mirably executed: and having filled up his plan, he concluded.

13. However, undoubtedly, many things are omitted by St. Luke: some of which we may learn from St. Paul's epistles. I shall observe some omissions.

14. St. Luke has not, in the course of his history, mentioned the writing of any of St. Paul's epistles. It is probable, that he was at Corinth when the apostle wrote thence his large epistle to the Romans. Nevertheless he takes not any notice of it, nor of the epistles written by St. Paul at Rome, when he certainly was with him, nor indeed of any other. By comparing the epistles themselves, and St. Luke's history of the apostle in the Acts, we are enabled to trace the time and place of divers of those epistles: but they are no where particularly mentioned by the historian.

15. In Acts ix. 19-26, St. Luke, after the account of St. Paul's conversion, speaks of his being at Damascus, and his preaching there, and of the opposition which he there met with from the Jews, and his escape thence, and then going to Jerusalem. But St. Paul, Gal. i. 17, 18, informs us, that after his conversion he went into Arabia, and then returned to Damascus : and that three years passed between his conversion and his going to Jerusalem. This is an instructive instance: for the omission is certain, and undoubted. I am of opinion, that St. Luke did not omit the journey into Arabia because he did not know of it: but designedly, and because he did not judge it necessary to be mentioned. Jerom has taken particular notice of the omission of that journey into Arabia.

16. Like omissions are in St. Luke's gospel. I shall take notice of two.

1.) Having given the history of our Lord's presentation at the temple, he says, ch. ii. 39, " And when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth." Nevertheless, I think the holy family did not now go directly from Jerusalem to Nazareth, but to Bethlehem. There, as I suppose, our Lord received the homage of the magians. And afterwards, to avoid the persecution of Herod, they removed thence to Egypt, and then returned to Nazareth. All which is recorded, Matt. ii. 1—13.

* Lucam vero idcirco de Arabiâ præterisse, quia forsitan nihil dignum apostolatu in Arabiâ perpetrârat; et ea potius compendiosâ narratione dixisse, quæ digna Christi evangelio videbantur. Nec hoc segnitiæ apostoli deputandum, si frustra in Arabiâ fuerit; sed quod aliqua dispensatio et Dei præceptum fuerit, ut taceret. Hier. in Ep. ad cal. cap. i. T. IV. p. 235.

The visit of the magians must have been after the presentation at the temple. If it had been before, and if they had presented "their gifts, gold, and frankincense, and myrrh," mentioned, Matt. ii. 11, Mary would not have made the lesser offering for her purification, mentioned, Luke ii. 23, 34. Nor could the child Jesus have been safely brought to Jerusalem, or such notice have been taken of him at the temple, as St. Luke particularly relates, ch. ii. 25-38, if "Herod and all Jerusalem" had been just before alarmed by the inquiries of the magians: "Where is he that is born king of the Jews?" Matt. ii. 1, 2. Omitting therefore all those things, St. Luke says, as above observed, And afterwards they returned to Nazareth, the place of their usual abode: which is agreeable to Matt. ii. 22, 23.

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2.) Another thing observable is, that all our Saviour's appearances to his disciples, after his resurrection, recorded by St. Luke, ch. xxiv. were at Jerusalem or near it. He takes not any notice of our Saviour's meeting the disciples in Galilee, so particularly mentioned, Matt. xxviii, 7, and Mark xvi. 7. St. John also, ch. xxi. 1–23, speaks of our Saviour's showing himself to the disciples at " the sea of Tiberias." And St. Paul assures us, that our Lord was "seen of above five hundred brethren at once," 1 Cor. xv. 6; which, probably, was in the same country. And though at the beginning of his book of the Acts, St. Luke resumes the account of our Saviour's showing himself to the disciples after bis resurrection, there is nothing more about Galilee, than in the former relation. Insomuch, that, if we had St. Luke's histories only, we might have been apt to conclude, that all the appearances of our Saviour to his disciples were at Jerusalem or near it, and no where else.

17. St. Paul's epistles inform us of many things omitted by St. Luke. But we should have known many more, if we had had a parallel historian. A comparison of St. Luke's history of our Saviour, with that of the other evangelists, may assure of this.

18. In the eleventh chapter of the second epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul mentions divers visions and revelations, with which he had been favoured: but St. Luke has not taken notice of any of them. St. Paul, in his speech to the people at Jerusalem, recorded by St. Luke, Acts xxii. 17, mentions a trance which he had in the temple. But St. Luke has no where told us the exact time of it; nor has be otherwise mentioned it.

19. I do not think that these things were omitted by St. Luke because St. Paul concealed them from him; or

because by some other means he was unacquainted with the time and place of them but it was a regard to brevity that induced him to pass them over. They were not necessary to be inserted in his history: without them he has recorded sufficient attestations of Paul's apostolical authority, and of the truth and divine original of the doctrine taught by him.

20. Says St. Paul, unwillingly, and constrained by the disadvantageous insinuations and charges of self-interested and designing men, 2 Cor. xi. 23, "Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool :) I am more. In labours more

abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft."

"In prisons more frequent." Therefore before writing this epistle, in the year 57, Paul had been imprisoned several times though St. Luke has mentioned before this time one imprisonment only, which was at Philippi, Acts xvi. 23-40. Upon which Estius y observes, that Paul did and suffered many things not mentioned in the Acts. And Rom. xvi. 7,"Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen and my fellow-prisoners—who also were in Christ before me.' Paul was not a prisoner when he wrote the epistle to the Romans, in the beginning of the year 58. But he had been in prison before with those two early christians, bis relations but where, or when, we cannot exactly

say.

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a

21. Ver. 24, " Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one." Nevertheless St. Luke has not mentioned one of those times. Estius conjectures that Luke omitted these, and many other things, because he was not with the apostle when they happened, and Paul out of modesty forbore to tell him of them. I rather think that Luke was fully acquainted with Paul's history: but he aimed at brevity, and judged the things mentioned by him to be sufficient.

22. Ver. 25, "Thrice was I beaten with rods :" meany De Paulo autem incarcerato ante hanc epistolam, in Actis Apostolorum non legimus quidem, nisi cap. xvi. ubi a Philippensibus in carcerem missus legitur. Sed permulta Paulus et fecit et passus est, quæ in Actis non scribuntur. Est. ad 2 Cor. xi, 23, 2 Porro concaptivos intellige, quod aliquando communia cum Paulo vincula pro Christo passi fuissent. Ubi tamen, aut quando factum sit, ignoratur. Est. ad Rom. xvi. 7.

a Sed cur Lucas in Actis ne unius quidem flagellationis ex quinque meminit? Ideo videlicet, quod de Paulo pene ea sola, quibus ipse præsens fuit, sigillatim recenseat; alia vero vel silentio pertranseat, vel summatim ac breviter referat-Qua in re notanda humilitas Pauli, qui suas tot et tam graves pro Christo passiones Lucæ comiti suo non aperuerit, ne hic quidem recitaturus, nisi coëgisset eum amor salutis Corinthiorum. Id. ib. ad ver. 24.

ing, I suppose, by Roman magistrates. But St. Luke has mentioned one instance only of this; which was at Philippi, when Paul and Silas both underwent this hard usage. Acts xvi. 19-40. Of this likewise Estius has taken notice in his Commentary.

b

"Once was I stoned:" undoubtedly meaning at Lystra in Lycaonia, as related by St. Luke, Acts xiv. 19, 20.

"Thrice I have suffered shipwreck." St. Luke has recorded but one instance, which was not until after this time, in the apostle's voyage from Judea to Rome: Acts xxvii. which therefore must have been the fourth.

"A night and day have I been in the deep." At one of those times I escaped with the utmost difficulty, by getting on a plank, and floating in the sea a night and a day, or a whole day of four and twenty hours.

23. Ver. 26, " In journeyings often, in perils of waters," or rather" rivers." Which c are sometimes very dangerous. But St. Luke has not recorded any dangers of the apostle upon rivers, either in crossing them, or sailing upon them.

d

24. Says Tillemont, in his life of St. Paul: The great'est part of interpreters think, that St. Paul made no voyages, but those which are taken notice of in the Acts.Nevertheless we must necessarily acknowledge, that beside 'what St. Luke informs us of the sufferings of St. Paul, this 'apostle was five times scourged by the Jews, twice beaten with rods, and thrice shipwrecked. All this happened 'before he wrote his second epistle to the Corinthians; that is, in the time of which St. Luke has written the history. Nevertheless St. Luke says nothing of all this. It is cer'tain therefore, that either he has omitted the circumstances

of the most remarkable events which he relates, or that 'St. Paul made several voyages, of which he has taken 6 no notice.'

25. The reason of St. Luke's silence here I take to be the same that has been already assigned of his silence upon other occasions: it was not necessary that these things should be related. To have written an account of all the apostle's journies and dangers, would have rendered the work more voluminous and prolix than was judged proper. When St. Luke was set about composing and publishing this bTer virgis cæsus sum'-a Gentilibus-Erat enim Romanis consuetudo virgis cædere nocentes-Porro Lucas tantum semel meminit hujus contumeliæ Paulo illatæ, scilicet Act. xvi. ubi scribit eum unà cum Silâ virgis cæsum a Philippensibus. Est. in loc. Periculis fluminum'-quæ interdum non minus periculosa sunt navigantibus, quam mare. Est. in loc. d Mem. Ec. T. i. St. Paul, note xviii.

book, he had all the materials before him, and his plan was formed. Agreeably to which he determined to write at large the history of St. Paul's voyage from Judea to Rome, in which are many remarkable incidents, and to omit some other of the apostle's journies and voyages: though divers of them likewise were attended with affecting cir

cumstances.

26. The chapter, from which I have just now transcribed several things, concludes in this manner: Ver. 31-33, "The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who is blessed for evermore, knows that I lie not. In Damascus the governor under Aretas the king, kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to apprehend me. And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his hands."

I have often reflected with great satisfaction on St. Luke's not omitting this dangerous attempt upon the apostle's liberty and life: with which himself was so much affected, and which he has here mentioned with much solemnity. The history of it may be seen in Acts ix. 23-25.

I now proceed to some other things.

27. St. Paul assures us, Gal. ii. 1-3, that when he went up to Jerusalem upon occasion of the debate concerning the manner of receiving Gentile converts, he took Titus with him which is not said by St. Luke, Acts xv. though he gives a particular account of Paul's going from Antioch to Jerusalem upon that occasion. Nor indeed has St. Luke once mentioned Titus in his history: though St. Paul wrote an epistle to him, and has mentioned him several times in his epistles sent to others.

28. Gal. ii. 11-21, St. Paul speaks of Peter's being at Antioch, before he and Barnabas had separated: but St. Luke says nothing of it. Jerom, in his Commentary upon the epistle to the Galatians, says: We are not to won'der, that Luke has taken no notice of this. For by the 'usual privilege of historians he has omitted many things performed by Paul, and which we know from ' himself.'

29. Rom. xvi. 3, 4, St. Paul applauds an action of great generosity in Aquila and Priscilla: but St. Luke has not informed us of the place, or occasion of it. Doubtless he did not omit it, for want of respect to those excellent christians, whom he has mentioned more than once, ch. xviii. 18,

e Nec mirum esse, si Lucas hanc rem tacuerit, quum et alia multa, quæ Paulus sustinuisse se replicat, historiographi licentiâ prætermiserit. In Gal. cap. ii. T. IV. p. 244.