rors, and in the sweetest, but most powerful attractions of grace, can conquer this contemptuous fpirit. No wonder then, that those who never felt, or who have quenched in a great measure these terrors and these attractions, relapse into an impatient faftidioufnefs. And then the influence of the Holy Spirit itself is reafoned against with petty cavils, and afperfed by illiberal fufpicions. Those who undertake to teach in thefe circumftances, in attempting to difcriminate the Spirit of God from delufions, will be unfeeling, rough, unfkilful. To them weeds and flowers in the garden of Paradife will be the fame thing. A malignant instinct of profane propensity tempts them to pull up all together, till they leave only common sense, and the love of the world. And now by frequent difufe, prayer and religious exercifes grow difagreeable. Senfual and worldly objects tempt the carnal mind with fuccefs. Speculations in trade eat out the spirit of godly meditation the feafons of religious duty are joftled out for the throng of bufinefs, and excufes of neceflity are easily admitted. Men find a pleafure in being no longer reputed fanatics, and profeffors will now afk leave of the world, how far it will permit them to proceed in religion without offence.

I dare not fay, that all this exactly took place at Sardis; but much of it did, no doubt; and on occafion of this firft inftance of a general declenfion, it seemed not amifs to point out its common progrefs and symptoms.

Philadelphia is highly extolled. They were an humble, charitable, fervent people, deeply fenfible of their own weakness, fearful of being feduced by Satan and their own hearts. He affures them, that they had a little ftrength,

which had at once been proved and exerted in holding faft the fimplicity of the gofpel, and in detecting and refifting all adulterations of it. They are affured, that the Judaical heretics fhould be brought at length to fubmit to become their difciples in religion. And a promife of ftrong fupport is held out to them, because they had maintained a true patience in fuffering. To them, as to all the reft of the churches, the rewards beyond the grave are propofed as the grand motives of perfeverance.

Laodicea too much refembled Sardis. They were in a lukewarm ftate, a religious mediocrity moft odious to Chrift, because his religion calls for the whole vehemence of the foul, and bids us to be cool only in worldly things. The foundation of this lukewarmnefs was laid in pride. They had loft the conviction of their internal blindness, mifery, and depravity. When men go on for years in a placid unfeeling uniformity, this is always the cafe. They were fatisfied with themselves, and felt no need of higher attainments. The counfel which he gives them to buy of him gold, white raiment, and eye-falve, is precious; and his call to their fouls demonftrates that they had learnt to maintain in eafy indolence an orthodoxy of fentiments, without any vivid attention to the Spirit of God; and his influence was only not defpifed in Laodicea.

Such were the fituations of the feven churchesof Afia. The criticifm is indeed ineftimable, candid, impartial, and penetrating. He who has indulged us with it, meant it for the ufe of all fucceeding churches, and "he that hath an "ear, let him hear what the Spirit faith to the "churches."

CHAP,

СНАР. II.

IT

THE REMAINDER OF THE FIRST CENTURY.

I feel

T is the observation of one of the antients, that St. Luke, in the clofe of his Apoftolical hiftory, leaves the reader thirsting for more. the force and juftnefs of the thought at this moment. I have hitherto failed by the compafs of fcripture, and now find myfelf at once entering into an immenfe ocean without a guide, and have undertaken to conduct the reader through a long course, with scarce a beacon here and there fet up to direct me. But I must make the best use I can of the very fcanty materials before me.

It seems plain, that the Apoftles in general did not leave Judea, till after the first council held at Jerufalem. They feem never to have been in hafte to quit the land of their nativity. Probably the threatening appearances of its defolation by the Romans, haftened their departure into diftant regions. And before the clofe of this century it appears, that the power of the gofpel was felt throughout the Roman empire. I fhall divide this chapter into four parts, and review, first, The progrefs and perfecution of the church. Secondly, The lives, characters, and death's of the Apoftles and moft celebrated Evangelifts. Thirdly,

The

The herefies of this period. And, laftly, The general character of chriftianity in this first age.

It was about the year of our Lord 64, that the city of Rome fuftained a general conflagration. The emperor Nero, loft as he was to all fense of reputation, and hackneyed in flagitioufnefs, was yet ftudious to avert the infamy of being reckoned the author of this calamity, which was generally imputed to him. But no fteps that he could take were fufficient to clear him. There was however a particular fet of people, fo fingularly distinct from the rest of mankind, and fo much hated on account of the condemnation which their doctrine and purity of life affixed to all except themselves, that they might be calumniated with impunity. These were then known at Rome by the name of chriftians. Unless we tranfplant ourfelyes into those times, we can fcarce conceive how odious and contemptible the appellation then was. The judicious Tacitus calls their religion a deteftable fuperftition*, which at firft was fuppreffed, and afterwards broke out afresh, and fpread not only through Judea the origin of the evil, but through the metropolis alfo, the common fewer in which every thing filthy and flagitious meets and fpreads. If fo grave and cautious a writer as Tacitus can thus afperfe the chriftians without proof and without moderation, we need not wonder, that fo impure a wretch as Nero fhould not hesitate to charge them with the fact of burning Rome.

Now it was that the Romans legally perfecuted the church for the first time. And those who know the virulence of man's natural enmity, will rather wonder that it commenced not earlier, than that

*Tacitus, B. xv.

iţ

it raged at length with fuch dreadful fury. "Some perfons were apprehended who confeffed "themfelves chriftians, and by their evidence, fays "Tacitus, a great multitude afterwards and they "were condemned not fo much for the burning "of Rome, as for being the enemies of mankind. A declaration very remarkable. True chriftians, though the genuine friends of the fpecies, cannot allow men who are not true chriftians, to be' in the favour of God. Their very earnestness in calling on their neighbours to repent and believe the gofpel, proves to thofe neighbours in what a dangerous ftate they are apprehended to be at prefent. All who are not moved by the admonitions of chriftian charity to flee from the wrath to come, will naturally be difgufted, and thus the pureft benevolence will be conftrued into the moft merciless bigotry. Thus chriftians incurred the general hatred, to which the conduct neither of Jews nor heretics rendered them obnoxious. And the fame caufe produces fimilar effects to this day.

Their execution was aggravated with infult. They were covered with fkins of wild beasts and torn by dogs, were crucified, and set on fire, that they might ferve for lights in the night-time. Nero offered his gardens for this spectacle, and exhibited the games of the circus. People could not however avoid pitying them, bafe and undeferving as they were in the eyes of Tacitus, because they fuffered not for the public good, but to gratify the cruelty of a tyrant. It appears from a paffage in Seneca* compared with Juvenal, that Nero ordered them to be covered with wax, and other combustible materials; and that, after.

Seneca, Ep. 14. Juv. 1 and 8 with his Scholiaft.