that "no man could do fuch works, unless

God was with him," John iii. Our Lord himself reasons in the fame manner, John x. 38. & xv. 24.; and in almost all his difcourfes, That if he had not done among them fuch works as no other man did, they would not have been fo much to blame for not acknowledging his divine commiffion; but as he had, in almost numberless instances, they had no cloak for their unbelief: and thefe we find the Apostle adducing as the testimony of God given to the apostles, Heb. ii. 4. "God "alfo bearing them witnefs, both with "figns and wonders, and with divers mi"racles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost."

But the finishing part of the evidence, and which may very justly be accounted the greatest miracle of all, was the wonderful fuccefs of his ministry, the proper evidence of God's working very powerfully in him; that he was not afraid to fay, "that he was not behind the very "chiefeft apostles;" efpecially when the rules he laid down to himself, and punctually followed, are duly confidered: for he not only renounced all the arts of craft and cunning, too commonly practised by fuch

fuch as want to make a party, but even the allowable addrefs of human wisdom, and the powers of eloquence. And he gives this reason for it, that the faith of his hearers fhould not ftand in the wifdom of man, but in the power of God; and, in the room of all, fubftitutes the demonftration of the Spirit and of power, 1 Cor. ii. 3. 4. 5.

There have been, in all the ages of Christianity, a number of men, who, reckoning themselves greatly wifer than their neighbours, made it their bufinefs, instead of declaring the teftimony of God, to reduce the gospel of Chrift to a merely rational system, exactly fuited to the natural state of the human powers, the measure of a fort of moral government; and they suppose, that when that is once fairly revealed, and notified, the great Creator and gracious Redeemer have no more to do with them, until they come to stand before his judgement-feat, to be rewarded or punished, according as their behaviour has been good or bad, wife or foolish: and accordingly, much learned labour and critical fkill have been employed to remove the grace of God, which Paul fo

much

much infifted on, and the influence of his Spirit, and power, out of their way; and to perfuade the world, that the demonftration of the Spirit, and the power of God, on which Paul would have the faith of Chriftians to ftand, was no more but the rational evidence arifing from the miracles which the apostles and first preachers wrought by the gift of the Spirit, and the power of God. But furely Paul meant fomething more, when he faid, "Paul

might plant, and Apollos water; but "that it was God, who gave the increase," 1 Cor. iii. 6.; and when he talks so pofitively of God's quickening those who were dead in fin; nay, makes faith itself, or mens believing the teftimony of God, his own gift. Our Lord too certainly meant more, when he faid, that" without him" even his chosen difciples "could do no"he thing;" and Paul, when he said, "could do all things through Chrift "ftrengthening him." These, with many other fuch expreffions, muft certainly have had some other meaning, than that God and Christ, after revealing this fame inftrument of moral government, did noN

VOL. III.

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thing more, but left every man to do for himself as he best could.

66

When we add to this, the promise of the Spirit, fo often repeated, not only on fome chosen apoftles and evangelists, but upon all flesh, even fervants and handmaids, i. e. male and female flaves; and, in general, the affurance our Lord gives, that his heavenly Father will give this fame Spirit to all that afk him, be who they will, or what they will, without excepting any, Luke xi. 13.; and the purposes for which he is given, John xiv. & xvi. to fupply Chrift's bodily absence with advantage, to lead into all truth," bring all things to their remembrance;" and, in a word, to take of Chrift's things, (and all that the Father hath is his), and fhew them to them: he who duly confiders these, and fuch other accounts we have in the divine record, will not hesitate to think, that this fame demonstration of the Spirit and power of God, leads to that life and power which is the diftinguishing characteristic of the word of God, Jer. xxiii. 28. 29.; and that this was the mighty power which wrought effectually in the apostles.

and "

We

1

We need not stand on what the Apostle fays Peter, James, and John, fingly infifted upon, verf. 10. viz. That he and his affociates. Should be mindful of the poor, (an admonition which he did not need), unless it be to observe how much this duty is infisted on, commanded, and commended, in the divine record, and how little minded in common practice. It is one of those things which men have learned to call imperfect rights, because there are no human laws. to inforce it; and therefore is no further minded than thofe laws oblige them to contribute their proportion. But in truth the poor have as good a right to relief as the great proprietor of all things can give them.

It would likewife have been needless to obferve the order in which the Apostle here ranks thefe pillars of the primitive church, were it not for the infolent pretenfions of the men who, without any fhadow of reafon, except what themselves have forged, pretend to be the fucceffors of Peter: The Apostle here ranks James before him; and James poffeffed the. place of prefident in what themselves call a general council. Peter himself was fo far from ufurping the title of Universal