most uncongenial to the growth of the new religion, was found most propitious to it. It prevailed, notwithstanding this astonishing, this unprecedented, this universal opposition, so as to change the whole face of things, to overturn the temples and the altars of the gods, silence the oracles, mortify the impious pride of emperors, confound the presumptuous wisdom of philosophers,-and infuse into the hearts of thousands and tens of thousands a new spirit, and transform them into new men.

Whence did the new religion acquire this mysterious and inextinguishable potency? "Was it from Heaven, 66 or of men ? " No natural cause can account for it: indeed it is contrary to the whole course of natural causes. Weak, illiterate men, of the lowest class,men, who had nothing in this world to offer their converts, but sufferings, tortures, and the cross,-who were every where oppugned, persecuted, and ill-treated, even unto death;"-these were they who triumphed

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over flesh and blood," and converted the universe. They continued to suffer, century after century, till they had subdued the world by dying for their religion. The cause is to be found alone in the omnipotence of truth, and especially the truth of God. "In the name of Jesus of Nazareth, the lame walk, the "lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the blind see, "the dead are raised, the poor (reckoned of no estima"tion in the eyes of the world) the poor have the Gospel

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such a faith as disarms fear and pain, and despises death; a faith which is greater and more honourable in the sight of heaven, than that which removes mountains, or, like Joshua's, arrests the motion of the sun."

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preached unto them." (o) In this name the Legislator of the universe speaks, nations hear, and rejoice, and live: and thus we arrive at the only competent and adequate solution of the difficulty, why genuine Christianity, whose peculiar characteristic was nonresistance, should be every where and in all ages opposed; and yet should every where and in all ages increase. Thus, in the clearest and purest manifestation of himself to the world, God evinced his perfect independence of human wisdom and human power: he passed by the splendour of thrones and the glory of philosophy, and showed that he could command all nature, and influence all hearts, by means the most humble, and most likely to be contemned. "He "chose the foolish things of the world to confound "the wise; and the weak things of the world to con"found those which are mighty; and base things of "the world, and things which are despised, did God "choose, yea, and things which are not, to bring to "nought things that are: that no flesh should glory "in his presence." (p)

Having thus exhibited the argument drawn from the early propagation of Christianity, let me now briefly advert to that which flows from the purity, excellency, and extent, of the Christian morality and theology.

The nature of these may be gathered from the testimony of the enemies to Christianity, from its effect upon the character and conduct of its converts in all ages, and from the uniform tenour of the Holy ScripHere then, first, as to the testimony of enemies. (p) 1 Cor. i. 27-29.

tures.

(0) Matt. xi. 5.

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to Christianity, since I must conform to the principle of selection, I shall cite only two; but they will be amply sufficient for my purpose. Of these, the first is PLINY the younger, who, in his celebrated letter to Trajan, writes thus from Nicomedia, concerning the Christians under his government:" The sum total "of their fault, or of their error, consisted in assembling upon a certain stated day, before it was light, "to sing alternately among themselves hymns to "Christ as to a God; binding themselves, by oath, "not to be guilty of any wickedness; not to steal, "nor to rob; not to commit adultery; nor break their "faith when plighted; nor to deny the deposits in "their hands, whenever called upon to restore them. "These ceremonies performed, they usually departed, "and came together again to take a repast, the meat "of which was innocent, and eaten promiscuously." (q) The only crime this governor could discover in the Christians, was "merely an obstinate kind of super"stition, carried to great excess." He therefore asks, "must they be punished for the name, though other"wise innocent? Or is the name itself so flagitious, "as to be punishable ?" Conformably with this, we find that the early Christian apologists are frequently exposing the cruelty and folly of the heathen magistrates; because, while they put others to the rack to extort confession of their crimes, they tormented Christians, that they might deny and renounce their characteristic

name.

My next evidence is LUCIAN, one of the ablest (4) Orrery's Pliny, book x. epist. 97.

writers of his age, and one of the chief magistrates of a great province of the empire. "The legislator "of the Christians (says he) persuades them that they “are all brethren. They secede from us: they

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abjure the gods of the Grecians. They adore their 66 crucified teacher, and conform their lives to his "laws. They despise riches; every thing amongst "them is in common; and they are constant in their "faith. To this day they adore their great man cru"cified in Palestine." (r)

Such, then, according to the testimony of Pliny and Lucian, was the effect of Christianity upon the minds and conduct of those who embraced it, that they engaged not to commit any crime, that they adhered strictly to their promises, that they could have no crime imputed to them but obstinate attachment to their religion, that they despised riches, and that they loved one another as brethren. If any person were seeking for criteria of a false religion, of a religion founded upon wickedness, and cemented by deceit (and such must the Christian religion be, if it did not emanate from God), would he be satisfied with such as these?

But let us notice the effect of Christianity upon one who was long a hater of it, and became, notwithstanding, its illustrious defender. I mean the apostle Paul. What was his character before his conversion to

(r) Lucian de Morte Peregrini. For other testimonies from Antoninus Pius, Trypho, &c., see Cave's Primitive Christianity, part i. ch. 4. And for Tertullian's powerful raillery on Trajan's celebrated letter to Pliny, delineating the conduct which he was to pursue with respect to the Christians, see Apologet. cap. 2, or the Pantologia, art. TRAJAN.

Christianity? That of a furious bigot, an unrelenting persecutor of all whose religious opinions were different from his own, a man who "breathed threatenings and "slaughter" against others whose only crime was sublime virtue, a man who delighted in sanguinary scenes, who held the clothes of those who stoned martyrs, probably gnashing his teeth for vexation all the while, that he was too young to be more actively engaged in the brutal scene,—a man whose principal delight was in "making havoc of the church," disturbing domestic privacy, "entering into houses, and

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haling men and women to prison; " who "punished "them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them "to blaspheme, and being exceedingly mad against

them, persecuted them unto strange cities." (8) How different were his actions and his sentiments after he had been converted on his way to Damascus, and became "obedient unto the heavenly vision!" Observe how gentle, tender, and sympathizing, is the demeanour; how pure, how elevated, how benevolent, how peculiarly fitted to the wants of universal society, are the ethics become of the man who just before found his greatest pleasure and glory in persecuting and torturing his fellow-creatures! "Let love be "without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil, "cleave to that which is good. Be kindly-affectioned "one to another with brotherly love; in honour pre"ferring one another; not slothful in business; fervent "in spirit; serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer; (s) Acts, vii. 58. viii, 1—3. ix. 1. xxvi. 10, 11, 19.

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