"dead the third day; and that repentance and "remiffion of fins fhould be preached in his name, among all nations, beginning at Jerufalem. And ye are witneffes of these things*.

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Jefus Chrift continued to fhew himself at different times, and in different places, to his difciples, during the space of forty days; and, as St. Paul informs us, he was feen, after his refurrection, by five hundred brethren at once; but he fhewed himself very particularly to his disciples at the fea of Tiberias, when they were a fishing, and faid unto them, "Children, have ye any meat? •• They answered him, No. Then faid he unto ❝ them, Cast the net on the right fide of the ship, ત and ye fhall find. They caft therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the mul" titude of fifhest." And when they had brought them to land, they faw a fire of coals there; and Jefus faid unto them, Bring of the fish which ye have now caught, which they broiled. Then faid Jefus again unto them, Come and dine; and he gave them of the fish, and of bread. This appears to have been the first time that Jefus fhewed himself to his difciples, after they were departed from Jerufalem for Galilee. But when the forty days were nearly expired, it appears that he or

dered them to return again to Jerufalem, and there

to wait for the promise of the Father, which, faid he, ye have heard of me: "For John truly bap"tized with water; but ye fhall be baptized with

• Luke xxiv.

John xxi.

"the

"the Holy Ghost, not many days hence*." The last time that Jefus fhewed himself to his apoftles appears to have been at Jerufalem: And, according to St. Luke, he led them out as far as Bethany; where they asked him, faying, " Lord, wilt thou 65 at this time restore again the kingdom to Ifrael? And he faid unto them, It is not for you to 66 know the times, or the seasons, which the Father "hath put in his own power. But ye fhall re"ceive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come

upon you: And ye fhall be witnesses unto me, "both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Sa"maria, and unto the uttermoft part of the earth." Then he lifted up his hands and blessed them; and while he bleffed them, he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven: And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy, and continued there till the day of Pentecoft; when they received the Holy Ghost, which had been promised them; and continued to do great miracles, in the name of Jesus Christ, and to preach him as being rifen from the dead, and exalted by God to be a Saviour, to give repentance to Ifrael, and forgiveness of fins: So that great multitudes of people were now added to the church daily.

The apostles, being filled with the Holy Ghost, fpake the word of God with boldness, and with great power gave witness of the refurrection of the Lord Jefus: And multitudes of fick and infirm Acts i. 5, 6, 7, 8.

people

ແ

people were brought into the streets of Jerufalem, "fo that the fhadow of Peter paffing by, might

pass over them, and they were healed every one."

In vain did the chief priests, and the elders, together with Herod, attempt to ftop the progrefs of the Apostles doctrine:-Stephen and James fealed their belief with their blood, and Paul, who was their chief inftrument in the perfecution of the church was moft miraculously converted to the faith in Chrift, and became one of the chief preachers of the gofpel of Jefus Chrift, through a great part of the Gentile world, as well as among the Jews.

After the Apostles had established their churches in Jerufalem, and in all Judea, they separated themselves, and went into different countries, preaching the faith in Christ, and every where working great miracles, and establishing their doctrine with power; the Holy Ghost falling on all those who heard them, and who were difpofed to be baptized, and to add themselves to the number of the believers. All mankind were amazed to fee thofe poor and illiterate men preaching with fuch an authority, and doing fuch mighty works; for the Christian religion came into the world, and continued fo, during the first age, without the least appearance of learning, or science, and with the greatest fimplicity of thought and language, as well as of life and manners: The fundamental points of their doctrine being charity, humility, piety, and bro

therly

therly love; with the belief of Jefus Chrift's being the Saviour of mankind, and the interceffor, and mediator, with the Father, for the fins of the whole world; for which he offered himself a facrifice upon the tree, to satisfy the justice of God; and that, through him, his mercies might be extended over all the human race.-This appears to be the main scope of the gofpel, and of the preaching of the Apoftles: And the principles of their doctrine feem to have been concealed from the self-sufficient, and learned, of thofe days, as well as from the proud and noble; by both which orders of men Chriftianity was either derided or persecuted.

The first who made use of the learning and philofophy of thofe times were the primitive fathers of the fecond age, and then only to confute the idolatrous worship of the heathens, and their plurality of gods; and to evince the being of one God, and the immortality of the foul, out of some of their own ancient authors, both poets and philofophers, especially out of the writings of Plato, and of his followers, and out of the verses of Orpheus and the Sibyls; which were then held in great veneration: Thus Minutius Felix, Origen, Clemens Alexandrinus, and others, made use of the learning of fuch as were then ancient to them, and thereby became champions of the Christian faith against the Gentiles, by the force of their

, although it is evident that they intention, and with a fervent tian religion; yet, as they fuffered

fered the pure doctrine of Jefus Chrift, and of his Apostles, to be relaxed, in many particulars; introduced many ceremonies into the Christian church, which were not used during the time of the Apostles; and joined the pure fimple dictates of Christianity, with the imaginary flights, and fallacious reafoning, of feveral of the then ancient philofophers; fuppofing that they should thereby be enabled to draw infenfibly many of the Gentiles out of the grofs idolatry in which they then were; it has fince been found, that they greatly injured the Christian cause: and although, as I have just now observed, their intention was very good, their example fhould be a warning to all the pastors of the Christian church, not to deviate in the least from the pure doctrine of Christ and his Apostles, nor to truft to men's traditions, when they are not strictly agreeable thereto; however plausible and gilded they may appear:-For, after the third century, and upon the rife of the Arian, and other herefies, in the Chriftian church, their learning seems chiefly to have been employed in the defence of the feveral opinions profeffed by thofe fectaries, and in supporting the particular doctrines introduced into the Eastern or the Western churches :-And I very much doubt, whether this kind of learning and fpeculation has not been the caufe of all the divifions of Chriftendom, fince the restoration of learning in the Western parts of Europe, notwithstanding it has been employed, by each party, and fect, to prove their respective opinions to be the