rity of the kings of the Gentiles.' The new Testament treats of spiritual and eternal things, and the Lord tells us, "He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him : the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." If we err from the truth, he has given no man or body of men authority to punish us, except by withdrawing from religious fellowship with us. The appeal then lies to himself upon the throne of his glory. Hence, it is evident, that while it was absolutely necessary that there should be an authorized interpreter of the law in the kingdom of Israel, there is no place for such in the kingdom of Christ.

Under the popish system, not only are the Scriptures taken out of the hands of the greater part of the people, but those who are permitted to possess them must understand them as the Church understands them, or according to the interpretation given by the fathers. Hence the people in general, who can know little or nothing of the writings of the fathers, are placed completely under the power of the priests, who thus make merchandize of the souls of men.

3

In every age men have corrupted religion. Instead of receiving the revelation which God has given them in its plain and obvious meaning, looking to its Author for wisdom to understand it, they have presumed to make such alterations and improvements as appeared to them necessary for its adaptation to their circumstances. In the beginning, professing themselves to be wise, men became fools, and to such an extent did their folly proceed, that they worshipped birds, and beasts, and creeping things; nay, even stocks and stones became their gods; and as the just recompense of their wickedness, God gave them up to the greatest moral

1 Luke xxii. 25.
2 John xii 4.

32 Peter ii. 3.

depravity. Such was the process by which oral revelation was corrupted at first, and this corruption issued in universal idolatry and depravity. God gave Israel a written revelation; but, as we have seen, it was made void by their traditions. At length the Son of God appeared, and by his Apostles completed the Scriptures of truth; taking the vail from the face of Moses, and explaining the parables of the Jewish dispensation; thus giving us His word as a lamp to our feet, and a light to our paths; but his pure and holy doctrine has been corrupted and changed into a system of will worship and idolatry, while the blood of thousands and ten thousands has been shed to maintain and extend the mystery of iniquity.

Ver. 15. But when it pleased God, who separated mè from my mother's womb, and called me by his grace.

3

Like Jeremiah, Paul had been separated from his mother's womb,' and ordained to the office of an apostle of Christ;2 and in his call, as in that of his father Abraham when serving other gods, we have a striking illustration of the sovereignty of Divine grace. On the way to Damascus, while breathing out slaughter and threatenings against the disciples of the Lord, he was arrested in his mad career, delivered from the power of darkness, adopted into God's family, and made a most efficient instrument in preaching the faith which he had so zealously laboured to destroy. We no where find the riches of Divine grace more clearly exhibited than in the inspired writings of Paul. He was a living proof that it is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save the chief of sinners. As in the history of Abraham we have an exemplification of the life of faith; in that of Paul we see a pattern of the Lord's

1 Jer. i. 5.

2 Acts ix. 15

3 Josh. xxiv. 2.

long-suffering. What poor judges are men of the conduct of God! There can be no doubt that, in the opinion of the disciples of Christ in Judea, the death of Saul would have appeared a most gracious interposition, which would greatly tend to promote the success of the Gospel. But after permitting this blood-thirsty persecutor to go the greatest length in wickedness and cruelty, the Lord arrested him, called him by His grace, and not only employed him to preach the Gospel very extensively, but by his epistles to instruct the disciples to the end of the world. In them the deep things of God are exhibited, for great was his knowledge of the mystery of Christ.' All the Apostles wrote under the guidance of the Spirit, and, consequently, we find in their writings the most perfect harmony; but from Paul being chosen to be in a peculiar manner the teacher of the Gentiles, wisdom was given him more fully to explain the liberty to which they were called, and, consequently, to exhibit the doctrine of Christ in the fullest and clearest manner.

In the apostleship of the uncircumcision being committed to Paul, we see that God's thoughts are not our thoughts, nor His ways our ways. In the judgment of men, he was by far the best qualified for the apostleship of the circumcision. To the Jews his learning promised to be very beneficial, while it was in a great measure useless among the Gentiles, whose studies ran in a totally different channel. Yet the Lord was pleased to commit the apostleship of the circumcision to Peter, James, and John, while the pupil of Gamaliel was sent to the heathen. Thus we see the Lord acting upon the same principle as when he employed not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble to preach the Gospel.* He chose the foolish

* In 1 Cor. i. 26, our translators insert the supplement are called, but itis evident from the connexion that the supplement should be call you.

1 Eph. iii. 4.

things of the world to confound the wise, and the weak things of the world to confound the things that are mighty, that no flesh should glory in His presence. And precisely in the same way, and, doubtless, for the same reason, He employed the illiterate fishermen of Galilee to confound the masters in Israel, and sent Paul to preach at Corinth and Athens, where his previous course of study was comparatively useless. This is not recorded for our imitation; it is our duty to make use of the means best adapted to the end in view, but we may learn from it that the excellency of the power is of God, and that we must look for success in the diffusion of the Gospel, not to the qualifications of the instruments, but to the blessing of God. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord." Thus it was in Israel of old: God sometimes caused one to chase a thousand, and two to put ten thousand to flight; but when, without His sanction they neglected the means in their power, as in sending a small part of the army against Ai, they were rebuked for their presumption, and taught that, while God is not limited in the use of means, we are not to neglect the means which He puts in our power.

Ver. 16. To reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the heathen; immediately I conferred not with flesh and blood.

The great object of the first two chapters of this epistle is to prove that Paul neither received the Gospel from man, nor was taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ, verse 12. In proof of this he refers to his miraculous conversion, and to his subsequent conduct, verse 15. When he had been three days in Damascus, he was baptized by Ananias, and "straightway preached Christ in the syna

gogues, that He is the Son of God."1 God had revealed his Son in him. Old things had passed away, all things had become new; much had been forgiven him, and he loved much. He consulted not with flesh and blood. He was brought into immediate intercourse with the Lord Jesus, and by His wisdom he was henceforth guided. Here we may observe, that while the call of Saul of Tarsus was miraculous; while he received the knowledge of Christ by immediate revelation-which we have no reason to expect,-no man can communicate to his neighbour the truth as it is in Jesus. Those only who are taught of God, who have heard and learned of the Father, come to Christ. When Peter declared Christ to be the Son of God, the Lord replied, "Flesh and blood hath not revealed it to you, but my Father which is in heaven;" and the Apostle tell us, 46 no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost ;" so that, while the process by which Saul was delivered from the power of darkness, and translated into the kingdom of his dear Son, was miraculous, the same Almighty power is put forth in the conversion of every sinner to God.

No sooner did God reveal his Son in Saul that he might preach him among the heathen, than his determination was taken. He asked for no advice as to the course he was to pursue. Like Moses, he chose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, "than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a

Ver. 17. Neither went I up to Jerusalem to them which were Apostles before me; but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Damascus.

Paul had been appointed an Apostle, an ambassador of Christ, from whom he had received his commission, and

1 Acts ix. 20.

2 Jer xxxi. 34.

3 Heb. xi. 25.