been, to get himself owned, and received as an Apostle by the Apoftles. Till this was done, the bottom he stood upon was very narrow, nor could he have any probable means of supporting himself in any esteem or credit among the difciples. Intruders into impoftures run double rifks; they are in danger of being detected, not only by those upon whom they attempt to practise their cheats, but also by those whose society they force themselves into, who must always be jealous of fuch an intrufion, and much more from one who had always before behaved as their enemy. Therefore to gain the Apostles, and bring them to admit him into a participation of all their mysteries, all their defigns, and all their authority, was abfolutely neceffary at this time to Paul. The leaft delay was of dangerous confequence, and might expofe him to fuch inconveniences as he never afterwards could overcome *. But instead of attending to this neceffity, he went into Arabią, and

* Gal. i. 17, 18.

then

then returned again to Damafcus; nor did he go to Jerufalem till three years were past.

Now this conduct may be accounted for, if it be true that (as he declares in his epiftle to the Galatians *)he neither received the Gospel of any man, neither was he taught it, but by the revelation of Jefus Chrift. Under fuch a master, and with the affiftance of his divine power, he might go on boldly without any human affociates; but an impoftor, fo left to himfelf, fo deprived of all hope, all fupport, all recommendation, could not have fucceeded.

Further; we find that at Antioch he was not afraid to withstand Peter to his face, and even to reprove him before all the Difciples, becaufe he was to be blamed t. If he was an impoftor, how could he venture to offend that Apostle, whom it fo highly concerned him to agree with, and please? Accomplices in a fraud are obliged to fhew greater regards to each other; fuch freedom belongs to truth alone.

* Gal. i. 12.

+ Gal. ii. 11, 14.

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But

But let us confider what difficulties he had to encounter among the Gentiles themfelves, in the enterprize he undertook of going to Them, making himself their Apofile, and converting Them to the religion of Chrift. As this undertaking was the diftinguishing part of his apoftolical functions, that which, in the language of his Epiftles, he was particularly called to; or which, to fpeak like an unbeliever, he chose and affigned to himself, it deferves a particular confideration: but I fhall only touch the principal points of it as concisely as I can, because you have in a great measure exhaufted the fubject in your late excellent book on the refurrection, where you difcourse with such strength of reason and eloquence upon the difficulties that oppofed the propagation of the Chriftian religion in all parts of the world.

Now in this enterprize St. Paul was to contend, ft, With the policy and power of the magiftrates; 2dly, With the intereft, credit, and craft of the priests; 3dly, With the prejudices and paffions of the people;

4thly, With the wisdom and pride of the philofophers.

That in all heathen countries the eftablished religion was interwoven with their civil conftitution, and fupported by the magiftrates as an effential part of the government, whoever has any acquaintance .with antiquity cannot but know. They tolerated indeed many different worships, (though not with fo entire a latitude as some people suppose) as they fuffered men to discourse very freely concerning religion, provided they would fubmit to an exterior conformity with the established rites; nay, according to the genius of paganism, which allowed an intercommunity of worship, they in most places admitted, without any great difficulty, new gods and new rites; but they no where endured any attempt to overturn the established religion, or any direct oppofition made to it, esteeming that an unpardonable offence, not to the gods alone, but to the ftate. This was fo univerfal a notion, and fo conftant a maxim of heathen policy, that when the Chriftian religion fet itfelf

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itself up in oppofition to all other religions, admitted no intercommunity with them, but declared that the gods of the Gentiles were not to be worshipped, nor any society fuffered between them and the only true God; when this new doctrine began to be propagated, and made fuch a progrefs as to fall under the notice of the magistrate, the civil power was every way armed with all its terrors against it. When therefore St. Paul undertook the converfion of the Gentiles, he knew very well, that the most fevere perfecutions must be the confequence of any success in his defign.

Secondly, This danger was rendered more certain by the oppofition he was to expect from the interest, credit, and craft of the priests. How gainful a trade they, with all their inferior dependents, made of those fuperftitions which he proposed to destroy; how much credit they had with the people as well as the flate by the means of them, and how much craft they employed in carrying on their impoftures, all history fhews. St. Paul could not doubt that all these men

would