, the truth of the other great points of Chriftianity must necessarily follow. And it should feem that this discourse of our Apostle had a confiderable effect upon some of his audience; and indeed that others conceived the full force and import of the most striking particulars in it: for we read, that when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious profelytes followed Paul and Barnabas; who speaking to them, perfuaded them to continue in the grace of God. And, by the way, this circumstance may well be thought to imply, that the Spirit of grace had previ oufly. ously operated in their hearts to their entire converfion. But the next fabbath day, we are farther told, almost the whole city came together to hear the word of God; and the result was, that the Jews, filled with envy, fpake against those things which were spoken by Paul, contradicting and blafpheming. I would just ask then, whether this BLASPHEMY does not help us to a very strong prefumptive proof of the sense in which these Jews understood the things which were spoken by the Apostle? 1 : Let us now attend Paul and Barnabas to Iconium; and fee whether we may not readily infer the nature of their doctrine from the success of it there. In this place, we are informed, they abode long time, speaking boldly in the LORD, which gave testimony to the word of his grace, and granted figns and wonders to be done by their hands*. I would defire you to compare the last clause of this passage with the conclufion of St. Mark's * Acts xiv. 3, &c. &c. Gospel; Gospel; fo then after the LORD had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, &c. and they went forth and preached; the LORD working with them, and confirming the word with figns following; and with the twelfth verse of the next chapter; all the multitude kept filence, and gave audience to Barnabas and Paul declaring what miracles and wonders GOD had wrought amongst the Gentiles by them; and with the following passage in the Epistle to the Hebrews; how shall we escape if we neglect fo great falvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; God alfo bearing them witness, both with figns and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the HOLY GHOST, according to his own will§; I say, I could wish you to compare these several places; and, I believe I might venture to abide by the conclufions you will draw from them. We find our Apostles next at Lyftra, where Paul cured the man that was impotent in his § Heb ii. 3, &c. feet, feet, &c: * on the fight of which miracle, the people lift up their voices, faying, the gods are come down to us in the likeness of men. Possessed with this notion, the priests of Jupiter brought oxen, and would have done facrifice, &c. This no fooner came to the ears of Barnabas and Paul than they rent their clothes, and ran in among the people, crying out, firs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like paffions with you, and preach unto you, that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven and earth, &c. &c. Now this was precisely the expoftulation which the occafion demanded. The existence of the one living and true God was to be afserted to these idolatrous believers in a plurality of deities. At that time to have opposed to their perfuafions doctrines peculiarly Christian, would have been altogether premature and unseasonable. It appears however that our Apostles had, before and after this, preached these doctrines at Lystra, and in the neighbourhood, with success; though most probably, for obvious reasons, not in the |